50-534: Trans Europ Express is a former international train network in Europe. It may also refer to: Trans Europ Express The Trans Europ Express , or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), was an international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network comprised 45 trains, connecting 130 different cities, from Spain in
100-538: A 1966 film by French director Alain Robbe-Grillet , starring Jean-Louis Trintignant . SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français ( French pronunciation: [sɔsjete nɑsjɔnal de ʃ(ə)mɛ̃ d(ə) fɛʁ fʁɑ̃sɛ] ; abbreviated as SNCF [ɛsɛnseɛf] ; lit. "National Company of the French Railways") is France 's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates
150-531: A TEE member; the other two countries had TEEs running through them but the rail administrations were never members. In the late 1970s, the TEE network comprised 39 different named trains, serving 31 routes. A few routes had more than one TEE train concurrently; for example, the Paris–Brussels route had four TEEs, running at different times of the day. From the late 1970s onward, gradually more and more Trans-Europe Express trains were replaced by other trains giving
200-468: A few domestic trains operating entirely within France until 1 June 1991. In September 1993 certain former TEE trains operating non-stop journeys between Brussels and Paris (or vice versa), which had been converted to EuroCity and offered both first- and second-class coaches, were rebranded as Trans-Europe Expresses, but remaining two-class trains. This was during a transition of Paris–Brussels express services to
250-525: A large number of companies, the majority of which are rail or transport related. These include: General freight transport : Passenger transport Tickets Consulting Housing According to a TNS SOFRES survey published in 2010, 66% of French people have a good image of SNCF. At the end of 2019, this proportion was measured at 50% by the Posternak-Ifop barometer on the image of companies. In 2020, Eight Advisory and IFOP unveil their ranking of
300-517: A new TGV alignment, and initially included the trains Brabant , Île de France , Rubens and Watteau , all four serving the route in both directions. However, by 1995 the only TEE-branded trains remaining were the northbound Île de France (train 85) and southbound Watteau (train 88), the opposing-direction trains carrying the same names having already been converted to TGV stock (and designation), and these last two TEEs were replaced by TGV trains with effect from 29 May 1995, once again ending
350-523: A new Trans Europe Express TEE 2.0 network. Proposed routes in the short term include: Proposed daytime high-speed TEE 2.0 routes following the completion of new lines include: There are also proposals for night train networks proposed in the short-term which are remarkably similar to Deutsche Bahn 's former City Night Line network, which DB discontinued in 2016. Most of the routes in the short-term network are currently operated by Austrian Federal Railways ( ÖBB ) as part of its Nightjet network although
400-518: A new international intercity network with the name EuroCity which provides both 1st and 2nd class service. The EuroCity network began operating on 31 May 1987, and with effect from that date the last remaining international Trans-Europe Express trains were redesignated or withdrawn, except the Gottardo (reclassified as EuroCity in September 1988), but in name, the TEE designation continued to be used for
450-424: A proposed Frankfurt – Lyon – Barcelona service would offer a direct rail services that has not been possible for many decades. Overnight routes proposed in the longer term include two routes from Stockholm, one serving both Amsterdam and Paris, the other running via Prague to Vienna and Budapest. In May 2021, TRANSPORT ministers from multiple European Union (EU) member states have signed a letter of intent to create
500-761: A similar kind of service but also carrying 2nd class . Business travellers used air travel more and more. In 1979 DB completely restructured the network with the coming of the new national InterCity services, resulting in successively fewer TEE services and more InterCity services in the course of time. The introduction of the TGV service in France in 1981, and its subsequent expansion, along with expansion of high-speed rail lines in other European countries led to still more TEEs' being replaced by domestic high-speed trains. After 1984 most services were abandoned, leaving only some national services in (mostly) Italy and France and very few international services. Most trains were replaced by
550-622: A sung version, was created in 2005 by Michaël Boumendil . David Gilmour , guitarist of the group Pink Floyd , used the jingle as the inspiration for the title track of his 2015 album Rattle That Lock . Simone Hérault has been the voice of SNCF since 1981. Since the Auguste and Louis Lumière 's first film, SNCF has been the company that hosts the most film shoots in France , between 50 and 60 shoots per year, which represents around two thirds of French productions. A selection of iconic films where SNCF
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#1732859246479600-447: Is 2C. Continental Airlines discontinued its codeshare with SNCF on 15 August 2010. Until 1999, the SNCF's historic headquarters was located at 88 Rue Saint-Lazare in the 9th arrondissement . In 1996 the chairman of SNCF, Louis Gallois, announced that SNCF would move its headquarters to a new location during the middle of 1997. From 1999 to 2013, SNCF's headquarters were located in
650-740: Is the "broken nose" style of electric and diesel locomotives. SNCF codeshares with Air Austral , Air France , Air Tahiti Nui , American Airlines , Cathay Pacific , Middle East Airlines , Etihad Airways , Qatar Airways , and SriLankan Airlines . In exchange, SNCF allows passengers on these flights to book railway services between Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy (near Paris ) and Aix-en-Provence , Angers , Avignon , Bordeaux , Le Mans , Lille , Lyon Part-Dieu , Marseille , Montpellier , Nantes , Nîmes , Poitiers , Rennes , Strasbourg , Tours , and Valence with their airline. The IATA designator used by airlines in connection with these journeys
700-499: Is unclear. A proposed network published after the conference has been expanded compared with the earlier iteration, which was centred on central Europe. It now includes routes that can be achieved relatively simply such as Barcelona – Nice – Venice as well as others such as Warsaw – Riga – Tallinn that rely on major new infrastructure projects now underway, in this case Rail Baltica , which is due to open in 2026. Some existing high frequency international links have also been included at
750-823: The InterCity West Coast franchise. In April 2017 SNCF took a 30% shareholding in a joint venture with Stagecoach Group and Virgin Group to bid for the West Coast Partnership that will operate services on the West Coast Main Line from May 2020 and the High Speed 2 line from 2026. In April 2019 Stagecoach were banned from bidding for any franchises including the West Coast Partnership which has meant that Virgin and SNCF have now had to withdraw from
800-671: The Montparnasse neighborhood of the 14th arrondissement of Paris , located near the Gare Montparnasse . Since July 2013, the SNCF headquarters are located in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis at 2, place aux Étoiles, 93200 Saint Denis . The move was motivated by cutting operating costs by 10 million euros per year. Since 1 January 2020 SNCF is a state-owned group consisting of a parent company (SNCF) with several independently operated subsidiaries: SNCF has full or partial shares in
850-458: The TGV ( Train à Grande Vitesse , meaning "high-speed train"). In the 1970s, the SNCF began the TGV high-speed train program with the intention of creating the world's fastest railway network. It came to fruition in 1981 with the completion of the first high-speed line LGV Sud-Est ("Ligne à Grande Vitesse Sud-Est", meaning "southeast high-speed line"), where the first TGV service, from Paris to Lyon ,
900-592: The country's national rail traffic along with that of Monaco , including the TGV , on France's high-speed rail network. Its functions include operation of railway services for passengers and freight (through its subsidiaries SNCF Voyageurs and Rail Logistics Europe ), as well as maintenance and signalling of rail infrastructure ( SNCF Réseau ). The railway network consists of about 35,000 km (22,000 mi) of route, of which 2,600 km (1,600 mi) are high-speed lines and 14,500 km (9,000 mi) electrified. About 14,000 trains are operated daily. In 2010
950-438: The liberation of France SNCF continued to seek payment for transporting Holocaust victims to Germany. However, historian Michael Marrus has written that claims that SNCF billed for third-class tickets and continued to seek payment after the war ended were made as part of a legal case brought against SNCF, and did not match with historians' understanding of what happened. Marrus argues that SNCF had no margin of maneuver during
1000-666: The "most admired French companies": SNCF is in 23rd position. Safety on trains is also often a priority. To do this, around 2,800 railway workers form the Railway Security, the general supervision of SNCF, of which 50% of the workforce is assigned to the Île-de-France region. Furthermore, the experts of the BCG, Boston Consulting Group , use to compare the rail systems in 25 European countries. They rank France in tied 4th position (with Germany , Austria and Sweden ), behind Switzerland , Denmark and Finland . The criteria are :
1050-529: The German occupation and that the actions of SNCF employees were not ideologically motivated. According to Serge Klarsfeld , president of the organization Sons and Daughters of Jewish Deportees from France , SNCF was forced by German and Vichy authorities to cooperate in providing transport for French Jews to the border and did not make any profit from this transport. In December 2014, SNCF agreed to pay up to $ 60 million worth of compensation to Holocaust survivors in
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#17328592464791100-636: The German occupying forces. This allowed SNCF employees to perform many acts of resistance , including the formation of the Résistance-Fer movement in 1943. Nearly 1,700 SNCF railway workers were killed or deported for resisting Nazi orders. 150 Résistance-Fer agents were shot for their acts of resistance, 500 of them were deported. Half of those deported died in concentration camps. German occupying forces in France also requisitioned SNCF to transport nearly 77,000 Jews and other Holocaust victims to Nazi extermination camps . These deportations have been
1150-715: The SNCF was ranked 22nd in France and 214th globally on the Fortune Global 500 list. It is the main business of the SNCF Group, which in 2020 had €30 billion of sales in 120 countries. The SNCF Group employs more than 275,000 employees in France and around the world. Since July 2013, the SNCF Group headquarters are located in a Parisian suburb at 2 Place aux Étoiles in Saint-Denis . The president of SNCF Group has been Jean-Pierre Farandou [ fr ] since 2019. SNCF operates almost all of France's railway traffic, including
1200-617: The TEE network and were simply newly designated as Trans-Europe Expresses in 1957 or later. For example, the Settebello had been in operation since 1953 and the Rheingold since 1951 (as a revival of a pre-World War II train). The network was launched in 1957 with trains serving 13 different routes. Initially, the system was a completely diesel network. Because of the many different kinds of electrical specifications (voltages and current types – alternating current and direct current ) used in
1250-537: The Trans-Europe Express (TEE) 2.0 network first announced in September 2020 during the German presidency of the EU. The Agreement includes the development of a regular interval timetable. Member states will also identify operators interested in taking part. The signing took place during a conference organised by German federal transport minister, Mr Andreas Scheuer, on 17 May, and includes a number of pledges which expand
1300-509: The United States. It corresponds to approximately $ 100,000 per survivor. In the early 2000s, SNCF sought to get a contract from the state of California for a bullet train project between Los Angeles and San Francisco. SNCF recommended that the train take the most direct route between the two locations to reduce the complexity and cost of the project, but the SNCF's recommendations were cast aside by California politicians who wanted to divert
1350-409: The amount of which depended on the distance covered. Where possible, TEE trains' schedules were timed to allow a business traveller to make a round trip (return journey) within a single day and also have time for business activity at the destination. Each train was named, and all were expresses, stopping only at major cities. Some of the named trains had already existed for some years before creation of
1400-465: The beginning, the Belgian national railway company ( NMBS/SNCB ) joined the program only in 1964. Luxembourg ( CFL ) also joined at a later date. The idea was for a network of fast and comfortable transnational trains that would be attractive to businessmen and other regular travellers. All trains were first-class -only and required payment of a special supplement over the normal first-class ticket price,
1450-500: The company had discovered that 2,000 new trains they ordered at a cost of 15 billion euros are too wide for many of France's regional platforms. Construction work has started to reconfigure them. On 1 January 2015, Réseau ferré de France (RFF) merged with SNCF Infra and the Direction de la circulation ferroviaire (DCF) and became SNCF Réseau , the operational assets of SNCF became SNCF Mobilités , and both groups were placed under
1500-484: The control of SNCF. Jean-Pierre Farandou, the head of the state-owned railway operator, SNCF informed on 26 July 2024 that its high-speed rail network Eurostar suffered from multiple instances of coordinated sabotage , causing significant disruptions to train services. The incident occurred just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics , which was considered a high-risk event. The affected lines were located in
1550-646: The creation of the international TEE network provided impetus for the development of special electric trainsets and electric locomotives , capable of operating at two or more different voltages. The DB used the 160 km/h (99 mph) E 10.12 and the 200 km/h (120 mph) DB Class 103 , among other types. The SBB developed its RAe TEE II electric trainset, which was designed for four different railway electrification systems , and this type entered service in 1961. Belgian National Railways introduced its Type 150 locomotives (now called Class 15 ) in 1962, capable of handling three different voltages, followed by
Trans Europ Express (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1600-417: The development of timetables. They also vow to support the creation of an interoperable digital booking platform which supports booking international journeys offered by TEE 2.0 operators, which should be as straightforward as domestic journeys. How such a system would deal with the domestic parts of journeys to or from the high-speed rail network, and how third-party rail ticket sales websites might be included,
1650-580: The different countries it was thought at that time that use of diesel-hauled trains or diesel multiple-unit trainsets would greatly speed up border crossing. Moreover, at that time many border crossing sections were not yet electrified . The German DB built the streamlined DB Class VT 11.5 , while the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the Dutch NS developed the RAm / DE , both diesel trains. However,
1700-479: The formal use of the Trans-Europ Express name. These few Paris–Brussels (or vice versa) expresses, operated 1993–1995, were the only TEE-designated trains ever to carry second-class carriages (they were in effect EuroCity services). A few trains continued to utilise TEE branded coaches until 1 June 1996, but the trains themselves were no longer classified as TEEs. In September 2020, Germany made proposals for
1750-435: The four-voltage Type 160 ( Class 16 ) in 1966 and Class 18 in 1973. Meanwhile, France's SNCF also developed and introduced ten quadruple-voltage locomotives, its Class CC 40100 , between 1964 and 1970. By 1975, all but two ( L'Arbalète and Bavaria ) of the 43 TEE trains were electrically powered, and most were locomotive-hauled. Originally the idea was to promote only international routes as TEE routes. This idea
1800-650: The initial TEE 2.0 concept. The agreement foresees the development of a regular interval timetable on a pan-European basis to provide an alternative to short-haul flights and car journeys. The original German proposal for the TEE 2.0 concept assumes: While the letter of intent is not legally binding, the signatories agree to identify which railway operators from their respective countries want to be involved in delivering future TEE 2.0 services. They also pledged to act as facilitators to ensure that rail operators and infrastructure managers in neighbouring countries make meaningful progress in developing TEE 2.0 plans. In addition,
1850-666: The most recent on 3 April 2007, when a new version of the TGV dubbed the V150 with larger wheels than the usual TGV, was able to cover more ground with each rotation and had a stronger 18,600-kilowatt (24,900-horsepower) engine, and broke the world speed record for conventional railway trains, reaching 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph). The SNCF has a remarkable safety record. After nearly 30 years in operation, SNCF's TGV system has only experienced one fatal accident , which occurred during pre-opening testing and not in regular operation. In 2011 SNCF in partnership with Keolis , unsuccessfully bid for
1900-518: The request of EU member states, including Amsterdam – London route serving non-EU member, Britain. Separately, as part of the conference, Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the future expansion of the Berlin – Dresden – Prague – Vienna Via Vindobona international connection. The declaration outlines the planned high-speed line and other infrastructure plans for
1950-471: The route. The railway service was the subject of a 1977 album by German electronic music group Kraftwerk , the music of which has been sampled multiple times and has thus ingrained the railway reference in a variety of musical genres. One of the locations from the 1992 video game Earnest Evans is based on a train using the Trans Europ Express. Trans-Europ Express also provides the title of
2000-710: The shortlist. Since the 1990s, SNCF has been selling railway carriages to regional governments, with the creation of the Train Express Régional brand. SNCF also maintains a broad scope of international business that includes work on freight lines, inter-city lines and commuter lines. SNCF experts provide logistics, design, construction, operations and maintenance services. SNCF operates the international ticketing agency SNCF Connect , formerly oui.sncf/Voyages-sncf.com and Rail Europe , previously Loco 2 . SNCF has employees in 120 countries offering extensive overseas and cross border consulting. Those projects include SNCF
2050-507: The signatories agreed to request that the European Commission (EC) propose the launch of an EU financial assistance programme to invest in rolling stock that can operate across borders. They also agreed to lobby for further technical and operational improvements to facilitate the operation of cross-border rail services. Under the new agreement, and to support the prospective operators, the EU member states promise to act as moderators in
Trans Europ Express (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2100-664: The subject of historical controversy and lawsuits (such as the Lipietz case ) in France as well as in the United States (where subsidiary Keolis is a transportation contractor) to the present day . In 1992 SNCF commissioned French academics to write a history of SNCF activities during World War II. The resultant report was published in 1996. More recently, some sources have claimed that SNCF billed Nazi-occupied France for third-class tickets for Holocaust victims transported to extermination camps, although passengers were transported in cattle cars . Other sources have reported that after
2150-499: The train through various communities, raising the cost and complexity of the project, as well as the expected travel time. SNCF pulled out of the project in 2011 and went to Morocco to help the country construct a bullet train service. By 2018, Morocco's bullet train started service while the California bullet train project was not close to being operational in 2022, with some saying that the project would never be completed. In May 2014,
2200-469: The transport of German armed forces and armaments. The invading German troops were responsible for the destruction of nearly 350 French railway bridges and tunnels. According to differing estimates, SNCF surrendered between 125,000 and 213,000 wagons and 1,000–2,000 locomotives. France's railway infrastructure and rolling stocks were a target for the French Resistance aimed at disrupting and fighting
2250-509: The utilization rate, quality of service and safety. SNCF's current visual logo was created in 2005 by the Carré Noir agency, a subsidiary of the Publicis communication group . It was slightly reworked in 2011: rounded corners, disappearance of shadows inside the letters as well as behind, and a clearer separation between them. The SNCF sound logo – the four notes C – G – A flat – E flat –, in
2300-540: The west to Austria in the east, and from Denmark to Southern Italy. The first services commenced on 2 June 1957 following an idea of F.Q. den Hollander, then president-director of the Dutch national railway company ( NS ). TEE was a network jointly operated by the railways of West Germany ( DB ), France ( SNCF ), Switzerland ( SBB-CFF-FFS ), Italy ( FS ) and the Netherlands . Although some trains passed through Belgium from
2350-497: The western, northern, and eastern regions of France , impacting not only domestic trains but also those travelling to neighboring Belgium and London via the Channel Tunnel . It was expected that roughly 800,000 travellers were impacted because of this arson attack on french railway networks. The industrial designer Paul Arzens styled many of SNCF's locomotives from the 1940s until the 1970s. A particularly distinctive type
2400-665: Was abandoned in 1965 with the introduction of the French Le Mistral and the German Blauer Enzian . Later, TEE trains serving single countries were also introduced on other routes in France and Germany as well as in Italy, but most TEE routes continued to be international. The network grew in the course of the years, adding three more countries: Spain ( Renfe ), Denmark ( DSB ) and Austria ( ÖBB ). The system reached furthest in 1974. However, of these three only Renfe became
2450-456: Was formed in 1938 with the nationalisation of France's main railway companies ( Chemin de fer , literally, 'way of iron', means railway). These were the: The French state originally took 51% ownership of SNCF and invested large amounts of public subsidies into the system. Today, SNCF is wholly owned by the French state. Following the 1940 Armistice and until August 1944, SNCF was requisitioned for
2500-442: Was inaugurated. In 2017, the national rail network owned by SNCF Réseau had 28,710 km (17,839 mi) of lines, 58% of which were electrified and 2,640 high-speed lines. Every day, the SNCF runs 15,000 commercial trains and transports more than 5 million passengers and more than 250,000 tonnes of goods. TGV lines and TGV technology are now spread across several European countries. The SNCF's TGV has set many world speed records,
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