French high-speed train sets new world record - unofficially

The Tocqueville Connection ^ | 02/14/2007

[Republicain]

PARIS, Feb 14, 2007 (AFP) - France's superfast TGV train has broken its own world record by hitting a peak speed of 553 kilometres (331 miles) per hour, a French newspaper reported Wednesday.

The SNCF rail company, the network operator RFF and Alstom, the TGV's manufacturer, all refused to confirm the report in Le Parisien, which comes several months before an official attempt to set a new rail record. An Alstom spokesman said only that the Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) was carrying out test runs ahead of an official bid -- scheduled for April -- to beat its own 1990 world record of 515.3 kilometres per hour.

Le Parisien said the new record was set Tuesday in test conditions by a train formed of two locomotives and three wagons, on a stretch of the brand new TGV line connecting Paris to the eastern city of Strasbourg.

Currently, average travelling speeds for the TGV are around 300 kilometres per hour, but trains on the latest-generation Paris-Strasbourg line, which opens in June, are to run slightly faster at 320 kilometres per hour.

[Uncle Miltie]

Is that you, Willie?

[AU72]

Tres Bon! The biggest French achievement since the Can-Can.

[martin_fierro]

French high-speed train sets new world record

Yeah. In reverse.

[Izzy Dunne]

hitting a peak speed of 553 kilometres (331 miles) per hour, a French newspaper reported

Next up, they'll try to make it go HORIZONTALLY, instead of vertically.

[dakine]

Things the French do right:

1. Nuclear Power
2. Trains
3........

[U S Army EOD]

If it was pointed away from the German border, I bet it would go faster.

[ConservaTexan]

France's superfast TGV train has broken its own world record by hitting a peak speed of 553 kilometres (331 miles) per hour, a French newspaper reported Wednesday.

Was this train was developed in case of another invasion of France? It certainly would let them evacuate their armpit of a country much faster than they did in May 1940!

[Joe 6-pack]

I would begrudgingly say that the Foreign Legion is one of the best fighting units on earth...

[Tribune7]

Vive La France

[NewsJunqui]

Amazing on rails. I've ridden the Pudong Maglev in Shanghai which hits 400 km/h, but it's "track" is only 19 miles long.

[Jeff Chandler]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG7Y1FSUwGg

[Doogle]

..sucker ever leaves the tracks they'll be picking up pieces in the Congo

[HarmlessLovableFuzzball]

Nuclear power, yes. But trains in America can only come from market demand. Usable cars for under $5000 and gas in the $2.50 zone precludes that sort of a thing.

[8mmMauser]

A few years back, I had ridden the TGV many times and found it disconcerting to watch nearby scenery when the train got up to speed, so focused on far away scenery and clouds rushing by. Was also disconcerted on how easy it might be for saboteurs to do something to the track. At least once, the TGV I was on was delayed because of the threat. Nowadays I would hate to think of how easily the threat could work.

Vachement vite.

[RockinRight]

Beat me to it.

[DeFault User]

I wonder if they open the windows, does it cut down on the BO?

-or-

The faster I can get out of Paris the better.

[Malsua]

The French do have rail travel down pat.

I took the Eurostar a couple years back and man, when you're in the French Countryside doing 187MPH it's wicked cool :)

[GATOR NAVY]

I've done 300 km/h on the Nozomi Shinkansen in Japan. It's a pretty cool experience.

[puppypusher]

You can use it to load the French mlitary on.It makes retreating much easier.