France Transportation Profile 2012

25/11/2010 France has a system of large, navigable rivers, such as the Loire, Seine and Rhône that cross the country and have long been essential for trade and travel.

The earliest archaeological signs of permanent habitation in the Paris area date from around 4200 BC. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, known as boatsmen and tr

aders, inhabited the area near the river Seine from around 250 BC.

The first important human improvements were the Roman roads linking major settlements and providing quick passage for marching armies. These routes these roads followed are copied today by many 'N' class roads.

Throughout the Middle Ages improvements were sparse and mediocre and transport became slow and cumbersome. The early modern period saw great improvements. There was a proliferation of canals connecting rivers (like the Canal du Midi). It also saw great changes in oceanic shipping. Rather than expensive galleys, wind powered ships that were far faster and had far more cargo space became popular on the coastal trade. Transatlantic shipping with the New World turned cities such as Nantes, Bordeaux, Cherbourg and Le Havre into major ports of international importance.

Railways

Even in France, where, because of water transport, railways were of lesser importance than in other nations, railways were still an extremely important area of economic development. Des

pite already having a well developed water transport system, by 1875 railways were carrying four times as much cargo as canals and rivers combined.

French railways started later, and developed more slowly than those in other nations. While the first railway built in France was in operation in 1832, not long after the first line had opened in Britain, French progress failed to keep pace over the next decade.

After the war of 1870 the French rail system was overhauled and made far more efficient. By 1914 the French rail system was a match for Germany's and played a crucial part in France's victory in the First World War.

In the 1930s Léon Blum's socialist government nationalised the French rail system, along with many other industries, and the transport system was successful in World War II.

After the war the French railway system began a slow movement to electric trains. Eventually TGV high speed trains were introduced providing extremely quick links between France's urban centres.

There is a total of 31,939 kilometres (31,840 km are operated by French national company) of railway in France.

Trains, unlike road traffic, drive on the left (except in Alsace-Moselle). Metro and tramway services are not considered trains and thus generally follow road traffic in driving on the right (except the Lyon Metro).

France has railway links with all adjacent countries, with the exception of Andorra. The connection with Spain involves a break-of-gauge.

Metros

There are a number of metro services operating in France.

• * Paris Métro, operated by the RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) and the RER
• * Laon, Poma 2000
• * Lille, VAL (Véhicule Automatique Léger, "Light Automatic Vehicle"), operated by Transpole.
• * Lyon Metro
• * Marseille, operated by the RTM (Régie des Transports de Marseille)
• * Rennes Metro, VAL
• * Toulouse, VAL

Tramways and light railways

Despite the closure of most of France's tram systems in previous decades, a rapidly growing number of France's major cities have modern tram or light rail networks, including Paris, Lyon, Montpellier, St Etienne, Strasbourg and Nantes (Nantes has the largest French network). Recently the tram has seen a huge revival with many experiments such as ground level power supply in Bordeaux (to avoid the need for overhead wires) or trolleybuses masquerading as trams in Nancy (to provide a quick fix for traffic congestion).

This mode of transport started disappearing in France at the end of the 1930s. Only Lille, Marseille and Saint-Etienne have never abandoned their tram systems. Since the 1980s, several cities have re-introduced it.

The following French towns and cities run light rail or tram systems:

• * Bordeaux, since 2003
• * Caen, since 2002, 'trams on tyres' guided bus system featuring a single guidance rail while running on tyres (partially separate tracks)
• * Clermont-Ferrand, since 2006, 'trams on tyres'
• * Grenoble, since 1987
• * Île-de-France (Paris metropolitan area)
  • o T1 between Saint Denis and Noisy-le-Sec, since 1992
  • o T2 between La Defense and Issy Plaine, since 1997
  • o T3, on the south edge of the city of Paris, between Boulevard Victor and Porte d'Ivry, since 2006
  • o T4, a tram-train between Bondy and Aulnay-sous-Bois RER stations, run by the SNCF, since 2006
• * Lille — Roubaix — Tourcoing (non-stop since 1909)
• * Lyon, since 2001
• * Le Mans, since 2007
• * Marseille, since 2007 (historical network opened 1893 closed in 2004 for renewal)
• * Montpellier, since 2000
• * Mulhouse, since 2006
• * Nancy, since 2000, 'trams on tyres' guided bus system featuring a single guidance rail while running on tyres (partially separate tracks)
• * Nice, since 2007
• * Nantes, since 1985
• * Orléans, since 2000
• * Rouen, since 1994
• * Saint-Etienne (non-stop since 1881)
• * Strasbourg, since 1994
• * Valenciennes, since 2006

Light rail and tram systems are under construction in the following locations in France:

• Angers
• Toulouse

Systems are planned in these locations:

• Brest
• Le Havre
• Reims
• Tours
• Fort-de-France

RoadsThere is a total of 893,300 km of roads in the country, including 12 000 km of motorways and 30 500 km of Routes Nationales (1998 est.). Most motorways in France are toll and operated by private companies such as the Société des Autoroutes de Paris Normandie (SAPN).

Waterways / canals

There are 14,932 km of waterways in France, of which 6,969 km are heavily travelled.

Pipelines

Pipelines in France total 3,059 km in length for the transport of crude oil and for petroleum products, 4,487 km. Natural gas pipelines total 24,746 km.

Sea

France possesses an extensive merchant marine, including 55 ships of size 1,000 gross register tons (GRT) and above. The country also maintains a captive register for French-owned ships in Iles Kerguelen (French Southern and Antarctic Lands).

France also possesses a number of seaports and harbours, including the following: Bayonne, Bordeaux, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Brest, Calais, Cherbourg, Dunkerque, Fos-sur-Mer, La Rochelle-La Pallice, Le Havre, Lorient, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Port-la-Nouvelle, Port-Vendres, Roscoff, Rouen, Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Malo, Sète, Strasbourg, Toulon.

Air travel

There are approximately 478 airports in France (1999 est.) (see List of French Airports) and by a 2005 estimate, there are three heliports. Of the airports, 288 have paved runways, with the remaining 199 being unpaved.

Among the airspace governance authorities active in France, one is Aéroports de Paris, which has authority over the Paris region, managing 14 airports including Charles de Gaulle International Airport and Orly Airport. The former, located in Roissy en France near Paris, is one of Europe's principal aviation centres and is also France's main international airport.

Air France-KLM, the European airline holding company, registered a net loss of US$598mn from April to June 2009. This was mainly due to a sharp decline in cargo business, which prompted the company to ground four more freighters in winter. In the same period, the airline recorded a 22.7% year-on-year (y-oy) slump in cargo traffic despite a 17.2% reduction in capacity. It reported a revenue figure of US$719mn in April to June 2009, down 41.5% y-o-y. Air France-KLM operates in the passenger and cargo transport business, and also offers aircraft maintenance. It is the largest airline company in the world in terms of  operating revenues, and the third largest (and the largest in Europe) in terms of passenger-kilometres.
wE believe the decline in cargo traffic is a result of the global economic downturn, which was having a severe effect on the international airfreight sector.

We are  forecasting that the freight industry will continue to grow through to 2014, at a slightly higher rate than in the preceding five-year period, largely because the average for the earlier period was pulled down by the recession of 2009. The main influence on this growth will be the emergence from the trough of 2009, a recovery that will be moderate verging on weak, but will nevertheless underpin demand for freight. On the plus side, the country has made ongoing improvements to the transport infrastructure, especially to airports and the railways. These include the spread of the airport network beyond the Paris basin and the transference of funding of the railways to the regions. In addition, the government’s plans
for a cleaner transport system, imply the reduction of congestion in road traffic in urban area, something
already felt in the Paris region. Furthermore, the merged Air France and KLM remains a key player,
despite difficulties with its airfreight business.

According to our latest estimates, transport and communications GDP fell by 1.9% in 2009, 0.3 % points less steeply than overall GDP, which we estimate to have fallen by 2.2%. For the 2010- 2014 forecast period, we expect the transport and communications sector to outpace the economy as a whole (largely because of the continuing dynamism of the communications sub-sector). It will achieve average annual growth of 1.9%, versus 1.7 % for overall GDP. The total value of transport and communications GDP will rise to US$204.9bn in nominal terms by 2014, representing 7.2% of France’s GDP.

Overall freight carried will grow by 1.7% per annum during the forecast period, on a par with the average rate of economic growth. A 1.7% average annual growth in both road and rail freight transport is forecast until 2014. Growth of 2.2% a year in the airfreight segment is expected as the industry weathers the recession, while sea freight tonnage will grow by a lower 1.6% per annum, also reflecting the impact of less favourable international conditions.

Major efforts have been made since World War II to improve and modernize the extensive French transportation system and to lessen its historical focus on the Paris metropolitan area. Train service, provided by the state, is fast and efficient, especially on the more than 12,000 km (7,456 mi) of electrified track. The French National Railways' Trains à Grande Vitesse (TGV, "high speed trains") are world famous. In 1988 a consortium of French and British construction companies began work on the English Channel Tunnel or "Chunnel," completed in 1993, which established the first direct rail link between France and Britain. Airlines are also state run; Air France is one of the world's largest airline companies.

France's road system provides access to all parts of the nation. The network of expressways (7,000 km or 4,350 mi) is in the process of being expanded. In 1990 there were 23 million passenger cars and more than 5 million trucks and buses. Waterways carry much of the nation's bulk freight; the three principal waterways deep enough to accommodate the 1,500-ton barges common in Europe are the Rhine River, the Seine between Le Havre and Paris, and the canalized section of the Moselle below Metz.