SNCF is significantly boosting its services to the South-West. The goal is clear: to streamline a very busy route, improve the schedule flexibility, and offer more options to travelers in the South-West, without opening new connections, but by optimizing train cars, frequencies, and schedules.
Ouigo High-Speed arrives on the Basque Coast
The first step in this enhancement is the arrival, starting December 14, of Ouigo High-Speed between Paris and the Basque Coast. This low-cost service will offer a daily round trip starting at €19, featuring trains with 1,288 seats compared to the current 500, which means 25% more capacity to Hendaye and the Basque Coast stations.
Paris–Bordeaux: 2,000 additional seats per day
In 2026
The heart of the announcement concerns the LGV Atlantique. Starting in spring 2026, SNCF will double some trains during rush hours (7:45 AM and 5:08 PM departing from Bordeaux, 8:01 AM from Paris). A new mid-day frequency, departing Paris at 12:54 PM, will complement the service.
These adjustments represent 2,000 additional seats per day, which is a 10% increase on a line that is currently at full capacity. “We’re giving some breathing room on the traffic between Paris and Bordeaux,” shares Franck Dubourdieu, CEO of TGV Atlantique, mentioning that the service is now “well above initial plans.”
A future round trip Tours–Bordeaux starting in 2027
Another new feature: in 2027, a TGV Inoui will connect Tours to Bordeaux during the week, via Poitiers and Angoulême. It will allow for an arrival ...
grave; Bordeaux from 8 AM, against after 9 AM today, and a return around 8:15 PM, significantly later than the current schedule (6:30 PM).Wider time slots throughout the South-West
This optimization plan comes with extended hours :
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Earlier arrivals from Paris to Dax, Pau, Lourdes, and Tarbes,
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Later departures towards La Rochelle, Niort, and Surgères, with the last train pushed back to 7:48 PM.