Ligne de Cerdagne

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. Construction started in 1903 and the section to Mont-Louis was completed in 1910, followed by an extension to Latour-de-Carol in 1927.[1][2]

Ligne de Cerdagne
The unusual rail suspension bridge at Pont Gisclard between Sauto and Planès
Overview
Other name(s)Yellow Train
Statusoperational
LocaleFrance
Stations22
Operation
Opened1910
Technical
Line length63 km (39 mi)
Track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification850 V DC third rail
Operating speed55 km/h (34 mph)
Highest elevation1,593 m (5,226 ft)

It 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 and two bridges, one of which is, unusual for a railway bridge, a suspension bridge. 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 but when the weather allows, open carriages are also used. 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 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 whose long-term future is in doubt.

List of stations
Crossing a viaduct
km Station Altitude (m)[2] Local attractions[2]
0Villefranche-de-Conflent-Vernet-les-Bains-Fuilla
(interchange with services to Perpignan)		427walled town, Fort Liberia, Grottes Les Canalettes
4.990Serdinya526
6.229Joncet550
9.720Olette-Canaveilles-les-Bains608
11.613Nyer (halt)664Nature reserve, exhibition of bats at the Maison de la réserve
13.860Thuès-les-Bains747
16.273Thuès-Carança789access to the Gorges de la Carança
19.704Fontpédrouse-Saint-Thomas-les-Bains1051Baths at St-Thomas-les-Bains
22.727Sauto1224
25.222Planès137311th-century church
27.871Mont-Louis-la Cabanasse1511Citadelle de Mont-Louis; Mont-Louis Solar Furnace
30.214Bolquère-Eyne1593summit of the line
34.925Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via1534
42.463Estavar1328
44.670Saillagouse1302
46.613Err133510th-century church of Our Lady of Err
48.389Sainte-Léocadie1281Musée de Cerdagne
52.835Osséja1241
55.689Bourg-Madame1144Espace d'Art Contemporain; border town
58.711Ur-les-Escalde1188romanesque church
61.384Béna Fanès
62.561Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg
(interchange with services to Toulouse and Barcelona)		1247Enveitg 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.

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References
  1. Pourageaux G (2008), Les cent ans du Train Jaune, Editions La vie du rail. (in French)
  2. "The yellow train". Pyrenees - Cerdagne. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

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