After a record summer, the train should once again attract a large number of French people for the upcoming Christmas holidays.
The SNCF says it has sold “more than 30 tickets per second” when train ticket sales open for the year-end celebrations.
According to a study* carried out by Trainline and Opinion Way, a quarter of French people surveyed plan to travel by train during this period, and up to 35% of Parisians and 27% of Lyon residents. The study also reveals that 34% of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 will take the train for these holidays.
In terms of popular routes, it is the Lyon-Paris and Paris-Lyon lines that are currently the most popular, the platform advances. This is good as this line is the only one in France to benefit from competition with Italy’s Trenitalia.
Lyon-Paris, the most popular route
As a result, prices on this route are rather low, unlike other destinations. Trainline estimates that customers can now save up to €43 on their Paris-Lyon trip by comparing available train companies.
Behind these two destinations, we find Paris-Bordeaux, Paris-Strasbourg, Bordeaux-Paris, Paris-Aix-en-Provence, Marseille-Paris, Paris-Nantes, Paris-Toulouse and Paris-Marseille as the most popular routes.
Still, the fees can put off many consumers. Trainline recommends buying the ticket up to 6 weeks in advance, enough to save “an average of 48.17 euros on an emblematic trip at the end of the year”.
“To walk between the chalets of the emblematic Christmas market in Strasbourg, Trainline has identified, for example, an average saving of 22.74 euros per person on the Paris-Strasbourg route. For Marseilles looking for the most beautiful Christmas window displays, they can save an average of 21.15 euros. euros on the Marseille-Paris route in front of the platform.
It is advisable to buy your ticket 6 weeks in advance
Another savings lever according to Trainline, the annual advantage card, at a price of 49 euros, which “allows, for example, to benefit from an immediate reduction of 30% on all trips on TGV Inoui and Intercités. Often profitable in just a few trips, the card is the best advice for those looking to save money all year round.”
In total, 9 million TGV, Ouigo and Intercités tickets are offered for the period from December 11 to January 2, 2023 (until July 7 for Ouigo tickets). That’s a million more than last year.
The opening of the sale of train tickets for the Christmas holidays had already aroused the enthusiasm of the French last year, with a million tickets sold on the first day, an increase of 15% compared to the year 2019.
*: Study conducted by Opinion by self-administered online questionnaire from September 22 to 26, 2022 with a sample of 1,150 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over with samples from the agglomerations of Paris and Lyon.
Source: BFM TV
