5493 - the SNCF Gas Turbine Railcar (RTG) galley vehicle - photo courtesy Peter Smith
Prototype information
| Conceived just after the
delivery of the last ETG , the Gas Turbine Trains (RTG - Rame à Turbine à
Gaz) were the second
generation of turbotrains delivered to the SNCF. Among the innovations,
was a second power car, thus doubling the power of the trains, and
hydraulic transmission. The sets
were lengthened with the addition of an extra trailer, which made them up
to five cars thus offering additional capacity. These trains worked from
the beginning in multiple and were gradually converted to work in multiple
with the ETG's. One coach was all first and to improve comfort, the seats
were spaced at 2 + 1. The other innovation was air-conditioning which
improved the comfort of these trains considerably during the 1970's. The
first sets delivered in 1973 were sent to work the Lyon-Strasbourg,
Lyon-Nantes or Lyon-Bordeaux routes. The following ones having a higher
seating capacity were delivered in 1975 to replace the ETG's which did not
have sufficient seats on the Paris-Caen-Cherbourg route. From 1978 to
1981, their composition was altered to six coaches to increase their
capacity significantly, but this experiment had no future since the
platforms at Paris St-Lazare were not sufficiently long to take the new
trains in multiple. After the oil crises of 1973 and 1979, the SNCF
decided to equip one set with a new turbine Turmo XII Turboméca which was
much more powerful and promised a saving in energy. The design and interior
decor of these machines quickly dated and the electrification of
Lyon-Strasbourg in 1995 and Paris-Caen-Cherbourg in 1996 and the arrival of
the BB16000's and 26000's prompted an increase in the rate of their
withdrawal from SNCF.
Ten smaller trains were still available and maintained with Vénissieux depot to ensure their continued existence on the cross-country line between Lyon and Bordeaux, no alternative trains being available. Six of the remaining trains will probably be re-furbished internally for service. As for T2077 and 2081, they were converted into the RTG High Speed Tilting train (HVP) called Axis. The conversion took place at ANF in Crespin in 1997 and the first tilting tests undertaken by Bombardier Transport on the line took place in 1998. One RTG is preserved in running condition at the National Railway in Mulhouse. See Wikipedia's page here for more information and pictures |
|
Type: |
Turbotrain TBDu 2038 |
Pictured at Caen 17th September 1977 |
| Max speed | 200 km/h | |
| Weight | 62 tonnes | |
| Introduced | 1972 |
