Railway companies France

The Montpellier-Saint-Roch railway station, a glass and steel capital, seduces by its imposing structure and its astonishing practicality. A veritable anthill, every day thousands of people flock to the station to wait for their final destination. From 4.45 a.m. to midnight, TER, TGV, Intercités and Ouigo follow one another in its bowels at a cadenced rhythm, leaving for the most part for Paris, Avignon, Narbonne or Barcelona.

Since 2013, the SNCF has been offering a low-cost formula called Ouigo: low-cost TGVs departing from Marne-la-Vallée, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nîmes and Valence. It has thus become possible to travel by TGV for unbeatable prices. However, in return for these very attractive prices, you will have to comply with a few small constraints: only a few trains per week, late or very early departure times, presence at the platform half an hour before departure, etc.

Tarbes and the Hautes-Pyrénées department are at the crossroads of the mountains, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean coasts, and enjoy an excellent location that attracts a growing number of tourists. The station is well served by the rail network and the site is very busy during the winter and summer seasons. Several TGV, Intercity and sleeper trains connect Paris to Tarbes via Pau and Bordeaux. The TER network also allows to reach some high altitude resorts and the Basque Country.

You can use the SNCF Connect website and app to organize all your journeys. Remember to book your train tickets in advance, to get them at the best price! You can also buy discount cards that are well worth your while: for example, the Avantage Adulte card at €49 gives you a 30% discount on your journeys, plus an additional discount for accompanying children. It usually pays for itself on the very first trip. A more responsible way to travel.

In the Lille area, Tourcoing station is home to Ouigo trains, the famous pink and blue trains! You'll also find a few at Lille-Flandres! The concept is inspired by that of the airlines: tickets printed directly from the website, one cabin bag and one handbag per passenger (additional baggage is optional), no bar car, electrical outlets optional, no refunds (but tickets can be exchanged up to 4 hours before train departure).

A modern and bright station for a beautiful arrival in the center of Annecy. Annecy is served by an average of 5 direct TGV trains (and many others with connections) and is only 3 hours and 42 minutes from the capital from the Gare de Lyon. The train is therefore a fast, comfortable and eco-responsible solution to connect Annecy to Paris. There is a bus station at the exit of the train station to get on a bus that goes to the station. If you want to visit or stay in Annecy, we advise you to rent a bike or to use public transportation.

TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine allows you to adapt the way you travel to your budget, thanks to a range of weekly, monthly or annual season tickets at preferential rates. The MODALIS card (TER, streetcar and bus of the TBC network), for example, offers up to 75% discount on a given journey and unlimited travel. The Avantage Jeune card offers a 30% discount on all journeys, every day, for one year. Telephone service 7 days a week.

Lio is the beautiful name of the regional transportation network. Whatever your age, you can benefit from unbeatable rates! Namely, on the first weekend of each month (except July and August), each trip in the whole Occitanie region is... 1 euro! So go and explore the Toulouse region, reach the mountain paths or the great sites, all without a car! If you travel outside of these periods, alone, with your family or in a group, the TER's global offer always offers super-adjusted fares.

But what is the Passbask? It is simply the Basque coast in complete freedom. A beautiful exchange between the regional council of Aquitaine and the SNCF in partnership with the Euskadi region and Eusko Tren which led to the creation of this Passbask package. It allows you to travel at will from Bayonne to San Sebastian: beaches, surfing, discovery of the old town of San Sebastian, the colorful streets of Petit Bayonne ... It is an opportunity to take a few days off and visit the Basque Country. The train station is located near the city center.

Auch station provides regular TER train connections with Toulouse, via Isle-Jourdain and Colomiers. All other train connections have been cancelled in the Gers. Therefore, the only way to get around the department using public transport is by bus. The station is equipped with an automatic ticket dispenser, a parking lot with 51 spaces and bike racks. The "Accès Train LIO" service for people with disabilities is available free of charge by booking at least 48 hours in advance.

Of all the small lines of the secondary rail network, little has survived. The Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de Provence operates a narrow line, Nice-Digne, which plunges into the hinterland, rises to 1 022 m altitude and crosses sites of all beauty, inaccessible by road, on a spectacular route of 151 km which contains no less than 25 tunnels, 16 bridges and viaducts of stone and 15 metal bridges. It is a real mountain line offering magnificent views.

Why this nickname of Train des Pignes? Opinions are divided on its. For some, it would come from pine pignes that city dwellers report on their Sunday walks. For others, the speed of the train on the coast is so low that travellers can go down and pick up pignes along the road. For others, the coal soot was deposited on the locomotives and made them resemble the bottom of the Italian pots, the Pignates… today, the regular service is provided by blue, modern and comfortable diesel railcars but, some days, the Puget-Théniers-Annot segment is insured by a steam locomotive built in 1909 and maintained by a volunteer association. It derives from painted wood benches of 1892. The vapeur of its six tons of water requires the lighting of the boiler 5 h before departure! This steam train only works on certain dates (check before). Regular service per railcar consists of four trains per day in each direction. This transport is ideal for a walk in the hinterland, but may prefer a departure from Nice-Lingostière station where it will be easier for you to park.

The 3635 is the reference number. To find out about timetables, traffic - delays, offers for many families, to book… You can even have an online counsellor. For information, see also the website www.voyages-sncf.com It allows you to download time sheets, to pay online its ticket and print it home or to know everything about trade cards, offers discovered, new pricing policy with Prem's - 300 TGV destinations with multiple offers. To purchase his ticket at less cost, it is advisable to book «well in advance» - sweet repetition. The person who buys the first time his ticket through the website will then be sent mails offering promotions - you will be désabonne when you wish.

Owned by SNCF, Transilien is the network operating in Paris and the Ile-de-France region. There are 15 lines covering a network of almost 1,300 kilometers criss-crossing the region. Of these 15 lines, 2 are operated with RATP (RER A and B), and some others are tramway lines (4, 11, 12 and 13). If all this seems a bit confusing, it's much simpler when it comes to fares: the regulatory authority, Ile-de-France Mobilités, is responsible for applying a common fare structure, and tickets are readily available.

The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional Council as manager and the SNCF as operator are working together to improve mobility in the region. The TER Internet portal provides information on all the services and benefits: timetables, fares, station network, online purchases, about thirty ticket machines, traffic information, TER + bike, TER + car, student road network, additional services, events and good deals with partners upon presentation of a TER ticket. The site also gives some ideas for outings accessible with the TER.

TGV Lyria offers 3 classes of travel between France and Switzerland: BUSINESS 1re, STANDARD 1re and STANDARD. There's a journey for everyone, with fares to suit every profile. It is worth following the social networks to find out about offers and information on destinations from Paris to Geneva, Lausanne, Basel and Zurich.

For Paris: From the train station of Versailles Building to Paris Montparnasse station. There is also a link between the train station of Versailles Rive Right and Paris Saint-Lazare, which passes through La Défense. Towards the suburbs or farther in the province, trains every quarter of hour for Mantises, Dreux, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Rambouillet and Chartres. The future «tangential» north-south of Cergy-Pontoise in Melun-Senart, passing through Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Massy, and whose section Versailles-Massy is already open. The direct TGV, without going through the capital, towards Lyon (at 2 p. m.) and Avignon (at 4 p. m.) allow for a return to the day. Liaison with Massy allows access to all TGV.

In the heart of the city, La Roche-sur-Yon station offers several services while waiting for your train: Wi-fi, table football, toilets, bookshop, lost and found. The station has a taxi rank and is close to public transport. On the other hand, there is a big problem with the car park, which is undersized and has very tight spaces: not at all practical when you have luggage to take in your vehicle. But luckily, on the other side of the footbridge, there is a second, larger car park.

Terroir and picturesque discoveries are on the program of the train des Pignes which links Nice to Digne. This line offers a journey to the heart of Provence. The company operates a daily service of 6 round trips, all year round and without reservation. Les chemins de fer de Provence provides a link between Nice and Colomars, some 20 times a day. This urban train connects the two towns in 25 minutes and is mainly aimed at school and business travelers.

From the "Centre del Món" TGV station, daily connections with Paris (4 TGV), Lyon (3 TGV), Marseille, Metz, Strasbourg, Lille, Toulouse, Geneva, Brussels, Barcelona (6 daily return trips in 1h20).

From the regional and inter-regionalstation, daily connections with Narbonne, Montpellier, Nîmes, Avignon, Villefranche, Cerbère, etc. by TER or intercités. Since 2015, the "1 Euro Train" system has been applied to all TER trains on certain destinations.