 On 28 November 2003 the TGV network carried its one billionth passenger, a distant second only to the Shinkansen's five billionth passenger in 2000.Excluding international traffic, the TGV system carried 98 million passengers during 2008, an increase of 8 million (9.1%) on the previous year.TGVs have semi-permanently coupled articulated un-powered coaches, with Jacobs bogies between the coaches supporting both of them.