#4564· TGV Postal

SNCF TGV La Poste

🇫🇷 France ·built by Alstom· from 1984· high speed train

6 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences

1. TGV Sud-Est Postal - Bifurcation de Crisenoy: Florian Fèvre· CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Coucou le TGV postal - Nuit des 30 ans de TGV: Clem from Paris, France· CC BY-SA 2.0
3. TGV Postal - Nuit des 30 ans de TGV: Clem from Paris, France· CC BY-SA 2.0
4. Tgv postal mai 2007: Bras Cyril· CC BY-SA 3.0
5. TGV Postal à Paris (2009): Florian Pépellin· CC BY-SA 3.0
6. TGV Sud-Est Postal - Bif de Crisenoy: Florian Fèvre· CC BY-SA 4.0

what is it?

The TGV La Poste were dedicated trainsets for high-speed freight and mail transportation by French railway company SNCF on behalf of the French postal carrier La Poste. The top speed of this TGV Sud-Est derivate was 270 km/h (168 mph), making them the fastest freight trains in the world. They were withdrawn in 2015.

who runs it

Société nationale des chemins de fer français La Poste

base stats

speed 270 km/htop speed
power 6.8 MWpower output
built 2made in total

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 42 years ago, in 1984.
Top speed is 2.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 9 minutes.
6.8 MW is about 80 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
200 m long: about 44 cars parked nose to tail.
Served for 31 years (1984–2015).

high-speed train: Built for 200–350 km/h on dedicated lines, like the TGV, ICE or Shinkansen.

spec sheet

built: 1984
in service from: 1984
retired: 2015
status: retired
number built: 2
kind: high-speed train
traction: electric
origin: 🇫🇷 France
builders: Alstom
operators: Société nationale des chemins de fer français, La Poste
top speed: 270 km/h
power: 6.8 MW
gauge: 1,435 mm standard gauge
electric system: Overhead line:, 3, 3
formation: 10 cars , (2 power cars, 8 postal cars)
length: 200 m
Dutch name: TGV Postal

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q1188121, Wikipedia: SNCF TGV La Poste (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.