The SNCF TGV Sud-Est or TGV-PSE is a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 TGV

TGV

The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....

 train

Train

A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...

 built by Alstom

Alstom

Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...

 and operated by SNCF

SNCF

The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...

, the French national railway company. It is a semi-permanently coupled electric multiple unit

Electric multiple unit

An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...

 which operates primarily between Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and the south-east of France.

The TGV Sud-Est fleet was built between 1978 and 1988 and operated the first TGV service from Paris to Lyon

LGV Sud-Est

The LGV Sud-Est is a high-speed rail line, which links Paris' and Lyon's suburbs, in France. The inauguration of the first section between Saint-Florentin and Sathonay on 22 September 1981 marked the beginning of the re-invigoration of French passenger rail service.This line, subsequently...

 in 1981. Currently there are 107 passenger sets operating, of which nine are tri-current

Railway electrification system

A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...

 (25 kV

Volt

The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

 50-60 Hz

Hertz

The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....

 AC - French lignes à grande vitesse, 1500 V DC - French lignes classiques, 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC - Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

) and the rest bi-current (25 kV 50–60 Hz AC, 1500 V DC). There are also seven bi-current half-sets - TGV La Poste

SNCF TGV La Poste

The SNCF TGV La Poste trains were built by Alstom between 1978–1986. These TGV units are essentially TGV Sud-Est trainsets that are modified for transporting mail for the French postal carrier La Poste. The top speed is , making them the fastest freight trains in the world.5 half-trainsets were...

 - without seats which carry mail for La Poste

La Poste

La Poste may refer to:* La Poste, the postal service of France* La Poste Suisse, the French name for Swiss Post* La Poste, the French name for De Post - La Poste - Die Post of Belgium* La Poste Tunisienne, the Tunisian postal service...

 between Paris and Lyon. These are painted in a distinct yellow livery.

Each set is made up of two power cars and eight carriages (capacity 345 seats), including a powered bogie in each of the carriages adjacent to the power cars. They are 200 m (656 ft) long and 2.904 metre wide. They weigh 385 tonnes (379 LT) with a power output of 6450 kW under 25 kV.

Originally the sets were built to run at 270 km/h (168 mph) but most were upgraded to 300 km/h (186 mph) during their mid-life refurbishment in preparation for the opening of the LGV Méditerranée

LGV Méditerranée

The LGV Méditerranée is a French high speed railway line of approximately 250 km length, which entered service in June, 2001. Running between Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence and Marseille, it connects the regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Languedoc-Roussillon to the LGV Rhône-Alpes, and from...

. The few sets which still have a maximum speed of 270 km/h (168 mph) operate on routes which have a comparatively short distance on the lignes à grande vitesse, such as those to Switzerland via Dijon

Dijon

Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....

. SNCF did not consider it financially worthwhile to upgrade their speed for a marginal reduction in journey time.

Fleet details

Class	No. in Service	Year Built	Operator	Current Units	Notes
Series 23000	98	1978–1985	SNCF	01-37, 39-69, 71-87, 89-102	Bicurrent No. 38 rebuilt as TGV La Poste No. 70 scrapped 1988 No. 88 rebuilt for TGV Atlantique testing No. 101 rebuilt for tilt testing
Series 33000	9			110-118	Tricurrent