SNCF Réseau, the subsidiary that manages rail infrastructure, has placed a €1bn order for sustainable track components with steelmaker Saarstahl. Over the next 6 years, Saarstahl’s plant in Hayange, located in the Moselle region, will supply 170,000 metric tonnes of rails annually.

What sets Saarstahl tracks apart? They’re made entirely of recycled steel produced in electricity-powered furnaces. The process reduces carbon emissions by 70% compared to conventional methods, which rely on adding coal to iron ore.

Over 20% of France’s freight transits through Grand Est. Our subsidiary, Rail Logistics Europe, forwarded 8.35 million tonnes of cargo through the region in 2022, while its brand Captrain France carried 3.3 million tonnes in 2023. That means Rail Logistics Europe accounts for 90% of business at Woippy, France’s largest marshalling yard.

Three SERM (metropolitan regional express service) projects are currently underway in this area at the crossroads of Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland:

• The Strasbourg SERM extends the range of intercity express trains and coaches on main routes through the conurbation, as far west as the Vosges foothills, and east towards Germany. It also strengthens the European Metropolitan Express Network (REME).
• The Mulhouse SERM and its link with Basel aim to develop services as part of the launch of "RER Basel". 
  The Lorraine - Luxembourg SERM will help boost transport services along a corridor including Nancy,
• Metz, Thionville and Luxembourg.

Hybrid TER trains

We’re developing less polluting TER rolling stock, including hybrid trains with onboard batteries that recharge through regenerative braking—a move that cuts energy consumption by 20%. The next stage is replacing thermal engines with high-capacity batteries. That’s what they do at CAF’s Reichshoffen plant, where the Régiolis dual-mode (electric-thermal) trainset was transformed into the Régiolis tri-mode (electric-thermal-battery). In 2024, we trialled a hybrid train commercial service on the Strasbourg - Sarreguemines line.

In 2023, we set up SNCF Renouvelables, our solar energy production subsidiary. Over the next 10 years, it will install photovoltaic panels on 1,000 hectares of unused SNCF real estate and generate around 1,000 MWc—that’s 20% of the electricity we currently consume. With two sites eligible for solar energy production—in Mont Saint-Martin and Valleroy—Grand Est is at the forefront of this project. By creating a solar energy business, we’re fostering energy transition and reindustrialization in France’s regions.

SNCF Réseau is improving the region’s infrastructure, ensuring it is safe and robust. For instance, it is upgrading the line and level-crossings between Reims and Laon, at a cost of €71 million.

French SME Fourchard works on SNCF Réseau construction sites. Here's an example of the kind of work they do, here renewing tracks and ballast with our agents on a site near Reims. To this effect they used a tamping machine, the only one of its kind in France.

SNCF employees regularly visit schools, from primary to secondary school, to raise awareness of risks around trains and encourage children to behave responsibly when traveling by rail or in a station. For example, Sandrine Carboni, a technical assistant in Structural Engineering, talked with students at a primary school in Châlons-en-Champagne.