Réseau Ferré National (France)
Railroad lines and infrastructure owned by the French State and assigned to SNCF Réseau. / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In France, the Réseau Ferré National (RFN) is made up of railroad lines and infrastructure belonging to the French state, and assigned to SNCF Réseau.
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The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) was responsible for the network from January 1, 1983, when it was set up as an "établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial" (EPIC), until February 13, 1997, on the basis of the network conceded by the State, which had built it up since 1938 from the networks of the former major railway companies. From February 13, 1997, to December 31, 2014, the national rail network belonged to the EPIC Réseau ferré de France (RFF), with maintenance and operation delegated to SNCF. On January 1, 2015, following the demise of RFF, the network became the property of SNCF Réseau, which manages and operates it directly. In 2020, it will become the property of the French State, while remaining entrusted to SNCF Réseau.
By 2018, with over 28,000 km of track in operation and more than 2,800 stops and stations served, France has the second largest network in Europe (behind Germany), as well as the leading network of high-speed lines. Most of the network's traffic (81%) is passenger traffic (1.35 billion people carried, with an average occupancy rate of 45%). However, trains face stiff competition from trucks, roads, and even airplanes. France has developed its high-speed network but has abandoned many small lines and stations, making access to certain services more difficult in rural areas.[1] These short lines are considered unprofitable, due to their high cost for low ridership, as well as their environmental impact when not electrified.[2]