September 2006 saw France celebrate the 25th anniversary of the TGV by completing a new high-speed rail line between Paris and Germany. The French arranged for the completion of the eastern line, which crosses the vineyards of Champagne, to coincide with the planned festivities for the silver anniversary of the first TGV that ran and continues to run between Paris and Lyon. They also arranged for SNCF to test TGV trains travelling at 225 mph on the Mediterranean line as an acknowledgement to the success of the network and how it can be improved. In comparison Britain’s fastest trains do not exceed 125mph.

This new line has completed the TGV-Est, the eastern train a grande vitesse, route at a cost of £2 billion. With trains travelling up to 200 mph (320km/h) the time taken to commute will be cut considerably. Paris to Strasbourg can be reached within 2 hours and 20 minutes, a time saving of almost 2 hours. For those living within France, commuting from Rheims to Paris will only take 45 minutes.

There are worries that this new link between Paris and Strasbourg will affect airline services between the two cities, as it has done between Marseilles, London and Brussels. The good news is that property prices have increased along its route.

The TGV network covers 1,250-mile (2,010km). This network has made the country smaller and enables people to live further away from Paris but yet still be within commuting distance. Every day, over 400,000 people use the TGV to commute.

Commuting between Paris and Lille (127 miles each way) will cost £415 per month.

Using a daily season ticket to commute between Paris and Tours will cost £390 per month.

President Pompidou, launched the TGV project in 1974. Since then it has opened up tourist routes and brought prosperity to the Atlantic and Mediterranean areas of the country. In 2001, the opening of the line to Avignon and Aix-en-Provence meant people could reach Paris in under 3 hours. It also helped the property market in Provence as people looked to buy a second home away from the hustle and bustle of the capital.