Paris – Geneva – Lausanne with TGV Lyria first class on an Alstom TGV Duplex

TGV Lyria is the brand name for trains between France and Switzerland. In February I travelled from Paris Gare de Lyon to Lausanne.

After an uneventful Thalys ride from my hometown Antwerp to Paris-Nord, I took the RER D to Gare de Lyon. There I waited in the Salon Grand Voyageur.

Unfortunately, my train wasn’t an Alstom TGV POS in Lyria livery, but an Alstom TGV Duplex in inOui livery. InOui is the new brand SNCF uses for it’s TGV or Train à Grande Vitesse high speed rail service. ‘InOui’ is terrible idea. TGV was and is such a strong brand.

Standard 1ère

Anyway. I booked a Standard 1ère first class seat. Some 86 euros instead of 50. As the ride would take four hours and I like comfort, I chose to book a first class ticket. There’s also a Business 1ère, but that is too expensive. Count at least 200 euros.

The seats are spacious and there’s ample leg room. The cushions are thick and the seats are very comfortable. The tablets are large enough for a laptop, a mouse and some other small items. Each seat has a power outlet.

The WiFi on board is more than decent. To login, you need your booking reference (some letter combination) and your surname. Once over the border with Switzerland there’s no WiFi anymore.

Catering

On the ‘real’ Lyria trains, food is brought to your seat in first class. Not so in an inOui. I ventured to the buffet car where there’s a large range of snacks, drinks and sandwiches.

I took a hot sandwich menu comprising a croque monsieur or a quiche or a cheeseburger, a soft drink and a dessert. I chose the quiche and a chocolate mousse and still water. 12.80 euros. You can ask for a paper bag if you want to eat at your seat.