Category:SNCF

Panhard lorry cab with SNCF Semi-Trailer [image info]

SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français, 1938-) is France's national railway company, and is best-known outside continental Europe for being the marque on the side of France's bullet-trains. While SNCF run the trains, the actual track and static infrastructure is owned by Réseau Ferré de France (RFF, 1997-) in a similar arrangement to Railtrack's ownership of the UK static railway infrastructure.

RFF, 1997-

SNCF's historical debts were transferred to RFF so that SNCF's accounts would reflect its actual running costs and income as a railway service provider – this allows SNCF to avoid being seen as anticompetitive, as the split means that other railway companies can in theory run on the same RFF-owned track (and paying the same RFF fees) without SNCF having an an fair advantage or disadvantage. the split was performed to comply with an EU competition directive – however, RFF is slightly artificial company in that its servicing is still currently carried out under contract by ... SNCF.