Velvet Train

[vuzzeho]

So, I was scrolling through IG today when I saw this by Alstom:

Alstom on Instagram: "Today, the livery of @velvet.train’s high-speed trains designed with Team Alstom has been unveiled! We are also happy to announce the beginning of the manufacturing of these Avelia Horizon high-speed trains at our La Rochelle s

1,493 likes, 9 comments - alstom on July 1, 2025: "Today, the livery of @velvet.train’s high-speed trains designed with Team Alstom has been unveiled! We are also happy to announce the beginning of the manufacturing of these Avelia Horizon high-speed trains at our La Rochelle site in France. ".

www.instagram.com

Today, the livery of @velvet.train’s high-speed trains designed with Team Alstom has been unveiled!

I've never heard of them, and I was wondering if we had a thread on them. Seems like no, so... who are they and what are they doing? And what's next?

 

[AdamWW]

A quick Google found this:

(Machine translated)

DECRYPTION - After raising €1 billion, the French company, a competitor of the state-owned company, plans to have its twelve trains running by 2028.

Velvet: the name will soon be familiar to Parisians and Bordeaux residents eager to take the train. It's the commercial name unveiled this Tuesday by a future competitor to SNCF's TGV trains . Previously known as Proxima, the operator will first launch on the Paris-Bordeaux line starting in 2028

 

[StephenHunter]

That's a very Austin Powers logo.

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

There's a short thread on Proxima (now Velvet) from last year:

Proxima plans Open Access High Speed operations in France

High speed rail start-up Proxima has announced a €1bn plan backed by investor Antin Infrastructure Partners to acquire 12 Alstom trainsets and launch open access services from Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes and Angers to Paris. Proxima has been established by former Voyages SNCF CEO Rachel Picard...

www.railforums.co.uk