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 (lit.

The few sets which still have a maximum speed of 270 km/h (168 mph) 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 journey time.

[4] In March 2012, a hired postal set, numbered 951, was taken to London to advertise the Euro Carex project.

In early 2020, a farewell service was run using the first production TGV set built.

[6] The TGV Sud-Est sets were originally used on services between Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities in the south-east of France.