574.8... rail speed record for TGV
574.8... rail speed record for TGV On 3 April 2007, the TGV smashed the world speed record, reaching 574.8 kph (356 mph) on the new TGV-Est high-speed line. The previous record was set in 1990 with 515 kph (322 mph). From June, it will link Paris to Strasbourg in 2 hrs 20 mins at the commercial speed record of 320 kph (200 mph).
This new achievement confirms the TGV’s success for more than 25 years. Since its launch in 1981 with the opening of the Paris-Lyon line, the TGV network has continuously expanded throughout France. It has safely transported 1.2 billion passengers.
The TGV has helped develop regional cities and opened up many erstwhile isolated parts of France by improving access to and connections between them. It has also helped bring European capitals like London, Brussels and Amsterdam closer to French cities.
Environmentally-friendly and economically-profitable, it is also a symbol of sustainable development in the transport sector. Indeed, the TGV network is the main revenue earner for SNCF (French railways).
The TGV was exported to South Korea in 2004 and Taiwan opened its TGV line in October 2006. Talks are under way on the construction of a high-speed line between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
TGV in figures: 
Total number of passengers since 1981 1.2 billion Number of passengers per day 250 000 Number of TGV stations 250 Total length of high-speed rail network 1,540 kms (963 miles) Commercial speed record 320 kph (200 mph) Examples of journey times: Paris-Lyon (250 miles - similar to London-Newcastle) 1 hr 55 mins Paris-Marseille (500 miles - similar to London-Aberdeen) 3 hours TGV speed record: video footage and figures
Five years of construction, 60 million cubic metres of land dug up and moved, 12 million tonnes of material transported and over 3 billion euros invested by 22 partners - the new LGV has blasted past all the previous records!
© RFF ALSTOM SNCF/ FABBRO-LEVEQUE-RECOURA
"It is time that France’s eastern region no longer be the tip of a railway peninsula, but rather a strategic point, connecting us to Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland, our neighbours”, stated Dominique Perben on 15 March, as he inaugurated the first section of the East Europe High-Speed Train Line. Starting from 10 June 2007, when the line is opened to the public, one hundred high-speed trains will run each day at 320 km/h, carrying an expected 11 million travellers each year. The Paris-Strasbourg ride will last two hours and twenty minutes, as compared to four hours currently. Once construction is complete in 2010, Strasbourg will be within 1 hour and fifty minutes of the capital city. In over 20 stations with high-speed train service, the platforms have been revamped for easier use by the disabled. Three new stations, to be built in Champagne-Ardenne, Meuse and Lorraine, will furthermore enable connections between provinces.
A bridge to Europe
In the Minister of Transport’s view, “the completion of this line is a wonderful bridge to the heart of Europe”. The first 300 kilometres of railway will make up the French link in the future “Magistral Railway for Europe”, a 1 500-kilometer line that will cut through Europe, connecting Paris to Bratislava (Slovakia), via Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Munich and Vienna.
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