After two years of delay, the TGV Nouvelle Génération welcomes its first passengers this Friday

The new TGV is finally here. The inaugural journey of the SNCF “TGV Nouvelle Génération” will take place this Friday, November 6 on the Paris-Marseille rail link. “This is a major step for our company and for French high speed. It crowns ten years of a demanding industrial program, carried out with talent and consistency by remarkable teams,” greeted Karine Dussert-Sarthe, director of TGV-Intercités, during the announcement on October 14, brushing aside the difficulties encountered by the project.

After a succession of postponements and delays, the date of entry into commercial service of this high-speed train, known until now as “TGV M” at SNCF and “TGV Avelia” at its manufacturer Alstom, had been eagerly awaited for months. The inaugural trip should bring together the CEO of the SNCF group Jean Castex, the general director of SNCF Voyageurs, Jean-Aimé Mougenot, and the director of TGV-Intercités Karine Dussert-Sarthe. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot should also be on board, according to the invitation sent to the editorial staff.

Since 2018, SNCF has ordered a total of around 160 new generation TGVs from Alstom, for a total amount of around 4.6 billion euros. The commissioning of the first of these new generation double-decker trains, which was initially scheduled to take place for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, was postponed to 2025, then to January 2026 due to disagreements between the manufacturer and the operator, then to the summer and finally to the fall of 2026 after a series of pre-runs to test the system on a full scale.

With its two floors, the train accommodates 740 seats per train, or more than 1,400 passengers at once when the trains are doubled, which gives it 20% more capacity than its predecessor. All this while consuming 20% ​​less energy thanks to a more aerodynamic “nose” for better penetration into the air, and emitting 32% less CO2, according to SNCF.

In 2018, SNCF Voyageurs announced a first order for 100 new TGV M trainsets from Alstom, marking the launch of the renewal of its high-speed train fleet. In 2022, an order for 15 additional trainsets will be added, as part of the SNCF development project on the Italian domestic market. In 2025, SNCF Voyageurs completed its orders with 30 trainsets for Eurostar Group and cross-Channel connections. Then, finally in January, SNCF added 15 additional TGV M for 600 million euros, notably for connections between France and Belgium.