Workers travelling to Monaco by train will be able to buy their TER and TGV train tickets at tobacco shops throughout the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, one of five regions in France to offer the new initiative.
Five months after it was announced to the media, SNCF signed a partnership protocol with the Confederation of Tobacconists on Monday 8th July, allowing members to sell TGV and TER tickets at the end of the month.
The first regions to experiment with this new system are Burgundy, the Grand-Est, Normandy, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur and the Pays de la Loire. The rest of France should come on board in 2020.
Tobacconists will be able to issue tickets using a digital tablet and a small printer. “You enter your departure station, your arrival station, you select a date, you look if the customer has a card, and then the device will look for the most interesting rates,” said Eric Steil, TER marketing director at SNCF.
The ticket will be in the form of a credit card bill, on which will be written the first and last name of the passenger. There will also be a QR code that the train controller will have to scan.
Tobacconists will be compensated by SNCF for offering the service.