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The Turbotrain was any of several French high-speed, gas turbine trains. The earliest Turbotrain entered service in 1967, for use on France's SNCF intercity lines. There were four versions in total, with the last exiting service in 2005, and it is the Turbotrain that made advances possible for the TGV.
In 1967, the SNCF converted a 2-car X 4300 Class diesel multiple unit train originally built by ANF Industrie (Ateliers Construction du Nord de la France) starting in 1963 (either train number X4375 or X4365), into the prototype experimental Turbotrain TGS (Turbine à gaz spéciale). [1] The new gas-turbine engine was installed into the trailer car of this 2-car set; the original diesel power-car was fitted with a new cab but retained its original diesel motor and transmission. [1]
Trials started on 25 April 1967. The TGS reached 252 km/h (157 mph) on 15 October 1971.
This is the first-generation of production Turbotrains. These ETG (Elément à Turbine à Gaz) trains were four carriage trainsets which offered 188 seats and possessed one diesel engine and one gas turbine engine. The gas-turbine engine was an 820 kW Turbomeca Turmo IIIF3 gas-turbine Voith hydraulic (derived from a helicopter turbine) and the diesel was a 320 kW Saurer SDHR diesel-mechanical. [2] These trains reached 160 km/h (99 mph). [2] The ETGs entered service in 1971 on the Paris-Caen-Cherbourg. A total of 14 of these four-car trainsets were manufactured from 1969–1972 by ANF. These trains were maintained at the Venissieux trainshed in Lyon for "many years", but were moved to the Lyon Vaise depot in the 1980s. Electrification of the Grenoble line caused some trainsets to be shifted to work in Clermont Ferrand and Metz. [2]
These trains had five carriages with 280 seats and were built between 1972 and 1976 by ANF and MTE (Societe de Materiel de Traction Electrique). Forty-one RTG trainsets were manufactured for SNCF service. These trains were equipped with one 820 kW (1,100 hp) Turmo IIIF1 gas turbine in the even-numbered cabs and one Turmo XII 1,200 kW (1,600 hp) gas turbine in the odd-numbered cabs, reaching 160 km/h (99 mph). [2] Normally, the even-numbered 820 kW (1,100 hp) engine was shut down once the train reached cruising speeds. [2] The RTG entered service in 1973 on the Strasbourg-Lyon and Lyon-Nantes lines, it subsequently entered service on the Paris-Caen-Cherbourg and Paris-Deauville-Dives-Cabourg lines in 1975. The electrification of the Paris-Caen-Cherbourg line in 1996 moved the RTGs onto the Lyon-Bordeaux line until 2005.
In later years, the SNCF RTG trainsets were modified to allow two RTG trains to be operated together by one driver as a multiple-unit train. [2]
Six examples of the RTG were built by ANF for Amtrak and were dubbed Turboliners in the United States. These RTG Turboliners were first imported into the United States in 1973 and "impressed with their reliability" [3] and proliferated with further orders from France and license-production in the United States by Rohr. [3]
The Egyptian National Railways purchased three enlarged 10-car turbotrains manufactured by ANF for a planned 160 km/h (99 mph) service on the 208 km route between Cairo and Alexandria. However, the trackage is not suitable for such speeds, and the trains have been restricted to 140 km/h (87 mph) maximum and 60 km/h (37 mph) in the vicinity of Cairo. [4]
Four units of Turbotrains were introduced in Iran in 1974 with max speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) between Tehran-Mashhad that later in 2008 were converted to DMUs by substitution of diesel engines instead of turbines.
This experimental Turbotrain TGV 001 set the world speed record for gas turbine-powered rail vehicles with 318 km/h (198 mph) on 8 December 1972.
This TGV 001 was a five-car trainset which possessed four gas-turbine engines with a total output of 6,500 hp (4,800 kW) and all axles motored. [3] This train was extensively tested over more than 34,000 miles (55,000 km) running at over 200 km/h (120 mph), of which almost half were covered at more than 257 km/h (160 mph) and a peak of 318 km/h (198 mph). [3] The research program from this prototype, and from the Z7001 Zebulon electric test train, provided data used for the design of the later electric TGV trains.
The TGV 001 prototype was retired in January 1978; [3] one power-car (TDu 001) from this trainset is preserved and is located at 48°36′53″N7°43′38″E / 48.614729°N 7.727189°E on the A4 highway exit number 50 Bischheim near Strasbourg in Alsace, France. The other power-car (TDu 002) is preserved and located at 47°38′35″N6°53′24″E / 47.643008°N 6.889863°E on the A36 highway exit number 13 (Belfort-Glacis du Château) near Belfort in the Territoire de Belfort, France.
One RTG is kept in running condition at the French National Railway Museum in Mulhouse.[ citation needed ]
The TGV is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated mainly by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 1974 and presented the project to President Georges Pompidou who approved it. Originally designed as turbotrains to be powered by gas turbines, TGV prototypes evolved into electric trains with the 1973 oil crisis. In 1976 the SNCF ordered 87 high-speed trains from Alstom. Following the inaugural service between Paris and Lyon in 1981 on the LGV Sud-Est, the network, centered on Paris, has expanded to connect major cities across France and in neighbouring countries on a combination of high-speed and conventional lines. The TGV network in France carries about 110 million passengers a year.
A gas turbine locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a gas turbine. Several types of gas turbine locomotive have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels (drivers). A gas turbine train typically consists of two power cars, and one or more intermediate passenger cars.
The TGV Atlantique (TGV-A) is a class of high-speed trains used in France by SNCF; they were built by Alstom between 1988 and 1992, and were the second generation of TGV trains, following on from the TGV Sud-Est trainsets. The trains were named after the Ligne à Grande Vitesse Atlantique that they were originally built for.
The SNCF TGV Réseau (TGV-R) is a TGV train built by Alstom between 1992 and 1996 for SNCF, the French national railway for use on high-speed TGV services. The Réseau trainsets are based on the earlier TGV Atlantique. The first Réseau sets entered service in 1993.
The TGV La Poste were dedicated trainsets for high-speed freight and mail transportation by French railway company SNCF on behalf of the French postal carrier La Poste. The top speed of this TGV Sud-Est derivate was 270 km/h (168 mph), making them the fastest freight trains in the world. They were withdrawn in 2015.
The JetTrain was an experimental high-speed passenger train concept created by Bombardier Transportation in an attempt to make European-style high-speed service more financially appealing to passenger railways throughout North America. It was designed to use the same LRC-derived tilting carriages as the Acela Express trains that Bombardier built for Amtrak in the 1990s, which used all-electric locomotives. Unlike the Acela, powered electrically by overhead lines, the JetTrain would have used a combination of a 4,000-horsepower (3.0 MW) gas-turbine engine, a low-power diesel engine, a reduction gearbox, and two alternators to power electric traction motors. This would have allowed it to run at high speeds on non-electrified lines.
SNCF Class T 2000 trainsets, also known under their French acronym RTG, were the second generation of turbine-powered trains in France and saw commercial service from 1972 to 2004.
The SNCF TGV Sud-Est was a French high speed TGV train built by Alstom and Francorail-MTE and operated by SNCF, the French national railway company. A total of 111 trainsets were built between 1978 and 1988 for the first TGV service in France between Paris and Lyon which opened in 1981. The trainsets were semi-permanently coupled, consisting of two power cars (locomotives) and eight articulated passenger carriages, ten in the case of the tri-voltage sets. The trains were named after the Ligne à Grande Vitesse Sud-Est that they first operated on. They were also referred to as TGV-PSE, an abbreviation of Paris Sud-Est.
Thalys PBKA is a high-speed trainset, manufactured by the French company GEC-Alsthom, and used on the international Eurostar service. Originally built for Thalys they were intended to operate between Paris, Brussels, Köln and Amsterdam, forming the abbreviation PBKA. They were initially intended to be sole rolling stock of the service, but their extreme cost and complexity due to their quadri-current capability led the order of a simpler tri-current sister class, the Thalys PBA, a TGV Réseau derivative, with which they can work in multiple.
The TGV POS is a TGV train built by French manufacturer Alstom which is operated by the French national rail company, the SNCF, in France's high-speed rail lines. It was originally ordered by the SNCF for use on the LGV Est, which was put into service in 2007. POS is an abbreviation of Paris-Ostfrankreich-Süddeutschland, the route of the LGV Est.
The TGV Duplex is a French high-speed train of the TGV family, manufactured by Alstom, and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. They were the first TGV trainsets to use bi-level passenger carriages with a seating capacity of 508 passengers, increasing capacity on busy high-speed lines. While the TGV Duplex started as a small component of the TGV fleet, it has become one of the system's workhorses.
The TGV 001 was an experimental gas turbine-powered TGV prototype built by Alstom in France. Comissioned in 1969, began testing in 1972 and reached speeds between 250–300 kilometres per hour (160–190 mph). It was part of a vast research program on high rail speeds which covered all technical aspects, principally traction, the behaviour of the vehicles, braking, aerodynamics and signalling. Originally, two trains were to be built, but only one was produced. The second was to be a tilting train equipped with an active tilting system, but was abandoned owing to technical difficulties.
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service. The idea of a high-speed train in France was born about twenty years before the first TGVs entered service. At that time, about 1960, a radical new concept was thought up; combining very high speeds and steep grades would allow a railway to follow the contours of existing terrain, like a gentle roller coaster. Instead of one or two percent grades which would be considered steep in normal applications, grades up to four percent would be feasible, thus allowing more flexible routing of new lines. Over the next several years, this very general idea gave rise to a variety of high speed transportation concepts, which tended to move away from conventional "wheel on rail" vehicles. Indeed, the French government at the time favoured more "modern" air-cushioned or maglev trains, such as Bertin's Aérotrain; Steel wheel on rail was considered a dead-end technology. Simultaneously, SNCF was trying to raise the speeds of conventional trains into the range 180 to 200 km/h for non-electrified sections, by using gas turbines for propulsion. Energy was reasonably cheap in those years, and gas turbines were a compact and efficient way to fulfil requirements for more power. Following on the TGS prototype in 1967, SNCF introduced gas turbine propulsion with the ETG turbotrains in Paris - Cherbourg service, in March 1970.
The TGV holds a series of land speed records for rail vehicles achieved by SNCF, the French national railway, and its industrial partners. The high-speed trials are intended to expand the limits of high-speed rail technology, increasing speed and comfort without compromising safety.
The UAC TurboTrain was an early high-speed, gas turbine train manufactured by United Aircraft that operated in Canada between 1968 and 1982 and in the United States between 1968 and 1976. It was one of the first gas turbine-powered trains to enter service for passenger traffic, and was also one of the first tilting trains to enter service in North America.
The Turboliners were a family of gas turbine trainsets built for Amtrak in the 1970s. They were among the first new equipment purchased by Amtrak to update its fleet with faster, more modern trains. The first batch, known as RTG, were built by the French firm ANF and entered service on multiple routes in the Midwestern United States in 1973. The new trains led to ridership increases wherever used, but the fixed consist that made up a Turboliner train proved a detriment as demand outstripped supply. The high cost of operating the trains led to their withdrawal from the Midwest in 1981.
The Turbomeca Turmo is a family of French turboshaft engines manufacturered for helicopter use. Developed from the earlier Turbomeca Artouste, later versions delivered up to 1,300 kW (1,700 shp). A turboprop version was developed for use with the Bréguet 941 transport aircraft.
France has a large network of high-speed rail lines. As of June 2021, the French high-speed rail network comprises 2,800 km (1,740 mi) of tracks, making it one of the largest in Europe and the world. As of early 2023, new lines are being constructed or planned. The first French high-speed railway, the LGV Sud-Est, linking the suburbs of Paris and Lyon, opened in 1981 and was at that time the only high-speed rail line in Europe.
Avelia Euroduplex, more commonly known as just Euroduplex or TGV 2N2 in France, is a high-speed double-decker train manufactured by Alstom. It is primarily operated by the French national railway company SNCF, and also in operation with the Moroccan national railway company ONCF. It is the 3rd generation of the TGV Duplex.
The first-generation Acela Express trainset is a unique set of vehicles used on the Acela, Amtrak's flagship high-speed service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States. When they debuted in 2000, the sets were the fastest in the Americas, reaching 150 mph (240 km/h) on 33.9 mi (54.6 km) of the route. They were built between 1998 and 2001 by a consortium of Alstom and Bombardier. Each set has two power cars derived from units that Alstom built for the TGV, and six passenger cars derived from the LRC that Bombardier built for Via Rail.
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| Electric multiple units |
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