No more trains to Spain, Italy or Switzerland: SNCF stops selling tickets for foreign companies

From May 23, the platform will stop selling tickets from foreign companies. MAXPPP ILLUSTRATION – Antonio Ruiz del Árbol

"No trip matches your criteria" : this is the error message that is now displayed when you are trying to book a train ticket to a destination abroad on the SNCF website. From May 23, the platform will stop marketing tickets from foreign companies.

No more Montpellier-Madrid, Paris-Berlin or Lyon-Vienne. As our colleagues from Figaro report, as of May 23, the platform will stop marketing a large number of these international journeys. Itineraries including a train from a foreign company will no longer be sold and it will also not be possible to consult their timetables from sncf-connect.

This measure is "temporary", according to SNCF Voyageurs, which justifies it by "< em>a change to the reservation system" current 2025. But it is no less disappointing.

"This lack of possibility of reserving tickets for the summer raises questions about the importance given to these journeys by the SNCF. The interruption of service prevents travelers from knowing about international journeys, regrets Marc Sahuguet, co-founder of Railee, a European rail comparator, cited by our colleagues. This discourages the use of trains internationally, even though the challenges of decarbonization through the modal shift from plane to train have never been higher important".

What alternatives to SNCF Connect ?

Le Figaro reminds that there are alternatives to SNCF Connect to plan your journeys in France and outside its borders: Trainline, Rail Europe, Kombo, are among them some examples, and have the advantage of selling tickets for hundreds of railway and coach companies across Europe.

If you are a die-hard user of the SNCF platform, it is also possible to book the first part of your trip on French soil via SNCF Connect, then the second part abroad on the website of the local company (Renfe for Spain, CFF for Switzerland, SNCB for Belgium, etc.).

All European train timetables are available on the Rail Planner or DB Navigator applications.