Why are French train tickets so expensive?

France increases cost of train fares The rail network announced a decision to raise prices last November because of the increase in energy costs. Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, said the company was “facing additional costs of 13 per cent in 2023.”



People Also Ask

A train trip within France costs an average of €17.59 per 100 kilometres. This is expensive enough to rank it fifth out of 36 European countries, behind Switzerland (at €47.44 per 100km), the UK (€23.44), the Netherlands (€21.86), and Belgium (€20.54).

MORE DETAILS

Book travel across Europe By booking your train tickets in advance, either on the day the tickets become available or just after, you can save even more money on rail fares than you think. By booking your train tickets this way, you can certainly make the trip much better value for money.

MORE DETAILS

Trainline shows various date options side-by-side with their costs. So if you're flexible on dates and willing to travel on whichever day is cheapest, you are able to get some great savings. This is not possible with the SNCF (though their older site used to do it) or other platforms.

MORE DETAILS

As a nationalised system, the French railways used to run a clear and coherent ticketing system, and generally speaking rail travel remains relatively cheap - about 15p a kilometer (1.7 Euro per 10 km in 2017) for a standard second class fare.

MORE DETAILS

OUIGO is a low-cost rail service company established in 2013 as part of the SNCF group. Unlike the TGV INOUI service, OUIGO trains only have one class, which is equivalent to second-class travel. This is why OUIGO tickets are so cheap - from €10 for adults (depending on the destination) and €5 for children.

MORE DETAILS

You must validate (composter) all French train tickets before you board a train unless you have printed your ticket off at home or downloaded it on your mobile phone. Tickets that are bought or exchanged at a station self-service machine in the hour before you travel may be validated automatically, according to SNCF.

MORE DETAILS

Book your trip in advance Planning your trip is a simple and effective way of saving money on your tickets. Remember to plan your trips in advance, and make a point of checking when tickets go on sale to take advantage of the best prices.

MORE DETAILS

Book train tickets in advance While many of us plan and book flights well before our trip, train travel is often left until the last minute. Like planes, train tickets are released in price sections—the cheapest fares are first, and the most expensive ones can be purchased up to an hour before the train time.

MORE DETAILS

The rail network announced a decision to raise prices last November because of the increase in energy costs. Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, said the company was “facing additional costs of 13 per cent in 2023.” He also said its electricity bills had gone up by 180 per cent.

MORE DETAILS

Tips for traveling inexpensively by train
  1. Book your trip in advance. ...
  2. Don't miss the best train deals. ...
  3. Think about Prem's tickets. ...
  4. Subscribe to our Advantage card. ...
  5. Board our OUIGO trains. ...
  6. MAX ACTIF and MAX ACTIF+ reflexes. ...
  7. Take out a MAX JEUNE subscription. ...
  8. Control your budget with MAX SENIOR.


MORE DETAILS

Many of the lines don't make any money or are operated at a loss. To accommodate the money-losing routes, Amtrak uses profits from its popular lines, such as the Northeast Corridor. Since this is one of the most popular routes, Amtrak can charge higher prices and send those profits to other, less profitable lines.

MORE DETAILS

TGV is SNCF's high-speed rail service. Carrying passengers across France on trains exceeding 300kmh, TGV train has become one of the most popular modes of transport for travelling around the country.

MORE DETAILS

Without transport ticket: € 50. Falsified or usurped transport ticket: € 70.

MORE DETAILS