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VIDEO: France unveils its next-generation high-speed TGV trains

TGV M test trains will travel 1million kilometres in France before going into service early in 2025

VIDEO: France unveils its next-generation high-speed TGV trains
Screengrab / TGV INOUI / Twitter

French train operator SNCF has unveiled the environmentally friendlier next-generation of TGV trains.

The fifth-generation “TGV M” can carry more passengers, will less energy than current TGVs, and is 97 percent recyclable, SNCF’s CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou told journalists at the train’s official launch at SNCF’s South-East European technicenter in Paris.

  • Each train will be able to seat 740 passengers, compared to 630 on TGVs currently operating
  • The standard train will have 9 carriages instead of 8 (although TGVs can also be coupled together to form a ‘double train’ that then divides half way down the line to go to different destinations)
  • The new trains will use 20 percent less energy than the current models

“In the great battle for the railways, this new train is an essential victory,” said Clément Beaune, Minister of Transport.

“It should enable us to meet our two challenges: growth in passenger numbers and the arrival of competition,” added Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs.

READ ALSO 9 things you might not know about France’s high-speed TGV network

The train is continuing trials on the national network, after successfully completing the first stage in Czechia. 

“We’re in the pre-validation phase, during which we’re mainly testing speed and braking. There are still two more phases,” Alain Krakovitch, Director of TGV-Intercités, said

In total, test trains will cover 1 million kilometres on French tracks before going into service. “We’re at 50,000 at the moment,” Krakovitch said. “There’s still a long way to go.”

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

How Paris’s Olympic carpool lanes will work 

Throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games periods, some 185km of lanes on roads around Paris will be reserved for event-related traffic – here’s what you need to know.

How Paris’s Olympic carpool lanes will work 

Between July 15th and September 11th, ‘Olympic lanes’ will be in use along certain stretches of key roads in and around Paris.

These lanes will be reserved for use by accredited vehicles to transport athletes, accredited journalists and official delegations, as well as emergency and security vehicles, cabs, ambulances and public transport.

READ ALSO Apps, reservations and flying taxis: What to know before visiting Paris this summer

The lanes will be activated on July 15, on the following roads:

  • A1 between Roissy Charles de Gaulle and Porte de la Chapelle, until September 11th;
  • A4 between Collégien and Porte de Bercy until August 13th, then from August 30th to September 8th;
  • A12 between Rocquencourt and Montigny le Bretonneux until August 13th, and again from August 27th to September 8th;
  • A13 between Porte Maillot and Rocquencourt until August 13th, then from August 27th to September 8th;
  • Boulevard périphérique, from Porte de Vanves to Porte de Bercy, via the north until August 13th, then from August 22th to September 11th;
  • Boulevard Circulaire (La Défense) until August 13th, then from August 22nd to September 11th;
  • Lanes on certain routes in Paris.

None of these roads will be closed – lanes along these routes that are not reserved for Olympic or Paralympic Games traffic are open to road users as usual.

The lanes in question will be signposted – signs, clearly marked with the words “Paris 2024”, will be in place from July 1st, and will be removed by the end of the day on September 15h. 

READ ALSO How to use Paris public transport during the Olympics

Who can use dedicated Olympic lanes?

Only vehicles and road users that have been properly accredited by the Organising Committee of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games can travel along these lanes during the periods indicated above. 

They include:

  • vehicles of accredited persons;
  • cabs;
  • public transport vehicles;
  • vehicles designed to facilitate the transport of people with reduced mobility;
  • and emergency and security vehicles.

READ ALSO Who needs a QR code to get around Paris during the Olympics

All other vehicles are prohibited from using these lanes throughout the Olympic Games period. Any vehicle circulating on an Olympic lane without having received prior authorisation is liable to a fine of €135 and possible further prosecution.

Road users without Olympic accreditation are advised to be aware of possible travel issues, as more vehicles are filtered into the other lanes. Therefore it would be wise to allow a little extra time for your journey if you are using one of the listed roads during the Games period.

An interactive map, showing routes with Olympic lanes is available here

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