# Least successful TGV train and why?



## birdy (Feb 19, 2009)

With all the hoo-hah about the $8 bil for high speed rail, I was wondering, what is the least successful of the TGV type train routes and why? surely after 25 years there's a clinker or two in there.

By the way, Wall Street Journal on line had a good article today about the initiative that warned that $8 billion would only pay for one long 350 mile or so project. The comments afterwards by pretty conservative people who have to fly a lot was basically "Fine. Pay it."


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## amtrakwolverine (Feb 20, 2009)

deleted


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## jis (Feb 20, 2009)

Here is a schematic of the LGV network:







Frankly, it is hard to find a dud among those lines. Possibly LGV Mediterranee has the lowest traffic, but even that is not so low as to characterize it as a dud.


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## Joel N. Weber II (Feb 21, 2009)

jis said:


> Possibly LGV Mediterranee has the lowest traffic, but even that is not so low as to characterize it as a dud.


And did building it improve the traffic levels on LGV Rhone-Alpes?


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## Neil_M (Feb 21, 2009)

Joel N. Weber II said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> > Possibly LGV Mediterranee has the lowest traffic, but even that is not so low as to characterize it as a dud.
> ...


Rhone Alpes was built to take the long distance trains away from Lyon Part Dieu which is a bit of a slow speed bottle neck. The only station is at Lyon Airport which is a bit poorly served anyway.

It was just one more piece of the jigsaw and once the Valence to Marseille line opened, it only took 3hrs from Paris to Marseille.


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## amtrakwolverine (Feb 21, 2009)

deleted


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## jackal (Feb 21, 2009)

Well, I'll tell ya that the Paris-Dijon midday service (1pm-ish) was certainly NOT among the least successful. I don't think there were any empty seats leaving Paris.

Note that TGV service is provided to many destinations not on the LGV network. Off of the LGV tracks (yes, that is a redundancy, I know  ), TGVs function as express trains (skipping the smaller stops) but don't--as far as I know--go any faster than the standard locomotive-hauled TER trains. (Both the TER I traveled between Beaune and Dijon and the TGV I traveled on between Dijon and Aisy Junction capped out at about 99mph.)

Taking these TGV services that branch off of the LGV network, TGVs serve a LOT more routes and destinations in France than it looks like from the above map. It really is quite a marvelous system.


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## Neil_M (Feb 22, 2009)

jackal said:


> TGVs function as express trains (skipping the smaller stops) but don't--as far as I know--go any faster than the standard locomotive-hauled RER trains. (Both the RER I traveled between Beaune and Dijon and the TGV I traveled on between Dijon and Aisy Junction capped out at about 99mph.)


Depends on the route. South of Valence on the Rhone valley line and south of St Pierre de Corps on the Bordeaux route TGVs travel at speeds up to 138mph. TER (RER is Paris express suburban trains!) trains are at most 100mph except the Basel to Strasbourg trains which are 125mph.


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## jackal (Feb 22, 2009)

Neil_M said:


> jackal said:
> 
> 
> > TGVs function as express trains (skipping the smaller stops) but don't--as far as I know--go any faster than the standard locomotive-hauled RER trains. (Both the RER I traveled between Beaune and Dijon and the TGV I traveled on between Dijon and Aisy Junction capped out at about 99mph.)
> ...


Oops! :blink: I knew that (check the list of trains I've ridden in my signature!), but I just had a brain fart!


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