FRANCE: SNCF Voyageurs and Alstom have moved the commercial debut of the TGV M, Alstom’s new-generation double-deck high-speed train for SNCF, on Paris–Marseille from September to autumn 2026. SNCF Voyageurs has separately confirmed that the train’s domestic services in Italy will not start before the second quarter of 2028.
The two companies said in a joint statement that the train, cleared by the French and European safety authorities in May, works as intended overall. They are extending the final run-in phase to adjust comfort and on-board service. Alstom will carry out the changes in the coming weeks, after which SNCF Voyageurs runs a further series of test trips.
The Italian delay came in a statement to AFP. The 15 TGV M sets ordered for the Italian network will be neither delivered nor authorised in 2026, and will not be ready for the launch planned for September 2027. SNCF Voyageurs pointed to deliveries and to an approval process more complex than the French one.
The items still open on board
The joint statement names comfort and on-board service as the areas for adjustment. Among the items are sensor adjustments and the payment terminals in the bar car, whose response time varies with the power supply along the route.
The autumn window opens on 23 September and closes on 21 December. The statement gives no date within it.
A letter to RFI in late July
Italian infrastructure manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) was informed by letter in late July. Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), RFI’s parent, has confirmed receiving it and says the late notice complicates the redistribution of the paths already allocated to SNCF.
SNCF would be the third operator on the Italian high-speed network, alongside Trenitalia and Italo. Those paths were allocated for a September 2027 start.
The dates so far
The TGV M was originally due in service before the Paris Olympics in 2024. The date then moved to 2025, to early 2026, to 1 July and to September. The joint statement is the fifth move of the French start date. The Italian date was moved in a separate announcement.
The train has run pre-commercial trips on the French network since its authorisation. No fare-paying passenger has yet travelled on it.