SNCF now running bus services to competer with Eurostar and Thalys

[jonhall]

I noticed a banner ad on another site for idbus -which turns out to be a coach service run by SNCF that seems to be rather starange competition for Eurostar ?

 

http://www.idbus.co.uk/about-us

 

9 hours London - Paris with a headline fare that isn't all that different to Eurostars cheapest deal... surely it would be better to get these travellers onto the train?

 

Jon

[Gordonwis]

I noticed a banner ad on another site for idbus -which turns out to be a coach service run by SNCF that seems to be rather starange competition for Eurostar ?

 

http://www.idbus.co.uk/about-us

 

9 hours London - Paris with a headline fare that isn't all that different to Eurostars cheapest deal... surely it would be better to get these travellers onto the train?

 

Jon

 

 

I think you'll find modern-day SNCF doesn't care about what competes with what competition nor what type of conveyance it actually provided for a service, Clues to this are the bustitute services across France, and the Voyages-SNCF web site which gives equal 'air time' to air and other travel options as it does to SNCF trains. Also SNCF is only part owner of Eurostar, and probably thinks it can pick up customers who want 'cheap and chearful' travel regardless of mode (and probably also quietly suspects that there are people who detest the check in palaver required for Eurostar.

 

 

IDbus also gives us back a rail company operated service with overnight runs. I for one would be theoretically attracted to the overnight service (which the Channel Tunnel rail operation has famously failed to provide) with its early arrival in Paris.

 

[chrisf]

There are people who detest the check-in procedure - me for one! The Paris Nord terminal in particular is particularly ill-suited to it, especially when it has to cope with two departures in 15 minutes! How sad that Eurostar has to behave like an airline. Whether things will be different once DB starts running to St Pancras remains to be seen.

 

Leaving aside the Checkpoint Charlie factor, the choice between nine hours on a coach and 2h20m on a train is a no-brainer for me.

 

Chris

[ThaneofFife]

Id also have more faith in the train making its scheduled 2hrs and 20m journey over the bus making it in the allotted 9hrs (maybe thats a best journey time good time of day with a following wind and straight onto the ferry) but if we take 9hrs as a minimum, that sounds like a long time to be couped up on a bus or to give it its proper name its probably a "coach". At least on the train you can get up and move about a fair bit and its not stop-start whn you hit traffic. If this was a bus/coach website forum then we'd probably have more biase to that than rail......but the fact is take the coach and effectively lose 2 days in either Paris or London really if you take both outward and return journeys using the coach mode. Leave London in the morning after breakfast, get to Paris in time for lunch. On the coach youd be lucky to make dinner even with the check ins. I would always pay the extra and go Eurostar.

 

What are coaches governed to - 70mph max is it?

 

Reminds of Clarkson on Top Gear claiming he was faster than the TGV......not in the real world Jeremy!

[mp55aec]

I'm not too sure but I think that its illegal in France to compete with the railways with a domestic express coach service hence there is no equivelant to National Express operating, Germany has a slightly more liberated rule but soon thing will change there when express bus service will be allowed, already one company actually operated by the former head of First David Leader has started up against DB -http://www.publicexpress.net/routes/

 

I know there are Eurloines and other express coach services many to Eastern Europe and Spain but I dont think you can make an internal journey within France.

[Xerces Fobe2]

Whatever next Virgin planes from London to Manchester! Maybe first running road coaches to Bristol when they can no longer afford to run the trains!

 

XF

[Fat Controller]

I think you'll find modern-day SNCF doesn't care about what competes with what competition nor what type of conveyance it actually provided for a service, Clues to this are the bustitute services across France, and the Voyages-SNCF web site which gives equal 'air time' to air and other travel options as it does to SNCF trains. Also SNCF is only part owner of Eurostar, and probably thinks it can pick up customers who want 'cheap and chearful' travel regardless of mode (and probably also quietly suspects that there are people who detest the check in palaver required for Eurostar.

 

 

 

IDbus also gives us back a rail company operated service with overnight runs. I for one would be theoretically attracted to the overnight service (which the Channel Tunnel rail operation has famously failed to provide) with its early arrival in Paris.

 

 

Am I correcting in thinking that the SNCF group, between its road freight (Geodis et alia) and road passenger services, now is more of a road than rail operator, Gordon?

Within France, SNCF has been trying to establish itself in the 'cheap and cheerful' market with a Internet-only TGV service (id-TGV), and another known as Aspartam (is it me, or does this sound like some sort of sugar substitute?)

[mp55aec]

Thats the problem somehow large groups like SNCF etc, seem to think everyone has internet!

 

I wonder how what the percentage is of people who don't have internet? , you certainly miss out on lots of deals even RM web lol!