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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Thalys PBKA Refurbished Nederland: Mauritsvink· CC BY 3.0
- 2. Thalys-Eilendorf2: Lars Steffens· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 3. Thalys PBKA (Ruby): Mohamed 7870· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. Aachen Thalys 1: Smiley.toerist· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. Antwerpen Centraal Thalys 2024 2: Smiley.toerist· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. Berchem Thalys 2023: Smiley.toerist· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 7. Gekoppelde Thalys in Rotterdam tijdens de Coronapandemie: Smiley.toerist· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 8. Liège-Guillemins Thalys 2009: Smiley.toerist· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 9. Luik Guillemins Thalys 2023 2: Smiley.toerist· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 10. Moerdijkbrug Thalys THA 9364 naar Paris Nord (18282382411): Rob Dammers· CC BY 2.0
what is it?
PBKA is a high-speed trainset, built by the French manufacturer Alstom (then known as GEC-Alsthom) for international services operated by Thalys, which later merged with Eurostar. The designation "PBKA" refers to the original planned routes linking Paris, Brussels, Cologne (Köln), and Amsterdam. The PBKA belongs to the TGV family of trainsets and was designed to operate across multiple national railway networks.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 28 years ago, in 1998.
- Top speed is 2.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 8 minutes.
- 8.8 MW is about 104 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 64 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 200 m long: about 44 cars parked nose to tail.
- Seats 404: 8 full city buses (~50 seats each).
- Still in service after 28 years.
high-speed train: Built for 200–350 km/h on dedicated lines, like the TGV, ICE or Shinkansen.
spec sheet
- built
- 1998
- in service from
- 1998
- status
- in service
- number built
- 17
- kind
- Electric multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇫🇷 France
- builders
- Alstom
- operators
- Eurostar, Thalys
- top speed
- 320 km/h
- power
- 8.8 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- Overhead line:, 3, 3, 3, 3
- formation
- 2 power cars + 8 passenger cars
- length
- 200 m
- weight
- 383 t
- capacity
- 404 passengers
- Dutch name
- TGV Thalys PBKA
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1058839, Wikipedia: PBKA (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.