The history railway high speed in France , popularized under its initials TGV, starts officially in 1976 with the Concession with the State with the SNCF of a new line between Paris and Lyon. The concept of TGV itself occurred in the years 1965-1966 with creation within the SNCF of a “Research center”, become later “Direction of research and technology”.

The precursory elements of this idea are multiple: the technical possibilities of improvement speed on the traditional network (underlain by the records of 1955 which made it possible to reach 331 km/h with oars tractor drawn by electric locomotive traditional), the German project, presented in 1963, of evolution of the network of dB to allow the circulation of passenger trains circulating 200 or 250 km/h, the startup in October 1964 with the Japan of the first Shinkansen, circulating to 210 km/h on an infrastructure dedicated of the Tōkaidō, finally, since 1964, the project of Aérotrain of the engineer Bertin who considered a Paris-Lyon connection then to 400 km/h, project which did not hold the attention of the engineers of the SNCF attached to the system wheel-rail but which woke up their interest.

In 1967, the SNCF brought into service Capitole, express train Paris-Toulouse circulating to 200 km/h on part of its course.

The project C 03

The idea very high speeds and the development of a program of turbotrains met at the end of the years 1960, and were certainly stimulated by launching in Japan of the Shinkansen program in 1964.

These ideas shaped in a research program associating the SNCF and railway industry intended to explore the possibilities of a turbotrain at high speed. This project, launched in 1967 under the name of code C 03, was entitled “the railway possibilities on new infrastructure”.

The experimental turbotrain X 4300 TGS, predecessor of ETG, had been tested at speeds going up to 252 km/h in October 1971, giving promising results. As the SNCF aimed for future lines at high speed a range speed going from 250 to 300 km/h, she asked the Alsthom-Atlantic to build a prototype turbotrain designed for this purpose. Thus was born the turbotrain TGV 001, TGV being the abbreviation “very high speed”.

Turbotrain TGV 001

The Turbotrain TGV 001 is an experimental train designed to carry out a research vast program in the field high speeds by exploring all its technical sides.

It was an articulated oar made up of two motor coaches framing three trailers, the whole of the elements of the oar being permanently coupled between them. It was motorized by four gas turbines resulting from aeronautics, actuating an alternator, which fed while running the engines of traction. All the bogies were motorized.

The TGV 001 carried out 5227 trial runs, reaching on December 8th, 1973 the speed of 318 km/h, which remained the railway world speed records in thermal traction. This trial run was a priceless share of the C03 project.

See also: TGV 001

Electric traction

With the Oil crisis of 1973, the thermal traction of the future trains at high speed did not appear economically viable any more. The choice of the electric traction imposed an important resumption of the design and test routines. In April 1974, the experimental electric railcar Z 7001, called “Zébulon”, began its tests. Zébulon was rebuilt starting from the railcar Z 7115 which had been erased. This vehicle was equipped with a new driving bogie Y 226 (precursor of Y 230 of the TGV of series) which was developed and tested, with its suspended engines of traction and its tripod transmission with Cardan joints. The suspended assembly of the engines of traction was an important innovation; it authorized a considerable reduction (3300 kg) of the mass of the driving bogie, giving him a very high critical engine failure speed and an exceptional stability. Zébulon was also used for the development of a pantograph on double floor for the high speed, which will be later pantograph AM-PSE of South-eastern TGV, as well as new type of Eddy current brakes with . The brake with eddy currents exerts an effort of magnetic retention, without any contact with the rail. The promise of a very great effectiveness and a weak tiredness however was counterbalanced by problems of overheating of the rail, and the project was abandoned. The suspension of Zébulon, design not-tire, gave whole satisfaction and was adopted for the new train at high speed in the place of the pneumatic suspension of the TGV 001.

Over one twenty month period, Zébulon traversed nearly a million kilometers, including 25.000 with high speeds to 300 km/h. The maximum speed reached by Zébulon was of 309 km/h. Research of the C03 project was carried out. The construction of a Line at high speed electrified between Paris and Lyon started at once afterwards.

An original style

The drawing interior and external of the first TGV is with Jacques Cooper (his grandfather was English), designer industrial, born in France on January 23rd, 1931. In the middle of the years 1950, he worked during several years with the American designer of French origin Raymond Loewy. At the end of the years 1960, whereas it started to work for Brissonneau-and-Lotz, one asks Jacques Cooper to draw “a train which did not resemble a train”.

It is him which designed the lines interior and external of turbotrain TGV 001, and creates very quickly “style TGV”. Since 1975 (?), Cooper had drawn trains which resembled Duplex TGV surprisingly which will be born twenty years later. But if its project were immediately accepted for the outside line, it was invited to many recoveries to take again interior installations, since the seats to the handles of door.

The many requirements of design were sometimes contradictory, and Cooper was to find the solution optimal. Interior spaces were to be accessible and comfortable, resting, calm, easy to clean and fix, and gently integrated to create a single atmosphere. Comfort was to be made available to all the travellers, while keeping a certain style. The overall objective was to conceive an interior space which is at the same time resting and pleasant.

The design of the first TGV was completed towards the end of the year 1970. The first ordering of oars was launched the November 4th 1976. During twenty years following, more than 600 specimens of the nose of TGV of Cooper, universally famous, were going to be produced.

Last developments

The July 28th 1978, the two oars of preproductions left the Alsthom factory of Belfort. Numbered TGV 01 and 02, they accepted the nicknames of “Patrick” and “Sophie” (Patrick for Paris, Sophie for SE). During the trial period, more than 15.000 modifications were brought to these two oars, which was far from being easy. One of the problems most difficult to solve was that of the Vibration S: the new trains were not at all comfortable out of cruising speed. The solution was slow to come, and delayed the program. Finally it was found that the insertion of blocks of rubber under the suspension springs primary eliminated the problem. Other difficulties concerning the stability of the bogies at high speed were overcome in 1980, year when the first section of the new line Paris-Lyon was supposed being brought into service. The first oar of series, n° 03, was delivered the April 25th 1980.

The delivery of the ordering of 87 TGV was in hand when the oar n° 16 was used to beat speed records, within the framework of “operation TGV 100” (in reference to the objective speed of 100 meters a second, that is to say 360 km/h). The objective was exceeded the February 26th 1981, the oar n° 16 reaching the speed of 380 km/h under perfect security conditions.

The September 27th 1981, it was the commercial startup of the TGV on the line Paris-Lyon, five days after the official unveiling by the president of the republic François Mitterrand. This date marked a turning in the railway services travellers in France.

See also: TGV (train at high speed)

Chronology

Line at high speed

Project TGV owes also its success with a line which is dedicated to him.

With the startup of Capitole Paris-Toulouse, the line Paris Lyon is saturated. It is planned to quadruple it to ensure the whole of the traffics: broad outline, freight, regional service. The idea is then born to create a line intended exclusively for high speed (LGV). It will be built with shortest, avoiding the turning by Dijon of the old line known as " impériale".

The project of LGV, line at high speed, will be the spinal column of system TGV. The different material testings show that the preliminary draft of rolling stock was not finalized. That of the LGV was it.

This priority given to the fast track, currently shows its relevance: the screen extends gradually and nibbles market shares with air transport. Because competition train-plane is clearly with the advantage of the train in 3 hour old lower part of way, since the stations are in the center of the cities and that times of loading are at least reduced.

Modernized lines receiving from the fast material pendular were presented, a time, like an alternative system less expensive (the investment to build LGV being very high). This system, very coherent in the very urbanized countries and at the weak distances between big cities (Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland…), is not also adapted in France: only lines LGV allow speeds close to 300 km/h and times of way of about 3 a.m. between Paris (or Lille) and Marseilles, Bordeaux. And initially the lines are not obligatorily entirely at high speed, for example between Paris and Bordeaux (or Rennes).

See also: Line at high speed

See also: Train at pendular high speed

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