jmgriffin

Just finished a review on the TGV from Paris-CDG to Bordeaux, you can find more here, if interested: Weekend Blitz - SNCF Train: Paris CDG to Bordeaux

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After doing our research ahead of time and researching how to buy tickets (SNCF vs RailEurope.com post here) and then arriving to Charles de Gaulle airport and making our way to the train station (post: Taking a train from Paris Airport CDG-Charles de Gaulle), it was time to begin our first train journey of the trip.

TGV service/review

We were scheduled on the 16h21 train (that's 4:21pm to you Freedom-fry-loving guys in 'Merica). Because this train didn't originate at the CDG airport, we had to wait until about 15 mins before departure to see which track it would be on. The trip was scheduled to take 4 hours 16 mins (!) and put us at Bordeaux St. Jean right at 21h37.

The TGV has been in service since 1981 and, to be quite honest, some of the cars are starting to feel like they were one of the pioneers back in 1981. That said, everything was rather old and dated and this model didn't offer power ports at the seat, but we were traveling in 2nd class, so it's possible that only 1st class was power-outlet equipped. (Update: Double checked and these particular cars were built between 1988-92 and then refurbished between 2005-09.)


The bathrooms were dirty but, all-around, this wasn't a bad trip, just pretty sparse when compared to the "glamorous" European train travel that we've all heard touted by our brethren from across the pond.


As with anything quintessentially French, wine and coffee wasn't too far:


The full-service dining car had about anything and everything you could want/need on a 4+ hour train ride.


TGV: Not as fast as you may think

If you're like me, you were thinking 4 hours 16 mins to go from the CDG airport to Bordeaux?! That's a substantial trip! For comparison, a direct train trip from Paris Montparnasse takes 3 hours 14 minutes. While it's absolutely easier to take the train, it's only marginally faster and only cheaper if you're going with no more than 2 people.

A drive would take you 5h28 vs 4h16 on the train:


Part of the reason that taking the train from the airport adds an extra 58 minutes is that they take you all the way around Paris to get there:


And, at the end of the day, while the TGV has achieved speeds of up to 190 mph on this line, it's all about averages and actuals:


I wore my Garmin GPS watch on the trip and have the the train-nerd stats here:


Check out the Garmin Connect Player to see it in action: Garmin Connect Player


Interestingly, when researching this route, I found that the SNCF is currently working on a €7.2 billion project to rebuild over 300 km of this line to shorten the distance and make higher speeds possible. When opened in 2017, Bordeaux-Paris route is expected to take 50 mins less, down to 2h24 from 3h14--glad to see the the French are still investing money in rail!


BOTTOM LINE: I still think nothing beats train travel in Europe, but this particular journey had me questioning my loyalty--from the slightly dated train and dirty bathrooms to the rather slow 95 mph average for a "High-speed train."

Check out full review/pics here: Weekend Blitz - SNCF Train: Paris CDG to Bordeaux

BuildingMyBento

Perhaps going right through the city would've meant lower possible speeds?

jmgriffin

I'm sure that's the case along with congestion issues--still interesting to see where you're actually going when on the train.

aa4ever

Thanks for the report!

One thing to note with the TGV is that not all trains billed as "TGV" in fact achieve high speed rail speeds at all times. SNCF appears to define "TGV" as using TGV rolling stock and (possibly) as making fewer stops. This is particularly noticeable on the Marseille-Nice run where the TGV trains are running on conventional track and the only difference between them and non-TGV is assigned seating and a few fewer stops (I believe that the difference in time between conventional and TGV on that route is something like 5 or 10 min). Also, even on high speed routes such Paris-Est--Strasbourg and perhaps Paris-Bordeaux, the part of the track further from Paris is often not true high speed. That said, some of the routes (Paris-Lyon-Marseille especially) are incredibly fast for most, if not all, of the trip.

Also, agreed that those trains are run-down. They do have a lot of redone ones (anecdotally in my experience, a lot of the redone trains tend to be out of Montparnasse and Gare de L'est, but not sure if that is just my luck or if there is something to it) which are much much nicer and more comfortable.

Ikaz

I have the same experience with the "newer" trains, I get them all the time on the lines from Montparnasse (to Nantes) and Gare de l'est (to Strasbourg & Stuttgart), I used to take these lines quite a lot and never had an old train like that.

But even on these lines there is not always electricity at the seats.

jmgriffin

Thanks for the insight! This makes a ton of sense now. Hopefully upgrades likes the Tours-Bordeaux track rebuild will keep the TGV actually running like a "Train à Grande Vitesse".

Catusa

I used to live in the area and its known that the Bordeaux to Paris trains are not the fastest TGV routes. I could be wrong but I thought some of the tracks weren't even considered TGV tracks or maybe thats south of Bordeaux. Consider Lyon to Paris which is just under a 5 hr drive from my apartment to CDG and the TGV is 2 hrs 2 min. It is far easier to board a TGV train in the city center (part-dieu) than drive out to LYS. Also, the service is very frequent. The Bordeaux to CDG service is less frequent and considering the trip length something I wouldn't have considered. Many of the trains from Bordeaux require a change in downtown Paris. If you like trains maybe you would like the night sleeper service from the SW of France to Paris.

BahrainLad

Technically in France there are "Ligne Nouvelles" or New Lines which are designed and built especially for the TGV - limited turning radius, wide separation between tracks (trains pass each other at a combined speed of 600km/h), radio signalling (no lights), dedicated to passenger service etc. The first was Paris-Lyon (LN1), then Paris-Lille/Brussels/Channel Tunnel, then Paris-Tours, then Lyon-Marseilles etc.

More history here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignes_à_Grande_Vitesse

The genius of the TGV system is of course that it can be used both on dedicated high speed track and the classic lines. The most visible benefit is the existing city-centre stations can be used.

Fraport

Nice trip report!

I take the TGV often from Strasbourg to Paris - likely this is a more ideal route. Of the 10 or so times I've taken it, its been delayed twice by things on the track - so not to bad. Typicallly it takes me 2 hours to get to Paris, when driving there is technically 5, but has usually taken me 8 because of construction and stops to pay tolls. The TGV i take is quite clean compared to DieBahn, so "for it being France", i am usually quite happy with it, esp when i find the 28 euro deals.