Zürich to Paris at 320 km/h ! TGV Lyria FIRST Class review

Hi folks,
Today we are travelling between Zürich and Paris onboard TGV Lyria, the brand of TGV run by SNCF and SBB CFF FFS.
Enjoy :)
- TRIP INFORMATION -
RECORDED IN AUGUST 2021
Railroad company: TGV Lyria
Train type : TGV EuroDuplex 4719
From : Zürich HB to Paris Gare de Lyon
Time : 4h04
Price : 151$ - 129€
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Thumbnail credit : Railmax07 on Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/railmax/
Massive thanks to my following Patreon for their help :
Claudio Bickel ; Iwan Di Tullio ; Martin Haynes ; Cyril ; Laurent Gilson ; Louis Haywood ; D Austin Horowitz ; Thomas Alfred Roell ; Jos Bowmaster ; Captain Ginyu ; Beni Heiniger ; Andreas Konrad ; Greg Wenzler ; Christopher Style ; Dick DeBartolo ; Brian Sikorski ; Guillermo Franco ; Sandeep Ayyappan ; Nicholas Torres ; Peter N ; Claire Nat ; Killua , Nick Reed , Randy Dean ; Philippe Branco ; Erorus ; Tom Van Baren ; Ian Earle ; Robin Roemisch ; Hannah Slovek ; Michael Romero ; Fin Ross Russell ; Vel ; Benny AndTheJets ; Ciana Dassonville ; James Pickup ; Frederic R Merchant , Jeremiah Pettus ; Liz Wallace ; Roy Hunte ; Peter Sandri ; Robyn Jackson ; Jeanette ; William George ; Alessandro Anfuso ; John Michael Dornoff ; Trevor Key ; David Nayer; Fabricio ; John Christopherson ; Frank Schmidt ; RJ Avnet ; Linda Vainomae-Hoffmann ; Jeffrey Williams ; TJY ; Shane Edmonds ; Dave Ferrell ; Marcelli ; Joe Hoeft ; Browne Sebright ; Bea Dan ; Alexander S Zaytsev ; Matt P ; Yes! ; clearingrubble ; Charlie Myers ; Chris Roberts ; Ataka Grizzly ; Bill
00:00 : Introduction
1:12 : Zürich HB
2:26 Update
3:28 : Arrival of the train
4:53 : Seat review
6:01 : Departure from Zürich
7:12 : Basel
7:53 : Alsace (France)
9:21 : LGV Rhin-Rhône
10:34 : Dijon
11:29 : LGV Sud Est
11:49 : Walkthrough of the train
14:35 : Arriving in Paris
15:05 : Outro

[@vmaxlegends549]

Watching a train on a train is always wonderful

[@RailwaysExplained]

As always, a great report. We enjoyed watching him.

[@Mirz-ei6tg]

Yay RE is here!

[@bellissimo4520]

I live in a small town very near Zurich, and I've never been to Paris yet. Gotta say, after watching this video - there's not much excuse for that anymore.

[@trainsgobrrrrr2287]

I’ve been waiting for this for a month this is POG

[@MagahiBayar]

Train rides are the best mode of travel. 👍😊

[@donaldyarad5088]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Keep up the fantastic work buddy ❤️

[@OuijTube]

It's always so cool to see these TGV trip reports. What a treat it must be for you to watch the countryside zip by at 320 km/h on the LGV! I know I always enjoy taking the Acela here in the USA and that doesn't get much faster than 200-215 km/h. Can't imagine how cool it would be to have 300+ km/h trains.

[@TheMourningBlade]

Actually you don't feel it at all except for tunnels. In tunnels you feel the speed by how fast the tunnel lights pass by.

[@TohaBgood2]

The Acela does reach 241kph (150mph) on a section north of NYC, but it's a pretty short stretch of track. They are now adding another section of 241kph (150mph) track south of NYC. Again, a pretty short one. After the new Avelia Liberty (US-version of the TGV Avelia Horizon) trains arrive in operation, they will increase those two 150mph sections to 160mph (257.5kph). So we're getting proper TGV rolling stock and a speed upgrade! They also have plans to upgrade the rest of the 200+kph (125+mph) sections to 257kph (160mph) in the long term. Amtrak just got a ton of money from Congress to upgrade the NEC, so we'll likely see some more active movement on this in the next couple of years. Little by little, section by section, the Acela is becoming proper HSR 😁

[@KRaikkonenSF]

one only feels acceleration, but even then they are trying to be as smooth as possible, and mostly succeeding.

[@ernestfrost7015]

Thank you. I’m planning on doing this from Paris to Zurich !

[@shreyaskamat8285]

I gotta be honest. I have travelled Lyria. Apart from the ABSOLUTELY stunning train, we faced like the most miserable delay of our lives 😂😂 almost 1hr 20 minutes behind schedule once it entered France. But jokes apart it is still the most memorable train ride of my life.

[@Desi365]

It's rare. I take Lyria quite often, it happened once to me, like 45 minutes late. Super rare.

[@init100]

Exceptional circumstances often create unforgettable memories. Like when I was going to go from Munich to Zürich last summer and the train turned out to be canceled. Apparently, a storm had felled some trees on the track and damaged the overhead lines. I quickly had to evaluate alternatives. Deutsche Bahn wanted to send me on a long and slow detour through Austria, but I managed to find a FlixBus express coach service instead for just €65, which felt like a bargain. And I would arrive far earlier than if I went with the detour plan DB had suggested. Flying would also have been possible, but it would have cost ten times the coach fare. And the coach was great. It took just 20 minutes more than the train I had booked, and it had good wifi and a power socket per seat pair.

[@schnitzelblitz96]

Next time you visit Zurich visit the new pedestrian bridge built over the rails leaving Zurich HB. Its in easy walking distance from the station and a phenomenal place for trainwatching. There is also a bar in Zurichs highest tower (prime tower) located right next to the railway that offers great views over leaving and arriving trains from 100 m height.

[@marcokoisuru9129]

Très beau voyage Thibault! 😍

[@mj1234321]

Looks like a nice ride! Impressive that they can keep the axle loading low enough for high speed standards with that duplex design. I got to ride on a duplex back in 2008, as well as a Eurostar set operating strictly within France as a TGV, and the classic single level TGV. Got up to 186 mph/300 kph in all of them, but that was before they had the 199 mph/320 kph speeds on some routes.

[@scottyerkes1867]

Great review. Fantastic train!! Thank you Thibault👍👍😄😄💚💚

[@kurthackenberg9549]

So yeah, I also took the TGV Lyria in first class during July this year, for my 3 days Paris trip. On the way to Paris, I took the train from Lausanne, and it stopped in Geneva, and a few smaller cities. On the way back we took the route through the Jura with a stop in Vallorbe. Overall it was a great experience, and I really appreciated that the seats were so comfy (I also have a lot of experience with the DB ICE 4, which are definitely way less comfortable) and I can only recommend that route. The service was great, the seats extremely comfortable and the wifi worked without trouble which is not always the case.

[@BOHEMIANMEX]

Your videos are always a guarantee of quality

[@mjc63]

Imlove the presentation…informative and professional…just the right amount of information!

[@monicamccarthy3932]

Excellent video. Merci beaucoup. I am planning to take this train in March, Zurich-Paris. So, this video is extremely helpful. Now I know what to expect. Great job.

[@crowmob-yo6ry]

I love the Basel sration. Basel is a small-ish city with a HUGE intercity passenger rail hub, connected to the German, French and Italian high-speed rail networks. Thanks to the numerous and frequent HSR departures at Basel station, I was able to take a day trip to Switzerland from Frankfurt and be back at my hotel before sunset. That's a 350km distance in 3 hours.

[@rickloduca394]

I just returned from a week in Italy and my first train rides in Europe in 40 years. I was completely at ease and confidant because of you and this channel! Grazie mille! Fyi: FCO to Viareggio via Termini Viareggio to Pisa return Viareggio to Verona I flew Verona to FCO via Alitalia, my first and last time on this airline. Yep, I’m an opera tourist so took in the Puccini Festival at Torre del Lago and Aida at Arena di Verona.

[@mmkdd]

Excellent trip report as always! 👍👌😉

[@williammerry4746]

Great report What an incredible train. I try not to be jealous....Thanks Thibault for your personal comments at the beginning and end. They make your report even more enjoyable.

[@walterclements7968]

It's really hard not to be jealous of this job... But we appreciate your work a lot Thibaut!!

[@harvz8488]

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[@harvz8488]

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[@harvz8488]

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[@qornopiratu]

You're videos are great! I enjoy seeing so many trains that Ill never have time to visit myself.

[@LoganDC100]

I took this same trip, on the same train, in August of 1985. Thanks for the great memories.

[@johnrussell3961]

It only takes 4 hours since the French connected the Rhone valley to the Rhine valley. The old route was by Strasbourg and took longer..

[@tanletran7270]

Thank you for sharing . It brought back some fond memories . We were travelling on the same train in 2015 from Lucerne to Paris after changing train at Basel

[@nervenavar2649]

SBB CFF stations all over Suisse are grand in terms of its size and fully infracstruced. The wifi is excellent and last forever. From the moment of entrance you'll feel how comfortably even could be better than airport. Just beware of electronic luggage storage will suck your money off...starts from CHF 10 per hour and jump further. Thanks for the Lyria ride🙏👏

[@RUOKH]

An excellent presentation of the journey, the onboard quality of accommodation and (for train enthusiasts) points of interest along the way. I love this Zurich-Paris service but lament those days when it was possible to have a quality lunch in the restaurant car. As a 'old' business traveller, European first class is great for work and relaxation and so much more superior to flying. Thank you my friend. May all your future travels be safe and punctual...and let me buy you a glass of wine if we ever meet in the Bar Car.

[@calt03]

Always great vids thx for allowing us to travel Europe from home :)

[@abdoole]

Very nice video! I would love to ride one of these trains one day. Good report, good editing, filmed all the good parts! Nice video.

[@deanfbs5235]

In 2015, I spent whole day in Basel while coming from Toulouse, France. This is most beautiful and small city. Later I went to Euro-Airport to travel to Berlin

[@SlavaUkraini85]

glad you liked Basel, its so well connect.

[@TravelswithVandSteve]

We take the train all the time in the UK but these make me appreciate the journey a little more. Another fascinating trip report!

[@claudiodavidperez1906]

Grandioso me encantan tus vídeos soy tu fan!!!! Saludos desde Buenos Aires

[@HumbertoMesa]

Thanks for the ride ... good report.

[@desmondevil69]

Thanks mate ! it is very helpful !

[@thephantomeagle2]

I had the pleasure of riding Thalys from Rotterdamn to Paris and Back in 1999. What an amazing ride. I remember there was a kid from the US he was watching the traffic and said "we're not going that fast dad, look at that yellow car." I laughed and told the kid that that was a Lamborghini and it was probably approaching 150 MPH

[@theobrattinga500]

Great video !!

[@trainlagged]

Great video as always! At 2:09 the departure board is impressive, there's like a departure every 2 minutes!

[@Angency]

Thais actually only the trains the travel bin distances. Regional trains have another board to the right of this one that hast the same size

[@oscare.quiros6349]

Lovely video. Beautiful coaches.

[@buzzukfiftythree]

Enjoyable video, thanks. I look forward to using that service the next time we visit Switzerland. Would love to see a direct London to Zurich service introduced.

[@williamthawley9251]

both you and paul lucas, with videos of trains from zurich, he went to milan you to paris. both of you made my day-

[@massivley]

I’ve just watched the same video before this one with Paul going to Milan

[@paulheilbrunn8151]

Supère vidéo comme dhab 🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@kristinajohansson1351]

I recently had a bad train experience - 12 hour delay (!) - so I'm watching Simply Railway to re-ignite my love of trains.

[@monicamccarthy3932]

Was your delay on the same route?

[@trainsmachineryldegmtrains3509]

Super train ride, nice presentation! Good work! MEGA Thumbs Up Greetings from Romania Andrew

[@tylerdowd]

Cool vid bru. Big fan here from the U.S.

[@rezaalan3991]

Lyria have better livery compared to InOui one.

[@pikachu8508]

Agree, it's even better than old Lyria livery previously used on TGV POS sets.

[@ToddKeck98]

Which one, the blue one or the white one?

[@pikachu8508]

@@ToddKeck98 white

[@etienneetienne8309]

Because is more expensive.

[@williamgrant9303]

Excellent video. I love the train.

[@NorieagaHDR]

Amazing, I'm jealous lol!! Great upload.

[@luigidude44]

Love the commentary!

[@jlugoholt]

Amo estos viajes en tren, como amaría hacerlos yo también pero dónde estoy es imposible, por ahora. Merci pour cet amusant voyage ! À chaque vidéo, je tombe un peu plus amoureux des transports suisses, aussi.

[@countofelysium9070]

I went from Basel to Zürich a few years ago with a single decker TGV Lyria and when I walked by the engine in Zürich I saw that it was one the engines from the 2007 high speed record train. I never expected to see that.

[@ironmantrains]

6:35 TGV Sud Est sets were formerly used for this service.

[@indrajeetsingh4749]

Really wonderful

[@ivanildagomes7314]

Muito obrigada pelo passeio!

[@annemasci5000]

Hello ! Thank you very much for vidéo. Magnifiques paysages. À la prochaine vidéo. Thank. ❤❤❤

[@didierlucien6285]

Merci pour ces voyages, étant fils de cheminots et passionné du train, je préfère la couleur grise et rouge des vieux model TGV avec les appuie tête rouge 😍😍

[@madlaln8218]

When we traveled from Zurich to Paris,our train started late by 1 minute.the conductor was so upset.He was shaking his head abd looking up at the clock every second.I couldn't help laughing.

[@bernardbouzon5499]

J'adore la livrée .😀

[@luizgustavolima]

What a Joy. to Watch it in 4K!

[@pgraja5767]

wonderful video

[@tabitharoberson2260]

Tgvs are awesome trains. I've been on them numerous times but it's been a long time

[@jude1515]

Love the trains.

[@NikCan66]

This is superb

[@anthonywarrener1881]

Thank you for your great review ! It was a shame that due to Covid there was no real service for 1st Class passengers. I too am a huge fan of the TGV Duplex - amazing trains, and the seats are superb !.

[@jdhjimbo]

The nonsense of the Covid Cult theatre charade is sad to watch everywhere they bought into this Scam!

[@mikeedwards9306]

Looking fast and efficient

[@eva100ful]

LOVE YOUR ACCENT😍

[@fanfan54old]

French accent 🥖 🇫🇷

[@organicfarm5524]

@@fanfan54old the best accent;)

[@tristanrabier8608]

French TGV ❤️💙😎

[@mscheinine]

I’ll be taking this train in May 2022.

[@krishnansri7625]

Excellent

[@stormfart9409]

The doors sound so cool, like something strait out of Star Wars

[@Maloy7800]

2:36 I REALLY want to see that double decker train pulled by the locomotive inside!!! I've never seen carriages like that before.

[@ellenfalls1330]

It must be exciting to drive one of those trains at such high speeds. Like a kid in a candy store.

[@jimmymakmta]

European railing, I love it!

[@SibDeutsch]

Thanks for the train ride. My dream.

[@whitesinjonlovealso7138]

Really appreciate it ☺️🤣

[@AndrewG1989]

This is what Eurostar should operate to Zurich from London St. Pancras International. But it probably wouldn’t happen because of Brexit.

[@hockneyfication]

Totally agree! 👍

[@AndrewG1989]

@@hockneyfication Thanks

[@Trainspotting_Trips]

It didn’t even happen before Brexit. How is it going to happen know after?

[@jatterhog]

Eurostar has security controls as well right?

[@islesofmets]

I think it's just travel distance, nothing to do with Brexit. Perhaps Eurostar needs HS2 to justify purchasing more equipment thus they can dedicate more resources to operating longer distance routes. Even Renfe doesn't have service to Switzerland yet.

[@Sinevus]

Nice video, Thibault! Just curious, what camera do you have to film? It's such a good quality zomggg

[@SilveriusPurbaDocsilHistory]

Nice trip

[@cheapforest4768]

When I was in Zurich, no TGV. Line was. I took traditional express. What a nice!

[@lours6993]

On the point of ‘food and drink in first class’ - TGV Lyria, Thalys and Eurostar (the later now one company), offer THREE classes of price and service: First has been replaced by ‘Comfort’ or ‘Standard Premier’ and then ‘Premium’ or ‘Business Premier’ - the former is just a first class cabin without services, the latter is a full service cabin with drinks and meal service at the seat, plus complete flexibility of ticket.

[@cherylsemrau4375]

I would love to go on this trip.

[@BrucexfromxCanada]

From Canada: Well done, in spite of English not being your first language, you did the commentary, where all to many don't. That, to you must have been hard work! As a native English speaker, You are quite understandible for those who take the trouble to pay close attention. (but, rhetorically, if there are those who don't,how deserving might we see them?) so "keep on truckin!". Now to watch the rest of tis vidseo!

[@user-hd8yx3jf7o]

Hello.very nice train video.

[@helilebon614]

Belle vidéo. Merci beaucoup. Un peu plus de quatre heures pour Zürich - Paris c'est très respectable. Les annoncements au bord du train sont donnés en trois langues puisqu'il part en Suisse alémanique: celles de Voltaire, de Shakespeare et de Goethe. Schönes Video, vielen Dank. Gut vier Stunden für Zürich - Paris ist sehr respektabel. Die Ansagen im Zug sind drei-sprachig, da er in der Deutsch-Schweiz startet: in den Sprachen von Voltaire, Shakespeare und Goethe.

[@manmeetsinghmahajan6183]

Nice one.

[@tomvansoelen6557]

Like your Colorado cap! I'm from Denver.

[@railwaystuff]

Great Review! Can you review some newer swiss trains? like the Stadler Giruno or the Bombardier FV-Dosto? Thanks!

[@deluxuriousbrandedhouse3695]

Thank you for the great video! I wonder is there any health check during your journey on board?

[@ardianworld4129]

What a beautiful train ♥️😍

[@ansosboy8687]

I never seen double decker train in my country but we currently built the first high speed railway in here love from Indonesia

[@justentertainment8427]

1st comment 😍 excellent 👍

[@swfx1015]

Whenever you visit South Korea, try the KTX especially the KTX-I. It is very similar to the French TGV Reseau trains.

[@muzaffarnadkar2154]

Nice train wow love from mumbai.

[@richieinca]

Amazingly enough, flying first class is still cheaper than a first class seat on the high speed line, I just noticed this last night. Especially between London and Zurich.

[@flopunkt3665]

That's the result of governmental policies. Kerosene is tax free for instance and the aviation industry gets tax discounts elsewhere, too.

[@TohaBgood2]

@@flopunkt3665 Amtrak's Acela is also cheaper than flying by about the same margin. I think this might just be people's preferences. If you can take an HSR first class trip on a relaxing train why would you choose to fly? HSR usually steals most of the airline passengers on sub-500 mile journeys and they are just forced to reduce prices. In most places HSR gets 50-80% of market share vs flying and driving.

[@binodkumarpathak1886]

Very fine diagnosis, love from Indian peapal and me,

[@garyausten5939]

I've never taken a bullet train, but intend to next June, but in the opposite direction, rather than flying (just to be different) but will likely go 2nd class to save money. After a tour in France I have a day between my next tour in Switzerland and already have an airbnb booked. I'd never taken 2 trips back-to-back, but since my last two vacations were cancelled thanks to the virus, I'm making up for it :) BTW, when you buy a ticket do you have to be specific about the departure time or can you just get on whatever train is convenient?

La estación de tren de Zurich es muy linda, amplia, pero las casillas en donde se venden manualmente los tickets tienen una atención muy lenta. De noche parece abandonada, sensación de desprotección. Muy buen informe del tren.

[@goldfing5898]

At 0:50, it would be nice to include the "A 36" nameplate into the map, because this Autoroute basically follows the same way (Mulhouse - Belfort - Besancon) as the new LGV there. It just ends a bit more Southern (Dole - Beaune) rather than Dijon (which is a bit more Northern). Similarly, the A 6 shown in the map follows a similar route as the LGV Sud-Est.

[@scottyerkes1867]

And yes I could spend an entire day in the Zurich train station

[@scottyerkes1867]

Thank you Thibault. Loved the video too

[@jorge10928]

Where do you store your luggage on the train? I noticed you had a rolling carry on but I didn't didnt see where you put it on the train.

[@Abnerbandanovotempoinscrito1mi]

Boa viagem ai simply lindo tren dos andares trem bala

[@francinesicard464]

Ma fille ayant été récemment transférée à Londres avec sa famille, je vais bientôt leur rendre visite avec le TGV-Lyria Zurich-Paris puis ensuite l'Eurostar Paris-Londres. Un geste pour l'environnement, car un vol ne dure qu'1h30 et par train depuis Zurich ca. 7h. Le seul petit hic, changement de gare à Paris ma ville de naissance. Merci pour cette video.