TGV maintains its dominance over air: French National Railways' (SNCF) newest high-speed line, TGV Mediterranee, is going from strength to strength. Conversely, Thalys International has recorded its first drop in traffic since the first services were launched in 1996.(High Speed)

TGV Mediterranee celebrated its second birthday on June 10. The route carried 8.5% more passengers in its second year of operation than in its first, with traffic increasing from nearly 18 million in year one to 19 million in year two. SNCF says the average load factor has remained high at 76% in second class and 60% in first class.

TGV Mediterranee extended the TGV network south from Valence to Nimes (en route to Montpellier) and Marseille. This resulted in a saving of about one hour on rail journeys between northern France and the Mediterranean coast. It made it…