The TGV Sud-Est fleet was built between 1978 and 1988 and operated the first TGV service from Paris to Lyon in 1981. Formerly there were 107 passenger sets operating, of which nine were tri-current and the rest bi-current. There are also seven bi-current half-sets - TGV La Poste - without seats which carry mail for La Poste between Paris, Lyon and Avignon. These are painted in a distinct yellow livery. Each set is made up of two power cars and eight carriages, including a powered bogie in each of the carriages adjacent to the power cars. They are long and wide. They weigh with a power output of under 25 kV. When the trains were delivered they wore a distinctive orange, grey, and white livery. The last set to wear this livery was repainted in the silver livery similar to the TGV Atlantique sets in 2001. From 2012 trains will be repainted in the new SNCF Carmillon livery. The TGV Sud-Est sets can be easily distinguished from the TGV-Atlantique and TGV-Reseau versions by the break in the roof just above the cabin windows. Originally the sets were built to run at but most were upgraded to during their mid-life refurbishment in preparation for the opening of the LGV Méditerranée. The few sets which still have a maximum speed of operate on routes which have a comparatively short distance on the lignes à grande vitesse, such as those to Switzerland via Dijon. SNCF did not consider it financially worthwhile to upgrade their speed for a marginal reduction in journey time. In March 2012, set 951 was taken to London to advertise the Euro Carex project. In February 2013 the TGV Lyria sets designed for services to Switzerland, were taken out of service. These were replaced by TGV POS sets. In December 2019, all TGV Sud-Est sets were retired from service. In early 2020, a farewell service which included TGV01, the very first TGV train ever built. This train was painted in all 3 liveries that it used during its service.
Usage
The TGV sets were originally used on services between Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities in the south-east of France. In 2013 there were still 55 TGV Sud-Est sets used on services to south-eastern France and cross-country services. Since late 2019, these sets were replaced by TGV POS.
