Head for the sunny south of France once again with the LGV Rhône-Alpes & Méditerranée route extension, which is available now for Train Simulator.

The original Marseille – Avignon route for Train Simulator featured a section of the LGV Méditerranée, and only spanned a total of roughly 90 km, and the route extension completes the “LGV Méd” up to Gare de Valence, a further 130 km. However it does not stop there, the LGV Rhône-Alpes is also included in its entirety, taking the route another 86 km up to Lyon Saint-Exupéry, and along the classic lines to Lyon Part-Dieu – bringing to you a total of 330 km enthralling high speed action!

Originally the experience ended at Avignon, but now you can take the viaduct north and speed towards Lyon (above and below).

Additionally, alongside the already released “original” TGV Duplex livery, we have worked with SNCF to bring you the TGV “Carmillon” livery. The TGV Duplex in TGV Carmillon livery is available for free, and anyone who owns the Marseille – Avignon route will receive it via an update on Steam. The extension then uses both liveries in tandem across the route, adding (quite literally) a dash of silver and white into the mix.

The Carmillon livery first appeared on TGV sets in 2012, and was a grand departure from any livery before it. All the TGV Duplex sets were originally delivered in a Blue & Silver guise, and the same was true for the Marseille – Avignon route, but now the striking Carmilllon scheme is available, for free.

The LGV Rhône-Alpes & Méditerranée route extension features an array of engaging career scenarios that see you travel at airline-competing speeds, as made possible by the revolutionary TVM430 signalling system, while carrying up to 1000 passengers at any one time. You’ll be in charge of both all-stoppers and express services through varying conditions. Railfan Mode will let you take in breathtakingly fast experience from a trackside perspective; it takes practice to get that all-fantastic shot - it’s more difficult when the subject can cover a kilometre every 12 seconds!

“Transmission Voie-Machine” is an in-cab signalling system used on the French LGV network, as well as HS1 in England. When travelling at high speeds, lineside signals become increasingly difficult to read and react to, so this in-cab solution was designed, and it works by instructing the driver what speed they should be driving at. In theory, the system is capable of handling 430 km/h operation, but the existing LGV network and TGV sets operate at 300-320 km/h in regular service.

The original Marseille – Avignon route is required to run the LGV Rhône-Alpes & Méditerranée route extension, and if you own neither of them then you can pick up both in a handy twin pack. The price of the extension itself is catered for those who already own the original route (cheaper than standard), so you won’t be paying for what you already own.

It’s time to take the train to Lyon with the LGV Rhône-Alpes & Méditerranée: Lyon - Marseille route extension, which is available now for Train Simulator!

COMING SOON – THE TGV RÉSEAU

©SNCF

To compliment the brand new LGV Rhône-Alpes & Méditerranée route extension, we will soon bring the TGV Réseau to Train Simulator as a separate add-on.

Based off the successful TGV “Atlantique” sets, which were built in the late 80s to serve the LGV line sporting the same name, the TGV “Réseau” was ordered in the 1990s to bolster services on the entire SNCF LGV network. A total of 90 were built as a mixture of dual and triple-voltage units and 80 entered service with SNCF.

Each TGV Réseau is capable of sitting over 360 people across its 8 sleek cars, and the combined effort of 2 power cars gives each set 11,800 horsepower, enabling them to easily reach 320 km/h in day-to-day service. In order to increase capacity on certain journeys, the TGV Réseau can couple to other TGV sets, such as the TGV Duplex, to provide extra seating.

The TGV Réseau for Train Simulator will feature high fidelity visuals by Reppo (responsible for notable add-ons such as the New Haven E-33, GP20s and the Baldwin Centipede), and shall too sport the original and Carmillon liveries when it arrives – watch this space.

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