Paris-Province rail fares at €30
SNCF extends TGV cheap-day return offer to stations two hours from capital – but on weekend only
RAIL company SNCF is extending its cheap TGV ticket offer – following up its €20 Saturday cheap-day return Paris-Lille fares with €30 Saturday cheap-day returns Paris-Province.
The Paris-Lille deal – which covers all stations in Nord/Pas-de-Calais an hour from Paris – starts this month and the new Paris-Province deal will be available from June 19.
It covers all stations within two hours of the capital but the outward and return journeys must be made on the Saturday, although the offer will be extended to Sundays later in summer.
The cheap fares come just three months after the launch of SNCF’s low-cost OuiGo TGV service that uses the Ryanair model to take Paris-bound passengers to Marne-La-Vallee, just outside of Paris, rather than the capital itself.
It aims to fill TGVs on Saturdays, a day that sees the long trains set off with many empty seats, and boost their profitability.
News of the Paris-Lille service was revealed by Lille mayor Martine Aubry and SNCF Voyages chief Barbara Dalibard confirmed that both Paris-Lille and Paris-Province would run alongside the present OuiGo and discount card offers such as Zou.
Dabillard said that train fares had been seen as high last year as SNCF had to deal with the 1.7% increase in VAT but this year they were running below inflation and only 17% of tickets sold since the beginning of the year was sold at full price.
“One ticket in five benefits form a social tariff, nearly one ticket in two is bought using a discount card and one in six is the cheapest ticket, the Prem’s advance-purchase ticket.”
