Despite the cost and the technical problems, the French took the train this summer, even more than last year. According to the CEO of the rail network Christophe Fanichet, 24 million travelers used the main TVG and Intercités lines. An increase of 4%. The 2022 vintage had already been “an exceptional summer” with a catch-up effect after the health crisis and “a real desire for the train”, commented the manager before the Association of Transport and Mobility Journalists (AJTM). While TER traffic has increased by 10%.
“The French, for a long time, take the train in the summer, and they have largely anticipated their trips”, reserving earlier, he commented. One out of two long-distance tickets was purchased more than 25 days before departure. The TGV occupancy rate exceeded 80%, and 40% of them were full. The order of magnitude was the same last year, but SNCF Voyageurs sold 450,000 additional seats this year.
The Atlantic and the Mediterranean are on the rise
The Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean were particularly popular this summer, while growth is driven by “green destinations” including the Alps, Burgundy and Alsace, noted Christophe Fanichet. And the arrival of competition would not have shaken the SNCF market according to its CEO. “We have not seen a drop in the number of passengers on our trains with the arrival of competition” from the Italian companies Trenitalia and Spanish Renfe, he noted, explaining that “it is leisure that boosts the rail traffic”. Business travel is still down 10 to 15% compared to pre-Covid, he nevertheless regretted.
International high-speed trains (including Eurostar, Thalys and Ouigo in Spain) at the same time transported 6 million passengers (+4%) and night trains 215,000 rail sleepers (+15%). As for the TER, they saw their attendance increase by 10% in July and August, with spectacular performances in Occitanie, Pays-de-la-Loire and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
1 in two tickets sold for less than 45 euros?
Asked about the price of TGVs, which is often considered high, Christophe Fanichet pointed out that one out of two leisure tickets was sold this summer for less than 45 euros. One in two travelers used an Avantage card or took a low-cost TGV Ouigo, according to him. If the rules for calculating the price of tickets with “yield management” (prices increasing as the train fills up) have not been modified, “the price increase curve has been anticipated by eight days” because the French prepared their trips earlier, he explained.
SNCF Voyageurs has increased the price of TGV tickets by 5% on average this year, while its costs have increased by 13%, recalled Christophe Fanichet. “It is still too early to talk about price increases for next year because the group’s budget has not been finalized,” he added.