A Rail Pass at 49 euros per month, to travel (almost) everywhere in France? ” I’ll take it. With friends, we want to see the sea,” exclaims Léna Henry, 21, a design student in Clermont-Ferrand. “During the week I go to work as a saleswoman. The pass will allow me to travel every weekend to Marseille, Montpellier and perhaps as far as Spain,” she predicts.
This SNCF system, intended for 16-27 year olds, is finally deployed throughout almost all of France, from July 1 to August 31, following the agreement reached at the beginning of April between the State and 12 regions, with the notable exception of Ile-de-France. It will allow travel on the TER and Intercités networks in these regions. “Without Ile-de-France, particularly in this Olympic year, this system is incomplete. But I did not want to block this pass, which will create a draft for train attendance,” summarizes Laurent Wauquiez, president (LR) of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, who was reluctant at first.
The Intercités to Paris are included, but not the TGV
On the platforms of Clermont-Ferrand station, the idea has caught the attention of young travelers, but the details are not all clear. Solène Large, 25, a film technician, accompanied by a friend and her dog, wonders: “Yes, I’m interested, but can we really go to Paris? I understood that it was travel between regions only… » Question sent to the SNCF communications department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: yes, Intercités trains are well included in the Rail Pass, even if Paris is city of arrival or departure. It is only the TER and trains operated by SNCF in the Ile-de-France region, in other words the Transiliens and the RER, which are excluded. Just like the TGVs.
As Clermont-Ferrand is connected to Paris-Austerlitz several times a day by an Intercités line, these trains are included. “Be careful, you have to make a reservation anyway. We cannot board just with the Rail Pass,” explains an SNCF spokesperson.
Well-established competitors
A few minutes before boarding a train for Issoire, Maël Bial, 24, explains that, if he does take an unlimited ticket this summer, it will be the Italian equivalent. “I plan to go to Turin or Milan by bus, it’s cheaper. And I will then travel around Italy with a pass that costs around a hundred euros,” adds the young man.
This Rail Pass is also a way for the SNCF to regain market share on buses and carpooling. Without convincing Solène: “Before, to go to Lyon, I took Flixbus, it costs 10 euros and it’s faster than the train. Now that I am an apprentice, I am entitled to an Illico Solidaire ticket which reduces the train price by 70%, I don’t think I will take the Rail Pass. » An opinion shared by Gabin Chorrier, 19 years old: “Between the TGV OuiGo offers and the buses, I am already limiting my spending. »
At the end of June, the SNCF of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region did not yet have sales figures for this Rail Pass. At the national level, the SNCF aims to sell 700,000 this summer, or 10% of French people in the relevant age group.
