High-speed TGV trains from Metz to Paris and other Paris, France Transportation Tips

1. Second class in the TGV from

Metz to Paris

by Nemorino , 2 more photos

'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: Currently there are fourteen TGV trains per day going from Metz to Paris (and the same number from Paris to Metz) via the new high-speed railway line TGV-Est.

Most of these connections are non-stop, and the journey takes not quite an hour and a half. The top speed on this new line is 320 kilometers per hour, which is nearly 199 miles per hour.

Second photo: Refreshments are available in the TGV bar, but there is no dining car.

Third photo: One of the TGV trains at the station Paris-Est.

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Transportation: ICE problems

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Written by Nemorino

on Oct 9, 2008

1. ICE at an unscheduled stop in

Forbach

by Nemorino , 3 more photos

'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: Between Paris and Frankfurt am Main the new high-speed rail service is carried out by German InterCityExpress (ICE) trains, which at first led to some compatibility problems. I personally have been on three of these ICE trains when they broke down and were unable to complete the run from Frankfurt to Paris or Paris to Frankfurt.

The problem arose from the fact that these German trains need transformers to run on the French electrical system. The first transformers were too weak for the job, and they kept overheating . Rumor has it that in at least two cases these transformers even caught fire.

Now the transformers are being replaced, and in the meantime the French railway system SNCF has come to the rescue by providing two of its TGV trains for the Frankfurt run. So until the end of October 2008 you can see TGV trains daily in the Frankfurt station, even though none are normally scheduled to go there.

Second photo: ICE passengers changing to a crowded regional train at Forbach.

Third photo: ICE passengers at the station Paris-Est.

Fourth photo: Two ICE trains at Paris-Est. It's good there were two of them, because when one broke down we were able to change to the other one.

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Website: http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml

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Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: Gare de l'Est (East Station)

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Updated by Nemorino

on Oct 13, 2008

1. Gare de l'Est (East Station)

by Nemorino , 3 more photos

'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: This is where you arrive by train if you take the direct route between Frankfurt and Paris. The station has been upgraded considerably in recent years in honor of the new high-speed TGV-Est line.

Second photo: People in Gare de l'Est.

Third photo: Memorial plaques for people killed in the Second World War.

Fourth photo: Roofed bicycle stands in front of the station. These are for people's own bikes, but there are also two Velib' stations close by.

Velib' 10161, 10023
Métro Gare de l'Est
GPS 48°52'37.55" North; 2°21'33.68" East

Fourth installment of new Paris tips, continued: one new Hotel tip plus one update.

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Website: http://www.sncf.co.uk/

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Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: Train of great speed (TGV)

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Written by Nemorino

on Jul 13, 2007

1. Brass band for the new TGV

'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: They had a brass band on platform 4 of the Gare de l'Est in Paris on the morning of June 10, 2007, to give us all a big send-off on the first regularly scheduled TGV train on the new high-speed railway line from Paris to Strasbourg.

TGV means "train of great speed", and it really is, because it runs at 320 kilometers per hour (nearly 200 miles per hour) on the newly built tracks. So now it only takes two hours and twenty minutes to get from Paris to Strasbourg (instead of four hours), and by the year 2014 they are going to build another new section of tracks and get that time down to one hour and fifty minutes.

Second photo: In addition to the brass band, there were also several ladies who gave flowers to all of us passengers.

Third photo: These poor press photographers got herded up and down the platform just before we left. At least some of them must have got some good shots, because the papers were full of photos the next day.

Fourth photo: Second class on the TGV from Paris to Strasbourg.

Fifth photo: A big poster on a building in the Avenue de France, Paris, showing how the new railway line TGV-Est européenne looks from the air.

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Website: http://www.tgvesteuropeen.com/

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Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: EuroCity trains

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Updated by Nemorino

on Jul 13, 2007

1. In the EuroCity train from

Frankfurt to Paris

by Nemorino , 3 more photos

'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: These EuroCity trains, which used to take over six hours to go from Frankfurt am Main to Paris, have now been phased out in favor of the new high-speed connection in which German ICE trains run on French TGV tracks.

At the moment (summer 2007) there is only one through train per day, an ICE that leaves Frankfurt at 6:34 in the morning and arrives at Paris East Station four hours and seven minutes later. But there are two other connections which involve changing from one ICE train to another in Saarbrücken, the reason for this being that they do not yet have enough ICEs that are equipped to run on French tracks.

Starting in December 2007 they are planning to run five direct high-speed ICE trains per day in each direction.

Second photo: The EuroCity trains no longer had dining cars for the last few years, but they did have vendors coming through on both the German and the French sides of the border, selling quite different kinds of coffee by the way. The vendor in this photo is on the French side, as you can tell from the stacks of individual-filtered plastic coffee cups. These make good coffee but are not environmentally-friendly as they use four different kinds of plastic for the cup, the handle, the filter and the cover.

Third photo: Bicycle transport was still possible in the EuroCity trains, but is not possible in the InterCityExpress (ICE). The General German Bicycle Club (ADFC), of which I am proud to be a member, is campaigning on this issue.

Fourth photo: Arrival by EuroCity at Gare de l'Est (East Station) in Paris, June 2006.

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Métro: Five or six reasons not to take the Métro

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Updated by Nemorino

on Nov 25, 2007

1. The Métro # 6 crossing Bercy

Bridge

by Nemorino , 1 more photos

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: The Métro is Paris's world-famous, marvelously efficient, fast, clean, quiet, economical, state-of-the-art rapid transit system that tourists all love because it's easy to use and you can get from anywhere to anywhere in Paris without getting lost or making a fool of yourself.

It's so wonderful that I even use it myself occasionally, for instance going to and from the railroad station with my luggage (unless I'm staying somewhere within walking distance), or on my way to Châtelet-Les Halles to pick up my rental bike.

Aside from these exceptions, though, there are good reasons not to use the Métro on a daily or hourly basis:

1. It's unhealthy, because you just stand or sit there. Get a bicycle instead and get some exercise. (Please have a look at my General Tips for lots of information on cycling in Paris.)

2. You can't see much, because the trains run underground most of the time, so if you can't cycle you should at least take a bus. This will cost a bit more and take somewhat longer, but at least you'll see more of Paris, and with the new bus lanes the buses no longer get stuck in endless traffic jams like they used to.

3. If there are any kind of germs or viruses going around, you're bound to catch them if you ride around in trains full of sick people. To stay healthy, cycle around in the fresh air instead.

4. On the Métro you're in danger of getting pickpocketed, especially if you look like a tourist.

5. During the rush hours the trains can get so full (especially the regional RERs) that you might not even be able to squeeze your way on, much less find a seat.

6. This last reason is more a matter of principle, not a practical consideration, but if you take the Métro you are in effect surrendering to the automobile lobbies and letting yourself be banished underground like a rat or a mole, while motor vehicles spread out and monopolize the surface of the planet.

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Website: http://www.ratp.fr

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Transportation: The new Tramway T-3

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Updated by Nemorino

on Jul 16, 2007

1. The T-3 at Porte d'Ivry

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: Paris has started to follow the example of other French cities such as Nantes, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Lyon, Nancy, Orleans or Bordeaux, and has built its first tramway line, the T-3. It bears the number three because there are already two such tramways, the T-1 and the T-2, operating in the northern and western suburbs.

The new line goes along the boulevards at the southern edge of Paris. While building the tracks and stations, they took the opportunity to widen sidewalks, plant trees, build new cycling paths* and install an attractive new street lighting system, so as to upgrade an area which until then was more of a motorized jungle than a habitable urban neighborhood.

In most places there are now only four lanes for motorized traffic, instead of six.

The new tramway T-3 began operation on Saturday, December 16, 2006. On the first weekend 120,000 people tried it out. One of my sons was among them, because the new tramway goes right by his front door in the 13th arrondissement.

*Unfortunately the new cycling paths along the T-3 are not much use because they dip sharply several times per block, so only the slowest cyclists can use them. The mayor has publicly acknowledged this problem, but as far as I know there has not yet been any decision about how to fix it.

Second photo: The Tramway under construction at Place Balard in June 2006.

Third photo: An information stand about the new tramway system, in the Mairie (city hall) of the 14th arrondissement.

Fourth photo: Here's a look at the tramway T-1, which operates in the northern suburbs between Gare de St-Denis and Noisy-le-Sec. Here the trams do not look as modern as the ones on the T-3, and here they have not managed to plant any trees or put in any bicycle routes, at least not in La Courneuve where I took this photo.

Fifth photo: The T-3 at Porte d'Italie, as seen from the 28th floor of Chambord Tower.

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Website: http://www.tramway.paris.fr

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Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: Gare du Nord (North Station)

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Updated by Nemorino

on Jul 1, 2006

1. Gare du Nord (North Station)

'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: This is where the high-speed Thalys trains arrive from Belgium and the Netherlands, and from Aachen and Cologne in Germany, and where the EuroStar trains arrive after coming through the channel tunnel from London.

Second photo: Tracks and trains at the North Station, as seen from Boulevard de la Chapelle.

Third photo: Here a EuroStar train is arriving from London. The four EuroStar tracks are carefully fenced off for security reasons.

Fourth and fifth photos: Work is now in progress to re-allocate the space in front of the North Station, so as to provide better access to the station and reduce through traffic that is just going by.

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Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: Gare Saint-Lazare

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Written by Nemorino

on Jun 28, 2006

1. Gare Saint-Lazare from Place de

l'Europe

'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: This is the station that was painted by Claude Monet in 1877. You can see the painting in the Musée d'Orsay, but if you don't feel like standing in line for the museum you could always come over and look at the station in person. Here's what it looks like from the back, from Place de l'Europe.

Second photo: Trains arriving at Gare Saint-Lazare.

Third photo: As at the East and North Stations, there is a major construction project underway here at Gare Saint-Lazare, designed to modernize the station, optimize access and create an attractive public square at the front.

Fourth photo: People waiting for their trains. From here you can get trains to the suburbs and to cities like Rouen, Le Havre, Cherbourg and Dieppe.

Fifth photo: These posters hanging from the ceiling are meant to suggest that all these folks have covered up their cars for the summer and have gone on vacation by train instead. This is of course rather tongue-in-cheek considering the actual vacation habits of French automobile owners, but it's a clever advertising campaign for that very reason.

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Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: Gare Montparnasse

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Written by Nemorino

on Jun 28, 2006

1. Gare Montparnasse from the

Montparnasse Tower

by Nemorino , 2 more photos