maintaining our network

Réseau Ferré de France, manager of the French network, and SNCF, the French National Railways, have between them signed a management contract for the railways in France. As project leader, it is our duty to set targets and to delegate planned maintenance projects to SNCF, who is in charge of operational management and commits to delivering quality and quantity results.

For renewal projects, Réseau Ferré de France again works with SNCF on programmes categorised by type of installation.
 

Routine maintenance
Every year, Réseau Ferré de France spends €1.7bn on routine maintenance projects. This includes surveillance operations as well as preventative work and isolated repairs.

We carry out this maintenance work in conditions that we hope will ensure optimal productivity, by encouraging “massification” of projects. This means grouping together the work required, by type and/or by location, so that we can reserve sufficient maintenance windows on the network but without causing too much disruption to traffic, therefore leading to significant reductions in costs.

Renewal
We have invested €1.3bn in projects to renew our railway infrastructure, which involves major maintenance work.

The money has been divided between:

Renewing the track (approximately 2,000 metres every day) and signal boxes; this form the largest part of our renewal projects, taking three quarters of the budget,
Replacing major structures (railway or road bridges, containment walls, tunnels) and consolidating earthworks,
Replacing signalling equipment, signal boxes, electric traction facilities (catenary and power sub-stations) and telecommunications equipment which must all comply with new operating requirements.

Find out more about the modernisation projects being led by Réseau Ferré de France:
Modernisation