Private company

Compagnie des chemins de fer algériens de l'État

French metre-gauge railway in Algeria1

The Compagnie des chemins de fer algériens de l'État (CFAE) was a French company established in 1908 in Algeria to operate a network of narrow-gauge railway lines in the regions of Constantine, Oran, and Bône.2 It ceased to exist in 1938.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

Jan 1, 1908Founded1
  • Legal formsociété anonyme1

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Compagnie des Chemins de Fer Algériens de l'État
Photo: Riad Salih, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Compagnie des chemins de fer algériens de l'État (CFAE) was a French company established in 1908 in Algeria to operate a network of narrow-gauge railway lines in the regions of Constantine, Oran, and Bône.2

The story

The company took over the assets of:

Compagnie franco-algérienne

Compagnie de l'Est algérien, which went bankrupt;

Chemin de fer d'Aïn Beïda à Khenchela in 1908;

Chemin de fer Bône-Guelma (April 1915);

Chemin de fer Bône - Mokta - Saint-Charles;

Chemin de fer de Bône à La Calle in 1921;

Compagnie des Chemins de fer sur route d'Algérie;

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PLMA (Philippeville - Constantine line).

On July 2, 1907, the CFAE was granted a local interest railway from Mostaganem to Macta by the Oran department.

The CFAE company became one of the two railway operators, alongside the Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée, on July 1, 1921, and the Algerian network was renamed PLMA. It was dissolved on May 30, 1938, nationalized, and integrated into the SNCF, and on January 1, 1939, it became part of the Office des chemins de fer algériens (OCFA).

From Wikipedia’s article on Compagnie des chemins de fer algériens de l'État, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

Souk Ahras – M'daourouch - Oued Kébérit - Ouenza (84 km): opened on February 10, 1922 (conversion from narrow gauge to standard gauge),

Oulmène - La Meskiana (36 km): opened on July 15, 1925 (narrow gauge),

La Meskiana – Tébessa (57.4 km): opened on October 15, 1925 (narrow gauge),

Sidi Mabrouk (Constantine) – Oued Athmania (43 km): opened on September 1, 1931 (standard gauge),

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Souk Ahras – Oued Keberit (56.2 km): electrified in 1932;

Guelma - Bouchegouf (51.9 km): (standard gauge),

Bône – Bouchegouf (54.8 km): electrified in 1932, (standard gauge),

Akid Abbes – Ghazaouet (54.6 km): opened on March 9, 1936, (standard gauge),

Oued Kébérit – Ouenza (27.8 km): electrified in 1938, (standard gauge).

From Wikipedia’s article on Compagnie des chemins de fer algériens de l'État, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded Compagnie des chemins de fer Bône-Guelma1
  2. Succeeded Compagnie du chemin de fer Bône - Mokta - Saint Charles1
  3. Succeeded by Office des chemins de fer algériens1

Timeline

  1. May 30, 1938Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. Jan 1, 1908Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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