Branch Line News International (ISSN 1354-0947), a newsletter about the world's railway geography and infrastructure 1997 archived text (BLN 793 - BLN 816) BLN 793.01][IE] Drogheda - Navan: (BLN 790.0445) The branch closed to regular passenger trains 14 May 1958. Passenger trains since have included an inbound train from Belfast on 31 July 1966, an outward Gaelic-football excursion on 23 May 1968, a charter to Bray in 1973 and two Gaelic-football specials on 3 June 1979. An Irish Traction Group railtour also visited the branch in 1996. BLN 793.02][FR] Amiens - Chaulnes - Jussy - Montescourt - St.Quentin: (Ball 14B2-15B2) Reinstatement of the barreau de Jussy, a 2km west-to-north military connection between Jussy and Montescourt, removed before 1986, should allow faster transit between Picardie's main towns by the end of 1997, making the journey between Amiens and St.Quentin 16km shorter by avoiding reversal or change at Tergnier. (La Vie du Rail, #2572, November 1996) If Région Picardie had thought about this earlier, they might have found improving the sparse local service even more cost-effective had these trains been able to feed a TGV station at Chaulnes where the LGV Nord-Europe crosses. SNCF looked at Chaulnes, but then insisted on locating their now rather underused TGV Haute-Picardie station 6km to the north near a road-intersection in open country, hence its ironic name gare des Betteraves (= 'sugar-beet station'; BLN 745.04). BLN 793.03][FR] Salbris - Romorantin - Gièvres - Luçay-le-Mâle: (BLN 788.0398; Ball 36A1-35B1) While the former southern terminus of this rural metre-gauge line was Le Blanc, the northern terminus was simply Argent rather than L'Argent, so the line was the Chemin de Fer du Blanc à Argent (= 'The White to Silver Railway'). The Compagnie du Blanc-Argent (CBA) now operate it on behalf of SNCF, who describe it officially as SNCF Région de Tours Ligne du Blanc à Argent. BLN 793.04][FR] (Angoulême -) Thiviers - Corgnac-sur-l'Isle - Excideuil (- Brive-la-Gaillarde): (Ball 53A2) Once part of a cross-country secondary line, Corgnac - Excideuil lost its freight service 1 June 1986. By 1994 Thiviers - Corgnac too was out of use (neutralisée) and Thiviers - Excideuil was formally abandoned (déclassée) on 11 July 1994. A preservation venture, Trans-Périgord Vert, was then proposed, and the Corgnac - Excideuil section, cleared of vegetation in 1995, was during summer 1996 in use for rail-cycles (vélo-rails). (L'Écho du Rail, #138, November 1994; #161, August 1996) BLN 793.05][FR] St.Denis-près-Martel - Martel - Souillac: (Ball 53B1-61B3, not shown) The 7km St.Denis - Martel section of this 17.5km line, closed to passengers 1 June 1980 and formally abandoned (déclassée) 10 April 1996, is proposed for the CF Touristique du Haut Quercy, formed in 1991, for which some stock is already stored at Martel. The 35km Sembadel - Estivareilles section of the Sembadel - Estivareilles - St.Marcellin (- Bonson) line (56A2-55B2), closed to passengers 7 July 1969 and déclassée 10 April 1996, is also proposed for preservation. (L'Écho du Rail, #161, August 1996) BLN 793.06][FR] Pau - Buzy-en-Béarn - Oloron-Ste.Marie - Canfranc RENFE: (BLN 787.0381; Ball 70A2-69B1) Withdrawal of services on this international line, and on the Buzy-en-Béarn - Arudy - Laruns-Eaux-Bonnes branch, took place as follows: Passenger Freight Pau - Buzy-en-Béarn Still runs Closed, date not known, possibly January 1991 Buzy-en-Béarn - Oloron-Ste.Marie Still runs January 1991 Oloron-Ste.Marie - St.Christau-Lurbe 1 June 1980 autumn 1988 St.Christau-Lurbe - Bedous 1 June 1980 1985 Bedous - Tunnel du Somport - Canfranc RENFE 27 March 1970 27 March 1970 (= date of the derailment which demolished the bridge at Estanguet) Buzy-en-Béarn - Arudy 2 March 1969 January 1991 Arudy - Laruns-Eaux-Bonnes 2 March 1969 5 July 1971 BLN 793.07][FR] Gardanne - Brignoles - Carnoules: (BLN 750.0114, 760.0367; Ball 75B3-76B2) As reported in BLN 750, the eastern Brignoles - Carnoules section of this freight line closed in January 1990, but the through route remained available for diversions. A tourist operation is now proposed, and a military locotracteur and an autorail from the Guîtres - Marcenais (Ball 51B1) preservation line have arrived at Carnoules. (L'Écho du Rail, #162, September 1996) BLN 793.08][BE] Antoing - Silly - Halle (- Bruxelles): (BLN 752.0145; Ball 7B1-8A2) The high speed LGV Belge is complete and in use from Lille (Triangle de Frétin) across the French border to Antoing (BLN 782.0274). Beyond, tracks are now being laid from west to east, both from Antoing towards the Coucou construction base near Silly, and from Coucou towards Halle. Provisional opening date is 13 December 1997, except for the new Halle station in tunnel. (European Railway News, on the Internet, December 1996) BLN 793.09][BE][FR] Mariembourg - Treignes (- Vireux-Molhain SNCF): (BLN 762.0404; Ball 16B3-17A3) In summer, on the days when the Chemin de Fer à Vapeur des Trois Vallées (CFV3V) are running also between Dinant SNCB and Givet SNCF, it should be possible to cover both preserved operations by taking an SNCF train for the 10km between Givet and Vireux-Molhain and walking the 4km across the border between Vireux-Molhain and Treignes, this section of line being disused. BLN 793.010][NL] Unprofitable NS services: The Dutch transport ministry has grouped unprofitable passenger services into three categories. The first group, mainly local services with busy commuter traffic in the densely populated Randstad area (Amsterdam / Den Haag / Rotterdam / Utrecht), will have a central-government subsidy contract for five to ten years. The second group will have government subsidy for two to four years, during which they will have to justify their continuing existence by becoming less loss-making. The third group - mainly local lines in the north and east of the country - are to be subsidised by local authorities. Two lines are outside the categorisation. Buses are to replace Almelo - Mariënberg passenger trains (Ball 5B3-2B1) by 1998. Den Haag - Rotterdam Hofplein (3B2) is to have a two-year subsidy contract, after which NS trains may be replaced by light rail. (Op de Rails, via Internet) BLN 793.011][DE] (Bielefeld Hbf - Lage (Lippe) -) Lemgo - Barntrup (- Aerzen - Hameln): (Ball 25B1-26A2) DB's Lemgo - Barntrup section still has a freight service, connecting with the private Barntrup - Rinteln Süd Extertalbahn. Beyond Barntrup, the track is heavily overgrown. BLN 721.010 reported the line to Aerzen closed 2 August 1993. Further east the track towards Hameln was lifted before 1986. (IBSE) BLN 793.012][DE] Frankfurt (Main) S-Bahn: Stresemannallee - Darmstadt: (BLN 723.034, 758.0325; Ball 50A3-49B3) From 1 June 1997 Frankfurt S-Bahn services are to be extended, with S4 running to Langen (Hessen) and S3 beyond to Darmstadt Hbf. South of Langen, the S-Bahn trains are to use a single line, with a double-track passing section between Egelsbach and Erzhausen. (IBSE) BLN 793.013][DE] Tübingen Hbf - Hechingen - Sigmaringen and Hechingen - Gammertingen - Sigmaringen: (BLN 775.0140; Ball 68B3-69A2; KBS 766, 768) A new curve at Hechingen was to come into use probably from 1 January 1997, enabling Hohenzollerische Landesbahn trains to use the DB station and allowing closure of the separate HzL station. (IBSE) BLN 793.014][DK][NO] Hirtshals - Kristiansand train-ferry: (Ball 4A3 (DK), 19B2 (NO)) Agreement could not be reached about equipping a new ship with rails, so the last goods wagons were carried on this freight-only train-ferry route on 1 June 1996. (Op de Rails, 10/96) BLN 793.015][DK] (København -) Korsør - Nyborg (- Odense): (BLN 754.0231, 767.0509; Ball 7B2-7A2) Trial running started 1 November 1996 on the fixed link across the Storebælt (= Great Belt), the strait between the Danish islands of Sjælland and Fyn. No passenger trains are yet routed by the new bridge and tunnel, but a few freight workings are, and the number will increase over the coming months. Full service is to start with the summer 1997 timetable, four years later than originally planned. (European Railway News, Internet, December 1996) As noted in BLN 754, Nyborg Færgehavn train-ferry station is expected to close. BLN 793.016][SE][DK] Malmö SJ - København DSB: (BLN 704.05, 755.0254; Ball 25A1 (SE) not shown) In connection with the 16km bridge-plus-tunnel fixed link between Sweden and Denmark across the Öresund/Øresund, the Swedish government has approved building a 4.2km tunnel under the city of Malmö itself, with two stations planned for local traffic and a train every 20 minutes, making the new border-crossing one of the most frequently served in the world. Malmö Central is to be modified extensively. The artificial island in the Öresund south of Saltholm has been named Pepparholm. Malmö - Ystad traffic increased 50% in summer 1996, with electrification and a new timetable. (European Rly News, December 1996) BLN 793.017][SE] Växjö - Rottne - Hultsfred - Tuna - Verkebäck - Jenny - Västervik: (BLN 775.0142, OEIS 9631; Ball 26A3-22B1) In April 1996 the town council refused permission for the Småländska Smalspåret preservation group to operate from Växjö, so passengers had to make use of bus route #350 to Rottne, some 21km away, to join the 891mm-gauge trains on the line to Hultsfred. These were advertised to run, Sundays excepted, from 15 July to 24 August 1996 - incidentally, to a pattern different from that in OEIS and in Today's Railways, #14. Units are based at Klavreström near Norrhult, and at Hultsfred. At the eastern end of the line another preservation group, the Tjustbygdens Järnvägsförening, ran Tuna - Ankarsrum - Verkebäck on Saturdays and Sundays from 29 June to 4 August 1996, with three round trips over that length, and a short working between Ankarsrum and Verkebäck. Resumption of services beyond requires not only a bridge under the E22 road but also restoration of a connection and signalling at Jenny, whence 891mm- and SJ 1435mm-gauge trains would share a single mixed-gauge track into Västervik. BLN 793.018][PT] More Portuguese electrification: In September 1996 CP invited tenders for the completion by 2002 of a further 350km of 25kV 50Hz electrification in the south of the country: Aguas de Moura - Ermidas-Sado - Funcheira - Tunes Linha do Sul Ball 26A2-33A2 Ermidas-Sado - Sines Linha de Sines 26A1 Funcheira - Ourique Linha do Alentejo 33A3-33B3 Ourique - Neves-Corvo Ramal de Neves-Corvo 33B3 Tunes - Faro Linha do Algarve 33B2 (European Railway News, on the Internet, December 1996) BLN 793.019][GR] Athinai - Lavrion: (Ball 66B1 not shown) This metre-gauge line south-east of the capital closed in 1957, but an Athenian group are restoring part of it with a view to running a tourist service. (L'Écho du Rail, #163, October 1996) BLN 793.020][AL][YU] Albania: (BLN 783.0320, 790.0460, 791.0484; Ball 52) The Milot - Rrëshen branch closed to passengers from 11 November 1996. The Lezhë - Shkodër section was temporarily closed for a month in early autumn 1996, and again in November, due to serious flooding. As at 2 December the cross-border Shkodër - Bajzé HSH - Hani I Hotit - Tuzi JZ - Podgorica freight line into Yugoslavia had still not reopened. HSH claim all the work was done on their side, but the Montenegrins had not yet complied with undertakings to reopen the link. On 6 December the station at Tiranë, the capital, had a serious fire, possibly caused by people spending the night in a passenger train, and made worse by the fire-brigade running out of water. Some carriages were hauled clear, but five were destroyed, fortunately without loss of life. Damage to the station may not be too serious, since it is of concrete construction. BLN 793.021][BA][HR][YU] Bosnia-Hercegovina: (BLN 702.012, 726.071, 749.0101, 752.0167, 769.021, 777.0179, 792.0522; Ball 51) Bosnia's two main railways, one running west-east, Bosanski Novi - Banja Luka - Grapska - Bosanski Šamac (- Strizivojna Vrpolje JZ), and the other north-south, Grapska - Doboj - Sarajevo - Mostar (- Ploce HZ), form a T-shaped system severely damaged during the fighting. Fragments of the network functioned for the military purposes of Bosnia's warring factions, but trains never crossed front lines, where tracks and bridges were generally destroyed. The northern Doboj - Sarajevo section of the north-south line has yet to be reopened, though the southern portion, Sarajevo - Mostar - Ploce, was repaired in July 1996, linking the Bosnian capital with the coast. A spokesman for IFOR, the NATO-led peace Implementation Force, said on 28 October 1996 that the repair of a bridge at Bosansko Petrovo Selo on the Doboj - Bosanska Poljana (- Vinkovci JZ) line completed a reconstruction effort connecting Zeljeznice Bosne i Hercegovine to Croatia in the west and Yugoslavia (Serbia) in the east, and linking the country with the rest of Europe for the first time since 43 months of fighting ended in 1995. Restoration of the final 3km of track, twice crossing the former military front-lines between Serb-held Doboj and Bosnian government territory, allows NATO to move its 58,000-strong force and equipment more easily, as well as assisting peacetime reconstruction, but in September 1996 the railway companies had no immediate plans to start regular commercial freight or passenger trains on the route, reflecting continuing political distrust. (Reuters via European Rly News, on the Internet, Dec. 1996) BLN 793.022][TR] Istanbul light rail: (BLN 722.019, 745.020, 774.0123; Ball 53A2) By mid-August 1996 the light-rail extension was running from Sirkeci TCDD station along the quayside road to Eminönü, near the south end of the Galata bridge across the Golden Horn. (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, December 1996) BLN 793.023][IL] Tel-Aviv - Rechovot - Ashdod - Ashkelon - Erez - Gaza: Israel and the Palestine Authority have agreed in principle that the Israel Railways passenger service to Rechovot should be extended, not only to Ashkelon as planned but to the border at Erez and for 9km beyond to Gaza, within the Palestine Authority's area. (Railway Gazette International, October 1996) Since Egyptian National Railways are already minded to restore their rail link east across Sinai to Gaza (BLN 784.0345), perhaps in the next millennium it will be possible again to take a train from Cairo to Haifa. BLN 793.024][CN][VN] Kunming - Hekou ZhGTL - Lao Cai DSVN - Hanoi: Following restoration in February 1996 of the standard-gauge 'Friendship Pass' link between Nanning and Hanoi (BLN 772.082), China and Vietnam were on 6 December 1996 to start service on the other cross-border rail link, the metre-gauge line between Kunming and Hanoi. Two through trains a week are expected to carry up to 400,000 tonnes of freight annually. (Financial Times, 22 November 1996) BLN 793.025][KH] Phnom Penh - Battambang: Chemins de Fer de Cambodge (CFC = Cambodian Railways) have restored services on 70km of their metre-gauge track from the capital. (Railway Gazette International, November 1996) BLN 793.026][CA] (Montréal, QC -) Senneterre - Taschereau, QC (- Cochrane, ON): VIA Rail's remaining once-a-week passenger train on this east-west CN line in northern Québec and Ontario has been cut back to run between Senneterre and Taschereau, 817km from Montréal, instead of continuing to Cochrane, 999km, due to 'slow orders' on the track of what was once a secondary transcontinental main line between Québec and Winnipeg, but now has no freight traffic. (Trains, Dec. '96) BLN 793.027][US] New York subway: Like Moskva (BLN 773.0102) and London, New York city has curiosities underground, some of which can be visited on tours organised by the NYC Transit Museum in Brooklyn. Several sections of expensively-built but unused trackbed remain beneath the city. At Roosevelt Avenue/Jackson Heights station, platforms with tiled nameboards never seen by a passenger lead to a tunnel finished in 1936 but still without track, heading east for three blocks above the existing IND Queens Boulevard line. A Long Island Rail Road tunnel beneath Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue, sealed in 1861 and only 'rediscovered' in the 1980s, once connected downtown Brooklyn with Suffolk County. Near Brooklyn Bridge lie some 200m of an uncompleted north-south East Side Line, with other sections in East Harlem. Several 'bellmouths' (widened sections of tunnel) are to be seen from the front or rear of trains between stops on existing lines, indicating where junctions were planned for lines never built, for example at Utica Avenue on the A Line in Brooklyn. (New York Times) BLN 793.028][AR] Buenos Aires: (BLN 731.0129, 738.0273, 759.0363, 767.0515) Long-distance passenger trains from the Argentine capital, such as Buenos Aires - Bahia Blanca - San Carlos de Bariloche and Buenos Aires - Tucuman, have had to be withdrawn, as the provinces have not managed to keep up the subsidy promised. Privatisation of suburban services however has increased reliability and patronage, well described in a Railway Gazette International article in December 1996. The new operators of the various commuter lines out of Buenos Aires are not quite as listed in BLN 759: Line Gauge Name of line during nationalisation / New operator Retiro - Pilar 1676mm FC General San Martin Trainmet San Martín (TMS) Retiro - Villa Rosa 1000mm FC General Belgrano (Norte) Ferrovías Retiro - Zárate / Capilla del Señor / Tigre 1676mm FC General Bartolome Mitre Trenes de BA Borges - Delta (light rail) 1435mm, regauged from 1676mm Tren de la Costa Federico Lacroze - General Lemos 1435mm FC General Urquiza Metrovías Once - Haedo - Mercedes / Lobos 1676mm FC D F Sarmiento Trenes de BA Buenos Aires - Gonzáles Catán 1000mm FC General Belgrano (Sur) Trainmet Belgrano (TMB) Puente Alsina - Marinos del Cruzero 1000mm FC General Belgrano (Sur) Trainmet Belgrano (TMB) Constitución - La Plata 1676mm FC General Roca Trainmet Roca (TMR) Constitución - San Vicente / Canuelas 1676mm FC General Roca Trainmet Roca (TMR) Haedo - Tapiales - Temperley 1676mm FC General Roca Trainmet Roca (TMR) (underground) 1435mm Subterráneos de Buenos Aires Metrovías BLN 793.029][PY] Asunción - Ypacarai - San Salvador - Encarnación: (BLN 778.0205) The 45km Asunción - Ypacarai local services were suspended at the beginning of November 1996, so the whole of the Ferrocarril Presidente Carlos Antonio Lopez, Paraguay's British-built 441km standard-gauge system, entirely worked by wood-burning steam locomotives, appears now to be out of use. Track latterly saw little maintenance, and though traversed by international trains the main line in 1988 resembled a 376km linear lawn, with never a sleeper to be seen among the grass. However a private contractor is said to be repairing or replacing 25 bridges, so trains may yet run again on the FCPCAL, which links landlocked Paraguay's capital, Asunción, via a major road/rail bridge between Encarnación and Posadas, to Buenos Aires and Montevideo, both major seaports as well as capitals of her partners in the Mercosur trade pact. (partly from World Steam, December 1996) BLN 793.030][ZM] Lusaka - Ngwerere: In spite of Zambia Railways' opposition, Njanji Commuter Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines, are to continue their recently-begun suburban operation on the 1067mm-gauge ZR main line north of the capital to Ngwerere. The ZCCM company have run Lusaka commuter services on the 16km Matero - Chilenji route since July 1991 (BLN 706.013). (Railway Gazette International, December 1996) BLN 794.031][GB] London St.Pancras - Stratford - Ebbsfleet - Ashford (- Calais-Fréthun SNCF): Members of the British House of Commons were informed on 18 December 1996 that following completion of all its Parliamentary stages, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 had received Royal Assent. Action to finance and build the line now lies with the London & Continental consortium (BLN 780.0232). BLN 794.032][FR][BE] Lille (Triangle de Frétin) - Wannehain SNCF - Espléchin SNCB - Antoing: (BLN 782.0274, 788.0395, 793.08; Ball 7B1) Some, but not all, Eurostars now use the north-to-east curve at Frétin, the LGV Belge, the west-to-south curve at Antoing, Ligne 78 to Mons, and Ligne 96 to Bruxelles/Brussel. The weekday 06:53, 08:57, 11:53, 14:53, and 18:53 from London and the 07:35, 10:52, 12:35 and 15:38 from Bruxelles are, it seems, booked to do so, rather than going via Tournai. BLN 794.033][FR] Breteuil-Embranchement - Breteuil-Ville: (Ball 14B2 not shown) At the north end of Breteuil-Embranchement station, 96km out on the Paris-Nord - Creil - Amiens main line, a freight-only branch heads away west. A signboard at the junction indicates its destination as Breteuil-Ville, some 8km distant. In 1995 the branch had a daily freight working (OEIS 9557), and track was recently seen to remain shiny. BLN 794.034][FR] Sélestat - Châtenois - Ste.Marie-aux-Mines - Lesseux-Frapelle (- St.Dié): (Ball 29B1-30A1) The Ste.Marie-aux-Mines - Lesseux-Frapelle section closed completely 3 June 1973 for conversion of a rail tunnel for road use. Sélestat - Ste.Marie-aux-Mines passenger service ceased 2 January 1980, and the section from La Vancelle, two stations west of Châtenois, to Ste.Marie-aux-Mines closed completely 1 September 1990. Track-lifting commenced at Ste.Marie-aux-Mines in spring 1996, but a local society, Loco Val d'Argent, obtained a reprieve from the Alsace Région. (L'Écho du Rail, #161, August 1996) BLN 794.035][FR] (Cholet -) St.Christophe-du-Bois - Mortagne-sur-Sèvre - Les Herbiers - St.Vincent-Ste.Cécile - Chantonnay: (BLN 790.0450; OEIS 9551, 9648; Ball 33A1-43A3) The État railway opened this line as late as 27 July 1914, under the 1879 Plan Freycinet for the development of communications in the national interest, but its passenger service lasted only 25 years, until 1 July 1939. It was perhaps surprising that it was ever built, considering that the Tramways de la Vendée, operated by the État, already ran from La Roche-sur-Yon to Les Herbiers, and continued to serve that town until 1 March 1939. Freight continued for varying periods: St.Christophe-du-Bois - Mortagne till 31 January 1994, Mortagne - Les Herbiers till 30 September 1991. The 25.5km of line between St.Christophe-du-Bois and Les Herbiers was déclassée (formally abandoned as national railway) on 10 April 1996. Les Herbiers - Mouchamps closed for freight 1 July 1953 and Mouchamps - St.Vincent-Ste.Cécile 31 May 1959, these sections being déclassée in 1960 and 1965 respectively, prior to lifting. St.Vincent-Ste.Cécile - Chantonnay remains in place, but is out of use, so SNCF operations have now ceased on the entire line. A preservation operation began using the 22km between Mortagne-sur-Sèvre and Les Herbiers on 1 June 1985, running about three days a week in summer, originally at times when SNCF freight trains were not about, but now having the line to itself. The service was first marketed as the Train à Vapeur du Puy de Fou, but since 6 December 1992 has been the Train à Vapeur de la Vendée. St.Laurent-sur-Sèvre is the stabling point for the locomotives and stock of the Association du Chemin de Fer de la Vendée, including a Wagon-Lits restaurant-car available for dining charters. BLN 794.036][FR] (Strasbourg - Colmar -) Lutterbach - Mulhouse: (BLN 697.04; OEIS 9582.FR23; Ball 41A3) Unwary travellers may be puzzled to see two trains from Strasbourg both arriving at Mulhouse more or less at the same time, sometimes across the same platform, but from opposite directions. Train #6173/2 Rouget de Lisle takes the more unusual route from Lutterbach via Mulhouse Nord marshalling yard and arrives at Mulhouse from the east, to avoid reversal before setting off at 09:26 for Belfort and Nice Ville. TER 200 #60207 takes the more direct route via Mulhouse-Musée before leaving, also at 09:26, for Basel SBB. Many Strasbourg - Mulhouse - Lyon workings reverse in Mulhouse, taking about 25 minutes from Colmar to Mulhouse, but locomotive-hauled trains which go via Mulhouse Nord may be identifiable in the timetable as taking about 30 minutes. (La Vie du Rail, #2577) BLN 794.037][FR] Corsica: (BLN 710.01, 729.0101; Ball 78B2) The rail/road bridge at the north end of Corte station, on the Bastia - Ajaccio main line, became road-only when a new rail bridge was constructed alongside in 1995. (L'Écho du Rail, #163, October 1996) The north-south main line has been upgraded over the years, as could be seen by comparing the rail on the running lines with the very lightweight rail recently remaining in sidings at Corte. BLN 794.038][DE] Hamburg: Ohlsdorf - Ochsenzoll - Garstedt - Norderstedt Mitte - Ulzburg Süd: (BLN 764.0444, 788.0406; Ball 22A2-17B3) On 1 July 1921 the third-rail 750V dc U-Bahn of the HHA (Hamburger Hochbahn AG = 'Hamburg Elevated Railway Co') took over the route of the Langenhornbahn from Ohlsdorf out to Ochsenzoll, but a single unelectrified track remains running parallel. This DB freight branch is now out of use, though still linked to S-Bahn tracks at Ohlsdorf and by a steep connecting track to the U-Bahn at Ochsenzoll, where it may be used by HHA engineers as a siding. From Ochsenzoll, then the U-Bahn terminus, the Alsternordbahn opened on 13 May 1953, northwards via Garstedt and the rural area that was to become Norderstedt, to a junction with the Altona-Kaltenkirchen-Neümunster Eisenbahn (AKN) at Ulzburg Süd. The U-Bahn line was subsequently extended outward in two stages, Ochsenzoll - Garstedt from 1 June 1969 and Garstedt - Norderstedt Mitte from 29 September 1996 (with opening festivities on Saturday 28 September), in each case accompanied by closure of the superseded section of the Alsternordbahn. From Garstedt the new U-Bahn is largely in cutting to the east of the former Alsternordbahn line, whose track has now been lifted. At Norderstedt Mitte the shared station is partly underground with a shopping-centre and bus-station above. The two U-Bahn tracks entering from the south terminate at the outer faces of an island platform in which a bay accommodates the AKN trains. These leave northbound up a steep ramp to ground-level, joining the original AKN alignment just south of the next station, Moorbekhalle. The two systems are not physically linked at Norderstedt, nor were they at Garstedt, where the now-closed AKN station was above the HHA. Within Norderstedt, officially a new town since 1970, the Verkehrsgesellschaft Norderstedt (VGN) now owns both the HHA-operated U-Bahn tracks and the AKN-operated line A2. (partly from Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 6/96) BLN 794.039][DE] Hamburg S-Bahn: Hbf - Bergedorf - Reinbek - Aumühle: (BLN 769.08, Ball 22B2-22B3) Bergedorf has a new bridge for the third-rail 1200V dc S-Bahn. Though earthworks to widen the cutting beyond are still incomplete, Linie S21 should be running again to Reinbek from the June 1997 timetable. The future of S21 service onward to Aumühle is less certain, and DB are considering a single S-Bahn track alongside the two long-distance ones. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 6/96) BLN 794.040][DE] Magdeburg trams: (BLN 792.0497) Since 24 October 1996 tram-routes #3 and #12 have used a newly-built double-track layout in Bahnhofstrasse and Hasselbachstrasse, stopping 50m north of the main entrance of the Hauptbahnhof rather than just outside it. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 6/96) BLN 794.041][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: Westkreuz - Berlin Hbf - Ostkreuz: (BLN 783.0305; Ball 31B2-32A2) Service resumed over the relaid S-Bahn tracks on the viaduct between Lehrter Stadtbahnhof and Hbf on 21 October 1996, and Jannowitzbrücke station reopened. Bellevue and Tiergarten were due to follow on 11 November. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 6/96) BLN 794.042][DE] Neuss Hbf - Kaarst: (Ball 33A1) This 6.1km branch in the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) area follows the Nordkanal to terminate at Kaarst, still a staffed station since it acts as the signal-box for the nearby level-crossing. Until 1995 worked by battery-electric Akkutriebwagen (BLN 723.029) and once proposed for conversion to light-rail Stadtbahn, it now employs the usual Class 628 diesel units, the service comprising three round-trips at half-hour intervals each Monday-to-Friday peak, mainly for commuters from Kaarst into Neuss. The layout at Neuss is not quite as shown in Ball. From Neuss am Kaiser, separate S-Bahn tracks run on the east side of the main line, crossing beneath it just north of Neuss station and running through to the south end of the station. The line from Neuss Süd makes a flying junction at Abzw Nord-Kanal with the line from Grevenbroich. BLN 794.043][DE] (Bautzen -) Grosspostwitz - Löbau (Sachsen): (BLN 759.0351; Ball 44B2-45A2) This line is expected to close 31 May 1997. Following damage to pointwork, the passing-loop at Cunewalde is out of use and will not be reinstated, so buses are already replacing some of the trains. (IBSE) BLN 794.044][DE] Remagen bridge: (BLN 789.0424; Ball 48A3) The Ludendorffbrücke railway bridge over the broad river Rhein at the strategically important crossing-point of Remagen was built by General Ludendorff in 1916-18, according to a 1985 Baedeker guide in English. Not mentioned in the last pre-1914 Baedeker in English (17th revised edition of 1911), nor in the text of the French 18th edition of 1910 as reprinted in 1920, the bridge does however appear on a 1:100,000 map in the latter guide. This map shows the Beuel - Neuwied east-bank line, the Rechte Rheinstrecke, having a north-facing junction between Unkel and Erpel, from which a line diverged south-east to gain height, swung south across the bridge, and descended south of Remagen to a south-facing junction that gave direct access to the Ahrtalbahn as well as to the Bonn - Andernach west-bank main line, the Linke Rheinstrecke. Maps in (modern reprints of) the summer 1934, summer 1939, and 1944-45 (3 July 1944) DRG timetables for some unknown reason omit the line over the bridge, and no reference can be found to its use by advertised passenger trains in summer 1934. However, the 1939 Kursbuch shows three trains running on Saturdays and Sundays, presumably in summer only, between Königswinter and Ahrweiler, allowing a day out in the attractive Ahr valley, the most northerly wine-making area in Germany. These trains called at all stations between Königswinter and Unkel on the Rechte Rheinstrecke and then between Bodendorf and Ahrweiler on the Ahrtalbahn, with a note in the respective timetable columns "über Ludendorffbrücke". Unsurprisingly, these pleasant weekend excursions do not appear in 1944-45, but careful study of the Kursbuch does disclose one train advertised in each direction over the bridge. Southbound, train D270, the 06:56 Dortmund - Basel, is shown as running from Köln-Deutz via the Rechte Rheinstrecke calling at Beuel for Bonn, then crossing the river to continue via the Linke Rheinstrecke, calling at Andernach and then Koblenz. Northbound, train E1113, the 12:51 Frankfurt (Main) - Düsseldorf, running only by special order, follows the route in reverse, calling at both Andernach and Königswinter. This switching from one bank to the other, possibly for pathing reasons, is confirmed in the appropriate part of the timetable columns by the thin wavy line in the centre indicating "train uses another route", a convention continued by DB in post-war timetables. As German cities were reduced to rubble, as Allied armies advanced upon the frontiers, and as the Ludendorffbrücke awaited its grim fate in March 1945, the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft still maintained its high standards of timetable production - though no doubt in reality much of the Kursbuch was a work of fiction. BLN 794.045][DE] (Obstfelderschmiede -) Lichtenhain - Cursdorf: (BLN 708.04, 723.035, 731.0127; Ball 52B3) The 3km local line from Lichtenhain to Cursdorf in Thuringia is threatened with de-electrification. Opened in 1918, it has original four-wheel 600V dc electric railcars, and remains linked to the rest of the system by the Oberweissbacher Bergbahn, a unique 1800mm-gauge DB funicular. (LCGB Bulletin, 1/97) BLN 794.046][DE] (Schlettau -) Walthersdorf (Erzgebirge) - Crottendorf obere Bahnhof: (BLN 752.0148; Ball 54B3) This 6km branch eventually closed 31 December 1996. (IBSE) BLN 794.047][DE][FR] Saarbrücken Hbf DB - Sarreguemines SNCF: international trams on railways: (Ball 56A2 (DE), 29B3 (FR)) Summer 1997 should see dual-voltage light-rail vehicles running half-hourly from the Hbf on new track under 750V dc wires through the streets of Saarbrücken to Brebach, then south under DB 15kV 16.7Hz overhead to terminate just inside France in Sarreguemines SNCF station, still under 15kV. (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, January 1997) BLN 794.048][DE][FR] Winden (Pfalz) DB - Wissembourg SNCF: (BLN 769.013; Ball 57A2) Prematurely heralded several times in BLN since 1994, and at least once in local KVV publicity in 1996, the reopening to passengers of this cross-border local line does seem to be approaching, with a date of 2 March 1997 quoted in LCGB Bulletin, 1/97. The same source says Class 628 units will work the hourly trains, so it appears that the curious Class 670 double-deck railbuses once envisaged here will not after all see international service. BLN 794.049][DE] Eichstätt Bahnhof - Eichstätt Stadt: (Ball 60A1-60A2) The Würzburg - München main line south-east of Treuchtlingen follows the valley of the river Altmühl to a point just west of the small town of Eichstätt, but then climbs out of the valley heading for Ingolstadt. The 5km Eichstätt branch runs downhill from the east-facing junction, diverging immediately west of the platform by the station building at Eichstätt Bf and diving into a short tunnel. Single throughout, it has two intermediate halts with track-level 'platforms' and small shelters before reaching the town terminus, where the loop and sidings have fairly recently been removed, reducing the line to a Windermere-style basic railway. The quite frequent passenger service was being worked by a Class 628 two-car diesel unit on 22 November 1996. BLN 794.050][GR] Piraeus - Athinai - Korinthos - Patrai - Kiparissia - Kalamata: (BLN 694.06; Ball 66B2-65B1) OSE (Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados = Greek railways) have substantially reduced services on their 892km metre-gauge system in the Peloponnese peninsula - which does not bode well for the future of this rather slow and unreliable railway. Round the west coast, one through Piraeus - Athinai - Patrai - Kalamata train remains, as does one Patrai - Kalamata working each way, but the night train is cut back to run Piraeus - Athinai - Patrai - Kiparissia only. Kalamata, with its attractive open-air railway museum, still has a night train by the southerly route, Piraeus - Athinai - Korinthos - Tripolis - Kalamata. Withdrawal of Kavassila - Killini branch passenger trains (BLN 783.0315; Ball 65A2) is said to be due to shortage of serviceable rolling-stock. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 10/96) Since September 1996 OSE has had a World Wide Web page in English (http://www.ose.gr), showing timetable, price and tourist information. (European Railway News, on the Internet, October 1996) BLN 794.051][CH] Frauenfeld - Wil: (Ball 88B2) The 17km 1200V dc metre-gauge Frauenfeld Wil Bahn has renamed its Frauenfeld Stadt station as Frauenfeld Marktplatz, following construction nearby of a new supermarket Am Marktplatz. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 10/96) BLN 794.052][PL] Wodzislaw Slaski - Jastrzebie Zdrój and Jastrzebie Zdrój - Zebrzydowice: (Ball 42B3) These two passenger services survived their planned withdrawal in 1996, but are expected to cease at the summer 1997 timetable change. (IBSE) BLN 794.053][CZ] Plzen - Klatovy - Zelezná Ruda CD (- Bayerische Eisenstein DB): (Ball 40B3-40A3) CD electrified the 41km Plzen-Valcha - Klatovy section at 25kV 50Hz from 21 September 1996, and are considering extension south of Klatovy to Zelezná Ruda and the German border, though that section carries much less traffic. (LCGB Bulletin, 1/97) BLN 794.054][CZ] Jindrichuv Hradec - Nova Bystrice: (BLN 714.026; Ball 41A3-41A2) Freight ceased on this 33km 760mm-gauge line at the end of 1996 and the remaining (weekend) passenger trains were to be withdrawn from 25 January 1997. BLN 794.055][JP] (Tokyo - Takasaki -) Yokogawa - Karuizawa (- Nagano): (BLN 776.0162) Freight trains have now all been diverted away from this section of JR East's 1067mm-gauge Shin-Etsu line, with its famous 11km scenic climb up a 1 in 15 gradient, so steep that electric multiple-units have to be piloted up and down by special electric locomotives. This makes complete closure of the unique incline more likely once the new Tokyo - Takasaki - Nagano Joetsu Shinkansen opens, in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. (Bullet-In, Japanese Railway Society, December 1996) BLN 794.056][AU] Melbourne - Adelaide: (BLN 753.0206) The Melbourne - Adelaide main line, last non-standard link between two state capitals in Australia, was belatedly converted from broad (1600mm) to standard (1435mm) gauge in 1995. Regauging is continuing, and Ireland's broad gauge may eventually disappear from Victoria's railways, apart from the metropolitan Melbourne commuter area. Lines reported as already converted include Dunolly - Ararat - Portland, running to the coast, plus inland agricultural branches Dimboola - Yaapeet and Murtoa - Hopetoun. (LCGB Bulletin, 1/97) BLN 794.057][CA] Toronto - Richmond Hill - Washago - Rama: casino train fails: (BLN 706.010, 783.0321, 792.0525) On 1 August 1996 a new passenger service began on 120km of CN track between Toronto Union station and Rama, north of Orillia, calling at GO Transit stations Oriole, Old Cummer, Langstaff and Richmond Hill, and using GO Transit trains and locomotives leased and operated by CN. The deal with Canadian National for eleven round-trips a week was struck by Casino Rama, a large gambling complex opened on 31 July. Fare was CAD29.95 return (= £13) for the 2h 30min trip each way. From 3 September, the service was reduced to one round-trip a day, but the trains, able to take up to 900 passengers a run, were sometimes carrying fewer than 100, and the last train left Toronto on Wednesday morning 2 October 1996. The route was initially north from Toronto via the Bala subdivision to Washago, then south on the Newmarket sub to Rama. Trains laid over in the siding at Longford, just north of Rama. After 21 September 1996, when the Newmarket sub was abandoned between Barrie (Allandale) and Rama, the Casino Rama train no longer needed to clear the main track to allow VIA trains #1/2 Canadian/Canadien to pass. (Canadian Railway News, on Internet) BLN 795.058][GB] London Waterloo International: Channel Fish, the attractive mobile sculpture hanging above the Eurostar arrival lobby at Waterloo, visible also from the departure lounge, was originally designed so that the swimming movements of the big silver fish speeded up as an inbound Eurostar approached the terminus. On 18 and 22 January 1996, alas, the fish were motionless. Has timetable disruption following November's 'incident' in the Tunnel confused them? Have they succumbed to technical faults after only two years of British railway maintenance? Or is the saving in electricity another quiet economy by Eurostar UK, like the withdrawal of the loss-leader Eurostar Link service, whose last Edinburgh - Waterloo and Manchester - Waterloo HSTs ran on Saturday 4 January 1996? (BLN 793.43) BLN 795.059][FR][BE] Lille (Triangle de Fretin) - Wannehain SNCF - Espléchin SNCB - Antoing: (BLN 794.032; Ball 7B1) The present diversion of some Eurostars off the Tournai route is for pathing reasons, and may have begun on or shortly after 4 December 1996 when services resumed after their temporary withdrawal. Single-line working during Eurotunnel repairs has put certain London - Bruxelles trains in conflict with Belgian domestic traffic, and SNCB/NMBS have chosen to provide train-crew pilots to conduct them round via Antoing and Mons rather than recast the winter timetable on Ligne/Lijn 94. Lille - Antoing is the eventual definitive route for Eurostars as well as Paris - Bruxelles Thalys TGVs, but the west-to-south curve at Antoing that they both use at present to reach Ligne 78 is not planned to have any passenger service once the Antoing - Halle section of the LGV Belge is in operation, perhaps in December 1997. The Eurostar diversions, though booked, are of a temporary nature, and likely to change, some discrepancy having already been noted between apparently authoritative reports to BLN of which trains were using which route in early January. Certainly the 14:53 from London on 18 January ran via Antoing and the 08:52 from Bruxelles on 22 January ran via Tournai. BLN 795.060][FR] (Béning - Sarreguemines -) Bitche - Niederbronn (- Haguenau): (Ball 29B3-30A3) Though passenger trains may have struggled on after 4 November 1996 as reported in BLN 792.0491, it is no surprise that they seem now to have succumbed to buses, according to a recent visitor to the area. The local SNCF fiche horaire dated 4 November shows Bitche - Niederbronn services as being by bus. BLN 795.061][FR] Les Landes: (BLN 750.0113; Ball 59A1-59A2) Of three Voies Ferrées des Landes branches mentioned in BLN 750, Laluque - Laluque Boos, closed March 1989, had track removed by September 1995, but both Labouheyre - Mimizan-Bel-Air, closed 29 May 1992, and Ychoux - Parentis-en-Born, closed March 1989, recently still had overgrown track in place near their main-line junctions. BLN 795.062][BE] Gent Dampoort - Wondelgem - Eeklo: (Ball 8A3-7B3) On 29 August 1996 strong currents after several days' heavy rain caused the elderly swing-bridge over the Gent - Terneuzen canal to jam in the 'open-for-navigation' position, blocking Lijn 58 between Gent and Wondelgem. The NMBS push-pull set imprisoned beyond had to run a Wondelgem - Eeklo shuttle service for several hours, till eventually a tugboat summoned from the port of Gent was able to pull the offending span back into place. (Trans-fer) BLN 795.063][BE] (Bruxelles -) Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher - Voroux-Goreux - Bierset-Awans - Ans - Liège: (Ball 9A2-9B2) As part of the works described in BLN 779.0213, the Ligne 36B pair of slow tracks have been de-electrified between Voroux and Ans, as have platforms 4 and 5 at Ans station. Waremme - Liège "L" trains that used to take these slow tracks to keep out of the path of IC trains are now retimed and use the fast lines, calling at Voroux-Goreux instead of Voroux. (Trans-fer, #102) BLN 795.064][BE] Trois Ponts - Weywertz - Sourbrodt: (BLN 747 suppt., 775.0134; Ball 10A1) The Vennbahn, once a strategic but now a tourist railway, has recaptured some freight traffic. SNCB abandoned regular timber-handling at Sourbrodt, Büllingen and Losheimergraben in 1982, but on 24 September 1996 a train headed by two SNCB Class 55 diesels used Ligne 45 from Trois Ponts via Malmédy to Waimes, then Ligne 48 from Waimes via Weywertz to Sourbrodt, where timber from eastern Europe was transhipped to lorries. Transhipment might have been avoided had the destination of the timber, a sawmill at Büllingen, still had its link with Ligne 45A Weywertz - Butgenbach - Büllingen - Losheimergraben SNCB (- Losheim DB - Jünkerath). Similar trains ran later in September and in October, and SNCB expect the traffic flow to continue. (Trans-fer, #102) BLN 795.065][NL] (Amsterdam - Haarlem -) Santpoort Noord - Ijmuiden: (BLN 764.0441, 788.0405; Ball 3B3) The 'open-access' Lovers Rail service on the Ijmuiden branch, suspended after 30 September 1996 for the winter, is to resume in June 1997, extended to Ijmuiderstrand and the Scandinavian Seaways terminal. Between mid-March and mid-May a Lovers service from Amsterdam is to call at Lisse station, specially reopened between Leiden and Haarlem to serve the Keukenhof park with its six million bulbs in flower. By contrast, NS have in recent years served Keukenhof only by bus connection. From June 1997 Lovers intend offering other services on routes already covered by NS. (Modern Railways, December 1996) BLN 795.066][DE] Berlin Hamburger Bf: (BLN 732.0143, 737.0231; Ball 32A2) Like the Gare d'Orsay in Paris, Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof has been sympathetically refurbished as a Museum of Contemporary Art, with a formal garden where the approach tracks once ran. (The Times, 12 November 1996) This early terminus, a building in neo-classical style, opened 15 October 1846 and closed to passengers 15 October 1884, when its trains were diverted to the nearby Lehrter Bahnhof, on whose site a new central station for the city is again planned. In 1906 the Hamburger Bahnhof became a transport museum, still in railway ownership, but had fallen into disrepair by 1984 when the West Berlin city council took it over. (Berlin's Railways, published by the Branch Line Society, October 1996, £6.95 from BLS Sales, 18 Stanley Place, Walsall WS4 1EL) BLN 795.067][DE] Probstzella - Lauscha (Thüringen) - Sonneberg (Thür.) - Rauenstein (Thüringen) - Eisfeld: (BLN 792.0503; Ball 53A3-52B3) Part way through the day on Wednesday 22 January 1997, passenger services abruptly ceased on this 81km rural cross-country route. Civil engineering supervision had recently transferred from the ex-Reichsbahn office in Erfurt to the ex-Bundesbahn one in Würzburg, and it seems a thorough inspection by the new engineers led them to condemn the track as unsafe. The decision was controversial and may be reversed. It reinforces a view in the former DDR that eastern Länder such as Thüringen do not obtain value for the money they have to pay DB for local rail services. BLN 795.068][AT] Wieselburg an der Erlauf - Gresten: (BLN 792.0508; Ball 74B3-74B2) Closed to regular passenger trains 31 December 1990 (Austrian Railway Group Journal, #9), this 760mm-gauge freight line is reported to be closing temporarily between July and October 1997 for conversion to standard gauge (IBSE Telegramm; Today's Railways) However, ÖBB are advertising narrow-gauge excursions over the line on 18 May, 29 June, and 14 December 1997, fare ATS330. (ÖBB Nostalgieprogrammübersicht 1997) ÖBB are, it seems, planning to cease all freight services on their narrow-gauge lines, partly because their Rollwagen (transporters for standard-gauge wagons) are ageing and uneconomic to replace. For most of these lines, withdrawal of freight will throw all costs on to passenger services, further weakening their viability. The Gresten line has significant traffic and appears to warrant regauging instead of complete closure. BLN 795.069][IT] Ferrovie dello Stato: new lines: The Italians have been building faster and more direct railways around their largely mountainous country for most of the twentieth century, not only long-distance high-speed lines like the Roma - Firenze Direttissima, but also numerous short sections, often in connection with doubling of track or electrification. Concrete viaducts are much used, which may have improved the economics of new construction, though on many projects work seems to have been suspended, or to be progressing very slowly. One reason is alleged to be involvement of organised crime in the cement industry, giving various parties a strong incentive to spend money on concrete works but less to lay railway track and install signalling and electrification equipment. On the Pescara - Termoli line down the Adriatic coast a deviation inland requiring several tunnels and an entirely new passenger station at San Vito is under construction (Ball 53B3). The Napoli - Foggia line is being substantially rebuilt near Benevento (54A1), with a new and lengthy tunnel from Vitulano-Foglianise to Benevento still under construction, while new alignment, mostly on viaduct but including two tunnels, is already in use eastwards from Benevento to Apice-San Arcangelo-Bonito. The Battipaglia - Reggio di Calabria line leaves its original formation to take a significant number of deviations, many of them in use for years. Most notably, at Centola (57B2) the railway crosses a concrete structure giving a fine view of the original masonry viaduct. On the (Taranto -) Sibari - Castiglione Cosentino - Cosenza line (BLN 780.0248; Ball 58A2-58A1) a new section of route at Spezzano Albanese Terme is already in use, though with still-unwired electrification masts, while an entirely new alignment is projected from San Marco-Roggiano to Mongrassano-Cervicati, of which little is yet to be seen at the north end, though formation and structures appear complete at the south end. BLN 795.070][IT] Sardegna: (BLN 750.0125, 767.0511, 780.0247; Ball 39) The Sardinian regional government have approved a transport plan envisaging withdrawal of ordinary passenger services from several 950mm-gauge lines of the Ferrovie della Sardegna (Isili - Sorgono; Mandas - Arbatax; and Sassari - Palau), though tourist trains may continue to run. Meanwhile, generous tourist-industry finance from European Union taxpayers has led to massive infrastructure spending, including complete restoration of station buildings on lines where ordinary services may be axed, and expensive and scarcely necessary 'improvements' in alignments. Platoons of surveyors, fleets of bulldozers and a multitude of standard motorway-style concrete viaducts are transforming sections of the island's traditional railways, including (Cagliari -) Monserrato - Suelli (- Mandas) (narrow-gauge); (Macomer -) Biori - Orotelli (- Nuoro) (also narrow-gauge, but proposed for conversion to standard-gauge and transfer to FS); Sassari - Alghero (narrow-gauge); and Sassari - Porto Torres (standard-gauge, with a curve over a fine stone viaduct 'eased' by a concrete slab on stilts right next to it). More useful perhaps are the improvements in hand on the still-unelectrified standard-gauge (Cagliari - Macomer -) Ozieri - Golfo Aranci main line. FS timetabled passenger services to the far north-east terminate at Golfo Aranci, but the track continues east, curving tightly south then west as it descends to Golfo Aranci Marittima. FS have a rudimentary platform with signboard there, though only freight now seems to pass, in connection with the train-ferries to the mainland port of Civitavecchia. Ordinary train services on the Macomer - Tresnuraghes - Bosa Marina (- Bosa Città) branch of the 950mm gauge FDS terminate at Tresnuraghes, the line to Bosa having closed in 1991. However, since a first train on 29 March 1995, and formal inauguration on 10 May 1995, advertised and private-hire steam tourist trains have run to Bosa Marina, the scheduled workings being on Tuesdays and Saturdays during August and September 1996. With EU finance, a substantial new Bosa Marina station has been built a short way beyond the original buildings. The line ends at a stout buffer-stop just before the level-crossing, where the rails are tarred over in the roadway. In May 1996 derelict track was in place beyond, running up-river eastwards for approximately a kilometre to the former terminus at Bosa Città, intact though isolated, with abandoned coaches and wagons still parked on the sidings, awaiting a possible reopening. Tirso on the Macomer - Nuoro line has sidings where some fine vintage railcars hide among the bushes. This station was formerly a junction for the now-closed Tirso - Ozieri narrow-gauge branch that ran north to meet the FS, and track is in place for some considerable distance from Tirso, now used only for storing unwanted rolling stock of all descriptions, much of it fast disappearing beneath vegetation. (partly from L'Écho du Rail, #152; Today's Railways, #14; Continental Railway Journal, #107, autumn 1996) BLN 795.071][IT] Sicilia: Riposto - Randazzo - Catania: (Ball 60B2) On the east coast of Sicily, the northern end of the 111km 950mm-gauge Ferrovia Circumetnea (FCE) begins at Riposto, but its first intermediate station, Giarre, is only a few metres from Giarre-Riposto FS station and fully visible, so interchange is simple. After heading inland and rounding Etna, a spectacular 3263m volcanic mountain, the FCE turns back to the coast and arrives at Catania Borgo, which has a proper station, locomotive shed and sidings. The railcars however continue into town on a single-track tramway down the median strip of a main road, terminating at a simple stop-block by a road junction near the Corso Italia. No other railway facilities are found at Catania Corso Italia, and after unloading the railcar quickly scurries back to Borgo. The former section from Corso Italia to Catania Centrale FS station seems to have disappeared beneath tarmac, and finding the FCE terminus from FS requires an up-to-date street map of the town. Though rolling-stock is reported as ordered for a short underground "metro" connecting Catania Borgo to Catania Port, which would result in closure of the FCE street section, in May 1996 no signs were seen of metro construction. BLN 795.072][IT] Benevento - Bosco Redole - Campobasso (- Termoli): (Ball 54A1-54A2) This highly scenic Ferrovie dello Stato line, with negligible intermediate traffic, has a very sparse and slow service of two weekday railcars each way, all other journeys being by bus. The relative speed and convenience of the two modes is illustrated by the 06:10 Benevento - Campobasso train arriving 08:00, missing one of the few trains onwards to Termoli by two minutes, while the 06:55 Benevento - Campobasso bus, leaving 45 minutes later, makes the connection. The bus, too, has just its driver while the train has driver, driver's assistant and conductor. It is not clear why the line remains open, since the Vairano-Caianello - Bosco Redole - Campobasso - Termoli line (BLN 771.065) also serves Campobasso, the only sizeable town. BLN 795.073][IT] Cosenza - Redipiano - Camigliatello Silano - San Giovanni in Fiore: (BLN 708.07; Ball 58Al-58Bl) The Ferrovie della Calabria buses that run parallel to the line from Camigliatello to San Giovanni are faster than the trains. In May 1996 timetable notices at Cosenza FS therefore showed most FC trains on the 76km 950mm-gauge branch as terminating intermediately, though in fact they ran through to the terminus, almost empty on the latter part of the journey except for dedicated rail-travellers with time to spare. The train crews were very friendly, the guard offering his seat in the driving cab to an interested visitor. Local traffic seems almost entirely for remote villages on the hilly section as far as Redipiano, 32km from Cosenza, and FC appear to have little reason to continue the line beyond. BLN 795.074][IT] Gioia Tauro - Palmi Centrale (- Sinopoli San Procopio): (Ball 61A2) In May 1996 the railcars on this 950mm-gauge Ferrovie della Calabria line carried destination plates for Sinopoli, but terminated at Palmi Centrale with bus transfer beyond. South of Palmi station the once-scenic line was very overgrown and had clearly been out of use for some years. The railcar crew said that a bridge or bridges had been declared dangerous and they did not expect repairs to be done. Still open in February 1993 (BLN 708.07), the line seems now to be one of a number in Italy that have been "temporarily" closed, thus avoiding the political difficulty of seeking formal closure. The nearby Gioia Tauro - Cinquefrondi line however remained in full passenger use. The FC have no modern railcars on either branch, the 1970s vehicles in use still being green, lettered FCL for Ferrovie Calabro-Lucane. BLN 795.075][IT] Catanzaro Città - Catanzaro - Catanzaro Lido: (Ball 61B3) Notwithstanding BLN 708.07, the 950mm-gauge Ferrovie della Calabria line is not rack-worked throughout from Città to Lido, for the rack extends only over the very steep 7km from Catanzaro Città to Catanzaro FC station, adjacent to Catanzaro FS main-line station. Out of use by May 1995, the rack section was still closed in May 1996, with substitute buses, though FC railcars were running their normal service on the 9km adhesion-worked narrow-gauge section between Catanzaro and Catanzaro Lido, parallel to the standard-gauge FS service. A British railtour operator is advertising a trip "including the rack section to Lido" (sic) during 1997. BLN 795.076][GR] Greece: branch reopening dates: The Peloponnese metre-gauge branch from Argos to Nafplion, closed since 1962, reopened for passengers from 25 February 1993 (BLN 725.062, 774.0116; Ball 66A1). On the 600mm-gauge Volos - Agria - Ano Lehonia - Milies line, closed throughout in 1971, passenger services between Ano Lehonia and Milies (16km) appear to have begun 24 June 1996, and are operated by OSE (BLN 786.0369; Ball 62B1 not shown). (L'Écho du Rail, #130, March 1994, #163, Oct. 1996) BLN 795.077][TR][IR] Van - Tatvan train-ferry: Turkey is to build a line around Lake Van to replace the inland train-ferry forming part of the Ankara - Teheran rail route. (Railway Gazette International, October 1996) BLN 795.078][NZ] Napier - Gisborne: On the east coast of North Island, this 212km branch of New Zealand's 1067mm-gauge system closed to passengers 8 March 1988, though freight trains running north beyond Napier may still use the line's level-crossing over the airport runway at Gisborne. Conversely, passenger trains on the 1600mm-gauge Coleraine - Londonderry section of Northern Ireland Railways continue to cross the runway at RAF Ballykelly, but here it is the airfield that has gone out of use (BLN 767.0498). Can readers suggest other locations where running lines and runways intersect? And do passenger trains and passenger aircraft share a level-crossing anywhere in the world? BLN 795.079][CA][US] (Ste.Rosalie Jn, QC -) Sherbrooke, QC - Mattawamkeag, ME - Saint John, NB (- Moncton, NB): (BLN 748.074, 757.0312) Trying to stem operating losses on their Sherbrooke - Saint John line crossing northern Maine, Canadian Pacific had on 1 September 1988 set up an internal subsidiary, Canadian Atlantic. This was unsuccessful, so CP sought and obtained Canadian regulatory approval for complete abandonment from 1 January 1995 of the Canadian parts of the international route, while at the same time trying to sell off sections of it to 'short line' companies. In the end Sherbrooke - Brownville Jn, ME went to Canadian American Railroad; Brownville Jn - Vanceboro, ME to Eastern Maine Railway; and Vanceboro - Saint John to New Brunswick Southern Railway. However these sales were not completed until a few days after the January 1995 deadline, and in the meantime VIA had already taken the decision to withdraw their Atlantic/Atlantique passenger trains over the route after 15 December 1994 in case the deals fell through. (partly from Canadian Rail Passenger Yearbook 1996-97; Trains, July 1994) BLN 796.080] Dual-gauge lines: BLN 716.01 listed some of the world's different track gauges, but how many running lines remain which can carry trains of more than one gauge - and which such sections are of significant length? To focus the question a little more narrowly, exclude tracks within or close to stations (for example, SNCF and CF du Vivarais at Tournon, BLN 757.0297), and routes where separate tracks of different gauges run parallel (for example, from the New South Wales border at Albury to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia). Rule out also the many routes with both Russian and standard gauges (for example, Braniewo PKP - Kaliningrad RZD, BLN 713.010). The 85mm difference between the gauges is not large enough for shared track with three running rails to be safe, for 1520mm-gauge wheelsets could foul the 1435mm rail fixings, so either parallel tracks or interlaced tracks with two pairs of rails are needed. As a starter, some examples follow that seem to qualify as dual-gauge three-rail running lines. The Italian one carries passenger trains of both gauges. Readers are invited to suggest other, perhaps longer, sections. [IT] Italy Potenza Superiore - Avigliano Lucania Ball 54B1 950mm and 1435mm [GR] Greece Aghios Anarghiri - Elefsis Ball 66B3 1000mm and 1435mm [CH] Switzerland Chur - Domat/Ems Ball 95B2-95A2 1000mm and 1435mm BLN 796.081] Belfast Central - Yorkgate - Larne Harbour: (BLN 754.0211, 761.0381) Northern Ireland Railways decided that the sea-wall repairs needed to restore double track would be too costly, so from 30 November 1994 they replaced temporary single-line working between Carrickfergus and Whitehead by permanent signalled single-line operation from a new turnout northeast of Kilroot to Whitehead. (Rail, #242) BLN 796.082][FR][GB] Calais - Folkestone: Eurotunnel: (BLN 792.0489) Eurotunnel's enclosed single-deck shuttle trains resumed carrying buses, coaches and similar vehicles on 6 January 1997. The open-sided shuttle trains carrying lorries have still not been given safety clearance to start services again. BLN 796.083][DE] StadtTicket: Since 1 February 1997 computerised DB stations (but not on-board train staff) have been able to sell rail tickets for distances over 100km with an 'add-on' StadtTicket for local public transport around the destination area in Germany, valid on the day of arrival plus the next day till 24:00. Price of the 'add-on' element varies with the size of area: for example, DEM15 for München city, DEM20 for the larger München region including the airport S-Bahn. BLN 796.084][DE] (Bremen -) Uelzen - Salzwedel - Brunau-Packebusch (- Stendal - Berlin): (BLN 753.0181, 774.0113; Ball 18A1-28A1) The reinstated Uelzen - Salzwedel section across the former frontier, part of the German Unity (Deutsche Einheit) project to restore the through route for Bremen - Berlin main-line trains, was reported ready for use in late 1996 though no trains were then running on it. (Op de Rails, 12/96) The next section to the east, Salzwedel - Brunau-Packebusch, reopened 16 June 1996, having been closed since 28 May 1995 for rebuilding and electrification. BLN 796.085][DE][FR] Homburg (Saar) - Bierbach - Reinheim DB (- Bliesbruck SNCF - Sarreguemines): (Ball 56A3-56A2 [DE]) Though the cross-border section has been out of use for decades, as reported in BLN 754.0229 and 788.0396, Homburg - Reinheim had a regular and quite frequent passenger service until it was withdrawn 2 June 1991. The whole Homburg - Sarreguemines line remains apparently in place, perhaps for strategic reasons. BLN 796.086][DE] Karlsruhe trams on railways: Ettlingen West DB - Ettlingen Stadt AVG: (BLN 791.0470; Ball 57A2; KBS710.1, 710.3) The 08:59 SuO Menzingen - Bad Herrenalb Albtal-Express is mirrored by the 17:20 SuO Bad Herrenalb - Menzingen Kraichgau-Express, a return working over this otherwise freight-only link. Arriving at Bad Herrenalb on 5 January 1997 the morning tram carried its passengers a short distance round the terminal balloon loop anti-clockwise, enabling it to run into the shed, though it appears that trams usually run round the loop clockwise. BLN 796.087][DE] Rastatt - Forbach-Gausbach (- Freudenstadt Hbf): (Ball 57A1-68A3) Federal and regional finance has been agreed for electrification of the northern part of DB's Murgtalbahn and extension of Karlsruhe's S-Bahn trams beyond Rastatt to Forbach from 1999. (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, Feb. 1997) BLN 796.088][DE] Strategic bridges over the Rhein: The 1871 Constitution of the German Empire obliged the railways to meet defence needs: "Die Ländereisenbahnen müssen den Anforderungen des Reiches zum Zwecke der Landesverteidigung entsprechen". Soon after the Empire's formation three bridges were built linking the Grand Duchy of Baden across the river Rhein with the imperial territory of Elsass (= Alsace), newly taken from France as a result of the Franco-Prussian War. The crossings were, from south to north, Weil - Leopoldshöhe - Haltingen-Süd - Rheinbrücke - Hüningen - St.Ludwig (now St.Louis); Mülheim - Neuenburg - Rheinbrücke - Bantzenheim - Mülhausen (now Mulhouse); and Freiburg - Altbreisach - Rheinbrücke - Neubreisach - Kolmar (now Colmar). In 1997, the middle bridge alone survives, and ironically its only passenger paths are conditional ones for military-leave trains, carrying French not German soldiers (BLN 783.0298). Just before World War I, three more bridges, much further north, were conceived in order to increase capacity and flexibility for the movement of German troops and supplies towards a potential western front. All three were of similar technical design. The first to come into use was the Hindenburgbrücke at Rüdesheim. After authorisation by Prussian and Hessian laws in 1912, work began in 1913, and the new bridge opened for freight in 1915. Sources vary as to the actual date: 16 August (Hans Kobschätzky's Streckenatlas der deutschen Eisenbahnen 1895-1935) or 1 September (Deutsche Reichsbahn). The 11.1km of new lines then opened were (Geisenheim -) Überholungsstation Kellergrube - Bk Hindenburgbrücke - Bk Rochusberg - Bk Sarmsheim (- Bad Kreuznach) crossing first the Rhein from east to south, then its tributary, the river Nahe, permitting through running from Wiesbaden to Saarbrücken; Bk Rochusberg - Ockenheim, a north-to-east curve on the left bank; and (Rüdesheim -) Bk Floss - Bk Hindenburgbrücke, a west-to-south curve on the right bank. Passenger trains began on the first of these lines 5 June 1925, on the second 15 March 1930, and on the third 15 January 1931. The Hindenburgbrücke was destroyed by the retreating Wehrmacht on 15 March 1945, in the closing months of the Second World War, and has never been rebuilt. The second new bridge, the Kronprinzenbrücke or Koblenz-Urmitz Brücke, spanned the river near Engers and Urmitz, north of Koblenz. Authorised by a Prussian law as late as 1916, work began at once, and the bridge and the associated 11.2km of new railway (Abzw Neuwied - Koblenz-Lützel) were brought into use for freight on 15 August 1918. After World War I the French occupation régime began passenger traffic, which continued after take-over by Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft on 15 November 1924, at a more significant level than over the Hindenburgbrücke. The Kronprinzenbrücke too was destroyed by the Wehrmacht, on 9 March 1945. Deutsche Bundesbahn rebuilt the bridge to a different design, reopening the route on 10 May 1954 and restoring it as double track in 1960. Frequent passenger trains now run (KBS465). The 1997 layout appears more extensive than that of 1918, for the alternative double-track route east from Neuwied station on the river side of the Rechte Rheinstrecke and the single-track curve from Abzw Kesselheim down to join the river side of the Linke Rheinstrecke seem to be modern additions. The third strategic bridge was the Ludendorffbrücke or Erpeler Ley bridge near Remagen (BLN 794.044). This bridge too was authorised by a 1916 Prussian law, but completion was delayed till 1919 by tunnel works on its approaches. The 3.78km crossing (Bk Erpeler Ley - Bk Kripp) ran from a junction just south of Unkel on the right-bank line through the Erpeler Ley tunnel and south across the river to join the left-bank line north of Sinzig. A 1.61km line (Bk Victoriaberg - Bk Reisberg) on the left bank allowed through running from the bridge to the Remagen - Adenau Ahrtalbahn. Both works were brought into use for freight on 1 September 1919. A nearby south-to-west curve from the Linke Rheinstrecke to the Ahrtalbahn (Bk Ahrbrücke to Bk Hellenberg) had earlier opened for freight on 1 May 1918. Opened to passengers on 15 July 1926, the Ludendorffbrücke was described as an elegant construction, earning a personal telegram of congratulations from Kaiser Wilhelm II to General Erich Ludendorff, who was regarded as responsible for it, and leading to his election as an honorary citizen of Remagen by the town council. The bridge that took his name was in fact commissioned too late to be of military significance in World War I. At the end of the Second World War, however, it played a significant strategic rôle, but for the Allies, not Germany. Weakened but not brought down by demolition charges, it was captured by the US Army on 7 March 1945 and assisted the Allied advance across the Rhein until 17 March 1945. That day the Americans stopped troop movements to carry out repairs to the bridge, but in the middle of the afternoon it fell, killing some 25 soldiers and injuring 66. It has never been rebuilt. BLN 796.089][AT][DE] Pfronten-Steinach DB - Reutte in Tirol ÖBB - Garmisch-Partenkirchen DB: (BLN 736.0213, 789.0428; Ball 70A1-79A3-70B1) Tirol province refused subsidy for Pfronten-Steinach - Reutte passenger trains, worked by diesel railcars, so ÖBB withdrew them. Reutte - Garmisch services again became electrically operated from 29 September 1996. (Op de Rails, 12/96) BLN 796.090][AT] Salzburg Lokalbahn - Bürmoos - Lamprechtshausen: (BLN 778.0193, 783.0312; Ball 72B2) In autumn 1996 the Salzburger Lokalbahn opened their new terminus, in a cut-and-cover tunnel, and closed 400m of surface track from the previous Lokalbahnhof in the forecourt of Salzburg ÖBB station as far as the level-crossing near the SVB depot. Light Rail & Modern Tramway says the ceremonial opening was on 14 September. Today's Railways, #16, says use began on 19 October. BLN 796.091][AT] Innsbruck - Igls: (BLN 778.0192; 783.0313; Ball 79B1 not shown) Innsbruck's scenic metre-gauge light-rail route #6 has been reprieved until at least 31 December 1997, with trams to run from the Hbf to Igls at a 90-minute frequency. (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, February 1997) BLN 796.092][IT] San Vito - Castel di Sangro: (BLN 694.010, 697.09, 742.0351, 770.040; Ball 53B3) The highly scenic Ferrovia Adriatico Sangritana runs from San Vito on the Adriatic coast for 103km through the mountains, mostly following the river Sangro, hence the company's present name. Although service is quite sparse over much of the line's length, it is electrified at 3000V dc. Trains are railcars of the 1950s, perhaps, and lower-quadrant semaphore signals remain in use. Some run through from Pescara Centrale on the main line and use the FS station, which appears in the FS timetable as S.Vito-Lanciano though its signs read simply 'S.Vito'. Other FAS workings start from the forecourt of this FS station, which the FAS call 'Marina S.Vito' to distinguish it from their S.Vito Città station, reached via a steep climb, including a spiral, up from the junction. FAS run a train about every two hours from S.Vito to Lanciano, the main town served, where their depot and headquarters are located. Here a change of train is required and the service onward is less frequent. At the respective junctions the remains can be seen of two closed lines branching off, Crocetta - Ortona and Archi - Atessa. In neither case do FAS seem to have tried to recover track or electrification equipment, and nature has just been allowed to take over. The line has been reconstructed between Bomba-Torricella and Villa S.Maria, where the valley has been flooded as a reservoir. FAS run excursion trains to the lake, these being locomotive-hauled using some elderly carriages painted in a striking orange and green livery. At Castel di Sangro, FAS have a separate station from the FS one on the Sulmona - Carpinone line (BLN 771.064). A siding connects the two, but lack of evidence of any freight traffic on the FAS suggests that it is little used. BLN 796.093][IT] San Severo - Peschici Calenella: (Ball 54B2-54B3) Two contrasting lines serve the Promontorio del Gargano, a peninsula on Italy's Adriatic coast. From a junction with the FS at San Severo the Ferrovie del Gargano operate a 79km railway electrified at 3000V dc, winding its way through attractive hill country with a spectacular section above lake Varano before concluding with a run along the seashore from Rodi to Peschici Calenella. The terminus is in a completely rural setting several kilometres short of Peschici, but FG operate a connecting bus which continues to Vieste, right at the end of the peninsula. Rather confusingly, the FS departure sheets at San Severo show FG departures as being to Vieste Centrale, with no intermediate stops listed! Using a mixture of quite modern railcars and 1950s-built examples obtained second hand from Ferrovia Centrale Umbria, FG services operate at irregular intervals, with few morning trains. FG railcars also work stopping trains over the FS main line north-westwards from Foggia to Termoli. BLN 796.094][IT] Foggia - Manfredonia: (Ball 54B2) By contrast, the FS branch runs almost straight across the coastal plain for 37km to serve the Gargano peninsula's principal town. With one intermediate station remaining, the diesel railcars take only 25 minutes, making operation of a regular hourly service efficient and economical, though as is usual on Italian branches several hours elapse without trains during the morning. This line has appeared on lists of possible closures in the past, but withdrawal of the service seems unlikely, as the trains are well used, Manfredonia is quite a sizeable town and FS have made efforts to reduce operating costs, including removal of several passing-loops. The closed intermediate stations can have generated minimal traffic, as all were in open countryside. Two freight branches off the line appear to serve military establishments, and would require most of the infrastructure to be retained. BLN 796.095][IT] Foggia - Potenza: (Ball 54B1) On this secondary main line, with hourly or two-hourly trains, lies Rocchetta San Antonio-Lacedonia, a classic example of a station which exists only because it is a junction. Set in a remote location in the upper Ofanto valley, it is 13km over the hills from the village of Rocchetta San Antonio, and even further from Lacedonia. Very sparse services run on the lines that branch off east (Rocchetta San Antonio-Lacedonia - Spinazzola) and west (Rocchetta San Antonio-Lacedonia - Lioni - Avellino). Both have just two trains on weekdays, and none on Sundays. A former engine-shed, sidings in which little seems to happen, and a large station building complete the scene. The bar remains in use, but seems to have changed little since the 1950s. In the snow of late December 1996 one might almost have imagined oneself at Riccarton Junction! BLN 796.096][IT] Potenza Scalo - Avigliano Lucania - Avigliano Città: (Ball 54B3-54B1) The layout of the 950mm-gauge Ferrovie Appulo Lucane and 1435mm-gauge FS lines in Potenza is not quite as shown in the Ball atlas. The FAL line starts at a virtually deserted terminus named Potenza Scalo; runs east beneath a road bridge to a halt, Inferiore, across the road from Potenza Inferiore FS station; climbs east past an unfinished concrete halt adjacent to Via O.Gavioli; and traverses a horseshoe curve to run west into Potenza Città, the principal narrow-gauge station of the town. Entering a long curving tunnel beneath the centre of this elevated city, it emerges facing north to pass through another unfinished concrete halt at Via Roma, and continues a short distance to enter its own platforms, named San Maria, adjacent to and linked by subway with the FS platforms named Potenza Superiore. Beyond here, the FAL merges into the FS to become a dual-gauge line. Close to the tunnel mouth south of Tiera, the FAL/FS passes through a substantial new concrete station, nameless, unused and deserted, with no habitation in sight. A motorway parallels the line, and between that and the railway runs another road with partly-built and partly-collapsed concrete viaducts, a scene not uncommon in the Italian Mezzogiorno, where ill-conceived and uncompleted public works scar otherwise splendid scenery. Just short of Avigliano Lucania, the FAL leaves the FS on the eastern side to enter its own platforms. From the FAL platforms, one line continues forward, swinging west to cross beneath the FS and head for Avigliano Città, while another runs back, first heading south before turning east towards Bari, not leaving to the north as shown in Ball. A frequent local FAL service runs all day from Potenza Scalo to Avigliano Città, worked by small railcars and trailers built in the 1960s or 1970s. BLN 796.097][IT] Potenza Scalo - Avigliano Lucania - Gravina in Puglia: (Ball 54Bl-55A1). On four departures a day from Potenza Scalo, FAL attach a second railcar as far as Avigliano Lucania, and detach it there to reverse on to the line towards Bari. Although labelled 'Bari', this railcar generally terminates at Gravina, where passengers change. On FAL's eastern section modern diesel railcars running in multiple operate a frequent service Gravina in Puglia / Matera Sud - Altamura - Bari Centrale (55A1-56A1), with the separate Gravina and Matera portions joining at Altamura. The Matera area has more stations than are shown in Ball, and at busy periods some local services operate purely within Matera. At Matera Sud the line terminates against a high and solid wall, with no sign of the proposed standard-gauge line southward. East of Altamura the FAL line has recently been realigned to cut out many meanders. Modugno FAL and Modugno Città FS stations are adjacent, their platform ends separated only by a minor level-crossing, not as far apart as shown in Ball. Between Bari San Andrea FS and Bari Scalo FAL both the standard and narrow-gauge lines pass through a modern new station named Policlinico. The FAL line terminates on a viaduct, above and behind the terminus of the Barletta - Bari Centrale Ferrotranviaria line, and just a few metres from Bari Centrale FS station. BLN 796.098][IT] Potenza Scalo - Pignola - Laurenzana: Potenza's excellent free tourist map indicates that the FAL used to continue west beyond its present terminus before turning south, and FAL timetables displayed in Potenza include Autoservizi Sostitutivi rail-replacement buses to Laurenzana. A Hallwag road map of about 1970 depicts a Potenza - Laurenzana railway, but the September 1976 FS Orario Generale shows FAL trains running only the 12km to Pignola, with buses already working the remaining 43km to Laurenzana. When did this line close? BLN 796.099][IT] Bari Centrale - Taranto: (BLN 768.0530; Ball 55B1-58B3) In May 1996 FS had in hand considerable realignment work associated with double-tracking and raising speed limits on this hitherto single-track main line. Much of the old route will be abandoned. Some 15km from Bari Centrale, just beyond Palo del Colle, new track trails in from somewhere to the north, with a new station, Bitetto, just after the junction. Beyond Bitetto, FS have closed and lifted the original line to the west via Grumo Appula, and built another Grumo Appula station on the new route now in use. When the disused alignment rejoins, old and new routes remain together to Gioia del Colle. There the old route, still in use, swings away to twist and turn to Castellaneta and beyond, winding through 'canyons' that the new line will apparently tunnel beneath, as suggested by glimpses of it here and there. Both routes combine again in the region of Palagianello. Work appears to be progressing as required for completion in 1999, so BLN 768's sceptic may yet be confounded! BLN 796.0100][IT] Paola - Castiglione Cosentino - Cosenza: (BLN 708.06, 780.0248; Ball 58A1) At Castiglione Cosentino the former standard-gauge rack line from Paola via Falconara Albanese, replaced by the long Santomarco tunnel, retains its track, now rusty and overgrown, indicating that plans for a steam-worked museum line have not yet come to anything. The embankment of the line from Castiglione to Cosenza's old FS station in the town centre also remains, with a siding to an electricity substation extending a short distance along it. The new joint station at Cosenza is large and rather grand, with a new goods station and traction depot, but it is about 3km out of town. The standard-gauge FS line continues a short distance south of the station, apparently as an alternative access to the depot and carriage sidings. The 950mm-gauge Ferrovie della Calabria have bay platforms at the south end of the station, and their own booking-office and other facilities, quite separate from FS. Over the Christmas 1996 period the two railways each set up their own nativity scene, a feature found at all Italian stations of any consequence. BLN 797.0101][FR] Bédarieux - Lamalou-les-Bains - Mons La Trivalle (- Olargues - St.Pons - Mazamet): (BLN 783.0296; OEIS 9546, 9626; Ball 73B3-73A3) Ordinary Bédarieux - St Pons passenger services were withdrawn 10 July 1972 and freight ceased 19 June 1987. The Train Touristique Languedoc Méditerranée operation commenced in 1991, only to close, it seems permanently, at the end of September 1996. Though Mons La Trivalle - Olargues track was left in place for some time against the possibility of the TTLM being extended, the whole Mons La Trivalle - Mazamet section had been lifted by August 1996. It is unfortunate that the preservation group, L'Amicale du Train Touristique Lamalou - Mons La Trivalle, failed to secure the more scenic section to Olargues, which would also have been a better traffic generator than Mons La Trivalle. In the confined upper valley the replacement buses provide fine glimpses of the trackbed, viaducts and extensive engineering works of the former railway. BLN 797.0102][DE] Flensburg - Flensburg Hafen / Flensburg alter Bf: (Ball 10A3) The Flensburg steam rally (Dampf Rundum) described in BLN 767.0503 is to be repeated on 11-13 July 1997. Steamships are the core of the event, but rail trips on freight-only lines on both sides of the harbour should again feature. BLN 797.0103][DE] Bergen (Rügen) - Putbus - Lauterbach: (BLN 739.0279; Ball 13B2; KBS198) The Putbus - Lauterbach section may be equipped with a third rail to provide dual-gauge track and may be extended to Lauterbach Hafen, enabling both standard-gauge DB trains and Rasende Roland tourist trains on the 750mm-gauge Göhren - Putbus line of the Rügensche Kleinbahn to exchange passengers with excursion boats. With finance from both local council and European Union sources, the work could be complete by 1999, according to the newspaper Ostsee Zeitung. (IBSE Telegramm, February 1997) BLN 797.0104][DE][SE] Sassnitz - Trelleborg train-ferry: (BLN 714.011, 777.0171, 781.0263; OEIS9623; Ball 13B3) It is expected that 8 January 1998 will see the train-ferries for Trelleborg in Sweden using Mukran instead of Sassnitz as their German port. The railway from Sassnitz to Sassnitz Hafen is to close. Passenger traffic will be dealt with at Mukran, but it is not yet clear whether this will mean boat trains running on the Mukran ferry branch (BLN 702.010, 708.02, 714.012). BLN 797.0105][DE] Berlin: Berlin Hauptbahnhof (BLN 699.08; Ball 32A2) is to close to all except S-Bahn trains for at least a year from 1 June 1997. Long-distance trains will use Berlin-Lichtenberg, and RE services from Frankfurt (Oder) will use a temporary platform at Warschauer Strasse. (IBSE, February 1997) Treptower Park platform B, closed for renovation since mid-August 1995, came back into use on 10 December 1996, and platform A was in turn taken out of use at about 17:30 on 6 December for similar refurbishment, in connection with restoration of S-Bahn Innenring services between Treptower Park and Neukölln, probably in December 1997 (BLN 765.0464, 787.0384). (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/97) BLN 797.0106][DE][NL] German-Dutch border links: Since 29 September 1996 DB Köln - Grevenbroich - Mönchengladbach - Kaldenkirchen local trains have run forward to Venlo (Ball 37B2-37A3), so together with the Köln - Eindhoven workings an hourly cross-border Kaldenkirchen DB - Venlo NS service now operates, at Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr fares plus a DEM2.40 supplement for the frontier section. New cross-border VRR services (Mönchengladbach - Rheydt -) Dalheim DB - Roermond NS (37A2) and (Duisburg - Moers -) Xanten - Kleve DB - Nijmegen NS (37B3-23A1) are reportedly under consideration with reopening to passengers beyond Dalheim and Xanten respectively. Dalheim - Roermond is currently out of use and Xanten - Kleve closed. (Op de Rails, 12/96) (Münster Hbf -) Gronau (Westfalen) DB - Enschede NS (24A2) also seems likely to reopen to regular passenger trains, perhaps in 1998, with a half-hourly service. The DB section to the frontier is legally not closed, but the last timetabled passenger trains ran in 1981 and the last special in 1985. (IBSE Telegramm, February 1997) BLN 797.0107][DE] Frankfurt (Main) S-Bahn: Stresemannallee - Darmstadt: (BLN 723.034, 758.0325, 793.012; Ball 50A3-49B3) The cost of the land needed for the S-Bahn extension to Darmstadt, due to open in June 1997, has constrained its design. From Frankfurt it runs south on the east side of the Fernbahn long-distance tracks, crossing to the west side near Neu Isenburg, before returning via a tunnel between Langen and Egelsbach to run on the east side into Darmstadt. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/97) BLN 797.0108][DE] Strategic lines and bridges in eastern Germany: During the years of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, the east German Reichsbahn constructed a number of strategic connecting or diversionary lines which would have come into significant use only in the event of mobilisation or actual conflict between Warsaw Pact and NATO armed forces. Many had gaps at major rivers where military engineers would have swiftly put a temporary railway bridge (Behelfsbrücke) in place on already-prepared abutments. Each Behelfsbrücke was built and tested at least once, but some were erected and dismantled more frequently, and one or two as an annual exercise. Other lines had gaps where the strategic track could be quickly laid across a road or another, less vital, railway line. Some were simply avoiding lines at junctions and similar connections (Verbindungskurve). A few were prepared trackbeds without track. Once Germany was reunified they were no longer needed, and between 1 December 1992 and 2 September 1993 the Federal Ministry of Transport allowed DR quietly to abandon nearly fifty lines, without any formal closure procedure. Traces of these cold-war railways will linger on the landscape for years, and IBSE Telegramm #74 for January 1997 listed them for the record. BLN has added Ball atlas references. 13A2 Barth (km31.300) - Bresewitz [had public traffic in DDR days] 19A1 Karstädt - Quitzow (- Perleberg Süd) [had public traffic in DDR days] 19B1 Neustadt (Dosse) avoiding line (Abzw Köritz - Barsikow) 20A1 Kremmen - Germendorf (- Oranienburg) [had public traffic in DDR days] 20B3 Neubrandenburg connecting curve 20B1 Löwenberg curve (Abzw Löwenberg - Löwenberg (Mark) Dorf) 21A3 Charlottenhof (Kreis Pasewalk) - Abzw Belling 21A3 Krugsdorf (bei Pasewalk) connecting curve [east of Pasewalk Ost] 21A1 Britz (Kreis Eberwalde) curve (Abzw Ragösermühle - Abzw Schieferberg) 21A1 Neurüdnitz (Abzw Schleuse) - Behelfsbrücke [diversionary route, separate from main bridge across Oder to Poland] 27A1 (Osterwieck West -) Osterwieck Werke - Bühne-Rimbeck (- Börssum) 27B1 (Heudeber-Danstedt -) Abzw Mulmke - Hessen-Veltheim (- Matierzoll) 28A3 Stendal connecting curve (Nord - West) [had gap where it intersected Stendal - Salzwedel line] 28A2 Magdeburg avoiding line (Gerwisch - km4.16) [potential diversionary route, without track] 28B3 Schönhausen (Elbe) Nord - Göhrener Damm 28B3 Hassel (Kreis Stendal) - Behelfsbrücke - Lübars (Elbe) [across river Elbe north-east of Stendal] 28B3 Rathenow Nord - Buckow [potential diversionary route, without track] 28B3 Rathenow connecting curve (Nord - Ost) 29A2 Belzig avoiding line (Preussnitz Stellwerke B1 - Stellwerke B2) 29A2 Niemegk - Treuenbrietzen [had public traffic in DDR days] 29A1 Eutzsch - Abzw Pratau 30B3 Neu Manschow - Behelfsbrücke [across river Oder to Poland] 30B3 Frankfurt (Oder) avoiding line (Fauler See - Güldendorf) 30B2 Wiesenau (Abzw Oderdeich) - Behelfsbrücke [across river Oder to Poland] 30B2 Grunow (Niederlausitz) W to S avoiding line 30B2 Guben Süd connecting curve 30B2 Guben Süd (goods lines to Behelfsbrücke) [across river Neisse to Poland] 30B1 Jänschwalde - Abzw Preilack (- Tauer) 30B1 Forst connecting curve (Abzw Abg - Abzw Abc) 31A2 Wustermark N to W avoiding line 41B2 (Ebeleben - Rockensussra -) Mehrstedt - Schlotheim [had public traffic in DDR days] 42A3 Querfurt connecting curve (Abzw G - Abzw K) 42A3 Röblingen am See connecting curve (Abzw Ar - Stedten Stw B1) 42B3 Hohenthurm - Niemberg [had gap where it intersected motorway F100/B100, with the rails stacked nearby] 42B3 Hohenthurm - Reussen [had public traffic in DDR days] 43A3 Dommitzsch - Behelfsbrücke - Prettin (- Annaburg) [across river Elbe] 43A3 Eilenburg N avoiding line (Abzw Mörtitz - Behelfsbrücke - Abzw Cospa) [across river Mulde] 43A2 Trebsen - Behelfsbrücke - Neichen [across river Mulde to Wurzen - Golzern line] 43A2 Grossbothen avoiding line (Abzw Leisenau - Abzw Muldebrücke) [part used summer 1995;see BLN 757.0303] 43A2 Narsdorf Bogendreieck connecting curve 43A1 Paditz (Abzw Paditz - Abzw Stünzhain) 43B3 Riesa N to W avoiding line (Röderau - Behelfsbrücke - Oschatz Awanst Schmorkau) [across river Elbe] 43B2 Neusörnewitz - Elbgaubad [had public traffic in DDR days] 44B3 Graustein avoiding line (Abzw Ost - Abzw Süd) 45A3 (Lodenau -) km13.457 - Steinbach (Kreis Niesky) [had passenger trains in DDR days] 45A3 Steinbach (Kreis Niesky) - Behelfsbrücke [across river Neisse to Sanice in Poland, bridge last erected 1986] 45A2 Charlottenhof (Oberlausitz) - Behelfsbrücke [across river Neisse to Poland] BLN 797.0109][DE][CZ] (Plauen -) Adorf (Vogtland) - Bad Brambach DB - Plesná CD - Vojtanov (- Cheb): (BLN 787.0388; Ball 54A2 (DE), 35A1 (CZ); DB 544, CD 147) DB trains RE6363/6366 are expected to cease after 31 May 1997, closing this border-crossing to rail passengers. The Plesná - Vojtanov section - which crosses back into Germany for a short distance and out again without an intermediate station - will probably continue to have internal Czech trains, as it did in DDR days. The frontier was recently opened to pedestrians at Bad Brambach, so those active enough will be able to walk the 3km to Plesná, or the 5km to Velký Luh on the nearby Tršnice - Luby u Chebu branch (CD 146). (IBSE Telegramm, February 1997) BLN 797.0110][DK] Danish closures?: Listed as "likely to close" in LCGB Bulletin of 5 February 1997 are Struer - Thisted (Ball 1B2-1B3); Århus - Grenå (BLN 755.0253; 1B1-3A2); Esbjerg - Varde - Skjern - Vemb - Holstebro (5B2-1B2); Ribe - Tønder (BLN 779.0223; 5B2-5B1); and Nykøbing (Falster) - Gedser (BLN 772.072; 12A3) BLN 797.0111][ES] Llovio - Ribadesella Puerto: (Ball 4A2 not shown) This branch, effectively a single-track long siding, diverges from FEVE's metre-gauge Oviedo -Llovio - Ribadesella - Santander line at the east end of Llovio station, running beside the river down to a single platform and buffer-stop just before the car-cluttered quays of the old fishing harbour, closer to the town centre than Ribadesella station at a higher level on the through line. The Puerto station has no ordinary passenger service, but excursions generally run in connection with the annual canoe race down the river, and an ADL railtour visited on 7 September 1996. Beyond the buffer-stop, the line's former route can readily be traced in the road round the harbour for over a kilometre. BLN 797.0112][ES] Bilbao Concordia - Irauregi - Aranguren - Balmaseda: (BLN 792.0514; Ball 5B2) Irauregi, south-west of Bilbao city-centre, had two metre-gauge stations, each with its own level-crossing, one on the (ex-FC Santander-Bilbao) single-track line out of Bilbao Concordia and one nearby at a higher level on the now freight-only (ex-FC La Robla) line from Lutxana on the left bank of the river Nervion. With electrification FEVE have put in a connection just to the east of both stations, enabling them to reopen the higher Irauregi station and close the unelectrified section of track through the lower station. To the west, the layout at Aranguren is not quite as shown in Ball. Aranguren Estación is at the physical junction and could serve trains on the Balmaseda line, but seems in practice to be used only by trains on the Santander line. Aranguren Apeadero (= 'halt'), nearer to the village, is on the Balmaseda line beyond the junction, so only Balmaseda trains call. FEVE timetables confusingly call both places 'Aranguren', though 'Aranguren Est.' and 'Aranguren Apdo.' appear on station notices. BLN 797.0113][IT] Sacile - Maniago - Pinzano - Gemona del Friuli: (Ball 43B1-44A2; FS 187) Between Sacile and Maniago a reasonable service remains, but only two weekday trains are timetabled east of Maniago, 06:40 Gemona del Friuli - Sacile and 13:55 Sacile - Pinzano, with no train at all from Pinzano to Gemona. Yet on Sundays and holidays the line comes alive, with four Sacile - Gemona trains and five back. BLN 797.0114][IT] San Giorgio di Nogaro - Palmanova: (Ball 44A1; FS 189) The 06:44 weekday train from San Giorgio still runs on this 12km cut-off route between the Venezia - Trieste and Trieste - Udine lines. All other services are provided by buses. BLN 797.0115][NO] Hamar - Elverum: (Ball 13A2) The Norwegian railway museum at Hamar was connected to the NSB Oslo - Trondheim main line by an existing connection plus 500m of new track through the streets, opened 16 June 1996, thus enabling the museum's steam train to run Hamar - Elverum trips on 22-23 June and 17-18 August 1996. (Op de Rails, 12/96) BLN 797.0116][CH] Chur - Filisur - Samedan: (Ball 95B2-96A2) Stations at Sils im Domleschg, Solis, Surava, Alvaneu, and Stugl/Stuls, on the metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn/Viafier Retica, are to close to passengers from 1 June 1997, the villages being served thereafter by road transport. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 11/96) BLN 797.0117][HU] Szob - Szobi Köbánya: (BLN 777.0175; Ball 42B1, not shown) Still carrying stone traffic in 1991, this MÁV freight-only narrow-gauge line is now reported to be out of use. (Continental Railway Journal, #107, autumn 1996) BLN 797.0118][HU] Nyíregyháza NyK. - Balsai Tisza part: (BLN 767.0476, 777.0176; Ball 43B1) Travellers in mid-May and mid-September 1996 found the end of the 760mm-gauge branch out of use beyond Balsa to Balsai Tisza part, with the local comment that trains run down to the river Tisza only in 'summer', a pattern of operation confirmed indeed by June and August reports. The duration of 'summer' on this branch is however not revealed in the MÁV timetable, which shows services running to the riverbank all year. BLN 797.0119][HU] Budapest Ferencváros - Köbánya Kispest: (BLN 789.0441; Ball 44B2; MÁV 1, 30a, 100a, 142) A few other 1996-97 services are timetabled on this spur, including #1686/7 Kesthely - Nyiregyháza (summer only), #S19701/2 Balatonfüred - Köbánya Kispest (summer weekends), and most notably #340/341, overnight trains between Wien Westbahnhof and Beograd which do so to avoid reversal at Budapest Keleti station, continuing by the electrified route via Cegléd, Kiskunfélegyháza and the Kiskunhalas east-to-south avoiding line (BLN 778.0201; Ball 47B2 not shown) to the Kelebia - Subotica border crossing into Yugoslavia. Until May 1996, the daytime Wien - Beograd trains followed the same route, but now reverse at Keleti and serve Kiskunhalas. Hungarian timetable information (main lines only at present) is to be found on MÁV's Web-page at http://www.mav.hu/menetrend/. BLN 797.0120][AT][SI][HR] Bleiburg ÖBB - Holmec SZ - Dravograd - Maribor: (Ball 45B2-46A2) On an autumn 1996 trip the 10:00 Bleiburg - Maribor was a Slovenske Zeleznice two-car diesel unit of somewhat Italian appearance which left the Austrian junction five minutes early, with few passengers. Just west of Dravograd traces were seen of the lifted Lavamünd ÖBB - Dravograd SZ line coming in from across the Austrian border (BLN 750.0124). On arrival at Ruse about 11:30 the train terminated, since engineering work blocked the line, and a bus ferried passengers 11km to Maribor Studenci, on the outskirts of Maribor, whence another railcar unit continued the 2km to the main station in this prosperous-looking town. Another diesel railcar then set out south on the electrified (Spielfeld Strass ÖBB - ) Maribor - Ljubljana main line to Pragersko, reversing there eastwards on to the Pragersko - Ormoz SZ (- Cakovec HZ) route, before turning north just short of the Croatian border on the Ormoz - Ljutomer Mesto - Murska Sobota branch (46A2-46B3). A direct link is planned in the shape of a 22.5km Murska Sobota SZ - Zalalövö MÁV line (BLN 726.67), but at present Slovenia and Hungary are joined by rail only via Croatia or Austria. From Murska Sobota a 15:04 bus ran to Lendava, the Slovenian terminus of a 24km branch line from Croatia. Lendava's single daily train, a Hrvatske Zeleznice railbus of a style rather like an Austrian or Spanish example, arrived at 16:35 and departed at 16:45, though on the Cakovec - Mursko Sredisce HZ - Lendava SZ branch more trains do run on the 18km section south of Mursko Sredisce which is wholly in Croatia. BLN 797.0121][EG] Cairo/Al-Qâhira - Ismâ'ilîya - El Qantara (- Gaza): Restoration is intended of a rail link across the Suez Canal (BLN 784.0345), but from a passenger ship passing through in the morning mist of 17 January 1997, BLN's reporter could see no obvious sign at either El Qantara or El Firdân of those victims of successive wars, the former railway bridges over the Qanât El Suweis. At El Qantara West the eleven-coach southbound 05:30 Bûr Sa'îd/Port Said - Al Qâhira/Cairo Main, and the six-coach northbound 05:50 Ismâ'ilîya - Bûr Sa'îd local, both hauled by Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives, were running to time. BLN 797.0122][SY][JO][SA] Wadi el Abyad / El Hasa - Ma'an - Batn el Ghul - Aqaba: (BLN 764.0453) Built 1901-08 by the Turks, ostensibly for Islamic Haj pilgrims on their way to Mecca, but also as a strategic link south through then Turkish-controlled lands, the Damascus - Dera'a - Amman - Ma'an - Batn el Ghul - Medina railway was the victim of several raids by Lawrence of Arabia, but the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War was much more damaging since the main line ended up divided among three present-day states, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Much of the Hedjaz Railway, including the section into Saudi Arabia from Batn el Ghul (= 'belly of the monster') to Medina, is derelict, and some sees very little use. However, in October 1975 phosphate traffic began on the southern part of the Hedjaz Jordan Railway and on a newly-completed 116km Batn el Ghul - Aqaba branch. In 1979 Jordan set up a separate Aqaba Railway Corporation to run the phosphate trains, operating on 292km of track, still laid to the unique Hedjaz gauge of 1050mm, from mines at Wadi el Abyad and El Hasa, served by two branches 3.5km and 5.1km east of the main line north of Ma'an, to the ore export terminal at Aqaba, Jordan's only port. Three ore trains a day now operate in winter and four in summer, running only in daylight hours on the unfenced track through the desert. On 18 January 1997 a northbound empty working had four GM Co-Co diesel-electric locos and 31 bogie wagons. At Aqaba, track continues beyond the phosphate terminal for about 1km to the quayside, but is out of use and partly covered with tarmac. BLN 797.0123][JP] (Tokyo - Echigo-Yuzawa -) Muikamachi - Tokamachi - Saigata (- Noetsu - Kanazawa): (BLN 768.0536, 773.0103) On 22 March 1997 the new Hokuetsu Kyuko railway opens, a 'third-sector' company with local-authority backing, neither publicly-owned nor wholly private-sector, having been created to complete this dormant former JNR development through the quite mountainous country between Muikamachi and Saigata. Single-tracked, with seven passing loops, the 59.4km 1067mm-gauge line has six-aspect signals displaying double-green to allow speeds of up to 160km/h, though initially trains will be limited to 140km/h. As well as local services, ten Hakutaka limited expresses will run daily, connecting out of Joetsu Shinkansen 1435mm-gauge bullet-trains from Tokyo at Echigo-Yuzawa, and running west to join the existing line south-west down the Sea of Japan coast to Kanazawa and Fukui. Both JR East and JR West are to provide the stock, along with Hokuetsu Kyuko's own 'Snow Rabbit' express units. BLN 797.0124][JP] Noheji - Shichinohe: (BLN 776.0163) A classic branch line of the kind Britain began to lose in the 1950s but which in optimistic Japan only opened in 1962, the Nambu Jukan railway was visibly in decline in 1996, and was recently planned to close in March 1997. This 21km of railbus-operated rural 1067mm-gauge track in Aomori Prefecture, to the far north of Honshu, is now to stay open until 5 May 1997 to allow Japan's numerous rail enthusiasts and others to visit it over the 'Golden Week' spring holiday. However, at the other end of Japan's main island, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, the six services daily on the short Minami-Omine - Omine branch off JR West's Mine line are to be withdrawn in March 1997. BLN 797.0125][MY] Kuala Lumpur light rail: (BLN 761.0393) Operation began 7 December, with free rides for nine days before revenue services started on 16 December 1996. (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, February 1997) BLN 797.0126][CA] Toronto - Newmarket - Bradford - Barrie - Orillia - Rama - Washago (- Sudbury Jn, ON): (BLN 706.010, 783.0321, 792.0525, 794.057) VIA's last transcontinental trains via the Newmarket Subdivision ran on 21 September 1996, calling as usual at Newmarket, Barrie and Orillia. From 22 September, CN abandoned 45km of the Newmarket Sub between Barrie and Rama. GO Transit commuter trains still run Toronto - Newmarket - Bradford, but the Canadian/Canadien now runs via the Bala Sub on the east side of Lake Simcoe, making no stop between Toronto and Washago. (Trains, Feb.1997) BLN 797.0127][CA] Toronto - North Bay - Cochrane, ON: Though its train west from Montréal runs no more (BLN 793.026), Cochrane can still be reached by rail north from Toronto. In 1993 the National Transportation Agency decreed that Canadian National and Ontario Northland must continue to operate their Northlander until at least August 1998. BLN 798.0128] Dual-gauge lines: (BLN 796.080) A few more three-rail dual-gauge lines are: [PT] Trofa - Lousado BLN 780.0244 1000mm and 1668mm, 2km of line still in use [CH] Wohlen - Bremgarten West BLN 791.0476 1000mm and 1435mm, 10km of line still in use [PL] Pleszew Wask. - Pleszew Miasto BLN 798.0147 750mm and 1435mm, 3km of line still in use BLN 798.0129][IE] Limerick Junction: (BLN 785.0348; PSUL, p18) Long famous for its unusual reversing movements, the afternoon train between Limerick and Rosslare Europort has been seen using the Limerick bay (platform 2) at the north end of Limerick Junction station rather than the Waterford bay (platform 4) at the south end. The track running south behind the station buildings across the level-crossing to the headshunt giving access to platform 4 may therefore now be out of use. If this is indeed a permanent change, confirmation of the date it took effect would be welcomed. BLN 798.0130][FR][CH] (Bellegarde -) Évian-les-Bains SNCF - St.Gingolph CFF (- Bouveret - St.Maurice): (Ball 50B2 (FR), 98B3 (CH)) The local authorities are reported to have organised shuttle trains along the south shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) between Bellegarde in France and St.Maurice in Switzerland during August 1997, for the Fêtes du Rhône to be held at Bouveret. This service will presumably be in addition to workings of the preserved Rive Bleue Express (BLN 774.0108, 775.0133), the only other trains over the otherwise closed international section of the so-called Ligne du Tonkin. BLN 798.0131][FR] Lyon-Perrache - Oullins - Givors: (Ball 56B3-56B2) The junction at Perrache Poste 1 faces north-west over the river Saône into the mouth of the tunnel, so local trains to and from the Oullins line have at present to reverse there to use Lyon-Perrache station. Following closure of a postal depot at Perrache, SNCF are during 1997 to open passenger platforms there on the Oullins line, obviating the reversal and facilitating local trains running through to the Lyon Perrache - Lyon-Vaise - Villefranche-sur-Saône line to the north of the city, serving a new passenger interchange at Lyon-Vaise with an extension of Métro Ligne D. (Today's Railways, #17) BLN 798.0132][FR] Cahors - Calvignac - Cajarc - Capdenac: (BLN 740.0306, 753.0176; Ball 61B2-62A2) In summer 1996 Quercyrail operated tourist trains on two overlapping sections of this line, Cahors - Cajarc and Calvignac - Capdenac, each with different autorails. (L'Écho du Rail, #166, January 1997) When did the eastern section come into use again, and what services are being offered in summer 1997? BLN 798.0133][FR] Tourist trains on SNCF freight lines: Recent proposals, with name and address of operator where known, include the lines Beauvais - Auneuil and (Beauvais -) Goincourt - St.Paul (- St.Germer) (BLN 780.0234; Ball 14B1-14A1; CF du Val de Bray, Boîte Postale 26, F-60390 Auneuil); (Gardanne -) Brignoles - Carnoules (BLN 793.07; Ball 75B3-76B2; Train Touristique du Centre Var, Le Bastidon, route de Nice, F-83390 Cuers); and St.Omer - Arques - Lumbres (- Hesdigneul) (BLN 756.0270; Ball 6A2; CF Touristique de la Vallée de l'Aa). The last-named is to open in May or June 1997 according to Today's Railways, #17, though a similar operation was recorded as opening 28 June 1992, so perhaps a resuscitation has been necessary. (partly from L'Écho du Rail, #166, January 1997) BLN 798.0134][DE] Klostermansfeld - Bockstal - Hettstedt: (Ball 42A3 not shown; Kursbuch der deutschen Museums-Eisenbahnen table 353) This 750mm-gauge former industrial system, once extending to some 90km, was originally built for carrying copper ore, though passengers too were carried until the 1960s. At the end of freight traffic, on 10 September 1990, only Helbra - Bockstal - Hettstedt was in use, and Helbra - Bockstal was lifted in 1991. Bockstal was the junction for the still-extant short branch to the works at Klostermansfeld. Mansfelder Bergwerksbahn Verein began their tourist passenger service 26 May 1990 from their station at the MaLoWa locomotive works, adjacent to DB's Klostermansfeld station. MBB's passenger terminus at Hettstedt, a small halt called Eduardschacht, is some 2km out of town and rather more difficult to find. However, trains do continue into the works area to run round at the former Hettstedt Rangierbahnhof and it is not unknown for persuasive passengers to remain aboard the train for this shunting movement. BLN 798.0135][DE] Eichstätt Bahnhof - Eichstätt Stadt (- Kipfenberg - Kinding - Beilngries): (BLN 794.049; Ball 60A1-60A2) The Bayerische Staatseisenbahnen opened Eichstätt Bf - Stadt (5.15km) as a metre-gauge line 15 September 1885 and extended it to Kipfenberg (24.22km) 7 November 1898. Timetables for July 1914 and July 1925 show it running a further 5.6km from Kipfenberg to Kinding, but opening date is unknown. In 1914 four halts - Wasserzell (0.7km), Rebdorf (2.8km), Hofmühle (3.6km) and Schlagbrücke (3.9km) - were shown between Eichstätt Bf and Stadt, but by 1925 Hofmühle and Schlagbrücke no longer appeared. The present Rebdorf-Hofmühle at km3.0 is perhaps an intermediate point between the original Rebdorf and Hofmühle, or maybe merely a remeasurement of Rebdorf. By 1929, the Bavarian railways were part of the Reichsbahn. From Beilngries, on the Neumarkt - Greisselbach - Dietfurt branch (Ball 60A3-60A2), the standard-gauge system extended in stages: Beilngries - Kinding (11.1km) for freight 5 November 1929; Kinding - Kipfenberg (5.87km) 15 May 1930; Kipfenberg - Eichstätt Stadt, converted and reopened as standard-gauge, 15 December 1932; and Eichstätt Stadt - Bf (5.09km) 7 October 1934. The timetable in the last year of the metre-gauge showed 15 trains from Bf to Stadt in summer 1934 and 13 back, with the 18-20 minute journey time reducing to 11-12 minutes when standard-gauge running began. Beilngries - Kipfenberg closed to passengers 2 October 1955 and Kipfenberg - Eichstätt Stadt closed to passengers and in part to freight 29 May 1960. Only Eichstätt Bf - Stadt now remains. Opening dates are from a reprint of the 1935 Handbuch der deutschen Eisenbahnstrecken (Dumjahr 1984), and closure dates from Abseits der Grossen Strecken (Alba, 1983). BLN 798.0136][DE] Tübingen - Entringen - Altingen - Gültstein (- Herrenberg): (BLN 775.0140; Ball 57B1-68B3-69A3) The line is closed between Gültstein and Herrenberg, but tickets between Tübingen and Stuttgart are still priced according to the distance via Herrenberg rather than the longer route via Plochingen that remains open. A limited passenger service (KBS764) runs between Tübingen and Entringen, using DB railbuses, though the line has since summer 1995 been operated by Zug-Bus GmbH, also known as Regionalbus Alb-Bodensee, a fact not vouchsafed by the DB Kursbuch. About 1994 track damage precluded both freight and special passenger workings beyond Altingen, but freight trains have been restored to serve a customer at Gültstein. At the end of summer 1994 DB declared the line too weak for steam locomotives, so no Eisenbahnfreunde Zollernbahn (EFZ) trains operated in 1995 or 1996, but DB's successors are welcoming EFZ steam trains again throughout in 1997, the first running on 6 January, to be followed by workings on the first Sunday of each month from June to September. The northernmost section of the HzL from Eyach to Hechingen (68B3) will see EFZ trains only on Wednesdays 13, 20 and 27 August 1997, running through from Böblingen and Horb. HzL's Hechingen - Gammertingen - Kleinengstingen section (68B3-69A3) will have EFZ trains on the second Sunday of the month from June to September, probably starting from the DB station at Hechingen over the new connection (BLN 793.013), but not in 1997 running forward over the DB Kleinengstingen - Münsingen freight line. The monthly summer Sunday EFZ trains which ran from 1994 to 1996 on the (Aulendorf -) Altshausen - Pfullendorf DB freight branch (BLN 735.0177; Ball 69A2) are not to be repeated. Regrettably, carryings on EFZ's semi-regular steam-hauled passenger trains over freight-only lines do not now justify quite the previous levels of operation. One factor ironically is the Wochenend ticket which, by offering cheap DB travel, makes riding on tourist trains seem much more expensive to the family market. BLN 798.0137][DE] (Tübingen -) Metzingen - Bad Urach: (BLN 788.0414; Ball 69A3) On 31 May 1996 DB transferred the line to Erms-Neckar-Bahn AG, though they appear still to work freight to the only siding in use, at Dettingen. ENAG, apparently controlled by local firm Elektro Friedrich GmbH, have published a timetable for a Mondays-to-Fridays hourly trial service (Probebetrieb) between Tübingen and Bad Urach, but this had not started in January 1997. The winter 1996-97 Kursbuch (KBS763) advertised only ten passenger round-trips on 30 November, 1 and 7 December 1996, and an EFZ steam railtour visited the line on Monday 6 January 1997. At Urach, the former station building, still lived in, sports the town name without the recent 'Bad' prefix, but a bypass road has replaced the platform and original trackbed. Beyond the new road, trains now use a simple single track with no run-round loop, and a platform with no passenger facilities other than a board with the company's name, the town name including prefix, and a modern train pictogram of the sort used on road signs at level-crossings. The EFZ tour the same day also visited Göppingen - Boll (Ball 58B1), probably the last such trip on this branch, which lost its freight service 29 May 1994. BLN 798.0138][DE] Immendingen - Zollhaus-Blumberg - Weizen - Lauchringen: (Ball 68B2-68A1; KBS 12737) This 'Switzerland avoiding line', like its counterpart Weil - Lörrach - Schopfheim - Wehr - Bad Säckingen (BLN 792.0507; Ball 67B1), was built for strategic reasons to prevent German military or other sensitive traffic for the stations in Baden on the north bank of the river Rhein from having to be routed via Schaffhausen or Basel. Its central section, Blumberg - Weizen, opened in 1890, linked two existing branches across the high Rhein-Donau watershed by stupendous and extravagant engineering, with the gradient deliberately kept down to 10‰, at the cost of six tunnels, four viaducts, four horseshoe curves and a full spiral, tracing a route like a pig's curly tail, hence its nickname, Sauschwänzlebahn. Civilian traffic never flourished, and no military traffic of any importance ever used the line, even during two world wars - perhaps not surprisingly, since near Weizen it runs only 50m from the frontier, with every train movement readily observable by enemy spies in neutral Switzerland, and passing almost within pea-shooter range! Maintenance expenses were high, and in 1955 DB suspended all traffic on the high section between Zollhaus-Blumberg and Lausheim-Blumegg. Bizarrely, though neither the authorities in the region nor the military had shown any interest in the line, the federal government in 1962 approved spending of DEM3.5 million on improving it, and assigned DEM50,000 a year to its upkeep, with a contribution from NATO. Most of its structures were refurbished, and much of the out-of-use line was equipped with heavy welded rail. In 1967, the northern section, from the junction with the Schwarzwaldbahn at Hintschingen to Blumberg, lost its passenger service, and in 1971 so did the lower section from Lausheim-Blumegg to Oberlauchringen. Some special trains ran over the central section after 1955, but DB decided on its definitive closure in 1976. A line in excellent condition, running through a region with tourist potential, and something of a museum of railway engineering, with structures found nowhere else in Germany, came in 1977 to be seen as a heritage asset. The preservation group Eurovapor and the town of Blumberg founded the Museumbahn-Wutachtal to run steam-hauled tourist trains at summer weekends on the 26km between Zollhaus-Blumberg and Weizen. A visit to the line is of interest not only for a trip on the train, but to see what kind of railway the civil engineers of a century ago could build if given total freedom of design with no economic constraint. (Les Transports Européens (CH), #1, September 1995) BLN 798.0139][DE][AT] Reutte in Tirol ÖBB - Garmisch-Partenkirchen DB: (BLN 723.038, 736.0213, 796.089; Ball 70B1-79A3) On the DB section, halts at Griessen (Oberbayern) and Untergrainau, closed in 1989, have been reopened. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 11/96) BLN 798.0140][AT][DE] Bregenz ÖBB - Lindau DB: (Ball 89B2) At the beginning of September 1996 some ÖBB regional trains previously terminating at Bregenz were extended to a new station opened at Bregenz Hafen. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/96) BLN 798.0141][PT] Porto area: (BLN 773.097, 780.0244; Ball 7A1) Reopening to passengers of the Contumil - Leixões branch is unlikely, its recent 25kV 50Hz electrification throughout being mainly for access to Custóias workshops, the largest in Portugal, owned by EMEF, the part of CP responsible for vehicle maintenance. The Porto - Valença CP (- Vigo RENFE) main line to the north, the Linha do Minho, double since October 1996 as far as São Romão, is to be doubled beyond to Nine, and the section Trofa - Lousado - Nine and the Nine - Braga branch are to be electrified. On the (Porto -) Ermesinde - Pocinho Linha do Douro, Ermesinde - Valongo, the westernmost 7.6km, was electrified in October 1996, though all trains run beyond and remain diesel-hauled. Under CP's plan for completion by 2000, Trofa - Lousado could lose its dual-gauge track and Lousado - Guimarães could be electrified and converted from metre to broad (1668mm) gauge, although the characteristics of the branch beyond Santo Tirso may result in the top section being closed. (Associação Portuguesa dos Amigos dos Caminhos de ferro; Today's Railways, #17) BLN 798.0142][PT] Setil - Vendas Novas: (BLN 776.0160; Ball 26A3-26A2) Electrification is due to be completed in summer 1997. The investment in this single-track link between Portugal's northern and southern lines has been mainly for the very heavy block trains carrying 2000t of imported coal north from Sines harbour to Pego power-station. The trains are diesel-hauled eastward, triple-headed, on the 48km Sines - Ermidas Sado freight branch (26A1), double-headed north to Setil, then have two electric locos through to Pego, near Abrantes (26B3) on the Entroncamento - Guarda Linha da Beira Baixa. (APAC) BLN 798.0143][PT] Lisboa Campolide - Pinhal Novo - Poceirão: (BLN 733.0158) Using a new rail deck added to the existing suspension road bridge, the link across the Rio Tejo (river Tagus) from Campolide to Pinhal Novo is due to open in 1998, but part of the line is already in use to serve the Ford/Volkswagen car factory at Penalva, west of Pinhal Novo. Eight trains a day of Galaxy cars carried in 54 specially-rebuilt wagons run Penalva - Pinhal Novo - Poceirão west-to-south curve - Águas de Moura - Setúbal harbour, avoiding Setúbal station. Pinhal Novo - Poceirão was double-tracked in 1993-94 to help handle this traffic, expected to rise to 16 trains a day. At Poceirão a new CP maintenance depot on the south side of the Linha do Alentejo maintains the hopper wagons for the Sines - Pego coal trains, and is expected also to do work on the new electric units for the cross-river service. (APAC) BLN 798.0144][ES] (Ponferrada -) Cubillos del Sil - Toreno - Páramo - Villablino: (Ball 9A3-3A1) Coal traffic is building up on the freight-only metre-gauge Ferrocarril Ponferrada-Villablino, and the line's chief engineer says the future is bright. Though owners Victorino Alonso, formerly Minero-Siderúrgica de Ponferrada SA, are dismantling the closed Ponferrada - Cubillos section, and the old branch into the Compostilla-II power-station at Cubillos is also closed, a new coal-unloading and stockpile area there is busy. With financial help from the Junta de Castilla y León, the provincial authority, track from Cubillos to Toreno is being refettled, and Páramo - Villablino will be next, Toreno - Páramo having been refurbished in 1991-93. Following a lorry-drivers' strike in early 1997, coal company Antracitas de Gaiztarro decided to move coal by rail from Alinos, near Matarrosa, to the Cubillos power-plant, and PV trains now haul up to 1800t a day. Diesel locomotives have been bought second-hand from RENFE and regauged, and 40t bogie coal hoppers similar to FEVE's are to replace old four-wheel wagons still in use. BLN 798.0145][ES] Río Tinto (Talleres Minas) - Los Frailes (- Manzano - Las Mallas - Huelva): (BLN 728.079; Ball 34B3-34A2, not shown) The local preservation trust have now restored 12km of the derelict 83km main line of the Rio Tinto railway (opened 1875, closed 1984). This 1067mm-gauge system, once British-owned, was built to haul ores of various metals from the huge Rio Tinto mining complex down the valley of the mineral-discoloured 'red river' to the southern Spanish port of Huelva. From the mine workshops, amid craters, tips and industrial dereliction on a gigantic scale, the section in use stretches through Zarandas to Los Frailes, with a further 6km awaiting attention before running begins to Manzano, eventually to be followed by some 35km more to Las Mallas, the point at which the disused 1067mm-gauge Rio Tinto line begins to follow, on the seaward side, the alignment westwards of the 1668mm-gauge RENFE Sevilla - Niebla - Las Mallas - Huelva line. On 13 February 1997, steam traction commenced at Rio Tinto, using Glasgow-built 0-6-0T #51 (Dübs, #1890 of 1883), now the oldest steam locomotive operating in Spain, hauling a third-class workmen's coach of 1909 and an open vehicle built on the underframe of a similar coach. BLN 798.0146][GR] Piraeus - Athinai - Korinthos - Patrai: (BLN 792.0515, 794.050, 796.080; Ball 66B2-65B3) OSE's European Union-backed 1997-2001 investment programme, recently begun, includes standard-gauge track from Athinai to Korinthos, the busiest 100km of the metre-gauge Peloponnese system, with a new bridge over the ship canal near Korinthos, plus some design work for extension of the standard-gauge 130km west of Korinthos to Patrai, the main ferry-port for Greek trade with western Europe. A Financial Times report of 12 December 1996 talked of "regauging", suggesting that metre-gauge trains might cease to run through on the Piraeus - Athinai - Korinthos section, which could in turn threaten the remainder of the Peloponnese railway. BLN 798.0147][PL] (Krotoszyn -) Pleszew Wask. - Pleszew Miasto: (Ball 37A3; PKP 317) Once beginning in Krotoszyn, a junction 39km to the south-west, and known as the Krotoschin Pleschener Kreisbahn when the area was in German hands, this local narrow-gauge line (Linia Waskotorowa) used to pass under the Poznan - Katowice main line to reach Pleszew town. Most of it is now lifted, from Krotoszyn to the run-round loop west of Pleszew Wask. station, which lies close (c.150m) to Pleszew main-line station, but 3km survives as a three-rail dual-gauge (750mm and 1435mm) long siding, with no signalling, east into the town (miasto). In October 1995, the branch passenger trains were narrow-gauge railcars, while freight was worked from the main-line yard on the standard-gauge to Pleszew Miasto, which had coal traffic. Beyond Miasto station, with a narrow-gauge-only run-round loop and some interesting pointwork, only the standard-gauge continued, as a private siding which seemed out of use. BLN 798.0148][PL][UA] Dabrowa Górnicza Ciesle - Hrubieszów PKP (- Ludin UZ): (Ball 40B1-39B1; PKP 104) This Russian-gauge (1520mm) non-electrified line in Poland, known as the Linia Hutnicza-Siarkowa (= 'Steel-and-Sulphur line'), was planned in the 1970s, opened for traffic from the Ukrainian border to Hrubieszów 7 November 1977, extended in 1978, and completed to Ciesle on 30 November 1979. It is not entirely accurately represented on Ball and Quail maps, so quite a full description follows. Ciesle, the line's western terminus, has a locomotive depot, a yard where ISO containers for Ukraine are transhipped, and interchange sidings for a private line hauling imported sintered iron-ore some 3km to feed a c.5km conveyor-belt to a steelworks. Containers and iron-ore are effectively the only traffic west of Staszów. The Steel-and-Sulphur line runs independently to a bridge over the Katowice - Dabrowa Górnicza - Sedziszów line (PKP 105) just before Bukowno, then along the north side of that line through Olkusz, the westernmost station to have a broad-gauge passenger platform, to Gajówka. Here, the broad-gauge curves on to a more northerly alignment, alongside which a standard-gauge track to avoid Tunel was constructed but not commissioned, before crossing the standard-gauge just south of Koslów. From here it runs along the south side of the Tunel - Radom line (PKP 110) through Sedziszów to Potok. Sedziszów boasts the only other broad-gauge passenger platform west of Zamosc and a large, but apparently disused, bogie-changing facility. From Potok the broad-gauge line runs independently, crossing over the 750mm-gauge Jedrzejów - Umianowice line (PKP 116) near Jedrzejów and under the standard-gauge Wloszczowice - Busko Zdrój branch (PKP 112). Between Wloszczowice and Chmielnik, the broad-gauge approaches and runs along the south side of PKP 112, both passing beneath the out-of-use 750mm-gauge Umianowice - Bogoria line to reach Staszów. After Staszów, broad and standard continue east together, crossing over the 750mm-gauge Bogoria - Szczucin k Tarnowa line, lifted in 1986, and over the standard-gauge Staszów - Polaniec branch, as far as Strzegomek. Between Strzegomek and Osiek is a short section where the broad-gauge and a standard-gauge siding run close together, but east of there the broad-gauge takes off on an independent alignment, crossing the river Wisla on a significant bridge. Three more standard-gauge lines are crossed on overbridges. At the first, a standard-gauge spur comes up from Padew to reach the sulphur works at Wola Baranowska, which also loads broad-gauge wagons for export. From Huta Deregowska, the broad-gauge runs along the south side of the Stalowa Wola - Zwierzyniec (PKP 556) line, built in the early 1970s, partly from a former narrow-gauge line, and the Zwierzyniec - Zawada line (PKP 554). On these eastern sections the standard-gauge is not electrified, so the broad-gauge is not separated from it by the overhead electrification masts seen further west, and the two lines can look deceptively like ordinary double track. The standard-gauge lines at Zwierzyniec, Zawada and Zamosc are all crossed on the level, not bridged as shown by Ball and Quail. Szczebrzeszyn has a coal transhipment facility where all Polish coal for export to Ukraine arrives in standard-gauge wagons, and only east of this point do all the traffics for which the broad-gauge line was built actually pass. At Zawada, the broad-gauge diverges from the standard-gauge Zawada - Hrubieszów line (PKP 557) to run round the north side of Zamosc, paralleled throughout by a standard-gauge loop-line which was planned to replace the existing route round the south side of the town. However, only a short section of this 'new' standard-gauge is in use, from Zawada to the diesel depot just west of Zamosc, the rest of the loop and the north-to-east spur avoiding Zawada remaining out of use. Zamosc pólnoc (= north) station is a desolate platform, lacking facilities, but PKP clearly intended to have a west-facing junction there for a standard-gauge branch climbing up on the north side to cross both standard and broad-gauge tracks on its way to a new Zamosc town station, a scheme which never materialised. East of Zamosc, the broad-gauge and the derelict standard-gauge track alongside it rejoin the earlier standard-gauge alignment at Jaroslawiec signal-box, the standard trailing into the earlier route, while the broad crosses it on the level to run along the south side. Czesniki halt is west of the junction, on the original standard-gauge line, not as Quail shows it. Just short of Hrubieszów, the standard-gauge heads north to Hrubieszów Miasto (= town) station and the broad south around the carriage works to its own station, crafted out of old containers and portable cabins. Of the passenger trains advertised in PKP's table 104, all require Ukrainian rolling-stock, but none was running in late 1996. Magnitogorsk / Kowel - Olkusz round-trips are shown po ogloszeniu (= when advertised) and are believed not to have run since 1992. The twice-weekly Lwów - Zamosc pólnoc trains have not run since April 1996. PKP's only broad-gauge passenger-carrying stock appears to be an SN81 twin railcar, used for staff transport and for a PIBSE tour of the Steel-and-Sulphur line on 5 October 1996. BLN 798.0149][AL][YU] Albania: (BLN 793.020; Ball 52) In early March the unrest in the south of the country meant no trains were running south-west of Rrogozhinë, but it did not prevent the reopening in the north of the Shkodër - Bajzé HSH - Hani i Hotit - Tuzi JZ - Podgorica international rail link. The first freight train left Bajzé for Tuzi in Montenegro, Yugoslavia on 6 March 1997. (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/geoff_sarbutt/albania.htm) BLN 798.0150][NZ] New Zealand: New Zealand's 1067mm-gauge railways, privatised in 1990, are now operated by Tranz Rail, a group led by Wisconsin Central, with the passenger services marketed since late 1995 as Tranz Scenic. The network has expanded in the 1990s. When locomotive-hauled seating carriages took over both night and day services on the Auckland - Hamilton - Wellington Main Trunk Line, the former Silver Fern railcars became available and were refurbished to run new daytime trains from 8 December 1991 on two lines east of Hamilton. The Kaimai Express runs Auckland - Hamilton - Morrinsville Jn - Waharoa - Apata - Tauranga and the Geyserland runs Auckland - Hamilton - Morrinsville Jn - Waharoa - Rotorua. Two decades previously Morrinsville Jn - Paeroa - Apata - Tauranga had lost its passenger trains on 11 September 1967 and Hamilton (Frankton Jn) - Morrinsville Jn - Waharoa - Rotorua on 12 November 1968. The Paeroa - Apata section closed completely when the new Kaimai tunnel route (Waharoa - Apata) replaced it from 12 September 1978.. BLN 799.0151][FR] Paris: Triangle de Vémars: (Ball 81A3) Winter 1996-97 saw TGVs running from Paris-Nord via the west-to-south curve of the Vémars triangle and the LGV Jonction to serve alpine ski-resorts. TGV sets otherwise spare at Le Landy depot seem to have been firmly programmed for these runs only on two weekends in February, but the pathways were available at the weekends on either side if required, to be used if bookings exceeded the capacity of advertised trains from Paris-Lyon. The extra trains appeared neither in SNCF's timetable nor in ski-train publicity, but those definitely booked to run included: #383 09:31 (8 Feb) Paris-Nord - St.Gervais-les-Bains #84 13:33 (15-16 Feb) Évian-les-Bains - Paris-Nord #398 17:52 (15 Feb) St.Gervais-les-Bains - Paris Nord #86 14:38 (15-16 Feb) Moutiers-Salins - Paris-Nord BLN 799.0152][FR] (Paris St.Lazare -) Achères - Eragny-Neuville - Pontoise: (Ball 81A1) This was once part of the direct Paris - Dieppe main line. The southern section, Achères (Bifurcation Dieppe) - Bif de Neuville, has become part of RER Ligne A to Cergy-le-Haut (BLN 752.0142). The short intermediate section between Bif de Neuville and Eragny-Neuville (Bif de Conflans) has freight traffic, plus a few Gisors - Paris St.Lazare up passenger workings (37034 08:15 SuX, 37068 16:59 SuO, 37072 17:29 SO, 37074 18:00 SuO, 37084 19:45 SuO, 37086 20:35 SuO) but none in the down direction. The northern end, Bif de Conflans - Pontoise, is used by St.Lazare - Conflans Ste.Honorine - Pontoise (- Gisors) trains. BLN 799.0153][FR] Malesherbes - Pithiviers - Les Aubrais-Orléans: (BLN 762.0397; Ball 25B1-25A1-36A3) The Malesherbes - Pithiviers section closed to passengers as long ago as 4 November 1969 and, with no traffic, has vanished from most railway maps of France. However, it remains in place for possible emergency use, and from time to time reopening is proposed. Occasional railtours have disturbed its rust since 1969, for example on 13 June 1992 and 17 February 1996, special arrangements being made to pass over the decommissioned level-crossings. South of Pithiviers freight continues, and this 44km section is to be visited by an ADL tour on 24 May 1997, which is also to include a steam trip on the 8km 600mm-gauge Pithiviers - Bellebat museum line, a survivor of the area's network of (mostly roadside) tramways. BLN 799.0154][FR][DE] Strasbourg: Neudorf Poste 1 - Bif Graffenstaden: (Ball 30A2) In winter 1996-97 this east-to-south curve, the Raccordement du Gliesberg, is traversed by the Dortmund - Bourg St Maurice Ski-France-Express, advertised in a DB leaflet but not apparently in the German or French timetables. The trains (outward DB D13005, SNCF 31272/3; return SNCF 31274/5, DB D13004) run to the ski-resort on Friday nights 20 December 1996 to 12 April 1997, returning the following night. Last southbound pick-up is Karlsruhe Hbf at 01:02 Saturday, but with a stop at Kehl to change locomotives, departing 02:25. Last northbound pick-up is Aix-les-Bains at 22:43 Saturday, with engine change at Mulhouse-Ville, departing 04:06 Sunday. The trains also use some other noteworthy routes: Köln-Deutz low-level (36A3; outward only); Köln Südbrücke (return only); Wiesbaden Ost - Biebrich (50B1; return only); Belfort avoiding line (40B2); and the yards at Dijon (Bif Longvic - Perrigny Poste 3). The one other passenger working known to use the Raccordement du Gliesberg carries only those with accompanying cars: DB's KA13371 Hamburg-Altona - Narbonne southbound on summer Friday nights when that train runs in two portions (DB Kursbuch Autoreisezüge table 530). BLN 799.0156][FR] Vierzon - Bourges: (Ball 36A1-36B1) This 32km section is likely to be the last significant extension of 1500V dc (rather than 25kV 50Hz) electrification in France. The report in BLN 757.0296 was premature, for work began only in September 1996, but electric services may be running from the timetable change in June 1997. (Op de Rails, 1/97) Three Paris - Bourges round trips daily are planned, plus TER services Orléans - Bourges. Through Paris - Montluçon trains may reverse and change locomotives at Bourges, instead of avoiding it on the (Vierzon -) Marmagne - St.Florent-sur-Cher (- Montluçon) west-to-south chord (36A1-46A3). This curve is to be included in the ADL railtour on 24 May 1997. BLN 799.0157][FR] Carcassonne - Limoux - Quillan: (Ball 72B2-72B1) The 28km section of the branch beyond Limoux was passenger-only with a very sparse service. Out of use from 16 December 1996 because of nearby road-works, it was due to reopen in February 1997. (L'Écho du Rail, #167, February 1997) Confirmation that trains have indeed resumed would be welcome. BLN 799.0158][FR] Pont-de-Dore - Ambert - Arlanc - Sembadel - Darsac: (BLN 750.0112; Ball 55B3-55B1) The preservation group AGRIVAP (Les amis du musée de la machine agricole et à vapeur) are advertising some summer 1997 trips from their museum at Ambert as far south as Sembadel. Rusty and overgrown track remains on the Sembadel to Darsac section, and on the Sembadel - Craponne-sur-Arzon (- Estivareilles) branch, déclassée and proposed for preservation (BLN 793.05). Le Puy - Langogne (55B1-64A3) is mostly lifted, but rail-cycles operated at the southern end in summer 1996 (BLN 792.0492). Le Teil - St.Jean-le-Centennier - Vogüé (65A3-64B3) has track intact but rusty, and two Picasso railcars (#X3865 and X3989) are stabled at Vogüé for advertised summer trips to St.Jean-le-Centennier. West of Vogüé, the three branches to Lalevades, Largentière and Grospierres are lifted. BLN 799.0159][FR][MC] Nice - Monaco-Monte Carlo - Menton: (BLN 729.0102, 736.0200; Ball 77B3-67B1) The section just to the east of Monte Carlo was diverted into tunnel in 1964, but in November 1996 SNCF completed the shell of a 2.8km tunnel which is to take the Nice - Menton (- Ventimiglia) line beneath the whole of the Principality of Monaco, with a new underground Monaco-Monte Carlo station replacing the present surface one in mid-1997. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/96) Monaco will presumably be the world's first state to have its entire main-line railway system underground. BLN 799.0160][BE][FR] Péruwelz SNCB - Condé-les-Eaux - Anzin - Denain - Somain: (Ball 7B1) Traces were obliterated when Ligne 78 was electrified around 1980, but until about 1975 Péruwelz was the junction for SNCB's Ligne 92, heading southwards to France to join the northern end of an extensive private railway network serving the border area's collieries and related industries. The last extant portion of this industrial system (Chemin de Fer d'Anzin; UIC code 61 ANZ) was, as shown in Ball, Condé-les-Eaux - Anzin - Denain - Somain. Now derelict, it was noteworthy for running passenger services until perhaps the 1950s. BLN 799.0161][BE] (Tournai - Ronse/Renaix -) Lessines - Ollignies (- Bassilly - Enghien): (BLN 704.03; Ball 7B2-8A1 not shown) Both ends of SNCB Ligne 87 have been closed for decades, but some 4km of single track is still in use south-east of Lessines to serve a concrete plant at Ollignies. BLN 799.0162][BE] Jurbise avoiding line: Y Jurbise - Y Lens: (Ball 8A1) This east-to-north curve has recently been relaid and seems heavily used, presumably by freight avoiding the LGV-related traffic bottlenecks on the main (Bruxelles -) Halle - Ath Ligne 94. Before a major rationalisation on SNCB/NMBS in 1984, a sparse Écaussines - Soignies - Ath passenger service used another 'rare' curve, the east-to-west Braine-le-Comte avoiding line (Y Écaussines - Y Soignies) as well as the Jurbise avoiding line. BLN 799.0163][BE] Dendermonde - Baasrode-Noord - Puurs: (BLN 762.0404; Ball 8A2-8A3) Purists seeking travel over every last metre of track will perhaps be disappointed by the Stoomspoorlijn Dendermonde-Puurs tourist line, based at Baasrode-Noord and advertised in the SNCB/NMBS timetable. On 4 August 1996 the SDP's diesel single railcar ran from Dendermonde NMBS station to Baasrode-Noord station, west of the level-crossing, but the steam-hauled train onward to Puurs picked up its passengers east of the level-crossing. At Puurs the SDP and NMBS stations are some 100m apart, with no physical connection remaining. TransFer #102 reports that the (Antwerpen -) Boom - Puurs Lijn 52 (BLN 735.0174; Ball 8B3), 'temporarily' closed since 1 June 1980, is to reopen from 1 June 1997. BLN 799.0164][DE] Pritzwalk - Putlitz: (Ball 19B2; KBS173) This 17km former DR branch, whose closure in July 1993 (BLN 716.013) was temporary, is now operated by Prignitzer Eisenbahn GmbH under contract to DB, using an ex-Bundesbahn (not ex-Reichsbahn) Class 798 railbus. (Op de Rails, 1/97) BLN 799.0165][DE] Hannover Messebahnhof: (BLN 770.030; Ball 26B2) According to Deutsche Messe AG's booklet for visitors to the CeBIT information-technology exhibition on 13-19 March 1997 "special trains run to the railway station at the grounds [and] a regular ... ICE service ... arrives at Laatzen station near the grounds", wording which implies another year's reprieve for the Messebahnhof, a terminus on its own short branch, not shown in Ball. In previous years, the train programme for CeBIT has been virtually replicated during Hannover Messe, this year to be held 14-19 April 1997. BLN 799.0166][DE] Düren - Heimbach (Eifel): (BLN 714.017, 728.076; Ball 37B1) This scenic branch south of Düren, formerly part of the DB network but taken over by the local Dürener Kreisbahn GmbH, is now served by new Düwag RegioSprinters, which can be regarded as low-floor trams with diesel engines and railway buffers. The cars have machines selling Aachener Verkehrsverbund (AVV) tickets and ordinary DB tickets are not accepted. Dürener Kreisbahn have since 29 September 1996 provided the weekend passenger service on the Neuss - Horrem line (37B2-37B1) under contract to DB. (partly Op de Rails, 1/97) BLN 799.0167][DE] (Mellrichstadt Bf -) Ostheim - Fladungen: (Ball 52A3) A preservation group, Fränkisch-Thüringische Museumsbahn Rhön eV, commenced running on 15 September 1996 over the northern 10.5km of this former Bavarian State line, which had been out of use and blocked at the junction. (Continental Railway Journal, #109, spring 1997) BLN 799.0168][DE] Böblingen - Dettenhausen: (BLN 789.0428; Ball 57B1-58A1; KBS790.9) Regular service commenced 2 December 1996, as shown in the winter Kursbuch, but trains also ran the previous day. BLN 799.0169][DE][CH] Radolfzell - Stahringen - Stockach: (BLN 786.0366; Ball 68B1-68B2; KBS732) This line on the German side of the Bodensee reopened to passengers on 8 September 1996 under the name Seehäsle, using new Stadler GTW2/6 diesel railcars. Operated by the Swiss private railway Mittel Thurgau Bahn, it is included in MThB's Thurgau day ticket. (European Rly News; Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/96) BLN 799.0170][ES] Algodor: (Ball 20A1) South of the junction where the Madrid - Villaluenga-Yuncler - Cáceres line heads off west, the Villaluenga-Yuncler - Villaseca - Algodor section of the old Madrid - Ciudad Real line has some freight, but it also allows AVE-type broad-gauge trains to reach the Alta Velocidad Española maintenance workshops at La Sagra, just to the north of Algodor. At Algodor both the old north-south broad-gauge route and the new standard-gauge Madrid - Ciudad Real - Cordoba - Sevilla AVE line intersect the single-track electrified broad-gauge Madrid - Aranjuez - Castillejo-Añover - Algodor - Toledo passenger branch heading west. Most of the old broad-gauge line south to Ciudad Real is now dismantled, as the AVE line cuts across it or uses its formation at several points. Algodor has an attractive and fairly recently restored station building in the Mudéjar style, recalling the Islamic influence of one of Spain's richest architectural periods, and including a station buffet in use by the neighbourhood population, barely more than forty inhabitants. Other buildings comprise one used as a church and a few houses for RENFE employees. No fewer than eleven tracks run through this country junction, which also has a turntable, water-tanks and a classic signal-box with a rare hydraulically-operated signalling installation, still in good order after excellent maintenance, and the only remaining example of four in Spain, the others having been at Madrid-Atocha, Villaverde Bajo and Sevilla. The Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles and the Asociación de Amigos del Ferrocarril de Toledo are suggesting Algodor, just over an hour by train from Madrid, as a good site for a railway museum. Visitors could also visit the nearby La Sagra RENFE workshops and contrast the traditional railway represented at Algodor with the new generation of high-speed trains. Fuller information in Spanish (and Spanish English), plus some photographs, can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.cuerpo8.es/STOL/hoy/. BLN 799.0171][IT] Trieste - Villa Opicina tramway: (Ball 44A3) From Piazza G Oberdan, not far from Trieste Centrale FS station, a narrow-gauge tramway, remnant of a once-extensive town system, runs up to Villa Opicina, close to the Slovenian border. It is noteworthy for its funicular section, where the elderly blue-and-cream single-deck conventional tramcars are assisted in the rear (uphill) or retarded in front (downhill) by one of two rather grotesque cable-hauled devices which look like pyramids on wheels. The tram first runs on single track in the street up a fairly steep gradient to the lower end of the funicular, where the cable 'engine' sits waiting in a dead-end siding. The tram runs past and backs down on to it, with the driver doing most of the work, though an extra man is stationed at the incline to change the points. He also rides on the assisting engine which, though cable-powered, has a pantograph, perhaps for communication purposes, and contacts at rail level alongside its wheels, which means that the points have to have more moving parts than is normal. The funicular section is not street-running. Just after the top, a magnificent view is offered over the Adriatic Sea, but the route is then more or less flat roadside running through unspectacular countryside to the combined terminus and tram-depot in central Villa Opicina. Bicycles, carried on special hooks on the outside of the tram at the uphill end, are unloaded - and may indeed be a useful means to reach Villa Opicina FS station, which seems quite a distance away. BLN 799.0172][IT] Cuneo - Roccadebaldi - Mondovi: (Ball 45B2) Damage to the Gesso viaduct, close to Cuneo Gesso station, closed this line to passengers from 8 October 1996, and to freight between Cuneo Gesso and Roccadebaldi. Its future is uncertain. To the north, Cuneo - Saluzzo trains were to be replaced by buses from 3 March 1997. BLN 799.0173][IT] (Firenze -) San Piero a Sieve - Borgo San Lorenzo (- Faenza): (Ball 48A1; FS273) East from Firenze the Faentina line was destroyed as a through connection to Borgo San Lorenzo in 1944, but passenger trains resumed on this 5km section on 16 September 1996. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/96) BLN 799.0174][CH] Lausanne - Puidoux-Chexbres: (Ball 91A1) Single-line working through the 494m Cornallaz tunnel is to operate until 1999 while track is lowered to allow double-deck trains to run Genève - Lausanne - Fribourg - Bern - Zürich. (Eisenbahn Amateur 12/96) BLN 799.0175][CA] Sept Îles, QC - Ross Bay Jn, NF - Schefferville, QC and Ross Bay Jn - Labrador City, NF: In 1954 the Iron Ore Company of Canada built the Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway, a 570km line north from the coast of Québec through trackless terrain to the interior of Labrador, standard-gauge but isolated from the rest of the North American network. In 1960 IOC and Wabush Lake Railway Company jointly built the 58km branch west from Ross Bay Jn (Mile 224 or km358) to Labrador City and Wabush Lake. Though essentially for mineral traffic, QNS&L is a common carrier with passenger trains, which during the 1980s ran biweekly. On 19 September 1995, Canada's National Transportation Agency directed QNS&L to continue RDC (rail diesel car) passenger service on the main line and the Labrador City branch. Authority of this Agency was due to expire with the coming into force of the Canada Transportation Act in 1996, but on 29 September 1995, the Federal Minister of Transport announced that the government would continue to finance QNS&L passenger trains. Announced at the same time were similar federal support for the Algoma Central Railway's Sault Ste.Marie - Hearst, ON passenger trains (BLN 766.0495) and for the Ontario Northland Railway's service on the Toronto - North Bay - Cochrane, ON line (BLN 797.127). (Canada Rail Passenger Yearbook 1996-97) BLN 799.0176][CA] (Toronto -) Stouffville - Uxbridge (- Lindsay, ON): CN run GO Transit passenger services, and presumably freight, as far as Stouffville. Beyond there the line had been out of use since 1992, but Stouffville - Uxbridge was reopened 14 September 1996 by the York-Durham Heritage Railway for seasonal weekend services. (Continental Rly Journal, #109) BLN 799.0177][CA] (Toronto -) Chatham - Windsor, ON: This line carries VIA inter-city passenger trains between Toronto and Windsor, but Canadian National diverted through freight traffic off it by two fairly recent chords (north-east to south-east at Chatham and north-west to south-west at Fargo), an intervening section of CSX line, and then the former Canada Southern route (once Conrail's, later bought by CN) running parallel to the south and leading direct to the Windsor, ON - Detroit, MI tunnel under the Detroit River. In July 1995, CN obtained authority to abandon the (former Great Western) Chatham - Windsor section, giving VIA twelve months to purchase the trackage. (Canada Rail Passenger Yearbook 1996-97) BLN 799.0178][CA] Welland - Port Colborne, ON: (SPV atlas, map NY1) In March 1997 CN Rail built a 2km long freight line to replace a 0.25km section including Bridge 20 over the (present, and fourth) Welland Canal, which connects Lakes Erie and Ontario enabling ships to bypass Niagara Falls. The new track runs from the end of the existing CN line at Robin Hood flour-mill, in Port Colborne, south along the west bank of the abandoned Third Welland Canal, to the existing CN line near the abandoned Port Colborne station, thus allowing rail service to continue to mills along the west side of the canal entrance from Lake Erie. Bridge 20 was to be removed in time for the summer reopening of Great Lakes navigation in early April. In the 1970s two rail lines were removed in Port Colborne, one of them the east-west Fort Erie - Goderich, ON main line, originally built by the Buffalo & Lake Huron Railway (later part of the Grand Trunk, which became part of CN in 1923) and running from Fort Erie, opposite Buffalo, NY, at the Lake Erie end of the Niagara River, through Port Colborne (and across Bridge 20) to Goderich on Lake Huron. The other was the north-south Elm Street section of the Niagara, St.Catharines & Toronto Railway, operator of electric interurban passenger and trolley freight service on several lines including Thorold - Fonthill - Welland - Port Colborne, built 1906-11. This line on 28 March 1959 saw the end of the last interurban service in Canada. Most of the Welland - Port Colborne section was abandoned in 1960, but NS&T tracks remained on Elm Street to serve Robin Hood flour-mill from the south. When the city wanted the street tracks removed, CN rebuilt another portion of the NS&T from an east-west rail line near the Welland / Port Colborne boundary southwards to the mill, serving it from the north, and it is this line that has now been prolonged further south along the old canal. (pwarwick@freenet.npiec.on.ca) BLN 799.0179][US] (New York - Albany-Rensselaer -) Whitehall, NY - Rutland, VT: (SPV VT3) On this 38km section east from the New York - Montreal main line, the Ethan Allen, a new Amtrak passenger service with state support from Vermont, began 3 December 1996, the first ordinary passenger train to serve Rutland since 1953. (Continental Railway Journal, #109) BLN 799.0180][US] Conrail to be dismembered: The years of bankruptcy, nationalisation and re-privatisation of this large eastern US railroad, successor to Penn Central, are to end in its break-up between rivals CSX and Norfolk Southern, following a contest decided on 3 March 1997. After this take-over, the USA will have four gigantic players in the industry, the other two being Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific, both western roads. Speculation is that another merger round may give the US one or even two true transcontinental railroads for the first time. Meanwhile, route rationalisation is likely, with one possible victim being the former Erie line Hornell, NY - Jamestown, NY - Meadville, PA (SPV NY4, NY2, PA2). BLN 800.0181][FR] Toul - Chaudeney-sur-Moselle - Maron - Pont-St.Vincent: (BLN 756.0275, 790.0448 OEIS 9651; Ball 28B2) This line has no through traffic but is maintained, at some expense to the military, as a strategic route which would allow trains to avoid Nancy. No ordinary passenger services have run for some forty years, but a departmental councillor and the mayor of Maron called a meeting on 10 December 1996 with SNCF, military, navigational and other local-authority interests to discuss the possibility of a summer tourist service to be run by the association Autorails Bourgogne Franche-Comté section Lorraine (ABFCL) in conjunction with boats on the river Moselle. (La Vie du Rail, #2585, 26 February 1997) BLN 800.0182][BE] West Belgian freight branches: (Ball 7B1-7B2-7A2) A PFT/TSP tour on 22 March 1997 visited a number of freight-only branches, departing unusually from Brussel-Zuid/Bruxelles-Midi platform 4, one of the TGV Thalys platforms, running via Lijn 96 to Halle, then Lijn 94 to Leuze in French-speaking Wallonia. Joining Ligne 86 (Basècles-Carrières -) Leuze - Frasnes-lez-Anvaing - Ronse/Renaix - Oudenaarde, the tour headed north, perhaps the last train to do so on the Frasnes - Ronse section, which is to close. Just before re-entering Flemish-speaking Flanders at Ronse, an unscheduled stop was made to remove obstructions placed across the track. The stub remaining of Lijn 85 (Oudenaarde -) Y Leupegem - Ruien (- Herseaux) was next visited. Along Lijn 66 Kortrijk - Lichtervelde (- Brugge), permission to take the quay branch at Izegem had been refused, and plans to visit the quay branch at Roeselare, which runs along a public road, were thwarted by a communications breakdown when two police officers on the station platform prevented access. Instead the train ran only a few hundred metres to sidings north and east of Roeselare station and reversed. From the junction just east of Kortemark station, the remains of Lijn 63 Kortemark - Westrozebeke (- Ieper) are classed as a military siding. The train ran on very rusty track as far as the disused Westrozebeke station, but did not enter the military site itself, reached by a branch to the west shortly before the station. BLN 800.0183][BE] Neerpelt - Eksel (- Y Houthalen - Winterslag): (BLN 778.0184; Ball 9A3) This section of Lijn 18 was officially taken out of use from 26 August 1996. Formerly retained to serve a military establishment at Eksel, it is now no longer needed by the Belgian army. (TransFer, #102, December 1996) BLN 800.0184][BE] (Bruxelles -) Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher - Voroux - Ans (- Liège): (Ball 9A2-9B2; Ligne 36) When Voroux yard was constructed c.1946, it took over the site of the Bruxelles - Liège main line, which had to be realigned on a curve north of the new yard. Slow lines took a separate alignment round the south side of the yard, carrying freight trains towards Liège-Kinkempois and stopping trains between Waremme and Liège, which could be overtaken by fast trains on the main lines. The new Ligne à Grande Vitesse, an isolated stretch of which is already laid, will head straight through the centre of the now-closed yard, in effect taking the pre-1946 main-line alignment, and on east towards Ans apparently taking over the alignment of the slow lines, now disconnected and partly lifted east of the junction for Kinkempois. As noted in BLN 795.063, local trains, retimed to avoid conflict with faster traffic, have since 29 September 1996 used the fast lines, calling at Voroux-Goreux. Voroux station on the slow lines has closed. Nearby, the connection at Ans on to the de-electrified Ligne 31 (Ans - Ans-Est - Liers; BLN 711.07) was seen on 2 March 1997 to have been lifted. BLN 800.0185][BE] Liège: Y Garde-Dieu - Angleur: (Ball 9B1) Car-carrying trains from the Netherlands call at Liège-Bressoux, then normally use this north-to-east curve before heading south via Luxembourg. On 2 March 1997 and again on 7 April the curve was seen to be severed, no doubt in connection with nearby major main-line engineering works. To maintain their correct orientation for cars to drive off, the car-carrying trains must presumably find a route through the Liège area involving two reversals. BLN 800.0186][NL] Leeuwarden - Stiens (- Dokkum): (BLN 778.0185; Ball 1B3-1B2) Stiens - Dokkum vanished many years ago, but the NS Leeuwarden - Stiens branch survived on potato traffic till this was lost to road-haulage in 1996. After a period out of use the branch finally closed at the end of February 1997, and is being lifted. Last train on the line was a new Talent light diesel railcar, which is on loan from the manufacturers Talbot of Aachen till May 1997, and has been running in daily service with NS on the Leeuwarden - Stavoren branch. It operated two trips to Stiens for invited guests, with some rail enthusiasts also managing to be on board. (http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/news/ern0397.html) BLN 800.0187][BE][NL] (Gent -) Wondelgem - Zelzate NMBS - Sas-van-Gent NS - Terneuzen: (BLN 704.03; Ball 8A3) The isolated freight-only section of Nederlandse Spoorwegen in the small part of the Dutch province of Zeeland lying south of the Schelde estuary and west of Antwerpen can be reached only over a freight branch of the Belgian network heading north from Gent. All trains on this part of NS are hauled by Class 2200 diesels, soon to be replaced by Class 6400. (.../news/ern0397.html) BLN 800.0188][DE][DK] Niebüll DB - Tønder DSB: (BLN 776.0157; Ball 5B2-5B1) Nordfriesische Verkehrsbetriebe AG (NVAG), private operators of the 14km Niebüll - Dagebüll Mole branch, plan during 1997 to reactivate the out-of-use cross-border Niebüll - Tønder line and work through Hamburg - Esbjerg freight trains, and possibly some passenger trains. (.../news/ern0197.html) BLN 800.0189][DE] Grevesmühlen - Klütz (Mecklenburg): (BLN 717.06; Ball 11B1) This 15km branch, closed in 1995, is to reopen to passengers from 1 June 1997. Klützer Ostsee-Eisenbahn GmbH are to work two or three services each way daily using a railcar (VT98) towing a trailer if necessary. From 1999 a Prussian T3 steam locomotive and five vintage coaches may operate additional tourist trains. (Bahn-Nachrichten Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, March 1997) BLN 800.0190][DE][SE] Rostock DB - Trelleborg SJ train-ferry: (BLN 736.0205; Ball 12B1 (DE)) Named on 6 December 1996, the 35,000t mv Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the world's largest train-ferry, is to enter service with DB's subsidiary DFO (Deutsche Fährgesellschaft Ostsee mbH) on this route, operated jointly with SJ subsidiary SweFerry AB. Her 950m of track on one deck can carry up to 50 freight wagons. (Op de Rails, 2/97) BLN 800.0191][DE] Hamburg S-Bahn: (BLN 794.039; Ball 22) Following S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, a separate limited company since 1 January 1995 (BLN 753.0186), S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH, operating the Hanseatic city's 115km 1200V dc third-rail network, has been a separate company since 1 January 1997. Incorporation of DB's freight business as DB Cargo AG has however been delayed to 1 January 1999. (.../news/ern0197.html) BLN 800.0192][DE] Berliner Parkeisenbahn: (BLN 790.0455; Ball 32A2 not shown) Advertising on Berlin S-Bahn stations shows the BPE again running in summer 1997, from 8 May to 26 October, Mondays excepted, with different combinations of operating times, circuits and frequencies on different days. The branch to S-Bahnhof Wuhlheide is served SSuO. BPE telephone/fax is on +49 30 509 9080. BLN 800.0193][DE] Fürstenwalde (Spree) - Beeskow: (Ball 30A2) This 33km local line in eastern Land Brandenburg is threatened with closure - not surprisingly given its traffic on 16 March 1997, when the two-railbus afternoon train carried no more than five passengers in either direction. The railbuses set off from Fürstenwalde's former Kreisbahn platform on the north side, east of the level-crossing, before climbing over the main line and heading southward. Freight runs only over the first 7.2km to private sidings between Fürstenwalde Süd (formerly Ketschendorf) and Petersdorf. Petersdorf was once the junction for an 8.2km branch to Silberberg on the west side of the Schärmutzelsee, a small lake. A suggestion that the line may be partly retained north of Pfaffendorf is surprising, since an unstaffed (and unrequested) request stop on plain track seems an unlikely terminus, but possibly closure of the southern section may be driven to some extent by a need to improve safety at a main-road level-crossing near Gross Rietz. Two tiny platforms have been set up there, where the female conductor alighted to flag the trains across before climbing aboard. At Beeskow the Kreisbahn trains now use the main station. BLN 800.0194][DE] Mannheim - Stuttgart: (Ball 57B3) Between Neulussheim and Waghäusel on the high-speed Schnellfahrstrecke, DB are testing seven variants of rigid-roadbed track to try to reduce noise. One interesting version has grass between the rails, and looks similar to the 'lawn' tracks on some tramway systems. (paragraphs 0194 and 0195 both from .../news/ern0197.html) BLN 800.0195][DE] Zwiesel (Bayern) - Bodenmais: (Ball 61B2-62A2) Bavaria's Regental Bahnbetriebs GmbH have put into regular service on this 15km branch, and on the 32km Zwiesel - Grafenau branch, two diesel cars (#VT09 and VT10) which have been rebuilt from DB's veteran Class 515 battery railcars. BLN 800.0196][AT] Linz Urfahr - Rottenegg - Aigen-Schlägl: (BLN 765.0470, 789.0432; Ball 73B3-62B1) From Linz Hbf, tram #3 is the only rail passenger link to the ÖBB's Linz Urfahr station, the rather back-street terminus on the north bank of the river Donau for the threatened passenger services on the standard-gauge Mühlkreisbahn. Trains, running frequently to Rottenegg (13km) and hourly to Aigen-Schlägl (58km), are generally Class 5047 single railcars alone or in pairs, though on 11 October 1996 the 14:00 departure from Urfahr was hauled by a Class 2043 locomotive. At the north end of tram-route 3, some 200m beyond Urfahr ÖBB, is the bottom station of the 3km Pöstlingbergbahn (Bergbahnhof Urfahr - Bergbf Pöstlingberg) which claims with its 10.5% gradient to be the steepest adhesion-worked passenger railway in the world. The single electric cars operate every 20 minutes beside well-kept flower-beds up past the zoo to the top station, close to an ornate ecclesiastical building. Pointwork is of unusual design, with many moving parts, and the crossing-loop points are worked by the drivers reaching out to trackside pedestals and inserting a key to operate an electric switch. BLN 800.0197][AT] (Lambach -) Neukirchen bei Lamb - Haag am Hausruck: (BLN 791.0471; Ball 73B3) Since provincial elections are due soon, passenger services on this threatened 22km branch seem likely to continue in 1997. Though owned by ÖBB, it has since 1932 been operated by Stern & Hafferl, who electrified it at 800V dc. Trains run through from Lambach, sharing a 4.4km section of ÖBB's Linz- Salzburg main line wired at 15kV 16.7Hz. Both passenger and freight trains are hauled by three dual-voltage power-cars, formerly on the Bludenz - Schrunz Montafonerbahn, and the special rectifier cars which supplied StH dc locomotives and power-cars while under ac wires are no longer in regular use. (partly from .../news/ern0197.html) BLN 800.0198][SE] Sweden: A report has recommended that the government should not give any support to maintenance or running of Inlandsbanan, the long, scenic and economically-precarious Gällivare - Arvidsjaur - Östersund - Mora line (BLN 778.0195; Ball 3A3-14A2). Banverket, Sweden's equivalent of Railtrack, are electrifying the freight lines Mellansel - Örnsköldvik (7B1) and Bastuträsk - Skelleftehamn (8A3). The new (Stockholm -) Södertälje - Eskilstuna railway, Svealandsbanan, is to open in June 1997 (BLN 775.0141; Ball 23A2-22B3). Åstorp - Teckomatorp (25A2), closed to passengers when Göteborg - Malmö trains were diverted via Helsingborg, is to have local services again by 1999 at the latest. (.../news/ern0397.html) BLN 800.0199][FI] Finland: Sixteen new Spanish-built GEC-Alsthom Dm11 diesel railcars began to arrive in February 1997 for Finnish lines with low traffic density. By summer 1997 they are expected to be working Iisalmi - Ylivieska (Ball 9B1-9A2), Tampere - Orivesi - Haapamäki - Seinäjoki (17A2-16B3) and Jyväskylä - Haapamäki (17B3-17A3). Cuts in railway subsidies are being proposed, however, which could threaten some VR branch passenger services and put paid to thoughts of further reopenings (BLN 740.0312). (.../news/ern0397.html) BLN 800.0200][PT] Porto trams: (BLN 773.098; OEIS 9631; Ball 7A1, not shown) In mid-February 1997, the city's elderly 1435mm-gauge tramcars on the single remaining route #18 (Boavista - Carmo) were still running an ordinary half-hourly service from 09:00 to 21:00 Mon-Sat, rather than just a tourist operation. Boavista tram terminus is near Boavista CP traction depot on the metre-gauge line out of Porto Trindade. Fare was the equivalent of 30p for a 50-minute journey. BLN 800.0201][PT] Braga: Bom Jesus funicular: (Ball 7B1 not shown) On 11 February 1997, a public holiday, the 1882-built 270m long Bom Jesus funicular was operating half-hourly, timed to connect with buses to and from Braga, some 5km to the west. The water-counterbalanced 1435mm-gauge cars climb a 52% gradient. On a dull misty day, few passengers were travelling. BLN 800.0202][GR] Lianokladi - Lamia - Stilis: (BLN 774.0116; Ball 66A3) Greek railways (OSE) are proposing to the local authorities in the city of Lamia and nearby that the branch, reopened to passengers in recent years, should become a suburban light railway using diesel railbuses operated by a local-authority/OSE joint company. (.../news/ern0197.html) BLN 800.0203][NO] Bjørnevatn - Kirkenes: (BLN 783.0318; Ball not shown) Freight trains on this 8km isolated 1435mm-gauge mineral railway in the extreme north of Norway were to end before 1 April 1997. (.../news/ern0397.html) BLN 800.0204][CZ] Czech closures: Poor condition of the line has led to suspension of traffic from 1 January 1997 on 21km of Mladotice - Cistá (- Rakovnik) (Ball 35B1; CD 162) and is expected to do so from 1 June 1997 on both Louka u Litvínova - Moldava (35B1-35B2; CD 135), 25km of scenic mountain line with two high steel viaducts and two tunnels needing expensive reconstruction, and on 8km of Krásný Jez - Horní Slavkov (- Chodov) (35A1; CD 144) which has two viaducts and a tunnel. Suspension of traffic from 26 January 1997 on the 33km 760mm-gauge Jindrichuv Hradec - Nova Bystrice line (BLN 714.026, 794.054; Ball 41A3-41A2; CD 206) was also due to its poor condition, and was supposed to be temporary until the timetable change on 1 June 1997, but uncertainty remains whether it will ever reopen. (.../news/ern0397.html) BLN 800.0205][CZ] (Ceská Trebová -) Blansko - Brno (- Breclav): (Ball 41B3-41B2) This difficult 19km section reopened on 16 December 1996 after complete closure for nine months while the numerous tunnels were rebuilt for electrification as part of an upgrading of routes in the Berlin - Decin - Brno - Breclav - Wien corridor. (.../news/ern0397.html) BLN 800.0206][SK] Kubátkovia - Chmùrovia - Chmùra (- Beskyd - Tanecnik): (Ball 42B3 not shown) The preserved HLZ (Historická lesná zeleznica = historic forest railway) is essentially a steeply-graded section of line constructed in 1926 to link two formerly separate systems of 760mm-gauge Slovakian forestry railways into a 110km network, on which commercial operation ceased from 31 December 1971. From Kubátkovia (near Vychylovka village, with bus services from Zilina and Cadca) a 1.5km section of railway running east along the river Vychylovka to a museum at Chmùrovia has been available for chartered trains since about 1974. Since 3 June 1995 almost 3km of line from Kubátkovia via Chmùrovia to Chmùra, at the foot of the first reversal spur, has been open May to October for daily public services, with diesel traction during the week and steam at weekends. Floods in late September 1996 washed away ballast on the lower section, requiring some work to restore the track for 1997. Beyond Chmùra, the track remained in place over the summit level and on to Tanecnik, accommodating a 218m difference in height by two double reversal spurs plus a further single reversal at Beskyd station. HLZ plan to reopen that whole section, probably part in 1997 and the rest in 1998. In early October 1996 reballasting had reached Beskyd. BLN 800.0207][BG][GR] Dragoman - Sofia - Plovdiv - Dimitrovgrad - Svilengrad: (Ball 52B2-53A2) Bulgarski Drzhavni Zheleznitsi have completed electrification from Dragoman near the Serbian border to the capital Sofia, and plan to electrify from Plovdiv to Svilengrad near the Turkish border by the end of 1997, completing the wiring of the traditional 1939 Simplon Orient Express route across Bulgaria. Electrification of the BDZ section from Dimitrovgrad to the Turkish border is by the Russian company Zarubezhtransstroy. Freight traffic between Bulgaria and Serbia is expected to increase considerably because of contracts to supply Serbian manufacturers with raw materials imported through the Bulgarian port of Burgas on the Black Sea. Sofia - Burgas is already electrified. A fast passenger train now runs through from Sofia to Thessaloniki in northern Greece in four hours, stopping only at Blagoevgrad in Bulgaria and at one point in Greece (probably Strimon, the country junction near the border, where a reversal is in any case necessary). (.../news/ern0397.html) BLN 800.0208][UA][MD] Rudnitsa - Popelyukhi - Studenaya - Zagnitkovo - Kamenka-Dnestrovskaya: The short Rudnitsa - Popelyukhi section of this 750mm-gauge branch of Ukrainska Zaliznitsa, paralleling the main line to the east on a different alignment, is not shown in the Quail atlas. Reversal is necessary at Popelyukhi before the branch heads south, extending some 15km beyond Ukraine into Moldova, mainly to serve a canning factory at Kamenka/Camenca in Transdniestria, the region of Moldova north-east of the river Dnestr. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the new government of Moldova in Chisinau/Kishinev decided that the country's language should be Moldovan, a non-Slavic Romance tongue similar to Romanian and spoken by a majority of the population, since when the Russian-speaking territory of Transdniestria, with some support from Russia, has regarded itself as autonomous, with Tiraspol as its capital. On 4 April 1997 a special train conveying a team of BLS inspectors, steam-hauled from Rudnitsa by 0-8-0 #GR280, was held up at the Ukraine-Moldova frontier by a small armed force acting on behalf of the self-styled Pridnestrovskaya Respublika. Though visas and permissions had been obtained in advance from the Moldovan authorities, the local commander would not recognise their validity. In vain were negotiations pursued with distant authorities, and after several hours sitting simmering at the edge of the damp forest marking the boundary, the locomotive was forced to retreat and propel its train back into Ukraine. This unusual insight into post-Soviet devolution politics was possibly more interesting than completing the remainder of the branch would have been. A week later, the International Herald Tribune for 12 April reported that negotiations had led to a new accord between the two sides in Moldova, to include withdrawal of Russian troops, so presumably halting the tour train was part of a show of strength. BLN 800.0209][CA] Vancouver - Coquitlam - Mission, BC: (BLN 752.0168, 759.0361, 761.0394, 765.0478 with sketch-map, 768.0532, 791.0486) The transcontinental Canadian/Canadien diverted to use Vancouver's CN station following operation on 27 October 1979, one year into VIA's running of Canada's passenger network. Thereafter the CP line between Vancouver CP terminal and Coquitlam had no passenger trains until West Coast Express commuter service began 1 November 1995. The CP section between Coquitlam and Mission continued to carry the Canadian and now also hosts the West Coast Express. East of Mission, the Canadian diverted from CP to CN on 15 January 1990, opening to passengers the Mission - Matsqui link, a short stretch of CP's Mission - Huntington branch plus a connection to the CN main line heading eastward up the south bank of the Fraser River, and closing to passengers the CP main line heading up the north bank at that point. The Rocky Mountaineer normally uses the same route as the Canadian. (partly Canadian Rail Passenger Yearbook 1996-97) BLN 801.0210][IE] Dublin North Wall - North Strand Jn - Glasnevin Jn - Islandbridge Jn - Clondalkin - Clonburris: A planning application has been lodged for a huge rail-served 'national distribution park' at Clonburris, 1km west of Clondalkin, itself 10km west of the capital on the Dublin - Cork main line, north of the Grand Canal near the M50 ring motorway. Containers of goods arriving at Dublin Port would be rail-hauled round the north of the city to a seven-siding gantry-equipped rail terminal for transhipment, warehousing and onward distribution by road. New signalling and welded rail would be required to handle the extra traffic, and this investment would also enable IE to divert their Dublin - Kildare Arrow commuter trains to use the more central Connolly station instead of Heuston. A new halt could be built at Clonburris for the 5,000 workers expected when the site is fully developed. (Irish Times, 12 March 1997) BLN 801.0211][FR][BE] Somain - Denain - Anzin - Condé-les-Eaux - Péruwelz SNCB: (BLN 799.0160; Ball 7B1) All its life the Chemin de Fer d'Anzin was owned by coal-mining interests, though it carried public traffic. The Compagnie des Mines d'Anzin, its original parent, founded in 1757, ran wagonways from 1831, and obtained in 1835 its first concession for a public railway, whose Denain - St.Waast (Valenciennes) section opened in 1838, followed by various extensions over the years. The concession to operate into Belgium dated from 1868. Cross-border freight began 23 May 1873 and passenger traffic 26 August 1874, and for most of the next century passenger trains ran the 38km from Somain to Péruwelz. In 1914 the timetable showed ten trains a day over most of the line, with seven crossing the frontier. On 1 January 1946, the French government nationalised the mining company, and the railway became part of Houillères du Bassin du Nord (= 'northern coalfield collieries'). In the 1950s its 2-6-0 locomotives and bogie coaches ran some seven passenger services daily from Somain to Vieux-Condé, with four crossing the frontier, and various workmen's trains served industrial branches within France. In later years steam was replaced by diesel traction, the locomotives being similar to SNCF Class BB 63000. Passenger service ceased from 16 April 1963. With the decline of the local coal industry, the system slowly contracted. The cross-border line to Péruwelz closed 31 December 1973, and final closure to regular traffic came on 20 December 1989, with only demolition trains running thereafter. An 8km section (Denain-Mines - Arenberg), including part of the original 1838 railway plus a branch north to Arenberg colliery, survives as an industrial museum operation running an ex-SNCF Picasso railcar on certain summer Sundays under the title Train Touristique du Hainaut. (Enquiries to CEF-Nord, c/o M G Grépier, 6 chemin du Moulin, F-59144 Jenlain.) Denain-Mines is accessible from Denain SNCF station, 1km to the north on the Cambrai - Valenciennes line, or by car on a day-trip from Britain via Le Shuttle. BLN 801.0212][FR] Bourg-en-Bresse - La Cluse - Oyonnax - St.Claude (- Morez - Andelot): (BLN 771.051, 778.0181, 783.0292; Ball 49A1-49B3) Crossing facilities on this scenic rural line remain at Ceyzériat, Villereversure and Nurieux, though the timetable shows passenger trains crossing not at all at Villereversure and only once a day at Nurieux. At La Cluse the investment in the new (June 1996) station on the west-to-north curve, and the substantial bridge over the main road, is puzzling, for the whole line is railcar-worked and avoidance of the reversal at the old La Cluse station saves little time. The new station's full name is Brion-Montréal-La Cluse, though it is not in fact sited in any of the three small communities. It has a single platform on the inside of the curve, plain track, shelter, car-park, telephone and an automatic billetterie accepting such credit-cards as are equipped with microchips à la française rather than low-tech British magnetic stripes. After a loop at Oyonnax, the long (33km) single-line section north to St.Claude is said to be SNCF's most uneconomic passenger line, and certainly the 14:15 from Oyonnax on 10 April 1997 had few passengers, despite being a three-car through working from Lyon-Perrache. The train stopped at none of the six intermediate stations shown in Ball and in the 1995-96 full SNCF timetable, and these are presumably now moribund request-stops since they are ignored by local timetable leaflets. St.Claude, in addition to its two through platform roads, retains two back roads, some sidings (containing a few vans, the only evidence of freight seen) and an old goods-shed; even a small engine-shed still stands. The train from Lyon was timetabled to terminate at St.Claude at 14:50, but several passengers immediately boarded and it became apparent that it was going to work through as the 15:08 north to Andelot, where it would reverse and take the electrified (Bern SBB -) Pontarlier - Frasne - Dijon main line north-west as far as Dole. BLN 801.0213][FR] SNCF scope for economies instead of closures?: SNCF seem to make little attempt to reduce their huge deficit. At country stations like Oyonnax and St.Claude, handling say ten departures a day, facilities are wildly lavish by British standards, with self-service computer-driven passenger-information screens, loudspeaker announcements and continuously-manned booking-offices with computer terminals and printers to issue through tickets for every destination - including London Waterloo! BLN 801.0214][FR] La Cluse - Nantua - Bellegarde: (BLN 771.051; Ball 49B1) East of the June 1996 curve at La Cluse the two other sides of the triangle are disconnected and partly lifted, and rails have been removed at the nearby level-crossing over the RN84 road, but the rest of the track eastwards is still in place, certainly as far as St.Germain-de-Joux and probably for the full 28km through to Bellegarde. Judging by the state of the encroaching vegetation between La Cluse and Nantua this section has been out of use for over five years. The line is a lightly-laid route through a twisting and steep-sided valley with severe curvature in many places and several level-crossings over a busy main road. It is hard to see it being brought back into use, particularly as part of a Mâcon - Genève Ligne à Grande Vitesse. BLN 801.0215][AT] St.Pölten - Ober Grafendorf - Mariazell (- Güsswerk): (BLN 735.0190, 779.0218: Ball 75A3 - 74B2) Austrians are justly proud of their railway heritage, and placards at many of the stations outline the history of this narrow-gauge network. The Mariazellerbahn opened as far as Kirchberg an der Pielach on 4 July1898; pioneered the technique of transporter wagons in 1909; and saw 6.6kV 25Hz electrification completed on 7 October 1911. At St.Pölten Hbf platforms 23 and 24 serve only the 760mm-gauge tracks, and departing trains use a separate alignment, passing through a short tunnel beneath the standard-gauge St.Pölten - Traisen line to emerge on its west side before St.Pölten Alpenbahnhof. Amid the intermittent snowstorms of 16 April 1997 useful numbers of passengers, local people rather than tourists, were travelling on the line's fascinating mix of rolling-stock. The majority of the trains are still hauled by ÖBB's delightful Class 1099 electric locomotives with their unusual form of rod-drive on each bogie, dating back to the original electrification. However, at least one diagram was being worked by a rather bulbous-looking modern Class 4090 electric unit, so the old traction may not last for much longer. Kirchberg and Tradigist showed evidence of revenue freight using standard-gauge wagons loaded on to transporters at St.Pölten Alpenbahnhof, but narrow-gauge wagons also survive, presumably restricted to internal use nowadays. This helps make the line attractive to modellers, a point not neglected in ÖBB's publicity brochures. Beyond Frankenfels the route and the scenery become really impressive, and with passenger traffic healthy this should ensure a secure future for the line as far as the attractions of Mariazell, terminus since the Mariazell - Gusswerk section closed, BLN 801.0216][AT] Ober Grafendorf - Ruprechtshofen - Wieselburg an der Erlauf: (BLN 735.0190, 739.0292, 785.0357; Ball 75A3-74B3-74B2) Although part of the same 760mm-gauge network as the Mariazellerbahn, this line could not be more different. A reasonable passenger service as far as Ruprechtshofen, provided by a single Class 5090 railcar, is poorly patronised outside peak hours. The service onwards to Wieselburg now consists of three westbound trains and three early-morning eastbound ones. On 16 April 1997 the 17:47 from Ober Grafendorf was hauled by diesel locomotive #2095.004, but west of Kilb the passenger load was in single figures, and BLN's reporter was the only passenger beyond Ruprechtshofen. Speed restrictions resulting from the poor condition of the track, and the need to cross other trains, made timekeeping almost impossible. The only evidence of intermediate freight was hopper-wagon traffic at Mank and a rail-linked warehouse at St.Leonhard am Forst. Traffic is far heavier beyond on the freight-only Wieselburg - Gresten section (BLN 732.0149, 792.0508, 795.068) but its wagons are worked on the standard-gauge from Pöchlarn to Wieselburg to be put on transporters. Thus even if ÖBB were not to proceed with their plans to regauge the Gresten branch they would not require to retain Ruprechtshofen - Wieselburg as a link with the rest of the 760mm-gauge system, and the eastern end of the former Landeskleinbahn Ruprechtshofen - Gresten seems unlikely to survive. A ride on one of the occasional steam-hauled special trains through to Gresten is thus well worthwhile. BLN 801.0217][AT] Wien - Linz - Salzburg: (BLN 756.0285; Ball 74B3) ÖBB's Westbahn is being extensively realigned, both to improve end-to-end journey times and to increase line capacity. In April 1997 work seemed near completion on the section between Loosdorf and Pöchlarn, where the new alignment will be markedly different. BLN 801.0218][IT] Lecce - Gallipoli: (Ball 56B2) Gallipoli Via Agrigento is a new halt, not shown in Ball nor in Table 375 of Italy's Pozzorario Generale timetable. On the left next the road just before the cutting leading into Gallipoli station, its single platform has three seats, a litter-bin and two name-signs. Beyond Gallipoli station lie sidings, the longest extending about 1km, finally running in the middle of the bridge to the edge of the old town, between the main road and the road to the northern harbour. BLN 801.0219][CA] North Vancouver - Squamish - Lillooet - Prince George, BC: (BLN 759.0360, 776.0165) BC Rail's ordinary passenger service may cease after May 1998 when their elderly Budd RDC rail diesel cars are retired, though a twice-weekly summer-only locomotive-hauled tourist rail-cruise train is planned to cover this scenic route. (Trains, March 1997) BLN 801.0220][US] Binghamton - Marathon - Jamesville - Syracuse - Oswego, NY: (SPV atlas, NY8, NY7) Having at one time intended abandonment of the southern end of this former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western line, Conrail in 1982 sold the 118km Binghamton - Jamesville section to the Delaware Otsego Corporation, trading as the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway (the "Susie Q"), but retained the 11km from Jamesville to Syracuse. At Syracuse, Conrail's present New York - Buffalo main line curves north around the town, and their (former New York Central) east-west line through the centre is abandoned. New York - Buffalo passenger trains make Syracuse calls, at the Amtrak station in East Syracuse. Conrail now work the remaining northern (Syracuse - Oswego) section of the DLW line separately, as a branch off the New York - Buffalo line, having put in a connection west of Syracuse. From the Amtrak trains, another interesting passenger operation may be seen on the ex-DLW line in Syracuse. After an opening ceremony and preview running five days earlier, an 11km passenger shuttle service began on 26 September 1994, under the brand-name OnTrack, worked by two Budd RDC rail diesel cars formerly with New York's Metro North Commuter Railroad, and serving three newly-constructed halts: Syracuse University (adjacent to the Carrier Dome, the largest covered college stadium in the USA); Armory Square (in the renovated downtown area, close to the Museum of Science & Technology); and Carousel Center (a shopping and entertainment centre on the north side of town, featuring a restored 1909 carousel). The last c.2km section to Carousel Center does not follow the alignment of the old DLW line but appears specially constructed, running alongside the Conrail main line. The shuttle runs hourly from 11:00 to 20:00. At the outset, it was certainly daily, but a card timetable #7 dated 1 January 1996 appeared to imply a Saturdays-only service. OnTrack also operate other excursions southwards. Excursions were advertised in mid-April 1996 from Syracuse 80km south to Marathon, for the Maple Festival, and this may be a regular feature. BLN 801.0221][US] Dallas, Texas: light rail: System maps of Dallas Area Rapid Transit show three rail lines, the Red and Blue lines operated by electric light rail vehicles, and the 'heavy rail' Green line, a peak-hours-only diesel-railcar shuttle service opened in December 1996 from Union Station along freight tracks to Irving, on the way to the main airport west of the city (Dallas - South Irving; BLN 790.0461). All are standard gauge. The Red line from Park Lane in the north to the city centre - a section opened in January 1997 according to local maps - runs partly underground, but gives way to street-running through the centre, then follows an old freight line south of the city to Westmoreland, with traces of former sidings leading to trackside industrial buildings. The Blue line starts on the north edge of the centre and runs south, sharing city-centre tracks with Red line trams, thereby doubling the effective frequency, before branching off to terminate at Illinois, a south-east Dallas suburb. DART are extending the Blue line beyond to Ledbetter and signs say this section is to open in May 1997. The system is well used. Most stations have bus interchanges and the outer stations have large car-parks. Dallas also has a 5km heritage street-tramway linking the Dallas Museum of Art with McKinney Avenue, an inner-city district being revitalised into a fashionable area like London's Covent Garden. The operator is the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority. Staff are volunteers. Four trams are available for this service, although only one was operating during a visit in spring 1997. BLN 801.0222][BR] São Paulo: dual-gauge lines: (BLN 796.080, 798.0128) In the São Paulo metropolitan area the running lines, station loops, yard access and depots of the former Estrada de Ferro Sorocabana, now Ferrovia Paulista SA (FEPASA), are three-rail dual-gauge (and electrified at 3000V dc), but sidings and spurs to factories in the city are metre-gauge only, as are the running lines beyond the metropolitan area. At one point a triangle is formed by the lines between Imperatriz Leopoldina, Presidente Altino and Ceasa stations and this has all three sides dual-gauged and electrified, and all open and in use. While FEPASA's electric-unit trens metropolitanos in the city are 1600mm-gauge, freight traffic seen in 1996 and 1997 on dual-gauge sections has all been metre-gauge. FEPASA 1600mm-gauge diesel locomotives do work freight, however, using special metre-gauge bogie match-wagons (fitted with laterally-displaced coupling equipment of the usual American buckeye type with no side buffers) so that they can haul metre-gauge freight vehicles, though probably only on trip and transfer work. Regular mixed-gauge trains may possibly be unique to Brazil. BLN 802.0222][GB][FR] London Waterloo - Bourg St.Maurice: (Ball 58B3) Longest journey ever made by a train from a British station was claimed on 16 March 1997, when a Eurostar ran 1155km to the French alpine resort on trial for a proposed winter-sports service in December 1997. (Financial Times, 17 Mar.1997) BLN 802.0223][FR][BE] Lille - Brussel/Bruxelles: (BLN 794.032, 795.059; Ball 7A1-8B2) From Sunday 14 December 1997, when commercial operation is to begin on the Antoing - Lembeek section of Ligne 1, the high-speed LGV Belge, joining the already-open (Lille - Fretin -) Wannehain SNCF - Antoing section, London - Lille - Brussel Eurostars and Paris - Bruxelles Thalys TGVs will cease to use the west-to-south curve at Antoing. However a daily Paris - Mons - Charleroi - Namur TGV is to begin, so the raccordement d'Antoing, dropping down from Ligne 1 to Y Maubray on Ligne 78, will remain in passenger use. Other new services from December are to include a daily Paris - Brussel - Gent - Brugge - Oostende TGV, and four daily Paris - Bruxelles - Liège - Köln TGVs will replace classic EuroCity workings. From June 1997 a weekend Antwerpen-Berchem - Bruxelles-Midi - Marne-la-Vallée TGV is to run, serving the Disneyland Paris theme-park. (Trans-Fer, #103, April 1997) BLN 802.0224][FR][BE] Somain - Denain - Anzin - Condé-les-Eaux - Péruwelz SNCB: (BLN 799.0160, 801.0211; Ball 7B1) In August 1961 the double-track Chemin de Fer d'Anzin main line ran through an industrial landscape alternating between terraced houses packed between factories and intervening cornfields overshadowed by waste-tips of the many collieries, served by grimy sidings. Less than two years before closure, passenger traffic was still steam-hauled, with eight trains per weekday in each direction, though not all ran from end to end. An 0-8-0T numbered F7 handled the workers train, and a pair of 2-6-0s, A3 and A4, hauled the ordinary trains, made up of four very elderly non-corridor bogie coaches with long-running boards the full length of the vehicle to enable the guard to work along outside the compartments to check the tickets of those boarding at unstaffed intermediate stops. An 0-10-0T was seen on one coal train, but orange-liveried diesels had begun to take over. BLN 802.0225][BE] (Antwerpen -) Boom - Puurs: (BLN 735.0174, 799.0163; Ball 8B3): When Lijn 52 reopens on 1 June 1997, electrified and with its bridge restored over the ship-canal to Ruisbroek, hourly passenger services from Antwerpen will extend to Puurs. The short north-to-south Boom - Willebroek curve, Lijn 52/2, also out of use at present, will likewise be electrified and restored to use. (Trans-Fer, April 1997) BLN 802.0226][BE] Fleurus - Tamines: (BLN 788.0403; Ball 8B1) This 15km section of Ligne 147, disused since 1979, is to be electrified and reopened as a relief line for freight in connection with the upgraded Athus-Meuse route, allowing trains to run Antwerpen - Leuven - Ottignies - Fleurus - Tamines - Namur - Dinant - Bertrix - Athus - Luxembourg, thus avoiding the Bruxelles - Ottignies - Namur - Libramont - Arlon - Luxembourg main line. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 2/97) BLN 802.0227][BE] (Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher -) Y Voroux - Liège-Kinkempois: (BLN 800.0184; Ball 9A2-9B2) The double-track freight Ligne 36A takes a quite different alignment from the passenger Ligne 36, and avoids the very steep grade down from Ans to Liège-Guillemins station. From 1 June 1997 Ligne 36A is to close for two years, both to facilitate the extensive remodelling at Voroux consequent on the building of the Bruxelles - Liège Ligne à Grande Vitesse and to allow complete refurbishment of bridges and tunnels, particularly Horloz viaduct which has suffered from mining subsidence. All traffic except works trains will be rerouted via Hasselt and Visé to Liège, using Lignes 34, 24 and 40. (Trans-Fer, #103, April 1997) BLN 802.0228][NL][DE][DK] Last post?: Netherlands is to abandon all postal traffic by rail, and Germany all letter mail, with the change to the summer timetable on 1 June 1997. Railborne parcel-post in Germany will continue for the time being. (Op de Rails, 3/97) This contrasts with the Royal Mail decision in Britain to invest in purpose-built Railnet terminals served by new Class 325 electric units, and the Danish post-office order for eight new Finnish-built 140km/h postal trains to convey all long-distance mail once the Storebælt connection is open. (European Railway News, January 1997) Loss of postal business may possibly marginally affect the economics of some Dutch and German lines, and increase pressure for closures. BLN 802.0229][NL] (Amsterdam - Haarlem -) Santpoort Noord - Ijmuiden: (BLN 764.0441, 788.0405, 795.065; Ball 3B3) The Lovers Rail private-sector 'open-access' service over the reopened Ijmuiden branch resumed on 27 March 1997, with four trains a day each way until 13 May, on different timings to 1996, still using ex-NMBS M2-series first-class coaches 'topped-and-tailed' by chartered Class 22xx NS diesels. Four train-crew-operated level-crossings on the branch include one at the sole intermediate station, Driehuis/Westerveld, where the train makes a three-minute stop at the original platform, apparently to serve a crematorium. The track finishes as before at the 1996 temporary platform at Ijmuiden, apparently on the site of the previous NS station. The existing advertised connection to Kennemer Strand is a feeder bus, and the extensions of the service planned to Ijmuiderstrand and the Scandinavian Seaways terminal would appear to be buses also. Patronage in mid-April 1997 was slight, and it may be unwise to assume that Lovers' earlier plans for summer services will be implemented. The intended Lovers Rail Amsterdam - Lisse service for spring visits to the bulbfields at Keukenhof did not run, though a temporary Lisse-Keukenhof station on the Leiden - Haarlem main line was provided, south of the closed original Lisse station. BLN 802.0230][DE] Abzw Borchtitz - Glowe: (Ball 13B3) After 1945 the Soviet Union saw the island of Rügen as a useful strategic outpost to command east-west sea lanes in the Baltic from a naval base in the natural harbour of Grosser Jasmunder Bodden, and ordered speedy postwar restoration of the Rügendamm causeway link to the mainland, undertaken by German prisoners-of-war. A new Deutsche Reichsbahn line was also built, leaving the Stralsund - Sassnitz line north of Lietzow at Borchtitz, crossing the B96 road and curving round via Polchow north-west to Spyker See and Glowe. Cuttings were needed in the hilly terrain, and a short embankment with a bridge across the inlet linking the Spyker See to the Bodden. Eye-witnesses recall a locomotive depot at Glowe, the terminus. Construction trains ran on the whole line, but no official opening-date is known for what was a secret military project. Following Stalin's death in March 1953 and the workers' uprising against the east German regime starting in Berlin on 17 June 1953, which had to be put down by Red Army tanks, Soviet policy changed and building work on the railway stopped. Soon the line vanished, as quickly and as unnoticed as it had arrived. Until 1986 the signal-box at Borchtitz was a reminder of the project, but in 1997 only overgrown cuttings, the Spyker See embankment and a few stretches of rural roads laid on the trackbed still recall the forgotten railway. (Bahn-Nachrichten Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, March 1997) BLN 802.0231][DE][LT] Abzw Borchtitz - Mukran: (BLN 702.010, 708.02, 714.012, 797.0104; Ball 13B3) Much later, but still in the Soviet period, another strategic Reichsbahn branch headed out from Borchtitz, this time to the east. From km263.8 on the Stralsund - Sassnitz line, the 4km branch serves Mukran's two Russian-gauge train-ferry berths and extensive freight sidings comprising 220 sets of points and 88km of track, 62km standard-gauge and 26km of 1520mm-gauge. The ferry-port was originally planned to handle six ferries on an eight-hour cycle, working both civil and military traffic directly across the Baltic Sea the 506km between east Germany and the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda in the Soviet Union, without passing through Poland. Construction of the harbour began in 1982, in a military protected area surrounded by watch-towers with the local roads closed off. On 2 October 1986 the first train-ferry sailed. Mukran has wagon bogie-changing facilities, but some 80% of goods have always had to be transhipped, a time-consuming and expensive business. However loading and unloading of a five-track double-deck ferry over a two-level link-span can be efficiently completed in only four hours, and each sailing can carry, on a track length of 195m, up to 105 broad-gauge wagons. Political change led initially to a collapse of ferry traffic, but a German decision to use the Mukran route for delivering aid to the former Soviet Union has supported it in recent years. Since 1995 the ferry Greifswald of Deutsche Seereederei 'Euroseabridge' GmbH has operated the Mukran - Klaipeda train-ferry on alternate days each way, also carrying passengers and road-vehicles. More train-ferry services are in prospect, with two additional (standard-gauge-rail or road-vehicle) berths for Deutsche Fährgesellschaft Ostsee (DFO) whose ferries are to use Mukran instead of Sassnitz from 7 January 1998. Rügen's road links are a weak point, but Stralsund - Mukran Rollende Landstrasse (= 'rolling highway') piggyback trains are planned to carry lorries to the port. (Bahn-Nachrichten Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, March 1997) BLN 802.0232][AT] Kapfenberg - Aflenz (-Seebach-Turnau): (Ball 74B1) This 760mm-gauge freight line of Styrian Provincial Railways (Steiermärkische Landesbahnen) closed at the end of 1996, after loss of traffic due to the run-down of the iron industry. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 2/97) StLB's Thörlerbahn also saw summer passenger trains in recent years (OEIS 9645). BLN 802.0233][IT] Terni - Perugia Ponte San Giovanni - Sansepolcro: (Ball 50B1-50A3) This 108km standard-gauge line and its 6km Perugia Ponte San Giovanni - Perugia Sant'Anna branch are run by the private Ferrovia Centrale Umbra, whose tickets are sold from only one of the FS ticket windows at Terni. It appears the FCU's electrification is out of use, for no evidence of any electric traction was seen. Passenger services were operated by diesel units, and two diesel locomotives were in the sidings at Marsciano. At many of the intermediate stations, the train just slowed down slightly and whistled. Running early, it then had to wait time at the next stopping station, so intending passengers on this line clearly need to arrive several minutes before the timetabled departure! Though the Foligno - Assisi - Perugia Ponte San Giovanni - Terontola-Cortona line is part of the Ferrovie dello Stato, and electrified, the 08:48 Foligno - Terontola on 10 March 1997 was a three-car FCU diesel unit. Other passenger trains seen were however electric-hauled. BLN 802.0234][GR] Paleofarsalos - Kalambaka: (Ball 62A2-62B1) In January 1997 a new layout at Paleofarsalos accompanied OSE's long-planned conversion of the 80km metre-gauge Kalambaka branch to standard-gauge. Trains on the 82km Paleofarsalos - Velistinon - Volos branch now leave, loco-hauled, from the east side of the Athinai - Thessaloniki main line. The Volos branch remains metre-gauge, except for the first 3km section to Enotiki which also has standard-gauge for freight. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 2/97; LCGB Bulletin, 4/97) With the Larissa - Velistinon - Volos standard-gauge branch, and the Volos - Milies narrow-gauge line, the town of Volos once had, and some day may again have, passenger services on three gauges (1435mm, 1000mm, 600mm) from its station (BLN 786.0369, 795.076). BLN 802.0235][GR] Krionerion - Messologhion - Agrinion: (Ball 65B3 not shown) The isolated 61.4km metre-gauge North-Western Railway of Greece, opened 1890-91 and closed 5 August 1970, is to reopen in May 1997, using MAN railcar stock transferred from Paleofarsalos - Volos. A fast ferry is to connect Krionerion across the Gulf of Korinthos with the main port of Patrai on the metre-gauge Peloponnese railway (Piraeus - Athinai - Korinthos - Patrai; BLN 798.0146). (Eisenbahn Amateur, 2/97; LCGB Bulletin, 4/97) BLN 802.0236][CZ][DE] Bayerisch Eisenstein/Zelezná Ruda - Zelezná Ruda mesto - Klatovy - Plzen: (BLN 794.053; Ball 61B2-DE, 40A3-40B3-CZ) The border station has both a German and a Czech name, different-looking but similar in meaning. It is bisected by the frontier, marked only by a rough fence and a Durchgang verboten sign on the former main platform alongside the station building, which is continuous on either side. The CD platform at Zelezná Ruda is simply an extension of the DB island platform at Bayerisch Eisenstein, and one walks across the frontier past the two huts which serve as border posts. On the road outside is a rudimentary fence with a gate, which on 27 March 1997 lay open, permitting groups of people to walk through without any control. DB trains have Class 211 diesel locomotives at each end, but the five-coach CD connecting train was hauled by a Class 754 diesel, which presumably had to run round in Germany since the Czech side has no loop, only a siding, possibly new, for handling timber. Few passengers were on the train as it set off, painfully slowly, to Zelezná Ruda mesto (= 'Ironstone town'), where it filled up somewhat before trundling through quite scenic countryside to Klatovy. Here the diesel was replaced by an electric locomotive for the section to Plzen, electrified in September 1996. BLN 802.0237][CZ][DE] Sokolov - Kraslice - Hranicna CD (- Klingenthal DB): (BLN 752.0166; Ball 35A1-CZ) The 3.5km Kraslice - Hranicna section of Czech Railways (Ceske Drahy), reported as having a passenger service restored from 2 January 1995, has one no longer, and on 5 April 1997 BLN's dedicated reporters had to walk from Kraslice the 5km along the road to the German border at Klingenthal in a snowstorm. Many taxis use the road, since the border-crossing is for pedestrians only. The Czech side has a sort of semi-permanent car-boot sale, perhaps to attract German visitors, and a rough car-park for Czech drivers visiting Germany. Hranicna still has a short low platform, but no sidings or loop, and the line is clearly out of use. A through cross-border rail service might have been viable, but a bridge is missing over a road junction south of Klingenthal DB station. Alas, to add to the discomfiture, trains on the DB Zwotental - Klingenthal branch (Ball 54A3-DE) were found to be replaced by buses, perhaps till the timetable change of 31 May 1997. BLN 802.0238][CZ] Cheb - Chodov - Karlovy Vary: (Ball 35A1; CD 140) All timetabled passenger trains between Cheb and Karlovy Vary call at Chodov, so the double-track avoiding line passing to the south of the station is presumably for freight only. The 6km Chodov - Nová Role branch leaves from the western end of the station, via a dead-end reversal point, somewhat below the level of the main line. BLN 802.0239][CZ] Most - Louka u Litvínova - Moldava v Krušných: (Ball 35B1-35B2; CD 135) As reported in BLN 800.0204, the northern section of this splendid scenic branch is under threat of closure from 1 June 1997. It leaves Most through or alongside various yards, roughly parallel with the Most - Litvínov tramway, which traverses a rather grand modern-looking viaduct. Beyond Louka u Litvínova and a reversal at Dubí, the line climbs steeply through woods, over viaducts and through tunnels to the terminus, right on the German border. Moldava has an enormous semi-derelict station building, but most sidings have been lifted and a sleeper is laid casually across the line beyond the neck at the north end of the yard almost exactly under a high road overbridge, lying between the Czech and German border-posts. A wide empty trackbed continues into Germany, heading for Holzhau, the present DB terminus. BLN 802.0240][CZ] Most - Cizkovice - Lovosice: (Ball 35B1; CD 113) On 4 April 1997 buses were replacing trains on the Trebenice - Cizkovice section 'on technical grounds', perhaps indicating poor track condition. Intending passengers may wish to check whether this substitution is still in force. BLN 802.0241][CZ] Melník - Mšeno - Mladá Boleslav: (Ball 35B3; CD 076) The Cl.810 railbus forming the 11:30 from Melník on 28 March 1997 was abruptly terminated at Mšeno, 25km along the 49km line, passengers being turned out to wait rather a long time for a bus. An undated notice said that trains had been withdrawn 'on technical grounds' (poor track condition, presumably) but polish on the rails suggested that this had occurred probably only a few days before. Observation from the bus revealed that at least one intermediate station still had freight traffic, probably served from the Mladá Boleslav end. BLN 802.0242][CZ] Bošice - Zásmuky - Becváry: (Ball 35B2; CD 013) At Bošice, a bleak junction in the middle of open country, a very short branch heads into a factory, evidently once a military establishment, outside whose gate is a platform, possibly in use. Zásmuky, 7km from Bošice, is a terminal station, a fact not revealed by Ball, Quail or the Czech timetable (Jízdní Rád). Most of the few trains terminate here, but the 16:56 from Bošice runs through except on Saturdays, the Cl.810 railbus on 28 March 1997 reversing beyond the platform at Zásmuky before proceeding the extra 4km to Becváry. BLN 802.0243][CZ] Ceské Budejovice - Cerný Kríz - Nové Údolí and Cerný Kríz - Volary: (BLN 792.0519; Ball 40B2; CD 194) Track ends at a stop-block almost on the German border at the road crossing in Nové Údolí, possibly originally a level-crossing. Nové Údolí has little more than the border-post and some traders on the Czech side. An indication of one of the activities in the area is given by a notice in both Czech and German forbidding walking or skiing along the railway. Despite the lack of habitation, on 2 April 1997 again quite a few passengers appeared for the inevitable Cl.810 railbus forming the 11:23 Nové Údolí - Cerný Kríz - Volary. A poster at Cerný Kríz mentioned an unlikely proposal, perhaps from local enthusiasts, to extend the service across the border to Haidmühle, a point no longer served by DB even for freight. BLN 802.0244][CZ] Nezamyslice - Morkovice: (Ball 42A3; CD 333) Passengers heading for this threatened 12km Czech branch might wish to note that branch trains leave from a separate 'station' south-west of Nezamyslice main station and not readily visible from it. A long footbridge provides the official access, but a ground-level route across the running lines and several sidings is an easier and more frequented route to the appropriate platform, essentially a rail-level heap of earth plus a hut. No running connection from the branch to any main-line platform appears to exist. The branch train on 30 March 1997 was a Class 810 railbus. BLN 802.0245][AU] Perth, Western Australia: (BLN 706.012) Local rail services, all modern air-conditioned electric units, operate on the 1067mm-gauge from Perth Central, a through station. From the west end Perth - Currambine trains run north, largely in the median of a freeway, and quite fast. These are to be extended for a further 5km to Clarkson, and on to Akimo as finance permits. Perth - Fremantle trains also leave heading west, then turn south-west. From the east end Perth - Claisebrook - East Perth - Midland trains run east and Perth - Claisebrook - Armadale trains south. The state government are committed to introducing passenger trains from Kenwick, 10km out of Perth on the Armadale line, south-west to the coast at Rockingham and on south to Mandurah. Fares are very reasonable. A TransPerth DayRider ticket valid after 09:00 Mon-Fri costs AUD5.50 (= £2.75) and covers all the electric trains, the South Perth ferry and the local bus system extending over 50km out of Perth. The only long-distance 1067mm-gauge services run Perth - Armadale - Bunbury. A day trip is possible, allowing three hours (5h 45m on Sunday) at Bunbury, 182km south of Perth on the coast. Standard-gauge trains, including the twice-weekly Indian Pacific interstate passenger train to Adelaide and Sydney, run from East Perth terminal, adjoining East Perth suburban station some 3km east of Perth Central. In early 1997 an East Perth - Kalgoorlie day-trip is possible - if one is prepared to risk a 20-minute turnround there after the eight-hour 655km run! A popular day trip from Perth and Fremantle is to take a ferry some 20km out to the narrow 15km-long Rottnest Island. Cooler than the mainland, it is traffic-free except for an hourly island bus, and many people tour on cycles to see the tame quokkas, distinctive West Australian marsupials. The island's 6.5km 1067mm-gauge former military railway from Settlement to Oliver Hill is also a tourist attraction, offering a 20-minute train-ride four or five times a day to a military museum (BLN 785.0363). BLN 802.0246][EG] Cairo/Al-Qâhira - Ismâ'ilîya - El Qantara - Gaza: (BLN 784.0345, 797.0121) Since the Suez Canal has been substantially widened, plans for restoration of a railway across it include a 600m-long steel swing-bridge with two moveable sections each of 300m, to carry both rail and road traffic. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 2/97) BLN 802.0247][ZA] Cape Town - Worcester - Mossel Bay - George - Oudtshoorn - Klipplaat - Port Elizabeth: (BLN 740.0314) Floods caused track damage and closure of the Oudtshoorn - Klipplaat section of South African Railways' magnificent 1071km 1067mm-gauge Garden Route, since August 1994 traversed weekly by the Southern Cross passenger service. On 7 May 1997 a South African railway website reported the Southern Cross as diverted via De Aar till 19 January 1997, cut back to run Cape Town - George only till 2 March, and suspended thereafter. BLN 802.0248][PT] Madeira: On the steep Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic off Africa, the rack railway closed in 1944, presumably due to lack of tourists after several years of World War II. Has a proposal to reopen it made any progress? BLN 802.0249][AU] New South Wales: Sydney - Bondi Junction: Trains on this short inner-city branch of Sydney's CityRail suburban system terminate at a dead-end terminus, short of the famous Bondi Beach. Was Bondi Junction ever a railway junction? Which lines joined there? BLN 802.0250][BB] Barbados: Bridgetown - Speightstown: The Barbados Railway is thought to have opened in the 1880s and closed in the 1950s, leaving little evidence of its existence except one or two bridges now used by roads. Had it any branch lines? What was its (probably narrow) gauge? BLN 802.0251][GD] Grenada: Has a proposal to build a steam-operated 381mm-gauge tourist line on the island of Grenada made any progress? BLN 803.0252][IE] (Cork -) Glounthaune - Midleton - Youghal: (BLN 765.0457) In the run-up to the Irish election on 6 June 1997, media coverage has been continuing for the long-running campaign to reopen this derelict branch to passengers, at least as far as Midleton. Iarnród Éireann remain non-committal, and ask how the considerable capital and running costs would be met. (Cork Examiner; Cork Leader, 17 April 1997) BLN 803.0253][FR] Salbris - Romorantin - Gièvres - Luçay-le-Mâle: (BLN 762.0401, 771.049, 788.0398, 793.03; Ball 36A1-35B1) Many of the curves on SNCF's metre-gauge Chemin de Fer du Blanc à Argent have recently been relaid with main-line rail at the expense of the regional council, so the railcars - in SNCF livery though run by the Compagnie du Blanc-Argent (CBA) - ride noticeably better on curved than on straight track sections. The Villefranche-sur-Cher - Romorantin freight-only standard-gauge branch, which shares Romorantin station, is in place but out of use (neutralisée). BLN 803.0254][FR] Sembadel - Craponne-sur-Arzon - Usson-en-Forez (- Estivareilles): (BLN 750.0112, 793.05, 799.0158; Ball 55B1-56A2) On a May 1997 railtour in central France using their autorail panoramique, an AGRIVAP train-crew member said this scenic branch was to reopen as far as Usson in July 1997, though another member of the AGRIVAP preservation group based at Ambert thought that procedural difficulties might delay public services until summer 1998. The intention is to use a 1948-built Corpet-Louvet steam tank locomotive on the branch, as well as on AGRIVAP's attractive 93km 'main line' up the valley of the river Dore (Pont-de-Dore - Ambert - Arlanc - Sembadel). BLN 803.0255][DE] German openings and closures in June 1997: According to IBSE Telegramm for May 1997, lines opened or reopened to passenger trains with effect from the new timetable on 1 June 1997 are: Ball atlas DB timetable Seebad Ahlbeck - Ahlbeck Grenze (Polish frontier) 14A1 KBS194 Hamburg S-Bahn: Bergedorf - Reinbek 22B3 KBS101.21 Müncheberg (Mark) - Buckow (Märkische Schweiz) 30A3 KBS206.29 (summer only, till 27 Sep 1997) Köln Südbrücke 36A3 KBS470/465 (weekends only, till 14 Dec 1997) Bretleben - Sömmerda 41B2 KBS595 Röderau - Zeithain Bogendreieck 43B3 KBS216/500 (Train D1549, 28 Jun - 30 Aug 1997) Frankfurt S-Bahn: Stresemannallee - Darmstadt Hbf 50A3-49B1 KBS645.3/4 Hochspeyer Kurve 56B3 KBS670/672 (weekends only) Hinterweidenthal Bbf - Bundenthal-Rumbach 56B2 KBS675 (Sundays/holidays only, till 27 Sep 1997) Maulbronn West - Maulbronn Stadt 57B2 KBS772 (Sundays only till 28 Sep 1997) Lines due to close to passenger trains were (all from 1 June 1997 except the last): Bergen (Rügen) - Lauterbach (Rügen) 13B2 KBS198 (engineering works till 7 Sep 1997) Pretzsch - Torgau 29A1-43A3 KBS217 Berlin-Spandau - Berlin Westkreuz 31B2 KBS202 Berlin Hbf - Verbindungskurve - Biesdorfer Kreuz 32A2 KBS203 Berlin Hbf - Berlin Warschauerstrasse (Fernbahn) 32A2 KBS201 (engineering works till further notice) Dorndorf (Rhön) - Kaltennordheim 40B1-52A3 KBS577 Mühlhausen (Thüringen) - Schlotheim 41A2 KBS603 Mühlhausen (Thüringen) - Bad Langensalza 41A2 KBS604 (engineering works till 27 Sep 1997) Ilmenau - Grossbreitenbach 41B1-52B3 KBS567 Querfurt - Vitzenburg 42A3-42A2 KBS587 Weimar - Jena West 42A1 KBS565 (engineering works till 27 Sep 1997) Delitzsch Gbf - Abzw Ah (Delitzsch Südkurve) 42B3 KBS219/253 Greiz - Neumark (Sachsen) 42B1 KBS543 Rochlitz (Sachsen) - Waldheim 43A2-43B2 KBS528 Pegau - Neukieritzsch 43B2 KBS532 Brand-Erbisdorf - Langenau (Sachsen) 43B1 KBS515 Dürröhrsdorf - Neustadt (Sachsen) 44A2-44B2 KBS247 Grosspostwitz - Löbau (Sachsen) 44B2-45A2 KBS233 Suhl - Schleusingen 52B3 KBS568 Tübingen - Entringen 69A3-57B1 KBS764 (engineering works 31 Jul - 12 Sep 1997) BLN 803.0256][DE] (Hannover -) Wolfsburg - Stendal (- Berlin): (BLN 749.090; Ball 27A2-28B3) While Hannover - Berlin fast trains use the high-speed Schnellfahrstrecke, also known as the Ausbaustrecke or ABS, local trains will use the parallel line mostly on the original alignment and known as the Stammstrecke. From Wolfsburg the ABS runs north of the single-track unelectrified Stammstrecke as far as Oebisfelde, then crosses above it to run on its south side east towards Stendal. The ABS overbridge is just after the junction where the Oebisfelde - Magdeburg line leaves the Stammstrecke to head south-east, and just before the junction where the Oebisfelde - Salzwedel line heads north-east. ABS and Stammstrecke have connections at Wolfsburg, Vorsfelde (km176.4), Oebisfelde West (km168), and Mieste (km151). The single-track Stammstrecke has loops at Oebisfelde, Miesterhorst, Mieste, Solpke, Gardelegen, Jävenitz, Uchtspringe and Vinzelberg. The Gardelegen - Letzlingen branch is cut where it used to cross the ABS alignment, and only the first few metres are in use, for ballast unloading and as an access to Gardelegen yard. In spring 1997, the ABS was still incomplete: in some places work had not long started on casting concrete raft sections to carry the tracks, and in others, only one track was laid, or both were in place, but only one set of electrification masts. At two locations ABS and Stammstrecke both abandon the original alignment, at Solpke diverging slightly to the south and at Uchtspringe diverging several hundred metres to the north. East of Vinzelberg a new junction, Abzw Narstedt, will allow fast trains to leave the ABS and join a double-track section of Stammstrecke through Möringen to serve Stendal. Work on the Stammstrecke had local trains temporarily using the westbound track of the ABS between km115.9, just west of Narstedt, and Möringen. At Stendal DB have removed the temporary alignment on part of the west-to-north Armeekurve (BLN 753.0185 with sketch-map, 774.0114, 797.0108). Trains from the Oebisfelde direction now use a further temporary alignment south of a new dive-under, which will later allow them to reach the north side of Stendal station without conflicting with trains off the Salzwedel and Wittenberge lines using the south side. BLN 803.0257][DE] Stendal - Tangermünde: (BLN 753.0185; OEIS 9722; Ball 28A3-B3; KBS269) Conflicting reports reach BLN about this branch. IBSE Telegramm for May 1997 expresses fears it may close without warning, but in March 1997 Auf Achse, a DB/Sachsen-Anhalt local rail customer magazine, was much more positive. DB are to relocate Stendal-Vorbahnhof nearer to the Magdeburger Strasse road overbridge for better interchange with Stendal town buses. At Tangermünde a new tenant is being sought for the former station buffet, and the station facade is to be repainted. DB are to extend passenger trains some 800m north to a new halt, Tangermünde Nord, nearer the historic town-centre. In due course summer trains may run further still, across Arneburger Strasse to the quayside area to connect with Weisse Flotte pleasure craft on the river Elbe, though the cost of rebuilding and the steep grade down to the river may pose problems. A double-deck Class 670 railbus is to begin working the 10km branch from 12 July 1997. BLN 803.0258][DE][CZ] Bärenstein DB - Vejprty CD - Chomutov: (BLN 711.09, 713.09; Ball 54B3-DE, 35A1-35B1-CZ) According to staff locally, German train-crew are being taught some basic Czech with a view to DB Class 628 diesel railcars operating beyond the frontier station of Vejprty, through to Chomutov. BLN 803.0259][PT] Lisboa trams: (BLN 748.070) On 14 December 1996 the last trams ran on the final section of route #17 Martim Moniz - Alto de São João, and the Arco do Cego depot closed. Of the city's 900mm-gauge network, only four routes remain, one with new articulated trams, #15 Alges - Praça da Figueira, and three with traditional old cars, #18 Ajuda - Praça do Comercio; #12 Martim Moniz - São Tomé; and #28 Graça - Prazeres. Those wishing to see the old trams should visit the city reasonably soon, for they cannot go on for ever, and while some are preserved or stored, many have already been sold or scrapped. (European Railway News, January 1997) All the routes continue to be plagued by other road traffic blocking the streets, as well as failures of elderly cars and occasionally of power supplies. The two narrow and steep city-centre routes are particularly interesting: #12 is a short self-contained end-to-end route, which at one point manages to be turning in all three dimensions at once. Both ends are connected to other lines but the passenger run, operated by a single tram, does not use either connection. By the shine on the rails, the car probably runs to the depot from the São Tomé end. #28 has the famous Graça loop, squeezing between buildings on streets so narrow that a single pedestrian has to be quite careful as the tram sweeps past. BLN 803.0260][PT][ES] Trans-Iberian freight: Freight traffic between Portugal and Spain has been increasing, especially the dedicated TECO (Tren Expreso de Contenedores) container trains linking both Porto and Lisboa with Bilbao-Santurzi, and with Barcelona and Valencia (the Transiberico Norte). A new TECO working, the Transiberico Sul, is to link both Porto and Lisboa via CP's Linha da Beira Alta (Pampilhosa - Vilar Formoso CP - Fuentes d'Oñoro RENFE) with Algeciras and Cadiz. (European Rly.News, 1/97) BLN 803.0261][IT] Ferrovie del Sud Est: (Ball 56) The FSE run a standard-gauge local network in the heel of Italy, but part of their purpose seems to be to alleviate unemployment by keeping an unnecessarily large number of staff, who always travel in the first-class section of the trains! FSE have a separate ticket window at Lecce FS station, where their principal traffic on a morning in early March 1997 seemed to be students going to and from schools and colleges in Lecce. The 07:35 arrival, apparently from Gagliano Leuca with a connection from Gallipoli, was a diesel-hauled train whose five coaches were crammed. In contrast, the 07:45 departure from Lecce was a single diesel railcar with nine passengers. The Pozzorario Generale timetable (tables 375 and 379) shows 07:45 departures to Gallipoli and to Gagliano Leuca, but in fact the railcar went to Gagliano Leuca with another single diesel railcar for the Zollino - Gallipoli connection, though the destination board on the side of this said Lecce - Gallipoli. Another single railcar provided the connecting 08:48 Maglie - Otranto, with BLN's reporter and his wife the only passengers. Otranto is a terminal station with three lines lying between two platforms. After a journey through flat countryside with many olive trees, it was a surprise to find a long flight of steps down to the road, followed by a 1km walk downhill to the newer part of the coastal town. An Otranto - Gallipoli journey involved two changes, at both Maglie and Zollino, and a wait for connections at Nardò Centrale. Maglie station is close to the town, but Zollino has only a few houses nearby, the village being more than 1km to the east. Despite its name, Nardò Centrale is not in Nardò - which has a separate station Nardò Città - and it has no ticket-office, its main function being interchange between the Lecce - Zollino - Nardò Centrale - Gallipoli and Lecce - Novoli - Nardò Città - Nardò Centrale - Gagliano Leuca lines. The timetable showed that four trains should have been present simultaneously on each of the two occasions Nardò Centrale was passed, but on neither occasion did this actually happen. The 16:55 Gallipoli - Lecce train was again a single railcar. At Zollino another single railcar from Gagliano Leuca had already arrived, which reversed and joined at the rear, making the timetable correct in showing through trains from both Gallipoli and Gagliano Leuca arriving at Lecce at 18:10. BLN 803.0262][IT] Reggio di Calabria - Catanzaro - Sibari (-Taranto - Bari): (Ball 61A2-58A2) In Italy it is not uncommon to find a small amount of what was originally first-class accommodation on trains denoted as second-class-only, but on 6 March 1997 the 06:42 Villa San Giovanni - Bari second-class-only train was made up entirely of three first-class compartment coaches. Despite coming under energised wires at Sibari (BLN 780.0248) diesel haulage continued 119km to Taranto, where the train reversed for Bari. BLN 803.0263][CH] Swiss train classifications: From the 1997 summer timetable, Switzerland follows the German pattern with InterRegio and RegioExpress trains as well as InterCity and Regional (local stopping) trains. An IR has more stops than an IC, while an RX has fewer stops than a Regionalzug. (European Railway News, 1/97) BLN 803.0264][SK][UA] Russian-gauge branch in Slovakia: (BLN 737.0247; Ball 43B2) The single-track 1520mm-gauge line between Haniska steelworks in eastern Slovakia and the Ukrainian border is electrified at 3000V dc. Košice main depot has no broad-gauge, and ZSR motive power for the line, though allocated to Košice, uses a sub-depot near Haniska station on the east side of the 1435mm passenger route south of Košice. No broad-gauge passenger services are known, and the few Class 810.8 railbuses based at Haniska, perhaps for staff use, have not been seen in traffic. Revenue-earning freight is electrically hauled by ZSR Class 125.8 BoBo half-units operating in back-to-back pairs, and most trains seem to have two pairs. None of the locos has interchangeable bogies. Before the route was electrified broad-gauge diesels were used, numbered later in the 781.8xx series but most, if not all, are now withdrawn. UZ traction is not thought to appear on the line, but former Soviet diesel loco shells are brought in to Haniska steelworks for scrapping. The steelworks has three T669.55 broad-gauge heavy industrial shunters, but it is difficult to determine where broad-gauge runs, for the tracks are obscured by much freight rolling-stock. Since flying into Košice airport demands an approach right above Haniska steelworks at a fairly low level, perhaps a BLS aerial inspection team should have cameras at the ready. BLN 803.0265][AL] Albania: (BLN 798.0149) A State of Emergency including an overnight curfew was in force from 3 March 1997. No trains ran on 3 March. Some traffic resumed on 4 March but services remained suspended on lines south of Rrogozhinë to Fier, Ballsh and Vlorë. Lines which did operate had only a limited service until 16 March when passenger services were restored. On 26 March an emergency timetable was introduced to comply with the curfew, the first passenger train starting at 07:45 and the last completing its journey at 18:43. All trains have been carrying police from the local forces of each area. An existing radio system has been in use for contact between the central dispatch office in Durrës and individual stations. On 25 April an explosion occurred at midday in a northern suburb of Shkodër on the freight-only line to the Montenegrin border, destroying 35m of track. The motive may have been looting, for much smuggling is reported of scrap metal for sale in Montenegro. By early May public order had continued to improve, though many areas continued volatile with regular 'incidents'. From 4 May the curfew was eased to 21:00-05:00, allowing HSH scope for further timetable revision, since the previous curfew did not give time for return through running between Tiranë and Pogradec. http://www.angelfire.com/ak/hekurudha/index.html) BLN 803.0266][AU] Melbourne, Victoria: (BLN 753.0206, 794.056) The 'Met', an extensive suburban rail system, centres on the City Loop, with three stations serving the city's business area to its north and east, a main suburban station at Flinders Street on its south side and the terminal for most long-distance trains at Spencer Street on its west side. All Met trains are 1600mm-gauge three-car electric units, apart from those on the outer extremity of the Stony Point line operated by Victoria's state public transport corporation, V/Line, with locomotives and coaches. V/Line also run most longer-distance trains within Victoria, although the private-sector Victorian Railway Company Pty Ltd, trading as West Coast Railway, runs services to Warrnambool. Interstate trains are now all standard-gauge. Australian National Railways run the Overland Melbourne - Adelaide overnight train, and New South Wales state rail authority, trading as Countrylink, runs the two daily Melbourne - Albury - Sydney services using HST clones called XPTs. From Spencer Street the XPTs run on a short section of mixed gauge, then take a separate standard-gauge alignment north to Broadmeadows, running thereafter parallel to 1600mm-gauge track out to the boundary between Victoria and NSW near Albury, where Australia's lack of a sensible gauge policy once forced all passengers to change. The City Loop links one westbound route and two eastbound routes at triangular junctions giving great flexibility in operation. On Mondays to Fridays incoming services from all directions serve the three business-area stations first in the morning before circling the Loop via Flinders Street and returning the way they came. From early afternoon the process is reversed with trains entering the Loop via Flinders Street and serving the business area last. The three routes divide, radiating to serve 17 termini, some of them on lines with longer-distance services. Zonal fares apply in the Met area and most tickets may be used on trains, the extensive tram system and buses in the zone. For AUD10 (=£5) a Zone 3 daily ticket gives unlimited travel with no time restriction over the entire Met including the 75-minute run out to Belgrave, a short walk away from the Puffing Billy steam railway. Day trips by diesel railcar or loco-hauled train can be made to the historic goldfield towns (Melbourne - Ballarat by two separate routes, and Melbourne - Bendigo) as well as Melbourne - Warrnambool to the west and Melbourne - Sale to the east. Rail services lost over the past decade to Mildura, Leongatha, Cobram and Bairnsdale are proposed for restoration if a private operator can be found once bus contracts expire in a few years. The Nyora - Leongatha section of the former Great Southern Railway closed to passengers on 26 July 1993, but reopened as the South Gippsland Tourist Railway from 26 December 1994. BLN 803.0267][US] Hawaii: Lahaina - Kaanapali - Puukolii: On the Hawaiian island of Maui, a 9km railway, based on a sugar-cane line first opened in 1882, has since 1970 carried the 914mm-gauge tourist trains of the Lahaina, Kaanapali and Pacific Railroad, hauled by oil-fired steam locomotives, two of them 2-4-0s rebuilt from Porter 0-4-0ST #7397-8 of 1943. BLN 803.0268][PA] Ciudad Panama - Colon: Built by the United States Government in the Canal Zone to the 1524mm gauge (which it shares with Finland and Russia) the 77km Ferrocarril de Panama or Panama Railroad has been effectively out of use since the landing of US troops in 1989. A Balboa - Jardin Botánico tourist passenger train was the only FCP service shown in the December 1996 Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable, but it was not running in March 1997. A BLN reporter had an armed escort on a shed visit, which revealed a few carriages recently partially repainted, three diesel locomotives under repair in the shed and a fourth in the yard looking operable. Tracks at Balboa showed evidence of use, possibly by some limited freight service. Long stretches of the railway are spanned at low height by the Panama Canal Commission's electricity transmission lines, giving the erroneous impression of an electrified line. (Nothing to do with the FCP, but the Canal itself gives a unique opportunity to ride in passenger stock rail-hauled by 18 electric locomotives at once - without travelling on any railway track!) BLN 804.0269][GB][FR][BE] Eurostar emergency arrival in London: (BLN 767.0500, 769.04) The planned diversionary station in London, Kensington Olympia, was in use on 13 March 1997 during a third-rail power failure at Waterloo, according to Today's Railways for June 1997. Its first use may have been on 14 January 1995, shortly after Eurostar services began in November 1994, during an evacuation exercise which was open to members of the public but not advertised. On the return leg the test trip included detraining and reboarding at Cheriton, running to Kensington Olympia, detraining and reboarding there, and finally running into Waterloo International. Security and immigration personnel were thus able to test their contingency plans to cope with an incident involving closure of Waterloo. The exercise took place at the same time as a major exhibition at the Olympia site, which was deliberate in order to assess crowd-control measures at Olympia's platforms. The train operators said that this was the first passenger-carrying Eurostar into Kensington Olympia, and also the first passenger-carrying train from Olympia to Waterloo - though by the latter claim they may have meant the first by the new route over the viaduct built for Eurostar empty-stock workings. BLN 804.0270][FR][GB] Calais - Folkestone: Eurotunnel: (BLN 796.082) Repairs to the south running tunnel, damaged by the lorry fire on 18 November 1996 (BLN 792.0489), were completed on 13 May 1997, allowing full double-track working. (Eurotunnel Financial Restructuring Report) Since the June 1997 timetable change London - Lille - Bruxelles Eurostars (BLN 0802.0223) have all been booked via Tournai rather than the raccordement d'Antoing, according to the Eurostar working timetable. BLN 804.0271][FR] Charleville-Mézières avoiding line: Liart - Mohon: (Ball 16B2-16B3) Some SNCF staff were on strike 16-19 May and many trains, especially regional services, were cancelled. On Saturday 17 May 1997 the 16:44 Lille-Flandres - Strasbourg was diverted to avoid reversal at Charleville-Mézières and called unexpectedly at Mohon instead, passengers in the rear coaches having to detrain on to the track. SNCF provided a substitute bus from Mohon to Charleville, and another from Charleville to Revin and Givet for some of the passengers for the Charleville-Mézières - Monthermé - Revin - Givet branch. BLN 804.0272][FR] Monthermé - Les Hautes-Rivières - Sorendal: (Ball 16B2 not shown) From the (still-in-use) freight sidings of the standard-gauge Givet branch at Monthermé, this 22km metre-gauge chemin de fer départemental ran east up the deeply-incised valley of the river Semoy, linking the small settlements and metalworking factories of the French Ardennes. Opened 24 December 1901 to Les Hautes-Rivières, and extended in 1912 to Sorendal, very close to the Belgian border, it lasted, complete with passenger service using a 1938 automotrice, until 1950. A plan to extend the line a short but difficult distance via Linchamps to join the Belgian metre-gauge Vicinal network was never implemented. Long sections of the trackbed are now footpaths, and some station buildings survive, plus at least two wooden freight vans in use as sheds. BLN 804.0273][FR] (Malesherbes -) Pithiviers - Les Aubrais-Orléans: (BLN 762.0397, 799.0153, Ball 25A1-36A3) Pithiviers - Les Aubrais must be one of the world's dullest stretches of 'rare track' ever to be viewed from an autorail panoramique. Laid as a double-track secondary main-line mostly straight across the flat fields of the Île de France, the 43km section, now freight-only and served from the south, has been reduced to a single line of indifferent quality on which SNCF have set a speed-limit of 30km/h, so on 24 May 1997 a tour train took some time to trundle each way. A military installation is served at the Les Aubrais end, and a beet-sugar refinery and grain silos at Pithiviers. Next to Pithiviers SNCF station (to its north-east, not as shown in Ball) is the station of the 600mm-gauge Tramway de Pithiviers à Toury, which once ran a network of agricultural lines, some with passenger services. The TPT station is now a museum, and from it a single track ducks under the SNCF to head across a level-crossing out for some 8km north-west along the roadside in open fields to a picnic-site with a balloon-loop and various sidings. This section, Pithiviers - Bellebat, is operated by the preservation group with some panache, using both steam traction and a very elderly (1922) railcar, said to be the oldest running in France. BLN 804.0274][FR] Vierzon - Marmagne - Bourges: (BLN 799.0156; Ball 36A1-36B1) This section now has quite complex new 1500V dc catenary, due to come into use from June 1997. Comprising primary support wire, secondary support wire and double contact wire, the new overhead has zigzags (to avoid uneven pantograph wear) which are markedly more noticeable than on the older dc wiring north of Vierzon. BLN 804.0275][FR] (Limoges-Bénédictins - Guéret -) Busseau-sur-Creuse - Felletin: (BLN 723.023, 738.0254, 741.0324; Ball 46A1-54A3) On 26 May 1997, the single-car 17:31 Limoges - Felletin had only one other passenger from Guéret onwards. Considering the low patronage of the very sparse service on the 36km branch, the track is in absurdly fine condition, and the unit ran like a hare, only occasionally being held in check by a speed restriction over a viaduct. Felletin, no more than a village, fortunately has a hotel, comfortable and inexpensive, where BLN's reporter was joined in the dining-room by the well-fed figures of the train-crew, who clearly also enjoyed the establishment's cuisine. The crew lodge in the hotel overnight, an expensive arrangement which will no doubt help SNCF's accountants soon to conclude that the branch should be retained no longer. Meanwhile Guéret - Felletin shuttle trains hauled by steam locomotive #141TD740 are planned to run on 15-16-17 August 1997. Telephone the organisers Chemin de Fer Touristique Limousin-Périgord on +33 5 55 77 26 65 for details. South from Felletin the track towards La Courtine and Ussel has been lifted (54A2). At La Courtine the rails are still in place, seen from the Felletin - Ussel bus, and so is the somewhat rusty junction at Ussel, but a rail has been removed and SNCF management at Limoges confirm that the Ussel - La Courtine line has now been neutralisée. Local staff at Ussel said that four military trains had run during May 1997 to serve the large camp at La Courtine, but it was not clear if these had actually gone down the branch or just used Ussel as a railhead. BLN 804.0276][FR] Montluçon-Ville - Commentry - Lapeyrouse - St.Eloy - Les Fades - Les Ancizes-St.Georges - Volvic - Clermont-Ferrand: (BLN 719.03; Ball 46B1-54B3-55A3) This secondary cross-country route in an area of sparse population has perhaps something of the character of the Settle - Carlisle line, with few passenger trains, whose future may be insecure. Commentry and St.Eloy seem fairly busy with freight, Lapeyrouse also has hopper wagons present, and the isolated metal works at Les Ancizes-St.Georges is said to have a daily freight working. The line crosses the magnificent viaduct of Les Fades, claimed as the highest in the world, with rails 133m above the river Sioule, just beneath a dramatic dam. South of the junction at Lapeyrouse, the track is single to Volvic, which is now the physical junction with the Laqueuille - Volvic line trailing in eastwards from Limoges, Brive and Le Mont-Dore. Volvic station has an attractive traditional signal-box, but little traffic. It is some 4km to the west above the town, and the famous mineral-water is not handled here. (A separate Riom - Volvic industrial branch is understood to serve the bottling-plant.) South of Volvic the line curves sharply through rough terrain, against a backdrop of extinct volcanoes including Le Puy de Dôme, down into Clermont-Ferrand, a sizeable city, home of the Michelin tyre company. BLN 804.0277][FR] Marseille-St.Charles - La Joliette - L'Estaque (- Miramas): (BLN 724.046 with sketch-map, 726.068, 730.0105; Ball 75B2) Branching off sharply to the left immediately after leaving the main Marseille St.Charles station, this line descends steeply towards the docks, where trains reverse at La Joliette before heading north-west using a mainly-freight route to rejoin the main line by a flying junction at l'Estaque. In spring 1997 the route had one passenger train each way Mondays-Fridays (06:11 Miramas - L'Estaque 07:12 - Marseille 07:35 and 17:12 Marseille - 17:34 L'Estaque - Miramas 18:33) both footnoted as 'via La Joliette' in the local fiche horaire. BLN 730 recorded that in 1994 La Joliette was not recognised as a stopping-place, but that the trains then being routed that way did in fact allow passengers to alight. On 30 May 1997 the afternoon train duly called at La Joliette, the siding which is all that remains of the Gare Maritime de la Joliette, once the rail-served terminal for ferries to Corsica. BLN 804.0278][FR] SNCF scope for economies instead of closures?: (BLN 801.0213) SNCF tend to see unremunerative lines in a different light from British (or German) train operators. The very low population-density in rural areas of France; the significant length of many of the secondary routes, often 100km or more; the inelastic markets served, often just local school/college journeys plus a basic daily connection with Paris via one end or other of the line; the political hostility to total line closures; the generous availability of diesel-railcar stock; and the use of average load-factor (passenger-km per train-km) as a performance measure are all part of the backdrop to decisions on services. SNCF have made some efforts in recent years to reduce operating costs, notably by bus substitution of all but the few most-used trains on a line; by closing the least-used passenger stations (about 30% of those in the 1991 Ball atlas have gone, though most were very little used indeed); by destaffing stations; by concentrating freight traffic at fewer sites; and by reducing crossing-points to a minimum. With so many railcars to hand, stock utilisation is not seen as a problem, and SNCF do not view spare train-sets as an unused resource which would be better employed out on the line running more services for the public; rather the assumption is that if more trains were run, they would just run empty. All this may seem logical to the énarques in SNCF management, but what is actually happening on the ground is that patronage of the non-TGV railway continues to decline, and the single-unit railcar running once a day - probably to a complex calendar which supposedly matches some perceived demand pattern based on figures of yesteryear - becomes the minimal transport on more and more secondary routes. BLN 804.0279][FR] Carcassonne - Limoux - Quillan: (BLN 723.023, 799.0157; Ball 72B2-72B1) The Wednesdays-and-Saturdays-only lunchtime train offers the only possible return journey on the branch within a single day, though it runs only until 28 June and from 6 September in the summer 1997 timetable. Its departure, retimed to 12:35, now allows a convenient connection out of a westbound main-line train at Carcassonne. BLN 804.0280][NL] Amsterdam Metro: A pair of two-car 750V dc third-rail electric units were seen during late April under test on the new route 50 (Sloterdijk - De Vlugtlaan - Amstelveenseweg - Zuid/WTC - Van der Madeweg - Gein) due to open in July 1997. BLN 804.0281][DE] Abzw Borchtitz - Mukran: (BLN 0802.0231; Ball 13B3) A passenger station is now being built at Mukran, so the future should see boat trains on the branch, at present freight-only. The planned transfer in January 1998 of international ferry traffic from the rather confined port of Sassnitz-Hafen is essentially to allow use of larger ships and give more space for handling road vehicles. BLN 804.0282][DE] Rathenow - Neustadt (Dosse) - Kyritz: (Ball 28B3-19B1) With the June 1997 timetable Prignitzer Eisenbahn, who already run DB's Pritzwalk - Putlitz branch under contract (BLN 799.0164), were to begin operating this section also, using two more ex-Bundesbahn Class 798 railbuses. (Today's Railways, June 1997) BLN 804.0283][DE] Hamburg U-Bahn: Volksdorf - Grosshansdorf: This single-track U-Bahn branch beyond the city boundary to the north-east is said to be threatened with closure from 1998. (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, June 1997) Presumably this is because of some dispute between the local authorities about finance. BLN 804.0284][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (BLN 787.0384; Ball 31B2) The short (1.64km) section of the Innenring from Westend to Jungfernheide reopened on 15 April 1997. The 4.76km Westkreuz - Olympiastadion - Pichelsberg section is to reopen at the end of 1997, though the special stadium station provided for the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games may not be back in use until a later date. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 2/97) BLN 804.0285][DE] Berlin-Spandau: (BLN 749.091; Ball 31B2; KBS202) Spandau's old station was to close and a new long-distance (Fernbahn) station (near U-Bahnhof Rathaus-Spandau on the corner of Klosterstrasse and Seegefelderstrasse) was due to open on 19 May 1997, together with an upgraded section of passenger line between km10.7 and km13.7 using a new bridge across the river Havel. (IBSE Telegramm, May 1997) BLN 804.0286][AT] Wien Südbahnhof: (BLN 736.0219, 747.060; Ball 77A2) Budapest - Dortmund EuroCity EC24 Liszt Ferenc/Franz Liszt is one of a number of trains whose booked route appears to be from the Ostbahn via the Wien Südbahnhof station area to the Südbahn. On 16 April 1997, EC24 left the Ostbahn main line south-east of the locomotive depot; ran alongside Süd Fbf Stellwerk 3 on a separate alignment; continued on a north-westerly curve to join an abandoned set of tracks which became a single line entering a tunnel beneath the Südbahn main line; emerged in a cutting between the Südbahn main-line tracks and the S-Bahn line from Wien-Mitte, shortly before Stellwerk 12; crossed to the main-line tracks to run along the south side of Matzleinsdorf yard; and recrossed the layout to call at Wien-Meidling platform 3. Most of this route is different from that used for freight movements, but no sign was seen of any new Südbahnhof passenger platform yet being built alongside the chord, as BLN 736.0219 suggested was planned. Trains using the above route in spring 1997 appeared to be: EC24 Budapest - Bruck an der Leitha 11:21 - Wien-Meidling 11:53 - Wien Westbahnhof 12:07 - Dortmund EC25 Dortmund - Wien Westbahnhof 18:00 - Wien-Meidling 18:13 - Bruck an der Leitha 18:43 - Budapest D268 Budapest - Bruck an der Leitha 00:05 - Wien-Meidling 00:34 - Wien-Hütteldorf 00:44 - München D269 München - Wien-Hütteldorf 04:20 - Wien-Meidling 04:31 - Bruck an der Leitha 05:00 - Budapest Is this route long-established - or a relatively new development? Other trains, not booked to call at Wien-Meidling, seem to continue to use the Wien Donauländebahn (Maxing - Inzersdorf Ort - Oberlaa - Kledering / Klein Schwechat; BLN 750.0123), for example, the 16:07 Wien Westbahnhof - Debrecen on 17 April. BLN 804.0287][AT] Graz Grottenbahn: The 'grotto railway' (gauge about 400mm) runs for 2km under the castle in Graz, its fairground-type trains passing a number of tableaux in the caves. Electrification appears to follow model-railway practice, with the running rails acting as conductors. When was the line opened, and what are its actual gauge and traction voltage? BLN 804.0288][SE][FI] Hargshamn - Uusikaupunki/Nystad train-ferry: (BLN 759.0352; Ball 23A3-16A1) This Sweden - Finland freight train-ferry route across the Gulf of Bothnia ceased 1 October 1996. (Op de Rails, 4/97) BLN 804.0289][ES] Oviedo-Jovellanos - Fuso de la Reina - Baina - Ablaña - Mieres-Puente - Collanzo: (BLN 780.0245, 787.0391; Ball 3A3) Recasting of services continues. The spring 1997 timetable for the diesel railcars on the metre-gauge FEVE lines shows no Oviedo-Jovellanos - Fuso - Collanzo through services, and only four trains in each direction on the Fuso - Baina section, timed to make connections into and out of Oviedo - Fuso - Ferrol trains. Other Collanzo-line passengers are invited instead to make connections with route C1, the broad-gauge 3000V dc RENFE local (Cercanías) passenger trains on the Madrid - Oviedo - Gijón Norte main line, either at Ablaña or at Mieres-Puente, just across the river from the FEVE station. RENFE's Mieres-Puente local station is a single platform to the south of its original Mieres station, now served only by main-line trains. BLN 804.0290][PL][SK] Lupków PKP - Palota ZSR - Medzilaborce: (BLN 784.0340, 791.0481; Ball 43B3) The easternmost cross-border line from Poland to Slovakia, reopened to freight 2 June 1996, was to reopen for passenger trains with the new timetable on 1 June 1997. (Today's Railways, June 1997) BLN 804.0291][CZ] Czech closures to come?: Poland, where rampant bus competition now faces the traditional infrequent services on cross-country lines and branches worked by labour-intensive loco-hauled trains, has seen steady attrition of unprofitable railways since the political changes of the early 1990s. By contrast the Czech Republic is still ideal territory for the branch-line enthusiast, retaining today a fairly dense network, indeed seeming to have more passenger branches than any other country. The frequent if not fast local trains are worked economically by quite well-filled railbuses, and the policy on bus routes seems to be that they should not directly compete. Nevertheless, economic difficulties exemplified by a steep fall in the value of the Czech currency at the end of May 1997 may well lead to cutbacks in public spending. Closures seem all too likely, so visit the CD soon. Meanwhile, local posters confirm closure from 1 June 1997 of the 16km Krásný Jez - Loket section of the Krásný Jez - Loket - Nové Sedlo u Lokte line (BLN 800.0204; Ball 35A1; CD 144). Buses run Becov nad Teplou - Loket. Conversely, since May 1997, trains have run the full length of Most - Cízkovice - Lovosice (BLN 802.0240; Ball 35B1; CD 113) and Melník - Mšeno - Mladá Boleslav (BLN 802.0241; Ball 35B3; CD 076) both previously afflicted by bus substitution. Not shown in the Ball atlas is that the last-named line arrives on the hillside above its destination before descending to a north-facing junction 1km north on the line towards Bakov, where the railcar has to reverse into Mladá Boleslav station. On 26 May local posters were advertising the line's centenary celebrations on 31 May 1997, with special trains to Skalsko, but its future remains in question. BLN 804.0292][SK] Banská Bystrica - Margecany: (BLN 698.09, 791.0482; Ball 42B2-43B2) Trains on this 177km scenic route were reinstated perhaps in the later months of the 1992-93 timetable and certainly during 1993, when a BLN reporter travelled. The route had earlier been closed for works in the tunnel east of Švermovo Penzión (= hospice) halt, 94km from Banská Bystrica and 890m above sea-level. Eastbound the line enters the tunnel immediately after the halt and turns anticlockwise in a full circle emerging to cross above the tunnel entrance. It then continues climbing for 7km to the next station, Vernár, at 930m the highest point on the ZSR standard-gauge system. BLN 804.0293][HU] Esztergom-Kertváros avoiding line: Dorog - Tokod: (BLN 772.078; Ball 42B1) This curve appears to have closed to passengers 1 June 1997. The (twice-daily each way) Budapest - Komárom - Bratislava trains, introduced in May 1995 to relieve the Budapest - Szob - Bratislava and Budapest - Tatabánya - Györ - Hegyeshalom - Wien routes, now take the 7km branch into Esztergom, reversing there. BLN 804.0294][RO] CFF Moldovita: The 760mm-gauge Caile Ferate Forestiere system in the upper valley of the river Moldovita in northern Romania is a timber-harvesting operation which has hardly changed since construction of the line began in 1900 under the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy. Dirt roads, local transport by horse and cart, and steam traction through deep forests all combine to give an impression of central European timelessness. Though CFF were extending the little network with new short branches as recently as 1986 and 1987, the line and others like it are now coming under threat as new roads and lorries seek to take over the task of bringing wood to the sawmills. It is worth visiting and travelling on the line soon. Base of the system and location of the timber plant is Moldovita village, which also has an attractive frescoed monastery - and is the terminus of a standard-gauge Caile Ferate Romane branch with a passenger service. The CFR line (Cîmpulung Moldovonesc - Vama - Moldovita; Ball 50A1) is itself a classic, wandering from the nearest town, Cîmpulung Moldovonesc, up the broad lower valley of the Moldovita, with sections of roadside running. The breakfast-time diesel-hauled steam-heated train of three elderly coaches (06:30 from Cîmpulung) calls at all stations to pick up school-children. Single fare for 20km was about £0.30 in April 1997. BLN 804.0295][RO] CFF Covasna - Comandau: The 760mm-gauge forestry railway, famous for its inclined plane and horse shunting as well as its steam traction, is no more, the incline and the surrounding area having been destroyed by a forest fire in the second week of May 1997, an incalculable loss to Europe's railway heritage. BLN 804.0296][AU] Sydney, New South Wales: Erskineville Jn - Sydney Central - Town Hall - Bondi Junction: (BLN 802.0249) The busy suburb of Bondi Junction was named after a major road junction, and a tramway junction now vanished. It was never a railway junction. The mostly-underground 10km branch physically begins south of the city centre where it diverges from the Illawarra line at Erskineville Jn, to become the Illawarra Relief tracks as far as Sydney Central, at which point the up Illawarra Relief line becomes the down Eastern Suburbs line and vice versa. Construction of the Eastern Suburbs Railway started in 1947 though it did not open until 23 June 1979, serving platforms at Town Hall station which had lain unused since their completion in 1932. (Earlier plans to serve Sydney's Eastern Suburbs have left nearby St.James station, on the City Circle loop via Circular Quay, still with a pair of never-used centre platforms.) Though Bondi Junction is the terminus, Sydney CityRail do have plans to extend the Eastern Suburbs line some 3km to Bondi Beach. Like the rest of the CityRail system, the line is operated entirely by double-deck standard-gauge electric units. BLN 804.0297][US] Syracuse, NY: University - Armory Square - Carousel Center: (BLN 801.0220) From 2 April 1997 the OnTrack shuttle trains run Wednesdays - Sundays only, with through journeys departing Syracuse University hourly 11:25-17:25 and Carousel Center 12:00-18:00. The New York, Susquehanna & Western have four ex-Metro-North Budd RDCs for the service, numbered M-5 to M-8. (http://web.syr.edu/~mobrandt/ontrack/sched.htm) BLN 804.0298][US] Santa Clara County, California: light rail: The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's overhead-wired standard-gauge light-rail line runs north-south from Old Ironsides, a large funfair in the town of Santa Clara, by way of street running in San Jose's First Avenue, then south of San Jose in the central reservation of freeways 87 and 85 to Santa Teresa, with a branch south-west to Almaden. The route is double-track except for a section in San Jose town centre where the tracks diverge to follow the traffic one-way system, and the Almaden branch is single after it leaves the main route at Chynoweth. Interchange with CalTrain commuter services on the ex-Southern Pacific San Francisco - San Jose line is made at Tamien. All stops are well signed for interchange with local buses, with free park-&-ride areas also at some stops. The light-rail vehicles run in two-car formations on a 15-minute frequency during the day and as single cars on a 20-minute frequency in the evening. The system, opened in 1987, faces competition from the very extensive road network in 'Silicon Valley', and did not in May 1997 appear well used. A route diagram is at http://www.transitinfo.org/SCVTA/IMG/SC_LightRail.gif. BLN 804.0299][BB] Barbados: Bridgetown - St.Andrew: (BLN 0802.0250) The Barbados Railway never did reach Speightstown, which lies on the west coast north of Bridgetown. The 1067mm-gauge line ran east across the island, the first 14km to Carrington opening 20 October 1881, then headed north-west up the east coast, opening 18 August 1883 to the village of Belleplaine in the parish of St.Andrew, a total distance of some 38km. Following a serious accident the railway closed in 1897. After advice from Mr E R Calthrop, engineer of the Barsi Light Railway and the Leek & Manifold Railway, it was regauged to 762mm and reopened in 1898. In 1916 it was purchased by the Government. The line was mainly a passenger carrier, serving only nine of the 29 sugar-mills on the island, probably by short branches. The passenger timetable from 2 August 1910 'till further notice' showed one train starting at and returning to the outer end of the line daily except Sundays, plus one starting at and returning to Bridgetown on Wednesdays and Sundays only, the 38km journey taking two hours. Despite an attempt to improve service using a railcar tried out on the Leek & Manifold Railway (Drewry #1326 of 1923) the last passenger train was the 16:20 St.Andrew - Bridgetown on 20 January 1934. The outer 6km, north of Bathsheba, closed completely in March 1934 due to the unsafe condition of Long Pool Bridge, and the whole line closed from 1 October 1937. The Bridgetown terminus site is covered by a bus station opened in the early 1980s, and a street in the town, Train Line Road, follows part of the route. Across the island among the sugar-cane fields it is difficult to trace, but on the east coast the abandoned trackbed runs through scenic surroundings, mostly as a footpath, with cuttings, embankments, underbridges and viaducts still to be seen. Most of the northern extremity lies under 6km of the Queen Elizabeth II Highway. Nothing of the wooden stations seems to survive, but the site of Bathsheba (32km) is marked by a descriptive board placed by the Barbados National Trust. Bridgetown also had a street tramway with at least three routes, worked by animal power, which closed in 1925. BLN 805.0300][GB][IE] Irish timetables extended: The Northern Ireland Railways timetable dated 3 June 1996 until further notice, and Iarnród Éireann's InterCity and Suburban Rail timetables dated 20 May 1996 - 31 May 1997 remain valid until 31 August 1997. IE timetables are at http://www.clubi.ie/RailNet. BLN 805.0301][FR][GB] Calais - Folkestone: Eurotunnel: (BLN 792.0489, 796.082, 804.0270) Revenue shuttle trains for lorries began again on Sunday 15 June 1997. (The Independent, 16 June 1997) From late May a free service had conveyed lorries of selected customers on a trial basis. Nearly seven months after the lorry fire on 18 November 1996 intermodal and wagonload freight, Eurostar, car-and-coach ('tourist shuttle') and lorry ('freight shuttle') trains are all now operating normally, using both running tunnels. BLN 805.0302][FR] Lyon Métro: Gorge de Loup - Valmy - Gare de Vaise: (BLN 783.0294, 798.0131; Ball 56B3 not shown) This Métro Ligne D extension with one intermediate stop was already shown on the system map dated April 1997 available from Societé Lyonnaise de Transports en Commun (TCL) on 14 April, but it was not open for traffic that day. Railway Gazette International for June 1997 reported that it opened on 28 April 1997. BLN 805.0303][NL] Leeuwarden - Stiens: (BLN 778.0185, 800.0186; Ball 1B3-1B2) The date of the two farewell trains, organised for staff who had worked on the line, was 28 February 1997. BLN 805.0304][DE] Bad Doberan - Ostseebad Kühlungsborn West: (BLN 762.0408, 777.0170; Ball 12A1) From 1 January 1996 DB transferred ownership to Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn Molli GmbH, who now operate the entirely steam-worked 15km 900mm-gauge Molli line, charging tourist fares, a return being DEM16 (about £7) in summer 1996. No day-rover tickets were available but a weekly season Wochenkarte was good value. Street-running is mostly in the centre of Bad Doberan, where trains still trundle for more than 1km down Mollistrasse and Goethestrasse. In September 1996 major (and smelly) sewer repairs were under way in Mollistrasse, which was planned to become a pedestrian (and train) zone. Later that month up trains were said to be terminating at Goethestrasse halt, which has no runround facilities, only an old-style DR nameboard and a row of benches on the pavement. At the outer end, Ostseebad Kühlungsborn Mitte is also in the middle of a street with the kerb acting as a sort of platform. BLN 805.0305][DE] Threatened 750mm-gauge in Saxony: (BLN 766.0490, 777.0170) DB are said to have told Land Sachsen that they will close their three remaining mainland narrow-gauge lines at the May 1998 timetable change if they have not by then been taken into other ownership. The lines, steam-operated and already with a non-standard fare structure, are Radebeul Ost - Radeburg (Lössnitztalbahn; Ball 44A2; KBS509); Freital-Hainsberg - Kurort Kipsdorf (Weisseritztalbahn; Ball 44A2-44A1; KBS513); and Cranzahl - Oberwiesenthal (Ball 54B3; KBS518). (Today's Railways, #17) BLN 805.0306][DE] Abzw Freital Ost - Gittersee (- Kleinnaundorf - Hänichen - Possendorf): (Ball 45B1; Kursbuch der deutschen Museums-Eisenbahnen 306) The Windbergbahn, a short but tortuous standard-gauge branch near Dresden, has had an interesting career. Carefully engineered, like the Festiniog Railway, to provide a falling gradient for outbound traffic, it opened 1 April 1857 as the Hänichener Kohlenzweigbahn (= coal branch line), and was absorbed into the state system 1 July 1868. When the mines began to run out at the turn of the century, a passenger service was started to carry ex-miners to factories in Freital and Dresden from Hänichen (11.7km; 21 December 1907) and Possendorf (13.2km; 1 October 1908). The line beyond Kleinnaundorf (8.4km) saw its last train 19 April 1951, the track being lifted by the Russians as war reparations. The remaining passenger service ceased after the last train on 9 November 1957. Freight was later cut back to Gittersee (formerly Obergittersee; 5.7km) serving a tyre factory and a uranium mine, but these closed after German reunification and regular freight ceased c.1993. Gittersee passenger station building has been renovated, reopening 18 April 1988 as a museum of the line's history. The preservation group Sächsischer Museumseisenbahn Verein Windbergbahn e V have also run a number of branch trips, not always on the date originally advertised (OEIS 9645) and at quite high fares because each has been a charter of a DB train, rather than an own-account operation. Each trip seems to raise fears that it may be the last, unless more finance can be found. BLN 805.0307][DE] (Hannover -) Lehrte - Fallersleben - Wolfsburg - Oebisfelde - Stendal - Berlin: (BLN 803.0256; Ball 26B2-29B3) The original idea was to electrify the old Lehrter Bahn, now described as the Stammstrecke (original line), preparing it for possible re-doubling from Oebisfelde to Stendal and actually re-doubling it from Stendal to Wustermark Rbf on the edge of Berlin. However, partly because of revised plans for routing of passenger and freight traffic and partly to reduce costs, DB have not prepared the Stammstrecke for redoubling between Oebisfelde and Abzw Nahrstedt and are believed now to be leaving it unelectrified between Wolfsburg and Nahrstedt. Of the parallel high-speed Schnellfahrstrecke strictly only the Lehrte - Oebisfelde section is an Ausbaustrecke (improved line) and the section from Oebisfelde to the new Berlin-Spandau station (BLN 804.0285) is properly a Neubaustrecke (new line). From Lehrte two 200km/h SFS tracks run east to Fallersleben where the (Braunschweig -) Weddel - Fallersleben Weddeler Schleife, the 'Weddel loop' due for completion in 1998 (BLN 749.090), is to trail in at a high-speed non-conflicting junction. From Fallersleben to Oebisfelde there are three high-speed tracks, the third, southern, one being a continuation of the eastbound line of the junction from the Weddel direction. At Wolfsburg this third high-speed line does not pass a platform face. Track, electrification, and signalling work is complete from Lehrte to Oebisfelde, where the new layout is all in place. From the west end of Oebisfelde the northern two lines are the 250km/h Neubaustrecke. They cross above the third line, which continues east unelectrified as the Stammstrecke, to come down and continue on its south side. As far as Mieste only the eastbound SFS line is yet wired, but from Mieste both SFS lines are complete and wired, with ballasted track to Gardelegen and slab track east of there. East of Vinzelberg a new high-speed flat junction, Abzw Nahrstedt, is to connect the Schnellfahrstrecke and the Stammstrecke, double-tracked and electrified east from that point through Stendal, but in late spring 1997 a temporary connection at the east end of Möringen station was still in use instead. West of Stendal station the west-east lines will pass beneath the north-south lines, as described in BLN 803, but the connection in use here is not a temporary one; it is a newly-relaid and electrified connection, south of the flyover, for freight from the Magdeburg direction or passenger trains from the southernmost platform faces. At Stendal extensive work is still in progress and not nearly finished. From Abzw Nahrstedt the SFS proper heads east as the Stendal avoiding line, complete and wired, but not yet signalled, sweeping south round the town and then back in just west of the river Elbe near Hämerten to make a non-conflicting double connection with the double-track electrified Stammstrecke through Stendal. Both Elbe bridges are in place. The Stammstrecke is still using the future SFS bridge, but will soon be put on its own bridge. Between the Elbe and Berlin-Spandau the SFS is very far from complete, and in two places final planning consent has not yet been given. Over long sections the formation is not nearly ready to receive track and many bridges are still to be finished, though the large new girder bridge over the river Havel at Rathenow has just been put in place. In June 1997 work was at a standstill once again on part of the Brandenburg section during the breeding season of the great bustards, a protected species of bird (BLN 746.037). Opening date of the Schnellfahrstrecke has slipped again; originally May-June 1997, then June 1998, it has now become September 1998. The recently introduced Berlin - Köln ICE2 service will move to the new line, with two sets running coupled between Berlin and Hamm and one continuing thence via the Ruhr to Köln, the other through Dortmund and Essen to Düsseldorf. BLN 805.0308][AT] Graz S-Bahn?: (Ball 83B3-83A3) A Karlsruhe-style trams-on-railway-lines project has fallen from favour, but ÖBB, GKB (Graz Köflacher Bahn), StLB (Steiermärkische Landesbahnen) and GVB (city transport) are said to be discussing an S-Bahn on existing lines round Graz, and a possible merger of GKB and StLB when GKB's concession expires in 1998. (http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/news/ern0197.html) BLN 805.0309][SE] Swedish closures in 1998?: Both the 150km (Karlstad -) Kil - Öxnered (- Göteborg) line (Ball 21B3-21A2; SJ 71) and the 94km Ånge - Sundsvall line (Ball 14B3-15A3; SJ 43) are said to be threatened with closure from January 1998. (Modern Railways, May 1997) BLN 805.0310][SE] Kil - Daglösen - Hornkullen - Ställdalen: (BLN 777.0173, 781.0266; Ball 21B3-22A3) The summer passenger service of 1996 is not to be repeated in 1997. (Börlange tourist office, June 1997) BLN 805.0311][PT] Setil - Vendas Novas: (BLN 776.0160, 798.0142; Ball 26A3-26A2) The Concordancia Norte do Setil, the north-to-east curve avoiding Setil station, ceased to be used by the weekly Porto - Faro Comboio Azul (= blue train) from the beginning of June 1996 when it began conveying one or two car-carrying wagons. To obviate shunting at Porto Campanha, the train now reverses in Setil station while changing locomotives, though it is not publicly timetabled to call there. BLN 805.0312][ES] Madrid-Atocha - Aranjuez - Algodor - Toledo: (Ball 21A2-20A1) Ticket-barriers, unusual in Spain, protect the Alta Velocidad Española standard-gauge platforms at Madrid-Atocha, numbered 2-7 in the 15-platform terminal part of the station, the platforms from 8 upward being RENFE broad-gauge (1668mm). The through broad-gauge platforms forming Atocha-Cercanías suburban station (BLN 785.0358) are at a slightly lower level and are also numbered upwards from 1, confusingly for the unwary, since some long-distance trains that use Madrid-Chamartín also call at Atocha-Cercanías. Behind the new terminal concourse is the impressive overall-roof of the original Atocha train-shed, now devoid of track and occupied by an attractive arboretum with trees and plants watered by an artificial rain sprinkler system, forming a public circulation area overlooked by an upstairs restaurant, terrace and bar. As in 1994 (BLN 754.0234) the excursion Tren de la Fresa (= 'strawberry train') is advertised to run from Atocha to Aranjuez at weekends and public holidays in 1997. A leaflet, obtainable from the tourist office at Chamartín, warns that diesel or electric traction may be used instead of steam, with no consequent fare reduction or refund. The empty stock of four wooden bogie coaches was in Atocha platform 8 on the evening of 1 May, contrasting with AVE #18 at platform 7, forming the 19:30 to Ciudad Real and Puertollano. On 2 May EE/VF Co-Co electric locomotive #277.006, also carrying its old RENFE number 7706, hauled the Tren de la Fresa to Aranjuez, where it is scheduled to spend half a day in platform 5 while passengers have lunch and explore the historic town. This causes no operational problem since RENFE still provides platform space more than adequate to deal with hourly local trains to Toledo and the sparse main-line services. In the valley west of Villamejor, just short of Algodor, the Madrid - Sevilla AVE line strides dramatically across the classic route. The non-passenger Villaluenga-Yuncler - Algodor line, electrified perhaps for broad-gauge empty-stock workings to the La Sagra AVE depot (BLN 799.0170) though not shown thus in Ball, comes in from the north-west. Since the AVE line opened (BLN 769.017) Algodor has lost what importance it once had as a junction, but it retains its extensive layout with five platforms, sidings, a closed steam-locomotive shed and its unique hydraulic signal-box operating a magnificent array of lower-quadrant semaphore signals with red and blue arms, some on British-style gantries (BLN 799.0170). The line is single west to Toledo, but trains are not timetabled to cross at Algodor despite its layout. Beyond Algodor an electrified non-passenger line, not shown in Ball, diverges south, presumably a remnant of the old Madrid - Ciudad Real broad-gauge route retained for freight. Where does this line now end? Just before the terminus is Toledo Industrial, a bleak concrete platform without building or nameboard, but none of the various industrial premises alongside the railway are served by connections or freight sidings. Though the timetable does not call for more than one train to be present, Toledo has a three-platform terminal station with tracks continuing beyond to merge in a headshunt ending at the 90.5km post. The impressive building, topped by a clock-tower, is in a style worthy of this former royal capital, though it is quite far and a stiff climb to the magnificent architecture of the town-centre, necessitating a local bus ride for all except the energetic. Nationalised RENFE's lack of marketing flair is demonstrated by their service to this popular tourist destination, comprising suburban electric units calling at all stations from Atocha-Cercanías and taking some 80 minutes for 88km. On 2 May, a public holiday, while the yards and sidings around Madrid were full of spare rolling-stock, the 10:25 to Toledo was only a three-car unit, with passengers standing all the way, rather an unpleasant journey in the prevailing heat. Meanwhile air-conditioned road coaches carry most of the tourists, at fares several times that of the railway. BLN 805.0313][ES] Madrid Metro: The 1445mm-gauge Metropolitano de Madrid comprises eleven lines, colour-coded as well as numbered 1-10, plus line R, white on the system map, which uses two train-sets to shuttle the short distance between Principe Pio and Opera without any intermediate station. Line 6 (grey) is circular and has interchanges, sometimes more than one, with each of the other lines running radially across the city. The system is nearly all underground except for Batán, Empalme and Aluche stations, all on line 10 (dark-blue). Aluche is unusual in having an island platform with one face for terminating line 10 trains, the other for terminating trains arriving from the opposite direction on line 5 (green). Running connections exist but no through services operate. Work is in progress to connect line 8 (pink) and line 10, so in May 1997 line 8 trains were turning back at Nuevos Ministerios, one station short of their usual terminus at Avenida de América, and from 5 May line 10 services were to be suspended between Tribunal and Alonso Martinez. Temporary closures during 1997 may also result from other works, including a new Metro interchange with RENFE at Principe Pio, where the present Metro entrance in the square outside is not very obvious. Maps of Madrid's Metro - and some 230 other railway, metro and tramway maps from around the world - can be found via the useful website http://pavel.physics.sunysb.edu/RR/. The 'subway navigator', a guide to finding your way around on over 50 metro and urban rail systems, is at http://metro.jussieu.fr:10001/bin/cities/english. BLN 805.0314][ES] Cercedilla - Los Cotos: (Ball 20B3) RENFE's only narrow-gauge line is worked as route C-9 of the Madrid suburban (Cercanías) system (BLN 785.0358), connecting out of hourly C-8b broad-gauge trains from the city. Though the Ball atlas implies a separate station, the metre-gauge electric units in fact depart from Cercedilla's bay platforms 01-03, adjacent to broad-gauge platform 1. Cercedilla has the metre-gauge depot, and a yard where a broad-gauge siding crosses the metre-gauge running-line on the level. Diesel overhead-repair trolleys of both gauges plus a metre-gauge snowplough were stabled here on 1 May 1997. The 18km metre-gauge adhesion line climbs steeply through attractive scenery to its isolated mountain terminus, with several loops, all rusty except at Puerto Navacerrada where trains normally cross. Los Cotos has three platforms but only one is timetabled to be used. Its waiting-room and booking-hall boasts a huge open log fireplace, no doubt welcome after a day's skiing, and its well-patronised buffet seems a focal point. No settlement is visible nearby, only a ski-school and a restaurant. The tracks converge into a headshunt which extends beyond the end of the overhead wiring and disappears underground through a rather mysterious locked door, perhaps concealing no more than a shed for another snowplough. On a public holiday with all ascending trains packed, the Cercedilla booking-office was closed, and RENFE's 11:35 metre-gauge service to Los Cotos, connecting out of a five-car double-deck suburban broad-gauge unit full of Madrid's youth with backpacks and mountain-bikes intent on escaping the stifling 28°C of the capital, was an inadequate two-car set. Perversely the descending train, empty at that time of day, comprised two such sets. BLN 805.0315][ES] (Madrid -) Cercedilla - Segovia: (Ball 20B3) Alternate broad-gauge trains continue beyond Cercedilla, through a tunnel not shown in Ball, the 43km to Segovia. The track is single with several passing-loops but the only one that seems required by the timetable is at Tablada, which also has the only intermediate siding, a rusty connection perhaps from a quarry. Just outside Segovia the avoiding line and the east-to-north connection, both single track, were on 1 May 1997 also rusty and apparently out of use, perhaps since the Segovia - Medina del Campo passenger service was withdrawn from 26 September 1993 (BLN 694.01, 725.061). Segovia has a lavish five-platform layout with freight sidings and a separate yard where a few empty wagons languished. BLN 805.0316][IT] Cuneo - Saluzzo: (BLN 799.0172; Ball 45B2) Buses were to replace trains from 3 March 1997, but a traveller on 18 March found trains still running. BLN 805.0317][CH] Chur - Domat/Ems (- Reichenau-Tamins): dual-gauge: (BLN 796.080; Ball 95B2-95A2) For 9km from Chur to Domat/Ems one of the Rhätische Bahn's two metre-gauge tracks has a third rail for standard-gauge freight movements. Beyond, from Domat/Ems to Ems Werk, the standard-gauge continues west, alongside the RhB but on its own alignment, to reach the factory sidings it serves. BLN 805.0318][CH] Klosters - Lavin: Vereina tunnel: (BLN 714.021, 717.013; Ball 96A3) In March 1997 tunnelling teams from each end met in what will be the longest narrow-gauge rail tunnel in Europe, to open for Rhätische Bahn metre-gauge trains in 2000. (Tages Anzeiger, Zürich, 27 March 1997) BLN 805.0319][CZ] Main-line stations in Praha: (BLN 712.08; Ball 35A2) The city's first terminal station, opened in 1845 with the line from Olomouc (then Olmütz), had been named Masarykovo (after Jan Masaryk, Czech statesman, 1886-1948) before World War II, but afterwards became Praha strední nádrazí (= central station) until the early 1990s. In 1997 Praha Masarykovo nádrazí plays a secondary role, mainly as a terminus for suburban services. Not far away, Praha hlavní nádrazí (= main station) is a large through station with an overall roof, whose main buildings date from a reconstruction in 1901-09. The Austro-Hungarian Empire knew it as Franz Josefs Bahnhof, but a grateful Czechoslovakia renamed it Wilsonovo, after the US President Woodrow Wilson who was largely responsible for the new state being set up after the First World War. The communist regime dropped the American name, and it has not been restored. The station was extensively altered in the 1970s, presumably in connection with the construction of the elevated main road outside, beneath which lies the present two-level main concourse. New island platforms were built on the east side in 1993. North-east of the city-centre, Praha-Holešovice is a modern through main-line station of no particular distinction, dating apparently from the construction in 1980 of the major connecting line that enables trains that formerly had to reverse at Praha strední nádrazí to run through the city without reversal. BLN 805.0320][CZ] (Praha -) Havlíckuv Brod - Zdár nad Sázavou (- Brno): (Ball 41A3-B3) Although this stretch of the present electrified CD main line is still very sinuous, it is clearly a replacement for an earlier even more tortuous alignment. West of Pribyslav, only abandoned formation of this remains, but disused single track is still in place from a point where the original alignment crosses under the present main line west of Sázava u Zdáru station, as far as Zdár nad Sázavou. BLN 805.0321][CZ] Tábor - Bechyne: (BLN 712.010; Ball 41A3-40B3) This 24km standard-gauge light railway was opened with electric traction in 1903, the first Czech railway to be electrified. Originally 1400V dc, it is now 1500V dc, not compatible with other CD electrification which is either 3000V dc or 25kV 50Hz. Centre-cab Class 113 1500V dc locomotives, whose maximum speed is a sedate 50km/h, haul the branch rolling-stock, with non-standard electric train-heating. One set rather incongruously includes a DDR-built double-decker. The line starts from a platform outside the main station at Tábor, running therafter on light-railway formation with tight curves, hand-worked points and frequent ungated level-crossings to the principal engineering feature, a bridge built in 1926-28 with a concrete arch carrying both road and railway 52m above the river Luznice just outside the terminus at Bechyne. BLN 805.0322][CZ] Obratan - Jindrichuv Hradec: (BLN 714.026; Ball 41A3) This 46km 760mm-gauge CD line was opened in 1906 by the kkStB (the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal State Railways, no less), and remained open to passengers on 5 May 1997. Standard-gauge freight wagons on transporters were at Kamenice nad Lipou, where the line's Class 705.9 Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives are based, and mixed trains operate, one seen comprising a single passenger coach and three baggage-cars, offering a pleasant ride across woods, hills and farmlands in the south of the Czech Republic. BLN 805.0323][SK][UA] Haniska pri Košiciach - Trebišov - Matovce ZSR (- Uzhgorod UZ): (BLN 737.0247, 803.0264; Ball 43B2) The single-track 1520mm-gauge line from the steelworks at Haniska near Košice in eastern Slovakia to the Ukrainian border was opened 1 May 1966 and electrified at 3000V dc from Haniska to Trebišov 2 November 1976, from Trebišov to Matovce 3 February 1978, and from Matovce to the then Soviet border and on to Uzhgorod 27 May 1978. (Hnacie Vozidla, ISBN 80 88754 00 3) BLN 805.0324][HU] Main-line stations in Budapest: (BLN 797.0119; Ball 44B2) Budapest Keleti pályaudvar (Keleti = east; pályaudvar, abbreviated to pu, = station) is a terminus, now used by most international trains. Its original buildings of 1870 remain in use, in rather poor condition, with refurbishment still at an early stage. Budapest Nyugati pályaudvar (= west station) is another traditional terminus, for trains to Debrecen and various destinations in Slovakia. Its present 1874-77 buildings were designed in the offices of Gustave Eiffel in Paris, and resemble French main-line stations of the period. Both lie east of the river Duna (Danube) in Pest, but Deli pu, the south station, is on the west bank, in Buda. If Keleti and Nyugati rank with St.Pancras and King's Cross, Deli is a rather less impressive terminus than Euston, and has all its services concentrated in a 1970s structure at the head of the tracks with platforms entirely in the open, Russian-style. BLN 805.0325][RO] Sibiu: dual-gauge: (Ball 49B2-49B1) East of the Romanian town of Sibiu, two separate reversibly-signalled standard-gauge tracks run from Sibiu Atelier Zona platform via Sibiu Gr.Selimbar station to the junction for the Cisnadie branch, a distance of about 6km. The southern (eastbound) track has two three-rail dual-gauge (760mm and 1435mm) sections. From Atelier Zona to Gr.Selimbar the two main tracks are separated by the carriage and wagon works. Sibiu Atelier Zona (= workshop area) is served only by narrow-gauge trains, unlike the other intermediate halt on the dual-gauge, Sibiu Triaj (= marshalling-yard). Through the area of Sibiu Gr.Selimbar station, the 760mm-gauge runs separately alongside the standard tracks, but from Gr.Selimbar to the junction for the Cisnadie branch two tracks run alongside each other with no intermediate halts, and the southern one is again dual-gauge. From its junction, the standard-gauge Sibiu - Cisnadie branch (not shown in Ball) heads south, leaving the narrow-gauge running parallel to, and south-west of, the Sibiu - Brasov main line, past Mohu. The narrow-gauge Sibiu - Mohu - Cornatel - Agnita (- Sighisoara) line used to cross the standard-gauge on the level on the Sibiu side of Mohu, which explains the station building being set back from the main line where the narrow-gauge formerly ran through the gap. It now dives under the main line to head north-east to its present terminus, Agnita. In May 1997 one passenger/mixed round-trip ran daily (SNCFR 204) and timber traffic was being loaded to rail at Agnita. The Cornatel - Vurpar branch has been out of use since 1993. BLN 805.0326][US] Chicago, IL - St.Louis, MO - San Antonio, TX: (BLN 792.0529) Amtrak announced on 14 May that, as the result of a USD5.6M loan by the state of Texas, the Texas Eagle will continue at least until 30 September 1997. They hope to secure enough mail and parcels revenues to keep the Eagle running permanently. From June 1997 the Eagle makes convenient connections at San Antonio with the transcontinental Sunset Limited (Sanford, FL - New Orleans, LA - San Antonio, TX - Los Angeles, CA). (http://www.trains.com) BLN 806.0327][GB][IE] Belfast - Newry NIR - Dundalk IE - Dublin: (BLN 755.0238, 758.0314, 776.0147, 805.0300) Extending the 1996-97 Irish timetables until 31 August 1997 with minimal change seems to mean that both railways hope the 1600mm-gauge cross-border route will be ready then for the planned 145km/h running, using GM locomotives #206-209 and the new Eurostar-type coaches dedicated to Enterprise services. A Belfast-based set of this stock started daily test runs about mid-June 1997. Colour-light signalling at Dundalk station is under local control, apparently from the former North signal-box. The superstructure of the former Dundalk Central cabin has been removed and in June 1997 was for some reason being rebuilt on a low brick base in a new position at the north end of the main island platform. Part of Dundalk station building is signposted as a museum, apparently containing photographs relevant to the history of the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). South of Dundalk to Dublin Connolly, signalling is by CTC and the intermediate signal-cabins are no longer in use as such, but most remain in good condition. BLN 806.0328][IE] (Claremorris -) Manulla Jn - Foxford - Ballina: (BLN 782.0270, 785.0346) All Dublin - Claremorris - Westport services call at the southern face of Manulla Junction's solitary island platform, giving cross-platform interchange with the Ballina branch train at the northern face. The platform has no public road access and the track layout is basic, a single turnout with no loop, so that after every return trip the branch train has to run empty to Claremorris to run round. It also stables there overnight. The only regular advertised passenger train to use the connection on to the branch is the 16:40 Fridays-only Dublin Heuston - Ballina. On 18 June 1997 the locomotive off the 11:40 Manulla Jn - Ballina passenger shunted Ballina container terminal before returning with the 13:10 Ballina - Manulla Jn passenger. Very little business was done at the reopened intermediate station of Foxford in either direction. BLN 806.0329][IE] Limerick - Ennis - Athenry - Claremorris: (BLN 792.0487) According to the IE working timetable seen in use in summer 1997, three or four booked freight paths remain between Limerick and Athenry and at least one, for a Limerick - Claremorris liner train, between Athenry and Claremorris. BLN 806.0330][IE] Limerick Junction: (BLN 785.0348, 798.0129; PSUL, p17/19) The only train that seems to need the Waterford bay is the 10:10 Limerick - Waterford, when alternative platforms are occupied. On 16 June 1997 the last two trains, seen from the first, had locomotives #147 and #184 respectively. Platform 1 (main, reversible) 08:55 Dublin Heuston - 10:49 Limerick Jn 10:49 - Tralee Platform 2 (Limerick bay, north end) 07:15 Rosslare - 10:02 Limerick Jn 10:52 - Limerick Platform 3 (northbound only) Platform 4 (Waterford bay, south end) 10:10 Limerick - 10:37 Limerick Jn 10:55 - Waterford 12:30 In the 1994-95 timetable four trains were timed at Limerick Junction around 16:30. Platform 1 (main, reversible) 14:55 Dublin Heuston - 16:36 Limerick Jn 16:36 - Cork Platform 2 (Limerick bay, north end) 15:10 Limerick - 15:42 Limerick Jn 16:38 - Limerick Platform 3 (northbound only) 14:20 Tralee - 16:28 Limerick Jn 16:28 - Dublin Heuston Platform 4 (Waterford bay, south end) 15:55 Limerick - 16:22 Limerick Jn 16:35 - Waterford In 1995-96 the Dublin - Cork train was retimed 15 minutes later but, with minor timing alterations to the others, the platforming arrangements were retained. Since 20 May 1996, however, the 15:10 push-pull set from Limerick has worked (via platform 1) through to Cork, and the 14:45 from Dublin Heuston works (reversing in platform 1) through to Limerick. As a result, the 15:55 Limerick - Rosslare can now use platform 2, giving cross-platform interchange with the 14:10 Tralee - Dublin Heuston at platform 1. BLN 806.0331][IE] Limerick - Waterford - Rosslare: (BLN 765.0458) One of the few significant changes in the summer 1997 timetable is that the seasonal (3 June - 30 August) 10:10 Limerick - Waterford 12:30 does not run forward to Rosslare as in 1996. The corresponding 15:15 Rosslare - Waterford has also been withdrawn, so the Waterford - Rosslare section has reverted to its traditional service of two trains each way Mondays to Saturdays only. On 21 June 1997 its 14-span Barrow Bridge was noted to have an even stiffer speed restriction (24km/h instead of 48km/h). While timetables since 20 May 1996 refer to Rosslare Europort (BLN 792.0488), platform signs still read Rosslare Harbour. All agree on the Irish-language form of the name, Calafort Ros Láir. The new Harbour/Europort station has no loop, so all arriving trains go forward empty to the old Pier station to run round. BLN 806.0332][IE] Dublin Connolly - Newcomen Jn - Glasnevin Jn: (BLN 785.0347, 790.0446) On 15 May 1997, with civil engineering work on the high-level line via Drumcondra, the 07:50 Sligo - Dublin ran via Newcomen Jn into Connolly, arriving more swiftly than by way of the conflict-ridden normal route, and providing cross-platform interchange with DART, more convenient than the usual three-minute walk. The eight-coach Sligo train only barely fitted into platform 7. BLN 806.0333][IE] Dublin - Rosslare: Gorey accident in 1975: (BLN 795.137, 797.237) The worst outcome of a bridge-strike in the British Isles was probably that near Gorey on 31 December 1975. An underbridge was dislodged as a Rosslare - Dublin train approached at speed. The locomotive jumped the gap and came to rest on its side, three coaches were destroyed, and five passengers were killed. BLN 806.0334][GB][IE] Reversals in Ireland: (BLN 789.1017, 791.1133, 792.1193, 794.55, 794.88) Some Irish entries to add to the list of places with passenger train reversals other than at platforms: Belfast During the 19th century, Belfast Great Victoria Street trains to and from the Belfast Central Railway used to reverse at Belfast Central Jn (BLN 762.0395). Dundalk Trains to and from Greenore used to reverse at Dundalk South or West Jn (BLN 741.0318). Drogheda Trains to and from Oldcastle used to reverse. Dublin Dublin Kingsbridge/Heuston boat trains to and from Dublin North Wall and Kingstown/Dun Laoghaire used to reverse at Islandbridge Jn, as did a Drumcondra line passenger service in the early 1900s. Portlaoise/Maryborough Trains to and from Mountmellick used to reverse at Conniberry Jn. Galway Trains to and from Clifden used to reverse. Clara After closure of the MGW station, Streamstown trains to and from the GSW station used to reverse. Limerick Jn Both Up and Down main-line trains used to reverse to reach the main platform face. Some Waterford trains still reverse twice, south of the Waterford Bay and again at Keane's Points Jn (BLN 806.0330). Limerick Mixed trains to and from Foynes used to reverse at Limerick Check Cabin to attach/detach wagons. Killarney Trains to and from Tralee still reverse outside the station, though IE are supposed to be building a platform there (BLN 757.0290). Skibbereen Trains to and from Schull used to reverse. BLN 806.0335][FR] Paris RER: (Ball 82A2-82A3) Réseau Express Régional Ligne C is closed completely between Invalides and Austerlitz from 15 July to 17 August 1997 for engineering works. Replacement buses run. BLN 806.0336][FR] Paris trams: (BLN 718.06; Ball 82A2) The new Tramway Val de Seine, RATP route T2, which has taken over the SNCF Issy-Plaine - Puteaux line, was operating a 'white' service on 21 June 1997, running to the timetable but without passengers. Platforms at Issy-Val-de-Seine (formerly Issy-Plaine), Puteaux and La Défense are still some way from being finished, and the eventual opening date may be in August 1997. BLN 806.0337][FR] Versailles-Matelots: (Ball 82A1) An AJECTA trip on 21 June 1997 ran from the junction west of Versailles-Chantiers for about 1km on the Grande Ceinture, which seemed very rusty, to enter the engineering depot at Versailles-Matelots. In steam, working on short sections of temporary track in the depot, were small locomotives from Pithiviers (600mm-gauge) and from Valmondois (metre-gauge). BLN 806.0338][FR] Disturbing the vegetation in Languedoc?: British railtour organisers ADL are looking at possibilities for 1998. SNCF some years ago restored a (Nîmes -) St.Césaire - Le Cailar - Aigues-Mortes - Le Grau-du-Roi passenger service, but the line (Ball 74B3) has only two trains a day except in high summer. The swing-bridge over the canal at Aigues-Mortes seems to be kept open for water traffic most of the time, and the track at Le Grau is somewhat overgrown. The Remoulins-Pont-du-Gard - Uzès freight branch (64B1) is even more overgrown and has obviously seen no recent traffic, though it seems accessible by a charter, since a trip is due to run from Nîmes with preserved Picasso railcar X3824 on 2 August 1997 (OEIS 9731). Vézénobres - Lézan - Anduze (BLN 719.02; Ball 64A1) still has track in place, but is very overgrown indeed, and a through working from SNCF tracks to the Anduze - St.Jean-du-Gard preserved line does not look feasible. BLN 806.0339][PT] Lisboa - Cacém - Figueira da Foz: (BLN 728.080 with sketch map; Ball 25B2-17A2) Two trains a day, at 13:08 and 17:40, run from Lisboa Santa Apolonia via the Concordância de Xabregas (Bifurcação de Xabregas - Bif de Chelas), a south-to-west single-track electrified curve not shown in Ball. Both call at the north Lisboa station of Entrecampos on their way via Cacém to Figueira da Foz. Southbound the 07:10 Figueira da Foz - 10:20 Entrecampos - Santa Apolonia and 09:10 Leiria - 12:06 Entrecampos - Santa Apolonia also use this curve. The Linha do Oeste serves the western coast of Portugal though never in sight of the sea until near Figueira da Foz. A mostly unelectrified secondary main line, single-track throughout with passing-loops at principal stations, it diverges at Cacém from the busy electrified Lisboa Rossio - Sintra route, and indeed the morning train to Figueira da Foz starts at Cacém at 08:10. On 21 March 1997 this consisted of two diesel railcars with a trailer car between them. Freight is handled at Ramalhal (with a container crane), Bombarral (timber) and Pataias (a Cimpor cement works). A freight train, #1969 hauling containers, timber, grain and flat wagons, was too long for the loop at Monte Real and had to draw forward on to the single line to allow the passenger train to cross. From Guia the line is now electrified at 25kV 50Hz. Near Louriçal timber sidings are wired up and the 1993 freight-only 10km Ramal de Louriçal, not shown in Ball, trails in from serving two factories to the east. At Amieira another freight, also #19xx diesel-hauled, and an empty railcar set with central trailer were both crossed, thus occupying all three tracks. The south-to-east side of the Amieira triangle, electrified and single-track, has just one passenger train, the 05:15 Alfarelos - Amieira, with no return working. The east-to-north side of the triangle trails in at Bifurcação de Lares, carrying the regular Coimbra - Coimbra-B - Alfarelos - Figueira da Foz electric service. After Bifurcação de Lares halt and before the river Mondego bridge a lower-quadrant semaphore signal still stands. Figueira da Foz is a seven-platform terminus and has a diesel depot comprising two separate sheds facing each other. BLN 806.0340][PT] Figueira da Foz - Pampilhosa (- Coimbra-B): (BLN 748.070; Ball 17A2) This threatened rural line, paralleling the electrified Figueira da Foz - Alfarelos - Coimbra-B route, retains three trains each way, running beyond Pampilhosa either to Coimbra-B or Coimbra. The Ball atlas shows three stations open with a dozen others closed, but though the latter do not appear with times in the Guia Horário Oficial they are listed in its index and seem to be request stops. On 21 March 1997 the 14:07 Figueira da Foz - Pampilhosa - Coimbra-B, a single Allan diesel railcar #030325, called at most halts, but omitted Santana Ferreira, which was a booked stop in the timetable! The 12:26 Coimbra - Figueira da Foz, a similar railcar, crossed at Cantanhede, the only passing-loop. BLN 806.0341][PT] (Coimbra-B -) Coimbra - Coimbra Parque - Serpins: (BLN 776.0159; Ball 17B2) As in 1996, only a single working is timetabled on the short, partly street-running, Coimbra - Coimbra Parque section. On a trip in March 1997, the 05:15 Coimbra-B - Serpins, returning at 06:34, was a diesel locomotive and coaches rather than the expected railcar. For the rest of the day, trains on the 35km Ramal da Lousa run Coimbra Parque - Serpins. In the street outside Coimbra station, parked cars block the line during the day, and the town trolleybuses cross its unelectrified track while turning in front of the station. BLN 806.0342][PT] Évora - Estremoz: (Ball 26B2-27A2) Passenger services do not now run beyond the historic old town of Évora, but three tracks continue north-east over a level-crossing protected by an array of lower-quadrant semaphore signals. The northernmost one is a siding, the remains of the former Évora - Mora branch, closed 28 May 1987 and now lifted, although still shown in Ball. The eastern one, not visited but still in use, with rails shiny, is the Évora - Reguengos de Monsaraz freight branch. The centre Évora - Estremoz track was taken by an ADL railtour on 23 March 1997. Although closed to passengers, the three-platform station at Estremoz had all its track available for use. The buffet was open (on a Sunday) and appeared to be a social centre for the community, who were somewhat bemused by an influx of railborne foreigners. Estremoz also has a railway museum, infrequently open and inaccessible by passenger train, housed in two buildings labelled CFE Cocheira de Locomotivas and CFE Cocheira de Carruagens, a reminder of former activity at this junction, as is the nearby dormitory once used by crews lodging away from their home depots. The museum contained six steam locomotives including two narrow-gauge, two Fiat railcars, four carriages, a steam crane and some curious four-wheel trolleys based on motorcycles. BLN 806.0343][PT] Estremoz - Vila Viçosa: (Ball 27A2-27A3) The branch had not seen traffic perhaps for years, and CP had had to be paid to clear vegetation and check the track for the ADL railtour on 23 March 1997. The terminus, whose name was spelled 'Villa Viçosa' on the station building, had a goods-yard with a container crane, a former locomotive-shed and a turntable. A number of persons accompanied the locomotive into the headshunt at the end of the line, during the run-round of what may prove to have been the last train. The nearby Estremoz - Portalegre freight line has no regular traffic, but is kept available as the only diversionary route between northern and southern Portugal should the Setil - Vendas Novas line (BLN 805.0311; Ball 26A3-26A2) be blocked. The stations have platforms and buildings intact, with passing-loops at Sousel and at Fronteira, which also has grain silos. BLN 806.0344][PT] Ourique - Neves-Corvo: (Ball 33B3) An ADL railtour on 22 March 1997 visited the 31km freight-only Ramal de Neves-Corvo, built in 1991 from Ourique on the Funcheira - Beja line to serve the pyrites mines of Sociedade Mineira de Neves-Corvo, whence ore is carried by rail to Spain. The tour train entered the mine complex, and the locomotive conveyed a BLN reporter into the headshunt at the end of the line. Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses hope to electrify the branch by 2002, along with much of their southern network (BLN 793.018). BLN 806.0345][CZ] Rybník - Lipno nad Vltavou: (BLN 792.0520; Ball 40A2) Isolated from other electric lines, this is another Czech branch with non-standard 1500V dc electrification, like Tábor - Bechyne (BLN 805.0321). BLN 806.0346][JP] Noheji - Shichinohe: (BLN 776.0163, 797.0124) Closure of the Nambu Jukan railway was duly delayed until 5 May 1997, after Japan's 'Golden Week' spring holiday. Infrastructure, including the 21km of rural 1067mm-gauge track, is to remain in place with a view to possible resumption in 1998 of branch trains aimed specifically at tourists, but the two unique lightweight diesel railbuses will not reappear. In March 1998 Konan Tetsudo plan to close their ex-JNR Kawabe - Kuroishi line, a short branch in Aomori Prefecture worked by single diesel railcar and also visited by BLS inspectors in April 1996. BLN 806.0347][AU] Melbourne, Victoria: (BLN 803.0266) From Spencer Street the standard-gauge Melbourne - Sydney XPT indeed runs on a short mixed-gauge section, then a purely standard-gauge alignment west to Footscray. Thereafter it runs on a single track parallel to the 1600mm Melbourne - Bendigo line as far as Albion. The section between Albion and Broadmeadows looks at first glance like normal double track, but is one 1435mm track and one 1600mm freight-only track running parallel. Beyond Broadmeadows, the standard-gauge runs beside the main broad-gauge line north to the Victoria / New South Wales state boundary. The Melbourne - Adelaide night train, the Overland, since 1995 a standard-gauge working (BLN 753.0206), also heads west to Footscray, but diverges from the Sydney XPT route at White City, heading south-east to Newport and rejoining the alignment of the broad-gauge route south-west to Geelong. Just north of Geelong it heads west to Ararat, thence following the former broad-gauge Melbourne - Ballarat - Adelaide main line. The Melbourne City loop does not directly link east and westbound routes. It comprises four separate bi-directional single-track tunnels, each connected to one suburban line, of which one runs out to the west and three run to the east and south-east. The junctions at the end of each loop are not actually triangular, though the tangles of tracks and tunnel-mouths north of Spencer Street and east of Flinders Street make it look as if they are. None of the four loops forms a complete circle, and each line just returns the way it came. As described in BLN 803, the basic operation is that inwards peak trains serve the loop first, outwards peak ones the loop last, so the eastern lines run anti-clockwise Monday-Friday am, clockwise pm & Saturdays, the western line vice versa. Sundays are as Saturdays, except that one of the eastern lines runs anti-clockwise. The City loop is closed early mornings and Sunday evenings, when services run direct to and from Flinders Street, terminating there. Detailed service diagrams are on the World Wide Web at: http://people.enternet.com.au/~cbrnbill/maps/cityloop.htm. BLN 806.0348][US] (New York -) Whitehall, NY - Rutland, VT: (SPV VT3) The west-east line used since 3 December 1996 by Amtrak's new Vermont-supported Ethan Allen (BLN 799.0179) lost its Delaware & Hudson Railway passenger services before the 1950s. In 1983 D&H sold the line to a subsidiary of the state-owned Vermont Railway (VTR), the Clarendon & Pittsford Railroad (not "Claremont" as shown in the SPV atlas). The last passenger service to Rutland in 1953 used a different, south-north, route (North Bevington, VT - Rutland), part of the Rutland Railway, now also owned by VTR. BLN 807.0349][FR] Denain Mines - Arenberg: (BLN 801.0211; Ball 7B1) The Cercle d'Études Ferroviaires Nord Denain began running the Train Touristique du Hainaut 21 January 1990, but it did not operate during the 1994, 1995 and 1996 seasons due to 'track-works' (travaux sur la voie). Confirmation that running has actually resumed in 1997 would be welcome. BLN 807.0350][FR] (Cherbourg -) Sottevast - La Haye-du-Puits - Coutances: (Ball 11A2-11A1) This line lost its passenger service 31 May 1970, but SNCF regarded it as of sufficient 'strategic' value to re-lay it, at least in part, in the 1970s. It has seen no use for many years and the junction at Sottevast had been removed by early 1993 (BLN 699.01). Lifting commenced in February 1997. (L'Écho du Rail, May 1997) BLN 807.0351][FR] (Beauvais -) Rochy-Condé - Bailleul-sur-Therain - Bresles - La-Rue-St.Pierre (- Clermont-de-l'Oise): (Ball 14B1) Completely closed at the Clermont end from 1 February 1971, and subsequently cut back to La-Rue-St.Pierre, the line retained traffic for a metal-working factory at Bailleul-sur-Therain, receiving coils in train-loads, and for a sugar-refinery at Bresles. The refinery closed in December 1996, and no traffic remains east of Bailleul. (L'Écho du Rail, #170, May 1997) BLN 807.0352][FR] Carreau Wendel - Puits Simon: (Ball 18B1 not shown; Howarth 2nd edition, #45) This 8km former colliery line, 3km from Forbach SNCF station, close to the German border, was to have trains des mineurs from the Musée du Bassin Houiller Lorrain (= Lorraine Coalfield Museum) at 15:00 and 16:30 on the following dates in 1997: 11 May, 15 June, 6 July, 24 August, 14 September (not at 16:30) and 12 October. Contact the Musée du Bassin Houiller Lorrain, F-57540 Petite Rosselle, France, telephone +33 3 87 87 08 54, fax +33 3 87 85 16 24. (Voie Étroite, April 1997) BLN 807.0353][FR] Toul - Chaudeney-sur-Moselle - Pierre-la-Treiche - Maron - Chaligny-Neuves-Maisons (- Pont-St.Vincent): (BLN 756.0275, 790.0448, 800.0181; Ball 28B2) This 1896 line, now perhaps to see some revival, lost its one remaining passenger train as long ago as October 1946, rather than the 1950s. With electrification of the Paris - Strasbourg main line in the 1960s, freight traffic using it to avoid Nancy also ceased. SNCF declared it out of use (neutralisée) and removed the junction points at the north-east end of Toul station. An alternative, more southerly, connection to the Toul - Culmont line, built as a strategic link in 1933, had already closed, so it is now accessible only from the eastern end, at Pont-St.Vincent. North-west from Pont-St.Vincent the line still carries regular traffic, but only for the 2km or so to a car siding at Chaligny-Neuves-Maisons, the western vertex of the former Pont-St.Vincent - Neuves-Maisons triangle. The west-to-east side of the triangle also remains, out of use and severed but not lifted. Between Toul and Chaligny the track is in place, and presumably the French military, who are said to have been paying for the line's retention as a strategic route, reckon that if necessary they could fairly quickly fettle it up and restore the junctions they would want at each end. Maron may still be technically available for traffic, for a railtour run by Autorails Bourgogne Franche-Comté section Lorraine (ABFCL) reached here on 14 September 1996. Westwards, presumably because of poor track, only a wartime Dodge jeep with rail wheels was permitted to penetrate, running a shuttle service to the former halt of Pierre-la-Treiche, using convenient level-crossings and pieces of wood to turn the vehicle at each end of its trip! Later the tour train took the regularly-used Pont-St.Vincent - Rosières-aux-Salines freight line to Blainville-Damelevières. This, too, was built as a strategic line and opened for freight in 1933, though unlike the western section it never had passsenger trains. (partly from Les Petits Trains de Jadis) 0354][FR] Guéret - Aigurande: (Ball 45B1-45B2) In August 1996 the main-line connection at Guéret on to this line, closed in 1952, appeared in use. L'Écho du Rail of April 1997 reported that the first 3km of the line had reopened for oil traffic to the new private siding of Ets.Picoty, from January 1997. Was there freight passing in 1996, perhaps to a siding closer to the junction? (L'Écho du Rail, #169, April 1997) BLN 807.0355][DE] Züssow - Wolgast Hafen - Wolgaster Fähre - Zinnowitz - Seebad Ahlbeck - Ahlbeck Grenze: (BLN 717.011, 749.089, 751.0134, 803.0255; Ball 13B1-14A1; KBS194) Usedomer Bäderbahn GmbH, initially spun off as a DB subsidiary company, are to take over the electrified DB Züssow - Wolgast Hafen branch once it is physically linked to their isolated system on the island of Usedom. The island railway's diesel railcars will probably be used and the branch electrification abandoned. Construction of the Wolgast Hafen - Wolgaster Fähre rail link has still to begin, and the earliest date for such work is 1998, apparently because of some local opposition. Demolition of several buildings is planned. A new station is to be built on the site of the present terminus at Wolgast Hafen, but with a platform on the link to the quayside and the now partly-lifted Kröslin freight branch, so that it will be aligned towards a new bridge, not yet built, over the harbour basin. Beyond, crossing the river Peene estuary to the island, the new road/rail bridge (dubbed Blaues Wunder) is already in use by road vehicles, with empty trackbed on its eastern side awaiting the single line of rails. Once on the island the new line is to drop sharply, tunnelling north-west under the B111 road to a new Wolgaster Fähre station north-east of the old one before joining the existing UBB line. The present Fähre station is to close completely. Usedom's railways were not always isolated. June 1997 was to see restoration of passenger service beyond Seebad Ahlbeck station for the short distance to the end of track at the frontier with Poland, which cuts across the eastern tip of the island. The line used to continue beyond to Swinoujscie, formerly the German town of Swinemünde, and rail distances on Usedom seem originally to have been measured from Berlin by that route. BLN 807.0356][DE] Lüneburg - Dannenberg Ost (- Dömitz - Ludgwigslust): (BLN 753.0182, 755.0245, 782.0275; Ball 18A2-19A2) A train-conductor on the Dannenberg Ost branch on 29 June 1997 said that closure was threatened at the next timetable change. Passengers were being asked to sign a petition calling for (in the short term) a dedicated Dannenberg - Dömitz rail-link bus service and (in the longer term) rebuilding of the rail bridge over the river Elbe and restoration of the former Dannenberg - Dömitz railway. BLN 807.0357][DE] Bestwig - Winterberg (Westfalen): (BLN 783.0307; Ball 39A2-39B2) In April 1997 the track was seen to be severed beyond the headshunt at Winterberg, and lifted at the entry to the tunnel. BLN 807.0358][DE] Lines in the Thüringer Wald: Rennsteigbahn AG, already interested in the Schmalkalden - Kleinschmalkalden branch closed by DB in November 1996 (BLN 789.0423; Ball 41A1; ex-KBS 574), have reportedly also made approaches to DB to acquire the Dorndorf (Rhön) - Kaltennordheim branch which was to close 1 June 1997 (BLN 803.0255; Ball 40B1-52A3; ex-KBS577). They may also ultimately acquire the Wernshausen - Schmalkalden - Zella-Mehlis line (BLN 764.0446; Ball 41A1-52A3; KBS573). A well-filled steam-hauled Rennsteigbahn excursion from Arnstadt on 18 June 1997 slipped to a stand on the branch short of Kleinschmalkalden and could not be restarted, taxis and minibuses having to be summoned to rescue passengers. Further trips are however planned. BLN 807.0359][DE] Crossen (Elster) - Eisenberg (Thüringen): (Ball 42B1, with spelling 'Krossen') In May 1997 a train-conductor said that the passenger service might well be withdrawn from June 1998. Patronage of the branch trains was indeed low. A coal-yard and a factory at Eisenberg still generate freight traffic. BLN 807.0360][DE] München S-Bahn: (Ball 71B3) DB are building a new section of track leaving the München - Landshut line south of Freising, northern turn-back point of S-Bahn Linie S1, and heading alongside Autobahn A92 east to join the present airport line, Linie S8, between Hallbergmoos and Flughafen-Besucherpark, thus giving a second S-Bahn service to Flughafen München. DB's new all-over red livery is currently being applied to München S-Bahn stock. BLN 807.0361][PT] Lisboa Metro: (BLN 748.070) The Metropolitano de Lisboa was closed at Rossio for some time to allow realignment of a sharp curve as part of the work for a Rossio - Cais do Sodré extension to link the busy CP termini of the Lisboa - Sintra and Lisboa - Cascais lines, but Metro services through Rossio were restored and running on 24 March 1997. Carris, the local tram and bus operators, are reported to be evaluating reopening the disused 900mm-gauge track of former tram routes #16 and #24, still in place in the street outside Santa Apolonia station, as an alternative to the heavy tunnelling cost of the projected further Metro extension to CP's main-line terminus. BLN 807.0362][AT] Salzburg - Bürmoos - Lamprechtshausen / Trimmelkam: (BLN 796.090; Ball 72B2) The standard-gauge Lokalbahn now runs from underground platforms 40 and 41 beneath the ÖBB station, but directions are none too clear and the platform numbers are not shown on the ÖBB station timetable sheets. Across the forecourt, the old above-ground Lokalbahnhof has been demolished and some 400m of track lifted back to the point near the depot where the new track emerges from its tunnel. The Lokalbahn has a number of factory connections and handles appreciable freight traffic to and from ÖBB. Three electric freight locomotives were at work on 27 June 1997 between Salzburg-Itzling and Bürmoos. An Austrian magazine quoted 18 October 1996 as the date for closure of both the old station (under the heading Auflassung von Betriebsstellen) and the old line (Streckenstillegungen), and for opening of the new station (Betriebsstellen der Neubaustrecken) and the new line (Streckenneubauten). The 18th was a Friday, so perhaps it was the last day of the old arrangements and the Today's Railways date of Saturday 19 October was the first day of the new. The second track on the terminal section into the new Lokalbahnhof was brought into use on 19 December 1996, with reversible working on both tracks. (Daten zur Geschichte der österreichischen Eisenbahnen, Schienenverkehr Aktuell, #3/97) BLN 807.0363][AT][CZ] Wien - Gmünd - Tábor - Praha and Gmünd - Ceské Budejovice - Plzen - Cheb: (Ball 41B1-41A3-36A1-CZ) The Kaiser Franz-Joseph-Bahn, named after Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria 1848-1918 and also King of Hungary 1867-1918, began in the imperial capital at Wien Franz-Josephs Bahnhof. This station, badly damaged by bombing and artillery in World War II, was rebuilt in the period 1974-84 on the same site. It now hides under an office block, still bearing its original name, with the spelling modernised to Franz-Josefs Bahnhof, commonly abbreviated to Wien FJB. The line ran, with a branch in Niederösterreich from Absdorf to Krems, north-west to Gmünd. Today's Gmünd NÖ in Austria was then Gmünd Waldviertel, and the old Gmünd is now Ceské Velenice on the Czech side of the frontier. At Gmünd it divided, the main line continuing north-west through Budweis and Pilsen (good beer towns both) to Eger (now Cheb, near the border with Germany), while an important branch headed north through Tábor to Prag. Opened in sections, the line was completed Wien - Gmünd - Prag 14 December 1871 and Gmünd - Eger 28 January 1872. The Prag station was, logically enough, another Franz-Josephs Bahnhof, a fine building, though not as grand as the present one, dating from 1901-09. Work began in 1972 to expand the station and to build a new north-south main road past the front, on top of a new entrance hall to both the main-line and metro platforms. This road is now named Wilsonova, and recently Praha hlavní nádrazí seems to have re-acquired the tag 'W.Wilsonovo' in brackets after its name. At the end of the 19th century, Prag/Praha had three main stations all serving different routes from Wien: via Gmünd; via Prerau/Prerov, Olmütz/Olomouc and Pardubice; and via Znaim/Znojmo and Lysa nad Labem respectively. All three stations have since been renamed several times (BLN 805.0319): Before 1918 Prag Franz-Josephs Bahnhof Prag Staatsbahnhof Prag Nordwestbahnhof Between the wars Praha Wilsonovo nádrazí Praha Masarykovo nádrazí Praha Denisovo nádrazí Under German rule Prag Hauptbahnhof or Prag Hiberner Bahnhof or Prag Moldau Bahnhof or during World War II Praha hlavní nádrazí Praha Hybern nádrazí Praha Vltava nádrazí In communist times Praha hlavní nádrazí Praha stredni Praha-Tešnov 1997 Praha hlavní nádrazí Praha Masarykovo nádrazí (Tešnov closed in 1974) (W.Wilsonovo) BLN 807.0364][AT][HU] Wien - Budapest: (BLN 805.0324; Ball 41B1-42B1-47B3-HU) In imperial times the principal rail route was via Pressburg (= Poszony to Hungarians, Bratislava to Slovaks) north of the river Donau (Duna, Dunaj, Danube) through Slovakia to Budapest Nyugati pu (West). Only after the First World War, and the creation of Czechoslovakia, was the route south of the river through Bruck an der Leitha and Hegyeshalom upgraded to attain its present importance. The fastest route today is from the Ostbahn platforms at Wien Südbahnhof to Budapest Deli pu (South). Going round the connecting lines in both cities to serve Wien Westbahnhof and Budapest Keleti pu (East) adds significantly to journey-time. BLN 807.0365][ES] Xátiva/Játiva - Alcoi/Alcoy: (BLN 779.0225; Ball 32A2) Local press reports say that the provincial government have reached agreement with RENFE to retain passenger services on the 64km 1668mm-gauge branch, threatened with closure because of poor track. (Railway Observer, July 1997) BLN 807.0366][AU] Sydney, New South Wales: Most of the population in the Sydney area is concentrated in the broad undulating plain extending from the Pacific coast for some 60km west to the foothills of the Blue Mountains. To the north and south, ranges of hills inhibit development, and the railways that penetrate these regions are tightly curved and often steeply graded. Sydney's CityRail network extends far beyond the city boundary and is mostly electrified, using double-deck electric units. Fares within the CityRail area are reasonable, making it well worth exploring. An all-zones ticket for seven days costs AUD50 (= £23) and covers nearly all ferries, buses and trains in the inner area bounded by Berowra (35km north), Emu Plains (57km west), Macarthur (56km southwest) and Waterfall (39km south). A diagrammatic map is at http://people.enternet.com.au/~cbrnbill/maps/sydney.htm. Sydney Central station, in fact somewhat south of the city centre, is the focal point of operations, and most CityRail trains call there at some point on their journey. Long-distance (Countrylink) and outer suburban trains use the terminal platforms on the west side and inner suburban trains the surface and underground platforms to the east. A tram line from the station's north frontage to Darling Harbour was to open in mid-1997, but may be delayed by damage to the first tram. A CityRail branch extends north-east to Bondi Jn, with frequent buses onward to the famous beach 3km away (BLN 0802.0249, 0804.0296). Also north from Central is the City Circle loop serving the main business and shopping areas via Circular Quay, station for the harbour ferries and the distinctive Opera House. The northern suburban line crosses the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge on its way to Hornsby. Long-distance services for the north avoid the Harbour Bridge and take an inland route via Strathfield to Hornsby, but beyond there CityRail and Countrylink trains share the same tracks north on the Sydney - Newcastle - Maitland (- Brisbane) main line as far as Broadmeadow, 3km east of Newcastle. Here, northbound Countrylink trains diverge north-westwards while CityRail double-deck electric units run down to Newcastle's harbourside terminus. From Newcastle a CityRail diesel railcar service shuttles over the north curve of the Broadmeadow triangle to Maitland and then either Scone or Dungog. Sydney - Newcastle trains are hourly, taking about 2h 15m, with an off-peak return fare of AUD22 (= £10). To the west runs the Sydney - Strathfield - Lidcombe - Parramatta - Emu Plains - Katoomba - Lithgow (- Broken Hill) main line. Hidden in the CityRail timetable is a 'rare-track' working linking the northern and western lines. Running once each way, Saturdays excepted, the Wyong - Hornsby - North Strathfield - Homebush - Lidcombe - Parramatta - Emu Plains service runs out at 05:55 and back at 16:11, using the north-to-west North Strathfield - Homebush curve, alongside and behind the maintenance depot at Strathfield. Between Homebush and Lidcombe construction began in November 1996 of an entirely new 5km branch from a triangular junction north to a terminal loop in a 300m tunnel at Homebush Bay, where the Sydney Showground will host Olympic Games events in 2000. Absent from the CityRail map is a peak-hour service over a south-to-west curve just west of, and avoiding, Lidcombe, 16km from Sydney, allowing access from the Bankstown line to Parramatta, 23km out, an expanding regional centre. The 1.4km Granville avoiding line (Merrylands - Harris Park), another south-to-west curve, came into use on 2 November 1996 when a half-hourly Campbelltown - Parramatta - Blacktown (Cumberland line) service began. The western line curiously hosts three Saturdays-excepted named CityRail trains: the Heron sandwiched between the Fish and the Chips! Beyond the outer suburban terminus at Emu Plains, the hourly double-deck electric units give easy access to the Blue Mountains, tackling long 1-in-30 gradients, winding their way through the scenery to serve resorts such as Katoomba before descending steeply on a deviation, away from the original line with its time-consuming reversals. Part of the old formation is preserved as the Zig Zag Railway, whose northern terminus is served by the Zig Zag request stop 5km short of the electric train terminus at Lithgow. To the southwest, the Sydney - Lidcombe - Campbelltown - Macarthur - Goulburn (- Canberra / Melbourne) main line leaves the western line at Lidcombe and is electrified as far as Macarthur just south of Campbelltown. Beyond, diesel railcars from Sydney twist and turn through the Southern Highlands to serve stations to the CityRail outpost at Goulburn, 225km from Sydney. The Southern Highlands extend inland from the coast, so the Sydney - Wollongong - Dapto electrified line to the south hugs the water's edge, climbing high above the Pacific Ocean between Helensburgh and Thirroul. Some 2km south of Wollongong, CityRail's electrified 6km Coniston - Port Kembla branch has all the scenic attributes of a Teesside industrial line as it wends its way to a single-platform terminus adjoining a stabling-point close to the steelworks and harbour. At Dapto, 12km south of Wollongong, passengers from a terminating electric unit can make a same-platform transfer to a diesel railcar which runs south on a single line controlled by semaphores and tokens from Dapto to Bomaderry (Nowra), the passenger terminus, 150km from Sydney. Not shown on the CityRail map is an unelectrified east-to-south curve at Coniston which is visited several times daily by the Bomaderry diesel unit. A new line is being built to link Sydney with its Airport, southeast of the city, in time for the Olympic Games. BLN 808.0367][IE] Dublin Connolly - North Strand Jn - Drumcondra - Glasnevin Jn: Drumcondra station reappears in the Dublin suburban rail timetable from 1 September 1997, though it is still footnoted "opening soon - see press for opening date". When it opens, all Dublin - Maynooth local trains are to call, except the 05:55SX from Connolly. The old closed station on the Great Southern & Western route was for many years the headquarters of the Irish Railway Record Society, though they have long since been moved to Heuston Goods in anticipation of Drumcondra's reopening. As noted in BLN 779.0209, Drumcondra stops will rule out the Dublin Connolly - Newcomen Jn - Glasnevin Jn route option for Maynooth locals. While Dublin - Sligo trains could still take this former Midland Great Western route, it is at present unusual for them to do so (BLN 806.0332). BLN 808.0368][FR] Hautmont avoiding line (Sous-le-Bois - Feignies): (Ball 16A3; McDougall F23; SNCB 96) As in previous years (BLN 707.02, 738.0252) this curve sees seasonal Quévy - Blankenberge trains #T8953 and T8983 locally advertised to extend from/to Maubeuge in France, out at 07:17, back at 22:16, running SSuO plus holidays till 30 August 1997, as well as 4 October and dates in spring 1998. In addition, #L5952 06:16 Mons - Maubeuge continues to run daily, giving a connection to Paris (BLN 779.0212). These Belgian-operated services are the only passenger trains booked over this section of French track. (SNCB leaflet, Trains touristiques directs vers la côte) BLN 808.0369][FR] Auray - Quiberon: (BLN 700.05; Ball 31A2) One of a number of SNCF branches with a passenger service only during a short summer season and on a few peak winter weekends, this line lost its year-round passenger trains 6 March 1972 and was reportedly closed for freight 1 February 1988. A few freight vans were in Quiberon yard in July 1997, however. Passenger service in 1997 runs 28 June - 31 August and comprises nine autorail trains each way - requiring two sets, passing at Plouharnel, the only loop - plus a seating-and-couchette overnight train from Paris-Montparnasse whose locomotive and coaches stable at Quiberon all day. At busy times, the railcar trains can be strengthened to four vehicles. The TER Bretagne fiche-horaire timetable leaflet, partly in English and German, markets the line as Le Tire Bouchon (= corkscrew), referring to the very narrow isthmus threaded by the train. Main stations and some level-crossings are staffed and tickets are sold on board by (sometimes mini-skirted) conductors. Flat fare is FRF12 (£1.20) per single journey, with cycles carried free. The financial implications of SNCF branch-line policy, maintaining 28km of track and employing numerous vehicles and staff for an eight-week low-fare passenger service every summer, make one glad one is not a French taxpayer. BLN 808.0370][FR] CFTA Nivernais lines: (Ball 37B2-47A3-47B3) Clamecy - Corbigny - Cercy-la-Tour continues to carry heavy ballast traffic for SNCF (BLN 786.0365) and Clamecy - Corbigny retains its vestigial weekend passenger service, running through from Paris Friday evening, back on Sunday afternoon. Otherwise the CFTA-worked Nivernais lines normally see no passenger trains. Rail Vaux d'Yonne (= 'Yonne valleys rail', the local user group) are hopeful of persuading the Bourgogne regional council, now to be responsible for financing unremunerative passenger services, to reopen the Clamecy - Arzembouy - Prémery - Nevers line, restoring a rail passenger link between Auxerre and Nevers, 'county towns' of the adjacent départements of Yonne and Nièvre. Clamecy - Arzembouy has no regular traffic, but south of there grain, and chemical products at Prémery, are handled. Though a rake of large empty open wagons remains berthed at the loading siding, the Tamnay-Châtillon - Château-Chinon branch, retained essentially for timber, has seen no movement since early 1997, and local opinion fears closure. The mayor of Château-Chinon for some 30 years, and late president of the French Republic, François Mitterrand, is no longer around to influence such a decision. RVY's 1997 excursions have suffered because CFTA's 1952-built Picasso railcar, X3876, Le Furet de Morvan (= 'the Morvan Ferret') has been in the CFTA works at Gray for overhaul and re-certification by SNCF. Originally promised for May, its return is now forecast for September 1997. For a trip to Nevers on 20 July RVY had to charter Caravelle railcar X4630, but SNCF would not allow this set, refurbished for TER Bourgogne, to use the Prémery line because of possible damage from overhanging trees. However, when the 'ferret' returns, RVY expect it will be able to make the passage, and a Clamecy - Prémery trip is provisionally planned for autumn 1997, with a run through to Nevers probable in spring 1998. Also in autumn 1997, RVY envisage a Sunday Clamecy - Entrains-sur-Nohain trip, with connection possible out from Paris and back the same day. Rail Vaux d'Yonne can be contacted c/o Mairie de Clamecy, F-58500 Clamecy, France. On the Château-Chinon branch, the Train Musée du Morvan Bazois is no more. Though in November 1987 TMMB brought Picasso railcar X3818 to Tamnay, where it was christened La Cagouille (= 'snail' in the patois morvandiau), they made no progress beyond a few charters, and in 1992 sold X3818 to the Chemin de Fer Touristique de la Traconne who now run it on the Esternay - Sézanne line (Ball 26B2). Back at Château-Chinon another railcar, now completely unserviceable, still stands in pitiful dereliction. BLN 808.0371][BE] (Brussel -) Hove - Antwerpen Berchem: (Ball 8B3) Paris - Brussel - Amsterdam Thalys trains use Lijn 27A, the easternmost pair of tracks, to call at platforms 1 and 4 at Berchem. NMBS have extended the shelters at the southern ends of these exposed platforms to offer some cover for passengers on such long trains. Engineering works from 3 August to 13 December 1997 will block Lijn 25, the main and westernmost pair of tracks, so trains are being diverted on to Lijn 27, the middle pair of tracks, including the Y Liersesteenweg - Y Drabstraat section, little used by passenger trains. From Y Drabstraat to Berchem Lijn 27 is already used by Lier - Antwerpen trains. Mortsel-Oude-God and Mortsel-Deurnesteenweg stations on Lijn 25 are closed during the works, so trains will instead call at Liersesteenweg (where disused platforms just south of Y Liersesteenweg have been extended and will reopen temporarily) and at Mortsel. BLN 808.0372][LU] (Trier DB - Wasserbillig CFL -) Oetrange - Howald - Luxembourg: (BLN 757.0298, 764.0440; Ball 18A2) From 1 June 1997 more use is being made of this route for passenger traffic, with twelve trains now booked northbound and two southbound, identified by a wavy line rather than timings against Cents-Hamm and Sandweiler-Contern stations in CFL table L3. BLN 808.0373][AT] Gmünd NÖ - Alt Nagelberg - Litschau / Heidenreichstein: (Ball 63B2-63B1) Of ÖBB's three Waldviertler Schmalspurbahn 760mm-gauge branches in Niederösterreich, BLN 749.092 reported that freight traffic remained only on the line to Litschau, which has a grain silo. However on 23 July 1997 timber-laden standard-gauge freight vehicles on Rollwagen were present at both Steinbach-Gross Pertholz and Langschlag on the Gmünd NÖ - Gross Gerungs passenger line, which is worked by Class 5090 railcars. European Railway News #1/97 on the Internet says that freight haulage by Class 399 steam locomotives still occurs when diesel traction fails. The narrow-gauge lines used to run to their own station in that part of Gmünd which is now Ceské Velenice, across the river Lainsitz/Luznice in the Czech Republic, and the original course of the Gross Gerungs line can still be seen from the train as part of a turning triangle at Gmünd pointing north-west towards the river. BLN 808.0374][AT] Hohenau - Dobermannsdorf - Mistelbach: (BLN 790.0459, Ball 65A1) On the evening of Wednesday 23 July 1997 this freight-only line hosted no less exalted a train than EC173 Vindobona Berlin - Praha - Wien. After some confusion at Hohenau, including detraining the bemused passengers before reboarding them, the Vindobona set off very slowly westward, diesel-hauled with no air-conditioning in the summer heat, through Mistelbach Lokalbahnhof, taking the east-to-south curve before reversing into Mistelbach S-Bahn station to change back to electric haulage. Arrival in Wien Süd was 2h 24min late. Earlier in the day the Angern - Dürnkrut section alongside the river March, very swollen as a result of heavy rains further north, had been closed for works, causing bus substitution for day trains, but an ÖBB source said diversion rather than substitution had been planned to begin for overnight services. He added that while the Mistelbach route had been used to divert Breclav - Wien trains in the past, diversion via Slovakia and Marchegg was more usual. According to informal paper notices taped to the glass doors in Wien Süd the following morning, north-south day EuroCity trains were again being diverted on 24 July, route unspecified. It seems that Mistelbach diversions may have continued till early August (OEIS 9738). BLN 808.0375][AT] (Ober Grafendorf -) Ruprechtshofen - Wieselburg an der Erlauf: (BLN 801.0216; Ball 75A3-74B3) Two separate local notices reveal alterations not shown in the published June 1997 ÖBB timetable. From April 1997 the only eastbound trains are retimed even earlier (now 03:50, 04:20, 05:38 and 06:25) and from 1 June 1997 road transport replaced the two workings timetabled to arrive Wieselburg 08:49 and 11:49, and depart 08:53 and 11:53. However on 22 July the 17:53 Ober Grafendorf - Ruprechtshofen - Wieselburg ran as scheduled, carrying one other passenger beyond Ruprechtshofen. The timetable seems effectively just a few positioning movements from and to Wieselburg of the Class 5090 single diesel cars now running the 760mm-gauge line. BLN 808.0376][AT] Wiener Neustadt - Puchberg am Schneeberg - Hochschneeberg - Berghaus Schneeberg: (Ball 75B2; ÖBB 52a, 52e) From Wiener Neustadt, ÖBB's standard-gauge Class 5047 single diesel railcar runs a scenic 28km west, climbing up to Puchberg at 577m above sea-level. The branch unusually hosts a seasonal Schneebergbahn-NachtExpress, arriving at Puchberg at 00:50 on Sunday morning. From Puchberg station a metre-gauge steam-worked rack line, opened 25 September 1897 and now operated by Niederösterreichische Schneebergbahn GmbH rather than ÖBB, continues a further 9.8km to reach a height of 1795m, offering further scenic views. The 17:28 FSO (6 June - 27 September 1997) train is the only one timetabled to run forward from the Hochschneeberg summit loop the extra 100m of headshunt track to the buffer-stop outside the Berghaus (= mountain lodge). NÖSBB steam locomotive #999.01 duly obliged on 18 July 1997, the purpose apparently being to tranship sacks of potatoes and other provisions on to a railborne trolley alongside the headshunt, which was then pushed on a short track curving away into the store-shed of the Berghaus. The trolley's rails are perhaps 500mm apart, adding a third gauge as well as a third mode of traction to the railways of the Schneeberg! BLN 808.0377][AT] Wien Südbahnhof avoiding line: (BLN 804.0286; OEIS 9618; Ball 77A2) Regular passenger service on the curve between the Südbahn and the Ostbahn avoiding Wien Südbahnhof began 2 June 1996, ÖBB's aim being to provide connections at Wien-Meidling between stations like Graz and Budapest. The eastern junction is Wien Süd Stw 2. An ÖBB source says that a Verbindungskurve platform at Südbahnhof is still planned, but it is unlikely to appear soon. Building it will be expensive, partly due to the presence beneath the station of a virtually indestructible World War II bunker made of thick concrete. BLN 808.0378][AT] Wien S-Bahn: Hütteldorf - Heiligenstadt - Handelskai: (BLN 788.0415; Ball 77A2-77A3) Site of the short-lived Floridsdorfer Brücke station, replaced on 4 May 1996 by the new Handelskai interchange further south, could just be identified in July 1997 by peeling posters ("only 26 minutes to Hütteldorf") on the columns of the bridge carrying the main road across the railway and the Donau Kanal to Floridsdorf. BLN 808.0379][AT] Wien U-Bahn: At Hütteldorf, the western terminus of east-west Linie U4, the driver saves turnround time, and avoids having to walk the length of the train, by sending the set off to reverse unmanned 'on automatic pilot' - carrying any inconspicuous passenger who particularly wants to visit the reversing siding. BLN 808.0380][AT] Innsbruck - Bergisel - Igls light rail: (BLN 778.0192; 783.0313, 796.091; Ball 79B1 not shown) On 25 June 1997 light rail route #6 was not running through from Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof over the metre-gauge town tracks, but from the terminus of town tram route #1 at Bergisel it was operating hourly on the threatened section out to Igls. This may have been a recent change as some tram stops in the town, though not at Hbf itself, still showed #6 running to Igls. A bus departing from Hbf via Bergisel to Igls appeared to take most of the traffic. The metre-gauge Innsbruck - Kreith - Fulpmes Stubaitalbahn was operating only as far as Kreith owing to bridge repairs on the route beyond, and passengers for Fulpmes had to use a replacement bus. No indication of this was given when boarding in Innsbruck. BLN 808.0381][AT] Graz trams: (Ball 83B3 not shown) In July 1997 the long outer section of tram route #1 to Maria Trost was being operated by buses for an indefinite period. BLN 808.0382][AT] Feldbach - Bad Gleichenberg: (Ball 84A2) From the junction with the unelectrified ÖBB at Feldbach, the Steiermärkische Landesbahnen's 22km standard-gauge line through attractive rolling wooded country in south-eastern Austria is overhead-wired at the unusual voltage of 1800V dc, and the sparse service of five trains a day can be operated by a single elderly electric car. On 19 July 1997, 1930-built #ET1 was on duty, carrying only a handful of passengers on the last train of the day, out from Feldbach at 14:58 and back at 15:50, though this may be a school working during term-time. Threatened with closure at least once, in the 1980s, the line seems to survive, and showed signs of modest recent investment in new poles and wiring. BLN 808.0383][PT] Lisboa trams: (BLN 803.0259; Ball 25B1 not shown) Tram-route #17 did not close on 14 December 1996 nor did Arco do Cego depot, still in use in March 1997, when route #25 was also still running, having been extended over the Corpo Santo - Rua de Alfândega tracks in autumn 1996. Light Rail & Modern Tramway for August 1997, quoting Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, says the 1997 Lisboa tram network still has six numbered routes: #15 Praça da Figueira - Algés - Cruz Quebrada (other reports say the outermost Algés - Cruz Quebrada section is closed) #12 Martim Moniz - São Tomé #17 Martim Moniz - Alto de São João #18 Ajuda - Rua de Alfândega #25 Prazeres - Estrela - Rua de Alfândega #28 Prazeres - Graça Praça da Figueira - Martim Moniz (tourist tram only) BLN 808.0384][ES] Coruña trams: (Ball 1B2 not shown) On 10 May 1997 a 4.8km metre-gauge tourist heritage tramway was inaugurated in the Galician city of La Coruña/A Coruña. The line runs from the Torre de Hercules, a Roman lighthouse, along the new Orillamar promenade to the Castillo de San Andres. Regular services are provided by two vehicles built in Zaragoza by Carde y Escoriaza in 1913 and 1920 for the local urban and interurban network, which closed in July 1962. A third vehicle built for the Zaragoza system is kept in reserve. The line may be expanded as part of the city's transport system. (ASVAFER) BLN 808.0385][ES] Hendaia/Hendaye - Irun - Donostia/San Sebastián - Zumaia - Deba - Bilbao/Bilbo Atxuri: (BLN 787.0390; Ball 6A2-5B1) On EuskoTren's metre-gauge electric main line, construction work began 28 September 1996 on the 1.8km Itxaspe deviation avoiding the unstable coastal section at Arronamendi tunnel between Zumaia and Deba. By 1 May 1997 the approaches to the 1.2km new tunnel were complete, and a third of the bore had been driven, with the two excavation fronts due to meet during the summer. In spite of the Zumaia - Deba temporary closure and bus link, EuskoTren's passenger traffic in the province of Gipuzkoa rose by over 50% in a year. Once the deviation opens, perhaps by the end of 1997, EuskoTren plan through Hendaia - Donostia - Bilbao trains along the Basque coast, connecting out of SNCF Paris - Hendaye TGV services. (Maquetren) BLN 808.0386][ES] Bilbao metro: (Plentzia - Lutxana -) Casco Viejo - Santutxu - Basarrate - Bolueta: (BLN 791.0473; Ball 5A3-5B3) On 5 July 1997 the metre-gauge Metro Bilbao inaugurated a 2km extension from its temporary terminus, the underground city-centre station of Casco Viejo, south to Bolueta, interchange station with EuskoTren's metre-gauge Bilbao Atxuri - Donostia line (BLN 808.0385). Between Casco Viejo and Santutxu the metro line climbs at 1-in-21, from 2m below to 25m above sea-level. Nevertheless, Santutxu station is the deepest on the system, 40m below the surface, with three flights of escalators. (ASVAFER) BLN 808.0387][ES] Barcelona trams: (Ball 16B1 not shown) On 31 May 1997 a short 0.64km experimental tramway was inaugurated on the Diagonal de la Ciudad, an avenue in Barcelona, and Alsthom tram #2047 from Grenoble is operating. In September a Siemens Combino tram is due to appear, and Adtranz and CAF vehicles may visit Barcelona also. The metropolitan authorities hope that the line will be the first stage in a 15km system reaching Cornella and later Sant Feliu de Llobregat. However the regional government, the Generalitat de Catalunya, favour instead development of their metre-gauge FGC system. (ASVAFER) BLN 808.0388][ES] Mallorca: (BLN 761.0390; Ball 38A1-38A2) Under construction in July 1997, on the west side of the electrified 28km 914mm-gauge Ferrocarril de Sóller between Son Sardina and Apeadero Santa Maria, was a new platform with a large parking area, perhaps for the many tour-bus parties that currently transfer to and from the Palma - Sóller trains at Son Sardina. Scheduled trains remain at five a day each way, all stopping at Son Sardina and Bunyola, and on request also at Apeadero Santa Maria and Apeadero Caubet (apeadero = halt). A higher fare is charged on the 10:40 Palma - Sóller train which makes an additional photographic stop at the Mirador del Major d'en Banya platform high in the mountains. On the island's other railway, once 914mm-gauge like the Sóller line but metre-gauge since 1981, the new two-car diesel units still being delivered to Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca in 1997 have now taken over nearly all services, and all platforms have been raised to provide level access into the trains. The Palma - Inca line is unelectrified double track throughout, although at Inca only the western platform is actually used, incoming trains being routed over a facing crossover just south of the station. Twenty trains run each way daily, all serving seven intermediate points, none of which has any nameboards, passengers presumably being expected to recognise their own stop! The names shown in the timetable (now with local Mallorquin spelling), and the distances taken from the km posts, are Verge de Lluc 3.6km; Pont d'Inca 4.0km; Marratxf 8.4km; Santa Maria 14.4km; Consell-Alaro 18.4km; Binissalem 21.8km; Lloseta 25.3km; and Inca 28.6km. Overgrown or partly-buried tracks of the long-closed Inca - Manacor - Arta section, and of the Inca - La Puebla/Sa Pobla branch, survive at former level-crossings across the island. BLN 808.0389][IT] Bolzano/Bozen: cable-car and tramway: (Ball 43A2 not shown) The Alto Adige region of Italy is largely German-speaking, and the transport operator Renon Funivia e Tramvia is also known as Rittner Seilbahn und Trambahn. It is now run by the bus company Servici Autobus delle Dolomiti (SAD). The operation includes a cable-car from a lower station about 500m from Bolzano FS, taking 12 minutes to its upper station at Soprabolzano, close to an intermediate station on the company's tramway. The metre-gauge tramway runs L'Assunta/Maria Himmelfahrt - Soprabolzano/Oberbozen - Collalbo/ Klobenstein. The Italian and German place-names are both given in the timetable which, for the period 23 June - 10 September 1997, shows Soprabolzano - Collalbo with fourteen return workings daily, but Soprabolzano - L'Assunta with just six out and four back, on workdays only. This is curious since the entire timetable operates with only one car in service. On 26 June 1997 one of the empty-stock workings from L'Assunta conveyed three passengers who had boarded at Soprabolzano thinking they would be going to Collalbo! When the tramway opened in 1907 access from Bozen was by an adhesion-and-rack line from Waltherplatz to Maria Himmelfahrt, with small four-wheeled electric locomotives propelling a single trailer, taking nearly 40 minutes for the 4.1km ascent on a ruling gradient of 25%. In 1966 this line was replaced by the cable-car, so the token tram service at L'Assunta is something of a relic of the original connection from the town below. L'Assunta has only a few houses and a church, and all traces of the rack terminus have gone, though remains of the incline may be seen from the cable-car. Soprabolzano station, with a 90th-anniversary exhibition of photographs, also houses the local tourist office which sells postcards of the line and has bus timetables for the area, often difficult to obtain in Italy. BLN 808.0390][IT] Bolzano/Bozen - Merano/Meran (- Malles Venosta/Malls): (Ball 43A2-42B3) Some of the hourly trains on this electrified FS single-track branch start at Bolzano from bay platform 1A, also described bilingually as Binario Tronco/Stumpf Gleis. The line heads west into the mountains but follows a river valley without spectacular scenery for 32km to its present terminus at Merano. The summer timetable does not seem to require more than one of Merano's five through platforms, but in the winter-sports season the branch also sees through trains from Germany. Unelectrified track, out of use for some years but still guarded by three red colour-light signals, continues further west for another 60km to Malles Venosta. Reopening by a private company has been suggested. BLN 808.0391][IT] Trento - Mezzocorona - Malè: (Ball 42B1-42B2) By 1994 the Ferrovia Ellettrica Trento-Malè company had upgraded parts of their metre-gauge electrified line and merged with a local bus operator to become Trentino Trasporti. FETM trains now run from a new station adjacent to platform 1 of Trento FS station, and the bus station, originally some distance away, has also been re-sited nearby, allowing convenient interchange, rare in Italy. The single line to the new FETM station diverges at the approach to the old terminus and passes behind the FETM depot, running parallel to the FS Verona - Trento - Bolzano main line. The former FETM station, Trento Piazza Centa, appears intact and in use for stabling stock. Since May 1997, FS Class 625 2-6-0 steam locomotive #25.011, built in 1910, has been plinthed at Trento FS station. FETM and FS routes run parallel north of Trento as far as Mezzocorona. Near Gardolo a section of mixed-gauge track allows access from the FS goods-yard to some industrial sidings, where on 26 June 1997 a standard-gauge diesel shunter, painted yellow and lettered Whirlpool Electrodomestic, was seen on a train of Cargowaggon vans, perhaps loaded with washing-machines bound via Eurotunnel for Britain. South of Mezzocorona the FETM line crosses from east to west of the FS, and Mezzocorona Ferrovia station is across the road from the main-line one. The company have impressive long-term plans for the years to 2010, to extend beyond Malè to winter-sports sites at Tonale and Madonna di Campiglio, and to construct new lines from Lavis to Canazei and from Rovereto, south of Trento, to Riva del Garda. BLN 808.0392][PL] Stare Bojanowo Waskotorowe - Smigiel - Sniaty - Wielichowo: (BLN 789.0437; Ball 36B3; PKP 353) This 750mm-gauge line must surely close soon. Standard-gauge wagons, mostly of coal, are carried on narrow-gauge transporters, loaded at exchange sidings to the east of the main line on the Stare Bojanowo Wask. - Zgliniec section, otherwise perhaps disused. Narrow-gauge tracks appear from a dive-under beneath the standard-gauge to enter the passenger platform. Freight appears to use the whole 23km branch, but in July 1997 passenger trains were running only to Sniaty, a hamlet of about ten houses 6km short of the terminus. Track varies from bad to appalling, but the line is very scenic, especially a magical ten-minute forest section. A BLN reporter and his wife were the only passengers for most of a return journey, during which it was so hot the guard fell asleep! BLN 808.0393][PL] Sroda - Zaniemysl: (BLN 767.0513; Ball 37A3; PKP 319) Steam haulage remains, but condition of the track on the 14km 750mm-gauge line is poor, and may have contributed to a recent derailment. On a curve about 1km west of the bridge over the Poznan - Katowice main line, two standard-gauge wagons on narrow-gauge transporters toppled over and on 16 July 1997 still lay upside-down beside the railway. BLN 808.0394][PL] Warszawa - Poznan: (Ball 38B3-37A3; PKP 300) Long sections of single-line working are temporarily delaying traffic, due to major upgrading with new stations, new passing-loops and lengthy stretches of track being completely relaid. West of Tarnów on the (Kraków -) Podleze - Tarnów (- Rzeszów - Prszemysl) line (43A3-43B3; PKP 120) substantial work at a bridge over the river Dunajec is also causing major delays as only one track is operational. At 19:30 on 9 July 1997 four trains stood waiting in the various loops east of the bridge. BLN 808.0395][SK][UA] Haniska pri Košiciach - Trebišov - Vojany - Vel'ké Kapušany - Matovce ZSR - Uzhgorod/Uzhhorod UZ: (BLN 737.0247, 803.0264, 805.0323; Ball 43B2-44A2) Further to BLN 803, ZSR's few broad-gauge Class 810.8 railbuses, outbased at Matovce, do work staff trains over the cross-border section Vel'ké Kapušany - Matovce - Uzhgorod/Uzhhorod into Ukraine. Ukrainian Class VL11M 3000V dc electric locomotives are reported as sharing with Slovakian Class 125.8 the working of trains, presumably of coal, from Ukraine to the Slovakian power-station at Vojany, about 10km in from the border. BLN 808.0396][RO] Covasna - Comandau: (BLN 804.0295) The 760mm-gauge CFF forestry line may be repaired following the May 1997 forest-fire damage to the top of the incline and to one of the inclined-plane vehicles. BLN 808.0397][JP] (Tokyo -) Takasaki - Yokokawa - Karuizawa - Nagano: The (Tokyo -) Takasaki - Nagano shinkansen standard-gauge bullet-train line is to open on 1 October 1997, in good time for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. As BLN 794.055 warned, the 1067mm-gauge Shin-Etsu line that parallels it will then close as a through route. The eastern Takasaki - Yokokawa section is to remain a JR East line, and Karuizawa - Nagano is to be run by a new third-sector company sharing maintenance facilities with Nagaden (Nagano Electric Railways). Alas, complete closure is planned for the unique Yokokawa - Karuizawa middle section, with its dramatic 11km 1 in 15 adhesion incline, so steep that even electric multiple-units have to be banked uphill and down (BLN 776.0162). BLN 808.0398][MX] Ciudad de México - Cuernavaca: This Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México line south of the capital saw its last train on 16 June 1997, one hundred years after its opening. The line's fate is curious, for some 20km are to be used as a corridor for fifty new trolleybuses serving the Mexico City Federal District from April 1998. (Spanish Trains On Line, http://www.cuerpo8.es/STOL/hoy/) BLN 809.0399][IE] Bellacorick, County Mayo: (BLN 781.0253) Due to insufficient patronage, the Bellacorick Bog Train ceased operations at the end of summer 1996, and has not run in summer 1997. (LCGB Bulletin, 7/97) BLN 809.0400][FR] French leave: (BLN 783.0298, 784.0328) In summer 1997 SNCF continue to provide special weekend services for military personnel on leave. Trains de permissionnaires using a noteworthy route, and advertised to the public in a fiche horaire leaflet, are as listed below, though at French public holidays they may run a day earlier or later. Trains using the Mulhouse - Müllheim route now run only when required, and are rare (BLN 756.0277). FO 38010/1 14:11 Nancy - 19:14 Caudry - Cambrai avoiding line - Lourches - Somain - Lille-Flandres FO 38600/1 14:26 Karlsruhe - Kehl - 21:07 Avesnes - Aulnoye avoiding line - Calais-Ville FO 38634/5 15:17 Wittlich - 15:49 Trier Hbf - Perl - Apach - Paris-Est FO 38636/7 15:44 Wittlich - 16:13 Trier Hbf - Perl - Apach - 17:20 Thionville - Hayange - 20:19 Avesnes - Aulnoye avoiding line - Lille-Flandres SuO 38020/1 20:15 Lille-Flandres - 20:54 Somain - Lourches - Cambrai avoiding line - Nancy SuO 38022/3 20:05 Calais-Ville - 22:32 Valenciennes - Aulnoye avoiding line - Strasbourg SuO 38622/3 22:34 Lille-Flandres - 23:08 Valenciennes - Aulnoye avoiding line - 01:58 Longuyon - Thionville - Hayange - 03:01 Apach - Perl - Wittlich (no longer uses Charleville-Mézières avoiding line) SuO 38628/9 23:37 Paris-Est - 04:02 Apach - Perl - Wittlich MO 38626/7 23:37 Paris-Est - 04:02 Apach - Perl - Wittlich (SNCF fiches horaires P50, P60, P61, summer 1997) BLN 809.0401][FR] Pompey - Liverdun: (Ball 28B2) The short Raccordement de Frouard enables trains between Metz and Toul to avoid reversal at Nancy. Its regular passenger use is by most of the car-carrying trains between the low countries and the south of France that run via the Luxembourg avoiding line. It is also used as a diversionary route when engineering work blocks the direct Onville - Lérouville line, as in 1997 for trains 357/6 10:42 Paris-Est - Luxembourg (Mon-Fri 7 July - 14 August) and EC52 Frankfurt-am-Main - 11:15 Metz - Paris-Est (Mon-Fri 30 June - 29 August and 28 September - 12 December) The SNCF timetable wrongly shows these trains as running via Nancy-Ville, but their timings would not allow this, and they do in fact use the Frouard avoiding line. BLN 809.0402][FR] Bourg-en-Bresse - La Cluse - Oyonnax - St.Claude - Morez - Andelot: (BLN 801.0212; Ball 49A1-49B3) On 23 July 1997 the 12:09 Lyon-Part-Dieu - St.Claude X2800 railcar set had over 60 passengers as far as Bourg, where it detached a trailer, and more than 40 leaving Bourg, dwindling to about ten by St.Claude. At La Cluse the expensive 1996 curve and its station with bus-interchange may well have been justified by savings in constructing the new road (BLN 771.051). Passenger usage was quite good on the La Cluse - Oyonnax section, which has numerous small industries, though none rail-served. At St.Claude the railcar set off north with a tourist group swelling the numbers again to 40-plus. A leaflet was distributed and a commentary given, describing the impressively engineered line and the area of natural beauty in the Haut-Jura through which it runs. Not until 1912 was the 25km link completed from St.Claude through the Gorges de la Bienne - and 18 tunnels - to Morez, where trains reverse. (Here the metre-gauge electric CF Nyon-St.Cergue-Morez (BLN 762.0412) arrived in 1921 to give an international connection to Switzerland, but the Morez - La Cure French section to the frontier closed in 1958.) Continuing on the SNCF line north to Andelot, the Morez - Morbier section is a spectacular hairpin curve including the semi-circular 1.044km Tunnel des Frasses. BLN 809.0403][FR] Minor railways in France: The useful CFTV website (http://www.azur.fr/cftv/asst.htm) now lists French minor railways by département, giving length, gauge, type of traction and contact point for more details. BLN 809.0404][BE] Knokke - Oostende - De Panne: light rail: (BLN 788.0404; Ball 7A3) Tracklaying commenced in May 1997 on the long-delayed 3km extension of the metre-gauge light-rail line heading inland from De Panne town to a cross-platform interchange at De Panne NMBS station, formerly Adinkerke. BLN 809.0405][DE] Magdeburg trams: (BLN 792.0497, 794.040; Ball 28A2 not shown) Tram routes #3 and #12 have been restored to the forecourt of Magdeburg Hbf, from 2 June 1997 or perhaps before. BLN 809.0406][DE] Belzig - Niemegk - Treuenbrietzen: (BLN 736.0208, 797.0108; Ball 29A2) On 26 July 1997 prospective passengers and photographers turned up at Treuenbrietzen for special trains advertised in the local press as running on 26 and 27 July, only to find the civil engineers' traditional red metal banner and Schwellenkreuz (= crossed sleepers) blocking the branch. A notice advised that the special trains would run Belzig - Niemegk only. BLN 809.0407][DE] Weida - Wünschendorf (Elster): (BLN 772.070; Ball 42B1) From the north end of Weida station, two connections once gave access to this short link, now closed, but one is cut and the other blocked by a buffer-stop. Nearby, the first few metres of the short Zeulenroda untere Bf - Zeulenroda obere Bf branch remain polished, suggesting that freight has continued since passenger closure. BLN 809.0408][DE] Beucha - Brandis - Trebsen (Mulde): (BLN 797.0108; Ball 43A2) In the booking-hall at Trebsen station on 28 July 1997 were photocopies of various newspaper cuttings announcing closure, though it was not clear from these whether the 3km Beucha - Brandis section might perhaps remain open. Brandis certainly appears the most promising source of passenger traffic. The branch still hosts significant freight. Brandis has a warehouse connection apparently in use; Amelinhain a timber works; Seelingstädt a coal-yard, and beyond a large granary with many wagons in the sidings, while Trebsen itself has inbound van traffic. BLN 809.0409][DE] Münchberg - Helmbrechts: (Ball 53A2) This 9km passenger branch is now single throughout, essentially a long siding from the junction at Münchberg, and has been cut back to end at new buffers near the platforms. The goods-yard is now disconnected. BLN 809.0410][DE][FR] Saarbrücken - Hostenbach - Überherrn DB (- Hargarten-Falck SNCF): (Ball DE-56A3-55B3) Extensive car traffic, apparently associated with the Ford plant at Saarlouis, is still handled at Überherrn freight yard, but the line towards France is officially closed. Its tracks are heavily rusted and appear unfit for use, and electrification equipment has been removed. At one time the overhead in Überherrn yard could be switched between 15kV 16²/3Hz and 25kV 50Hz to suit either DB or SNCF traction, and the wires could be fed at 25kV as far east as Hostenbach, so SNCF locomotives could run some distance into Germany. BLN 809.0411][DE] (Mühlacker -) Maulbronn West - Maulbronn: (Ball 57B2) Special trains are working from Mühlacker station down the short freight-only Maulbronn branch on Sundays till 28 September 1997 (Today's Railways, #20). Mühlacker, on the Karlsruhe - Pforzheim - Stuttgart line, lies near the former border between the separate 19th-century German states of Baden and Württemberg, now the Land of Baden-Württemberg. The station buildings now used by DB, and the through platforms, were once the Württemberg station. Bay platforms at the west end, only one of which is regularly used by passenger trains, comprise the former Baden station. The imposing Baden station building still stands, apparently entirely in residential use. BLN 809.0412][DE] Appenweier - Kehl DB (- Strasbourg SNCF): (Ball 57A1-56B3) A triangle just south of Appenweier station gives access from the north-south Karlsruhe - Offenburg (- Basel) main line on to the line west to Kehl and across the river Rhein to Strasbourg in France. Trains from the Karlsruhe direction running non-stop to Kehl and beyond, plus an Appenweier - Kehl stopping service, use the north-to-west curve. Trains from the Offenburg direction running non-stop to Kehl and beyond use the south-to-west curve. As part of the work to provide additional high-speed tracks on the main line, DB are realigning the south-to-west curve and appeared on 27 July 1997 to be building a new platform at Appenweier on the curve itself, presumably to be used by a recast stopping service running Offenburg - Appenweier - Kehl without reversal. BLN 809.0413][DE] Freiburg-im-Breisgau: (Ball 67B2) The original Karlsruhe - Basel main line still runs close to the centre of Freiburg, but on 4 September 1905 a separate Gundelfingen - Freiburg Guterbahnhof - Ebringen freight line opened to the west, serving a new goods station. Effectively a Freiburg avoiding line, it passed below the Freiburg - Breisach branch. North-to-west and south-to-west curves were both laid at this point, joining the Breisach line at Abzw Heidenhof, which was provided with a small signal-box. The north-facing curve remains in use for freight from the Breisach line, but the south curve is partially lifted and accessible only via a headshunt at Abzw Heidenhof. This remnant is reportedly retained for the benefit of DB staff, as it is a convenient means of reaching a nearby hospital where they are permitted to use the canteen! BLN 809.0414][AT] Wien: Pflegeheim Lainz: (BLN 770.035) The extensive railway system that carries meals round the dispersed wards of this huge Viennese nursing-home was continuing to operate in July 1997. Plinthed at the gateway is a Feldbahn-type diesel locomotive, retired after 69 years service (1925-1994), having covered an estimated 600,000km in traffic. The caption on the plinth gives the gauge of the railway as 500mm rather than 600mm. Tram #62 passes the gate, one stop before its western terminus at Lainz. BLN 809.0415][AT] Zeltweg - Fohnsdorf - Pöls: (Ball 83A3-82B3) Though ÖBB withdrew the remaining Zeltweg - Fohnsdorf branch passenger service 2 June 1991, freight trains still run beyond Fohnsdorf as far west as a paper-mill at Pöls. On 19 October 1997 a steam-hauled excursion is to operate (06:55 Wien Süd - Zeltweg 10:05 - Pöls Papierfabrik 10:30 and back 20:20). (Erlebnis Bahn und Schiff 1997) BLN 809.0416][AT] Bierbaum - Neudau: (Ball 84A3) This former freight branch was seen to be lifted in July 1997. BLN 809.0417][SE][NO] (Stockholm - Östersund -) Storlien SJ - Kopperå NSB - Hell - Trondheim: (Ball 5B2-5A2) Intending cross-border passengers on SJ's 10:23 Stockholm - Storlien train, hauled by an Rc electric locomotive, are warned that it often arrives up to an hour late for a nine-minute onward connection, and the Norwegian train, an NSB Class 92 diesel-electric railcar, does not wait. When the connection is missed, a bus is provided to Trondheim. Poor track and consequent engineering works have imposed walking-pace speed-restrictions on lengths of the Storlien - Hell line, and in early July 1997 trains were running Storlien - Trondheim direct, instead of reversing at Hell for the customary 6km side-trip to serve Stjørdal on the Hell - Bodø line. Passengers for Stjørdal were told to go to Hell - and take a taxi, arranged by NSB. BLN 809.0418][PT] Porto - Ermesinde - Valongo - Livração - Régua: (Ball 7A1-8A1) The line just north of Porto Campanha is being upgraded but having a ring-road built on top of it. As noted in BLN 798.0141, the double-track 7.6km section from the junction at Ermesinde out on the Linha do Douro to Valongo on the eastern edge of the city still seems to have no electric trains, though it was electrified in 1996. Porto São Bento - Régua services are either diesel-hauled or railcars. On 27 July 1997 doubling was under way from Valongo to Cête. Single railcars operate the metre-gauge Livração - Amarante and Régua - Vila Real branches. BLN 809.0419][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo: Lutxana - Sondika: (BLN 791.0474; Ball 5A3-5B3) Due to poor patronage, the EuskoTren electric-unit Lutxana - Sondika shuttle has been replaced by a bus, though the metre-gauge line remains open for empty-stock movements to Lutxana workshops. Bilbao's Sondika airport remains served from the Ola direction (BLN 791.0475). (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, August 1997) BLN 809.0420][IT] Palazzolo-sull'Oglio - Paratico-Sarnico: (BLN 749.0100, 784.0333; Ball 42A1) Closed to regular passenger trains in 1966, this branch saw a special Sunday and public holiday service in summer 1996, and this runs again 1 June - 21 September 1997. On Sundays 14 September - 19 October 1997 special trains are to run from Siena and Asciano round the Asciano - Monte-Antico loop line, closed in September 1994 (BLN 752.0161; Ball 49B2). (Today's Railways, #20) BLN 809.0421][IS] Iceland: Iceland's only railway was laid to carry the materials for building Reykjavik's harbour, mainly dolerite, a form of volcanic basalt, quarried from nearby cliffs. It employed two 0-4-0T steam locomotives, Minor and Pioner, both built in 1892 by Jung in Germany, and both now static exhibits in Reykjavik. The 900mm-gauge line, some 12km in length, worked from 1913 to 1928, but has been totally removed. Various other railway proposals, including a line north to Akureyri, came to nothing. BLN 809.0422][RO] 1997 branch closures in Romania: Following a change in government, SNCFR withdrew many services, leading to passenger closure of a number of lines. Most were from 6 March 1997, not 15 March as reported elsewhere, and certain vestigial services which others have reported as remaining do not in fact run. The chartered special trains mentioned below were - as always - carrying BLN reporters. Viseu de Jos - Viseu de Sus - Borsa (Ball 44B1-50A2; SNCFR 410) Understood to have closed from 6 March 1997, but perhaps temporarily, for track renewal was seen in progress. The line does not appear in the June 1997 SNCFR timetable. Timber is transhipped from the CFF Viseu de Sus forestry system. Oradea - Cheresig (Ball 48B3; SNCFR 312) Closed 6 March 1997. Ulmeni Salaj - Cehu Silvaniei (Ball 49A3; SNCFR 414) Closed 1 May 1997. Turda - Abrud (Ball 49B2-49A2; SNCFR 309; 760mm-gauge) Trains were running normally when visited by a BLN reporter on 2 May 1997, and appear in the June 1997 SNCFR timetable, but with a note that they run on a 'facultative' basis. It is not clear what this means in practice. Târgu Mures - Band - Lechinta and Band - Mihesu de Câmpie (Ball 49B2-49B3; SNCFR 408; 760mm-gauge) Both lines are out of use but may be used for sugar-beet traffic again in autumn 1997. Târgu Mures - Baile Sovata (Ball 49B2-50A1; SNCFR 407; 760mm-gauge) Closed to passengers 6 March 1997, but retained for freight. A charter special ran on 26 April 1997. Sibiu - Agnita (BLN 805.0325; Ball 49B2-50A1; SNCFR 204) Still operating, and may be SNCFR's last remaining regularly scheduled narrow-gauge passenger service. Sibiu Gr.Selimbar - Cisnadie (BLN 805.0325; Ball 49B2; SNCFR 200) Closed 6 March 1997, but appears to retain vestigial freight. A charter special ran on 3 May 1997. Comânesti - Moinesti (Ball 50A1; SNCFR 508) Closed 6 March 1997. A charter special ran on 28 April 1997. Marasesti - Panciu (Ball 50B1-50A1; SNCFR 507) Reported as closed 6 March 1997, but appears with mixed-train service in the June 1997 SNCFR timetable. Dorobantu - Capu Midia (SNCFR 806) Possibly a May closure; has disappeared from the June 1997 SNCFR timetable. BLN 809.0423][RO][UA] (Teresva UZ -) Câmpulung la Tisa SNCFR - Sighetu Marmatiei - Valea Viseului SNCFR (- Rakhov/Rakhiv UZ): (Ball 44B1) The line originated in the Austro-Hungarian Empire when both banks of the river Tisa were in the same country. (Chop -) Teresva - Sighetu opened in 1872, Sighetu - Rakhiv in 1894. Before 1991 Câmpulung la Tisa - Sighetu Marmatiei was 1520mm Soviet gauge only, requiring the Romanians to maintain broad-gauge passenger stock for their own local trains, but the whole section of Romanian railway between the two Ukrainian frontier-crossings now has both 1435mm and 1520mm gauge, laid as two single tracks with four interlaced rails on the same sleepers. (Dual-gauge track with three rails is not feasible where the gauges are only 85mm different.) The mixed gauge does not extend west across the river Tisa to Teresva in Ukraine, as shown in the Quail Railway Atlas of Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, and is entirely confined to Romanian territory. Both border-crossings are broad-gauge only, with services operated by UZ railcars. The trains crossing the frontiers at each end, introduced for Romanian and Ukrainian travellers from 6 December 1996, were initially twice each way daily, but since 18 April 1997 the Rakhiv - Valea crossing has had only one WFO round-trip. The Teresva - Câmpulung service is still two daily round-trips, and from 6 March was extended to Sighetu, replacing SNCFR local trains. The border-crossings are to be opened to other international travellers when a treaty has been ratified by the respective parliaments. As at any Ukrainian land frontier, the process of entering or leaving the country is painfully slow. BLN 809.0424][SI][AT] Maribor - Dravograd - Prevalje - Holmec SZ - Bleiburg/Pliberk ÖBB: (BLN 797.0120; Ball SI-46A2-45B2) The 1997-98 Slovenian timetable shows the two weekday local SZ trains still working beyond Prevalje to and from Bleiburg in Austria. The line has no intermediate station in Austria, and its sparse SZ service seems to have been omitted entirely from the 1997-98 Austrian timetable, though it appears on a diagram therein as international route R/1. Bilingual name-boards at a number of ÖBB stations in the area (eg St.Michael ab Bleiburg/Smihel nad Pliberkom) remind one that Slovene remains a recognised minority language in Austria. BLN 809.0425][CY] Cyprus: Claiming to be "the first railway in Cyprus since 1952" a miniature line of about 300mm-gauge circles Ayia Napa Marine Park, the two stations in October 1996 sporting numerous British railway relics. BLN 809.0426][CA] North Vancouver - Squamish - Lillooet - Prince George, BC: (BLN 801.0219) Despite reports of their imminent demise, BC Rail seem to have no immediate plans to retire the Budd RDCs working the ordinary passenger trains (North Vancouver - Lillooet - Prince George) As well as these and the Royal Hudson steam-hauled tourist trains (N.Vancouver - Squamish), BC Rail now run Whistler Explorer excursions (Whistler - Lillooet - Kelly Lake; summer, Mon-Fri) and an evening dining train (N.Vancouver - Porteau Cove; 40km, summer Wed-Sun). BLN 809.0427][CA] (Prince George -) Wakely - Quintette: (BLN 776.0165) Electrification is itself unusual for a North American railway. Built in 1983 and electrified at the very high voltage of 50kV 60Hz, BC Rail's spectacular 136km branch known as the Tumbler Sub-division follows the desolate Table valley before reaching its 1163m summit under the Rocky Mountains in the 9km Table tunnel and crossing the Sukinka river to thread the 6km Wolverine tunnel. The only community in this remote area is the mining settlement at Tumbler Ridge, and cartographic coverage of the line is poor, even on the British Columbia Survey 1:250,000 map. Because of coal-train movements, most BC Rail charter trains on the branch turn at Tumbler wye (98km), short of the two coal 'loadouts', Teck (112km) and Quintette (136km), both some way from the two huge open-cast strip-mines that they serve. Each loadout has a 6km loop track round which trains crawl at 1km/h loading up to 138t of coal into each of their 102 cars. A pair of General Motors electric locomotives hauls each train to Wakely, banked up the 1.2% grade to Sukinka by a further pair. Diesels then take over to convey the coal via Prince George and the CN to the Pacific port of Prince Rupert for export. In June 1997 a Trains Unlimited railtour unusually reached the 134km point on the Quintette loop - but the single-ended Budd RDC-3 then had to back up for 35km to the Tumbler wye. BLN 809.0428][US] Princeton Junction - Princeton, NJ: (SPV atlas NJ-2) Princeton Jn station on the main New York, NY - Trenton, NJ (- Philadelphia, PA - Washington, DC) line, is surrounded by huge commuter car parks which do more than the branch train to feed New Jersey Transit's eight-car electric-unit local services over the 78km to New York city's Penn station. A number of Amtrak fast trains on the North-East Corridor also stop at Princeton Jn, giving commuters the option of main-line electric locomotive haulage to and from work - at Amtrak fares. A single-car NJT electric unit shuttles up and down the 5km ex-Pennsylvania Railroad branch, now singled, to the Ivy League university town of Princeton. Princeton station, though restored, is too big for today's needs and is partly out of use. BLN 809.0429][MA] Tanger Gare - Tanger Port: The harbour station at Tanger, Morocco's ferry-port for Algeciras in Spain, seen with the 16:30 Tanger Port - Casablanca Port ready for departure on 16 March 1995, was in summer 1997 reported as looking 'out of use for some years', in contrast to Tanger Gare, the town station. The ONCF timetable valid from 20 June 1994 till further notice showed four trains continuing from Tanger Gare to Tanger Port, but only the one starting from the Port station. Details of present operations would be welcome. BLN 810.0430][FR] Chaulnes - Péronne: (Ball 15A2) As the Eurostar speeds by on its north-south LGV Nord Europe above the Amiens - Chaulnes - Tergnier - Laon west-to-east cross-country line, the country junction of Chaulnes can be seen beneath, with one remnant of another former through route (St.Just-en-Chaussée - Montdidier - Roye - Chaulnes - Péronne - Roisel - Cambrai - Douai) heading away north-east. SNCF closed the 19km Péronne branch in July 1993, but reopened it 17 April 1997 with a contract to carry up to 70 trainloads a year of Flodor potato-crisps from a factory at Péronne to Italy. Other traffic is now also passing. (La Vie du Rail, #2605, 16 July 1997) BLN 810.0431][FR] Laon - Marle-sur-Serre - Hirson: (BLN 780.0235; Ball 15B1-16A2) The timetable comprises mainly Laon - Marle-sur-Serre autorails with connecting buses beyond, and for some years SNCF have threatened Marle - Hirson with complete bus substitution. The whole route is now single, though the former up line remains as a siding for some distance north of Laon to serve an industrial estate. Somewhat surprisingly, all six stations between Laon and Marle survive, but thereafter the few passenger trains on the line call only at Vervins and Origny-en-Thiérache. As regards freight, the unstaffed and somewhat eerie station of Dercy-Mortiers has a rail-served silo, Marle is busy, having a large industrial plant, perhaps sugar-related, with its own shunting locomotives, and Vervins has sporadic goods traffic. A number of the nearby freight branches shown in Ball have closed: Compiègne - Vic-sur-Aisne - Soissons: (15A1-15B1) Vic-sur-Aisne - Soissons section lifted, not recently Soissons - Ciry-Sermoise - Braine - Bazoches: (15B1) In place and useable at each end, but Ciry-Sermoise - Braine lifted Anizy-Pinon - Coucy-le-Château: (15B1) In place but out of use in May 1995, recently lifted in 1997 Hirson - La Capelle-en-Thiérache (- Le Nouvion - Busigny): (16A2-15B3) Hirson - La Capelle lifted, not recently Hirson - St.Michel: (16A2) Out of use (neutralisée) and partially lifted BLN 810.0432][FR] (Sedan -) Pont-Maugis - Stenay - Charny-sur-Meuse - Verdun: (Ball 17A2-28A3) The northern Pont-Maugis - Stenay section had a daily freight working in 1995. Southwards to Verdun the line had apparently been out of use for some years before February 1997 when sand traffic began from a quarry at Charny-sur-Meuse (à proximité de l'ancienne ligne Sedan - Verdun), working in short 14-wagon trains via the steep rampe de Tavannes just east of Verdun to the cement-works at Bettembourg in Luxembourg. (La Vie du Rail, #2597) BLN 810.0433][FR] (Limoges -) Busseau-sur-Creuse - Felletin: (Ball 46A1-54A3) The branch train-crew who dined at the Hôtel au Barbichet in May 1997 (BLN 804.0275) probably spent the night at the station, as in June 1994 (BLN 741.0324). At the country end of a number of SNCF branches where an evening arrival is balanced by a morning departure, rooms in the station building are available for train-crew lodgings, and duvets can sometimes be seen airing the following morning when a local cleaner comes in to tidy up. Lodging is such a feature of train-working in France that it must be to the crews' financial advantage - and therefore to SNCF's disadvantage - or the trade-unions would have put a stop to it years ago. BLN 810.0434][DE] Lübeck - Neustadt (Holstein) - Puttgarden: (Ball 11A1-11B2) Relatively few Lübeck - Puttgarden trains make the side-trip from signal-box Nn down the very short branch to call at Neustadt station. In the station area, all freight connections have been severed, including the former extension to the dock. As noted in BLN 754.0214, the east-to-north curve shown in Ball has been lifted since at least 1995. BLN 810.0435][DE][PL] Usedom: (BLN 807.0355; Ball 13B1-14A1) The original connection to the island of Usedom was a branch, opened 15 May 1876, diverging from the Berlin - Pasewalk - Stralsund main line at Ducherow, crossing the Peene estuary at Karnin and leading to Swinemünde station on the west bank of the river Swine. The line was extended to Heringsdorf on 1 July 1894. Distances on the Ducherow - Swinemünde - Heringsdorf line were measured from Berlin Stettiner Bahnhof, closed 17 May 1952. The major engineering work was the Peene crossing, where a lifting-bridge replaced earlier swing-bridges in December 1933. On 28 April 1945 German forces blew up the approaches to the lifting-bridge, severing the branch. It never reopened, and the part of it through Swinemünde became Polish territory. Of this line only two short sections survive: Ahlbeck Grenze - Seebad Ahlbeck, reopened 1 June 1997 (opening ceremony 7 June) and Seebad Ahlbeck - Seebad Heringsdorf. The present Polish rail facilities at Swinoujscie are on the east bank of the river and have never been physically connected to the Usedom tracks on the west side. The Misdroy - Ostswine tracks that reached the east bank on 15 June 1900 are now PKP's Miedzyzdroje - Swinoujscie line. While pre-1939 Deutsche Reichsbahn timetables appear to show through services via Ostswine on the east bank to Swinemünde Hbf on the west bank, these were by train-ferry, which started 15 January 1901 and ceased after 1945. It seems that though the ferry conveyed through carriages across the 720m-wide river, rail passengers were expected to travel in a cabin on the boat. (Eisenbahnen auf Usedom, by Bernd Kuhlmann, Alba, 1995; Eisenbahnfähren der Welt, by Arnulf Hader and Gunther Meier, Koehler, 1986) BLN 810.0436][DE] Contracting-out of German local trains: Contracting-out is gathering pace, with increasing numbers of lines being run by private operators under contracts from the German provinces (Länder), who now have responsibility rather than the federal government for financing unremunerative local passenger services. Some private companies have long operated lines which were never part of the state railways, particularly in the Land of Baden-Württemberg, but some completely new operators have recently taken over DB lines. Nordfriesische Verkehrsbetriebe AG: NVAG operate the Niebüll - Dagebüll Mole branch and plan during 1997 to reactivate the out-of-use cross-border Niebüll - Tønder line into Denmark (5B2-5B1). They must be contenders for operation of other lines to be contracted-out by the Land of Schleswig-Holstein, as must AKN. Altona-Kaltenkirchen-Neumünster Eisenbahn AG: AKN have long had their own network north of Hamburg, (22A2-17B3) and in the 1990s took over operation also of the Neumünster - Heide (Holstein) line. Ostmecklenburgische Eisenbahngesellschaft: This company are not in operation yet, but are to take over services in the Schwerin, Neubrandenburg and Ueckermünde area (18B3-21A3), plus Rostock - Laage - Gustrow (12B1), in 1998. Prignitzer Eisenbahn Gesellschaft: PEG were a small undertaking formed to operate the Pritzwalk - Putlitz branch (19B2), but have expanded to take on other services in the area. Dürener Kreisbahn GmbH: DKB took over the Düren - Heimbach and Düren - Jülich lines (37B1), plus associated freight branches. After initially using old DB railbuses, DKB were among the first to operate new RegioSprinters. However DB have managed to beat off DKB (and the Elektrische Bahnen der Stadt Bonn) and retain the contract to operate Köln - Gummersbach, Köln - Jünkerath and Köln - Bad Münstereifel (38B1-38A1-47B3). Karsdorfer Eisenbahngesellschaft: This is perhaps the most enterprising new undertaking, originating in the internal transport department of a cement works. Using second-hand railcars, KEG operate various services around Naumburg (Saale) (41B2-42A2) including Naumburg - Karsdorf - Vitzenburg -Artern and Naumburg - Teuchern; and have recently contracted to take over more, including Querfurt - Vitzenburg, closed by DB. Frankfurt-Königsteiner Eisenbahn: As well as their own Frankfurt-am-Main - Königstein line, FKE now run the ex-DB Frankfurt - Gravenwiesbach branch (49B2-49A3) on behalf of Verkehrsverbund Hochtaunus. Stadtbahn Saar GmbH: This company are taking over various local services radiating from Saarbrücken, starting with the cross-border Saarbrücken - Sarreguemines line (56A3-56A2), and will operate them with tram-type light-rail vehicles to allow street-running in the city-centre, as on the Albtalbahn system around Karlsruhe. Albtal-Verkehrs GmbH: AVG, operators of the Albtalbahn (Hochstetten - Karlsruhe - Ittersbach / Bad Herrenalb; 57A2) now run virtually all local rail services around Karlsruhe, and pioneered use of light-rail vehicles on heavy-rail lines. Württembergische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft: WEG operate Böblingen - Dettenhausen (formerly freight-only) and Schorndorf - Rudersberg Nord, two branches now owned by local councils (58A1). Regental Bahnbetriebs GmbH: RBG have lines of their own in Niederbayern (Blaibach - Lam / Gotteszell; 61B2), but have taken on an increasing number of services both in their home state of Bayern and in Sachsen, principally in the Plauen and Zwickau areas - where they trade as Vogtlandbahn. Südwestdeutsche Verkehrs AG: The former Südwestdeutsche Eisenbahn Gesellschaft retain their abbreviation SWEG. As well as their own lines, SWEG now run the Freiburg-im-Breisgau - Breisach DB branch (67B2), and expect in 1998 to take over Offenburg - Kehl, Offenburg - Bad Griesbach and Offenburg - Hausach DB locals (68A3-56B1). Zweckverband OPNV im Ammertal: This organisation, promoted by Landkreis Tübingen, have taken over Tübingen - Entringen, and intend reinstating Tübingen - Entringen - Gültstein - Herrenberg through services (69A3-57B1). Hohenzollerische Landesbahn AG: Long-standing operators HzL continue to provide passenger services over their own Sigmaringen - Hechingen line, and now also work trains over the DB Sigmaringen - Tübingen and Sigmaringen - Tuttlingen lines (69A3-69A2-68B2). Mittelthurgau Bahn (Deutschland) GmbH: The Swiss MThB, through a German subsidiary, work Konstanz -Radolfzell - Singen - Engen local electric trains on DB track, with some running through from Weinfelden on MThB's own line (89A2-69A1-68B2). MThB also use RegioSprinters on recently-reinstated Radolfzell - Stockach passenger trains. Bodensee-Oberschwaben Bahn: BOB initially operated local trains over DB's Friedrichshafen - Ravensburg line, and more recently have extended services to run Friedrichshafen - Ravensburg - Aulendorf (69A1-69B2). Bayerische Oberlandbahn GmbH: This consortium of the Deutsche Eisenbahn Gesellschaft and the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn are to be taking over various services south of München (71). Some private operators have also tried at their own risk to restart ordinary services over closed lines, often on a limited basis, examples including Rennsteigbahn AG, on the Schmalkalden - Kleinschmalkalden branch (41A1; now defunct) and Klützer Ostsee-Eisenbahn GmbH on Grevesmühlen - Klütz (11B1). Most of the narrow-gauge steam lines in the former DDR have now been privatised, largely as tourist operations. Most private operators (though not the steam lines) accept DB Weekend tickets, but not usually DB regional rail-rovers, EuroDomino, InterRail, FIP and similar passes. Where the Land has let the contract for local services to a private operator, DB railrovers are unlikely to be accepted, but in some cases where DB themselves subcontracted train operation, as for the initial Karsdorfer Eisenbahn services and the Hohenzollerische Landesbahn workings over DB lines, all DB tickets have been valid. BLN 810.0437][DE] Riegel - Riegel Ort: (BLN 756.0283, 763.0427, 769.012; Ball 67B2) The SWEG platform, just across the station drive from DB's Riegel Bf, has been upgraded as reported in BLN 763, and the track there is apparently completely renewed, so major works to bring the infrequent SWEG trains directly into the DB station as suggested in BLN 769 seem unlikely. Transfer between DB and SWEG metals at Riegel is via a siding, requiring a double reversal - as performed by an IBSE railtour on 27 July 1997 - unlike the DB-SWEG links at Gottenheim and Breisach, which are running connections used by passenger trains. BLN 810.0438][AT][CZ] (Wien -) Sigmundsherberg - Gmünd NÖ - Ceské Velenice: (BLN 807.0363, 808.0373; Ball 64A1-63B2) ÖBB completed 15kV 16.7Hz electrification of the Franz Josefs Bahn from Sigmundsherberg to Gmünd in Niederösterreich during 1995, but in summer 1997 diesel locomotives were still required to haul freight, and the daily through passenger carriages, across the short gap in traction supply to Ceské Velenice, where CD electrification begins. Electrification poles and a supply cable (but no catenary) already follow the line into the Czech Republic, but investment in appropriate arrangements for switchable wiring at one or other frontier station has not yet been agreed. BLN 810.0439][AT] Gmünd NÖ - Alt Nagelberg - Litschau / Heidenreichstein: (BLN 808.0373; Ball 63B2-63B1) The 760mm-gauge northern Waldviertelbahn lines lost their regular ÖBB passenger trains from 1 June 1986. At one time it was theoretically possible to travel as an ÖBB passenger on a Monday-Friday mixed train, but it is not known if anyone did so. Rumours surface from time to time of withdrawal of freight services - in 1991, 1994, end of 1997 - but trains continue to run on the Gmünd - Alt Nagelberg - Litschau line, the main loads being agricultural and forest products, peaking during late autumn and winter, leaving weeks without traffic in spring and summer. For some years the Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnverein preservation group have run limited tourist services on the lines, and when the 13km Alt Nagelberg - Heidenreichstein branch closed to freight from 29 May 1992, WSV leased it from ÖBB, taking on full responsibility for maintenance, and in 1994 began negotiations, not yet completed, to purchase it. Until 31 December 1996 WSV had an agreement allowing them to run advertised steam trains on ÖBB tracks, but in 1997 WSV trains have run, diesel-hauled, only from Alt Nagelberg-Friedhofweg (a temporary halt 400m from the ÖBB station) to Heidenreichstein. Nevertheless, WSV's New Year's Eve steam special (Silvesterzug) is to run as before between Gmünd and Litschau, out at 20:00 on 31 December 1997, back at 02:00 on 1 January 1998. Details by fax +43 1 894 5458 or e-mail gurban@adis.at. BLN 810.0440][AT] Innsbruck - Bergisel - Igls light rail: (BLN 808.0380; Ball 79B1 not shown) Curtailment of IVB tram-route #6 to run Berg Isel - Igls applies only Monday to Friday while works are under way on the town section. Closure beyond Kreith of the Innsbruck - Kreith - Fulpmes Stubaitalbahn lasted only 20 May - 5 July 1997. Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe's website is at http://www.ivb.at. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 4/97) BLN 810.0441][AT] Graz trams: (BLN 808.0381; Ball 83B3 not shown) The long outer section of tram route #1 to Maria Trost was expected to reopen in early September 1997 after reconstruction. This section once formed part of a metre-gauge tramway originally independent until taken over in 1905 by the city tramways, eventually being regauged and integrated into the standard-gauge system in 1941. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 4/97) BLN 810.0442][ES] Astorga - Torre del Bierzo - Ponferrada: (BLN 798.0144; Ball 9A3-3A1) RENFE's ex-Norte Madrid - Leon - La Coruña main line descends over 300m at 1-in-50 from Brañuelas into the Tremor valley on a huge spiral. The area round Torre del Bierzo was rich in anthracite, and at least four separate narrow-gauge systems once brought coal to the broad-gauge. Colliery company Antracitas de Brañuelas SA had a 2km mineral line to a private staithe with five-wagon capacity at Torre del Bierzo; Antracitas de Santa Cruz had a c.3km mineral line to Torre del Bierzo station; Alfredo Alonso had a 1.5km line to Tremor staithe at La Granja station; and Alfredo Martinez Mones had a 0.5km line to a staithe at La Silva. None of these lines appears on 1:50,000 maps of the area, nor on RENFE station plans of the late 1950s, so they may all have been abandoned by 1960. Any further information would be welcome. Further north, Antracitas de Gaiztarro SA commenced mining on the west side of the Sil valley just south of Matarrosa in 1937. The mines were served by a 600mm-gauge railway which followed the main road at a higher level to Alinos, whence a conveyor-belt took the anthracite over the road and river to a siding at Toreno del Sil on the metre-gauge Ponferrada - Villablino line, on the east side of the valley. The feeder line closed in the early 1970s and its formation became a rough track, owned by the mining company, now part of the Vitorino Alonso enterprise, as are the former Minero-Siderúrgica de Ponferrada SA and the Ferrocarril Ponferrada-Villablino. Some photographs of the mine railway and details of its locomotives have been assembled for publication, but little is known about the 600mm-gauge track layout at the mines (were there any inclined planes?) or at Alinos (where the depot was), or about the metre-gauge layout at the loading siding of Toreno del Sil. Any reader with photographs or sketch-maps of the area is asked to write direct to Dr Mike Bent, 1/C Edificio Alcisa, Calle de la Barquera, E-39540 San Vicente de la Barquera, Cantabria, Spain. BLN 810.0443][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo Concordia - Irauregi - Aranguren - Balmaseda: (BLN 797.0112; Ball 5B2-5A2) This metre-gauge FEVE line was electrified at 1500V dc from 16 October 1996. (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, August 1997) Presumably this was the date of the first public services using electric trains, since wiring seemed complete and stabled electric units were seen in September 1996 (BLN 792.0514). BLN 810.0444][CH] Sursee - Triengen: (BLN 752.0162; Ball 87A1) The 8.9km standard-gauge non-electrified Sursee Triengen Bahn, a freight-only Swiss private line, lost its regular passenger services in 1971, but steam-hauled passenger trains run on one day a year, in 1997 on Sunday 28 September. For more information, telephone +41 51 227 2210 or fax +41 51 227 2227 BLN 810.0445][CH] (Zürich -) Dietikon - Killwangen-Spreitenbach: (Ball 87B2) SBB's Limmattal yard open-days on 9-10 August 1997 offered steam-hauled trips on the normally freight-only southern through line between Dietikon and Killwangen, and also the unusual roller-coaster experience of being hump-shunted into various sidings! The event attracted some 250,000 visitors. BLN 810.0446][FR][CH] St.Gervais - Vallorcine SNCF - Le Châtelard-Frontière MC - Vernayaz - Martigny: (BLN 692.06; Ball FR-58B3-50B1, CH-98B2) This metre-gauge through route across the Alps is partly owned by SNCF and partly by the private Swiss CF Martigny - Châtelard. The French section is electrified at 750V dc with third-rail, and is entirely adhesion-worked despite its impressive gradients. The Swiss section is a mix of overhead and third-rail at 800V dc, with stretches of rack, including the spectacular descent to Vernayaz, site of the MC depot. The Swiss timetable implies that most trains are through St.Gervais - Martigny workings, but in fact a change of trains is sometimes necessary at Le Châtelard-Frontière, which has two through platforms electrified with both overhead and third-rail. According to the new Platform 5 Swiss book, the five new railcar sets bought in 1996, three owned by SNCF and two by MC, can operate on the whole line, but older units are more restricted. On one journey on 25 July 1997 the 1958 SNCF set terminated at Frontière, with a 20-minute connection to a 1957-built MC unit. The French set returned as a service to St.Gervais after only 5 minutes, while the Swiss set was allowed a 22-minute layover. Other trains however were seen to run through. Most services seem to cross at Frontière, stopping for up to 20 minutes, so the timetable allows through working or connection, perhaps depending on what stock is rostered. BLN 810.0447][CH] Bière - Apples - Morges: (BLN 746.040, 758.0333, 762.0413; Ball 90B1) The new branch mentioned in BLN 758 leaves the BAM main line 1km east of Bière at a junction facing Apples, and after 2.5km crosses the river Aubonne to continue another 1.5km to Bière-Casernes, in the large Swiss military base south-west of Bière. Opened in spring 1997, it carries tanks and other armaments on metre-gauge transporters, but saw its first passenger train, an ADL railtour, on 11 August 1997. At Apples the station is in the angle of the junction (which faces Bière, not as shown in Ball), and the Apples - L'Isle-Mont-La-Ville branch is worked as a shuttle, some services being by BAM minibus. BLN 810.0448][CH] Bex - Villars - Bretaye: (BLN 714.019; Ball 98B3) Villars station lies in a triangle, so through trains on the metre-gauge BVB are not forced to reverse there as implied by Ball, but the south-to-north curve is very tight. BLN 810.0449][CH] Montreux - Glion - Caux - Rochers-de-Naye: (Ball 98Bl) The 850V dc 800mm-gauge rack line from Montreux to the top of the Rochers de Naye offers spectacular views west over Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). Some trains have a 1992-built steam locomotive to the top. Swiss Passes and GB rail-staff free passes are valid only as far as Caux, and a CHF5 supplement is payable for the steam trains. The operators, part of the Montreux Oberland Bernois group, now trade as CF Montreux - Territet - Glion - Naye. Territet is not on the line but appears in the company's name because MTGN have since 1992 also run the Glion - Territet funicular. Opened 1883, this is 640m long, climbing 301m. BLN 810.0450][PL] (Kraków Glowny -) Kraków Biezanów - Wieliczka - Wieliczka Rynek: (Ball 43A3; PKP 121) Salt-mining subsidence caused services to be 'suspended' in 1990 on the final 1km of this 6km branch to Wieliczka Rynek (rynek = market). In 1997 nothing has apparently changed. The track south of Wieliczka remains in place, overhead wires seem energised and only red signals stop trains from proceeding. A good path sets out to Wieliczka Rynek, parallel to the rails and so close that it would be unsafe if trains ever began running again, but after 500m it becomes a muddy walk down the middle of the disused track. Wieliczka Rynek appears still to have three station staff. A visit to the impressive local salt-mines is definitely recommended. BLN 810.0451][PL] Chabówka - Marcinkowice - Nowy Sacz: (Ball 43A3; PKP 136) PKP have since 1993 completed the electrification of this very scenic west-to-east single line. BLN 810.0452][PL][UA] Chelm - Dorohusk PKP - Yagodin UZ - Matseyev - Kovel: (Ball 39B2) The western borders of Ukraine mark a large part of the boundary between 1435mm and 1520mm-gauge territory in eastern Europe, though the political frontier is nowhere quite identical with the gauge-boundary. Nevertheless, apart from one standard-gauge PKP Lublin - Kovel round-trip, Poland - Ukraine passenger trains by this route do change bogies at Yagodin, just inside Ukraine. Both gauges run parallel between Chelm and Matseyev, where the northern track becomes interlaced four-rail mixed-gauge and the southern one stays broad-gauge. They part company briefly as they approach Kovel, and the southern track is joined by the Vladimir Volynskiy - Kovel broad-gauge line. Two broad-gauge spurs shown in Quail's Railway Atlas of Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, p.1, heading north to connect with other lines out of Kovel are both out of use. A standard-gauge freight line dives under the Verbka line to disappear beyond the north-east side of Kovel station. Beyond the river on the approaches to Kovel, the gauges have to rearrange themselves because the passenger station building sits between two sets of platform roads, those on the south-west side being both broad and standard, while those on the north-east are broad only. BLN 810.0453][SK][UA] Matovce ZSR - Uzhhorod (Rozovka) UZ - Chop: (BLN 737.0247, 803.0264, 805.0323, 808.0395; Ball 43B2-44A2) BLN 737 noted that both broad and standard-gauge tracks cross at Matovce from Slovakia into Ukraine. Near Rozovka, just south of Uzhhorod, both gauges emerge from a raft of sidings adjacent to an industrial complex. The broad-gauge turns northwards to a junction with the line from Chop and enters Uzhhorod. The standard-gauge, in a state of disuse if not disrepair, swings south to run along the west side of the Uzhhorod - Chop broad-gauge, crossing above it shortly before Chop. It then swings east over the Chop - Batevo broad-gauge and drops down to parallel that line on the south side before losing itself in the vast marshalling-yards which seem to run on the south side all the way to Batevo. The Quail map implies a north-to-west standard-gauge curve into Chop passenger station but this may not actually exist, for the Matovce - Chop line when in use was freight-only. The standard-gauge passenger route from Slovakia (Cierna-nad-Tisou ZSR - Chop UZ; BLN 786.0372) enters Ukraine some 15km further south. BLN 810.0454][HU][UA] Záhony MÁV - Chop UZ: (Ball 44A2) The line from Hungary north to Chop is four-rail mixed-gauge, but the broad-gauge rails into Chop passenger station, and a broad-gauge-only line that diverges to run along the north side of the station, are both disused. The only passenger trains on the route are standard-gauge. All Hungary - Ukraine freight uses the non-passenger mixed-gauge Eperjeske MÁV - Batevo UZ route some 12km to the east. Do the regular cross-border freight trains run on the broad, standard or both gauges? BLN 810.0455][UA][RO] Chop - Batevo - Beregovo - Dyakovo UZ (- Halmeu SNCFR): (BLN 786.0372; Ball 44A2-44A1) Quail's Railway Atlas of Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova does not show that this through route east of Chop through broad-gauge Ukraine also has standard-gauge track, installed in Soviet times for Slovakia - Romania freight. Passenger use began 2 June 1996, by Krakow - Cierna-nad-Tisou - Chop - Bucuresti (- Constanta) trains, but these are to cease 30 September 1997, perhaps to become summer-seasonal. The trains have booked stops in Ukraine, and passengers need to hold previously-acquired Ukrainian visas. Between Chop and Batevo the standard-gauge is mainly a separate track alongside the broad-gauge passenger line, but in places it is mixed-gauge with four rails interlaced. East of Batevo/Bateve the route via Beregovo/Berehove and the west-to-south avoiding line at Korolevo/Koroleve are entirely four-rail, apart from crossing-loops and points, where the two gauges very briefly separate to simplify the ironmongery! The west-to-north curve into Korolevo station is broad-gauge only, but four-rail track runs south from Korolevo to Tekovo, where the junction is actually at the station, not quite as shown by Quail. The broad gauge finishes at Halmeu, inside Romania. BLN 810.0456][UA] Teresva - Dubovoe - Ust Chorna: The 750mm-gauge (originally 760mm) railway operated by the Ukrainian forestry kombinat of Ust Chorna has a passenger service. Previously three trains ran daily throughout, but were recently cut to two, serving the lower Teresva - Dubovoe section only. Buses run Dubovoe - Ust Chorna. Eleven intermediate halts are timetabled, but trains were seen running 10-15 minutes early towards the ends of their journeys. Train times from 1 June 1997 were displayed in the stationmaster's office at Dubovoe: #70 05:35 Dubovoe - Teresva 07:56 #73 10:30 Teresva - Dubovoe 12:30 #72 14:00 Dubovoe - Teresva 16:10 #75 17:20 Teresva - Dubovoe 19:31 Freight on the forestry line has reduced significantly in recent years, and commercial traffic is down from 20,000m³ to 3,000m³ annually. Trains run down the 'main line' when fifteen wagons have been accumulated, which means an average of only two freight trains a week from Ust Chorna down to the broad-gauge at Teresva. The upper reaches north of Ust Chorna see much more frequent, smaller movements, for example timber to a sawmill just above Ust Chorna, as well as railcar movements of workers into the forests. BLN 811.0457][IE] Blackwater, County Offaly: Customers disappointed by the cessation of peat-bog railway trips at Bellacorick (BLN 809.0399) may wish to try the 'Clonmacnoise & West Offaly Railway', part of Bord na Móna's 914mm-gauge system serving Shannonbridge power-station south of Athlone. Normal operating season is 1 April to 31 October, but a 1996 BnM leaflet says group bookings are possible all year round. Telephone +353 905 74114 or 74172 or 74121 for information. BLN 811.0458][FR][BE] Dunkerque - Bray-Dunes SNCF - De Panne NMBS: (BLN 791.0463; Ball 6B3-7A3) LCGB Bulletin #8/97 reports that a local initiative aims to reopen the out-of-use cross-border section to passengers, using lightweight Talent or RegioSprinter diesel railcars. Meanwhile, the long-awaited extension of the Knokke - Oostende - De Panne metre-gauge light-rail line is under way (BLN 809.0404). From the present clockwise turning-circle forming the tram-terminus at De Panne south to the gate of the military cemetery near the Duinhoekstraat roundabout, about halfway to De Panne NMBS station, the double-track formation is already prepared, mostly but not all on ballasted reservation in the centre of the roadway, and by 6 September 1997 some track was already laid. Further south, nothing appeared to have been done, though drainage work under way near the station might have been tram-related. BLN 811.0459][BE] (Antwerpen -) Boom - Puurs: (BLN 0802.0225; Ball 8B3; Lijn 52): Reopening was postponed from 1 June 1997. Amazingly, after having years in which to negotiate, NMBS and the canal operator have still to agree when the new moveable bridge over the Ruisbroek canal will be open and closed. (Trans-fer, August 1997) BLN 811.0460][BE] (Winterslag -) Waterschei - As - Eisden: (Ball 9B2-9B3; Lijn 21B) A visit on 23 August 1997 to the Limburgse Stoom Vereniging proved disappointing. Activity seemed limited to Sunday-afternoon short-distance demonstration rides at BEF150 (=£2.60) within the station area at As (originally spelled Asch). In both directions, towards Waterschei and Eisden, the rusty track looked disused. An attempt to find the end of the line in Eisden was unsuccessful - even after locating Stationstraat! - but nearby, at a quarry off the As - Maasmechelen road, both the running line and the short quarry branch were derelict, with trees growing between the rails. BLN 811.0461][BE][NL] Neerpelt - Hamont NMBS - Budel NS - Weert: (BLN 694.08; Ball 9B3) Passenger trains are again to be running on this freight-only international line on Saturday 4 October 1997, which is Belgium's TTB (= Train+Tram+Bus) day, when the use of public transport is specially promoted with cheap day-passes valid across the country. (In 1996, these were BEF400 if bought on the day, cheaper if bought in advance.) The Neerpelt - Weert line has no suitable passing-place, and a 40km/h speed limit on the Dutch section, so the service, provided by extending some Antwerpen - Neerpelt IR trains, is restricted to approximately 90-minute intervals, with the trip taking some 35 minutes. Neerpelt departures are 07:23, 08:45, 10:23 etc until 21:23, returning from Weert at 08:11, 09:33, 11:11 etc until 22:11. BLN 811.0462][NL] Schin-op-Geul - Simpelveld - Spekholzerheide - Kerkrade (- Landgraaf): (BLN 748.067, 750.0119, 792.0495; Ball 9B2-10A2) Just within the Netherlands, near the border with both Belgium and Germany, the Zuid-Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij preservation group had two trains in service on their Miljoenenlijn on 23 August 1997, a three-car formation of German railbuses and five Belgian coaches hauled by a Swedish steam locomotive - so much for conserving Dutch railway heritage! Strictly speaking the line's name applies to the section Simpelveld - Kerkrade - Landgraaf (formerly called Schaesberg), and derives from its high cost, over NLG1 million/km. Constructed 1925-34, the line runs through terrain unusually difficult by Dutch standards, needing both deep cuttings and high embankments. Schin-op-Geul - Simpelveld closed to ordinary passenger trains May 1992 and Simpelveld - Kerkrade 1988. Platforms remain visible at Spekholzerheide, once an important shunting-yard, closed 1969, with tracks removed 1976 and station buildings demolished 1993. Tourist trains from Simpelveld pause briefly here at traincrew-operated level-crossing barriers before working forward to their dead-end platform at Kerkrade, some 200m from the NS station at Kerkrade-Centrum. A connection between the two lines appears intact. Kerkrade-Centrum - Landgraaf is electrified and has regular NS services. BLN 811.0463][DE] (Mühlacker -) Maulbronn West - Maulbronn: (BLN 809.0411; Ball 57B2) The Klosterstadt Express on summer Sundays 1 June - 28 September 1997 celebrated 850 years of Maulbronn monastery, the trains being sponsored by Verkehrsclub Deutschland, which advertises itself as a kind of environmentally-friendly motoring organisation. The branch itself is very short, and the ten-minute journey time was mostly spent between Mühlacker and Maulbronn West. Four round-trips were offered, at a single fare of DEM3 payable on the train. BLN 811.0464][DE][NL] (Leer -) Ihrhove - Weener DB - Nieuweschans NS: (BLN 710.03; Ball DE-15B2-15A2, NL-2A2) This international railway is subject to interruption when new ships are towed down the river Ems from the Meyer shipyard at Papenburg in Niedersachsen. The shipyard is important for local employment, so despite environmental objections, Meyer Werft keep receiving permission to dredge the Ems even deeper to allow passage of increasingly large vessels, including the world's biggest car-ferry, Silja Europa, in 1993 and the cruise-liners Oriana and Century in 1995. Large ships are unable to pass beneath the railway bridge, requiring the main span to be lifted out each time. At the beginning of 1997 the order-book included three more sizeable cruise-ships, Galaxy, Superstar Leo and Superstar Virgo, so occasional interruptions to the sparse train service can be expected to continue - unless someone decides the bridge could be permanently removed. BLN 811.0465][DE] Cham (Oberpf) - Blaibach (Niederbayern) - Kötzting - Lam: (Ball 61B2; KBS877) Buses were providing the service on the Kötzting - Lam Regentalbahn section on 31 August 1997. Nearby, the Regentalbahn's Blaibach - Fichtental - Viechtach line has closed at the Blaibach end, where the bridge over the road just east of the junction has been removed. BLN 811.0466][DK] Varde - Hesselmed - Nørre-Nebel - Nymindegab: (Ball 5A3) Run by Vestbanen A/S, this private line starts in a bay at the north end of Varde DSB station. The Varde - Nørre-Nebel passenger service is basically hourly using two-car diesel units, one-person-operated, with the driver selling tickets. In mid-August 1997 the rails of the short freight-only branch from Hesselmed to Oksbøl Syd were shiny, but those of the Nørre-Nebel - Nymindegab extension were less so. BLN 811.0467][DK] København - Odense - Fredericia - Lunderskov - Tinglev - Sonderborg: (BLN 755.0252; Ball 8B3-7B2-6B1) Two trains an hour leave København for Odense, one an IC and the other an eight-car local electric unit. Services seem very busy, for the opening of the bridge-plus-tunnel in June 1997 has revolutionised travel across the Storebælt. Connections to the old ferry-terminals at both Korsør and Nyborg had been severed by mid-August. The new schedules have some slack in them as on two occasions fifteen-minute deficits were recovered between København and Fredericia. Electrification at 25kV 50Hz seems complete all the way from København to Tinglev and Sonderborg, but long-distance trains from the capital to destinations in Jylland (Jutland) are still three-car diesel sets, mostly running in multiple and dividing at Fredericia. Using the Fredericia avoiding line (Snoghøj - Taulov) could save significant time on journeys to Esbjerg or Padborg, but its only passenger working appears to be the 22:19SuO Nyborg - Kolding - Fredericia train, as in 1995 (BLN 767.0508). BLN 811.0468][DK] Nykøbing (Falster) - Gedser: (BLN 772.072, 797.0110; Ball 12A3) On 13 August 1997 the 08:41SX København - 10:45SX Nykøbing - Gedser was a six-coach push-pull train with ten passengers for the branch. After a 24-minute layover at a somewhat ghostly Gedser station, the 11:28SX return working conveyed BLN reporter plus one local housewife back to Nykøbing and terminated. At Gedser a notice announced a reduction in ferry services to Rostock, but the last two surviving trains on the branch make no convenient connections anyway. All other advertised services are by bus to and from Gedser village rather than the station. BLN 811.0469][DK] København freight lines: (Ball 9A2) The advertised 12:45 Dansk Jernbane-Klub circular-tour train on Sunday 17 August 1997 was four coaches and a van hauled by steam locomotive #1307, at a fare of DKK35 (=£3) payable on the train for 50 minutes of travel. From the main station, København Hovedbanegård, the train set off northwards calling at Østerport before dropping on the Østerport - Frihavn freight-only branch down to the quayside. Passing under the København - Helsingør main line the train headed west past Svanemøllen and Ryparken to a passenger stop at Nørrebro, turning just before Vanløse on to the Grøndal - Valby Gasværk - Sjælor freight line, threading through København yard to regain at Dybbølsbro the ordinary running-lines into København H. BLN 811.0470][DK][SE] København DSB - Malmö SJ: (BLN 704.05, 755.0254, 793.016; Ball DK-9A2, SE-25A1) Construction of the Øresund/Öresund link across the strait between Denmark and Sweden is well under way, with opening now expected in 2000. Between the down and up tracks at the south end of København H station a ramp carries the new line on to an embankment towards Sydhavn station, whence a 1.6km tunnel takes it to a junction with the freight spur coming in from Vigerslev near Hvidovre. Tracklaying is well advanced on both lines. The line then crosses the Sydhavn (= south harbour) to Amager island, heading via a new station at Tårnby to another serving København's Kastrup airport. Beyond the airport a 3.51km tunnel takes the line to an artificial island (christened Pepparholm, since the real island to the north is Saltholm!) and finally on a 7.85km road-and-rail bridge to Lernacken on the Swedish coast. Thereafter the Öresund line is to proceed eastwards to Fosieby, joining the Trelleborg - Malmö line just north of its junction with the Ystad - Malmö line. A direct Lernacken - Malmö link may be completed by 2005. BLN 811.0471][SE] Southern Sweden: (BLN 793.016; Ball 25A1-25B2-26A2) Local trains from Malmö to Lund, Landskrona, Helsingborg, Bjuv, Ystad and Höör are now run by the local company Länstrafiken Malmöhus, from their own 'station-within-a-station' at the south-eastern end of the main-line platforms in Malmö Central. Local tickets are sold from vending-machines and SJ tickets are valid only on a few trains which are jointly operated, as indicated in timetables. At Lund a new dive-under is under construction to take southbound trains arriving from the Kävlinge direction under the Stockholm - Malmö main line. Outside Mon-Fri peak hours a Lund - Kävlinge - Landskrona shuttle operates, terminating in a bay platform. Opposite the main platform at Landskrona is a fan of sidings where traffic from the adjacent docks was being shunted on 12 August 1997. The 09:05 Malmö - Kävlinge - Teckomatorp - Ramlösa - Helsingborg train, though not advertised as a through working, formed the 10:00 Helsingborg - Ramlösa - Bjuv, running over most of the Ramlösa - Bjuv - Åstorp line, but it is not clear whether any services from Helsingborg run via Bjuv all the way through to Åstorp. The 11:00 Helsingborg - Hässleholm took the alternative route further north, running via the south-to-east curve at Kattarp on its way to Åstorp. The Helsingborg - Åstorp - Hässleholm line was to be closed 15-19 September 1997, with one service (09:05 København - Helsingør - Helsingborg - Hässleholm) shown as running through on extended timings, possibly via the Teckomatorp - Marieholm - Eslöv line, used for diversions in summer 1996 (BLN 781.0265). SJ's Danish-design IC3 diesel units operate Hässleholm - Kristianstad - Karlskrona services, reversing at Kristianstad though an avoiding line exists. On the eastern side of Karlskrona terminus a single line, seemingly disused but in good condition, heads south through the bus-station and then by a tunnel under the town centre to enter the walled dockyard. BLN 811.0472][SE] (Stockholm -) Södertälje - Mariefred - Strängnäs - Eskilstuna: (BLN 775.0141, 800.0198; Ball 23A2-22A2) Following rebuilding, and considerable realignment to run via Strängnäs, Sweden's Svealandsbanan now sees hourly X2000 tilting trains. On the 600mm-gauge OSLJ line (Läggesta Södra - Mariefred-Ångbåtsstation) Läggesta Södra station has been relocated slightly to make it more convenient for the new Mariefred main-line station. During the summer the Stockholm - Kungsängen - Västerås line has had only peak-hour and weekend trains, with other services being by bus, but from 6 October 1997, work will be finished and an hourly service is to run, including the Tillberga cut-off. Alternate trains will be extended from Västerås and Eskilstuna over the new Arboga - Örebro line bypassing Frövi (OEIS 9739). BLN 811.0473][SE] Daglösen - Filipstad - Persberg: (Ball 22A3) Healthy traffic continues for a large crispbread factory at Filipstad, which receives cereals and despatches its finished product in box vans. The branch continues north to Persberg for lime traffic, but this section seems sparsely used. For the first kilometre north, the Filipstad - Persberg line, completed only in 1964, uses the formation of the closed 891mm-gauge Nordmark Klarälvens Järnväg, which ran from Filipstad to Hagfors and Skoghall. The vacant trackbed towards Hagfors can be seen in the forest to the north of Filipstad. South of Persberg the trackbed of the closed Hornkullen - Persberg section trails in at the former junction. Beyond Persberg towards Lesjöfors and Vansbro the formation is used as a cycle-track. This line originally ran Kristinehamn - Nykroppa - Hornkullen - Persberg - Vansbro and did not serve Filipstad. The new works in the 1960s included a south-to-west curve at Nykroppa, so that Kristinehamn - Daglösen (- Filipstad) trains could run without reversal. BLN 811.0474][SE] Orsa - Furudal - Göringen - Voxna - Edsbyn - Bollnäs: (Ball 14A2-14B2-15A2) After Sweden set up its equivalent of Railtrack, the infrastructure company Banverket, several new operators took a number of passenger franchises in the first round, though the State-owned train company SJ have now won back some of these. Open-access freight-train operators are however relatively new on Banverket's tracks. The western (Orsa - Furudal) section of this west-to-east link through sparsely-populated territory has private-sector Inlandsbanan freight trains, and in summer 1997 three steam-hauled excursions ran. The middle (Furudal - Edsbyn) section appears to have closed to all traffic 27 May 1972, thereafter lying out of use except for rail-cycle draisine outings. Now, according to their brochure, a new small company, Woxna Express AB, are offering freight service from the Bollnäs end west to Furudal, and on the nearby (Bollnäs -) Kilafors - Söderhamn (- Vallvik) line, also out of use until recently. When a Svenska Motorvagnsklubben railtour ran through on 12 August 1997, freight wagons were indeed seen at Voxna, but it looked unlikely that Woxna Express were in practice yet working west to Furudal. On the section still without traffic is Göringen, a derelict station in the middle of a forest with overgrown branch platform and track still in place, the forgotten junction for the 3km Göringen - Dalfors branch, closed 29 May 1960. This never had its own separate service, the Orsa - Göringen - Bollnäs trains merely making a side-trip south down the branch before resuming their leisurely cross-country journey. BLN 811.0475][SE] Mora - Orsa - Sveg - Östersund - Ulriksfors - Hoting - Storuman - Arvidsjaur - Gällivare: (BLN 737.0238, 778.0195, 800.0198; Ball 14A2-3A3) Privatised Inlandsbanan trains continue to move freight, mainly timber, on this lengthy line. On the southern section a Mora - Sveg round-trip runs on weekdays, and an Östersund - Mora train works out MThO, back TFO. To the north Östersund - Storuman trains run Mon-Fri, crossing at Hoting. The northbound train makes a Storuman - Arvidsjaur round-trip MThO, and the southbound train works the short Ulriksfors - Stromsund branch if required. Arvidsjaur - Gällivare has no regular traffic apart from the summer-only passenger trains. BLN 811.0476][NO] Bjørnevatn - Kirkenes: (BLN 783.0318, 800.0203; Ball not shown) As forecast, ore-trains on this 8km 1435mm-gauge mineral railway, lying in isolation in the extreme north of Norway, have ceased, though a 'last' working on 9 October 1996 was followed by a further period of operation from 20 January to 7 April 1997. The opencast mine at Bjørnevatn is worked out, and the plant at Kirkenes for making iron-ore pellets has been sold overseas. However, the state-controlled iron-ore company, A/S Sydvaranger, are trying to sell a newer drift-mine at Bjørnevatn and other processing plant at Kirkenes, so if they find a buyer the railway might reopen. Another possibility is that the local authorities may reopen the line as part of a proposed mining museum intended to attract tourists arriving by ship at Kirkenes, the northernmost port on the Norwegian coastal route. Unsurprisingly, the proposal to convert the line to 1520mm-gauge and extend it 32km to Nikel in Russia seems to have been abandoned. BLN 811.0477][CH] Lausanne Métro: (BLN 739.0287, 746.041, 760.0380; Ball 91A1) Lausanne's Métro lines, not shown in Ball, are all standard-gauge and operated by the local authority, using an 'M' logo similar to that used on the Tyne & Wear Metro. The unusual Métro-Gare and Métro-Ouchy, originally the Lausanne - Gare (LG) and Lausanne - Ouchy (LO) funiculars, are today rack lines, running as parallel but connected single tracks in the same tunnel. The Métro-Gare is a short 290m section operated by one of two 1964-built railcars, with no seats and a crush-load capacity of 154. The Métro-Ouchy is 1480m long, with a 1958-built 650V dc electric locomotive always at the downhill end. Both run from the centre, Lausanne-Flon, down to the main-line Gare CFF, the Métro-Ouchy then continuing beyond via Montriond (with passing-loop) and Jordils to Ouchy, beside the lake. Even more unusually for an urban line, the LO once had freight traffic, transferring wagons from Sébeillon yard north of Flon down to Ouchy, but this ceased in 1979. The third line, Métro-Ouest, also known as Tramway de Sud-Ouest Lausannois (TSOL), opened in 1991 and runs from platforms at Flon, perpendicular to those of the LG and LO, first in tunnel then west on single track with passing-loops at most stations. Though legally a tramway - the only one in Switzerland to be standard-gauge - it is fully signalled, with its own reserved, mostly-roadside, formation, and level-crossings and pedestrian-crossings at stations have full barriers. At its western end the TSOL terminates in two westward-facing bay platforms at Renens main-line CFF station in the neighbouring canton of Vaud. A connection to CFF track exists, but unsurprisingly seems to see no regular use. BLN 811.0478][CA] Vancouver, BC: Marpole - Kitsilano: Heading north from Marpole right across the peninsula on which much of Vancouver stands, the CP Marpole spur has numerous grade-crossings as it intersects with the grid-pattern of city streets. Once a part of the BC Electric interurban network, BC Hydro continued to work freight on it after de-electrification, but it is now very little used, the only remaining customer being Molson's brewery at the south end of Burrard Street Bridge. Since at least 1970, Vancouver has talked of restoring an urban passenger service on the line, but no firm plans yet exist. BLN 811.0479][CA] (Winnipeg -) The Pas - Lynn Lake / Churchill, MB: (BLN 783.0321, 792.0527) Hudson Bay Railway (HBR), a subsidiary of OmniTRAX of Denver, Colorado, began operating all CN's lines north of The Pas, Manitoba, on 20 August 1997 - but CN's press release was entirely silent about the remaining VIA passenger services on the extensive northern Manitoba railway network. OmniTRAX operates short-line railways in the United States, and also TransCanada Switching Services, a railway switching operation handling both CN and CP traffic at Deltaport, a new intermodal container terminal south of Vancouver, BC, which opened on 8 June 1997. BLN 811.0480][CA] Halifax, NS - Montréal, QC: (BLN 783.0321) In the Atlantic provinces, CN operate two parallel lines: the 485km Intercolonial Railway (Moncton, NB (Pacific Junction) - Mont-Joli, QC) and the National Transcontinental Railway (Moncton - St.André Junction). CN are to maintain the shorter and faster NTR as part of their core network, but hope during 1997 to sell the ICR, "an attractive short-line candidate" with 35,000 carloads of traffic annually, serving major customers in the mining and pulp and paper industries along the north-east New Brunswick coast. The new short line will interchange traffic with CN at both ends and with the Sociéte de Chemin de Fer Baie des Chaleurs at Matapédia. VIA Rail Canada's passenger service to the Maritimes on the ICR will be maintained. (http://www.cn.ca; press release, 31 July 1997) BLN 812.0481][IE] Athenry - Claremorris: (BLN 806.0329) An Irish Traction Group railtour is to traverse this freight-only line on 8 November 1997. Iarnród Éireann are said to have asked for rather a high fee to route the train via the out-of-use Mullingar - Athlone line (BLN 741.0321), so it is to run out and back from Dublin via Portarlington. BLN 812.0482][FR] Dunkerque: (BLN 740.0304; Ball 6B3) The famous Night Ferry train, with its through sleeping-cars between London and the continent via Dunkerque, was inaugurated on 12 October 1936 and ran until June 1940. After World War II, a rebuilt Gare Maritime, by then referred to in timetables as Dunkerque-Ferry, saw day services re-start 30 November 1947, with through Night Ferry trains resuming from 15 December 1947. Normally Dunkerque-Ferry had passenger trains only at night, in conjunction with overnight ferry crossings, and these continued until train-ferry services were transferred to the newer Dunkerque Port-Ouest on 1 July 1976. It was from that port that the through Night Ferry service was finally withdrawn on 31 October 1980, leaving mainland Britain with no international passenger trains until the advent of Eurostar services in November 1994. At Dunkerque Gare Maritime, the former train-ferry berth was on the north side of the turning-basin (bassin d'évolution) on the site now occupied by a dry-dock at the angle of the repair quay (quai de réparation) opposite tidal-basin (darse) #5. After the 1976 transfer of services to Port-Ouest, the old site was quickly cleared and the dry-dock constructed. From the old ferry-berth the normal route was by a bridge over the 1955-built Trystram sea-lock, then by a bascule-bridge over the Freycinet basin and down pier (mole) #2 between darses #2 and #3 to join the SNCF running lines at signal-box Dunkerque Poste 3. If this normal route were blocked, at one stage an alternative existed - via a bridge from the Suez quay to pier #4, to reach Dunkerque Triage du Port, the port marshalling-yard, where the train reversed to reach Dunkerque-Ville, the town station. In the port area the trains were preceded by a man on foot carrying a lamp, so the normal scheduled time for the short distance between Dunkerque-Ferry and Ville was 18 minutes. In either case, on reaching platform 4 at Dunkerque-Ville, the locomotive was changed for the main-line journey. After the move to Port-Ouest, platform 4 continued in use, as the night trains reversed and were re-engined there, hence the redundant sign still in place in 1993, mentioned in BLN 740. Dunkerque-Ville, has three terminal platforms numbered 1, 2 and 3, and one through platform, #4. All the platforms except #1 have two faces, giving seven rather than four platform roads. BLN 812.0483][FR] Lille-Flandres - La Madeleine - Lambersart - La Délivrance - Santes (- Don-Sainghin): (Ball 10B3-7A1) This mainly-freight line past Lille La Délivrance yard was in summer 1997 the booked route of the 15:39 Lille - Boulogne - Calais, although the SNCF timetable book showed it as starting from Don-Sainghin, actually its first calling-point. On 4 August 1997 it left Lille-Flandres from one of the Belgian-side platforms outside the train-shed, running parallel with the 15:39 Lille - Lens. Presumably the reason for taking the unusual circuitous route was to avoid conflict between these two simultaneous departures. Diesel #67439 hauling a three-car TER push-pull set made slow progress, but the timing allowed for this and arrival at Don-Sainghin was early. BLN 812.0484][FR] Denain Mines - Arenberg: (BLN 801.0211, 807.0349; Ball 7B1) The Cercle d'Études Ferroviaires Nord Denain have confirmed that Train Touristique du Hainaut trips did not operate during summer 1997. 1993 was their last running season. BLN 812.0485][FR] Rosheim - Ottrott - St.Nabor: (Ball 30A2) This private railway, now owned by the quarry company at St.Nabor, is still in use to bring out substantial quantities of ballast. However the track is very poor and quarry operations are rumoured likely to cease, leading to complete closure of the line. The Train Folklorique de Rosheim-Ottrott tourist operation ceased in 1988. (IBSE, September 1997) BLN 812.0486][NL] More competition for NS: (BLN 0802.0229) In July 1997 the private-sector train-operating company Lovers Rail, now 70% owned by the French group CGE who control Connex in the UK, received 'open-access' permission to run half-hourly Utrecht - Hilversum and Leiden - Den Haag trains on NS lines. (Op de Rails, 8/97) BLN 812.0487][DE] German private railways: (BLN 810.0436) Useful details of 102 German private railways, 56 of them freight-only, comprising a short description of the lines they operate, including system length, gauge and type of electrification, plus a complete list of their traction updated to summer 1997, form just a small part of the comprehensive European Stock List, a large resource available free to all on the World Wide Web at the excellent European Railway Server, http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it. Typifying international co-operation among today's railway enthusiasts, the full list spans national and private railways in some 36 countries from Ireland to Ukraine; is compiled by a physicist in the Netherlands, Marco van Uden; and is held on a computer with an Italian address. BLN 812.0488][DE] Magdeburg trams: (BLN 809.0405; Ball 28A2 not shown) Tram routes #3 and #12 were restored to the forecourt of Magdeburg Hbf from 24 October 1996 rather than 2 June 1997. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn 6/96) BLN 812.0489][DE] Dessau Wörlitzer Bf - Wörlitz: (BLN 753.0184, 783.0303; Ball 28B1; KBS257) The Dessau-Wörlitzer Eisenbahn is now in poor condition, with an overall speed limit of 30km/h, and still tighter limits of 10km/h over two bridges in Dessau and over all level-crossings, even those on minor farm roads. The ex-DKB Class 798 railbus used by Deutsche Regionalbahn under contract to DB for the limited summer-only service is now one-person-operated. On 16 August 1997 the afternoon train was well loaded for the 20km journey out to Wörlitz, and fully loaded coming back. (IBSE, September 1997) BLN 812.0490][DE] Berlin-Spandau: (Ball 31B2; KBS202) The main-line station opened in May 1997 (BLN 804.0285) appears to be more or less on the site of the former Spandau West S-Bahn station. To the west is the new flying junction where the Berlin - Stendal - Hannover and Berlin - Neustadt (Dosse) - Hamburg routes diverge. BLN 812.0491][DE] Treysa - Homberg and Treysa - Oberaula: (Ball 40A1) These two DB branches with no regular passenger trains see excursions run by Eisenbahnfreunde Schwalm-Knüll, who have three 2-10-0 locomotives based at Treysa. Next EFSK trips are to Homberg on 6 December and to Oberaula on 7 December 1997, but the future is uncertain since the 20km Treysa - Homberg line has poor track, and the scenic, steep and curved 34km Treysa - Oberaula line lost all its freight traffic as long ago as 1995. (World Steam, October 1997) BLN 812.0492][DE] Elsterwerda - Elsterwerda-Biehla: (Ball 43B3; KBS521) Most trains on this 2km link terminate at Elsterwerda-Biehla in Gleis 3, but the 05:35 from Elsterwerda uses the through connection on to the Falkenberg - Ruhland line, running forward from Biehla to Cottbus and Guben. BLN 812.0493][DE] (Flöha -) Pockau-Lengefeld - Zöblitz-Pobershau - Marienberg (Sachsen) (- Reitzhain): (Ball 43B1; KBS519) Level-crossings have recently been modernised though the branch is threatened with passenger closure. Scrapyards at Zöblitz and Marienberg generate rail freight, and the latter station loads timber. Beyond Marienberg the line was out of use for a period, but freight trains have resumed as far as Marienberg-Gelobtland, according to the magazine Bahn Report. From 28 August to 22 October 1997 DB are running extra trains between Olbernhau and Neuhausen on the Pockau-Lengefeld - Neuhausen (Erzgebirge) branch while the parallel road is closed. BLN 812.0494][DE] (Chemnitz Hbf -) Wittgensdorf oberer Bahnhof - Hartmannsdorf - Oberfrohna: (Ball 46A2; KBS526) Fairly heavy tank-car traffic remains at Hartmannsdorf, but few passengers use the 8km branch. On 15 September 1997, a BLN reporter was the only passenger from Chemnitz. On arrival at Oberfrohna the railbus runs empty towards the end of the line to park at an 'H' board during its layover. Only two persons travelled on the early morning return journey to the junction at Wittgensdorf ob Bf. Connection times there were extended because of engineering works to the north on the (Chemnitz - Wittgensdorf -) Burgstädt - Narsdorf section. BLN 812.0495][DE] Brohl Brohltalbahnhof - Brohl Rheinanlage: (BLN 757.0302, 777.0443; Ball 48A3) Because of damage to the track, metre-gauge Brohltalbahn tourist trains can no longer proceed via the double reversal to the quay on the river Rhein to connect directly with cruise vessels, as advertised in DB timetables for a number of years. The quay was originally built for transhipment of mineral traffic into barges. (IBSE, September 1997) BLN 812.0496][DE] Frankfurt-Höchst - Bad Soden: (Ball 49B2-49A1) BLN 712.04 noted that this DB line has FKE trains, and on a Sunday in June 1997 FKE were running a through Königstein - Frankfurt-Höchst - Bad Soden service from their own branch. According to the European Stock List website, FKE services including also Frankfurt Hbf - Grävenwiesbach (BLN 810.0436) are in fact operated by Hessische Landesbahn GmbH (HLB). BLN 812.0497][DE][DK] Niebüll DB - Tønder DSB: (BLN 800.0188, 810.0436; Ball 5B2-5B1) NVAG and PBS (Privatbanen Sønderjylland), a new Danish company, reactivated this out-of-use cross-border line for freight from 5 April 1997. Intention is to relieve the Flensburg DB - Padborg DSB line, which is becoming the route to and from Denmark for most rail freight, and much of the passenger traffic, now that the opening of the Storebælt link allows an all-rail transit as far as København without a train-ferry. (Op de Rails, 8/97; Eisenbahn Amateur, 7/97) BLN 812.0498][DK] Danish railway track maps: Track-maps in colour covering Denmark east of the Storebælt are on the World Wide Web at http://sunsite.auc.dk/railguide/, prepared by Henning Makholm. BLN 812.0499][DK] København metro: A new driverless metro line is being built, to run from Frederiksberg S-train (S-tog) station under the centre of the Danish capital, interchanging again with DSB at Nørreport, to reach the island of Amager. At Amagerbro it is to split into two branches, one heading south mostly above ground to serve the planned new Ørestad development, ending slightly south of the west-to-east København - Ørestad - Tårnby - Kastrup DSB (- Malmö SJ) international line now being built across the Øresund (BLN 811.0470). The other branch, heading east, is to be quite short initially, but with plans in the longer term for above-ground extension south to København's Kastrup airport. In 2000 or 2001 the metro is also to extend westward, taking over the present Frederiksberg - Vanløse S-train tracks (Ball 9A2). What the Hellerup - Ryparken - Vanløse S-trains will then do is not yet decided, for they will not be able to share platforms at Vanløse with the automated third-rail metro, and even a flat crossing of the metro to reach the upper-level DSB platforms at Vanløse could be difficult. One proposed solution is for the S-trains to be extended along the present freight-only Vanløse - Vigerslev line (currently used for traffic to the freight train-ferry at Østerport, pending completion of the Øresund link) and to continue by new tracks parallel to the existing freight line southwards from Vigerslev to Sjælør (BLN 811.0469). The metro routes are shown in a useful map in Today's Railways, #21, October 1997. BLN 812.0500][ES] Soria - Castejón de Ebro: (Ball 11B2-12B2) RENFE have withdrawn the sparse passenger service on this 103km section, according to Continental Railway Journal, #111, for autumn 1997. BLN 812.0501][CH] Luzern - Verkehrshaus siding - Meggen - Küssnacht-am-Rigi (- Arth-Goldau): (BLN 786.0370; Ball 93B3) Buses have been replacing trains between Luzern and Meggen due to major engineering works, but special steam services celebrating 150 years of Swiss railways have run in summer 1997 from Luzern transport museum to Küssnacht-am-Rigi. On 27 August 1997 the trains, with a locomotive on each end, were operating from a special platform on the museum's short siding out about 100m to the junction with SBB, reversing there to proceed to Küssnacht. Separately, rides were available on a short section of the siding beyond the platform towards the museum building. BLN 812.0502][CH] Meiringen - Innertkirchen: (BLN 741.0330, 744.0372; Ball 93B2) The 5km metre-gauge Meiringen-Innertkirchen Bahn is run by Kraftwerke Oberhasli AG, who own the nearby hydro-electric power-plant which the line was built to serve. The MIB station at Meiringen is five minutes' walk from the SBB station on the Interlaken - Meiringen - Luzern Brünigbahn, also metre-gauge. The freight-only connection to the 1200V dc MIB is wired with a dead section in the middle since SBB electrification is 15kV 16.7Hz. On 30 July 1997 the through line at Meiringen MIB station was rusty, and 1996-built railcar #8 was operating from the siding there. The passenger service seems a true one-person operation, since all points are locally worked, with no signalling, and the driver walks though the vehicle to sell and check tickets before departure. BLN 812.0503][CH] Montreux - Glion - Caux - Rochers-de-Naye: (Ball 98Bl) The 1992-built locomotive used on some trains on the Caux - Rochers-de-Naye section (BLN 810.0449) is not a steam engine of traditional design. An August 1997 passenger, unimpressed, described its sound as similar to a farm-tractor and its jerky movement (on the Abt rack) as nausea-inducing. The MTGN's electric railcars, without the CHF5 fare supplement, are better value. The line was electrified Montreux - Glion 1909 and Glion - Rochers-de-Naye 1938. BLN 812.0504][CH] Brig - Visp - Zermatt: (Ball 100A3-99B2) BVZ trains now leave the BVZ/FO metre-gauge platforms outside Brig station at xx:18 instead of xx:23, and do not seem to be held for late-running BLS or SBB trains on the standard-gauge main-lines. Between Brig and Visp, and just east of the BVZ depot, a new depot is under construction for the Brig - Andermatt - Disentis Furka Oberalp Bahn. Eyholz, the 1995 halt serving the shopping-centre east of Visp (BLN 762.0414), is a request-stop. Further south, between Kalpetran and St.Niklaus, the new loop (BLN 758.0337) came into service in May 1997, and in the present timetable is much used for crossing trains. Just before Zermatt station a non-electrified spur for shunting movements turns off across the street, physically linking the 11kV 16.7Hz BVZ tracks to those of the (rather expensive) Zermatt - Gornergrat Gornergratbahn mountain line, also metre-gauge, but entirely rack-operated and electrified at 725V 50Hz three-phase. BLN 812.0505][CZ] Czech closures 1997: Transport Minister Martin Riman, already considering closures, is reported to be regarding summer 1997's flood damage as a not-unwelcome structural measure. A number of lightly-used branch-lines forming part of the dense Czech network may never reopen. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 16 July 1997) BLN 812.0506][CZ] Melník - Mšeno - Mladá Boleslav (BLN 802.0241, 804.0291; Ball 35B3; CD 076) In August 1997 buses were replacing trains on the western Melník - Mšeno section, as they had in spring 1997 east of Mšeno. BLN 812.0507][CZ][DE] Rumburk CD - Jiríkov CD / Ebersbach (Sachsen) DB: (Ball CZ-36A2, DE-44B2; CD 088) Jiríkov is a dead-end CD station immediately alongside the DB Zittau - Ebersbach main line, but at a higher level and on the Czech side of the border. A connection, little more than a crossover, links the CD and DB lines, diverging just short of Jiríkov station throat. It has, rather piquantly, a CD signal at one end and a DB signal at the other, both semaphores and very close to each other. Two passenger trains a day use the connection, providing an international service. On 31 August 1997 BLN's reporter travelled from Rumburk the 7km to Jiríkov, arriving 12:32. The frontier-crossing into Germany (for pedestrians only) was followed by an easy walk of some 20 minutes along public roads to Ebersbach station. The 13:46 Ebersbach - Rumburk was a single CD railbus with only two other passengers. No immigration checks were made at Jiríkov, nor on the train in either direction. BLN 812.0508][CZ] Mezimesti - Broumov - Otovice - Otovice zastávka: (Ball 36B1; CD 027) Most trains terminate at Broumov, 4km from the end of the 14km branch, which now ends abruptly in a pile of earth just short of a former level-crossing at Otovice zastávka (zastávka = halt), but presumably once ran through to Nowa Ruda in Poland. Unusually for CD, which makes much use of railbuses with non-driving trailers, the single line beyond Broumov has no siding or loop to allow running round. BLN 812.0509][CZ][AT] (Ceské Budejovice - Rybník -) Horní Dvoríšté CD - Summerau ÖBB: (Ball CZ-40B2, AT-63A1) This cross-border line has a couple of local shuttle trains with connections on each side, as well as three Praha - Linz through workings. Local and long-haul services appear to be interworked. On 5 August 1997, the 14:10 Horní Dvoríšté - Summerau local was two coaches hauled by a CD diesel (#749 134-3). At Summerau the CD locomotive ran round its coaches, backed on to the arrival from Linz after the release of its ÖBB electric locomotive, and left for Praha at 14:47, presumably running with this consist at least as far as Ceské Budejovice. BLN 812.0510][CZ][AT] Ceské Budejovice - Ceské Velenice CD - Gmünd NÖ ÖBB: (Ball 40B2-41A2) The Czech section of the former Franz Josefs Bahn is not yet electrified south-east of Ceské Budejovice, contrary to the report in BLN 810.0438, so the gap requiring diesel haulage between CD and ÖBB catenary is still about 50km. BLN 812.0511][CZ] Jindrichuv Hradec - Nova Bystrice: (BLN 800.0204, 805.0322; Ball 41A3-41A2) Private operators JHMD have reopened the 33km 760mm-gauge line, and CD tickets are not now valid. On 6 August 1997 the diesel locomotive (#705 918-1) and two coaches still looked much as they did in CD days, though the train guard and revenue-protection staff seemed somewhat inexperienced. Jindrichuv Hradec station held quite a few narrow-gauge transporter bogies bearing standard-gauge vans, all coupled together by means of their own couplings, with no couplings between the transporter bogies, unlike Austrian practice. The Czech system thus requires 'match-wagons' with both standard-gauge and narrow-gauge couplings. Mixed-gauge track extends some distance east, and the Jindrichuv Hradec - Obratan 760mm-gauge line diverges to the north shortly before the end of this section. Beyond the junction, on the Nova Bystrice line, a seemingly well-used branch converges, presumably from a private siding at a nearby industrial plant whose chimney only is visible. From a passing standard-gauge train on 7 August, a locomotive with match wagons and transporter bogies was observed waiting at the junction. BLN 812.0512][RO] Covasna - Comandau: (BLN 804.0295, 808.0396) On this 760mm-gauge CFF forestry line the incline damaged in the May 1997 forest-fire was back in operation from early August, with a new wooden building at the top station. The station horse has been retired and shunts wagons no more. (World Steam, October 1997) BLN 812.0513][CA] Canadian Pacific Railway: Canada's second-largest railway company want to be known again as Canadian Pacific Railway, or CPR, rather than CP Rail, and from 14 September 1997 are replacing their 1960s logo with a new one embodying the traditional beaver and shield. (http://www.cpr.ca) BLN 812.0514][CA][US] North America rail pass: In January 1998 VIA Rail Canada and Amtrak will launch a new pass valid on the 44,800km of railway comprising the VIA and Amtrak passenger networks, linked at Montréal, QC, Toronto, ON, and Vancouver, BC. Price for 30 days' economy-class travel, upgradeable to first-class or sleeper, will be CAD895 (= £400) in the peak season and CAD625 (£280) off-peak. Both VIA and Amtrak will retain their existing own-system rail passes. (paragraphs 0514 and 0515 from Trains News Wire at http://www2.trains.com) BLN 812.0515][US] Vancouver, WA - Portland, OR: another road-replacement train service: On 16 September 1997 the northbound span of the I-5 Interstate Bridge had to be closed to replace an 80-year-old cracked pulley trunnion in the span's lift section. Amtrak began shuttle trains between Vancouver (the one in Washington, not BC) and Portland. Five daily round-trips carried up to 700 riders in each direction during six days of operation. State officials initially thought the highway closure might last three weeks, but the bridge reopened on the morning of 22 September. BLN 813.0516][IE] (Claremorris -) Manulla Jn - Ballina: The branch is to lose much of its freight, threatening its future. The Asahi chemical plant at Killala, County Mayo, is to close by end 1997, and daily Dublin Port - Ballina flows of raw materials and products in containers, railborne since the 1970s, will cease, as will a weekly Foynes - Ballina freight. In addition, Bell Lines at Waterford went into liquidation on 4 July 1997, leading to the immediate cancellation of four daily freight trains for the Belview container terminal on the Waterford - Rosslare line (BLN 765.0458). IE's August 1997 Rail Brief for staff described these as serious losses for the railway. BLN 813.0517][IE] Limerick - Ennis: Iarnród Éireann's latest InterCity timetable (1 September 1997 - 30 May 1998) still does not show the branch workings in full, though the 19:40 Limerick - Ennis is again advertised as a through service from Dublin Heuston. In summer 1997 as in 1996 (BLN 785.0348) the stock of the 10:08 Ballybrophy - Nenagh - Limerick, normally one or two Cravens coaches plus a steam-generator van, formed the 11:45 Limerick - Ennis, effectively a through service although not advertised as such. On Saturday 21 June 1997 this train had 46 passengers from Limerick including a BLN reporter, and 33 on the way back as the 13:50 Ennis - Limerick, working forward as the 15:35 Limerick - Ballybrophy. IE appear to have improved the utilisation of their second-line stock significantly in recent years by introducing such marginal services. BLN 813.0518][FR] Le Crotoy - Noyelles-sur-Mer - St.Valéry-sur-Somme - Cayeux-sur-Mer: (BLN 749.083; Ball 14A3) The sparse SNCF service to the junction at Noyelles on the Calais - Boulogne - Amiens line does not make a trip by rail to the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme easy, but a day visit can readily be made by car from as far away as the English West Midlands, and it is well worth the two-hour drive from Calais Le Shuttle terminal south down the Channel coast. The 27km metre-gauge steam-operated tourist line may be regarded as starting at Le Crotoy, on the north side of the firth where the river Somme reaches the sea, heading south-east to terminate across from the northbound platform of the SNCF through station in the tiny village of Noyelles-sur-Mer, now separated from the water by hectares of salt marsh. At Noyelles CFBS trains reverse, with a locomotive change, and take the other branch which curves tightly round to head across flat fields, marshland and drainage ditches on the south side of the Baie de Somme. This was once an SNCF branch, with standard-gauge freight to St.Valéry, latterly worked by CFTA, and it remains dual, with the metre-gauge rails centred between the standard, so that a metre-gauge engine could more readily shunt main-line wagons. Dual-gauge sidings and engine-shed are at St.Valéry-Canal, immediately before crossing the canalised river (Canal de la Somme), and entering the attractive little seaside town of St.Valéry-sur-Somme, whence William of Normandy set sail in 1066. Not far from the bridge the line forks. The shorter branch, dual-gauge but with the standard-gauge rails out of use and partly removed, follows the river, passing close to the north of but not entering the town station, heading west for 1km or so along the roadside and quayside to a run-round loop and passenger platforms at St.Valéry-Quai. The longer branch, metre-gauge only, immediately enters the pleasant little passenger station of St.Valéry-Ville and then heads south-west across fields for some 10km to another small resort, Cayeux-sur-Mer. In 1997 Le Crotoy - Noyelles - St.Valéry-Quai trains were running most weekend afternoons Easter to late September, and Tuesday-Sunday in July and August, but St.Valéry-Ville - Cayeux trains ran weekend afternoons in July and August only. The system's timetabling has in the past made it famously challenging to complete all the track in a day! Details of next season's services will be available in spring 1998 from CFBS, BP31, F-80230 St.Valéry-sur-Somme, France; fax +33 3 22 26 956 66. BLN 813.0519][FR] Thouars - Bressuire - La Roche-sur-Yon: (Ball 44A3-42B3) The vestigial passenger service remains much as described in BLN 790.0450. Presumably some clever SNCF person once decided that the (very limited) passenger traffic was concentrated at the western end, but the 115km line should nevertheless be worked from the other end. The autorail from Thouars, now with a Thouars-based crew, still runs Monday-Friday to La Roche and back, but on four out of the five days it runs uselessly as empty stock each way on the 29km Thouars - Bressuire section and is no longer advertised locally. However, on the 18:36 from La Roche-sur-Yon one Thursday in September 1997, a BLN reporter had no difficulty in remaining on board eastward beyond Bressuire, to descend at the stabling sidings rather than the station at Thouars. La Melleraie quarries are said to produce the best granite chips in France (not many people know that!), but west of there the line has no regular freight, and a landslip in a cutting in 1995 nearly led to complete closure of the La Melleraie - Chavagnes section. The name 'Halte de Sigournais' appears on the next station west, though it is plain 'Sigournais' in the timetable. The usage was once fairly common in France, but does any other extant SNCF station still describe itself as a 'Halte'? Chantonnay retains its generous layout, little-used, but three flat wagons were seen there being loaded with agricultural machinery destined for Ukraine. At La Roche-sur-Yon the northern of the two lines westward to the Vendée coast (La Roche-sur-Yon - Aizenay - Coëx - Commequiers - Croix-de-Vie-St.Gilles; BLN 740.0305, 792.0492) has been severed, with the junction replaced by plain track. BLN 813.0520][BE] Antoing west-to-south curve: (Ball 7B1; Lignes 1, 78) The twice-daily Paris - Mons - Charleroi - Namur TGVs which begin using the raccordement d'Antoing from 14 December 1997 (BLN 0802.0223) are regarded by SNCF as an experimental service, with a challenging target of 60% loadings by end-1999. This will demand significant traffic growth, but the end-to-end journey will be an hour faster than the present route via Erquelinnes. The single TGV set to be used will run empty from Namur to Liège to stable overnight. BLN 813.0521][BE] Fleurus - Tamines / Auvelais: (BLN 0802.0226; Ball 8B1; Ligne 147) Work has begun to restore this 15km closed line and electrify a single track for new freight flows to begin in 2001. The junction at the southern end is to face east to Auvelais rather than west to Tamines as before. Plans are for southbound freights, up to 36 a day, to run (Antwerpen - Leuven -) Ottignies - Fleurus - Auvelais - Namur (- Dinant - Bertrix - Athus), avoiding the steep gradient at Mont-Saint-Guibert on the Bruxelles - Luxembourg main line. Northbound trains would use a different route, running Namur - Jemeppe - Gembloux - Ottignies. BLN 813.0522][BE] (Antwerpen -) Boom - Puurs: (BLN 811.0459; Ball 8B3; Lijn 52): Passenger services should restart in late 1997 or early 1998. NMBS and NV Zeekanaal have at last agreed on new communications links needed to minimise delays to trains and shipping at the moveable bridge over the Schelde - Brussel ship canal at Ruisbroek. BLN 813.0523][BE] Trois Ponts - Malmédy - Waimes - Weywertz - Butgenbach - Büllingen: (BLN 747 suppt; Ball 10A1; Lignes 45, 48 and 45A) The timber traffic over this part of the Vennbahn (BLN 795.064) now runs regularly, but no longer goes to Sourbrodt for transhipment to lorries. The sidings for the sawmill at Büllingen have still not been restored, but the twelve-wagon trains are unloaded there on the running line. BLN 813.0524][BE] Marbehan - Y St.Lambert - Sainte-Marie - Croix-Rouge: (BLN 763.0420; Ball 17B2; Ligne 155) From this once-threatened freight-only branch, a new industrial line (Y St.Lambert - zoning de Gantaufet; Ligne 289) was officially inaugurated on 1 July 1997 to serve the Valvert mineral-water plant at Etalle. By August the raccordement Valvert was carrying 123 wagons a month. (paragraphs 0520-0524 from Trans-fer, #105) BLN 813.0525][DE] Nürnberg-Nordost - Gräfenberg: (Ball 59B3-53A1) The recent extension of U-Bahn U2 to Herrnhütte has a station at Nordostbahnhof, near Leipzigerplatz, where a short walk on the surface leads to Nürnberg-Nordost DB station, at present a single rail-level terminal platform alongside the freight-only Nordring line. A new island platform on the Nordring is being constructed somewhat to the west and a notice boasts of a Durchgang to the U-Bahn. Since the new platform is further away from the U-Bahn than the present one, it is not clear how this is to be achieved. Nürnberg-Nordost - Gräfenberg trains now run on Saturdays and Sundays and at greater frequency than before during the week. The eastern section of the Nordring, from Nürnberg-Nordost round to Nürnberg-Ost, appears now to have been lifted, at least at the Ost end. BLN 813.0526][DE] Nürnberg trams: The U-Bahn U2 Herrnhütte extension led to closure of tram route #3 to Ziegelstein, so rather curiously both operational tram depots are now off the working routes of Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft Nürnberg. The Nordost depot on the main Aussere Bayreutherstrasse was previously served by track through the back streets from the turning-circle in Leipzigerplatz off the Ziegelstein route near Nordostbahnhof. Construction of the U-Bahn tunnels and station cut this connection and so, ingeniously, a new entrance and exit were made through what presumably was the back of the depot to the main road. Since withdrawal of the Ziegelstein trams, Aussere Bayreutherstrasse north of Pirckheimer Strasse has been used only by depot workings. The other VAG depot, Maximilianstrasse, is to one side of Fürtherstrasse, once used by the trams to Fürth, long since replaced by U-Bahn U1, itself now being extended from Fürth Hbf to Fürth Stadthalle. The present tram access to the depot is from Westfriedhof, the terminus of route #6, by means of a longish section of reserved track in the middle of Maximilianstrasse used only by depot workings, one of which recently conveyed a BLN reporter. BLN 813.0527][DK] Hjørring - Hirtshals: (BLN 697.07, 754.230; Ball 4A3) The timetable now shows, short of Hirtshals terminus and served by all Hirtshalsbanen trains, a station called 'Color Line', the name of the ferry operation to Kristiansand, Norway. This is a platform convenient for the present ferry terminal and for part of Hirtshals town. The former separate passenger branch to Hirtshals havn, the harbour station, which was served only by trains connecting with ferries, usually after reversing out of Hirtshals 'main' station, appears no longer to be used, and the freight shunting spur also described in BLN 754 is presumably out of use too, since the last train-ferry operation was on 1 June 1996 (BLN 793.014). BLN 813.0528][NO][SE] Hell - Kopperå NSB - Storlien SJ: (Ball 5B2-5A2) NSB were undertaking major remedial work on the track from 9 to 30 August 1997, with buses replacing all trains, so it seems likely that the July operating constraints (BLN 809.0417) no longer apply. BLN 813.0529][CH] Blonay - Chamby: (Ball 98Al) The Ball atlas shows the Blonay layout incorrectly, for the Vevey - Blonay - Les Pléiades line of CF Électriques Veveysans, part of the MOB group, heads south-east out of Blonay before swinging round to the north, and CEV trains do not reverse at Blonay. The metre-gauge CF Musée Blonay-Chamby line has physical connections at both Blonay and Chamby, but BC's tourist trains, using heritage steam or electric traction, do not normally run through. BC trains start just outside Blonay main station, running southbound direct. Chamby, the interchange with MOB trains on the Montreux - Chamby - Montbovon - Zweisimmen main line of the CF Montreux Oberland Bernois, has no run-round loop, however, so Chamby - Blonay trains propel north to Chaulin Dépôt-Musée, on a short branch off the through BC line. At the depot the locomotive runs round to the north end of the train, propels back to the junction, reverses and hauls the train to Blonay. BLN 813.0530][CH] Territet rack and funiculars: (Ball 98B1, not shown; CFF 2053, 2054) Territet, on the shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) near Montreux, was the site of the world's first electric mountain railway, an experimental 50m-long Riggenbach-rack line built in 1884 by René Thury of Genève, which is pictured on the October page of SBB's 1997 calendar. In 1997 Territet has two funiculars. Climbing 301m, the 640m-long Territet - Glion funicular was the original link to the (Montreux -) Glion - Rochers-de-Naye rack line before the completion of its Montreux - Glion section (BLN 810.0449). The other, the 432m-long Territet - Mont Fleuri funicular, climbing 190m, is still in place, but has remained out of use since November 1992, pending modernisation. BLN 813.0531][CH] Sion - Gstaad: (Ball 99A3-92A1) In March 1994 L'Écho du Rail reported formation of a committee to develop a scheme to build a new metre-gauge Sion - Gstaad line for the CF Montreux Oberland Bernois, with a 9.1km tunnel under Sanetsch, and to convert both Visp - Sion and Zweisimmen - Interlaken to mixed gauge. This visionary scheme would theoretically allow through long-distance metre-gauge working, for example Tirano RhB - Disentis FO - Brig BVZ - Visp SBB - Sion MOB - Zweisimmen BLS - Interlaken SBB - Luzern! Light Rail & Modern Tramway for October 1997 reports another scheme, to extend the metre-gauge Aigle - Sépey - Les Diablerets line north-east under the Col du Pillon to the MOB at Gstaad. News of any progress would be welcome. BLN 813.0532][CH][IT] Mendrisio FFS - Stabio - Cantello (- Varese FS): (Ball 101B1, not shown) From 1 June 1997 a further 4km section of the 15km standard-gauge Valmorea line opened for tourist trains, beyond Stabio in Switzerland on to Italian territory as far as Cantello station. (Eisenbahn Amateur 7/97) BLN 813.0533][CA] Smith, AB - Peace River, AB - Hay River, NW: On 26 August 1997 Canadian National put their 1025km freight-only network in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories up for sale, hoping that short-line operators will bid and buy during 1997. The CN lines north of Smith (itself 210km north of Edmonton), including the Peace River - Hines Creek, AB branch, carry mainly agricultural and forest products and inbound supplies. BLN 813.0534][CA] Toronto Union Station - Cochrane, ON: From 26 October 1997, Ontario Northland Railway's Northlander runs to a new schedule (Toronto 18:20SX - 05:00SuX Cochrane 06:05SX - Toronto 16:25SX) which allows the use of a single train-set but, controversially, the northbound run is overnight without sleeping cars. A new suburban stop at the Oriole GO Transit station near Highway 401 has been added. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 813.0535][US] Boston South Station - Braintree - Middleborough-Lakeville and Braintree - Kingston-Plymouth: (BLN 782.0287; SPV atlas MA-2,3,4b) New Haven Railroad discontinued trains in 1959, but on 29 September 1997 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Commuter Rail restored passenger services to 98km of the Old Colony Railroad, an NH predecessor, serving 15 new high-platform stations on the South Shore. The Old Colony route from South Station is double track, crossing a new Neponset River bridge, paralleling MBTA's rapid-transit Red Line to Braintree (16km), becoming single beyond on each of the two branches. At the outer end, the Plymouth line includes 2.3km of entirely new railway to a large park-and-ride area on the Southeast Expressway, state highway #3. Initial service is four weekday rush-hour round-trips on each line, but more trains, including weekend ones, are to run from December 1997 once signalling is upgraded. (Boston Herald; and http://www2.trains.com) BLN 813.0536][US] (Pueblo, CO -) Canon City - Royal Gorge - Texas Creek - Sage - Dotsero, CO: The US federal Surface Transportation Board have not yet agreed, but Union Pacific intend to abandon the steeply graded and very scenic east-west freight route through the Royal Gorge and over the Tennessee Pass, inherited from the Denver & Rio Grande Western. The state of Colorado hope a Denver-based consortium will run freight and a new tourist passenger service on the 38km from Canon City westwards, threading through the spectacularly narrow Royal Gorge beneath the world's highest suspension bridge to Texas Creek. Beyond, UP plan to remove the track, leaving as recreational trails no less than 240km of trackbed from Texas Creek to Sage, just east of Dotsero, the junction with their Denver, CO - Salt Lake City, UT trunk line, route of Amtrak's California Zephyr. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 814.0537][FR] St.Brieuc - Plouha - Paimpol: (Ball 20B2-20B3 not shown) The first lines of the CF des Côtes-du-Nord opened in 1905 and grew to become a 452km network of metre-gauge local railways in that département before the inevitable decline set in. St.Brieuc - Paimpol was the last to close, in 1956. Numerous traces remain, including structures in reinforced concrete, a material new when they were built. The 200-member Association des chemins de fer des Côtes-du-Nord, founded in 1986, hope to re-create a tourist railway at St.Brieuc bay, and have various stock items and an unknown length of track, depicted in La Vie du Rail, #2597, in May 1997. BLN 814.0538][FR] Haguenau - Oberhoffen - Soufflenheim - Roeschwoog: (Ball 30B3, part shown) The Oberhoffen - Soufflenheim section closed to all traffic 16 December 1973, but through workings have occasionally run since (BLN 775.0130). The French military are paying for a further three years' maintenance of the line as a strategic west-to-east link, close to the German border. (IBSE, October 1997) BLN 814.0539][FR] Chinon - Ligré-Rivière - Champigny-sur-Veude - Richelieu: (BLN 750.0109; Ball 34B1-44B3) Regular passenger service to Richelieu ceased 31 January 1960. The Chinon - Ligré-Rivière - L'Île-Bouchard section of the freight-only SNCF line to Port-de-Piles closed to all traffic in 1969. A summer tourist steam operation, Trains à Vapeur de Touraine, began 30 June 1974 on the Ligré-Rivière - Richelieu section, by then owned by Régie Ferroviaire de Richelieu, a local-authority body, and on 15 December 1994, the Chinon - Ligré-Rivière section was officially déclassée to enable it too to be acquired by RFR. The one major engineering feature, the bridge over the river Vienne at Chinon, is still maintained by SNCF. In 1995 TVT operations were limited to Chinon - Ligré-Rivière due to poor track to the south, but in 1997 TVT were running the full 21km between Chinon and Richelieu. The numerous level-crossings are manned by staff driving ahead of the train, which calls intermediately at Ligré-Rivière and Champigny. The Ligré-Rivière stop lasts 20 minutes to allow passengers to sample local wines and cheeses for a few francs. Chinon has a renowned château and Richelieu is a historic walled town, as well as being the base for several steam locomotives. BLN 814.0540][FR] (Limoges -) Nexon - St.Yrieix - Brive-la-Gaillarde: (Ball 53A3-53B1) The Paris - Bordeaux - Toulouse route was completed in the 1850s, and a second route, (Paris -) Limoges - Nexon - Brive - Capdenac - Toulouse, in 1875. Not until the 1890s did opening follow of the (Paris -) Limoges - Uzerche - Brive (- Montauban - Toulouse) main line which, for the twenty years before the TGV, was the route of SNCF's flagship express, Le Capitole. In 1997 Paris - Bordeaux - Toulouse TGVs threaten the survival of expresses south of Limoges, and the Nexon - Brive line is an 80km backwater. The line achieved notoriety in 1995 when it headed a list of lignes déficitaires in the French press (annual losses FRF29.4 million; average load 16 passengers; subsidy per passenger journey FRF720 = c.£80; Le Point, 4 November 1995). A glance at Table 459 of the timetable reveals part of the reason: the usual SNCF rural 'service', sparse and mind-bendingly complex, requiring much empty running, and presumably based upon travel patterns of past decades as seen from some office in Paris. On 28 May 1997 the 06:37 Brive - Limoges was an X2200 railcar hauling two trailers, with four customers south of St.Yrieix, and a dozen more from there. Few of the surviving small stations generated any business. An impressive viaduct south of Coussac plus four more between Pompadour and Vignols-St.Solve, and several smaller structures, were all built for single track, though curiously the tunnel south of Vignols was built to double-track width - perhaps a relic of the line's one-time role as a through route? Loops remain at St.Yrieix, Coussac-Bonneval, Pompadour and Objat. St.Yrieix handles some freight (tank cars were present for unloading) but southward the line is passenger-only, and replacement buses on this section would seem better value for money. BLN 814.0541][FR] France: light rail: The French government's 1998 budget includes firm commitments of state finance towards four light-rail projects - an 11km line in Valenciennes, a 22km line in Bordeaux and two lines totalling some 20km in Lyon (Lyon-Perrache - La Doua and Lyon-Perrache - Bron-Parilly). These add to commitments since April 1995 of finance for 40km of light rail, comprising new lines in Orléans and Montpellier and a second tram-route in Strasbourg. Much remains to be done, including securing local finance plus design and construction, but some new French light-rail lines may be running in the period 1999-2002. (Le Monde, 22 October 1997) BLN 814.0542][DE] Stendal - Tangermünde (- Tangermünde Nord): (BLN 803.0257; Ball 28A3-B3; KBS269) DB say they will extend trains to Tangermünde Nord only when the branch track has been improved and the speed-limit raised so that journey time over the extended line is no longer than at present. (IBSE, October 1997) BLN 814.0543][DE] Berlin trams: (BLN 765.0464, 770.032) The former east Berlin's trams are reaching further into west Berlin, tramless from 1967 till 14 October 1995. New track extending from Louise Schroeder Platz 2.7km south-west to Eckernförder Platz was to be served by routes #23 and 24 from 25 October 1997. (IBSE, October 1997) BLN 814.0544][DE] Berlin-Spandau: (BLN 812.0490; Ball 31B2) The flyover west of the new Berlin-Spandau station is not exactly a new one, but more an old one rebuilt to a new design on the same location. Before 1908 the Lehrter Bahn (Berlin - Stendal - Lehrte - Hannover) and the Hamburger Bahn (Berlin - Hamburg) diverged at a flat junction just west of the old Spandau Lehrter Bahn station, which was more or less on the site of the present goods station. About 1908 a main-line flying junction was provided in connection with the quadrupling of the Lehrter Bahn out to Wustermark Rbf. The physical junction was not at the flyover, but back at the new Spandau West station. From that point the up and down Lehrter Bahn lines (to use British terminology for convenience) were outside the Hamburger Bahn lines. Right-hand running being the rule, the layout was, from north to south, down Hannover, down Hamburg, up Hamburg, up Hannover, with the down line to Hannover rising to cross over both Hamburg tracks. This flyover line was the single track later electrified with third-rail to provide the S-Bahn link to Staaken which operated between 1951 and 1980. The new layout is designed to allow higher speeds on the curves to the Hannover route while maintaining line speed on the Hamburg route. The lines are, north to south, down Hamburg, down Hannover, up Hamburg, up Hannover, so the down Hannover line now crosses only the up Hamburg track and the up Hannover line has a significantly flatter curve than before. BLN 814.0545][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (Ball 31-32) Neukölln - Treptower Park, the south-eastern section of the Innenring, is to reopen to S4 trains on 18 December 1997, but the Westkreuz - Pichelsberg section of line S5 to Spandau may not reopen till spring 1998. Work is under way on the S25 Lichterfelde Ost - Lichterfelde Süd extension, with a view to reopening autumn 1998. Beyond Lichterfelde Süd, the through line is to be restored on a new alignment across the old West Berlin boundary out to Teltow and the Aussenring, perhaps by 2002. On the Teltow - Birkengrund stub, by autumn 1997 Teltow station was only a single platform, the former Gleis 2 having vanished beneath the embankment for the future through line. The present Teltow terminus is to close, probably by early 1998, and trains will instead stop some 20m further west and 5m higher, on the through line. (IBSE, Oct/Nov 1997) BLN 814.0546][DE] Berlin - Zossen - Wünsdorf (- Uckro): (Ball 32A2-29B2) Regionalbahn local services with 42xx numbers terminate at Wünsdorf in Gleis 16, the military station, where once a daily Moskva - Wünsdorf train arrived to serve HQ Western Group of the Russian armed forces. By 24 May 1998 at the latest, the RB trains are to use the ordinary platforms at Wünsdorf and the Russenbahnhof will be closed. (IBSE, October 1997) BLN 814.0547][DE] Karlsruhe Marktplatz - Maxau - Wörth (Rhein) - Wörth Rathaus: trams on railways: (BLN 796.086; Ball 57A2; KBS710.5) Karlsruhe's dual-voltage tram network extended west across the river Rhein from 28 September 1997, using some DB trackage plus new sections of line Knielingen-Rheinbergstrasse - Maxau and Wörth - Wörth Rathaus. The latter short section is the first tramway in Germany to be equipped with 15kV 16.7Hz high-voltage 'main-line' electrification. (IBSE, October 1997) BLN 814.0548][AT] Wien U-Bahn: Co-operation between train-operators in the Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region has never fully extended to station nomenclature. One major S-Bahn/U-Bahn/tram interchange for example is known as Wien Nord by ÖBB and Praterstern by the city transport system. This could get worse. The diagrammatic map showing the planned extension of U-Bahn U3 from Erdberg 2.2km south beneath the city gasworks to meet ÖBB's high-level S80 Wien Süd - Hausfeldstrasse Ostbahn line shows the new interchange at Simmering Hauptstrasse being renamed Simmering/Ostbahn - even though the same map also clearly shows the existing Simmering Ostbahn station on another branch of the Ostbahn, ÖBB's S60 Wien Süd - Bruck an der Leitha line. The difference between Simmering/Ostbahn and Simmering Ostbahn would be too subtle for most customers, so one can only hope ÖBB and Wiener Stadtwerke Verkehrsbetriebe get their act together and change one or other of the names by the time the U3 extension opens in the year 2000. (Fahrgast, #3/97) BLN 814.0549][DK] København - Korsør - Nyborg - Odense - Tinglev - Sønderborg / Padborg: (BLN 811.0467; Ball 8B3-7B2-6B1) At the timetable change on 28 September 1997 DSB implemented the definitive service patterns allowed by the Storebælt tunnel/bridge, the 25kV 50Hz electrification from København to the German border, and the 1993 Fredericia avoiding line. East of Korsør the junction between the new and old alignments was disconnected by 17 October, and the old line's overhead wires and masts, installed only in February 1993, appeared entirely dismantled after no more than four years of use. However, east of Korsør's new station, a new west-facing spur connects into the old line (BLN 754.0231). At Nyborg, all connections to the old station and the ferry-port are disconnected. Since 28 September, the Snoghøj - Taulov chord is used by a two-hourly København - Sønderborg IR4 electric unit and by the two through night trains via Padborg to Germany. The equipment of the overnight trains has been upgraded, and both now include new double-deck DB sleeping-cars. BLN 814.0550][ES] Puente Poncebos - Bulnes: proposed underground mountain railway: The village of Bulnes lies about 650m above sea-level in the heart of the Urrieles massif of the Picos de Europa, in the northern Spanish principality of Asturias. Access for the 50 or so inhabitants is by a narrow footpath leaving the road at Puente Poncebos, 250m high, and climbing for about 2km clinging to the near-vertical sides of the 1000m-deep Cares gorge, where a false step can send one plunging over 100m into a ravine with a torrent at the bottom. All supplies and building materials have to come in on the backs of mules, either on this path or on a similar path running over the Pandebano pass (1224m) to the road at Sotres (1100m), some 7km distant. The paths are popular with hill-walkers and climbers. Various schemes were put forward from around 1900 until the early 1940s for narrow-gauge lines to serve the Picos de Europa. More recently the provincial authorities considered building a road to Bulnes, but the Picos are now a national park, and a new road would be unacceptable to the government in Madrid. On 4 August 1997 the province therefore presented to the public an alternative project: a railway using local hydro-electric power from the Cares gorge would run from an underground station at Puente Poncebos entirely in a 5m-wide 2.3km-long tunnel to a similar station in Bulnes. Variously referred to in press reports as a funicular and a tren-cremallera (= rack railway) the line would be 'the longest of its kind in Europe'. In theory either funicular or rack could be adopted, but a funicular would require expensive excavation of a crossing-point cavern midway, while a rack line could perhaps be extended at a later date to Sotres, Tresviso or Fuente Dé, easing pressure from visitors with four-wheel-drive vehicles on the most popular parts of the Picos. BLN 814.0551][ES] Caminreal - Daroca - Calatayud - Soria - Burgos - Villarcayo - Cidad-Dosante: (Ball 23B1-22B3-12B1-11B2-11A3-5A1 not shown) Like the Manchester & Milford Haven Railway, the grandly-named FC Santander-Mediterraneo, a 360km broad-gauge line built 1927-30, failed to reach either of the places in its title, though at its eastern end the 1897-1902 FC Central de Aragón Sagunto - Caminreal - Calatayud line did give access from the Mediterranean. In 1933 a direct if somewhat tortuous cut-off opened from Caminreal to Zaragoza, and the (Valencia -) Sagunto - Teruel - Caminreal - Zaragoza route thus created has survived as a useful through line. By contrast, Caminreal - Cidad-Dosante declined into a series of little-used branch lines before closure. From Burgos northwards the 114km of FCSM track ended in sparsely populated country at Cidad-Dosante station, close to but not contiguous with Dosante-Cidad station on the FC La Robla León - Bilbao metre-gauge line (5A1). Both stations served, at least theoretically, a pair of villages too tiny to be shown on most maps. North of Cidad-Dosante enough work was done on the 7km La Engaña tunnel beneath the mountains to give it the dubious distinction of being Spain's longest railway tunnel never to have seen a train, despite brave predictions as late as 1970 of completion of the line through to Santander. The most vulnerable northern 22km, Villarcayo - Cidad-Dosante, lost its passenger trains in the 1960s. By summer 1983 RENFE's timetable comprised (daily each way) one all-stations (Teruel -) Caminreal - Daroca - Calatayud (- Zaragoza) train; one Daroca - Calatayud; one Calatayud - Soria - Burgos; and one Burgos - Villarcayo. From 1 January 1985 all passenger trains were withdrawn over the whole line from Caminreal to Villarcayo, and nearly all track was lifted shortly thereafter. Some 73km of trackbed from Cabezón de la Sierra west to Burgos has become a vía verde long-distance footpath. A short section of line north of Burgos was retained to give access to the lengthy Villalonquejar private siding heading west in the suburbs of the town. BLN 814.0552][ES] Soria - Castejón de Ebro: (Ball 11B2-12B2) This 103km section, which recently lost its passenger trains (BLN 812.0500), was the first new line opened by the nationalised RENFE, shortly after its formation on 24 February 1941. (Continental Railway Handbook: Spain & Portugal, by D Trevor Rowe, Ian Allan 1970) BLN 814.0553][ES] La Puebla de Hijar - Tortosa: (Ball 23A3-24A3 not shown) La Puebla de Hijar is on the (Madrid -) Zaragoza - Reus (- Tarragona - Barcelona) line just west of Samper, where RENFE's important electrified main line crosses the Andorra - Escatrón mineral railway, once beloved of steam enthusiasts. Opened in 1942 as RENFE's second new railway, the La Puebla de Hijar - Tortosa secondary route proved a poor investment with a short life. It followed a winding south-easterly course for 127km through sparsely-populated countryside with a short 2km branch to serve the town of Alcañiz. For two decades the passenger service was three trains daily each way, but by 1967 this had fallen to two, and the Alcañiz town branch had closed. At some time between 1969 and 1983 passenger trains ceased, and the line closed completely either then or shortly thereafter. BLN 814.0554][ES] (Madrid - Albacete -) La Encina - Mogente (- Valencia): (Ball 32B2) A lengthy realignment in spring 1997 of this section of electrified broad-gauge main line appears to have led to abandonment of the former single-track section from La Encina north-east through the Santa Barbara tunnel to around Mogente. BLN 814.0555][ES] Madrid - Aranjuez - Algodor - Toledo: (BLN 799.0170, 805.0312; Ball 21A2-20A1) In order to build the Madrid - Cordoba - Sevilla high-speed standard-gauge line, trains on the 1879 Madrid - Parla - Algodor - Ciudad Real - Badajoz broad-gauge line of the former Compañia de Ferrocarriles de Madrid, Zaragoza y Alicante were withdrawn in January 1988 from the Parla - Algodor and Algodor - Ciudad Real sections. These were dismantled except for some 14km of broad-gauge track from Algodor south to the unstaffed station of Ablates, where gauge-changing equipment was set up to help supply construction materials for the Parla - Algodor - Ablates - Mascaraque section of the AVE line. Once the Alta Velocidad Española TGV-clones began running in 1992, the Ablates gauge-changing facility became redundant, and some 12km of the branch to it were lifted, leaving in 1997 a broad-gauge siding used for shunting freight trains, which crosses a metal bridge over the river Algodor to terminate at a scotch-block about km64 from Madrid, some 2km south of Algodor station, just beyond the overbridge carrying the Aranjuez / Ocaña - Toledo road. At Algodor (BLN 799), the stylish c.1928 passenger building, by the same noted architect as Toledo's, is at km61.215 measured along the old MZA line, while the level-crossing at the western end of the extensive junction layout is at km61.646. The turntable is still in use to turn steam locomotives hauling the Madrid - Aranjuez excursion Tren de la Fresa. The rare Bianchi-Servettaz hydraulically-operated points and signalling are unique in Spain and may possibly be the last such installation in daily use anywhere in the world. Special thanks are due for the above detailed information to the station-master at Algodor, who responded to an enquiry on behalf of BLN. BLN 805, though respectful of its architecture, did not perhaps quite do justice to the singularity of Toledo's magnificent station building. Construction began in 1916, the design by Don Narciso Claverias allegedly being influenced by King Alfonso XIII, who wanted the station to reflect the style of this royal city, which had been the capital successively of Visigothic, Moorish and Castilian kingdoms, and once a major centre of European culture. The clock-tower is in the form of a tall minaret atop an ornate chapel built in brick in 'neo-mudéjar' (Islamic) style. BLN 814.0556][NO] Oslo metro: (Ball 28A2) On a diagrammatic map, Oslo's Tunnelbane looks a simple system - one standard-gauge line running underground through the city centre branching to serve four outer termini to the east and four to the west - but its history and operations are quite complex. The western lines were built from 1898 onwards by several companies and municipalities to light-rail standards with 600V dc overhead electrification, sharp curves and steep gradients. They served a terminal in the western part of the city at Majorstuen until extended in 1928 in tunnel to a terminal much closer to the centre at Nationalteatret (= National Theatre). A final merger of all the companies involved did not take place until 1993. While two of the eastern lines opened with tram operation in the late 1950s, in 1966 they became part of a new 750V dc third-rail metro, the T-bane, built by the city transport authority, A/S Oslo Sporveier (= Oslo tramway company). A sizeable part of the new T-bane was in tunnel, linking suburban high-rise housing estates with an underground terminal, Jernbanetorget (= railway square), next to the then Oslo Ost main-line station, now replaced by the adjacent Oslo Sentral. When the east-to-west main-line tunnel (Oslo Sentral - Nationalteatret) was driven under the centre to link the NSB lines on either side of the city, first the eastern T-bane from Jernbanetorget and then the western OS line from Nationalteatret were also extended in a parallel tunnel to meet end-on at a station initially and confusingly called Sentrum, but renamed Stortinget after the nearby Norwegian parliament building. With incompatible electrification and modes of operation, the OS lines saw no through running at Stortinget until 1993, after limited integration work had taken place (BLN 738.0268). Much of the stock of the original T-bane has been converted to dual third-rail/overhead operation and older overhead-only stock has been retired. In 1997 all the eastern lines and the line under the city are entirely third-rail, and the lines to the west are in part being converted. Line 1, the Holmenkollinje, climbs from sea-level to a height of over 450m at Frognerseteren in the hills north of Oslo, with attractive views over the city and the sea. With an electrification changeover at Frøn, all trains must be dual-fitted. Line 2, the Røalinje to Østerås, was not visited, but full third-rail operation is intended. Line 3, the Sognsvannslijne, is now all third-rail, worked by third-rail-only stock. Line 4, the Kolsåsbane, changes to overhead at Montebello, at least at present, and all trains must be dual-fitted. One of the eastern branches, the Østensjøbane to Skullerud, is to be extended south to a new terminus at Mortensrud in January 1998. BLN 814.0557][HU][HR] Pécs - Villány - Magyarbóly MÁV - Beli Manastir HZ - Osijek: (Ball 47A2-47B1) After the repair of war damage, this main line from southern Hungary into eastern Croatia reopened 3 September 1997 with two pairs of cross-border passenger trains. Three other train pairs serve the HZ Beli Manastir - Osijek section only. (IBSE, October 1997) BLN 814.0558][CN] Hai'an - Haikou train-ferry?: DSB Scandlines are said to be discussing sale of three ex-Storebælt train-ferries, newly redundant on the Korsør - Nyborg route, for the projected service between mainland China and the large island of Hainan. Over 300km of new railway would also be needed. (Cruising Monthly, July 1997) BLN 815.0559][GB] Douglas Derby Castle - Laxey - Ramsey: (BLN 775.0126) The Douglas - Laxey section of the 914mm-gauge Manx Electric Railway was closed throughout the winter season 1995-96, even though the level-crossing works did not start until December. The same southern section again suffered withdrawal of passenger services for the winter of 1996-97, this time for works at Derby Castle. However the MER's interurban trams are to run Mondays-Fridays 3 November to 19 December 1997 and 5 January to 3 April 1998, to the following timings: Laxey 08:55 - 09:25 Douglas 09:40 - 10:55 Ramsey 12:10 - 13:25 Douglas 13:40 - 14:55 Ramsey 15:30 - 16:15 Laxey. (Manx Transport Review; MER timetables) BLN 815.0560][IE] Dromod, County Leitrim: (BLN 703.01) On 31 October 1997 the short relaid section of the 914mm-gauge Cavan & Leitrim Railway saw the preservation group running Hallowe'en trains for their third year, and Santa specials are to run on December Saturdays and Sundays until Christmas (telephone +353 78 38599). BLN 815.0561][FR] Rouen trams: (BLN 731.0121, 748.065; Ball 13B1) The delayed station Palais de Justice and the 4.2km Sotteville - St.Étienne-du-Rouvray extension both opened 1 September 1997. Earlier, on 6 May, local politicians took a trip on the SNCF Rouen - Elbeuf freight line as far as Grand-Couronne with a view to considering whether that section should be used for an extension of the city's tramway, which is bizarrely entitled Métrobus, or as it is rendered on the vehicles, M-é-t-r-o-b-u-s. (partly Voie Étroite, Oct-Nov 1997; L'Écho du Rail, Oct 1997) BLN 815.0562][FR] (Paris -) Dreux - Argentan - Folligny - Granville: (Ball 24B2-23A2-21B3) Among the redundant connections not removed during the line-upgrading currently under way (BLN 771.047) is the harbour-branch lead at Granville yard, a line about 2km long, dropping steeply from the north side of the main line, to run behind the former CF de la Manche narrow-gauge station building, closed 1936 but still standing. The standard-gauge branch carried phosphate fertiliser traffic until 1995, but had lain out of use until 17 July 1997 when two new railcar units (due to be introduced on the Granville line by May 1999) were taken part of the way down the branch to the town-hall, for display to the public and politicians. Granville passenger station, not centrally sited, seems to have been judged too far away for this purpose, hardly a good omen for traffic. Could some future passenger use of the harbour branch be envisaged? (L'Écho du Rail, Oct 1997) BLN 815.0563][FR] Sembadel - Craponne-sur-Arzon - Usson-en-Forez - Estivareilles (- St.Bonnet-le-Château - Bonson): (BLN 793.05, 799.0158, 803.0254; Ball 55B1-56A2) This line lost its passenger trains 7 July 1969, closed completely in 1987, was declassée (= legally abandoned) in 1996, and lifted north of Estivareilles. Sembadel - Estivareilles track remains, but SNCF are threatening to demolish the Pontempeyrat viaduct. The preservationist Association de Sauvegarde et d'Animation du CF du Haut Forez, formed in 1986, once aimed to run tourist trains on the now-lifted 27km St.Bonnet - Bonson section, but instead hope by summer 1999 to run the full 35km between Sembadel and Estivareilles, rather than just to Craponne or Usson as earlier BLN reports perhaps suggested. This would link with AGRIVAP's existing 93km Pont-de-Dore - Courpière - Ambert - Sembadel operation, based at Ambert. On 17 August 1997 the Haut Forez group arranged for AGRIVAP to run two through Ambert - Sembadel - Estivareilles trains as centennial specials. One train was steam-hauled, but neither carried the fare-paying public as passengers. (Rail Passion, Jan 1996; Voie Étroite, Oct/Nov 1997) BLN 815.0564][FR] St.Georges-de-Commiers - La Mure: (Ball 57B1; Howarth 2nd edn, p87) This magnificent metre-gauge line, built to haul coal, is claimed to be the first in France to be nationalised (1898) and to be electrified (1905). It lost its ordinary passenger services 2 February 1950, but a miners' service ran until 30 September 1962. By 1971 the local tourist office were chartering a few passenger excursions each summer, and this traffic has steadily grown. Cessation of anthracite traffic at the end of 1988 did not lead to closure, but to more tourist trains, with as many as four round-trips daily during the summer. Though excursions were marketed for a period in the early 1980s by SOFITEC (Société Financière Industrielle et Technique d'Équipement et de Commerce, BLN 748.066), the line itself remained a state operation until 1 January 1989, when ownership of the rolling-stock and responsibility for the infrastructure transferred to the local authority (Conseil Général de l'Isère) with operation contracted to SATELAM, a société d'économie mixte locale (= joint local authority/private-sector company). This operating contract expires 1 February 1998, and SATELAM have indicated they do not wish to continue, so new operators are being sought. The line is well worth a visit. South of Grenoble, it is not too far away from the scenic Vivarais lines. (Voie Étroite, Oct/Nov 1997) BLN 815.0565][FR] Neussargues - Allanche - Lugarde-Marchastel - Riom-ès-Montagnes - Bort-les-Orgues: (BLN 761.0382, 736.0198; Ball 54A2-55A1) Ordinary passenger services were withdrawn 27 May 1990 although previously agreed excursions ran until July 1991. In 1997 railcars X3846 and X3900 began running seasonal tourist trains on the 16km Lugarde - Riom section (SSuO 12 Jul - 6 Sep, SuO 7 Sep - 2 Nov 1997; operator CF de la Haute Auvergne, Hôtel de Ville, F-15400 Riom-ès-Montagnes; tel. +33 4 71 78 07 37). Services may extend to Bort-les-Orgues in summer 1998. Rail-cycle (vélo-rails) hiring commenced in 1996 and in 1997 appears to have been on offer daily until 15 September over the 31km from Lugarde past Allanche to just short of Neussargues, apparently an extension since BLN 792.0492. Operator is Vélo-rail du Cézallier, Gare, F-15190 Lugarde; tel. +33 4 71 20 49 89. The nearby Miécaze - Bort-les-Orgues line (84km) closed to passengers, and completely, from 3 July 1994, when Auvergne regional council withdrew subsidy, and in 1995 the Cantal local council sought to acquire the line to convert it to a foot, horse and cycle path. (Voie Étroite, Oct/Nov 1997; L'Écho du Rail, Aug 1997) BLN 815.0566][FR] Dunières - Montfaucon-en-Velay - Tence - Le Chambon-sur-Lignon (- St.Agrève): (BLN 716.04, 748.066, 783.0293; Ball 56A1; Howarth 2nd edn, p82) The volunteer organisation Voies Ferrées du Velay in autumn 1996 relaid metre-gauge track on the lifted Dunières SNCF - Dunières-Ville section of the former Vivarais system, but ballasting and sleeper renewal at Dunières SNCF remained incomplete, so this section, which includes a tunnel, was not in use for passenger trains of the Ligne Touristique Velay-Lignon during the 1997 season. In 1992-93 sleepers were replaced on 3km of the Tence - Le Chambon section and, though four level-crossings remain to be dealt with, it is rumoured trains may run to Le Chambon in summer 1998. (Voie Étroite, Oct/Nov 1997) BLN 815.0567][FR] (Le Puy -) Brives-Charensac - Landos - Pradelles - Langogne: (Ball 64A3) North of Landos the track has been lifted. The rail-cycle hiring operation opened in 1996 at Pradelles (BLN 792.0492) is on the remaining section from Landos south to the Allier viaduct, close to Langogne. (L'Écho du Rail, Aug 1997) BLN 815.0568][FR] Carcassonne - Limoux - Quillan: (BLN 799.0157, 804.0279; Ball 72B2-72B1) If Languedoc-Roussillon regional council confirm their option to acquire new railcars, the service will be increased to six round-trips as far as Limoux, plus two over the whole length. A new halt at Viguier, on the outskirts of Carcassonne, would also be opened. (L'Écho du Rail, Sep 1997) BLN 815.0569][FR][BE] Dunkerque - Bray-Dunes SNCF - De Panne NMBS: (Ball 6B3-7A3) A rail-replacement bus runs twice a day between Dunkerque station and Bray-Dunes station. If a cross-border rail service is to restart (BLN 811.0458) some work will need to be done on the rusty track, very visibly disused for years, with a tree growing between the rails at Bray-Dunes in October 1997. Someone had however removed the two-sleepers-set-in-a-V-shape which blocked the line near the frontier in 1996 (BLN 791.0463). The Franco-Belgian frontier is at the first level-crossing and runs along the north-east side of the road leading to Maison de la Dune, the most northerly point of all France. About 50m inside Belgium, the trackside sign still stands with its two diamonds facing east, the top one bearing the Belgian railway logo barré (with a line through it) and the bottom one the SNCF logo, indicating the point where signalling rather than track-ownership changes (BLN 713.04, 721.08). A treadle is set in the line here. At the next level-crossing, Westhoek, the line is traversed diagonally by the N386 road, no longer so busy since the 1997 opening of the cross-border autoroute a little to the south. BLN 815.0570][BE] Knokke - Oostende - De Panne: light rail: (BLN 811.0458; Ball 7A3) Before the 1914-18 war metre-gauge Vicinal tracks ran to Adinkerke station (now De Panne NMBS) so the extension to replace the present bus-route #781 is in effect restoration, though the alignment is new. Much development has taken place in the area. A BLN correspondent recalls that about 1962 he helped the tram-driver clear wind-blown sand from the then-exposed De Panne turning-circle, which now lies in a built-up residential area. By mid-October 1997 nothing much had yet been done at that point to prepare for connection of the present running line to the Adinkerke extension, and it looks as though once the latter is ready, the turning-circle may simply be abolished, with a slight lowering in the level of the rails across the road junction to link to the new reserved track, whose rails are already in place from about 100m down the extension. Rails were also in place in the tarmac at a number of minor-road junctions, and on a street-running section near the church where the road is too narrow for reserved track. The double-track reservation then takes to the east side of the road. A reversing crossover was in place but not yet ballasted. After about 500m track ended, but piles of rail and sleepers awaited laying on the next section, already equipped with drainage and bottom ballast. No masts or mast bases were seen anywhere on the extension. As noted in BLN 811, south of the Duinhoekstraat roundabout little was apparent of the route, but a De Lijn poster indicated its alignment southward in fields east of the houses lining the road towards the station, turning west to cross the road and head for the Meli amusement-park north of the station, where a new turning-circle and depot are to be set up on the present muddy building-site. Somewhat optimistically, the poster gave the opening-date of the extension as "next year". The Meli park, whose winter hours are 14:00-18:00, has a narrow-gauge railway. BLN 815.0571][BE] Liège: Y Garde-Dieu - Angleur: (BLN 800.0185; Ball 9B1) By 22 September 1997 track and wiring on this north-to-east curve had been restored. Though still blocked by red flags at each end, the track looked as if it had seen some use, presumably by engineering trains. It looked the same on 6 October, but by 19 October the flags had been removed and the track looked in full use again. The works which caused the temporary closure of the curve were for a new road under the river, rather than for the Bruxelles - Liège - Aachen high-speed rail line, according to SNCB's October publication Liège: passeport pour l'avenir. BLN 815.0572][DE] Hamburg S-Bahn: Hbf - Bergedorf - Reinbek - Aumühle: (BLN 794.039, Ball 22B2-22B3) Surrounded by noise-protection walls 3-5m high, with another wall between S-Bahn and Fernbahn tracks, Reinbek station makes a poor impression, reminding one of a DDR frontier checkpoint. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 4/97) BLN 815.0573][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (BLN 738.0259; Ball 31B3) Birkenwerder station is again being visited by electric locomotives as well as S-Bahn trains. It has both 800V dc third-rail and 15kV 16.7Hz overhead electrification, requiring complicated precautions against stray currents. Introduced in autumn 1983, the dual system was taken out of use 29 September 1996 but reactivated 1 June 1997. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 4/97) BLN 815.0574][DE] Köln Hbf - Köln Süd - Südbrücke - Porz-am-Rhein - Troisdorf: (OEIS 9724, 9754; Ball 36A3) To reduce track occupation via Bonn Hbf during engineering works on Saturdays and Sundays until 14 December 1997, one IC train an hour is diverted from the main line on the left bank to the secondary line on the right bank of the river Rhein between Köln and Koblenz. The trains are at xx:51 south from Köln Hbf and xx:06 north from Koblenz Hbf. To avoid reversal at Köln, they use their normal route between Köln Hbf and Süd, then the usually freight-only Südbrücke back over the Rhein. Between the east end of the bridge and Troisdorf the northbound and southbound trains were taking different routes on 12 October. The southbound train took the goods line to Gremberg, then the avoiding line, at least partly single-track, running along the eastern edge of Gremberg yard before continuing on the goods lines which run generally parallel to the passenger lines south from Porz to Troisdorf. The northbound train by contrast took the passenger line as far as the closed Köln Kalk station, then a short curve (Stw Kkf - Stw Kkw) to join the goods line from Kalk Nord to the Südbrücke. Both routes seem to have single-line sections and since the north- and southbound trains are timed to pass each other about 8 or 9 minutes south of Köln, on the bridge or close to it, their different routeing may be to avoid conflict in the event of late running. BLN 815.0575][DE] Zwickau (Sachsen) - Falkenstein (Vogtland): trains on tramways: (Ball 43A1-54A3) From autumn 1998 light diesel railcars are planned to run through over tram-lines into Zwickau town centre. Along with a new connection at Zwickau Hauptbahnhof, a third rail would allow the local Vogtlandbahn's standard-gauge RegioSprinters to share with the metre-gauge town trams. (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, November 1997) BLN 815.0576][DE] Freiburg-im-Breisgau - Breisach: (BLN 809.0413, 810.0436; Ball 67B2) On 2 June 1997 Breisgau S-Bahn GmbH formally took over as operator on the branch. BSB are a subsidiary of Südwestdeutsche Verkehrs AG (SWEG) and Freiburger Verkehrs AG (FVAG, who run Freiburg's metre-gauge town trams). (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn 3/97) BLN 815.0577][DK] Tinglev - Fredericia - Århus: (Ball 6A1-2B1) Danish private railway Hillerød - Frederiksværk - Hundested Jernbane have undercut DSB to win a Maersk Line contract to move containers over DSB tracks between Tinglev and Århus, well away from HFHJ's operating area north-west of København. (Op de Rails, 8/97) BLN 815.0578][SE] Ystad - Gärsnäs - Simrishamn: (Ball 25B1) Working of this line is said to have been suspended since the operator, Sydtåg, went into liquidation. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 8/97) BLN 815.0579][PT] Sintra trams: Ribeira - Banzão - Praia das Maçâs: (BLN 792.0512) The Sintra-Atlântico metre-gauge roadside electric tramway, originally opened March 1904, has been restored, with some of its heritage stock. Official reopening ceremony was on 15 September 1997, and the operators, Scottish-based worldwide transport group Stagecoach, were to be running an hourly one-tram service from 17 September throughout the winter, Wednesdays-Sundays, initially on the 3km between Banzão and Praia das Maçâs, but hoping by October to cover the whole 13km of available route, which descends from Sintra 200m to the sea. Unsurprisingly, the 2km Praia das Maçâs - Azenhas do Mar extension (1930-1954) has not been restored, nor has the 1km Sintra Estaçao - Sintra Vila section, closed in 1955 and lifted in 1958. (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, November 1997) BLN 815.0580][FR][CH] Évian-les-Bains - St.Gingolph SNCF - St.Gingolph CFF: (Ball 50B2-FR, 98B3-CH) In mid-August 1997 a Stadler railcar of Swiss train-operator Mittelthurgaubahn ran over at least part of the international Ligne du Tonkin to test the practicability of running regular trains. The line has no freight traffic and hosts only the seasonal preserved Rive Bleue Express (BLN 774.0108, 775.0133) and occasional excursions (BLN 798.0130). (L'Écho du Rail, Sep 1997) BLN 815.0581][CH] Solothurn - Büren an der Aare - Busswil (- Lyss): (BLN 734.0165; Ball 86B1-92A3) This line, now freight-only between Solothurn and Büren, has been closed between Solothurn and Lüsslingen during the building of a bridge over the future Autobahn A5, the Lüsslingen cement-works being served from the Büren end. BLN 815.0582][CH] Wildegg - Niederlenz: (Ball 87B2 not shown) This closed section of the Seetalbahn is to be used for training of military railway service personnel. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 8/97) BLN 815.0583][CH] Schaffhausen - Etzwilen - Stein am Rhein - Kreuzlingen - Romanshorn: (Ball 88A3-89A3) On the bank of the river Rhein within five minutes of Stein am Rhein MThB (ex-SBB) station is the Steiner Liliputbahn, a miniature railway using both 381mm and 184mm gauges, relaid in 1996 after 20 years in operation. In 1997 it was running 30 Mar - 18 May WSO 13:00-18:00, SuO and public holidays 10:00-18:00; and 19 May - 28 Sep daily 10:30-18:00. (Schweizerferien '97 mit Dampf und Nostalgie) With Mittelthurgaubahn taking over operation of SBB's Seelinie (BLN 775.0144) on 1 June 1997 the station-names of 'Tägerwilen SBB' and 'Tägerwilen MThB' (earlier Tägerwilen-Oberstrass) became confusing, and the stations are now renamed Tägerwilen-Gottlieben (on the Schaffhausen line) and Tägerwilen Dorf (on the Weinfelden - Kreuzlingen line). MThB now also operate the unelectrified SBB Etzwilen - Ramsen SBB (- Rielasingen DB - Singen) freight-only branch (BLN 779.0227). BLN 815.0584][CN] Hong Kong West Rail: (BLN 738.0271) Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation in August 1997 advertised for consultants to do detailed design work on West Rail Phase I, a 30.5km double-track electric passenger railway with a maintenance depot and nine stations to serve Hong Kong's north-western New Territories. Construction will be subject to approval of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, expected around September 1998. (Financial Times, 11 August 1997) BLN 815.0585][AU] Sydney - Adelaide - Perth ; Melbourne - Adelaide and Adelaide - Alice Springs: (BLN 802.0245, 806.0347) Great Southern Railway, a private-sector consortium including Anglia franchisee GB Railways, have acquired Pax Rail, the passenger-train operations of nationalised Australian National Railways, running the Indian Pacific, the Overland and the Ghan on the above three routes. Plans are for the Indian Pacific and Overland to connect and for the Ghan to be extended to run from Sydney and from Melbourne. (Financial Times, 1 Nov 1997) BLN 815.0586][US] New Orleans trams: The busy 10km St.Charles streetcar line, said to be the oldest continuously-operating street railway in the world, with 35 heritage cars, is laid to the unusual broad gauge of 1587mm (5ft 2.5in). Ironically it was originally standard, but regauged on 2-3 October 1929 to conform with other lines in the city, all now closed. In 1988 a redundant railway along the Mississippi riverbank was taken over to become a second streetcar line, also with heritage cars, including three from Melbourne, Australia. In 1997 the successful Riverfront line is being regauged to 1587mm, and a short link in Canal Street is being restored to allow through-running, initially of empty stock to the Carrollton car-barn for maintenance. Riverfront passenger service should restart on 1 December 1997. More of the former 13.4km Canal Street line may see trams by 2001, and other extensions are planned, including perhaps the return of the streetcar to the Desire line through the French Quarter, closed in 1948. (Light Rail & Modern Tramway, November 1997) BLN 815.0587][GT] Ferrocarriles de Guatemala: Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corporation, operators of the 1000km Iowa Interstate line and of some 5000km of trackage in Argentina, in June 1997 obtained a 50-year concession to run Guatemala's 800km of derelict 914mm-gauge railway, on which the few remaining operations of the nationalised FEGUA ceased in 1995, their inevitable end foreseen in BLN 721.013. Investment initially would be in the lines linking the capital, Ciudad Guatemala, with the country's Atlantic and Pacific ports, but RDC are prepared also to invest in the other long-closed sections of IRCA (the International Railways of Central America, built by US interests), north to the Mexican border and south into El Salvador. Government commitment to the project includes removing thousands of poor people squatting on the tracks. (Financial Times, 1 July 1997) BLN 815.0588][CL] Santiago - Renaico - Temuco - Puerto Montt: (BLN 725.066, 769.023) RENFE may join Spanish construction and equipment companies in a consortium to upgrade the track and rolling-stock of the Ferrocarril del Sur, the 1200km 1676mm-gauge railway linking Santiago, the capital, with the far south of Chile. Plans are to be ready by spring 1998. (Spanish Trains On Line, http://www.cuerpo8.es/STOL/hoy/) BLN 816.0589][IE] Limerick Junction: The Waterford bay remains in use during the winter timetable, so its service has not proved to be summer-only as shown in PSUL 1997-98, p18. From 1 September 1997, the 14:35 Dublin Heuston - Limerick train runs via the loop at Limerick Jn, not calling there. The afternoon platforming, as seen on 10 November 1997, is therefore different from that in BLN 806.030: Platform 1 (main, reversible) 14:10 Tralee - 16:251/2 Limerick Jn 16:28 - Dublin Heuston Platform 2 (Limerick bay, north end) 15:10 Limerick - 15:45 Limerick Jn 16:28 - Limerick Platform 3 (northbound only) Platform 4 (Waterford bay, south end) 15:55 Limerick - 16:20 Limerick Jn 16:35 - Rosslare BLN 816.0590][FR] (Lille Flandres - La Madeleine -) Lambersart - La Délivrance - Santes (- Don-Sainghin): (Ball 10B3-7A1) Diversion of passenger trains via the Délivrance line ceased with the winter 1997-98 timetable, and it reverted to the freight-only status it has probably had since unadvertised workers' trains were withdrawn some time after the late 1960s. The summer 1997 timetable on Mon-Fri mornings and early afternoons had several passenger trains mysteriously shown to start or terminate at Santes or Don-Sainghin instead of Lille. According to La Nouvelle Géographie Ferroviaire de la France, Santes has no facility for crossing from one track to the other nor for turning back trains, so these workings must have run further north. This suggests that engineering work somewhere on the section Lille - Haubourdin - Santes (Bifurcation de la Tortue, the south-west junction of the triangle) caused them all to run via La Délivrance like the one reported in BLN 812.0483. It is unlikely that simultaneous departures at 15:39 were the reason for diversion via La Délivrance, for Lille has separate parallel tracks out to Fives Sud where the routes Lille - Haubordin - Santes and Lille - Seclin - Dourges - Lens diverge. BLN 816.0591][FR] Paris RER: Est-Ouest Liaison Express: (Ball 81B2) Works began in 1992 on the EOLE project which will become Ligne E of the Réseau Express Régional, a 7km link in tunnel across the north of Paris between SNCF's existing eastern and western suburban lines out of Est and St.Lazare respectively. Opening of the first phase in 1998 will see trains from the Noisy-le-Sec direction diverted from Est to serve two new underground RER stations, Magenta (for Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est and RER Lignes B and D) and Condorcet (for Gare St.Lazare and RER Ligne A). The second phase will see such trains running through to Asnières, La Défense and beyond, and the opening also of two new intermediate stations at Évangile-Aubervilliers (to the east, on the surface) and Pont Cardinet/Batignolles (to the west, in tunnel). Each of the line's new 224m-long double-deck electric units will have 1100 seats, a crush-load capacity of 2564 and six double doors per vehicle to allow short station-stops. BLN 816.0592][FR] Minor railways in France: (BLN 809.0403) Copious details of 69 French tourist-train operations, including length of run, contact addresses and telephone numbers for both members and non-members of the Union des Exploitants de Chemins de fer Touristiques et de musées, have been moved to a page on UNECTO's useful website, at http://www.trains-fr.org/unecto/fedenon.htm. Information is now classified in separate sections: 1. narrow-gauge railways running public services of tourist interest; 2. standard-gauge tourist trains on (a) SNCF freight-only lines; (b) SNCF lines with no SNCF traffic; (c) ex-SNCF (déclassée) lines; (d) non-SNCF lines; 3. metre-gauge tourist railways; and 4. submetric-gauge tourist railways other than miniature lines in parks. BLN 816.0593][FR][BE] Rail-cycle hiring: (BLN 792.0492-3) Details of eleven sections of closed lines in France and one in Belgium on which vélo-rails can be hired are given at http://www.trains-fr.org/unecto/velorail.htm, another of the pages on the UNECTO website. To help you plan your 1998 holiday, the page, updated 11 November 1997, includes location, length of track available, contact address and telephone number. BLN 816.0594][BE] Bruxelles Nord/Brussel Noord - Bruxelles-National-Aéroport/Brussel-Nationaal-Luchthaven: (Ball 10B2; SNCB/NMBS 36C) The new underground station at the airport terminal is deeper down and almost at right angles to the old one, on an alignment which would allow construction of a through line beneath the airport north to Antwerpen. This through line is still not firmly decided upon, but work is under way to link the new station to the Bruxelles - Liège main line. Delays at the junction to traffic leaving the present airport branch have become normal. On this stretch Ligne/Lijn 36 has three tracks, the middle one being used by InterCity trains in the direction of peak traffic, while IC trains in the opposite direction share with local services. As part of the contentious plans for the Bruxelles - Liège TGV line, construction of a fourth track, proposed but not yet agreed, would see two of the tracks becoming dedicated to TGV and IC trains. BLN 816.0595][DE] German changes in September 1997: With the new winter timetable from 28 September 1997 the following lines lost their passenger services, according to IBSE's Telegramm for October 1997: Ball Kursbuchstrecke = Line no in the timetable Müncheberg (Mark) - Buckow (Märkische Schweiz) 30A3 KBS206.29 BLN 803.0255, winter closure Fürstenwalde (Spreewald) - Beeskow 30A3-30B2 KBS206.35 Brandis - Trebsen 43A3-43A2 KBS503 BLN 809.0408 Schwarzenberg (Erzgebirge) - Annaberg-Buchholz 54A3-54B3 KBS536 The following lines opened or reopened to passengers from 28 September 1997: Stendal - Kläden (Kreis Stendal) 28A3 KBS304 BLN 774.0113 Karlsruhe Sinnsheimer Strasse - Blankenloch Nord 57A2 KBS710.2 light rail extension Karlsruhe-Knielingen Rheinbergstrasse - Maxau 57A2 KBS710.5 BLN 814.0547, light rail extn Wörth (Rhein) - Wörth Rathaus 57A2 KBS710.5 BLN 814.0547, light rail extn BLN 816.0596][DE] Sassnitz - Sassnitz Hafen: (BLN 781.0263; Ball 13B3) Rail traffic on the steep and difficult-to-work Sassnitz Hafen branch will cease from 7 January 1998 when the ferries to Sweden are diverted to run Mukran - Trelleborg and boat trains begin to use the Abzw Borchtitz - Mukran branch (BLN 804.0281) to connect with them. Mukran, not far south of Sassnitz, is to be renamed 'Sassnitz Fährhafen' (= ferry-port). (IBSE, Nov.1997) BLN 816.0597][DE] Belzig - Niemegk - Treuenbrietzen: (Ball 29A2) According to an October 1997 leaflet of the local preservation group, Eisenbahnfreunde Hoher Fläming e V, formed to run tourist trains on the line, ordinary passenger services ceased 1 October 1962 and freight 1 February 1963, though different closure dates (1 September 1963 and 1 December 1963 respectively) were quoted in the Märkische Allgemeine for 31 May 1994 when it reported the group's somewhat unofficial Belzig - Treuenbrietzen trip of 22 May 1994 (BLN 736.0208). From 1963 the line was kept as a strategic diversionary route round Berlin (BLN 797.0108), and DR relaid it in 1970-71. Latterly it was used to store wagons awaiting scrapping. From 12 April 1994 Belzig - Niemegk was available for freight as required, but Niemegk - Treuenbrietzen was officially closed, though its track remained in relatively good condition when the group again cut it free of vegetation in spring 1997. EHFeV passenger workings advertised as running over the whole line on 26 and 27 July 1997 were cancelled at the last minute (BLN 809.0406), and a steam-hauled mock freight train hastily arranged for photographers on 26 July ran Belzig - Niemegk only, without passengers. On 3 October however EHFeV were more successful, for two passenger-carrying round trips traversed the whole line. Two more specials due to run on 6 December may be the last, since the DB permission (Betriebsführung, approximating to an operating "safety case" in British terms) to run Niemegk - Treuenbrietzen expires on 31 December 1997. Reopening of the line to passengers has been considered, but seems unlikely. BLN 816.0598][DE] Berlin: Zoologischer Garten - Lehrter Stadtbahnhof - Friedrichstrasse - Alexanderplatz - Hbf: (BLN 783.0305; Ball 31B2-32A2) The Fernbahn long-distance tracks on the Stadtbahn across the city should officially reopen on 24 May 1998. Reconstruction of the viaduct sections is making good progress, though critical works remain. Preparations need to be made for west-to-east Fernbahn trains to call at Lehrter Stadtbahnhof, which is eventually to become the upper level of the planned new main-line Berlin Centralbahnhof (BLN 737.0231, 768.0526). Immediately to the east where the line crosses the Humboldthafen basin into the former eastern sector, the old bridge latterly had a speed-restriction of 10km/h, so must presumably require some work, of which no sign can yet be seen. The bridge over the river Spree just west of Friedrichstrasse is however being reconstructed, and Bf Friedrichstrasse itself is still a building-site. When the Fernbahn reopens between Zoo and Hbf, trains will at first call only at Alexanderplatz, and will not stop at Friedrichstrasse until 1999 or 2000. (IBSE, Nov.1997) BLN 816.0599][DE] Brohl: (BLN 812.0495; Ball 48A3) Brohl's passenger landing-stage attached to the river-wall, where cruise vessels on the Rhein used to connect with metre-gauge Brohltalbahn tourist trains, is not the same as the quay for rail-borne minerals, which is further along the branch, and is still in use for road-borne traffic. BLN 816.0600][DE] Dortmund - Coesfeld - Gronau (Westfalen) (- Enschede NS): (BLN 716.016; Ball 38B3-24A2) The former Dortmund-Gronau-Enscheder Eisenbahn (KBS412) crossed the line from Dorsten (KBS424) on a wide curve and entered the western side of Coesfeld station, but this track was to be abandoned in favour of a new connection bringing Dortmund trains into the eastern side of Coesfeld from 1 December 1997. (IBSE, Nov.1997) BLN 816.0601][AT] Graz trams: (BLN 808.0381, 810.0441; Ball 83B3 not shown) The temporary withdrawal of services on route #1 was between Hilmteich and Maria Trost and lasted from 7 July to 6 September 1997, and route #6 was also closed from Dietrichsteinplatz to St.Peter Schulzentrum for the same period, according to notices displayed at Graz Jakominiplatz on 29 August. The short spur to Zentral Friedhof, formerly part-time route #15, appears now to be without regular service, and perhaps has been for some time. BLN 816.0602][SE] Mora - Orsa - Östersund - Ulriksfors - Hoting - Storuman - Arvidsjaur - Gällivare: (BLN 737.0238, 811.0475; Ball 14A2-3A3) Summer 1997 saw tourist traffic rise on Sweden's privatised Inlandsbanan, running north for 1068km through scenic wilderness. A 14-day railpass on the line is priced at SEK700 (=£55). Though summer 1998 steam trips have yet to be finalised, the railway's website at http://www.inlandsbanan.se/tourist.html already shows the line's railbuses operating daily at the times below, out from Östersund 22 June - 15 August 1998, back to Östersund 23 June - 16 August, calling on request at all intermediate stations and halts. 07:50 Mora strand 21:05 13:45 Östersund 15:00 07:05 Östersund 21:30 21:50 Gällivare 06:45 Inlandsbanan AB are at Box 561, S-831 27 Östersund; telephone +46 20 53 53 53. BLN 816.0603][ES] Madrid - Aranda de Duero - Burgos: (BLN 694.02, 780.0246; Ball 21A2-11A3) In most European countries a line that took 40 years to build would be exceptional. Formal inauguration came on 4 July 1968, in the presence of the then Caudillo (head of state), Francisco Franco, a ceremony still commemorated by a monument outside Burgos station. The line is 282km long, broad-gauge, unelectrified, mostly single track on double formation, running through rough country offering little traffic, with 12 viaducts, 45 tunnels, 18 stations and 14 halts. Many buildings, especially at the halts, often remote from their villages, were boarded up at the outset without ever being used and are now splendidly derelict. Regional passenger services began bravely with ferrobus stopping trains, but these were cut back to intermediate points after only nine months due to lack of custom. However, because it is 89km shorter than the Madrid - Avila - Valladolid - Burgos main line to the north, the line carries some important trains, including the Madrid - Paris sleeper and other TALGO services. Especially recommended is a northbound journey on the sleeper, which runs to Burgos in daylight for much of the year, allowing one to appreciate the difficult civil engineering, the intermediate stations in various poignant states of decrepitude, and the superb scenery, especially during the tortuous climb over the Sierra de Guadarrama. BLN 816.0604][ES] Cieza - Yecla - Villena - Alcoy - Gandía: (Ball 31B1-32A2-32B2) Alcoi's present rail link, the broad-gauge RENFE passenger service on the Xátiva - Alcoi line (Játiva - Alcoy in Castilian Spanish) seems safe for the moment thanks to the recent agreement (BLN 807.0365) with the provincial Generalitat Valenciana not only to spend ESP500M on the track but to pick up the operating deficit until 1999. Journey time from Valencia is to be reduced to 105 minutes for the 120km. (Via Libre, April 1997) Until the late 1960s however Alcoi was also the terminus of two metre-gauge railways, the Villena, Alcoy y Yecla and the Alcoy - Gandía, both now closed. The VAY ran for 134km from Cieza (on RENFE's (Madrid -) Chinchilla - Alcantarilla (- Cartagena) line) via Yecla to Villena (on RENFE's Chinchilla - Alicante line) and on to Muro de Alcoy, whence it shared track with the Gandía line for the last 10km south into Alcoy itself. Once FEVE became responsible for both lines (and for most of the Spanish narrow-gauge) a railcar ran once a day each way Villena - Alcoy (reverse) - Gandía, timed to run the 20km Muro - Alcoy - Muro in 57 minutes westbound and an even more leisurely 80 minutes eastbound. BLN 816.0605][IT] Asciano - Monte-Antico: (BLN 809.0420; Ball 49B2) Closed with the September 1994 timetable, this FS loop line saw 4500 people travel on heritage diesel-railcar tourist trains on fifteen Sundays in 1996, sponsored by the province of Siena's Trenonatura project. A volunteer group, Ferrovia Val d'Orcia, was set up to promote the line and its attractions, with an illustrated 1997 timetable leaflet in four languages available from the Ufficio Turismo Amministrazione Provinciale Siena, tel. +39 577 241 254. Operating days in 1997 were 6,12 April, 1,4,11,18,25 May, 1,8 June, 14,21,28 Sep, 5,12,19 Oct. Round-trip fares, available on the trains, were ITL18,000 (£6.30) Siena - Asciano - Monte Antico - Siena and ITL12,000 (£4.20) Asciano - Monte Antico - Asciano. BLN 816.0606][CH] Blonay - Chamby: (BLN 813.0529; Ball 98Al) In 1969 the run-round at Chamby without a loop was achieved by gravity-shunting the empty stock into a different siding from the locomotive, allowing it to couple to the other end of the train. With the subsequent opening of the short branch to the railway's depot and museum, a main objective for visitors, it would become logical to propel on the five-minute journey to Chaulin Dépôt-Musée rather than take time to decant the passengers and run round at Chamby first. BLN 816.0607][HR][YU] (Zagreb -) Vinkovci HZ - Mirkovci - Šid JZ (- Beograd): (Ball 47B1) On the once-busy main line between the Croatian capital, Zagreb, and the Yugoslav and Serbian capital, Beograd, the section closed during fighting in summer 1991 was reported as reopened in 1996, with some through traffic said to be flowing from 27 June 1996 (BLN 786.0373). International passenger services between the two countries began in a low-key way with a three-coach local Vinkovci - Šid train on 11 November 1997. (The Independent, 12 Nov 1997) BLN 816.0608][RO][UA] (Teresva UZ -) Câmpulung la Tisa SNCFR - Sighetu Marmatiei - Valea Viseului SNCFR (- Rakhov/Rakhiv UZ): (BLN 809.0423; Ball 44B1) Both Ukrainian broad-gauge cross-border railcar services, from Teresva to the west and from Rakhiv to the east, have run through to Sighetu Marmatiei in Romania since their introduction on 6 December 1996. On the interlaced Câmpulung - Sighetu section, SNCFR standard-gauge passenger trains also continued running for three months but ceased from 6 March 1997, so that part of the line is now served only by the UZ broad-gauge railcars and SNCFR standard-gauge freights. On the interlaced Sighetu - Valea section, SNCFR run the standard-gauge principal passenger service, supplemented by the twice-weekly UZ railcar to Rakhiv. None of the UZ trains yet appears in the Romanian timetable for 1997-98, and advertising for them in Romania appears limited to manuscript notices and train-departure lists at the stations they serve. BLN 816.0609][CA] Edmonton, Alberta: VIA Rail Canada's Toronto, ON - Winnipeg, MB - Edmonton, AB - Vancouver, BC Canadian/Canadien, the sole train to use Edmonton's present passenger station, may shortly call instead at an out-of-town location, according to a VIA driver. The station was once a through one, but the trackbed to the west has been sold and built upon, so the long-haul (4467km) train terminates in an area of seemingly disused sidings with virtually no facilities remaining at rail level, and after its half-hour stop has to reverse some 6km to regain the transcontinental main line at East Junction. No evidence of site-preparation for a new station was however seen when a BLN reporter passed through Edmonton in August 1997. BLN 816.0610][US] San Diego, California: light r