1. History of Railway Development
In September 1826, France commenced construction of
the Saint‑Etienne–Andrezieux railway, dedicated to coal transport. This 21‑km
single‑track line with a track gauge of 1,435 mm entered service in October
1828. In October 1832, the Saint‑Etienne–Saint‑Chamond–Rive-de-Gier–Lyon line
opened fully to traffic; this second line is a double‑track railway with a full
length of 58 km. In the second half of the 19th century, France entered a
period of rapid railway expansion, and a national network largely took shape by
the early 20th century. However, many of these lines were severely damaged during
the two world wars in the first half of the 20th century. After World War II,
the industry’s reconstruction and recovery were supported by the implementation
of widespread electrification plans.
Since the 1970s, facing competition from emerging modes of
transport such as roads and aviation, the French railway sector was forced to close and
dismantle some local branch lines. At the same time, it actively responded by
electrifying major transport corridors and proactively developing high speed
railways based on modern technologies. The LGV Sud‑Est opened in two phases, in 1981 and 1983, as France’s first high speed railway. The subsequent
construction of high speed railways ushered the French railway industry into a
new era of innovation and development.
In the early days of railway development in France, private enterprises
dominated railway operations. In 1937, the French government reached an agreement with
the five major private railway companies to establish the French National
Railway Company(Société nationale des Chemins de fer, SNCF). Since January 1938, the new company has been responsible for operating
the national railway network and the lines of those five companies. The state
held a 51% stake in SNCF at its founding, and gradually acquired the remaining private
shares through installment payments covering both equity and fixed interest.
The nationalization process was ultimately completed in 1983, making SNCF the builder and operator of France’s railway network on behalf
of the state.
In the 1990s, to align with EU integration, SNCF implemented reforms to separate infrastructure management from
freight and passenger operations. In 1997, the French Rail Network (Réseauferré de France, RFF) was established to be responsible for the
investment and construction of the railway network, while SNCF functioned as
the railway operator. To maintain operational integrity, RFF delegated
infrastructure management tasks back to SNCF and made corresponding payments, thereby forming the model of vertical separation of France’s railway sector.
The compromise reached in the 1997 separation reform led to overlapping
management and an unclear division of responsibilities and powers between SNCF
and RFF, which in turn produced rising railway debts and ongoing disputes between
the two parties. In January 2015, pursuant to Railway
Reform Act No. 2014‑872, France established an integrated public railway
group composed of three public entities. SNCF serves as the parent entity, responsible for the group’s strategic management, guidance, and economic coordination; the two subsidiaries are SNCF Réseau and SNCF
Mobilité.
In 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron signed the Law No. 2018‑515for the new reform of SNCF. Macron emphasized that the debt‑laden SNCF must cut costs and increase operational flexibility to cope with
competition arising from the opening of passenger railway markets in the
European Union. The main provisions of the law include clarifying that SNCF is
fully state‑owned and that its capital is non‑transferable; creating conditions for
further market opening; and ensuring the safe and reliable operation of
the railway transport system. To respond by optimizing its organizational
structure and improving market competitiveness, SNCF began a restructuring
in January 2020 aimed at establishing a large, integrated public group
better able to meet the challenges of market opening. In recent years, SNCF has made further adjustments to its organization, but no major structural changes have followed.
2. Composition of Railway Industry
(1) Industry
administration
France’s transport sector follows a super‑ministry model. As early as 1944, modes of transport such as roads, railways, aviation, and waterborne transport were consolidated under
the Ministry of Public Works and Transport for integrated management. Since the
start of the 21st century, France has pursued further super‑ministry reforms. Amid growing societal emphasis on
sustainability, the government has placed greater focus on the
links between transport and environmental protection, land‑use planning, housing, risk prevention, and related areas, aiming to achieve broader administrative integration
under a more comprehensive super‑ministry model.
The government authority currently responsible for transportation in France is
the Ministry of Territorial Development and Ecological Transition.
The ministry was renamed from the Ministry of Ecological Transition to the
Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, and was later renamed again to the Ministry of
Territorial Development and Ecological Transition. Despite these name changes, its internal administrative departments have
remained basically unchanged. The ministry comprises seven departments: the General Secretariat; the General Commission of Sustainable Development; the Directorate‑General for Energy and Climate; the Directorate‑General for Infrastructure, Transport, and Mobility; the Directorate‑General for Civil Aviation; the Directorate‑General for Planning, Housing and Nature; and the Directorate‑General for Risk Prevention.
The Directorate‑General for Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility
is responsible for formulating and implementing national land and water
transport policies, promoting environmentally friendly transport modes, and advancing sustainable development and the
energy transition. It has two subordinate decorates: The Directorate of Road Mobility, and the Directorate of Rail and Waterway Transport
and Ports.
(2) Railway companies
SNCF is currently a public limited company with public capital, headquartered in Paris, and has a total of 289,500 staff members by the end of 2024. Its parent
company coordinates the group’s operations in
line with the overall management strategy and financial guidance, and houses departments that manage businesses such as real estate and shared services.
Owned by the parent company, SNCF Réseau
serves as the infrastructure manager responsible for the engineering, operation, maintenance, and development of the French railway network. As
of the end of 2022, SNCF Réseau managed 26,944 km of railway lines. SNCF Gares & Connexions, a subsidiary of SNCF Réseau, manages and operates approximately 3,000 stations across the French railway network.
SNCF Voyageurs, a parent‑owned company, administers the group’s passenger operators that provide domestic and
international services and offers travel and door‑to‑door solutions
for passengers. In 2023, SNCF’s passenger
business accounted for 97% of the French railway passenger market.
SNCF Rail Logistics Europe, also owned by
the parent company, operates freight and logistics services, offering door‑to‑door solutions
tailored to a wide variety of goods. Following network liberalization, competition in the railway freight market
intensified, and SNCF’s market share fell from 100% in 2005 to 45% in 2022.
