Gare de L´Est - Paris, França.
Sobre o TGV
O TGV (do francês: train à grande vitesse) é o trem de alta velocidade francês, sendo um símbolo nacional na França e, até ao momento, o trem de grande velocidade de maior sucesso na Europa.
O TGV é construído pela empresa francesa Alstom, e TGV é uma marca registrada da SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français), empresa pública de transporte ferroviário francesa.
O TGV viaja em linhas especiais conhecidas como LGV (ligne à grande vitesse ≡ "linha de alta velocidade"), permitindo velocidades de 320 km/h em operação normal nas linhas mais recentes. O TGV também pode usar linhas convencionais, mas neste caso, a velocidades mais baixas. O TGV tem cerca de 200 destinos na França e no estrangeiro.
Em 3 de Abril de 2007, durante um teste de velocidade, o TGV atingiu a velocidade de 574,8 quilómetros por hora em Le Chemin, perto de Champanha-Ardenas, na linha Paris-Estrasburgo, que foi aberta a passageiros no dia 10 de Junho de 2007. Com uma velocidade de ponta de 574,8 km/h, a composição V150, fabricada pela Alstom, estabeleceu um novo recorde mundial de velocidade sobre carris (o Shinkansen JR-Maglev não utiliza carris (trilhos), mas sim sustentação magnética), ultrapassando com folga o objectivo de 540 km/h que havia sido inicialmente previsto (V150 querendo significar 150 metros por segundo, ou seja 540 km/h). O TGV Paris-Estrasburgo circula a uma velocidade máxima de 320 km/h, ou seja, vinte quilómetros por hora mais rápido do que as outras linhas TGV em actividade em França.
About the ICE
The Intercity-Express (written as InterCityExpress in Austria, Denmark, Switzerland and, formerly, in Germany) or ICE (German pronunciation: [iːtseːˈʔeː]) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and its surrounding countries . It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn. The brand name "ICE" is among the best-known in Germany, with a brand awareness close to 100%, according to DB.
About the Gare de L´Est
The Gare de l'Est ("East station" in English) is one of the six large SNCF termini in Paris. It is in the 10th arrondissement, not far from the Gare du Nord, facing the boulevard de Strasbourg, part of the north-south axis of Paris created by Baron Haussmann. It is one of the largest and the oldest railway stations in Paris.
The Gare de l'Est was opened in 1849 by the Compagnie du Chemin de Fer de Paris à Strasbourg (the Paris-Strasbourg Railway Company) under the name "Strasbourg platform." This platform corresponds today with the hall for main-line trains, and was designed by the architect François Duquesney. It was renamed the "Gare de l'Est" in 1854, after the expansion of service to Mulhouse.
Renovations to the station followed in 1885 and 1900. In 1931 it was doubled in size, with the new part of the station built symmetrically with the old part. This transformation changed the surrounding neighborhood significantly.
At the top of the west façade of the Gare de l'Est is a statue by the sculptor Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire, representing the city of Strasbourg, while the east end of the station is crowned by a statue personifying Verdun, by Varenne. These two cities are important destinations serviced by Gare de l'Est.
On 4 October 1883, the Gare de l'Est saw the first departure of the Orient Express for Istanbul.
The Gare de l'Est is the terminus of a strategic railway network extending towards the eastern part of France, and it saw large mobilizations of French troops, most notably in 1914, at the beginning of World War I. In the main-line train hall, a monumental painting by Albert Herter, dating from 1926, illustrates the departure of these soldiers for the Western front.
SNCF started LGV Est Europeen services from the Gare de l'Est on 10 June 2007, with TGV and ICE services to north-eastern France, Luxembourg, southern Germany and Switzerland. Trains are initially planned to run at 320 km/h (198 mph), with the potential to run at 350 km/h (217 mph), cutting travel times by up to 2 hours.