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Velvet is the first private French high-speed rail (TGV) company. You may have known the project under its former name, Proxima: it was renamed in July 2025, with a green and lilac identity that turned quite a few heads.

Behind the project are former executives from the French rail industry and solid funding from the Antin fund. The order has already been placed: 12 double-decker trainsets from Alstom, siblings of the SNCF's future TGV M. The first was unveiled in April 2026 at the La Rochelle factory.

The stated goal: to bring down high-speed rail prices on the Atlantic corridor through competition.

Velvet focuses on the Atlantic corridor departing from Paris Montparnasse, with four announced destinations: Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes and Angers.

These are the busiest lines on the Western network, where TGVs are often fully booked and prices climb quickly. The arrival of a competitor should shake things up, as Trenitalia did on the Paris-Lyon route.

In the meantime, find all trains to the West on Tictactrip: TGV inOui, Ouigo and their alternatives can be compared in a single search.

Commercial launch is planned for 2028. The trainsets are currently in production and testing at Alstom, a phase that takes time: each train must be certified before it can carry passengers.

Ticket sales will logically open a few months before the first departures. Neither prices nor the booking system have been revealed yet.

We'll be keeping a close eye on this. In the meantime, tickets for Paris-Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes and Angers can be compared today on Tictactrip.