Is it possible to avoid reservations or extra charges?
A. Yes, depending on the country you are traveling in. Generally there are local trains that travel the same route as high-speed trains, however they generally take much longer to travel the same route. You will need to weigh the cost of a reservation compared with the time it will take to travel the same route. Example: Lyon to Marseille is generally about 1 hour 45 minutes on the TGV. A local train for this same route would be about 3 and half hours.
