Final Day of France’s Private Railways Before Formation of SNCF

The French railway landscape underwent a major transformation at the end of 1937. The nation’s primary private and state rail networks—including the PLM, Paris‑Orléans (PO), Midi, Est, Nord, and the government‑run État—operated independently for the last time on 31 December 1937. Financial instability, the economic crisis of the 1930s, and pressures to standardize operations led to the creation of SNCF, which officially began operations on 1 January 1938 as a state‑controlled enterprise. The change consolidated management, maintenance, and investment under a unified national system, laying the foundation for France’s later electrification programs and the TGV high‑speed network.