2023-08-09 14:20:53
Is it more advantageous to take the plane or the train to travel to France? On Tuesday, SNCF’s TGV-Intercités director, Alain Krakovitch, went so far as to ensure on X, formerly Twitter, that “the plane is never faster or cheaper than the train”. And the boss to cite as an example, a study by the Kombo platform, which compares the prices of journeys between train and plane across France.
An assertion which is true when comparing the prices and durations of trips between Paris and several other major cities in the country… But which proves to be less certain when trips are made in the provinces. Explanations.
The train faster than the plane from Paris
In its study released on Tuesday, the Kombo platform wanted to compare the time and cost of journeys made by plane and by train, taking into account all the parameters of the trip, from “door to door”. Each trip was reserved on July 27, for a departure on September 4, in order to avoid the vagaries of reservations in the middle of summer. Conclusion: “The train remains very competitive on domestic journeys”, analyzes Matthieu Marquenet, CEO of Kombo.
“The plane has a perception of duration which is shorter, since the longest journeys (in metropolitan France) last 1 hour 25 minutes. But the reality is that you have to arrive two hours before at the airport, while a TGV Inouï closes its doors 2 minutes before departure, and a Ouigo asks to be there thirty minutes before. The time to go to an airport is about an hour’s journey to go to a Parisian airport, and thirty minutes to arrive in a provincial town center,” he explains.
The Kombo platform has compared the price and duration (transfers and waiting included) of the most popular routes in France, by plane and by train. Kombo
Besides the time, the cost of the train can also be more advantageous. Example: a Paris-Lyon lasting 1h30 by train will cost at least 29 euros, against 116 euros for 4h35 by plane and transfers. A Paris-Toulouse train journey will be 25 minutes shorter, and will cost at least 31 euros, compared to 50 euros for the plane. Same thing for a Paris-Montpellier, whose minimum cost goes from 27 euros by train, to 65 euros by plane. Only exception: a Paris-Nice by plane will be shorter (4h55 journey) than by train (5h40).
Please note that these conclusions should be qualified, because the study does not compare price averages, but price minimums, often seen to be lowered by the advantageous prices of low-cost Ouigo trains.
But in the provinces, it’s more complicated
If the train can be more advantageous for trips to or from Paris, this conclusion is less true when it is necessary to travel from a provincial town to another provincial town. “When we want to travel between Caen (Calvados) and Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), we will have journeys of 6 hours, sometimes 7 hours, by train. If we do it at the last moment, we will be more than 100 euros the trip. But we will find a direct plane ticket,” admits Matthieu Marquenet. “It’s definitely more competitive. »
In question, in particular, the “structure of the French rail network, star-shaped and very centered on Paris”. The fact remains that, generally, the train is more advantageous for the busiest connections in France, which include a departure or an arrival in Paris, assures Kombo.
The train always more ecological than the plane
The balance could also tip more and more in favor of the train in the coming years. On Monday, the Minister Delegate for Transport, Clément Beaune, announced on RMC that the tax on plane tickets was going to be “reinforced” to “finance investments in the train”. “Many people tell us that they are shocked that the plane often costs less than the train,” defended the minister.
In addition to the economic argument, the train has an undeniable ecological advantage compared to the plane. “Per person and per kilometer, the train pollutes 8 times less than the car and 14 times less than the plane (and the TGV 3 times less than a conventional train)”, noted the Ecological Transition Agency (Ademe).
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