The first commercial high speed services in France commenced with the TGV Sud-Est between Paris and Lyon in 1981. The abbreviation TGV stands for “Train à Grande Vitesse” or just “High Speed Train”. In contrast to the gas turbine powered TGV 001 prototype, the production train was electrically powered. Each set consisted of two power cars and eight trailer cars which were connected by Jacobs bogies. In the first generation, one bogie of the first and last trailers was also powered. This made a total of twelve traction motors with an hourly output of 537.5 kW each, giving a total of 6,450 kW.
They were usually running at 25 kV AC on dedicated high speed lines and could also operate on conventional lines under 1.5 kV DC, but with greatly reduced power. Of a total of 111 sets, some were built for service into Switzerland which were also equipped for 15 kV AC and had ten trailers. Originally approved for 260 km/h, this was increased to 270 km/h only one year after entry into service. Later, they received new bogies, a modified gear ratio and improved cooling systems and could now run at 300 km/h. The last ones were withdrawn in 2019.
The second generation of the original TGV series was the TGV Atlantique. It was designed for the new westbound line that had inclines of 3.5 instead of 1.5 percent, what required more power. These now had three-phase AC traction motors with a continuous output of 1.100 kW instead of the DC motors of the TGV Sud-Est. Now only the power cars had traction motors, what made a total power of 8,800 kW. Top speed was 300 km/h from the beginning. In 1990, one set a speed record with 515.3 km/h. 105 sets were built between 1988 and 1992, all of which had ten trailers. 76 of these were withdrawn between 2015 and 2021, while the others were refurbished for a planned service until 2029.
Between 1992 and 1996, Alstom built 90 TGV Réseau sets which were similar to the TGV Atlantique, but only had eight trailers and a top speed of 320 km/h. First used on the new LGV Nord line, they later came to other lines. The basic variant is only equipped for use in France under 25 kV AC and 1.5 V DC. Some were built as three-current sets which could also operate under 3 kV DC. Six of these were built for service into Italy, 20 for Belgium and nine for use as Eurostar. In 2006 and 2007, the power cars of 19 sets were coupled to double decker cars and now called TGV Réseau Duplex. At the same time, Alstom delivered 38 new power cars which were similar to the TGV Duplex power cars with 1,200 kW per traction motor. One of these reached 574.8 km/h in 2007.