The Thalys PBKA is a
TGV
The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...
variant ordered and operated by
Thalys
Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam to London via Li ...
between its namesake cities
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
(german: Köln) and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, forming the abbreviation PBKA. The sets have eight carriages and are long, weighing a total of 385 tonnes. They have a capacity of 377 seats. They were intended to be Thalys' sole rolling stock, but their extreme cost and complexity led SNCF to order a simpler sister class, the
Thalys PBA
Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam to London via Li ...
, a
TGV Réseau
The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to ...
derivative, with which they can work in multiple.
All of the trains are quadri-current, capable of operating under (
LGVs and a part of the French ''lignes classiques''),
15 kV 16.7 Hz AC (Germany), 3 kV DC (Belgium) and 1.5 kV DC (the Netherlands and the remainder of the French ''lignes classiques'').
Their maximum speed in regular service is with under 25 kV AC, with under 15 kV AC, and with under 1,500 V DC;
further constraints resulted in imposing a limit of on these trains in Germany.
Seventeen trains were ordered: nine by
SNCB/NMBS
french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen
, type = Statutory corporation
, industry = Rail Transport
, foundation = 1926
, founder = Government o ...
, six by
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
and two by
NS.
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
contributed to financing two of the SNCB sets.
Fleet details
See also
*
SNCF TGV POS
The TGV POS is a TGV train built by French manufacturer Alstom which is operated by the French national rail company, the SNCF, in France's high-speed rail lines. It was originally ordered by the SNCF for use on the new LGV Est, which was put ...
*
List of high-speed trains
The following is a list of high-speed trains that have been, are, or will be in commercial service.
A high-speed train is generally defined as one which operates at or over in regular passenger service, with a high level of service, and often ...
References
External links
TGV Thalys official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sncf Tgv Thalys Pbka
European high-speed trains
Pbka
Electric multiple units with locomotive-like power cars
3000 V DC multiple units
15 kV AC multiple units
25 kV AC multiple units
1500 V DC multiple units of France
Alstom multiple units