Turbotrain

The Turbotrain was any of several French high-speed, gas turbine trains. The earliest Turbotrain entered service in 1967, for use on France's SNCF intercity lines. There were several versions, four in total, with the last exiting service in 2005, and it is the Turbotrain that made advances possible for the TGV.

In 1967, the SNCF converted a 2-car X 4300 Class diesel multiple unit train originally built by ANF Industrie (Ateliers Construction du Nord de la France) starting in 1963 (either train number X4375 or X4365), into the prototype experimental Turbotrain TGS (Turbine à gaz spéciale). The new gas-turbine engine was installed into the trailer car of this 2-car set; the original diesel power-car was fitted with a new cab but retained its original diesel motor and transmission.

Trials started on 25 April 1967. The TGS reached 252 km/h (157 mph) on 15 October 1971.

This is the first-generation of production Turbotrains. These ETG (Elément à Turbine à Gaz) trains were four carriage trainsets which offered 188 seats and possessed one diesel engine and one gas turbine engine. The gas-turbine engine was a 820 kW Turbomeca Turmo IIIF3 gas-turbine Voith hydraulic (derived from a helicopter turbine) and the diesel was a 320 kW Saurer SDHR diesel-mechanical. These trains reached 160 km/h (99 mph). The ETGs entered service in 1971 on the Paris-Caen-Cherbourg. A total of 14 of these four-car trainsets were manufactured from 1969-1972 by ANF. These trains were maintained at the Venissieux trainshed in Lyon for "many years", but were moved to the Lyon Vaise depot in the 1980s. Electrification of the Grenoble line caused some trainsets to be shifted to work in Clermont Ferrand and Metz.

These trains had five carriages with 280 seats and were built between 1972 and 1976 by ANF and MTE (Societe de Materiel de Traction Electrique). Forty-one RTG trainsets were manufactured for SNCF service. These trains were equipped with one 820 kW (1,100 hp) Turmo IIIF1 gas turbine in the even-numbered cabs and one Turmo XII 1,200 kW (1,600 hp) gas turbine in the odd-numbered cabs, reaching 160 km/h (99 mph). Normally, the even-numbered 820 kW (1,100 hp) engine was shut down once the train reached cruising speeds. The RTG entered service in 1973 on the Strasbourg-Lyon and Lyon-Nantes lines, it subsequently entered service on the Paris-Caen-Cherbourg and Paris-Deauville-Dives-Cabourg lines in 1975.

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