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I am arriving from Delhi To Paris CDG airport Terminals 1 at 6 pm. I need to go to Lyon on TGV. Should I book 8 pm or 8.40 pm TGV train from CDG Airport Terminal 2 to Lyon? How much time is sufficient for me to clear immigration, pick up luggage at terminal 1 & reach TGV station?

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    The rule is to leave as much time as possible between plane and train. Entry can take from 30min to 2+h
    – Nicolas Formichella
    May 23 at 11:42
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    Also consider what you will do if the plane is delayed. Delays of a few hours are not unusual in air travel.
    – phoog
    May 23 at 11:55

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It’s extremely difficult to predict accurately.

In the best case (plane on time, at a jetway, first off the plane, no queue at immigration and no issues there, priority luggage delivered timely) it should take well under an hour.

The issue is that there are a lot of variables: flight delayed, parking at a remote stand requiring buses to the terminal, last off the plane, long queue at immigration (there have been reports recently of queues over an hour, even for EU/EEA citizens), slow delivery of luggage (this is CDG after all)…

In normal circumstances, I would say that if your train ticket is flexible (including at the last minute), you can book the earlier train, and change as needed if there is any delay.

However:

  • The next train is not a regular Inoui train but a OUIGO low-cost train, you can’t move a reservation from one to the other
  • Those are the last two trains on that route for the day (though it may depend on the date).
  • On the dates I checked, the Air India flight from DEL actually arrives at 18:30, not 18:00, so that really doesn’t leave you much margin at all.

My recommendation:

  • It may make more sense to take flights getting you to Lyon Airport directly.
  • If you travel via CDG, either try to find an earlier flight (though they seem a lot more expensive), or book a flexible train ticket and be prepared to spend the night in CDG and take the first train in the morning if you are delayed.
  • Or even plan from the beginning to stay in CDG overnight and take the train in the morning. No hassle, no hurry, no mad dash to try to make it, no last-minute changes. Plenty of hotels in CDG. The ideal one would be the Sheraton which is just above the train station, but it’s more expensive than the others. The hotels near the “Terminal 3” stop of the CDGVAL (people mover) are cheaper and still get you to the train station in minutes. Even cheaper will be further away and require to you to take a shuttle etc.
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    I would even plan to stay in Paris near Gare de Lyon, and take an early morning train from there. There are more frequent trains, and in particular, you can arrive in Lyon earlier if you take a TGV from Paris. Even if that's not a concern, Paris is a lot nicer if you want to do anything other than sleep.
    – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
    May 23 at 16:56
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    Check-in for Ouigo starts 30 min prior to departure and closes 5 min before @jcaron, source : A ticket in front of my eyes
    – Nicolas Formichella
    May 23 at 20:07
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    +1 for staying in Paris, OP may even benefit from Trenitalia service (which tends to be cheaper on that route)
    – Nicolas Formichella
    May 23 at 20:08
  • @NicolasFormichella Oh, I’ve spent years believing it ended 30 minutes before departure. Wasn’t it the case in the beginning?
    – jcaron
    May 23 at 20:26
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    @jcaron Definitely in the beginning yes, but not anymore (the restrictions are easing up soo much. Like at Montparnasse, at the beginning of that service, you couldn't board from the platforms' head and had to circle to hall 2, walking half the platform to board... Now everyone can board from the head)
    – Nicolas Formichella
    May 23 at 20:40

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