France Plans €100 billion investment in rail travel by 2040

France plans to strengthen its rail network with an investment of around €100 billion ($106 billion) in train travel by 2040, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Friday. 

The project, which aims to modernize and expand the country’s aging rail network, will include money from state-owned train operator SNCF, the European Union and local governments, Borne said. 

Running more trains, shortening journeys, and increasing punctuality are the only ways to make rail travel  “an attractive and credible alternative to cars,” she added. 

Macron’s government has sought to restore some of the country’s night trains for longer journeys, and in January, France and Germany announced the deployment of a Paris-Berlin high-speed service. 

Shares in French train maker Alstom rose as much as 4.1% on Friday.