Finally this famous transport pass, promised by President Macron, is there. Well… almost there. When the promise was made, it was about duplicating the German model that, since May 2023, enables everyone travel on all public transport networks (excluding open access), throughout the whole country, without limit, for 49 Euros per month.

Our French “Pass Rail” allows travel without limit, throughout the whole France but only on regional (TER) and few national (Intercités) trains. In addition, this offer is limited to young people aged between 16 and 27 and, for the time being, only for July and August 2024.

The French Ministry of transport assesses that around 700 000 young people could be interested in this offer.

Let’s hope this is a first step towards a larger ambition that will require, for sure, a lot of effort, negotiation, cooperation and financial means.

How does it work ?

Since June 5th, the Rail Pass can be used on the SNCF Connect and Trainline mobile applications.

• Obtain the “Pass Rail” on SNCF Connect (Internet site or mobile application) or Trainline (internet site only – for the time being, we have not found the purchasing procedure on the Trainline mobile application), for one rolling month
• An e-ticket is then available
• To travel, the purchase of a ticket is still required, even if the amount is 0€ on 2^nd class (for the Intercités night train, the cost is 19,50€) : it is necessary to enter the reference of his / her Pass Rail as well as his / her date of birth, this information is then kept for the following purchases)
• During the travel, in case of control, it is necessary to show his / her ticket (like for any travel), his / her Pass Rail and his / her ID document (like for any discount card)
• Renew his / her Pass rail, again for one rolling month, once the first month is finished : to maximize the duration of 2 Pass Rail, it is therefore recommended to make the subscription start from July 1^st 2024