07/10/2021
The Aérotrain project. France. 1965.
This project was called Aérotrain. It was developed in France from 1965 to 1977 under the supervision of engineer Jean Bertin. Abandoned structures of this project can be seen to this day. They are located near the railway line connecting Paris and Orleans. Bertin's trains moved on an air cushion created between the body of the train and the concrete base of the track. He subsequently decided to replace the propellers with aviation jet engines, thanks to which he achieved record speed figures. In Gometz-la-Ville, where you can see the remains of the track, there is a monument to this unusual train. An ignorant person can only understand from this monument what all these structures were once intended for. The track was built quite large. Its original length was 25 km . The first prototype Aerotrain set a speed record for trains in 1960. Its maximum speed reached 430 km / h. This speed record for trains remained unbroken for another 20 years, until the French high-speed TGV trains surpassed it. The project received government approval, and its development continued until the mid-70s. Then the power in the country changed, and the new government gave preference to the development of the TGV project.
