schlimmThat paint job is not my cup of tea, either, but we really do not know how or why it was chosen.
I'm embarrassed to say this, but the "look" has grown on me since I watched the video and saw the train in motion. Now I like it better than the other liveries that have been applied to this equipment; you can see better what a sophisticated and balanced train it is, and (at last!) the lines at the front are properly picked up.
The greens took some getting used to, but I see some of what the designers were intending now, and for me it works.
Now, what are the interiors and service like?
dmikeeSimply the French way of doing things, avoiding the drab sameness. If you have not ever ridden in a TGV car, you are missing the experience of serious smoothness and comfort. No cheap seats, no swaying and clanking, absolutely whizzing over switches and complex track work. The elevated and completely separated right of way also presents a pleasant view instead of the usual beat up factories and warehouses.
There are a couple things we are not being told here. First although this service uses TGV rolling stock it uses the legacy SNCF network south of Lille, so none of those pleasant views from the TGV countryside. Secondly due to operation on the lower speed network, trip time is 2:30 compared to 1:20 on the Thalys/TGV service. And they are selling cheap seats (swing down) and standing room tickets on these trains.
That paint job is not my cup of tea, either, but we really do not know how or why it was chosen.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
RME schlimm Aesthetics is not an exact science. It's largely personal, Aristotle's views notwithstanding. Absolutely. But there is also no question that there are things that are gratuitously ill designed aesthetically, to a great many people... This may be relevant to the 'invisible train' discussion we were having a couple of weeks ago, where the train exterior is carefully crafted so it is NOT obtrusive aesthetically to anyone with 'normal human perception'. That neatly gets around an argument that noncontroversial decoration schemes for railroad equipment must necessarily be boring or drab. I am tempted to ask whether equipment that is painted in a streamlined scheme wouldn't be preferred, by a great many people, to the same equipment wearing a clown suit. (Not that it matters to commuters actually using the service, who probably care little how the exterior is painted as long as the inside is clean, the thing runs reliably, and the cost is kept as low as possible...)
schlimm Aesthetics is not an exact science. It's largely personal, Aristotle's views notwithstanding.
Absolutely. But there is also no question that there are things that are gratuitously ill designed aesthetically, to a great many people...
This may be relevant to the 'invisible train' discussion we were having a couple of weeks ago, where the train exterior is carefully crafted so it is NOT obtrusive aesthetically to anyone with 'normal human perception'. That neatly gets around an argument that noncontroversial decoration schemes for railroad equipment must necessarily be boring or drab.
I am tempted to ask whether equipment that is painted in a streamlined scheme wouldn't be preferred, by a great many people, to the same equipment wearing a clown suit. (Not that it matters to commuters actually using the service, who probably care little how the exterior is painted as long as the inside is clean, the thing runs reliably, and the cost is kept as low as possible...)
Johnny
schlimmAesthetics is not an exact science. It's largely personal, Aristotle's views notwithstanding.
Aesthetics is not an exact science. It's largely personal, Aristotle's views notwithstanding.
dmikeeSimply the French way of doing things, avoiding the drab sameness.
That, it certainly does.
My only complaint is that it is just as possible to avoid drab sameness with Chanel tailoring as it is with Beaubourg-style ... well, words for its style fail me. It's much the same thing as using the language of Racine or de la Mothe to produce discussions of linguistic deconstruction. It's all fine to put paint schemes into production that have resulted from the managing director's children handling the models with finger paint on their hands; just don't go telling me you spent any money on 'design consultants' to achieve that look.
Of course, we have the same rot in United States practice, usually without the fun the French sometimes have, so I am not criticizing Europe or France exclusively. It's just that I so miss elegance (as opposed to snobbery) in contemporary design practice.
Looks like they hit a suicidal trespassing leprechaun. Is there some constitutional reason, or organized 'design' narrative, behind why Europeans use these wacky color schemes so often for both passenger and freight?
Fascinating, and probably needed in the budget airline era.
However, that livery is a terrible thing to do to a TGV set...
Hello all ;
Here in Europe, another new high speed concept has been created. In this case, its basically extending the concept of domestic low cost (or 'low fare' in US parlance) high speed train travel beyond France's borders. For some 3 years now, a low fare TGV service, with the comercial name 'Ouigo' exists, linking Paris (not the central Paris stub stations but Marne-La Valée, a station located in the 'interconexion' HS Belt line) with some of it's most important citties in the Southeast of the country (Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier). Now, another similar concept, called 'Izy' has been launched linking Paris with Brussels (and indeed the fastets way of connecting both cities, since it goes from city center to city center), wuth prices as low as 19 €
Here's the link tio the official site and a movie showing the trains adapted for such service
https://www.izy.com/en/homepage
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