Branch Line News International (ISSN 1354-0947), a newsletter about the world's railway geography and infrastructure October 1992 to December 1993 archived text (BLN 692 - BLN 720) BLN 692.01][FR] Lille avoiding line: Engineering work for the TGV-Nord line will close Lille-Flandres station from 2330 Friday 7 to 1530 Saturday 8 May 1993; it seems likely that the avoiding line, on which no passenger trains are normally booked, will be used, with alternative suburban calls. BLN 692.02][FR] Douai-Cambrai: From 25 January to 21 May 1993 buses will substitute for weekday trains to allow electrification work. BLN 692.03][FR] Cambrai avoiding line: SNCF winter sports services are simplified, and it appears the sole pair of trains definitely using an unusual route are a 1921 Tourcoing-Briançon (26 February only) and a 1720 Briançon-Tourcoing (6 March only), both conveying couchettes only. BLN 692.04][FR] Rhône valley diversions: The following SNCF trains, shown to call at Le Teil instead of Montélimar this winter, take the normally freight-only line on the right (western) bank of the river south of Livron: 0721 Lyon Perrache - Montpellier 3 Oct; 14,20,21,23,24 Nov; 5,6 Dec; 9,10 Jan 0740 TGV Paris - Marseille 5 to 11 Dec; 4,9,10 Jan 0747 TGV Paris - Montpellier M-F till 4 Dec; 3 Oct; 14,21 Nov; 5 to 11 Dec; 4,9,10 Jan 0740 TGV Toulon - Paris 3 Oct, 6 Dec 0750 TGV Béziers - Paris 3 Oct, M-F 5 Jan to 5 Mar 0828 TGV Montpellier - Paris 6 Dec BLN 692.05][FR/CH] Franco-Swiss border PSUL: The SNCF line from Evian-les-Bains along the south shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) to St.Gingolph and on to Le Bouveret in Switzerland saw reintroduction of a summer tourist passenger service from 2 June to 20 September 1992, comprising one return working TThSO with diesel traction and one SuO with steam, thus making it again possible to circle the lake by rail, with two options at the western end: the long way round via Bellegarde SNCF, or cutting the corner by a tram/trolleybus between Genève Cornavin, the main SBB/SNCF station, and Genève Eaux-Vives, the quiet single-platform terminus for trains to/from Evian. BLN 692.06][CH] Gauge & current variety: From the standard-gauge 15kV ac main line of the SBB (more properly FFS in that area) at Martigny, the metre-gauge 800V dc Martigny-Châtelard railway climbs away, first under catenary, then swings on to a third-rail rack section to Le Châtelard just short of the border; the line then continues, with some through running between the MC and the SNCF, to Vallorcine in France. From Le Châtelard-Giétroz a funicular 1.3km long rises 692m to Château d'Eaux, where it meets a 600mm-gauge railway, equipped with 4 battery-electric locos and a diesel, running on a spectacular 1.6km route along the very edge of a valley through 3 tunnels to Emosson. This line, formerly the Emosson power station works railway, used to continue through 3 more tunnels to a dam, but except for a loco run-round in the first tunnel, the track is lifted beyond Emosson. For those still eager to try yet another change of traction, a modern 'Minifunic' allows further progress upward in a single funicular car holding 10 persons. BLN 692.07][CH] Longest tunnel?: Swiss voters in a 27 September referendum endorsed their government's AlpTransit plan whose main feature is a large-bore Gotthard base-tunnel between 49 and 57km long to convey EC 44-tonne lorries through the country on trains rather than letting them roam on Swiss roads from which they are currently barred. BLN 692.08][IT] Valle d'Aosta: Rusty track remains for several hundred metres beyond the present terminus at Pré St.Didier; did the 32km FS branch from Aosta once extend further? BLN 694.01][ES] Medina del Campo-Segovia: Service on this 93km broad-gauge electrified RENFE line was due to be reduced to a single stopping passenger train each way MWFO in the new timetable beginning 18 October 1992, according to the guard on the Cl.440 3-car emu working the line the previous day. Traffic, already sparse, seems likely to vanish completely, with closure a possible outcome soon. BLN 694.02][ES] Burgos-Madrid: The 282km 'cutoff' line, opened only in 1968, is single-track on double formation, unelectrified, with 1/100 gradients and plenty of curvature and tunnels, running through rough hilly country offering little traffic. Many of the stations - built with government money to a lavish design before the Civil War, with little regard for likely custom, and at points remote from settlements - were sensibly never opened by the RENFE and are now magnificently derelict. (But perhaps a bit remote to make time-shares for BLS members.) The stopping service is now weekends-only but, since the line shortens considerably the rail distance between Northern Europe and Madrid, it also carries some top-class trains, including the Paris-Madrid-Sevilla sleeper and other TALGO InterCity services. BLN 694.03][ES] Madrid-Sevilla by Alta Velocidad Española: The AVE line, 471km of standard gauge opened in April 1992 in the middle of broad-gauge Spain, and operated by gleaming white GEC-Alsthom TGV clones, is a political railway rather than a sensible investment for the Spanish (and the EC) taxpayer. Two days after Expo 92 closed, and the international visitors went home, the 1400 AVE southbound was running spectacularly empty between the magnificent new buildings at Madrid Puerta de Atocha and Sevilla Santa Justa. Growth of ordinary business and leisure traffic will clearly take a long time to bring a reasonable rate of return here, but at least RENFE's restrictions on use of the high-speed trains by other than premium-fare passengers are to be lifted. Inter-Railers may find it well worth trying in 1994. BLN 694.04][ES] A short mixed-gauge line branching off to the north of the city led direct to a temporary Sevilla Expo station. The passenger service, comprising a pair of AVEs from Madrid plus local broad-gauge emus, ceased when the exhibition closed in mid-October. BLN 694.05][ES][RU] One train, three gauges: The upmarket Paris-Madrid-Sevilla sleeper (now dubbed EuroCity Tren-Hotel 'Francisco de Goya') is a Spanish-designed TALGO Pendular set, each of its low-slung passive-tilt articulated coaches having a single pair of adjustable wheels allowing a change of gauge on the move twice en route, from SNCF standard to RENFE broad then back to standard again to take the AVE line south of Madrid. Singular enough, but perhaps a more curious working still was the short-lived Moskva-Madrid sleeper, running weekly in the summer 1990 timetable, and taking from tea-time on day 1 to breakfast-time on day 5 to complete its leisurely transit of Europe. The traditional SZD sleeping-car was jacked up once at Brest to leave its own 1524mm Russian bogies behind in Belarus, before setting out on Polish 1435mm ones via Berlin, Frankfurt, Basel, Genève and Toulouse to Irun, then finally on Spanish 1672mm wheelsets for the last lap. Who can have travelled in such a coach? And has this three-gauge journey in one rail vehicle ever been matched by any other regular through working in the world? BLN 694.06][GR] Asleep in Europe on another gauge? Does the metre-gauge sleeping-car, seen in service in April 1991, still run between Athinai and Kalamata in the south of the Peloponnese peninsula? It is not shown in a summer 1992 Thomas Cook timetable, but then it was not shown there, nor in the OSE's own timetable, in 1991 either. Is it, or was it, not available to the general public? BLN 694.07][DE][FR] Perl DB - Apach SNCF: (BLN 691, p.302/92-74) According to Cook, the sole international working on the line this summer was the 0729 Thionville-Trier returning at 1133. On 21 September 1992 the SNCF 2-car dmu left Germany heading south with some 25 cross-border passengers. The departure board at Apach showed three military specials running southbound and a northbound public train at 0409, probably a return special. The Saarbrucken DB-Sarreguemines SNCF-Strasbourg cross-border trains are also SNCF 2-car dmus. BLN 694.08][BE][NL] Neerpelt NMBS - Weert NS: (BLN 691, p302/92-72) Just two days beforehand, NMBS/SNCB announced the running of a six-coach special, topped and tailed by diesel locos, on this line, crossing the border at Budel and making six return trips as part of Belgium's TTB (Trein+Tram+Bus) public transport day on 4 October 1992. The trains were well supported, and some 800 Dutch passengers made the journey starting from Weert even though there had been no publicity for the event in the Netherlands. The service may have been something of a political gesture. NMBS are keen to extend services from Antwerpen; at present trains have an unproductive layover at Neerpelt, and extending to Weert could allow Belgian passengers to connect with NS InterCity services for Eindhoven and Maastricht. NMBS mineral trains from Antwerpen docks to the Billiton zinc smelter just inside the Netherlands at Budel use the line - and longer-distance freight between the port and the DB could do so, cutting across the Netherlands near its narrowest point. The NS is much less keen on the branch, seeing no commercial return from a passenger service in such a thinly populated area, and regarding the line as potential competition for more profitable Rotterdam-Germany freight traffic. Thus NS tolerates, but does not encourage, regular use - which would in any case need substantial investment in modernisation. At present an NS signalman has to be sent from Weert by taxi to work the semaphore signals at Budel when there is traffic at the zinc plant. (BLS travellers on the Itinerant Limburger tour in September 1991 will recall traversing the NS Weert-Budel section of this line.) BLN 694.09][NL] Tiel-Nijmegen: (BLN 691, p.302/92-75) The triangular junction near Elst allows access to the east-west Tiel line both from the north(Arnhem direction) and the south (Nijmegen direction). The south-to-west curve, from Ressen-Bemmel to Vork junctions, officially closed to all traffic in May 1990, but has since seen a few special passenger trains. Notable among these were a DE2 railtour in mid-1991 and several DE3 dmu workings from Tiel in July 1992 for the Nijmegen 'marches' (an event lasting four days and attracting thousands of masochistic 40km/day walkers - and even more spectators). BLN 694.010][IT] Ferrovia Sangritana: The electrified line from Castel di Sangro down to the east coast at Marina San Vito had services replaced by buses on 9 August 1992 and from the rusty state of the track it seemed this was not a new state of affairs. No clues were given in the ticket office (the station is separate but adjacent to the FS station), but a typewritten notice warned of bus replacement on the middle section between Archi and Lanciano during the preceding week. Local timetable posters as well as the FS timetable book show a train service in operation. BLN 694.011][CS] Praha metro: This must be one of Europe's greatest bargains for those wishing to cover track; in summer 1992 a ticket valid for 90 minutes cost CSK4 (=8p). It might take two such tickets to cover all three lines, but for an outlay of CSK25 (=50p) one could travel on a funicular, the metro, trams and buses for the whole day. BLN 694.012][AL] Albania: The national railway (HRS) still operated passenger trains between Tiranë and Durrës in summer 1992, though other services seemed to be suspended. Only one train set appeared to be in use. The locomotive is a Czechoslovak diesel and the coaches ex-SNCF open stock, with one brake/compartment-second of uncertain origin. The latter provides a compartment for the police, who still fulfil the rôle of ticket inspectors. Foreign visitors are usually cordially invited to ride with the police, thus avoiding the crowded conditions of the rest of the train. Offers to pay for a ticket are met with hilarious refusal. The vehicles are in an incredibly decrepit condition, many lacking windows and even doors. On 20 August 1992 a 'new' rake of ex-FS compartment stock was due to enter service, having been in storage at Tiranë station during the prevous week. Another such rake stored in the sidings at Tiranë awaits expansion of services. There is a large quantity of derelict passenger stock at Durrës, possibly the victim of rioting. The only freight activity noted was shunting at Durrës docks. A recently constructed (possibly still uncommissioned) curve at Vlor allows through running Tiranë-Shkodër (-Titograd in Yugoslavia/Serbia). BLN 694.013][PL] Sroda-Zaniemysl: This narrow-gauge line from Sroda Miasto, passing within 100m of the main-line PKP station, then crossing the standard-gauge and trundling through the fields to Zaniemysl, was still entirely steam-worked in summer 1992. There were five, maybe six, return journeys a day operated by 0-8-0 Class Px48 locomotives nos.1756 and 1920 hauling two elderly and somewhat decrepit coaches and a brake/baggage van. The loco depôt is adjacent to Sroda Miasto station, and contains two other Px48s, one of which might possibly work. Also nearby is a surprisingly cheap "workers' hotel". BLN 694.014][EC] Ferrocarriles Ecuatorianos: Early in 1992 the rail operations of Ecuador's 1067mm-gauge ENFE were as follows, from north to south: San Lorenzo-Ibarra (200km): From the port (served only by rail) at San Lorenzo, there is a daily railcar, except over a 3km gap about 30km out, where passengers have to walk. How freight negotiates this obstacle is not known. At the time of a visit in January 1992 the railcar on the last 100km eastward to Ibarra was replaced by a bus while track repairs took place. Ibarra-Quito (173km): No service, nor improvements planned. The rail route is circuitous compared with the competing Pan-American Highway. Quito-Riobamba (217km): Daily railcar, possibly SuX, with uncertain timings but not as in Cook's timetable. The station at Quito, the capital, is a single platform on a tightly-curving terminal loop. This section runs parallel to the line of the Andes with spectacular views of volcanic peaks on either side. Riobamba-Alausí (88km): Closed since 1973 due to landslide damage. Alausí-Durán (140km): Thrice-weekly steam mixto. The first section down the mountainside (known as El Nariz del Diablo, the Devil's Nose) is magnificently scenic, descending through switchbacks high above the junction station of Sibambe. A luxury parlour car is sometimes attached as far as Huigra, the next station beyond Sibambe, for organised tourist groups. For even better views, passengers may ride on the roof of the baggage car (and by doing so may possibly avoid the 67p fare for the 160km to Guayaquil). The locomotive is changed at Bucay, about half-way, where the line emerges from the mountains on to the tropical coastal plain, with its banana plantations. At Milagro, 34km out from Durán, the line runs down the middle of the town's main street, and market stalls are hurriedly cleared away from the path of the advancing train. Minor derailments are not uncommon, but are speedily rectified by the train-crew, seven-strong including conductor and the brequeros needed for operation on the switchbacks; re-railing gear is carried as standard equipment. A railcar runs daily over the plains part of the route, into Durán in the morning, back in the afternoon. Its 'country' terminus is not known, but it is beyond Milagro. Durán-Guayaquil: The last lap from the crumbling railhead station across the estuary to the major port city of Guayaquil used to be by a boxcar-carrying train-ferry operated by the railway, but there is now a long road-bridge and a ferry service run by the municipality using a modern conventional vessel. Through tickets to Guayaquil are still issued by stations up the line. Sibambe-Cuenca branch (150km): Daily railcar, mornings from Sibambe, afternoons from Cuenca. There is also a short-distance shuttle railcar from Sibambe to the first station on the branch on days when the mixto runs on the main G&Q line. Sibambe is purely an interchange station; situated in the bottom of a canyon perched over a river, it has no houses or other facilities in the immediate vicinity. Riding the roof of the railcar on the Cuenca branch, mostly some 3000m above sea-level, is one of the world's more exhilarating railway experiences. One has to watch out for the occasional electric cable and keep a reasonably low profile in tunnels. The railcars are small bus bodies mounted on rail bogies. the rear power bogie is chain-driven from an underfloor engine. The driver uses the normal road-vehicle controls. Even the steering-wheel is retained, used as a screw-brake! The steam locomotives are vintage Baldwins of various dates, eg 1901 and 1935. Out-of-use examples adorn the yards of larger stations. There are diesel locos, but these have maintenance and spares problems, so steam is preferred, at least on the Durán-Alausí climb. Hauled passenger stock is mostly classic American, wooden-bodied with clerestory roofs and end balconies. A press cutting from a December 1991 newspaper displayed at Quito station claimed that the Riobamba-Alausí section would reopen in August 1992. Major reconstruction was said to be under way, including a new tunnel. Other infrastructure work on currently open sections would also be done, to give a transit time for freight between Durán and Quito of 16 hours as against 24 hours by road. A new highway is to be built to San Lorenzo, but the Transport Ministry was at pains to point out that this did not spell the end of the rail link with Ibarra. New Alsthom diesel locomotives are on order and passenger cars would be purchased. This may well spell the end of Ecuador's colourful steam operations on the Devil's Nose. BLN 696.01][FR] TGV Rhône-Alpes: SNCF plan to bring the extension of the LGV Sud-Est, from Civrieux north of Lyon past Satolas airport towards Chambéry, into full use from 13 December, though some trains may be using it before then. The timetable is recast, with up to five TGVs a day to Grenoble, one to Aix-les-Bains and Annecy and one to Chambéry, all non-stop from Paris. BLN 696.02][FR] Channel coast branches: SNCF in September announced the signing of an agreement with Picardy Regional Council for improved service on the 106km line from Beauvais to Le Tréport-Mers; journey time is reduced from two hours to one and a half, and connections are made to and from Paris at Beauvais thrice daily. BLN 696.03][FR] On the 24km branch along the coast south-west from Trouville-Deauville to Dives-Cabourg passenger services are limited to the peak holiday season only, and this summer comprised a return turbotrain working through from Paris St.Lazare, plus weekend extras, some of which were loco-hauled in spite of the layout requiring reversal at Trouville-Deauville (cf Cromer-Sheringham). Two short trip-freight trains were seen, but sidings at Dives-Cabourg were virtually empty of traffic, and a single plain track ran through the intermediate station of Houlgate. The SNCF (and the French taxpayer) seem willing to tolerate such underutilised infrastructure more or less indefinitely, since as long ago as 1974-75 the timetable showed the turbotrain running summer-only plus other public holiday weekends. (Perhaps ominously however a notice at Houlgate told customers that the SNCF 'does not guarantee a permanent presence' there.) Beyond Dives-Cabourg disused track could be seen, badly rusted and heavily overgrown. Can someone confirm that this line used to loop back south to Mézidon? It is not shown on the official SNCF map as at 1 May 1978; when did it close? BLN 696.04][BE] Ardennes: The trackbed of the former Jemelle-Houyet branch at Rochefort is occupied by an experimental guided-transit line - in effect a ground-level monorail with a flat concrete track on either side and overhead electric wires. It appears to have ceased operation, perhaps during 1991, though in June 1992 level-crossing lights were still showing red to any 'rail' traffic and flashing orange to road vehicles. Further information would be welcome. BLN 696.05][BE] At nearby Han-sur-Lesse, 8km west of the SNCB railhead at Jemelle, the diesel-worked tourist line to the caves was flourishing, with a new terminal loop to obviate shunting in the centre of the village. Train and caves are both worth a look. BLN 696.06][DE] Berlin: A June 1992 DR timetable supplement indicated that the Nauen to Spandau local service on the north-western edge of Berlin had been extended eastwards into the city over an old S-Bahn route to the reopened station at Jungfernheide (on the Nordring) where there is interchange with U-Bahn line U7. In September the trains were refurbished open stock with a DR Cl.201 diesel on each end. BLN 696.07][DE] Reichsbahn branches: Five trains each way were shown in the timetable to 30 May, but the June 1992 DR supplement confirmed that trains have not been restored on the 29km local line from Damme (Untermark) to Löcknitz, close to the Polish border near Szczecin, and buses work the service. Track at the Löcknitz end on 30 August seemed occupied by stored vans, as are many disused DR branches and curves, such has been the collapse of freight traffic since reunification. BLN 696.08][DE] Lines which seem to have closed to passengers from 27 September are the 31km Geismar branch from Birkungen in Thuringia, and the 7km Crottendorf (obere Bahnhof) branch from Schlettau near the Czech border in the Erzgebirge. The latter might possibly have been the last DR standard-gauge branch line to have been regularly worked by steam; a 2-10-2T was hauling the mixed train there in April 1988. BLN 696.09][DE] A few trains from Halberstadt through Wernigerode continue beyond Ilsenburg, though it is not clear why unless DR intend soon to restore the service over the disused track to Vienenburg on the DB. The present terminus, Stapelburg, unusually for the DR, is unstaffed, displays a handwritten timetable, and offers almost no traffic. A DR bus between Wernigerode and Bad Harzburg runs past the station - which reminded a correspondent of BR's equally scruffy and unnecessary Renfrew Wharf station in the 1960s. BLN 696.010][IT] Valle d'Aosta/Val d'Aosta: (BLN 692, p.317/92-08) The FS line from Aosta, electrified from the start, was opened some time between 1930 and August 1932, with a bus providing the service round hairpin bends for the 6km on and up to Courmayeur. It is likely the line itself never went beyond Pré St.Didier; while it is possible that onward works were started, the terrain is decidedly unfriendly to rail. Three stops short of Pré St.Didier is a station called Derby, perhaps a bit unexpected in a French-speaking valley in Italy. An August 1942 timetable shows that Italian names were imposed on many stations while Il Duce was in charge of running the trains to time; Pré St.Didier became San Desiderio Terme, but Derby escaped unscathed! BLN 696.011][CH] South-west Helvetia: (BLN 692, p.317/92-06) The 600mm-gauge diesel at Emosson was manufactured by Listers and is said to be the only British-built loco at work in Switzerland. (And the reference to the SBB being the FFS at francophone Martigny was a mistake, and should of course have read CFF: Chemins de fer fédérales suisses rather than Ferrovie federali svizzere or Schweizerischen Bundesbahnen.) BLN 696.012][CN][MO] Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macau: The Portuguese colony of Macau may yet see its first railway, the Chinese and Macau governments having agreed this link (and a $7.3 billion airport) in discussions about economic development. (Hong Kong Standard, 30 September 1992) BLN 696.013][MX,US] Mexico: Passenger trains between Mexico City and the Texan border were under threat at the beginning of 1992, but services to both Nuevo Laredo (adjoining Laredo TX) and Ciudad Juarez (next to El Paso TX) continued to operate. Dining cars ceased operating anywhere in the country, though some vehicles were said to be being overhauled. The Mexico City to Uruapan train El Purepecha was extended in January 1992 to the west-coast port of Lazaro Cardenas, giving the very scenic line along the Balsas river its first passenger service since construction. The 35km branch from Merida to the Gulf-coast port of Progreso in Yucatan reopened to passengers in March after 20 years. Spring 1993 is reported as the start date for international service (Royal Eagle) between San Antonio TX, USA, and Monterrey in Mexico, using two Spanish TALGO train-sets, each making a one-way trip daily. (Passenger Train Journal (US), May 1992) 1993 BLN 697.01] Northern Ireland: Belfast York Road closed on 16 October and was replaced on 17 October 1992 by Yorkgate, a two platform station located nearby but at a higher level, on the long-awaited cross-harbour link now under construction. When complete in 1994 the link will permit trains from Larne (and from Londonderry via Bleach Green Junction) to run south to and through Belfast Central. BLN 697.02][FR] TGV Rhône-Alpes: (BLN 696, p.380/92-01) The line from Civrieux (the junction north of Sathonay-Rillieux) to St.Quentin-Fallavier (on the Lyon-Grenoble line) was used during the last Winter Olympics, and from 27 September 1992 by the 1556 Grenoble-Paris and the 0650 SSuO Paris-Grenoble, coming into fuller use as stated from 13 December. No timings are yet advertised for Satolas TGV station near Lyon airport. BLN 697.03][FR] Lutterbach-Kruth: This 31km branch, north-west into the mountains of the Haut-Rhin from Lutterbach on the Strasbourg-Mulhouse line, is single-track, unelectrified, with crossing loops at Cernay, Thann, Wesserling and (out of use) Kruth. Only Thann seems to have freight traffic, from a chemical works private siding. Passenger services are some nine round trips M-F plus a couple of short workings, with three sets stabling overnight at Thann. On Saturdays service finishes at midday and there are more services off the branch than on, as units return to Mulhouse for the weekend. Saturday-afternoon and Sunday services are by bus. Cernay is the junction for the CF Touristique de la Vallée de la Doller, operating on the Cernay-Sentheim section of the former SNCF branch to Sewen. BLN 697.04][FR] Mulhouse PSUL: The line from Lutterbach via Mulhouse Nord marshalling yard to the east of Mulhouse station is used by certain passenger trains to avoid reversal at Mulhouse. Train #6676/7, the 0829 Nice-Strasbourg, certainly uses this route, but other likely workings are those between the Strasbourg line and the Belfort line which are not turbotrains and which are timed to take 30 minutes or more over the Colmar-Mulhouse section. Trains timed to take about 25 minutes run by the normal passenger route. BLN 697.05][FR] Sélestat and Colmar: Track diagrams for these two SNCF stations between Strasbourg and Mulhouse, and detailed platforming arrangements during the current timetable to May 1993, are too large to reproduce here, but are available from the Society's General Secretary, Mr N J Hill; send an SAE plus an extra 1st-class stamp to cover copying costs. BLN 697.06][CH][FR] Lac Léman south shore: (BLN 692, p.317/92-05) The steam-hauled Rive Bleue Express working out and back from the railway museum at Le Bouveret in Switzerland to Evian-les-Bains in France has run on summer Sundays in previous years, starting 1 July 1988, but the TThSO diesel trips seem to have been new in 1992. BLN 697.07][DK] Hjørring Privatbaner: This private operator links the DSB at Hjørring in Northern Denmark with the port of Hirtshals, whence there are ferries to Oslo and Kristiansand in Norway, the latter being a freight wagon ferry. The line is standard-gauge, single throughout, with a loop, infrequently used, at Tornby. Eleven intermediate stations, all unstaffed request stops, are served by the hourly two-car diesel unit, taking 25 minutes. There are freight sidings at Hjørring, Horne and Hirtshals, and wagons were to be seen at the latter two. All passenger workings run first into the single platform terminus on an embankment above the fishing harbour at Hirtshals, and certain trains then reverse, descending to quay level and reversing again to reach Hirtshals Havn station next to the Color Line ferry berth. There is a direct line to the Havn but passenger trains do not seem to use it in either direction. Beyond Hirtshals, double-width trackbed continues around the headland. A road-bridge carries the date 1940, suggesting that during the German occupation the line here may have seen military use to serve coastal defences still visible today. BLN 697.08][PT] Northern Portuguese metre-gauge: Trains seem to have ceased to run from the following dates, but further information would be welcome: Passenger Freight Linha do Sabor Pocinho - Duas Igrejas-Miranda 1978 1 Jan 1989 Linha do Tua Tua - Mirandela Still run Still run Mirandela - Bragança 15 Dec 1991 15 Dec 1991 Linha do Corgo Régua - Vila Real Still run 1 Jan 1990 Vila Real - Chaves 1 Jan 1990 1 Jan 1990 Linha do Tâmega Livração - Amarante Still run 6 Apr 1990 Amarante - Arco de Baúlhe 1 Jan 1990 1 Jan 1990 Linha de Póvoa Porto Trindade - Póvoa de Varzim Still run 31 May 1986 Póvoa de Varzim - Famalicão Still run 31 May 1986 Linha de Guimarães Porto Trindade - Guimarães Still run 31 May 1986 Guimarães - Fafe 31 May 1986 31 May 1986 Linha do Vouga Espinho - Sernada do Vouga Still run Aug 1972 Sernada do Vouga - Viseu 1 Jan 1990 Aug 1972 Ramal de Aveiro Aveiro - Sernada do Vouga Still run Aug 1972 Linha do Dão Santa Comba Dão - Viseu 28 Sep 1988 Aug 1972 BLN 697.09][IT] Ferrovia Sangritana: (BLN 694, p347/92-010) As long ago as April 1981 buses were replacing trains between Lanciano and the Adriatic coast at Marina San Vito. (At that time there was also an alternative route from Lanciano branching off at Crocetta and reaching the coast at Ortona Marina.) Trains do seem to run sometimes, though; there was a Ferrovia Sangritana railcar in San Vito station in June 1992, visible from a main-line train heading south from Pescara to Foggia. BLN 698.01][FR] Rhône valley diversions: (BLN 692, p.317/92-04) On the dates listed, none of the trains diverted via the west-bank and running to or from the Montpellier direction is booked to call at Avignon, even when they do call there on other dates. Presumably therefore they continue on the freight line fom Villeneuve-lès-Avignon via Remoulins-Pont-du-Gard to Courbessac, thus avoiding the reversal at Avignon that would be needed were they to take the usual passenger line via Tarascon. The Marseille-direction trains do reverse at Avignon. BLN 698.02][FR] Chemins de Fer de la Provence: The metre-gauge CP have been moved out of their Nice Sud terminus, a building with a listed façade and an incongruously dramatic train-shed, in order to reduce interference with level-crossing road traffic in the city centre, and to allow property redevelopment. They now have to make do with a very cramped station slightly further out. Following derailment of a works train in early 1992, all railcar trailers and loco-hauled trains were barred by the préfet from the deteriorating metals of the CP, but finance has now been made available for track renewals which should allow the ban to be lifted in time for steam operations again in summer 1993. Already the railcars are permitted to tow trailers once more, and a sizeable locomotive has recently been delivered second-hand from FEVE in Spain. There is still talk of conversion to metre-gauge of the short disused SNCF Digne branch, permitting CP railcars to run from Nice, reversing in Digne station, through to Château-Arnoux-St.Auban, the SNCF junction on the Marseille-Grenoble line. (The SNCF branch lost its regular passenger service when the daily summer Alpazur from Grenoble to Digne - for connection to Nice via the CP - was withdrawn in 1989, though there may since have been some pilgrim specials to Lourdes.) BLN 698.03][FR] Dieppe Maritime: Paris - Dieppe boat trains were definitely running through to the Maritime station in August 1992. BLN 698.04][FR,CH] Belfort - Delle: The twice-daily passenger service on this SNCF line, giving connections into north-west Switzerland, ceased to run after 26 September 1992, being replaced by buses. The trains, latterly advertised in handbills but not in either country's timetable, were Swiss stock, changing from an SNCF diesel loco to a CFF electric at Delle, the French border station - hardly an economic use of resources. From the Swiss side local trains, which are hourly from Delémont to the CFF border station of Boncourt, still run three times a day across the border but only as far as Delle (one working being empty stock into France). Belfort to Delle and the border-crossing remain open for freight, though this is not much in evidence. BLN 698.05][BE] Passenger closures again threatened?: Three lines in Flanders and six in Wallonia are again thought to be under threat of closure to passengers, though this may be an SNCB tactic to put pressure on their politicians: Ligne 15 Mol - Hasselt 2-hourly service Ligne 52 Antwerpen - Boom - Puurs electrified to Boom, with weekday regular local service Ligne 82 Aalst - Burst weekday peak-hour service Ligne 43 Liège - Rivage - Jemelle 2-hourly local service with peak extras, being electrified Ligne 132 Charleroi - Couvin full local service, adapted to customer demand Ligne 144 Gembloux - Tamines electrified, weekday peak-hour passenger service Ligne 163 Libramont - Bastogne 2-hourly service Ligne 165 Libramont - Bertrix - Virton 2-hourly service Ligne 166 Dinant - Bertrix 2-hourly service (Trans-Fer (BE), #83, 1992) BLN 698.06][BE] Charleroi: Charleroi Public Transport at last officially opened two new sections of line on Friday 28 August, after having left kilometres of ambitious publicly-financed infrastructure half-built for years. Metro route 54 now runs eastward underground from Beaux-Arts through three intermediate stations to Gilly. Westward routes 89 and 90 now no longer run through the streets of Marchienne, having taken to an elevated viaduct section with three new stations. The previous report (BLN 686, p.221/92-79) that street-running ceased on 22 August to allow track realignment, and that services then resumed on the new track in advance of the ceremony, seems to have been correct. The extravagant pre-metro sections extend above and below ground outside the city, but beyond Pétria routes 89 to Anderlues Monument and 90 to Binche and La Louvière continue in operation as interurban tramways as in SNCV days. All workings at Anderlues are now timed via the Jonction loop, the direct line from Route de Thuin to Monument having apparently closed. TEC-Charleroi runs no rail services at all on its expensive and underutilised infrastructure in the evenings for fear of vandalism, the last workings through Beaux-Arts being around 2000, though cars are still running back out to Anderlues depot till 2116. The future is complex and very political. TEC-Charleroi planned to cease operating route 90 from August, handing it over to TEC-Hainaut, who operate buses in the neighbouring Mons-Tournai region. However the latter were violently opposed to the plan, claiming they did not have suitable buses and that it was unreasonable for them to invest resources in keeping alive just the outer end of a tram-line. TEC-Hainaut asked for, and got, a 15-month reprieve for the line's trams, so they run on till the end of 1993. Meanwhile the authorities in Binche and La Louvière reckon TEC-Charleroi's attempted fait accompli was contrary to the statute setting up the regional transport companies, and favour retaining the trams, pointing out that route 90's track and wiring were totally renewed at some expense only six years ago, and there is plenty of stock. The row seems likely to boil on for some time yet. The threatened line is very much worth a visit, preferably starting at La Louvière-Centre (where the tram terminus is close to the SNCB station) and running through the fields and villages before reaching the startling prodigality of the pre-metro amid the declining steel industry of Charleroi. (Trans-Fer (BE), #83, 1992, and others) BLN 698.07][BE] SNCB Ligne 94: Tournai - Blandain - (Lille): Electrification and upgrading are under way and should be ready for Paris-Lille-Bruxelles TGV Nord-Europe trains in mid-1993 and London-Lille-Bruxelles Eurostar traffic in 1994. But this is only an interim route; if all goes to plan 1995 should see the opening of a direct LGV Belge from Lille to Antoing and 1996 its continuation from Antoing to Lembeek. (Trans-Fer (BE), #83, 1992) BLN 698.08][BE,LU] SNCB Ligne 45: (Liège) - Rivage - Trois-Ponts - Gouvy - (Luxembourg): SNCB confirmed in September 1992 that they are to upgrade the once-threatened line between Rivage and Gouvy. Electrification is to be completed by 1998 with, it seems, a changeover point between SNCB's standard 3kV dc and CFL's 25kV 50Hz inside Belgium somewhere between Rivage and Aywaille, thus requiring the use of dual-voltage emus and freight locomotives. A traditional traffic on the line has now gone; the coke plant at Alsdorf near Aachen in Germany has closed and the last regular coke trains from there via Montzen and Gouvy to the Arbed steel works at Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg ran during September 1992. But passenger access to the future TGV Nord-Europe (Paris-Lille-Bruxelles-Liège-Aachen-Köln) was apparently the deciding factor in CFL's pressing SNCB to retain and improve their section of the Luxembourg-Liège axis. In the short term, SNCB are to single Trois-Ponts to Vielsalm by June 1993, leaving only Rivage to Aywaille and the stiff climb between Vielsalm and Gouvy as double track. This is unlikely to improve the line's poor punctuality, though SNCB are promising that new intermediate block signals equipped with axle-counters will let several trains in the same direction quickly through the longer single sections. 25kV electrification work at CFL's expense has already begun on the SNCB at the frontier station of Gouvy. In August 1992 masts were in place from the border through the station, and by autumn 1993 part of the layout will be live, enabling CFL electric locos to hand over freight trains to SNCB Cl.55 diesels there, though Luxembourg-Liège passenger trains will stay diesel-hauled. (Trans-Fer (BE), #83, 1992) BLN 698.09][SK] Slovakia: Although a train service is shown in the timetable, passenger trains from Banská Bystrica on the 177km scenic route through the Tatra mountains to Margecany have been replaced by buses. Local people on the train between Zvolen and Banská Bystrica in summer 1992 seemed familiar with this arrangement, suggesting it has been in operation for some time. BLN 698.010][LU,FR] Esch-sur-Alzette - Audun-le-Tiche: Perhaps the first example of open access by one European railway on to the metals of another began on 27 September 1992 when Luxembourg's CFL restored passenger service on a 3km line of which 1.3km are in France, 50 years after such trains last ran and nearly six years after reopening negotiations began. At CFL expense SNCF renewed track and a bridge, and built CFL a new platform and parking for 400 cars at Audun, the better to serve French-dwelling commuters who work in Luxembourg. Five CFL 25kV emus leave Audun in the morning peak and four in the evening, one in each direction working through to Luxembourg city, the others making cross-platform connections at Esch-sur-Alzette. But the SNCF drew the line at letting CFL set up a ticket-office at a French station, so fares and season-tickets have to be paid on the train, or bought from various shops in Audun. Presumably CFL and Benelux rover tickets will be valid. (Trans-Fer, #83, 1992) BLN 699.01][FR] Normandie: The connection at Carentan between the SNCF main line to Cherbourg and the line used by the tourist train to Baupte has been severed, as also has the junction further north at Sottevast with the disused line to La Haye-du-Puits. Cherbourg Maritime station appears more or less useable but not recently used; does it still see trains when cruise ships like Queen Elizabeth II call? (Ball atlas ref. 11A1,11A2) BLN 699.02][FR] Nice - Breil-sur-Roya: Till 22 May 1993 this scenic line is closed between the stations of Drap-Cantaron and Peille to allow replacement of a viaduct. (Ball atlas ref. 67B1). BLN 699.03][FR] SNCF abandonments: By an Order (décret) of 18 September 1992, the following lines were officially deleted from the national network (though they may have closed to traffic some time before): Région Section km Ball atlas ref. Observations Bretagne La Brohinière - Quiouévran 17.8 21A1 St.Samson - Dinard 17.1 Picardie Chantilly - Ormoy-Villers 29.5 25B3 for TGV-Nord works Ardennes Tournes - Auvillers 21.8 for road works Lorraine La Forge - Abreschwiller 10.9 29B2 for road works Pays de la Loire St.Berthevin - Renazé 44.5 Poitou-Charentes Châtellerault - Le Bouchet 36.9 Parthenay - Bressuire 29.7 43B3 Barbezieux - Orignolles-M. 31.1 Aquitaine Roaillan - Bazas 14.6 Bazas - Bourriot-Bergonce 35.3 Latresne - Espiet 22.3 Auvergne Puy-Guillaume - Courty 11.4 Brives-Charensac - Langogne 47.1 for road works Arlanc - Sembadel 29.3 55B2 extension of the Courpière - Arlanc (Connaissance du Rail, #141, Dec 1992) tourist train A separate report notes that on 30 September 1992 the last SNCF train ran on the Sembadel - Darsac section. (Ball atlas ref. 55B1) BLN 699.04][FR] Good news, bad news for VAL: In Rennes work is supposed to begin during 1993 on a narrow-bodied driverless light metro as pioneered in Lille, with a view to opening in 1998. OrlyVAL, the second such line using Matra's véhicule automatique léger technology, has linked the secondary Paris airport to RER Ligne B since October 1991, but has attracted so little custom with its outrageous fares that its private operators have had to write off debt of FRF1 billion and hand the line over to the Paris transport authority, RATP. BLN 699.05][BE] Light rail: (BLN 696,p.380/92-05) The Han-sur-Lesse tourist line to the caves, and its diesel railcars, were formerly owned by the now-defunct SNCV/NMVB, the Belgian company for local railways (Chemins de fer Vicinaux or Buurtspoorwegen), as were the De Panne - Oostende - Knokke and La Louvière - Charleroi light rail lines. BLN 699.06][NL] Dutch Northlander railtour: On Sat 24 Apr 1993, with ex-BR #1501, from Rotterdam CS, new IJsselmonde tunnel, R'dam Noord goods, Utrecht, Geldermalsen, Arnhem, Zwolle works and back. £40 from R'dam, £88 from Harwich with berths; send SAE to Werkgroep 1501, 28 Greenwood House, George Street, Wakefield WF1 1NF. BLN 699.07][DE] Wrong Deutsche Mark: (BLN 696,p.380/92-07) For "Damme (Untermark)" read "Damme (Uckermark)". BLN 699.08][DE] Berlin: Berlin Hauptbahnhof may be the only capital-city main station with electric-hauled trains arriving at unwired platforms. The impressive arched train-shed over the through platforms of the former Ostbahnhof is devoid of catenary, the wires terminating abruptly at its eastern face. The outer ends of the platforms are thus wired for eastbound trains departing, but it seems that incoming electric locomotives coast in with pantographs down ("mit Schwung", according to a DR railman) and then have to seek assistance from diesel shunters. BLN 699.09][DE] Third-rail dc electric S-Bahn services have been restored out across the city boundary of the former West Berlin on the sections from Frohnau to Hohen Neuendorf (and thence to Oranienburg as line S1) in the north; from Lichtenrade to Blankenfelde (S2) in the south; and from Wannsee to Potsdam Stadt (S3) in the south-west. The latter two services replace temporary DR shuttles. At Bornholmerstrasse, the Wall used to separate the West Berlin line (now carrying S1 and S2 trains) from the closely parallel East Berlin line (S8/S10) and neither system's trains stopped. The station has now reopened, with what look like temporary platforms for S8/S10 trains, and remodelling of the layout is under way to permit more convenient cross-platform interchange in future. S-Bahn stock remains largely 1920s-traditional, though nearly all the wooden seating has been replaced, and 1980s trains of both East and West designs are also in service. Restoration of the southern inner ring S-Bahn line west from Baumschulenweg via Tempelhof to Westkreuz and Westend is under way. Maps indicate that Schönholz to Tegel is also to reopen but there seems little sign of work there, and work on extending line S75 beyond Wartenberg may have been suspended due to other projects having higher priority. Priesterweg to Lichterfelde Süd is also planned for reopening, but there is no indication of any reconnection through to Teltow. This may mean a threat to the short R12 shuttle service from Birkengrund inward to Teltow, since Teltow station is some distance from the suburb it purports to serve, and became the terminus of a DR branch solely because of the construction of the Wall. BLN 699.010][DE] On the DR former main-line south-west of Berlin-Wannsee through Steinstücken, an enclave of West Berlin suburban villas once entirely surrounded by the DDR, the track was at the beginning of January 1993 completely removed for major drainage works using heavy plant, and new electrification mast bases were visible a little further out at Drewitz. Railway work appeared to have required the (temporary?) removal of trolleybus wires across the level-crossing at Drewitz station, and the Potsdam trolleybus route out to In der Aue was being worked by a borrowed vehicle with Solingen livery and internal maps, which lowered its trolley poles and used diesel auxiliary power to traverse the dewired rail crossing before rewiring itself on the far side. DR's lightly-used hourly R6 diesel (Cl.201/202) shuttle trains from Drewitz run out to Belzig, crossing under the overhead-electrified Berlin Ring-Bahn at Bergholz, where the high-level platforms are exposed and totally shelterless. With the ambient temperature of minus 8°C at lunchtime, one welcomed the on-time arrival of DR electric Cl.143 and a two-car double-deck set working the two-hourly R1 service from Werder (Havel) round the southern outer ring past Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld to terminate at Berlin-Karlshorst. BLN 699.011][DE] Besides the intrinsic interest of the city itself, the Berlin railway scene in 1993 is still in a rewarding state of transition, and well worth a visit. Much of the pre-unification service pattern still remains, but changes, perhaps with some closures, seem certain. The Berlin 'travelcard' area includes: the DR's regional services R1 to R18 on the whole of the Ring-Bahn plus a few projections inward and outward from it (eg R5 Nauen - Jungfernheide; see BLN 696,p.380/92-06); all the S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines; buses and trolleybuses; trams in Potsdam and east Berlin; and the delightful and anachronistic Schöneiche and Woltersdorf rural tram routes. Fares rose on 1 January 1993 but a ticket valid for 24 hours remains at DEM12 or about £5. BLN 699.012][GR] Zakinthos: On the once-British Ionian islands railways are rare, but on Zakinthos an industrial line, using prefabricated track panels apparently of 600mm gauge, served a now-disused saltworks at Alikes. Track and stock, a 1967 German-built Schöma 0-4-0 loco and a dozen tipper wagons, have been left to rust. BLN 699.013][CH] SBB closures: (BLN 673,p.13/92-02) From 31 May 1992, and officially for a five-year experimental period, buses replaced trains between Herzogenbuchsee and Solothurn (13km) and between Beinwil-am-See and Beromünster (8km). The latter line's trains had been expected to run until 1993 but bus substitution was brought forward. BLN 700.01] Euro-Domino and Inter-Rail: BR leaflets valid 1 Jan to 31 Dec 1993 confirm previous reports that Inter-Rail passes have once again become restricted to those under 26, with some changes to the terms and a price increase to £249 for the month, and that the individual national rover tickets for France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Austria have all come to be marketed in the UK under the brand-name Euro-Domino Freedom Pass, at prices ranging from £29 for 3 days in one month second-class in the Netherlands to £360 for 10 days in one month first-class in Spain. The Benelux Tourrail ticket is still available, cost £63 for five days out of 17. It is obtainable from Netherlands Railways, 25-28 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LD; telephone 071-630 1735. BLN 700.02][FR] International Ferroviaire Club: Details of these proposed railtours in 1993 may be obtained from IFC, 46 Avenue de Savigny, F-93600 Aulnay-sous-Bois, France, tel. (010 33 1) 43 84 78 17. Sat 13 Mar- Panoramic railcar, owned by the AGRIVAP museum line, from Clermont-Ferrand to La Chaise-de-Dieu Sun 14 Mar (newly reopened) and to Le Puy, including the Fades and Tarde viaducts and the Mont-Dore line Sat 27 Mar Picasso railcar on the Ceinture and other lines in the Paris Region. Sat 3 Apr Steam special with PLM Pacific #231K8: Paris-Est - Romilly - Troyes - St.Florentin-Vergigny - Sens - Montereau - Paris-Est Sat 24 Apr Picasso railcar from Paris to Sotteville and the Forêt de La Londe tourist line, then the VUTR line from Pont-de-l'Arche to Etrepagny, and back via Mantes Sat 8 May Steam special in the Paris Region with #230G353 round part of the Petite Ceinture Sat 15 May- Steam specials in Switzerland and Alsace: visit to a Swiss private line and the Waldenburgerbahn, then Sun 16 May from Basel to the CF touristique du Rhin with #141TB434 Sun 23 May TGV-Nord inaugural run from Paris to Lille, then tramway and special train, including visit to a coal mine Sat 12 Jun- Orient-Express steam special from Paris to Dijon and Beaune, Culmont-Chalindrey, Epernay and Reims Sun 13 Jun Sat 19 Jun Steam special in the Paris Region with #230G353 round part of the Petite Ceinture BLN 700.03][DE] Osnabrück PSUL: In DB's 1992 summer timetable the following three pairs of trains used the 'rare curves' dubbed W8 and W9 in the Enthusiasts' Guide to Western Europe, 1988 edition. Trains marked HM ran only on Hannover Messe (= fair) days, and also traversed the branch to the special Messebahnhof south-east of Hannover. Train From Calling at Osnabrück To #2541 daily Münster 0606 Gleis 3 (high level), then via W9 Braunschweig #1849 HM Münster 0740 Gleis 3 (high level), then via W9 Hannover Messebahnhof #1838 FO Wilhelmshaven 1504 Gleis 11 (low level), then via W8 Mönchengladbach #1848 HM Hannover Messebf via W9, then 1854 Gleis 3 (high level) Münster #2540 daily Braunschweig via W9, then 2152 Gleis 3 (high level) Münster #1839 SuO Mönchengladbach via W8, then 2216 Gleis 11 (low level) Wilhelmshaven BLN 700.04][DE] Oschatz - Mügeln - Kemmlitz: This 750mm-gauge DR branch from Oschatz on the Leipzig - Dresden main line is the 16km remnant of a once-extensive system, now under threat of closure. Normally it carries freight only (some general merchandise inward to Mügeln and mineral traffic out from Kemmlitz) steam-hauled in standard-gauge wagons on narrow-gauge transporters. A number of steam passenger specials were run in 1992, under the auspices of Traditionbahn Radebeul Ost - Radeburg (address: PSF56, D-O-8122 Radebeul 1, Germany) but clearly with fairly active DR support because coaches have been brought to the line from other 750mm lines in the Dresden area. A Traditionbahn presence seems to have been established in the loco shed at Mügeln so further specials - and perhaps preservation? - may be expected. BLN 700.05][FR] SNCF byways revisited: (BLNs 671,p.361/91-57; 672,p.376/91-49; 679,p.109/92-61; 683,p.174/92-65; 684,p.190/92-62; 685,p.205/92-82; 686,p.220/92-78; 687,p.238/92-82; 696,p.380/92-03) Section Ball atlas ref. Observations Longuyon north-to-west curve 17B1 Appeared out of regular use by Sep 1992 Quimper - Pluguffan 19A1 Retained for freight Pluguffan - Pont-l'Abbé 19A1 Closed to all traffic 1 Feb 1971 Quimper - Douarnenez-Tréboul 19A2 Closed P 6 Mar 1972, all traffic 1 Feb 1988 Dinan - Dinard 21A2 Summer-only P 6 Mar 1972, closed P Sep 1987, all traffic 1 Feb 1988 Pontorson - Antrain 21B2 Closed to all traffic before 1964 Antrain - Fougères 21B2 Closed to all traffic 1 Mar 1987, officially abandoned 30 Sep 1988 Fougères - Vitré 22A1 Closed P 6 Mar 1972,pilgrimage specials ran till 4 May 1991 when line probably closed to all traffic Pontaubault - St.Hilaire-du-Harcouët 22A2 Closed P 18 Jul 1939,resumed summer-only P 2 Jul 1988 to Sep 1989 as CFT de la Selune, closed SNCF freight Nov 1989, summer-only P 4 Aug 1990 to Sep 1991 as CF Baie du Mont-St.Michel (1991 Ducey - St.Hilaire-du-Harcouët only) St.Hilaire-du-Harcouët - Les Loges-M.-Landivy 22A2 Closed to all traffic before 1964 Les Loges-Marchis-Landivy - Fougères 22A2 Closed to all traffic 1 Mar 1987, officially abandoned 30 Sep 1990 Briouze - Bagnoles-de-l'Orne-Tessé-la-Madeleine 22B2 Summer-only P c.1989, closed P 5 Oct 1991 Dives-Cabourg - Mézidon 23A3 Closed P 1 Mar 1938 Auray - Quiberon 31A2 Summer-only (& some winter weekends) P 6 Mar 1972, closed freight 1 Feb 1988 Vitré - Argentré-du-Plessis 33A3 Closed to all traffic after Mar 1987 Argentré-du-Plessis - La Guerche-de-Bretagne 33A3 Closed to all traffic Mar 1987 Châteaubriant - Pouancé 33A2 Closed P 3 Mar 1969, all traffic 25 Jan 1988 Pouancé - Noyant 33A2 Closed P 3 Mar 1969, all traffic by 1987 Noyant - Sablé 33A2 Closed P 3 Mar 1969 Pouancé - Chazé-Henry 33A2 Short stub of line to Laval, closed by 1980 Chazé-Henry - Renazé 33A3 Closed before 1964 Renazé - St.Berthevin 33A3 Closed to all traffic 1 Mar 1987 St.Berthevin - Laval 33B3 Short stub retained for freight Thouars - Bressuire 43B3 Last booked mixed train on SNCF ran 29 May 1986, P service is FSuO from 31 May 1992 Thouars - Arçay 44A3 Closed P 31 May 1970, closed to all traffic 1 Feb 1971, reopened for freight 28 Jan 1992 Beaucroissant - Izeaux 57A2 Closed before 1983 Izeaux - La Côte-St.André-le-Rival 57A2 Closed before 1989 La Côte-St.André-le-Rival - Beaurepaire 57A2 Officially 'closed' but still used for freight 'as required' in 1989, closed to all traffic by end 1991 Pau - Oloron 69B2 P service 'subject to revision during winter 1992-93 timetable' BLN 700.06][IE] Westrail: (BLNs 665,p.262/91-44B; 668,p.313/91-63; 698,p.30/93-63) The Westrail service in 1991 last ran on 31 August 1991. BLN 700.07][FR] The Train: (BLN 698,p.31/93-65) The making of the film The Train is described in detail in Railways in the Cinema by John Huntley (Ian Allan, 1969); six pages are devoted to it and the film was also reviewed in the Financial Times. The marshalling yards shown in the film were at St.Ouen, Vaires and Gargenville, and other scenes were filmed at Acquigny in Normandy and at Longeville, Provins, Tozes and Louvières. several of the places that appeared in the film can be found on pages 25-29 of M.G.Ball's European Railway Atlas of France. Others - Rémilly, St.Avold and Zweibrücken - were actually Pont-à-Mousson, Commercy and Vitry-le-François "disguised" to fool the Germans that the train was heading east into Germany whereas it had been diverted to return westwards back towards Paris. The whole thing was a bit far-fetched but good entertainment, especially the locos, which presumably were genuine steam originals! BLN 701.01] Northern Ireland: (BLN 697,p.13/93-01) The Province's Department of the Environment on 27 January 1993 agreed to NIR's proposed £6M reopening from a triangular junction west of City Hospital station to a passenger terminus at Belfast Great Victoria Street. Work is to start in autumn 1993, with a 75% European Regional Development Fund grant, and from April 1995 suburban services are to run from Great Victoria Street south-west towards Portadown, east to Bangor, and north via the new (October 1994) cross-harbour link through Yorkgate to the Larne line. Belfast Central is to remain the station for longer-distance trains to Dublin and Londonderry. According to the Belfast Telegraph, the old Great Victoria Street station opened on 12 August 1839 and closed on 24 April 1976, though its dignified main building fell to a demolition crew in January 1969, to make way for the Europa Hotel. BLN 701.02] Euro-Domino and other rovers 1993: According to SNCF's Liberté in Europe leaflet, French Railways' Rail Shop at 179 Piccadilly, London W1V 0BA (071-495 4433), sells a rather broader range of Euro-Domino tickets than BR. As well as Euro-Domino tickets for NS, SNCB and CFL, and Benelux Tourrail rovers, Netherlands Railways in London (BLN 700,p.60/93-01) sells NS day rovers (£21.50), public-transport day rovers (£24), 3-out-of-10-day rovers for two persons (from £40.50), 7-day rovers (£51.50) plus first-class versions of most of these. Full details of the various NS options, with sterling prices, are in their leaflet. BLN 701.03][LK] Sri Lanka: The Ceylon Government Railways 762mm-gauge Kelani Valley line, at its maximum extent, ran from Colombo Fort station via Colombo Maradana (1.89km), Nugegoda (10.98km), Homagama (26.49km), Padukka (37.18km), Avissawella (61.24km) to Opanake (139.41km). It seems to have been cut back to Avissawella in 1942, but reopened after World War II. The name changed to Sri Lanka Railways in 1972. In 1976 the line was again cut back, to Padukka, but by 1982 it had been restored to Avissawella, its present terminus. Traffic levels are quite high on the section near the city, and conversion to 1676mm gauge was officially inaugurated on 25 October 1991, the first works involving closure from Colombo Fort to Maradana (where the line is paralleled by triple broad gauge) and dual-gauging of the section to Nugegoda. Subsequent projected stages are to regauge to Homagama and then to Avissawella, but traffic levels at the outer end suggest that beyond Homagama may be more likely to close. The broad-gauge trains are diesel multiple-units. Only one passenger-carrying narrow-gauge train (the 1910 from Homagama to Maradana) runs over the dual-gauge section. Narrow-gauge stock is stabled at Avissawella (two sets) and at Maradana, while the diesel locos stable at Dematagoda, which is accessed at Maradana. Twelve 762mm-gauge diesel locos have been supplied to the line (earliest 1949, latest 1973) by Hunslet, Krupp and Kawasaki. Two Hunslet 4-6-4T class J1 steam locos (220 and 292) are preserved for specials, while a number of others languish condemned in varying states of disrepair at Dematagoda. A 1928-built Sentinel V2 steam railcar (331) has been splendidly restored for special use and a second (332) awaits restoration. BLN 701.04][LK] On the broad gauge the triangular layout at Peradeniya Junction is of interest. Here the main line from Colombo to Kandy is joined by the line from Badulla with the junction facing Kandy, and the station is at the Kandy apex of the triangle. The third side of the triangle - a single track allowing through running between Colombo and Badulla - has no platform so the daylight through Udarata Menike trains #15 and #16 do not call. However the Overnight Mail trains #45 and #46 also run via the chord before backing into Peradeniya for station purposes and attaching/detaching a Kandy portion at the rear. They can then leave locomotive-first for their destination. BLN 702.01] Euro-Domino and Inter-Rail: A recent British Rail International circular indicates that the report in BLN 700,p.60/93-01 of the demise of the adult Inter-Rail 26+ card at the end of 1992 was premature. These rover tickets will in fact again be available from 15 March 1993 at £209 for 15 days and £269 for one month, valid for travel in: Ireland (Republic); Luxembourg; Netherlands; Germany; Denmark; Greece; Liechtenstein; Austria; Norway; Sweden; Finland; Poland; Czech Republic; Slovakia; Hungary; Romania; Bulgaria; Slovenia; Croatia; Yugoslavia; and Turkey, plus discount on the fares from London to many continental ports, and special fares across Belgium. Enquiries are invited on 071-834 2345. BLN 702.02][IE] Iarnród Éireann: A grant worth IEP6M (6 million pounds Irish) from European Community taxpayers is to augment Irish Rail investment intended to increase speeds on the Dublin - Cork main line to 160km/h. Business travellers on the line are being wooed by a new first-class package marketed as CITYGOLD, the key features being reconfigured coaches with 58 instead of 64 seats, adjustable seats with tables, four-channel stereo, airline-style hostess call-buttons, on-board telephone and fax, gourmet meals, free newspapers and stationery, and time-saving prepaid tickets, all at the premium price of IEP60 return. Meanwhile, in the north-west, local councillors regard all this with some bitterness, saying that the deterioration of timekeeping and reliability on the Dublin - Sligo line due to lack of investment is threatening its existence. A special protest train to Dublin was being planned to lobby the Dail on Budget Day. An Irish Rail spokesman said in February that lifted track had now been relaid and the line between Athenry and Tuam 'restored to normal'. Between Tuam and Claremorris, some track had been restored, but 5km of rails were still to be put back, and IE were planning to have this done in the course of 1993. (Cork Examiner; Sligo Champion; Tuam Herald) BLN 702.03][FR] Dieppe Maritime: Regularity of boat train workings was affected during the past two years by doubts about the future of the ferry service to Newhaven, and it may be helpful now to summarise and comment on earlier reports. Threats of job losses led to strike disruption from early June 1991, so sailings and connecting trains ceased from 21 June and resumed on 13 July 1991. Proposals to withdraw the whole ferry service from end April 1992 again led to strike action and sailings were suspended from 22 March 1992. Sealink Stena, now without a French partner, resumed a one-ship service on 22 May and the full two-ship service on 3 June 1992. At Dieppe Maritime the connecting trains did not immediately resume. The tale of defective crossing-barriers in BLN 685,p.204/92-80 referred to the position on 15 June, but BLN 687,p.238/92-82 reporting bus replacement seems to have been out-of-date by the time it appeared on 1 August, and BLN 698,p.28/93-03 confirmed that boat trains were running in August 1992. Can anyone give the specific date in summer 1992 when these trains again began running through to Dieppe Maritime? (Ball atlas ref. 13B2) BLN 702.04][FR] Paris: The southern Petite Ceinture between Grenelle (near Boulevard Victor on RER Ligne C) and Tolbiac (by the Seine crossing near Gare d'Austerlitz) closed to freight on 31 December 1992, the last traffic being for a drinks wholesaler at Les Gobelins goods station. On 15 January 1993 a passenger special chartered by the bank Crédit Agricole ran from Paris Bercy via the line. The remaining section of SNCF third-rail line on the west side of the city from Puteaux to Issy-Plaine is to close after the last train on Friday 28 May 1993. BLN 702.05][FR] SNCF closures threatened: Miécaze - Bort-les-Orgues (Ball atlas ref. 54A1-54B2) is reported likely to close in 1994, and the Ligne des Causses between Neussargues and Marvejols (55A1-63B2) and the section between Le Monastier and La Bastide-St.Laurent-les-Bains (63B2-64A1) are under threat. Also threatened may be Monestier-de-Clermont - Veynes-Dévoluy - Aix-en-Provence (57B1-66A3-75B3). All are cross-country sections of significant length, not just short rural branches. BLN 702.06][FR] Sarralbe - Hambach (Moselle) reopening: Some 6.5km of the former SNCF line to Sarreguemines, closed in the 1970s, is to reopen for freight on 1 April 1993, a deviation round the Solvay chemical works in Sarralbe being required. (Ball atlas ref. 29B3) BLN 702.07][BE] SNCB Ligne 163 Libramont - Bastogne Nord: (BLN698,p.28/93-05, Ball atlas ref. 17B3) The 30km line is to close to all traffic from 23 May 1993. Passenger services are to be replaced by buses. SNCB decided on 29 January that service should technically be 'suspended', perhaps to give the Wallonia Region a last chance to come up with finance both for essential track renewal and to meet the running deficit. However freight users have been told to look to other transport, and the relevant Government departments have been asked to remove Libramont - Bastogne and the already-closed (but still in-situ) Bastogne - Gouvy section from their list of lines kept for strategic defence purposes. Also to close from 23 May are some 38 other SNCB stations, in effect those that see fewer than 50 passengers boarding daily, or have between 50 and 100 passengers but are less than 2km from another station that remains open. Lijn 15 Mol - Hasselt and Ligne 165 Bertrix - Virton have had a reprieve for two years. BLN 702.08][BE, DE] Vennbahn: The Vennbahn preservation group hope to be operating in spring 1993 over the Raeren - Sourbrodt - Wévercé/Weywertz - Bullange/Büllingen line on the Belgian-German border (Ball atlas ref. 10A1) with their December 1992 acquisition, an oil-fired ex-DR Class 50 2-10-0, built in Belgium, at La Croyère near La Louvière, by Société Franco-Belge in 1942, and recently overhauled at Meiningen. (Paragraphs 07 & 08 - Trans-Fer, #84, February 1993) BLN 702.09][DE] Osnabrück and Hannover PSUL?: An advertisement in The Economist of 6 March gave Wednesday 21 to Wednesday 28 April as the dates for the 1993 Hannover Messe, "the world's biggest industrial fair". Perhaps extra trains similar to those referred to in BLN 700,p.60/93-03 will be operating. BLN 702.010][DE, LT] Mukran ferry branch: On 1 January 1993 DB and DR merged their ferry operations as Deutsche Fähregesellschaft (DF). Four train-ferries ply between the port of Mukran, near Sassnitz on the island of Rügen in eastern Germany, and Klaipeda in Lithuania, carrying 1524mm-gauge wagons. The operation was originally a strategic link between the DDR and the Soviet Union, bypassing Poland. All four ships are being converted to carry lorries as well as rail wagons, while two of them are to have cabins for 120 passengers. On Rügen a standard-gauge DR branch, striking south-east off the main line to Sassnitz, gives access to the large yard behind the port where wagon bogies can be changed and freight transhipped. This branch is said to carry unadvertised passenger trains for workers, between Bergen (Rügen) and Mukran. Timings of these workings would be welcomed. (Ball atlas ref. 13B3) BLN 702.011][CH] Swiss closure?: The 7km Vereinigte Huttwil Bahnen (VHB) branch from Sumiswald-Grünen to Wasen-im-Emmenthal has been reported as closed from the end of the summer timetable. Can anyone confirm this? (Ball atlas ref. 92B3) BLN 702.012][SI][HR][YU] Slovenia, Croatia and Yugoslavia: From 1 January 1993 Slovenske Zeleznice (SZ, with UIC code number 79 on rolling-stock) and Hrvatska Zeljeznice (HZ, UIC 78) join the list of railways offering travel perks to BR staff, but "the necessary formalities have not been completed" in respect of Bosnia-Hercegovina. (Hope that doesn't upset your holiday plans.) The eight official frontier stations between Slovenia's SZ and Croatia's HZ, eastward from the Adriatic coast, are listed as: Buzet; Šapjane; Metlika; Dobova (or possibly Brezice - the map sent to BLN shows clearly all the minor crossings, but fails annoyingly to identify this, the principal frontier crossing on the Ljubljana - Zagreb main line!); Kumrovec; Rogatec; Mursko-Središce; and Cakovec. The six border stations between Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina are listed as: Metkovic; Bihac; Dobrljin; Slavonski Brod; Slavonski Šamac; and Brcko. Between Croatia and the Serbian lines remaining part of Jugoslovenske Zeleznice (JZ) the border stations are only two: Šid (on the Zagreb - Beograd main line) and Erdut (at the Danube crossing on the line between Vinkovci and Subotica). While Bosnia-Hercegovina has a long border with both Serbia and Montenegro in federal Yugoslavia, it seems from a 1990 JZ map that the only railway line crossing it may be at Sremska Raca where a Serbian branch from Šid continues to end at Bijeljina, 19km inside Bosnia. BLN 703.01][IE] Cavan & Leitrim Railway: Leitrim County Council are said to be awaiting proposals from the Irish Narrow-Gauge Trust to reopen the former 914mm-gauge line between Dromod and Mohill, and have ruled out use of trackbed for a road bypassing Ballinamore. (Leitrim Observer) BLN 703.02][FR] Colmar area: In connection with the 10th anniversary of the Chemin de Fer Touristique du Rhin there are special services to Volgelsheim from Sunday 16 May 1993. On that day there are to be special SNCF trains over the freight line between Colmar (dep. 0940, 1545 and 1910) and Volgelsheim (dep. 1450 and 1815) including one through working from Mulhouse-Musée in the morning and back in the evening. There are also to be trains every 40 minutes throughout the afternoon between Volgelsheim and the CFTR depôt at Port-Rhénan. (Ball atlas ref. 30A1-41A3) BLN 703.03][DE][DK][CH][AT] Ball atlas revision: The useful European Railway Atlas of Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Austria, recently published, has some minor errors and omissions - as is inevitable in a work of this complexity. Readers are invited to tell BLN of any revision or updating needed. The International Sub-Editor will compile a list which will in due course be forwarded to the author in the interests of accuracy of a future edition. If the list is too long to appear in BLN it will be circulated to those subscribing to the BLS Overseas Events Information Service. BLN 703.04][CH] Aigle - Sépey - Les Diablerets: The metre-gauge ASD is building a new curve at Les Planches, and from May 1993 trains will run direct between Aigle and Les Diablerets without reversal at Le Sépey. There will be a shuttle service over the 1km between Le Sépey and Les Planches, but this may be provided by a bus. (Ball atlas ref. 98B3) BLN 703.05][AL] Albania: (BLN 694, p.348/92-012) A major expansion of train services took place in late January 1993, restoring passenger workings to almost all the lines which had been closed due to equipment shortages, including Vorë - Shkodër, Lushnjë - Fier - Vlora and Fier - Ballsh. The basic service pattern in each direction is: Tiranë - Vorë (reverse) - Shkodër 1 per day Tiranë - Vorë - Durrës 1 per day Tiranë - Vorë - Durrës (reverse) - Rrogozhinë - Lushnjë 1 per day Tiranë - Vorë - Durrës (reverse) - Rrogozhinë - Lushnjë - Fier - Vlora 1 per day Tiranë - Vorë - Durrës (reverse) - Rrogozhinë - Elbasan 1 per day Tiranë - Vorë - Durrës (reverse) - Rrogozhinë - Elbasan - Pogradec 2 per day Fier - Ballsh 2 per day The Milot - Burrel branch off the Shkodër line, which some maps show as a former passenger route, has not (?yet) reopened and was used at the Milot end for storing wagons. The extension from Shkodër northward, connecting with the rest of Europe across the frontier with Yugoslavia (Montenegro) at Hani i Hotit, was always freight-only. Maps also show a projected extension from Pogradec to Korcë. The direct chord which would obviate reversal at Vorë for Tiranë - Shkodër trains is still half-finished and has not been touched since seen in summer 1992. All trains stop at all stations, and at sundry other places as well. A change from 1992 is that the revenue protection staff are now civilians rather than police, though policemen still travel on all trains. Lack of appropriate tickets, and fare increases, have led to the use of multiple low-value tickets for longer journeys. For a 60p fare from Tiranë to Pogradec, one was rewarded with an enormous wad of paper, every sheet of which had had to be individually impressed with the station stamp. The Pogradec and Vlora services use newly-arrived Italian ex-FS corridor stock which gives a very comfortable journey. Not so comfortable are the ex-SNCF and Chinese-built HSh open coaches used on other journeys, these being patched-up survivors of the 1991 riots. The permanent way is generally in good condition and the Czech-built diesel locos seem reliable. All trains used or observed during a recent visit ran on or near time. Only one freight train was noted, but this was no surprise given the dramatic collapse of Albanian heavy industry. Many stations were gutted shells, also victims of the rioting. Some are still adorned with Communist slogans. Elbasan has a fascinating mural describing the intricacies of the HSh signalling system. Despite increasing car ownership and the delivery of an amazing assortment of second-hand buses from all over eastern and western Europe, train travel remains very popular even on journeys such as Tiranë - Elbasan, which is 116km by rail as against 54km by road. (The place-name spellings follow those in the 1990 Quail map of Albanian railways, which notes however that alternative spellings of some names may also be in use. - International sub-editor.) BLN 704.01][GB][FR] Cheriton PSUL?: Since the tunnel is likely to open before the Eurostar trains are all delivered in 1994, "SNCF has made a proposal to run provisional services....using TGVs" (presumably arriving at Cheriton Le Shuttle terminal, since the wires go no further) "with a connection in Folkestone." (If Eurotunnel were to allow BR trains on to their property to facilitate a same-station connection with SNCF, the traction would presumably need to be diesel or electro-diesel - or maybe NSE have a few antique Motor Luggage Vans left that could trundle 1950s slam-door stock forward the last kilometre or so, off Britain's humiliatingly archaic third rail.) Asked if SNCF would be prepared in future to invest in infrastructure in Britain, or even to operate certain lines themselves, their Assistant Director-General for Development diplomatically said that "co-operation between European networks is preferable to competition as set out in some of the [European Community] legislation", but added that "this strategy would....be revised in the hypothetical event that private companies taking over from BR were to threaten the vital interests of SNCF." He also noted that "financial penalties have been built into the agreements [about Eurostar reliability and punctuality] and would be imposed on the network - be it in Kent or elsewhere - which systematically caused Eurostar to run late." (Philippe Roumeguère, quoted in SNCF's UK magazine, Top Rail, Spring 1993) BLN 704.02][BE] Ardennes GLT: (BLN 696, p.380/92-04) The Guided Light Transit vehicle was not so much a monorail as a kind of trolleybus, able to run on ordinary roads with its diesel engine, and in guided mode along its special concrete track drawing electric power from the overhead wires. For six years the two prototypes ran an experimental commercial/tourist service over the former railway trackbed between Jemelle and Rochefort, with some financial support from the Wallonia Region. However, their manufacturer, BN, decided to cease commercial running, since the demonstration line had attracted no orders. In late 1992 BN's stance was that the project was not abandoned, and that potential buyers continued to show interest in the concept, but the two vehicles were to be seen less and less outside the workshop in Jemelle. (Trans-Fer, #83, 1992) BLN 704.03][BE][NL] Freight openings and closures: A new branch has recently opened to serve a coal-import terminal at Zeebrugge docks. This diverges from the Knokke branch at a new junction, Y Pelikaan, about halfway between Y Dudzele and the point where the line curves towards Heist. (Ball atlas ref. 7B3) The SNCB branch from Lessines to Ollignies has reopened, apparently for ballast traffic from a quarry near Ollignies. (8B2) The branch from Gent Noord (Y Rostijne) to Zelzate (RO) on the right bank of the Schelde has closed and been lifted. (8A3) Just to the north, on the isolated freight section of Nederlandse Spoorwegen, accessible only via Belgium, the line from Terneuzen aansluiting to Axel has closed east of the N253 road bridge. It has been diverted on to a new formation which makes a U-turn southwards and runs alongside the Axelsche Kreek to the works of the Outokumpu Steel Processing Company. (8A3) BLN 704.04][DE] Berliner ICE: The DB/DR newspaper Blickpunkt Bahn in March reported plans for a two-hourly InterCity Express from Berlin via Magdeburg to Frankfurt-am-Main, and onward via Mannheim to München, beginning on 23 May 1993. Because works will not be completed in time to allow the ICE trains to run to and from Berlin Zoo, they are initially (and probably until September) to use Berlin Lichtenberg. A special shuttle service is to run between Berlin Zoo and "ICE-Halt Michendorf". This suggests that the ICE route in May will be from Lichtenberg via Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld and the southern outer Ringbahn, avoiding Potsdam and turning south-west on to the Dessau main line through Michendorf, then via Belzig and Güterglück to Magdeburg, thereafter under the new wires to Helmstedt and on to the DB. If a DR shuttle is to run between Zoo and Michendorf, the Wannsee - Drewitz section, in recent years freight-only, and seen dismantled for heavy reconstruction in January 1993, will need to become available for passenger traffic. Presumably once this section, plus the set of Fernbahn tracks paralleling the S-Bahn from Berlin Hauptbahnhof through Zoo to Wannsee, are all doubled, wired and signalled as appropriate, the ICE to and from Frankfurt-am-Main will begin to go that way instead. BLN 704.05][DK, SE] Öresund link: In a treaty of 23 March 1991 Denmark and Sweden agreed to build a 16km toll-financed fixed link for rail and road traffic between København and Malmö, comprising an immersed tunnel under the Drogden channel, a low-level bridge south of Saltholm and a high-level bridge across the Flinte and Trindel channels, plus associated dredging, reclamation, rail and road works. (The planned link is not shown in the Ball atlas.) The Öresundskonsortiet, a joint venture between a specially-formed Danish state-owned company and a similar Swedish one, is advertising for pre-qualification tenders (in English, by 3 May 1993) from consultants who will then be responsible for getting the project designed and built. Work is to begin during 1993 with opening to traffic planned for 1999 - quite a fast timescale when compared with the much less ambitious engineering required to put an ordinary railway through Kent. BLN 704.06][CH] Steam up the rack to the Rhône Glacier: The old east-west metre-gauge route over the Furka pass, with its famous removable bridge across the avalanche-prone Steffenbach gorge, used to have to close every winter, so it was replaced about a decade ago by the present all-weather route of the Furka-Oberalp Glacier Express through the 15.4km Furka base tunnel, thus missing some spectacular scenery. Dampfbahn Furka Bergstrecke (DFB) are to reopen a section of the former line from the FO at Realp westward to Tiefenbach on 31 July 1993, and hope to extend to Gletsch by 1995 and to complete the loop back through to Oberwald on the FO in 1998. (Ball atlas ref. 94A1-93B1) BLN 705.01][BE] SNCB Ligne 163 Libramont - Bastogne Nord, etc: (BLN 702,p.94/93-07, Ball atlas ref. 17B3) SNCB it seems 'will not be ready' to proceed with its plans to replace the autorails with buses from 23 May, and the passenger service could be reprieved for a few weeks, maybe months. Furthermore, some adjustment in the hit-list of some 40 other under-used stations and halts which were to close this spring is to result from a recount of passengers now being taken by SNCB. The closure date has been put off from May to September to allow re-examination of the figures, and the forming of a view by the Belgian Minister of Communications, Guy Coëme. Since the eventual decisions one way or the other could cause changes in 28 out of the 55 tables therein, the SNCB annual timetable starting in May is likely to require a sizeable September supplement, and solutions to limit the cost of this are being sought. (Trans-Fer, #85, April 1993) BLN 705.02][BE] Freight closures?: Publicity material for the ADL16 tour on 18 June (BLN 704,p.127-93) asserts that closure is likely later in 1993 for three SNCB freight-only lines that the tour is to visit, namely Ligne 126 Statte - Marchin, Ligne 127 Statte - Moha and Ligne 128 Ciney - Spontin. (Ball atlas ref.9A1, 17A3) All three are truncated surviving sections of longer routes, now unavailable for use beyond the end-points quoted. BLN 705.03][DE] Schlettau - Crottendorf: (BLN 696,p.381/92-08) (Ball atlas ref.54B3) Contrary to the fears expressed in the previous report, this short DR branch was still open in April 1993. Only 6km long from the actual junction at Walthersdorf (Erzgebirge), it runs up a valley through two halts (Walthersdorf Haltepunkt and Crottendorf untere Bahnhof) to terminate at Crottendorf obere Bahnhof. On 13 April the 1322 train on to the branch carried 4 passengers. A notice advertised steam traction on the line over Easter. BLN 705.04][DE] Kulmbach - Thurnau: (Ball atlas ref.53A2) Likely closure from 21 May 1993 is rumoured locally for this 16km DB branch near Bayreuth, which has only two trains out and back Mondays to Fridays, the remaining timetabled service being by bus. On 14 April the 0602 from Kulmbach had one (BLS) passenger and its 0649 return working seven. The stock is not hard worked either, with a layover at Kulmbach till the 1322 to Thurnau and back, the last train of the day. BLN 705.74][DE] Hassfurt - Hofheim: (Ball atlas 52A2) Another 16km DB branch worked Monday to Friday only, this is a rural railbus ride through delightful rolling countryside near Bamberg, seeming to detour to follow field boundaries. Hofheim has a small railway museum with a number of locomotives. BLN 706.01][IE] Millstreet and Tralee: Millstreet on the Mallow - Tralee line had its platform trebled in length so that the influx of passengers to the Eurovision Song Contest, held in the town on 15 May 1993, did not require to move to the front two coaches before alighting. (Daily Telegraph) Further west, some 3km of the line from Tralee to Blennerville was after 40 years restored to passenger service as a tourist attraction, with finance from the European Community taxpayer, on 1 April 1993. Narrow-gauge Tralee & Dingle steam locomotive no.5, repatriated from Vermont, hauled ex-Spanish coaches. BLN 706.02][FR] SNCF network: During 1992, 75km of new SNCF line (LGV to the east of Lyon) opened, and 794km, mostly freight sections, closed (a list appears in La Vie du Rail, #2392, 21 avril 1993). At 1 January 1993, SNCF had a network of 32,727km open to traffic. The new French Prime Minister, Edouard Balladur, has said that no further stations or services will close in the immediate future. However an SNCF view is that the replacement of trains by a bus does not necessarily count as ' closure'. BLN 706.03][FR] Embarras d'informatique: TGV-R units (R = Réseau, that is, not captive to particular routes) enter service on the Nord-Europe line to Lille on 23 May 1993, but not in multiple, since their on-board computers cannot yet be persuaded to talk reliably to each other. As a result some trains in the summer timetable are shown as running in two portions 3 minutes apart. SNCF's new state-of-the art SOCRATE reservation and ticketing system, based on American Airlines' well-tried Sabre software, incorporates sophisticated 'yield-management' features (that is, it won't sell you a cheap seat if the software reckons it has a good chance of making you pay more, basing its decision on previous load factors on comparable trains and the current state of bookings). However as introduced this year it was so unfriendly to customers, and so slow and laborious for booking clerks to use, even for ordinary journeys with few changes, that it drove SNCF staff to despair, refusal to use the new kit, and even strike action. Program changes are promised, but just after the timetable change on 23 May may not be the best time for a BLS member to try booking a complicated route across France! BLN 706.04][BE] SNCB Lijn 15 Mol - Hasselt: (Ball atlas ref. 9A3) This section, whose passenger service was recently reprieved (BLN 702, p.94/93-07), has not long been singled, from Mol to south of Beringen with a loop at Leopoldsburg. The branch to Winterslag has been lifted in the vicinity of Y Houthalen. BLN 706.05][NL] Amsterdam Lelylaan - Amsterdam Zuid: (Ball atlas ref. 4A3) On 1 April 1993 bulldozers were at work building the embankment for this new curve, and widening is also in progress northwards from Lelylaan. BLN 706.06][NL] Nijmegen area: (Ball atlas ref. 4B2) Noted as heavily rusted on 1 April 1993 were the Ressen-Bemmel - Vork curve (BLN 694,p.347/92-09) and the line south of Nijmegen heading off east to Kleve in Germany. BLN 706.07][DE] Friedrichshafen (Bodensee): (Ball atlas ref. 69A1) Until 1992 the terminus for several Eilzug workings from Ulm, the 1km Friedrichshafen Hafen branch now seems to have only a shuttle service from Friedrichshafen Stadt, rather a scratch operation using one loco and one coach, propelled from Hafen to Stadt with the guard looking through a gap in the corridor connection and signalling to the driver, rather than a proper push-pull arrangement. The Hafen station has had its tracks cut back to allow partial demolition and reconstruction of the terminal building as a Zeppelin museum. A new terminal building has been built, convenient for the boats on the lake, but a 400m walk from the trains along a temporary walkway. Rail traffic seemed ominously light, with only five passengers, two of them gricers, joining the 1624 from Hafen on 20 March 1993. BLN 706.08][DE] Wasserburg (Inn): (Ball atlas ref. 71B2) In March 1993 the 4km branch to Wasserburg Stadt had not been used for some time, except for the first few metres to a dairy-products factory siding, beyond which the rails were heavily rusted and level-crossing flangeways were full of dirt. Passenger traffic on the 19km line to Ebersberg (Oberbayern) appeared very sparse, with a single DB railbus being more than adequate for the traffic on an early evening run. With investment in new Cl.628 two-car units for local lines with a reasonable future, the traditional four-wheel Ferkeltaxi ( = 'Piglet-taxi', a rather more vivid expression than the likes of 'bubble-car' in the UK) is becoming an endangered species, and seeing one may be something of an indicator that a line may not see passengers for long. BLN 706.09][AT] Gürktalbahn: (Ball atlas ref. 82B2) The former ÖBB line from Treibach Althofen to Kleine Glödnitz closed to passengers on 5 June 1968 and to freight on 15 November 1971. A local preservation group have laid a third rail in a private siding at Treibach Althofen and have restored passenger service over 3.3km to Pöckstein Zwischenwassern. The 'inauguration', presumably ceremonial, was on 5 September 1992, but trains may have begun from 4 July. BLN 706.010][CA] Toronto PSUL: North from Toronto run two CN routes, the Newmarket subdivision, which leaves the west end of Union station, and the Bala subdivision, leaving from the east end. About two hours out of Toronto, at Washago, the two lines join and separate again, effectively crossing each other, so that the Newmarket sub is now going north-east to North Bay, and the Bala sub north-west to Capreol. North American main-line trains tend to be non-reversible fixed formations, so it is easier if they can be 'wyed' (turned on a triangle, or 'wye') or if they can always face the same way. The Canadian, VIA Rail's transcontinental train, achieves this by use of an interesting manoeuvre over the York subdivision, built as part of a mid-1960s Toronto avoiding line for freight. The incoming train from Vancouver takes the Newmarket sub (the western approach) from Washago to Snider, where it does a double reversal (propelling) to reach the York sub, which it takes to a facing chord at Doncaster giving access to the Bala sub, and thus into Union station from the east. The outgoing Canadian takes the Newmarket sub to Washago. The Northlander, Ontario Northland's daily passenger train, is now short enough to wye at Toronto, so it takes the Bala sub in both directions south of Washago, entering and leaving Union station at the east end. The operations described came into effect in April 1992; prior to that, the Canadian arrived at the west end and left at the east end, doing the shuffle over the York sub on the way out, and the Northlander came in on the Bala sub (east end) and out on the Newmarket sub (west end). BLN 706.011][LK] Sri Lanka: The restoration of passenger services between Padukka and Avissawella had been effected by early 1979 (rather than 1982). Contrary to the pessimism expressed in BLN 701,p.78/93-03, the next stage of the conversion of the Kelani Valley line to dual 762mm/1676mm gauge - the 15.5km from Nugegoda to Homagama - was completed in January 1993, and it is reported that the whole remaining line to Avissawella, some 60km out of Colombo, will be converted by the end of 1993. BLN 706.012][AU] Perth suburban: Westrail's electrified local 1067mm-gauge network is expanding. Perth Central to Joondalup opened for passengers on 20 December 1992 and an extension to Currambine is due to open in May 1993. BLN 706.013][ZM] Lusaka Urban Railway: Mulungushi Commuter service began in 1991, worked by the mining company ZCCM Ltd over what appears to be a newly-built 1067mm-gauge line between Chilenje South, Lusaka and George. The service runs on a shuttle basis, to no fixed timetable (like the Manchester Metrolink). BLN 707.01][GB][IE] Irish railway walks: BLS member and author Mr Rhys ab Elis is interested in the disused trackbeds of railways in Ireland, particularly the many closed 762mm-gauge secondary lines which had roadside or on-street sections, which may today survive as grass verges or footpaths. Anyone with recent information to offer about trackbeds (such as the Tralee & Dingle west of Blennerville to Dingle and Castlegregory; the Arigna branch of the Cavan & Leitrim; the Bessbrook & Newry; the Portrush - Bushmills section of the Giants' Causeway tramway; the Cork & Muskerry; and the Schull & Skibbereen) is invited to write to him direct at 13 Rhes-y-Twnnel, Newport, Gwent NP9 4BT. BLN 707.02][FR][BE] Hautmont avoiding line: (Ball atlas ref. 16A3) On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 19 June to 29 August 1993, locally advertised trains depart from Maubeuge in France (out 0717; return 2135) to run via Mons (0745; 2101) to Blankenberge on the Belgian coast (0946; 1856). Last year these trains used the curve avoiding Hautmont station. BLN 707.03][DE][FR] Pfalz freight branches: (Ball atlas ref. 56B2, 57A2) During May a railtour visited DB branches to Bundenthal-Rumbach, whose traffic is mostly timber; to Herxheim (bei Landau), whose beet traffic ceased in autumn 1992, though there are grain silos, and traffic is worked as required by the shunting loco based at Landau; to Bad Bergzabern, whose station and goods yard are intact, but with no sign of traffic; and across the French frontier to Wissembourg on the SNCF. The last line has had no traffic since beet shipments from the DB stations at Schaidt and Kapsweyer ended in December 1992, though it is retained intact for what are said to be strategic reasons at the request of NATO. At Wissembourg, the formation of the former avoiding line is now heavily overgrown and the triangle is occupied by an engineer's tip, the siding into which uses the alignment of the erstwhile line to Lauterbourg. Lauterbourg itself sees several cross-border freight trains a day, including the trains now diverted from the Wissembourg route, all usually hauled by SNCF 67400 diesel locomotives. BLN 707.04][DE] Heudeber Danstedt - Osterwieck: (Ball atlas ref.27B1) Heudeber Danstedt has facilities rather more elaborate than one might expect at a country junction where a DR railbus connects with the double-deck push-pull local diesel train from Halberstadt to Wernigerode. However the railbuses take the straight-ahead double-track formation, while Wernigerode trains curve sharply off to the left, giving the clue that the first section of the 'branch' was part of the former Halle - Hannover main line. The first halt, Langein, (5km) has had one railbus-length of the original full-length platform extended out (South Ruislip fashion) across the formation to serve the single track. At Wasserleben (8.1km), the next station (and a resting-place for redundant DDR ISO containers), the now-lifted main line continued straight ahead, severed by the former east/west border, in the direction of Vienenburg, 14.2km away on the DB. The remaining line curves away to the right, immediately becoming more like a rural branch with curves and undulations. Prior to absorption by the DR after 1945 this was the Osterwieck - Wasserlebener Eisenbahn. Osterwieck, the next station - the principal one on the line, fully staffed, and home to the clutch of railbuses that work the branch - is at 13.3km, somewhat inconveniently sited at the east end of the town, so trains continue to a small halt, Osterwieck West (14.6km), which serves modern housing as well as the mediaeval centre. The line continues, for freight only, to Bhüne-Rimbeck, apparently to a mill. Another victim of partition, it had once run onward another 14.8km to Börssum on the DB. (Back at Heudeber Danstedt to change trains, spare five minutes to cross under the DR tracks, through a gloomy foot tunnel from the station drive, and you will find the platform of Heudeber Ost, the separate station of the closed Eisenbahn AG Heudeber - Mattlerzoll; its tracks are now merely access to a grain silo.) The future may yet see part of the disused pre-war main line revived, for an east-west link is said to be being planned, to open in 1995, starting not at Wasserleben but further south at Stapelburg (BLN 696,p.381/92-09), and heading north-west before meeting the Wasserleben trackbed and using it to reach Vienenburg. BLN 707.05][ES] New track between Tarragona and Valencia: RENFE have opened a 63km cut-off, allowing 200km/h, between Alcanar and Oropesa del Mar, on their east coast main line. (Railway Gazette International, May 1993) BLN 707.06][SE] Inlandsbanan: Trains operate from 5 June to 22 August 1993 on this lengthy and scenic but threatened line up through central Sweden. BLN 707.07][UY] Passenger trains restored in Uruguay: In a country without passenger services for five years, two 1936-built standard-gauge Brill railcars are running again on the 118km rural section between Tacuarembo and Rivera, in the north-east near the Brazilian frontier, and the state railway (AFE) is refurbishing coaches to begin a commuter service over the 60km or so between the junction of 25 de Agosto and the capital city, Montevideo, (which had a large and elegant, but disused, overall-roofed station when seen in November 1988). (Railway Gazette International, May 1993) BLN 707.08] North, south, east and west: Can anyone improve upon the following? [SJ] Northernmost railway on Earth: A coal-carrying line on the Norwegian island territory of Svalbard (Spitsbergen). Is this line still operating? What gauge was or is it? [RU] Northernmost railhead on the connected Eurasian system: Pechenga, near the Norwegian border north-west of Murmansk, on the 1524mm gauge in Russia [GB] Northernmost railhead for through-running on the European standard-gauge (thanks to the recently linked rails of Eurotunnel!) and on the GB system: Thurso [GB] Southernmost railhead on the GB system: Penzance [IT or GR?] Southernmost railhead for through-running on the European standard-gauge: Is this Mèlito di Porto Salvo, near Reggio di Calabria at the toe of Italy? Or Peiraieus, near Athinai, Greece? [VN] Southernmost railhead on the connected Eurasian system: Probably Ho Chi Minh City (Gare Saigon), on the metre-gauge in Vietnam, since the dual-gauge connection (standard and metre) across the China - Vietnam frontier is said to be operating again. [AR] Southernmost railway on Earth: Another coal-carrier, the 255km 750mm-gauge steam-worked line from Rio Turbio mines to Rio Gallegos port in south Patagonia, Argentina. [NZ] Easternmost railhead on Earth: Gisborne, New Zealand. [RU] Easternmost railhead on the connected Eurasian system: Sovietskaya Gavan Gorod (="Soviet Harbour Town", which was its name in USSR days, so it may be called something different now), the mainland ferry port opposite Sakhalin island, on the 1524mm-gauge in the far east of Russia. [TR] Easternmost railhead for through-running on the European standard-gauge: Sirkeçi station, Istanbul, Turkey. [GB] Easternmost railhead on the GB system: Lowestoft. [GB] Westernmost railhead for through-running on the European standard-gauge and on the GB system: Arisaig. [PT] Westernmost railhead on the connected Eurasian system: Cascais, on CP's 1676mm-gauge Estoril line, Portugal. [US] Westernmost railhead on Earth: Probably Talkeetna, between Anchorage and Fairbanks on the 846km standard-gauge Alaska Railroad, USA. For the purposes of the above, "connected" is interpreted liberally, to allow connections involving change to a train of a different gauge, where the different-gauge lines are adjacent (within walking distance). "Through-running" is a more onerous criterion, requiring continuous fixed rails useable by an ordinary rail vehicle with the same fixed-gauge wheelsets (that is, no bogie changes, no TALGOs, no train ferries). BLN 708.01][FR] SNCF 1993 summer diversions etc: Because of tunnel work from 5 July some local trains are temporarily diverted, in most cases Mondays to Fridays, away from Rouen Rive Droite to a station named Rouen-Préfecture, presumably on the left bank of the Seine but not shown in the Ball atlas at ref.13B1. Diverted trains include a number to, from or via Elbeuf-St.Aubin, plus the 0728 from Serqueux, the 1824 to Serqueux, the 1716FO from Amiens and the 1857FO to Amiens. The southern section of the new LGV Nord-Europe is now open from Arras south-westwards to Villiers-le-Bel-Gonesse on the outskirts of Paris. (Ball atlas ref.15A3-25B3) The 0803 Strasbourg - Nice and the 0825/0829 Nice - Strasbourg Le Rouget de Lisle no longer call at Belfort and run via the Belfort avoiding line, Dole, the Dijon avoiding line and Louhans. (Ball atlas ref.40B2-39A1-49A2) Because of electrification work between Franois and St.Amour, the 0627 and 1140 Strasbourg - Lyon Perrache and the 0911 and 1254 Lyon Perrache - Strasbourg run via Dole, the Dijon avoiding line and Mâcon-Ville. (39A1-48B1) A number of other trains are also diverted via Dole, but note that some of them are booked to call at Dijon-Ville. Between 26 July and 20 August the service between St.Sulpice (Tarn) and Mazamet (72A3-72B3) is to be provided by buses. BLN 708.02][DE] Mukran ferry branch: (BLN 702, p.94/93-010; Ball atlas ref.13B3) In 1992 the unadvertised passenger trains for workers ran outwards from Bergen (Rügen) to Mukran at 0525, 0625A, 1319A, 1458A and 1723C, and back at 0615, 0852A, 1421A, 1817A and 2217A. (A = Mon-Fri, not public holidays; C = Sat, Sun and public holidays) A loco-hauled coach labelled for Mukran was seen at Bergen (Rügen) on 4 May 1993 so presumably the service still operates. BLN 708.03][DE] Hersfelder Eisenbahn GmbH: (Ball atlas ref.40B1) The HEG company operates a standard-gauge line from Bad Hersfeld Kreisbahnhof (next to the DB station on the old Göttingen - Fulda main line south of Bebra) to Heimboldshausen. It also has one passenger train a day each way, though the Kursbuch was not admitting this in its 1992-93 edition. The trains are #9, the 1301 Schenklengsfeld - Heimboldshausen (reverse) - Werk Hattorf (station for a potash works; arr 1325) and #12, the 1400 Werk Hattorf - Heimboldshausen - Bad Hersfeld (arr 1448). The c.10km section between Schenklengsfeld and Bad Hersfeld thus has a service in one direction only. The line from Heimboldshausen to Werk Hattorf (which once extended on to Philippstal and across to Vacha on the DR) may be owned by the DB rather than HEG, but it does not seem to appear on railway maps, including the Ball atlas, so its ownership is unclear. (North-east of Heimboldshausen, the line is freight-only and is DB-owned to the former border at Dankmarshausen, then DR-owned to Gerstungen.) HEG also operates local buses, including a service from Bad Hersfeld to Philippstal and Vacha, and on 31 March 1993 two BLS members used the convenient 1240 bus from outside Bad Hersfeld DB station to connect with HEG's 1954-built VT50 railbus at Schenklengsfeld for the 1301 departure. The bus driver sold through bus/rail tickets, and four or five other passengers also made the transfer. From Werk Hattorf station - not actually in the works area - it is a 4km walk along the road via Philippstal to Vacha. The track of the closed railway paralleling the road is lifted west of the erstwhile border but present, though very much disused, from just short of Philippstal's former passenger station eastwards into Vacha, the terminal point of a reasonably frequent DR passenger service from Dorndorf and Bad Salzungen. Looking west at Vacha station, one can see two single lines, the northern one clearly being the disused branch back to Philippstal. The other, well-polished, one heads south-west for Unterbreizbach - where, judging from the spoil heap visible in the distance, there are other potash workings. Vacha - Unterbreizbach is another line not shown on railway maps and is presumably a connection built by the DR after partition to replace the original, now disused, route to Unterbreizbach which crossed the border near Philippstal. BLN 708.04][DE] DR funicular and vintage electric line in Thuringia: (Ball atlas ref.52B3) From an unusual turntable link at Obstfelderschmiede on the diesel-worked DR Rottenbach - Katzhütte branch, an interesting standard-gauge funicular climbs to its top station, Lichtenhain (an der Bergbahn) - 1.4km away and 663m up, according to the timetable - where there is a similar turntable link at the upper level. One of the cars on the incline is a conventional funicular vehicle, except that it appears very wide, but the other is a bogie "undercarriage" supporting a horizontal platform on which a four-wheel coach stands - well secured, one hopes. This undercarriage can presumably also carry vehicles from the upper-level line to and from works for maintenance. No less interesting is the upper-level line itself, a DR passenger-only branch running the 2.6km from Lichtenhain to Cursdorf. Operating on overhead 600V dc power, with its original four-wheel electric railcars, it celebrates its 75th anniversary in 1993. The whole operation is well worth a visit. BLN 708.05][IT] Mercato San Severino - Salerno: (Ball atlas ref.54A1) This link was shown as a bus service as long ago as the 1975 FS timetable, but the branch, single-track and electrified, has been reopened to passengers in recent years, with some through workings to and from Cancello, though the junction at Mercato faces towards Avellino. BLN 708.06][IT] FS investment in Calabria: (Ball atlas ref.58A1) In the south towards the toe of Italy, Cosenza used to be linked to Paola on the west coast by a standard-gauge rack line over the mountains. This was replaced in recent years by the 15.3km Santomarco tunnel containing the eastern apex of the triangular junction to the main line south of Paola. The old line is severed at its former junction, which was close to the southern apex of the new triangle, but otherwise track does not appear to have been removed. At the inland end, at Castiglione Cosentino, the old line is still connected and there is a preservation scheme for the section thence to San Fili. Indeed there have been some trips over that part of the line recently. Three steam rack locomotives and a diesel rack railcar are stored in the open on a siding north of the station at Cosenza. The line inland from Sibari on the Gulf of Taranto is also being realigned (in some places quite extensively) and electrified. At Castiglione its new alignment meets the Paola - Cosenza line in a triangular junction, mostly on viaduct or embankment, but a short section of the old alignment remains in use as a branch to a private siding. At the time the tunnel was built, the old station at Cosenza in the centre of the town was replaced by a grand new structure on the outskirts, about half an hour's walk away, with five standard-gauge through platforms, carriage sheds and a large goods yard, plus seven terminal platforms for the 950mm-gauge Ferrovie della Calabria. The old line from Castiglione has been removed except for a short stub giving access by means of a backshunt to an electricity substation. Also realigned in recent years was the line between Reggio di Calabria Centrale and Reggio di Calabria S Caterina, moved slightly further from the shore and placed in a concrete box. Reggio di Calabria Lido station was relocated underground on this section, and the branch to Reggio di Calabria Marittima was also realigned, the new access diverging from the northbound track just north of the island platform at Lido station. This access is not electrified, although the former branch presumably was, since masts and wires, apparently fully maintained, still survive on the part of the old branch that was not altered. Reggio di Calabria Marittima has boats to and from Messina on Sicily, and still has a train ferry berth, although no passenger train ferry operations use this route. Indeed it is thought that the freight traffic too has transferred to the train ferry at Villa San Giovanni, 15km to the north of Reggio di Calabria Centrale. At about the time of the realignment, passenger trains between Lido and Marittima were withdrawn, and a bus now seems to make the connection with the ships, running to and from Centrale. (Ball atlas ref.60B3) BLN 708.07][IT] Ferrovie della Calabria: One section of the FC (Ball atlas ref.57A2) is based at Cosenza, whence 950mm-gauge lines run to Catanzaro Lido and to San Giovanni in Fiore. From Cosenza FS station, mentioned above, a new 950mm-gauge connection runs via two intermediate stops to join the old FC line just beyond its erstwhile terminus, at what is now known as Cosenza Centro. Still on the old branch from here are the maintenance depot and sidings, which lie just to the east of the site of the old FS station, though they were not easily reached from it. At Pedace, 10km from Cosenza, the lines diverge. The Catanzaro line, not visited this time, has the notable feature of a rack section descending from Catanzaro Città to Catanzaro Lido. From Pedace the line to San Giovanni in Fiore twists and turns, climbing steeply through Spezzano and Celico high above Cosenza to the east. Eventually the summit is reached near Santo Janni, 1406m above sea level, and then the line drops more gently across the high plateau to end on the edge of the rather dreary town of San Giovanni. The 1400 from Cosenza on 8 February 1993 was a single Breda diesel railcar, heavily loaded with college students as far as Spezzano, but with few travellers beyond, or on the return working at 1710 from San Giovanni. February in Cosenza was somewhat like Britain in June, fine and warm, but snow lay on the high plateau, some 300mm deep in places. Further south, starting from Gioia Tauro - where the FC station is adjacent to the FS one on the west side - two 950mm-gauge lines (Ball atlas ref.61A2) run to Sinopoli San Procopio and Cinquefrondi, both in the hills to the east. The line to Sinopoli is scenic, running for some distance along a ledge above a deep valley. Both lines are worked by 1970s-built Breda diesel railcars. On a Saturday and Sunday in February only single units were seen in operation, but there are trailer vehicles. A diesel locomotive coupled to two of them was standing in Gioia Tauro yard, where there is an FS standard-gauge exchange siding, though no evidence of freight traffic was seen on either FC line. Condition of stock and track is good and a fair number of passengers were travelling. Most railcars were still in the green and white FCL (Ferrovie Calabro-Lucane) livery, but two trailers had been repainted in FC red and yellow. BLN 708.08][IT] Sicily: (Ball atlas ref.59A3-60B3) The main line between the ferry port of Messina and Palermo, electrified some time ago, is being realigned substantially in several places. Already there are new stations at Milazzo and Barcellona-Castroreale and track on the old alignments through these towns is disconnected and partly lifted. Other deviations involving new bridges and tunnels are still under construction. Palermo Centrale passenger station is in the southern part of the town, and a former freight-only line into the docks to the north has in recent years been given a Metropolitana local passenger service worked by the FS, either with modern emus or push-pull sets and electric locomotives. Leaving the Trapani line at Palermo Notarbartolo, trains run via two intermediate stops at Imperatore Federico-Stadio and Fiera to Giachery, a single-platform terminus in a cutting alongside a large goods station. The line continues in the cutting to a gate giving access to the port area. Maps of the service seen on the stations show a 'Port' station beyond Giachery, linked to it by a broken line, but whether this indicates a bus connection or a proposed future development is not clear. BLN 709.01] Little Blighty Airport Express?: (BLN 704, p.127/93, BLN 707, p.171/93) If you fly to the Isle of Man, you can take a steam train into town. Though not well advertised, and not signposted from the island's airport terminal, Ronaldsway Halt on the 914mm-gauge Isle of Man Railway is only four minutes' walk away. Cross the main road and head westward for 400m down an industrial estate access road. A stile at the road end leads on to the line. There is no platform, but a station signboard confirms where the train will stop, if you make a clear hand-signal to the driver of the 2-4-0T, with its LNWR-liveried coaches. Journey time is 40 minutes, quicker than the Piccadilly line to Heathrow, through pleasanter scenery. Ronaldsway times are not shown in the otherwise useful timetable leaflet (which covers the IoMR, Manx Electric Railway and Snaefell Mountain Railway, and gives details of rover fares) but trains inward to Douglas are at 1040, 1230, 1440, 1540A, 1640 and 1740A, daily till 31 October 1993 (A = Mondays to Thursdays till 30 August). Steam to and from the airport is only one of the unusual ferrovial features of the island, which is well worth a visit, especially for this summer's MER centenary events. As already mentioned in BLN, enquiries may be made to Isle of Man Railways, Strathallan Crescent, Douglas, Isle of Man, telephone 0624-663366. BLN 709.02][GB, IE] Not quite so narrow in Ireland: (BLN 707, p.169/93-01) The convention in this international column is to use international (SI) measurements for all gauges and distances, even where non-metric units were in use when a railway was originally built, for example versts in Russia or miles and chains in Sri Lanka. But it behoves us to get our conversion right, and the above reference was sadly in error. The most common Irish narrow gauge was 914mm (3ft), not 762mm (2ft 6in). And Mr Rhys ab Elis' address should properly be 14 Rhes-y-Twnnel, Newport, Gwent NP9 4BT. BLN 709.03][FR] Unwisdom of SOCRATE: (BLN 706, p.156/93-03) The new SNCF reservation system is every bit as bad as reported. Supplements on TGV Nord Europe can be outrageous, a Sunday afternoon trip from Paris to Hazebrouck attracting a supplement of £27.70! Asked to suggest an itinerary from Grenoble to Calais departing at about 1000, the SOCRATE software could volunteer only a departure at 2106. It would not budge from this even when prompted with the time of the 1036 departure to Paris, which allowed a late afternoon arrival in Calais. Spend your time and money in a different country till SNCF get this disaster sorted out. BLN 709.04][FR] LGV Nord Europe: There is an east-to-north curve for works trains where the new TGV route crosses over the present main line from Paris to Bruxelles at Longueuil-Ste. Marie. (Ball atlas ref.15A1) Loops are already laid at the site of the proposed TGV Picardie station under the overbridge carrying the N29 St Quentin to Amiens road. Nearby, the new line crosses the branch from Chaulnes to Roye on a bridge (15A2), but further south (25B3) it blocks the formation of the former branch from Ormoy-Villers to Senlis, whose track is now lifted. BLN 709.05][FR] Aquitaine: SNCF have proposed to Aquitaine Regional Council that from the start of the 1993-94 winter timetable buses should replace trains between Agen and Monsempron-Libos (Ball atlas ref.61A2) and on the branch to St Jean-Pied-de-Port (69A2), and that the Oloron Ste.Marie branch (69B2) be worked by a single Z2 diesel unit shuttling to and from Pau. BLN 709.06][LU] Tour de Luxe update: A page of minor amendments will shortly be available correcting and updating the information in the itinerary prepared for the BLS Luxembourg tour in May 1993. Anyone wishing a copy is invited to send two 18p stamps to the International sub-editor. BLN 709.07][DE] (Bremen -) Uelzen - Salzwedel (- Stendal - Berlin): (Ball atlas ref.18A1-18B1) Track is to be restored between Uelzen on the DB and Salzwedel on the DR, to form part of a direct fast passenger route between Bremen and Berlin. (Blickpunkt Bahn, May 1993) BLN 709.08][DE] DR summer timetable changes: The following changes effective from 23 May 1993 are noted in addition to those at BLN 705,p.141/93-68. Strasburg (Mecklenburg) - Prenzlau (Ball atlas ref.20B3-21A2) remains in the timetable, but in fact seems to have closed at short notice from 15 March 1993 due to condition of the track. The trains in Table 295 using the Eberswalde avoiding line between Niederfinow and Britz have been withdrawn. This east-to-north curve is incorrectly depicted in the Ball atlas (21A1) since it passes under the south-to-north main line from Berlin and comes up on the west side thereof south of Britz. Timings between Schönhausen (Elbe) and Sandau (Elbe) (28B3-19B1) are shown as trains, but the Kursbuch map indicates a bus service. It is thought that trains did continue after 23 May but shortly after that the line closes temporarily to allow work on the Oebisfelde - Stendal - Spandau - Berlin Neubaustrecke. Also affected by the same work and possibly to be similarly closed at short notice is the nearby line from Rathenow to Neustadt (Dosse). One wonders whether these lines will in fact reopen. The last train on the Böhlen - Espenhain branch south of Leipzig (42B2) was on 21 May but as it would run after dark the last rites took place on the penultimate train, the 1258 from Leipzig Hbf, which was hauled by a 1936-built Museumslok and had carriage door-handles decorated with black ribbons. The BLS representative present was interviewed for the local paper, endeavouring to explain the concept of track-gricing - as distinct from an interest in locomotives - and spreading the international fame of the Society. Görlitz - Königshain-Hochstein (45A2) trains have been replaced by buses, but there is no indication of this on the Kursbuch map. BLN 709.09][DE] Green Ferkeltaxi to Kranichfeld: If the many remaining German rural branches are to survive in any number, suitably cost-effective traction will be crucial. The two-car local trains of Baureihe (Class) 628/928, referred to in BLN 706, p.157/93-08, as replacing railbuses in recent years, are broadly equivalent to an upmarket BR Class 156 Super Sprinter except that only one vehicle is powered. (The 628 car is a driving motor second, the 928 a driving trailer composite.) They are attractive trains and well suited to many local lines, but perhaps over-engineered and expensive for the shortest rural branches. Other options seem to be under consideration, for on the 25km Weimar - Kranichfeld branch (Ball atlas ref.42A1-41B1) one of the two regular pairs of DR railbuses seen in May 1993 was a refurbished Class 771 with two-tone green Nahverkehr livery replacing faded maroon paint, and new seating, curtains and internal laminated panelling. The engines have been beefed-up, for power is sometimes a problem with railbuses working cheaply-engineered 'laid-on-the-ground' branches where short but steep gradients are intermixed with severe speed restrictions at unprotected road crossings. DR (in Blickpunkt Bahn for May 1993) claims that the improved railbus service, hourly since October 1992, has increased Kranichfeld branch traffic thirty-fold, and new half-barrier crossings will soon give it even more of an edge over the competing buses into Weimar. Rising car ownership will no doubt continue to put short country branches out of business but there may yet be places where the humble 'piglet-taxi' will see the century out. BLN 709.010][PT, ES, IT, GR] Ball atlas revision: (BLN 703,p.110/93-03) M G Ball's European Railway Atlas volume covering Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece is now published. As with the previous volume, readers are invited to tell BLN of any revision or updating needed, so that a list can be compiled and passed on to the author in the interests of accuracy of a future edition. BLN 709.011][CH] Brig - Visp - Zermatt : The landslide occasioning the BVZ diversion between Herbriggen and Randa (Ball atlas ref.99B2) still looks dramatic, for the entire side of a sizeable mountain collapsed into the valley. A channel has been cleared for the river, and the road and railway now have to climb the mountainside on the other side of the valley to get round the blockage of the former formation. This results in trains going up the valley to Zermatt using a rack section downwards as they return to the valley floor. The present line shows every sign of permanence, though some bridges look temporary and may be replaced by more substantial structures in their present position. At Visp (100A3) a short deviation is under construction in connection with improvements to the main road. BLN 709.012][CH] Steam up the rack to the Rhône Glacier: (BLN 704, p.126/93-06; Ball atlas ref.94A1-93B1) The old summer-only Furka-Oberalp main line between Realp and Oberwald closed on 11 October 1981, and the new all-seasons line through the 15.4km Furka base tunnel came into use on 25 June 1982. A preservation society founded in 1983 was granted the necessary concession to work the old line in 1990, becoming Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke (DFB), who reopened the first section westward from Realp to Tiefenbach in 1992 and are to reopen from Tiefenbach to Furka on 30 July 1993. As previously reported, they hope to reach Gletsch in 1995 and Oberwald in 1998. The DFB station at Realp is where the old and new lines diverge, 1.4km south of Realp FO station. Motive power includes repatriated ex-FO steam locomotives that were sold for use in Vietnam after the FO was electrified in 1940. BLN 709.013][NO] Oslo - Bergen: A major realignment through a lengthy new tunnel bypassing the old summit of the line near Finse is reported as coming into use on 9 May 1993. BLN 709.014][RU] Northernmost railhead on the connected Eurasian system: (BLN 707, p.170/93-08) An LCGB railtour (1591km behind steam) visited Pechenga, the northernmost ordinary passenger station, 164km from Murmansk, in June 1993. Two BLS members on board report that track continues some 5km further north for military traffic to a naval base on the coast at Linakhamari (variously quoted in the reports as Liinahamari and Liinnahamari, which look like Finnish-language spellings of the place-name). The line to Linakhamari is shown in a 1967 USSR Road Atlas but not in the 1990 Rail Atlas of Passenger Lines. The railtour was in fact scheduled to visit this extremity, but the KGB became nervous and were persuaded only with some difficulty to allow the train as far as Pechenga. BLN 709.015][CL, AR, BO, BR] 5000km across a continent on the metre-gauge: Slightly different from the average rare-track railtour was the 14-coach business promotion special which ran out and back across South America during April 1993. Starting from the Chilean Pacific ports of Iquique and Antofagasta, the Tren Bioceànico de la Confraternidad climbed, on the rails of the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia (FCAB), to the 3858m-high Andean frontier town of Socompa. The next 900km were on the General Belgrano section of Ferrocarriles Argentinos, heading east via Salta, then turning north to leave Argentina at Pocitos. Continuing north from Yacuiba to the junction of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, it turned eastward as far as Puerto Suarez (Quijaro) to complete 1200km on the lines of Bolivia's Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles (ENFE). Crossing the frontier to Corumbà on the Rede Ferroviaria Federal (RFFSA) of Brazil it still had some 1800km to run before reaching the eastern city of São Paulo and the Atlantic port of Santos. Those familiar with the process of negotiating railtours with BR officials may be able to visualise the challenge of setting up the arrangements for a journey like the above! (Railway Gazette International, June 1993) BLN 709.016][ZA] South African closures: Spoornet's Cape Midland Region are closing to ordinary traffic all their remaining branch lines except Alicedale - Grahamstown, though they say track will not be lifted and the lines, listed below, may be made available to private-sector operators. Similar announcements from other Regions are expected to follow. Assegaaibos - Avontuur (610mm-gauge) Closed to all traffic 1 April 1993 Grahamstown - Port Alfred Closed to all traffic 30 April 1993 Armoed - Calitzdorp Closed to all traffic 31 May 1993 Graaff-Reinet - Middelburg Closed F 31 May 1993, P 31 July 1993 (though in fact the only timetabled passenger train by this route - Johannesburg to Mossel Bay - was withdrawn from 31 May 1993) Cookhouse - Somerset East Closed to all traffic 30 June 1993 Barkly Bridge - Alexandria Closed to all traffic 31 July 1993 Port Elizabeth - Assegaaibos - Patensie (610mm-gauge) "Open only on contract mass freight basis from 31 July 1993" Addo - Kirkwood "At the end of the citrus season, thereafter in service seasonally for citrus only" (SA Rail, May 1993) BLN 710.01][FR] Corsica (Ball atlas ref.78) The metre-gauge Chemin de Fer de la Corse comprises a 153km main line from Bastia in the north to Ajaccio Port in the south-west, and a 73km branch from Ponte Leccia (47km out of Bastia) to Ile Rousse and along the north-west coast to Calvi. The main line has four trains a day each way, three of them being new single-car diesel units with matching driving trailers. In June 1993 trains of both 2-car and 4-car configuration were seen, and 6-car formations are believed to run some peak-season services. The fourth daily train is usually an older single power car hauling a small non-driving trailer, as also are the two trains a day from Bastia to Calvi, and a short commuter working from Bastia to Casamozza. Additional trains during the tourist season along the 21km from Ile Rousse to Calvi, advertised as Le Tramway de la Balagne, were being operated in June 1993 by a very elderly and ramshackle Renault railcar. No attempt is made to connect trains with the ferries from Marseille, Toulon and Nice to Bastia and Ajaccio. Indeed in June 1993 the morning train from Ajaccio to Bastia was timed to leave at 0750, ten minutes before the ferry docked, leaving connecting passengers to await the next departure at 1440. Though all northbound trains are shown in the current SNCF and Thomas Cook timetables as starting from Ajaccio Port ten minutes before calling at the main Ajaccio Gare, it is apparent from the undisturbed weed on the track that no train has actually used the 1km port extension for some time, maybe months. There is no obvious explanation for the lack of connections nor does there seem to be any substitute bus service. BLN 710.02][BE][NL] NMBS Lijn 20 Beverst - Lanaken - Maastricht NS: (Ball atlas ref.9B2) This line remains out of use, with the junction points removed at Y Beverst, though track remains intact beyond. Sleepers block the track near the carriage-washer at the Maastricht end. BLN 710.03][NL][DE] NS summer 1993 changes: From 23 May, three trains a day start and terminate at Nieuweschans (Ball atlas ref.2A2) giving extra connections across the border to Leer in Germany, augmenting the three trains each way (SuX; only two SuO) that work through between Groningen and Leer. On the same day Utrecht-bound stoptrein services began to call at a new station, Gouda Goverwelle, east of Gouda main station. (3B2) Of the original (low-level) lines between Rotterdam CS and Schiedam-Rotterdam West (3B2), only the eastbound local track remains in use, normally by trains from Hoek van Holland, but with work on the new high-level tracks well advanced it is unlikely to last much longer. The May timetable also saw the opening to passengers of a new section of the line round the south of Amsterdam (4A3) from Amsterdam RAI through Duivendrecht (a new station with low-level platforms beneath high-level ones on the Amsterdam CS - Utrecht CS main line) and Diemen Zuid (another new station) to Gaasperdamweg aansluiting (= junction), trailing into the Amsterdam - Hilversum line. The new line has two half-hourly stoptrein services: Den Haag CS - Schiphol - RAI - Lelystad, and Schiphol - RAI - Hilversum - Utrecht CS. BLN 710.04][DE] Nürnberg - Schwandorf / Weiden: (Ball atlas ref.59B3-60B3/53B1) Previous paragraphs (BLN 706, p.157/93-08 & BLN 709, p.202/93-09) discussed the future survival of German branch lines and their crucial dependence on plans for the renewal of traction. If refurbished railbuses are a cheap option and Class 628/928 units the 'middle' option, then the top of the range must be the Class 610 twin power cars introduced in Bavaria this year. Using Italian Pendolino tilt-technology, the high-powered diesel units take the numerous curves on this pair of routes at up to 170km/h, offering passengers standing behind the full-width end-vestibule windows quite a dramatic view of the line ahead or astern. The high-quality regular-interval Regionalschnellbahn service is hourly to Schwandorf with alternate four-car trains splitting at Neukirchen to serve Weiden every two hours. BLN 710.05][CZ] Luzec nad Vltavou: From the junction of Vranany, 40km out of Praha on the electrified main line from the Czech capital north to Decin and Dresden, a 3km branch curves off south-east to an industrial settlement on the river Vltava, where there are several rail-connected works, not all of them visibly in the best of health. In mid-July 1993 the 1504 mixed train down the branch comprised a Class 751 diesel loco, one elderly four-wheeled coach (with a few rows of seats for passengers plus a large stove in the saloon for keeping them from freezing in winter) and a recently repainted goods van with a guard's compartment: traditional, but not perhaps a very usual way of branch working to survive on the European standard gauge into the 1990s. There were only a handful of passengers and no freight traffic on the day the Society's central Europe inspectors visited the line. The crew did not bother to run the locomotive round at the far end of the branch, but propelled gently back all the way to the junction under hand signals from the guard, dutifully stopping at several level crossings. BLN 710.06][CZ] Velke Popovice: Not shown on the recent Quail map of the Czech (CD) and Slovak (ZSR) railways is a 6km industrial branch opened in 1905 from Strancice, 26km out from the Czech capital on the electrified main line from Praha to Ceske Velenice and Wien, and visited by a railtour on 10 July 1993. The junction faces away from Praha, and the line climbs away westward to pass under a motorway before curving quite steeply down through some 180º to lose height before ending in a sizeable privatised brewery at Velke Popovice. Since the Society's inspectors have an important secondary rôle in the worldwide quality assurance of such installations and their products, the double-heading locomotives (a 2-8-2T of 1928 and a 2-8-0 built in 1917) had several hours to run round their vintage train, imaginatively provided by Enfield Expeditions and KHKD Praha, a local railway history and preservation group. (Ring 081-363 7984 for details of Enfield's European railtours. KHKD may be contacted at Klub Historie Kolejove Dopravy, Jilovská 1150, 142 00 Praha 4, Czech Republic.) BLN 710.07][RU] Kaliningrad: The former East Prussian port city of Königsberg on the Baltic became after 1945 a part of the Soviet Union, annexed to the Russian republic rather than adjacent Lithuania. The German-speaking population were deported westward, Russians moved in, and the standard-gauge railways were widened to 1524mm. The city - still named after a notable Bolshevik - and its surrounding triangular region remain a detached enclave of Russia, whose overland links must pass through either (1524mm-gauge) Lithuania or (standard-gauge) Poland. (This may yet cause political trouble; if so, remember you read about it fir