Why �10 is the New Price for France's Main High-Speed Train

Where: France

March 4, 2013 at 11:19 AM | by jetflyboy | Comments (0)

It was really only a matter of time, but it's finally happened and the world now has some low-cost, high-speed rail options...in France. Have a few Euros in your pocket and need to head from Paris to the French Riviera? Well, it can actually happen now, thanks to Ouigo (pronounced wee-go), a train from the SNCF designed to bring affordable travel to all.

Starting April 3rd, the super-fast TGV train is launching its low-cost tickets from Paris to Lyon, Marseille and Montpellier at an absolute steal of 10 Euros each way. Since there are a few stops in between these cities, a weekend get-away in Provence is not out of the question.

If you have ever flown on a true budget airline, you will see some parallels within the Ouigo details. For example, the main train station is not in Paris. In fact, it's about a 40 minute commuter rail trip outside the city, by Disneyland Paris, at Marne-la-Vall�e.

Also, don't think the 10 Euros will get you anything more than a seat. If you need to charge your devices, that's an extra 2 Euros; some extra baggage will add 5-10 Euros to the ticket price. Make sure you bring your own nibbles for the roughly 3-hour trip south since there is no cafe car when your feeling peckish. Obviously it will be more economical to pack passengers in like sardines.

As expected, the cheap-y prices are a supply and demand equation. The faster the cheap seats sell out, the higher the prices go. A 10 Euro ticket can easily turn into 30 Euros if you wait too long. So if you can plan ahead, you might be able to snag a seat for a few bucks. We would also recommend brushing up on your French, since the website seems to be "'sans Anglais."

[Photo: Ouigo]

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