From December, travel on Ouigo TGV from Montparnasse
Ouigo, the low-cost TGV service from SNCF, is to begin offering tickets to Bordeaux, Nantes and Rennes from the central station Paris Montparnasse, with bookings for December onwards open from Tuesday (October 3).
Previously, the service had only been available from the less-central stations of Marne-la-Vallée, Massy or Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, in a bid to keep costs down. A normal adult ticket on the Ouigo service costs just €10 per adult, and €5 per child aged 11 or under.
Now, from 7h on October 3, you will be able to purchase tickets online from Montparnasse to Rennes, Nantes and Bordeaux, for journeys between December 10 2017 and July 6 2018.
Tickets to and from the central station will cost a little more - from €16 per adult and €8 per child - as the cost of arriving and leaving for the train company itself is slightly higher.
Ouigo is expecting to see user numbers rise thanks to the new station options, but SNCF is banking on seeing new customers take advantage of it, rather than losing existing TGV users to the cheaper service.
The difference between services is pronounced: Ouigo trains do not have an on-board bar, and their seats are less comfortable than those seen in traditional TGVs.
Similarly, customers must pay to use on-board plugs, and there is a fee for large suitcases, while other SNCF services such as home delivery of suitcases ("Bagages à Domicile SNCF") are not available for Ouigo passengers.
SNCF is expecting to see 3,7 million passengers using Montparnasse in 2018, and 15 million new customers using TGV services in general by 2020.
