High Speed Train 2

TGV POS, will be replaced at the international services this December and moved to the north of France for 2-3 years. Then the carriages will be withdrawn. But not the motor units which are much younger! How comes, aren't TGV built as whole trainsets normally? Yes, but this is a special case.

For the services to Switzerland, the SNCF (french national railway) modified some units to run in Switzerland. That was necessary because Switzerland has another power system and of course a different signal and security systems. When the end of those trains were coming at the late 1990s, the SNCF had also to solve another problem: The TGV was such a huge success that they urgently needs more two floor trainsets for services inside France. But at the same time there were some excisting one floor trainsets called TGV Réseau which aren't so much needed because of the lower capacity. First the SNCF studied to modify some of them for international services, but that was to complicated and expensive. And it didn't solve the capacity troubles in France. So the SNCF made a little trick! They ordered 38 motor units for international services (a TGV has two motor units per trainset, one at each end) and 19 two floor trains without motor units. Theoratically 19 international two floor trainsets, but that's not what they wanted. They took 19 of the not needed one floor TGV Réseau, modernisized the carriages and coupled them with the new built motor units. But what to do with the now unused motor units? That's why they also ordered new two floor carriages! The result was 19 one floor trains for international services (TGV POS), containing new motor units and old carriages, and 19 two floor trains for national services, containing old motor units and new carriages (TGV Réseau-Duplex).

At the same time when the TGV POS will put out of service, the same happens to the TGV Réseau-Duplex. Than the swap will be undone. Which means the younger motor units and carriages will be united to TGV Euroduplex for international services while the motor units and carriages of the former TGV Réseau will be scrapped.