Ouigo

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Ouigo logo

Ouigo (/ wi'go /) is a brand of the French state railway SNCF for low-cost train services. TGV trains have been running under this brand at low prices since 2013 , initially between Marne-la-Vallée (near Paris) and south-east France. With the timetable change in December 2015, the offer was tripled to 50 connections and the network was expanded to include connections to the north and west of France. Since December 2017, the Paris-Montparnasse train station has served a stop within Paris for the first time. and expanded in the following years. In mid-2019, 39 train stations across France will be served; the routes currently offered are shown on the German-language homepage.

In 2017, SNCF began offering journeys with its classic TGV trains under the TGV inOui brand . Under the motto "SNCF says OUI", the company has added OUIbus to its long-distance bus service and the OUIcar ride- sharing offer . At the end of 2017, online ticket sales on the web changed from voyages-sncf.com to OUI.sncf .

concept

A TGV duplex train with "Ouigo" paintwork
Ticket check-in at Avignon TGV train station

The concept of Ouigo trains is based on the idea of low-cost airlines in air traffic ( e.g. Ryanair , Easyjet ) and includes the following points:

  • Tickets can only be purchased online or via the mobile app. It is not possible to buy from machines or ticket offices. Tickets must be purchased at least four hours before the start of the journey. The tickets themselves consist of a QR code that can either be printed out or displayed on your own mobile phone. Passengers must be at the station 30 minutes before departure.
  • For the Ouigo traffic, modified TGV duplex trains are used, which only have a second travel class with 2 + 2 or 3 + 1 seats. The trains do not have a dining car. With these modifications, up to 634 passengers can be carried in one train - 20 percent more than in conventional TGV trains. The trains usually run as a double unit and thus offer 1268 seats.
  • The trains each provide daily services of up to 3800 km, twice as much as a conventional TGV. Maintenance takes place at night in the “Technicentre” Lyon-Gerland.
  • Only a comparatively small piece of luggage (35 cm × 55 cm × 25 cm) and a piece of hand luggage measuring 27 cm × 15 cm × 36 cm are included on the journey. For additional or larger pieces of luggage, a surcharge must be paid. However, this means that passengers can also take complete, packaged bicycles with them.
  • Initially, the Ouigo trains only stopped at remote stations with lower station fees of the SNCF Réseau . In the greater Paris area, for example, only the Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy train station was served , the Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport train station instead of Lyon-Part-Dieu, the Tourcoing train station on the Belgian border instead of Lille or Roubaix . However, there have been connections from Paris-Montparnasse train station since 2017 and connections from Paris-Est were added in June 2018 . Since December 2018, connections to southern France and the Côte d'Azur have been offered from Paris-Gare-de-Lyon .
  • Since the tickets are checked when boarding, only a minimum of four employees are used to look after a train.
  • Customer service is severely limited. The only way to contact Ouigo is through the web form on their own homepage. There is no phone number or email address that customers can contact.

development

From April 2, 2013, TGV trains operated under the Ouigo brand between Marne-la-Vallée (near Paris) and south-east France. With the timetable change in December 2015, the offer was tripled to 50 connections and the network was expanded to include connections to the north and west of France. The new offers connect Tourcoing (on the Belgian border, in the North Department ) via ( Roissy-CDG Airport Terminal 2 ), Massy TGV train station , Le Mans , Angers with Nantes . Since December 2017, the Paris-Montparnasse train station has served a stop within Paris for the first time. With Strasbourg , Metz , Nancy and Colmar , destinations in eastern France were added in 2018. Toulon , Les Arcs Draguignan , Saint-Raphaël , Cannes , Antibes and Nice on the Côte d'Azur have been served since December 2018 .

Train stations

Two TGV “Dasye” in Ouigo livery on the way from Marseille to Paris, near Montboucher-sur-Jabron

The Ouigo trains stop at the following stations: Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy , Lyon Saint-Exupéry , Lyon-Part-Dieu , Lyon-Perrache , Valence , Nîmes , Montpellier , Avignon , Aix-en-Provence and Marseille .

With the timetable change in December 2015, the new destinations Nantes , Angers Saint-Laud, Le Mans , Rennes , Tourcoing (near Lille ), TGV Haute-Picardie station , Paris Roissy Airport (CDG) and Massy TGV station were added. In mid-2019, 39 train stations across France will be served.

With the timetable change in December 2015, four new TGV units were externally redesigned to become Ouigo trains. The interior design was taken over unchanged. In December 2016, the range and the vehicle fleet were further expanded.

From To Weekly trips
Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy Marseille Saint-Charles 14th
Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy Montpellier Saint-Roch 8th
Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy Lyon-Part-Dieu 6th
Marseille Saint-Charles Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy 17th
Marseille Saint-Charles Lyon-Perrache 1
Montpellier Saint-Roch Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy 7th
Montpellier Saint-Roch Lyon-Perrache 1
Lyon-Perrache Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy 4th
Lyon-Perrache Marseille Saint-Charles 4th
Lyon-Perrache Tourcoing 7th
Lyon-Perrache Nantes 1
Tourcoing Nantes 6th
Tourcoing Rennes 7th
Touring Lyon-Part-Dieu 7th
Rennes Lyon-Part-Dieu 1
Rennes Tourcoing 6th
Rennes Paris-Montparnasse-Vaugirard 7th
Nantes Tourcoing 7th
Nantes Paris-Montparnasse-Vaugirard 14th
Paris-Montparnasse-Vaugirard Nantes 14th
Paris-Montparnasse-Vaugirard Rennes 7th
Paris-Montparnasse-Vaugirard Bordeaux-Saint-Jean 14th
Bordeaux-Saint-Jean Paris-Montparnasse-Vaugirard 14th
Paris-Est Colmar 7th
Paris-Est Metz 7th
Paris-Est Nancy 7th
Paris-Est Strasbourg 14th
Colmar Paris-Est 7th
Metz Paris-Est 7th
Nancy Paris-Est 7th
Strasbourg Paris-Est 14th

The routes used at the start of the brand ( LGV Sud-Est , LGV Rhône-Alpes and LGV Méditerranée ) are among the most popular on the French high-speed network.

Prices

As described above, the Ouigo concept consists of saving as much costs as possible in order to keep the fare low. Part of the cheap concept is the waiver of 1st class . Tickets for adults vary between 10 and 115 euros, depending on the route and time of purchase. The following price regulations also apply: Children under the age of twelve pay five euros regardless of the route. One piece of luggage and one piece of hand luggage are included in the fare. Additional baggage surcharges vary between five euros per piece of luggage (directly when purchasing the ticket), ten euros (online, after purchasing the ticket, but before departure) and 20 euros (directly at the train station). Reservations for seats with sockets are possible subject to availability and incur an additional charge of € 2. Accompanying children under the age of 12 receive free access to an electrical outlet if the option is booked by at least one adult. If a passenger chooses a seat with a socket, the fee must be paid by all passengers traveling together from the age of 12, because the sockets are grouped in the respective car. Travel information via SMS costs € 1. There are also small group tariffs.

Reactions

The reactions to the offer from the SNCF were mixed. Between the announcement of the offer (February 19, 2013) and the first trips (April 2, 2013), 200,000 tickets were sold and the Ouigo homepage was visited two million times. Travel journalist Simon Calder describes Ouigo as a third-class trip. Bruno Charrier, chairman of the French trade union confederation Confédération générale du travail , described Ouigo as “trains for the poor”. Concerns have also been raised about the short turnaround times in Marne-la-Vallée, Marseille and Montpellier. These are sometimes only 25 minutes, on average 45. At low temperatures, TGVs are often delayed by up to 40 minutes, which could lead to massive delays and train cancellations. In addition, there is no reserve TGV available.

According to press reports from the end of December 2013, the trains are on average 60 percent busy. In contrast, more than 70 percent are common in TGV traffic. Around half of the customers switched from ordinary TGVs to the Ouigo offer. In May 2014, the general manager of Ouigo, Valérie Dehlinger, announced that the capacity utilization of the Ouigo trains had risen to 85 percent since the beginning of 2014. At the beginning of 2017 the capacity utilization of the Ouigo trains was 88 percent and thus 20 percentage points higher than the classic TGV.

See also

  • IZY , a cheap brand from Thalys. In contrast to Ouigo, the IZY trains go to large stations, but on slower routes.
  • Avlo , low-price brand for high-speed trains from Renfe

Individual evidence

  1. ^ France: The Ouigo goes to the centers of Paris and is more expensive. In: LokReport. October 7, 2017, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Toutes les destinations OUIGO
  3. ↑ Homepage with routes
  4. ^ A b France: SNCF has split TGV offers under the OUI brand. In: LokReport. May 31, 2017, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b c Low-cost TGV also very popular with business travelers. (No longer available online.) DMM, May 13, 2013, archived from the original on April 8, 2014 ; Retrieved June 15, 2013 .
  6. ↑ a b c d Christian Schubert: With the cheap TGV for ten euros to the Mediterranean. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , February 19, 2013, accessed on June 15, 2013 .
  7. ↑ a b c d SNCF cheap TGV before the start . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International . No. 4 , 2013, p. 170-171 .
  8. ↑ Quand dois-je souscrire à l'option Bagage? FAQ. In: ouigo.com. Retrieved on August 23, 2019 (French, additional baggage is limited to 2 meters and 30 kg).
  9. ↑ a b Ouigo pose ses valises à Gare de l'Est. (pdf) In: Press release. SNCF, June 26, 2018, accessed on August 29, 2018 (French).
  10. ^ A b SNCF: of the TGV Ouigo au départ de Paris-Gare de Lyon en décembre. Le Parisien , September 11, 2018, accessed October 17, 2018 (French).
  11. ^ Rail industry news in brief - December 2015. Railway Gazette, December 13, 2015
  12. ↑ More Ouigo trains in France . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International . No. 2 , 2016, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 84 .
  13. ↑ Je souhaite comprendre les tarifs OUIGO ouigo.com, accessed on January 27, 2016
  14. ^ J'ai une place standard. Comment bénéficier d'une place avec prize ou tranquille? FAQ. In: ouigo.com. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Comment puis-je savoir si mon OUIGO est à l'heure ou a du retard? FAQ. In: https://www.ouigo.com . Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
  16. ↑ David Briginshaw: Ouigo low-cost TGV service off to a good start. April 4, 2013, accessed June 15, 2013 .
  17. ↑ Simon Calder: Welcome to troisieme clase. Retrieved April 11, 2013 .
  18. ↑ Quand la CGT dénonce le TGV low cost Ouigo de la SNCF. Challenges, February 19, 2013, accessed June 15, 2013 .
  19. ↑ International reports . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International . No. 2 , 2014, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 76 .
  20. ^ Ouigo à la conquête de l'Ouest. (No longer available online.) MobiliCités, May 27, 2014, archived from the original on May 30, 2014 ; Retrieved June 29, 2014 (French).
  21. ^ Lionel Steinmann: La SNCF va quintupler but offre de TGV low cost. In: lesechos.fr. Les Echos, March 23, 2017, accessed on August 23, 2019 (French).

Web links

Commons : Ouigo  - collection of images, videos and audio files