Aurélien Fleurot, edited by Romain Rouillard
06:10, September 14, 2022modified in
9:42 am, September 14, 2022
SNCF has just presented the first TGV M train at Alstom’s headquarters in La Rochelle. It is a brand new high-speed train with higher capacity, lower energy consumption, while being connected to the 5G network. The first trains are expected to run at the end of 2024.
It is a new era opening up at the SNCF. The company has just unveiled its TGV of the future at the Alstom headquarters in La Rochelle. Larger and more environmentally friendly trains that will carry 5G connectivity. On the outside, the train has an elongated nose of over two meters to improve aerodynamics.
“A TGV travels at 300 km / h and therefore, when driving at that speed, penetrating the air is what slows down the most and consumes the most energy,” explains Christophe Fanichet, President of SNCF Voyageurs.
As a result, 20% less energy consumption and 20% more seats are announced, mainly thanks to more compact motors, explains Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud, president of Alstom France. “We put all the equipment in the cars, which was not the case before as the equipment was often distributed along the train. And this allows us to have an extra car, therefore more space, more capacity”
An investment of 3.5 billion euros
The new TGV will be called M for modularity. The interior of the train will be able to evolve according to needs, exults Alain Krakovitch, director of the TGV Intercités. “I think we don’t have the right number of firsts, the right number of seconds (class). So we will have the possibility, depending on the markets, to put the right number of firsts in particular.”
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