Aurélien Fleurot 1:10 p.m., September 13, 2021, modified at 1:12 p.m., September 13, 2021

The exchange and cancellation policy for free SNCF trains ended on Monday.

The measure was put in place in March 2020, at the start of the coronavirus epidemic, when constantly evolving health rules penalized transport and forced users to cancel certain trips.

It is the end of a measure which will have made a lot of people happy ... and some abuses. From this Monday, the new exchange and cancellation policy of the SNCF comes into force. And that is the end of free cancellations until the last minute. This measure was put in place in March 2020, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, when constantly evolving health rules forced users to cancel certain trips.

From now on, you will have up to three days before the departure of your train with reservation to change your mind for free.

Otherwise, it will cost you 15 euros per person for the TGV inOUI and up to 12 euros for the Intercités.

Another clarification concerning Ouigo trains: reservations are no longer cancellable and refundable without reason for non-use of the ticket.

Too many unoccupied places

For the SNCF, it is a way of starting a return to a more normal situation.

User associations would have preferred toll-free until D-1 before departure, but this D-3 remains more advantageous than what existed before the crisis.

The railway company hopes not to end up with too many unoccupied places. In recent months, the SNCF has been able to observe certain excess customers who reserved on 5 or 6 different trains, obviously only to keep one at the last minute.