Someone that was not French, once told me that no matter how overrated many French products can sometimes be, they do have amazing Transportation systems. Whomever told me this, I can't remember anymore, but I would have to tell that person now, that they have been deluding themselves.

5.) The Stations Aren't User Friendly:

I would imagine that if they had a university course just on the SNCF, it would probably take you a good 4 yr Bachelors degree, to learn that Train System front to back.

Poissy, Plasir, Versailles, Chantiers, Rambouillet, Dreux, La Defense, Montpanarse.....All these places are well known city slash towns in "Ils De France" which is Paris and the area (suburbs) surrounding Paris. It sounds like great places to have the stations, and they are, only.....they are not in the OTHER towns and villages near the major towns. Example:

It's just a very convuluted placement of stations only in "particular" towns throughout France. It took me a litle over an hour to get to my job in Poissy, where it only takes me 15 minutes in a car. Once in Poissy, if I wanted to get go into Paris to visit friends, I took the SCNF. That usually took about an hour, and that's because, the train track goes almost in a roundabout way to Paris! You have no idea how frustrating it is!

Soooo you go to France thinking "oh well, I don't have to buy a car! I'll just use their public transportation systems, it'll be a LOT cheaper, right?" WRONG. When all is said and done, it will be less expensive to buy a car. Even though, saying that, the cars are still outrageously expensive, so maybe it's better to bring a car OVER from England. ( Ex. An 8 yr old Renault 206 in "decent" shape, will run you about 3000 euros.) Back to the cost's though of the SNCF.

The very first time I used this system, I had the help of my parents. They were living in France, (my father was the director of a French company), and I had joined them trying to find a job as a TESL teacher. That first time was fine. Everything went smoothly, I laughed at the smells, I thought the fact they would strike several times a month humorous, found it exciting to have to search, very in depth , to find the right lines, and didn't care that it was a little more expensive than any other train i've used before.....It was France, you have to be accommadating, you have to let them slide on things, you have to just shrug your shoulders and say "Well, they ARE French".

I met another TESL teacher through my parents that knew her parents. Her name was Riene. She was born , and raised, just outside the Periphere of Paris in La Defense. Her mother was from Cameroon, and her father was Parisian and had travelled frequently throughout Europe growing up. She was highly intelligent whille being a little less frigid and standoffish than most Parisians. As we were travelling one night, trying to find a restaurant called "Chez Papa" on the Left Bank, we got lost on the train system. Now, here are two women, both who can speak French. One who had lived in France for most of her life, the other that had been there for a while now. It wasn't like we were amatures. Yet, even with the help of the SNCF ticketing agents, and train employees, we ended up being an hour late because of an error on the electronic line board. Even once we corrected the error that was the SNCF's fault, we still had trouble trying to find the proper line to get us to the area of our destination. If we were visiting , maybe it would have been a fun adventure. Your patient when your on vacation. You don't have to be at work in the morning, your not meeting people for dinner, your not in a rush. When you have to LIVE through everyday problems of the train system, you are not so patient.

I adore using Trains. I love the Train systems in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, the UK, and even Spain's is "tolerable". The SNCF though, really is an unorganized, unreliable, unmitigated MESS.