On April 10, SNCF started selling tickets for the new TGV Est line (service starts June 10). They are offering an introductory price of 15 Euros one way for this summer - 5000 seats per day will be available at that price. Apparently, these tickets are selling really well - according to this article, they have already sold 145,000 tickets during the first 3 days. A similar promotion is available for trips to and from Switzerland: 18 Swiss Francs from Basel and 22 Swiss Francs from Zurich (one way).
Air France seems to want to take up the fight - they currently hold a 65% market share on the Paris-Strasbourg route - and have also reduced their fares. EasyJet on the other hand seems to throw in the towel - they’re stopping their service on the Basel-Paris route at the end of June.
Over the past week, there has been quite a lot of press and also comments by otherbloggers about this new speed record. Here are a couple additional notes/comments.
Peet (in German) points to the one video clip that is the most interesting in his view, i.e. this one here. Looks like it is a direct reproduction of the onboard recording - with no added commentary by a TV reporter or some such. You can however hear the audio from the onboard intercom, i.e. between the driver and the laboratory, etc.
Philippe Herisse gives an interesting eye-witness account on his blog (in French). Philippe is an engineer with SNCF and writes articles for the French publisher La Vie du Rail. He was onboard the record-setting train.
Alstom/RFF/SNCF have set up an official site to document the record.
Somebody posted a curve showing elapsed time/distance vs. speed on the French forum “Trains en Voyage” - see this thread here (in French, registration required). Quite interesting …
Also, this record seems to have revived interest in high speed rail in California - it probably created more public and press attention for the ailing California High Speed Rail project than years of rail advocacy. Maybe we should all thank the French for inviting those lawmakers… Hmm, I wonder whether it was a coincidence that this record attempt took place in the same week as the California legislature’s spring break … After all, the CAHSR project potentially represents big business for Alstom.
With all the articles that appeared in the press, I noticed one thing: what’s it with this animosity towards the French? I often saw phrases similar to “… the French of all people …” used when talking about this record. Why would that be so surprising? Or is it just that Americans don’t like the French? I can see why the Germans would be jealous, but why should America care?
Then there was the usual Maglev vs. HSR debate: Maglev supporters were quick to point out that the Maglev record hasn’t quite been beaten (nobody claimed it was). Just to make it clear - I’m not a big fan of Maglev. Sure, it sounds interesting and is certainly intriguing from a technology point of view, but to me, it seems that Maglev is still very far from being a proven technology. Conventional High Speed Rail is proven technology, in use in multiple countries with thousands of miles of track in service and multiple manufacturers of equipment, etc. HSR today can basically be considered as being available off the shelf - just call Alstom or Siemens (or Bombardier/Talgo) and ask for a quote. Also, HSR is compatible with existing rail lines, Maglev is not (admittedly, this is less the case here in the US than in Europe, since most US rail lines are not already electrified. But that’s a minor point, compared with the fact that Maglev is a completely separate system).
You can also still watch the French TV live coverage here (probably only available for the next couple of days - you have to navigate to the “Edition du mardi 3 avril 2007″)
While we’re waiting for the official new record to take place, here’s a video (YouTube) that shows the old record achieved in 1990. Quite impressive … Now if we had HSR here in California, that stretch down the Central Valley should make for some nice flat straight running … Should be perfect for another record attempt … (Yeah right, maybe in the year 2030 or so … ).
(Yeah right, maybe in the year 2030 or so … ).
