The network has undergone a major modernization since 1981 with the arrival of the TGV high-speed rail service which has been consistently expanded in subsequent years.

[1][2] With a total of 100.2 billion passenger-kilometres,[1][2] France has the fifth-most used passenger network worldwide, and second-most used in Europe after that of Russia.

At the same time, only 9% of French cargo is shipped via railway, or about ½ of the European average, and only a small fraction when compared to certain countries.

National and regional services (TER) are complemented by an important network of urban railways which is still rapidly growing.

[9] In 1814, the French engineer Pierre Michel Moisson-Desroches proposed to the Emperor Napoleon to build seven national railways from Paris, in order to travel "short distances within the Empire".

Trains drive on the left, except in Alsace and Moselle where tracks were first constructed while those regions were part of Germany.

The French government is planning to remove the monopoly that rail currently has on long-distance journeys by letting coach operators compete.

[17][needs update] Alstom is the manufacturer of the TGV, and is behind many regional train models (Régiolis, SNCF Class Z 26500 ... )