To invent the trains of tomorrow, we’ve built teams that include cognitive science experts, physicists and energy engineers, as well as specialists in localization and AI. We’re working on everything from the passenger experience—good station acoustics, comfortable seats and “liveable” trainsets—to overarching issues such as traffic flow, safety, on-time departures and flexibility. The aim is to make rail more competitive with other transport modes, both economically and environmentally.

This is the big issue for the future, and we have an exciting path ahead. Here’s one example. Many of our trains—including all our TGVs—already run on electricity. But meeting SNCF’s commitment to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 sets a very high bar for our industrial innovation effort. We need a mix of technologies to succeed, so we’re moving ahead on all fronts: dual-mode trains, hybrid trains, battery trains, biofuels and hydrogen.

Technologically, the complexity of the problem puts us much closer to the self-driving car, because we have an outdoor system that spans long distances. But we can make our infrastructure a lot smarter. We’re working on this at multiple levels and across multiple time horizons. The reason is simple: with smarter infrastructure and more autonomous trains, the whole system will perform better, economically and environmentally. And this isn’t only for freight and main lines. Our projects focus on new mobilities too.

We’ve worked with the Virgin Hyperloop start-up for 5 years now, and it’s an exciting area for innovation. Compared with us, you could say they started from scratch—or nearly. It’s not rail. It’s not air travel. The technologies are still being developed, and the use patterns haven’t been invented yet. As we track all of this and work with our partners, we’re challenging ourselves in new ways, which is critical in our work. And because SNCF is a rail operator, we’ll be able to have our say and contribute our expertise when the hyperloop dream becomes a reality.

The TGV M will be running by 2024, and it’s packed with innovations at various levels. But there’s another little revolution that we and our partners are leading: hybrid trains, battery trains, biofuel trains and hydrogen trains. All of these are “on track” now. We plan to roll out the hydrogen train in 2025—right around the corner—and it will need a whole support structure. A trainset has a 40-year life, so we’ve always banked on sustainability and continuous transformation. In rail, planned obsolescence is unthinkable! That’s not how we work.

In the 21st century, we need to approach innovation with our minds wide open. We have to stay ahead of both social trends and technological advances. Our sector doesn’t have enough scale to stand on its own, so we make progress by working with the automotive and aerospace industries and with international partners. And frugal innovation was our guiding principle when we suggested new ways to electrify lines—in some places our solution cut costs in half. Mobility is inspiring a wealth of innovations, and we’re now seeing renewed expectations for regional rail. That’s very promising.

We’re working on lighter, modular solutions, micro-station concepts, and connected modules for rural and suburban areas. The challenge is to offer shared alternatives to private cars in every community, with rail as the backbone. We believe strongly in a multifaceted vision of innovation that can take us into this new century.