Why is the train more expensive than the plane? Alexis Chailloux's analysis

Written by Sophie Renassia

Published on April 5, 2025

“French trains are too expensive!” It's a phrase many passengers have heard before. But what do our tickets really pay for? Why are prices so different from those of air travel? Why do prices vary so much from one moment to the next? And, at the end of the day, what's at stake behind our tickets?

To find out, we wanted to give the floor to a number of French rail experts with differing points of view and interests, in a series of four episodes on our podcast Je t’offre un rail ?. In this first episode, we present the analysis of Alexis Chailloux, head of transport for the NGO Réseau Action Climat.

What do our tickets pay for? The foundations of rail costing

A heavy and costly infrastructure

The rail network is based on a vast and complex infrastructure, requiring colossal investment to maintain and modernize it. “The older the network, the more incidents, or at any rate traffic restrictions, there will be”, explains Alexis Chailloux. For example, there is no direct Saint-Étienne-Clermont train due to the line's gradual demise!

"Regeneration and modernization of the network are absolutely essential for the operation of the French train. But this regeneration and modernization is very expensive." - Alexis Chailloux

Unlike aviation, which benefits from airports amortized over the long term and relatively free airspace, rail involves kilometers of track to be maintained on a daily basis. In France, network maintenance costs around 5 billion euros a year, largely shared between SNCF and the French government. Each kilometer of high-speed line (LGV) requires an initial investment of 15 to 30 million euros, plus maintenance costs of up to 100,000 euros per kilometer per year. “Currently, at least 1.5 billion euros a year are needed to modernize the network,” explains Alexis Chaillaux.

Neglected maintenance can have serious consequences for passengers. Proof of this are German trains, which are experiencing numerous delays due to a lack of anticipation of the aging network, and numerous works in progress...

Added to this are the costs of ancillary infrastructure: stations, signalling, rolling stock, etc.

A business model based on user fees

For a better understanding, we need to go back to the different players in the French rail system:

TER: regional transport, managed and subsidized by the regions (more than 50% of the ticket price is covered, but only for rolling stock and not for the network).

INTERCITÉS: managed by the State, which assumes part of the costs, but also passes on user charges on tickets.

Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV): technically known as “SLO”, for “Service librement organisé” (freely organized service), since it is totally open to competition (in addition to SNCF Voyageurs, foreign companies such as Renfe and Trenitalia can position themselves on the segment of their choice), and not subsidized by the State. Companies therefore pay a significant proportion of rail tolls.

These various trains run on the rail network managed by SNCF Réseau, a subsidiary of the SNCF group (which is independent of SNCF Voyageurs and allocates train paths to the various rail companies, even favoring new entrants).

Traffic and network maintenance are financed at the same time:

- by the rail toll system ("like on the freeway, where you pay for the service you use by car", explains Alexis Chailloux),

- and in part by the State via the AFIT (Agence de financement des infrastructures de transports), and SNCF Group profits (for example, part of the profits of freight carrier Géodis are reinjected into the network).

Unlike freeways, where tolls are paid directly by motorists, rail companies have to pay substantial fees to use the tracks. In France, these rail tolls average €9.50 per kilometer for a high-speed train. These charges weigh heavily in the rail industry's economic balance, and are passed on directly or indirectly in ticket prices.

Why train travel is so expensive?

Yield management

You've probably already noticed that the later you book your ticket, the higher the price. In fact, we often remind you of this golden rule in our newsletter: if you want to pay less, the earlier the better.

Train tickets are not fixed at a single fare. This “yield management” strategy, borrowed from the airline industry, involves adjusting prices in real time according to demand, using dynamic pricing algorithms. The higher the demand, the higher the prices, which penalizes last-minute travelers.

For example, a Paris-Lyon TGV journey can cost €30 if you book weeks in advance, and more than €150 during peak periods or if you book the day before. For many users, this variability reinforces a feeling of injustice, especially when you don't have the flexibility to plan well in advance.

Going further: the fiscal imbalance in relation to air travelrosene

Another factor explaining the high cost of rail travel is the taxation applied to it. In France, VAT on train tickets is set at 10%, while the airline sector benefits from two major tax exemptions: no tax on kerosene, and 0% VAT on international flights (10% on domestic flights)! “This asymmetry indirectly favors air travel to the detriment of rail, which makes neither ecological nor economic sense,” deplores Alexis Chailloux.

"If you fly from Strasbourg to Berlin, you pay 0% VAT. Whereas if you travel from Strasbourg to Berlin by train, you pay 10% of the ticket price in VAT. It makes no sense!"

Since March 2025, the solidarity tax on airline tickets in France (also known as the “Chirac tax”) has been increased. In practice, its amount, which was derisory, will increase slightly (from €2.63 to €7.40 for a European flight).

This increase should bring in between €800 and €850 million for the State. But as Alexis Cdhailloux points out in a Linkedin post, this is still a far cry from what a tax on kerosene would bring in, since the airline sector enjoys a considerable tax advantage (zero tax on kerosene)... "Why should kerosene escape taxation and gasoline not? Why should going on vacation to the other side of the world be exempt from VAT when even basic necessities are eligible (at a reduced rate)?" he laments in his post.

Opening up to competition: magic solution or mirage?

“In all sectors, there's a tendency to think that liberalization and opening up to competition will be more efficient than public service,” notes Alexis Chailloux. And the arrival of new players on the French rail market, such as Trenitalia and Renfe, does indeed point to a possible drop in prices due to competition: "Competition has had positive effects on certain routes, such as the Paris-Lyon link, where there has been an increase in supply with companies like Trenitalia, and therefore a slight drop in the average ticket price."

But there are many downsides: "It's also had plenty of negative side-effects, such as a trade war between the incumbent companies. For example, the arrival of a (French) OUIGO on the Spanish Madrid-Barcelona line has had consequences for cooperation with Spain (which now requires Spanish skills from French drivers on certain paths)."

In some countries, such as Italy, where several companies are already operating on high-speed lines, prices have actually fallen on competitive routes. As the government took over part of the tolls, the cost to the railways was lower, which stimulated offers (and enabled the State to compensate for its “investment”).

But there's also the example of the (total) privatization of Britain's railways, discussed in detail here, which, far from lowering prices, actually led to exorbitant fares, and ended up by going backwards!

To go further: proposals from Aventuriers d'HOURRAIL! (the association of low-carbon travel enthusiasts) to decarbonize transport, in particular by reducing the cost of rail travel.

To go further: les propositions des Aventuriers d’HOUR (the association of low-carbon travel enthusiasts) to decarbonize transport, in particular by reducing the cost of rail travel.

In conclusion, it's not so easy to reduce train fares. Here are a few ideas: a genuine political will to reform the tax system and invest in network maintenance and modernization. Fares should also be better regulated, to avoid price differentials that penalize last-minute travelers. Above all, a rebalancing between air and rail transport seems essential to make rail more attractive. If rail is to become the backbone of sustainable mobility, it must be accessible to all. In any case, the future of rail transport will depend on the strategic choices made today, and on the ability of public authorities to reconcile profitability and accessibility!

To keep up with all the latest news from the Réseau Action Climat, you can follow the NGO on social networks (and especially on instagram). In particular, the NGO will soon be releasing two reports, on night train travel and on the structure of a train ticket (VS a plane ticket).