AL

Company History: The Administration des chemins de fer d'Alsace et de Lorraine or AL (English: Alsace and Lorraine Railways) was a rail transport administration created on 19 June 1919, after the Alsace-Lorraine was re-integrated into France. It operated in what are currently the French department of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle. It is the successor of the 'Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine', when Alsace-Lorraine was part of the German empire. From this history, it has retained right-hand driving, whereas the rest of the French railway network is operated with left-hand driving.
On 1 January 1938, the AL were nationalised, as were the other main railway companies, to become part of the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF).

Read more on Wikipedia (in French)

Successor/Parent History: SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français; "National society of French railways" or "French National Railway Company") is France's national state-owned railway company and manages the rail traffic in France and the Principality of Monaco. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network. Its functions include operation of railway services for passengers and freight, and maintenance and signalling of rail infrastructure.

SNCF employs more than 180,000 people in 120 countries around the globe. The railway network consists of about 32,000 km (20,000 mi) of route, of which 1,800 km (1,100 mi) are high-speed lines and 14,500 km (9,000 mi) electrified. About 14,000 trains are operated daily. The company has its headquarters in Saint Denis (93200), near Paris, 2 place aux Etoiles.

In 2010 SNCF was ranked 22nd in France and 214th globally on the Fortune Global 500 list.

It is the main business of the SNCF group, which in 2014 employed 245,763 people and had 27.2 billion € of sales in 120 countries.

From Wikipedia

Brief History: France is one of Europe’s largest countries. It is bordered by six countries other nations: Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the southeast and Spain to the southwest. The United Kingdom borders France via the English Channel. The country is considered to be the gateway to Europe as there are several large international airports (two of these can be found in Paris), ferry terminals and the French rail service.

In 486, Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship. In 843, Western Francia was established from the division of the Carolingian Empire. In 1789, the French monarchy was overthrown, and in 1792, the First French Republic was founded. In 1958, the Fifth French Republic was established.