“The fog persists at the time of booking”. In a study published this Tuesday, the UFC-Que Choisir denounces the opacity of pricesoften variable depending on the sales platform. To arrive at this conclusion, the association analyzed 24 national and international connections and believes that “the obstacles to the use of rail transport remain numerous”.
“Access to information, reservations, transparency of pricing and guarantees of safe arrival at the dock are too often lacking,” she underlined in particular after having highlighted quality of service and punctuality on regional trains (TER).
On the price side, the consumer association denounces “the fog [qui] persists at the time of booking” with prices which may differ for the same train depending on the platforms. “A consumer wishing to book a Paris-Stuttgart journey – a connection jointly operated by SNCF and Deutsche Bahn – will find that the prices displayed on SNCF Connect and on the Deutsche Bahn website are different”, she explains.
“As part of cooperation on cross-border trains between France and Germany, the offer from SNCF Voyageurs and DB is regulated. On the other hand, on journeys in Germany it is completely normal that there may be a difference in the prices offered,” indicated SNCF Voyageurs, justifying these price differences by the fact that “on its distribution channels, SNCF Voyageurs only offers part of the DB fare offer”.
The minimum prices offered differ depending on the platforms
UFC-Que Choisir also noted that the minimum fares offered for a trip on a given day were different. As an indication, the cheapest route for a Montpellier-Madrid is offered at 142.50 euros on Rome2Rio and to 76.99 euros on Trainline and a Paris-Bordeaux ticket costs 55 euros on the SNCF website against 66 euros on the Tictactrip platform.
The company however contests imposing different prices depending on the sales platformsensuring that “all distributors have access to the same prices for SNCF Voyageurs trains”.
Unable to buy a ticket for another company on the SNCF website
Another observation, the association raised the inability to buy a ticket for a company other than SNCF Voyageurs on the SNCF Connect website or application. “The consumer cannot know from this application either the existence of a journey with a connection abroad, nor that of a Paris-Lyon train operated by Trenitalia,” explains UFC-Que Choisir. Asked about this case of the non-distribution of Trenitalia on SNCF Connect, the French railway company did not wish to comment.
