A few hours before the entry into force of a new confinement in sixteen departments including Île-de-France, many trains between Paris and Occitanie or New Aquitaine are full.
Is this the sign of a vast exodus of Ile-de-France residents a few hours from the entry into force of the new one-month confinement in Île-de-France? Many TGVs from Paris to Toulouse and the South-West in general are full. However, the school holidays are over for all zones.
According to a statement made on the SNCF site at 6 a.m. this Friday morning, a majority of direct trains or with a Paris / Toulouse connection are full for this Friday, March 19. This is the case for the TGV at 7.14 a.m., 9:52 a.m., 10.52 a.m., 1:52 p.m., 2:52 p.m., 6:52 p.m., 7:52 p.m., the Intercités at 10:21 p.m. and the bus that leaves at 10:30 p.m. from Austerlitz station.
There remained, at 6 o’clock this morning, half a dozen trains still open for reservation – TGV or Intercités – at prices of 100 to 130 euros on average one way for a person without a reduction card.
The situation is identical between Paris and Montpellier with an arrival at the Saint-Roch station in the city center or at the Sud de France station. Fewer than five trains were still available at 6 a.m. this morning. Same phenomenon between Paris and Bordeaux Saint-Jean station.
The TGV Paris / Toulouse are full this Friday.
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Parisians in Brittany from Thursday evening
Occitania is not the only region affected by this phenomenon. Many TGVs are full for the day to Brittany. The trains to Brest, Vannes, Saint-Malo or Quimper are almost all full, indicates The Telegram. From Thursday evening, crowded trains arrived from Paris at Vannes station, according to our colleagues.
Red vests as reinforcement
To cope with the high traffic at its Parisian stations – in particular the Montparnasse station in the south-west direction, the SNCF will mobilize its red vests as for the big departures on summer holidays. The company has appealed for its red vests for an “affluence operation before containment”, indicates RTL.
Also according to the radio, all TGV, InOui, OUIGO, Intercités and TER tickets in correspondence are again exchangeable and refundable free of charge until the time of departure until April 19.
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