The SNCF is on track to register an “attendance record” this summer, with the level of reserves at the end of July being 10% higher than the already record 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic, the SNCF said on Wednesday. company.
Friday should be “the busiest day of the summer” with 400,000 main line travelers expected, according to SNCF Voyageurs.
SNCF has so far sold more than 18 million main line tickets for July and August, a figure that reaches 22 million when adding the TERs sold on the SNCF Connect site or app, he explained to AFP.
Occasional and weekend TER traffic is also excellent, up nearly 20% from 2019.
The sea as the first destination
As expected, the peak departure weekends of July 8-9-10 (1.3 million passengers on TGV and Intercités), the long weekend of July 14 (2 million) and the great crossover of July 29, July 30 and 31 (1 million, and a third of the full TGV) were or will be particularly busy.
As expected, the most popular destinations are the Mediterranean, the South West and Brittany, being the “top 5” of the most requested cities, like last year, Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille and Avignon. The Grand Est is also popular this year, with notable increases in bookings to Nancy (+56% in one year), Metz (+50%) and Reims (+63%).
“All available trains are in circulation this summer,” the public company has insisted, while many trains are already full or have become very expensive without a discount card.
“More than 6 million places available”
It plans to circulate 800 TGV and Intercités each day, somewhat more than in 2019 (+2% for TGV), ensuring that the train maintenance plan is “robust and adapted to this increase in traffic”.
“There are still more than 6 million seats available on long-distance trains in August,” SNCF Voyageurs added.
The SNCF always advises its travelers to wear a mask, although it is not mandatory.
In addition, the public group will soon add new features to SNCF Connect: the possibility of selecting a stage, payment by Apple Pay or “low price alerts” to be informed of the availability of your trips at a certain price.
The ability to pay for your train ticket online with (dematerialized) holiday vouchers is popular with customers, according to SNCF Voyages.
Source: BFM TV
