History of Rail Transport in France
In France, rail transport is dominated by passenger traffic, which is primarily driven by high-speed rail. The national state-owned railway company, SNCF, operates the majority of passenger and freight services on the national network, which is managed by its subsidiary SNCF Réseau. France currently has the second-largest European railway network, with a total length of 29,901 kilometres.
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In 1828, the first French railway line opened between Saint Etienne and Andrézieux, southwest of Lyon. Early English railways were viewed as a supplement to inland waterways, but it soon became clear that this was a revolutionary mode of transportation. In 1829, Marc Seguin installed his multi-tube boiler steam locomotive, which he developed with the Stephensons, on this railway. This engine is still operational today.
​The Paris - St Germain line, the first built specifically for passenger traffic and the first to serve the capital, opened in 1837. Early trunk lines, such as Paris-Rouen (1843) and Paris-Orléans (1843), drew on English technology and expertise, leaving a permanent legacy in the gauge and left-hand running that is still practised on double-track in France, with the exception of Alsace-Lorraine lines and the Paris Metro.
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To control transport policy, France passed a law defining the network's shape and economic base in 1842. Track and train companies would lease land, formation, and civil engineering from the state. In the 1850s, town-to-town routes formed the "Big Six" grands réseaux: Est, Nord, Ouest, Paris – Orléans (PO, which extended south to Bordeaux), Midi (deep south), and Paris – Lyon–Méditerranée. In the original master plan, the PO and PLM split "Grand Central" concessions before construction.
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The second factor affecting French locomotive practise was the national speed limit, which was 120 km/h for decades. Thus, locomotive design never prioritised flat-out speed. Instead, a machine that ran close to that limit every kilometre regardless of load, weather, or gradient was desired. André Chapelon's PO and Nord Pacific rebuilds met this ideal. The master engineer Chapelon advanced locomotive design by applying thermodynamics. After perfecting the 4-cylinder engine, he experimented with six cylinders before settling on three for steam. His experimental 4-8-4 (242 A 1) performed well (1946-50), a family of high-powered designs was in development, and construction had begun on the amazing 2-10-4 when work was abruptly halted, and all resources went to electrification.
Electric traction arrived in France early. At the 1900 Universal Exhibition, the Métro and Paris suburban lines were born. In the early twentieth century, the Midi company, surrounded by hydropower-generating mountains, electrified its routes and connected to the PO's southward wires from Paris. Before 1939, the Etat electrified Paris and Le Mans at 1500 V dc. Only two-thirds of the story is told by the national standard-gauge network. The Loi Migneret of 1865 and the Plan Freycinet of 1879 granted permission for standard and narrow-gauge secondary railways to feed the national system. The complex network of minor standard and narrow-gauge lines covered 22,364 km, accounting for one-third of the national railway network.
The nationalised SNCF had barely survived World War II when it was ravaged, first by German occupation, then by RAF and USAAF bombing, and finally by the French Resistance's Plan Vert to cripple the railways. Following its recovery, the SNCF focused on massive electrification and speed. In March 1955, BB 9004*, an electric locomotive, raced across the Landes plain at 331 km/h.
Diesel locomotives were gradually introduced for non-electrified lines, with only a few classes built. Railcars have been used in operations since the 1930s. The entertainment was provided by turbo-trains, which were multiple units powered by modified helicopter gas-turbine engines. These set new standards for speed and comfort, but they were too inefficient to keep up with rising oil prices, so they were phased out in 2000.
The Train a Grande Vitesse was the future as of 1980. In a railway building frenzy not seen since the manias of the nineteenth century, the Ligne à Grande Vitesse (LGV) network was added to the old. Since 1996 and 2003, respectively, local services and stock procurement have been under regional control. For years, the viability of their rural lines has been questioned. Politicians are now advocating for their retention on environmental grounds, but there is a massive maintenance backlog that will be costly to address. In preparation for an all-multiple-unit railway, recent rolling stock modernization has been extensive.
