Third in an occasional series

TGV Est train at Paris CDG airport, bound for Strasbourg | © Greg Gross

If Amtrak is all you’ve ever known when it comes to passenger trains, you are not ready for what awaits you in France.

The letters TGV stand for Train à Grande Vitesse, which is French for “high-speed train.” When your top “cruising” speed is 186 mph, the name fits.

Some time before year’s end — if it hasn’t happened already — the TGV will carry its 2 billionth passenger. After almost 20 years of that kind of popularity, some of these trains are starting to show the strain. But even on their worst day, they’re still light years ahead of nearly every train we have here in the States.

(The one exception, the Acela Express, is a modified TGV, and our lousy tracks limit the train to half the speed it’s capable of. LIkewise, the Chunnel Train, which connects Paris and London via the Channel Tunnel, is a modified TGV.)

The high-speed TGVs are express trains. The regular Corail Téoz trains are more numerous and make more stops. Between the two of them, there is virtually no part of France you can’t reach by rail.

The TGV resembles those sleek, jet-powered racers you see on the Bonneville Salt Flats. It looks fast even when it’s not moving. Even its logo looks fast. Unlike the Bonneville racers, though, it’s pretty quiet. You can hold a conversation without raising your voice.

The ride is extremely smooth. You can walk the aisles without fear of being thrown into some stranger’s lap (although if the stranger’s cute, that might be viewed by some as a drawback).

For those of us who must be plugged in wherever we are, there are electric outlets at every seat, and even a special section where you can use your cell phone without disturbing your fellow passengers. Very civilized.

Of all my trips on the 1,000-mile TGV network, the most impressive was the one between Paris and Strasbourg, the capital of France’s Alsace region.

No need to slog all the way into central Paris from Roissy CDG airport. The airport has its ow train station. Just follow the signs to the elevator, then go down a couple of floors to the SNCF ticket office to buy your ticket or validate your rail pass.

(NOTE: The Sheraton has a sleek hotel directly above the train platform, with a nice lobby bar to kick back in until your train arrives. Just leave your luggage cart outside.)

Ten minutes before your train departs, head down to the train platform. Your ticket shows your seat number and your car. An electronic billboard on the platform shows the position of each car on the train. Find your car and step on board. Drop your bags in the vestibule. Find your seat.

That’s it. You’re off. In a little over two hours, you’re in Strasbourg.

And a lovely couple of hours it is.

CLICK ON THE MAP TO ENLARGE

The gently rolling plains of the French countryside roll by your window — fields of wheat and flax, grazing cows, clumps of woods. You pass small villes, compact clusters of homes with steep, red-tiled roofs and the single church with its spindly steeple at the center of it all, pretty as a postcard. Each one invites you to stop for moment to take a few pics or even break out brushes and canvas and start painting.

But these are local rail stops, which means you won’t be stopping, nor even slowing down through these picturesque little towns.

Blink twice and you may not even see them.

When you arrive in Strasbourg, you arrive in the heart of the city, with your bags already in hand. No waiting at the baggage carousel. No long, cramped, expensive ride into town.

Stress? You left that at the airport.

For the die-hard railfan, the TGV lacks a few things. There is no true dining car. Most TGV runs are too short to treat 500-plus passengers to a formal sit-down meal. There’s are snack cars, but they tend to be pricey and sell out early.

You’re better off bringing your own goodies with you. It’s easy enough to find some a baguette and some cheese, or some quiche or croque-monsieur sandwiches being sold in or near most stations, with some Badoit, Saint-Géron or some French mineral water to wash it down with.

And it’s not as if you can’t find a good bottle of wine to enjoy on the train. This is France, remember?

Likewise, there are no sleeping compartments. When your train is cutting travel times by half or better nationwide, there’s no need for cozy berths.

Technology giveth, and technology taketh away.

What you lose in romance, you gain in saved time, saved money compared with airlines, and a travel experience vastly more pleasant than flying.

I’ll make that trade anytime.

The 4-1-1
TRAIN: TGV Train à Grande Vitesse
OPERATOR: SNCF Société Nationale de Chemins de fer Français (French National Railroad Society)
SERVICE AREA: France, with connections to Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom

You can buy TGV and Corail Téoz tickets at any French train station or online before arriving in France. If you’re planning on visiting multiple cities or multiple countries, a rail p[ass might save you money, but check carefully. Depending on your travel plans, just buying your tickets for each leg of your journey might be cheaper.

TGV railcars come in two classes, First and Second. Within each class are two categories. The differences have to do with minor amenities, not major differences in comfort level. Unless you’re Yao Ming or a sumo wrestler, the legroom and hip room will be more than adequate. Really, the only reason to travel First Class on a TGV is that, unlike the airlines, it’s actually affordable.

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