The electrification to the South of France was earlier than in the North.

There were some very early AC electrifications by the Midi, but at that time, DC was simpler and more reliable. And that's why the South got DC.

AC with industrial frequency (aka 50 Hz) had first installations in the late 1950s, in the Lorraine (with heavy coal and ore trains) and in the Savoie (steeper grades). And then, the advantages of 25 kV/50 Hz became more and more obvious, so that fundamentally new electrifications were AC.

There are some conversions, mainly in the Savoie, and surrounding. The French part of the Genève RER will be AC, and they are right now converting Genève - Bourg-en-Bresse to AC (also in order to keep things simpler with the TGVs to Genève).

Those lines meaning AC electrification towards the South of France are high-speed lines (and the Côte d'Azur is indeed AC electrified…

I don't think that there will be major conversions, because the SNCF buys only multisystem locomotives and EMUs nowadays.


I don't see much potential for further transformations, unless there are major issues. The SNCF pretty much orders multisystem locomotives and EMUs nowadays,