Changes

Ticket checks are only occasionally performed on TER trains, and even the conductors on TGV trains do not always check tickets. When they do, it may only happen later in the journey, unlike in most countries where all tickets all checked at the beginning of the route.

For non-French citizens/residents fines virtually don't exist. Feel free to give your passport and a fake (or real) address. You can have as many fines as you want. They disappear from their system within two months.

Whatever it says on the back of the fine (about fines adding up etc.) might or might not be true, but it ONLY applies to French citizens/residents.

Sometimes ticket inspectors bluff (a lot) that they will call the police, while trying to get you to pay on spot. You have nothing to worry about.

They just hate writing fines because it is extra work for them and they get to write a lot of fines every day. So if you are nice and have a good story, they won't pressure you or try to kick you off, as they sometimes do.

TGV trains are best because they are the fastest and with the least stops, so in the unlikely event of you getting kicked off, you will still get pretty far. TER trains are slower and with more stops.

It is quite possible to speak with the driver and the controller before the train start and tell them you want a ride for free. You can tell them otherwise, that you want to get a ticket from there, it'll be less than a fine, but more than a regular ticket (a little surplus is added to the regular price, you may tell them you go less far than you do).

As you can read, TGV trains are very fast (180-300 kph) and you can make there scary jump action. Distance between stops is about 50-200 km and 20-80 minutes. Conductor (Blue jumpr) usually check tickets every 2-3 stations, [[User:PeterOB|PeterOB]] thinks. System of control is unclear. In one TGV dace floor blue jumprs only went through wagon with something in the hand and wagon was almost full. It is possible that blue jumprs have in small computer list of seats with passengers and free seats. So they can check this quickly. But Peter sat close to restaurant wagon and many passengers was dining. [[User:PeterOB|PeterOB]] was sitting in somebody's place probably, and blue jumprs looks on free seats and it was OK. In the TGV train from Barcelona to Lion was another situation. Peter sat in tourist class and suddenly blue jumprs appears – one in one end of wagon and another in opposite side, and they start to check all passengers. [[User:PeterOB|PeterOB]] try to go around blue jumpr but he do do left him train zone, so blue jumprs met in Peter's place and they asked him for a ticket. He said that he lost ticket. So blue jumprs said that they call police (they try to make you scary usually) and Peter gave him identity card. They saw that he is not French and only kicked him out of train (probably without fine). Next TGV was running in three hours so Peter decide to hitch-hiking, it is easy in France. As you can read this train is going Barcelona-Lyon and back and hitch-hiking in Spain do not work. Get into TGV train is easy in France but [[User:PeterOB|PeterOB]] do not know Spanish system of ticket checking and Spanish jump styles. Some TGV trains have two floors, but it is not possible run in another floor around blue jumpr because of one part of first floor ends with wall.

TER (and LER) trains are easy for train there. Distance between stops is about 5-25 km and 5-15 minutes. Speed is about 80-180 kph. There are one or two conductors, but they only give signal for train departure and tell something for passengers. They only rarely check tickets. PeterOB used in October 2015 different 7 TER trains and he was only one time checked. Blue jumpr women start checking ticket in morning train and he was going to toilet, he did not lock the door and he played shitting. But conductor open WC doors and she close it back. After two stops [[User:PeterOB|PeterOB]] went back to seat and conductor women came again for checking new passengers, she ask for a ticket. PeterOB did not have and she ask for final destination and after several stops she went back and ask for identity card. But she saw that Peter is not French and she let Peter to travel and she gave him advise, which trains go to Peter's final destination. So this women co-jumpr was very friendly and Peter did not see another control. LER train is similar and [[User:PeterOB|PeterOB]] do not know difference (Maybe – LER can me small train for small amount of passengers). Peter was train in LER only short distance and one time, but conductor did not check tickets. O train in LER trains is very easy and some TER trains have long journey and a lot of wagons, for example Paris-Lyon. Some TER trains have two floors and you can walk around conductor in another floor to area, where tickets was already checked.

Penalty in TER train is Eur 50 + ticket price in distances less than 150 km and Eur 88 + ticket price. Fines in LER is not same. But you can be probably only kicked out of train without fine, or you can try to run away in next stop. If you do not pay immediately, the fine grows to Eur 375 and if you do not communicate or you give wrong address, fine can grow up Eur 3750. But for non-French black jumprs fines probably do not exist and suddenly disappear after short time (two months). In TGV train – blue jumpr have a lot of time for writing penalty or call cops. They do not like writing penalty (extra job) and they try to make you scary with police sometimes. [[User:PeterOB|PeterOB]] do not know exact ticket inspection system and if tickets prices in TER and TGV are the same, or if penalty Eur 375 is for all types of train (probably yes). Probably, you have to have seat reservation in some or all TGV trains, but not in TER or LER train. And some blue jumprs can not speak English so good as many of French people or blue jumprs in east countries. Talk in English is not very easy in France.

If you travel far you probably want to take high-speed trains but in many stations they check the tickets for TGV (and ICE and such) on the entry to the platform which makes it kind of impossible to get in and you need to take TER. We tried once to ask the controlers on the gates if they could write us fine directly and let us in but they said that we can't get in without paying. You can't know in advance in what stations they check tickets for high speed trains before boarding but general rule is that in small towns it is likey to have no gates and in big cities there are often gates. You can really jump the gates because there are usually few conducters standing and looking which makes it kind of impossible. Sometimes it happens that also in station where they usually check TGV tickets before boarding they just leave the gates open so you can sometimes be lucky.

Stations were they don`t check tickets before going to TGV: