railway companies

Despite having clocked up 13.8 million kilometres, the 377-seat TGV No. 4718, which entered service on 3 March 1995, is looking its best in the Landy technicentre in Saint-Denis. For 7 weeks, it has undergone a €2.5 million facelift as part of the SNCF's project to extend the service...

While Starlink is establishing itself as the new standard for in-flight connectivity, SpaceX's technology is not shying away from forays into other areas of travel. Several railway companies have already launched test phases, such as South Western Railway in the UK since last December. This time, Italo is going one step further...

While Ouigo train tickets are now available from travel agencies in general and business agencies in particular, the SNCF's low-cost offer has seen its prices soar since 2017, according to the latest study by the Fédération nationale des Associations d'usagers des transports (Fnaut). A rise in fares that has already been...

Trenitalia will not be spared the closure of Gare de Lyon between 8pm on 30 April and 2pm on 3 May announced by SNCF Réseau a few days ago. The infrastructure manager, a subsidiary of the SNCF group, will be taking advantage of the 1st May bank holiday to carry out various works...

SNCF has announced that it is buying 15 additional TGV M trainsets from Alstom for €600 million. The trains will be delivered from 2029 onwards, and are scheduled to operate between the Belgian Brussels-Midi station and major French cities other than Paris (such as Marseille and Lyon). With this contract, SNCF is raising...

In order to defuse the inevitable criticism of its high ticket prices, SNCF has announced that the planned fare increase for 2026, averaging 1% for its Inoui and Ouigo TGVs, will be lower than inflation, forecast at 1.3% for the coming year. This increase will take effect from 2 January....

Italy's FS Group, the parent company of Trenitalia, has signed a major strategic agreement with the Certares investment fund. The two partners intend to support Trenitalia's international development, particularly its French and British subsidiaries. A joint venture has been set up for this purpose, with Certares also taking a stake...

On the occasion of the announcement of a new stage in the testing of the TGV M, the SNCF has published a new date for the commercial launch of its new-generation train assembled by Alstom. This is now scheduled for 1 July 2026 for the first four test trainsets, after which eight TGVs will be operational...

In the end, there will be no Deutsche Bahn (DB) ICE 3 trains in London as envisaged by the German rail company in 2013. However, DB is reviving its plans to link the British capital to Germany by signing a memorandum with Eurostar to launch London-Frankfurt services in early 2030...

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has given the go-ahead for a service between London King's Cross station and Glasgow Queen Street station in Scotland from 14 December. A subsidiary of the transport operator FirstGroup, the low-cost rail company Lumo will be offering fares on its website at...

In its plans for future competition with Eurostar and possibly other challengers, Virgin Trains has just taken a serious option. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has just granted it the right to use the Temple Mills maintenance workshop located to the north-east of London's St. Pancras station, which until now had been used by Eurostar...

Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave recently told us that the order for new high-speed trains was well under way. This has now been achieved with the signing of an initial tranche of 30 trainsets with the manufacturer Alstom. Twenty more should follow to reach the target of a renewed fleet of 50 high-speed trains...

After the overhaul of its uniforms, does Eurostar still have plans for the merger with Thalys? Gwendoline Cazenave - We have completed the process after merging the teams of the two companies, creating a new logo, introducing new travel classes throughout our network and...

It's fashion week in Paris, and Eurostar didn't miss the chance to present its new uniforms at Paris-Nord station on Tuesday. At 1pm on Tuesday, around twenty members of its on-board staff took to the catwalk in one of its trains positioned along track 2...

"Business travel is the mirror of the current economic climate and of business confidence," says Christophe Roth, Associate Director - BU Expertises Conseil, EPSA Group. According to the 15th edition of his barometer, unveiled in partnership with the IFTM trade show, the sector is not doing all that badly in an environment that is...

How would you sum up the summer, particularly with regard to the new Paris-Marseille service? Fabrice Toledano - We've had a very positive summer. Firstly on the operational side, because we launched the Paris-Marseille service on schedule in mid-June and added a Paris-Lyon frequency before the summer period. In terms of results...

Rail projects are multiplying in Europe. These include a future direct line between London and Berlin. An agreement to this effect was signed on 17 July between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Under the terms of the agreement, the two governments will work together to remove the legal and logistical obstacles...

September is already shaping up to be a chaotic month on the social front, and business travellers will soon have to contend with several areas of turbulence. On Wednesday, three unions met to call a strike for 18 September: CGT-Cheminots, UNSA-Ferroviaire and CFDT-Cheminots. In a press release, the CFDT-Cheminots warned: "Our...

The SNCF is not alone in reviewing its MICE offer for companies and travel agencies specialising in the organisation of professional events. Its subsidiary Eurostar is doing the same, benefiting from an enhanced rail offer since its merger with Thalys last year. The first advantage of the new system is the lower fare, with the cross-Channel rail company providing...

Getlink, the Channel Tunnel operator, was campaigning last year for the arrival of new operators on its lines. Now it has been served, with so many applicants lining up at the entrance to the Channel to break Eurostar's monopoly. After Evolyn, in association with Trenitalia, positioned for 2026, and Virgin Trains expected in 2030, it is now the turn of Eurostar...