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1945 to 1981
- locomotive like that which set up a new speed record of 331km/h in 1955 .
- (Photo : SECO-RAIL)
- BB 12125 locomotive
- (Photo : SECO-RAIL)
A period of contrasts.
Modernization continued after reconstruction with the electrification of all high traffic lines, the abandonment of steam after arduous discussions and the construction of automatic marshalling yards.
In 1950 the SNCF, which had hitherto used a 1500 volt dc supply, conducted its first traction trials with trains direclty connected to the 25,000 volt ac industrial supply. As a result of this decision a new speed record of 243km/h was set up in 1954 on the Paris-Lyon line on the journey between Dijon and Beaune.
On 29 March 1954 on the Bordeau-Dax line between Lamothe and Morcenx BB 9004 locomotive set up a new speed record of 331km/h.
This record was a spectactular achievement for the time, and remained unbroken until the advent of the TGV.
Between 1970 and 1985, the Paris Regional Express Network (RER) was created, extending several suburban rapid transit metro lines, and metros began also to be built in Lyon and Marseille first, then Lille and Toulouse.
