Passenger train services • Main line services / Ticketing • High speed Rail • France • Ouigo SNCF
➤ See also: AVE (Renfe) – Avlo (Renfe) – Eurostar (since 2024) – Frecciarossa – ICE – InOui – Iryo – Lyria – NTV-Italo
➤ See also: High speed train in France – High speed train in Germany – High speed train in Italy – High speed train in Japan – High speed train in Taïwan – Economics
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Key points
- A brand created to counter the rise of liberalised long‑distance coaches ;
- An in‑house setup designed to avoid competing with internal services ;
- A gradual ramp‑up over time, reaching up to 50% of all TGVs in France
On this page
Summary
Ouigo, launched by SNCF in 2013, applies low‑cost principles to high‑speed rail in order to cut operating expenses and attract price‑sensitive leisure travellers. Tickets are sold mainly online, boarding checks are carried out before access to the platform, luggage allowances are limited, and trains are configured at high density. Together, these measures make an Ouigo seat around 50% cheaper to produce than a standard TGV seat. The trains run up to 13 hours a day and are maintained exclusively at night.
Ouigo remains an internal service within Voyages SNCF, with adapted working conditions but no separate employment status. It complements TGV inOui: inOui focuses on peak‑time business travel, while Ouigo targets off‑peak leisure demand. This dual strategy boosts overall profitability.
Since 2015, the network has expanded significantly, gradually adding Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Nice, Toulouse, Alpine destinations, Perpignan, Toulon and later Hendaye, with further routes planned for 2027. The brand also exists in Spain as Ouigo España, alongside a subsidiary called OSLO, which operates non‑TGV conventional Ouigo services.
| COMPANY TYPE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name: | Ouigo | |
| Subsdiary/Branding from: | SNCF Voyageurs | |
| Country of registration: | France | |
| Year founded (under this name): | 2013 | |
| Sector: | Passengers long distance | |
| Investor(s) / Owner: | French state via SNCF Group | |
| Headquartered at: | Saint-Denis (Paris) | |
| Management of infrastructure: | no | |
| Management of stations: | no | |
| ACTIVITIES | ||
| Regional & local traffic: | no | |
| Long distance traffic: | yes | |
| Freight traffic: | no | |
| Traction: | In house | |
| Urban transport: | no | |
| Leasing: | no | |
| Infrastructure works: | no | |
| Rolling stock maintenance: | In house |
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Main line • High speed Rail • France • Lexical