News for the Traveler (2)

The French National Railroads has received authorization from the French government to build a second high-speed line, the ''TGV Atlantique.'' This new TGV (Tres Grande Vitesse, or very high speed) will consist of 219 lines of new tracks built out of Paris, connecting Brittany, the Loire region, and the southwest at high speed so as to link Tours in 1 hour, Nantes in 2 hours, Bordeaux in 3 hours, and Quimper in 4 hours. Construction cost is estimated at $ 1.1 billion.

Since the area to be served by the TGV Atlantique is not as rugged as the Paris-Lyon line, gradients will be kept at a minimum. Each train will thus be able to carry 10 cars instead of 8, for a total seating capacity of 484.