French Senate forces SNCF Connect to list rivals’ tickets
FRANCE: The French Senate has voted to require SNCF Connect to sell tickets from competing rail operators by the end of 2027, a structural shift in French rail distribution with direct consequences for open access operators including Trenitalia and Renfe.
The Senate passed the new distribution rule on 16 April. The full transport framework bill cleared its final Senate vote on 28 April by 310 to 19, and now passes to the Assemblée nationale for its first reading.
The rule is not yet law. The lower house can confirm it unchanged, amend it, or remove it entirely — sending the text back into negotiations between the two chambers.
Distribution gap the new rule targets
SNCF Connect handles around 85% of online rail ticket sales in France. Trenitalia and Renfe have operated open access services in France since 2021 and 2023 respectively, but neither carrier’s tickets are available through the platform. The absence limits their visibility to the majority of French rail passengers at the point of purchase.
The new distribution rule would close that gap by the end of 2027, requiring SNCF Connect to integrate competing operators’ inventory under the same roof as SNCF’s own services.
The measure was tabled by the Senate’s spatial planning committee, not the government. Transport minister Philippe Tabarot backed it, saying he favoured simplifying the digital journey for users. AFRA, the association representing alternative operators, had called for exactly this obligation — arguing that non-discriminatory access to the dominant distribution platform is a structural condition for viable competition.
Opposing camps on either side
SNCF Voyageurs opposed the provision. Several senators from the right and centre raised concerns about its effect on rail system financing, noting that a significant share of ticketing revenue funds network maintenance.
The independent distributors grouped under ADN Mobilités — including Trainline, Omio and Kombo — also lobbied against it. Their concern is the reverse: mandatory integration into SNCF Connect strengthens the platform’s position at the expense of third-party aggregators who currently provide the only cross-operator booking option in France.
The Senate text includes a separate provision establishing a passenger right to continued travel in the event of a missed connection, provided the journey was booked as a single ticket across operators. The measure would apply from the same end-2027 deadline.
The Assemblée nationale has yet to schedule its first reading of the transport framework bill.