Rail transport in France

Rail transport in France is marked by a clear predominance of passenger traffic, driven in particular by high-speed rail. The SNCF, the national state-owned railway company, operates most of the passenger and freight services on the national network managed by its subsidiary SNCF Réseau. With a total of 29,901 kilometres (18,580 mi) of railway, France operated the second-largest European railway network in 2007. As of 2021, it was among the ten longest railway networks in the world.
The first railway line in the country opened in 1827 from Saint-Étienne to Andrézieux. The network has undergone a major modernization since 1981 with the arrival of the TGV high-speed rail service which has been consistently expanded in subsequent years.
In 2017, there were 1.762 billion journeys on the French national rail network, among which 1.270 billion on SNCF services and 493 million on RATP sections of the RER, the express regional network operating in the Paris area which is shared between both companies. The Paris suburban rail services represents alone 82% of the French rail annual ridership.
With a total of 100.2 billion passenger-kilometres, France has the fifth-most used passenger network worldwide, and second-most used in Europe after that of Russia. France is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC country code for France is 87.
At the same time, only 9% of French cargo is shipped via railway, or about ½ of the European average, and only a small fraction when compared to certain countries.
National and regional services (TER) are complemented by an important network of urban railways which is still rapidly growing. Six cities are served by metro systems (Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Paris, Rennes and Toulouse), while 31 metropolitan areas are additionally served by tram networks, among which 23 were inaugurated in the 21st century.
France was ranked 7th among national European rail systems in the 2017 European Railway Performance Index for intensity of use, quality of service and safety performance, a decrease from previous years.
In 1814, the French engineer Pierre Michel Moisson-Desroches proposed to the Emperor Napoleon to build seven national railways from Paris, in order to travel "short distances within the Empire".
However, the history of railways in France really begins in 1827, when the first trains operated on the Saint-Etienne to Andrezieux Railway, the first French line, granted by order of King Louis XVIII in 1823.
Since Legrand Star rail plan [fr] of 1842, French railways are highly focused on Paris.
Traffic is concentrated on the main lines: 78% of activity is done on 30% of the network (8,900 km), and the 46% of smaller lines (13,600 km) only drive 6% of the traffic. The 366 largest stations (12%) account for 85% of passenger activity, and the smallest 56% of stations take only 1.7% of traffic.
Freight transport has declined since the early 1980s. Today the network is predominantly passenger-centric; railways transport only 9% of French cargo, or about 1/2 of the European average, and less than a fourth of the US railways' share of US cargo.
Since 1 January 2007, the freight market has been open to conform to European Union (EU) agreements (EU Directive 91/440). New operators had already reached 15% of the market at the end of 2008.
The Transport express régional (TER) is directed by the administrative Regions of France. They contract with the SNCF for lines exploitation.
The SNCF directly manage this class of trains. The TGV is used on the most important destinations, while Intercités carriages are still used for other lines.
The French railway network, as administered by SNCF Réseau, as of June 2007, is a network of 29,213 kilometres (18,152 mi) of commercially usable lines, of which 15,141 km (9,408 mi) is electrified. 1,876 km (1,166 mi) of those are high speed lines (LGV), 16,445 km (10,218 mi) have two or more tracks. 5,905 km (3,669 mi) are supplied with 1,500 V DC, 9,113 km (5,663 mi) with 25 kV AC at 50 Hz. 122 km (76 mi) are electrified by third rail or other means.
1,500 V is used in the south; HSR lines and the northern part of the country use 25 kV electrification.
Trains drive on the left, except in Alsace and Moselle where tracks were first constructed while those regions were part of Germany.
The French non-TGV intercity service (TET) is in decline, with old infrastructure and trains. The French government is planning to remove the monopoly that rail currently has on long-distance journeys by letting coach operators compete.
Travel to the UK through the Channel Tunnel has grown in recent years, and from May 2015 passengers have been able to travel direct to Marseille, Avignon and Lyon. Eurostar is also introducing new Class 374 trains and refurbishing the current Class 373s.
The International Transport Forum described the current status of the French railways in their paper "Efficiency indicators of Railways in France":
Like roads, the French railways receive rail subsidies from the state in order to operate. Those amounted to €13.2 billion in 2013.
Alstom is the manufacturer of the TGV, and is behind many regional train models (Régiolis, SNCF Class Z 26500 ... )