Transilien () is the brand name given to the commuter rail network serving Île-de-France, the region surrounding and including the city of Paris. The network consists of eight lines: H, J, K, L, N, P, R, and U, each operated by SNCF, the state-owned French railway company. The lines begin and end in major Parisian stations, but unlike the RER network, the Transilien trains do not cross through the Paris city centre.
The Transilien brand was established on 20 September 1999 as a way to unify the suburban network that existed since the late nineteenth century. The name "Transilien" is a derivative of Francilien, the demonym for people living in Île-de-France. As part of the rebranding effort, stations and rolling stock were modernized.
The area covered does not correspond exactly with the boundaries of the Île-de-France region, with some lines crossing into other regions. On the other hand, some stations located at the margins of the Île-de-France region, are not served by Transilien routes, but instead TER trains from neighboring regions.
Transilien trains operate over tracks owned by SNCF Réseau (formerly RFF) and the same tracks are used by mainline passenger trains (TGV and Intercités), by other transport operators (Renfe, Deutsche Bahn, Eurostar, Thalys, and Venice-Simplon Orient Express) and by freight trains.
Although not strictly part of the network, the Transilien brand can also be seen on the RER C, D and E lines and tramway lines 4 and 11, which are operated by the same division of SNCF.
History
Appearance of first suburban trains
The first line in the suburbs of Paris opened on August 26, 1837, between Paris' (Saint-Lazare station) and Saint-Germain (the line stops temporarily at Le Pecq). This line was handed over to the RATP on 1 October 1972, when RER A was commissioned. Its immediate success led to the creation of numerous lines, primarily intended to link the main cities of France. Suburban service has long been marginal for large companies, with the exception of the West, where several short lines crossing residential areas are seeing their local traffic increase sharply. The creation of workers subscriptions marked a sharp increase in traffic, and especially, at the beginning of the massive urbanization at Paris' periphery, with the phenomenon of migrant workers.
Influence of lines on urbanization around Paris
The housing cost's increase as a result of major Haussmann works and the hygienic conditions inside Paris prompted workers and then employees working in the capital to live in the rural suburbs. The suburban trains allowed them and still allow them to rally their jobs inside the Île-de-France.
The successive topographic maps of the French IGN show the urbanization of the Parisian suburbs over the decades near the stations of the suburban lines. In the region, especially south of the capital, these lines follow the bottom of the valleys because the steam traction did not support the steep gradients: the urbanization of the trays takes place later with the advent of the automobile for the general public during the second half of the 20th century. The automobiles allowed people either to go directly to work, or to live at a distance from the station, where the land prices and rents are lower than in the immediate vicinity of the stations.
Geographers sometimes use pictured expressions to describe these two periods: the urbanization is done in "fingers of a glove" along the lines of suburban trains (the center of the glove being in Paris), then in a "spot of oil" with the car that allows to live a little further from the station.
Post-World War II
In 1938, the new SNCF exploited the disparate lines and materials bequeathed by the big companies. If the West seems to be very favored, with its electrified lines and powerful self-propelled equipment, the remaining of the network was still very far from these standards. During the Second World War, the traffic was strongly disorganized and drastically limited. Bombings destroyed depots and parts of the rolling stock. The transport conditions were particularly tedious, and remained so for several years after the end of the conflict, a period when much had to be rebuilt. The bad memories of these difficult years, and the individual transports' multiplication reduced the traffic, with regression from 1946 to 1958, and an even worse situation between 1952 and 1958.