SNCF

SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) (National French Railway Company) is a major French public enterprise. Its functions include operation of rail services for passengers and freight in France, and maintenance of rail infrastructure owned by RFF (Réseau Ferré de France). It employs about 180,000 people. The rail network currently consists of about 32,000 km of track, of which 1,500 km is high-speed track and 14,500 km is electrified. About 14,000 trains are operated daily. The current chairman of SNCF is Louis Gallois. Its headquarters are situated in Paris, in the Rue du Commandant Mouchotte.

Scope of business

SNCF operates almost all of France's railway system, including the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, literally "high-speed train") and some segments of the RER.

In the past, SNCF owned not only the trains, but also the tracks, but this has changed due to new European Union regulations. Since 1997 the tracks and other elements of French rail infrastructure have belonged to a separate government establishment, the Réseau Ferré de France; this change was intended to open the market to independent train operating companies, although few have yet appeared. There have been claims that this is mainly due to very restrictive regulations that are allegedly motivated by protectionism. For example, the licensing procedure for the multi-system ICE3M took four years, while the same train was allowed onto tracks in the Netherlands and Belgium within a year of its introduction.

History

The SNCF was formed in 1938 following the nationalisation of France's five main railways. These were the:

Chemin de Fer de l'Est
Chemin de Fer de l'État (formed in 1909 following the merging of the Chemin de Fer de l'État and the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest)
Chemin de Fer du Nord
Chemin de Fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM)
Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans et du Midi (PO-Midi, formed in 1934 following the merging of the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans and the Chemin de Fer du Midi)

The French state took 51% control of SNCF and has since put large amounts of public subsidies into the system. In the 1970s, SNCF began the TGV high speed train programme with the intention of creating the world's fastest railway network. It came to fruition in 1981, when the first TGV service from Paris to Lyon was inaugurated. TGV lines and the TGV technology have since spread to several other European countries plus South Korea.

Role during World War II

On 16 May 2006 the SNCF and the French State were successfully taken to the administrative court for complicity in crimes against humanity by the MEP Alain Lipietz, because of their role in tranporting members of his family to the Drancy deportation camp during World War II. They were subsequently jointly fined 62,000 euro| work=Le Figaro| }} Previous similar attempts by others in the civil courts had failed. SNCF argued that they were required to transport Jews by the Vichy regime and the Nazis, and that they had never taken the initiative. However SNCF chose to transport them in cattle wagons (stock cars) and invoiced the state for 3rd class tickets.| year=2006-05-16| accessdate=2006-06-09| work=Le Figaro| }}

Regionalisation

Since (specific date somewhere in the 90'S), SNCF has been selling train cars to regional gouverments in an effort to give trains times and needs more attention.

Codeshare with airlines

SNCF codeshares with Air Austral, Air France, Air Tahiti Nui, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Continental Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Qatar Airways and United Airlines and in exchange, allows passengers on those flights to book rail service between Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Roissy (near Paris) and Aix-en-Provence, Angers, Avignon, Bordeaux, Le Mans, Lille, Lyon Part-Dieu, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nantes, Nimes, Poiters, Rennes, Tours, and Valence with their airline. The IATA designator used by airlines in connection with these journeys is 2C.

Environment

Jacques Chirac, the French president, pledged in his 2006 New Year Address that by 2026 no SNCF or RATP train would be powered by fossil fuels.The Times, Friday, January 6 2006, p54. France will run trains free from fossil fuel, says Chirac. This pledge confirms France's commitment to nuclear power for its energy needs, and already nuclear power stations generate most of the electricity used to power SNCF's trains.

References

External links

SNCF web site
Map
SNCF UK web site
History of SNCF (in French)
channel tunnel link
Collection of Google Earth locations of SNCF stations (Requires Google Earth software) from the Google Earth Community forum

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