The Franco-Belgian railway company Thalys will end its Izy service in July, a slower and cheaper train that has linked Paris and Brussels since 2016, to refocus its offer on high speed. “Izy will cease operations on July 10, after six years,” a spokeswoman told AFP on Wednesday.
“The Izy concept has proven itself but we had already gradually reduced the offer over the last few months and we have decided to fully reintegrate all connections between Brussels and Paris under the single brand of Thalys”, using the high-speed line entirely, she added.
Launched in April 2016 – but long interrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and timidly relaunched in May 2021 -, Izy offers a Paris-Brussels connection in around 2.5 hours, the train taking the classic line between Paris and Arras. Pricing follows the “low-cost” model, as on Ouigo for the SNCF, with attractive starting prices. The red TGVs of Thalys connect the two capitals in 1 hour 22 minutes.
Thalys puts forward “more clarity for the customer”, greater flexibility and fares which can remain advantageous with in particular a permanent offer for those under 26 years old.
Thalys runs high-speed trains between France, Belgium, the Netherlands and north-west Germany. The company is now controlled by Eurostar Group, a holding company owned 55.75% by SNCF, 19.31% by the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ), 18.5% by SNCB (Belgian) and 6, 44% by funds managed by Federated Hermes Infrastructure.