TGV: Trenitalia opens ticket sales for new Paris-Marseille route
The Italian operator has announced competitive prices for its summer journeys
Trenitalia’s iconic red trains will start serving Paris-Gare-de-Lyon to Marseille Saint-Charles from June 15
NGCHIYUI/Shutterstock
Italian train operator Trenitalia has opened ticket sales for summer train journeys between Paris and Marseille.
The operator has been competing with French company SNCF on the Paris-Lyon-Milan route for the past three years, and will begin its Paris-Marseille services from June 15.
There will be four return trips daily, from Paris-Gare-de-Lyon to Marseille Saint-Charles, with intermediate stops at Lyon Saint-Exupéry, Avignon TGV, and Aix-en-Provence TGV.
The journey time will be three hours, 20 minutes.
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Competitive prices
Tickets for seats for Paris-Marseille trains scheduled for this summer opened on Tuesday, March 11.
Early bookers will be able to benefit from competitive prices, with a standard class trip starting at €27, and a business (equivalent to first class) ticket starting at €37.
“These are attractive, very competitive prices, but this is not a low-cost service,” said Marco Caposciutti, CEO of Trenitalia France.
“We are sticking to the same strategy of offering the best value for money.”
Fabrice Toledano, Trenitalia marketing director, said: “We will have dynamic pricing, which will change depending on how full the train is.” He pointed out that SNCF also operates a dynamic pricing strategy.
Ticketing and rail company Trainline has welcomed the new service.
It stated: “The Paris-Marseille service by Trenitalia is a further step in the opening up of the rail market to competition in France, which is helping to lower prices and increase the number of passengers on these lines.”
Trenitalia is not the only company to compete against SNCF with services to and from French stations, since the TGV network was opened up at the end of 2021.
Read more: Spanish ‘TGVs’ to extend service to link Paris to Lyon and Marseille
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Spanish company Renfe also operates services between Madrid and Marseille, and between Barcelona and Lyon.
