2021 marks 40 years of high-speed train TGV put into operation and becomes one of the pride of France in general and the French railway industry in particular. This is also an opportunity to look back at the history of nearly two centuries of formation and development of the French railway system, which is only less old than the railway system of neighboring England.
Born… as a historical necessity To learn more about one of the oldest and largest railway systems in the world, RFI Interviewed engineer Ta Quang Anh, working at the French National Railway Corporation (SNCF) about the birth of the French railway network. The engineer said that the French railway industry was “conceived” in the first three decades of the nineteenth century. Appearing more slowly in England, where the first steam engine was mounted on railcarts in trade fairs from about the mid-1810s, the birth of the French railway network was also in the similar scene, as a historical necessity. That necessary background is the final stage of the First Industrial Revolution in Europe, the period of the meeting between supply and demand. Regarding demand, in the economic field, it is the need to transport finished products in large quantities, especially in the mining industry and later in chemicals, textiles, and agriculture. In the political field, it is the need to plan territory, unify transportation and administration in a large country with many diverse geographical and cultural characteristics. 
The achievements of metallurgical technology have enabled the production of quality steels for train wheels and tracks, especially with production capacity for thousands of kilometers of track. In terms of supply, it’s the ability to respond to technology. This is also the intersection of two technological factors that have both developed to the necessary maturity at that time. On the one hand, the achievement of metallurgical technology has allowed the production of quality steels for train wheels and tracks, especially with production capacity for thousands of kilometers of track. On the other hand, in the mechanical and steam engine industry, the soul of the industrial revolution, despite overcoming barriers to liberate labor, is still an inspiring creative ground for optimization in terms of technology. performance and size. On the French side, in 1823, the first railway, 18 km long, connected a coal mine from the vicinity of Saint-Etienne down to a port of the Loire in Andrézieux. Although only using gravity to transport coal to the river port and using horse power to pull construction materials in the opposite direction, in terms of infrastructure, this is considered the first line of the French and European railway network. continent. Only 7 years later, another 58 km line connecting Saint-Etienne with Lyon was also put into operation. This was the first time in France, the steam locomotive improved by French engineer Marc Seguin was put into use instead of horses with a record speed of 12 km/h at that time. A year later, in 1831, the line also began carrying passengers. 
In 1823, the first railway, 18 km long, connected a coal mine from the vicinity of Saint-Etienne down to a port of the Loire in Andrézieux. In 1814, at the very beginning of the world’s railway history, when it first appeared in England, a strategic report was submitted to Emperor Napoleon by Chief Engineer Moisson-Desroches, highlighting the importance of it. of planning a railway network of seven lines radiating from Paris to all parts of the “hexagonal country”. By 1837, the strategic idea of Moisson-Desroches was concretized in the planning of Alexis Legrand, then the General Architect of roads and mines of France. The drawing that later became known as the “Legrand Star” was the first planning map of the French railway industry. Also in 1837, the first dedicated passenger railway was put into operation, connecting Paris to the suburb of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. On paper and in the field, 1837 can thus be considered the “AD” year of the French railway history. Before World War I, nearly 60,000 km of Line 1 covered France, a sixfold increase in about 60 years. After about 15 years of relatively spontaneous development (since the railway law 1842 stipulates the model of railway socialization), by the end of 1858-early 1859, the railway agreement between the State and 6 railway companies was established. iron is an important legal corridor for network development. This agreement is meant to divide the development market share of private companies authorized by the State to develop the arterial railway system. In 1865, the law was expanded to allow local governments to be authorized to build and operate branch and cross lines for railway companies. The period of the second half of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century, with the development stimulus mechanisms of the central and local governments, was the period of breakthrough development of the French railway network, at least in terms of total length of routes in the whole system. By the time of World War I, nearly 60,000 km of Line 1 (now about 30,000 km) covered France, a sixfold increase in about 60 years. All provincial administrative sub-areas are connected to the railway network. Also during the early twentieth century, power options such as electric and diesel were also tested and developed for locomotives. 
The birth of the SNCF was the result of the nationalization of the railway industry in favor of the plan to electrify the entire railway network, a proactive step after the energy and economic crisis of the 1930s. In 1938, the National Railway Corporation (SNCF) was established. The entire 42,700 km of railway with debts and more than half a million railway employees are combined into one. The birth of the SNCF was the result of the nationalization of the railway industry in favor of the plan to electrify the entire railway network, a proactive step after the energy and economic crisis of the 1930s. This was considered the optimal political-economic choice at that time, in the context that the precursor private companies of SNCF faced a lot of financial difficulties after a period of overheating development in terms of terminal infrastructure. In the nineteenth century and especially after the years of World War I there was no source of income, which was followed by the Great Depression of 1929. Railway unions, representing more than half a million workers, became industrial unions are very vocal in society, contributing significantly to workers’ movements. A breakthrough in quality The operating speed at that time was 260km/h, in the same year, the design and test speed reached a world record at 380km/h. The birth of the TGV opens a new breakthrough development phase for the French railway industry. Unlike the breakthrough period in infrastructure in the second half of the 19th century, TGV has “miniatured” France and even Europe with only 3-4 hours of travel. During the period 1990-2010, many domestic TGV routes were inaugurated, notably the Eurostar route running through 50 km of the English Channel tunnel to the UK, the Thalys route going to Belgium and the Netherlands… In 1997, the State separated the infrastructure management part from the SNCF by establishing the National Railway Network (RFF). This is the first step of France when implementing commitments on competition in the field of rail transport in the European Union (EU). In 2015, RFF re-entered a member company of SNCF, after having spun off the mining part into another independent subsidiary in the group. In 1981, France put into operation the first high-speed train line TGV connecting Paris and Lyon. In 2007, France once again broke the world record for the test speed of the express train at 574.8 km/h. To date, this is still the world record for train technology running on rails. In 2020, the state monopoly on train operation officially ends. During the last 30 years of the twentieth century, the absolutely safe operation of 400 tons of steel on rails at 320 km/h has always been a technological icon in the ground passenger transport industry. TGV technology is exported and transferred to many countries, in Europe, to the US, Morocco and even Korea. For the French, TGV is a “national pride”. According to a poll of the French population, the TGV is considered one of the most important inventions of the 20th century, along with the computer, mobile phone and microwave oven. For the passenger railway industry, TGV was born as a lifeline in the context of the energy crisis of the 1970s, the aging of the traditional railway system from nearly 150 years made the railway no longer an option. number one choice for travel needs as highways thrive and air routes become increasingly accessible to price segments. In passenger transport, the decisive factor is not necessarily the speed of travel, but the sum of travel time, comfort, safety and, of course, price. TGV was born to most harmoniously meet these factors. TGV routes connect the centers of major cities (in France and later in Europe, both mainland and British islands) in the journey with moderate time, high safety, good service quality. 
The railway network in France is operated by the French National Railways Corporation (SNCF). For those doing railway engineering and technology, TGV’s 20 years of conception, 40 years of exploitation, perfection and development has been and will be an inspiration for technical innovation initiatives in many years. fields, from structural infrastructure, energy, signal information to rolling stock; from the construction and manufacturing industry to the maintenance industry. According to engineer Ta Quang Anh, the nearly 200-year history of formation and development is an advantage of French railways. In the world, besides the UK, there is no country as “rail age” as France. This is a great advantage in terms of experience. The coverage of the French railway network compared to the entire geographical territory is very high. Although France is not a country with a very high percentage of urban population, according to one statistic, about 89% of the French population live less than 10 km from a train station (in cities like Paris, this distance is much smaller). . This contributes significantly to the formation of habits and the need to use railways for transportation. 
About 89% of the French population lives less than 10 km from the station (in cities like Paris, this distance is much smaller). This contributes significantly to the formation of habits and the need to use railways for transportation. On the other hand, rail transport in France with over 80% electrification is a fundamentally environmentally friendly transport industry. With such a large coverage, in the medium and long term future, with the commitments of the French Government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the framework of global environmental agreements, railway transport (both cargo and passengers) will undoubtedly remain key government priorities. As more than 80% of the railway network is electrified, with France’s civil nuclear power capacity, the French railway industry has a huge advantage in terms of energy initiative over most railway countries. However, the French railway industry also faces some limitations. A prime example is the British railway industry, which has been in decline since the late twentieth century. In the case of the French railway industry, in terms of people, changing production habits is no longer suitable for the application of modern means and production methods, in many cases, encountering resistance from the government itself. old experiences. In terms of infrastructure, most of the French railway network was designed and built before the twentieth century. Adapting to climate change is a big challenge for network maintenance and repair. TGV is a legacy engineering innovation based on ballast rock infrastructure and wheel-rail contact. But if you want to increase the speed of operation to over 400 km/h, such infrastructure is likely no longer suitable, especially when put on the balance sheet with the cost of maintenance. Of course, train speed is not a prerequisite, but if France decides to race in this direction, it must accept going slower than other countries that have developed or transferred technology for maglev infrastructure. such as Germany, Japan, China.
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