TGV is one train service in Europe that brought about a revolution of sorts since it was launched in France in 1981. The word TGV is an acronym that stands for high speed train in French language and has been an inspiration for all other European countries. Thalys is a type of TGV that operates on the route between Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Koln, and a few other destinations. In a way, Thalys can be compared to Eurostar running across the Channel Tunnel connecting London with Paris and Brussels. There are some more differences between Thalys and TGV that will be brought up in this article.
It was TGV that spurred various governments across Europe to think along same lines to allow fast speed trains between international destinations. Having seen the popularity of TGV across France, the national operators of railways in France, Brussels, Netherlands, and Germany came together in an international operation. This collaboration finally shaped up as Thalys international. The first fast moving train started its operation on June 4, 1996, when the cities of Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam were connected.
The French national rail operator, SNCF, spurred by Japanese attempts to build bullet train invested heavily in designing high sped train, but discarded the first prototype as it was gas and electricity based, and the international petrol crisis prompted French government to invest in electricity powered engine only. The first operation of TGV (high speed train in French) took place in 1981 between Paris and Lyon, and immediately caught the fancy of the people. The train has since been running across many routes and its upgrade has also been run. In 207, France successfully tested the latest version of TGV that touched speeds of 574kmph.
It was the success of TGV that spurred other countries to have similar train service across major European destinations, and the result is there in the form of Thalys for everyone to see. Eurostar, which opened a new chapter in transportation when it ran under water in specially constructed Tunnel in the Channel between UK and France, is another example of TGV technology used by European countries with some modifications.
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What’s the difference between Thalys and TGV? • Basically there is no difference between TGV and Thalys, which is a joint effort of France, Brussels, Netherlands, and Germany to link respective countries through fast moving train service. • It was the success of TGV that set the tone for international collaboration, and coming together of national railways operators of these countries to set up tracks and start running specially designed TGV for the routes.
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