Getting around France and adjacent countries on the TGV, Eurostar, and Thalys
Apr 04 '01 (Updated Dec 12 '03)
The Bottom Line High speed trains, the TGV, Eurostar, and Thalys are the best way to get around in France and to adjacent countries. London and Paris are only three hours apart.
In France, trains are a great way to get around, and France has the world's most comprehensive high speed train system. The TGV (tay-zhay-vee), Train à Grande Vitesse, is France's high speed train system. With a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) on dedicated high speed lines, the TGV provides comfortable city-center to city-center service between Paris and the other major cities of France, as well as internationally to the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland.
Because of its speed, comfort, somewhat lower cost, and city-center service, the TGV has all but replaced air travel on many routes (e.g. Paris-Lyon) and has certainly taken a big bite of others (e.g. Paris-London).
TGV, Eurostar, Thalys: A Host of High Speed Trains
Strictly speaking, TGV refers to the high speed trains run by the Grandes Lignes unit of the French National Railway, SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer). They serve four major regions: Sud-Est (Dijon, Lyon), Altantique (Le Mans, Vendôme), Rhône-Alps (extension of Sud-Est toward the Alps), Nord Europe (Lille, Brussels).
High speed extensions of the Nord Europe lines linking the Channel Tunnel were opened in 1994, and an extension of the Sud-Est line called Méditerranée, which will connect Avignon and Marseille, will open in 2001.
TGV trains don't stop where the TGV track runs out. They just slow down and keep going to more distant destinations in France, such as Bordeaux, and internationally, such as Geneve.
There are also high speed trains other than the TGVs run by SNCF that use the French high speed track system. Eurostar's trains ply the routes between Paris, Brussels, and London through the channel tunnel. Eurostar is a France-UK-Belgium consortium. Thalys trains run on various routes from Paris through Belgium, Netherlands, and far western Germany as well as some Sud-Est routes. Thalys is a France-Belgium-Germany consortium.
How Long Does It Take to Get Where I'm Going?
Paris is the center of France, so all high speed routes radiate from Paris. So, if you're in Paris, or are going to Paris, you just get on a train and go. On the other hand, if you want to go from, say, Lyon to Bordeaux, you have to go from Lyon to Paris, and then from Paris to Bordeaux.
Even so, these trains get you there fast. You can go from Paris to Lille, Dijon, LeMans or Brussels in 1hr 30min or less. Lyon, Rennes, and Nantes are 2hrs or less from Paris. Bordeaux, Grenoble, and London are about 3hrs. In 4 hrs, you can get to Amsterdam, Köln, or Geneva.
How Much Will It Cost
Riding high speed trains costs a bit more than other trains, but quite a bit less than air travel. Reservations are obligatory on all high speed trains and they generally run around $10 per ticket. Some typical ticket costs are as follows:
Paris to London on Eurostar ($139 leisure class).
Paris to Brussels on Thalys ($118 first class/$75 second class weekday, $69/$64 weekend).
Paris to Bordeaux on TGV ($94 first class/$74 second class).
Paris to Lyon on TGV ($100/$74).
Paris to Geneva on TGV ($114/$85).
Paris to Interlaken, Switzerland on TGV plus Swiss train (6 hours, $158/104).
Amenities
TGV trains typically carry between 350 and 475 passengers in 3 first class and 4 second class coaches. Each train has a bar car which serves drinks and snacks. Duplex trains, which have two-level coaches, carry about 545 passengers. Other than the bar car, snack carts pass through the coaches. Prices are high, and the food isn't that great, so smart travelers buy their food and drink before they get on the train.
First class seating is 2+1 and second class is 2+2. Most coaches have at least a few "club seating" areas where two sets of seats face each other with a fold down table in the middle. Good for playing cards or carrying on a business meeting.
Each coach has one or two bathrooms, and some coaches have public telephones.
A Typical Trip
Let's say you're going from Paris to Geneva. You arrive at the Gare de Lyon about 20 minutes early, present your ticket, and are admitted to the appropriate platform. All you have to do is find your coach and seat and stow your luggage in the overhead bin. Soon, the train starts moving slowly as you wind out of the station and through Paris and its suburbs.
Before long, you get to the high speed track, and the train accelerates to top speed. Countryside moves by very fast, and the occasional train passing in the other direction appears as nothing more than a startling blur, as the combined speed is nearly 600 km/h (366 mph). The interior is fairly quiet because of good aerodynamics and the placement of the wheels at the far ends of the coach (actually, two adjacent coaches share one set of wheels, unlike regular coaches, each of which has two sets of wheels of its own).
Before you know it, you're slowing down for the brief stop at Dijon, then picking up speed again. Eventually, you have to leave the high speed track to head for Geneva, but the train still goes pretty fast on the straight stretches (about 120 mph). Before long, you're on the platform in Geneva.
Some Technical Stuff
Each TGV trainset has a power car (engine), first- and second-class coaches and a bar car, and another power car at the other end. Sometimes, two trainsets travel coupled together with two power cars nose to nose.
Each power car develops about 4,400 kilowatts (about 5,900 horsepower) and weighs about 150,000 pounds. In terms of efficiency, the train uses about 18 kilowatts (about 24 horsepower) per seat.
Contrary to popular belief, there's very little "high tech" in the high speed trains. They use ordinary continuously welded steel rails (albeit on a more massive roadbed) and fairly standard electric locomotive components.
The most significant innovation may be in the articulation between cars: they are semipermanently connected, and each pair shares a single set of wheels, which are thus much closer to the ends of the cars. This reduces weight and noise and provides space for an improved suspension system.
Finally, because the train is moving so fast, all signals are transmitted electronically and displayed in the "cockpit". This allows separations of only three minutes between trains, which take about a mile to stop from full speed.
At the time the TGVs were conceived, lots of people thought conventional train technology had reached its peak, and that the future lay in the direction of magnetic levitation or other exotics. The French (and Japanese) proved otherwise.
Web Resources
The official TGV web site, www.tgv.com , is great (but slow to load). Available in French and English, it gives the history of the TGV as well as describing the operation of the system today. You can ask it to book tickets for which it will transfer you to www.sncf.com where you will be able to put together itineraries, but not actually get tickets sent to the USA. For that, you'll have to go to www.raileurope.com .
There is a truly comprehensive TGV enthusiast site at mercurio.iet.unipi.it/tgv/tgvindex.html .
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Other Related Advice on Transportation in Europe
-- Using public transit in Paris
-- Web Resources for Serious Train Riders
-- France and adjacent countries on the TGV, Eurostar, and Thalys
-- Getting from Charles de Gaulle airport into Paris
-- Paris to London on Eurostar, the Chunnel Train
-- London to Paris on Eurostar, the Chunnel Train
-- Using the Swiss transportation system
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