France’s child-free train carriages? Sounds blissful to me

SCNF has caused controversy by banning under-12s from its premium offering. Fiona McIntosh thinks it’s a stroke of Gallic genius

Monday 26 January 2026 10:19 EST

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The decision to have commuter-only sections has caused debate across the Channel (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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French rail operator SCNF has introduced a premium, adult-only section on some of its high-speed trains, banning children under 12.

What a magnificent idea! Imagine being able to read your book without the need for noise-cancelling headphones? Or drink your coffee, rather than wear it, because some child has kicked the back of your seat? Or watch the French countryside flash by through windows free from Petits Filous-y hand prints?

It’s not that I dislike children. I had two of them myself. But as my daughters are now in their twenties, I have well and truly served my time in small child travel purgatory and have earned the right to tantrum-free spaces.

Naturally, only the French would come up with such an idea. If you have ever taken small children to France, you’ll have noticed that their idea of early years discipline is stricter than our laissez-faire, Anglo-Saxon approach.

The ‘Optimum’ areas can be found on SCNF’s Inoui trains (Getty/ iStock)

I remember one bucket-and-spade holiday in Normandy with another family. We took our brood of five small children to a vaguely smart restaurant for a cherished evening of sophistication. Bad idea. The French offspring sat at their tables with straight backs, in pressed linen co-ords, silently eating their joue de boeuf . Our lot were shoving pommes frites up their nostrils and tearing around the tables on a sugar-high. We left early.

With this more Victorian view of child-rearing, it’s no surprise who the pioneers of child-free train carriages are. Even to this lax English parent, SCNF’s decision to ban under-12s makes a lot of sense. And when you dig deeper into the detail, it turns out that the move sounds worse than it actually is.

SCNF’s new First Class “Optimum” carriage claims to offer “exclusive comfort in an entirely dedicated space with a seating layout that preserves your privacy, for a quiet journey that’s ideal for working or relaxing”.

The carriage is only available on its main Inoui brand of express trains, which run across France and into Germany and Luxembourg. The “Optimum” carriage is an option from Monday to Friday (weekends are open to everyone) and occupies just 8 per cent of space on those trains.

As these routes and timings have been devised around peak business travel, surely this segregation is a win-win for everyone? The last thing business travellers need are children running up the aisles. The last thing any parent wants is the stress of trying to contain a toddler in a carriage full of accountants tapping away on their spreadsheets. Surely it’s far more relaxing for families with children under 12 to go free range in the other 92 per cent of the train.

Yet despite what I feel is a common sense decision, the move has been called out as discrimination. On the French news service BFM, the French high commissioner for children, Sarah El Hairy, described the child-free ban as “shocking”.

“Travelling with children is not a problem to be fixed, but a reality to be supported,” she railed.

Exactly, Madame El Hairy, I couldn’t agree more. Parents of young children do need more help and the very best way to support them in this situation is to steer them away from the mobile office at the end of a commuter train.

Child-free areas of trains are no different to adult-only hotels, argues Fiona (Getty Images / iStockPhoto)

Besides, why is an occasional, child-free train carriage any different to an adult-only hotel? Child-free spaces are nothing new in international travel and serve a purpose for everyone. Couples in need of a quiet, relaxing break would prefer not be dive-bombed in a spa pool. Conversely, parents of small children would rather not have the stress of hushing their small children in a silent lobby. I know from memory, the best family holidays we had were loud, energetic and packed with other families.

The last thing harried parents of young children need are disapproving looks and constant scolding. In those early years you are in the eye of a storm – but it passes quickly, so you need to embrace the chaos while it lasts.

When it’s over, it’s not wrong to want a change of scene (and volume). Allocating small child-free spaces is not discrimination, it's making travel a more comfortable experience for everyone.

I’m looking forward to taking my eldest daughter, now 25, to an adult-only hotel in the Dolomites in a few weeks’ time. It sells itself as the antithesis of the family-friendly resort hotel. We are both looking forward to its quiet sophistication. And unlike the ski holidays of her childhood, I can almost guarantee she won’t be sticking pomme frites up her nose this time.