The first of SNCF’s new TGV M trains will only run on one line this summer

After years of delay, SNCF’s new TGV M high-speed fleet is preparing to enter service this summer, with its initial rollout tightly limited. Here’s where it will be headed first.

SNCF’s long-awaited TGV M will finally enter commercial service this summer, but its debut will be far more limited than many passengers might expect. When the first new-generation trainsets are introduced from July, they will initially operate on just one route: the Paris–Marseille high-speed line.

The launch, now set for 1 July, comes around two years later than originally planned. SNCF Voyageurs expects to have only four TGV M trainsets available for the peak summer period, with a further four due to follow in September. With such a small initial fleet, the operator has opted for a tightly focused introduction rather than deploying the trains more widely across its network.

Although the southeast axis broadly covers Paris–Lyon–Marseille–Nice, SNCF has confirmed that the first services will be significantly narrower in scope. When questioned by BFM Business, SNCF Voyageurs said that only the Paris–Marseille line will be affected “initially”, and that services will be direct thus without intermediate stops. The operator added that the new trainsets will not be extended to Toulon or Nice this summer. “Other destinations will follow (notably Lyon),” SNCF Voyageurs said, adding: “We don’t have any further information at this time.”

Competition rising

The choice of launching the new trains to Marseille is not incidental. The Paris–Marseille corridor is one of SNCF’s busiest domestic routes and has become more competitive following Trenitalia’s expansion into southern France. SNCF has also pointed to the capacity benefits of the new fleet, with the TGV M offering around 100 additional seats compared with current high-speed trainsets.

“This TGV M is our strategic asset,” SNCF Voyageurs CEO Christophe Fanichet said, citing the fact that trains are “filling up faster and faster” due to a lack of capacity. He added that the new fleet should also allow SNCF to “face the competition on our rail network in France,” particularly from Trenitalia, which has expanded services to Lyon and now serves Marseille with aggressive pricing.

The narrow rollout also spotlights the continued slippage of the TGV M programme. SNCF has repeatedly pointed to a combination of industrial bottlenecks and extended regulatory approval timelines, which have slowed deliveries and certification. Still, the initial modest entry into service doesn’t appear to have dimmed the enthusiasm for the trains, with SNCF Voyageurs this month approving an additional order for 15 new-generation TGV M high-speed trains from Alstom, this time for its international services.