10,000 train tickets sold for one euro this Tuesday

2023-05-22 19:09:00

The operation concerns the Ouigo Train Classique range, which celebrates its first anniversary on May 23. Fourteen stations will be served.

By Hugo Romani for Le Point

Ouigo banknotes were at one euro on May 23.
© DENIS CHARLET / AFP

Published on 05/22/2023 at 7:09 p.m.

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La SNCF slashes prices. To celebrate the first anniversary of its Ouigo Train Classique range, the railway company will offer 10,000 tickets at one euro each, reports The Parisian. The operation will begin this Tuesday, May 23 at 7 a.m. Tickets will be available on a “first come, first served” basis.

However, the operation will only concern certain trips: only 14 stations will be served and the trips must take place between May 24 and July 5.

READ ALSOSNCF: the French still consider train tickets too expensiveTravelers who have not benefited from this offer can still fall back on the discounted offers offered by Ouigo Train Classique. The range indeed offers lower prices than the average with 10 to 49 euros maximum and only 5 for children under twelve. Where the shoe pinches is on the speed: these trains advance at the rate of a TER or an Intercités. Thus, the Paris-Lyon journey lasts 5 h 02 against approximately 2 hours for a TGV.

Trains in demand

But the slower pace of the trains is not the type to discourage SNCF users, quite the contrary. In one year, the Ouigo Classic Trains have welcomed more than 1.3 million visitors. Among these travellers, more than a third would be young people, attracted by ticket prices. The SNCF is starting to think about developing its range by offering new journeys: cities like Bordeaux, Rennes or even Marseille could soon benefit from these trains.

READ ALSOSNCF launches cheaper trains… but slower!

However, you will have to wait a bit. The railway company is indeed waiting to complete the planned two-year experiment on the Paris-Lyon and Paris-Nantes lines. If there should be new lines, it will be necessary to wait until 2024. Especially since the SNCF does not have enough trains available (most of which are used by the regions). Brand new trains produced by Alstom are expected in the coming months. To continue to cut prices?