French train operator SNCF's Christmas tickets sale starts
French rail operator SNCF's website and app both overloaded as customers rushed to book their rail journeys home for Christmas in the latest ticket sale.
Rail users looking to head home for Christmas are having to wait to book tickets, after French train operator SNCF opened up its sale of tickets over the festive period on Wednesday, October 4th.
SNCF high-speed train tickets typically become available about three months in advance.
But tickets for the Christmas and New Year period are now on sale.
However, on the morning that the tickets went on sale, the SNCF Connect website was saturated with customers looking to book early tickets. The homepage warned Internet users: "There is a bit of a wait, many of you want to buy your train tickets, please renew your search in a few moments."
The app, too, struggled to cope with the number of people looking to book tickets. “The SNCF Connect site and app have seen exceptional traffic since this morning, well beyond expectations. The teams are mobilised to restore quality service as soon as possible,” the operator told AFP.
TGV InOui (premium high-speed trains) tickets for the period of December 10th to January 9th are available here.
Intercité (classic) train tickets for the same period are available here.
Low-cost OuiGo tickets will be available for an even larger period, from December 10th to July 5th, and can be booked here.
If you are unsure of which kind of train is suitable for your journey (or even just goes where you want it to go), check the SNCF website for further details on prices and itineraries.
Eurostar tickets for the Christmas period are already on sale.
What about the rest of the year?
If you want to book tickets from mid-January 2024 and onwards, you are going to have to wait for a little while (unless you are travelling on a OuiGo train).
Sales for TGV InOui and Intercité services will open progressively for services between January 9th to February 9th.
If however you want to book trains for the February school holidays, you set a reminder for November 15th, which is the date that tickets for TGV InOui and Intercité services will go on sale for the period of February 10th to March 24th.
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Rail users looking to head home for Christmas are having to wait to book tickets, after French train operator SNCF opened up its sale of tickets over the festive period on Wednesday, October 4th.
SNCF high-speed train tickets typically become available about three months in advance.
But tickets for the Christmas and New Year period are now on sale.
However, on the morning that the tickets went on sale, the SNCF Connect website was saturated with customers looking to book early tickets. The homepage warned Internet users: "There is a bit of a wait, many of you want to buy your train tickets, please renew your search in a few moments."
The app, too, struggled to cope with the number of people looking to book tickets. “The SNCF Connect site and app have seen exceptional traffic since this morning, well beyond expectations. The teams are mobilised to restore quality service as soon as possible,” the operator told AFP.
TGV InOui (premium high-speed trains) tickets for the period of December 10th to January 9th are available here.
Intercité (classic) train tickets for the same period are available here.
Low-cost OuiGo tickets will be available for an even larger period, from December 10th to July 5th, and can be booked here.
If you are unsure of which kind of train is suitable for your journey (or even just goes where you want it to go), check the SNCF website for further details on prices and itineraries.
Eurostar tickets for the Christmas period are already on sale.
What about the rest of the year?
If you want to book tickets from mid-January 2024 and onwards, you are going to have to wait for a little while (unless you are travelling on a OuiGo train).
Sales for TGV InOui and Intercité services will open progressively for services between January 9th to February 9th.
If however you want to book trains for the February school holidays, you set a reminder for November 15th, which is the date that tickets for TGV InOui and Intercité services will go on sale for the period of February 10th to March 24th.
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