TGV, a high speed train running in France, is a brainchild of SNCF and GEC- Alsthom. The project was conceived as an alternative to conventional trains, and in response to bullet trains being developed in Japan in 70’s. TGV began operations in 1981, running a very fast train between Paris and Lyon. The train, called TGV, caught the imagination of not just the authorities, but also the common people and soon France had many TGV’s running across the country on especially laid tracks. TGV Lyria is a train service between France and Switzerland, and is an example of international collaboration between the national railways operators SNCF of France and SBB CFF FFS of Switzerland. Let us see if there are any differences between these two train services.
It was in seventies when Japan talked about bullet trains that would run at a high speed of 300kmph. This spurred the government of France to invest in high technology, high speed train project that was termed TGV, an acronym in French language meaning high speed train. The project suffered a setback when the first prototype engine that ran on gas and electricity had to be scrapped because of international crisis in 1973. Work began on train engine running exclusively on electricity, and soon the first TGV ran between Paris and Lyon in 1981 at very high speeds that caught the imagination of the people. Soon, SNCF, the national railways operator, had to increase the operation of TGV on new routes and tracks had to be built for these high speed trains.
The roaring success of TGV trains spurred neighboring countries to look up and take notice. The idea struck Switzerland, and with the collaboration between the national operators of France and Switzerland, SCNF and SBB-CFF-FFS, work began on track between the two countries that would support TGV trains. TGV Lyria was established with 74% ownership of SNCF and 26% of the Swiss counterpart. Finally, when high speed TGV trains started operations in 1995, the two countries, France and Switzerland, became true neighbors. Today, there are TGV trains connecting Paris and Lausanne as well as Paris and Zurich.
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Difference Between TGV and TGV Lyria • TGV and TGV Lyria are two different train services operating in France, and between France and Switzerland. • TGV trains are operated by SNCF, national rail operators of France. • TGV Lyria is a joint effort of SNCF and SBB-CFF-FFS, which is the national rail operator of Switzerland, with 74% and 26% shareholding of respective companies.
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