The LGV Rhône-Alpes is a 115 km (71 mile) high-speed railway in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. It extends the LGV Sud-Est line further south. The line opened in 1994 and goes around the east of Lyon instead of through the city centre. It also stops at Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport. After Valence TGV station, the route continues onto the LGV Méditerranée, Towards Marseille. ROLLING STOCK: TGV DUPLEX (SNCF) This Train has once before been in TSW, on the LGV Méditerranée Route, in TSW2. This would get a new soundset and be updated to new TSW standards. The TGV Duplex is a French high-speed train built by Alstom and operated by SNCF. It is part of the TGV family and was the first TGV to have two-level passenger carriages. This allows it to carry up to 508 passengers, making it useful on busy high-speed rail lines. Today, it is one of the most commonly used TGV trains. TGV RÈSEAU (NEW) The SNCF TGV Réseau is a French high-speed train built by Alstom between 1992 and 1996 for SNCF. It is based on the earlier TGV Atlantique trains and was designed to run on France's high-speed rail network. The first TGV Réseau trains entered service in 1993. SCENERY: LGV Méditerranée suffered from one fatal flaw, and that was that DTG focused too much on the speed aspect of the route, instead of focusing on scenery, with this route however, scenery should be just as much of a priority. You'll be able to blast through the beatiful French Countryside at 300kph. STATIONS: AVIGNON (TGV) VALENCE (TGV) LYON SAINT-EXÚPERY (TGV) WHY THIS ROUTE? DTG has all but abandoned French content in TSW, and it's a real shame that they did, because the routes can be incredibly unique and fast paced. Hopefully, with a route like this, it's developed by a third party, so it remains as detailed as possible. LETS BRING FRENCH CONTENT BACK TO TSW!
I like the idea of developing from an existing route (in this case further south towards Marseille), but I would prefer if it were truly connected to the LGV Méditerranée more seamlessly than with the current route hopping system. For example when traveling from London to Crewe, switching routes at Milton Keynes as it is disrupts the sense of immersion, I find. And btw, that stretch has a 300 km/h speed limit (not 320), isn't it ?
Personally, I'm less of a fan of a second LGV line because I'm not a big fan of high-speed routes only but also because it would already be a miracle to have a French route (and we know that the next one after that will be a very long time from now, unless a third party or DTG showcases more countries that UK/GER), I'd like to see other types of routes whether it's a TER train, a suburban train, anything else.
Great suggestion! Adding the TGV Réseau is an excellent idea because it is missing from the game and would bring some diversity alongside the Duplex. Having a new soundset and updating the Duplex to current TSW standards is definitely a necessary point. On the map side, featuring both Lyon Saint-Exupéry and Valence TGV stations would look amazing, especially if scenery becomes a priority this time instead of just focusing on speed. You are totally right about DTG leaving French content behind, so extending the route from the existing LGV Méditerranée would be the perfect way to bring it back. Full support on this.
I get your point, but honestly, at this stage, I just want any French route to bring the content back and get the ball rolling again. Whether it's LGV or TER, we just need France back in TSW.
It's true that we need a return from France, but if it's always going to be the same content... it's a waste (especially as I said, if things don't change, we'll have a third route before a very long time, we're not even sure we'll have a second route at the moment) . France isn't just about TGVs, especially since Matt said they got the TER license so we might as well use it. I'd like to return to France in good quality (in the sense of: not a return just for a return especially on a high-speed-only route where you make two round trips and then get tired of the route at least in my personal case). But I don't dislike the TGV if they create a route combining regional (TER) , express (TGV) , fret etc.. services, like they generally do on German routes, that suits me very well. I love it when it's diversified.
An addition of the French railways to TSW. By the way, still one of the most recognizable high-speed trains of europe or perhaps of the whole world.
I too would love to see a new French route. If we did get Avignon to Lyon, I would hope DTG would produce it as an extension of the existing LGV Méditerranée rather than a separate route, otherwise all player services would need to start / terminate at Avignon which would not be realistic at all. Looking elsewhere, I would absolutely love some loco-hauled services. Why not something based on the Ouigo Train Classique, allowing us some lovely pink Corail coaches (livery editor compatible, of course....) and a BB 22200 in Ouigo pink and in classic Béton ? Considering the very limited rolling stock available for France, you'd probably need to take a similar approach to Zwolle - Groningen and include two new trains, maybe a Regio2N. You could then have something like Montparnasse - Tours on the classic lines with a mix of Ouigo Train Classique, Ouigo Grande Vitesse, TER and TGV Inoui services, some of which run on the classic lines.
Totally support this extension! Would be awesome Also recommend the TGV 700 Dasye Ouigo tho Two options for a classic route outside soutwest of Paris: Montparnasse-Chartres/Le Mans with TER 200 Rémi, TER Aléop (local), RER, Ouigo Classique and TGVs or Les Aubrais - St-Pierre-des-Corps (Austerlitz-Orléans would be pretty dead...) with TER Rémi Express, Interloire, TER Rémi (local), Ouigo Classique and TGVs
Montparnasse is a Parisian terminus that would likely be feasible in TSW (since we got it in Trainz years ago, and it was quite well done). However, going all the way to Le Mans would certainly be too much, too many stations to model in particular (remember that they stopped WCML at Milton Keynes and not Northampton for this reason). We could perhaps stop closer to Paris while still having access to regional (TER) and commuter trains (as far as Rambouillet for example), or even have a sort of network, the LGV to Le Mans (that would include the "classique" stretch from Conneré-Beillé) with a branch in Paris suburbs as far as Versailles-Chantiers for example ? I imagine that if DTG or a third party turns its attention to France, it probably won't be for something as grand as the Trent Valley... let's not hope for too much... Of course, having the whole thing would be amazing, but I’d happily sell a kidney to a mafia ring just for the Sèvres-Rive-Gauche Z5300 shuttle. (I'm kidding, Day One, but just take my money. I'm willing to give a lot for that, though )
