Flash sale of 500,000 French TGV train tickets

A flash sale on tickets for half a million high-speed rail seats is being held by the SNCF until Thursday (June 27), covering the busy summer period. 

Tickets cover the months of July and August, and begin at €29 one-way – up to 50% cheaper than non-sale tickets on the same routes. 

The tickets are for high-speed InOui services, and not low-cost Ouigo trains.

There is also the opportunity to upgrade to a first-class ticket starting from €1 if seats remain available.

Tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis, available to those who book as soon as possible.

The discounted tickets can be purchased online at the official SNCFConnect website – there is no separate section to buy tickets on sale, but using the normal search function, with applicable discount tickets being shown. 

Destinations covered by high-speed trains including Bordeaux, Lyon, Paris, Strasbourg, La Rochelle, Rennes, and Nantes, among others. 

Read more: 15 new French destinations for Ouigo low-cost TGV service announced

The number of tickets remaining on trains this summer has not been announced but the SNCF has said that 6.5 million tickets have already been sold for the period. 

This is usually the busiest period for train travel in France, with many people taking much of August off to holiday with their families, especially in rural areas of France.

The more seats are taken on a train, the more prices will rise, although these may still be at a cheaper rate than usual. 

Trainline, an online third-party ticketing site, calculates that people can save up to 40% on their rail travel by booking tickets 17 weeks in advance, compared to only 14% if they book 4 weeks in advance. 

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