SQFG's first TR (Train report) - TGV Lyria Paris Gare de Lyon to Geneve in F :p

[SQflyergirl]

Something different this time. I had a chance to take a ride on the TGV last week instead of flying between Paris and Geneva. Figured plus the transfers to either Orly or Charles de Gaulle, a train would be faster.

These tickets can be had on the cheap(ish) if you book early enough- and that's what I did. I got a "piccolo" non changeable, non refundable first class fare for only 53 euros, which I thought was good value. A normal fare for the same route was double that at 127.


I'm staying close to Gare de Lyon where TGV Lyria 6573 departs from, so it's a short walk to the train station. Gare de Lyon's a nice looking building I must say


It's also connected to the Metro Line 1, 14 and RER A and D lines.


A quick bite to eat the famous Le Train Bleu first - as I'm there in good time.

[SQflyergirl]

The station is bright, airy and pretty large. I don't think it's bigger than say Frankfurt's Hauptbanhof or King's Cross - but it's pretty cavernous




and trains get up really close


Signboard says my train departs from Voie Jaune (Yellow Platforms)


Which means, via this doorway


down this hall


out the back


And down to the outdoor platforms

[SQflyergirl]

Ticket machines are available for immediate departures too


If you hold a prebooked ticket, you've got to validate it at these cute yellow machines


And here's my train. TGV Lyria 6573 Paris Gare de Lyon to Geneva Cornavin via Bourg-En-Bresse and Bellegarde! Hurrah 300km/h here we come

[SQflyergirl]

Was hoping for a TGV Duplex rolling stock like this



but instead, I got the old TGV Sud-Est version. Which was okay. They were rebuilt for 300km/h speeds some time back

My train




Made by Alsthom - arguably the world leader in this sort of thing

[SQflyergirl]

I'm onboard 10 minutes before the 13:10 departure.

Stuff my luggage away in these racks: (my hello kitty kebaya will just have to do without me for the next few hours)


Through the automatic doors


and to my seat: Coach 3, Seat 31, a solo. Genuine Article SQFG foot shot


The rest of the carriage is configured in a mix of different layouts: 4 club facing each other, singles facing forward, singles facing backward, club singles facing each other, doubles facing forward, doubles facing backward. Some of the newer ones were refurbished with Christian Lacroix interiors which are much nicer than this

[SQflyergirl]

On the dot at 13:10 we pull out from Gare de Lyon

I have to say, the feeling of speed is imperceptible. It's smooth, quiet and doesn't feel particularly fast (i'm sure it is though)

On board, there's a magazine to read (french only unfortunately)


And I'm given a welcome drink of orange juice (no pics of that )

Inside the cars, they prefer if you don't use your cellphone, but move to the space in between carriages and talk there


Talk here!


You get a buy-on-board served at your seat meal in First class (opted not to, was pricey at i think 19 Euros). The next car down was the Bar carriage, and has much better options






Also a nicer place to socialize

[Aulia Harun]

Wow SQflyergirl! Nice pictures you have there! This is one unique TR you rarely see

How's the legroom? It looks a bit tight

[SQflyergirl]

So we're chugging along at a great rate of knots when we pull to a slow grinding halt between Le Creusot and Bourg-En-Bresse.

Driver comes on the intercom - says they've spotted a man hanging around the tracks (the TGV tracks are fenced) some 30km down, so he must have scaled it to get over. He says also they're waiting for police to apprehend him.

After 35 minutes of stationary time, we're off again, after police have inspected the track for any suspicious devices - but disappointingly, the driver also comes on to say that we're going to be an hour late into Geneva despite being stationary for only 35 minutes - because the trains are backed up and there are some slower trains using the line, so we won't be going at 300km/h anymore.

picture time: Those rails look rather solid


Look out for Mortimer! (that's the extent of my french)

[SQflyergirl]

Wow SQflyergirl! Nice pictures you have there! This is one unique TR you rarely see

How's the legroom? It looks a bit tight

It was, and that's first class Oh well, it's smooth enough to get up and walk around, so I did just that. Thanks though

[SQflyergirl]

The rest of the ride seems rather slow: We've covered the first 65% of the trip in just over 90 minutes, the last 35%'s going to take a further 3 hours just because of the delay.

A rather nice French gentleman tells me that in any case, the line from Bourg-En-Bresse to Geneva isn't LGV, or high-speed line. The LGV would continue further south to Lyon Part Dieu and down to the mediterranean, whilst we branch off east onto regular lines.

Coupled with the delay, it really does feel slow compared to the speeds we were doing earlier

Some sights along the way

[SQflyergirl]

Finally! After 4 hours and 45 minutes, we pull up into Geneva Cornavin Main station. You still see remnants of customs and immigration from when Switzerland hadn't joined the Schengen Agreement yet.

I'm just glad to get off and have a ciggy


Thoughts:

Honestly, if not for the delay, it would have been a superb trip. I do think that in continental europe, a lot of the time it isn't worth it just to fly. Trains take you from city center to city center with minimum fuss in about the same time.

Can't wait for my next High speed train ride

Thanks for reading!

[Aulia Harun]

It was, and that's first class Oh well, it's smooth enough to get up and walk around, so I did just that. Thanks though

I was looking at some of the photos of the seats and realize there aren't any seat belts! Shouldn't there be seat belts in a train that travels at the equivalent of 162 knots ground speed I've never been in a high-speed train before, so I do not know the standards about that.

Overall it was a great read and thanks for the insights of traveling via rail in Europe! Did you get nice views of scenery, countryside.. or was it mainly urbanized land?

Hope to see more TRs from you! (Train or Trip Reports, whichever the case may be)

[SQflyergirl]

Hope to see more TRs from you! (Train or Trip Reports, whichever the case may be)

Coming soon here's a sneak

[HUGE AL]

...disappointingly, the driver also comes on to say that we're going to be an hour late into Geneva despite being stationary for only 35 minutes - because the trains are backed up and there are some slower trains using the line, so we won't be going at 300km/h anymore.

This is definitely no Shinkansen.

[jjpb3]

Gare de Lyon, bah.

I think you should do a TR from / to Berlin's Hauptbahnhof to see what a real train station is supposed to be like.