The low-cost SNCF high-speed rail brand that first ran in France in 2013 is Ouigo.
SNCF announced Ouigo in February 2013 as a budget alternative to its standard high-speed services. The first passenger trains ran on 2 April 2013, initially linking the Paris region with destinations such as Marseille and Montpellier. The concept borrowed from low-cost airlines: simplified fares, dense seating, online-focused sales, and use of some stations outside the main city centers.
Ouigo trains originally used TGV trainsets but offered a deliberately no-frills service with one class of seating and paid extras for some luggage and amenities. The strategy was intended to attract passengers who might otherwise choose cars, buses, or low-cost flights, while also filling trains and routes more efficiently.
The brand later expanded beyond its original French high-speed operation. Ouigo España began high-speed services in Spain in 2021, and SNCF introduced Ouigo Vitesse Classique in France in 2022 for slower conventional trains. Those later developments do not change the quiz answer: Ouigo is the SNCF brand launched in France in 2013.