SNCF will be undergoing a minor revolution on 14 December when it switches to the Winter 2025-2026 service. Between now and that date, the railway company plans to change the seat numbering on all Inoui TGVs from two to three digits. SNCF is adopting the same numbering system that has been used on its fleet of Ouigo trains since the launch of its low-cost offer in 2013. The carrier justifies this change by the fact that a three-digit numbering " makes it easier to find your way around the vehicle and board faster and more easily ". In particular, SNCF intends to speed up the identification and boarding and alighting of passengers at intermediate stops, where the latter are particularly short.
Similar numbers on double trains
In simple terms, the first digit corresponds to the car number, from 1 to 8. For double trains, for carriages 11 to 18, the number used is the second digit of the carriage number. This means that there is a good chance that people from the second train will board the first... Or vice versa! With the risk of not having time to change trains if departure is imminent or if there is an intermediate stop. Fortunately, SNCF points out that " the car number will always be indicated on the ticket ". The same applies to the top and bottom seats on double-decker trains. The numbering of seats on the trains will also be revised to make them easier to find and to eliminate the " the feeling of random numbers "says SNCF. From now on, the numbers will be listed in ascending order from left to right as you enter the carriage. From 1 to 39 in the lower section for double-decker trains, then from 40 in the upper halls.
A numbering change that also affects international lines
The changeover of trains to this new numbering system will begin on 14 December and will be completed by the end of 2025. It will also affect SNCF's international lines, with TGV Lyria trains running between France and Switzerland, TGV Inoui trains to Germany (with the exception of DB ICEs), Barcelona in Spain, Milan in Italy, Luxembourg and Brussels from several provincial towns. This change will of course already be incorporated into the future TGV M trains, currently undergoing testing, when they are gradually integrated into the fleet from 2026.
