Thalys
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| Franchise(s): | International joint operation service began 1996 |
| Main stations(s): | Paris Gare du Nord, Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid, Amsterdam Centraal Köln Hauptbahnhof |
| Other stations(s): | Antwerpen Centraal, Bruges, Chaleroi-Sud, Ghent Sint-Pieters, Liège-Guillemins, Mons, Namur, Oostende, Aachen Hauptbahnhof, Albertville, Bourg-St-Maurice, Moûtiers, Chambery-Challes-Les-Eaux, Schiphol, Den Haag HS, Rotterdam Centraal |
| Fleet size: | 10 Thalys PBA sets 17 Thalys PBKA sets |
| Stations called at: | 20 |
| Parent company: | SNCF, NMBS/SNCB, Deutsche Bahn |
| Web site: | www.thalys.com |
Thalys is an international high-speed train operator built around the high-speed lines between Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Amsterdam. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. System is operated by company Thalys International. Its capital is divided up between SNCF (62%), NMBS/SNCB (28%) and DB (10%).
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[edit] History
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008) |
In June 1996, the national rail operators SNCF and NMBS/SNCB began operating direct services between Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam under the name Thalys, using the newly constructed high speed rail lines in northern France and Belgium. This service took advantage of reduced travel times in subsequent years to introduce new destinations in Germany, bringing both Deutsche Bahn and Nederlandse Spoorwegen in as partners.
[edit] Routes
Beyond Brussels, the main cities Thalys trains reach are Antwerp, The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Liège, Aachen and Cologne. Trains to these destinations run partly on dedicated high-speed tracks, and partly on older tracks shared with normal-speed trains; further high-speed track is planned to allow a full high-speed service (see, e.g. HSL Zuid). Plans to continue the line past Cologne to Frankfurt had to be abandoned because the power the Thalys trainsets generate when operating under Germany's 15 kV voltage system is insufficient for operation on the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line.
Travel time from Brussels (Brussels-South) to Paris (Gare du Nord) is normally 1 hour, 22 minutes, for a distance of approximately 300 km. Peak speed is 300 km/h on a dedicated high-speed railway track.
The LGV (ligne à grande vitesse) link with Charles de Gaulle airport allowed Air France to withdraw its air service between Paris and Brussels; instead, Air France books seats on Thalys trains. Thalys has been given the IATA designator 2H. This is used in conjunction with American Airlines and Northwest Airlines. American Airlines has a codesharing agreement with Thalys for rail service from Charles de Gaulle airport to Brussels-South. The airline alliance SkyTeam also has a codesharing agreement with Thalys for rail service from Schiphol Airport Amsterdam to Antwerp's Berchem Station and Brussels-South.
[edit] Rolling Stock
Thalys uses two models of trains, both of which are part of the TGV (train à grande vitesse) family of high-speed trains built by Alstom in France. The first type, the PBA (Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam) is a tri-current electric multiple unit descended from the TGV Réseau. This type can operate only between the cities given in its name. The PBKA (Paris-Brussels-Koln-Amsterdam) is a type derived from the TGV Duplex double-deck sets, although the Thalys trains are only single deck. These units are quadri-current, and can operate to four destinations (Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne and Paris).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Thalys.com Thalys official PC site
- Thalys.mobi Thalys official Mobile site
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