How to Show a State-Owned Group and Its Subsidiaries on an Org Chart
Draw a state-owned group: the parent holding, its infrastructure and operating subsidiaries, passenger services beneath them, and the line between public network and competitive business.
A state-owned group chart shows the holding company, which subsidiaries run the public network and which compete in markets, and what each line means.
The short version
- Start with the parent holding company and write who holds its shares.
- Label each subsidiary for what it does: infrastructure, passengers, logistics or freight.
- Draw a subsidiary that belongs to another subsidiary under its owner.
- Place services such as regional or high-speed lines under the company that runs them.
- Check the chart against a process, such as an incident investigation, so each step names the right company.
The split between network and services is the point
A state-owned railway group, energy group or postal group often combines a public network with businesses that compete in open markets. The two have different customers, regulators and rules, and a chart that puts every company on one level hides that. A reader should see at a glance which subsidiary manages the infrastructure and which sell services.
Draw the parent holding company first and write who holds its shares. Under it put each subsidiary the group reports in its results, labeled for what it does: infrastructure manager, passenger services, local transport, logistics, freight. If one subsidiary owns another, as a station operator can sit under the infrastructure manager, draw it under its owner, not beside the group.
The chart below is the editable SNCF chart, built from the group's 2025 results and its own description of the 2020 reform. A second chart, a safety incident investigation, shows why the split matters: an incident on the network may need a regulator and an independent lead, and the process must name which company holds each step.
Build a state-owned group in three stages
Watch the SNCF chart grow from the parent holding to the network, then to the passenger and other businesses and their services.
Start with the parent and the public network
Draw the head of the group, the parent holding company and the infrastructure manager, with the station operator beneath it because the infrastructure manager owns it. This is the public side of the group.
Add the businesses that compete
Passenger services, local public transport, logistics and freight sit beside the infrastructure manager. They are separate companies with their own customers, so each gets its own box under the parent.
Add the services each business runs
High-speed, regional and Paris-area services go under passenger services, because that company runs them. They are services, not companies, and the subtitle says so.
Check the split against a real process: a safety investigation
An incident on a public network involves the operator, the regulator and an independent lead. Here is a safety incident investigation built in three stages, so you can check that each step belongs to the right company.
Write the steps and decisions
Start with the report, the care of the injured, making the scene safe, classifying the severity and the decision whether to notify the regulator. Nobody owns a step yet.
Give each step an owner
Give each step a lane for a role at the company that holds the network. If a step needs someone from a passenger company, the chart should show which company that is and what sits above it.
Complete the process with its handoffs
The full process adds the independent investigation, the analysis of causes and the corrective actions. Check that the actions go to the company that can carry them out.
How it works
Start with the parent holding company
Put the parent at the top, label it as the holding company, and write who holds its shares, with the date.
Add the infrastructure manager
Add the subsidiary that manages the network and label it as the infrastructure manager. It is the box the regulator deals with.
Draw owned subsidiaries under their owner
If the infrastructure manager owns the station operator, draw it beneath the manager rather than beside the group.
Add the businesses that compete
Add passenger, local transport, logistics and freight businesses as separate subsidiaries under the parent, using the names in the group's results.
Add services beneath the company that runs them
Add the group's service brands under the passenger company and label them as services, not companies.
Write what the lines mean
Add a note that lines show group membership and ownership, not an instruction chain, and say what the chart leaves out.
Check it against a process
Open a process such as a safety investigation and give each step a lane that matches a role at the right company. Fix gaps in the chart or the process.
Mistakes to avoid
Putting every company on one level
The split between network and competitive services is the point of the chart. Group companies by what they do.
Drawing services as companies
A brand such as a regional service is not a legal entity. Label it as a service under the company that runs it.
Leaving out who holds the shares
A state-owned group is defined by its owner. Write who holds the parent, with a date.
Drawing every legal entity
A group has hundreds of subsidiaries. Draw the ones in its reported segments and say that the chart is a view.
Create your state-owned group chart
Open the editable SNCF chart, replace the companies with your own group and keep the date.
Frequently asked questions
How do I show a state shareholder?
Write it on the parent holding company's box or in a note. The state is an owner, not an operating unit, so it does not need its own box in the tree.
Where does the infrastructure manager go?
Directly under the parent, beside the other subsidiaries, labeled as the infrastructure manager. If it owns another company, draw that company beneath it.
Does a line mean the parent manages the subsidiary?
On this chart a line means ownership or group membership. Management reporting belongs on a people chart.
Can I use this layout for an energy or postal group?
Yes. Replace the infrastructure manager with the network company, and the passenger and freight businesses with the group's other reported businesses.