Cheaper but slower… €10 train fare for Paris to Brussels route
Ticket sales are already open for journeys up to the end of March
The slow-but-cheap journeys will connect Paris and Brussels from December 19
Lithuaniakid/Shutterstock
French train company SNCF is to start operating super low-cost trains between Paris and Brussels with tickets starting at just €10 one way. However the journey will take twice as long as Eurostar services.
The SNCF Ouigo service will run in partnership with Belgian train operator SNCB, from December 19.
There will be three return journeys per day between Paris Gare du Nord and Bruxelles-Midi. The trip will take just over three hours one-way, double the time that the Eurostar takes for the same journey.
The trains will also stop at Creil (Oise), Aulnoye-Aymeries (Nord) and Mons in Belgium before arriving in Brussels.
Trains from Paris will depart at:
08:18, arriving in Brussels at 11:21
12:28, arriving at 15:21
19:15, arriving at 22:21.
Trains from Brussels will depart at:
07:38, arriving in Paris at 10:36
13:38, arriving at 16:44
18:38, arriving at 21:35.
Ticket sales open
Tickets will cost from €10 to €59 for a single journey. Children’s tickets will be set at €8 per single journey no matter when they are purchased.
Ticket reservations can be made up to six months in advance.
Ticket sales are already available for the service online on the SNCF Ouigo website as well as via the Trainline and TicTactrip sites and apps. Tickets are available for purchase for journeys up to March 31, 2025.
SNCF and SNCB say that the service is not only cheaper for passengers but also represents a carbon footprint saving compared to making the journey by car.
Read also: SNCF comes fifth in European ranking of best train companies
Olivier Piron, director of international partnerships at SNCB, told Le Figaro: “The carbon footprint of a passenger on board one of our new trains between Brussels and Paris will be seven times less than that of a passenger making the same journey by road [in a combustion car].”
Read also: SNCF launches ‘classic’ Paris to Nantes and Lyon services from €10
Read more: 300,000 train seats on sale at €5 for launch of ‘slow Ouigo’ in France
Launched in 2022, Ouigo ‘classique’ trains are slower services at lower cost than TGV options. They already serve Nantes, Lyon, and Rennes. SNCF states that 3.5 million passengers have already used them since launch.
