SNCF

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:SNCF logo.gif SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) 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.

1 Scope of business
2 History
3 Codeshare with airlines
4 Environment
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

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Scope of business

Image:France-Sncf-Train.jpg

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 to very restrictive regulations that are allgedly 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.

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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.

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Codeshare with airlines

Image:Tgv sud est.jpg SNCF codeshares with American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, US Airways, and Emirates and in exchange, allows passengers on those flights to book rail service between Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Roissy (near Paris) and Angers, Avignon, Bordeaux, Le Mans, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Nimes, Poiters, Rennes, Tours, and Valence with their airline. The IATA designator used by airlines in connection with these journeys is 2C.

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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.Template:Ref 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.

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