How one European nation is driving a 'rail revolution'

In the Czech countryside, just outside Prague, a ghostly white train circles a massive loop of track.

From above, the single loop resembles a giant model railroad. But this track isn’t for entertainment—it’s one of Europe's few dedicated facilities where new trains are rigorously tested away from public networks.

For six months, this unmarked white train will continuously loop at speeds up to 125 miles per hour (200 kph), allowing engineers to monitor its performance in detail.

At the same time, a second train will head to Vienna, Austria, for testing in extreme conditions, ranging from minus 20°C to 40°C (minus 4°F to 104°F), exposed to snow, ice, and subjected to wind tunnel tests reaching speeds of 100 mph at Europe's only dedicated climatic testing facility.

Why does this matter? For French National Railways (SNCF), it's a pivotal moment: the start of a new era for its legendary TGV trains.

This new generation of TGVs, capable of reaching 200 miles per hour (320 kph), will undergo intense testing for over two years before it can start transporting passengers in 2024.

And it’s not just a milestone for France – these state-of-the-art double-decker trains will operate both domestic and international high-speed routes, initially covering Paris-Lyon and Paris-Milan.

Out of the 115 trains currently on order, 15 will replace older TGVs on the Milan route starting in 2025, as SNCF faces growing competition from Italy's Trenitalia. The remaining trains will gradually replace outdated models from the 1980s and 1990s on the Paris-Lyon Sud Est (PSE) route, eventually expanding to other lines as the fleet grows.

A growing demand for speed

Named TGV-M (with 'M' for 'modular'), the new trains represent France’s revived enthusiasm for high-speed rail. Over the next decade, this network will expand to include new routes to Toulouse (from Bordeaux), as well as international connections to Turin, Italy (from Lyon) and northern Spain (from Bordeaux).

The outlook wasn't always so promising. In 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron delayed further TGV development, opting instead to 'reassess' investments and focus on improving urban transit like commuter trains and subways.

However, this stance didn’t last long. Even while prioritizing local transport policies, SNCF continued to plan for a new wave of high-speed lines and network extensions.

Currently, six projects are underway, with three of them set to play a crucial role in the ambitious plan for a Europe-wide high-speed rail network.

Nearly 30 years after its initial proposal, SNCF’s next TGV line is expected to be completed by 2030, extending the Paris-Bordeaux route to Toulouse – France’s fourth largest city and a key hub for technology and tourism. The 222-kilometer (138-mile) extension will cut travel time between Paris and Toulouse by over an hour, reducing the journey from four hours and 15 minutes to just over three hours.

The new standard for travel in France

'People are already ditching airlines in favor of the TGV on this route,' says David Haydock, French rail expert and former editor of Today's Railways Europe magazine.

'Once the high-speed line reaches Toulouse, even more people will make the switch, just as we've seen with the routes from Paris to Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes, and Marseille over the past 40 years.'

The first 31 miles (50 kilometers) of track south of Bordeaux will be built alongside a new international connection to northern Spain. However, it will likely take until the 2030s for TGVs to seamlessly reach the Basque Region.

The final phase of the Sud Europe-Atlantique route will extend the Paris-Bordeaux line southward to the Spanish border. Ultimately, it will link into Spain’s high-speed network, providing a fast, direct route from Paris to the Basque region around San Sebastián and on to Madrid.

The effort to connect cities across borders is backed by the Community of European Railways (CER), which represents 70 rail operators across Europe. 'CER fully supports the completion of a high-speed rail network linking major cities, urban centers, and airports,' says Alberto Mazzola, its executive director.

'This will reduce travel times between EU capitals and major cities to under four and six hours, and with affordable, comfortable trains, rail will become the preferred mode of transport. This is why it’s vital for all EU member states to invest in high-speed rail,' Mazzola adds.

'Every EU member state must contribute to completing the corridors to achieve the EU's goal of doubling high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and tripling it by 2050.'

In response to considerable pressure, the French government has approved a project to complete the final missing link in what will become Europe’s longest continuous high-speed rail route, stretching from London to Málaga and Seville in southern Spain. Currently, TGV trains between Paris and Barcelona must switch to regular tracks between Montpellier and Perpignan, adding an extra hour to the journey and causing potential delays due to slower local trains.

The Montpellier-Perpignan line will close this gap and complete an impressive high-speed rail corridor stretching over 1,000 miles. The first section, from Montpellier to Béziers, is expected to be finished by 2034, with the Béziers-Perpignan section due for completion by 2040.

The history of a game-changer

Since its debut in 1981, the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, or high-speed train) has been a massive success for France. It has not only cut travel times on long-distance routes and spurred economic growth outside of Paris, but the French rail industry has also shared its high-speed rail technology and expertise with 25 countries worldwide. TGV-based trains now operate in Spain, Morocco, South Korea, Taiwan, Italy, and the United States, and the Eurostar fleet connects France with England, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.

The TGV-M is the latest model in this iconic family, promising 25% greater energy efficiency, 20% lower purchase and operating costs, more flexible designs, and 20% more capacity than the TGV Duplex. At the end of its service life, more than 90% of the materials used in the trains can be recycled.

Preparing for the competition

These improvements are in line with rail’s green agenda, but SNCF is also taking proactive steps to defend itself against a wave of new competitors eyeing a share of France’s highly profitable high-speed rail market.

In the past year, Italy’s Trenitalia has made a significant impact on the Paris-Milan and Paris-Lyon routes, with its striking Frecciarossa (Red Arrow) trains now directly competing with TGVs. Since their launch in December 2021, ridership on the Milan route has surged by 58%, while ticket prices have dropped by an average of 7%.

Nick Brooks, the secretary general of ALLRAIL, which represents private rail operators in Europe, states: 'This and other cases, such as the competition between SNCF and Trenitalia against Spanish Railways, highlight how competition on long-distance routes is encouraging a shift towards rail travel.'

After SNCF began offering low-cost TGV services between Madrid and Barcelona in 2021 to rival its own AVE network, Spain's RENFE plans to respond by launching high-speed routes from Barcelona to Paris, Marseille, and Toulouse in the coming years. RENFE has even expressed intentions to challenge Eurostar on the Paris-London route.

Within France, emerging companies like Le Train and Kevin Speed are looking to capitalize on EU competition laws to expand high-speed rail options beyond the traditional TGV routes operated by SNCF. While this is a costly and intricate undertaking, if they can make the economics work and secure the necessary trains and schedules, these newcomers could play a pivotal role in shaping an exciting future for high-speed rail in France.