Since Sunday, SNCF has been stepping up the pace on its high-speed links between France and Spain, offering since 11 December two daily return trips by TGV Inoui between Paris-Gare de Lyon and Barcelona Sants stations. Departures are scheduled at 9.38 am and 2.54 pm from Paris, and 10.33 am and 2.32 pm from the Catalan capital. All this with a plethora of stops on offer, in France at Valence, Nîmes, Montpellier, Sète, Agde, Béziers, Narbonne and Perpignan and in Figuères and Girona on the Spanish side.
Since reservations opened last October, the SNCF claims to have already sold 52,000 tickets, with a third daily service planned for the summer season. While this route has every chance of attracting leisure travellers, with fares starting from €39 in second class, it should also attract business customers, with the SNCF playing the ecological card with a carbon footprint claimed to be 65 times lower than that of aircraft and 26 times less than a combustion car.
Pro travellers already on board
On this route tested by Voyages d'Affaires As early as Monday morning, business travellers were already on board, in both 1st and 2nd class, despite the length of the journey: 6 hours 35 minutes to cover the thousand kilometres between Paris and Barcelona. Some of them nevertheless travelled to Valence, Nîmes or Montpellier, which made the journey even shorter.
More than just the carbon footprint, it's the prospect of a journey from one centre to the next, as well as the opportunity to working efficiently on board which were highlighted by the passengers interviewed. This is not always easy, because although the TGV Duplex train used on this journey is equipped with electrical sockets in 2nd, the four-seater saloon seats only have a tablet on the two seats facing each other, on the window side. Not easy to work for the other two passengers with the computer on their lap...
The user-friendliness aspect is emphasised as another advantage of the train, with the possibility of moving around in the train, from one place to another and from one place to another. get together with colleaguesThe staff of one company travelling to Barcelona for a seminar were able to enjoy the new catering offer, including dishes by chef Thierry Marx. Employees of a company on a seminar in Barcelona were able to enjoy the new catering offer, including dishes by chef Thierry Marx.
In terms of services, the train had the free wifi on boardIn addition, the conductors made announcements in French and Spanish, and the cleaning of the train (and its toilets) was reinforced during the journey thanks to the presence of a cleanliness hostess on board. A joint team of French and Spanish police officers checked identity cards and passports as the train approached the border. So it's best to don't forget your identity papers to take this France-Spain route from Paris-Lyon! But also your mask, as it is still compulsory to wear it on Spanish transport to contain the Covid epidemic.
