France made rail news last week with announcements of new and more energy-efficient trains for its high-speed TGV rail network, and a plan for expanding service and lowering prices on its budget rail system, OuiGo.
The new TGV units, unveiled in a ceremony at Paris’s Gare de Lyon, where the first TGVs were inaugurated forty years ago, won’t raise the speed bar—they are rated at the same 320 km/h as their predecessors—but they will carry 25% more passengers and burn 20% less energy. They’re expected in service in 2024.
Past TGV upgrades and competition from discount airlines gave rail operator SNCF the opportunity to start its discounted OuiGo service with older TGV equipment. It’s sold on a discount airline model, with fewer frills and freebies. The rail operator said last week that it is expanding OuiGo routes, and hopes they will account for 25% of its business by 2025.
In addition to new high-speed routes and newer hand-me-down trainsets, Ouigo is setting up a network of lower-speed service to be called “Ouigo Vitesse Classique” or classic speed. Their hand-me-downs will come from the various regional rail services operated as TER; the rolling stock will be painted pink to distinguish it from Ouigo’s high-speed offering. Prices for the pink trains will start at €10 and go no higher than €30.
