Roughly speaking, what level of brake force is needed to adhere to the LGM braking curve a) in manual, and b) in addition to speed control? So far (my first day), I either blast through the line into an emergency braking, or slow down way the heck too early.
A)Depends on the gradient. Generally between 70 and 100% electric braking should be enough, with air brakes only used for stopping. For example to stop at Aix-en-Provence I use the electric brake to slow down to 170km/h, then coast a bit at around that speed and when I reach my braking point I start to brake using the air brakes to stop at the station, and that always works. Instead for stopping at Avignon you want to stay a bit ahead of the braking curve, as a "stop before the station entrance" and "stop at the end of the platform" will result in the same braking curve on TVM, and that can catch you off guard, as I learned the hard way. In any case if you start to brake early enough electric braking should be sufficient. B) I only use speed control to maintain speed, but there are one or two places that require air brakes to not overspeed, for those I use both brakes manually in order to achieve the desired result (a baseline of air brakes and fine turning with the electric brake). All speed reduction ordered by TVM (or speed limit changes) are executed manually by myself.
How far out are your braking points? (The rule I have used up until now, on German routes, is to target 80km/h at one km out, from where, assuming a flat grade, Brake 1B will take you in nicely with almost all passenger EMUs/locos. Except the 143. But not doing 300-plus!)
It's hard to tell you by distance as I drive hudless. From ~170 I start braking (fairly harshly - the brakes in the TGV are not very effective at low speed) to stop at Aix-En-Provance about when the switches to cross tracks come into view, that should line you up nicely. Nice technique with the german trains, I tend to do my main braking at step 2 or 3, so a bit harsher, and in fact I generally tend to aim for ~100km/h at 800m. Anyway back to LGV. To brake with TVM you generally follow the indications, usually TVM markers are more or less equidistant (as if they were normal signals) so you will be able to estimate the position of the next marker (within reason) so with a bit of practice you will naturally get a feel if you are too fast or too slow. But generally I start coasting when the speed limit changes from solid green to flashing, and start braking once I get the lower speeds. Hopefully that made sense.
