France’s TGV trains have a maximum scheduled speed of 320 km/h in regular passenger service.
The 320 km/h figure applies to selected high-speed routes and compatible TGV trainsets. Actual journeys can be slower because of station approaches, junctions, weather, engineering work, and timetable planning.
TGV services began in 1981 between Paris and Lyon. France’s high-speed network later expanded toward the Atlantic coast, northern France, the Mediterranean, and international destinations. TGV trainsets are operated by SNCF Voyageurs.
The scheduled figure is different from the much higher experimental record set by a specially modified TGV during a 2007 test. That train reached 574.8 km/h, but the record speed was not a normal passenger-service speed.