SNCF is not just focusing on the Mediterranean, one of its most profitable routes. It is also focusing on the Atlantic axis, with the expected launch of new rail competitors with The Train theoretically in 2027 and Velvet in 2028. The national airline is preparing for the arrival of these possible challengers by regularly increasing its seat capacity, which is generating a steady increase in traffic. This growth will accelerate in the coming years, and particularly in 2026 with the addition of 1.5 million extra seats on the South-West network.
From 14 December, this will include the creation of a daily Paris-Hendaye rotation on the Ouigo TGV, serving Bordeaux, Dax, Bayonne, Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Also under the blue and pink low-cost brand, a third daily return service will be added on the Paris-Rennes route when the winter service is introduced.
In mid-2027, a high-capacity Ouigo Lyon-Bordeaux service with 1,288 seats will be offered via Angoulême, Poitiers, Saint-Pierre-des-Corps and the Massy-TGV station in the Paris region. This journey, which will take around 5 hours, has been judged by SNCF to be more cost-effective than reviving the old Intercités line via Auvergne and Limousin, which was discontinued in 2014. The focus is particularly on the growth of Ouigo, which should account for a third of its TGV traffic by 2030.
The first Inoui Tours-Bordeaux TGV in 2027
While Le Train is aiming to become the first rail company to serve the main cities of the Grand Ouest without passing through Paris, the SNCF is planning to take a step ahead by launching, in 2027, an Inoui TGV between Tours and Bordeaux on weekdays via Poitiers and Angoulême stations. This will provide new opportunities for business travellers, with the first TGV from Paris Montparnasse arriving at Bordeaux Saint-Jean station at 8am, instead of 9am at present.
The return journey from the capital of Gironde on this TGV to Tours will be scheduled for around 8.15pm, compared with 6.26pm at present for the last high-speed train to the capital (arriving at 9.56pm). Timetables will also be extended in 2027 on services south of Bordeaux, with a TGV from Paris arriving 30 minutes earlier on weekdays at Dax, Pau, Lourdes and Tarbes. The same will apply in the evening, with the last departure from Paris pushed back to 7.48pm for services to Niort, Surgères and La Rochelle.
More peak-time seats on the Paris-Bordeaux route
To increase services and traffic, SNCF will also be running double trains this winter at peak times in each direction, on the 8.01am departure from Paris, and the 7.45am and 5.08pm departures from Bordeaux. An additional frequency from Paris will also be added at midday from spring 2026, with a scheduled departure from Montparnasse station at 12.54pm. These TGV Inoui trains will also feature the new Optimum class, which will replace Business 1ère from 8 January.
