The National Rail Transportation Company — is Algeria's national railway operator. The SNTF, a state-owned company, currently has a monopoly over Algeria's network of, although it is currently utilising only. Out of the total railway network, are and are narrow gauge.
History
The beginnings
The history of the railway in Algeria began with the colonization of the country by France. On April 8, 1857, a decree ordered the creation of of railways, beginning with the construction of a standard gauge line from Algiers to Blida, which started on December 12, 1859. The privateCompagnie des chemins de fer algériens started working on the line with the help of the French army on July 11, 1860. At the same time, the company obtained permission to create an Oran-Sig line and a Constantine-Skikda line, however due to economic difficulties, only the Algiers-Blida line was finished, and it was subsequently opened to the public on September 8, 1862. Afterwards, 5 other companies started the construction of new lines, these are:
After 1879, France divided the railway lines being built into categories of local interest or of general interest, with only the latter being eligible to receive state funding. The July 18, 1879 decree defined the extent of some "general interest" lines and ordered the construction of a further of railways to expand the existing network. From 1879-1906, the following lines were finished, totalling :
In 1946, Algeria's total railway network contained a total of of active lines, in addition to mine lines, significantly more than the current network. After a while, the private companies were unable to maintain economic stability, which led the French government to buy the Franco - Algérienne, Est Algérien, Bône-Guelma and Ouest Algérien in 1900, 1908, 1905 et 1920 respectively. On September 27, 1912, the state-owned Compagnie des Chemins de Fer Algériens de l'Etat assumed control of all lines, except those owned by the Compagnie Paris - Lyon - Méditerranée. On July 1, 1921, the CFAE and PLM agreed to share the Algerian railway network with the PLM operating the Algiers-Oran, Oran-Aïn Témouchent, Sidi Bel Abbès-Tlemcen-Oujda-Crampel, Blida-Hassi Bahbah lines while the CFAE operated the rest. On May 30, 1938, both companies were incorporated into the newly founded SNCF, which operated all of France's railway network, with the Algerian network becoming a région. On January 1, 1939, the Office des Chemins de fer Algériens was created, focusing on the Algerian network. On June 30, 1959, an agreement was made between the French government and the OCFA, and on January 1, 1960 the Société des Chemins de Fer Français en Algérie was created as a result. This new company operated Algeria's railways until its replacement by the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Algériens on June 16, 1963, a year after Algeria's independence.
Post-Independence
On March 30 1976, the SNCFA split into the following companies:
SNERIF, for the renewal and extension of the network;
SIF, for the engineering and modernization of the infrastructure.
This reorganization was to improve the railway network and services in Algeria, however it proved unsuccessful and the two latter companies were reintegrated into the SNTF. In 1980, a convention for the relations between the Algerian state and the SNTF was signed, officially called decree N° 88-128 of June 28, 1988. This convention is still in effect and regulates the salaries of the workers and the maintenance of the infrastructure, and bears similarities with the June 1959 convention. In December 1990, the SNTF became an EPIC.
Recent investments
Large investment programs were launched after 1980 to improve the Algerian railway network, such as the construction of the Jijel-Ramdane-Djamel line, the Béni Saf area railway, providing transportation for its cement plant, and in the Saïda and Aïn Touta area. In addition to that, about of track were replaced, both the track ballast and the railroad ties, as well as the doubling of the tracks of the Rocade Nord in Algiers. Many train stations all over the country were modernized or even reconstructed, and there were also many improvements to the railway in the vincities of Algiers and Annaba. A new, separate organisation, Anesrif, has been created to manage infrastructure investment whilst SNTF concentrates on day-to-day operations. Anesrif has awarded a series of contracts to build new infrastructure and upgrade existing lines, including the construction of a single-track line from Relizane to Tiaret and Tissemsilt, forming part of the High Plateau line.
Rolling stock
As of 2017 SNTF's rolling stock inventory consisted of:
