The itinerary is identical, as is the departure date and time.
And yet, on the same cross-border train journey, the price difference can be significant depending on whether you do your research on SNCF Connect or its foreign equivalents.
The gaps are particularly glaring on the Franco-German connections provided by SNCF TGVs in collaboration with Deutsche Bahn between Paris, Stuttgart and Frankfurt.
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On social networks, with supporting screenshots, train regulars regularly share comparisons between the reservation sites of the French and German companies.
“
One day, you will have to explain to me why a Paris-
Berlin journey
costs three times more on the SNCF website than on the Deutsche Bahn website for the SAME TRAIN
,” asks X @MerciCitron, used to crossing the continent by rail.
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The French site systematically more expensive
For a departure on Tuesday March 2, a Paris-Berlin is sold for €266 on SNCF Connect (1).
The same journey on the same date and at the same time is offered at €57.90 on the DB website (2) and on the Trainline comparator (3).
Screenshots of SNCF Connect, DB and Trainline
A simple simulation (carried out on February 2, 2024) allows us to see these differences which range from one to five depending on the dates.
For a departure on Tuesday March 2, the Paris-Berlin one-way ticket costs €266 in second class on SNCF Connect.
This same 8h13 journey including a connection is sold at €57.90 by DB and the Trainline comparator, four times cheaper.
Regardless of the German station of arrival and the departure date, the French site is systematically the most expensive.
These differences also exist on journeys to countries other than Germany.
Towards Belgium, for example, the 2h14 journey between Lille and Antwerp with a connection is offered at €28.90 one way in second class on SNCF Connect, compared to €21.70 on the Belgian Railways website ( SNCB).
Furthermore, within Spain and Italy, only the most flexible rates are on sale;
Connecting to the Renfe or Trenitalia sites allows you to find cheaper tickets on, for example, a Barcelona-Madrid or a Milan-Rome.
We are also surprised that SNCF Connect sells Renfe tickets, and not those of Ouigo Spain, the subsidiary of the French railway group...
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Abroad, SNCF Connect does not display reduced fares
Same observation on a Franco-Belgian journey.
For a last minute departure, a Lille-Antwerp is sold for €28.90 on SNCF Connect (1), compared to €21.70 on SNCB.
SNCF Connect and SNCB screenshots
How can such discrepancies be explained?
In the case of Franco-German journeys, SNCF Voyageurs acknowledges offering “
a more limited fare offer because we do not have access to the entire DB fare range and its reduced prices.
This can therefore lead to price differences on our various distribution channels, of which SNCF Connect is a part
.”
These reduced prices correspond to the Super Sparpreis Europa rates (neither exchangeable nor refundable) and Sparpreis Europa (refundable with penalties).
Respectively sold at €79.90 and €88.90, they are marketed by DB and third-party sellers such as Trainline or Omio... but not by SNCF Connect.
The latter “
only sells the highest rate, the one that offers the greatest flexibility.
But even on this price, the SNCF remains more expensive than the DB because it applies a commission
,” observes Marc Sahuguet, co-founder of Trainscanner, a platform which wants to facilitate the search for rail routes in Europe.
"
It drives me crazy.
I regularly book Paris-Berlin tickets.
Systematically, SNCF Connect offers an overpriced 'flexible fare', which can cause the ticket to be 2, 3 or even 4 more expensive than on the DB website
", annoys @tgvpix on X.
To add absurdity to absurdity, the ticket for the foreign part (in our example, the German train from Frankfurt to Berlin) is not issued in the form of a QR code: it must necessarily be collected from a terminal in France or at an SNCF counter.
Enough to embarrass passengers who have not paid attention to the small lines...
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Favor the official website of the companies
At a time when more and more travelers are ready to cross borders by train, particularly for ecological reasons, these price differences do not help people get through the process and sow confusion.
The reason is a lack of information on the different means of reserving tickets abroad.
“
When they think of trains, many French people only refer to SNCF Connect.
However, at the mere sight of high prices, they risk simply giving up the train in favor of the plane, unaware that other distribution channels exist
,” regrets Marc Sahuguet.
The French company tells us that “
discussions are underway with DB to see to what extent the site and the application could offer their entire price range, as is possible for other distribution channels
”.
In the meantime, booking directly on the official website of the railway operators (Renfe in Spain, Trenitalia or Italo in Italy, CFF in Switzerland, etc.) remains the best way to benefit from the entire range of prices.
Not to mention that this offers many other advantages, such as being able to select your seat on a map, whereas third-party platforms only allow you to choose one preference (window or aisle side, isolated seat, etc.).
In addition, official sites generally offer more information on the comfort and services offered on board the train.
Finally, in the event of a problem during the trip (compensation in the event of delay, support following a missed connection, etc.), after-sales service is facilitated by the absence of an intermediary.
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