The marvels of French rail travel are a myth, says Ross Clark. Travelling by TGV is a rip-off — and the customer service is appalling
Which Ryanair passenger, left fuming by lousy service and lashed by Michael O’Leary’s tongue, hasn’t opined that, if only they had more money and a bit of extra time, they could glide to their holiday destination on a French TGV? Why do we insist on subjecting ourselves to the torture of budget airlines when down there, at ground level, we could be travelling on the fastest and most envied railway system in the world and one that is, according to the marketing bumf, ‘high-speed and hassle-free’?
I’ll give you a good reason: because the customer service on French Railways (SNCF) is no better than on Ryanair. The only difference is that SNCF is several times the price. If you are tempted by the TGV, my advice is to go and admire it from one of the many autoroute service stations which it passes. Try to travel on it, however, and you will appreciate the French railway system for what it is: a wonderful vanity project for the French government which doesn’t give a damn for the passengers.
I very nearly did drive to the Alps, having been quoted a price of £600 for a return train ticket for me and my 15-year-old son — via Rail Europe, the UK marketing arm of SNCF. But by juggling the days and taking the risk of inflexible tickets (which become invalid if you miss the train named on the ticket), I managed to get the cost down to £376 — not cheap, but a luxury we could just about afford.
The one thing I wasn’t going to do, however, was risk missing our connections in Paris.
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