After 34 years of service, the blue-grey TGV Atlantique has come to an end.

End of an era. After 34 years of use, the blue and metallic SNCF TGVs will disappear this May in favor of a new generation of colours, trade magazine Ville Rail & Transports reported Friday.

This historic livery follows the first series of TGVs, the TGV Paris Sud-Est, recognizable by its bright orange color scheme, launched in 1981 and running between Paris and Lyon.

They were then replaced in the 1990s by the famous blue and gray metal TGV trains, the TGV Atlantique, opened when the Atlantique high-speed line opened in the west of France. These high-speed trains, capable of reaching speeds of up to 300 km/h, were also used on lines in the north or east of France.

Progressive Repair

They have traveled “more than 30,000 times around the Earth,” SNCF welcomed in 2021 in a press release celebrating the upgrade of these trains. A total of 37 million euros has been invested in refurbishing over 28 trains, which will now offer Wi-Fi on board.

“In order to repair these TGVs, we are restoring parts of old trains and repairing a large number of components,” the company said. The work is carried out in workshops in Rennes, in Île-et-Villain and in Bischheim, in the Bas-Rhin.

The renovation of the TGV, which is already underway, will affect the last existing blue and gray train in mid-May, Ville Rail & Transports specifies. From now on, new TGVs display new color ranges such as white and purple for inOui lines or light blue and pink for Ouigo trains.