High speed train travel direction?

Question

what is the direction of travel of high speed trains, right hand side or left hand side track? Because I have seen pictures of TGVs and Eurostar travelling on left hand side track and an ICE picture travelling on right hand side track, which somehow confuses me (what happens when they cross countries with different travel directions).

Answer 1

I dont think there is a designated direction of travel, i rode the TGV several years ago and we switched from side to side.

In the States, a lot of high density line is designated as "double main track" meaning both tracks are signaled for movement on either direction.

That gives the dispatcher a lot more options to keep trains moving, he can run a fast train around a slower one, then cross it back to the other main and meet an opposing train, all without stopping.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

In France the LGVs are signalled in both directions on both tracks; however, they normally travel on the left (yet the Paris metro is right-hand running!).

In Germany the trains travel on the right. If you catch a Thalys from Paris-Brussels-Cologne, you cross over a flyover close to the German border, switching the left-hand running to right-hand, and vice versa.