French rail operator SNCF is calling a halt to its once-popular Auto/Train service that allowed vacation-bound travelers to ship their cars ahead to sunnier destinations in southern France.
The service, launched over 60 years ago, has seen fewer customers in recent years, battered by a combination of low-cost airfare, more available car rentals and the opening of high-speed autoroutes that made driving south a faster deal.
Originally, 13 cities were served from Paris, but it was reduced to six a few years ago as business began to fall. Unlike the U.S. Autotrain operation that runs from Washington, DC to Florida, motorists cannot travel on the same train as the cars, which adds another layer of reasons for the decline. Until the 1980s, they could ride together.
SNCF says it no longer makes money on the service, and to do so, it would have to have the trains 85% full, rather than the present 68%, and that it would still have to raise fares. And high fares are already an issue.
So, and despite protests from those who love it, the service will end on Dec. 14.
