EHD 2024: a unanimous hit
We look back at the 41st edition of European Heritage Days, and the 142 visits and events organized by SNCF—an EHD partner—at its sites between 20 and 22 September 2024.
All about trains—straight from the source
With nearly 48,000 participants at 142 events offered in 12 regions and 52 departments across France, SNCF Group and its partners made a remarkable contribution to 2024’s European Heritage Days (EHD). This 41st edition was dedicated to routes, networks and connections.
Our rail sites attracted tens of thousands of visitors. They toured the 15 technicentres that opened for the occasion, discovered how 27 signal boxes and traffic control units work, or experienced being a train driver in 14 simulators. We also organized 44 in-station events, notably visits of historic trains which people could tour from the platform or even ride in.
142
events organized in 52 French departments
47,962
visitors, including 830 school children
1,972
volunteers to help run the events
Thirty new SNCF sites opened to the public
Every year, new SNCF sites take part in the EHD and open to the public for the first time. This year, there were 30. They included: the heavy maintenance facility at Venarey Les Laumes in central France; SNCF Réseau’s traffic control unit in Le Mans, northwestern France; the Engineering Cluster in Nevers, central France; SNCF Voyageurs’ technicentre in Granville, northwestern France; and the SNCF roundhouses in Mohon, eastern France.
We welcomed 830 school children thanks to our partnership with “Les enfants du patrimoine”
Once again, SNCF Group opened its sites to school children as part of the “Les enfants du patrimoine” initiative, welcoming 830 youngsters on 20 September. The open day at Orléans station was particularly popular for its now famous “escape game”.
A record-breaking trainset, free film screenings, and an exhibition
Of the 142 open days organized by SNCF Group and its partners1, some of the most memorable included:
- The exhibition of Trainset 16 of the South-East TGV—which set the first rail high-speed record in 1981—at the SNCF technicentre in Rennes, northwest France.
- The 160th anniversary of the Toulon SNCF workshop in Périgueux (southwest France), celebrated with over 3,000 visitors.
- The roundhouses and workshops in Mohon, eastern France, which reopened to the public for the first time in 10 years and drew over 2,100 visitors.
- The last open day at the traffic control unit on the high-speed Paris-Lyon line (near Paris-Gare de Lyon station), before it closes definitively after 4 decades.
- The free and commented screening of “The Train”, John Frankenheimer’s famous film—now 60 years old—which pays tribute to the courage of SNCF workers during World War II.
- The inauguration by Jean-Pierre Farandou of the exhibition on the lasting ties between trains and cinema at La Ciotat station in southern France.
- The French Society of Friends of Rail’s miniature trains, which enchanted the public at Paris’ Gare de l’Est.
TER pulled out all the stops for EHD 2024
SNCF Voyageurs TER and the regional transport authorities teamed up to offer special rates over the EHD weekend. This initiative allowed people across France to choose train travel—a sustainable mode of transport—and enjoy low-carbon access to culture and their local heritage.
About 3,000 events on the EHD programme were less than 1 km from a station and were indicated on the TER tourist map.