The implementation of the first railway in Savoy is a subject that has long been in the shadow of the breakthrough studies of the Mont -Cenis . However, the story of this mode and the intentions behind the construction of this network are prior to the operation of this book ( 1871 ) and even the beginnings of its opening ( 1857 ) . This tunnel is obviously an essential or central element, it made the quest for continuity modal rail across Europe connecting the North Italian peninsula. But it is also the result of a technical, economic and political process that began in the 1830s. The interest of railway in Savoy and lies not only in the technical achievement it represents. It should , in the light of developments in recent historiography , examine this singular object in more than one way . This singularity is due to two major elements around which it is possible to problematize the proposed treatment: prior to most railways established in the Alps, and particularly unstable political context. The question of the unification of Italy , the annexation of Savoy to France , the evolution of Franco-Sardinian Franco-Italian relations and help shape the railway which is a more or less direct emanation . On the linker between the center and the periphery of " beyond the mountains " ( Sardinian time) , the railway becomes a tool for screening international European level with the tunnel before becoming an issue of integration a periphery in the french territory. Local and social issues as well as the performances are, however, not be neglected , as we invite recent developments that may be characterized by the passage of a story of transport at a story of mobility . The proposed reflection tends considering these elements , to question the railway Savoie 1830s to the 1880s as the mirror of a convergence ambitions in the same territory through politically. The railway in Savoy, while remaining a political instrument and a financial adventure that must adapt to the geopolitical context , would it not deeper node confrontation between local research opportunities and international interests ?
