TGV 001

The TGV 001 was an experimental gas turbine powered prototype of the Train à Grande Vitesse, built by Alstom in France. It was commissioned in 1969, finished on 24 March 1972 and began testing on 4 April 1972, reaching speeds between 250 and 300 kilometres per hour, as part of a vast research program on high rail speeds covering traction, vehicle behaviour, braking, aerodynamics and signalling. It was composed of two power cars and three carriages, all with driving axles and an articulated layout in which each carriage shared a bogie with the next, and each power car carried two Turbomeca Turmo turbines also used in the Super Frelon helicopter. Originally two trains were to be built, but only one was produced; the second, a tilting train, was abandoned owing to technical difficulties. It carried out 5,227 test runs over half a million kilometres, still holds the world speed record for a gas turbine electric locomotive at 318 kilometres per hour set on 8 December 1972, and never saw commercial use, because the 1973 oil crisis turned the project to electric traction. Tests concluded on 19 June 1978.