TGV: France's High-Speed Train Revolution That Changed Travel

The TGV; train à grande vitesse ('high-speed train'), is the generic name of the trainsets used for the intercity high-speed rail service run by France's national rail operator, SNCF Voyageurs. It is also a quasi-generic initialism for high-speed trains in French, even when not operated by SNCF Voyageurs. With commercial operating speeds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) on the newer lines, 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 champion national ('national champion') policies. In 2025, the TGV network in France carried 168 million passengers. #sncf #tgv #highspeedtrain