France’s new high-speed train design has Americans asking: Why can’t we have that?

France’s new high-speed train design has Americans asking: Why can’t we have that?

The spotlight Last month, France’s national railway operator released a glimpse of the designs for its upcoming fifth-generation high-speed train, the TGV Inoui. (TGV stands for train à grande vitesse, or “train of great speed.”) The glossy, well-lit photos show brightly colored interiors, cushiony seats, and sleek tables with rounded edges — even an eye-catching new table lamp, which has been described as adding “a touch of humor” to the space …

Alstom is strengthening its lines to cope with the pressure on the TGV in La Rochelle and in Valenciennes, the assembly lines are on the verge of taking a serious throttle blow. For Alstom, it is a matter of breaking an industrial impasse: a single Avelia Horizon train (named TGV M by SNCF) is currently being produced each month. However, to meet the orders placed, the group wants to reach a rate of 2.5 monthly trains by 2027. Henri Poupart-Lafa…