Conductor with calm demeanour guides high-speed train from Paris to Lille at 300 kilometres per hour.

Normally, Eric Relieux works alone, and he likes it that way.

As a conductor with the high-speed TGV rail service in France, he can't afford distractions while operating a train that travels 300 kilometres per hour.

When his locomotive is barrelling across the countryside at top speed, it takes three kilometres for the rolling stock to come to a full stop after putting on the brakes.

Relieux must remain sharp not only for himself, but for the safety of hundreds of passengers.

On this morning, he's about to begin his second trip of the day after guiding an early train from the seaside town of Dunkuerque to Paris.

This next assignment is to conduct a high-speed train from Paris's sprawling Gare du Nord station all the way to Lille near the border with Belgium.

It's a 203.74-kilometre journey in a direct line.

Driving a motor vehicle over this distance would easily take more than two hours on a busy day.

However with Relieux at the helm of the TGF train, the trip can be completed in one hour and seven minutes—less than half the time it would take in a car.

No wonder that France is seen as a world leader in passenger-rail transportation.

Driver encounters a crowd

But this time, Relieux will have a crowded cabin.

Joining him are three Canadian journalists on a Ministry of Foreign Affairs study trip to examine public transportation systems and infrastructure.

In addition, chaperone Thierry Stevens of the French government-owned railway giant SNCF and translator George Tsaklidis will stand with the reporters at the front of the train.

There's a similar amount of cabin space as an airport cockpit or behind the till in some clothing stores along Rue de Rivoli in Paris.

Because Relieux is so focused on his job, Stevens does most of the talking to keep the journalists abreast of what's going on. (All quotes in this article are based on Tsaklidis's translation.) 

"Our presence here does distract him," Stevens cautions the reporters in French.

Train ramps up speed

As the journey begins, Stevens says that the TGV train is permitted to reach 220 kilometres per hour on the first rail.

On other rails later in the trip, speeds will go much higher, which creates challenges for the conductor.

According to Stevens, that's because accelerating these trains undermines a driver's visual acuity.

"And that’s why you cannot trust your own eyes as you’re going over 220 kilometres per hour," Stevens explains. "So obviously we need something more than human vision to actually drive the train." 

Different signalling information displayed on the dashboard enhances safety. That's because conductors can become exhausted following signals along the track at exceptionally high speeds.

France a world leader in rail transport

TGV is a subsidiary of SNCF, which is owned by the French government.

SNCF has operations in 120 countries and posted revenues of (CDN) $50 billion in 2013.

The cars on this train were built by Alstom, a French energy and rail-transportation collossus with revenues of (CDN)$31.5 billion in its last fiscal year.

With French companies this size trying to export their expertise around the world, it's not surprising that the national government would invite North American journalists to observe a high-speed train in action. 

There's a great deal of technical know-how that goes into trains, which carry kilometres of cables in each car.

At one point, Stevens declares that the train has switched into automatic mode.

"Basically, it's indicating little changes in the rails," he reveals. "You can't see it with the naked eye."

Electrical wires above the train carry 25,000 volts of electricity.

But Stevens reveals that sometimes, the line can't deliver this amount of energy, so in certain areas the operator must stock up on its power supply.

"Now, the conductor, the driver, is busy," Stevens states after the 10-minute point into the trip. "We cannot distract him because we’re changing rail segments, and we’ll be going to high speed soon, very high speed." 

He adds that the 30-year-old locomotive has had three new engines installed over the years.

Eventually, Relieux achieves the posted speed limit of 300 kilometres per hour, even running up the speedometer to 301.

Things feel remarkably calm in the cabin. There's no shaking as this locomotive is making its way down the rails at a stunning clip.

Then the conversation focuses on a large wheel-shaped object on the dashboard. It rests on top of a ring. 

"It’s important that the train conductor holds the steering wheel and the ring under it, but not for over 30 seconds," Stevens says. 

Relieux must continue doing this continuously throughout the trip.

Otherwise, people in the control room miles away will wonder if he's either fallen asleep or suffered from a health problem. 

Stevens says the train is actually guided by its wheels on the rails and not the steering wheel.

Hollywood hyperbole

We've all seen movies about runaway trains.

At one point, he points out that filmmakers spread myths when they show driverless locomotives travelling at terrifying speeds.

"It would be impossible in a high-speed train," he says, "because if the conductor is not aware or not awake or paying attention, the train would actually stop."

That mechanism kicks in when the conductor fails to hold the steering wheel and the ring below it at 30-second intervals.

Meanwhile, Relieux relies on a GPS application for iPhones to keep him aware of his location and whether he's on schedule.

He doesn't say a great deal in response to the journalists' questions. But when asked if he wanted to be a conductor even as a boy, he replied, "No." 

Then he said that hoped to become a sailor, eliciting guffaws from others in the cabin.

Relieux, who laughs easily, insists he's not particularly stressed doing this work, though he concedes it's no fun when tracks have problems.

The journalists wonder if there are female conductors of high-speed trains.

The answer is that there are six of them in France.

Stevens says that most drivers of high-speed trains are over the age of 40.

They retire by the age of 52.

Stevens then mentions that the company ensures conductors undergo medical examinations on a regular basis.

"Obviously, they're tested for any type of substance abuse," he says.

Despite Relieux's seeming easygoing demeanour, he's faced trauma in the past.

Once when he was conducting cargo trains, a man committed suicide by parking his vehicle on the track.

Stevens emphases that if a tragedy like this occurs, the driver is always taken away from the accident scene and someone else will finish the journey.

He also says that in these situations, the rolling stock doesn't derail.

"Obviously there is some kind of psychiatric or psychological unit that is there to help the conductor deal with the situation," he emphasizes. 

Depending on the conductor's psychological state, he may only require a few days rest or he could stop driving a train for several months to get past the tragedy.

"It's very rare that a train conductor will stop driving trains because of an external accident," Stevens says. "It's part of the job."

On this day, it's about as smooth as it can be. The train rolls into Lille precisely at 9:47 in the morning.

There are no crises to address after this journey.