Development Of French Railway Network
In France there is a high speed train known as train a grande viteese or in short TGV that runs on five main tracks.
The south-east TGV line connects the cities of Avignon, Dijon, Lyon, Nice, Marseille and Perpignon of south east of France and this passes through the French Alps and also has a stop at Geneva in Switzerland.
The TGV Atlantic line connects the capital city of France to the west coast. Major stops on this TGV train line are Nantes, the Loire Valley, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Toulouse and the French Basque country.
The TGV northern line is linked between Paris and Lille and Calais which are the major cities in northern France.
The most prominent railway line in France called the Eurostar links Paris and London and it travels via the Channel Tunnel with stops at Lille, Calais and Ashford in Kent.
The high speed TGV Thalys links major European cities like Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne consequently making it easy to travel to major cities in Europe from France.
As the high speed train travel service has largely developed in the last few years, travelling via Paris is no longer a mandatory feature while travelling between provincial cities in France. For instance the TGV line between Lyons and Nantes is direct now. So is with Bordeaux and Lilles and several other cities.
515 km p/h is the record speed for the TGV as of now. The TGV usually runs at a speed of 280-300km p/h while in service.
Purchasing a train ticket in France is an intricate affair as it involves so many special offers for the European and the non-European citizens. For a non-European national a pass called Eurailpass is given that allows one to travel for over a 2-week period but this pass costs more in France than in other countries where it can be purchased 30% cheaper.
The Paris metro pass is your best all-round option for mobility within the Metropolitan area. If you want to know more about the TGV train in France click on the preceding hyperlink.
