WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — In the first six months of operation, France’s newest high-speed rail line, TGV Mediterranee (TGV Med), has captured 60% of air and rail traffic on the 537 mile Paris-Marseille route, up from the 40% share that conventional (non high-speed) rail travel held before the June 10, 2001, inauguration of high-speed service, according to an announcement by Rail Europe, North American subsidiary of the French National Railroads (SNCF).
To date, 10 million passengers have traveled on the new line, which links Paris to Avignon in 2 hours 40 minutes, Paris to Marseille on the Mediterranean coast in 3 hours. The daily passenger count is approximately 60,000. This represents a 35% increase in passengers over the same period in 2000.
“Gaining 30% more of the market along this corridor was the objective behind building the line,” states Bernard Frelat, President and CEO of Rail Europe Group. “But success is coming much sooner than anyone expected, and much quicker than any other high-speed line to date. In France every new TGV line constructed has captured a significant share of air traffic on the given route.”
TGV Med is actually an extension of France’s first high-speed rail line, the Southeast line connecting Paris and Lyon, which debuted 20 years ago.
On-time performance along the TGV Med route is now at 87%, which means that arrivals are within 10 minutes of scheduled times. The new high-speed line has reduced travel times by an hour or more between 140 cities along its route.
For more information or to book TGV Med or any other European trains, contact a travel agent or Rail Europe at 1-888-282-7245 in the US or 1-800-361-7245 in Canada. The company’s Web site, http://www.raileurope.com, provides complete information on fares and schedules as well as economical railpasses.