The new face of SNCF Intercity trains - OMNEO PREMIUM REVIEW PARIS TO CAEN

[@LTDX]

20:30 They are setting a 3rd track for the RER E extention to Mantes-la-Jolie in 2024-2025. At mid-2023 a 1st extention will arrives at Nanterre-la-Folie

[@qjtvaddict]

Ahh yes france a stable country

[@jereffuse]

MDR le nom de la station Nanterre la folie y a plus rien qui les arrête lol

[@sahasrahla3837]

@@jereffuse Qui ça "les" ? La Folie est le nom du quartier où la gare est construite tout simplement.

[@Czechmate823]

I was a student at the Universite de Caen 1974-1975 school year. Travelled to Paris and beyond on the then "new" Turbotrain from Caen to Lisieux, Evreux and Paris-Nord to many destinations in Europe. Nice to re-live some of my voyages 40 years ago. Thanks! I once rode the Amtrak version of the Turbotrain from Rensselaer to NYC years later! What a rush!

[@aliawad9607]

France is a amazing country I like when you go countryside by train every thing is natural

[@abshivkumar2549]

And here in the USA we have 2 km an hour trains

[@grip2617]

Life does not depend on trains. Take a bike and you time.

[@abshivkumar2549]

@@grip2617 shut up

[@williamchristian8389]

Great film!! keep them coming. As a 70 year old American from Indiana I love your films Thibault.!!!

[@Andrewjg_89]

France has such incredible trains from all sorts of sizes. Including the TGVs and Eurostar. Been to France by train couple times.

[@maxbarr3954]

This one of the tree lands of train(France,englend and japan)

[@maxbarr3954]

You can ad deutschland

[@s125ish]

Did you go on the Eurostar?

[@s125ish]

Did you go on the Eurostar?

[@Andrewjg_89]

Yes I have been on the Eurostar. And I also been on Eurotunnel.

[@OnThaMove]

The absolutely amazing railways are one of the many things that I miss about living in France. The SNCF sets the standard for travel by train.

[@claudiahansen4938]

Good point about the stunning trench out of the Gare. Paris apparently is much older than commonly thought, with many stories of underground buildings compared to the present surface level. Great report!

[@thiampaul]

Depuis le temps que j'attendais cette vidéo ! :)

[@countofelysium9070]

Daamn, that's a nice train. I love the unique design with a door car.

[@josephking14]

Using this line frequently, I have to say that the old Corail coaches, despite being very noisy and old-fashioned, were far mor comfortable. The two-level seating arrangement makes just the space smaller, and the seats are way too rude. It would be okay on a regional train but it’s a 2+ hour trip, so I’m not totally satisfied by this Omneo Premium

[@hbecph]

I truly understand you because I ride everyday (the regional version) the same train and I can say that's a train for a maximum 40 minutes ride

[@ReyOfLight]

It’s the same issue here in Sweden, SJ regional between Gothenburg and Stockholm has double decker trains and it’s a 4+ hour trip but comfort wise those trains should only go routes of maybe 1-2 hours. Same with DSB First between Copenhagen and Gothenburg, also some 3-4 hours (more if going all the way from Elsinore) and the trains are only really suitable for maybe 1 hour trip. Modern trains are just not comfortable to travel with, which is a shame!

[@that90skid72]

@Joseph oui OK mais niveau fiabilité c'était de pire en pire sur les vieux corail, malgré leur confort (surtout en basse Normandie, car en haute-Normandie...C'était pas ça).

[@simutrains8723]

@@that90skid72 ouais malgré les sièges moins confortable, les Regio2N sont vachement plus fiables

[@that90skid72]

@@simutrains8723 Pour le moment lol. Mais c'est pareil à chaque lancement d'un nouveau train. Le NAT était pas bon au tout début non plus

[@that90skid72]

Well, I did work on those as a supply planner. Needless to say they were very complicated to make, because of their numerous specificities. Those blue metallic parts inside for ex....OMG. What a mess that was to get them done by our usual suppliers. For those who regret old fashionned corail coaches: they were in terrible shape as of late, because of lack of maintenance. And I won't even mention those old double deck coaches that were frequently used for that line...I used to call them rolling trashbins, as a former frequent user of that line (Paris-Le Havre). Those were horrible...

[@romainldo6485]

Nice review, i'm manufacturing engineer of this train. I have worked on this during project phases before the production. I have left my job just before the beginning production. Nice to see what i have thunk is now real, and i'm very proud of the result ☺️

[@clarification007]

Excellente qualité tout ce tournage! Merci!

[@quenting2007]

Super vidéo, ces trains omneo premium sont aussi déployés par la région Centre Val de Loire sur les lignes Paris-Tours, Paris-Bourges et Paris-Nevers en remplacement des corails. Exceptés les couleurs, la configuration est la même en 2nd classe. En revanche en 1ere classe il y a 4 sièges dans la largeur soit la même chose qu'en 2nd classe ! Les deux classes ne diffèrent que par leurs couleurs...

[@Joncl]

I traveled this line many years ago. I miss travelling on SNCF quite badly. Hopefully it won’t be long before I can do it again ..,.,

[@ringo7561]

Great video once again...that is pretty cool how the tracks are lower then the buildings departing Paris...a trench as you were saying...

[@arnauddezit4774]

Belle vidéo, merci ! J'ai également apprécié la machine à café dans ce train par ailleurs très réussi en terme de confort, aménagement, ergonomie et design. Un sans faute pour cette ligne qui en avait bien besoin !

[@PKBRYAN21]

Oh my goodness this look so cool and a new face for french travelling

[@stephaneveron408]

On this line, there is a "night train" ! With the same material I guess. The TER 3327 leaves Paris at 00:23 every night from Sunday to Monday, and arrives in Cherbourg at 05:25. It is one of the last trains for soldiers to join their bases on Mondays, also open to anyone. The other one is the night TGV from Paris-Montparnasse to Brest.

[@lecatovien78]

Le TER de 00h23 a malheureusement été supprimé récemment

[@stephaneveron408]

@@lecatovien78 je vois ça ! Il circulera en pointillés en mars 2023 puis à partir de fin mai. Parfois en version Paris-Caen, ou Évreux-Cherbourg. Voir la fiche horaire TER Normandie "Nomad".

[@mattj4226]

Thank you so much for this! I'm traveling to France (first time out of the US) next month and need to take a train from Paris to Caen. I'm not accustomed to using trains, and not speaking French, I've been super nervous about where to go and what to do. You have put me at ease!

[@ericcccccable]

Keep calm. :)

[@myzzkim88]

How did it go? I'm in the same boat. I'm traveling to France for the first time next month and going to Caen from Paris. This video seems helpful!

[@Hepad_]

@@myzzkim88 how did your trip go ?

[@myzzkim88]

@@Hepad_ It went well! this video helped a lot

[@wilfredocisneros]

Thanks , its always a pleasure to go along with you in your travels !!!

[@ZRHTrainspotter]

22:02 what is the app called?

[@lucrolland7489]

Wow, those second class seats are awesome. They have surrounding headrests on both sides, ergonomic shapes and space for legs. They mean real comfort. Try to get that in the UK's trains, perhaps only on the trains made by Alstom (French of course). The recent acquisition of Hitachi and CAF trains have seats comparable to Ryan Air and makes you wonder if the private British companies are concerned about their clients. What I like about French stock and service is the fact they really beat their neighbours in terms of comfort. The same can be said about their cars.

[@duncanmcewan1049]

Totally agree that the UK trains are sadly lacking in comfort. The old East Coast (GNER) trains from Edinburgh to London Kings-X had bit deep comfortable first class seats. The Virgin (or whatever they are now) Pendolino's on the West Coast mainline were OK comfort - but it seems like the newer the train, the worse the comfort is - and the rail cost here in the UK is astronomical. If you want a first class open ticket from Glasgow to London - it's around £450 ! I did Glasgow to London once in Standard class - never again. The only thing the UK rail companies care about is ££. More seats = more money for then. Passenger comfort doesnt matter.

[@thierrypauwels]

These infamous gates !!! Once in a Paris station, I scanned my ticket, but the gate did not open. It was a ticket that I booked online and apparently the gate did not recognise it. Fortunately there was a staff member to open the gate for me. But I almost missed the train despite the fact that I arrived at the station about 1 hour before departure. First you wait till they announce the platform, then you have a long queue at the gate, then the gate does not open, and finally you have to walk to the very end of the train. I was still folding my bike when I heard the sound announcing that the doors would be closed.

[@eddieimmortalkingofuniverse]

Paris Train Station is beautifully decorated with many boutiques

[@markm-1976]

Great trip report, I was ready to explain the reason for track extension but LTDX already answered - extension for RER E to Mantes-la-Jolie - I like the intercity variant of the Regio2N - I can’t wait to take a trip on one. I have been on the Regio2N when they were newly introduced in Britanny - from Rennes to Messac-Guipry - they were nice inside but I remember the seats being hard like most of our new trains in the UK. I do love the classic corail trains.

[@lindavainomae3489]

Great video Benjamin. I think the livery of these new trains is really stylish. I prefer one level trains as they jsut seem a lot more roomy but understand if you have large passenger numbers double deck is the way to go. Thank goodness for the coffee machine! That is a necessity on a trip of this length so at least it is available although a buffet would be better.

[@namele55777]

i think the small coaches containing the doors are placed there to allow the train to articulate more. Notice how the carriages are connected together with Jacob's bogies - Alstom seems to favour this layout on their trains, you can see them on the TGV's as well. Jacob's bogies increase rigidity and high speed stability but downside is that trains cannot articulate well. By placing a short carriage between 2 longer coaches, I believe this allows the train to articulate more than if the 2 long coaches are connected directly.

[@aramisjdd6387]

these small coaches allow to reduce the gap between the train and the platform and jacobs bogie are used to gain in space, confort, sound and vibration but they don't constrain the agilty of the train because degree of articulation is, in fine, adjustable and about the same as a normal train in this set (not the case with TGV). the long coaches are very silent and confortable and the large and small coaches with lot of large doors allow quick disembarkment. the small coaches roof is used for all the equipement. This architecture is interesting and i'd love to see more variant like for crowded sub-urban area, metro and trams (inspired as well by hong kong street cars)

[@ranimaux6826]

Ça va me manquer de plus voir nos voitures Corail avec les belles bb15k

[@jeanpaulbeuh8678]

Vous pourrez toujours les voir métamorphosées en Ouigo ;)

[@claudeleger2296]

We took this ride in 1987 using at that time the turbotrains or RTG and it was nice in 2nd class!

[@rsdworker]

you missed small details on the outside of the train - you might saw wheelchair symbol on outside pointing to the carriage where wheelchair access space located

[@jay_law]

A lovely train to a beautiful region and city in Normandy.

It looks like it was made for me, I'm a huge fan of blue&wood pairing!

[@einsesteinpiorosado8071]

Muy buen video como de costumbre, con un análisis de cada pequeño detalle. Gracias monsieur .

[@anthonywarrener1881]

Thank you for a great review, and I agree with all that you say ! I have yet to try an Omni-Premium, but as soon as I can escape from the U.K I will do so ! The trouble is the comparison with the previously used Corail stock, which was always superb, especially in 1st Class. The spaciousness and ambience of Corail cannot be matched, and nor can the ride !

[@mrmofthegower3926]

I’ve not been on the new Intercities. However, you can’t beat the ride quality of the corail trains. They still use them on certain TER services. One I’ve used a few times is the Paris Bercy to Lyon via Dijon which uses the old main line before the TGV. There’s only about three per day and it takes roughly five hours. I’d much prefer that to a TGV..

[@uranusmundus6332]

Me encanta Europa, y Francia principalmente, excelente video en calidad e información. Saludos!!!

[@kaku_96]

The station reminds me of Leipzig Hauptbahnhof in Germany because that one is also an old station, heavily refurbished into a shopping mall after Germany reunited and they managed to still keep the old architecture and flair while creating a very modern station.

[@florleans45]

Leipzig HBF is such a beautiful station !! I love it ! Greetings from France

[@jmsmilfajt]

Nice report, the 2nd class looks great, the interior of the train is really cosy and the Normandy region looks very much like the part of Central Bohemia where I live. Would be nice to have such trains here. 😄

[@trains_worldwide]

Nice video, I made a full one of this route from the windowside from an Omneo Premium too ! Very silent train in my opinion

[@Euroduplex]

Lovely, lovely interior.

[@_enoha_]

J'augmente le référencement

[@truckerallikatuk]

I suspect the extra chunks of line are to allow the long distance trains to pass the regio services without stopping either and allow more services.

[@Benjamin0c]

Pas fan des automotrices mais une belle surprise néanmoins ! Je recommande 👍🏻

[@joerogers4227]

You make me envious. The USA has such limited local train services. In 1960 I could go many places but now limited by AMTRAK routes. Small towns are left out on public transit. I lived in a small town 30 miles from a large city. Today no trains, no buses. I am nearing the age when I will not be able to use a car to drive anywhere.

[@AubertHBT]

20:32 Because i'm a parisian french and that i love the public transports network, I can answer you : There adding a 3rd track on the section of Mantes La Jolie via Poissy of the line J, for the EOLE project (proloungement of the line E in replacement of the J branch line). I think your train was in the section between Saint-Lazare and Mantes-la-Jolie

[@arnaudr1694]

je suis un pro corail mais il faut avouer que sur l'OMNEO il y a eu des efforts, trains plus grands que les régio 2N, sièges spacieux... Design confort, une machine à café ! Le siège je préférai tester avant de dire quoi que ce soit mais c'est déjà beaucoup mieux que les régio 2N qui remplacent les corails sur Nice Marseille voir même des Z26500 oui oui ! Des Z26500 pour faire plus de de 300km. Et couplé à pleine vitesse on se croirait dans un bateau en plus d'être exigu et totalement inconfortable avec les valises partout. Franchement si on nous met des OMNEO sur Nice Marseille je ferais plus facilement le deuil des corails

[@floriand.2624]

20:33 C'est pour l'arrivée du RER E

[@uncinarynin]

Interesting that these are now also used for Intercités. I guess the wide doors wouldn't really be needed for this service. (How is wheelchair accessibility, do they offer level boarding from the platform? Which platform height?) It seems like the ride at 200 km/h is nicely smooth. It would be interesting to compare it to Bombardier's other attempts of building doubledeck intercity trains: The IC2 in Germany, despite being just an upgrade from the well-proven Görlitz cars, is plagued with software problems and the Twindexx Swiss in Switzerland had a number of problems that needed to be fixed before operating satisfyingly (some people will still say it doesn't ride well). I'm also curious whether Alstom will continue the Omneo platform, having their own doubledeck trains (Coradia Duplex).

[@jeromekipping7065]

The German IC2 is real sh*t. It's like Regional Trains with carpet. Amd they even aren't faster

[@escapadesetvoiesferrees1862]

Super vidéo !

[@MsOnitemi]

This video is so super helpful!!! Thank you

[@thomcampion7127]

I love that at 9:10 in, you say ‘the table really small and I doubt you could work on it’ and the table is literally bigger than almost all standard class seat-back tables in the UK 😢

[@pikachu8508]

Nice review. Hope you check out these 2 routes: 1.Mont Blanc Express from Chamonix Mont Blanc-Vallorcine,France-Martigny,Switzerland operated by SNCF TER AURA and TMR 2. Bernina Express from Chur to Campocologno in Switzerland(No crossborder service to Tirano, Italy at the moment due to COVID) operated by RhB

[@aramisjdd6387]

at 20:27, it's the 3rd track for the future RER E to Mantes-La-Jolie.

[@peter59fg]

Bonjour Benjamin, 20:31 ajout d'une voie supplémentaire. ne s'agirait-il pas de l'extension du RER E vers Pontoise ?

[@brucebenson5908]

What is the name of your app that provides you with real-time info about the train you're on?

[@richardmoore8899]

Me too

[@magnificus8581]

A beautiful place to visit!

[@benjamintery7847]

Awesome video! To be honest, these looks great, I love that coffee machine too :) I wonder if there are the same amount of bike spaces as the old trains though. Also 1:46 - if you meant Intercites i think there is no more, it's all TER now which operate the intercity services

[@NikCan66]

Excellent yet again

[@intersezioni]

we look forward to seeing you soon in Italy to try out the new regional trains ;-)

[@ZRHTrainspotter]

the omneo premium is amazing!

[@SeverityOne]

The shopping mall in Saint Lazare is rather nice. We went there specifically because I wanted to visit La Vie du Rail, a shop with mostly books about trains, and a handful of model trains (but none of LS Models). Unfortunately, we went on the 15th of August (I usually don't know what date it is, let alone when I'm on holiday) and it was closed. So we went around the shopping mall instead, bought a couple of shirts for me at The Cotton Factory (very nice guy helping me) and cute stuff for the home at Pylones. You can spend quite a bit of time there, and forget that there's a railway station somewhere as well.

[@Willysmb44]

Ran out of there to Bayeux and back, this is a great depot

[@ezkymos]

7:50 This new track is for the RER E extension to Mantes la Jolie in 2024

[@ohuntrain1273]

Super vidéo ! Cependant petite erreur sur les 27300. Les BB27300 commandées pour Transilien ne sont pas dues à une demande faible du fret, il s’agit d’une commande totalement différente puisque ces machines diffèrent sur quelques points. En revanche le reversement des 27111 a 180 à Akiem est bien la conséquence de cette chute du trafic. On peut également citer les BB75300, ex-BB75000 modifiées face à la chute du fret et aux besoins d’Intercités

[@SimplyRailway]

Super, merci pour tes precisions!

[@theobrattinga500]

Great video !!

[@asmamohammed5659]

Hey so I’m on a 10 day holiday in France and we used this train to have a day trip in Paris today and I was super impressed by the level of comfort between the coaches lots of space to move in luggage areas and charging ports near the chairs. only down side was the smell near the toilets but other that that very comfortable Wi-Fi easy to connect to and the four by four almost private seating are the best with foldable tables and overhead storage

[@cgnlb]

❤️❤️❤️👍🏻👍🏻 thank you for the great video!!

[@pierrem4560]

l"Omneo est tres confortable, car tres large et bien insonorisé. Du beau travail des services de Bombardier !

[@marcinj1992]

Nice modern train, seen it on the outside when I was in France though didn't had the opportunity to ride it (instead I tried Z 24500 and I remember them fondly). As for the design, the alternating pattern of double deck coaches and small single deck connected by shared Jacobs bogies is meant to maximize capacity per train length. Ordinary double deckers have higher capacity than single deckers but at most typical double has 150% capacity of a single and many double deck constructions even less. Outermost parts of many double deckers aren't optimally used due to constraints of construction like staircases, doors, electrical cabinets. It is especially noticeable in constructions with entrances on the same height as 760mm platforms which are standard in some countries. Doors are moved inward and 760mm is high enough to prevent the possibility of second floor above, compared to trains with entrances alligned to 550mm platforms like Z 24500 or TGV Duplex where there is the second floor above the entrance. Here comes the Omneo with few wasted space and the possibility for adjustments to different infrastructure without compromising capacity and accessibility. Additionally alternating pattern is to keep axle load at a reasonable level, full double decker with two-axle bogies would be too much. This is also an unusual case of combining double deck construction with Jacobs bogies after many decades of a break when such constructions weren't released. Previous example were the East German locomotive hauled double deckers sets made between 50's and 70's. Survived the longest in Poland as the PKP Bhp class (in past under different classification system also known as Bipa). Now heritage, much more crude looking than the sets here. Then again they represented many technical ingenuities. They were full double-decker but solved the problem of axle loads by using three-axle bogies instead of more typical two-axle.

[@duncanmcewan1049]

I totally agree with your review. These second class seats looked pretty good. The first class had more leg room, and (maybe) a wider seat, but it seemed very little really between 2nd and 1st. Check out some of the Japanese trains - now that's luxury (I also saw the review of the service from France to Italy with the huge leather seats - "Executive class" was awesome!!)

[@NonstopEurotrip]

Corails for me any day thank youuu 🥰

[@muhammaduwaismuhsinmuaz4385]

Heyyy

[@abshivkumar2549]

Congrats

[@TheBearbertie]

Great vid. Travelling this summer from Paris to Le Havre and think the quickest journey trains are this type? Is there a seating plan anywhere online for 1st class as I can't find one? :-)

[@fugf1623]

I was waiting for this one !

[@ag6371]

Even Transilien recently has Regio 2N (Omneo) replacing their VB2Ns

[@gillesbadouix2365]

Les travaux de la troisième voie entre epones mezieres et Mantes la jolie font partie du projet de prolongations du RER E jusqu'a Mantes avec Mise en service 2025 .

[@etbadaboum]

Pour le RER E ou Éole

[@baf0569]

This is an Excellent video, Merci, Tres Bien.

[@AnhNguyen-ms3xq]

I love the train, perfect.

[@deusvult7559]

That's got to be the cleanest French train I've ever seen...looks awesome!

[@ElrosTar-Minyatur]

For a modern intercity it looks great! A shame they doesn’t make broader seats in first class 😭

[@michaelmacdonell4834]

I like the design of the BB27000 loco - reminds me of the old models with the inward-sloping windscreen

[@SuperRinghio92]

Great video but when I travel by train I want a real train, not a sort of weird #RERA. I went back from Lisieux to Paris and I was not comfortable. I prefer vintage Corail coaches, more comfortable ! Even if I know sncf had to rationalized its fleet for more convenience for the network maintenance.

[@_Irieuliezbus-Citaroway-bhns]

J'aime beaucoup ce train

[@masterman1502]

What's the app on 22:01 ? Very interesting looking

[@doublediamondrailroad5949]

Beautiful Train

[@u1k4]

Will there ever be a review on trans siberian railway?

[@declanburke3746]

Nice train. Very clean

[@johnatwater6724]

What is the speed app you are using on your iPad at @23:27

[@muhammaduwaismuhsinmuaz4385]

the colour of the train looks cool.

[@juxbertrand]

Très beau train, bravo à la Région Normandie. Manque encore une voiture magasin parce que les gens ont du temps pour découvrir et acheter. Une voiture magasin pour découvrir l'artisanat local - tester - gouter - commander et acheter (bref - promouvoir du local)......et la voiture restaurant servi à table (une bonne andouillette - un camembert - des huitres !!!). On avance bien lentement dans cette transition.

[@ulkeshkarne2537]

Awesome train my dream train to travel awesome SNCF Trains 👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👑👑👑

[@drkwal7659]

I take it few times, they are also used in Paris-Rouen-Le Havre line

[@Bylkuuus]

Bonjour 👋 Simply Railway ! Pour info l’ajout d’une 3e voie à hauteur de Mantes -la-Jolie/ Porcheville est un prolongement du RER E en réalisation !

[@tristanrabier8608]

I'm french 😎I love French train

[@cestmoi1262]

15:15 Don't think you should feel that bad concerning lack of food on the train. Think it might have to do with your high standards of "haute cuisine" that would be difficult to maintain on a short range train? The rest of the world has its expectations, you know.

[@ReyOfLight]

That train looks a lot better than the SJ regional double deckers here in Sweden, only the seats look rock hard on this train, a bit like the shorter distance “Regina” trains here in Sweden. That’s my issue with newer trains, seats are almost always just feeling like a wooden bench with fancy fabric on it, it’s just so rock hard and uncomfortable! We used to use the same type of trains as for the coach class on the SJ sleeper trains for intercity, and those were so much more comfortable to travel with as the seat has some give to it so it doesn’t feel like you’ll develop pressure sores within an hour of travel. I have chronic pain and struggle to sit so if I have to travel by train I nowadays opt to travel with SJ X2000 or MTR Express that can take me from my home area to Stockholm in less than 3 hours (SJ Regional from my town takes about 4, so well worth the drive to a neighbor town to take express train). It’s a shame that new trains are so uncomfortable to travel with, because the trip itself is nice and scenic, I just can’t cope with the awful seats

[@gandalf7292]

Les 27300 ne sont pas des locomotives converties mais plutôt basées sur les 27000 elles ont été commandées directement pour transilien en même temps qu’une autre commande de 27000 pour FRET ( un avenant ) dans le but de remplacer les danseuses elles ont été lourdement modifiés comme l’ajout d’un tranfo de l’EAS etc. Normalement avec la réforme des VB2N remplacés par des Z57000 sur la N et des NAT sur la J les 27300 seront pour l’activité fret ou louées au opérateurs étrangers avec dépôt des équipements voyageurs

[@enzoleferro-nerd]

Oui, les 27300 sont aussi munies de cablot pour la réversibilité avec les VB2N

[@gandalf7292]

@@enzoleferro-nerd oui et un renforcement de l’équipement électrique etc pleine de modifications

[@enzoleferro-nerd]

@@gandalf7292 j'adore ces locomotives.

[@fujitsufujitsu1670]

How often do two people travel together in first class that absolutely prefer to be seating FACING each other?

[@thetransportlad350]

I'm going to Caen soon, by Ferry on a school trip!

[@adamwnt]

200 km/h in France on a commuter train converted to an Intercity, in the US it's an Acela "High Speed Train", not being critical, love yankees, but it's hilarious

[@drepark2294]

Because Americans rather drive. Our infrastructure is set up different and we have beaurocracy.

[@timyork6150]

There seems to be reliability issues with these trains. Earlier this month I had to drive my son to Roissy to catch his flight because the first train of the day was cancelled because of "problèmes d'alimentation". And I have read of at least two incidents where these trains have broken down in the remote countryside resulting in delays of 5 to 6 hours. This is anecdotal evidence at present but it would be interesting to learn the real statistics about technical problems and how their incidence compares with TGVs and the old Corail locomotive hauled trains.