TGV-M, SNCF's new flagship train - a quick guide

The SNCF Voyageurs new flagship train - the TGV-M (its manufacturer Alstom also calls it Avelia Horizon) - launched with passengers today, 6 November 2026. Commercial services with the new train start 9 November 2026.

You can find video of the inaugural service on YouTube and Peertube, and photos on Flickr too. And there are better close ups of a test train too. All Creative Commons licensed for re-use.

The TGV-M (with M meaning modular) takes the standard double deck TGV Duplex design in service for more than two decades, and updates pretty much every detail. By shortening the power cars, the new trains have 9 rather than 8 carriages for the same train length, and even the bar carriage now has two floors. That allows 600 seats in a two class inOui layout, or 740 seats in an all economy OUIGO setup. While the top speed in service remains the same as previous TGVs - 320km/h - the train is supposed to be 20% more energy efficient.

Passengers are going to appreciate a redesigned interior - you can see more of this in SNCF's own film here, or in this earlier one from Hourrail (links to the correct part of the video). SNCF Connect also has a dedicated page about the new trains.

But then the big question: if you want to try one of these trains yourself, how do you know you will get a TGV-M rather than an older TGV Duplex?

This is how to do it.

The new trains are only running on Paris - Marseille and potentially also Paris - Nice services for now, with only a maximum of 2 trains a day each way with the new units promised so far.

If you have gone right through the booking process you can identify the new trains as they have 9 rather than 8 carriages, but there is a quicker way.

Step 1
Search the route you want in SNCF Connect, and click "Détail du trajet" (Detail of the journey)

Step 2
A window will then pop up. Check the details as follows.

TGV-M states "Accès autonome en fauteil roulant" (Independent access for wheelchair users)

Regular TGV Duplex states "Toilettes PMR sans giration" (Impossible to turn around inside the PMR toilet)

While the new TGV-M trains will take 8 regular bicycles per train (so 16 if two TGV units are coupled together), at the time of writing these bike spots are not bookable.

If this guide was useful, do let me know. And if you manage to take a TGV-M I would be really grateful if you could send me some photos of the interior I could use to illustrate this guide further! Contact form here.