New TGVs delayed as France opens railways to competition

The launch of the first €30.4million TGV-M trains has been delayed once more.

Due to start running on the Paris-Marseille line in September, problems discovered during test runs have pushed their delivery back to an unspecified date “in the autumn”, according to SNCF Voyageurs.

The trains, promising more comfort, are the fifth generation of France’s TGVs.

Built by Alstom, they have a top speed of 320km/h, with electric motors designed to use less power and cause fewer vibrations than in older trains.

Coupled with improved aerodynamics, this should mean the trains produce 32% less CO₂ in operation.

Another innovation is adjustable train length, with six to nine carriages instead of the TGV’s standard eight.

Emergency batteries should let trains reach the nearest station if power is cut, rather than becoming stranded.

After various delays, deliveries were initially due to start in 2024, with SNCF hoping to show them off during the Paris Olympics. Alstom missed that target – as well as others scheduled for earlier this year.

The company blamed supply difficulties, aggravated by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the global trade disruption that followed.

SNCF and Alstom promise enhanced passenger comfort on board: the seats, with improved foam and wool fabric, were tested with 320 different-shaped people. The trains will also boast Wi-Fi-compatible 5G throughout.

The initial order was for 115 train sets but this was increased to 130 for SNCF Voyageurs, plus another 30 for Eurostar, the majority-SNCF-owned company that runs TGVs through the Channel Tunnel.

TGV competition

A report on how France will reconcile opening up its high-speed trains to competition, while maintaining TGV links with smaller stations, was published this summer.

The first competitors to SNCF are due to start running soon on the Paris-Bordeaux line, without stopping at intermediate stations of Poitiers (Vienne) and Angoulême (Charente).

Taxpayers in those departments had to pay higher taxe foncière to help fund the extension of the high-speed line from Tours to Bordeaux, in return for maintenance of the TGV links they had.

Other cities cited as being in danger of losing their TGV services include Le Mans (Sarthe), Valence (Drôme), Laval (Mayenne) and Le Creusot (Saône-et-Loire).

Historically, profits from popular TGV services subsidised smaller stations to support territorial cohesion.

The report, by former transport minister Dominique Bussereau, was published in July and stated that this system “becomes more fragile and contestable in an open market”.

It proposed variable rail tolls paid by railway companies and, eventually, a fund to keep smaller TGV stations open.

The government responded via a press release, highlighting the need for a “stabilisation phase in the next three to five years” to consider options.