From Monday 16 September, SNCF will start to penalise passengers who do not comply with the new restrictions on baggage on board Inoui and Intercités TGVs (Ouigo TGVs have their own rules)

End of tolerance
From this date, every passenger will have to comply with the strict rules: two large pieces of luggage and one piece of hand luggage authorised per person. The maximum dimensions are set at 70 cm x 90 cm x 50 cm for large baggage, and 30 cm x 40 cm x 15 cm for hand baggage.

Fines of up to €150
From Monday, offenders will be liable to penalties. A fine of €50 will be imposed for failure to comply with the dimensions or number of baggage items, rising to €150 if this causes traffic problems or overcrowding in the baggage area.

Rules for special baggage
SNCF also imposes strict conditions for bulky items:

• pushchairs: folded,
• stored and labelled Scooter: folded, stowed and labelled
• Musical instrument: in its case, stored and labelled
• Skis: in cover, no size limit
• Wakeboard or snowboard: in its cover, stored and labelled
• Bicycle: folded or dismantled, in a bag and labelled

All travellers must be able to carry their own belongings, with a maximum of one piece of special luggage, one suitcase and one piece of hand luggage per person.

Clearer rules for greater safety
According to SNCF, although these rules have been in force since last February, they have been introduced for reasons of comfort and safety. ‘It was necessary to remind passengers of these instructions, particularly because of the behaviour of some passengers who clutter up the spaces with bulky baggage’, explains a spokesperson.

Badly stowed baggage can cause accidents, block traffic in corridors, or even take up seats reserved for disabled passengers. ‘Luggage storage is a recurring problem for our customers and agents’, added SNCF, stressing that the aim of these new measures is to make travel more pleasant for everyone.

A period of adjustment before penalties
Since February, SNCF has been educating passengers by giving them time to adapt to the new rules. ‘We wanted to give our customers time to familiarise themselves with these new arrangements before applying penalties from mid-September’, explains SNCF.

The aim of these measures is to improve the on-board experience, while guaranteeing everyone’s safety.