While student life is always more and more expensive, many young people have to pay several hundred euros to spend the end of year holidays with their loved ones. For some students, returning to their city at Christmas becomes mission impossible. Testimonials.
“Minimum 200 euros for a round trip by train to get home…” The end-of-year holiday period promises to be complicated for Matthis, 22 years old. This student from La Rochelle (17) is originally from Rouen (76), where his family lives. To spend Christmas with his loved ones this year, he currently has no solution : the cost of the journey is too high. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back,” he whispers. “It’s never happened to me before. But not coming back for the holidays really sucks… There will be no one in La Rochelle. “
To reach Rouen, it takes around eight hours. A long journey whose price has only increased in recent years. “Before, I could get away with it for 120 euros a round trip,” says Matthis. “But now, it’s way too expensive.”
Celebrate Christmas… in February
Antoine, 24, was also a victim of the SNCF's dissuasive prices. For the past three years, he has not been able to spend the holidays with his family. A journalism student in Toulouse (31), he had no affordable solution to return to Picardy – almost 18 hours of round trip transport, for a minimum of 200 euros. “Those three Christmases away from my family weren’t easy mentally,” says the young man. For him, prices have really skyrocketed “since 2020”. Before, the trip cost him half as much.
In 2023, train ticket prices increased faster than inflation: on average they weree 7% more expensive than in 2022according to the Transport Regulatory Authority. For Ouigo, it’s even 10% more. The evolution of SNCF prices, however, remains lower than the cumulative inflation observed since 2019.
However, Antoine tried everything to spend the holidays with his family: start in September, monitor prices every week, take Intercités rather than TGV… Despite his reduction card, the only alternative left to him is to see his loved ones in February or May “when there are bridges”.
Prices too high despite the discount card
Matthis, too, made the strategic choice to pay 50 euros to obtain 30% reductions on his trips all year round. “But I wonder if I was right to take the Youth card…” He didn’t use it at all. Despite the discounts, he can never afford to take the train. “It really makes me angry… In just three years, prices have more than doubled,” he says.
“For Christmas, I’m going to try to go home by carpool or by bus,” explains Matthis. A solution that complicates your trip: at the moment, no carpooling is available. “The trips are often offered at the last minute, two weeks in advance. So it's stressful, it's an extra thing to plan for. It's annoying not to be able to tell yourself that you can take trains in advance, at a reasonable price.”
As for the bus journey, “it's a shame, because it takes 12 hours there and 12 hours back… So, I'm wasting a vacation day on transport.” The ticket is, however, less expensive – 80 euros one way. In any case, Matthis hopes to be able to count on the help of his parents: “They try to pay me half.”
Lack of visibility on exam dates
Dorian, 22, is a language student in Toulouse. His challenge: return near Rennes (35) for the holidays. “Already for the All Saints' Day holidays, it was impossible, he explains. The price of the one-way trip started at 200 euros and went to more than 300! And that was looking at more than a week in advance, so not the day for the next day.”
Dorian's other problem is that in mid-November, he still does not know the precise dates and times of his exams, which fall the week of December 16. “As a result, I have difficulty predicting. Prices are higher on weekends. So, for example, if I don't have an exam on Friday and I can leave on Thursday, that's better …”, he calculates. Ultimate difficulty: “Prices move a lot, they can double very quickly.” So the longer he waits, the more he risks facing “exorbitant” amounts.
On the SNCF website, the majority of trains departing from Toulouse and heading to Rennes are already full for the weekend of December 21-22. There are still a few one-way tickets for 150 euros… Others cost up to 270 euros. “The train is a public service, so I don't understand why it's so expensive, laments Dorian. I may have to consider another way to get home, like flying… Which I avoid doing.”
According to Ademe, for a 300 km journey, the plane emits 77.6 kg of CO2 equivalent per person. This is 2.3 times more than the bus, 4.8 times more than a carpool of 4 people and 88 times more than a TGV.
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