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LGV Nord
The (), typically shortened to LGV Nord, is a French -long high-speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgium–France border, Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille. With a maximum speed of , the line appreciably shortened rail journeys between Paris and Lille. Its extensions to the north (Belgium, the Channel Tunnel) and the south (via the LGV Interconnexion Est) have reduced journey times to Great Britain and Benelux and for inter-regional trips between the Nord (Pas de Calais) region and the southeast and southwest of France. Its route is twinned with the A1 autoroute (France), A1 for , which is why it was given its official nickname, the ''A1 Highway''. As it is mostly built in flat areas, the ruling gradient, maximum incline is 25 metres per kilometre (2.5‰). Of all French high-speed lines, the LGV Nord sees the widest variety of high-speed rolling stock: the Alstom-made TGV POS, TGV Réseau, TGV Atlantique, TGV Duplex, British Rail Class ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurostar
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service in Western Europe, connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The service is operated by the Eurostar Group which was formed from the merger of Eurostar, which operated trains through the Channel Tunnel to the United Kingdom, and Thalys which operated in Western Europe. Eurostar transported 19.5 million passengers in 2024. The operator is exploring future network expansions and aims to double passenger numbers by 2030. History Conception and planning The history of the Eurostar brand can be traced to the choice in 1986 of a rail tunnel to provide a cross-channel link between Britain and France. A previous attempt to construct a tunnel between the two nations had begun in 1974, but was quickly aborted. Construction began afresh in 1988. Getlink, Eurotunnel was created to manage and own the tunnel, which was finished in 1993, the official opening taking place on 6 May 1994. In addition t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. Belgium covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.8 million; its population density of ranks List of countries and dependencies by population density, 22nd in the world and Area and population of European countries, sixth in Europe. The capital and Metropolitan areas in Belgium, largest metropolitan region is City of Brussels, Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a complex Federation, federal system structured on regional and linguistic grounds. The country is divided into three highly autonomous Communities, regions and language areas o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siemens Velaro
Siemens Velaro is a family of high-speed electric multiple unit trains built by Siemens. It is based on the ICE 3 high-speed trains initially co-manufactured by Siemens and Bombardier Transportation, Bombardier for German national rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB). In 1994, Deutsche Bahn were the first to order 50 units of the high-speed trains, branded as ''ICE 3'', that would eventually evolve into the Velaro family. This initial batch of ICE-3 trainsets was built by a consortium with Bombardier Transportation, Bombardier (acquired by Alstom), and first delivered for service in 1999. A version based on this train without Bombardier patents was developed by Siemens and has been marketed as ''Velaro'' since. Velaro derivatives have been introduced in Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, China, Russia, and Turkey. In July 2006, a Siemens Velaro train-set (AVE S-103) reached , which was the land speed record for rail vehicles and unmodified commerci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thalys PBKA
PBKA is a High-speed rail, high-speed trainset, manufactured by the French company Alstom, GEC-Alsthom, and used on the international Eurostar service. Originally built for Thalys (which later merged with Eurostar) they were intended to operate between Paris, Brussels, Köln () and Amsterdam, forming the abbreviation PBKA. They were initially intended to be sole rolling stock of the service, but their extreme cost and complexity due to their quadri-current capability led the order of a simpler tri-current sister class, the Thalys PBA, a TGV Réseau derivative, with which they can work in multiple (coupled together). The PBKA trains are quadri-current, capable of operating under the same systems as the PBA sets: (France), (Belgium) and (the Netherlands and parts of France), but with the addition of (Germany). They are a member of Alstom's TGV family of trains. Each set has a power car on each end with three first class cars, a bar car, and four second class cars in between. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thalys PBA
Thalys (French: ) was a brand name used for high-speed train services between Paris Gare du Nord and both Amsterdam Centraal and German cities in the Rhein-Ruhr, including Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen and Dortmund, both via Brussels-South. Thalys was created out of a political ambition formalised in October 1987 to establish a network of international high-speed railway services between the cities of Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Amsterdam. The Thalys name was created in January 1995. The company procured a fleet of Alstom-built TGV trains to operate its services as they were viewed as the only existing rolling stock suitable to the task. On 4 June 1996, the first Thalys-branded train departed from Paris. Early services were more reliant on slower conventional lines as many of the intended new high-speed lines were still under construction. Service speeds would improve with the opening of Belgium's HSL 1 line in December 1997 and the Dutch HSL-Zuid in Decem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 373
The British Rail Class 373, known in France as the TGV TMST and branded by Eurostar as the Eurostar e300, is a French designed and Anglo-French built electric multiple unit train that is used for Eurostar international high-speed rail services from the United Kingdom to France and Belgium through the Channel Tunnel. Part of the TGV family, it was built with a smaller cross-section to fit the smaller loading gauge in Britain, was originally capable of operating on the UK third rail network, and has extensive fireproofing in case of fire in the tunnel. It is both the second longest——and second fastest train in regular UK passenger service, operating at speeds of up to . Known as the TransManche Super Train (TMST) or Cross-channel Super Train before being introduced in 1993, the train is designated Class 373 under the British TOPS classification system and series 373000 TGV in France. It was built by the Anglo-French company GEC-Alsthom at its factories in La Rochelle (France) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TGV Duplex
The TGV Duplex is a French high-speed train of the TGV family, manufactured by Alstom, and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. They were the first TGV trainsets to use bi-level passenger carriages with a seating capacity of 508 passengers, increasing capacity on busy high-speed lines. While the TGV Duplex started as a small component of the TGV fleet, it has become one of the system's workhorses. A total of 160 Duplex trainsets were built: the original order of 89 first constructed in 1995, an additional 19 Réseau Duplex trainsets created as an extension of the TGV POS project in 2006, and 52 second-generation Dasye trainsets were first delivered in 2007 with revised traction motors and safety systems. The Duplex design was further refined into the third generation Euroduplex. Purpose The LGV Sud-Est from Paris to Lyon is the busiest high-speed line in France. After its opening in 1981 it rapidly reached capacity. Several options were available to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TGV Atlantique
The TGV Atlantique (TGV-A) is a class of high-speed trains used in France by SNCF; they were built by Alstom between 1988 and 1992, and were the second generation of TGV trains, following on from the TGV Sud-Est trainsets. The trains were named after the Ligne à Grande Vitesse Atlantique () that they were originally built for. 105 bi-current sets, numbered 301-405 were built. Entry into service began in 1989. They are long and wide. They weigh , and are made up of two power cars and ten carriages with a total of 485 seats. They were built for a maximum speed of with total power under 25 kV. From 2015 onwards, many of these units have been scrapped with only 28 still in service in 2022. Most of the remaining fleet have been refurbished and mainly see service on slower trains between Paris and Bordeaux that use only a portion of the LGV Atlantique and LGV Sud Europe Atlantique. Fast through services on the route are now operated by the higher capacity TGV "Océane". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TGV Réseau
The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocket and Concorde supersonic airliner; sponsored by the Government of France, those funding programmes were known as (' national champion') policies. In 2023 the TGV network in France carried 122 million passengers. The state-owned SNCF started working on a high-speed rail network in 1966. It presented the project to President Georges Pompidou in 1974 who approved it. Originally designed as turbotrains to be powered by gas turbines, TGV prototypes evolved into electric trains with the 1973 oil crisis. In 1976 the SNCF ordered 87 high-speed trains from Alstom. Following the inaugural service between Paris and Lyon in 1981 on the LGV Sud-Est, the network, centred on Paris, has expanded to connect major cities across France, including Marseill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TGV POS
The TGV POS is a TGV train built by French manufacturer Alstom which is operated by the French national rail company, the SNCF, in France's high-speed rail lines. It was originally ordered by the SNCF for use on the LGV Est, which was put into service in 2007. POS is an abbreviation of ''Paris-Ostfrankreich-Süddeutschland'' (), the route of the LGV Est. History The TGV POS project was a unique extension of the TGV Duplex order. Alstom delivered to SNCF 38 new tri-current power cars and 19 sets of double-deck Duplex passenger carriages. The tri-current power cars were paired with the 19 sets of single-level passenger carriages from TGV Réseau trainsets, while the two-level Duplex passenger carriages were paired with the 38 dual-current power cars from the Réseau trainsets. The tri-current function was necessary for the LGV Est, which ends at the German border, where the electrification switches to the system. Meanwhile, the heavily congested lines where the Réseau train ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alstom
Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional and urban trains along with trams. The company and its name (originally spelled Alsthom) was formed by a merger between the electric engineering division of Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (Als) and Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston (thom) in 1928. Significant acquisitions later included the Constructions Électriques de France (1932), shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique (1976), and parts of ACEC (late 1980s). A merger with parts of the British General Electric Company formed GEC Alsthom in 1989. Throughout the 1990s, the company expanded its holdings in the rail sector, acquiring German rolling stock manufacturer Linke-Hofmann-Busch and Italian rail signaling specialist Sasib Railways. In 1998, GEC Alsthom was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruling Gradient
In railroading, the ruling grade is steepest grade on the rail line between two locations. Climbing the steepest part of the line dictates the minimum motive power needed, or how light the train must be, in order for the run to be made without assistance. While a low-powered (and inexpensive) locomotive can handle less-steep sections, which might be the majority of a run, the more powerful locomotive is needed for the steeper parts. Therefore, this steep section "rules" or controls the whole line, even though that requires more power than necessary for the other sections. This is why special "helper engines" (also dubbed "Bankers") are often stationed near steep grades on otherwise mild tracks. It is cheaper than running a more powerful (and thus more costly) locomotive over the entire track mileage in order to make the grade, especially when multiple trains run over the line each day (to help justify the fixed daily cost of the helper operation). In the 1953 edition of ''Railw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
