THE declaration of public utility to build a high-speed line from Poitiers to Limoges, which was granted in January 2015, has been annulled by France's State Council. This is the first time a French high-speed project has suffered such a fate.

FRENCH prime minister Mr Manuel Valls confirmed on February 6 that the government will contribute a further €500m towards the €3.7bn western extension of Paris RER Line E from St Lazare to Mantes-la-Jolie.

FRENCH transport minister Mr Alain Vidalies has approved the preliminary route and station locations for the 150km Montpellier - Perpignan high-speed line, paving the way for a public inquiry into the project, which is expected to begin at the end of this year.

ONE year on from the merger of French National Railways (SNCF) and infrastructure owner French Rail Network (RFF) into a single organisation with SNCF Mobility as the operator and SNCF Network the infrastructure manager, SNCF president Mr Guillaume Pepy says work is progressing to transform SNCF into an international transport group.

UPDATED NOVEMBER 16 13.50 CET: A TGV carrying out tests on the recently-completed second phase of the TGV Est high-speed line between Paris and Strasbourg derailed in the Bas-Rhin area of Alsace on November 14, killing 11 people and injuring 42, 12 of them seriously.

UNDER the French government's national accessibility programme, French National Railways (SNCF) has agreed to invest €820m during the next nine years to improve access for mobility-impaired passengers to 160 national points of access defined by the Ministry of Transport.

THE train operating arm of French National Railways, SNCF Mobility, achieved a 3.7% increase in turnover to $14.26bn for the first half of 2015 due to a slight improvement in the French economy, special offers to stimulate rail travel, and strong growth in SNCF's Keolis and Geodis subsidiaries.

FRENCH infrastructure manager SNCF Network has begun work on a €110.5m project to reinstate the 22km link between Belfort and the town of Delle on the Swiss border, which was abandoned in 1992.