The coming trend in European train travel: High-speed goes low cost

Exploring France’s countryside from the comfort of the world’s fastest conventional train is about to get a little easier — and cheaper.

The French national train network, SNCF, has unveiled its new low-cost high-speed train dubbed Ouigo last month, with service starting April 2. In just over three hours, travelers can go from the Paris region to Marseille for as little as ten euros in a seat that could normally cost ten times as much.

While budget airlines seem old hat — Southwest Airlines has been flying in the U.S. since 1971 and Ryanair in Europe since 1999 — budget trains, especially high-speed ones, are a novelty.