April 3, 2007: The Fastest Train Ever

April 3, 2007: France's Train à Grande Vitesse, the TGV, reaches a top speed of 357 miles per hour (574.8 kilometers per hour), breaking the record for the world's fastest conventional train. As of April 3, 2022, the record still stands.

The idea of the TGV was first proposed in 1967, after Japan had begun construction of the Shinkansen in 1959. At the time, the Government of France favored new technology, exploring the production of hovercraft and the Aérotrain air-cushion vehicle. Simultaneously, the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (National Company of the French Railways) began researching high-speed trains on conventional tracks.

In 1976, the administration agreed to fund the first line. It began running on September 27, 1981, between Paris and Lyon. By the mid-1990s, the trains were so popular that SNCF president Louis Gallois declared that the TGV was "the train that saved French railways."

It's 180 miles from Paris to Calais, the port to Britain; 289 to Lyon; 305 to Strasbourg; 480 to Marseille, France's 2nd-largest city; and 563 to Cannes and the French Riviera. With TGV averaging 100 to 125 miles per hour, and allowed to approach 200, it takes a little over 2 hours to Calais; a little over 2 to Lyon; an hour and 45 minutes to Strasbourg; 3 and a half to Marseille; and a little over 6 to Cannes. 

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April 3, 2007 was a Tuesday. These 9 games, less than a full slate, were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Orlando "El Duque" Hernández outpitched Kip Wells, and went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs in his own cause. The only Cardinal run came on a home run by Scott Rolen.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Washington Nationals, 9-2 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 3-2 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-3 at Coors Field in Denver. The D-backs scored a run in the top of the 11th inning. In the bottom of the 11th, a double by Troy Tulowitzki allowed the Rockies to tie the game, and an error by Arizona 3rd baseman Alberto Callaspo on a grounder by Chris Ianetta allowed them to win it.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 8-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-0 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Jake Peavy pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Barry Zito.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-4 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

Football was out of season. There were 9 games in the NBA:

* The Charlotte Bobcats beat the Washington Wizards, 122-102 at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena (now the Spectrum Center) in Charlotte. Gerald Wallace scored 34 points for the 'Cats. Gilbert Arenas scored 33 in defeat for the Wiz.

* The Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors, 92-89 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 116-111 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 110-91 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers, 100-85 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

* The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 119-101 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 101-88 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. LeBron James scored 31.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 111-105 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant scored 39 points.

* And the Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings, 97-93 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

And there were 13 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, 3-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Ottawa Senators, 2-1 in a shootout at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 2-0 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers, 1-0 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Nashville Predators, 3-2 in a shootout at the Nashville Arena (now the Bridgestone Arena).

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto. Bryan McCabe scored the winning goal with 2:42 left in overtime.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1 at the Mellon Arena (as the Civic Arena was then known) in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-0 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Not exactly a hockey version of Ohio State vs. Michigan, or even of Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-0 at the Xcel Energy Center (now the Grand Casino Arena) in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-2 at the Jobing.com Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Calgary Flames, 4-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-2 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.