CONTROVERSIAL new plans are being introduced in a European country which bans kids from certain train carriages.
Rail operator SNCF has unveiled a new ‘Optimum’ carriage on its high-speed Inoui trains where during the week, there’s a ban on children.
It’s described it as a “high-quality travel experience” and is generally for commuters who want quiet before heading into the office.
Optimum class is a dedicated first class carriage, with reclining seats, individual power outlets, reading lights, free Wi-Fi and winged headrests.
Online details add that “to ensure maximum comfort in the dedicated space, children are not permitted”.
The carriage will always be at the end of the train which will stop passengers from walking through the Optimum dedicated area so it will remain quiet.
The ticket also includes use of TGV INOUI lounges in stations which have high performing Wi-Fi, drinks, an entertainment portal as well as newspapers and magazines.
The Optimum carriage is only available on SNCF’s main Inoui brand of express trains, which run across France and into Germany and Luxembourg.
And the ticket is also only an option from Monday to Friday – during the weekends every carriage is open to passengers of all ages.
And tickets don’t come cheap, A one-way journey from Paris to Lyon taking just over two hours is regularly priced at €56 (£48.63).
But with Optimum tickets it’s €180 (£156.31).
Not everyone is onboard with the decision though.
On the French news outlet, BFM, the French high commissioner for children, Sarah El Hairy, described the child-free ban as “shocking”.
The podcast Les Adultes de demain also said that “a red line has been crossed” and the the company shouldn’t be excluding children.
In its response to criticism, SNCF pointed out that the Optimum carriage forms less than 8 per cent of the total capacity of a TGV InOui train.
While this may be a first for rail, it isn’t for the skies as some airlines have introduced dedicated child-free zones in recent years.
Corendon Airlines has ‘Only Adult’ zones for travellers over the age of 16 on flights between Amsterdam and Curaçao.
Scoot Airlines has its own ‘Scoot-in-Silence’ section which is is a child-free zone for those 12 and under in the forward economy cabin of Scoot’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
And AirAsia X has a “Quiet Zone” on certain long-haul flights which is a, child-free area for passengers aged 12 – usually this area is in the first seven rows of economy class.
IndiGo is another airline that has under-12-free zones.
For more, here’s a new high-speed train that will connect two European capitals in just three hours.
Plus, take a look inside UK’s new £2bn high speed trains with underseat luggage storage and the ‘most comfortable seats ever’.