SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) (French National Railway Company) is a French public enterprise. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Its functions include operation of rail services for passengers and freight, and maintenance as well as signalling of rail infrastructure owned by RFF (Réseau Ferré de France). RFF are also the initials of the Ricardo Franco Front, a Colombian revolutionary guerrilla group for other uses see RFF. It employs about 180,000 people. The rail network consists of about 32,000 km of route, of which 1,800 km is high-speed line and 14,500 km is electrified. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand The TGV ( t rain à g rande v itesse, French for "high-speed train" is France 's High-speed rail service Railway electrification supplies electrical energy to railway Locomotives and Multiple units so they can operate without having a Reciprocating About 14,000 trains are operated daily. The chairman of SNCF is Guillaume Pépy. Its headquarters is in Paris, in the Rue du Commandant Mouchotte. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city

Scope of business

An SNCF TER.

SNCF operates almost all of France's railway system, including the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, meaning "High-Speed Train") and some segments of the RER (Réseau Express Régional, "Regional Express Network", a rapid transit system serving Paris). The TGV ( t rain à g rande v itesse, French for "high-speed train" is France 's High-speed rail service The RER ( R éseau E xpress R égional, ɛʀøɛʀ "Regional Express Network" is a Rapid transit system in France serving A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city

In the past, SNCF owned not only the trains, but also the tracks, but this has changed due to new European Union regulations. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Since 1997 the tracks and other 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. RFF are also the initials of the Ricardo Franco Front, a Colombian revolutionary guerrilla group for other uses see RFF. There have been claims that this is mainly due to very restrictive regulations that are allegedly motivated by protectionism. For the protectionist Australian political party from the 1880s to 1909 see Protectionist Party 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. The InterCityExpress or ICE (German pronunciation) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries

History

SNCF was formed in 1938 on the nationalisation of France's five main railways (Chemin de Fer in English means railway, literally, 'road of iron'). Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government These were the:

• Chemin de Fer de l'Est (Eastern Railway)
• Chemin de Fer de l'État (State Railway) (formed in 1909 from the merger of the Chemin de Fer de l'État and the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest)
• Chemin de Fer du Nord (Northern Railway)
• Chemin de Fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM) (Paris, Lyon and Mediterranean Railway)
• Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans et du Midi (Paris, Orléans, and Central Railway) (PO-Midi, formed in 1934 from the merger of the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans and the Chemin de Fer du Midi)

The French state took 51% ownership of SNCF and has since put large amounts of public subsidies into the system. The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est (CF de l'Est often referred to simply as the Est company was an early French railway company. The Chemins de fer de l'État ("State Railways" often referred to in France as the réseau de l'État ("State network" was an early French The Chemins de fer de l'État ("State Railways" often referred to in France as the réseau de l'État ("State network" was an early French The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest (CF de l'Ouest often referred to simply as L'Ouest or Ouest, was an early French Railway company Chemin de Fer du Nord (CF du Nord often referred to simply as the Nord company was a Rail transport company created in September of 1845 in Paris, France The Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (usually known more simply as the PLM) was a French railway company. The Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans et du Midi, often abbreviated to PO-Midi, was an early French railway company. The Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans, often abbreviated to CF Paris-Orléans, was an early French railway company. The Chemin de Fer du Midi, often abbreviated to CF du Midi, was an early French railway company. In the 1970s, SNCF began the TGV high speed train programme with the intention of creating the world's fastest railway network. The TGV ( t rain à g rande v itesse, French for "high-speed train" is France 's High-speed rail service It came to fruition in 1981, when the first TGV service, from Paris to Lyon, was inaugurated. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. TGV lines and the TGV technology have since spread to several other European countries plus South Korea. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː

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 father of MEP Alain Lipietz, because of their role in transporting members of his family to the Drancy deportation camp during World War II. Events 1204 - Baldwin IX Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. In Public international law, a crime against humanity is an act of Persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people and is the highest level of A Member of the European Parliament ( English abbreviation MEP) is a member of the European Union 's legislative body the European Parliament. Alain Lipietz (born September 19 1947 Charenton-le-Pont as Alain Guy Lipiec) is a French engineer economist and politician Drancy deportation campof Paris, France used to hold Jews who were later deported to the Extermination camps. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including They were subsequently jointly fined 64,000 euros^[1], but the judgement was appealed. Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e 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. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German However SNCF chose to transport them in cattle wagons (stock cars), as it was done for soldiers, and invoiced the state for 3rd class tickets. In Railroad terminology, a stock car is a type of Rolling stock used for carrying Livestock (not Carcasses to A travel class is a quality of accommodation on public Transport. A ticket is a Voucher to indicate that one has paid for Admission to an event or establishment such as a Theatre, Movie theater, Amusement ^[2][3]. Hundreds of SNCF employees (cheminots) were killed for acts of Resistance during World War II, 2,480 were deported (of those deportees, 1,100 died), and 2,361 were killed at work (due to bombings, land mines, et cetera). Resistance during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means ranging from non-cooperation disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots

Regionalisation

Main article: TER

Since the '90s, SNCF has been selling train cars to regional governments.

World speed records

Part of the record-breaking V150 unit being taken in triumph down the Seine for display at the foot of the Eiffel Tower

SNCF's TGV has set many world speed records, the most recent on April 3, 2007, when a new version of the TGV dubbed the V150 with larger wheels than the usual TGV, was able to cover more ground with each rotation and had a stronger 25,000 hp (18,600 kW) engine, broke the world speed record for conventional rail trains, reaching 574. The V150 is a specially configured TGV train which broke the world record for conventional rail trains on April 3, 2007. The Seine (sɛn in French) is a slow flowing major River and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie The Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel /tuʀ ɛfɛl/ is an Iron Tower built The TGV ( t rain à g rande v itesse, French for "high-speed train" is France 's High-speed rail service The TGV (train à grande vitesse French for "high-speed train" holds a series of world speed records achieved in the context of an active research and development The TGV (train à grande vitesse French for "high-speed train" holds a series of world speed records achieved in the context of an active research and development The V150 is a specially configured TGV train which broke the world record for conventional rail trains on April 3, 2007. 8 km/h (357. 2 mph). ^[4]

Codeshare with airlines

A 2nd-generation TGV train (Réseau class) at Marseille St-Charles station. The TGV ( t rain à g rande v itesse, French for "high-speed train" is France 's High-speed rail service

SNCF codeshares with Air Austral, Air France, Air Tahiti Nui, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Continental Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Emirates Airline, 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. Code sharing is a business term which was first originated in the airline industry in 1990 when the Australian airline Qantas Airways and the U Air Austral is an Airline based in St Denis, Réunion, France. Air France (formally Société Air France) is one of the world's largest Airlines Air France is based in Paris, France, and is a subsidiary of Air Tahiti Nui is French Polynesia 's Flag carrier Airline with its headquarters in Papeete, Tahiti. American Airlines Inc (AA is a US -based airline and the world's Largest airline in total passenger miles transported and passenger fleet size Cathay Pacific Airways Limited () is the largest Airline and Flag carrier of Hong Kong. Continental Airlines Inc ( is a United States certificated air carrier. Middle East Airlines Air Liban SAL (طيران الشرق الأوسط الخطوط الجوية اللبنانية operating as Middle East Airlines (MEA (طيران Emirates Airline (shortened form Emirates) ( Arabic: طيران الإمارات Tayarān al-Imārāt) is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group Qatar Airways Company QCSC (القطرية is the Flag carrier airline of Qatar, based in Doha. United Air Lines Inc, trading as United Airlines ( is a major airline of the United States. Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (Aéroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle also known as Roissy Airport (or just Roissy in French in the Paris area is Roissy can refer to Roissy-en-Brie in the Seine-et-Marne département in France Roissy-en-France in the Val-d'Oise département in France Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The IATA designator used by airlines in connection with these journeys is 2C.

Environment

Jacques Chirac, then French president, pledged in his 2006 New Year Address that by 2026 no SNCF or RATP train would be powered by fossil fuels. President is a Title leaders of Organizations companies, Trade unions universities, and countries. The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens ( RATP/Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transports) is the major transit operator responsible for Public transportation ^[5] This pledge confirms France's commitment to nuclear power for its energy needs. Nuclear power is any Nuclear technology designed to extract usable Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled Nuclear reactions Nuclear power stations already generate most of the electricity used to power SNCF trains. Nuclear power is any Nuclear technology designed to extract usable Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled Nuclear reactions

See also

• History of rail transport in France
• List of French companies
• List of SNCF locomotive and multiple-unit classes
• Transport express régional
• Corail (train)
• Transport in France
• List of SNCF stations

References

External links

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