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{{Short description|State-operated intercity high-speed rail service of France}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox rail | railroad_name = TGV | logo_filename = TGV logo (2012).svg | logo_size = | system_map = | map_caption = | map_size = | image = SNCF TGV Duplex 2N2 4718 (8464339495).jpg | image_size = 300px | image_caption = [[Euroduplex|TGV 2N2]] at [[Gare de l'Est]] in Paris, 2013 | locale = {{bulleted list|[[High-speed rail in France|France]], with services extending to [[High-speed rail in Belgium|Belgium]], [[Rail transport in Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], [[High-speed rail in Germany|Germany]], [[High-speed rail in Switzerland|Switzerland]], [[Monaco]], [[High-speed rail in Italy|Italy]], [[AVE|Spain]] and the [[High-speed rail in the Netherlands|Netherlands]]|Technology exported for [[Al Boraq]] in [[Morocco]]|Derivative versions operated by [[Eurostar]] and national companies in [[KTX|South Korea]], [[Renfe Class 100|Spain]] and the [[Acela|US]]}} | start_year = {{start date and age|1981}} | end_year = present | predecessor_line = | successor_line = | gauge = {{RailGauge|sg}} ([[standard gauge]]) | length = | hq_city = | website = {{URL|https://www.groupe-sncf.com/en}} }} {{Infobox rail | railroad_name = LGV network | map_size = 300px | system_map = File:France TGV.png | map_caption = High-speed lines in France }} The '''TGV''' ({{IPA|fr|teʒeve|lang|LL-Q150 (fra)-Poslovitch-TGV.wav}}; {{lang|fr|'''train à grande vitesse'''}}, {{IPA|fr|tʁɛ̃ a ɡʁɑ̃d vitɛs|audio=LL-Q150 (fra)-WikiLucas00-train à grande vitesse.wav|}}, 'high-speed train'){{efn|Known as the {{lang|fr|TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse}} during the development phase. See also: [[Development of the TGV]].}} is France's intercity [[high-speed rail]] service. With commercial operating speeds of up to {{convert|320|km/h|abbr=on}} on the newer lines,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Le TGV roulera bientôt à 360 km/h |language=fr |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/societes-francaises/2007/12/17/04010-20071217ARTFIG00331-le-tgv-roulera-bientot-a-kmh-.php |first=Fabrice |last=Amedeo |newspaper=Le Figaro |date=17 December 2007 |access-date=6 July 2023}}</ref> the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the [[Ariane 1]] rocket and [[Concorde]] supersonic airliner; sponsored by the [[Government of France]], those funding programmes were known as {{lang|fr|champion national}} ('[[National champions|national champion]]') policies. In 2023 the TGV network in France carried 122 million passengers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.europe1.fr/societe/sncf-tgv-ter-les-chiffres-dune-annee-record-4226071|title=SNCF : TGV, TER… les chiffres d’une année 2023 record|date=19 January 2024|publisher=[[Europe 1]]|access-date=|lang=fr}}</ref> The state-owned [[SNCF]] started working on a high-speed rail network in 1966. It presented the project to President [[Georges Pompidou]] in 1974 who approved it. Originally designed as [[turbotrain]]s to be [[gas turbine train|powered by gas turbine]]s, TGV prototypes evolved into electric trains with the [[1973 oil crisis]]. In 1976 the SNCF ordered 87 high-speed trains from [[Alstom]]. Following the inaugural service between [[Paris]] and [[Lyon]] in 1981 on the [[LGV Sud-Est]], the network, centred on Paris, has expanded to connect major cities across France, including [[Marseille]], [[Lille]], [[Bordeaux]], [[Strasbourg]], [[Rennes]] and [[Montpellier]], as well as in neighbouring countries on a combination of high-speed and conventional lines. The success of the first high-speed service led to a rapid development of ''lignes à grande vitesse'' (LGVs, 'high-speed lines') to the south ([[LGV Rhône-Alpes|Rhône-Alpes]], [[LGV Méditerranée|Méditerranée]], [[Contournement Nîmes – Montpellier|Nîmes–Montpellier]]), west ([[LGV Atlantique|Atlantique]], [[LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire|Bretagne-Pays de la Loire]], [[LGV Sud Europe Atlantique|Sud Europe Atlantique]]), north ([[LGV Nord|Nord]], [[LGV Interconnexion Est|Interconnexion Est]]) and east ([[LGV Rhin-Rhône|Rhin-Rhône]], [[LGV Est|Est]]). Since it was launched, the TGV has not recorded a single passenger fatality in an accident on normal, high-speed service. A specially modified TGV high-speed train known as [[Project V150]], weighing only 265 tonnes, set the world record for the fastest wheeled train, reaching {{convert|574.8|km/h|abbr=on}} during a test run on 3 April 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/french-train-hits-357-mph-breaking-world-speed-record|title=French Train Hits 357 mph Breaking World Speed Record|date=4 April 2007|publisher=[[Fox News]]|access-date=11 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504144012/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,263542,00.html|archive-date=4 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2007, the world's fastest scheduled rail journey was a start-to-stop average speed of {{convert|279.4|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} between the [[Gare de Champagne-Ardenne TGV|Gare de Champagne-Ardenne]] and [[Gare de Lorraine TGV|Gare de Lorraine]] on the [[LGV Est]],<ref name="worldspeedsurvey2007">{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Dr Colin|title=World Speed Survey 2007: New lines boost rail's high speed performance|url=https://www.railwaygazette.com/news/world-speed-survey-2007-new-lines-boost-rails-high-speed-performance/32295.article|date=4 September 2007|access-date=6 July 2023|website=Railway Gazette International|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809030715/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/world-speed-survey-new-lines-boost-rails-high-speed-performance.html|archive-date=9 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="worldspeedsurvey2007pdf" /> not surpassed until the 2013 reported average of {{convert|283.7|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} express service on the [[Shijiazhuang]] to [[Zhengzhou]] segment of China's [[Shijiazhuang–Wuhan high-speed railway]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/high-speed/single-view/view/world-speed-survey-2013-china-sprints-out-in-front.html|access-date=2 July 2013|title=World Speed Survey 2013: China sprints out in front|work=[[Railway Gazette International]]|archive-date=26 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626030658/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/high-speed/single-view/view/world-speed-survey-2013-china-sprints-out-in-front.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the engineering phase, the [[transmission voie-machine]] (TVM) cab-signalling technology was developed, as drivers would not be able to see signals along the track-side when trains reach full speed. It allows for a train engaging in an emergency braking to request within seconds all following trains to reduce their speed; if a driver does not react within {{Cvt|1.5|km}}, the system overrides the controls and reduces the train's speed automatically. The TVM safety mechanism enables TGVs using the same line to depart every three minutes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infotransport.pl/admin/viewArticle.php?article_id=111&sesClientID=0|title=Sympozjum CS Transport w CNTK|language=pl|access-date=2009-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626082807/http://www.infotransport.pl/admin/viewArticle.php?article_id=111&sesClientID=0|archive-date=26 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="modular">{{cite web|title=TVM 400-a modular and flexible ATC system|last=Gruere|first=Y|year=1989| url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/51899}}</ref> The TGV system itself extends to neighbouring countries, either directly (Italy, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany) or through TGV-derivative networks linking France to Switzerland ([[TGV Lyria|Lyria]]), to Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands (former [[Thalys]]), as well as to the United Kingdom ([[Eurostar]]). Several future lines are under construction or planned, including extensions within France and to surrounding countries. The [[Mont d'Ambin Base Tunnel]], part of the [[Turin–Lyon high-speed railway|LGV Lyon–Turin]] that is currently under construction, is set to become the longest rail tunnel in the world. Cities such as [[Tours]] and [[Le Mans]] have become part of a "TGV [[commuting|commuter]] belt" around Paris; the TGV also serves [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]] and [[Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport]]. A visitor attraction in itself, it stops at [[Disneyland Paris]] and in southern tourist cities such as [[Avignon]] and [[Aix-en-Provence]] as well. [[Brest, France|Brest]], [[Chambéry]], [[Nice]], [[Toulouse]] and [[Biarritz]] are reachable by TGVs running on a mix of LGVs and modernised lines. In 2007, the SNCF generated profits of €1.1 billion (approximately US$1.75 billion, £875 million) driven largely by higher margins on the TGV network.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/jul/09/rail.sncf.montblancexpress|title=Europe's rail renaissance on track|first=David|last=Gow|work=guardian.co.uk|date=9 July 2008|access-date=9 February 2010 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/07/15/french-high-speed-trains-turn-175b-profit-leave-american-rail-in-the-dust/|title=French Trains Turn $1.75B Profit, Leave American Rail in the Dust|first=Ben|last=Fried|work=Streetsblog New York City|publisher=streetsblog.org|date=15 July 2008|access-date=9 February 2010|archive-date=22 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322235150/http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/07/15/french-high-speed-trains-turn-175b-profit-leave-american-rail-in-the-dust/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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