First phase of a long series of tests, the new SNCF TGV is making circles in the Czech countryside. “These dynamic trials will last six months. We are going to make sure that it can circulate in complete safety, and we are testing a certain number of components, such as the pantographs and the traction chain (…), and in general the interaction of all the components with each other”, explains Philippe Lucchese, project director at SNCF Voyageurs.
All white for the moment, the TGV 996 takes 4 minutes 12 to travel the Velim test circuit, a large oval 13.275 km long around the village of Sokolec, 50 km east of Prague. The latest addition to Alstom’s factories makes its rounds in the bitter cold of the morning, up to 200 km/h.
Inside the new TGV, on both levels, there are cables everywhere, makeshift desks where engineers contemplate graphics, and masses of cast iron to simulate the weight of the facilities and the passengers still absent. Difficult in this “technical tube”, as they say, to imagine that the toilets upstairs will have a large window, which “will let in the light but not the image” according to the marketing director of the TGV M, Florence Rousseau.
In the cabin, “all the ergonomics have been redesigned”, emphasizes Florent Fournier, driving expert at the TGV Safety Department. Insiders will understand. Amusing detail, the two on-board signaling screens are provided by Hitachi, Alstom’s major competitor.
Redesigned seats
The SNCF and Alstom promise great comfort in their new train, long called “TGV of the future” before being renamed TGV M by the railway company (while Alstom speaks of Avelia Horizon). Admittedly, there will be 20% more seats, up to 740 in the Ouigo version. But the seats have been “redesigned” and won’t be any tighter. The designers of the train have saved space by compressing the space of the motor cars and freeing up the technical equipment currently housed under the bar. Four test trains must cover a million kilometers before the commercial launch.
The first train performing well, the two partners plan to launch a second at 320 km/h on the French network in May. “We will then test the train in all the configurations it may encounter”, explains Philippe Lucchese: “We will simulate degraded atmospheric conditions, and we will soap the rails to limit adhesion and see how the train behaves when there are dead leaves in the fall,” he describes.
In addition, pieces of TGV M are soon to leave for Vienna, Austria, to be subjected to temperature variations and extreme storms.
More economical for the operator
The SNCF has so far ordered 115 copies of this new train, 100 for domestic routes and 15 for international. Its commissioning scheduled for the end of 2024 between Paris and the South-East of France. There are 3.5 billion euros, with connections spread out until 2034. The contract allows him to buy up to 200 trains.
“Our first customer is the SNCF. The objective is to meet an export market,” notes Laurent Jarsalé, SNCF account manager at Alstom, recalling that the platform was developed with the support of Ademe, which provided half of the €300 million development cost.
“We also have the ambition to sell this train to all customers looking for high-speed trains with large capacity and with a very optimized overall cost of ownership, reduced to the number of seats”. For the operator, the TGV M is 30% more economical per seat compared to the previous generation, he promises.
