SNCF Class T 2000
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| Type and origin | |
|---|---|
| Power type | Autorail |
| Builder | ANF |
| Build date | 1972 - 1976 |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Length | 128.90 m (422 ft 11 in) |
| Loco weight | 225 t (221 long tons; 248 short tons) |
| Fuel type | Diesel fuel |
| Prime mover | Turmo III, Turmo XII |
| Engine type | turboshaft |
| Performance figures | |
|---|---|
| Maximum speed | 160 km/h (99 mph) |
| Power output | 775 kW (1,039 hp)+ 1,150 kW (1,540 hp) |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Operators | SNCF |
| Class | T 2000 |
| Number in class | 13 |
| Numbers | T 2001 to T 2082 |
| Nicknames | Caravelle |
| Locale | Normandy, Pays-de-la-Loire, Aquitaine, Rhône-Alpes, Alsace-Lorraine |
| Retired | 2004 |
SNCF Class T 2000 trainsets, also known under their French acronym RTG (Rame à turbine à gaz, i.e., gas turbine trainset), were the second generation of turbine-powered trains in France and saw commercial service from 1972 to 2004.
Building on the successful experience of the earlier TGS and the ETG turbotrains, French state railway company SNCF commissioned the T 2000 for entry into service in the early 1970s. The objective was to offer the same service speed as electric traction (160 km/h or 99 mph at the time) on French trunk lines that had yet to be electrified.
The first trains were put into service in late 1972 on the Lyon-Strasbourg and Nantes-Bordeaux routes, two key trunk lines that were not electrified at the time. Though the trainsets were rated for 160 km/h (99 mph), they only could achieve this speed on short sections due to the ancient design of the lines (particularly on the Nantes-Bordeaux route) that restricted speed to 120 km/h (75 mph) on many segments. As the capacity of the smaller T1000s serving the Western line from Paris-Saint-Lazare to Caen and Cherbourg was proving less and less adequate, the next batch of T 2000s was affected to this line whose straighter profile allowed them at last to demonstrate superb performance and reliability.
In addition to the SNCF units, ANF built 6 very similar Turboliners for Amtrak.
The 1973 oil crisis and France's decision to invest heavily in nuclear power caused SNCF to sharply redirect its focus towards electric traction and put a stop to new orders of T 2000s, ending production at thirteen sets.
By the late 1970s T 2000 service on the Nantes-Bordeaux line stopped and T 2000s were reallocated to the Lyon-Nantes route, an unelectrified trunk line with severe gradients where turbine traction could once again demonstrate its potential.
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Wikipedia