TER holidays, a new vein for the Michelin guide

• The Michelin editions presented this Wednesday a new guide for holidays with trips exclusively by TER.

• This book responds to an ever-increasing demand for “eco-tourism”.

• But the train is still a very marginal mode of travel compared to the car.

For the next vacation, those who like to take their time will take the train. The Michelin guide presented this Wednesday a guide * to move exclusively on the rails during his holidays. In partnership with the SNCF, it therefore offers 40 trips of several days through the regions of France, at the rate of station stops. And here, there is no question of taking the TGV: all the proposed routes are done by TER.

Parisians are invited to rediscover the Paris-Granville line, with several stops for tourism: Dreux and its royal chapel, Argentan and its natural setting, Vire and its famous andouille.

But the other regions are not forgotten: the guide covers the whole of France, with for example the Clermont-Ferrand-Aurillac, Agen-Montauban or Colmar-Metzeral line.

A selection of accommodation and restaurants near the stations completes each stage, with places to picnic and addresses to rent a bicycle or canoe.

Success of the "TER pass"

"We must be able to travel in a more responsible and sustainable way", pleads Philippe Orain, director of the famous tourist guides. A way of surfing the vein of "slow tourism" or "eco-tourism", which attracts more and more. With confinements and travel restrictions, many French people have indeed been able to rediscover places close to home while getting away from it all. "Sometimes we go very far on vacation when we know very little about the town next door", thus summarized this Monday Karine Desmoulin, president of Gironde Tourism, during a press conference.

Traveling around your region by train - why not take a bike for a ride during the stages - can also help reduce expenses.

Proof with the success of the “TER pass”, which allowed 12-25 year olds to travel unlimited on the TER in France this summer, for 29 euros per month.

“We sold 84,000 in July-August 2021, compared to 70,000 last year.

There was real demand because it makes travel easier, ”says Jean-Aimé Mougenot, TER director at SNCF Voyageurs.

Increase attendance

Any curious people who would like to use the new Michelin guide for their next vacation should not be too crowded on board. According to the Transport Regulatory Authority, the occupancy rate of TER - before Covid-19 - fluctuated on average between 20% and 30% depending on the region (against more than 70% for TGVs). "Our common objective is that the trains are as frequented as possible, on the whole of the territory" recognizes Jean-Aimé Mougenot, who also recalls that on the TER, it is the regions which have the hand as 'transport organizing authorities.

In general, the train is still far from being the preferred mode of travel for the French.

According to the “mobility of people” survey carried out by the government in 2019, 74% of “personal” trips of more than 80 kilometers (visiting relatives, vacations, leisure) are made by car, and only 11% by car. train.

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* 

(Ed. Michelin, 19.90 euros).

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