HIGH-SPEED TRAINS

The Pioneer

The French National Train Authority (SNCF) and French engineering giant Alstom kicked off the European high-speed train boom when they launched the first TGV in 1981. (Japan had already shown the way with its bullet trains.) The TGV — the name stands for Train à Grand Vitesse or "High-Speed Train" — has come a long way since then. For one thing, it's no longer called the TGV; it's now officially dubbed the AGV, for Automotrice à Grand Vitesse or "High-Speed Self-Propelled Unit." Capable of running at speeds upwards of 186 mph (300 km/hr), it uses an underfloor traction system that spreads the engine mechanism beneath the entire train's floor, rather than in just one or two locomotives. That makes for a faster, smoother, and quieter ride. From a single Paris-to-Lyon route, the TGV has spread across France, and a new service from the capital to Strasbourg launched in June, 2007.