Travelling by TGV
Posted on August 15, 2024
Reading time: 7 minutes.
The two trips to France allowed for numerous opportunities for using their public transport system. Part of that included their long distance high speed rail network. My forays took in such places as Saint-Malo, Rennes, Paris and Grenoble. At one point, I was tempted by the prospect of a day trip to Geneva, though that never came to pass. Two Paris termini featured: Paris-Montparnasse and Paris Gare de Lyon.
Early Awareness
It was during my secondary schooling that I first became aware of the Train à Grande Vitesse or TGV. French lessons often featured details of life in France, and the commercially successful TGV network was part of this. A school trip to Brittany during one set of summer holidays even had the idea of a TGV trip mentioned. That never happened. The logistics of getting around Paris following an arrival at Paris-Montparnasse possibly would have been too challenging anyway. Instead, a day trip to Jersey as well as others to Dinan and Mont Saint Michel more than sufficed.
A Self-inflicted Hiccup
My 2024 journeying took a different form. The plan was to sail from Portsmouth to Saint-Malo with Brittany Ferries following by train travel to Paris Montparnasse with a stop in Rennes. The lapse of memory that had me leave home without a passport put paid to that scheme. Any bookings with SNCF needed cancellation. Handily, they use English on their website and their mobile app, which made that easier. It also helped that I got most of my money back too.
A Day in Rennes
Mixed weather on my first full day in Paris meant that a trip to Rennes by TGV became a possibility that made up for the disrupted plans. Travelling standard class and booking at the last minute meant that I got lower deck seating when being on the top deck might have been my preference; you do get asked at booking time. Nevertheless, the flatness of the countryside through which we passed meant that this was no shortcoming.
Since the mobile app stores and displays your tickets, using their QR tickets at barriers works smoothly when boarding. Not everywhere has ticket barriers, so there are onboard ticket checks too, and the QR codes work there as well.
Even without ticket barriers, the platforms are not opened until near departure. That can mean a wait, yet there always is plenty of time for boarding, which is just as well given how long the trains can be. Those taking me to and from Rennes had four electric power cars and sixteen trailer coaches, including two café bars (contenting myself with what I had with me, I made no use of these). With a mobility issue, you really need to book assistance in advance.
The whole coupled set may not come at once, as I found while returning from Rennes. The front set had arrived, but I was booked onto the rear set that had arrived later from Brest. When that came and was attached to the other one, boarding did not take long to complete. The wait needed added patience though. You need to keep your wits about you not to end up on the wrong unit.
Nevertheless, all worked well. Because there are no motors underneath the passenger accommodation, the TGV is not undeserving on its contemporary branding of “inOui”, the French for unheard. All certainly is still and relaxing on these trains, possibly to the point of being soporific at times. Spending time reading is as much an option as looking out the window at the passing scenery while scudding across the country at speeds of up to 300 kph.
An Arrival According to a Previous Plan
With an unused Brittany Ferries booking, albeit amended twice, I set sail from Portsmouth to Saint-Malo on the evening of the summer solstice. My arrival in France was dampened by showers while using the time in advance of a direct train journey to Paris-Montparnasse on a TGV. This time, I had more luggage with me than a rucksack on my back. Thus, I was not enthusiastic about moving very far with it.
After a small circuit of Saint-Malo, I found its train station with a waiting TGV being readied for travel. There was a wait before they left us onboard, though a passenger with restricted mobility was helped onto the train well in advance of the departure time.
This time around, I booked a first class journey that did not cost that much more than standard class. This time, I was able to choose a seat in the upper deck. There were plenty of luggage racks that allowed you have your baggage nearer to you than I have experienced elsewhere. The seating may have felt a little worn, yet it was more spacious and the reclining action moved the seat and not just the back, something for airline and bus companies to note. On one side of the aisle, there were single seats with tandem ones on the other side. There is mix of airline and table seats too. Finding an isolated position to my liking, that is what I got to use, even if I was without a dropdown tray for some reason.
Getting a heavy case onboard requires lifting, for nothing is step free, even for the lower deck. For the upper one, you have to step down from the platform before ascending to where you should be. Travelling light may a wiser choice as I was to find more than once on my second round of French travels. Once upstairs moving around was easy enough, and luggage accommodation is generous.
The line between Saint-Malo and Rennes is of the classic variety, so you get a high speed train going at much less than its designed speed. That did offer more opportunities for window gazing, and a classic line felt more built up, thus allowing you a greater feel for French countryside. After a stop in Rennes, progress was far more rapid on the Ligne à Grande Vitesse (LGV). From then on, the experience was not dissimilar to my previous encounter and I do not fault it. Once at Paris-Montparnasse, there was a change onto a local train for Versailles, but that is another story.
To Grenoble and Back
After spending some time around Versailles and Paris, I was bound for more alpine surroundings. That meant getting to Gare de Lyon, where trains running on the LGV Sud-Est and LGV Rhône-Alpes serve. Like the journey from Saint-Malo to Paris-Montparnasse, I was going direct to Grenoble without a change of train. Again, I went with upper deck first class accommodation with much the same experience.
This time, the trains were shorter. There were two electric power cars topping and tailing eight trailer carriages. The doubling up that I encountered on the LGV Bretagne - Pays de Loire was not the case here. There was one stop prior to Grenoble: Gare de Lyon-Saint-Exupéry. This not a city station but is attached to an airport, quite a distance from Lyon.
Beyond that station on the outbound journey, you again find yourself on a classic line with some very sluggish progress. Having a train designed for 300 kph loping along at around 50 kph with many pauses is an odd business until things speed up beyond that point. It makes one wonder if arrival will be on time; that was not a problem as I found. At least, the scenery had got more interesting by then and that last section showed many mountain sightings, pre-announcing an imminent arrival. If anything, that passage along the classic line felt quicker on the return journey. Maybe, being forewarned is being forearmed.
Other Possibilities
Nothing that I came across on the French high speed network would put me off using it again. Other ideas came into my mind during my trips to France. Marseille cropped up as a possible getaway from inclement weather that I never needed. The same might be said of Geneva, an international option that came to mind during the first trip. It may be that these and other possibilities could have a use on any future continental European escapades that come to pass. Rail may take longer than that by air, but it remains kinder to the environment, and you may get to experience a lot more of your surroundings. For those reasons, I would not discount the prospects of a repeat venture like what happened earlier this year.