Just for the kicks, here is a comparison of a somewhat railroad savvy first generation American on a Boston to New York Acela run vs. a Paris Gare d'le Est to Mulhouse (via Strasbourg - TGV Est) TGV Lyria run...
Getting a ticket/ boarding pass
1. Arrival at station and getting ticket:
Acela - Show up at Boston South Station with printed sheet of reservation in hand, walk upto a machine and get a ticket printed out. Since getting a good seat is of concern and one knows that there will be a line forming to board, important to be at near the head of the line. So arrive at station good 40 mins ahead of departure.
There is one single Acela at the platform. Most likely that is the train. It's half of the platform is roped off, while a T train is boarding on the other track on that platform.
Lyria - Show up at the station with res number. Walk upto a machine and get a ticket and get it validated on the way to the general waiting area where people are milling around the various departure monitors. No hurry to get to the station since I know exactly which seat in which car I will have, window seat XX in car YY. Check the train composition chart to discover where the car will be located. So showed up at the station about 20 mins before departure, since I might have to negotiate the ticket machine in French. Turns out they all have an English mode now, so scratch that.
There are about 10 TGVs in various colors standing at 10 platforms (many of them two TGV consists paired as a single train - a total of 16 cars plus 4 power heads on those, and a couple of double decker TGVs too) so there is no way of telling which one is going to do this trip. Look for one in Lyria branding, but today a regular TGV is pinch hitting, so no luck there at guessing either.
2: Getting on the train:
Acela - It is 30 mins before departure and a few stragglers are starting to form a line at the rope on the platform. So off we go and secure our position in the line. There is an usher and two friends of hers standing at the rope chatting. Various people with various special dispensations are ushered across the rope to board at various times. The line of those without dispensations gets longer. An inevitable dispute erupts about whether someone who was in the Club Acela but is not in First Class has special dispensation or not. Oh well.... Anyhow eventually about 5 mins before departure the line is let through and everyone boards. The usher carefully inspects everyone's ticket before letting them through. The trains is relatively light so manage to get a good seat. It will fill up more at Back Bay and Rt. 128.
Lyria - Track is posted on departure board 15 mins before departure, a special annotation says that it is the 2nd train on the platform, so it is a hike past the first train which will run as a deadhead this day attached to the train in service. Anyway everyone walks to the train in no particular hurry, board and occupy their seats. A few confused tourists from America have trouble understanding that they cannot just sit anywhere they please, but that is taken care of quickly. Through this entire process there is no intervention of any kind from any railroad personnel, but they are around should someone need help. People continue to board till the last possible moment, until the "Attention Train Partee" or some such red light starts flashing on the platform. The train is completely full, not a single empty seat. Surprisingly there are people even in the retractable jump seats by the doors in the vestibule. I wonder if there are cheaper tickets to be had for those. And this is Sunday morning 8am!
3. Departure and initial part of the run:
Acela - Train departs on time moves along real slow for 5 mins and then stops at Back Bay. A good run at 100+mph follows for a few minutes to the second stop at Rt. 128. After that the train hits its stride and gets upto 150mph for several minutes and then slows down and stops at Providence.
Lyria - Train departs on time. It always amuses me that the buzzer that sounds before the doors close is exactly the same on the TGV as is on the Paris Metro and RER. The first stop is at Strasbourg 224 miles and 2 hours and 20 mins away, in the east of France. It zips along at 60mph or so through Pantin, and other inner suburb stations. In a few minutes it is upto 100mph, and then 125mph, and then it smoothly branches off onto the LGV and speed rapidly increases to 150, 180, 200mph, and stays there between 180 and 200mph until Baudrecourt, the end of LGV. After that it is on windy, twisty turny upgraded classic line, but the speed never drops below 80mph, but nor does it get above 125mph. Arrival in Strasbourg is a few minutes early. The LGV between Baudrecourt and Vandenheim (near Strasbourg) is in advanced stages of construction. We see some long viaducts being built for it on the way. It will be the the next LGV to be put in service in 2014, after the LGV Rhein-Rhone (Mulhouse - Belfort - Besancon - Dijon) which goes into service on 11 Dec 11.
I will post a more complete trip report over the weekend at an appropriate forum. This was just to give a comparison of the experience of the initial part of a trip.