National Public Transit
The vast majority of France's national railway system is operated by the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais (SNCF), a state corporation founded in 1938. This includes the standard railroad network throughout the country, the famous Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) high-speed trains, and commuter rail.
There are six train stations in Paris: Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est, Gare de Lyon, Gare d'Austerlitz, Gare Montparnasse, and Gare Saint-Lazare.
Intercités
Intercités, formerly Corail Intercités, is France's "regular" passenger rail system. While early French railways were predominantly owned and operated by private companies, the French government has always closely regulated the development of railways in order to prevent the wasteful duplication of lines and proliferation of gauges which plagues the United States and United Kingdom. However, one after another the private railways failed and were bought out by the State; by 1938, SNCF controlled essentially all long distance railways in France.
Train à Grande Vitesse
Train à Grande Vitesse is France's high-speed passenger rail system. TGV trains run on their own dedicated Ligne à Grande Vitesse lines, which are grade seperated standard gauge double tracks with 25 kV 50 Hz AC electrical lines overhead. The TGV network extends beyond the borders of France, both through the direct sale of TGV trains and equipment to foreign customers and through the creation of TGV-compatible derivatives such as the UK's Eurostar, Switzerland's Lyria, and the French-Belgian Thalys.
Regional Public Transit (Paris)
Paris has hands down the best overall public transit system of any city in the world. Since 1949, the subway and bus lines have been operated by the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) transit authority, the result of merging the previously seperate transit authorities for the Métro system and the bus system. Other elements of the system are jointly operated by RATP and SNCF.
Paris Métro
Paris Métro has been the primary element of the Parisian public transit system since its first line opened during the 1900 Exposition Universelle. While not the first underground railway system in the world -- that was the London Underground -- the Métro system is the origin of the term "metro" as a common synonym for urban public transit, from "Compagnie du Chemin de Fer Métropolitain de Paris".
At present, the Méetro has fourteen core lines wwhichc are sequentially numbered 1 thru 14 in order of creation, and two branch lines which carry the same number as their corresponding main line (3bis and 7bis). An additional four "orbital" lines (15-18) are currently under construction to expand the system beyond Paris city limits into the surrounding suburbs, as are extensions of several existing lines. Parisians typically refer to the lines by terminus since they do not follow straight courses.
Between 1956 and 1974, Métro Lines 11, 1, 4, and 6 were converted from standard gauge steel-wheel rail vehicles to rubber-tyred metro vehicles. These lines were selected on the basis of having the steepest grades to climb (11), the highest usage (1 and 4), and the most significant noise concerns (6, due to its above-ground sections). It was then decided that none of the other existing lines would be converted as originally intended, but that going forward all new lines would use rubber tyres. This was put into effect with Line 14 in 1998, and the new 15 through 18 currently under construction. In addition, fully automated central operation with no on-board driver was introduced with Line 14, and has since been retrofitted to Line 1 and Line 4.
The rolling stock currently used in the Meacute;tro consists of Alstom Metropolis series electrical multiple units with DC power fed by a third rail. The steel-wheeled sets are designated as Métro Fer (MF) and the rubber-tyred sets are designated as Métro sur Pneu (MP), plus in all cases a numeric designation for appel d'offre. Current models are MF 01, MF 88, MF 77, and MF 67 for steel, and MP 14, MP 05, MP 89, and MP 59 for pneumatic, although the MP 59s are only used on Line 11 and are slated for retirement once the full order of MP 14s has been delivered.
Trams
Paris' historic tramways, which predated the Métro system, were completely eliminated in the 1930s under extensive lobbying from the automobile and oil industry. However, starting in the early 1990s, new tram lines started being built in the outlying suburbs of Paris as higher-capacity replacements for the most heavily overloaded bus routes. There are now a total of thirteen tram lines, with the majority using standard gauge steel-wheel light rail rolling stock, four (T4, T11, T12, and T13) utilizing tram-train rolling stock which can operate as both light rail and mainline rail, and two (T5 and T6) using Translohr trackless-tram technology.
Since they replace high use bus routes, the new tramway lines operate independently of each other and are generally not connected, although they exist within the context of a highly interconnected public transit system.
Réseau Express Régional
Réseau Express Régional (RER) is a hybrid subway ⁄ commuter rail system running between Paris and its outlying suburbs, jointly operated by RATP and SNCF. There are five RER lines: A, B, C, D, and E.
The rolling stock used for the RER consists entirely of standard gauge, dual-voltage electric multiple units running in trains of four or five. Lines A, C, D, and E run double deck cars, and Line B runs single deck cars.
Transilien
Transilien is the commuter rail network serving the Île-de-France region, with a total of eight lines connecting Paris to major suburbs: H, J, K, L, N, P, R, and U. It is the equivalent of the Transport Express Régional (TER) regional rail networks elsewhere in France.
The rolling stock used on Transilien consists primarily of standard-gauge, dual-voltage electrical multiple units. Lines H, J, K, L, and P use SNCF Class Z 50000 "Francilian" single deck cars in seven-car and eight-car trainsets of five motorized cars and three or four unpowered trailers. Lines N and R use SNCF Class Z 57000 Regio 2N double-deck cars in eight-car trains. Line U uses SNCF Class Z 8800 double-deck cars in four-car trains.