OUIGO 7692 Train from Strasbourg-Ville to Paris Gare de l’Est

OUIGO is a French low-cost carrier train by SNCF offering budget train services along the core routes of the French railway network in additional to existing SNCF train services. I’ve always wanted to try out a low-cost train for the fare just to see how it works out for a long-distance journey, and OUIGO is the start of my low-cost train journeys during my stay around Europe. To get to Paris for my ride back to London, I took OUIGO 7692 which is an afternoon departure from Strasbourg-Ville to Paris Gare de l’Est.

OUIGO operates like a budget airline so everything aside from a travelling ticket must be purchased in advance, such as baggage and advance seat reservations if you would not like to take part in the check-in lottery. Even with these add-ons, I still got a cheap ticket at only €26 for a 493 km high-speed journey, broken down into a €19 fare and €7 OUIGO PLUS package inclusive of a second bag that won’t fit under my seat and a seat reservation.

Strasbourg-Ville

Heading back to Strasbourg-Ville, the main railway station of Strasbourg, to catch my OUIGO train to Paris.

The façade of Gare de Strasbourg-Ville with the new glass canopy blocking the view of the original classic station façade.

Heading in to Strasbourg-Ville.

The expanded concourse at Gare de Strasbourg-Ville with the new glass canopy.

My OUIGO 7692 had no platform assigned yet on the departure screen. Nevertheless, this gave me extra time to buy my lunch to eat on board. There is no catering on OUIGO trains.

Heading to the platforms anyway since the screen wasn’t of much help.

The original stained glass of the old station building still in tact.

I headed up to Platform 1 and spotted a distinct blue train on Platform 3. Guess I won’t be needing a departure screen.

The TGV Duplex operating on the OUIGO Grande Vitesse high-speed service from Strasbourg to Paris.

As compared with corporate SNCF, OUIGO uses bright and cheerful colours for their branding.

The Jacobs bogie used on TGV trains.

Boarding has not commenced yet, as OUIGO passengers cannot simply hop on the train even when the train is at the platform. There is a check-in system which opens just a few minutes before departure.

Before that, there is a DB ICE 9574 train heading to Paris Gare de l’Est as well. Perhaps this is the reason why platform details of the OUIGO 7692 was not displayed earlier to prevent any confusion, lest OUIGO passengers board the DB ICE 9574 train instead.

The OUIGO 7692 platform remained blank even though I knew exactly where the train was already – right in front of me.

After the DB ICE 9574 departed, OUIGO ground staff headed to the check-in lines to check-in OUIGO passengers and check against baggage allowance. I had my OUIGO PLUS package, so travelling with 2 bags was not an issue since I had already prepaid for my baggage.

My OUIGO 7692 was formed of 2 8-car sets, operating at a super high capacity of 1268 passengers (634 per trainset).

Ah, finally, some information, when I’ve already checked-in for my train.

The coupling between the 2 8-car OUIGO TGV Duplex sets.

The route information of my OUIGO 7692. Even though it is a low-cost service, the OUIGO 7692 only makes 1 intermediate stop at Metz. Interestingly, the train number is listed as SNCF-DB like an international German train. Not sure if this is an error.

Boarding my train car.

The interior of the lower deck in 1+3 formation. This is a new high-capacity layout in the former TGV 1st Class section.

While the solo seat is tempting to pre-purchase, do note that it has no power sockets and almost no view since it is on the lower deck of the train.

Also, I would think that the middle seat would be dreadful to be in for a long train trip, so I would advise paying for a seat reservation anyway to guarantee that you don’t get auto-assigned a middle seat on the lower deck. Once seats are assigned, they cannot be changed.

2 former 1st Class seats are kept possibly as priority seats, now clad in OUIGO light blue covers. I don’t recall seeing these seats on the seat map online.

Heading to the upper deck.

I booked my seat on the upper deck for the views, and also only upper deck seats have power sockets.

My window seat on the upper deck, currently in reverse direction.

The legroom available on board the OUIGO TGV Duplex.

2 2-pin Europlug power sockets are available in front of my seat, at the back of the seat in front of me. This makes it very easy to find and to plug in my charger.

A big fold-down tray table is available.

Air-conditioning is from the side by the window, so having a window seat also gets me cold air.

The view of the OUIGO TGV Duplex from my seat. While the TGV looks nice from outside, it is in fact a rather crammed train with low roofs and tapered sides.

The overhead rack is small and shallow, so my bigger cabin-sized bag had to go to the proper baggage rack before entering the passenger saloon. My underseat cabin bag barely fit on the overhead rack.

The big luggage area outside of the passenger saloon.

Even though it’s a low-cost train, the OUIGO 7692 departed from Strasbourg-Ville right on time at 12.44pm.

Goodbye Strasbourg and Alsace.

Passing by local TER trains.

Quickly transitioning from city to countryside while speeding out of Strasbourg.

The upper deck toilet in my coach was out of order.

The lower deck one, however, was working.

The clean toilet on board OUIGO despite the high passenger capacity.

Interestingly, the toilets are illuminated with big light panels at the side of the walls.

If walking to the next car, the gangway is only on the upper deck due to the presence of the Jacobs bogie on the lower deck.

Speeding down high-speed lines.

More civilization appearing, so it should be about time to arrive at Metz.

TER trains appearing at Metz.

Metz-Ville

Entering Metz-Ville.

Making a brief stop at Metz-Ville with more passengers boarding.

From here, the OUIGO 7692 ran pretty much full to Paris Gare de l’Est.

Departing from Metz-Ville on time at 1.52pm. My seat is now facing forward upon departure from Metz as the station is located by a wye junction.

Turning right on the wye junction past the depot in the middle of the wye junction.

It was starting to rain upon departure from Metz.

At 320km/h through rain, this was pretty much a blur out of my windows.

More French countryside scenes after the rain had cleared. Or my OUIGO was speeding out of the rain.

Approaching more rail lines, which means Paris must be nearing.

Passing by SNCF Technicentre Est Européen in Pantin and Bobigny.

Passing through Pantin station.

Another 2km to Paris.

Another 1km to Paris.

Passing by a DB ICE on its way to Germany.

Approaching Paris Gare de l’Est.

Paris Gare de l’Est

My OUIGO 7692 arrived at Paris Gare de l’Est at 3.21pm – 4 minutes delayed.

My front set upon departure from Strasbourg-Ville is now the rear set due to the direction change at Metz-Ville.

Heading out of the platform at the end.

My OUIGO 7692 at the buffer stops of Paris Gare de l’Est.

Looking back at my OUIGO 7692 train at Paris Gare de l’Est.

The gates to and from the platform are freely open.

The station concourse of Paris Gare de l’Est.

There are signs in Paris Gare de l’Est pointing to Paris Gare du Nord which is a 10-minute walk away.

The concourse of Paris Gare de l’Est.

I headed out through the front of Paris Gare de l’Est first instead of heading directly to Paris Gare du Nord for my Eurostar as I had a bit of time to kill.

The façade of Paris Gare de l’Est.

I headed back into Paris Gare de l’Est for a while before I embarked on my short walk to Paris Gare du Nord to catch my Eurostar to London.

Conclusion

Overall, OUIGO is a cheap and convenient way to travel from Strasbourg to Paris by high-speed train. Even with extras such as baggage and seat selection not included, the top-up of €7 is affordable and cheaper than purchasing baggage and seat selection separately, since an extra big bag alone is already €5.