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Chemins de fer de l'Est

The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est, sometimes referred to as "Compagnie de l'Est" or "l'Est", is a French limited liability company that was founded on December 17, 1845, under the name of Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Strasbourg. L'Est became one of the six major French railway companies that was nationalized in 1938, to form the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF). The Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Strasbourg started as the company that operated the railway line from Paris to Strasbourg. The name was changed on January 21, 1854, following the acquisition of two other railway companies, the "Compagnie du chemin de fer de Montereau à Troyes" and the "Compagnie du chemin de fer de Blesme et Saint-Dizier à Gray", and the obtaining of new concessions. The acquisitions and the new concessions were granted by Imperial Decree in 1853. These involved concessions from Paris to Mulhouse, with a branch line to Coulommiers; from Nancy to Gray via Épinal and Vesoul; and from Paris to Vincennes and Saint-Maur. The main station of the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Strasbourg, located in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, was named "Embarcadère de Strasbourg" upon its opening in 1849, as Strasbourg was the terminus of the line that began at the terminal station. After the start of construction of the railway line to Mulhouse, the station was renamed to its current name, Paris Gare de l'Est, in 1854. Further acquisitions quickly followed: the "Compagnie du chemin de fer de Strasbourg à Bâle" was acquired in1854, the "Compagnie du chemin de fer de Mulhouse à Thann" on May 29, 1858, and the "Compagnie des chemins de fer des Ardennes" on June 11, 1863. The Compagnie de l'Est lost part of its railway network, more specifically in Moselle and Alsace, due to the Franco-Prussian War and the subsequent transfer of Alsace-Lorraine to the German Empire in 1871. After the end of the First World War, l'Est was no longer interested in taking back management of this network, as it had since been completely reconfigured, including in terms of signaling and direction of travel—right-hand travel as was customary in Germany at the time. For that reason, a French state-owned company, the "Administration des chemins de fer d'Alsace et de Lorraine", was established in 1919 to manage this part of the network until the end of 1937, when this network also became part of the SNCF.

August 5th ,  2026

 

 
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