SNCF allows free ticket changes and cancellations amid heatwave

France’s national railway service, SNCF, announced that passengers travelling with TGV INOUI and OUIGO will be allowed to cancel or modify their tickets free of charge during the current heatwave. 

The new measure is set to provide more flexibility to passengers. “The French must have a choice,” said Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, according to a report in France Info. However, neither he nor the company specified for how long this option would be available to passengers. 

Under normal conditions, SNCF allows you to cancel or modify your ticket free of charge up to seven days before your departure. After that, additional fees apply (usually €19 per person per journey). 

However, SNCF has waived these fees due to the ongoing heatwave, which has placed several departments under red heatwave alert, and has caused significant disruption and service reductions to SNCF trains.

SNCF has reported that around 10% of trains have been removed from circulation, meaning that the number of trains running daily on the French rail network has dropped from around 15,000 to 14,000, Mr Fanichet said during a press briefing at the Gare de l'Est in Paris. 

Extreme temperatures have also led to technical challenges, including rail deformation and increased stress on overhead electrical systems. 

Some of the trains still in operation on the French network date back several decades and were not designed for prolonged periods of extreme heat. These older carriages often have limited or less effective air conditioning systems, and in some cases lack modern cooling altogether. 

As night-time temperatures remain unusually high during the heatwave, trains do not fully cool down between services, meaning interior conditions can become increasingly difficult for both passengers and onboard equipment. 

As a result, SNCF has temporarily withdrawn certain older trains from circulation as a precaution.