Connecting regions across France: Haut-de-France
Find out how we support tens of thousands of jobs in the region and work with all our stakeholders to make lives better
We contribute to the region’s economic growth
20,035
SNCF Group employees in 2024
26,337
other local jobs supported in 2024
€2.3bn
in purchases from local suppliers
Rail freight—18% of total land-based cargo transport
In Hauts-de-France, rail freight transports 18% of all land-based cargo—double the national average.
Expanding access and service at the Port of Calais
We’re upgrading the Calais main railway line—a 4.4-km stretch between Calais-Ville station and the Dunes rail yard—to boost capacity and efficiency. This track is a vital rail link for marine freight traffic, connecting the port to the wider rail network. Currently freight trains make 3-4 return trips a day between the port and Calais-Ville station. Our goal is to raise this to 15 by 2040. Network operator SNCF Réseau is the contracting authority for this ambitious project, with key upgrades including regeneration of track components and installation of noise barriers. Works are set to be completed by June 2025 as part of an €81 million package co-funded by the French State (81%) and the Hauts-de-France region (19%).
Actively enhancing quality of life in the region
Delivering healthcare through a nursing centre at Soissons station
Fifteen nurses, a secretary and a coordinating nurse from AMSAM, the Association Médico-Sociale Anne Morgan, are now working from a 96 sq. m. nursing hub at Soissons rail station. This non-profit organization offers 14 medical services including home healthcare and nursing, care for Alzheimer’s patients, support for marginalized populations, promoting health and self-care, housing solutions ranging from independent residences to emergency accommodation.
In recent years, AMSAM has prioritized practice-based nursing solutions to better meet the needs of local residents. And basing operations at Soissons station in premises managed by SNCF Gares & Connexions, our station management subsidiary, is one way to serve the community more effectively.
Replacing diesel engines with batteries
In partnership with Alstom and the Hauts-de-France region, SNCF Voyageurs is currently testing battery-powered TER regional trains. The aim is to replace bi-modal trainsets that use power supplied by catenaries and thermal engines with fully electric models, replacing thermal engines with lithium-ion batteries. Commercial service will start up on a trial basis in 2026 on the Arras – Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise – Béthune line.
Powering homes with a mobile solar plant
At Lille Mont-de-Terre, we’re conducting trials with a mobile solar plant installed on a disused railway site. The system is connected to a nearby residence managed by ICF Habitat, an SNCF subsidiary managing social housing. The solar plant supplies 100% renewable energy directly to the building’s communal areas, with all electricity generated on site. It’s a ground-breaking initiative that highlights SNCF Immobilier’s commitment to advancing the energy transition through sustainable living solutions.
Making urban travel easier for everyone
Keolis, an SNCF subsidiary and global leader in shared mobility, is transforming transportation in the Hauts-de-France region. The company operates and maintains Lille’s Ilevia network, offering a wide range of transport options to meet residents’ needs—from metros, trams and buses to on-demand transport, solutions for people with reduced mobility (PRM), V’Lille self-service bike rentals and more.
With the renewal of a 7-year contract by the local Mobility Organizing Authority, Keolis is set to further enhance travel options for residents across Lille’s 95 communes.
Keolis wins a new 6-year contract in Amiens
reater Amiens has awarded Keolis a new 6-year contract to operate and manage the Ametis transport network serving the metropolitan area. Since 2019, we’ve been working to transform and modernize this network, which offers sustainable, innovative and ever more efficient mobility solutions to the city’s 180,000 inhabitants and visitors.
Under the new €245 million contract, Keolis will operate 4 Nemo HQPT lines, 14 local lines tailored to community needs, 13 school bus lines and 8 transport-on-demand services.
The Ametis network covers 39 communities with nearly 790 stops, and is expected to handle 17.3 million journeys annually over the next 6 years.
Tackling road congestion across Hauts-de-France
Our SNCF Réseau and SNCF Gares & Connexions teams are active members of the SERM Hauts-de-France project. It’s designed to ease congestion and travel for 5 million people in the Flanders, Calais, Valenciennes, Douais, Cambrésis and Arrageois regions by offering practical solutions based on a modal shift to rail.
The project calls for doubling rail capacity, with up to 8 trains an hour, and extending train service hours from 5 am to 11 pm. The SERM project also includes developing a new Hauts-de-France express network, building a 40-km rail line between Lille and Hénin-Beaumont, and creating a new city-centre station in Lille.
Teaching rail safety to youngsters
During the 2023/2024 school year, 12,646 children—from kindergarten through secondary school—took part in our rail safety classroom sessions, offered across the region. Taught by rail employees, sessions are designed to educate and protect the next generation by promoting safe practices aboard trains, near railways and in stations.
How SNCF Foundation initiatives help young people find jobs...
In Hauts-de-France, we’re equipping young people with the tools they need for success by supporting non-profits focused on career development and entrepreneurship. Students learn about the working world and get help starting their own businesses.
Here's a video report from Arras, shot during a Youth Outreach Day organized at the Ecole de la 2e chance by SNCF Foundation and NGO Unis-Cité: fifteen Group employees came to share their experience with young people looking for work in order to help them prepare for their job search and interviews.
In Hauts-de-France, SNCF agents help out l'École de la 2ᵉ chance
... And encourage them to work for the environment
Our partner associations also promote environmental awareness through lectures, workshops and documentaries.
Makesense, for example, helps young people from working-class backgrounds to get involved in the ecological transition, with our help. Interview.
Our partners speak for themselves: learn more about Makesense
Modernizing the rail network
SNCF Réseau is funding major track and infrastructure works in Hauts-de-France to upgrade the entire system.
Share the article