Traveling by train between Paris and Toulouse during the Ascension Bridge is reserved for people who have anticipated a lot and agreed to pay the high price. Very few SNCF TGVs run on this route, even though demand is high. For what ?
The time has come to prepare for departure for many French men and women. By taking only one day off, Friday May 10, 2024, it is possible to take advantage of a long 5-day Ascension Bridge, from Wednesday 8 to Sunday 12. To travel on this occasion, the train is acclaimed. SNCF ticket sales for this bridge began at the end of January, a little over 3 months before the deadline. To get to Toulouse from Paris, you had to get there as soon as it opened.
Advertisement
On May 8, a single direct TGV INOUI train between Paris and Toulouse is offered, at 7:04 a.m. To return, on May 12, only 3 TGV INOUI can travel between Toulouse and Paris. If we opted for the 4:17 p.m. train, from the day sales opened, the bill amounted to €258 (€129 per journey), at the standard rate. Both trains quickly became full in the weeks that followed.
As shown in the graph below, these journeys are full from February 28 for the outward journey, and from February 14 for the return.
Note that a reservation with the Avantage card allows you to save around 30% of the ticket price, or a total of €178 to be paid when sales open for this round trip.
Toulouse – Paris: a popular TGV line, but under construction right for Ascension
Why is it so complicated to book a round trip between Paris and Toulouse during this period? “ Toulouse is one of the most popular TGV destinations », answers SNCF Voyageurs. However, this highly demanded line is affected by work carried out by SNCF Réseau. On Tuesday May 7, the first arrangements of the future LGV between Toulouse, Bordeaux and Dax has started. The objective of this work is ultimately to increase the number of daily trains.
Advertisement
The SNCF Connect website specifies this when we do a search: “ From May 8 at the beginning of the afternoon to May 12, 2024 at the end of the morning, the TGV Paris <> Toulouse will not run between Bordeaux and Toulouse. Replacement coaches will be put in place between Agen and Toulouse. »
As a result, finding a seat on a train on the Paris – Toulouse axis during the May 8 bridge is almost impossible, unless you have jumped on the seats on sale as soon as they open (and have agreed to pay a lot for them ). As pointed out our colleagues from France 3 Occitanie, traffic is thus greatly reduced. Even the few trains offered with a connection are full.
The calendar is therefore rather poorly chosen for travelers. The SNCF could, however, expect its customers to rush to try to reserve a train for this long May 8 bridge.
Paris-Toulouse are no better at Christmas
However, the Paris-Toulouse journeys are regularly the subject of criticism. In “normal” times, the amount is high and the journey long – part of the journey was done at reduced speed between Bordeaux and Toulouse. However, in times of tension, journeys also suffer the most.
During our similar survey, carried out over the Christmas period, we observed a similar trend: Paris-Toulouse were the quickest to fill up, and among the most expensive trips in France.
“ The most popular destinations are, as traditionally: Brittany, the Rhône-Alpes region, the South-West, Provence and the East of France », We were told at the time.
All the news about SNCF trains