The
TGV (, "high-speed train") is France's
high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF Voyages, the
long-distance rail branch of
SNCF, the national
rail operator. It was developed during the 1970s by GEC-Alsthom (now
Alstom) and SNCF. Originally designed as
turbotrains to be powered by
gas turbines, the prototypes evolved into electric trains with the
1973 oil crisis. Following the inaugural service between
Paris and
Lyon in 1981 on the
LGV Sud-Est ("
LGV") (, high-speed line), the network, centred on
Paris, has expanded to connect main cities across France and in adjacent countries on combinations of high-speed and conventional lines.
