Railway companies own vast tracts of land, and some of it is track that trains no longer use. For a big electricity user, that raises an obvious question about whether those idle rails could earn their keep. SNCF , the national operator of France, has begun to ask whether they could serve as small power plants, and its engineers started answering in a very literal way in January 2025. At the Achères technical centre in the Yvelines department, west of Paris, eight solar panels mounted on wheels were installed straight onto an underused track and left to produce electricity for a six-month trial. The SNCF Group describes the system, called SOLVEIG, as fully reversible, with no groundwork or permanent anchoring, since the track itself serves as the foundation.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
