Train Strike May 1 - Getting to Saint Jean PDP from Bayonne

[bforderhase]

Just received notice that my train from Bayonne to Saint Jean PDP has been cancelled. There will be a train strike on May 1st. I'll be in Bayonne the night before... I'm trying to arrange a shuttle with ExpressBourricot but if that doesn't work, what are my other options? Thanks, Barb

 

[mspath]

See the heloful suggestions in this earlier thread dated today re No Trains. Good luck and Buen camino.

 

[alexwalker]

Just received notice that my train from Bayonne to Saint Jean PDP has been cancelled. There will be a train strike on May 1st. I'll be in Bayonne the night before... I'm trying to arrange a shuttle with ExpressBourricot but if that doesn't work, what are my other options? Thanks, Barb

Take on your backpack, go to the train station, look for backpackers (pilgrims), and share a taxi. should be 30-40 Euros/person according to www.Rometorio.com. Takes 50 min.

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Bayonne-France/Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

 

[naplesdon]

You will be lucky if anything is happening on May Day. Kick back and enjoy a glass of wine sitting at a cafe on the banks of the Nive.

 

[Camineiro]

You can walk from Bayonne to SJPdP.
You‘re a pilgrim.

 

[DreamWeaver]

I see from SNCF connect, only the earliest train is cancelled, do you want to check other time ?

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

Walk, bus, cab. All have pluses and minuses. This is train strike season at this time every year. Some get cancelled some do not. Lots of options.

 

[Kathar1na]

Just received notice that my train from Bayonne to Saint Jean PDP has been cancelled. There will be a train strike on May 1st. I'll be in Bayonne the night before... I'm trying to arrange a shuttle with ExpressBourricot but if that doesn't work, what are my other options? Thanks, Barb

I am getting really curious now. Humour me, please: When you and others get notice that your train from Bayonne to SJPP has been conceled, is that all the information you get? No train for you and tough luck? Or is there some other info like other options than your canceled train or links to such information online?

Was your train the 8:16 train? FWIW, as @DreamWeaver has already pointed out, this is the only cancelled train out of the four trains that are regularly scheduled for Sundays and public holidays (1 May is a public holiday in France). The 11:24 train, the 14:19 train and the 19:29 train are scheduled for departure ...

This long lasting strike action is not like other strikes. It is not a strike with a 100% participation, and there are apparently enough employees and workers to keep a lot of trains running every day.

 

[Kathar1na]

So, what was it like when travelling on French trains yesterday, May 1, 2023? Was anything else cancelled for pilgrims on their way from Biarritz and Paris to SJPP other than the first train out of Bayonne? Did the dire predictions on the forum become reality?

I see nothing of the sort when I search in Google News for SNCF grève for the last 24 hours. All I can find is a news item that says that French Railways had expected the train traffic on 1 May 2023 to be largely undisturbed. Quote: Grève du 1er mai: circulation normale, pas ou peu de perturbations... les prévisions de trafic de la SNCF pour ce lundi.

Who had guessed it right then, I wonder.

 

[Purple Backpack]

We did it in reverse two days ago. Finished in St Jean and needed to get to Bayonne train station. No trains worked for times we needed out of SJPDP, not because of strike but because it was Sunday. Took a cab to Bayonne, my husband paid but I think it was roughly 80 euro for two of us, 45 minute ride and included Basque language lessons from our driver!