Ligne de Cerdagne

Ligne de Cerdagne
Ligne de Cerdagne
	The unusual rail suspension bridge at Pont Gisclard between Sauto and Planès
Overview
Other name(s)	Yellow Train
Status	operational
Locale	France
Stations	22
History
Opened	1910
Technical
Line length	63 km (39 mi)
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification	850 V DC third rail
Operating speed	55 km/h (34 mph)
Highest elevation	1,593 m (5,226 ft)
Route map
Route map
	Legend
Villefranche-Vernet-les-Bains
Serdinya
Joncet
Olette Canaveilles-les-Bains
Nyer
Thuès-les-Bains
Thuès-Carança
Fontpédrouse
Sauto
Planès
Mont-Louis/La Cabanasse
Bolquère-Eyne (1593 m)
Font-Romeu/Odeillo/Via
Estavar
Saillagouse
Err
Sainte-Léocadie
Osséja
Bourg-Madame
Ur/Les Escaldes
Béna/Fanès
Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg
Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

The Ligne de Cerdagne, usually referred to as Le Petit Train Jaune (English: Little Yellow Train, Catalan: Tren Groc), is a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge railway that runs from Villefranche-de-Conflent to Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg in the French Pyrenees.

History of the Line

The section of line between Villefranche-de-Conflent and Bourg-Madame was declared a public utility by law on 4 March 1903. This same law approved the granting of a concession for the line, signed on 5 December 1902, between the Minister of Public Works and the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Midi et du Canal Latéral à la Garonne. The law also superseded an earlier proposed standard gauge railway which had been authorised between Villefranche-de-Conflent and Olette, but never built.^[1]

A second law was approved on 23 March 1914 to extend the railway from Bourg-Madame to the 'French frontier station' of the transpyrenean line from Ax les Thermes to Ripoll, although the present station name at the terminus of Latour de Carol Enveitg was not mentioned.^[2] The declaration of public utility for this section of the line was confirmed on 4 September 1922.^[3]

Construction started in 1903 and the section to Mont-Louis was completed in 1910, followed by the extension to Latour-de-Carol in 1927.^[4]^[5]

Description of the Line

The line is 63 kilometres (39 mi) long and climbs to 1,593 metres (5,226 ft) at Bolquère-Eyne, the highest railway station in France. The line serves 22 stations, fourteen of which are "request stops" (i.e., the train only stops when specifically requested by passengers). There are 19 tunnels, the longest of which is the Tunnel du Pla de Llaurar with a length of 380 metres (1,250 ft), located at kilometre point 59.639.^[6]

Amongst the various structures along the line are two viaducts over the River Têt classified as Historic Monuments because of their architectural and technical importance:

The Pont Séjourné, a 236.70 meters-long masonry viaduct at kilometer 18.002 in the town of Fontpédrouse ^[7]
The Pont Cassagne (also known as Pont Gisclard) at kilometre 24.422 is 253 metres (830 ft) long and, unusual for a railway bridge, a suspension bridge - the only one in France located on an operating railway.^[8] In 2023, a major project was carried out to replace 12 of the suspension cables.^[9]

The line is single-track with passing loops at, for example, Mont-Louis and Fontpédrouse-Saint-Thomas-les-Bains.

The trains are powered by electricity at 850 volts DC, supplied by third rail. The power is supplied by hydro-electric generators on the River Têt. The maximum speed of the train is 55 km/h (34 mph). Two types of train are used: ones using modern, entirely closed two-car multiple units, and others using old-style trailer carriages and powered carriages - most are enclosed, though open carriages are also used when the weather allows. The open carriages allow dramatic views as the train traverses the twisting route and are popular with tourists. Line maintenance vehicles are stored at Villefranche-de-Conflent.

It is named after its yellow and red colours, derived from the Catalan flag. The line was constructed to provide an all-weather route from the high Cerdagne valley to the coast but, as the adjacent N116 road has been progressively improved, there has been population loss in the Cerdagne and the rail link is now chiefly a tourist attraction. Though its long-term future was in doubt in 2017,^[10] 80 million euros was invested in the line between 2010 and 2023 by the agency 'Plan Rail'.^[9]

List of stations

Crossing a viaduct

km	Station	Altitude (m)^[5]	Local attractions^[5]
0	Villefranche-Vernet-les-Bains (interchange with services to Perpignan)	427	walled town, Fort Liberia, Grottes Les Canalettes
4.990	Serdinya	526
6.229	Joncet	550
9.720	Olette-Canaveilles-les-Bains	608
11.613	Nyer (halt)	664	Nature reserve, exhibition of bats at the Maison de la réserve
13.860	Thuès-les-Bains	747
16.273	Thuès-Carança	789	access to the Gorges de la Carança
19.704	Fontpédrouse-Saint-Thomas-les-Bains	1051	Baths at St-Thomas-les-Bains
22.727	Sauto	1224
25.222	Planès	1373	11th-century church
27.871	Mont-Louis-La Cabanasse	1511	Citadelle de Mont-Louis; Mont-Louis Solar Furnace
30.214	Bolquère-Eyne	1593	summit of the line
34.925	Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via	1534
42.463	Estavar	1328
44.670	Saillagouse	1302
46.613	Err	1335	10th-century church of Our Lady of Err
48.389	Sainte-Léocadie	1281	Musée de Cerdagne
52.835	Osséja	1241
55.689	Bourg-Madame	1144	Espace d'Art Contemporain; border town
58.711	Ur-Les Escaldes	1188	romanesque church
61.384	Béna Fanès
62.561	Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg (interchange with services to Toulouse and Barcelona)	1247	Enveitg castle and baroque chapel

Electrical discharges

In 1911, railway workers reported a fireball on the third rail between kilometres 28 and 40. A similar phenomenon occurred again when a train was hit by one of these fireballs during a thunderstorm. Lightning rods were installed where these events had occurred and the phenomenon has not been reported since installation.

References

^ "N°42960 - Loi ayant pour objet de déclarer d'utilité publique, à titre d'intérêt général, le chemin de fer à voie d'un mètre de Villefranche-de-Conflent à Bourg-Madame et d'approuver la convention passée avec la Compagnie du chemin de fer du Midi pour la concession définitive de ce chemin de fer, au lieu et place de la section comprise entre Villefranche-de-Conflent et Olette de la ligne à voie normale de Prades à Olette: 4 mars 1903". Bulletin des lois de la République Française (in French). 66 (2440). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale: 861–865. 1903.
^ "Loi approuvant une convention provisoire passée avec la Compagnie du chemin de fer du Midi pour la concession éventuelle de diverses lignes de chemin de fer d'intérêt général: 23 mars 1914". Journal officiel de la République Française (84). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale: 2747–2749. 26 March 1914.
^ "Décret du Ministre des travaux publics: 4 septembre 1922". Journal officiel de la République Française (in French) (244). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale: 9238. 9 September 1922.
^ Pourageaux G (2008), Les cent ans du Train Jaune, Editions La vie du rail. (in French)
^ ^a ^b ^c "The yellow train". Pyrenees - Cerdagne. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
^ "INVENTAIRE des TUNNELS FERROVIAIRES de FRANCE: Fiche Tunnel 66066.1, Tunnel de Llaurar" (PDF). tunnels-ferroviaires.org. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
^ "Notice no. PA00132870, base Mérimée". Mérimée : une base de données du patrimoine monumental français de la Préhistoire à nos jours. Ministère français de la Culture. 1996-04-16. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
^ "Notice no PA00135696, base Mérimée". Mérimée : une base de données du patrimoine monumental français de la Préhistoire à nos jours. Ministère français de la Culture. 1996-12-18. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
^ ^a ^b Needham, John (June–July 2023). "2023 Work on 'The Yellow Train'". Locomotives International (143). Upper Seagry: Mainline & Maritime Ltd: 28–31.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^ "Pyrénées-Orientales : les cinq menaces qui planent sur le Train Jaune". France 3. 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2023-03-09.

External links

[1], Train Jaune (Yellow Train) official SNCF page
about-france.com, The Little Yellow Train of the Pyrenees, route, sightseeing, practical information and photos
countrycousins.co.uk, History of the Yellow Train

42°30′14″N 2°07′40″E / 42.50389°N 2.12778°E / 42.50389; 2.12778

[1] "N°42960 - Loi ayant pour objet de déclarer d'utilité publique, à titre d'intérêt général, le chemin de fer à voie d'un mètre de Villefranche-de-Conflent à Bourg-Madame et d'approuver la convention passée avec la Compagnie du chemin de fer du Midi pour la concession définitive de ce chemin de fer, au lieu et place de la section comprise entre Villefranche-de-Conflent et Olette de la ligne à voie normale de Prades à Olette: 4 mars 1903". Bulletin des lois de la République Française (in French). 66 (2440). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale: 861–865. 1903.

[2] "Loi approuvant une convention provisoire passée avec la Compagnie du chemin de fer du Midi pour la concession éventuelle de diverses lignes de chemin de fer d'intérêt général: 23 mars 1914". Journal officiel de la République Française (84). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale: 2747–2749. 26 March 1914.

[3] "Décret du Ministre des travaux publics: 4 septembre 1922". Journal officiel de la République Française (in French) (244). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale: 9238. 9 September 1922.

[pou1-4] Pourageaux G (2008), Les cent ans du Train Jaune, Editions La vie du rail. (in French)

[pcyt-5] "The yellow train". Pyrenees - Cerdagne. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

[6] "INVENTAIRE des TUNNELS FERROVIAIRES de FRANCE: Fiche Tunnel 66066.1, Tunnel de Llaurar" (PDF). tunnels-ferroviaires.org. Retrieved 2023-03-09.

[7] "Notice no. PA00132870, base Mérimée". Mérimée : une base de données du patrimoine monumental français de la Préhistoire à nos jours. Ministère français de la Culture. 1996-04-16. Retrieved 2023-03-09.

[8] "Notice no PA00135696, base Mérimée". Mérimée : une base de données du patrimoine monumental français de la Préhistoire à nos jours. Ministère français de la Culture. 1996-12-18. Retrieved 2023-03-09.

[:0-9] Needham, John (June–July 2023). "2023 Work on 'The Yellow Train'". Locomotives International (143). Upper Seagry: Mainline & Maritime Ltd: 28–31.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

[10] "Pyrénées-Orientales : les cinq menaces qui planent sur le Train Jaune". France 3. 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2023-03-09.

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