Gizmodo: tgv

Man Gets His Arm Sucked into French Train Toilet, Toilet Just Won't Let Go

Adam Frucci — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:10:00 EDT

Here's a piece of advice: when riding a high-speed train with a toilet that uses super-high powered suction to flush, keep your hand out of there. One unlucky Frenchman learned the value of this advice the hard way when he dropped his phone into the toilet of a TGV train. When he reached in to retrieve it, the suction kicked in, and it all went downhill from there.

The train had to make an emergency stop for two hours while rescue workers tried to get the man out. They ended up having to remove the entire toilet from the train with the man's arm still stuck in it.

Benoit Gigou, a witness to the man-eating toilet, said that "He came out on a stretcher, with his hand still jammed in the toilet bowl, which they had to saw clean off."

Let this be a lesson to us all. Don't mess with train toilets. [BBC]

I Am Le Fast: France's AGV Super Train Aims to Go One Better than TGV

AddyDugdale — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 08:07:29 EST

French engineering firm Alstom unveiled its successor the the TGV today, the AGV. Standing for Automotrice Grande Vitesse, the train, which boasts an individual engine beneath each carriage, can travel at speeds of up to 223mph, or 360kph. Up to 700 passengers can be transported at a time, and less fuel is used, as the AGV is lighter than its elder sister and consumes up to 30 per cent less energy. More info below the gallery.

The AGV—translated, it means "high-speed, self-propelled carriage" was unveiled by Nicolas Sarkozy (who, given his recent marriage to former supermodel Carla Bruni, is probably no stranger to le petit train pulling into the station at regular intervals) at a ceremony in La Rochelle today. Italy has already bought a stack of AGVs and plans to run them on its own rail network from 2011. [BBC News and Railway Gazette]

France Breaks Train Speed Record; Arnie Taunts Californians

Adam Frucci — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 17:15:00 EDT

A souped-up TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse) broke the train speed record today, speeding along at a whopping 357.2mph. Loaded up with two supercharged locomotives and oversized wheels, it broke the record on a specially prepared track east of Paris.

Apparently Governator Arnold sent a delegation to check the train out, pondering the feasibility of bringing the speedy train to California. According to our West Coast contingent (i.e. Blam and Chen), however, the chances of that actually happening are slim to none. Sorry, Californians. –Adam Frucci

Breitbart [via The Raw Feed]