Five hour delay on inaugural Paris-Toulouse TGV

The TGV was supposed to make the journey from Paris to Toulouse in just 4 hours 20 minutes but the journey took 9 hours 19 minute due to a broken down intercity train blocking the way at Agen, halfway between Bordeaux and Toulouse. The TGV train bound for Toulouse was left stranded in Bordeaux station.

Two new LGV lines were inaugurated this weekend – the 1 hour 30 minutes Paris-Rennes and 2 hour Paris-Bordeaux TGVs.

At the inauguration of the Paris-Bordeaux line, local officials discussed the planned extension of the LGV to Toulouse. “We really need a TGV that goes all the way to Toulouse,” said president of the Aquitaine region Alain Rousset.

Due to open in 2020, the Paris-Toulouse express train will makle the journey in just three hours. Currently the train switches back to its normal speed at Bordeaux for the onward journey to Toulouse.

SNCF released a graphic on its website showing that 54% of trains since May had arrived on time, while 16% suffered a delay of over half an hour.