However, the similarities between the Thai and French rail networks are outweighed by the differences. Thailand relies on ageing diesel locomotives and imported rolling stock to provide services over track which is in desperate need of upgrading. France, on the contrary, has made large investments in the development of its Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) system which uses the world’s most modern high speed electric trains on specially constructed high speed rail lines (SNCF.com, 2012). In fact, one critical difference between the systems is that while Thai freight and passenger trains share the same track, with all the operational limitations that are caused, the TGV lines are used only for passenger services.