While SNCF refuses to sell its competitors' offers on SNCF Connect (see box), the railway company is opening up internationally by allowing travellers to book German and Swiss trains on its platform following agreements reached with Deutsche Bahn and CFF, Swiss Federal Railways. This partnership provides access to over 200 cities in Germany and around a hundred in Switzerland, with destinations served by long-distance ICE trains in Germany and by regional DB trains in Germany and InterRegio and RegioExpress trains in Switzerland. The aim is to make train travel easier for French customers, particularly for cross-border journeys.
SNCF Connect also sells tickets in 2nde What about itera class, SNCF discount cards and season tickets not working on eligible trains, however. On a connecting journey across the France-Germany or France-Switzerland rail networks, the Liberté card used by business travellers will thus only apply to SNCF trains: TGV INOUI, Intercités, TER and TGV Lyria under certain conditions… Likewise, discount cards offered by DB and CFF are not supported on SNCF Connect.
More expensive fares on SNCF Connect compared to the DB website
In this way, SNCF Connect facilitates connections between these partner networks, as with this Paris-Dresden journey tested on the platform for travel on 17 July. It includes a Paris-Frankfurt on TGV Inoui and then a Frankfurt-Dresden on ICE, for a total cost starting from €189.49 in second class and €214.89 in first.era non-changeable class and €408.40 for a changeable ticket. Regularly criticised on this point, SNCF Connect is marketing fares that are still higher for the same journey than those shown by the German company, since this route on the same day is offered on the DB website from €119.99 in 2nd class and €133.99 in 1st class for the first departure of the day at 7:16 am. Similarly, the direct Munich-Hamburg ICE departure at 7:17 am on July 17th is marketed at €85.49 in second class and €96.89 on SNCF Connect, but at €79.99 and €89.99 respectively on int.bahn.de.
