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The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity
high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...
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 Ariane 1 () was the first rocket in the Ariane family of expendable launch systems. It was developed for and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), which had been formed in 1973, the same year that development of the launcher had commenc ...
rocket and
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
supersonic airliner; sponsored by the
Government of France The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...
, those funding programmes were known as (' national champion') policies. In 2023 the TGV network in France carried 122 million passengers. The state-owned
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 ...
started working on a high-speed rail network in 1966. It presented the project to President
Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( ; ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously served as Prime Minister of France under President Charles de Gaulle from 19 ...
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 October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...
. In 1976 the SNCF ordered 87 high-speed trains from
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 ...
. Following the inaugural service between
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
in 1981 on the LGV Sud-Est, the network, centred on Paris, has expanded to connect major cities across France, including
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
,
Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
,
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
,
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
,
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
and
Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
, as well as in neighbouring countries on a combination of high-speed and conventional lines. The success of the first high-speed service led to a rapid development of ''lignes à grande vitesse'' (LGVs, 'high-speed lines') to the south (
Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône a ...
, Méditerranée, Nîmes–Montpellier), west ( Atlantique, Bretagne-Pays de la Loire, Sud Europe Atlantique), north ( Nord, Interconnexion Est) and east ( Rhin-Rhône, Est). Since it was launched, the TGV has not recorded a single passenger fatality in an accident on normal, high-speed service. A specially modified TGV high-speed train known as Project V150, weighing only 265 tonnes, set the world record for the fastest wheeled train, reaching during a test run on 3 April 2007. In 2007, the world's fastest scheduled rail journey was a start-to-stop average speed of between the Gare de Champagne-Ardenne and Gare de Lorraine on the LGV Est, not surpassed until the 2013 reported average of express service on the
Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang; Mandarin: ; formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang is the capital and most populous city of China's Hebei Province. A prefecture-level city southwest of Beijing, it administers eight districts, three county-le ...
to
Zhengzhou Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine National central city, national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. Th ...
segment of China's Shijiazhuang–Wuhan high-speed railway. During the engineering phase, the transmission voie-machine (TVM) cab-signalling technology was developed, as drivers would not be able to see signals along the track-side when trains reach full speed. It allows for a train engaging in an emergency braking to request within seconds all following trains to reduce their speed; if a driver does not react within , the system overrides the controls and reduces the train's speed automatically. The TVM safety mechanism enables TGVs using the same line to depart every three minutes. The TGV system itself extends to neighbouring countries, either directly (Italy, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany) or through TGV-derivative networks linking France to Switzerland ( Lyria), to Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands (former
Thalys Thalys (French: ) was a brand name used for high-speed rail, high-speed train services between Paris Gare du Nord and both Amsterdam Centraal and German cities in the Rhein-Ruhr, including Aachen, Köln Hauptbahnhof, Cologne, Düsseldorf Hauptba ...
), as well as to the United Kingdom (
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, ...
). Several future lines are under construction or planned, including extensions within France and to surrounding countries. The Mont d'Ambin Base Tunnel, part of the LGV Lyon–Turin that is currently under construction, is set to become the longest rail tunnel in the world. Cities such as
Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
and
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
have become part of a "TGV
commuter Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...
belt" around Paris; the TGV also serves
Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport , also known as Roissy Airport, is the primary international airport serving Paris, the capital city of France. The airport opened in 1974 and is located in Roissy-en-France, northeast of Paris. It is named for ...
and Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport. A visitor attraction in itself, it stops at
Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...
and in southern tourist cities such as
Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
and
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
as well. Brest,
Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...
,
Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionToulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
and
Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...
are reachable by TGVs running on a mix of LGVs and modernised lines. In 2007, the SNCF generated profits of €1.1 billion (approximately US$1.75 billion, £875 million) driven largely by higher margins on the TGV network.


History

The idea of the TGV was first proposed in the 1960s, after Japan had begun construction of the
Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...
in 1959. At the time the Government of France favoured new technology, exploring the production of
hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...
and the
Aérotrain The Aérotrain was an experimental Tracked Air Cushion Vehicle (TACV), or hovertrain, developed in France from 1965 to 1977 under the engineering leadership of Jean Bertin (1917–1975) – and intended to bring the French rail network to the ...
air-cushion vehicle. Simultaneously, the SNCF began researching high-speed trains on conventional tracks. In 1976, the administration agreed to fund the first line. By the mid-1990s, the trains were so popular that SNCF president Louis Gallois declared that the TGV was "the train that saved French railways".


Development

It was originally planned that the TGV, then standing for ' ('very high speed') or ' ('high-speed turbine'), would be propelled by
gas turbines A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the direction of flow: ...
, selected for their small size, good
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 ...
and ability to deliver high power over an extended period. The first prototype, TGV 001, was the only gas-turbine TGV: following the increase in the price of oil during the
1973 energy crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after E ...
, gas turbines were deemed uneconomic and the project turned to electricity from
overhead lines An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...
, generated by new nuclear power stations. TGV 001 was not a wasted prototype: its gas turbine was only one of its many new technologies for high-speed rail travel. It also tested high-speed brakes, needed to dissipate the large amount of
kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the form of energy that it possesses due to its motion. In classical mechanics, the kinetic energy of a non-rotating object of mass ''m'' traveling at a speed ''v'' is \fracmv^2.Resnick, Rober ...
of a train at high speed, high-speed aerodynamics, and signalling. It was articulated, comprising two adjacent carriages sharing a
bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...
, allowing free yet controlled motion with respect to one another. It reached , which remains the world speed record for a non-electric train. Its interior and exterior were styled by French designer Jacques Cooper, whose work formed the basis of early TGV designs, including the distinctive nose shape of the first power cars. Changing the TGV to electric traction required a significant design overhaul. The first electric prototype, nicknamed Zébulon, was completed in 1974, testing features such as innovative body mounting of motors,
pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a Linkage (mechanical), mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a se ...
s, suspension and braking. Body mounting of motors allowed over 3 tonnes to be eliminated from the power cars and greatly reduced the
unsprung weight The unsprung mass (colloquially unsprung weight) of a vehicle is the mass of the suspension, wheels or tracks (as applicable), and other components directly connected to them. This contrasts with the sprung mass (or weight) supported by the ...
. The prototype travelled almost during testing. In 1976, the French administration funded the TGV project, and construction of the LGV Sud-Est, the first high-speed line (), began shortly afterwards. The line was given the designation LN1, ' ('New Line 1'). After two pre-production trainsets (nicknamed ''Patrick'' and ''Sophie'') had been tested and substantially modified, the first production version was delivered on 25 April 1980.


Service

The TGV opened to the public between
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
on 27 September 1981. Contrary to its earlier fast services, SNCF intended TGV service for all types of passengers, with the same initial ticket price as trains on the parallel conventional line. To counteract the popular misconception that the TGV would be a premium service for business travellers, SNCF started a major publicity campaign focusing on the speed, frequency, reservation policy, normal price, and broad accessibility of the service. This commitment to a democratised TGV service was enhanced in the Mitterrand era with the promotional slogan "Progress means nothing unless it is shared by all". The TGV was considerably faster (in terms of door to door travel time) than normal trains,
cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
, or
aeroplanes An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, ...
. The trains became widely popular, the public welcoming fast and practical travel. The
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, ...
service began operation in 1994, connecting
continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...
to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
via the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at ...
and the LGV Nord-Europe with a version of the TGV designed for use in the tunnel and the United Kingdom. The first phase of the British
High Speed 1 High Speed 1 (HS1), officially the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel. It is part of the line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Euro ...
line was completed in 2003, the second phase in November 2007. The fastest trains take 2 hours 15 minutes London–Paris and 1 hour 51 minutes London–Brussels. The first twice-daily London-Amsterdam service ran 3 April 2018, and took 3 hours 47 minutes.


Milestones

The TGV (1981) was the world's second commercial and the fastest
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
high-speed train service, after Japan's
Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...
, which connected Tokyo and
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
from 1 October 1964. It was a commercial success. A TGV test train holds the world speed record for conventional trains. On 3 April 2007 a modified TGV POS train reached under test conditions on the LGV Est between Paris and Strasbourg. The line voltage was boosted to 31 kV, and extra ballast was tamped onto the permanent way. The train beat the 1990 world speed record of , set by a similarly TGV, along with unofficial records set during weeks preceding the official record run. The test was part of an extensive research programme by Alstom. In 2007, the TGV was the world's fastest conventional scheduled train: one journey's average start-to-stop speed from Champagne-Ardenne Station to Lorraine Station is .Railway Gazette International 2007 World Speed Survey Tables
Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a British monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by tran ...
(September 2007)
This record was surpassed on 26 December 2009 by the new Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
where the fastest scheduled train covered at an average speed of . A Eurostar (TGV) train broke the record for the longest non-stop high-speed international journey on 17 May 2006 carrying the cast and filmmakers of ''
The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is “the best-selling American novel of all time.” Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon—the first was his 2000 novel '' Angels & Demons''� ...
'' from London to
Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
for the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
. The journey took 7 hours 25 minutes on an average speed of . The fastest single long-distance run on the TGV was done by a TGV Réseau train from Calais-Frethun to Marseille (i) in 3 hours 29 minutes at a speed of for the inauguration of the LGV Méditerranée on 26 May 2001.


Passenger usage

On 28 November 2003, the TGV network carried its one billionth passenger, a distant second only to the Shinkansen's five billionth passenger in 2000. Excluding international traffic, the TGV system carried 98 million passengers during 2008, an increase of 8 million (9.1%) on the previous year.


Rolling stock

All TGV trains have two
power car In rail transport, the expression power car may refer to either of two distinct types of rail vehicle: *a vehicle that propels, and commonly also controls, a passenger train, potentially a multiple unit train, often as the lead vehicle; *a veh ...
s, one on each end. Between those power cars are a set of semi-permanently coupled articulated un-powered coaches. Cars are connected with Jacobs bogies, a single
bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...
shared between the ends of two coaches. The only exception are the end cars, which have a standalone bogie on the side closest to the power car, which is often motorized. Power cars also have two bogies. Trains can be lengthened by coupling two TGVs, using couplers hidden in the noses of the power cars. The articulated design is advantageous during a derailment, as the passenger carriages are more likely to stay upright and in line with the track. Normal trains could split at couplings and jackknife, as seen in the
Eschede train disaster On 3 June 1998, part of an ICE 1 train on the Hanover–Hamburg railway near Eschede in Lower Saxony, Germany derailed and crashed into an overpass that crossed the railroad, which then collapsed onto the train. 101 people were killed and a ...
. A disadvantage is that it is difficult to split sets of carriages. While power cars can be removed from trains by standard uncoupling procedures, specialized equipment is needed to split carriages, by lifting up cars off a bogie. Once uncoupled, one of the carriage ends is left without support, so a specialized frame is required. SNCF prefers to use power cars instead of
electric multiple units An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...
because it allows for less electrical equipment. There are six types of TGV equipment in use, all 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 ...
: * TGV Atlantique (10 carriages) * TGV Réseau (an upgrade of the Atlantique, 8 carriages) * TGV Duplex (two floors for greater passenger capacity) * TGV POS (originally for routes to Germany, now used to Switzerland) *
TGV 2N2 Avelia Euroduplex, more commonly known simply as Euroduplex or TGV 2N2 in France, is a High-speed rail, high-speed Bilevel rail car, double-decker train manufactured by Alstom. It is primarily operated by the French national railway company SNCF ...
(also known as the Avelia Euroduplex, an upgrade of the TGV Duplex) * TGV M (also known as the Avelia Horizon, expected to enter service in 2025) Retired sets: * TGV Sud-Est (retired in December 2019) ** TGV La Poste (retired in June 2015) Several TGV types have broken records, including the V150 and TGV 001. V150 was a specially modified five-car double-deck trainset that reached under controlled conditions on a test run. It narrowly missed beating the world train speed record of . The record-breaking speed is impractical for commercial trains due to motor overcharging, empty train weight, rail and engine wear issues, elimination of all but three coaches, excessive vibration, noise and lack of emergency stopping methods. TGVs travel at up to in commercial use. All TGVs are at least ''bi-current'', which means that they can operate at (used on LGVs) and (used on traditional lines). Trains travelling internationally must accommodate other voltages ( or ), requiring ''tri-current'' and ''quad-current'' TGVs. Each TGV power car has two pantographs: one for AC use and one for DC. When passing between areas with different electric systems (identified by marker boards), trains enter a phase break zone. Just before this section, train operators must power down the motors (allowing the train to
coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
), lower the pantograph, adjust a switch to select the appropriate system, and raise the pantograph. Once the train exits the phase break zone and detects the correct electric supply, a dashboard indicator illuminates, and the operator can once again engage the motors.


TGV Sud-Est

The Sud-Est fleet was built between 1978 and 1988 and operated the first TGV service, from Paris to Lyon in 1981. There were 107 passenger sets, of which nine are tri-current (including for use in Switzerland) and the rest bi-current. There were seven bi-current half-sets without seats that carried mail for La Poste between Paris, Lyon and
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
, in a distinctive yellow livery until they were phased out in 2015. Each set were made up of two power cars and eight carriages (capacity 345 seats), including a powered bogie in the carriages adjacent to the power cars. They are long and wide. They weighed with a power output of 6,450 kW under 25 kV. The sets were originally built to run at but most were upgraded to during mid-life refurbishment in preparation for the opening of the LGV Méditerranée. The few sets that kept a maximum speed of operated on routes that include a comparatively short distance on LGV, such as to Switzerland via Dijon; SNCF did not consider it financially worthwhile to upgrade their speed for a marginal reduction in journey time. In December 2019, the trains were phased out from service. In late 2019 and early 2020, TGV 01 (Nicknamed Patrick), the very first TGV train, did a farewell service that included all three liveries that were worn during their service.


TGV Atlantique

The 105 train Atlantique fleet was built between 1988 and 1992 for the opening of the
LGV Atlantique The LGV Atlantique (; ) is a high-speed rail line running from Gare Montparnasse in Paris towards the Atlantic coast of France. It opened in 1989–1990 and has two intermediate stations: Massy TGV station and Vendôme-Villiers-sur-Loir TGV s ...
and entry into service began in 1989. They are all bi-current, long and wide. They weigh and are made up of two power cars and ten carriages with a capacity of 485 seats. They were built with a maximum speed of and 8,800 kW of power under 25 kV. The efficiency of the Atlantique with all seats filled has been calculated at 767 PMPG, though with a typical occupancy of 60% it is about 460 PMPG (a Toyota Prius with three passengers is 144 PMPG). Modified unit 325 set the world speed record in 1990 on the LGV Atlantique 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 and improved braking were made to enable speeds of over . The set was reduced to two power cars and three carriages to improve the power-to-weight ratio, weighing 250 tonnes. Three carriages, including the bar carriage in the centre, is the minimum possible configuration because of the Jacobs bogies.


TGV Réseau

The first Réseau (Network) sets entered service in 1993. Fifty bi-current sets were ordered in 1990, supplemented by 40 tri-current sets in 1992/1993 (adding system used on traditional lines in Belgum). Ten tri-current sets carry the Eurostar Red (ex-
Thalys Thalys (French: ) was a brand name used for high-speed rail, high-speed train services between Paris Gare du Nord and both Amsterdam Centraal and German cities in the Rhein-Ruhr, including Aachen, Köln Hauptbahnhof, Cologne, Düsseldorf Hauptba ...
) livery and are known as the PBA (Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam) sets. They are formed of two power cars (8,800 kW under 25 kV – as TGV Atlantique) and eight carriages, giving a capacity of 377 seats. They have a top speed of . They are long and are wide. The bi-current sets weigh 383 tonnes: owing to axle-load restrictions in Belgium the tri-current sets have a series of modifications, such as the replacement of steel with aluminum and hollow axles, to reduce the weight to under 17 t per axle. Owing to early complaints of uncomfortable pressure changes when entering tunnels at high speed on the LGV Atlantique, the Réseau sets are now pressure-sealed. They can be coupled to a Duplex set.


TGV Duplex

The Duplex was built to increase TGV capacity without increasing train length or the number of trains. Each carriage has two levels, with access doors at the lower level taking advantage of low French platforms. A staircase gives access to the upper level, where the gangway between carriages is located. There are 512 seats per set. On busy routes such as Paris-Marseille they are operated in pairs, providing 1,024 seats in two Duplex sets or 800 in a Duplex set plus a Reseau set. Each set has a wheelchair accessible compartment. After a lengthy development process starting in 1988 (during which they were known as the TGV-2N) the original batch of 30 was built between 1995 and 1998. Further deliveries started in 2000 with the Duplex fleet now totaling 160 units, making it the backbone of the SNCF TGV-fleet. They weigh 380 tonnes and are long, made up of two power cars and eight carriages. Extensive use of aluminum means that they weigh not much more than the TGV Réseau sets they supplement. The bi-current power cars provide 8,800 kW, and they have a slightly increased speed of . Duplex TGVs run on all of French high-speed lines.


TGV POS

TGV POS (Paris-Ostfrankreich-Süddeutschland or Paris-Eastern France-Southern Germany) are used on the LGV Est. They consist of two Duplex power cars with eight TGV Réseau-type carriages, with a power output of 9,600 kW and a top speed of . Unlike TGV-A, TGV-R and TGV-D, they have asynchronous motors, and isolation of an individual motor is possible in case of failure.


Avelia Euroduplex (TGV 2N2)

The bi-current TGV 2N2 (Avelia Euroduplex) can be regarded as the 3rd generation of Duplex. The series was commissioned from December 2011 for links to Germany and Switzerland (tri-current trains) and to cope with the increased traffic due to the opening of the LGV Rhine-Rhone. They are numbered from 800 and are limited to . ERTMS makes them compatible to allow access to Spain similar to Dasye.


TGV M Avelia Horizon

The design that emerged from the process was named TGV M, and in July 2018 SNCF ordered 100 trainsets with deliveries expected to begin in 2024. They are expected to cost €25 million per 8-car set.


TGV technology outside France

TGV technology has been adopted in a number of other countries: *
AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...
(''Alta Velocidad Española'') in Spain with the Renfe Class 100 based on the TGV Atlantique. *
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, ...
operates international high-speed services connecting France with Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Several trainsets use TGV technology ( e300, PBA, PBKA). * Korea Train Express (KTX) in South Korea with KTX-I (based on the TGV Réseau) and KTX-Sancheon. *
Acela Express The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship passenger train service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern megalopolis, Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and ...
, a high-speed
tilting train A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train (or other vehicle) rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about ...
built by Alstom and Bombardier for the
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...
in the United States. The Acela power cars use several TGV technologies including the motors, electrical/drivetrain system (rectifiers, inverters, regenerative braking technology), and disc brakes. However, they are strengthened to meet U.S.
Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce railroa ...
crash standards. The Acela's tilting, non-articulated carriages are derived from the Bombardier's LRC train and also meet crash standards. *
Avelia Liberty Avelia Liberty, also known as NextGen Acela and Acela II, is a tilting high-speed passenger trainset built for the North American market by French manufacturer Alstom and assembled in the United States. Amtrak has ordered 28 train sets for u ...
, also known as the Acela II, the replacement for the Acela Express in the United States. Expected to enter service in 2025. * The
Moroccan government Politics of Morocco take place in a framework of an official parliamentary semi-constitutional islamic monarchy, whereby the prime minister of Morocco is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the ...
agreed to a €2 billion contract for
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 ...
to build Al-Boraq, an LGV between
Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
and
Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
which opened in 2018 using TGV Euroduplex.


Lines in operation

In June 2021, there were approximately of ' (LGV), with four additional line sections under construction. The current lines and those under construction can be grouped into four routes radiating from Paris.


Accidents

In over four decades of operation, the TGV has not recorded a single passenger fatality in an accident on normal, high-speed service. There have been several accidents, including four derailments at or above , but in only one of these—a test run on a new line—did carriages overturn. This safety record is credited in part to the stiffness that the articulated design lends to the train. There have been fatal accidents involving TGVs on ''lignes classiques'', where the trains are exposed to the same dangers as normal trains, such as
level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...
s. These include one terrorist bombing unrelated to the speed at which the train was traveling.


On LGVs

* 14 December 1992: TGV 920 from Annecy to Paris, operated by set 56, derailed at at Mâcon-Loché TGV station (
Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is B ...
). A previous emergency stop had caused a wheel flat; the bogie concerned derailed while crossing the
points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
at the entrance to the station. No one on the train was injured, but 25 passengers waiting on the platform for another TGV were slightly injured by ballast that was thrown up from the trackbed. * 21 December 1993: TGV 7150 from Valenciennes to Paris, operated by set 511, derailed at at the site of Haute Picardie TGV station, before it was built. Rain had caused a hole to open up under the track; the hole dated from the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
but had not been detected during construction. The front power car and four carriages derailed but remained aligned with the track. Of the 200 passengers, one was slightly injured. * 5 June 2000: Eurostar 9073 from Paris to London, operated by sets 3101/2 owned by the
National Railway Company of Belgium The National Railway Company of Belgium (, NMBS; , SNCB; ) is the national railway company of Belgium. The company formally styles itself using the Dutch and French abbreviations NMBS/SNCB. The corporate logo designed in 1936 by Henry van de Ve ...
, derailed at in the
Nord-Pas de Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former regions of France, administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new Regions of France, region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the ...
region near Croisilles. The transmission assembly on the rear bogie of the front power car failed, with parts falling onto the track. Four bogies out of 24 derailed. Out of 501 passengers, seven were bruised and others treated for shock. * 14 November 2015: TGV 2369 was involved in the Eckwersheim derailment, near Strasbourg, while being tested on the then-unopened second phase of the LGV Est. The derailment resulted in 11 deaths among those aboard, while 11 others aboard the train were seriously injured. Excessive speed has been cited as the cause.


On classic lines

* 31 December 1983: A bomb allegedly planted by the terrorist organisation of
Carlos the Jackal Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal () or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convict who conducted a series of assassinations and terrorist bombings from 1973 to 1985. A committed Marxist–Leninist, ...
exploded on board a TGV from Marseille to Paris; two people were killed. *28 September 1988: TGV 736, operated by set 70 "Melun", collided with a lorry carrying an electric transformer weighing 100 tonnes that had become stuck on a level crossing in Voiron, Isère. The vehicle had not obtained the required crossing permit from the French ''Direction départementale de l'équipement''. The weight of the lorry caused a very violent collision; the train driver and a passenger died, and 25 passengers were slightly injured. * 4 January 1991: after a brake failure, TGV 360 ran away from Châtillon depot. The train was directed onto an unoccupied track and collided with the car loading ramp at Paris-Vaugirard station at . No one was injured. The leading power car and the first two carriages were severely damaged, and were rebuilt. * 25 September 1997: TGV 7119 from Paris to
Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
, operated by set 502, collided at with a 70 tonne asphalt paving machine on a level crossing at Bierne, near Dunkerque. The power car spun round and fell down an embankment. The front two carriages left the track and came to a stop in woods beside the track. Seven people were injured. * 31 October 2001: TGV 8515 from Paris to Irun derailed at near Dax in southwest France. All ten carriages derailed and the rear power unit fell over. The cause was a broken rail. * 30 January 2003: a TGV from Dunkerque to Paris collided at with a heavy goods vehicle stuck on the level crossing at Esquelbecq in northern France. The front power car was severely damaged, but only one bogie derailed. Only the driver was slightly injured. * 19 December 2007: a TGV from Paris to Geneva collided at about with a truck on a level crossing near Tossiat in eastern France, near the Swiss border. The driver of the truck died; on the train, one person was seriously injured and 24 were slightly injured. * 17 July 2014: a TER train ran into the rear of a TGV at Denguin, Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Forty people were injured. Following the number of accidents at level crossings, an effort has been made to remove all level crossings on ''lignes classiques'' used by TGVs. The ''ligne classique'' from
Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
to
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
at the end of the LGV Atlantique has no level crossings as a result.


Protests against the TGV

The first environmental protests against the building of an LGV occurred in May 1990 during the planning stages of the LGV Méditerranée. Protesters blocked a railway viaduct to protest against the planned route, arguing that it was unnecessary, and that trains could keep using existing lines to reach Marseille from Lyon. The Turin–Lyon high-speed railway (
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
-
Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...
-
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
), which would connect the TGV network to the Italian TAV network, has been the subject of demonstrations in Italy. While most Italian political parties agree on the construction of this line, some inhabitants of the towns where construction would take place oppose it vehemently. The concerns put forward by the protesters centre on storage of dangerous materials mined during tunnel boring, like
asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...
and perhaps
uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
, in the open air. This health danger could be avoided by using more expensive techniques for handling radioactive materials. A six-month delay in the start of construction has been decided in order to study solutions. In addition to the concerns of the residents, RFB – a ten-year-old national movement – opposes the development of Italy's TAV
high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...
network as a whole. General complaints about the noise of TGVs passing near towns and villages have led the SNCF to build acoustic fencing along large sections of LGV to reduce the disturbance to residents, but protests still take place where SNCF has not addressed the issue. On July 26 2024, the opening day of the 2024 Olympics, the TGV was hit by an arson attack. At least 800,000 people were affected by this. The Eurostar was specifically hit by this with 25% of trains canceled.


Mail services

In addition to its standard services, mail delivery services were also operated by TGVs. For many years, a service termed SNCF TGV La Poste transported mail for the French mail service, La Poste. It used windowless but otherwise standard TGV rolling stock, painted in the yellow and blue livery of La Poste. However, the service ceased in June 2015.


Mobile hospital service

During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, several TGV trains were transformed into mobile hospitals, in order to transport critically ill patients from overwhelmed hospitals in the East of France to hospitals in the West. Every coach allowed for up to 6 patients, allowing for the transport of several dozen patients, attended by a staff of 50 medical workers. Although the train moves at high speed, it accelerates and decelerates smoothly, allowing for medical procedures to be performed during transport.


Rebranding

Since July 2017, TGV services are gradually being rebranded as
TGV inOui TGV inOui is the brand name of premium TGV train services operated by SNCF since 27 May 2017 on certain high speed rail services. SNCF is in the process of replacing 'classic' TGV services with the premium inOui and low-cost Ouigo brands in p ...
and Ouigo in preparation for the opening of the French HSR market to competition.


TGV inOui

TGV inOui is SNCF's premium high-speed rail service. The name inOui was chosen because it sounds like the French word ''inouï'' meaning "extraordinary" (or more literally, "unheard of").


Ouigo

Ouigo is SNCF's low-cost high-speed rail service. Trains have a high-density one-class configuration and reduced on-board services. The services traditionally operate from less busy secondary stations, sometimes outside of the city centre. The literal translation of the brand name is "yes go", but the name is also a play on the English homonym, "we go".


See also

*
High-speed rail in France France has a large network of high-speed rail lines. As of June 2021, the French high-speed rail network comprises of tracks, making it one of the largest in Europe and the world. As of early 2023, new lines are being constructed or planned. Th ...
** iDTGV ** TER-GV – TGVs operating on relatively short distances along the LGV Nord ** TGV track construction **
TGV world speed record The TGV (''train à grande vitesse'', 'high-speed train') holds a series of Land speed record for railed vehicles, land speed records for rail vehicles achieved by SNCF, the French national railroad, railway, and its industrial partners. The hi ...
– overview and chronology of speed record attempts ** V150 (train) *
High-speed rail in Europe High-speed rail (HSR) has developed in Europe as an increasingly popular and efficient means of transport. The first high-speed rail lines on the continent, built in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, improved travel times on intra-national corridor ...
**
AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...
**
ICE Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
** Frecciarossa ** Giruno **
Pendolino Pendolino (from Italian language, Italian "pendulum", and ''-ino,'' a diminutive suffix) is an Italian family of high-speed tilting trains (and non-tilting) used in Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, the Czech Republic, ...
/ New Pendolino ** X 2000 ** YHT *
Rail transport in Europe Rail transport in Europe has diverse technological standards, operating concepts, and infrastructures. Common features are the widespread use of Standard-gauge railway, standard-gauge rail, high operational safety and a high proportion of rail ...
*
Train categories in Europe In Rail transport in Europe, Europe, railway companies assign trains to different categories or train types depending on their role, i.e. based on the used rolling stock, their speed (high-speed rail, high-speed, higher-speed rail, higher-speed, ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * *Cinotti, Eric and Tréboul, Jean-Baptiste (2000) ''Les TGV européens : Eurostar, Thalys'', Paris : Presses universitaires de France, (in French) *Perren, Brian (2000) ''TGV handbook'', 2nd ed., Harrow Weald : Capital Transport, * *Soulié, Claude and Tricoire, Jean (2002). ''Le grand livre du TGV'', Paris: La Vie du Rail,


External links

* (in English)
Archived TGV Website
(in English) {{Authority control SNCF brands High-speed rail in France High-speed trains SNCF Rail transport in Europe Eurostar Railway services introduced in 1981 Land speed records Railteam Rail transport brands 1981 establishments in France