SNCF Class T 2000

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

X 4900

SNCF's turbotrain in Houlgate on the Deauville-Dives line in 1989.
Power type	Autorail
Builder	ANF
Build date	1972 - 1976
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)
Length	128.90 m
Total weight	225 t
Fuel type	gazole
Engine type	Turmo III, Turmo XII
Top speed	160 km/h
Power output	775 kW + 1150 kW
Career	SNCF
Class	T 2000
Number in class	13
Number	T 2001 to T 2082
Locale	Normandy, Pays-de-la-Loire, Aquitaine, Rhône-Alpes, Alsace-Lorraine
Retired	2004

After constructon of the TGS and the ETG, the first experimental high speed train TGV was put into service in May 1972 as TGV 001. The second generation of turbotrains was the RTG, numbered T 2000, and was put into service at the end of 1972. The RTG, Rame à turbine à gaz (gas turbine train), were equipped with two 775 kW Turmo III turbines and two auxiliary 300 kW Astazou turbines to power air conditioning and lighting.

The T 2000 are esthetically similar to the T 1000 as in they have the same driving cabin but are built on a longer chassis and the number of elements of five instead of the T 1000's three. Each turboengine is equipped with a 3500 litre diesel tank for use on long routes, with a consumption of 430 litres per hour for traction and 150 litres per hour for passenger comfort. Electropneumatic braking is performed by cast iron shoe and disc brakes, with electromagnetic track brakes under each bogey for emergency braking.

T 2013 at Roanne on 12 December 2004, a month before withdrawal.

The first trains were put into service on the routes betweenLyon to Strasbourg, Nantes and Bordeaux. The capacity of the ETG's being insufficient, the next batch of RTGs were put on the Western line out of Paris to Caen and Cherbourg. The 1973 oil crisis and SNCF's interest in electric traction put a stop to new orders of RTGs. Even when coupled in pairs, at peak times, the capacity of two RTGs was insuffcient at high peak times and so an extra trailer was added to the trains between 1978 and 1981. The second oil crisis, in 1979, increased the price of oil once more and so Turmo XII turbines, with lower fuel consumption and higher power output at 1150 kW, were fitted. Unlike the ETGs (T 1000), the RTGs were later fitted with couplers, which meant the trains were able to be driven by one driver only. The future of the T 2000 became bleak in the 1990s when they were taken off the Lyon-Strasbourg route in 1995 and Paris-Caen-Cherbourg route in June 1996. the Lyon-Nantes route was taken over by BB 67400 and CC 72000. The T 2000 then only ran on the route between Lyon and Bordeaux on which they excelled thanks to their double ended cabs and the four reversals required on the line. The fleet was then reduced down to ten trains and were equipped of "ship to shore" radio. Hybrid trains were formed with engines from different consists to lengthen their lifespan. The fleet dimished to six in 2003 and four on 11 December 2004. As a result, the journey from Lyon to Bordeaux was lengthened from 7 hours 30 minutes to 9 hours.

Preserved RTG power car, no. T 2057 on display at the French National Railway Museum.

One power car, number T 2057, has been preserved at the French National Railway Museum.