France is famous for its high-speed TGV trains, but its newest rail network plans to go the other way, with trains that stop in small towns and take forever to get from one end of the line to the other. You might call them TGL: Trains á Grande Lenteur.
The service, using routes that the main rail operator SNCF dropped passenger service on years ago, is being organized by a 'public interest company' called Railcoop. With European law ending SNCF's monopoly on service, Railcoop has already started a freight service in southwest France, and expects its passenger service to begin by the end of this year.
Railcoop's route plan (below) largely avoids Paris, where charges for use of lines and stations are high, and plans to keep costs low enough to compete with ride-sharing apps like BlaBlaCar and to provide connections for hundreds of towns which no longer have train service. The plan was approved by authorities just before Christmas.
While Railcoop would like to eventually be a technology and green leader, for its start, it will be operating with eight 3-car diesel trains retired from regional service. No dining cars, but there's a plan for caterers along the route to prepare meals to be sold at stations and eaten aboard.
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