While looking at pics of high-end European trains, I tripped over the French Teoz trains. From what I gather...

1. The section with leather seats in 1+2 layout that don't share armrests is "First Class" -- http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01919.jpg

2. The section with cloth seats in 2+2 layout is "Second Class" --
http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01904.jpg

... but I'm trying to figure out where some of the other configurations I saw fit in, like...

cloth, 1+3:
http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01905.jpg

this little compartment:
http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01909.jpg

same little compartment, from afar:
http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01911.jpg

an interesting variant... what appears to be a private compartment with 3 seats on one side, and two seats with a huge funky armrest/cupholder on the other:
http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01912.jpg
http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01913.jpg

another funky variant, this time with little table that apparently can hold drinks or an infant seat:
http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01915.jpg

what appears to be a child's bed or playroom in either a private compartment (for rich families?) or maybe first-class passengers w/kids?:
http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01914.jpg

Uh oh... contradiction... 2 + 1 layout, but seats are cloth and not leather. Business Class, perhaps? First Class for families with small kids who'd destroy leather seats?
http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01916.jpg

Another contradiction: leather, but shared armrest = ???
http://www.devnullfoo.com/ice/Dcp01922.jpg

(incidentally, to anyone in France... nice trains! I wish we anything half as nice in the US... Amtrak can't make up its mind whether it's supposed to be luxurious cruiseship-like recreational transportation for railfans or ghetto transport for the poor bus-riding masses, and fails miserably at both...)

interesting.

I wish we even HAD trains in the US! I don't think our planes have that good an interior!

What is the Teoz? I know there are all sorts of names for trains in France - do they relate to service levels or simply to routes?

Actually, I'm curious too as to whether "Teoz" actually implies anything in French. Or the name of another train, "Thalys", that runs from France to Belguim (and maybe the Netherlands).

As far as I can tell, Teoz is marketed as a slower, but nicer, more luxurious, and potentially more convenient alternative to TGV for intercity trips NOT starting or ending in Paris. Apparently, lots of French riders are mad because Corail (the agency that runs TGV and Teoz) has been acting more and more like an airline every year, progressively reducing and eliminating onboard amenities and packing more and more seats into each car.

I really like the look of the Teoz interiors. I think trains that looked like this would go over REALLY well in the US on routes between big cities that are too close to be worth the grief of flying, but farther than anyone really wants to drive. Especially with onboard broadband and good food :)