The TGV Atlantique (TGV-A) is a class of high-speed trains used in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
by
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
; they were built by
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 ...
between 1988 and 1992, and were the second generation of
TGV
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 rocke ...
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".
Modified unit 325
set the world speed record in 1990 on the new LGV before its opening. Modifications, such as improved
aerodynamics
Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
, larger wheels (from 920 mm to 1090 mm) and improved braking were made to enable test run speeds of over . Its gear ratio was changed from × ≈ 1 : 2.1894 to × ≈ 1 : 2.012.
The set was reduced to two power cars and three carriages to improve the
power-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement ...
, weighing . The TGV Atlantique's world record was beaten on the 3 April 2007, by a
TGV POS set on the
LGV Est, which reached a top speed of .
Fleet details
See also
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List of high speed trains
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AVE Class 100
The Renfe Class 100 is a high-speed train used for AVE services by the Renfe Operadora, in Spain. It was the first high-speed train put into service in Spain, in 1992.
History
This class lived through all the changes involved in the creation ...
, a high-speed train in Spain based on the design of the TGV Atlantique
Further reading
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References
External links
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Spec Sheet
Land speed record rail vehicles
Atlantique
Electric multiple units with locomotive-like power cars
Passenger trains running at least at 300 km/h in commercial operations
{{France-rail-transport-stub
25 kV AC multiple units
1500 V DC multiple units of France