SNCF SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF, "French National Railway Company") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic along with Monaco, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network. Its functions include operation of railway services for passengers and freight, and maintenance and signalling of rail infrastructure. The railway network consists of about of route, of which are high-speed lines and electrified. About 14,000 trains are operated daily. In 2010 the SNCF was ranked 22nd in France and 214th globally on the Fortune Global 500 list. It is the
SNCF Class BB 15000 SNCF Class BB 15000 The SNCF class BB 15000 is a class of 25 kV 50 Hz electric locomotives built by Alsthom and MTE between 1971 and 1978. Initially 65 locomotives strong, the series was widely used on the whole French 25 kV network before losing services to TGV trains when the LGV Est went into service in 2007. In the mid-1960s, SNCF sought a new type of dual-current electric locomotives. As thyristor technology advanced rapidly, SNCF decided to adopt the new technology for a new series of locomotives, later known as the "Nez Cassés (Broken Noses, due to their