On 8 April 1857, a decree ordered the creation of 1,357 km (843 mi) of railways, beginning with the construction of a standard gauge line from Algiers to Blida, which started on 12 December 1859.

The 18 July 1879 decree defined the extent of some "general interest" lines and ordered the construction of a further 1,747 km (1,086 mi) of railways to expand the existing network.

On 30 June 1959, an agreement was made between the French government and the OCFA leading to the creation of the Société des Chemins de Fer Français en Algérie which commenced operations on 1 January 1, 1960.

A new, separate organisation, Anesrif, has been created to manage infrastructure investment whilst SNTF concentrates on day-to-day operations.

[3] As of 2017, SNTF's rolling stock inventory consisted of: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge links were built to both Morocco and Tunisia.

The Algeria-Tunisia railway resumed operation in August 2024, after several years of closure,[4] while the land border with Morocco has been closed since 1994.