TGV Sensation of Speed At 320 km/h

[Cuthbert 80]

This video shows a 17min snippet of a TGV journey from Paris to Bordeaux at 320 km/h.

I don't think I've ever seen any other realtime video from a passenger view which highlights the sensation of speed more, heh.

 

[30907]

Looks to have been filmed from the lower deck which emphasises the speed.

 

[Beebman]

Here's a video in real-time of a cab ride in a TGV from Toulouse to Paris Montparnasse via Bordeaux showing actual speeds along the whole journey:

 

[gazthomas]

It's normal, run of the mill business when you're travelling on these trains?

 

[Cuthbert 80]

Looks to have been filmed from the lower deck which emphasises the speed.

No doubt it is and the lower deck seating position is considerably lower to the ground compared to a standard non-Duplex TGV which proves your point even more about emphasising the speed

 

[hexagon789]

This video shows a 17min snippet of a TGV journey from Paris to Bordeaux at 320 km/h.

I don't think I've ever seen any other realtime video from a passenger view which highlights the sensation of speed more, heh.

I can't say I noticed the increased speed that much looking out of the window of Eurostar and Thalys. I think it gets to a certain point where the scenery is a blur anyway!

 

[duesselmartin]

Its the same on ICE runs. With vegitation and buildings further away, my regional commute feels faster

 

[edwin_m]

Most of Eurostar's route through northern France is pretty monotonous, so it actually feels quite slow to me!

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

While most TGV routes are tediously flat, you get a greater speed sensation passing through hilly country like Burgundy and parts of the Rhone valley.
High speed routes in parts of Spain and Italy are spectacular too (eg around Alicante and the Rome-Naples line).
Haven't done Bologna-Florence though, of which 73.8km of its 78.5km is in tunnel under the Apennines- you might as well travel in the dark.

 

[Ianno87]

Most of Eurostar's route through northern France is pretty monotonous, so it actually feels quite slow to me!

The first sprint from Calais to Lille always feels fast after leaving the tunnel, less so after that.

While most TGV routes are tediously flat, you get a greater speed sensation passing through hilly country like Burgundy and parts of the Rhone valley.
High speed routes in parts of Spain and Italy are spectacular too (eg around Alicante and the Rome-Naples line).
Haven't done Bologna-Florence though, of which 73.8km of its 78.5km is in tunnel under the Apennines- you might as well travel in the dark.

On the Rhin-Rhone LGV (Dijon-Mulhouse), the undulation of the countryside definitely emphasises the speed at 320kmh. Moreso than LGV Est, in my opinion.

 

[Cuthbert 80]

Most of Eurostar's route through northern France is pretty monotonous, so it actually feels quite slow to me!

Haha! Northern France can be slighty monotonous, especially as the weather is drab and grey most of the time lol

While most TGV routes are tediously flat, you get a greater speed sensation passing through hilly country like Burgundy and parts of the Rhone valley.
High speed routes in parts of Spain and Italy are spectacular too (eg around Alicante and the Rome-Naples line).
Haven't done Bologna-Florence though, of which 73.8km of its 78.5km is in tunnel under the Apennines- you might as well travel in the dark.

Spain and Italy are still on my bucketlist, heh.

Regardless of where you are....I don't think you can beat the sensation of speed in the lower deck of a duplex TGV.

 

[Cuthbert 80]

On the Rhin-Rhone LGV (Dijon-Mulhouse), the undulation of the countryside definitely emphasises the speed at 320kmh. Moreso than LGV Est, in my opinion.

Ok, once this Corona armageddon is done....I'll have to take a trip on this Rhine-Rhone LGV route as you've piqued my interest!

 

[Jamesrob637]

The first sprint from Calais to Lille always feels fast after leaving the tunnel, less so after that.

At least south of Lille you parallel the autoroute and it gives you a sense of how much faster you are travelling than the parallel cars especially as unlike Germany, France's motorways ARE speed-limited even away from urban areas and Northern France is rural from Lille to around where you pass west of CDG and start slowing for Paris.

 

[bunnahabhain]

Here's a video in real-time of a cab ride in a TGV from Toulouse to Paris Montparnasse via Bordeaux showing actual speeds along the whole journey:

I've made that journey once before having turned my nose up as the 1st class provision of the Intercities eco service to Paris from Toulouse (couchettes with no bedding!). The sensation of speed is nice but my word the trains get very boring very quickly, especially as the lines themselves get quickly boring with few junctions, stations or anything of interest really. The journey is best spent filling your belly with food and wine...like most journeys really.

 

[MarcVD]

While most TGV routes are tediously flat, you get a greater speed sensation passing through hilly country like Burgundy and parts of the Rhone valley.

In Burgundy, specially in Morvan, the LGV is a kind of giant roller coaster. One can really feel the vertical acceleration on the hilltops and in the valleys. If I remember well, on some hilltops, where the vertical radius is sometimes a bit too small, the speed has to be limited in order to ensure that the wheels remain in contact with the rails.

 

[stuu]

Haven't done Bologna-Florence though, of which 73.8km of its 78.5km is in tunnel under the Apennines- you might as well travel in the dark.

It is, unsurprisingly, fairly boring... although the brief daylight segments do emphasise the speed, its not very obvious just how fast you have accelerated to in the tunnels

 

[D6700]

Having already done the conventional loco-hauled route from Bordeaux to Paris, last May I decided to do a non-stop TGV over the high speed route. Unusually for me, I travelled first class, which cost a very reasonable €49.

The 11:04 from Bordeaux to Paris departed 8 minutes late, due to the late arrival of the other half of the train. The initial run out of Bordeaux was quite slow for what felt like a long time, but once we go up to speed, we remained very fast, except for a noticeable slowing after the junction with the line from Le Mans, presumably as a train that should have been behind us was actually in front. Despite this, the booked 2h04m journey was achieved in 1h59m33s.

To say I was pleased to break 2 hours for the 537 km/333.75 miles was an understatement! To give it some context, the distance is virtually the same as London to Berwick.

 

[Cuthbert 80]

Having already done the conventional loco-hauled route from Bordeaux to Paris, last May I decided to do a non-stop TGV over the high speed route. Unusually for me, I travelled first class, which cost a very reasonable €49.

The 11:04 from Bordeaux to Paris departed 8 minutes late, due to the late arrival of the other half of the train. The initial run out of Bordeaux was quite slow for what felt like a long time, but once we go up to speed, we remained very fast, except for a noticeable slowing after the junction with the line from Le Mans, presumably as a train that should have been behind us was actually in front. Despite this, the booked 2h04m journey was achieved in 1h59m33s.

To say I was pleased to break 2 hours for the 537 km/333.75 miles was an understatement! To give it some context, the distance is virtually the same as London to Berwick.

Heh, that's pretty impressive.

If the official timinings weren't conservative....it would prolly do the whole journey well under 2 hours but it's better to be conservative, especially for TGV's.

As much as I love TGV's, my experience of travelling on them fairly frequently throughout the years is that their punctuation often leaves a lot to be desired

 

[D6700]

Heh, that's pretty impressive.

If the official timinings weren't conservative....it would prolly do the whole journey well under 2 hours but it's better to be conservative, especially for TGV's.

As much as I love TGV's, my experience of travelling on them fairly frequently throughout the years is that their punctuation often leaves a lot to be desired

Before making the journey, I was hoping there was a chance of breaking the 2 hour barrier, but when we were delayed, I feared my hopes would be dashed. In reality, the delay may actually have actually helped, despite not getting a 100% clear run. I'd be interested to see a timetable graph for the route.

My suspicions are that SNCF would love to be able to advertise a sub 2 hour journey time, as that would be a huge marketing tool, but they can't achieve it reliably, so have to balance that against the negative publicity that would come failure.

 

[Cricketer8for9]

Heh, that's pretty impressive.

If the official timinings weren't conservative....it would prolly do the whole journey well under 2 hours but it's better to be conservative, especially for TGV's.

As much as I love TGV's, my experience of travelling on them fairly frequently throughout the years is that their punctuation often leaves a lot to be desired

Regrettably anyone who puts an apostrophe on the plural of an acronym has punctuation which leaves a lot to be desired.

That said TGV journeys are boring. My first one was Avignon to Gare de Lyon no stop (high speed only after Lyon). So boring after Lyon (and the push of the initial LGV acceleration) that I fell asleep.

 

[Cuthbert 80]

Regrettably anyone who puts an apostrophe on the plural of an acronym has punctuation which leaves a lot to be desired.

That said TGV journeys are boring. My first one was Avignon to Gare de Lyon no stop (high speed only after Lyon). So boring after Lyon (and the push of the initial LGV acceleration) that I fell asleep.

Hahaha!

I beg to differ. I adore travelling at high speed on TGV and any other bullet trains.

Maybe you need a good song or two playing while cruising at least 300 km/h....a bit like this video from the same journey from the OP!!

 

[Cricketer8for9]

We’ll happily agree to differ.

 

[aar0]

I've taken the Renfe AVE from Madrid to Barcelona and back. On the return to Madrid we had an emergency stop, and then made the time up... the sensation of speed from the bar car (with larger windows) was astonishing!

 

[Cuthbert 80]

I've taken the Renfe AVE from Madrid to Barcelona and back. On the return to Madrid we had an emergency stop, and then made the time up... the sensation of speed from the bar car (with larger windows) was astonishing!

Haha....having large windows certainly enhances the enjoyment lol

 

[Polarbear]

For those seeking a more "entertaining" high speed run, Cologne to Frankfurt is rather good. The line is something of a rollercoaster as it cuts across the lie of the land for the majority of the journey.

 

[MarcVD]

Indeed. The line runs mostly north to south and crosses severa valleys oriented east to west. Viewing from the front is quite impressive.

 

[Ianno87]

Regrettably anyone who puts an apostrophe on the plural of an acronym has punctuation which leaves a lot to be desired.

That said TGV journeys are boring. My first one was Avignon to Gare de Lyon no stop (high speed only after Lyon). So boring after Lyon (and the push of the initial LGV acceleration) that I fell asleep.

Hahaha!

I beg to differ. I adore travelling at high speed on TGV and any other bullet trains.

Maybe you need a good song or two playing while cruising at least 300 km/h....a bit like this video from the same journey from the OP!!

I find having an atlas very useful to track where you are - particularly the series of Schweers & Wall atlases that go into some detail of junctions and crossovers and intersecting lines.

Another fun thing is to time the performance of the train. On high speed lines the kilometre posts are usually pretty obvious, time yourselves between them and calculate your speed.

 

[Bald Rick]

I find having an atlas very useful to track where you are - particularly the series of Schweers & Wall atlases that go into some detail of junctions and crossovers and intersecting lines.

Another fun thing is to time the performance of the train. On high speed lines the kilometre posts are usually pretty obvious, time yourselves between them and calculate your speed.

Another fun challenge is to pick up, open, neck, and put down, a 440ml can of lager in one km at full speed.

Not easy!

 

[Ianno87]

Another fun challenge is to pick up, open, neck, and put down, a 440ml can of lager in one km at full speed.

Not easy!

Wait until HS2 gives you a mere 10 seconds for the challenge

 

[Bald Rick]

Wait until HS2 gives you a mere 10 seconds for the challenge

Yep will need to up my game for that!

Err, I mean my ‘friend’ will.