The SNCF TGV Sud-Est was a French high speed TGV train built by Alstom and Francorail-MTE and operated by SNCF, the French national railway company. A total of 111 trainsets were built between 1978 and 1988 for the first TGV service in France between Paris and Lyon which opened in 1981. The trainsets were semi-permanently coupled, consisting of two power cars (locomotives) and eight articulated passenger carriages, ten in the case of the tri-voltage sets. The trains were named after the Ligne à Grande Vitesse Sud-Est () that they first operated on. They were also referred to as TGV-PSE, an abbreviation of Paris Sud-Est. History The TGV Sud-Est fleet was built between 1978 and 1988 and operated the first TGV service from Paris to Lyon in 1981. Formerly there were 107 passenger sets operating, of which nine were tri-current (25 kV 50-60 Hz AC - French lignes à grande vitesse, 1500 V DC - French lignes classiques, 15 kV Hz AC - Switzerland) and the rest bi-current (25 kV 50–60 Hz AC, 1500 V DC). There were also five, later seven, bi-current half-sets - TGV La Poste - without seats which carried mail for La Poste between Paris, Lyon and Avignon. These were painted in the distinctive La Poste yellow livery. Each set was made up of two power cars and eight carriages (capacity 345 seats), including a powered bogie in each of the carriages adjacent to the power cars. They were long and wide. They weighed with a power output of under 25 kV. When the trains were delivered they wore a distinctive orange, grey, and white livery. The last set to wear this livery was repainted in the silver livery similar to the TGV Atlantique sets in 2001. From 2012 trains were repainted in the new SNCF Carmillon livery. The TGV Sud-Est sets can be easily distinguished from the TGV-Atlantique and TGV-Reseau versions by the break in the roof just above the cabin windows. Originally the sets were built to run at but most were upgraded to during their mid-life refurbishment in preparation for the opening of the LGV Méditerranée. The few sets which still have a maximum speed of operate on routes which have a comparatively short distance on the lignes à grande vitesse, such as those to Switzerland via Dijon. SNCF did not consider it financially worthwhile to upgrade their speed for a marginal reduction in