NMBS / SNCB and SNCF Voyageurs are today – 5 December 2024 – opening reservations for the new classic train Brussels-Paris, for journeys from Thursday 19 December. The label EuroCity will not be used for this service, as it was during the 2024 Olympic Games. 

“Thanks to a collaboration between NMBS / SNCB and SNCF Voyageurs, travellers between Brussels and Paris will have a new, comfortable and affordable train connection from 19 December. The new connection is an addition to the high-speed lines between Brussels and the main French cities”, the press release says. 

These OUIGO trains, which use the classic railway lines, will run between Brussels-South (Zuid/Midi) and Paris-North and will also stop in Mons and the French cities of Creil and Aulnoye-Aymerie.

This offer will connect the two capitals in 3 hours. There will be three return trains every day in each direction at key times of the day: morning, afternoon and early evening.​ ​

Ticket prices range from 10 to 59 euros for a single journey. Children under 12 pay a fixed price of 8 euros for a journey between France and Belgium.

In Belgium, tickets can be booked on the website and app of NMBS / SNCB International and via all international sales channels of NMBS / SNCB. In France, tickets are available on OUIGO.com, the OUIGO app, the SNCF Connect app and website and from recognised online travel agencies.

Cross-border service too

Thanks to this new connection between the two capitals, even more travellers will have access to more environmentally friendly, affordable and comfortable mobility than with the road alternatives.

In addition, this new line will strengthen the train network between Belgium and France. In this way, Mons will not only be directly connected to Paris, but also to the Hauts-de-France region via Aulnoye. ​ All the cities served will thus be better connected internationally. It also confirms the position of Brussels-South as an international hub, a station in the heart of Europe with more than 160,000 passengers per day.

An à la carte offer ​

Passengers have a reserved seat and can take one piece of hand luggage and one piece of hold luggage. As a launch offer, passengers can take extra luggage free of charge, with a maximum of two extra pieces of luggage.

Children under 4 years of age travel free of charge. For children between 4 and 12 years of age, there is a fixed price of 8 euros for a trip between Belgium and France.

NMBS / SNCB and SNCF Voyageurs are also thinking of cyclists, for the launch the option of taking a folded bicycle in a cover is offered free of charge. ​

The tickets can be exchanged for another time and/or date to the same destination upon payment of the exchange costs and any price difference between the two tickets.

Olivier Piron, Head of International Alliances at NMBS/ SNCB: “NMBS / SNCB wants to offer its customers the opportunity to travel through Europe in an environmentally friendly way. This new connection fits in perfectly with this vision. The CO₂ footprint of a passenger using one of our new trains between Brussels and Paris is no less than 7 times less than a passenger travelling the same route by road. This new connection will strengthen our offer between Belgium and France, both to Paris, which remains NMS / SNCB’s most popular international destination for our passengers, and across the border, with a direct connection between Mons and the Hauts-de-France region”.

Jérôme Laffon, Director of OUIGO: “After the success of Ouigo Train Classique in France over the past 2 years, we are proud to develop the low-priced Train Classique in Belgium, in collaboration with NMBS / SNCB! Until 31 March, more than 350,000 seats will be offered between Paris and Brussels at very competitive prices.”

Saint-Quentin

“The initial plans of July 2023, however, indicated additional stations in the Belgian capital: Brussels-Central, Brussels-North and Schaarbeek / Schaerbeek“, mobility journalist Thibault Lapers reports on his Mobilithib blog.

“These options were not retained. In addition, only three trains will run for the time being out of the five planned.”

Nevertheless, SNCF Voyageurs and NMBS / SNCB plan to create an additional stop at Saint-Quentin station from April 2025, for only one train (in each direction) on the three daily trains. No further information has been leaked so far, Lapers notes.

This new service marks a first for the OUIGO brand, which will be used on an international connection between France and abroad. The brand is also present in Spain for high-speed domestic journeys.

Flixbus and BlaBlaCar

The service offers a sustainable and relatively cheaper travel option between the two capitals, complementing the high-speed trains operated by SNCF (TGV inOui) and Eurostar, which connect Brussels-South with Paris-North, Charles-de-Gaulle, and Marne-la-Vallée Chessy, though these can often experience significant price surges’, Lapers notes.

Additionally, this OUIGO service provides a simpler alternative to connections via Maubeuge or Lille for travellers seeking to maintain a reasonable budget. SNCF and NMBS / SNCB will also compete directly with Flixbus and BlaBlaCar buses, which provide low-cost road transport between the two capitals. 

The rail connection between Brussels and Paris will celebrate its 179th anniversary in June.

Lapers found out three sets of I11 coaches will be used for this service, with two in regular operation and one reserved in Belgium, all featuring OUIGO’s distinctive pink livery. 

The configuration consists of eight cars: six I11 second-class cars, one second-class pilot car equipped with a ‘person with reduced mobility’ (PRM) seat and an attendant, and one first-class car intended for future OUIGO XL seats, which are not yet available for booking. Siemens Type 18 locomotives will haul the trains, with 10 of the 96 units authorised to operate in France.

French and Belgian staff

The staff will be a mix of SNCB and SNCF personnel, with French crew members sourced from SNCF Trains Spéciaux rather than OSLO, the subsidiary responsible for OUIGO Train Classique operations. 

Belgian drivers are now certified to operate trains as far as Paris-North, an extension from their previous limit at Aulnoye-Aymeries, while French drivers have recently conducted reconnaissance on Belgian routes to prepare for planned or unforeseen diversions. 

From March, some services will be rerouted between Brussels-South and Aulnoye-Aymeries via Luttre in Hainaut, or on other dates via La Louvière, bypassing Creil.

Second class only, no Interrail

The Brussels–Paris OUIGO service is available exclusively in second class. Interrail and Eurail passes, which allow train travel across Europe, are not valid on this service, consistent with other OUIGO Train Classique and high-speed offerings. 

More on night trains and transcontinental train travel

• GoVolta wants to run trains from Amsterdam to Bruges.
• Arriva Tri-Country Train between Maastricht, Liège and Aachen will start on Sunday 9 June 2024 without OV-chipkaart.
• European Sleeper night train service from the Netherlands and Belgium to Barcelona now delayed to 2027.
• EU train travel report sees increase in cross-border passenger trains and easier bookings.
• Brussels to Luxembourg by train under 2 hours by 2030?.
• Heuro wants to operate high speeds trains between Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris and London from 2028.
• Eurostar and five more train operators joined the European Agreement on Journey Continuation.
• ÖBB’s new Nightjet sleeper cars accommodate solo travellers with Mini Cabins.
• Trenitalia orders new Hitachi Frecciarossa trains suited for France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
• ÖBB’s Nightjet to connect Berlin to Brussels from December 2023.
• EUROCITY EC-8 | Basel to Cologne in SBB’s Panoramic Car.
• Trenitalia / FS confirms interest in connecting Spain to Brussels, Amsterdam and Berlin.
• Deutsche Bahn and Trenitalia want piece of Amsterdam – Brussels – Paris HST service via subsidiaries Arriva an Qbuzz.
• SNCF and NMBS / SNCB to link Paris to Brussels with ‘slow’ classic train in about 3 hours from December 2024.
• Sampling NS’ new train and future Benelux rolling stock ICNG.
• REVIEW | Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 Paris – Milan in Business Executive.
• RAIL TOUR OF EUROPE | How easy is touring Europe by train?.
• Eight train connections between the Netherlands and Belgium by 2030?.
• REVIEW | ÖBB Nightjet Amsterdam – Zurich night train.
• European Commission wants booking train tickets to be as easy as booking flights.
• Nightjet Vienna/Innsbruck to Brussels, or how we got thrown off the train in Aachen.
• Why the expensive ÖBB Nightjet is really not that expensive.
• Reliving the era of the great railway journeys, travelling overnight on Nightjet.
• How we plan a big rail trip.
• Ticket Distribution: the failure of railways to sell themselves.
• To use night trains in Portugal and Spain or not?.
• Night trains in Europe.
• Low-cost, long-haul trains to conquer Europe?.
• Fly now before it’s taxed and consider using the train instead.