May: Travel news in brief

Trains, planes and other transport updates for trips to and around France

High flyer

Regional airline Flybe has announced a range of new and expanded services from the UK to France this summer. From 13 May, travellers can fly from Birmingham Airport to Toulouse (six flights a week) and Bordeaux (four a week). A second weekday flight has been added from Exeter Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle from 14 April to 30 September and the airline has added two flights to its service from Southampton Airport to Clermont-Ferrand during the peak holiday season. www.flybe.com

Rail away

French rail operator SNCF has launched a tram-train service connecting Nantes (pictured) and Châteaubriant in the Pays-de-la-Loire region. The 64-kilometre route runs along part of the former Nantes-Rennes railway line, which closed in 1980. The track has been modernised and the 11 stations have new platforms. 
http://uk.voyages-sncf.com

Europe pass

Travellers planning to combine a trip to France with an exploration of its neighbouring countries can take advantage of Eurail’s new four-country Select Pass, which allows users to hop on and off the railway networks of four bordering European countries. Prices start from €175.

www.eurail.com

Métro mania

Work is under way in the Paris suburbs to build a new métro line that should be in service by 2020. The Ligne 15 Sud will be 
33 kilometres long and stop at 16 stations stretching from Pont de Sèvres in the west to Noisy-Champs in the east, a journey of 35 minutes. It is part of the Grand Paris Express project that by 2030 will see four orbital métro lines extending across 200 kilometres to serve the outer suburbs. 
www.societedugrandparis.fr