Branch Line News International (ISSN 1354-0947), a newsletter about the world's railway geography and infrastructure 1998 archived text (BLN 817 - BLN 840) BLN 817.01][IE] DART: Howth - Howth Jn - Dublin - Bray (- Greystones): Clontarf Road, the new DART station previously described as Fairview (BLN 779.0209) and located north-east of Dublin Connolly near Fairview DART depot, appeared with timings in the suburban timetable valid from 1 September 1997, and was officially opened by the Minister for Public Enterprise on 23 September. The foreword to the timetable said that, on the Dublin - Mullingar line, Drumcondra (between Connolly and Broombridge) and Kilcock (between Maynooth and Enfield) were also "expected to open this year, 1997". Timings appear for Drumcondra but not for Kilcock. BLN 817.02][DE][FR] Saarbrücken - Brebach - Hanweiler-Bad Rilchingen DB - Sarreguemines SNCF: (BLN 794.047, 810.0436; Ball DE-56A2) In recent years at least the French town of Sarreguemines has been unusual in having more frequent passenger service from and to Saarbrücken, its German neighbour, than on its three remaining SNCF domestic routes. Continuing this pattern, German light-rail vehicles began linking the two towns on 28 September 1997. On 20 November a shiny new articulated tram of Stadtbahn Saar GmbH, with dot-matrix screen indicating route #1 and destination Ludwigstrasse, was occupying the 15kV 16.7Hz-electrified Voie 'A' at Sarreguemines, contrasting fairly starkly with the rather down-at-heel French station and the SNCF autorail due to follow the tram along the same track across the border. BLN 817.03][FR] Sarreguemines - Kalhausen - Obermodern - Mommenheim (- Strasbourg): (Ball 29B3-30A3) South of Sarreguemines station, traces of a former triangular junction with the line to Bitche indicate the northern end of the Sarreguemines - Hambach (Moselle) - Sarralbe line, closed in the 1970s but part-reopened 1 April 1993 at the southern end for freight (BLN 702.06). Heading south-east, the unelectrified secondary route from Sarreguemines to Strasbourg, double-track except for a singled section through the tunnel north of Ettendorf, has by SNCF standards a reasonable service, normally using X4300 autorail sets, but since little has been done to rationalise facilities or track, the line has rather a forlorn and decrepit air. The only evidence of freight was at Diemeringen, where two wagons were being loaded with scrap. Lines completely lifted but discernible included Diemeringen - Drulingen and Obermodern - Steinbourg. As outlined in BLN 790.0448, rail infrastructure in eastern France has traditionally reflected strategic rather than operational considerations, and the station layouts remain over-generous, particularly where they once served junctions. Most junctions in Alsace were laid as triangles and many remained so until recent years. Obermodern station still has three platforms, four platform tracks and a large disused yard, but the triangle to the east, shown in Ball, has had its east-to-south curve lifted. The Obermodern - Pfaffenhoffen - Neubourg - Schweighouse-sur-Moder line, like its continuation to the east (Haguenau - Oberhoffen - Soufflenheim - Roeschwoog; BLN 814.0538), is retained at the request of the French armed forces. It is completely disused at the western end, but in connection with military manoeuvres tanks occasionally arrive and depart on well wagons at Neubourg, 5km from Schweighouse, served from the eastern end. An IFC weekend railtour on 16-17 May 1998 may traverse the line (OEIS 9756). BLN 817.04][FR] Duničres - Montfaucon-en-Velay - Tence (- Le Chambon-sur-Lignon - St.Agrčve): (BLN 815.0566; Ball 56A1) The Duničres SNCF - Duničres-Ville section was in use by a railbus and a steam train of the metre-gauge Ligne Touristique Velay-Lignon on 12 October 1997, connecting with an excursion from St.Étienne. BLN 817.05][DE] Berlin Regionalbahn: May 1998 timetable: Points of interest identified so far are: Ball atlas 1998-99 local service number Falkenhagen - Abzw Hasselberg 31A3 ) service RB21 unaffected, Brieselang - Abzw Hasselberg 31A3 ) so threatened curves survive Werder (Havel) - Abzw Wildpark (- Potsdam-Pirschheide (ex-Hbf)) 31A1 passenger closure Ferch-Lienewitz (Abzw Lia) - Beelitz Stadt (Abzw Bea) 31A1 passenger closure Ferch-Lienewitz (Abzw Lia) - Beelitz-Heilstätten 31A1 reopening (RE3) Ferch-Lienewitz (Abzw Lia) - Seddin 31A1 reopening (RB22) Seddin - Beelitz Stadt (Abzw Bea) 31A1 opening (RB33) Michendorf - Saarmund 31A1-31B1 regular local service again (RB22) Warschauer Strasse (Ostgüterbf) - Rummelsburg 32A2 temporary platform closes Abzw Grünauer Kreuz Nord - Abzw Grünau 32A2 reopening (RE2) Abzw Grünauer Kreuz West - Abzw Grünau 32A2 may lose its present two trains a day Wuhlheide Rbf Süd - Abzw Stadtforst 32A2 may have only Russian loading-gauge trains, hence limited opportunities to ride Abzw Glasower Damm West - Blankenfelde 32A1 reopening (RB20) Doberlug-Kirchhain east curve 44A3 reopening (RE5) BLN 817.06][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: Bornholmer Strasse - Bernau (bei Berlin): (Ball 32A2-32B3) Work on the extension of U-Bahn U2 north from Vinetastrasse to S-Bahnhof Pankow requires cutting through the main-line and S-Bahn embankment. Since 13 October 1997 trains towards Blankenburg have been using part of the former Fernbahn alignment, crossing over the future U-Bahn formation on a temporary bridge. A platform at Pankow was widened to allow them to call. This single track may from 19 December be the only one available in either direction, requiring new points to be installed north of Pankow. To the north-east Bernau-Friedenstal, a new S-Bahn station, opened on 30 September 1997, in the middle of the day. Built swiftly, over a period of four months, in order to serve a new residential area, this is the first DB station in the Bundesrepublik to be financed by a private-sector developer. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 6/97) BLN 817.07][AT][SK] (Wien -) Parndorf - Kittsee ÖBB - Bratislava Petrzalka ZSR: (BLN 749.096; Ball 76A3-76B3) August 1998 may see passenger services restored to ÖBB's freight-only Parndorf - Kittsee line and beyond on the reopened railway across the river Donau/Dunaj (Danube), providing a link between the Austrian and Slovakian capitals in addition to the present Wien - Marchegg route (BLN 785.0354). Traction is likely to be diesel till electrification is completed in 1999. (Today's Railways, December 1997) BLN 817.08][PT] Funcheira avoiding line: (BLN 733.0158, 736.0214; Ball 33A3 not shown) In place since at least June 1994, this north-to-east curve appears heavily rusted and apparently still unused by the mineral traffic off the 31km Ourique - Neves-Corvo freight branch for which it was built (BLN 806.0344). BLN 817.09][IT] Torino Porta Susa - Germagnano - Ceres: (Ball 45B3-45A3) Operated by Societŕ per Azioni Trasporti Torinesi Intercomunali, this commuter line is electrified out to Germagnano and diesel-worked beyond. A station on the inner section is planned to serve Torino airport. On 3 November 1997 a SATTI bus service was running instead of Germagnano - Ceres trains. Notices suggested that major infrastructure works were in progress, possibly including electrification, and that reopening might be in 1998 - or possibly later. BLN 817.010][IT] Torino rack tram: (Ball 45B3 not shown) This tramway, thought to be metre-gauge, ascends from Sassi (on tram route #15) to the basilica at Supergra. It opened 16 April 1935 with rack working and 600V dc third-rail electrification, using the alignment of an earlier cable-worked line. It closed for modernisation from 12 October 1987 to 1 June 1990. A winter service is advertised in a local tourist information leaflet, but on 3 November 1997 the line was found to be closed, with no information as to reopening. If it does reopen for the 1998 summer season the date will probably be around l June. BLN 817.011][IT] Genova Piazza Principe - Arquata Scrivia (- Torino / Milano): (BLN 784.0334; Ball 46A2) Express trains use the direct Succursale dei Giovi line from Genova Piazza Principe via Genova Rivarolo and Mignanego to Arquata Scrivia, which has many tunnels including one of 8.3km. (When did the Succursale route open?) Stopping trains (such as the Class 724 four-car electric unit forming the 16:40 Genova Brignole - Arquata Scrivia on 3 November 1997) usually take the more circuitous route through Genova Sampierdarena, passing under the direct line at Genova Rivarolo and heading north via Genova Pontedecimo, Busalla and Isola del Cantone. Mignanego station on the direct route has a lonely existence with just two trains south to Brignole in the morning and one north in the evening. As these are booked to call at Sampierdarena they use a connection at Rivarolo quite sparsely traversed by passenger trains (BLS EuroGuide IT3). BLN 817.012][IT] Genova metro: (Rivarolo -) Brin - Dinegro - Principe (- Brignole): (Ball 46B2, not shown) Metrogenova was planned on an ambitious scale to run from Rivarolo via Principe and a circuitous route through the port area to Brignole, mostly in tunnel, but the city (population only 980,000) found it could not finance the whole line, and only a short section is running, having opened in two parts, Brin - Dinegro 13 June 1990 and Dinegro - Principe 27 July 1992. At Brin station, track not yet open extends on viaduct into the distance towards Rivarolo, the first few metres being used by empty trains to reverse using a crossover, with right-hand running. The 3.5km route in use incorporates the Certosa tram tunnel, which saw its last tram 1 October 1964, but was once used by routes #9, 10 and 11 of the interurban Unione Italiana Tranvie Elettriche. The whole journey takes all of five minutes. At Principe station, actually in Via Andre Doria and not obvious from Principe FS station, only one side of the island platform is in use. Further tunnelling work from Principe via Darsena to San Giorgio has reputedly been under way for over five years but with no perceptible result. On 3 November 1997 two six-axle articulated trains, half full, were operating the notional 20-minute service, but the timetable had been disrupted by 'technical difficulties'. Outside the underground depot at Dinegro lay the rest of the rolling-stock, four more units and a six-wheel diesel locomotive. Metrogenova claim that 3.5 million passengers travelled in the first 18 months, but at a capital cost per kilometre of over ITL100 billion the line seems a typical Italian construction-industry extravagance. BLN 817.013][IT] Genova Piazza Manin - Casella: (BLN 730.0118; Ball 46B2) The city terminus of the metre-gauge 3000V (formerly 2800V) dc electric Ferrovia Genova-Casella is in Piazza Manin, a short walk from the top of the Funicolare Sant'Anna or by AMT bus #33 which runs from both Piazza Principe and Brignole FS stations. Walking from either FS station is not recommended as the gradients are significant and especially tiring on a hot day. At Piazza Manin, the only booking-office on the line, traditional card tickets are issued, a standard return being a cheap ITL5,600 (= Ł2.80) for 52km, rising on holidays to a Festivo rate of ITL7,600, a practice found also in Spain. Tickets are also sold on the train. The day-rover Biglietto Speciale FS-AMT is not valid. The line climbs up the scenic valley of the river Bisagno into the hills behind Genova, without any rack, relying on spiral tunnels, gradients up to 1 in 20 (5%) and sharp bends, notably the Columbo curve, where it doubles back on itself on a very tight radius. Near the 458m summit at Crocetta (22km) one can briefly see tracks below at three different levels. The original terminus is 24km from Genova, at Casella Deposito (= depot), a halt where the repair workshop is located. Since 1952 trains have reversed here to run on roadside alignment and across a road/rail bridge to reach the village of Casella Paese (26km), a single-platform station whose only building is a bar. Stone from a quarry near Casella Deposito used to be worked to Piazza Manin for loading into lorries, but this now travels throughout by road. Despite having some new stock, FGC make much use of their elderly second-hand electric railcars. On 3 November 1997, 1926-built #A5 and #A6 were in service, both ex-SSIF, regauged from the 950mm-gauge Spoleta - Norcia line, closed 1968. Modern railcar #A11 (built ABB 1996) had only a short working to Vigomorasso, probably for school traffic. FGC never dispose of anything, so semi-derelict railcars and trailers lie in sidings here and there, the four dumped at Vigomorasso being ex-Ferrovia Elettrica Val di Fiemme, from the metre-gauge Ora - Predazza line, closed January 1963. BLN 817.014][IT] Genova rack tram: (Ball 46B2 not shown) Although conventional street trams ceased from 27 December 1966, a rack tramway, the Ferrovia Principe-Granarolo, still runs from its lower terminus in Via Pagano Doria, 200m from Genova Piazza Principe FS station, to a simple wooden-shed terminus-and-depot high above this hilly city. Trams leave the lower station, known as Principe, at xx:15 and xx:45 for the 10-minute journey, with three intermediate request-stops. A passing-loop remains between Bari and Chiassaiusala stations, but with only one car in use this was well-rusted. On 3 November 1997, while orange tram #1 rested in the upper depot, tram #2 in red livery, with a conductor as well as a driver, ran the half-hourly service. This was the only journey in Genova when the day-rover ticket bought by BLN's reporter was actually inspected. The Biglietto Speciale Integrato FS-AMT Genova ticket at ITL5000 (= Ł2.50) is good value for a day's travel within city limits on local trains, metro, buses, funiculars and lifts. AMT is Azienda Municipalizzata Trasporti, the local-authority transport agency. BLN 817.015][IT] Genova funiculars: (BLN 730.0118) The Funicolare Zecca-Righi ascends from Largo della Zecca, where the station is modestly hidden in a nondescript building away from the street, to an upper terminus in Mura della Chiappa, affording a panoramic view across the steep-sided valley of the river Bisagno. The modern two-car funicular trains, each with a driver, operate at 20-minute frequency, calling at five intermediate stations and passing at Santa Nicola station on the 12-minute journey. As stations are unequally spaced, in each direction one train of the pair stops between stations while the other is at a platform. By contrast the Funicolare Sant'Anna ascends a short but steep incline from a station in Piazza del Portello to one in Via Agostino in the Castelletto district, close enough for each to be clearly seen from the other. Journey time is three minutes with no intermediate stop. Two single cars of older appearance provide the service, with the only staff being the attendant in the upper-station winding-house. BLN 817.016][HR] Zagreb - Karlovac - Oštarije - Knin - Perkovic - Split: (BLN 769.021; Ball 46A1-51A3) The Croatian port of Split was cut off by rail from Zagreb, the capital, during the fighting in 1991, and a through service was not restored till 26 August 1995 (BLN 764.0452), running via the non-electrified Lika Valley route entirely within Croatia, rather than the former electrified JZ main line via Bihac in Bosnia. From the Italian port of Ancona an overnight ferry across the Adriatic also serves Split. From the station just across the road, the 07:11 Split - Knin train on 7 October 1997 comprised HZ diesel #5502 and two coaches, and #5705 with a similar rake formed the 10:45 on the Knin - Zadar branch. From the nearby bus-station at Zadar a bus ran to Sibenik bus-station, whose town map was helpful in finding the railway station, not far away, but not immediately obvious. The 15:24 up the Sibenik - Perkovic branch had #5808 with a train including four-wheel coaches, now unusual in Europe other than on preserved lines. #5504 hauled the 16:31 from Perkovic to Knin, in the once-Serb-populated Krajina region of Croatia, still showing many signs of war damage. A tourist-office is near the station, and a motel was found several km away, charging some Ł19 a night. On 8 October the 07:09 Knin - Ogulin offered a very scenic but slow all-stations ride north in one elderly ex-Swiss coach hauled by #5420, but the 12:37 from Ogulin was terminated short at Generalski Stol due to engineering work, with a bus to Duga Resa, then train onward via Karlovac arriving Zagreb 15:12. BLN 817.017][HR][SI] Zagreb - Savski Morof - Sutla HZ - Dobova SZ - Radece (- Zidani Most - Ljubljana): (Ball 46A2-45B2) On 8 October 1997 the 15:20 Zagreb - Maribor train changed its Croatian locomotive for a Slovenian one at Dobova, just beyond the border (BLN 702.012), and ran as booked via the Zidani Most avoiding line (Radece - Rimske Toplice; BLS EuroGuide SI1), a south-east-to-north curve with a sparse passenger service. BLN 817.018][LK] Colombo - Homagama - Avissawella (- Opanake): (BLN 701.03, 706.011) Sri Lanka's transport minister on 11 August 1997 inaugurated the regauged Homagama - Avissawella section, and the whole of the Kelani Valley line that remains, some 60km, can now carry 1676mm-gauge traffic. The line retains its old 762mm-gauge alignment, so the curves are sharp for broad-gauge trains, resulting in high maintenance costs and not a few derailments. The suburban section out to Homagama (26km) retains some narrow-gauge passenger trains on its dual-gauge track. (Continental Railway Journal, winter 1997-98) BLN 817.019][PE][CL] Tacna - Arica: From the inland town of Tacna in Peru a 62km standard-gauge line runs south to the port of Arica, now across the frontier just inside Chile. The Ferrocarril Tacna-Arica is owned throughout by Peru though isolated from the rest of the Peruvian railway network. Tacna has the main depot, with a platform, fuelling-point, sheds, a working turntable for turning the single-ended railcars, and a railway museum with several steam engines and other artefacts on display. It is also a secure area, with arriving passengers allowed out only after Peruvian passport and customs checks. Trains leave Tacna station by an archway under the clock-tower through very high locked gates manually opened by security staff, followed by several kilometres of street-running with much horn-blowing and siren-wailing. Outside the town the line runs through sandy desert for most of the 150-minute journey. Chile has a border station for passport and customs checks before arriving at Arica, where the station is manned, with a booking office and basic facilities. The ordinary passenger service used to comprise a single railcar similar to the one chartered for a journey on 17 November 1997, but due to increased patronage a diesel locomotive, two coaches and two box vans are now often used. BLN 817.020][CL][BO] Arica - La Paz: Separated by a main road from the standard-gauge FC Tacna-Arica station is the metre-gauge Arica station of the 457km line to La Paz in Bolivia. Though the regular twice-weekly passenger service was suspended about March 1997, the station is still intact, with buildings, maps and departure board, and a chartered Bolivian railcar conveyed a BLN reporter through to La Paz on 18 November 1997. Now freight-only, with a branch off to Arica port, the line runs parallel to the Tacna line for several kilometres before turning east and heading for the Andes. The climb up the Andes is steeply graded, and once had substantial sections of rack working. The rack has not been used since about 1967 when diesel locomotives and railcars were introduced. At several locations where the running rails had worn down, this caused the redundant rack to strike the underside of the locomotive traction-motor housings, so the rack was removed. Removal of the rack however caused the sleepers to split, so the remedy was to replace the rack with a single rail for strengthening purposes. This is clearly visible on much of the mountain section. The summit of the line is 4247m above sea level at General Lagos, before it reaches the Chilean customs station of Visviri. Charańa, the nearby Bolivian customs station, appears to be a crew-change point for freight trains. Some 200km in from the Chilean border, lines from Guaqui, Arica and Oruro all meet at Viacha, which hosts a main locomotive depot, before heading north-eastward for some 40km to Bolivia's principal city, La Paz. Here the railway now ends at La Paz Alto (El Alto), at a height of 4106m. Track continues down to La Paz Central (3701m), but this has been out of use since about March 1997, and seems unlikely to be used again. The imposing Estacion Central still has a booking-office selling bus and train tickets for the ENFE services to Oruro and Uyuni, but platform and track areas are fenced off. Some diesel railcars are still in the sidings, and a tour of the engine-shed revealed several trams - which once also ran from Central - plus examples of electric locomotives used on the separate and long-extinct FCAB electrified route down into La Paz. BLN 817.021][BO] Viacha - Guaqui: A chartered railcar on 19 November 1997 visited the 64km metre-gauge branch to Guaqui on the Bolivian shore of Lake Titicaca (3810m above sea-level), normally used by about two freight trains a week which meet the train-ferry from Puno, 200km away on the standard-gauge Arequipa - Puno branch in Peru. The main traffic is beans inward from Peru and soya outward. Guaqui has no gauge-changing facilities, so the Peruvian standard-gauge wagons are not disembarked, their contents being sucked out by large mobile pumps and transhipped directly to the waiting Bolivian metre-gauge wagons. Some standard-gauge quayside track does exist at Guaqui and was occupied by several British-built steam cranes, though these are not at present operational. The engine-shed contains a still-serviceable Bolivian steam engine. BLN 818.022][FR][BE] Hautmont avoiding line (Feignies - Sous-le-Bois): (BLN 779.0212, 808.0368; Ball 16A3) From 28 September 1997, the Mon-Fri early-morning connection from Mons for Paris, like others of the day, is made at Aulnoye-Aymeries, not Maubeuge. On Saturdays and Sundays, however, SNCB train #5952, retimed to 06:52, still runs via the Hautmont north-to-east curve to connect at Maubeuge into Berlin - Paris train #242. BLN 818.023][FR] Lyon metro, funiculars and trams: (Ball 56B3 not shown) Societé Lyonnaise de Transports en Commun (TCL) offer a day-rover ticket at FRF24 covering the Métro's four lines (opened 1978-97) and two funiculars plus the buses and trolleybuses, but not SNCF local trains. Metro lines A and D have rubber-tyred stock but lines B and C use ordinary steel wheels. Ligne D, extended north-west to Gare de Vaise from 28 April 1997 (BLN 805.0302), is driverless so one can ride at the front behind a large window and follow progress through the lighted tunnels. If so minded, one can also 'forget' to alight at termini and ride into the headshunts. Ligne C (Hôtel de Ville - Croix-Paquet - Croix-Rousse - Hénon - Cuire; BLN 783.0294) is unusual as it is rack-equipped from the lower terminus to the hilltop station Croix-Rousse and runs in the open beyond Hénon on former SNCF formation to Cuire, a single-track terminus. The two funiculars start from adjacent platforms at Vieux Lyon running to Fourvičre and to St.Just. Population of the Lyon urban agglomération, currently 1.2 million, has grown less than expected and in 1997 the transport planning authority, SYSTRAL, decided that metro development should cease except for the 2.4km Ligne B extension currently under construction from Jean Macé south to Stade de Gerland. Instead the main surface routes (lignes fortes) are to be upgraded, two of them becoming light-rail lines by 2001, with the possibility of two more by 2004, connecting with the metro and partly replacing existing bus and trolleybus routes (BLN 814.0541). Ligne T1 is to run Lyon-Perrache SNCF - Lyon Part-Dieu SNCF - La Doua campus (8km) and Ligne T2 Lyon-Perrache - Bron-Parilly - St.Priest / Lyon-II Université (13km). BLN 818.024][DE] Bremen-Huchting - Leeste - Thedinghausen: (Ball 16B1) An IBSE special on 16 November 1997 ran right to the northern end of this private freight line alongside the DB tracks at the former Huchting station. The operators, Kleinbahn Leeste, seem to have no traffic at this end of the line, apart from the occasional passenger trains shown in Kursbuch der deutschen Museums-Eisenbahnen (1997 edition, table 61). Though the back-shunt exchange-siding at Huchting appeared useable, the Kleinbahn and DB no longer exchange freight there, but still do so at Kirchweyhe on the Bremen - Oldenburg line, using the Leeste - Kirchweyhe west-to-south curve not shown in Ball (BLN 715.05). The local-authority-owned line was sold during 1997 to property developers who seem to have been seeking to run down its operations with a view to closure and removal. However, this plan may be foiled by the German railway law which enables another operator to take over such an abandoned railway quite cheaply. Further developments are awaited. BLN 818.025][DE] Hamburg Ohlsdorf - Ochsenzoll: (BLN 794.038; Ball 22A2) The out-of-use freight-only line shown in Ball (which runs adjacent to U-Bahn Linie U1 not so shown) is still in place, but has become quite overgrown since formal abandonment on 1 April 1996. Once used for moving rolling-stock between DB and Hamburger Hochbahn AG, it was replaced by a short steeply-graded link between the DB and the HHA platforms at Ohlsdorf. BLN 818.026][DE] Hamburg: Garstedt - Norderstedt Mitte - Ulzburg Süd - Kaltenkirchen: (BLN 764.0444, 788.0406; Ball 17B3) Replaced 29 September 1996 by the parallel extension of U-Bahn Linie U1, the above-ground Garstedt - Norderstedt Mitte Alsternordbahn has become a footpath and cycleway, revealing nothing of its railway origins to passengers on U1 trains. From Norderstedt Mitte the Alsternordbahn line north to Moorbekhalle has been realigned to allow AKN trains to start from a central bay in HHA's Norderstedt Mitte station, giving cross-platform connection with U-Bahn U1 (BLN 794.038). Between Ulzburg Süd and Kaltenkirchen Süd, the Altona-Kaltenkirchen-Neümunster Eisenbahn is being doubled, partly on a completely new alignment whose earthworks were seen to be well advanced on 14 November 1997. BLN 818.027][DE] Hamburg S-Bahn: Hbf - Bergedorf - Reinbek (- Aumühle): (BLN 794.039, 815.0572, Ball 22B2-22B3) Third-rail 1200V dc Linie S21 trains were restored to Bergedorf - Reinbek from 1 June 1997 as planned. BLN 818.028][DE] Köln Südbrücke: (Ball 36A3) The temporary diversions reported in BLN 815.0574 have ceased, but it seems from other reports that the different northbound and southbound routes used on 12 October 1997 were unusual, and that the booked diversionary route in both directions was past Gremberg yard, not through Kalk station. Other passenger trains booked via the Südbrücke are listed in the BLS Enthusiast's Guide to Travelling the Railways of Europe, available on the World Wide Web or on paper (see BLN 810, p288/97). BLN 818.029][DE] Wennemen - Wenholthausen - Fredeburg - Schmallenberg (- Altenhundem): (Ball 39A2) The Schmallenberg branch originated as a branch from Altenhundem to Fredeburg, opened at the end of the 19th century and extended to Wennemen in 1911. The difference in construction over the 15 or so years is noticeable, particularly the sharper curves on the older section. The 1960s saw the end of passenger services, with complete closure and eventual lifting south of Schmallenberg. Regular freight ceased in December 1994, but the line is still technically available for special trains. Verkehrsclub Deutschland (BLN 811.0463) would like to mount a preservation attempt but lack enough members. However, following tree-lopping by VCD people, two special passenger trains operated on 8 May and 6 December 1997, and another is in prospect for 21 February 1998. Wenholthausen - Eslohe was latterly only a short branch, although it too was part of a through line, to Finnentrop, and beyond via Olpe (38B2) to Betzdorf (38B1). In passenger days, the physical junction was at Wenholthausen station, with two parallel single tracks heading south, but later the junction was moved to the point of divergence and controlled from a local ground-frame. The branch carried regular timber traffic until 1991 when all ceased abruptly after a bridge-strike by a road vehicle, which DB declined to repair. Track appears to remain in place. BLN 818.030][DE] Zwickau (Sachsen) - Falkenstein (Vogtland): (Ball 43A1-54A3) After nearly 18 months delay from the original planned handover date of 2 June 1996 (BLN 784.0331), Bavarian company Regental Bahnbetriebs GmbH, who trade in south-west Saxony as the Vogtlandbahn, on 23 November 1997 took over from DB the operation of services on this and the adjacent lines Herlasgrün - Falkenstein - Zwotental - Klingenthal and Zwotental - Adorf (42B1-54A3-53A3). Work to permit RBG's RegioSprinter standard-gauge railcars to share tracks with the metre-gauge town trams from Zwickau Hbf into Zwickau town-centre (BLN 815.0575) may begin in 1998, but the street-running is not likely to start till 1999. BLN 818.031][DE] Germany: passenger closures in the east: In the more affluent west a few lines have recently reopened to passenger trains with finance from the Länder (provinces), but the east presents a stark contrast, facing branch-line closures of 'Beeching' proportions, as provincial governments claim their limited resources leave them no choice. Some, notably Land Sachsen (Saxony), have published long lists of threatened branches, and Sachsen have also argued in favour of bus substitution both on value-for-money and transport-planning grounds. However, the Land governments are not finding the closure process easy, for local opposition has begun to develop, especially at the Kreis (county) level - and legislation already enacted is seeing some Länder devolve more transport responsibilities to cities and counties, in Sachsen's case by 2002. Legal action by the counties against the September 1997 closure (and bus-substitution) of the Schwarzenberg (Erzgebirge) - Annaberg-Buchholz line (BLN 816.0595; Ball 54A3-54B3; KBS536) resulted in a court ruling against DB and the province, though the order to reinstate the trains is now subject to appeal. Most of the other threatened lines in Sachsen, including the narrow-gauge ones (BLN 818.032), are now expected to survive at least into summer 1998 - except in one area where local support for the railway is slight. Three lines must still be regarded as likely to close to passengers with the timetable-change in May 1998: Hohenbocka - Kamenz (Sachsen) 44A3-44A2 KBS227 Strassgräbchen-Bernsdorf (Oberland) - Königsbrück 44A3-44A2 KBS239 Arnsdorf (bei Dresden) - Dürröhrsdorf 44A2 KBS247 BLN 818.032][DE] Threatened 750mm-gauge in Saxony: The local authority, Landkreis Annaberg, are likely to take over the Cranzahl - Kurort Oberwiesenthal line (Ball 54B3; KBS518) and have a subsidiary of the local bus company, BVO Bahn GmbH, run it from 24 May 1998. Similarly a new company, Weisseritztalbahnbetriebs GmbH, apparently including the local authorities, was formed in August 1997 to take over the Freital-Hainsberg - Kurort Kipsdorf line (Ball 44A2-44A1; KBS513) from 24 May 1998, with a supporting group, Interessengemeinschaft Weisseritztalbahn eV. No report has yet come of a body stepping up to run the third such line, the Lössnitztalbahn near Dresden (Radebeul Ost - Radeburg; Ball 44A2; KBS509). All three remaining 750mm-gauge DB lines, all in Land Sachsen, all still steam-operated, have been threatened with closure at the next timetable change if not taken off DB's hands by then (BLN 805.0305, 818.031). (Der Schienenbus, Oct 1997, Dec 1997) BLN 818.033][AT] Weiz - Oberfeistritz - Anger - Birkfeld (- Ratten): (Ball 83B3-75A1) Though this 760mm-gauge StLB line, the Feistritztalbahn, featured in neither the ÖBB timetable nor StLB advertising for 1997, local tourist authorities were obviously underwriting the Weiz - Birkfeld trains in some way, including the glossy publicity material seen on a 28 August visit. Trains ran 15 June - 26 October, with maximum service MWThSuO 7 July - 25 August. Train-crew may have been Steiermärkische Landesbahnen staff, but catering was by volunteers from the supporting Club U44. StLB freight is now limited to Weiz - Oberfeistritz, where a talc factory has a private siding. Birkfeld - Ratten (18.3km) closed to passengers 1 September 1969, and completely 1 July 1980. Weiz - Birkfeld (23.9km) closed to ordinary passengers 2 June 1973. Tourist trains seem to have run Weiz - Birkfeld each summer 1973-1993 and 1996-1997, but Weiz - Anger only in 1994 (BLN 749.098). What service ran in 1995? (partly Schmalspurig durch Österreich 1825-1975 (1984); Renaissance der Schmalspurbahn in Österreich (1986)) BLN 818.034][SE] Mora strand - Östersund - Arvidsjaur - Gällivare: (Ball 14A2-3A3) When Inlandsbanan operation was transferred from SJ to the local authorities along its route, central government agreed sufficient finance to run summer seasonal passenger services for five years, ending in 1997 (BLN 778.0195). Since the lengthy and scenic line appeared threatened during 1997 (BLN 800.0198) it is pleasant to see that finance, central or local, now seems to have been secured for 1998. Freight still operates on most of the line (BLN 811.0475). Mora strand station, located closer to the town-centre than Mora station, is the planned southern terminal in 1998 (BLN 816.0602). Relatively recent and not shown in Ball, the single platform without a rounding loop was used in 1994 (BLN 737.0238) and 1995, but not in 1996 and 1997, when Inlandsbanan trains went no further than Mora. At the northern end of the line, Lokstallarna, the former SJ enginemen's hostel at the locomotive depot, some 200m from Gällivare SJ station, is now available to the general public for overnight accommodation in two-, three- and four-bedded rooms. Prior booking is advised (telephone +46 970 15375). Although the movement is not advertised other than locally, the railbus will carry overnighting Inlandsbanan passengers to and from Lokstallarna, because both driver and railbus lodge overnight there, inside and outside respectively. BLN 818.035][SE] Mora - Oxberg - Älvdalen: (Ball 14A2) At a junction just beyond Mora strand station, the freight-only Mora - Vika (- Vansbro) line, now closed beyond Vika, diverges from the Mora - Älvdalen line. Out of use since 1982, the latter line reopened November 1995 (BLN 778.0196) for porphyry stone traffic from a siding just short of Älvdalen. The final kilometre to the former Älvdalen station has been lifted. On the last Sunday of every February a special Mora - Oxberg passenger service runs, for participants in a ladies' skiing event. BLN 818.036][SE] Ljusdal - Hudiksvall: (Ball 14B2-15A2) Junctions at both ends had been removed by August 1997, though the intervening track remains in place, and a preservation group hope to run electric trains. BLN 818.037][PT] Porto trams and metro: (BLN 800.0200; Ball 7A1, not shown) The last tram route in Portugal's northern city changed in late 1997. Sections of route #18 closed were Boavista - Castelo do Queijo (= 'castle of the cheese') and Massarelos - Carmo, while Massarelos - Infante reopened. This accords with the city's plan that their elderly 1435mm-gauge tramcars should become a tourist operation on the Castelo do Queijo - Massarelos - Infante line. Meanwhile Normetro, a consortium led by Adtranz, have secured a contract to build a four-line 70km metro (6km in tunnel) for Porto. The 72 three-module Eurotram vehicles, the depot and the first line are to be in operation in 2000, and the other lines by 2002. (advertisement, The Economist, 13 December 1997) BLN 818.038][PT] Sintra trams: Ribeira - Banzăo - Praia das Maçâs: (BLN 792.0512, 815.0579) Stagecoach's Sintra-Atlântico metre-gauge roadside electric tramway is working Wed-Sun in winter 1997-98 from its present operating depot at Banzăo. The line may be extended beyond the old depot at Ribeira into Sintra once the town-centre is pedestrianised, but no date has been set. Tram timetable operating in mid-November 1997 was Banzăo 10:28SSuO - Ribeira 11:03SSuO - Praia das Maçâs 12:04SSuO - Banzăo 12:33 - Ribeira 13:03 - Praia das Maçâs 14:04 - Ribeira 15:04 - Praia das Maçâs 16:04 - Ribeira 16:58 - Banzăo. However, a notice dated 27 November indicated indefinite closure of Ribeira - Banzăo due to a landslip at Celăo bridge, necessitating a temporary timetable, Wed-Sun, from Banzăo 12:32 and hourly to 16:32; from Praia das Maçâs 13:04 and hourly to 17:04. Stagecoach Portugal bus #441 provides a connection between Sintra station and Banzăo. BLN 818.039][PT] Lisboa trams: (BLN 808.0383; Ball 25B1 not shown) In January 1998 only five numbered routes remain: #12 Praça da Figueira - Martim Moniz - Săo Tomé - Praça da Figueira (now a circle, clockwise only) #15 Praça da Figueira - Algés (with the articulated cars) #18 Ajuda - Alfândega #25 Prazeres - Estrela - Conde Barao - Alfândega #28 Prazeres - Estrela - Săo Bento - Graça BLN 818.040][CH] Rheineck - Walzenhausen: (Ball 89B2) When a railway has only a single item of rolling-stock, a level-crossing accident is likely to cause difficulty. This happened on 1 July 1997 to the RhW, a 600V dc Swiss line less than 2km long, with the unusual gauge of 1200mm. Their 28-seat 1958-built car had to be replaced by a bus until 5 September. From 1896 the line was a funicular whose lower station was from 1909 linked to Rheineck SBB station by a petrol-engined standard-gauge tramcar. Since 1958 the line has been adhesion-worked on this level section, with Riggenbach rack straight up the forested hillside and through the tunnel to the top. No sign of the 1997 mishap was visible on 3 January 1998 as the car left the SBB station, running east between the main line and the busy highway along the Bodensee shore before crossing the road and turning sharply uphill on the rack to Walzenhausen village. From the top, a regular postbus service runs to nearby Heiden, the upper station of the Rorschach - Heiden railway, another Riggenbach-rack line, but with standard-gauge track and 15kV 16.7Hz electrification. As noted in BLN 714.022, RHB workings run through on to SBB as far as Rorschach Hafen station. BLN 818.041][CH] Metre-gauge and standard-gauge in the Jura: (Ball 91A3-86A2) The Chemins de fer du Jura have proposed laying a third rail allowing metre-gauge trains to run on CFF standard-gauge tracks between La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle (to allow through running to Les Brenets) and between Glovelier and Delémont (to reach the cantonal capital). (L'Écho du Rail, #177, November 1997) The small single car of the Chemins de fer des Montagnes Neuchâteloises on the isolated 4km 1500V dc metre-gauge Le Locle - Les Brenets line works from dock-platform 4 at Le Locle, with a 720m tunnel on its seven-minute journey. On 2 January 1998 its driver thought that future through running seemed rather unlikely, given the investment required not only in a third running rail but in dual-voltage stock if CMN or CJ workings were to share the existing 15kV 16.7Hz CFF overhead. From standard-gauge platform 3 at Le Locle, a three-times-daily (and possibly threatened) international service (Le Locle - Le Locle-Col-des-Roches CFF - Morteau SNCF - Besançon-Viotte; BLN 755.0257) is worked by SNCF autorail, an example of which was sheltering in the smoke-stained old locomotive-shed west of the station. A local timetable leaflet reveals that this apparently more direct route to Paris is slower than heading east and south to pick up a Zürich - Bern - Paris TGV at Neuchâtel. Nearby, CMN's other line, La Chaux-de-Fonds - Les Ponts-de-Martel (16km), shares with CJ the 1500V dc metre-gauge northern platforms at La Chaux station, but climbs over the standard-gauge to the east before swinging round and over a wooded ridge to run southwestwards along the northern side of the broad and tranquil agricultural valley it serves. Leaving La Chaux by a street-running section, the 74km CJ metre-gauge system comprises a main line heading north-east (La Chaux-de-Fonds - Le Noirmont - Saignelégier - Glovelier) and a branch heading east (Le Noirmont - Tramelan - Tavannes). Both run through attractive hilly country with quite severe curvature and gradients, on the branch in particular. Just before Glovelier the CJ main line descends steeply from the hills by a hairpin bend followed by a switchback reversal. The CJ's Glovelier - Delémont extension plans have been around, unfulfilled, for some 15 years, and route-diagrams on the trains indicate the original version, with a separate alignment north of the CFF line instead of sharing mixed-gauge track. BLN 818.042][CZ] Czech Republic: winter 1997-98 timetable amendments: An October 1997 visit found fares increased, but still cheap (100km for Ł1). Railway workers told BLN's reporter that local initiatives tried to make sure that branch lines damaged in summer 1997 flooding reopened promptly in order to pre-empt government moves to declare them permanently closed (BLN 812.0505). Some timetable changes were being promulgated in local leaflets: Ball CD timetable Karlovy Vary - Dalovice - Merklín 35A1 141 service halved Chomutov - Jirkov 35B1 133 new local service to Jirkov, a different station from Jirkov zastávka (= halt) on the Chomutov - Ústi line Bošice - Zásmuky - Becváry 35B2 013 BLN 802.0242; no Sat service after 11:45 Milotice nad Opavou - Vrbno pod Pradedem 37A1 313 service withdrawn, with bus substitution Jindrichuv Hradec - Obratan 41A3 205 760mm-gauge; BLN 805.0322; much reduced service, very slow, first train south takes 225min for 46km Petrov nad Desnou - Kouty nad Desnou 41B3-37A1 291 service withdrawn, with bus substitution Olomouc - Bartonov - Ostruzna - Krnov 42A3-37A1 290 bus on 32km Bartonov - Ostruzna section Opava - Jakartovice - Svobodné Hermanice 42A3 314 Svobodné now has only one train, on certain FSuO Kyjov - Mutenice 42A2-41B2 257 no Sat/Sun service Nezamyslice - Morkovice 42A3 333 no Sat/Sun service Hodonín - Holíc nad Moravou ZSR 42A2 336 BLN 775.0145; border-crossing; no Sat/Sun service BLN 818.043][CZ] Rakovnik - Cistá - Mladotice: (Ball 35B1; CD 162) The layout at the provincial capital of Rakovnik in Bohemia is unusual. Separate single tracks leave the station to the west as line 126 (Rakovnik - Louny) and line 161 (Rakovnik - Blatno u Jesenice). Line 162 diverges south-west from the latter after 1km or so and the single-track line 161 then cuts north through the edge of town to converge again with line 126, running parallel for some way without a junction before finally parting company. Though CD make much use of temporary bus substitution during engineering works (BLN 712.09, 792.0518, 802.0240-1, 812.0506) bus replacement of the western 21km of the 39km Rakovnik - Cistá - Mladotice secondary line (closed 1 January 1997, at short notice, due to poor track; BLN 800.0204) seems permanent. The timetable still has seven Rakovnik - Cistá round-trips, and a November 1997 trip found the single railcar well-filled. Cistá, serving a sizeable village, is now the terminus, an unstaffed wayside station with freight sidings and loop apparently disused. It is unclear whether the 9km section westwards to the next town, Kralovice, is still in use for freight, perhaps to grain-silos visible from the bus. Between Kralovice and Mladotice however the bus crosses the line three times, revealing it to be completely out of use, very rusty and heavily overgrown. No-one should defer a visit to the remaining branch in the hope that the closed section will reopen. BLN 819.044][FR] Paris métro: Saint-Denis Basilique - Université de Saint-Denis: (Ball 81B2 not shown) May 1998 should see line 13 of the Réseau Urbain extended 1.26km in tunnel to a new terminus further beyond the city boundary, serving the campus of Université-Paris VIII and the northern part of the town of St.Denis. The new terminus has been designed to allow extension in future to Stains. (http://www.ratp.fr/) BLN 819.045][FR] France: station renamings: Aulnoye (Ball 16A3) in the summer 1995 SNCF timetable had become Aulnoye-Aymeries in the timetable of 24 September 1995. Châlons-sur-Marne (27A3) in the winter 1995-96 timetable had become Châlons-en-Champagne in the timetable of 2 June 1996 BLN 819.046][FR] (Montargis -) Charny - Toucy - St.Sauveur-en-Puisaye - Étang de Moutiers - St.Fargeau (- Gien): (Ball 36B3-37A2) Montargis - Toucy and Toucy - Gien lost their passenger services 2 October 1938, and became a long, meandering, dead-end freight branch from Montargis when the line west of St.Fargeau to Gien closed completely 18 May 1952. SNCF records state that the branch was cut back to Toucy 16 December 1973, though freight was apparently going to St.Sauveur in 1987 (perhaps it had reopened). By 1988 the branch seems to have been cut back yet further, to Charny, though SNCF line closure records reveal no date for this. On 20 June 1987 the Association des Autorails Touristiques de l'Yonne (AATY) began running Montargis - St.Sauveur, at 77km the longest volunteer-operated line in France at the time, trading as the Chemin de Fer Touristique de Puisaye, Puisaye being the area between the valleys of the rivers Yonne and Loire, west-south-west of Auxerre. After track-relaying on the out-of-use section, CFTP trains were extended from 18 June 1989 to run Montargis - Étang de Moutiers (a lake just west of St.Sauveur), but in 1992 and 1993 ran only on the section still in freight use, Montargis - Charny. SNCF were said to have stopped tourist service on the line to Étang de Moutiers for safety reasons (BLN 715.02). In 1996, however, a CFTP leaflet advertised trains from Toucy at weekends from May to September, but with duration and destination of journey not specified. Local authority negotiations to take over the disused section between Charny and St.Fargeau, a total of 53km, were finally concluded 6 September 1997. Did tourist trains run in 1995 or 1997, and in 1996 did they run only on the short section Toucy-Ville - Toucy-Moulins? (La Vie du Rail #2104 & 2195, 1987, 1989; CF Régionaux et Urbains #217, 1990; The Tourist Railways of France (2nd edn) p146; Connaissance du Rail, #182, 1996; L'Écho du Rail, #177, November 1997) BLN 819.047][FR] Thouars - Bressuire - La Roche-sur-Yon: (BLN 813.0519; BLS EuroGuide Ball 44A3-42B3) An IFC weekend railtour on 20-21 June 1998, by Picasso diesel unit from Tours, is planned to traverse this sparsely used line (OEIS 9756). BLN 819.048][FR] (Pontarlier -) Fontaine-Ronde - Touillon - Les Hôpitaux-Neufs-Jougne (- Vallorbe CFF): (BLN 746.026, 750.0111; Ball 50A3) From the end of June 1997, the CF Touristique Pontarlier - Vallorbe extended northwards beyond Touillon (4.5km) to a temporary terminus, and the total length relaid is now 7.5km of the original 23km of abandoned trackbed. The terminus provisoire, Fontaine-Ronde, has an intermittent spring, one of seven in France. Information on 1998 services should be available in due course from the Office de Tourisme, Place de la Mairie, F-25370 Les Hôpitaux-Neufs, fax +33 3 81 49 09 27. (http://www.trains-fr.org/unecto) At the northern end the site of the former junction south of Pontarlier is still visible from the Paris - Pontarlier - Neuchâtel - Bern TGV. Extending north to Pontarlier may be easier than south to Vallorbe in Switzerland, for taking on the abandoned 1560m Tunnel de Jougne at the frontier would be an ambitious commitment for a preserved line. BLN 819.049][FR] (Tulle -) Lapleau - Soursac (- Neuvic d'Ussel): (Ball 53B1-54B2 not shown) The metre-gauge Tramways Départementaux de la Corrčze finally closed at the end of 1959, but the 8km section from Lapleau (about 50km east of Tulle) to Soursac is the subject of a preservation scheme, which would see trains running over a suspension bridge across the river Luzčge. The bridge, declared a historic monument in 1995, is 160m long, 90m high. Details from ASTTRE 19, Mairie, F-19550 Soursac. (L'Écho du Rail, #177, November 1997) BLN 819.050][FR] Tournon - Lamastre (- Le Cheylard): (BLN 757.0297; Ball 56Bl) At Lamastre, the upper terminus of the present preserved Chemin de Fer du Vivarais, metre-gauge track continues across the river Doux bridge, with a locked gate at the far end, then some way through the village before ending at a former level-crossing. At one time this track continued to Le Cheylard, joining the Duničres - Montfaucon - Tence (- St.Agrčve - Le Cheylard - La Voulte-sur-Rhône) line, the western part of which also survives in preservation (BLN 815.0566, 817.04). BLN 819.051][FR] Nice - Digne: (Ball 77B3-67A1-66Bl) The dignified and listed 1892 Nice-Sud station, terminus of the metre-gauge Chemins de fer de la Provence, before 1925 known as the CF du Sud de la France, saw its last train on 9 December 1991, but its impressive arch-roofed train-shed remains in grass-grown isolation, none of the various worthy civic ideas for its re-use having yet been implemented. Opened to regular traffic on 10 December 1991, the new Gare CP or Gare du Sud stands beyond the former first level-crossing, across a busy road (BLN 737.0228). North of the present station another three ungated level-crossings remain, negotiated with some panache by the autorail drivers, literally forcing their way across against city traffic that is unwilling to stop for a mere metre-gauge railway. At busy times throughout the day the flow of cars often backs up across the crossings and nobody will give way. How CP keep anywhere near to their peak-hour suburban timetable is a mystery. An ADL charter train on 5 November 1997 ran the length of the line, using autorail #ZZ22, a Renault diesel-electric of 1935. CP never scrap anything. At Lingostičre works, derelict locomotives, autorails and trailers litter several sidings, among them autorail #212 (Billard, 1937, in modern CP colours though vandalised and graffiti-covered). In the road nearby, two former trailers, thought to be #XR1332 and XR1335, now form L'Autorail Café, offering a FRF65 menu or a FRF45 plat du jour. At Puget-Théniers the preservationist Groupe d'Études pour les CP maintain several steam locomotives for the seasonal tourist Train des Pignes as far as Annot. At their new shed, financed by the local authority, was #E211 (2-4-6-0T Mallet compound, Henschel 19874 of 1923, formerly of Caminhos de ferro Portugueses and appositely still bearing the letters CP on the buffer-beam) while at the old shed and works were #E327 (4-6-0T, Fives-Lille, 1909, ex-Réseau Breton), #24 (0-8-0T, Corpet-Louvet 1616 of 1923, apparently on loan from the Chemin de Fer du Vivarais) and #BA11 (0-6-0D, built CFD 1940-45 on the frames of a Couillet 0-6-0T of 1885, ex-Chemin de Fer du Blanc ŕ Argent). Beyond Entrevaux, where the line was severed by flood damage on 5-6 November 1994 (BLN 743.0368), a replacement bridge was provided free by SNCF (who had it in store, as war reparations from Germany!) and erected as an exercise by army engineers. With national and local government finance, the new Pont de Gueydan was officially reopened 11 April 1996 and regular through services were restored over the full 151km line on 25 April 1996 (BLN 781.0258). Though the CP now terminates at Digne-les-Bains in platforms adjacent to those of the SNCF, across the station-yard a separate station bearing the old name of the line, Chemins de Fer du Sud, retains a metre-gauge track into a single platform. It aligns with the locomotive shed and disused goods shed, and seems to be the original terminus shown in a 1910 postcard reproduced in the line's guidebook. Standard-gauge track remains on the 22km Château-Arnoux-St.Auban - Digne SNCF branch, disused since 1989, following withdrawal of ordinary passenger and freight services on 25 September 1988 (BLN 751.0131). Nothing has yet come of the idea of regauging the SNCF branch and extending CP services to Château-Arnoux-St.Auban. BLN 819.052][DE] Berlin: new station names: The committee asked to make recommendations for the names of Berlin's main-line stations has reported. Spandau and Gesundbrunnen would keep their existing names, as expected. The new station on the south side of the city hitherto known internally as Südkreuz would be called Papestrasse, taking its name from the adjacent S-Bahn station. When it reopens with the May 1998 timetable the present Hauptbahnhof would revert to being Ostbahnhof. Two earlier names, Niederschlesische-Märkischer Bahnhof and Schlesischer Bahnhof, might now be seen as politically tendentious (since Silesia is today part of Poland) - and it has never really been the city's Hauptbahnhof, either in DDR times or since. The surprise is that the still-to-be-built new central station (BLN 816.0598) would be the Lehrter Bahnhof. Berlin newspapers have certainly been using this traditional name, but DB were thought to have a preference for Zentralbahnhof, indicating both location and function - even though 'central' is not a usual German appellation for such a station. The original Lehrter Bahnhof, on more or less the same site, was the terminus of the Lehrter Bahn, opened 2 February 1871, which took its name from the small and not especially significant town of Lehrte, just east of Hannover, where it joined the then-existing railway system, offering a more direct route from the capital to the west. BLN 819.053][DE] Koblenz - Rüdesheim - Wiesbaden: (Ball 48B2) In a news-sheet in English, the citizens of the small town of Rüdesheim welcome visitors and urge them to help in lobbying the authorities to divert the Rechte Rheinstrecke railway into tunnel at a cost to the taxpayer of DEM180 million, to avoid "the noise ... and the disruption to road traffic ... at three level-crossings" caused by 380 trains a day, many of them conveying empty freight wagons which are particularly noisy. Perhaps the townsfolk deserve the increase in road traffic that would probably result from abolishing their level-crossings. BLN 819.054][AT] Wieselburg an der Erlauf - Gresten: (BLN 792.0508, 795.068; Ball 74B3-74B2) The work to convert this 760mm-gauge ÖBB freight line to standard-gauge eventually commenced on 12 September 1997. ÖBB and others have advertised narrow-gauge special passenger trains in spring 1998. The narrow-gauge is to vanish in August 1998 when freight traffic is quietest, and standard-gauge will appear in the autumn, with the work due for completion by November 1998. (LCGB Bulletin/Schienenverkehr Aktuell; Continental Railway Journal, winter 1997-98) BLN 819.055][PT] Portugal: diversions: (Ball 26A2-33A3) The Beja - Funcheira section of the Linha do Alentejo (Poceirăo - Vendas Novas - Casa Branca - Beja - Funcheira) seems to have been damaged by floods in mid-November 1997, and public notices were still indicating train-diversions at the beginning of 1998. From 22 November 1997, overnight trains out of Barreiro for the Algarve ran by the Linha do Sul (Poceirăo - Pinheiro - Ermidas-Sado - Funcheira - Tunes), and from 12 December the weekend Comboio Azul (= 'blue train'; Fridays Faro - Porto, Sunday nights Porto - Faro; BLN 805.0311) was diverted via Ermidas-Sado; Poceirăo south-to-east curve (no known previous passenger use); Vendas Novas (reversing there, not at Setil); and Setil east-to-north avoiding line (the Concordância de Setil-Norte, which it used to traverse until June 1996). It is not clear whether substitute buses ran in the days between the appearance of the notices and the dates of the diversions, but the public notice about the Comboio Azul implied some workings might have been cancelled before diversion began. BLN 819.056][PT] Barreiro - Pinhal Novo - Poceirăo - Pinheiro: (Ball 25B2-26A2) The three-position short-arm semaphore signals remaining at Pinhal Novo are the only ones on the CP system. The wagons once stored on the Pinhal Novo - Montijo branch (Ramal do Montijo) have been removed and the junction is now blocked by sleepers. The new Campolide - Pinhal Novo line, whose link across the Rio Tejo is still under construction, trails in on the south side, still single. Partly brought into use in early 1995 to serve the Ford/Volkswagen car factory, at Penalva near Palmela, it now carries up to 16 trains a day, running to Setúbal harbour the long way round via Águas de Moura (BLN 798.0143). Between Pinhal Novo and Poceirăo the line was doubled in 1993-94, a date not quoted on the June 1994 Quail map. Multi-aspect signalling in the Valdera - Poceirăo - Pinheiro area is now commissioned and presumably centrally controlled, for what seems to have been a temporary signal-box is no longer in use. BLN 819.057][PT] Lisboa: (BLN 728.080; Ball 25A1-25B1) Suburban services on the Lisboa Rossio - Campolide - Sintra line and the Azambuja - Campolide - Alcântara-Terra route round the north of the city met at an interchange point, Campolide, where Sintra line passengers had to leave the main platforms and cross a road and a level-crossing to find the single platform on the Alcântara-Terra line. Newer stock on the Sintra line has route-diagrams referring to Campolide connections as being with the 'Cascais' rather than the 'Alcântara' line, though in practice any passenger wanting to join a Lisboa Cais do Sodré - Alcântara-Mar - Cascais train would have to change twice, proceeding on foot from Alcântara-Terra to Alcântara-Mar, using the 500m-long elevated and covered walkway with travolator sections. Are there perhaps longer-term plans for passenger trains to run beyond Alcântara-Terra (wired at 25kV 50Hz) via the short unelectrified single-track freight link through on to the (1500V dc) Cascais line? No work seemed to be under way on this link as 1998 began. Nearby, however, the whole area round Campolide has been a big construction site for some months, due to the addition of the new rail deck to the existing 25 April suspension road-bridge high above the Rio Tejo estuary (BLN 798.0143), and associated work on its road and rail approaches. Since 20 October 1997 the Campolide - Alcântara-Terra line has been closed temporarily for engineering work, including rebuilding and remodelling at Campolide station, so its layout as an interchange may improve. The Lisboa metro (BLN 807.0361) is closed between Restauradores and Areeiro until March 1998. The two extensions being built - Restauradores - Terreiro do Paço (for ferry to Barreiro ) and Rossio - Cais do Sodré ( for Cascais line) - are to have an interchange station at Baixa Chiado, and the very sharp Restauradores - Rossio curve will not reopen. BLN 819.058][PT] Lisboa Santa Apolonia - Entrecampos - Cacém (- Figueira da Foz): (BLN 806.0339; Ball 25B2) Because of engineering work, from 6 June 1997 only the weekday (SSuX) InterCidade trains to the Linha do Oeste run from and to Santa Apolonia, using the Concordância de Xabregas (Bifurcaçăo de Xabregas - Bif de Chelas) and the Campolide avoiding line (Sete Rios - Bif de Benfica). IR and weekend IC trains run only north of Cacém, with Sintra line connections. BLN 819.059][PT] Lisboa Santa Apolonia - Oriente - Alverca - Entroncamento - Pampilhosa - Aveiro - Porto: (Ball 25B1-17A3) On the Linha do Norte out as far as Alverca quadruple track is being laid, including some flyovers for turn-backs and yard access, and considerable works were under way at the beginning of January 1998. The four-track sections had not all been started, and parts looked rather more than six months away from completion, but presumably some sort of order will be restored by 22 May for the opening of Expo 98 and CP's new Lisboa Oriente station, located between the now-closed stations of Cabo Ruivo and Olivais. The new station for the exhibition site is by Santiago Calatrava, the architect of SNCF's Lille Europe, and the impressive but seriously underused TGV station at Lyon-Satolas airport. On the southern outskirts of Entroncamento, a railway town, is a works halt not shown on the Quail map. Between Pampilhosa and Aveiro extensive realignment is in progress. The points leading to the 2.5km Aveiro - Aveiro-Canal branch (Ramal do Canal de Săo Roque) have been removed. On the north side of Porto (BLN 798.0141; Ball 7A1), restoration of passenger service on the Contumil - Leixőes branch is still not in prospect. The branch platforms constructed during remodelling of Contumil station were ablaze with lights during the middle of the day, but securely closed off by folding doors at the public end, opposite the booking-office in the rather dismal subterranean passage, with a permanent-looking notice making it clear they were for staff access only. BLN 819.060][PT] Entroncamento - Abrantes - Castelo Branco - Guarda: (Ball 26A3-18A2) The short Mouriscas-A - Pego branch (Ramal do Pego; 26B3) is not shown correctly on the 1994 Quail map. The electrified single track diverges not at Abrantes, but at Mouriscas-A, on the north side of the Linha da Beira Baixa, then climbs up and swings south to cross above the main line and the river Tejo (Tagus) to serve not a mine but a coal-fired power-station. The coal is imported through the port of Sines (26A1) and rail-hauled over 350km (BLN 798.0142). Further north, the service on the Linha da Beira Baixa 'over the top' between Covilhă and Guarda has increased from three to four round-trips a day, and is well worth the ride in the Nohab-built single railcar. A weekly working for student traffic, presumably locomotive-hauled, also operates. The Comboio Academico (Friday northbound Castelo-Branco - Porto; Sunday southbound Porto - Castelo-Branco) seems a relatively recent innovation, perhaps since electrification of the Linha da Beira Alta. At Guarda, the physical junction is at the station, and no sign is visible of a triangle, past or present, as shown by Quail. BLN 819.061][PT] Pampilhosa - Guarda - Vilar Formosa CP (- Fuentes d'Ońoro RENFE): (BLN 803.0260; Ball 17B2-18B2) CP's Linha da Beira Alta to the Spanish frontier is now electrically worked, with some realigning clearly undertaken during the 25kV 50Hz electrification. Pinhel - Sobral is the main section straightened. Most significant stations have received very visible EU-financed investment. Halts at Cerejo and Trajinha have closed, but it is not clear whether this was because the railway was realigned away from them or because they were little used. BLN 819.062][IT] Villa San Giovanni - Messina train-ferry: (Ball 60B3) FS operate frequent train-ferries on this route linking mainland Italy with the island of Sicilia. Four vessels are required, each making nine return trips every twenty-four hours. The same timetable operates daily, with sailings round the clock, though not at regular intervals. Crossing time is 35 minutes. Passenger trains using the ferries are mainly overnight services, though journeys from the northern cities can take up to 21 hours. Most passenger trains to Sicilia cross the strait during the night and morning, returning during the afternoon and evening. Two day trains each way between Palermo, Siracusa and Roma operate against the flow. Some sailings carry passenger trains on certain dates only. Freight wagons are carried as required. While not every sailing conveys rail vehicles, all carry road vehicles and foot-passengers. The train-ferries are of handsome and traditional design, with four decks. The rail-deck has four tracks, the points leading to the middle tracks being on the ship, with other pointwork on the loading-ramp. Loading and unloading is via a bow door, and several ships have no stern doors. The road-vehicle deck loads from the side, has restricted headroom and can take only cars and light commercial vehicles. Passenger saloons are above that, and ample external deck space. Crew accommodation is on the top deck, though crews live ashore and work eight-hour shifts. At Villa San Giovanni the three train-ferry berths directly adjoin the railway station, which doubles as the ferry-terminal. Trains are drawn south out of the station into sidings at a lower level than the main line, and then shunted north on to the ship. The four train-ferry berths at Messina Marittima are a few hundred metres north of Messina Centrale station, and trains are shunted directly on and off the ferries. These arrangements mean that trains are not reversed during the crossing. Class D145 diesel locomotives shunt the trains on and off the ferries, working usually with two bogie flat wagons as reach vehicles and a former parcels-van or similar carriage for the shunter to ride on. Movements are controlled by signals which display illuminated letters: E for Entrare (enter the train-deck); U Uscita (exit); R Rallentare (slow); and F Fermare (stop). All movements are undertaken at slow speed, but R precedes F during movements aboard. Trains are split to fit into the vessel, and division and reassembly is done as part of the loading and unloading manoeuvres. The terminal at Messina Marittima, used by motorists and foot-passengers, is a striking building with a large mosaic on the wall of the upper concourse. This depicts scenes from Sicilian history, but is dominated by a large figure of Italian leader Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) addressing the masses. In addition to the train-ferries, FS operate open-deck vehicle-ferries, which also have one or two lines of rails in their decks. Three vessels each complete 15 round trips every 24 hours. Caronte and Tourist Ferry Boat jointly operate a rival vehicle ferry service from nearby slipways. FS also ferry foot-passengers between Reggio di Calabria and Messina, using high-speed launches, one of which also makes a few peak-hour crossings from Villa San Giovanni morning and evening. However, no train-ferry now runs from Reggio di Calabria, and the single loading-ramp there is derelict, with the rails and timber deck removed. The Reggio di Calabria Lido - Reggio di Calabria Marittima branch remains in place, principally for stabling passenger carriages. Replacement of the train-ferries with a fixed link has been considered, but would be difficult and costly. The Strait of Messina is effectively a flooded mountain valley, and any tunnel would have to be steeply graded and much longer than the direct distance across. With no 'mid-stream stepping-stone', a bridge would require either a single span of unprecedented length or immensely deep piers. BLN 820.063][GB] Belfast Central - Bangor: Crawfordsburn station, opened 13 September 1965 and serving the hospital just north of the line, latterly had very few trains and closed from 1 September 1997. (Irish Railway News, Jan-Dec 1997, published Jan 1998) BLN 820.064][IE] Manulla Jn - Ballina: Up to two 400t trains a week are to run Foynes - Limerick - Ennis - Athenry - Claremorris - Ballina, carrying imported coal for a new plant at Geesala owned by Hydro Energy, allaying fears that the branch might lose its freight trains following closure of the Asahi chemical plant at Killala (BLN 813.0516). When new diesel railcar stock takes over (BLN 782.0270), IE may extend the Ballina branch passenger service, reversing at Manulla Jn to head west to Castlebar and Westport. (Western People, 17 December 1997) BLN 820.065][IE] Dublin Connolly - Newcomen Jn - Glasnevin Jn: (BLN 808.0367): IE barred the up line to passenger trains and the down line to all traffic from mid November 1997 until further notice, following the 8 November passenger train derailment at Knockcroghery on the Athlone - Claremorris line, which raised concern about track condition on many secondary routes. (Irish Railway News, Jan-Dec 1997, published Jan 1998) BLN 820.066][IE] Waterford - New Ross: (BLN 782.0272): IE now regard the branch as closed though not abandoned. Last traffic may have been in March 1995 (BLN 757.0293), and the last train the weed-spraying one at the end of June 1995 (BLN 765.0458). Future fertiliser traffic is to be road-hauled to Waterford for rail-loading. (Irish Railway News, Jan-Dec 1997, published Jan 1998) BLN 820.067][BE] (Lille -) Antoing - Halle (- Brussel/Bruxelles): (BLN 802.0223; Ball 7B1-8A2; SNCB/NMBS Ligne 1) King Albert II of the Belgians inaugurated the Antoing - Halle section of the LGV Belge on Wednesday 10 December (Daily Telegraph, 11 December), and three years and one month after services began, Eurostars were timetabled to use the high-speed line from Sunday 14 December 1997, reducing the London - Brussel journey to 2h 40min. Today's Railways #26 reports however that the first commercial train to use the new line from end to end was Eurostar #9140, 14:23 London - Bruxelles on Wednesday 3 December, diverted because of a suicide at Ath. BLN 820.068][FR] Corse: (BLN 710.01, 729.0101, 794.037; Ball 78) On the island of Corsica, the metre-gauge Chemins de fer de la Corse, operated by SNCF since 1 January 1983, offer a 25% reduction on return journeys of more than 200km during the winter season (15 September - 30 June; ask for a billet touristique) and all year offer a seven-day rover ticket for FRF290 (Carte Zoom). As usual, local timetable leaflets and table 599 of the SNCF Indicateur Horaires show significant differences, but do agree that Omessa station, 61km from Bastia, now has no services. The local leaflets show many additional calling-places not known to table 599. Bastia - Casamozza suburban trains have 9 extra request-stops; Corte - Ajaccio all-stations trains have 5 extra request-stops; and Ponte Leccia - Calvi trains 11 extra request-stops. Conversely table 599 shows Calvi - Île Rousse with 'shoulder-period' short workings which are not in the local leaflet - though a separate leaflet may perhaps be issued covering an extended summer season for this so-called Tramway de la Balagne service. BLN 820.069][NL] (Amsterdam - Haarlem -) Santpoort Noord - Ijmuiden: (BLN 764.0441, 788.0405, 795.065, 802.0229, 812.0486; Ball 3B3) Lovers Rail, now CGE-controlled, have as yet run only on the IJmuiden route, in two successive summers, and carryings in 1997 have been described as 'very low'. All their other plans for 1997 came to nothing. They still hope to run Amsterdam - Lisse (originally planned for spring 1997 visits to the bulbfields at Keukenhof) and Amsterdam - Hilversum - Utrecht, from the next timetable change on 24 May 1998. BLN 820.070][DE] Berlin Regionalbahn: May 1998 timetable: (BLN 817.05) Each of the following sections of line has an existing service, so although the local service pattern and service numbers for all three are indeed to change from 24 May 1998, none of them is being reopened to passengers. Ball atlas 1998-99 local service number Ferch-Lienewitz (Abzw Lia) - Beelitz-Heilstätten 31A1 RE3 Abzw Glasower Damm West - Blankenfelde 32A1 RB20 Doberlug-Kirchhain east curve 44A3 RE5 BLN 820.071][DE] Pirna - Pirna Süd: (BLN 788.0409-10; Ball 44A2-44A1) This short section is proposed for reopening, to serve Pirna Süd, which is near the town's bus-station. BLN 820.072][SE] Sweden: January 1998 timetable: The new timetable of 5 January 1998 brought a further rundown of overnight services, and three minor passenger line closures. The Grängesberg - Silverhöjden - Ställdalen section of the former Trafik Grängesberg-Oxelösund Järnvägar, which runs broadly parallel to the former SJ line (Grängesberg - Hörken - Ställdalen; Ball 22A3), and enables trains to pass on an otherwise single-track section, is no longer booked for use by one Saturday passenger train - as it was in 1997, even though the freight it might have crossed did not run on Saturdays! Until the new timetable one train each way reversed at Hallsberg and took the eastern curve there (Hallsberg - Skymossen; 22A2) instead of the normal route from Hallsberg west past the yards via Tälle to the Motala line. The recently-constructed Katrineholm south-to-west curve (22B2), enabling trains to avoid Katrineholm, no longer has the Malmö - Hallsberg portion of the overnight train to Storlien. Two Göteborg - Malmö X2000 trains, diverted because of engineering work south of Halmstad to run via Hässleholm, have now returned to the Helsingborg line. Kil - Öxnered (Ball 21B3-21A2; SJ 71) and Ĺnge - Sundsvall (Ball 14B3-15A3; SJ 43) were said to be threatened (BLN 805.0309) but continue to appear with existing service levels in the 1998 timetable. It is not known whether the threat is withdrawn or merely deferred. BLN 820.073][PT] (Lisboa -) Cacém - Lares - Figueira da Foz: (BLN 806.0339; Ball 25B2-17A2) Timber-related traffic keeps the Linha do Oeste busy. The 1993 freight-only 10km Ramal de Louriçal, serving two factories off the main line, is not shown in Ball and is incorrectly shown by Quail. The junction is south of Louriçal station, but the branch heads north-west (as shown in Today's Railways, #6) not south-east. The Alfarelos - Lares electrified link from the Lisboa - Alfarelos - Coimbra B - Porto Linha do Norte trails in at Bifurcaçăo de Lares, where the station, with a concrete-and-glass waiting-room, is in the angle between the two single tracks. The layout is somewhat reminiscent of Dovey Junction, with similarly poor road access. The third, east-to-south, side of the triangle, the Reveles - Amieira Concordância de Verride, electrified and single-track, still has a single passenger train, one-way only, but used to see more passenger use when Alfarelos - Lares had double track. Above the formation of the lifted second track from Alfarelos, the overhead wiring remains, a poor investment since it was brought into use only in 1982. BLN 820.074][ES] Madrid - Aranda de Duero - Burgos: (BLN 694.02, 780.0246, 816.0603; Ball 21A2-11A3) In addition to the non-stop Madrid - Paris Talgo sleeper Trenhotel Francisco de Goya, the 1997-98 RENFE timetable shows one long-distance daytime Talgo train daily, calling only at Aranda, plus a restricted-date train. The only local trains (Regionales), calling at twenty intermediate points, run once a week: north on Saturday and south on Sunday. BLN 820.075][IT] Sicilia: (Ball 59-60) The island of Sicily is almost entirely mountainous, so most railways are sinuous single tracks. This, together with late-arriving trains off the train-ferry, can make FS punctuality poor, though the passing-loops at virtually every station, even the closed ones, give a reasonable degree of operating flexibility. Apart from such loops, the only double-track sections are on the Messina -Catania - Siracusa main line (Messina - Giampilieri, Giarre-Riposto - Catania Ognina, a short section between the tunnels north and south of Catania Centrale, and Catania Acquicella - Biocca) and on the Messina - Palermo main line (San Filippo - Terme Vigliatore and Fiumetorto - Palermo Centrale). Acireale - Catania Ognina and San Filippo - Terme Vigliatore are new alignments replacing old, and a plaque at the new Barcellona station on the latter line commemorates official opening on 2 June 1992. The only non-electrified passenger lines are those in the south to Gela and in the west to Trapani, but some trains elsewhere are worked by diesel railcars, even though their entire journey is over electrified lines. Various infrastructure improvements are in hand. The present (Catania -) Targia - Siracusa single track follows the coast and runs through Siracusa town-centre over a busy level-crossing (60B1). Work is well-advanced on a new double-track line heading inland from Targia, passing to the west of Siracusa and joining the line from Gela. Most track is laid, with electrification masts erected, but the junction at Siracusa had not been commissioned as 1998 began. Presumably the present line through the town centre will close when the new one opens. Between Messina and Villafranca (60B3) work on the new Peloritana tunnel continues. Both portals are complete, and a working site and adit can be seen near Gresso. The tunnel will be much longer than the present 5345m one, and at a lower level, thereby eliminating the extremely steep climb faced by Palermo trains upon departure from Messina. The branch line to Palermo airport has reached the stage where some track has been laid, but such works as can be seen from the Palermo - Trapani train seem far from complete. Given that it is very close to the railway, and busier than Palermo, it is curious that no rail link is being provided to Catania airport. FS work a surprising amount of freight traffic to and from Sicilia. Major freight terminals at Palermo and Catania Acquicella, an AGIP oil-refinery at Gela and a large chemical works at Augusta are among traffic sources. Motor cars are conveyed to Termini Imerese, from Peugeot at Montbéliard among others. Freight trains operate over the Agrigento Bassa - Porto Empedocle line (59A2), but other non-passenger branches seem little used. Vegetation is fast overtaking the Alcantara - Randazzo line (60A3). BLN 820.076][IT] Sicilia: Riposto - Giarre - Randazzo - Adrano - Catania: (Ball 60B2-60A3) As noted in BLN 795.071, Giarre FCE station of the 111km 950mm-gauge Ferrovia Circumetnea is close to Giarre-Riposto FS station. At the beginning of 1998 no evidence was seen of the Randazzo - Catania line being electrified or converted to standard gauge, as suggested in the Ball atlas. A subway section is being built at Adrano. In Catania the single track still ends at Corso Italia, with a concrete stop-block in the middle of the street and no sign of the track that used to continue in the road to the FS station and port. A nearby shop serves as booking-office and waiting-room. Various barricaded subways indicate construction of the underground section planned to replace the street running, and a concrete ramp by the FS carriage sidings at Catania Centrale may be the access to this. BLN 820.077][IT] Paola - Castiglione Cosentino - Cosenza: (BLN 796.0100; Ball 58A1) The south-to-east Paola avoiding line (BLN 780.0248) has its eastern junction within the Santomarco tunnel, near its western end. Also inside the relatively new 15.3km single-track tunnel is a passing-loop near its mid-point. BLN 820.078][IT] Gioia Tauro - Palmi Centrale (- Sinopoli San Procopio): (Ball 61A2) Standard-gauge wagons used to be carried on transporter bogies over the 950mm-gauge Ferrovie della Calabria lines from Gioia Tauro, but the loading-pit and bogies are all derelict. As well as tickets, FC at Gioia Tauro station were in December 1997 advertising for sale 29 buses, a burned-out railcar and assorted other scrap material. The short Gioia Tauro - Palmi section survives because Palmi FC station is close to the town-centre while the FS station is some distance away down a long hill. Palmi - Sinopoli, out of use for some years (BLN 795.074) and perhaps formally closed in 1997, is already heavily overgrown. On FC's Catanzaro Cittŕ - Catanzaro - Catanzaro Lido line (BLN 795.075; Ball 61B3) the new railcars are rack-equipped, so trains no longer require locomotive assistance. On their Cosenza - Redipiano - Camigliatello Silano - San Giovanni in Fiore line (BLN 795.073; Ball 58Al-58Bl) the section beyond Camigliatello towards San Giovanni appears still available for traffic. BLN 820.079][IT] Reggio di Calabria - Melito di Porto Salvo (- Catanzaro): (BLN 803.0262; Ball 61A2) At end 1997 this FS section round the toe of Italy was showing no sign of electrification work, notwithstanding the note in the Ball atlas. Is Melito further south than Piraeus in Greece, making it perhaps the southernmost station on the connected standard-gauge network of Europe (BLN 707.08)? BLN 820.080][CH] Lausanne - Echallens - Bercher: (BLN 746.041, 760.0380; Ball 91A1) The first phase of extension in 1995 merely put the metre-gauge LEB's terminus underground near its old site at Lausanne-Chauderon. Work to prolong the line 445m to Place du Flon, for interchange with Métro-Gare, Métro-Ouchy and Métro-Ouest (BLN 811.0477), began in September 1997 and is planned to be complete in 2000. (L'Écho du Rail, #179, January 1998) The very short Métro-Gare does offer some seating to passengers: at least one of the two cars has 20 seats down one side, when seen on 14 August and 29 December 1997. The other car, in the shed, may or may not have seats. BLN 820.081][PL][SK] Lupków PKP - Palota ZSR - Medzilaborce: (Ball 43B3) Notwithstanding BLN 804.0290, quoting a report elsewhere, by late 1997 formal arrangements for immigration and customs had still not been finalised to enable Poland-Slovakia cross-border passenger trains to run regularly on this route. BLN 820.082][RO] Târgu Mures - Band - Lechinta and Band - Mihesu de Câmpie: (BLN 809.0422; Ball 49B2-49B3; SNCFR 408) Freight traffic on the two 760mm-gauge lines ceased 6 March 1997, at the same time as the passenger service, and they were not used during the autumn 1997 sugar-beet harvest. BLN 820.083][HR][BA] (Zagreb - Karlovac -) Oštarije - Josipdol - Knin - Sedramic - Perkovic - Split: (BLN 762.0415, 764.0452; Ball 46A1-51A3) At Knin station a plaque records the reopening of the Oštarije - Knin - Split and Knin - Zadar lines as being on 5 August 1995, though on either side of the war-damaged 248km Josipdol - Knin - Sedramic section local services were advertised in the HZ timetable of 28 May 1995 as already running Oštarije - Josipdol and Sedramic - Perkovic - Split. This timetable also advertised Ploce - Metkovic HZ - Capljina ZBH local services across the border into Bosnia-Hercegovina (BLN 786.0374, 792.0522; Ball 51B2). BLN 820.084][CN] Hong Kong - Chek Lap Kok airport: (BLN 738.0271) The 34km Mass Transit Railway link will not be ready in April as planned, and opening of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's large new airport has been deferred to 6 July 1998. (Financial Times, 14 January 1998) BLN 820.085][US] Syracuse, NY: University - Carousel Center: (BLN 801.0220, 804.0297) The OnTrack shuttle in Syracuse which uses old RDCs (ex-Metro-North), is said to be the only rail commuter service in a small US metropolitan area of fewer than 2.5 million people. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 820.086][US] Boston North Station: The last part left in use of the old Boston & Maine station building of 1928 - the ticket-office, waiting-area and shops on the concourse running from Causeway Street under the Boston Garden to the platform area - closed 16 December, after the final MBTA commuter trains left at midnight on Monday 15 December 1997. Train service is not affected. (http:// www2.trains.com) While the Boston Garden site is being cleared for redevelopment, it seems nothing is yet being done about linking the North and South terminals to allow through running of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority suburban services (BLN 782.0287). BLN 820.087][US] Dallas - South Irving, TX: (BLN 790.0461, 801.0221) Trinity River Express, the commuter operation on the city's Green Line which links downtown Dallas and the western suburb of Irving using elderly ex-Canadian Budd Rail Diesel Cars, was to include midday and evening trains on weekdays from 15 December 1997, a year after its limited peak-hours-only trains began. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 820.088][CL] La Calera - Coquimbo - La Serena - Vallenar - Diego de Almagro - Palestina - Baquedano - Iquique: (BLN 758.0342) To the south of the interchange station of La Calera on the 1676mm-gauge 3000V dc Santiago - Valparaíso main line (BLN 725.066), the railways of Chile are nearly all broad-gauge, but northwards most track is metre-gauge. Since privatisation of the operation of the freight-only Ferrocarril Longitudinal under the Ferronor company, the long section from La Calera north to Coquimbo has had no booked service, but a November 1997 excursion from Coquimbo back a short distance south to Las Cardas showed the track to be in quite good condition. While the port at Coquimbo sees several short-haul iron-ore trains a day, the next lengthy section of the longitudinal line north of La Serena to Vallenar is also without a booked service, and severe storms during 1997 washed out the track in several places just south of Incahuasi. Further north, at Diego de Almagro, the longitudinal railway connects with a west-east metre-gauge line (Chańaral - Pueblo Hundido - Diego de Almagro - Llantas - Potrerillos) whose Llantas - Potrerillos section was traversed on 12 November in a hired coach attached to the rear of a freight train. Copper ore mined near Llantas is, rather unexpectedly, taken east and uphill, on a spectacular journey, initially following a river through a canyon for many kilometres before turning back on itself and climbing steeply along a precipitous ledge with many tunnels. The line reaches a height of 3300m before the terminus at Potrerillos, high in the Andean foothills, where mining has ceased but a copper-refinery remains in operation. The refined copper is taken back down through Llantas and westward, mainly across desert terrain, to Chańaral on the Pacific coast for shipping. Northward, the Longitudinal crosses and connects twice with the two metre-gauge main lines of the private Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia which run inland from FCAB headquarters at the port of Antofagasta across Chile's Atacama desert, climbing through the Andes to Argentina (Antofagasta - Palestina - Socompa) and Bolivia (Antofagasta - Baquedano - Calama - Ollagüe - Uyuni) respectively (BLN 751.0140, 758.0343, 773.0105). A map is available on the company's website at http://www.fcab.cl/english/. FCAB traffics in the shape of westbound copper and eastbound tank-wagon trains were seen at Baquedano, the desert junction with the Longitudinal, which has an old station, a yard and a locomotive-depot. Antofagasta - Baquedano - Calama, the lower section of the FCAB, is freight-only, but the once-a-week passenger service (BLN 751.0140) still runs on the Andean section from Calama to Uyuni in Bolivia, whence one can continue to La Paz, a journey taking 28 hours, reputedly in a railcar with no heating against the overnight cold. The northernmost section of the Longitudinal, with a single reversal on its final descent to the coast at the port of Iquique, has seen no Ferronor traffic since March 1997, but track and level-crossings remain. A special train to Iquique on 27 November 1997 was due to run in connection with 'Nitrate Industry Week'. The industry is important locally, and Iquique used to be served by standard-gauge nitrate lines as well as the metre-gauge. BLN 820.089][CL] Toco - Maria Elena - Tigre - Barriles - Tocopilla: Meeting at Toco the metre-gauge FC Longitudinal (BLN 820.089), but with no through running, is the 1067mm-gauge private mineral line, the Ferrocarril de Tocopilla-Toco, which conveys nitrate from inland mines down to the Chilean Pacific port of Tocopilla. From the mine at Maria Elena, trains are diesel-hauled across the Atacama desert to Barriles, where elderly 1500V dc electric locomotives dating from 1926-28 take over for the steep 28km descent to the coast. The electrification formerly began further inland, but the Tigre - Barriles section was de-electrified about 1991 due to lower availability of the ageing electric traction. There is no ordinary passenger service, but a chartered train, electric-hauled with three coaches, on 15 November 1997 took the single track from Barriles (1001m), clinging to the side of the mountains as it descended gradients of up to 4%, through several passing-loops, doubling back on itself several times round spectacular horseshoe curves in the dry mountain scenery. On the final section is a switchback reversal where the locomotive runs round, high above the ocean, before descending to sea-level at Tocopilla. BLN 821.090][GB][IE] Holyhead - Dublin - Belfast ticketing: Travelling between parts of the United Kingdom by rail and sea via another country may or may not require foreign currency. A BLN correspondent who had booked at Worcester Foregate Street a National Railways return ticket from Malvern to Belfast via Holyhead for GBP53 was embarrassed on the bus from the Irish Ferries berth to Dublin Connolly station to find that this 3.5km sector of the journey was not included in the allegedly through fare, and that the Dublin Bus driver was understandably unwilling to accept foreign coins with a queen on them. Bring along a punt if you need to get from Dublin Port up the Liffey into town! Or use the Stena ferry from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire, where the ferry-berth is near the station and the through ticket is valid on Iarnród Éireann's DART electric units to Connolly. BLN 821.091][IE] Manulla Jn - Ballina: (BLN 820.064) A County Mayo deputy in the Irish Parliament has asked Iarnród Éireann to make Manulla Jn a full passenger station, not just an exchange platform for the Ballina branch, thus allowing people from Manulla officially to board and leave trains at the junction. (Western People, 14 January 1998) BLN 821.092][IE] (Cork -) Glounthaune - Midleton (- Youghal): (BLN 765.0457, 803.0252) Iarnród Éireann confirmed to the Cork Evening Echo on 21 January 1998 that reopening to Midleton is being planned, perhaps by 2003, with an intermediate station at Carrigtwohill. Also planned for reopening to passengers as part of a park-and-ride scheme for the area round Cork city are Blarney and Kilbarry stations on the (Dublin -) Mallow - Cork main line, and perhaps Tivoli, west of Little Island on the Cork - Cobh branch. BLN 821.093][FR] Paris RER: Stade de France: (Ball 81B2) The two new RER stations mentioned in BLN 787.0377 opened 25 January 1998, to serve the huge new national stadium at Saint-Denis, built for the 1998 World Cup football competition, and visible from Eurostar trains. Stade de France-Saint Denis (rendered in the timetable as Stade-France-St-Denis) is at a new location on RER Ligne D (... - Paris Nord - St.Denis - Creil). La Plaine-Stade de France (rendered in the timetable as La Plaine-Stade-France) on RER Ligne B (... - Paris Nord - Aulnay - Roissy-Aéroport Charles de Gaulle / Mitry-Claye) is also at a new location immediately east of La Plaine-Voyageurs. The platform end of the new station almost touches the platform end of the old one, which closed from 25 January. Some Paris suburban timetable books were reissued 25 January 1998 so those now current are RER A (1 September 1997; produced by RATP, not SNCF like the others), Banlieue Est (28 September 1997), Banlieue Ouest (28 September), RER C and Banlieue Rive Gauche (28 September with supplement 25 January); RER B (25 January), RER D and Banlieue Sud-Est (25 January). BLN 821.094][FR] Paris trams: (St.Denis -) Bobigny-Pablo Picasso - Pont de Bondy - Noisy-le-Sec: Extension is planned of RATP tramway line T1 south-eastwards along the north-eastern edge of the city. The formal enquiry into the proposed Declaration of Public Utility was held on 5-7 February 1998. BLN 821.095][FR] France: station renamings: (BLN 819.045; Ball 27A3) Châlons-en-Champagne (rendered thus in the national timetable since June 1996 and in the current local timetable) still had 'Châlons-sur-Marne' signs when a BLN reporter changed trains there on 14 October 1997. BLN 821.096][DE] Germany: passenger transport responsibilities: (BLN 818.031) Every Land (state) has its own legislation concerning devolution of responsibility for regional passenger rail services. Bayern has decided that responsibility should remain with the Land. In Hessen responsibility is now with NVV and RMV (Nordhessische Verkehrsverbund and Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund) the two big passenger-transport authorities responsible for northern and southern Hessen respectively. In Sachsen the Land is to act as a trustee for the Kreise (counties), and is to coordinate its actions closely with them, until 2002, when full responsibility devolves to the counties. In other Länder full responsibility has shifted to the counties or cities. BLN 821.097][DE] Hannover Messebahnhof: (BLN 799.0165; Ball 26B2 not shown) During the 1998 CeBIT information-technology event (19-25 March) and Hannover Messe industrial fair (20-24 April) many regular and special trains are listed on the DB website (http://www.bahn.de) as due to call at Hannover-Messe/Laatzen station 'from which a new Skywalk (sic) leads to new exhibition hall 13'. No mention is made of Hannover Messebahnhof, the special exhibition-site terminus on its own short branch, and it seems it may have closed after the 1997 events. BLN 821.098][DE] Ilmenau Bad - Rennsteig - Schleusingen: (Ball 41B1-52B3) A local newspaper has reported that DB are considering passenger closure "for technical reasons" after 23 May 1998 - or perhaps earlier, maybe "the end of the month". The state of Thüringen opposes this closure and talks between DB and the Land are expected. BLN 821.099][DE] Brohl Schiffsanlegestelle: (BLN 812.0495, 816.0599; Ball 48A3) Now rarely used, the short section of three-rail 1000/1435mm-gauge track to the passenger landing-stage for Rhein cruise vessels is to be visited by the Brohltalbahn's 1956-built ex-WEG metre-gauge railcar, #VT30, on 18 April 1998. The Society's Overseas Events Information Service gave fuller details of this railtour (OEIS 9805). BLN 821.0100][DE] Karlsruhe Marktplatz - Maxau - Wörth (Rhein) - Wörth Rathaus: trams on railways: (BLN 796.086, 814.0547; Ball 57A2; KBS710.5) Maps in Karlsruhe's dual-voltage tramcars show an extension to Wörth Badepark as under construction, but no sign of this was to be seen in early 1998. The extension is depicted with a stop called Wörth Rathaus, which may be a little beyond today's terminus of that name. The car maps also show interchange at Wörth Bahnhof with SNCF, not at present available. BLN 821.0101][PT] Porto - Ermesinde - Valongo: (BLN 798.0141, 809.0418; Ball 7A1-8A1) Though the trains appear in neither the CP national timetable nor its amending supplement, LCGB Bulletin of 4 February 1998 reports that an all-stations service of electric units, perhaps hourly, now runs from Porto Săo Bento over the recently double-tracked and electrified 7.6km section of the Linha do Douro from Ermesinde out to the eastern edge of the city, calling at rebuilt stations Cabeda and Suzao and turning back at Valongo, which has a third platform for this rôle. BLN 821.0102][ES] Gijón - Ferrol: (Ball 3B2-1B2) Spanish metre-gauge operators FEVE have announced a five-year ESP50,000M development plan, ESP1500M of it to be spent on improving the Gijón - Ferrol route, where some passenger services have been withdrawn due to bad track. Repairs have already started on one section of the line. FEVE also expect to reopen other closed sections and to modernise existing routes. (TR&IN) Perhaps one such candidate for reopening to passengers may be the freight-only Guardo - Balmaseda section of the FC La Robla (León - Matallana - Guardo - Balmaseda - Aranguren - Bilbao/Bilbo; BLN 770.037, 773.099; Ball 9B3-5A1). BLN 821.0103][ES] (Madrid Nińo Jesús) / Vicálvaro - Arganda (- Morata - Chinchón - Orusco - Mondéjar - Sayatón-Bolarque - Alocén): (Ball 21A2) From a terminus at Madrid Nińo Jesús, 1.5km north-east of the present Atocha station on the other side of the Retiro park, the 27.14km metre-gauge line of the Companía del Ferrocarril de Madrid a Arganda was inaugurated on 30 July 1886. An extension concession granted in 1888 led in 1892 to the company becoming the Companía del FC del Tajuńa, after the river Tajuńa, and in 1920 it became the Companía del FC de Madrid a Aragón. Further extensions were to Morata (42.25km from Madrid; 25 August 1901), Chinchón (60.45km; 23 July 1902), Orusco (1910), Sayatón-Bolarque (1916) and its farthest point, Alocén (142.20km; 27 December 1921), with short branches to Vicálvaro (1.3km long; 30 August 1903) and Colmenar de Oreja (3.4km; 25 January 1903). Though of significant extent the metre-gauge system never reached its objective, Caminreal on the FC Central de Aragón in Teruel province (BLN 814.0551). The line was an early user of railcars, in 1934. Due to its strategic location, during the Civil War (1936-39) traffic was heavy, but fell away thereafter. Passenger services ended 1 April 1953, but freight continued even as the system shrank. On 16 November 1964 the Companía de Cementos Portland Valderribas acquired the concession, and formed a subsidiary, Ferrocarril del Tajuńa, which carries some 2-2.5M tonnes/year of cement clinker and coal over the 28.8km between Vicálvaro (on the RENFE's ex-MZA Madrid - Zaragoza main line) and El Alto near Arganda (where the limestone quarries and cement-works are). Four trains a day each way usually run during the period 08:00-15:00. The line is one of three surviving private mineral lines in Spain, along with the 1219mm-gauge FC de Tharsis (BLN 727.075) and the metre-gauge FC de Ponferrada a Villablino (BLN 810.0442). A preservation group, CIFVM, are based at La Poveda, just west of Arganda, with stock and a restored steam locomotive. As Arganda and Morata grow, and more suburbs develop around Madrid, conversion of the line to a commuter route has been proposed, but no such change is immediately in prospect. BLN 821.0104][IT] Reggio di Calabria - Melito di Porto Salvo - Catanzaro: (BLN 707.08, 820.079; Ball 61A2) The index to The Times Atlas of the World gives the latitude of Piraeus in Greece as 37°57'N, and that of Melito di Porto Salvo as only 37°56'N. Furthermore, Melito's station is south of the town centre, so it would indeed appear to be the southernmost station on the connected standard-gauge network of Europe. BLN 821.0105][CZ][DE] Rumburk CD - Jiríkov CD / Ebersbach (Sachsen) DB: (OEIS 9810; Ball CZ-36A2, DE-44B2; CD 088) CD plan to withdraw the sparse Rumburk - Ebersbach cross-border passenger service from 26 September 1998. Presumably they read in BLN 812.0507 how Rumburk - Jiríkov trains offer an acceptable alternative for passengers - or at least for those who prefer a cheaper Czech domestic fare plus a 20-minute walk in Germany to the chance to travel over a very short international crossover. BLN 821.0106][PL][UA] Dabrowa Górnicza Ciesle - Hrubieszów PKP (- Ludin UZ): (BLN 798.0148; Ball 40B1-39B1; PKP 104) Passenger services over the Russian-gauge (1520mm) 'Steel-and-Sulphur' line in Poland were certainly running in August 1995. Waiting at Sedziszów with the westbound train apparently one hour overdue, BLN's correspondent went to the nearby signalbox to seek its whereabouts. The signalman understood the request and conveyed the information by indicating an imaginary line on a train graph, but tried in vain to communicate more about that day's train. The only word that came across was the German sonderlich (= special), perhaps relating to a retiming. The train when it arrived was about four hours late on the times shown in the current PKP public timetable for the expected service from Ukraine. It was formed of ex-Soviet (not PKP) stock hauled by two Class ST44.2 broad-gauge diesel locomotives, similar to the ZSR Class 781.8 mentioned in BLN 803.0264 and the MÁV Class M62.5 also used for cross-border workings (BLN 810.0454). It conveyed at least one through carriage from Magnitogorsk in Russia, for the correspondent rode in this vehicle from Sedziszów to Olkusz after giving an appropriate tip to the conductor. BLN 821.0107][CZ] Tanvald - Harrachov: (BLN 747.057; Ball 36A1) An association of local communities is reported to have 'saved from closure' this standard-gauge rack line with 5.7% gradients, in the mountains close to the Polish border. Though it has been adhesion-worked since 1988, the rack remains in place. (TR&IN) BLN 821.0108][CZ] Nezamyslice - Morkovice: (BLN 802.0244; Ball 42A3; CD 333) This threatened 12km line had one of the last CD regular mixed trains, workings that existed throughout 1992-93 (#84922 16:03 Nezamyslice - Morkovice; #84923 17:09 return) but were gone by the 1994-95 timetable. In September 1992 the usual Cl.810 railbus sat in a siding at Nezamyslice while a BoBo diesel locomotive, working from the isolated platform mentioned in BLN 802, made one round trip with a single bogie coach and several wagons to Morkovice, shunted, and returned with a similar load, after which the railbus continued with the remainder of the day's trains. Local passengers pointed out a plaque on Morkovice station commemorating a World War II incident when Czechs blew up loaded fuel tanks stored there and the occupying Germans exacted retribution, carried out on the station. BLN 821.0109][HU][SK][UA] Hungary: narrow-gauge railway festival days 1998: (BLN 777.0175-0178, 797.0118) On many 760mm-gauge lines of ÁEV (Állami Erdei Vasutak = State Forestry Railways) and MÁV (Magyar Államvasutak = Hungarian State Railways), the Hungarian Transport and Education Foundation organises festival days that are well worth attending if you are in the country. Normally a special train, or a reserved coach on a main-line train, runs from Budapest to the day's events, which include music, folk-dancing and good food and drink, as well as riding on specially-decorated trains. In addition, the Foundation arranges visits to narrow-gauge lines in neighbouring countries. Special day on the 760mm-gauge Hronec - Cierny Balog - Vydrovo Most line in Slovakia (BLN 792.0521; Ball 42B2) is 4 July 1998, and on the 750mm-gauge Beregovo - Khmelnik line in Ukraine 1 August. For further details contact Mr Janos Gáspar, Hungarian Transport and Education Foundation, Ilosvai Selymes utca 41, 1147 Budapest; telephone/fax +361 421 715. The 1998 programme is as follows, though not all the lines listed can be positively identified and given a Ball atlas reference: 11 April 1998 Children's Railway MÁV 44A2 Budapest 18 April 1998 Apple line ÁEV Baranya area 25 April 1998 Debrecen 'Susie' 48B3 Debrecen 1 May 1998 Mesztegnöi line 47A2 Mesztegnyö, Somogy county 2 May 1998 Börszöny line / MÁV Nostalgia Ltd Pest county 9 May 1998 Lillafüredi line ÁEV 43A1 Miskolc 16 May 1998 Kaszói line ÁEV 46B2 Szenta, Somogy county 6 June 1998 Felsötárkányi line ÁEV 43A1 near Eger 20 June 1998 Gyöngyösi line, 'Mátra Train' ÁEV 43A1 Gyöngyös 27 June 1998 Csömödéri line ÁEV 46B2 Csömödér, Zata county 11 July 1998 Debrecen Funfair Railway 48B3 Debrecen 8 August 1998 Kecskemet line MÁV 47B3 Kecskemet 15 August 1998 Pálháza line ÁEV 43B1 near Sátoraljáujhely 20 August 1998 Tiszakécskei line 48A3 Tiszakécske, Bács-Kiskun county 20 August 1998 Mecseki line 47A2 near Pecs 5 September 1998 Balatonfenyves line 47A3 Balatonfenyves 12 September 1998 Nyíregyháza, 'Birch Tree' line MÁV 43B1 Nyíregyháza 19 September 1998 Széchenyi Museum Railway 41B1 near Sopron 19 September 1998 Gemenci line ÁEV 47B2 Pörböly, Tolna county 10 October 1998 Szilvásváradi line ÁEV 43A1 Szilvásvárad, near Eger (TR&IN) BLN 821.0110][RU][LT][PL][BY] Kaliningrad freight lines and Lithuanian narrow-gauge: (BLN 780.0251) The Kaliningrad Oblast (region) is a triangular detached exclave of the Russian Federation, hemmed in by Poland and Lithuania. Centred on the city of Königsberg, home of the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), it was once the northern part of the German Baltic province of Ostpreussen (East Prussia) most of which is now in Poland. After World War II the Soviet Union expelled the remaining German inhabitants, renamed the much-damaged Königsberg after Kalinin (a Bolshevik notable), annexed the surrounding territory, settled it with Russians, and regauged its railways from standard to 1520mm. An innovative railtour is being planned for 19-28 July 1998, which aims to cover most of the Kaliningrad region's remaining track including many freight-only lines, using the comfortable broad-gauge 'hotel-train' privately operated by the Dzherelo company of Kiev/Kyiv, Ukraine. The tour proposals also include broad-gauge track in Belarus and Lithuania (including the Sovetsk RZD - Pagegiai LG border-crossing whose passenger service was withdrawn April 1996; BLN 780.0251); connecting standard-gauge PKP charters to do border-crossings into Poland; and the extensive 750mm-gauge system centred on Panevezys, Lithuania. A single-sheet visitor's guide to the railways of the Kaliningrad Oblast was issued as OEIS 9649, and the 1998 tour details, in German, as OEIS 9811. For a copy of each, send the International Editor a stamped addressed envelope plus an extra 20p stamp. BLN 821.0111][US] Los Angeles, CA: Getty Center hovercraft funicular: The huge and imaginatively planned campus of museum buildings displaying the extensive art collection of the late J Paul Getty opened on 16 December 1997 on a magnificent hilltop site in the Santa Monica Mountains north-west of downtown Los Angeles. From the car-park (USD5; reservation required) and the bus-stop (#14 Big Blue Bus from Santa Monica, fare only USD0.50) free access and entrance to the museum (Mondays excepted) is by a novel people-mover calling itself the 'Tram'. From a two-bay lower station, this unusual funicular winds perhaps 1.5km up the hillside to the single-bay top station, maybe 400m above. Flank platforms enable loading and unloading of passengers on opposite sides. The haulage cables run on the outside of the plain single concrete guideway with midway passing-place, and the pair of apparently driverless three-car trains are carried on air-cushion pads instead of wheels. Los Angeles also has a traditional funicular, the 'Angels Flight', downtown on 4th and Hill Streets (from Pershing Square station on the Metro Red Line, take the 4th St exit). Built 1901, as the Los Angeles Incline Railway, it closed in the late 1960s but after 27 years recently reopened with refurbished original cars. BLN 821.0112][US] Los Angeles Metro: Extensions to the three-line Metro system are under way, with the 9km heavy-rail Red Line (750kV dc third-rail) due to extend another 9km north-west to Hollywood & Vine in December 1998, and the 35km south-north Blue Line (light-rail, 750V dc overhead) another 22km north-east to Pasadena in May 2001. The 32km east-west Green Line, also light-rail, runs for 27km in the median of the elevated I-105 freeway, making the environment of the island-platform stations a howling bedlam, but Metro trains are clean and have a safe reputation. From Los Angeles Union Station - the pleasant and well-cared-for Hispanic-styled 1939 terminus used by all the city's passenger trains, both intercity (Amtrak) and commuter (Metrolink; a 650km system) - the journey to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) can be accomplished by using the Red, then Blue, then Green Metro lines to Aviation/I-105 station, whence a free shuttle-bus makes a circuit of the airport terminals. BLN 821.0113][US] New York, NY: Penn station: The dignified landmark James A Farley Building of the United States Post Office, built in 1914 above the PRR main-line tracks, and now underused, seems likely to become a new concourse for the city's below-ground Amtrak station. The fine original station building of 1910 was demolished and 'redeveloped' in 1963 by the Pennsylvania Railroad, itself now defunct. (New York Times, 9 February 1998) BLN 821.0114][US] New York light rail: Howard Beach / Jamaica - Kennedy Airport: The US federal government on 9 February 1998 cleared the way for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to use air-ticket tax-money to build a light-rail line to a loop serving the terminals at JFK international airport. The first branch, from Howard Beach station on subway line A, might be open by 2002 and the other, from Jamaica station on the Long Island Rail Road and subway lines E, J and Z, by 2003. Building a dedicated light-rail line to the airport, forcing passengers encumbered with luggage to change trains, stems from a quirk of US law whereby the federal air-ticket tax revenue can be used only to benefit air passengers and not others. The more sensible solution, mooted for at least thirty years, of simply extending the New York subway to give convenient through services from the city-centre would have risked benefiting other customers! (New York Times, 10 February 1998) BLN 821.0115][ZA] Cape Town - Mossel Bay - George - Oudtshoorn - Vondeling - Klipplaat - Port Elizabeth: (BLN 740.0314, 802.0247) According to the Railway Observer for February 1998, the Oudtshoorn - Vondeling section of the scenic Garden Route was in late 1997 still closed due to a bridge washout. Only the weekly passenger Southern Cross and one daily freight used the route, and rebuilding could cost ZAR8M (= GBP1 million), so Spoornet are reluctant to begin repairs without extra Government finance, and the line may never reopen. BLN 822.0116] Inter-Rail tickets: (BLN 725.054, 729.081) Tickets for persons of 26 years and older are now available on the same zonal basis as those for the under-26s. Eastern Europe has been divided, with Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Yugoslavia now forming a new zone. During February 1998 railway enquiry offices in London and Reading had 'no information' and would not sell any Inter-Rail ticket, but a BLS traveller used his Visa card to buy an IR26+ ticket at Rotterdam CS on 21 February for travel starting 28 February. IR26+ tickets there cost NLG625 (=GBP186) for a single zone, valid 22 days, and NLG825 (GBP245) for two zones, NLG925 (GBP275) for three zones, and NLG1025 (GBP304) for all zones, all valid one month. BLN 822.0117][IE] Kilkenny avoiding line: (BLN 784.0323) On the four Saturdays 22 November - 13 December 1997 Waterford - Dublin shopping specials ran outward via the 1996 Lavistown curve avoiding Kilkenny, though the return trains are understood to have reversed at Kilkenny station. (Irish Railway Record Society Journal) BLN 822.0118][FR] Paris: Gare St.Lazare at the Gare d'Orsay: Late 19th century artists working in and around the city's oldest main-line station, the Gare Saint-Lazare, made famous the urban landscape of the Quartier de l'Europe, where the streets bear the names of prominent European cities. An exhibition of Impressionist paintings, including Edouard Manet's Le chemin de fer and nine of Claude Monet's eleven St.Lazare scenes, runs until 17 May 1998 at the Musée d'Orsay, itself a magnificently converted main-line station with the RER calling nearby (Ball 82A2), all offering an excellent justification for a day visit by Eurostar. (Guardian, 18 February 1998) BLN 822.0119][FR] Duničres - Montfaucon-en-Velay - Tence - Le Chambon-sur-Lignon - St.Agrčve: (BLN 815.0566; Ball 56A1) Overturning the 1995 decision reported in BLN 783.0293, the local authorities who own this part of the metre-gauge Vivarais system have now agreed to the preservation group Voies Ferrées du Velay reopening the Tence - St.Agrčve section in 1999. This section had an all-year ordinary passenger service until operators CF Départementaux withdrew it 1 November 1968. Seasonal tourist trains, under CF Régionaux, the first preservation operators, last ran here on 26 September 1986. (Voie Étroite, #164, February 1998) BLN 822.0120][LU] Fond de Gras - Giedel - Dhoil - Lasauvage - Saulnes: (BLN 750.0118; Ball 17B1 not shown) As well as the Pétange-Triage (AMTF) - Fond de Gras - Rodange (AMTF) standard-gauge preserved line, the Parc Ferroviaire et Industriel at Fond de Gras has the Miničresbunn Dhoil-Rodange, a 4km-long 700mm-gauge mineral line running through a former mine tunnel to the village of Lasauvage. The MBD is to be extended in spring 1998 across the Luxembourg border to Saulnes in the French département of Meurthe-et-Moselle, making it, rather unusually, an international narrow-gauge preserved railway. (Voie Étroite, #164, February 1998) BLN 822.0121][NL] Netherlands: special-event stations: Five of the six special-event stations listed on page 825 of the 1997-98 NS timetable (Spoorboekje) seem to be on lines with regular passenger trains: Heerenveen IJsstadion (Ball 2A2), Rotterdam Stadion (3B2), Liempde (4B1), Eindhoven Stadion (4B1, not shown, between Eindhoven and Eindhoven Beukenlaan) and Doetinchem Stadion (5A2, not shown, between Doetinchem and Terborg). No mention is made of Lisse-Keukenhof (BLN 802.0229, 820.069; Ball 3B3). The sixth station, Amsterdam Arena, is near the southern end of the Diemen Zuid - Duivendrecht Aansluiting (- Bijlmer) east-to-south curve, inaccessible directly to trains on the (Amsterdam -) Amstel - Duivendrecht - Bijlmer (- Utrecht) main line. (On the sketch-map in BLN 776, page 128/96, it is roughly where the 'pre-1990 alignment' starts.) The single platform, about four coaches long, on the outer side of the curve, had in September 1997 no name-signs or shelter, merely an exit via turnstiles to a covered bridge leading directly to the Arena itself, a large modern construction with an opening roof, home to Ajax football club. Loaded trains no doubt arrive at Amsterdam Arena from the Diemen Zuid end, but a signal on the main line does appear to allow movement on to the curve from the Bijlmer end, requiring an approach from the Amstel direction and reversal at Bijlmer, for the tracks of the Amsterdam Metro lie between the up and down NS lines here, preventing direct access from the Utrecht direction. If the whole curve is signalled reversibly, rather than east-to-south only as shown in the sketch-map, this would allow traffic homeward-bound after events at the Arena to return towards Diemen Zuid. The curve seems to have no regular passenger service, and the timetable gives no service details, only a premium-rate telephone number (0900 9292). More information on the signalling arrangements would be welcome. A website (http://www.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/tt/nos/page/753) displays Dutch teletext pages relating to 'extra' trains, such as those stopping at Heerenveen IJsstadion, so information about trains to Amsterdam Arena might from time to time appear there also. BLN 822.0122][DE] (Stralsund -) Abzw Borchtitz - Sassnitz Fährhafen: (BLN 816.0596; Ball 13B3) Sassnitz Fährhafen came into use 7 January 1998 as planned, though without signage and still incomplete. The new station on the Mukran branch has one platform with two tracks numbered 61 and 71. Boat-trains using it wait an inordinately long time before departing, for journey time is some 40 minutes less than from the now-closed Sassnitz Hafen station to the north. Full retiming presumably awaits the May timetable change. (IBSE, February 1998) BLN 822.0123][DE] Müncheberg (Mark) - Buckow (Märkische Schweiz): (BLN 760.0373, 767.0505, 781.0260, 789.0428, 803.0255; Ball 30A3) Class 772 railbuses ran in summer 1996 and summer 1997, but the province of Brandenburg have declined to pay for further services. DB have offered a preservation group the depot and the three 800V dc electric railcars - built 1930 and out of use since 1992 - for a possible museum and tourist railway operation on the 5km branch. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/97) BLN 822.0124][SE] Ystad - Gärsnäs - Simrishamn: (BLN 815.0578; Ball 25B1) Swedish private railway operator Sydtĺg AB were making big losses on freight services and had less work from track-authority Banverket, so to reduce costs they withdrew freight trains from Malmö - Staffanstorp - Brĺgarp (25A1) and laid off staff, requiring substantial redundancy payments. On 10 March 1997 the company went bankrupt, and receivers advertised it for sale, continuing meanwhile to operate trains. On 2 May, the freight division of the state railway, SJ Gods, took over Sydtĺg freight services on the Malmö - Staffanstorp - Brĺgarp, Ystad - Simrishamn, Kristianstad - Hanaskog (25B2) and Ronneby - Nättraby - Karlskrona (26A2) lines. (In spring 1997 furniture company IKEA had taken over premises in Staffanstorp as a warehouse, offering that line some new traffic.) The local passenger-transport company, Kristianstad Länstrafiken, who had a contract with Sydtĺg for the Ystad - Simrishamn line, debated for some time before awarding the replacement contract on 16 May to BK Tĺg, who began their service that afternoon using Länstrafiken's Class Y1 diesel railcars, #1303 and 1341. BK Tĺg also took over Sydtĺg's rolling-stock, their office in the old customs-house at Kristanstad, and seven of their twenty remaining employees. (ÖSJ-Bladet, magazine of Eastern Scania Railway preservation society, 3/97 BLN 822.0125][PT] Poceirăo - Vendas Novas - Casa Branca - Beja - Ourique - Funcheira: (BLN 819.055; Ball 26A2-33A3) The bridge wash-out between Ourique and Funcheira seems likely to keep the Linha do Alentejo closed until perhaps late March or April 1998. Not only is the Comboio Azul diverted by the Poceirăo south-to-east curve (Concordância de Agualva), but freights from the mine at Neves-Corvo have to make a very long journey from Ourique north to Vendas Novas and Poceirăo, then south to Ermidas-Sado to reach the port of Sines. BLN 822.0126][ES] Hendaia/Hendaye - Irun - Donostia/San Sebastián - Zumaia - Deba - Bilbao/Bilbo Atxuri: (BLN 808.0385; Ball 6A2-5B1) Through passenger services were restored to EuskoTren's metre-gauge electric main line on 22 December 1997 with the completion of the 1.8km Itxaspe deviation and new tunnel at Arronamendi avoiding the unstable coastal section between Zumaia and Deba. Buses had replaced trains on this section since early 1995. March 1998 should see new fast Hendaye - Donostia - Bilbao services connecting with Paris - Hendaye TGVs. BLN 822.0127][ES] (Zumárraga -) Azpeitia - Lasao (- Zestoa-Balneario - Zumaia): (Ball 6A1) On the disused Zumárraga - Zumaia metre-gauge line, the Basque Railway Museum at Azpeitia were to inaugurate 4.5km of restored track as far as Lasao in February 1998, and hope to complete the next stage to Zestoa-Balneario by July. BLN 822.0128][ES] Barcelona - Tarragona - Sagunt/Sagunto - Válencia: (BLN 707.05; Ball 16B1-30B1) RENFE's Euromed train, a broad-gauge version of the standard-gauge Madrid - Sevilla AVE, itself a TGV clone, offers in Preferente or Business class an excellent breakfast served at one's seat and included in the fare, Turista class having no free food. The route has been much realigned and in places considerably deviated between Tarragona and Sagunt. It appears from the RENFE timetable that a tortuous section of the old line from L'Aldea-Amposta inland through Tortosa must remain in part as a branch. The northern approach to Válencia once ran in the open air, but as far back as February 1991 excavations were in progress, and RENFE trains now run beneath the surface for some distance through the sea-front area of El Grao, via an underground station at Válencia-Cabanyal, before turning north to arrive at Válencia Estació del Nord (previously Válencia-Término), a splendid Moorish building with a large terminal train-shed. A short single-track curve enabling through workings to avoid reversal at Estació del Nord is used by at least two timetabled long-distance (Largo Recorrido) passenger trains between the Barcelona and Alacant lines (Alicante, in Castilian Spanish): #11997 18:33 Barcelona Sants - Válencia-Cabanyal 23:07 - Almería #11994 19:00 Almería - Xátiva 04:35 - Válencia-Cabanyal 07:03 - Barcelona Sants BLN 822.0129][ES] Válencia: Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Válenciana: (BLN 733.0159; Ball 30) FGV's line 1 (Bétera - Ademús - Angel Guimera - Sant Isidre - Torrent - Castello de la Ribera) and line 2 (Lliria - Ademús - Angel Guimera - Sant Isidre - Torrent) are metre-gauge electric railways which join at Ademús, running south of there in tunnel under the city to Sant Isidre. Line 3 (Rafelbunyol - El Palmaret - Benimaclet - Alameda) used to run on the surface from Rafelbunyol to Puente de Madera, but south of El Palmaret now runs in tunnel via Benimaclet (interchange with line 4 in tramway reservation on the surface) to a new underground station at Alameda, where four tracks disappear in tunnels beyond the platforms. According to current maps of the system, a new FGV line 5 (Alameda - Angel Guimera - Xátiva - Nuevo Cauce) is to run via an interchange with lines 1 and 2 at Angel Guimera and via a station at Xátiva, just across the road from the RENFE Estació del Nord. The metre-gauge FGV El Grau - Ademúz line 4 has been reborn as a tramway (El Grao - Benimaclet - Pont de Fusta - Ademús) with a long terminal loop around several streets in the El Grao district, the terminal layover being taken at the Doctor Lluch stop. At Pont de Fusta (formerly, in Castilian Spanish, Puente de Madera = wooden bridge), the fine old FGV terminus building remains, no longer facing buffer-stops but instead facing a sharply-curved double-track turning-circle, with crossovers between the pairs of parallel tracks which enable the single-ended trams to turn round there on short workings. The tram depot, not on the route, is reached by tracks - apparently not used by revenue-earning journeys - along a road across the RENFE, now in subway and no longer crossed by the FGV on the level. At Ademús the FGV tram-route runs alongside the FGV railway, but no longer on the east side, where its former location is marked by a cleared trackbed and platforms, but on the west side, presumably because this offers room for the necessary balloon-loop, plus a single siding. BLN 822.0130][CZ] Czech franchising and privatisation: (BLN 821.0107) Czech company Viamont have agreed with CD to operate a minimum of eight and a maximum of 17 daily trains each way on the 10km Trutnov - Svoboda nad Upou branch (Ball 36B1; CD 045). For the nominal sum of CZK10,000/year CD are to lease the 20km Milotice - Vrbno pod Pradedem line (BLN 818.042; Ball 37A1; CD 313), closed after damage during summer 1997 floods in northern Moravia, to coal-train operator OKD Doprava of Ostrava, who are to invest CZK60 million as part of a contract which should see resumption of both passenger and freight services, perhaps from 25 January 1998. The 19km Šumperk - Petrov nad Desnou - Kouty nad Desnou line (BLN 818.042; Ball 41B3-37A1; CD 291), damaged by the same floods, is reportedly now being operated as a 'community railway', but it is not clear whether this operation includes the 3km Petrov nad Desnou - Sobotín branch. As reported in BLN 812.0511 the Jindrichuv Hradec - Nova Bystrice and Jindrichuv Hradec - Obratan 760mm-gauge lines in southern Bohemia (Ball 41A3-41A2) have been leased to private operators JHMD. Transport Minister Martin Riman hopes shortly to put proposals to the Czech parliament for full-scale rail privatisation by 2000. (TR&IN) BLN 822.0131][HU] Hungary: southern branches: An MÁV Bzmot four-wheel railbus was operating the 31km Kiskörös - Kalocsa branch (Ball 47B2; MÁV 153) on 31 January 1998. Kalocsa station is some way from the town, but staffed, so a taxi can be ordered for the 10-minute HUF3000 (GBP9) journey to Dunapataj, the unstaffed and very run-down station at the end of the 50km Kunszentmiklós-Tass - Solt - Dunapataj branch (47B3-47B2; MÁV 151). The up branch train was fairly empty but filled up at Solt. The Solt - Dunaföldvár freight line west over the river Duna (= Danube) looked well out of use. In 1993 an M32 locomotive and single coach had worked the 6km Kisszénás - Kondoros branch (48A1; MÁV 126), but it is now in a very poor state, with an overall 30km/h-speed-restriction, and only one other passenger aboard the 14:36 up departure, a Bzmot railbus. As foreshadowed in BLN 778.0201, the 68km Bátaszék - Palotabozsok - Pécsvárad - Pécs line (47A2-47B2; MÁV 64) has been severed and operates as two branches linked by a bus, with the centre section out of use due to poor track, though not lifted. Bátaszék has a small maintenance depot and fuelling-point. As far as the first station, Palotabozsok, the train probably never exceeded 25km/h, taking most of an hour for just 18km. Thereafter the bus, on which MÁV tickets are accepted, criss-crossed the disused line several times, serving the villages rather than stopping at the closed stations. Few travelled on the train from Bátaszék, or on the bus, so it seems unlikely the middle section will ever reopen, but the single Bzmot railcar on the 23km from Pécsvárad to Pécs was quite well filled. The 102km cross-country Barcs - Villány line (47A2; MÁV 62) was very slow due to bad track on some sections, and the need for the conductor to operate several level-crossings. Again passenger usage was poor, and with very little freight it is not surprising that this line is under threat of closure. Lepsény - Mezöhídvég - Tamási - Dombóvár services (47A3-47A2; MÁV 49) are mainly shown as buses in the timetable, with the line south of Mezöhídvég apparently out of use. Beyond a bridge some 500m south of the station the track has in fact been completely lifted, so this line looks unlikely to see through trains again. In general timekeeping was good throughout the week's visit. MÁV's drastic timetable alterations seem to have abated, and using the two supplements currently in force (or the station posters, generally with up-to-date handwritten amendments) no difficulties were experienced in making connections. With more closures in prospect, 1998 is an opportune time to visit Hungary's rural branches. BLN 822.0132][HR] Croatia: BLN does not normally include traction details, but for those baffled by the numbers quoted in BLN 817.016, the correct ones were: Date train locomotive number 7 Oct 1997 #5502 07:11 Split - Knin 2 062 021-7 7 Oct 1997 #5705 10:45 Knin - Zadar 2 062 051-4 7 Oct 1997 #5808 15:24 Sibenik - Perkovic 2 062 048-0 7 Oct 1997 #5504 16:31 Perkovic - Knin 2 062 032-4 8 Oct 1997 #5420 07:09 Knin - Ogulin 2 061 101-9 8 Oct 1997 #4201 12:37 Ogulin - Generalski Stol 1 141 229-3 (terminated short due to engineering work) 8 Oct 1997 #4201 Duga Resa - Karlovac 1 141 104-8 (same train ran forward to Zagreb as #4105) 8 Oct 1997 #4105 Karlovac - Zagreb 1 141 104-8 BLN 822.0133][US] San Jose - Newark - Centerville - Niles/Fremont - Pleasanton - Livermore - Tracy - Stockton, CA: Altamont Commuter Express service is to begin running during 1998 on Union Pacific track in California, the former Southern Pacific from San Jose to the Niles area of Fremont, then the former Western Pacific to Stockton. At end February 1998 no operator had been selected from the twelve bidders, but both Herzog, operator of the Miami area's Tri-Rail commuter line, and Amtrak were in the running. (http://www2.trains.com; http://www.acerail.com) BLN 822.0134][MX] Ciudad Mexico: Mexico City's Buenavista passenger station is an uninspiring modern terminal with six dual-faced dead-end platforms. The westmost four of the eleven tracks have overhead wires though these may no longer be live. No electric trains were to be seen, all traction being by typical US diesel road-switchers from all three main North American builders, GE, GM and Alco/MLW. A twelfth, eastmost, track has been removed and adjacent buildings encroach upon the trackbed. Access to the platforms without a travel ticket is not permitted and the barriers remain closed until the train is ready. No metro station directly serves Buenavista. A helicopter landing-pad just outside sees regular use, but not by rail passengers! No train timetables are displayed on the station, no public timetable books are available, and the train indicators display expected times, not scheduled timings. However, the passenger trains running in December 1997 were: #23101 08:20 MWFO Mexico - Jalapa - Veracruz balanced by #23102 #2351 08:45 daily Mexico - Orizaba - Veracruz balanced by #2352 #231 09:00 MWFO Mexico - Nuevo Laredo (close to Laredo, TX, USA) balanced by #232 #23111 19:00 daily Mexico - Oaxaca balanced by #23112 #2313 20:00 daily Mexico - Ciudad Juarez (close to El Paso, TX, USA) balanced by #2314 #2353 20:15 daily Mexico - Veracruz balanced by #2354 #235 20:30 daily Mexico - Guadalajara balanced by #236 #2331 21:00 MWFO Mexico - Uruapan balanced by #2332 Only Veracruz trains #2351/2 and #23101/2 are daytime services, the others offering long overnight journeys without sleeping accommodation.. Fare-tables for all stations are displayed, valid from 1 October 1997. All trains became one-class-only from that date, but the former Primera class cars are used in all trains for Unica class passengers. As a fare example, Mexico - Orizaba - Veracruz one-way (464km, similar to London - Carlisle) in December 1997 cost MXP64.95 (about GBP5). Buenavista station forecourt has a plinthed narrow-gauge 0-4-4-0 Shay steam locomotive lettered TCC and numbered 2, plaqued 'Lima 1887, retired 1966', and Plaza de la Republica, 2km from Buenavista, has a plinthed narrow-gauge 2-8-0 lettered FCI, numbered 67 and plaqued 'Alco 1900, retired 1957'. Many main streets in the city-centre have disused tram-rails exposed, including some quite extensive pointwork at road-junctions. The rails were only lightly tarred over and the surface has gradually worn away. No trams were seen, but the world list of tram and metro systems in Light Rail & Modern Tramway for October 1997 (shortly to be included on the new LRTA website, http://www.lrta.org) does include a small tramway remaining in Mexico City. To the north of the city, the Industrial Vallejo district, some 6km by 5km, has factories and warehouses laid out in grid pattern, served by four elongated loops of single-line track with numerous unbarriered grade-crossings. All the track seems operational, freight trip-workings with Bo-Bo switchers being seen on three of the four loops, but much more traffic is handled by road than rail. The area is unsafe and exploration on foot is not recommended. BLN 822.0135][MX] Ciudad Mexico - Guadalajara - Nogales: A consortium led by the US railroad Union Pacific on 19 February 1998 took over operation of Mexico's 10,400km Pacifico-Norte system, including the former FC del Pacifico, built by Southern Pacific from the Arizona border at Nogales south to Guadalajara, plus lines to Mexico City and beyond. Grupo Ferroviario Mexicano (GFM) rehired just 4203 of the former 14,011 workers, indicating the previous poor productivity on this part of the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico. (http://www2.trains.com) Underemployment of large labour-forces has been endemic, alas, on nationalised railways in Latin America. BLN 823.0136][GB][FR] Ashford - Calais: bus on rail: Buses run by French-owned train-operators Connex South Eastern leave from Ashford station hourly 08:00-17:00 and from Calais Ville SNCF 11:30-20:30 local time, riding on Eurotunnel's Le Shuttle through the Tunnel sous la Manche and offering a more frequent link than Eurostar between the local railways of Kent and the Région Nord-Pas de Calais. Fare is Ł14.50. (Railnews, March 1998) BLN 823.0137][GB][BE] Dover Hoverport - Oostende ferry: Ramsgate - Oostende fast-ferries were to end 5 March, the service being replaced on 6 March 1998 by a joint venture with Hoverspeed running from Dover. BLN 823.0138][FR] Andilly - Langres: (Ball 39A3) For two days at Easter 1998, work on the viaduct over the river Salon is to close the Culmont-Chalindrey - Chaudenay (Haute Marne) section common to two main lines (Nancy - Toul - Neufchâteau - Dijon and Paris - Belfort - Mulhouse). Nancy - Dijon passenger trains are instead to use the 17km Andilly - Langres line, which had to be partly relaid, having closed to passengers 25 September 1988 and to freight by 1990. The following trains are diverted (and renumbered, so that train #6133 becomes #16133 etc). Easter Sunday 12 April 1998 (p = passing time; train does not call) #16133 Nancy 12:32 - Toul 12:54 - Neufchateau 13:22 - Langres 14:27p - Chalindrey 14:36p - 15:23 Dijon #16137 Nancy 21:04 - Toul 21:28 - Neufchateau 21:57 - Langres 23:04p - 23:13 Chalindrey - 00:33 Dijon #16634 Dijon 14:33 - Chalindrey 15:20p - Langres 15:29p - Merrey 16:14 - Neufchateau 16:41 - Toul 17:09 - 17:30 Nancy #16638 Dijon 19:42 - Chalindrey 20:28p - Langres 20:37p - Neufchateau 21:50 - Toul 22:18 - 22:41 Nancy Easter Monday 13 April 1998 (p = passing time; train does not call) #16131 Nancy 07:36 - Toul 07:56 - Neufchateau 08:27 - Langres 09:35p - Chalindrey 09:44p - Dijon 10:33 #16632 Dijon 04:39 - Chalindrey 05:46 - Langres 05:56p - Neufchateau 07:05 - Toul 07:33 - 07:56 Nancy BLN 823.0139][BE] Belgium: ticketing: Belgian rail tickets other than international CIV tickets used to disallow break of journey unless the ticket was endorsed by staff at the break-of-journey point. Now SNCB/NMBS will, on request at the time of booking, issue a ticket marked as valid via a named station, if the passenger wishes to break a journey there, or wishes to specify a route other than the obvious one. SNCB/NMBS have set up 21 tariff zones within which several stations share the same fares tariff. Tickets for travel within a zone for two hours cost BEF40 second-class, BEF60 first-class. Exceptionally, their Brussel/Bruxelles zone ticket, valid for train, metro, tram or bus travel within the two hours, is available solely in second class and costs BEF50 (about Ł0.80), the same fare as municipal transport operators STIB charge for a similar ticket. BLN 823.0140][BE] (Brussel -) Hove - Antwerpen Berchem: (Ball 8B3) The autumn 1997 engineering works and diversions in the Mortsel area (BLN 808.0371) continued until 28 February 1998, and at weekends thereafter. BLN 823.0141][LU][FR] Esch-sur-Alzette: industrial railways: (Ball 17B1-18A1) From mines at Audun-le-Tiche, just across the border in France, a system of electric mineral railways used to haul iron ore to a loading-point at Esch-sur-Alzette for ARBED's Belval works. Belval-C, the last blast-furnace in Luxembourg, was taken out of use in June 1997, and the iron-ore system was to be closed and scrapped thereafter. (Industrial Rly.Society Journal) A German railtour visited various industrial lines in the area on 16 November 1996, the route being Differdange CFL (an east-facing junction at the old CFL station, west of the new station) - Hahnebösch (reverse) - Differdange ARBED steelworks - Belval ARBED yard - Terres-Rouges (reverse) - Belval ARBED yard - Esch cement-works - Schifflange CFL (a west-facing junction close to Esch). The Differdange CFL - Hahnebösch line formed a long U-shape, ending quite close to Niederkorn. Terres-Rouges lay alongside the CFL passenger line from Esch-sur-Alzette to Audun-le-Tiche, just short of the station and the SNCF viaduct on the Audun-le-Tiche - Fontoy line (BLN 698.010, 721.02, 749.086). The Belval - cement-works - Schifflange line, swinging well to the north of Esch parallel to a motorway, is recent, being shown as under construction on a 1990 French topographical map. BLN 823.0142][DE] Kiel - Schönberg (Holstein) - Schönberger Strand: (BLN 753.0180; Ball 10B2-11A2; KBS12131) DB excursion trains from Hamburg and/or Kiel are to run in 1998 over the normally freight-only private Kiel Schönberger Eisenbahn to Schönberger Strand on Sundays 31 May to 27 July (but not 21, 28 June) and Saturdays 1 August to 3 October, presumably fitting in with trains of VVM, who run the end 4km as a summer Museumsbahn. BLN 823.0143][DE] Malente-Gremsmühlen - Lütjenburg: (BLN 791.0469; EuroGuide DE2; Ball 11A1-11A2) This out-of-use branch off the Kiel - Lübeck line, heading north through countryside known as the Holsteinische Schweiz, is again to see special excursion trains in 1998, running from Hamburg or Kiel on Saturdays 30 May, 13 June, also 4 to 26 July and Sundays 2 August to 4 October. BLN 823.0144][DE] Cuxhaven Amerika Bahnhof: (BLN 736.0206; EuroGuide DE153; Ball 16B3; KBS10010) Certain summer-weekend sailings from Hamburg to the German island of Helgoland call at Cuxhaven on the way back, giving passengers the option of returning to Hamburg by train. The ship berths close to Cuxhaven Amerika Bf, also known as Steubenhöft. This imposing station (BLN 716.011) is a terminus on its own short branch from a junction on the Cuxhaven - Hamburg line east of that line's divergence from the Cuxhaven - Bremerhaven line (not as shown in Ball). A connecting train meets the 18:30 ship and departs about 19:00 to Hamburg, giving the branch a sparse and one-way passenger service, in 1998 on Saturdays 23, 30 May, 13 June and Fridays in July and August. BLN 823.0145][DE] Hamburg Hafen: (Ball 22B2) On 9 May 1998 the Hanseatic port of Hamburg will celebrate an 809th birthday (a nice round number!) and will offer a rail tour over the extensive dock system. BLN 823.0146][DE] Dortmund - Coesfeld - Gronau (Westfalen): (BLN 716.016; Ball 38B3-24A2; KBS412, 424) The new layout of December 1997 (BLN 816.0600) has allowed land to be released for development, but seems at present to prevent Dortmund - Coesfeld - Gronau through passenger workings. BLN 823.0147][DE] Ratzeburg - Hollenbek (- Zarrentin): (Ball 18A3-18B3) This out-of-use branch, a through secondary line till broken by the frontier between west and east Germany, may be leased for use by rail-cycle draisines. (IBSE) BLN 823.0148][DE] Rathenow - Rathenow Nord - Rhinow - Neustadt (Dosse): (BLN 804.0282; Ball 28B3-19B1; KBS206.50) The Rathenow - Rathenow Nord section, temporarily closed by engineering works for the Hannover - Stendal - Berlin Schnellfahrstrecke, is again operational. Now that the line has access restored from the south end, DB are said to be considering closure, perhaps in April or May 1998, of the Rhinow - Neustadt section, for the bridge over the Berlin - Wittenberge main line at Neustadt is in a weak condition. (IBSE) BLN 823.0149][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (BLN 814.0545; Ball 32A2) Neukölln - Sonnenallee - Treptower Park duly reopened on 18 December 1997, its one intermediate stop becoming the S-Bahn's 150th station. This south-eastern section of the Ringbahn (or Innenring, to distinguish it from the later Aussenring further out) opened for freight 17 July 1871 and passengers 1 January 1872, with dedicated tracks for local services from 1 January 1896 and electric operation from 6 November 1928. Closed by war damage in April 1945, it reopened 18 June 1945. Sonnenallee - Treptower Park closed 13 August 1961 when frontier controls and the infamous wall divided Berlin. Neukölln - Sonnenallee in west Berlin lingered on till closure 17 September 1980 at the start of an S-Bahn strike. Rebuilding began in September 1995, using new formation in places. Direct transfer between Nord-Süd Bahn and (east-west) Stadtbahn platforms at Berlin-Friedrichstrasse was restored on 3 November 1997. At the Gesundbrunnen / Bornholmer Strasse / Schönhauser Allee triangle, major works continue, the results of which will include the provision of a new main-line/S-Bahn interchange, to be known as Berlin-Gesundbrunnen rather than 'Nordkreuz' (BLN 819.052). (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/98) BLN 823.0150][DE] (Düsseldorf Hbf -) Düsseldorf-Gerresheim - Mettmann - Dornap-Hahnenfurth (- Wuppertal-Varresbeck): (BLN 723.029, 739.0284; Ball 33B1-34A1) Steam excursions from Köln on Sundays 23 August to 25 October 1998 are to run beyond Mettmann, the usual passenger terminus, to Dornap. Beyond, the line is lifted. BLN 823.0151][DE] Germany: weekend bargain tickets for local trains: (BLN 770.034; Ball 36) The Schönes Wochenende tickets issued by Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg, the passenger transport authority in the area round Köln and Bonn, are undated, and one need not at the time of purchase specify which weekend the ticket is to be used. This gives greater flexibility to the purchaser, who merely has to validate the ticket at the start of his first journey. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/98) BLN 823.0152][DE] (Leipzig -) Weissig bei Grossenhain - Böhla (- Dresden): (Ball 43B2; KBS500, 240) A new 12km connection is planned as part of the upgrading of the Leipzig - Dresden main line. (IBSE) BLN 823.0153][DE] Kall - Höddelbusch - Schleiden (- Hellenthal): (Ball 47B3) Summer steam-hauled excursion trains from Köln on Saturdays 20 June to 15 August 1998 are to run to Schleiden, perhaps terminating just short of Schleiden station at Höddelbusch military siding, for which this part of the freight-only branch is retained. BLN 823.0154][DE] Mainz trams: On this metre-gauge system the northernmost branch parallel to the river Rhein (Bismarckplatz Strassenbahnamt - Ingelheimer Aue) saw its last tram on Friday 7 November 1997, but on the same day a short (373m) extension opened at Hechtsheim in the south (Dornsheimer Weg - Bürgerhaus). BLN 823.0155][DE] (Frankfurt-am-Main Hbf - Friedrichsdorf -) Grävenwiesbach - Brandoberndorf (- Albshausen): (BLN 723.033, 810.0436; Ball 49B2-49A3; KBS637) Local authorities agreed in late November 1997 to partial reopening of this long-closed DB section, so passenger trains are to be extended to Brandoberndorf, perhaps by 2000. Other reopenings seem to have been ruled out, including the route beyond Brandoberndorf to Albshausen on the Limburg-an-der-Lahn - Wetzlar line. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/98) BLN 823.0156][DE] Karlsruhe: trams on railways: (BLN 821.0100; Ball 57A1-57B2) Four of the dual-voltage trams now working the longer-distance Stadtbahn service S4 (Baden-Baden - Karlsruhe - Eppingen) have a new Bistro centre-section. Beer is available on board. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/98; Tramway & Urban Transit, March 1998) BLN 823.0157][AT] (Schwarzenau -) Zwettl - Martinsberg-Gutenbrunn: (Ball 63B1-74B3) ÖBB are to rebuild the viaduct at Zwettl, with strengthened piers and new girders to allow heavier trains to run on the Martinsberger Lokalbahn. On 1 March 1998 timber traffic was seen at no fewer than five stations - Klein Schönau, Waldhausen (with new loading-area), Grafenschlag, Ottenschlag and Martinsberg-Gutenbrunn - and a local observer mentioned two freight workings a day, some of them double-headed. A preservation group run occasional passenger trains on this freight-only section (see Minor Railways in Austria on the BLS EuroGuide website). BLN 823.0158][AT] Ober Grafendorf - Ruprechtshofen - Wieselburg an der Erlauf: (BLN 801.0216, 808.0375; Ball 75A3-74B3-74B2) Turning west off the quite busy and electrified St.Pölten - Ober Grafendorf - Mariazell Mariazellerbahn, this diesel-worked 760mm-gauge line retains reasonable passenger traffic (Class 5090 single railcars) and freight (mainly standard-gauge wagons on transporters) as far as Ruprechtshofen. However, Ruprechtshofen - Wieselburg has only a nominal passenger service and perhaps no intermediate freight, and its value to ÖBB as a 760mm-gauge link to the freight-only Wieselburg - Gresten branch will vanish with the regauging to standard of the latter, now planned for autumn 1998 (BLN 819.054). As reported in BLN 808.0375, the timetabled 08:32 and 11:32 Ruprechtshofen - Wieselburg and 08:53 and 11:53 Wieselburg - Ruprechtshofen services are no longer trains, and enquiry at Wieselburg booking-office confirmed they are worked by taxis on a regular basis (like Derby - Sinfin Central). No other passenger used the 08:53 taxi on 2 March 1998, and the taxi-driver - who had the timings for both pairs of ÖBB services on his dashboard - said that few passengers if any ever turned up for them. Is the evening westbound service still a train, as it was on 22 July 1997? BLN 823.0159][DK] Denmark: private railways: Denmark has long had a significant number of local private railways supplementing the network of DSB. The commercial railways listed here exclude preservation/tourist operations and are all standard-gauge and unelectrified. Ball atlas Vemb - Lemvig - Thyborřn 1A2-1A3 60km VLTJ Vemb-Lemvig-Thyborřn Jernbane Ĺrhus - Odder 2B1 26.5km HHJ Hads-Ning Herreders Jernbane Hjřrring - Hirtshals 4A3 18km HP Hjřrring Privatbaner Frederikshavn - Skagen 4B3 40km SB Skagensbane Hillerřd - Hundested 4B1-4A1 81km* HFHJ Hillerřd-Frederiksvćrk-Hundested Jernbane Hillerřd - Kagerup - Tisvildeleje 4B1-4A1 * GDS Gribskovbanen (* associated with HFHJ; 81km in all) Kagerup - Gilleleje 4B1 * GDS Gribskovbanen Helsingřr - Gilleleje 4B1 25km HHGB Helsingřr-Hornbćk-Gilleleje Jernbane Varde - Nřrre Nebel 5B3-5A3 38km VNJ Varde-Nřrre Nebel Jernbane (Vestbanen) Třnder - Niebüll [DE] 5B1-9B3 PBS Privatbanen Sřnderjylland (freight-only, in association with the German railway NVAG) Tinglev - Ĺrhus 6A1-2B1 (HFHJ now operate container trains for Mćrsk Lines on this DSB route) Holbćk - Nykřbing Sjćlland 8A3 OHJ Odsherreds Jernbane Třllřse - Slagelse 8A3-7B2 HTJ Hřng-Třllřse Jernbane (associated with OHJ) Jćgersborg - Lyngby - Nćrum 8B3 8km LNJ Lyngby-Nćrum Jernbane Křge - Hĺrlev - Rřdvig 8B2 50km in all ŘSJS Řstsjćllandske Jernbaneselskab (Řstbanen) Hĺrlev - Fakse Ladeplads 8B2 ŘSJS Řstsjćllandske Jernbaneselskab (Řstbanen) Nykřbing Falster - Nakskov 12A3-11B3 51km LJ Lollandsbane BLN 823.0160][ES] (Gijón -) Pravia - Cudillero - Luarca - Ribadeo - Ferrol: (BLN 821.0102; Ball 3B2-1B2) On the Cudillero - Luarca section, still with its original 1950s rail, much-needed track renewal works have led to buses temporarily replacing FEVE's metre-gauge trains, perhaps until late May 1998. The Pravia - Cudillero and Luarca - Ribadeo sections were renewed in the early 1990s, and Ribadeo - Ferrol in the late 1980s. BLN 823.0161][ES] Oviedo: (BLN 787.0391, 804.0289; Ball 3A3) Work on the pasillo verde (= green corridor) scheme in Oviedo is progressing rapidly. Oviedo's RENFE (ex-Norte) broad-gauge station is to become joint, and should in 1998 see FEVE passenger services at new metre-gauge through platforms on the site of the former RENFE parcels depot. RENFE's east-west Oviedo - Trubia branch is being regauged from 1668mm to metre and will become FEVE's link from Oviedo westward through to its north-south Pravia - Trubia - Mieres - Collanzo line. FEVE's Oviedo-Económicos (Avenida de Santander) terminus is to become a bus-station. Oviedo-Jovellanos is to be abandoned, and presumably most or all of FEVE's Oviedo - La Manjoya - Fuso de la Reina section. BLN 823.0162][IT] Torino rack tramway: Sassi - Superga: (Ball 45B3 not shown) Building work has closed this line (BLN 817.010), but it is expected to reopen. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/98) BLN 823.0163][CH] Chur - Arosa: (BLN 788.0417; Ball 95B2) The 2000V dc metre-gauge branch was converted to operate on Rhätische Bahn main-line standard 11kV 16˛/3Hz electrification from 29 November 1997. Trains continue to work as before from the station forecourt through the streets of Chur. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 11/97) BLN 823.0164][PL][UA] Przemysl Glowny - Hurko - Medyka PKP - Mostiska II UZ (- Lviv): (Ball 44A3) From Przemysl Glowny (= 'main') two separate tracks, one standard-gauge and one broad (1520mm), head east for about 20km across the Poland-Ukraine border to Mostiska II (the 1950-built station 12km west of the original Mostiska I). West of Hurko and east of Medyka both lines run parallel on the same formation, but between Hurko and Medyka they have different alignments up to 2km apart and are not visible from each other, the standard-gauge running to the south of the large freight-transfer station and the broad-gauge to the north. All timetabled cross-border passenger workings are broad-gauge, with Ukrainian locomotives. The standard-gauge line has local PKP workings between Przemysl and Medyka (12km), but bus substitution is possible. (IBSE) BLN 823.0165][RO] Sibiu - Sibiu Atelier Zona - Mohu (- Podu Olt): (BLN 805.0325; Ball 49B2-49B1; CFR200, 204) The timetable shows Sibiu Atelier Zona served only by 760mm-gauge trains, using in each direction the dual-gauge track shared with eastbound standard-gauge trains. However, a platform half hidden by grass sees local trains on the westbound standard-gauge-only track make unadvertised calls, for the benefit of significant numbers of passengers. BLN 823.0166][US][CA] Skagway, AK - White Pass Summit, BC - Fraser, BC - Lake Bennett, BC - Carcross, YT (- Whitehorse, YT): (BLN 759.0359, 765.0477, 772.085) Originally begun for the Yukon gold rush of 1898 and completed to Whitehorse in July 1900, the 914mm-gauge White Pass & Yukon Route today carries mainly passengers from cruise-ships docking at the Alaskan port of Skagway. Some summer 1997 tourist trains ran beyond White Pass Summit (33km) and Fraser (45km) to Lake Bennett (65km). Restoration of the section from Lake Bennett to Carcross (108km), out of use since 1982, may allow trains to return to Yukon Territory in 1998. North of Carcross, the track is clear as far as the Alaska Highway near Whitehorse. The short section beyond to Whitehorse is obstructed by trees and in places by new roads, but reopening might be feasible. The WP&YR website shows the following trains, which include no advertised workings to Carcross, but further information may be available later in the year (http://www.whitepassrailroad.com or fax +1 907 983 2734). 08:00 Skagway - Lake Bennett and return Saturdays 13, 27 June, 11, 25 July, 8, 22 August 1998, hauled by 2-8-2 steam locomotive #73 (Baldwin #73352 of 1947) 08:00 Skagway - Fraser and return Daily 19 May - 16 September 1998 08:30 Skagway - White Pass summit and return Daily 12 May - 24 September 1998 12:40 Skagway - Fraser and return Daily 19 May - 16 September 1998 13:00 Skagway - White Pass summit and return Daily 12 May - 24 September 1998 16:30 Skagway - White Pass summit and return Tuesdays and Wednesdays only, 12 May - 23 September 1998 (World Steam, March 1998) BLN 823.0167][JM] Kingston - Spanish Town - Montego Bay / Port Antonio: Jamaica had the first colonial railway in the British Empire, a 23km standard-gauge line opening as early as 21 November 1845, and in 1984 the island system of the Jamaica Railway Corporation extended to 294km, much of the traffic at that time being bauxite. No rail passenger services currently operate, but the Sunday Gleaner of 5 February 1998 quoted the Minister of Transport and Works as saying that 'some decisions had been taken' towards getting the first phase of a service restarted. Information would be welcome on closure dates, remaining freight traffic, if any, and reopening plans. BLN 824.0168] Enthusiast's Guide to Travelling the Railways of Europe: The Society's innovative publication, available free on the World Wide Web (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/paul_steane/bls.html), now comprises text equivalent to some 100 pages of A4, listing obscure and sparse passenger-train routings and services for 24 countries including Britain and Ireland, as well as other information. The Guide is frequently corrected and updated. In future, when the BLN International column gives a reference to a line included in the Guide's listings, for example the Triangle de Vémars south curve, this will appear in the form 'EGTRE FR1'. BLN 824.0169] Inter-Rail tickets: Information is now available at main National Railways travel-centres (in a Voyager handbook Section 5.1 supplement dated 1 January 1998). Prices of IR26+ tickets in sterling (Ł229 for a single zone, valid 22 days, and Ł279 for two zones, Ł309 for three zones, Ł349 for all zones, all valid one month) are some Ł40 to Ł50 dearer than the prices in Dutch guilders quoted in BLN 822.0116. With sterling high against other currencies, and no discount on Eurostar advertised for IR26+ ticket-holders, it could be well worthwhile delaying the purchase of your ticket till your arrival in mainland Europe. BLN 824.0170][FR] (Rouen -) Malaunay-le-Houlme - Dieppe: (Ball 13B3-13B2) An excursion on 29 March 1998 with Pacific #231G558 may possibly have been the last steam trip to Dieppe. Plans for modernisation of the Malaunay - Dieppe line, to begin by summer 1998, envisage removal of the Triangle de St.Pierre just south of Dieppe station, where steam locomotives werre turned. BLN 824.0171][FR] Sélestat - Châtenois - Bois-l'Abbesse - Ste.Marie-aux-Mines (- Lesseux-Frapelle): (BLN 794.034; Ball 29B1-30A1) The Sélestat - Bois-l'Abbesse section is apparently to see further use, presumably for freight, though the remainder of the disused track is being lifted. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 1/98) BLN 824.0172][FR] Nice - Menton: (BLN 736.0200; Ball 67B1) At the east end of Monte-Carlo tunnel, the temporary halt Monte-Carlo Country-Club, which despite its name is in France, just outside the Principality of Monaco, will again be in use for the period 18-26 April 1998, during the Monte-Carlo Open tennis tournament. BLN 824.0173][NL] Den Haag HS - Voorburg: (Ball 3B2) A number of winter-sports trains for the firm Ski Express, comprising seating coaches from German tour-operator EuroExpress plus chartered Czech CD sleepers or couchettes, were to start from Rotterdam CS, call at Den Haag HS and run direct to Utrecht before heading south to ski resorts, being booked therefore via an unusual route, the west-to-east Binckhorst curve between Den Haag HS and Voorburg. After some eleven or twelve of the trains ran, the December 1997 - March 1998 contract was terminated prematurely, as also happened when the curve was used for special trains to the garden-festival at Zoetermeer, withdrawn 3 August 1992. BLN 824.0174][NL] Tilburg / 's-Hertogenbosch - Boxtel - Eindhoven: (Ball 4B1) A weekend engineering possession on 28-29 March 1998 blocked Boxtel station while its layout was changed, bringing different platform faces into use and effectively moving the running junction between the Tilburg and Den Bosch lines from the north end of the station to the south. As reported in Today's Railways #28, Boxtel's final junction layout has run into problems. A newly-built but substandard concrete flyover requires repair, and its opening is delayed until summer 1999. BLN 824.0175][DE] Essen trams and light rail: In common with other local operators in the Rhein-Ruhr area, Essener Verkehrs-AG have in recent years tended to develop their standard-gauge Stadtbahn light-rail network (27km), which makes use of costly new tunnel alignments, at the expense of their traditional metre-gauge street-running Strassenbahn (119km). In autumn 1997 the northern section of EVAG's long metre-gauge route #106 was reported as closing 'soon' for conversion work to become part of the city's standard-gauge U17 Stadtbahn line. Running from Altenessen Bahnhof north for some 5km, and crossing the Essen boundary to make an end-on junction at Gelsenkirchen-Horst with route #301 of the metre-gauge Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Strassenbahnen AG (BOGESTRA), the threatened section was still operating in early March 1998, though a deviation at the north end of the main street in Altenessen indicated impending change, with a subway apparently under construction. Later in March, a metre-gauge turning-circle, facing south, was being laid in the forecourt of Altenessen DB station, suggesting that trams north of there would soon be replaced by buses, at least temporarily. BLN 824.0176][DE] Hannover - Lehrte - Wolfsburg - Stendal - Berlin: (BLN 805.0307; Ball 26B2-29B3) By April 1998 the Wolfsburg - Stendal Schnellfahrstrecke had the electric current switched on and was in use for testing. Contrary to the Vorschau to DB's Fernfahrplan, it seems that Köln - Berlin ICE services are to use the new high-speed line from the September 1998 timetable change, with Wolfsburg calls by alternate trains each way and Stendal calls by early-morning westbound and late-evening eastbound trains. BLN 824.0177][DE] Berlin Südring: Neukölln - Sonnenallee - Treptower Park (BLN 814.0545, 823.0149; Ball 32A2) The 'new' parts of the Sonnenallee - Treptower Park formation are new in the sense that the old formation had been totally removed and had to be replaced, the anti-clockwise line at the Treptower Park end being more affected than the clockwise line. The reopening saw a noisy local protest at how long rebuilding had taken, largely it seems because of the need to design and build new road-bridges as part of the scheme rather than simply to replace the railway. The Ring's freight lines are not yet restored. In spring 1998 InterCityNight Talgo sets arriving at Berlin-Charlottenburg were working empty round the Südring and using the restored Neukölln - Baumschulenweg single freight line to reach their depot at Warschauer Strasse, but they will instead use the Stadtbahn from the end of May. BLN 824.0178][DE] Karlsruhe - Wörth: trams on railways: (Ball 57A2; KBS710.5) Unusually, the short tramway section from Wörth to Wörth Rathaus has main-line 15kV 16.7Hz electrification (BLN 814.0547) at present, but the planned further extension to Wörth Badepark (BLN 821.0100) will run too close to buildings and will therefore require to be electrified with tramway-voltage 750V dc. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 6/97) BLN 824.0179][DE] München S-Bahn: (BLN 807.0360; Ball 71B3) The Neufahrn - Hallbergmoos link now under construction from a south-facing junction on the S1 München - Neufahrn - Freising line east to the S8 München - Hallbergmoos - Flughafen München line will allow a second route to the airport. The new line is to be used by S-Bahn trains only, for no immediate need is seen to run long-distance trains to the airport. However air traffic is growing fast at Lufthansa's second most important hub in Germany and the airport station, though a terminus, has been designed in such a way that its reversing-tracks to the east would allow eventual extension both south-east to the S6 München - Erding line and north-east to loop back to the München - Neufahrn - Freising - Moosberg - Landshut main line near Moosberg. BLN 824.0180][DE] Germany: May 1998 timetable: lines to open or reopen to passengers: Wolfsburg - Stendal Schnellfahrstrecke 27B2-28A3 KBS300 BLN 824.0176 (Magdeburg -) Abzw Seehof - Abzw Werkleitz (- Barby) 28A1 KBS340/258 Rathenow - Rathenow Nord 28B3 KBS206.51 BLN 823.0148 Ferch-Lienewitz (Abzw Lia) - Seddin 31A1 KBS206.22 BLN 817.05 Michendorf - Seddin Rbf - Beelitz Abzw Bea 31A1 KBS206.33 BLN 817.05 Velten (Mark) - Kremmen 31B3-20A1 KBS206 BLN 771.055 Berlin Zoo - Berlin-Ostbf (ex-Hbf) - Berlin-Rummelsburg 32A1 KBS200 Berlin-Rummelsburg - Biesdorfer Kreuz Nord 32A1 KBS200 Herne - Recklinghausen Süd 34B3-34A3 KBS450.2 Berga-Kelbra - Stolberg (Harz) 41B3 KBS592 BLN 771.058 Halle: Abzw At - Dieskau 42B3 KBS580/505 Halle: Abzw Ac - Abzw At - Dieskau 42B3 KBS590/505 Leipzig-Thekla - Engelsdorf Ostseite - 46B3 KBS500 Sonneberg (Thüringen) Hbf - Lauscha (Thüringen) 52B3 KBS564 could be delayed beyond 24 May Walldürn - Hardheim 58A3 KBS709.1 SuO, but negotiations in progress Metzingen - Bad Urach 69A3 KBS763 at first Sundays only An IBSE list of some fifty lines which may close to passengers from 24 May 1998 appeared in OEIS 9816. BLN 824.0181][DE][DK][SE][FI][PL] Train-ferry links to Sweden and Finland: (BLN 755 supplement) Completion of the Křbenhavn DSB - Malmö SJ link across the Řresund/Öresund (BLN 811.0470) will end Sweden's physical isolation from the standard-gauge network of western Europe. Meanwhile however the following train-ferry routes remain available for freight wagons, according to Eisenbahn Amateur, #1/98: Lübeck-Travemünde DB - Malmö SJ (operator: Nordö) Rostock DB - Trelleborg SJ (HansaFerry) Lübeck-Travemünde DB - Hankö VR (Railship; broad-gauge) Sassnitz (Mukran) DB - Trelleborg SJ (HansaFerry) Helsingřr DSB - Helsingborg SJ (DSB) Swinoujscie PKP - Ystad SJ (EastLink) BLN 824.0182][IT] Cuneo - Roccadebaldi - Mondovi: (Ball 45B2) Following damage to the Gesso viaduct, buses replaced trains from 8 October 1996 (BLN 799.0172). An FS poster seen at Mondovi in April 1998 indicated that the temporary passenger closure became permanent from 15 June 1997. BLN 824.0183][IT] Ortona Marina - Ortona Porto: (BLN 796.092; Ball 51B1) The Ferrovia Adriatico Sangritana have opened (or reopened) 2km of line to allow large industrial firms in the hinterland of Ortona more readily to export goods through the port. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 1/98) BLN 824.0184][GR] Paleofarsalos - Kalambaka: (BLN 802.0234; Ball 62A2-62B1) Another target-date, 15 March, had come and gone, but in early April 1998 the 80km metre-gauge line had still not closed for the long-awaited realigning and regauging to standard. Much new alignment had been prepared, but the track-laying contractor was allegedly busy elsewhere and not expected on site till the end of April. To the east Volos already has its standard-gauge connection, the Larissa - Velistinon - Volos branch, and the 82km Paleofarsalos - Velistinon - Volos metre-gauge branch is not to be regauged. OSE say it is to close when metre-gauge trains cease on the Kalambaka line, but unofficial speculation is that it may remain as a self-contained metre-gauge line based on the Volos depot. BLN 824.0185][NO] Oslo metro: (BLN 814.0556; Ball 28A2) The Řstensjřbane, one of the Tunnelbane system's four 750V dc third-rail branches to the east of the city, was extended from Skullerud 2.5km south to Mortensrud on 5 January 1998. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/98) BLN 824.0186][BG] Sofia metro: (BLN 759.0356) Construction of Line 1 (7.5km) of the Bulgarian capital's standard-gauge 825V dc third-rail metro began in 1979 (Railway Directory & Yearbook, 1986). Light Rail in Europe (Taplin, 1995) described it as 'recently opened', but this seems to have been premature, and Tramway & Urban Transit for April 1998 reported that public services finally started on 28 January 1998. Certainly on 10 April the line looked (and smelled!) very new, with workmen still completing the retail facilities on the stations, and the few passengers appearing unfamiliar with the system. The half-length three-car trains have builders' plates indicating construction in 1990 in the then Soviet Union (not Russia). Only five stations and part of Line 1 are in operation, all entirely underground in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels, even across dispersed high-rise housing estates and open country. According to the signage the full route of Pervi Metroradius (pervi = first) is (Tsenter - Serdika - Opalchenska -) Konstantin Velichkov - Vardar - Zapaden Park - Lyulin - Slivnitsa (- Obelya). The uncompleted segment near Opalchenska is still a deep trench with the ends of the square-section running-tunnels clearly visible from a passing trolleybus. Fare for a single journey is BGL250, or BGL300 (10p) including transfer to tram, trolleybus or bus. Konstantin Velichkov, the temporary inner terminus, is on tram routes #3 and 11. BLN 824.0187][BG] Sofia trams: Most of the tramway network is metre-gauge (sometimes quoted as 1009mm) but two standard-gauge routes serve the eastern quadrant, interchanging passengers on a dual-gauge terminal loop at Mladezhki Teater (= youth theatre) in the city-centre. Stock is heterogeneous and interesting, with articulated and bogie cars, some quite elderly, of locally-built, Czech, Russian or German design, running singly or in pairs, all well-used, with standing passengers at most times. A challenge to visitors is offered by the unavailability of network maps either at stops or at the city-transport headquarters, and by the practice of diverting routes, sometimes quite radically, without changing the route-numbers on the trams or on the stops. Routes shown on street-maps and described in tourist information on the city's website in April 1998 were not all the same as those operating on the ground. At a street-kiosk buy yourself a tram/trolleybus/bus day-rover (abonamentna karta) for BGL1000 (= 35p) rather than a single-vehicle-trip ticket for BGL250, set off with optimism and allow plenty of time for back-tracking from an interesting quarter of town you did not quite intend to visit. BLN 824.0188][BG] (Sofia -) Voluyak - Khimni Gol (- Pernik): (Ball 52B2) In April 1998 the main timetable board at Sofia showed the few passenger trains by this longer route to Pernik as the 06:10, 08:00SSuO and 19:15 departures from Sofia for Pernik 'prez Vu', and the 07:38, 15:13SSuO and 20:40 arrivals at Sofia from Pernik prez Vu (prez = via, and presumably Vu = Voluyak). Although Ball shows Voluyak - Pernik as unelectrified, the 19:15 from Sofia on 12 April was headed by electric locomotive #61.007, and at its destination the triangle at Khimni Gol between Pernik yard and Pernik station is wired. BLN 824.0189][LV] Gulbene - Alueksne: Main-line connections to this remaining 33km 750mm-gauge branch in northern Latvia are poor. The Riga - Gulbene train arrives 20:40 and departs from Gulbene westwards back to the capital at 02:50. Branch passenger trains, usually hauled by Class TU2 diesel locomotives, are timetabled as follows: #6964 #6966 #6968 #6970 FSuO #6961 MSO #6963 #6965 #6967 06:20 13:40 18:10 23:15 Gulbene 04:10 09:55 17:00 21:45 07:50 15:10 19:40 00:45 Alueksne 02:45 08:30 15:35 20:20 BLN 824.0190][LT] Panevezys - Anyksciai: Lithuania likewise has one passenger 750mm-gauge line remaining, also operated with TU2 diesel traction, but it may close during 1998. The German group IBSE hope to travel the length of the 56km line during the Kaliningrad railtour they are planning in July 1998 (BLN 821.0110; OEIS 9811). BLN 824.0191][UA][RO] Chop - Batevo - Beregovo - Dyakovo UZ (- Halmeu SNCFR): (BLN 786.0372, 810.0455; Ball 44A2-44A1) Passenger service over the four-rail dual-gauge section through Ukraine is to be restored from 24 May 1998 when named trains #380/1 Karpaty (= Carpathian mountains), previously routed Warszawa - Krakow PKP - Budapest MÁV - Curtici SNCFR - Bucuresti, are renumbered #386/7 and re-routed Warszawa - Krakow PKP - Cierna-nad-Tisou ZSR - Chop UZ - Halmeu SNCFR - Bucuresti (- Constanta summer-only), thus taking over the numbers and the route of Krakow - Constanta train pair which was latterly summer-only. (Thomas Cook European Timetable, March 1998) BLN 824.0192][KZ] Almaty trams: Kazakhstan's capital, known as Alma-Ata in Soviet times, has a 1520mm-gauge tram system that seems in terminal decline, apparently due to a lack of spare parts now that the tram factories in Riga (for the oldest cars) and Ust-Katavsk (for the slightly less-old ones) have closed. Sufficient cars of both classes are kept running to operate three services which by means of devious routeing manage to cover about 80% of the trackage. Only one major section of about 6km, formed by two converging branches to a terminus at the unimaginatively-named 9th Micro-Region, has been abandoned completely. Two other sections of about 1km each are without service but appear operational. Both vehicles and track are appallingly decrepit, and the ground shakes palpably as tramcars go crashing past over the uneven joints. Many of the point machines are broken, and drivers have to alight to move the points manually with a bar. A tram journey is like entering a time-warp back to Soviet days, especially as many of the passengers are the elderly and poor who no longer receive free travel on the increasingly privatised buses. The trams are liable to complete cancellation at times in winter, when a hard frost follows a slight thawing of snow cover, leaving the tracks encased in ice of a concrete-like consistency. The most interesting route is the semi-rural Aksaj - Kalkaman shuttle, #10. Starting from the Aksaj terminus of route #4, it uses the same tracks for about 1km back towards the city, but branches on to a reserved single track for about 3km to Kalkaman, which has a big hospital. The formation is built for double track, and abandoned loops exist at three of the five intermediate stops. At busier times the service frequency improves from 30 minutes to 20, worked by two cars crossing at the junction with the 'main line', not a very efficient arrangement since the passing-place is much closer to Aksaj than to Kalkaman. BLN 824.0193][US] San Diego - Oceanside - Los Angeles, CA: The city of San Diego, though the main US naval port on the Pacific coast, is out on a limb in railroad terms, and as a result its magnificent harbour has never had the commercial traffic that keeps the railroads from Long Beach and the port of Los Angeles busy night and day with double-stack container trains. The original California Southern Railroad was built north from San Diego along the coast to Carlsbad and Oceanside, turning inland up the Santa Margarita river to Temecula, then by Lake Elsinore, Railroad Canyon and Perris to San Bernardino, where it joined the east-west main line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. The route was not well-chosen, for the railroad washed out repeatedly in Temecula Canyon, and in the 1890s the Santa Fe rerouted it north of Oceanside through San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Santa Ana to Los Angeles. The Santa Fe's former San Diego subdivision, sometimes known as the Surf Line, is now properly known as the San Diego Northern, and is owned by the regional transportation authority. As well as the San Diegan intercity trains, which make the line Amtrak's busiest corridor outside the North-East, the San Diego Northern hosts two separate commuter services, San Diego's Coaster and Los Angeles' Metrolink, which meet end-on at Oceanside. Tickets of the three carriers are not interchangeable, but with careful attention to the timetable it is possible to travel one way using two commuter trains and back by Amtrak. Tall double-deck cars of various designs are the norm. BLN 824.0194][BR] Curitiba - Parana: After a brief period of suspension, Brazil's Ferrovia Sul-Atlántica, the South Atlantic Railway, now franchised, had in March 1998 two return passenger services again running on this scenic metre-gauge route, both marketed as the Serra Verde Express. Intending passengers should visit McDonalds prior to travel, and check out discount vouchers. The 08:00 Curitiba - Parana trem is locomotive-hauled, running Mondays excepted and returning as the 16:00 Parana - Curitiba, while the 09:00 Curitiba - Parana litorina is a tourist service using refurbished Budd RDC diesel railcars, running FSSuO and returning as the 15:00 Parana - Curitiba. BLN 824.0195][ZA] Cape Town - Mossel Bay - George - Oudtshoorn - Vondeling - Klipplaat - Port Elizabeth: Notwithstanding BLN 821.0115, the scheduled passenger train Southern Cross, which had been cut back to operate Cape Town - Oudtshoorn only, recommenced Cape Town - Port Elizabeth through-running from 13 December 1997, when the washed-out Oudtshoorn - Vondeling section reopened to traffic, albeit with numerous severe speed-restrictions. At least two steam tour trains are also to use the line, in early June and late July 1998. BLN 825.0196] Inter-Rail tickets: Notwithstanding BLN 824.0169 (though the information was checked with Eurostar!) those with IR26+ tickets do qualify for passholder-rate discounted fares to Paris and Bruxelles. Nevertheless it is still likely to be cheaper buying your IR26+ ticket in mainland Europe. Be prepared if asked to show evidence that you are resident in a European country. Your passport and credit-card, for example, do not bear your address. BLN 825.0197][FR] St.Omer - Arques - Lumbres - Nielles - Lottinghem - Desvres - Hesdigneul (- Boulogne): (BLN 756.0270, 798.0133; Ball 6B2-6A1) St.Omer - Desvres lost its regular passenger services 15 July 1959 and Desvres - Hesdigneul 1 November 1968. SNCF's freight-lines atlas of January 1964 omits Lumbres - Nielles, suggesting that this section was out of use after the 1959 passenger closure, though the official SNCF closure dates for freight are Lumbres - Nielles - Lottinghem 3 November 1969 and Lottinghem - Desvres 30 September 1990. The whole of Lumbres - Desvres was finally abandoned (declassée) 22 February 1991. St.Omer - Arques - Lumbres and Desvres - Hesdigneul both remain open for freight. Seasonal Boulogne - Hesdigneul - Desvres trips with railcar X2431, dubbed the Train ŕ Petite Vitesse du Pays des Morins, began on 14 July 1988, though these do not seem to have survived long. Arques - Lumbres tourist trains of the Chemin de Fer Touristique de la Vallée de l'Aa began on 28 June 1992 but seem also to have been short-lived. However, for five weekends from 15 November 1997, CFTVA (perhaps a different incarnation?) recommenced running Arques - Lumbres over the SNCF freight line. In 1998 trains are to run on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 1 May - 30 September, though an unexplained note against the last round-trip in CFTVA's publicity suggests perhaps that its dates of operation may be limited. 09:45 14:00 16:45* Arques 12:00 16:15 19:00* 10:40 14:55 17:40* Lumbres 11:05 15:20 18:05* Trains are to be worked by Picasso railcar X3853, one of the two reported in Today's Railways #17, since the other Picasso X3817 and the Polish steam locomotive are still undergoing repairs. Round-trip fare is FRF35. Contact CFTVA (3 rue des Cuvelots, F-62380 Bayenghem-les-Seninghem; telephone/fax +33 3 21 12 19 19) for more information. The line, only 40km from Le Shuttle at Calais, would make a pleasant objective for a summer day-trip by car. The Arques station is close to the canal lift at Les Fontinettes. BLN 825.0198][FR] Paris métro: Madeleine - Bibliothčque: The first section of Météor (MÉTro Est-Ouest Rapide), the new line 14 of the Réseau Urbain, is to open in September 1998, running Madeleine - Pyramides - Châtelet - Gare de Lyon - Bercy - Cour Saint-Emilion - Bibliothčque (near Boulevard Masséna on RER Ligne C). (http://www.ratp.fr/) BLN 825.0199][FR] Mâcon-Ville raccordement LGV: (Ball 48B1) Dijon - Nice TGVs are booked to run from Mâcon-Ville by the old PLM main line to Lyon, not via the curve up on to the Ligne ŕ Grande Vitesse. On three dates (5, 12 and 19 October 1997) Dijon - Nice TGV821 did have a faster booked timing from Mâcon-Ville south, so it may have used the curve and the LGV, but it is not confirmed that the curve has ever had booked passenger trains. BLN 825.0200][FR] Penne (Lot-et-Garonne) - Villeneuve-sur-Lot: (Ball 61A2) Région Aquitaine are proposing passenger reopening of this 10km freight branch. (Today's Railways, #28) BLN 825.0201][FR] Livron - Die - Luc-en-Diois - Aspres-sur-Buech: (Ball 65A3-66A3) A two-year experiment, beginning with the winter 1998-99 timetable, will see buses replaced by two extra railcar round-trips daily, one running Valence - Livron - Die and the other Valence - Livron - Die - Luc-en-Diois. Two intermediate halts will reopen, at Pont-de-Livron and Saillans. (L'Écho du Rail, #181, March 1998) BLN 825.0202][FR] (Cavaillon - Cheval Blanc -) Pertuis - Meyrargues: (BLN 780.0240, 783.0297, 784.0327; Ball 75B3) Reopening of this line, previously closed to passengers 7 September 1975, has been proposed by the French Justice Minister, Elisabeth Guigou. (L'Écho du Rail, #181, March 1998) BLN 825.0203][BE] Knokke - Oostende - De Panne: light rail: (BLN 815.0570; Ball 7A3) The long-awaited metre-gauge extension south to De Panne NMBS, the standard-gauge station at Adinkerke, is planned to open 1 July 1998. BLN 825.0204][FR] (Cannes -) Ranguin - Grasse: (BLN 760.0369, 773.088, 780.0241; Ball 77A3) Out of use beyond Ranguin since 28 January 1991, the line saw an Enfield Expeditions railtour on 15 July 1995. Someone at SNCF seems to think the track might still be useful some day, for on 25 February 1998 a weed-spraying train reached the outskirts of Grasse. (L'Écho du Rail, #181, March 1998) BLN 825.0205][DE] Early closing in Brandenburg: Three lines in Land Brandenburg were to see their last passenger trains on Saturday 18 April 1998, not at the May 1998 timetable change: Tiefensee - Wriezen (Ball 30A3; KBS206.25), Zossen - Sperenberg (Ball 29B2; KBS206.31), and Herzberg (Elster) Stadt - Falkenberg (Elster) unterer Bf (Ball 29B1, KBS206.43). BLN 825.0206][DE] Dessau Wörlitzer Bf - Wörlitz: (BLN 753.0184, 783.0303, 812.0489; Ball 28B1; KBS257) In poor condition in 1997, with an overall speed limit of 30km/h, the Dessau-Wörlitzer Eisenbahn nevertheless reopened 10 April 1998, with a similar WSSuO summer-only service. BLN 825.0207][DE] Threatened 750mm-gauge in Saxony: (BLN 818.032) DB had threatened to close their last three steam-operated narrow-gauge lines at the May 1998 timetable change. Cranzahl - Kurort Oberwiesenthal (Ball 54B3; KBS518) seems likely to transfer to a new operator as planned on 24 May. DB are to continue to run the Freital-Hainsberg - Kurort Kipsdorf line (Ball 44A2-44A1; KBS513), presumably temporarily until the new Weisseritztalbahnbetriebs GmbH are ready to take over. On the Radebeul Ost - Radeburg route (Ball 44A2; KBS509) DB have been instructed to continue service, but from 24 May will do so with buses due, they say, to the poor condition of the track. BLN 825.0208][AT] Sigmundsherberg - Pulkau - Platt (- Zellerndorf): (BLN 789.0429; Ball 64A1-64B2) Closed to passengers in 1987, this section, used by occasional Sigmundsherberg - Pulkau freights and a weekly empty railcar working, is to close completely, according to Today's Railways #28. BLN 825.0209][PT] Pocinho - Duas Igrejas-Miranda: (BLN 697.08; Ball 8B1-9A1) Though closed to passengers in 1978 and to freight 1 January 1989, when it was CP's last steam-operated line, the 106km metre-gauge Linha do Sabor seemed in March 1998 to have most of its track still in place, heavily overgrown. A short stretch near Moncorvo had been removed, supposedly to help extend the Sintra tramway from Banzăo to Ribeira (BLN 818.038). Though showing signs of dereliction, stations were generally intact, and Duas Igrejas-Miranda, the countryside terminus where the line petered out some 10km short of the town of Miranda do Douro, still had a working turntable. BLN 825.0210][PT] Poceirăo - Vendas Novas - Casa Branca - Beja - Ourique - Funcheira: (BLN 819.055, 822.0125; Ball 26A2-33A3) After repairs to the wash-out between Ourique and Funcheira, the Linha do Alentejo reopened as a through route in mid-March 1998, and freight trains from the mine at Neves-Corvo reverted to running via Funcheira, reversing there to head north to their destination, sidings at Praias-Sado near Setúbal, not the port of Sines. Traffic on the freight-only Ermidas-Sado - Sines branch (26A1) has in fact fallen, with only two or three trains Monday-Friday during winter 1997-98. Very wet weather has generated more hydro-electric power, removing the need for the flow of imported coal which used to see five or six trains a day triple-headed over the branch on their way north to Pego power-station, near Abrantes on the river Tejo (BLN 798.0142, 819.060). BLN 825.0211][IT] Sardegna: (BLN 750.0125, 767.0511, 780.0247, 795.070; Ball 39) On the Italian island of Sardinia, significant realignments during 1996-97 of the Sassari - Sorso, Sassari - Alghero, Macomer - Nuoro and (Cagliari -) Monserrato - Mandas (- Isili) sections of the 950mm-gauge Ferrovie della Sardegna have amounted in some places to new railways with significant reductions in route kilometres. For lengthy periods during these works the lines were closed, with bus replacement. New winter timetables from 10 September 1997 on the FdS lines out of Sassari saw some faster services, and restoration of trains instead of the buses which had probably worked the whole of the Sorso service and some journeys to Alghero. Sassari - Sorso and Sassari - Alghero have retained trains on Sundays and public holidays, but Sassari - Nulvi became workdays-only. The Cagliari - Isili winter service, also still in force, is workdays-only. Macomer - Nuoro has been workdays-only since 5 October 1997, with the timetable further revised 17 February 1998. Only three workings in each direction use the sharply-curved link between the FdS and FS stations in Macomer. Engineering works at the outer end have led to buses replacing Prato Sardo - Nuoro trains from 23 March to at least 8 April 1998, and until further notice. By contrast, the (Sassari -) Nulvi - Tempio - Palau Marina; Macomer - Tresnuraghes (- Bosa Marina); (Mandas -) Isili - Sorgono; and Mandas - Arbatax sections of the FdS are now maintained and staffed for tourist trains only, having lost their regular year-round passenger services from Monday 16 June 1997. Tresnuraghes - Bosa Marina new station had reopened for advertised excursions and charter trains 10 May 1995. The junction between the Sorgono and Arbatax lines is actually just north of Mandas (km60.906) at a separate block-post, Diramazione (km62.232). Summer 1998 trains on the 'tourist' lines are as follows: Definitely advertised Sassari 08:10 - 10:30 Tempio 16:35 - 18:50 Sassari SSuO 22 Mar-28 Jun, 5 Sep-25 Oct Treno Piu' Bici = bicycle trains (not from 14 Mar as shown on some publicity) Tresnuraghes - Bosa Marina - Tresnuraghes 3 steam-hauled round-trips SuO 12 Jul-30 Aug Macomer - Bosa Marina - Macomer one round-trip SSuO 11 Jul-30 Aug Advertised, but possibly only facoltativo (= optional) during the period quoted Tempio - Palau Marina - Tempio 15 Jun-13 Sep Palau - Tempio - Palau 15 Jun-13 Sep Not advertised, but the train paths are shown in the working timetable as facoltativo during the periods quoted (On 10 April 1998 none of these trains was definitely advertised, suggesting that they will run only when locally advertised, and not every day during the periods quoted) Mandas 08:27 - 13:00 Arbatax 14:30 - Mandas 19:03 15 Apr-11 Nov Arbatax 07:50 - 12:22 Mandas 15:10 - Arbatax 19:40 15 Jun-11 Nov Arbatax 09:10 - 12:10 Sadali 17:40 - Arbatax 20:40 6 Jul-30 Aug Mandas 08:17 - Isili 08:40 - 10:59 Sorgono 16:30 - Isili 18:49 - Mandas 19:13 15 Apr-14 Jun, SSuO 20 Jun-11 Oct The Ferrovie Complementari della Sardegna (FCS), which took over the concession of the Strade Ferrate Secondarie della Sardegna 1 January 1921, used to run the lines from Cagliari and Macomer, and the Strade Ferrate Sarde (SFS) the lines from Sassari, but both were under common management by 1965, later becoming the Ferrovie della Sardegna (FdS) under the island's regional government (Regione Autonoma della Sardegna). Cagliari FCS station at Viale Bonaria was demolished in 1970 and the line was cut back to the present terminus at Piazza Repubblica at about this time. It was recently reported elsewhere that the regional FdS and national FS lines on the island might be brought under the same management, but no sign of such a change was visible in April 1998. BLN 825.0212][CH] Genčve trams: (Ball 97A3) Notwithstanding BLN 791.0478, a Transports publics genevois leaflet describes tram route #16, colour-coded pink (Gare Cornavin - Moillesulaz) as operating from (dčs) 28 March 1998. The other routes are #12, yellow (Bachet de Pesay - Moillesulaz) and #13, green (Gare Cornavin - Bachet de Pesay - Palettes). The only track unique to route #16 is the short section between Stand and Bel-Air (Cité). BLN 825.0213][NO] (Asker - Oslo Sentral - Lillestrřm -) Asper - Gardermoen (- Eidsvoll): (Ball 20B1-20B2) NSB say Gardermobanen trains using the new loop to Oslo's Gardermoen airport will begin on Thursday 8 October 1998. BLN 825.0214][NO] Oslo metro and trams: (BLN 814.0556, 824.0185; Ball 28A2) Many Oslo Sporveier lines out from the centre have retained their traditional names even though both the metro (#1-5) and the trams (#11-19) have route numbers, with much through-running across the city. Tramway & Urban Transit for April 1998 listed these. Western terminus and line name Route nos Route nos Line name and eastern terminus 11, 12 Kjelsĺsbanen Kjelsĺs Kolsĺs Kolsĺsbanen 4, 10(night), 13(some) 5 Grorudbanen Vestli Jar Lilleakerbanen 10, 13 2 Furusetbanen Furuset Řsterĺs Rřabanen 2, 4(part) 3 Řstensjřbanen Mortensrud Frognerseteren Holmenkollbanen 1 4, 1(some) Lambertseterbanen Bergkrystallen Sognsvatn Sognsvannbanen 3, 5(part) 18, 19 Ekebergbanen Ljabru BLN 825.0215][CZ] Tanvald - Harrachov: (BLN 747.057, 821.0107; Ball 36A1; CD 035) It appears that this rack-equipped standard-gauge line has not (yet?) reopened. From a 25 January 1998 timetable change buses replaced Nezamyslice - Morkovice trains (BLN 802.0244, 821.0108; Ball 42A3; CD 333), but three other Czech closures listed in Today's Railways #27 did not take place at that date: Melník - Mšeno - Mladá Boleslav (BLN 812.0506; Ball 35B3; CD 076), Cejc - Klobouky u Brna - Zdánice (Ball 41B2, CD 256) and Kyjov - Mutenice (BLN 818.042; Ball 42A2-41B2; CD 257). BLN 825.0216][CZ] Litovel predmesti - Mladec: (EGTRE CZ9; Ball 41B3; CD 274) Threatened with closure at the May 1998 timetable change, the 6km branch from Litovel predmesti (predmesti = suburb, as distinct from Litovel mesto = town) has a single scheduled round-trip on Sundays and public holidays only (14:37 out, 15:35 return), not much of a service to the caves which are a tourist attraction at Mladec. However, a footnote to table 274 points out that it is possible to order a special train on the line on other days and at other times than those given in the timetable. The price per train is fifty times the lowest ordinary fare, in this case 50 CZK6 = CZK300. The train has to be ordered by telephoning Litovel predmesti railway station (068 544 2190) the day before the desired trip, or by turning up in person at least ten minutes before the desired departure. By asking his hotel to make the telephone call, BLN's resourceful reporter arranged a special train on the afternoon of Wednesday 15 April 1998 for himself and a BLS team of three, paying the CZK300 (= Ł5.50) at the Litovel predmesti booking-office, and receiving eight tickets whose face value added up to the correct amount. A Class 810 railcar and crew were spare at Litovel predmesti between 17:05 and 17:55 that evening and worked the train, leaving plenty of time for photographic stops at the stations on the line. The train crew had no prior knowledge of the extra working until they arrived and were given the special notice, a simple printed form with handwritten details filled in. BLN 825.0217][HU] Hungary: tourist future for rural lines?: A number of rural railways once threatened with closure may have a brighter future since the setting up of partnerships with local interests to develop area tourism, following a British consultancy contract. Lines with such partnerships to date are Györ - Veszprém (Ball 42A1-47A3; MÁV 11); Vác - Diósjenö - Drégelypalánk - Balassagyarmat and Diósjenö - Romhány (BLN 772.079; Ball 42B1; MÁV 75, 76); Nyíregyháza NyK. - Herminatanya - Balsai Tisza-part / Dombrád: (760mm-gauge; BLN 777.0176, 797.0118; Ball 43B1; MÁV 118, 119); and Zalaegerszeg - Lenti (- Rédics) (Ball 46B3-46B2; MÁV 23). Rédics, a terminus close to the Slovenian border, is now unstaffed and the last km of track calls for a severe reduction in speed, so this branch may perhaps be vulnerable to truncation. (TR∈ IBSE) BLN 825.0218][BG] Sofia - Septemvri - Pazardzhik - Plovdiv: (Ball 52B2-53A2; BDZ 101, 102) The busy double-track main line between Bulgaria's main cities was the country's first to be electrified, at 25kV 50Hz on 27 April 1963. Leaving the basin in which Sofia lies, it climbs south-eastward through the hills to Vakarel (39km) and descends steeply from Mirovo (65km) to the plain at Septemvri (103km). Septemvri and Pazardzhik (120km) are both junctions for separate short legs (6km and 16km) of a 762mm-gauge system which join at Varvara before stretching south-westward for no less than 119km into the highlands (Septemvri / Pazardzhik - Varvara - Velingrad - Razlov - Dobrinishte; BDZ 116, 117). According to IBSE, the sparse and painfully slow (25km/h) passenger trains are timetabled as follows: 03:10 09:03 11:55 15:05 Septemvri 10:15 14:27 15:30 20:29 03:22 09:16 12:08 15:17 Varvara 10:03 14:15 15:19 20:18 03:23 09:17 12:20 15:20 Varvara 10:02 14:01 15:18 20:17 12:51 Pazardzhik 13:30 08:00 14:00 19:50 Dobrinishte 04:45 10:35 15:35 A narrow-gauge passenger train which had arrived at Septemvri was seen empty at about 16:45 on 11 April 1998 suggesting that it might have been the 15:30 off the branch. Stock seen at both main-line junctions suggests that the freight traffic may be mostly worked from Pazardzhik, where a considerable number of tanker wagons were in the narrow-gauge sidings. Rural Bulgaria offers some timeless scenes - farmers loading mule-carts and wizened herdsmen grazing small flocks of sheep and goats on the verges of the unfenced tracks - and even in Plovdiv, a sizeable city, the crowds in a street-market outside a centuries-old Turkish mosque were being entertained by an elderly musician accompanied by a big dancing bear on a chain. BLN 825.0219][TR] Istanbul light rail and metros: (BLN 722.019, 745.020, 774.0123, 793.022; Ball 53A2) Similar ABB/SGP standard-gauge light-rail vehicles operate both the street-running tramvay and the partly-underground hafif metro (hafif = light). The former extends Eminönü - Sirkeci - Beyazit - Aksaray - Zeytinburnu; the latter Aksaray - Otogar - Zeytinburnu - Yenibosna, with a short branch Otogar - Esenler. The terminal balloon-loop in front of Aksaray metro station is now used by additional short workings on the busy street-tramway section between Beyazit (for Grand Bazar) and Aksaray. Some maps already show the light metro's planned short extension from Aksaray south to Yenikapi station on TCDD's European main line, but this was not yet open in April 1998. Quite separate, and on the other side of the Golden Horn, the first section of the city's heavy metro (Taksim - Levent) should open in 1998, according to tram-stop posters. Once it is in service, a day spent traversing Beyazit - Aksaray-loop by street-tramway; Aksaray - Esenler - Otogar - Yenibosna - Zeytinburnu using both branches of the light metro; back from Zeytinburnu to Eminönü by tram; a walk over the famous Galata bridge crossing the Golden Horn; Karaköy - Tünel by underground funicular; Tünel - Taksim by metre-gauge heritage tramway along Istiklâl Caddesi, the city's fashionable European-style pedestrianised shopping street; and finally Taksim - Levent on the new heavy metro, would cover most of Istanbul's trackage on its five separate non-TCDD systems. BLN 825.0220][JP] (Tokyo -) Morioka - Hachinohe - Aomori (- Hakodate - Sapporo): (BLN 776.0164) Obituaries appeared in the world's press in March 1998 for 96-year-old Hideo Shima, who farsightedly championed the building of the famous bullet-train system that opened for business on 1 October 1964. In January, two months before he died, the Japanese government authorised work to begin on further ambitious extensions. One of these is to drive the Tohoku Shinkansen from Morioka north via Hachinohe to Aomori. This is just short of the Seikan tunnel, the world's longest, which is already prepared for the arrival of standard-gauge tracks to take high-speed trains for the first time to the mountainous island of Hokkaido. Consideration is still being given to the eventual route from the tunnel onward to Sapporo. Other extensions authorised are of the 1997 Hokuriku Shinkansen north from Nagano to Joetsu, and of the original Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen south from Fukuoka to Kagoshima. BLN 826.0221][IE] Dublin Connolly - North Strand Jn - Drumcondra - Glasnevin Jn: (BLN 808.0367, 817.01) Dublin's Drumcondra station, closed some 90 years ago, reopened on 2 March 1998 using much of the original structure. First passenger to board a train was local resident Bertie Ahern, who is also Taoiseach (= Irish Prime Minister). BLN 826.0222][GB][FR] Folkestone - Calais: Le Shuttle station nomenclature: (BLN 747.045, 756.0268) Eurotunnel customer leaflets seem to be consistent about 'Folkestone' as the geographical name of their UK Terminal, but not quite so certain about the location of their Terminal France - which is sometimes described as 'Calais', sometimes 'Coquelles' and sometimes 'Calais/Coquelles'. A recent Le Shuttle timetable has 'Calais/Coquelles' on the front and 'Calais' against the timings within. BLN 826.0223][FR] St.Georges-de-Commiers - La Mure: (BLN 815.0564; Ball 57B1) After nine years as operators of the scenic Chemin de Fer de la Mure, SATELAM decided to bow out and CFTA secured an eight-year contract to run the 30km metre-gauge electric line from 1 February 1998. The publicity brochure on art paper (undated but newly issued in 1998) implies that the dates and times are to apply not only in 1998 but in future years too. Trains run from April to the end of October, but trips marked * run 1 Jul-31 Aug only. The 1998 season began 11 April. 09:45 12:00* 14:30 17:00* St.Georges-de-C 11:30* 13:45* 16:15 18:45 11:30 13:45* 16:15 18:45* La Mure 09:45* 12:00* 14:30 17:00 Contact: CF de la Mure, La Gare, F-38450 Saint-Georges-de-Commiers; telephone +33 4 76 72 57 11; fax +33 4 76 72 47 43; e-mail trainlamure@hol.fr. CFTA (Societé Générale de Chemins de Fer et de Transports Automobiles) is a subsidiary of the French conglomerate Compagnie Générale des Eaux, and thus an affiliate of the UK Connex train-operating companies. BLN 826.0224][BE] Knokke - Oostende - De Panne: light rail: (Ball 7A3) Notwithstanding BLN 825.0203, before the Adinkerke extension can open many weeks of work must remain. East of the former De Panne turning-circle old street track is being ripped up and replaced, and the entire road junction where the turning-circle was has been dug up and dewired, along with the short approach to the now-isolated De Panne tram-depot. Buses are therefore replacing trams through Koksijde to De Panne, and traffic is diverted in several places. On Sunday 10 May 1998, a few workers were on site at the former turning-circle but the tempo of operations did not suggest completion was at all imminent, and the rest of the works were deserted. Four or five new poles had been erected and were still leaning at odd angles, but no other mast bases and no wiring at all could be seen anywhere on the extension. The double track petered out just south of the Duinhoekstraat roundabout, leaving a gap of empty formation next to piles of recently delivered ballast in the field there. However grooved rail recommenced in time to head west across the main road to the Meli park entrance, and the final metre-gauge track layout beyond, including the large turning loop and layover loops at De Panne NMBS station, did seem complete. The tram-station building adjacent to the railway platform displayed only its steel skeleton. BLN 826.0225][BE] Mariembourg - Chimay (- Momignies - Anor SNCF): (BLN 762.0404; Ball 16B3-16A3) CFV3V say that no passenger trips to Chimay are planned for 1998, but Mariembourg - Treignes (16B3), and Dinant - Heer-Agimont - Givet SNCF (17A3-16B3) services will be similar to those in 1997. BLN 826.0226][NL] Netherlands: station opening/closing dates, and a renaming: For the record, Voorhout (between Haarlem and Leiden, south of Lisse; Ball 3B3) opened 1 March 1997; Amsterdam Arena (BLN 822.0121; Ball 4A3) opened 28 November 1996; and Enschede Drienerlo (between Hengelo and Enschede; 5B3) opened 22 November 1996. With the May 1998 timetable change Soestduinen (4A3) closes and Haarlem Spaarnwoude (between Haarlem and Amsterdam Sloterdijk; 3B3) opens. In the days before Eurotunnel when international trains made ferry-connections for Britain at Hoek van Holland Haven, those which did not pass through Rotterdam Centraal called instead at Schiedam-Rotterdam West (Ball 3B2), but it now has only a local role and becomes Schiedam Centrum. BLN 826.0227][DE] Germany: weekend bargain tickets for local trains: An undated Schönes Wochenende Ticket (SWT) as sold by VRS (BLN 823.0151) is also sold in other areas, for example by Essener Verkehrs AG on behalf of Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, in Karlsruhe by Albtal-Verkehrs GmbH, and in Berlin by S-Bahn ticket-offices and ticket-machines as well as by BVG. Undated SWT from Berlin bought before 1 April 1998 should be used by 30 June or can be exchanged for new ones, still undated. Berlin S-Bahn station ticket-machines actually offer two versions of SWT. If you simply press the SWT button, what comes out is in the form of a Verkehrsgemeinschaft Berlin-Brandenburg single-trip ticket, undated, issued by S-Bahn Berlin. If you enter the code '88' using the number buttons the SWT comes in the form of a DB zone-ticket, dated, issued by DB AG. Thus the passenger can decide whether the national railways or their subsidiary local operating company should get the money! BLN 826.0228][DE][DK] Niebüll DB - Třnder DSB: (BLN 812.0497, 823.0159; Ball 5B2-5B1) Though the Danish company PBS (Privatbanen Sřnderjylland) in collaboration with NVAG (Nordfriesische Verkehrsbetriebe AG) reactivated this out-of-use cross-border line for freight from 5 April 1997, the German section remains in the ownership of DB Netz, the track-and-signalling sector of still-federally-owned Deutsche Bahn AG. BLN 826.0229][DE] (Norderstedt Mitte -) Ulzburg Süd - Ulzburg (- Kaltenkirchen): (Ball 17B3) As noted in BLN 818.026, the AKN line north of Ulzburg Süd station is being doubled, partly on an entirely new alignment prepared across the fields to the west of the present line. No track had been laid on this by April 1998, and the contractors' notice-board gave no indication of a completion date. Much construction work was under way north through Ulzburg village, but some of this was probably on diversion of roads, and it was not clear approaching Ulzburg station whether a new second track would parallel the existing single one or whether a new double track would adopt a different alignment, perhaps at a different level. Just north of the existing sharp south-to-south-west curve at Ulzburg, forming the beginning of the Ulzburg - Barmstedt (- Elmshorn) line, a fresh trackbed awaits a realignment of this curve. BLN 826.0230][DE] Lübeck - Lübeck-Schlutup: (OEIS 9819; Ball 18A3-11A1) The VLV 12:30 special train from Lübeck Hbf on 2 May 1998 did not complete a full circle on the local freight lines but travelled out and back by the same route, running via the Lübeck harbour company's tracks with a reversal on Walhalbinsel, near the site of the town's original station, then via the Drehbrücke (= swing-bridge) and Hubbrücke (= lift-bridge) through Konstin Bf to a second reversal at the Brandenbaum/Eichholz level-crossing, some 1km short of the Lübeck - Bad Kleinen DB line, to end at Lübeck-Schlutup station. A local IBSE member selling tickets on the train said that two of the three specials on Friday 1 May had not been able to use the harbour lines as one of the bridges had not locked back into position correctly, so they had to use the shorter (and more expensive) DB connection to Schlutup from the south. BLN 826.0231][DE] Osnabrück Klus Kurve: Hasetor - Vbf Klus: (EGTRE DE158; Ball 25A2) Since Amsterdam - Křbenhavn summer trains D1236/7 are not to run in 1998, this west-to-north curve seems likely to be without passenger service. BLN 826.0232][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: Westkreuz - Eichkamp - Heerstrasse - Olympiastadion - Pichelsberg (- Spandau): (Ball 31B2) The line from Charlottenburg to Heerstrasse and beyond to the special Rennbahn (= racecourse) station (now Olympiastadion) opened 23 May 1909; the through Heerstrasse - Pichelsberg - Berlin-Spandau line 5 September 1911; and the distinct Westkreuz - Heerstrasse electrified S-Bahn alignment 23 August 1928. Services were withdrawn 18 September 1980 when Reichsbahn staff went on strike. From 1984 to 1992 Westkreuz - Heerstrasse was used for driver-training. The third-rail was switched off in February 1993 prior to rebuilding. For a year (26 September 1994 - 16 September 1995; BLN 735.0178) the former S-Bahn line was used by long-distance trains while their own separate (Westkreuz -) Eichkamp - Spandau route was renewed. In April 1996 full reconstruction to S-Bahn standards began. On 16 January 1998 Westkreuz - Pichelsberg reopened to S-Bahn trains of lines S5 and S75. Olympiastadion station has one island platform serving the through lines plus another lying between two terminal roads on the site of the former special station, with three more special platforms due to be built by May 1999. A new electronic signal-box there controls the running-lines, each signalled for two-way operation. A facing crossover to the east of Olympiastadion station is used by 'down' S5 trains and a trailing crossover west of the station is used by 'up' S75 trains, thus segregating the two services at Pichelsberg, with S5 in each direction using the southern running-line and platform face and S75 the northern one. The single temporary headshunt beyond Pichelsberg's island platform is not used by service trains. (mainly from Blickpunkt Strassenbahn) BLN 826.0233][DE] Döllstädt - Straussfurt: (BLN 754.0222; Ball 41B2; KBS596) Buses have replaced passenger trains. BLN 826.0234][DE] Threatened 750mm-gauge in Saxony: (BLN 818.032, 825.0207) The weekend of 23-24 May sees a festival in Radebeul, so the last Radebeul Ost - Radeburg trains (Ball 44A2; KBS509) are scheduled to run on Sunday 24 May 1998. Though a German railway magazine remains optimistic about the future of this line, bus replacement from Monday 25 May still seems likely. Though DB continue to run Freital-Hainsberg - Kurort Kipsdorf trains (Ball 44A2-44A1; KBS513) bus replacement is planned from 1 August 1998. Cranzahl - Kurort Oberwiesenthal trains (Ball 54B3; KBS518) are to run to the old DB timings until 31 May 1998, when the new private operators plan to introduce their timetable. BLN 826.0235][PT] Porto Trindade - Senhora de Hora - Trofa - Lousado - Santo Tirso - Lordelo - Guimarăes: (Ball 7A1-7B1) The metre-gauge line out as far as the main-line station at Trofa is to be converted to form part of the future metro system (BLN 818.037). The short Trofa - Lousado section is already dual, 1668mm-gauge and metre (BLN 798.0141). Work to convert Lousado - Guimarăes to broad-gauge began on 15 February 1998, since when the timetable has shown trains Trindade - Trofa and Santo Tirso - Guimarăes, linked by a bus. On 26 April 1998 two-car diesel units were working both rail sections, and the bus ran directly Trofa - Santo Tirso, not calling at Lousado, which had a separate bus as required. The timetable leaflet said that regauging would be in three phases, but gave no dates. The second phase is to cover Santo Tirso - Lordelo and the third Lordelo - Guimarăes, after which through broad-gauge Porto Săo Bento - Campanha - Ermesinde - Trofa - Guimarăes services will begin. BLN 826.0236][PT] Lisboa metro: (BLN 807.0361, 819.057; Ball 25A1-25B1) According to maps inside the trains, the metro is to be worked as four lines. Operating in spring 1998 were the yellow line 1 Rato - Rotunda - Campo Grande; the northern part of the blue line 2 (Santa Apolonia - Terreiro do Paço - Baixa Chiado -) Restauradores - Colégio Militar/Luz - Carnide - Pontinha; and the northern part of the green line 3 (Cais do Sodré - Baixa Chiado -) Socorro/Martim Moniz - Alameda - Areeiro - Campo Grande. The still-to-open sections of the blue and green lines, interchanging traffic at Baixa Chiado, are to serve the ferry-pier Terreiro do Paço and CP's Santa Apolonia and Cais do Sodré termini. The first part of the entirely new red line 4, Alameda - Oriente, not yet open, is to have five stops on its way to serve the Expo site and terminate at Lisboa Oriente new main-line station. A single metro ticket costs PTE60, a one-vehicle-journey ticket by tram, funicular or bus PTE160, and a day ticket PTE430 (= Ł1.50). BLN 826.0237][PT] Sintra tram: The Ribeira - Banzăo section reopened 1 March 1998, and in April the Wed-Sun one-tram service seemed to have reverted to the mid-November 1997 timetable shown in BLN 818.038. Fare is PTE500 (= Ł1.65) single. One child can travel free with two fare-paying adults. An extension from Ribeira back to the outskirts of Sintra may open in autumn 1998, with further extension into the town-centre once it is pedestrianised. BLN 826.0238][CZ] Czech franchising and privatisation: (BLN 822.0130) For the increasing number of lines no longer run by state-owned CD, franchising of operation rather than outright sale has been the pattern. However, the assets including infrastructure of the 760mm-gauge Jindrichuv Hradec - Nova Bystrice and Jindrichuv Hradec - Obratan lines (Ball 41A3-41A2) were sold to the private company, for a symbolic single crown (CZK1 = 2p). BLN 826.0239][HR][BA] Vinkovci HZ - Brcko ZBH - Špionica - Bosanska Poljana (- Banovici / Tuzla): (BLN 752.0167; Ball 47B1-51B3) On 2 April 1998 a train carrying grain from Croatia arrived in the Bosnian Serb town of Brcko, reopening a railway from Croatia into Bosnia closed by conflict since 1991. Brcko is a strategic point in the narrow neck of land linking the eastern and western sections of the self-styled Bosnian 'Serb Republic'. (Daily Telegraph, 3 April 1998) BLN 826.0240][HR][YU] (Zagreb -) Vinkovci - Mirkovci - Tovarnik HZ - Šid JZ (- Beograd): (Ball 47B1) Questions remain about the reopening of this once-busy main line between the Croatian and Serbian capitals. Neither HZ nor JZ passenger timetables showed any sign of a service from Vinkovci 32km east to the Croatian border station, Tovarnik, or over the 7km cross-border section thence to Šid in Yugoslavia in 1995-96. Railway Gazette International for August 1996 (BLN 786.0373) quoted a date of 27 June 1996 for resumption of traffic east the 5km to Mirkovci (in Croatian territory, but captured by Serbs during the fighting) and beyond to Šid. Continental Railway Journal #111 recorded that on 20 April 1997 Croatian television illustrated rebuilding work under way near Vinkovci, showing a double-track main line still with electrification masts but lacking overhead wires, its tracks being carefully checked for mines and then totally rebuilt with wooden sleepers and new ballast, and at least two Bo-Bo electric locomotives standing out of use in platforms at Vinkovci. The Thomas Cook European Timetable for July 1997 continued to show no trains between Vinkovci and Šid that summer. IBSE Telegramm for September 1997 noted two daily Vinkovci - Tovarnik local-train round-trips in table 40a of the 1997-98 Croatian passenger timetable. The Independent for 12 November said that 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 (BLN 816.0607). In March 1998 the Thomas Cook timetable said that the Vinkovci - Beograd line was reported reopened from 11 November 1997, that Beograd timings were not available and that the two local train workings were: #7201 #7203 #7200 #7202 06:20 15:00 Vinkovci 10:45 19:12 07:50 16:30 Šid 09:15 17:42 More information on the closure and reopening of this important European route would be welcome. BLN 826.0241][LV] (Riga -) Plavinas - Gulbene - Ziguri: Study of the 1997-98 Latvian working timetable reveals a pair of broad-gauge Plavinas - Ziguri mixed trains #951/2 not shown in the public timetable booklet, which are the only passenger services on the Plavinas - Gulbene section. These trains appear to give better access to the Gulbene - Alueksne 750mm-gauge passenger line (BLN 824.0189), allowing a round-trip from Riga in a day, as follows. #690 Riga 08:00 - 09:50 Plavinas #691 Plavinas 20:14 - 22:02 Riga #952 Plavinas 10:20 - 12:40 Gulbene 12:50 - 14:15 Ziguri #951 Ziguri 14:42 - 16:05 Gulbene 17:15 - 19:32 Plavinas #6966 Gulbene 13:40 - 15:10 Alueksne #6965 Alueksne 15:35 - 17:00 Gulbene BLN 826.0242][LT] Panevezys - Anyksciai: (BLN 824.0190) Timetable for Lithuania's sole remaining 750mm-gauge passenger line, threatened with closure in 1998, is reported to be as follows. 06:30 16:00 Panevezys 10:41 20:06 08:26 17:56 Anyksciai 08:45 18:10 When Europe began 'daylight-saving' summer time in March 1998 Lithuania took the opportunity to join the same time-zone as Poland and Germany. However in order to avoid disruption of broad-gauge rail traffic with neighbouring Russia and Belarus, main-line schedules remained the same and trains were retimed to run one hour later by the local clocks. It is not clear what if any effect the change might have had on the narrow-gauge line's timetable, which does not anyway seem to be organised round connections. Vilnius - Panevezys - Anyksciai is an awkward rail journey, though regular Vilnius - Panevezys buses run, taking about two hours. BLN 826.0243][US][CA] Eugene, OR - Portland, OR - Seattle, WA - Vancouver, BC: From 17 May 1998 Amtrak increase the service on their successful 746km Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor. Daily workings will comprise the Los Angeles - Eugene - Portland - Seattle Coast Starlight each way, one Eugene - Portland - Seattle and two Portland - Seattle round-trips, and one Seattle - Vancouver Superliner round-trip. New custom-built TALGO trains are on order to replace the leased Spanish TALGO equipment and the bilevel Superliner set. (http://www.amtrak.com) BLN 826.0244][US] (Pueblo, CO -) Canon City - Royal Gorge - Malta (- Dotsero, CO): (BLN 813.0536) On Union Pacific's scenic former Rio Grande line threading the deep and narrow Royal Gorge, the through operations westward over the Tennessee Pass ceased 23 August 1997, but two local freight workings a week have continued from Malta, near Leadville, where lead and zinc ores are loaded into covered gondolas, east to Pueblo. The mining company, Asarco, are looking for another loadout site. When this is available, maybe by late May 1998, UP will end the local freights west of Canon City, and the famous Royal Gorge will see no trains unless and until the proposed tourist service is established. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 826.0245][CU] Habana Casa Blanca - Hershey - San Mateo - Jibacoa - Canasi - Matanzas: The 150km Hershey railroad - whose name recalls Milton Hershey of Pennsylvania and his US confectionery brand which once had major sugar interests on the island - is the only electrified line of the large (5000km) standard-gauge network of the nationalised Ferrocarriles de Cuba (FCC), not usually mentioned by those who dash about in cars photographing the crumbling industrial steam operations at the sugar-mills. From its own station, Casa Blanca, east of the river, the four trains a day on the 1200V dc main line from the capital 85km east to Matanzas now usually comprise one of the 1920s-built locomotives #21001 and 21002 hauling two boxcars converted to passenger coaches with hard seats. During March 1998 the Canasi - Matanzas section was said to be closed for engineering works. Hershey main-line station, 45km out, is to the rear of the former Hershey sugar-mill, now Central Camilo Cienfuegos, named after a Cuban revolutionary. It is a fifteen-minute walk round to Talleres (= workshops) station, a platform-less grassed-over single track parallel to the road by the mill's entrance on the south side. Two electric multiple-units, #3018 and 3021, operate a Hershey Talleres - Jaruco branch service southward every 90 minutes, passing the Hershey depot immediately after departure, and heading over a level-crossing by the yard where FCC's sole surviving British-built Brush diesel 'Class 47' #52504 was sitting forlornly in a siding. Elderly 1920s-built Brill electric units such as #3006 and 3009 run another branch service, Hershey Talleres - San Mateo - Caraballo - Bainoa, reversing at the level-crossing and again at the San Mateo triangle on the main line to serve the station there. Those trains that run forward from Caraballo to Bainoa terminate at a simple station in a field, though the line seemed formerly to continue beyond. FCC hope to replace the red Brill units by more modern green units bought second-hand from Barcelona, some of which were at Hershey depot. An infrequent service also operates Hershey - San Mateo - Jibacoa - Santa Cruz del Norte, reversing at Jibacoa and heading north to the coast. A single ticket on any of the branches cost CUP0.40. With one US dollar buying 20 pesos, this fare was less than two pence. BLN 827.0246][GB][FR] Two name-changes: (BLN 826.0222, 826.0223) Eurotunnel are planning to drop Le Shuttle as a brand-name for their ferry-trains carrying cars, buses and lorries. And the international utility company, Compagnie Générale des Eaux, parent of CFTA and of Connex, now call themselves Vivendi. BLN 827.0247][FR] Laroche-Migennes - Auxerre-St.Gervais - Cravant-Bazarnes - Avallon - Autun - Étang: (BLN 779.0210, 786.0365, 788.0399; Ball 37B3-48A3) Not shown in Ball is the Laroche-Migennes east-to-south curve avoiding the platforms, which appears intact, signalled and shiny with recent use. Its southern end however is protected by a derailer, so it is possibly regarded as a through siding rather than a running line. On 23 May 1998, a Beaune - Auxerre working reversed in Laroche-Migennes station and failed to use the curve. This train was an ADL charter which was advertised to run north via Autun to Auxerre, but was unexpectedly re-routed when CFD (Société des Chemins de Fer Départementaux, owners of the expatriate ex-BR Class 20s) kept their Avallon - Autun section closed for several days following the Ascension Day holiday on Thursday 21 May, perhaps as an economy measure. BLN 827.0248][FR] (Santenay-les-Bains - Épinac-les-Mines -) Bligny-sur-Ouche - Thorey-sur-Ouche - Pont-d'Ouche (- Plombičres - Dijon): (BLN 779.0210; Ball 38B1-48B3) This loop of SNCF secondary line south-west of Dijon closed as a standard-gauge through route around 1964, and the Santenay - Épinac stub shown in Ball has also since been lifted. Some 6km of the trackbed however hosts the 600mm-gauge Chemin de Fer Touristique de la Vallée de l'Ouche, based at Bligny's original station. Saturday 16 May 1998 saw an inaugural run on the c.1km extension from Thorey north to a new platform and run-round loop just south of Pont-d'Ouche, and a week later a team of BLS inspectors visited this attractive little railway, to be hauled by one of its three steam locomotives. Regular operation, steam or diesel, is offered on Sundays and holidays from Easter to September and also on weekdays in July and August. Details from Association Rail de la Vallée de l'Ouche, 4 Rue Pasumot, F-21200 Beaune, telephone +33 3 80 20 16 65, fax +33 3 80 24 65 92. BLN 827.0249][BE] (Antwerpen -) Boom - Puurs: (BLN 813.0522; Ball 8B3; Lijn 52) Passenger service was due to begin again on Monday 25 May 1998, with two Antwerpen - Boom - Puurs - St.Niklaas trains each way SSuX. BLN 827.0250][BE] (Ličge-Guillemins -) Y Val Benoît - Kinkempois - Flemalle-Haute: (Ball 9B1) Separately from the main passenger Ligne 125 (Ličge-Guillemins - Tilleur - Flemalle-Haute - Statte - Namur) two distinct west-to-south freight-only curves formerly ran from Y Val Benoît, just across the river Meuse from Guillemins passenger station, round to Ličge-Kinkempois freight yard. Ligne 125A, the more important freight line through to Flemalle-Haute, has now been singled. The parallel Ligne 125C, further to the west, broken during construction work on the city's new cross-river road (BLN 815.0571), now appears to be definitively closed and permanently removed. BLN 827.0251][NL] (Rotterdam -) Barendrecht - Zwijndrecht - Dordrecht: (Ball 3B2) Barendrecht station has four tracks but only two, serving platforms 1 and 2, are normal passenger lines, the other two being freight tracks coming in from Rotterdam Lombardijen and from Europoort and heading south into the large Kijfhoek yard, which parallels the running lines on their west side. Alongside the eastern freight track is a temporary wooden passenger platform (platform 3), which is not of recent construction, for its wooden railings are now somewhat insecure. On the 1997-98 departure poster at Barendrecht no services are shown as using platform 3, but any train calling there would have to follow the yard lines south, on an alignment west of the present passenger tracks. Possibly it was built during works on the Barendrecht - Zwijndrecht section, for from just south of Barendrecht the main passenger route to Dordrecht has been increased to four tracks with the fast lines on the outside and slow lines in the middle. All but the eastmost track, the northbound fast, cross a southern access line for Kijfhoek yard by a newish flyover just north of Zwijndrecht. BLN 827.0252][NL] Amsterdam CS - Haarlem - Lisse - Leiden: (BLN 820.069; Ball 3B3) During the period 27 March - 24 May 1998, when Keukenhof gardens were open to the public, Lovers Rail operated a two-hourly Keukenhof Expres making six SSuX (five SSuO) Amsterdam CS - Leiden round-trips, calling at Haarlem and Lisse. Lisse station, within walking distance of Keukenhof, is normally closed and had not been used in recent years. Its building is now a restaurant, but it has acquired an impermanent-looking timber-and-scaffolding platform on the long loop to the southeast of the running lines. While Lovers Rail trains called at Lisse in spring 1998, NS passengers on excursion tickets to Keukenhof had to use ordinary services to Haarlem or Leiden and go forward by bus. With the end of the seasonal Keukenhof Expres at the May 1998 timetable change, the Lovers Rail Amsterdam CS - Haarlem - Santpoort Noord - IJmuiden trains were to resume. BLN 827.0253][NL] Amsterdam Haarlemmermeer - Kalfsjelaan - Amstelveen - Bovenkerk: (BLN 775.0137; Ball 4A3, not shown) The standard-gauge museum tramway from Haarlemmermeer to Kalfsjelaan opened 20 September 1975 on existing NS freight track, which was still just about in use at the time. The Kalfsjelaan - Amstelveen section opened Easter 1983, probably after formal closure by NS. The current length of track is 5.7km. Trams operate Sundays and holidays 12 April - 27 September 1998 (also 13 April, 21 May and 1 June), leaving Haarlemmermeer station 10:30, 10:45, 11:00, 11:40 and every 20 minutes till 17:20 for the 34-minute journey to Bovenkerk, with a short round-trip to Amstelveen at 10:25. Bovenkerk departures are 11:20, 11:40, 12:00, 12:40 and every 20 minutes to 18:25. In addition Tuesday-Saturday departures 14 July - 22 August 1998 are Haarlemmermeer 13:00, 14:30, 16:00; Bovenkerk 13:45, 15:15, 16:45. Contact: Electrische Museumtramlijn Amsterdam, Haarlemmermeerstation, Amstelveenseweg 264, NL-1075XV Amsterdam; fax +31 20 673 9980. BLN 827.0254][NL] Diemen Zuid - Venserpolder Aansluiting - Halte ArenA - Duivendrecht Aansluiting - Bijlmer: (BLN 822.0121; Ball 4A3 not shown) Both the curves between Venserpolder Aansl (the eastern junction, near Diemen Zuid) and Duivendrecht Aansl (the southern junction, near Bijlmer) are reversibly signalled. The official title of the halt on the more westerly of the two curves is Halte ArenA, the spelling with a final capital A being the usage for the name of the stadium it serves. An NS booking-clerk at Duivendrecht said that the halt is used only for football matches, with trains running once or twice a month, especially, he believed, when 'aggressive' supporters were expected, who could thus be segregated from Ajax supporters using local trains to Bijlmer. Trains run in either direction as necessary, though to minimise disturbance to the regular service one would expect the halt to be served east-to-south whenever possible so that the specials could flow with the regular trains. BLN 827.0255][NL] Utrecht - Bilthoven (- Amersfoort): (Ball 4A3) From Utrecht CS quadruple track extends as far east as Blauwkapel Oost Aansluiting west of Bilthoven, the tracks being, from north to south, eastbound fast, westbound fast, westbound local, eastbound local. The older southern tracks are used by all trains stopping at Utrecht-Overvecht. At Blauwkapel local trains for Hilversum curve to the north at ground-level. At Blauwkapel Kruispunt, the Amersfoort fast lines cross the Hilversum - Overvecht / Lunetten lines by a new bridge; further east, another flyover takes the eastbound fast line over the other tracks. Eastbound Utrecht - Amersfoort stopping trains, and through Arnhem-direction - Utrecht - Amersfoort trains, use the original ground-level alignment, including the flat crossing at Blauwkapel Kruispunt over the north-south freight line to Lunetten yard. Westbound from Amersfoort, the track over the flat crossing remains fully available, but all trains use the new bridge. Local trains booked to call at Overvecht do so by link track 303 into platform 3 which brings them back to the local lines west of that station. BLN 827.0256][NL] Amersfoort - Apeldoorn: (Ball 4B3) As another element of the NS Rail 21 plan, major remodelling at Amersfoort took place over the weekend Saturday 2 - Tuesday 5 May 1998, with no trains at all through on 2 and 3 May, and no trains at the east end from 2 to 5 May. Extensive bus substitution applied, and during the closure Stroe station on the Amersfoort - Apeldoorn line was temporarily reopened as a train/bus interchange-point. Amersfoort station now has a new main entrance at the east end, and three island platforms (1 and 2, 4 and 5, 6 and 7), while bay-platform 22 at the west end has been abolished. Four tracks lead east from the station to a new flying junction at Amersfoort Aansluiting, where the Apeldoorn and Zwolle lines diverge. BLN 827.0257][NL] (Geldermalsen -) Vork aansluiting - Ressen-Bemmel aansluiting (- Nijmegen): (BLN 694.09, 706.06, 740.0307; EGTRE NL3; Ball 4B2) This west-to-south curve avoiding Elst station allows through running between Geldermalsen and Nijmegen. Though closed to all services in May 1990, it sees occasional passenger trains, for example during the Nijmegen Vierdaagse & Zomerfeesten, the 'Nijmegen four-day' being a long-established walking event held each July. If the 1997 pattern, a limited service of special trains on the Friday only, is repeated in 1998, the curve may be in use on Friday 24 July. BLN 827.0258][NL] Netherlands: engineering diversions: On the NS website, http://www.ns.nl/reisinfo gives information about engineering work and diversions. BLN 827.0259][DE] Parchim - Schwerin (Mecklenburg): (Ball 19A2-18B3) The Wüstmark - Schwerin-Görries section at the northern end of this line will be virtually closed from 24 May 1998 until spring 1999 for engineering work. From Mondays to Fridays passengers have to use Nahverkehr Schwerin GmbH (NVS) tram route #4 instead, and at weekends special buses replace trains. One train only, the 05:24 Parchim - Schwerin Hbf, manages to run the gauntlet of the engineering work, for some unknown reason. BLN 827.0260][DE] Falkenberg (Elster) unterer Bf - Uebigau: (BLN 825.0205; Ball 29B1) The newly-published regional timetable (Regionalkursbuch Berlin-Brandenburg 1998-99) shows at least one pair of trains using this north-to-east curve, though at the unsocial hours of 04:00 and 00:00. BLN 827.0261][DE] Berlin Warschauer Strasse (Ostgüterbf) - Rummelsburg: (BLN 817.05; Ball 32A2) Last day for RE and RB trains to use the temporary Warschauer Strasse halt was to be Thursday 14 May 1998. From 15 May, just over a week before the summer 1998 timetable change, Berlin - Frankfurt (Oder) RE trains were to start and terminate at Berlin-Lichtenberg and Berlin - Werder (Havel) RB trains at Berlin-Schönefeld Flughafen. BLN 827.0262][DE] Euskirchen - Düren: (BLN 753.0188; Ball 37B1) Two round-trip excursions on 24 May 1998 may have been the last trains on this freight-only line before closure, but passenger reopening is not ruled out. BLN 827.0263][DE] Radebeul Ost - Moritzburg - Radeburg: (BLN 818.032, 825.0207, 826.0234; Ball 44A2; KBS509) Though 24 May 1998 was to be the last day for passenger trains on this 750mm-gauge line near Dresden, engineering works may yet be undertaken to revive the railway, perhaps initially only the 9km Radebeul Ost - Moritzburg section, though possibly later the 8km onward to Radeburg. BLN 827.0264][DE] (Elsterwerda - Weinböhla -) Neucoswig - Radebeul-Naundorf (- Dresden): (Ball 45A2-45A1) From the May 1998 timetable change this short connection will see only a single pair of Hamburg - Dresden ICE trains, losing its one northbound local passenger train. BLN 827.0265][DE] Köln trams: KVB tram route #1, running out to the east beyond the Köln city-boundary to Bensberg, a suburb of Bergisch Gladbach, is being extended from its present terminus at the foot of the town. The former tram-station building remains as a residence, but the turning-loop, made redundant by the use of double-ended trams, has already been removed. Tunnelling to a new terminus at Mitte commenced September 1997, and the initial short section of cut-and-cover tunnel has been built. A longer section of bored tunnel is under construction and the project is scheduled for completion in May 2000. DB's Bergisch Gladbach - Bensberg (- Rösrath) line (Ball 36B3) still has track at Bergisch Gladbach Stw Gf, but seemed very overgrown at the bridge across the KVB route just west of Neuenweg, two stops west of Bensberg. The line is not shown at all in Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas. BLN 827.0266][DE] Brohl-Rheinanlage - Brohl - Oberzissen - Brenk - Engeln: (BLN 757.0302, 777.0443, 789.0426, 812.0495, 816.0599, 821.099; Ball 48A3) As mentioned in BLN from time to time, the layout at Brohl allows metre-gauge trains of the Brohltal Eisenbahn Gesellschaft to reverse at Brohl BEG Bf, cross the DB main line by an overbridge and connect with river vessels at Brohl-Rheinanlage passenger quay, part-way down the branch to the mineral quay where stone used to be transhipped from wagons to barges. Connections are again advertised in 1998. Brohl-Rheinanlage is listed as a Bedarfshaltestelle (= request halt) and times are shown of the Rhein cruise-vessel Collée from and to Engers and Neuwied. Local enquiry has revealed that the train ventures down to the quay only when BEG receive radio-telephone advice from the vessel that it is carrying passengers for the through trip. The combined ship and train fare is DEM26 return compared with DEM18 return for the Brohl - Engeln train-trip only. Telephone +49 26 36 80500 for recorded train information; +49 26 36 80303 for the BEG office, manned SSuX 08:00-12:00; or +49 26 31 76458 for cruise-ship Collée information. On the 17.5km Brohltalbahn, loops exist at Brohl, Burgbrohl (out of use), Weiler (out of use), Oberzissen (used when a steam train operates, about twice a month) and Brenk (recently used, surprisingly). The rail loading sidings at the Brenk quarry are still definitely out of use, and no sign could be seen of any resumption of commercial freight traffic, though BEG have recently bought an ex-FEVE diesel locomotive. Oberzissen is the upper limit of steam trips, and a connecting diesel shuttle train operates beyond. Engeln loop has been temporarily removed, so trains are topped and tailed with a diesel railcar at the upper end and a diesel locomotive at the lower. Facilities at Engeln were previously few, but a significant new wooden station has now been built, including a new platform and a Weinstube, operated apparently by the people who run the restaurant at Oberzissen station. BEG trains, trading as Vulkan Express, make at least two round-trips TThSSuO from May until 18 October 1998, with some winter workings thereafter. The mainstay of the Sunday morning service in spring 1998 seemed to be one-way road-coach parties. BLN 827.0267][AT] Sigmundsherberg - Pulkau - Zellerndorf: (Ball 64A1-64B2) Sigmundsherberg - Zellerndorf trains do not pass Platt as suggested by BLN 825.0208, for it is on the Stockerau side of the junction, not as shown in Ball. BLN 827.0268][AT] St.Michael - Leoben Hbf: (BLN 750.0122; Ball 74B1) The cut-off through the new Galgenberg tunnel was to open 24 May 1998. All three sides of the St.Michael triangle remain in use, the north, west and east junctions being St.Michael station and the former Stw4 and Stw3 respectively, not as shown in Ball. On the main line east from former Stw3 is a short tunnel and then the new line takes off, not from the western vertex of the triangle as shown in the sketch plan in Today's Railways #29. East of the Galgenberg tunnel at the Leoben end, the cut-off first joins the Vordernberg Markt - Leoben Donawitz - Leoben Hbf alignment quite close to the Hbf, then almost immediately joins the St.Michael - Leoben Hinterberg - Leoben Göss - Leoben Hbf line at former Stw2. The Leoben Donawitz - Göss west-to-south curve is severed and may now have been removed. BLN 827.0269][SE] (Växjö -) Hultsfred - Ankarsrum - Verkebäck (- Jenny - Västervik): (BLN 775.0142, 793.017; Ball 26A3-22B1) The Smĺländska Smalspĺret preservation group are to run no timetabled trains on the 891mm-gauge line in 1998. However the 1998 timetable of the Tjustbygdens Järnvägsförening museum railway based at Västervik is at http://www.algonet.se/~ssv/tjf on the World Wide Web, and is given below. The Fridays-only trains are to run 3 July - 31 August and the Saturdays and Sundays ones 27 June - 16 August 1998. SSuO SSuO FO SSuO FO SSuO SSuO SSuO SSuO FO SSuO SSuO FO SSuO 07:50 10:05 10:20 12:30 14:20 15:30 17:33 Verkebäck 09:45 11:45 14:09 15:00 17:15 17:26 18:51 08:11 10:35 10:42 13:00 14:42 16:00 18:00 Ankarsrum 09:17 11:15 13:48 14:30 16:45 17:05 18:30 08:12 10:42 10:42 13:52 14:42 16:17 Ankarsrum 10:37 13:48 13:46 16:11 17:05 18:29 09:12 11:41 11:41 14:53 15:41 17:17 Hultsfred 09:38 12:45 12:45 15:10 16:00 17:30 BLN 827.0270][PT] Lisboa: (Ball 25B1) Opened October 1992, Terminal 5 de Outubro, a west-facing two-track dead-end station on a short stub from Rego (BLN 748.070), saw its last (Monday-to-Friday) service on 15 May 1998, and track connections were swiftly removed. The next week its trains appeared to have been diverted via Entrecampos to the new Lisboa Oriente (BLN 819.059). Although Expo 98 was to open 22 May, it seems that trains started calling at Oriente from 20 May 1998. All trains on the Linha do Norte call there. Entrecampos is being rebuilt as a four-track station, apparently by adding extra outer tracks to make the two existing elevated platforms into islands. From 19 May the Linha do Oeste trains which had been temporarily starting from Cacém (BLN 819.058) were restored to run through from Santa Apolónia. The cross-river line from Campolide over the new lower deck of the Ponte 25 de Abril is advertised to have trains from 8 June 1998, but they will initially not be running through to Pinhal Novo. BLN 827.0271][CZ] Litovel predmesti - Mladec: (BLN 825.0216; EGTRE CZ9; Ball 41B3; CD 274) A scheduled train on the penultimate Sunday, 10 May 1998, carried a BLN reporter and some two dozen Czech passengers, a mix of enthusiasts and family groups no doubt attracted there by the imminent withdrawal. Mladec has a station-building vacant except for an office used by train-crew, a rural goods-yard with plenty of wagons in evidence, an active cement depot and a sawmill, but few visitor facilities. Only a handful of houses stand nearby on a main road through rolling countryside, the main village is across a valley, and any attractions like the caves mentioned are hidden in the woods and not signposted. With a layover of 40 minutes, the scheduled service did not allow time for any useful hiking, so after brief exploration the passengers merely sat in the sun or the shade till the train-crew returned. A few Sunday walkers appeared at the two intermediate stops, one of which also despatches timber. Withdrawal of the scheduled passenger trains came with the May 1998 timetable change, but the freight traffic is such that the 6km branch seems likely to survive, and inexpensive train-hire remains an opportunity unusual in Europe. The note about this in the 1998-99 public timetable book has now been revised. By telephoning Litovel predmesti railway station the day before, a train may be hired, operating any time between the following hours: Monday-Friday 08:15-09:30 and 10:25-12:30; Saturday 08:15-09:30 and 10:25-22:10; Sunday 08:15-12:30 and 13:25-16:30. Trains may also be hired without advance notice upon application at Litovel predmesti within ten minutes of arrival of the following trains from Cervenka: daily #13813 due 08:11; Monday-Saturday #13845 due 10:23 and Sunday #13847 due 14:32. Note that trains #13845 and #13847 run on other days of the week also. On 16 May another BLN reporter hired his own train for under Ł6, with no problem and without telephoning in advance. BLN 827.0272][LV] Gulbene - Aluksne: (BLN 824.0189) Gulbene is the junction between Latvia's last remaining narrow-gauge line and two 1520mm-gauge lines - Riga - Ieriki - Gulbene and Riga - Plavinas - Gulbene - Ziguri - Vecumi LDZ (- Pytalovo RZD). Contrary to BLN 826.0241, Plavinas - Ziguri mixed trains #951/2 do appear in the public timetable booklet, and though they are the only daylight Plavinas - Gulbene passenger workings, an overnight Riga - Plavinas - Gulbene - Ziguri - Vecumi round-trip also operates. The 33km Gulbene - Aluksne line formerly extended some 75km to the north-west, to Valga in Estonia, and indeed Plavinas - Gulbene too was originally built to the 750mm-gauge. Gulbene locomotive depot has a half-roundhouse, with about half its roads of each gauge, a mixed-gauge turntable and a separate small straight workshop-shed where the four working 750mm-gauge locomotives are maintained. These comprise TU2 #244 and 273 diesel-electric Bo-Bo built 1956, with two cabs, like a miniature main-line engine, and TU7 #2994 and 3018 diesel-hydraulic B-B built 1987, with bonnets and single cabs, the latter being more powerful, more reliable and more comfortable with their larger cab. The timetable is as in BLN 824.0189, and the fare is LVL0.33 (about 35 pence, a penny a km). The 13:40 departure on 6 May 1998 was punctual, with TU7A-2994 hauling one Polish bogie carriage and one more modern Russian vehicle, both well-filled, neither bearing builders' plates. The journey was pleasant if unremarkable, over an alignment clearly designed for either standard or broad gauge, with few curves, moderate gradients and a maximum speed of 35km/h. BLN 827.0273][JP] Kawabe - Kuroishi: (BLN 806.0346) Konan Tetsudo duly closed their short 1067mm-gauge ex-JNR branch in Aomori Prefecture as planned on 31 March 1998. BLN 828.0274][GB] Isle of Man: Douglas horse-trams: Douglas Corporation's 914mm-gauge line along the sea-front nominally runs from Douglas Victoria Pier to Derby Castle, though the horse-trams have not for many years been able to go on to the pier itself to meet the incoming ferries. The Corporation car-shed and stables are near the Derby Castle terminus and depot of the 914mm-gauge Manx Electric Railway (Douglas Derby Castle - Laxey - Ramsey; BLN 815.0559) but no physical connection is made, though the tracks come very close. Sparse details of the summer-only horse-tram service (1 May-7 September 1998) appear to be displayed only on the cars themselves. The first car leaves Derby Castle 09:10 and returns from Victoria Pier at 09:30 to connect with the 10:00 MER northbound departure. The last car departs Derby Castle 17:50 (May and September) or 20:10 (June-August), and Victoria Pier 20 minutes later. Over the 23-25 May holiday weekend, only two cars seemed to be working, generally offering a 20-minute frequency. Adult fare is a ride-all-day ticket at Ł1.40. Telephone number is 01624 675 222. BLN 828.0275][FR][DE] Sarreguemines - Bliesbruck SNCF - Reinheim DB - Bierbach: (BLN 754.0229, 788.0396, 796.085; Ball DE-56A3-56A2) Though out of use, this cross-border line was left in place for many years, perhaps for strategic reasons, but in May 1998 the track was seen to be lifted at the Bierbach end. BLN 828.0276][BE] (Bruxelles/Brussel -) Hal/Halle - Antoing - Espléchin SNCB - Wannehain SNCF (- Lille): (BLN 820.067; Ball 7A1-8B2) SNCB/NMBS official nomenclature of the LGV Belge and associated curves is: Hal/Halle - French frontier (Ligne/Lijn 1; 300km/h; 25kV 50Hz from km15.410); Y Silly - Y Beauregard (Ligne 1/1; 80km/h); Y Patard - Y Coucou (Ligne 1/2; 80km/h); and Y Maubray - Y Antoing (Ligne 1/3; 160km/h). The three curves all have neutral sections for 25kV 50Hz/3kV dc electrification change-over. Only the last has a regular passenger service, the Paris - Namur TGV (BLN 813.0520). (Trans-fer #107, April 1998) BLN 828.0277][BE] (Brugge -) Y Dudzele - Zeebrugge: (Ball 7B3; Lijn 51A) In 1983 the Brugge - Knokke line was realigned around a new sea-lock for 125,000t ships, leaving a dead-end branch to the present Zeebrugge passenger station, ten minutes walk from the town-centre and the ferry-port. A new station in a more convenient location, Zeebrugge-Strand, may be opened by the end of 1998. (Trans-fer #107, April 1998) BLN 828.0278][BE] La Louvičre-Sud - Y Haine-St.Pierre - Binche: (Ball 8A1) By summer 1998 the dreary edge-of-town station at La Louvičre-Sud on the Mons - Charleroi west-east main line should have a sizeable new station building. The short passenger branch south to Binche (Ligne 108) is to be singled. (Trans-fer #107, April 1998) BLN 828.0279][BE][DE] Ličge - Welkenraedt NMBS - Aachen DB - Düren - Köln: (Ball 9B1-10A2) SNCB/NMBS may be wavering in their resolve to build some 25km of high-speed line 3 from the edge of Ličge at Chęnée east on a new 220km/h alignment via Soumagne tunnel to the German frontier, and may yet settle for cheaper, but still expensive, upgrading of the classic line 37 through Verviers. Time-savings on such a short section of new line may not be worthwhile, especially as DB have opted for upgrading rather than new alignment east of Aachen, allowing 250km/h to Düren and 160km/h beyond to Köln. At Aachen Hbf, the catenary into platforms 6-9 and associated sidings is to lose its capability of being energised at the Belgian voltage of 3kV dc as well as the German 15kV 16.7Hz. This 1966 facility is not needed by Thalys TGVs or multivoltage Belgian locomotives of Class 16 or 18, but its loss will prevent ordinary Belgian 3kV traction such as Class 27 from operating through trains across the border here. (Trans-fer #107, April 1998) BLN 828.0280][BE] Mariembourg - Chimay (- Momignies - Anor SNCF): (Ball 16B3-16A3) Notwithstanding the remark attributed to CFV3V in BLN 826.0225, the railway's glossy brochure does show a few 1998 workings on this line. On two dates only, Tuesday 21 July and Saturday 15 August, three round-trips to Chimay are to leave Mariembourg CFV3V depot at 11:40, 14:50 and 16:50, calling at Mariembourg SNCB station. BLN 828.0281][NL] Amsterdam CS - Haarlem (- Santpoort Noord - IJmuiden): (Ball 4A3-3B3) Notwithstanding BLN 827.0252, Lovers Rail did not commence running to IJmuiden immediately after their Keukenhof Expres to Lisse finished on Sunday 24 May 1998. Instead, their train - traditional German main-line stock hired in from Freundeskreis Eisenbahn Köln eV, topped and tailed by diesel locomotives from SNCB/NMBS - was on 30 May operating an Amsterdam CS - Sloterdijk - Haarlem Spaarne Expres (= 'saver express') with a 17-minute journey time, every half-hour at the same times from both ends, first train 06:51SuX, last train 18:21SO, 20:51ThSSuX, 22:21ThO, with no trains on Sundays and public holidays. Amsterdam CS displayed a 1997 poster for the IJmuiden service, but with no mention of when it might restart. BLN 828.0282][NL] Amsterdam CS - Muiderpoort: (Ball 4A3) This short busy section just east of Centraal Station has three distinct pairs of main running lines. The eastern throat has extensive pointwork which appears to enable trains to run from any CS platform, and from non-platform roads #3, 6, 9 and 12, to any of the six running lines. Like most (or maybe all?) of the NS system, the running lines are each reversibly signalled, but except in emergencies they tend to be used consistently in one direction, as described. All run together across the bridge over the Oosterdok shipping channel, but to the south-east the three pairs of tracks then diverge until the throat of Muiderpoort station. The most northerly pair, running at ground level over a level-crossing, were formerly freight lines and were some of the last tracks in the area to convert from semaphore to colour-light signalling. At some date since 1976 they were converted to passenger status and are now used for westbound trains from the Weesp direction and from Watergrafsmeer carriage-yard. The other tracks are at raised level. The middle pair, formerly the west- and eastbound tracks of the Weesp line, are now the eastbound route to Weesp and to Watergrafsmeer, despite requiring a flat conflicting move to cross the westbound Weesp tracks at Muiderpoort. (The sole eastbound departure advertised in the 1997-98 timetable from CS's most northerly platform, the 15:49 from platform 15, which might perhaps have been expected to use the low-level tracks, in fact used these high-level eastbound tracks.) Between the middle and southern pair of running lines are the now disused Dijksgracht carriage sidings. The southern pair of running lines are the west- and eastbound Amstel line. At Muiderpoort station the Weesp and Amstel lines have separate platforms. BLN 828.0283][DE] Berlin area: The 24 May 1998 timetable, which concentrated traffic on Berlin Ostbahnhof (formerly Hbf) seems to have been too ambitious in practice, and from 28 May many IR trains timetabled to reverse at Ostbf, plus some starting and terminating there, were diverted back to use Berlin-Lichtenberg. Full details are on the DB website at http://www.bahn.de/region/berlin/ostbahnhof.htm. DB's subsidiary, S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, now have their own website http://s-bahn-berlin.de. The regional timetable Regionalkursbuch Berlin-Brandenburg 1998-99 as printed omits the Neustadt (Dosse) - Neuruppin and Neuruppin - Herzberg (Mark) tables (Ball 19B1-20A1), and Rathenow - Brandenburg (28B3-29A3) is shown as operated by buses, but trains continue on all three lines. BLN 828.0284][DE] Rinteln Nord - Obernkirchen - Stadthagen: (Ball 26A2) Rinteln has three stations, but Rinteln Süd on the Barntrup - Rinteln Süd Extertalbahn (BLN 793.011) is really at Exten, well south of the town. Rinteln Nord, the Rinteln-Stadthagener Eisenbahn station, is immediately south of Rinteln DB station. The 20km RStE is connected to DB at both ends, and its main traffic is or was associated with the glassworks at Obernkirchen. From their Rinteln depot Dampfeisenbahn Weserbergland eV operate steam trains over the line two Sundays a month from June to October 1998 and on some public holidays, with Nikolausfahrten 'Santa specials' in December (Kursbuch der deutschen Museums-Eisenbahnen table 68). At Rinteln Nord the DEW passenger trains start on a section of the harbour railway, which may still offer freight from a glass-bottle factory to the RStE, though traffic from nearby grain stores and from vessels on the river Weser has long ceased. The RStE line climbs steeply out of the valley and crosses the Wesergebirge hills to run along the flank of the Bückeberge, giving quite a scenic run. Intermediate stations like Obernkirchen have solid brick buildings that would not shame a main line. By contrast, the passenger trains terminate at Stadthagen West, a fenced-off cinder platform with a small wooden shelter short of the DB connection. Through a gate bearing the DEW timetable, specially unlocked by the DEW train-crew, it is some four minutes walk down Am Bahnhof street to Stadthagen DB station, whose platforms are now on the north side, leaving no platform where RStE trains could arrive. BLN 828.0285][DE] Bocholt - Mussum (- Empel-Rees): The single-platform Bocholt station at the end of DB's 20km Wesel - Bocholt passenger branch (KBS421) has been relocated and integrated with the bus station a few metres north of its former location, where the building still stands. The Ball atlas (23B1) shows the Verein zur Erhaltung und Förderung des Schienenverkehrs eV preservation group as operating east from Bocholt, and from 1987 some specials did run on the Bocholt - Rhedebrügge (- Borken) section of DB, but it is not clear whether this now sees any use. Since 1995 VEFS have operated west from Bocholt, initially to the sewage works just short of the then end-of-track, nearly 2km beyond Mussum on the former line to Empel-Rees, not shown in Ball. By 1998 their western terminus was closer in, giving from Bocholt DB station a single not-very-scenic journey of some 6km, leaving the old DB branch alignment just beyond the still-extant Mussum DB station and turning to the south on the Mussum industrial-estate railway to terminate at Mussum VEFS station, no more than a set of temporary wooden steps. The Kursbuch der deutschen Museums-Eisenbahnen (table 121) shows VEFS trains running on six dates in 1998, of which four remain (16 August, 29 November and 5-6 December). The group have or had a steam locomotive, but on 1 May trains were worked by a diminutive diesel. Absolutely no VEFS publicity material was to be seen at Bocholt, so it is not surprising that carryings were slight, though the train-crew did seem to be enjoying themselves! At present Bocholt signal-box has to be staffed anyway to handle the regular DB branch trains, but one wonders for how much longer DB's infrastructure people will allow the VEFS to 'play trains' at a charge they can afford. BLN 828.0286][DE] Wesel Rheinpromenade - Wesel DB - Wesel Hohe-Mark RWE Strasse: (Ball 37B3) Trains of the Historischer Schienenverkehr Wesel eV preservation group use two separate sections of local railway, each 3.5km long, linked by using DB tracks, and call at Wesel DB station on the way. The present ownership of all the various sections of line used by HSW is not clear - parts may still be DB - but the freight working appears to be the responsibility of the local authority, Stadtwerke Wesel GmbH. The Kursbuch der deutschen Museums-Eisenbahnen (table 107) shows HSW trains on five dates in 1998, of which only 1-2 August remain, plus Nikolausfahrten on 5-6 December, which may not do the whole line. West from Wesel Bf, the line starts down the alignment of a DB line which formerly crossed the river Rhein to Büderich, there splitting to Goch and to Geldern, with both branches once extending beyond across the Netherlands border. The significant remains of the approaches to the Rhein bridge are obvious on both sides. However, before reaching the site of the bridge the Wesel Hafenbahn drops and turns south, at what must once have been its interchange point with the state railway, where some active private sidings remain, to reach a loop and the Rheinpromenade platform which is the western terminus for HSW passenger trains. Just beyond, the harbour line crosses Fischertorstrasse and Rheinpromenade on the level to serve the riverside area, the only regular freight traffic there appearing to be liquefied-petroleum-gas tanks to a private siding on the harbour estate. The layout requires the train to use virtually the full length of the line past various grain stores and the like to reach a headshunt from which to propel back into the private siding. The line along the quayside itself is no longer in use, though the trackwork for the overhead crane which straddles it has seen some refettling work recently. Freight is clearly still transhipped from river vessels, but only into lorries or into storage. To the east of Wesel Bf, HSW trains take a former DB line, passing a disused embankment that seems to indicate a former south-to-east curve, and proceed as far as the Aaper Weg level-crossing on the edge of town. Beyond, the DB track is in place but heavily overgrown, so trains go a short way down an RWE-Energie private siding to use a platform called Hohe-Mark RWE Strasse and a run-round loop. The Ball atlas implies that HSW trains ran further, to Drevenack, and that may have been so, but not since at least 1994. Beyond Drevenack the line once continued to Hervest-Dorsten - where the extensive station site can still be seen, at lower level, from Bottrop - Coesfeld trains going north from Dorsten - and to Haltern. BLN 828.0287][DE] Hinterweidenthal Ost - Bundenthal-Rumbach: (BLN 803.0255; Ball 56B2; KBS675) According to the summer 1998 timetable, the Sundays-only service on this otherwise non-passenger line was supposed to run on the first day, 24 May. However, when BLN's reporter and some fifty others alighted at Hinterweidenthal Ost (formerly Hinterweidenthal Bbf), he could see no sign of the branch train, which should have been there already. Espying instead a departure sheet with a label stuck on it saying Gültig ab 31.5.98 (= 'valid from 31 May'), he smartly reboarded the first train which then departed, leaving a lot of would-be branch travellers waiting. BLN 828.0288][PT] Póvoa de Varzim - Famalicăo: (BLN 780.0244; Ball 7A1-7B1) In March 1998 metre-gauge track was still intact, though disused and somewhat overgrown, around the sharp south-to-east curve adjacent to the main terminal platforms at Póvoa station, and eastwards out of town towards Famalicăo. At the other end, too, the metre-gauge was in place, emerging from lush undergrowth outside Famalicăo. BLN 828.0289][PT] Porto Trindade - Senhora de Hora - Trofa - Lousado - Santo Tirso - Lordelo - Guimarăes: (BLN 826.0235; Ball 7A1-7B1) Conversion work is well under way. By 26 March 1998 a rather forlorn red flag already indicated the end of the line from Porto, standing between the metre-gauge rails a little short of the former convergence of metre- and broad-gauge tracks at the north end of Trofa station, and for some distance to the north-east the metre-gauge had been removed, while at Lousado, all trace of metre-gauge track seemed to have disappeared, and major earthworks were in progress on the low embankment of the former metre-gauge line. Separate bus services ran from the west and east sides of Trofa station to Lousado and Santo Tirso respectively, with signposts and wooden ramps to help interchange passengers. Substantial and lengthy roadworks in Trofa itself ensured that the bus to Santo Tirso was delayed almost 30 minutes, resulting in similar delay to the train onward. At Santo Tirso station metre-gauge track still appeared from out of sight in the west. Sprightly running of the Santo Tirso - Guimarăes metre-gauge diesel unit out and back, and reduction of the turnround from a booked 20 minutes to one or two, made up for the delay, allowing the return Santo Tirso - Trofa bus to depart on time, only to be caught up in the roadworks once more. BLN 828.0290][PT] Lisboa: (Ball 25B1) Portugal's timetable changed on Sunday 17 May 1998, one week earlier than in most of Europe, and the CP changes described in BLN 827.0270 took effect from that weekend, including the restoration of the Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Cacém through workings from 17 May, the opening of the new Lisboa Oriente main-line station also on 17 May, and the diversion of the Terminal 5 de Outubro services from 18 May (of the four trains an hour, Monday-Friday only, two now go to Oriente, the other two only as far as Areeiro). BLN 828.0291][PT] Lisboa metro: (BLN 826.0236) The four lines seem to have alphabetic descriptors as well as colours and numbers. Sections recently opened were (yellow line 1 or A) Rato - Rotunda (- Campo Grande) 26 December 1997; (blue line 2 or B) (Restauradores -) Colégio Militar - Carnide - Pontinha 17 October 1997; (green line 3 or C) Cais do Sodré - Baixa Chiado - Socorro (- Alameda - Areeiro - Campo Grande) 18 April 1998 - though not yet Baixa Chiado station - and (red line 4 or D) Alameda - Oriente 17 May 1998. BLN 828.0292][PT] Lisboa trams: (BLN 818.039) Today's Railways for June 1998 reports that the Campolide - Cais do Sodré section of tram-route #24, which closed 28 August 1995, is to reopen after repairs to the disused track. The new trans-Tejo trains from south of the river which begin 8 June 1998 (BLN 827.0270), and the rebuilding of Campolide CP station, will increase the importance of Campolide as an interchange-point. BLN 828.0293][CH] Lauterbrunnen - Wengen (- Kleine Scheidegg): (Ball 93A1; KBS311) Two distinct routes run east from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen on the 800mm-gauge 1500V dc Wengernalpbahn above Interlaken: the original, steeper one (length 3.56km, with ruling gradient 25%) and the 'new' line built in 1910 (3.82km; 18%). The new line is in daily use, but the old one is retained as an alternative, and was booked to be used by public Nostalgiefahrten on five dates during 1997 as part of the celebrations of 150 years of Swiss railways. On being asked, Jungfraubahnen, the operating company for the BOB/WAB/JB group of railways, said that no such trip is planned in 1998, but that charter trains can be run over the old line. BLN 828.0294][HR][YU] (Zagreb -) Vinkovci - Mirkovci - Tovarnik HZ - Šid JZ (- Beograd): (Ball 47B1) The Austrian magazine Schienenverkehr Aktuell for March 1998 said that the Tovarnik - Šid line crossing the Croatia - Serbia border reopened 1 December 1997, nearly three weeks after the 11 November date given in The Independent for 12 November (BLN 826.0240). The Thomas Cook European Timetable for June 1998 gives the summer times for two international long-distance trains which have been restored to the route, #290/1 (München -) Villach - Zagreb - Beograd and #414/5 (Zürich -) Feldkirch - Zagreb - Beograd. BLN 828.0295][UA][RO] Chop - Batevo - Beregovo - Dyakovo UZ (- Halmeu SNCFR): (BLN 786.0372, 810.0455, BLN 824.0191; Ball 44A2-44A1) The Thomas Cook European Timetable for June 1998 advises that Warszawa - Bucuresti - Constanta train #386/7, the Karpaty, will not after all be running, either by its old route through Hungary or by its planned diversion over this standard-gauge route through Ukraine. Indeed, no through Poland - Bucuresti working is shown. BLN 828.0296][PK] Bostan - Zhob: (BLN 742.0352) This Pakistan Railways 762mm-gauge line, extending over 296km west-to-east and reaching a height of 2200m in the remote and mountainous northern part of Baluchistan province, saw its once-a-week passenger service suspended in 1986 or earlier, and deleted from the working timetable by 1993. Monthly ore trains may have continued over part of the line for a period thereafter before it fell out of use. Rather surprisingly, the narrow-gauge line is proposed for reopening with a weekly passenger service from July 1998, and a British tour operator (Enthusiast Holidays on 0181 699 3654) is planning a charter train there over Christmas 1998. BLN 828.0297][JP] (Tokyo -) Morioka - Hachinohe - Shichinohe - Shin-Aomori: (BLN 825.0220) Following government approval in January the Japan Railway Construction Authority on 21 March 1998 ceremonially started work on further segments of the 260km/h standard-gauge Shinkansen bullet-train network. From the present northern terminus of the Tohoku Shinkansen at Morioka the extension to Hachinohe, though not yet built, was already authorised, so what was approved in 1998 was the three-station Hachinohe - Shichinohe - Shin-Aomori section, extending the line 81.82km further north, and including Hakkoda tunnel, whose planned length of 26.5km may make it the longest inland tunnel in the world. Also formally 'begun' on the same day was the 59.43km (Tokyo -) Nagano - Iiyama - Joetsu extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, itself opened 1997 to serve the 1998 Winter Olympics. Completion of these two sections is expected to take some 20 years. Construction of the Hokkaido Shinkansen could be many more years away, but at least its route (Shin-Aomori - Oku-Tsugaru - Seikan tunnel - Kikonai - Shin-Hakodate - Yakumo - Oshamambe - Kutchan - Shin-Otaru - Sapporo) has now been selected, and environmental assessments are to be undertaken. BLN 828.0298][PA] Ciudad Panama - Colon: (BLN 803.0268) The Panama Canal Railroad Company, a joint venture including US railroad Kansas City Southern Industries, are to reconstruct and reopen the interoceanic railway by 2000 and operate it for 25 years, carrying double-stack containers between the ports at each end, augmenting the capacity of the canal. The terms of the concession also mandate a passenger service. The new single-track line is to follow the old alignment with a few minor deviations, but is to be extended to the new port of Coco Solo. Although the track of the existing 1524mm-gauge railway is now in poor condition, the contractors are using locomotives to make the preliminary surveys, and plan to use the line later to carry materials and personnel during construction. BLN 829.0299] Inter-Rail tickets: As already recorded (BLN 822.0116, 824.0169, 825.0196) quite significant savings can be made by buying Inter-Rail tickets abroad rather than in Britain. Holders of valid IR26+ tickets, whether bought inside or outside UK, can buy passholder-discount tickets on Eurostar. This could be useful if you make an intermediate return to Britain during your Inter-Rail's validity. Only limited numbers of passholder-discount tickets are sold, but this rarely restricts choice of trains on the London - Brussel/Bruxelles route (return fare Ł75). Purchasing procedure abroad was tested in practice on 2 May 1998 when a UK citizen resident in Britain bought in the DB Reisebüro at Dresden Hbf a three-zone IR26+ for one month starting 3 May, and paid DEM800 (= Ł270 at the current exchange rate, compared with the UK advertised price of Ł309). Both country of residence (Wohnsitzland) and passport-number were entered on the ticket. In discussion, the counter-clerk and her superior confirmed the requirement for evidence of six months residence in a European country. The purpose of checking addresses is to deny holders the benefit of 'free' travel in their country of residence, where only a 50% reduction may be granted. For many Europeans an identity-card bearing their address would suffice as official evidence of residence, but without such documents Britons have to think carefully what to present to railway staff - who could turn out to be scrupulously zealous. Bank statements or other private-sector documents are not 'official', and driving-licences do not indicate duration of residence. From the examples of various documents shown to the helpful DB people, they were happiest with two Inland Revenue income-tax coding notices, both bearing the same address, one dated ten months previously and one two weeks old! BLN 829.0300][FR] Lille: Lompret / Lambersart - Délivrance - Haubourdin / Santes: (BLN 816.0590; EGTRE; Ball 10B3) Extra TER local trains were scheduled for the Coupe du Monde France 98 football at Lens on six days in June 1998, with different timings on each day. Of the twelve trains listed per match, one from Hazebrouck calling at Bailleul Nord, Armentičres and Pérenchies before running non-stop to Lens suggested a route via Délivrance yard. A BLN reporter rode on the first of these specials on 12 June, duly equipping himself at Armentičres with the obligatory (but half-price) special FRF54 return ticket. SNCF had somewhat overestimated the likely local demand and provided a four-car double-deck set for some 20 passengers. The double-track Délivrance freight loop line once had a public passenger service, perhaps a casualty of World War I, though in the 1960s a staff-only circular service still ran at yard shift-change times. The line has a triangle at each end. At the north end, the west-to-south Raccordement de St.André from Bifurcation des Quatre Maisons, and an east-to-south curve from Bif de St.André, just west of Lambersart station, both join at Bif Lambersart. At this point are the remains of the first halt, Lambersart Halte, distinct from Lambersart Gare on the main line. At Lomme, the line's only 'station' in a 1914 timetable (the others were all 'halts'), the building still stands at ground-level on the east side while the tracks and closed platforms are at a higher level, showing that the original level-crossing was later replaced by the present road underbridge. A little beyond, the first (reversible) curve takes off on the east side, climbs and crosses by bridge to reach the north end of the large Lille Délivrance freight-yard, lying a short distance to the west side of the line. A signal-box, Poste 2, on the west side, controls the connections here. Along the section parallel to the yard lay two halts: Marais de Lomme Halte (with remains of a platform, and a broken name-sign, once illuminated) and Sequedin Halte (with a building on the east side). At the next signal-box, Poste 1, on the east side, the south access to the yard joins and, a short distance beyond, a single-track branch diverges to the east to the Port Fluvial on the Canal de la Deűle. The final stopping-point on the freight line, with a building still standing on the west side, was Haubourdin Halte, again distinct from Haubourdin Gare on the main line. The triangle at the south end begins at Bif du Riez, leading to Bif d'Haubourdin (and Haubourdin station) to the north-east and to Bif de la Tortue (and Santes station) to the south-west. BLN 829.0301][FR] French leave: (BLN 809.0400; EGTRE) SNCF continue to provide special weekend services for military personnel on leave. Until 28 November 1998 trains de permissionnaires using obscure routes, 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. None of the trains seems to use the Charleville-Mézičres avoiding line. FO #38010/1 14:11 Nancy Ville - 19:14 Caudry - Cambrai Ville avoiding line - Lourches - Somain - Lille Flandres FO #38634/5 14:42 Wittlich Hbf - 15:22 Trier Hbf - Perl - Apach - Paris-Est FO #38636/7 15:44 Wittlich Hbf - 16:13 Trier Hbf - Perl - Apach - 17:20 Thionville - Hayange - Lille Flandres SuO #38622/3 22:34 Lille Flan. - Longuyon 01:58MO - Hayange - Thionville - 03:01MO Apach - Perl - Wittlich Hbf SuO #38022/3 22:28 Lille Flandres - 22:54 Somain - Lourches - Cambrai Ville avoiding line - Nancy Ville SuO #38628/9 23:37 Paris Est - 03:48MO Apach - Perl - Wittlich Hbf MO #38626/7 23:37 Paris Est - 03:48TO Apach - Perl - Wittlich Hbf BLN 829.0302][FR] Ormoy-Villers - Verberie - Longueuil-Ste.Marie: (EGTRE; Ball 25B3-15A1) Train #12325, the 14:37SSuX Paris Nord - Compičgne 15:32SSuX - Maubeuge, uses this electrified freight line on a regular basis, possibly to retain crew route knowledge, possibly to allow for afternoon maintenance work on the route via Creil. BLN 829.0303][FR] (Pontarlier -) Fontaine-Ronde - Touillon - Les Hôpitaux-Neufs-Jougne (- Vallorbe CFF): (BLN 746.026, 750.0111, 819.048; Ball 50A3) Opened 1 July 1875, the line closed to passengers in 1940 when the 1560m Tunnel de Jougne close to the Swiss border was damaged by bombing. It was never re-established as a through route, and closed completely north of Les Hôpitaux-Neufs 3 November 1969. SNCF still own the station building at Les Hôpitaux-Neufs-Jougne and their management at Dijon have not allowed the CF Touristique Pontarlier-Vallorbe preservation group to use it. On 7 June 1998 the 15:00 train touristique, three carriages with an ex-DR locotracteur at each end, left from behind the building. With seven passengers aboard it climbed steadily out of Les Hôpitaux-Neufs on an alignment high above the road, crossing a plateau and then running through a valley parallel to a road to stop short of some wagons at the end of the current line at Fontaine-Ronde, a dank-looking overgrown pool in a clearing in the woods, and in the pouring rain a rather depressing place devoid of shelter. The quality of the track-laying was somewhat crude and some sidings had no ballast. The line is said to be 7.5km long and the group hope to extend it, though no further track was laid nor vegetation cleared towards Pontarlier. A Sunday trip is possible by the 07:16 Paris - Frasne TGV and then an SNCF bus. Returning on the 17:36 bus from Les Hôpitaux-Neufs, one can be back in Paris by 21:50. BLN 829.0304][FR] St.Gervais-les-Bains-Le-Fayet - Bellevue - Nid-d'Aigle: (Ball 58B3) In the first week of June 1998, despite Tramway du Mont Blanc service being advertised as having restarted after the winter break, cars were going only to Bellevue, part of the way up the 12.4km metre-gauge rack line, opened 1909-14 and electrified 1957 at 11kV 50Hz. The track by the station at Le Fayet seemed out of use and a tramcar was parked round the corner just behind the tramway ticket-office, whose occupant advised coming back the following week to go to the Nid-d'Aigle (= eagle's nest) terminus. By contrast, cars were operating every half-hour on the nearby Chamonix - Montenvers-Mer-de-Glace 5.4km metre-gauge rack line, opened 1908-09 and electrified 1954, also at 11kV 50Hz (Ball 50B1). BLN 829.0305][BE] (Antwerpen -) Boom - Puurs: (BLN 827.0249; Ball 8B3; Lijn 52) Passenger traffic has resumed, with special trains running free of charge on Friday 22 May prior to the regular SSuX service starting on Monday 25 May 1998. The service is still not reliable, though. On the afternoon of 15 June, the southbound Antwerpen - Boom train was met at Boom by a bus for Puurs - and, worse, the few passengers for the return northbound train to Antwerpen seemed to have been waiting at Boom since the bus a whole hour earlier. Possibly the problem was very tight working at Antwerpen Centraal, where a number of platforms are at present out of use. BLN 829.0306][DE] Köln - Düren - Aachen: (Ball 38A1-37A1) DB aim to run trains at 250km/h east of Düren (where the alignment is good) and 160km/h Düren - Aachen (where the alignment has more curves), not the other way about, as BLN 828.0279 said. A design engineer working on DB's high-speed lines said that the original Köln - Aachen plan was a 200km/h upgrade throughout, but the line under construction should give about the same journey-times. Work is now well under way between Köln and Düren, where the new pair of 250km/h tracks will be on the north side for most of the distance, leaving the existing tracks to become the new S-Bahn line. BLN 829.0307][DE] Heimboldshausen - Vacha: (Ball 40B1) Across the former border between west and east Germany (BLN 747.054), a 3.5km freight-only link is being rebuilt to handle local potash traffic. (Today's Railways, #28) BLN 829.0308][DE] Saarbrücken: trams on railways: (Ball 56A2) Along with the existing Saarbrücken - Sarreguemines SNCF route (BLN 817.02), lines planned to have Stadtbahn Saar dual-voltage trams include Saarbrücken - Folsterhöhe (south, partly on DB line towards Stiring-Wendel SNCF); Saarbrücken - Gersweiler - Hostenbach - Überherrn (west, mainly on DB freight line; BLN 809.0410); Saarbrücken - Luisenthal - Völklingen - Merzig (west on own right-of-way to join DB at Luisenthal); Saarbrücken - Riegelsberg - Heuswiler - Lebach (north, partly over DB freight track, perhaps to open in 2001); Saarbrücken - Dudweiler - Sulzbach (north-east on own right-of-way to join DB at Dudweiler); and Saarbrücken - Schafbrücke - St.Ingbert (east on DB, who are said to be opposed) plus two short sections on own right-of-way to Eschberg (east) and St.Arnual (south). (Op de Rails, 5/98) BLN 829.0309][DE] Prien-am-Chiemsee - Prien-Stock: (Ball 72A2; KBS10602) The operators of the lake cruise-vessels on the Chiemsee in Bavaria have indicated they cannot indefinitely meet the deficit on the metre-gauge railway that connects Prien DB station, on the (Munchen -) Rosenheim - Freilassing (- Salzburg) line, with Prien-Stock quay. The end of summer 1998 may see the short but attractive Chiemseebahn close after 111 years of operation. BLN 829.0310][SE] Sweden: summer 1998 temporary closures: (OEIS 9830) Four Banverket lines closed for engineering works are: Östersund - Storlien (Ball 6A1-5B1) 8 Jun-23 Aug; Virsbo - Fagersta (22B3) 8 Jun-16 Aug; Kungsängen - Västerĺs (23B2-22B3) 27 Jun-2 Aug; and Kävlinge - Landskrona (25A2) 29 Jun-2 Aug. BLN 829.0311][SE] Sweden: private and regional railway operators: On the network of Banverket, Sweden's rail infrastructure company - the equivalent of Railtrack though still publicly not privately owned - a significant number of other, mainly local, operators now complement the services of the state railway operator, Statens Järnvägar (SJ). The commercial railways listed here exclude preservation operations and are all standard-gauge and unelectrified unless stated. Electrified lines are all 15kV 16˛/3Hz unless stated. Though Banverket themselves own some locomotives and shunters for track-maintenance trains, and snow-ploughs, these are operated by BK Tĺg train-crew Ball atlas Luleĺ - Riksgränsen 3A1-4B3 MTAB Malmtrafik AB operate heavy iron-ore electric trains (BLN 792.0509) Mora - Gällivare 14A2-3A3 IBAB BK Tĺg operate freight and tourist trains for Inlandsbanan AB Mora - Sveg 14A2-14A3 VE Voxna Express, freight (BLN 811.0474), on behalf of Inlandsbanan Orsa - Furudal - Bollnäs 14A2-14B2 VE Voxna Express, freight (BLN 811.0474) Mora - Borlange - Gävle 14A2-15A1 TGOJ Trafik Grängesberg-Oxelösund Järnvägar, electric trains for SJ Borlange - Uppsala 14B1-23A3 TGOJ Trafik Grängesberg-Oxelösund Järnvägar, electric trains for SJ Borlänge - Malung 14B1-14A1 DT BK Tĺg, on behalf of AB Dalatrafik Bollnäs - Edsbyn 14B2 Wasatrafik, freight Sundsvall - Östersunds V 15A3-6B1 Mittlinjen Jämtlands Läns Trafik, electric, with SJ emus Sundsvall - Östersunds V 15A3-6B1 Mittlinjen Västernorrlands Läns Trafik, electric, with SJ emus Gävle - Ljusdal 15A1-14B2 X-Trafik Gävleborgs Läns Trafik AB, electric Göteborg area 21A1 BT Bohustrafiken AB, local electric trains Göteborg area 21A1 GLAB Göteborgsregionens Lokaltrafik AB, local electric trains Borĺs - Varberg 21A1-25A3 ÄLAB Älvsborgstrafiken AB, electric Borĺs - Varberg 21A1-25A3 HLT Hallands Länstrafik AB, electric Kil - Charlottenberg 21B3 VLT Värmlands Läns Trafik AB Kil - Torsby 21B3-13B1 VLT Värmlands Läns Trafik AB Kil - Kristinehamn 21B3-22A3 VLT Värmlands Läns Trafik AB Skövde Central - Karlsborg 21B2-22A2 SKJ Skövde-Karlsborg Järnväg AB Töreboda - Falköping 21B2-21B1 VT Vättertĺgstrafiken, electric Falköping - Nässjö 21B1-22A1 VT Vättertĺgstrafiken, electric Herrljunga - Borĺs 21B1-21A1 Shortline Väst, electric freight trains Herrljunga - Lidköping 21B1-21B2 Shortline Väst, freight trains Herrljunga - Laxĺ 21B1-22A2 SLT Skaraborgs Läns Trafik AB operate Kinnekulletĺget local trains Kristinehamn - Filipstad 22A3 TĹGAB Tĺgĺkeriet i Berslagen operate freight trains for SJ Hornkullen - Hällefors 22A3 TĹGAB Tĺgĺkeriet i Berslagen operate freight trains for SJ Strömtorp - Bofors 22A3 TĹGAB Tĺgĺkeriet i Berslagen operate freight trains for SJ Nässjö area 22A1 HLT Hallands Länstrafik AB Nässjö area 22A1 JLT Jönköpings Länstrafik AB Nässjö area 22A1 KLT-H Kalmar Läns Trafik AB Linköping / Norrköping 22A1-22B2 KLT-H Kalmar Läns Trafik AB, local electric trains Linköping / Norrköping 22A1-22B2 Ötraf AB Östgötatrafiken, local electric trains Linköping - Västervik 22A1-22B1 BSX BSX, freight Nässjö - Sävsjö 22A1-26A3 VT Vättertĺgstrafiken, electric Ramnäs - Ludvika 22B3-14B1 VL Västmanlands Läns Trafik, electric Kolbäck - Ramnäs 22B3 VL Västmanlands Läns Trafik, electric Kolbäck - Vĺsteräs 22B3 VL Västmanlands Läns Trafik, electric Kolbäck - Eskilstuna 22B3 VL Västmanlands Läns Trafik, electric Uppsala - Tierp 23A3-15A1 UppTĺget Upplands Läns Trafik AB, electric Helsingborg - Kristianstad 25A2-25B2 BLT Blekinge Läns Trafik AB Malmö - Limhamn 25A1 MLJ Malmö-Limhamns Järnväg, freight; (unlike other rail operators on the list, MLJ own 7km of their own track, which is not part of the Banverket network) Malmö - Helsingborg 25A1-25A2 MLT Malmöhus Läns Trafik AB operate electric Pĺgatĺgen Malmö - Karlskrona 25A1-26A2 KLT-L Kristianstad Läns Trafik AB Malmö - Karlskrona 25A1-26A2 BLT Blekinge Läns Trafik AB Ystad - Simrishamn 25B1 KLT-L Kristianstad Läns Trafik AB Ystad - Simrishamn 25B1 SiTY-tĺg BK Tĺg now run former Sydtĺg passenger trains (BLN 822.0124) Stockholm area 29-30 Linjebuss, 1500V dc, 891mm-gauge, Roslagsbanan Stockholm area 29-30 SL Storstockholms Lokaltrafiks Tĺg, electric, operated by SJ Stockholm area 29-30 SL Storstockholms Lokaltrafiks Tĺg, 750V dc, Saltsjöbadenbanan (SL Tĺg is the railway division of the Greater Stockholm passenger transport authority) BLN 829.0312][SE] Stockholm - Gävle - Ljusne - Söderhamn - Enĺnger - Iggesund - Hudiksvall - Sundsvall: (Ball 23A2-15A3) Banverket improvements to the east-coast main line to allow faster long-distance trains have been proceeding apace. South of Gävle modifications to the permanent way require relatively modest expenditure, but north of Ljusne investment is substantial, involving completely new alignments in places. One such cut-off, opened in summer 1997, straightened the Ljusne - Söderhamn route and included a new station at Söderhamn. Most of the old line has been abandoned, except for some possible freight use at the southern end. An even longer cut-off, Söderhamn - Enĺnger, seems nearly ready for summer 1998 opening, and about 30km of the old line running further inland via Trönödal is likely to close. Between Iggesund and Hudiksvall about 2km of straighter route opened 1997. BLN 829.0313][IT] Sardegna: (BLN 825.0211; Ball 39) The Czechs are cheaper, but not alone in offering train-hire on difficult-to-travel lines (BLN 827.0271). The Ferrovie della Sardegna offer a 55-seat railcar for a 100km trip on their metre-gauge system for ITL850,000 (= Ł295) or a steam locomotive and 72-seat coach for ITL2.6M (= Ł900). BLN 829.0314][CH] (Luzern -) Emmenbrücke - Waldibrücke (- Lenzburg): (Ball 93B3-87B1; SBB 651) With the May 1998 timetable a new alignment opened, whose south-facing junction north of Emmenbrücke removes the need for Lenzburg trains to reverse outside Emmenbrücke station (BLN 740.0310). The new route runs north of the airfield, up to 2km north of the old roadside route through Emmen, now closed. Waldibrücke station has a new platform in use, and at the end of May a new connection from nearby industrial sidings was being made ready. BLN 829.0315][HU] (Miskolc-Tiszai -) Felsözsolca - Hidasnémeti MÁV (- Kechnec ZSR - Košice): (Ball 43A1-43B2) MÁV have recently electrified their 57km section of this cross-border line to Slovakia. (LCGB Bulletin, 3/98) BLN 829.0316][UA][MD] Gayvoron/Hayvoron - Podgorodnaya/Pidhorodna: Between 1896 and 1915 sections of a lengthy main line (Korosten - Zhitomir - Berdichev - Vinnitsa - Gayvoron - Podgorodnaya - Pervomaysk-na-Bugye) were laid to the narrow gauge of 750mm, and with branches the connected network eventually totalled an impressive 1200km. Most of the north-south route across Ukraine remains in use, regauged to 1520mm broad-gauge, but in 1998 some 750mm-gauge trackage remains, based on Gayvoron, sometimes rendered as Hayvoron from its Ukrainian pronunciation. For some 120km to the west, Gayvoron - Rudnitsa - Kamenka-Dnestrovskaya remains narrow-gauge, ending 15km across the border in Moldova (BLN 800.0208). Quail's Railway Atlas of Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova shows the line to the east, Gayvoron - Podgorodnaya, as having been regauged in 1991, but Eisenbahn Amateur #3/98 reports more accurately that c.300km of the 750mm-gauge system survives, and that while regauging is under way eastward, partly on existing alignment and partly on new formation, one or two narrow-gauge Gayvoron - Podgorodnaya train-pairs still run. BLN 829.0317][US] San Jose, CA - Fremont-Centerville - Niles - Pleasanton - Livermore - Tracy - Stockton, CA: (BLN 822.0133) Start of the new 136km Altamont Commuter Express service has been put back to late summer or early autumn 1998 because rainstorms have delayed track upgrading and provision of platforms and parking at stations. Between San Jose and Fremont (Niles Jn) ACE trains will share ex-Southern Pacific, now Union Pacific, track with Amtrak's Capitols (San Jose - Fremont-Centerville - Oakland - Sacramento - Roseville, CA), but east of Niles to Stockton the ex-Western Pacific, now UP, line, though busy with 14 freights a day, has been without scheduled passenger service since the last run of WP's California Zephyr on 22 March 1970. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 829.0318][US] (Pueblo, CO -) Canon City - Royal Gorge - Parkdale (- Malta - Dotsero, CO): (BLN 813.0536, 826.0244) Union Pacific's Tennessee Pass route closed to through freight 23 August 1997, but this 19km section is to have new joint owners, tourist operators Canon City & Royal Gorge Railway (linked with the existing Georgetown Loop Railroad) and a new freight short-line, Rock & Rail Inc. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from about mid-July 1998 till end-October CC&RG trains are to make four 90-minute return runs from Canon City through the spectacularly deep and narrow Royal Gorge, using classic traction and stock (ex-Chicago & North Western F7A diesels #402 and 403, plus six ex-VIA cars). Rock & Rail freight trains are to serve an aggregate plant being built at Parkdale and likely to open in late summer 1998. The twice-weekly UP ore-train trip workings from Malta, 182km west of Canon City, continue for the moment, but are likely to end shortly. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 829.0319][US] Fort Worth, TX - Oklahoma City, OK: Amtrak service is planned to start in mid-May 1999, restoring scheduled passenger trains - one of the key indicators of civilisation - to the state of Oklahoma, after twenty years absence. ('Friends of Amtrak' at http://trainweb.com/crocon/amtrak.html) BLN 830.0320][GB] Isle of Man: Douglas horse-trams: (BLN 828.0274) The regular terminus of the horse-trams at the southern (town-centre) end is in front of the Victoria Pier ferry-terminal, where they reverse at a crossover in the middle of the road, protected by a small traffic-island. The original line beyond on to the pier was replaced in the 1970s when the present somewhat grandiose terminal building was erected and passenger-handling moved further landward. A replacement tramway extension was however laid, crossing the northbound carriageway into a layby closer to the side of the building, with double track ending in a single neck. Though perhaps never used in regular service, this is still physically accessible to trams, and has over the years been traversed by specials on request. Previous BLS tours have visited this track but Douglas Corporation refused permission for the charter tram on 24 May 1998 to do so, on the grounds that the layby is reserved for hire cars awaiting passengers. BLN 830.0321][IE] Dublin: Major refurbishment works at Dublin Connolly station are to last from 15 June 1998 till 'mid-1999'. The escalator and steps opposite Talbot Street are closed, as is the ramp access. A temporary access has been created from Sheriff Street opposite the North Star Hotel. (Iarnród Éireann customer bulletin #1) Dublin Connolly - Newcomen Jn - Glasnevin Jn, the 'low-level' line from Connolly (platform 7 only), avoiding Drumcondra station, was certainly out of use (BLN 820.065), and apparently being lifted at the western end in mid-June 1998. The 16:25 SuO Galway - Dublin Heuston 19:21 is timetabled to reverse out and run forward via Islandbridge Jn - Glasnevin Jn to Connolly arr 20:00 and, after another reversal, north to Dundalk arr 21:21. BLN 830.0322][IE] Ireland: 1998-99 timetable: In the new IE timetable, valid 1 June 1998 to 29 May 1999, the 08:45 Dublin Connolly - Rosslare Europort starts from Maynooth at 08:00. At Limerick Junction the traditional Waterford bay, platform 4, is confirmed as remaining in use (BLN 816.0589). On 15 June both the 10:10 Limerick - Limerick Jn - Waterford and the 15:55 Limerick - Limerick Jn - Rosslare Europort called there. From 20 September 1998, the 14:45 SuO Westport - Dublin is to divide at Kildare, with the rear two coaches then proceeding, calling at all stations, to Waterford arr 20:20. BLN 830.0323][FR] Strasbourg trams: (BLN 745.08, 814.0541) Strasbourg's sole tram-route, the 9.8km Ligne A from Hautepierre-Maillon in the west to Baggersee in the south, is being extended 2.8km further south via halts at Colonne, Leclerc and Campus to Cité Technique, all in the next-door commune of Illkirch-Graffenstaden. The new section is to be 'available for traffic' from 4 July 1998, presumably with trams running empty, for commercial services are not to start 'until the new university term'. The operators adopted a similar cautious approach to the original launch in 1994, when the city's stylish York-built Eurotrams began regular 'shadow' running on 21 October, but did not enter revenue service until 26 November. (GTF booklet, May 1998) The shuttle bus from Baggersee tram-terminus forming the present public-transport link to Strasbourg Entzheim airport, west of Illkirch-Graffenstaden, may continue to run from Baggersee, which also has a large park-&-ride area and is near an autoroute junction. BLN 830.0324][FR] Neussargues-Moissac - St.Anastasie - Allanche - Landeyrat - St.Saturnin Viaduc - Lugarde: (BLN 815.0565; Ball 54A2-55A1) Rail-cycle hiring from Le Vélorail du Cézallier, based at Gare d'Allanche, offers the possibility of travelling on up to 33.6km of otherwise-closed railway through open rolling Auvergne countryside. Bookings are obligatory (tel. +33 4 71 20 49 89), but the organisers seem also to deal with casual bookings on the day. They issue simple instructions in French (stop at every level-crossing; brake every 20m on falling gradients) and suggest a timetable to avoid too many meetings with other traffic, since this requires lifting one or other vélorail off the track, not difficult for three average adults, but likely to be warm work if repeated. The vehicles have two adjustable bike seats, sets of pedals and footbrakes, and a bench for two more adults or three child passengers or baggage. They offer no protection from the sun (take hats, sunscreen, bottled water...) or rain (so bad weather could mean cancellation). With steel wheels on steel rail, they are quite noisy, but easy to operate. One person can pedal alone, or both can pedal at different speeds, but while both need to do so fairly resolutely on rising gradients, the effort should be well within the capacity of even the more sedentary BLN readers. The vehicles cannot be pedalled backwards but must be turned either by lifting them off the track or by using turning equipment installed at five points on the line. Prices in September 1997 ranged from FRF100 for a two-hour round-trip to FRF300 for the eight-hour 41.2km Allanche - Lugarde marathon. BLN's reporters were asked to surrender their passports as security, perhaps in case they made a break for freedom on the line beyond Lugarde to Bort-les-Orgues! At the Neussargues end, a missing piece of track prevents the vélorails tangling with SNCF trains. BLN 830.0325][BE] Knokke - Oostende - De Panne: light rail: (Ball 7A3) The temporary disruption to the tram-tracks in De Panne (BLN 826.0224) was requiring the trams to turn back at Nieuwpoort Bad on 21 May 1998, giving an opportunity to visit the reversing siding there. BLN 830.0326][BE] (Brugge -) Y Dudzele - Zeebrugge: (BLN 828.0277; Ball 7B3; Lijn 51A) The realignment of the Brugge - Knokke line in 1983 involved some 10km of new double-track line skirting a huge area of expanded dock estate covering some 20km˛. New rail branches into that area are still gradually being created to serve ore terminals and the like as the port develops. The old line to Knokke was severed by phase one of the new dock development rather than by the sea-lock giving access to it. This line continues beyond Zeebrugge passenger station to serve quayside freight sidings, so is unlikely to be abandoned should a new Zeebrugge-Strand station open. The present heavy-rail passenger service to Zeebrugge, basically an hourly electric unit, is rarely other than lightly loaded, and NMBS have several times threatened to withdraw it, leaving the metre-gauge coastal tramway as the sole rail passenger connection. However the lack of traffic may be more due to the small resident population of the big port and of the intermediate settlements on the branch rather than to the inconvenient location of the present terminus, which is in the main residential quarter, and not that far from what centre the town has. A new Strand station on the direct line heading north to the roll-on/roll-off area of the port would be nearer the beach, but the ferry-port itself would do little for train-loadings. P&O no longer carry passengers to Dover or Felixstowe, leaving one North Sea Ferries morning arrival from Hull plus evening departure, for which one connecting bus to Brugge usually suffices. BLN 830.0327][BE] Mariembourg - Chimay (- Momignies - Anor SNCF): (BLN 826.0225, 828.0280; Ball 16B3-16A3) Two different CFV3V brochures conflict about services to Chimay. When telephoned, a spokesman for CFV3V said that 'operating problems' would prevent trains there in 1998, and this message was later confirmed by letter. BLN 830.0328][DE][PL] Ducherow - Karnin - Swinemünde: (Ball 13B1-14A1) As noted in BLN 810.0435, the 1876 rail route to the island of Usedom crossed at Karnin the 350m-wide strait forming part of the Peene estuary and headed via the eastern end of the island to the German town of Swinemünde, now Swinoujscie in Poland. On 28 April 1945 the bridge approach spans were blown up by the German SS to delay access by advancing Soviet troops, but the tall lifting section built in December 1933 was not destroyed and has remained ever since, in raised position, allowing navigation beneath. The railway was never restored. In DDR times the distinctive but useless span of the Karniner Hubbrücke was for many years a 'historic monument' protected from destruction, but in 1985 it lost this status. By spring 1990 Deutsche Reichsbahn were arranging its demolition, but local protests in the new more open political climate led to it again becoming protected. In 1996 an association (Aufbauverein Eisenbahnhubbrücke Karnin eV) was formed to press for the bridge to be rebuilt and reused by trains to Usedom, but DB had other plans (BLN 807.0355), and provincial and national politicians did not show any significant interest. Meanwhile the association have concentrated on restoration of Karnin station building and protection of nearby railway land so that reopening one day is not ruled out. (Die Schienenbus, 6/97) BLN 830.0329][DE] Brackwede - Steinhagen (Westfalen) - Dissen-Bad Rothenfelde (- Osnabrück): (Ball 25B1-25A2) Suggestions have been made that this branch should reopen as a through line to Osnabrück, but track has been lifted immediately beyond the out-of-use level-crossing at Dissen, and some fairly significant construction work seemed in May 1998 to be occupying the trackbed some 200m beyond. The present branch employs two Class 628 diesel units to provide an hourly service, halved on Sundays, but the number of staffed signal-boxes and level-crossings must make it very uneconomic to work. No sign of freight traffic was seen beyond Steinhagen. BLN 830.0340][DE] Nossen - Freiberg (Sachsen): (Ball 43B2-43B1; OEIS 9832) Planned for double track by Leipzig-Dresdener-Eisenbahn-Compagnie, the 24km Zellwaldbahn has been single since opening on 15 July 1873. Now freight-only, it lost its passenger trains in 1977, but operation by Deutschen Regionalbahn may yet prevent complete closure. To celebrate its 125th birthday IG Dampflok Nossen eV / BSW Gruppe are to run excursions on 18-19 July 1998 with steam locomotive #50 3648. BLN 830.0341][DE] Montabaur - Moschheim - Wallmerod (- Westerburg): (BLN 753.0193; Ball 48B3-49A3) The branch lost its passenger trains in 1981. East of the headshunt at Wallmerod (a station omitted from Ball), it closed completely in 1983, and the rail-less trackbed has been converted into a cycle-path towards Westerburg. Somewhat surprisingly for a German branch in these days of declining wagon-load traffic, the line remains busy, with clay being loaded at various stations and sidings, much of it conveyed in new wagons. It also sees occasional railtours, such as one from Koblenz on 2 May 1998 run by Eisenbahnfreunde Westerwald and another due to run 14 June. BLN 830.0342][DE] Berlin Stadtbahn: Those IR trains timetabled from 24 May 1998 to use Berlin Ostbahnhof, but - after chaos and much unfriendly Press and television publicity for DB - diverted to use Berlin-Lichtenberg from 28 May (BLN 828.0283), were planned to revert to the cross-city Stadtbahn, perhaps from the end of June. The problems seem to have stemmed from a lack of time for adequate driver-training, the confusion of some trains calling at Alexanderplatz and some not, less-than-fully tested software in the signalling and the information systems at Ostbf, and various difficulties at the new Rummelsburg depot. BLN 830.0343][DE] Kleinenbremen - Minden - Hille Hafen: (Ball 26A2-25B2) The Mindener Kreisbahn which celebrated its centenary on 9-10 May 1998 is the modest remnant of an extensive metre-gauge system centred on Minden which once also reached Lübbecke (to the west, beyond Hille Hafen), Uchte (to the north, beyond Todtenhausen) and Kutenhausen (now closed). It was regauged to standard in 1957. All regular MKB passenger services had ceased by 1974. Principal traffic seems to be coal, transhipped at the quay on the river at Hille. Other private sidings in and around Minden appear to be in use, but regular freight on the Kleinenbremen line seems to have ceased. The MKB's principal depot, yard and interchange sidings are at Friedrich-Wilhelm Strasse (not Franz Wilhelm Str, as shown in Ball), which is close to Minden (Westfalen) DB station and visible from DB trains just east thereof. The MKB's Minden - Todtenhausen branch also survives but was not visited. On one or two Sundays a month from April to October a preservation group, Museums-Eisenbahn Minden eV, use the MKB for steam-hauled passenger trains, based at a modern shed alongside the MKB's Minden-Oberstadt station, about 30 minutes walk from Minden DB station. One morning round-trip runs to Kleinenbremen and two afternoon trips run to Hille. From Minden-Oberstadt the morning MEM trip drops down past the former Minden-Stadt MKB passenger station, and crosses the river Weser and its flood-plain on a long girder bridge. Traces remain of a curve which used to reach Minden DB station in passenger days, but now the line just continues to Friedrich-Wilhelm Strasse. Here the short cinder platform is alongside the track leading to the DB interchange siding, not the through line, so passengers use the ballast to join and alight. The MKB depot is on the north side and the yards on the south as the line climbs to cross the DB main line on a bridge before heading towards the Wesergebirge and then turning east near Nammen, to run along the roadside parallel to that hill ridge. The quarry at Nammen Grube, a rail traffic source in 1991, is still operating, but its sidings are not. At Kleinenbremen the former mine has become a tourist attraction, the entrance to which is a building alongside the run-round loop. Here a small MKB railcar sits, waiting to shuttle visitors on a mine visit. The MEM train discharges passengers at a platform short of the run-round loop, draws forward to unload bicycles at an occupation-crossing, then draws into the loop. Meanwhile, the railcar which uses one track of the loop as its terminal 'platform' scuttles off with the mine-visitors round a corner towards the line's end, perhaps 700m beyond. The steam locomotive can then run round its train. On a May 1998 trip, most passengers chose to visit the mine, no doubt planning to return on the 14:00 special bus, for the MEM train back to Minden was virtually empty. The afternoon runs to Hille are less scenic. After perambulating Minden suburbs, the train crosses the Mittelland Kanal and runs through unremarkable countryside parallel to, but not alongside, the canal and the Wiehengebirge ridge. The Wiehengebirge is a westward continuation of the Wesergebirge, separated by the cleft at Porta Westfalica through which the Weser flows, accompanied by DB's Hamm - Hannover main line. At the eastern end of Hille village the train swings into Hille station, although the line continues about 1km to Hille Hafen. MEM trains used to continue to Hille Hafen until about 1993 or 1994, but were cut back to Hille by the 1995 season. BLN 830.0344][DE] (Berlin - Belzig -) Wiesenburg - Güterglück - Barby - Calbe - Güsten: (Ball 28B2-28A1) The eastern section of the Wetzlarer Bahn, a strategic route intended to link Berlin more directly with Metz, is today also the line to Dessau, but the configuration of the junction at Wiesenburg shows that the Dessau route came second. Wiesenburg - Güterglück had its moment of glory when ICE trains began running in 1993 on the first electrified route between Berlin and Magdeburg (and onward to Helmstedt and the west; BLN 704.04). The Güterglück northeast-to-northwest chord is still used for freight and the occasional relief passenger train (BLN 790.0454). The meagre local passenger service that used to run Belzig - Wiesenburg - Güsten - Aschersleben, usually with stops of greater or lesser length at Güterglück's bi-level station to make connections with trains on the Dessau - Magdeburg line, has with the May 1998 timetable been radically diverted to run instead Belzig - Wiesenburg - Güterglück - Barby - Schönebeck (Elbe) - Magdeburg. Near Calbe the single-track northeast-to-northwest curve between two diminutive ground-level signal-boxes (Abzw Werkleitz - Abzw Seehof) is now open to passenger trains (BLN 824.0180). The southeast-to-southwest curve (Calbe (Saale) Ost - Abzw Tornitz) already carried Calbe Ost - Bernburg local trains. On a Saturday afternoon in early June 1998, passenger loading of a locomotive-hauled Magdeburg - Barby - Belzig working was not encouraging: five or six people got off at Barby, BLN's reporter alighted at Güterglück and only a couple continued beyond. As is shown in the Ball atlas, Güsten station has two distinct sides, platforms 1 and 2 on the east side of the buildings being used only by westbound trains from the Calbe direction and (previously) by trains starting out towards Calbe. The remaining platforms, all on the west side of the buildings, are used by all other trains, including those running through in the Calbe direction, which then use a link north-east of the station. Only two passenger train-pairs now use the whole length of the Wiesenburg - Güsten line (IR2646/7 Berlin - Aschersleben - Aachen; in summer Berlin-Lichtenberg dep 07:41 via Berlin-Schönefeld Flughafen; in winter Berlin-Ostbahnhof dep 07:26 via Potsdam Stadt; and RB5461/8 Berlin - Aschersleben - Wernigerode; Berlin-Ostbf dep 06:45 SSuO plus public holidays) BLN 830.0345][DE] Berlin Aussenring: Saarmund - Potsdam-Pirschheide - Golm: (BLN 714.015, 754.0218, 766.0487, 766.0489, 817.05; Ball 31B1-31A1) Opening dates for the Berlin outer ring railway are subject to some uncertainty. The line seems to have been completed 30 September 1956, but the south-west section did not have regular traffic until 11 November 1956, 10 February 1957, 20 February 1957 or 25 April 1957, depending on which source one believes! Some curves off the Aussenring were not completed until rather later, the last being Glasower Damm West - Glasower Damm Süd on 25 May 1961. Initially most of the south and west of the Aussenring was single, with two tracks only between Nesselgrund and the Templiner See bridge, just east of Potsdam Süd. On 18 January 1958 the Deutsche Reichsbahn opened a major two-level main-line station to serve Potsdam, at the point where the new Aussenring crossed the existing line from Potsdam Stadt and Wildpark to Beelitz and Seddin. Named Potsdam Süd until 2 October 1960, but for a third of a century thereafter dignified with the title of Potsdam Hauptbahnhof, it had in its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s a range of ticket-offices, buffets and kiosks, as well as a tram service into town. The two then-unelectrified low-level platforms saw Babelsberg - Potsdam Stadt - Potsdam Hbf shuttle railcars, Wildpark - Potsdam Hbf - Jüterbog locals and some through trains running non-stop from West Berlin across the DDR to Frankfurt-am-Main and München (BLN 734.0164). Initially the upper level had a single-line passing-loop, with what is now the eastbound platform being used by trains in both directions, but from 7 October 1961 the Saarmund - Elstal section was doubled, with six high-level tracks through Potsdam Hbf forming loops on either side of two island platforms, plus two middle roads. With electric trains from 14 December 1982, the high level saw not only an hourly Sputnikzug round the southern Aussenring to Berlin, but various local and main-line DR services. With the collapse of the DDR, the removal of the Griebnitzsee frontier control-point and the extension of the Berlin S-Bahn from Wannsee to the more convenient Potsdam Stadt station, Potsdam Hbf (= main station) was demoted and became the much more rural-sounding Potsdam-Pirschheide (= game-stalking moor) in summer 1993. In 1998 it may be Europe's largest unstaffed halt. From 24 May, the lower level has an hourly double-deck electric push-pull service using a curiously circuitous route at the Potsdam end (Potsdam Stadt - Pirschheide - Seddin - Saarmund - Berlin-Lichtenberg - Eberswalde) but the upper level has calls by a single Monday-Friday train-pair, a Class 628 two-car diesel unit running under the wires (06:08 Strausberg Nord - Berlin-Lichtenberg - Pirschheide - Golm, and 14:50 return), which is the only daytime passenger train on the Aussenring between Saarmund and Abzw Wildpark, and the only passenger train at any time between Abzw Wildpark and Golm. Since 24 May Pirschheide high-level also sees Warszawa - Köln night trains EN248/9 pass through with no advertised stop, the only passenger services on the Abzw Wildpark - Werder (Havel) south-to-west curve south of Golm. On 19 June 1998 the 14:50 from Golm did little business on its way to Berlin, but the significant number boarding at Berlin-Lichtenberg suggested its popularity as a faster and more comfortable alternative to an S-Bahn train home. The diesel unit runs forward over the Strausberg - Strausberg Nord single-track 800V dc third-rail S-Bahn section (Ball 30A3), also an unusual working. BLN 830.0346][AT][SK] (Wien Ost -) Parndorf - Kittsee ÖBB - Bratislava-Petrzalka ZSR: (BLN 817.07; Ball 76A3-76B3) According to the May 1998 ÖBB timetable the freight-only branch to Kittsee and the restored cross-Danube link into Slovakia are to reopen to passengers 7 January 1999, with one diesel-hauled Mon-Fri round-trip between the two capitals running out from Bratislava in the morning and returning later in the day. From the May 1999 timetable change this service is to increase, eventually to ten daily round-trips. A local Parndorf - Kittsee service is also planned, serving four Austrian points: Haltestelle Neudorf (5.7km from Parndorf), Bf Gattendorf (9.3km), Haltestelle Pama (15km) and Bf Kittsee (19.8km). (Schienenverkehr Aktuell, May 1998) BLN 830.0347][CH] Sierre/Siders - Montana-Vermala funicular: (Ball 99B3 not shown) The 4km between the town of Sierre or Siders, on the Montreux - Brig main line in the Rhône valley, and the mountain resort of Crans-Montana-Vermala is a very long distance for a funicular because of the weight of such a lengthy cable. Built in 1911, the Sierre-Montana-Crans line therefore used to operate as two separate funiculars with a station midway at Saint-Maurice-de-Laques for transfer of passengers, the whole journey including the transfer taking about 30 minutes. However in 1997 the SMC closed for renovation from 1 April and reopened 16 December as a through line, the longest funicular in the world, 4192m in length, with a much faster transit. The hourly non-stop services that skip the six intermediate stations now take only 12 minutes, and with its new stock the line can fairly claim to have the most comfortable cars with the best panoramic views of any funicular in the world. (Funimag #12, 30 June 1998 issue of illustrated world funicular magazine on the Web, at http://www.imaginet.fr/~mikeaz/) BLN 830.0348][LK] Colombo: The Vihara Mahadevi Park in Sri Lanka's capital offers an 800m end-to-end run on a 762mm-gauge line worked by 0-6-0D locomotive #527 (HE4156/1949). Though the line was not properly open for business on a weekday morning in January 1998, a personal special working was chartered for LKR300 (= Ł3). BLN 831.0349] Portrush - Bushmills - Giant's Causeway: (BLN 782.0269) The former tramway in County Antrim closed 1949, but the Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway proposed for part of the trackbed has been revived. After failing to obtain a Millennium Commission grant from the proceeds of the UK National Lottery, the promoters appear now to have secured money from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the International Fund for Ireland, and hope to open for the tourist season in 1999, using ex-Shanes Castle Railway 914mm-gauge track and stock. (Belfast News Letter, 9 April 1998) BLN 831.0350] (Belfast -) Portadown - Scarva (- Newry NIR - Dundalk IE - Dublin): (BLN 806.0327) For all their recent expensive work on upgrading the Belfast - Dublin main line, it did not seem to occur to Translink NIR to check the condition of their road overbridges. Some ten minutes after a southbound express passed on 19 May 1998, the entire cast-iron parapet of Madden Station Bridge fell on to the double track. A taxi-driver reported to the police that it was missing, the other parapet was found to be heavily rusted and unsafe, and the Tandragee - Gilford A51 main road was closed till perhaps November 1998 while the bridge, built 1900, is completely replaced. (Portadown Times, 22 May 1998) BLN 831.0351][FR] St.Omer - Arques - Lumbres - Desvres - Hesdigneul (- Boulogne): (BLN 756.0270, 798.0133, 825.0197; Ball 6B2-6A1) Considerable local-authority money has gone into preparation for Arques - Lumbres tourist trains, probably the nearest European mainland operation to Britain. The new gravel platforms provided are some three coaches long, with edging and promotional signage indicating SNCF participation, but no shelters or nameboards. They include five halts at points not shown in a 1914 or 1954 timetable but related to present or future tourist attractions. Possibly delay in completion of these platforms or in upgrading level-crossings caused the token 1997 service to begin as late as November, hardly the peak tourist season in the Nord-Pas de Calais. Indeed even on trips in May and July 1998 the Picasso railcar of the Chemin de Fer Touristique de la Vallée de l'Aa was not full, and many on board seemed to be crew or their relatives. Though the Picasso trundles through pleasant countryside, the scenery is not dramatic enough in itself to attract many customers, and presumably the business case for the expenditure featured a steam train. The German 2-10-0 locomotive brought by barge from Poland to Arques is said to be in good order and CFTVA hope it will run during 1998, with three elderly coaches. Arques Les Fontinettes, where the railcar starts, some 3km from the junction east of St.Omer, is a new platform adjacent to the 19th-century preserved canal-boat lift, and an ample car-park. Just across the canal bridge is Arques SNCF, still staffed, with numerous sidings for the famous Arques crystal glassworks. It is also the junction for the short Wardrecques freight branch, one of the remnants of the Arques - Wardrecques - Aire-sur-la-Lys - Berguette-Isbergues - St.Venant - Merville - Armentičres line (BLN 775.0128, 778.0180). In summer 1995 SNCF still worked a daily freight beyond Arques to both Wardrecques and Lumbres (Voies Ferrées #89). Arques Gare SNCF does not appear in the CFTVA timetable, but their stock is kept there, the train touristique is advertised in the window facing the quiet station approach-road, and all trains call 'for technical reasons', probably because it is the point where 'one-train-working' to the west begins. At Blendecques, the old SNCF station is being taken over for restoration by CFTVA. La Coupole is a new platform close to the gigantic concrete dome of a World War II German V-weapon site, now a museum. At Wizernes, the old SNCF station is now the public library and CFTVA trains do not call. Alongside the running line is a lengthy freight siding where ECC china-clay wagons and other similar tank-wagons stand, next to the paper-factory which has its own shunting locomotive. Hallines is another new platform, as is Maison du Papier. The latter, not shown in the timetable, though CFTVA trains do call, is intended to serve a museum of the paper industry, but this is not yet constructed. Esquerdes is an original SNCF halt with a traditional small shelter. Setques is the fifth of the new platforms. Lumbres SNCF station, where the CFTVA train terminates, has been attractively and quite expensively restored as the local office de tourisme, with some interesting old photographs on display. Lumbres cement works had wagons present. Seemingly out of use though still in place is the short branch south up the river valley from a west-facing junction at Lumbres to Wavrans-sur-l'Aa. This is a last remnant of the Chemin de Fer d'Anvin ŕ Calais, which did once link its namesake towns, and as late as 1954 was still running Calais - Lumbres - Fruges. Westward, the 1998 Michelin road map (sheet 236) erroneously shows the Lumbres - Desvres section with little tourist-train symbols, but a CFTVA crew-member said it was declassée and had trees growing on it. To the east of Desvres the line was certainly heavily overgrown, but in place. An Arręt board some 500m east of Desvres station marked the point where the former running line became the outer end of a long headshunt. Served from Hesdigneul, Desvres still had a daily freight in summer 1995, but in July 1998 only a few wagons, the sort of curtain-sided vans often associated with transport of bottled water, lay in the extensive area of empty rusting sidings, and it did not look as though traffic was frequent or particularly regular. Desvres passenger station is being renovated by the local authority as a centre de randonnée for ramblers, perhaps a hostel. BLN 831.0352][FR] Lille: Lompret / Lambersart - Délivrance - Haubourdin / Santes: (BLN 816.0590, 829.0300; EGTRE; Ball 10B3) A circular passenger service via Délivrance yard ran till at least late August 1983. Described on the departure indicator at Lille (now Lille Flandres) as "Ceinture de Lille", the morning train, #8906, a diesel railcar, left at 06:34 and ran anticlockwise to arrive back at 07:19. The evening train ran in the opposite direction. BLN 831.0353][FR] (St.Dizier -) Eclaron - Wassy - Brousseval - Doulevant-le-Château: (BLN 750.0108; OEIS 9648, 9743; Ball 27B2-27B1; Howarth 2nd ed, p45) Passenger services ceased 1 May 1952 and freight, operated by CFTA, 1 April 1991. SNCF sold the line in 1994, and weekend excursion trains commenced Sunday 3 September 1994, for a very short season. In 1998, as in each year since 1995, a railcar Train Touristique de la Blaise et du Der runs north from its base at Wassy (Wassy 15:00 - 15:42 Eclaron 15:50 - 16:38 Wassy) on the first Sunday in the month, and south (Wassy 15:00 - 16:15 Doulevant-le-Château 16:25 - 17:40 Wassy) on the other Sundays, from the last in June to the first in September. It is not clear whether the twice-weekly St.Dizier - Brousseval freight services, introduced by the Chemin de Fer de la Blaise et du Der in September 1994, still operate. BLN 831.0354][FR] St.Gervais-les-Bains-Le-Fayet - Bellevue - Nid-d'Aigle: (Ball 58B3) Starting outside the SNCF station at a terminal stub track perhaps no longer in regular use (BLN 829.0304), the Tramway du Mont Blanc curves in an elongated S across the station square and a main road, climbing fairly steeply before reaching its own right of way, where the rack begins. This adhesion section has on occasion had its difficulties. On a journey in September 1992 on wet rails, the unlucky driver took three tries to reach the rack section, finally succeeding when assisted by a man from the nearby depot sanding the rails by hand from a bucket, while the road traffic waited. The young lady conductor was at the front of the trailer, signalling by a simple push-button bell-code to the driver in the power-car propelling it. Few passengers were in evidence. At that season journeys were guaranteed as far as Bellevue, but only if the weather looked reasonable on arrival there did the train continue to Nid-d'Aigle. The 'eagle's nest' terminus had no siding, just a plain track ending at a semi-underground hut with a basic snack facility and no toilets other than nearby rocks. The line seemed a friendly and informal operation, rather a contrast to the businesslike Chamonix - Montenvers-Mer-de-Glace line visited later the same day (Ball 50B1). BLN 831.0355][BE] (Bruxelles/Brussel -) Y Zaventem - Bruxelles-National-Aéroport/Brussel-Nationaal-Luchthaven: (BLN 816.0594; Ball 10B2) On 1 May 1998 the old sharply-curved surface approach to the old airport station was disconnected, and the more direct 1.6km alignment of line 36C under the runways to the new airport station, underground and almost at right angles to the old one, opened. Only the northern parts of platforms 2 and 3 were available for use by the public that day, but the third 380m platform, and both tracks on the branch, were ready for the new timetable on 24 May, with a formal inauguration ceremony on Monday 25 May. SNCB/NMBS have made provision for a future east-to-north curve on to the airport branch from the Leuven direction, and for extending the branch itself north to a junction near Vilvoorde with the Brussel - Antwerpen line. (Modern Railways, July 1998; Trans-fer, #108) BLN 831.0356][BE] Brussel/Bruxelles - Leuven - Ličge: (Ball 8B2; SNCB/NMBS 36) The Brussel - Leuven section is to be quadrupled, with a new signalling-centre controlling the airport branch as well as the Leuven area. Station-remodelling, begun autumn 1997 under the STAR21 project, partly to accommodate the new Leuven - Ličge (- Aachen) high-speed line, has seen the junctions at the southern end of Leuven station change their use during 1998. Previously, nearly all Leuven - Ottignies trains used the higher-numbered (eastern) platforms at Leuven and took line 139/1, the northeast-to-southwest double-track dive-under beneath main line 36, joining line 139 at Y Parkbrug. Now line 139/1 has been singled and appears to be used solely for freight, with all Ottignies passenger trains using the lower-numbered (western) platforms and the flat route, line 139 itself. From the freight lines on the north-east side of the Leuven layout line 36/2 heads south-east to a full flying junction, Y Molenbeek, giving access to line 36 towards Ličge. A couple of local trains a day used to run from Leuven's higher-numbered platforms via line 36/2, but access from the passenger platforms seems to have been removed and line 36/2 is not now in passenger use, at least for the duration of the remodelling. BLN 831.0357][SE] Kristinehamn - Nykroppa - Hornkullen - Daglösen - Filipstad and Hornkullen - Hällefors: (BLN 811.0473; Ball 22A3) These sections of freight line are to reopen to passengers as a one-year experiment from 17 August 1998. After the evening Stockholm - Kristinehamn (- Arvika) X2000 express arrives at 18:48, a Y1 diesel unit is to run Kristinehamn - Filipstad, SX, stabling overnight FSSuX. In the early morning it will return to connect into the (Arvika -) 06:45 Kristinehamn - Stockholm X2000 before itself running forward at 06:45 to Karlstad as train #3101. On Friday and Sunday evenings the Y1 is to backtrack from Filipstad and run to Hällefors, returning as a passenger service on Monday morning only. (Swedish Railway Club website: http://www.sjk.se) BLN 831.0358][SE] Ängelsberg - Snyten: (EGTRE; Ball 22B3) Summer-seasonal train #880 Göteborg Central - 21:53 Örebro Central - Östersund Central, running until 16 August 1998 only, uses this curve. It is also the only passenger service over Kolbäck west-to-north curve, otherwise used for freight and some empty electric-unit movements to and from Eskilstuna depot. All normal passenger services between Hallstahammar and Västerĺs use Kolbäck east-to-north curve. BLN 831.0359][ES] Oviedo: (BLN 823.0161; Ball 3A3) At Oviedo Estación del Norte, the site of the RENFE parcels depot is becoming the new FEVE metre-gauge station, north of and parallel to the broad-gauge platforms, and a new double-track metre-gauge route with 1500V dc overhead electrification has been built from Estación del Norte to the east (Oviedo - Colloto). The former RENFE 3000V dc broad-gauge Oviedo - Trubia branch to the west has already been converted to metre-gauge, with the catenary retained, though FEVE envisage using diesel traction for the immediate future. For the time being FEVE and RENFE trains have to share the first km or so of the Trubia line as far as the present RENFE depot. A new RENFE depot is under construction to the north at Lugo de Llanera, and a new FEVE depot and works to the east near El Berrón. These radical changes, financed in part through the sale of vacated land to property developers, will probably be completed in 1999 when Oviedo Económicos terminus will become a bus station (a facility lacking at present), Oviedo Jovellanos terminus will disappear, and the old Colloto - Oviedo - La Manjoya - Fuso de la Reina metre-gauge tracks will be closed and lifted. BLN 831.0360][ES] Hendaia/Hendaye - Irun - Donostia/San Sebastián - Bilbao/Bilbo Atxuri: (Ball 6A2-5B1) Notwithstanding BLN 822.0126, which was based on leaflets picked up in Eibar station, it seems that EuskoTren's metre-gauge electric main line may not have reopened for through passenger services until 16 March 1998, when the new 1254m Itxaspe tunnel and 1805m deviation avoiding the unstable clifftop section were inaugurated. The old line through three short tunnels has been dismantled. From 29 June 1998 the EuskoTren timetable has been radically improved. Paris - Hendaye daytime TGVs and overnight services connect with two Hendaia - Bilbao fast services taking only 2h 20min with five stops. Hendaia - Donostia is served half-hourly, and Donostia - Bilbao has eleven trains, in addition to more local workings. In December 1997 construction began of a new passenger line about 1km long into the centre of Lasarte, 6km west of Donostia, and services should commence by the end of 1998. BLN 831.0361][ES] (León - Matallana -) Guardo - Balmaseda (- Aranguren - Bilbao/Bilbo): (BLN 773.099, 821.0102; Ball 9B3-5A1) The timetable for the work is not yet decided, but finance is to be provided from EU, Spanish and provincial council (Junta de Castilla y León) sources for FEVE to renovate metre-gauge track and stations of this lengthy freight-only section of the former FC La Robla to enable restoration of through León - Bilbao passenger services by 2001, with future operations having a strong tourist emphasis. (El Diario Montanés, 9 July 1998) BLN 831.0362][ES] Tardienta - Huesca (- Canfranc): (Ball 13A2) Work began in early 1998 on electrifying at 3000V dc this section of broad-gauge RENFE line. By autumn 1999 the dead-end station at Huesca should be replaced by one nearby on the through tracks, with bus interchange facilities. BLN 831.0363][IT] Livorno - Pisa Centrale: Ball (49A2) shows separate routes from the south into the west end and the east end of Pisa Centrale station, depicting the latter as freight-only. In practice through passenger trains calling at Pisa may use whichever route will avoid reversal there, a Livorno - Pisa - Firenze train taking the western route and a Livorno - Pisa - Genova train taking the eastern route - as happened on a journey in April 1998. BLN 831.0364][IT] (Paola - Falconara Albanese -) San Fili - Castiglione Cosentino (- Cosenza): (BLN 708.06, 780.0248; 796.0100; Ball 58A1) At FS Cosenza depot to the east of the Sibari line, three standard-gauge 0-6-0 steam rack locomotives and some period rolling-stock are still stored, but one locomotive now appears restored to working order, and a trip on this section of the rack line, otherwise long out of use, is being advertised (Today's Railways, July 1998) with steam haulage (FS #981.005) as part of a CVFI railtour on 28 September - 2 October 1998. BLN 831.0365][CH][IT] Mendrisio FFS - Stabio - Cantello (- Varese FS): (BLN 813.0532; Ball 101B1, not shown) Though not shown in the Swiss national timetable, which offers only a bus service in table 637.20, the standard-gauge Valmorea tourist line is again operating in summer 1998, apparently on the first and third Sunday from late April to October (remaining dates: 16 August, 6,20 September, 4,18 October) from Mendrisio at 10:00, 14:00, 17:00 and back at 11:20, 15:30, 17:50. In previous years the locomotive used was 0-6-0T E3/3 8501. Contact: Stazione FFS, CH-6850 Mendrisio, tel +41 91 646 38 22, fax +41 91 646 52 53. One report, from L'Écho du Rail for June 1998, says the frontier crossing-point, where Italian officials open a gate for the passage of each train, is available only to Swiss and Italian nationals. This seems unlikely, not least because it is a treaty requirement that on the EU side frontier personnel should treat all EU citizens equally, but British travellers should certainly carry their passports. Several BLS members in fact successfully entered Italy in 1997 by this route. BLN 831.0366][PL][UA] Hrebenne PKP - Rava Ruska UZ/Rava Russkaya/Rawa Ruska - Ukhniv/Ukhnov/Uhnów - Chervonohrad/Chervonograd/Krystynopol - Sokal: This area, entirely within pre-1939 Poland, suffered not just division by a new frontier after World War II, but also a little-known border adjustment in 1951, both changes having significant disruptive effects on local railway geography. The lines are not quite correctly shown on Quail maps or the Ball atlas (39A1). Where places have multiple names they are given in the order Ukrainian transliteration/Russian transliteration/Polish. In 1945 Stalin's Red Army in effect pushed Poland bodily westward, and Rava Russkaya became a Ukrainian junction, the only means of access to the Uhnów - Krystynopol - Sokal section of the standard-gauge PKP, still in Poland. To avoid Rava Russkaya PKP opened a 9km Hrebenne - Uhnów cut-off, entirely within Polish territory, on 15 May 1949, but this was to be short-lived. On 15 February 1951, the Soviet Union, coveting the coal deposits and rich soil of the land around Uhnów and Sokal, forced Poland to sign a treaty ceding it in exchange for a slightly larger area round Ustrzyki Dolne in the mountains to the south (Ball 44A3). After the treaty became effective in May-June 1951, the Lvov - Sokal - Kovel railway lay entirely in the USSR. PKP lost the Uhnów - Krystynopol - Sokal line, and the 1949 cut-off accessing it was abandoned and later lifted.. Summer 1951 also saw the abandonment of the southern end of the (Werbkowice -) Byków - Uhnów Waskotorowy 760mm-gauge line where it crossed the new frontier. The link between PKP's 1884 Munina - Werchrata - Rawa Ruska and 1887 Hrebenne - Rawa Ruska lines had also been broken by the 1945 border, so in the 1950s PKP built another standard-gauge cut-off avoiding Rava Russkaya, this time from Werchrata to Hrebenne, with a triangle at Hrebenne permitting through-running to Rava Russkaya. The old Werchrata - Rawa Ruska direct track was lifted. Munina - Werchrata - Hrebenne remains in passenger and freight use (PKP 123), but the curve avoiding Hrebenne station may not see any traffic. Later, in the 1960s or 1970s, an alternative to the Soviet Railways break-of-gauge point at Rava Russkaya was created by the extension of broad-gauge track south-westwards for about 25km on Polish territory to Kaplisze. This Rava Ruska UZ - Kaplisze PKP freight line is still in use. The PKP 1520mm-gauge locomotives working it have to make a long circuit round through Ukraine via Lviv/Lvov/Lwów and the Mostiska II UZ - Medyka PKP border-crossing (BLN 823.0164; Ball 44A3) to reach their works at Zurawica. Warszawa - Hrebenne PKP - Rava Ruska UZ (- Lviv) passenger services began again on 2 June 1996 after a break of some 50 years (BLN 784.0342), but Ukrainska Zaliznitsa have not yet found the money or the will to restore the derelict standard-gauge rails on the interlaced 1520mm and 1435mm-gauge Rava Ruska - Lviv section (BLN 786.0371) which would allow standard-gauge trains again to run through to Lviv. (partly from Nowe Signaly, #22) BLN 831.0367][PL][UA] (Dabrowa Górnicza Ciesle -) Olkusz - Zamosc pólnoc - Hrubieszów PKP (- Ludin UZ): (BLN 798.0148, 821.0106; Ball 40B1-39B1; PKP 104) The May 1998 PKP timetable shows a weekly pair of trains on the Russian-gauge (1520mm) non-electrified line known as the Linia Hutnicza-Siarkowa (= 'Steel-and-Sulphur line'), running between Olkusz in Poland and Kharkiv/Kharkov in eastern Ukraine. However in June 1998 neither the local PKP staff at Zamosc and Hrubieszów nor the border-control post at Hrubieszów were aware of any broad-gauge passenger trains having run recently. BLN 831.0368][PL] Bytom Waskotorowy - Miasteczko Slaskie Waskotorowe: (Ball 40A1 not shown) According to a poster at Kedzierzyn Kozle, a tourist train is again running the full length (c.15km) of this section in summer 1998. The Quail map of Poland shows the Upper Silesian narrow-gauge railways (Górnoslaskie Koleje Waskotorowe) as having the relatively unusual gauge of 785mm. BLN 832.0369] (Belfast -) Bleach Green Jn - Antrim: (BLN 776.0147) "The upgrading of two former railway halts at Templepatrick and Mossely West (sic; 'Mossley' on an OS map) is planned as part of the reinstatement of the ... line." (Mr Paul Murphy MP, junior Minister, Northern Ireland Office; Hansard, Written Answer, col.328, 17 July 1998) BLN 832.0370][FR] Le Crotoy - Noyelles-sur-Mer - St.Valéry-sur-Somme - Cayeux-sur-Mer: (BLN 813.0518; Ball 14A3) On the metre-gauge CF de la Baie de Somme, trains do not call at St Valéry-Ville for passenger purposes, and all now seem to start from the far end of the short quayside branch at St Valéry-Quai, which has no building, just a former passenger-coach used as a booking-office. On services to Cayeux (July and August weekends only) the diesel locomotive propels its train from St Valéry-Quai eastward across a busy road with no barriers, running back the length of the branch past the junction, whereupon it reverses and sets off westwards through St Valéry-Ville station. On Saturday 25 July 1998 a BLN reporter negotiated the line's rather idiosyncratic timetable to complete all the available track in a day: St Valéry 10:45 - 11:15 Noyelles 11:15 - 11:45 Le Crotoy 12:00 - 12:30 Noyelles 12:30 - 13:00 St Valéry 14:15 - 15:00 Cayeux 15:30 - 16:15 St Valéry. BLN 832.0371][BE] Knokke - Oostende - De Panne: light rail: (Ball 7A3) The De Lijn Adinkerke extension was doing good business with Meli amusement-park customers on 8 July 1998, so it may well have opened as planned on 1 July (BLN 825.0203) after a burst of effort in the final weeks (BLN 826.0224). Trams were adopting a curious mode of departure from the loop at De Panne NMBS station, reversing 100m before coming forwards and sailing non-stop through the unfinished tram-station. Some of the trackwork had clearly still to be completed. BLN 832.0372][BE] (Ličge -) Chęnée - Soumagne - Welkenraedt / Walhorn NMBS (-Aachen DB): (BLN 828.0279; Ball 9B1-10A2) The Belgian government decided on 29 May 1998 to go ahead after all with the high-speed line on new alignment rather than upgrading the classic line through Verviers. The new route is to rejoin the present line at Welkenraedt or just to the east at Walhorn. (Trans-fer #108, July 1998) BLN 832.0373][NL] Amsterdam CS - Haarlem - Santpoort Noord - IJmuiden: (BLN 828.0281; Ball 4A3-3B3) The Kennemerstrand Expres began running 6 July 1998 till further notice to the following timetable: Amsterdam CS depart every other hour Mon-Fri 09:51 to 19:51, Sat 08:51-20:51, Sun 08:51-18:51, returning from IJmuiden at 50 minutes past the following hour. Return fare is NLG13.75, single NLG10.00. (Lovers Rail news release) BLN 832.0374][NL] (Geldermalsen -) Vork aansluiting - Ressen-Bemmel aansluiting (- Nijmegen): (BLN 827.0257; EGTRE; Ball 4B2) No services on the closed west-to-south curve ran for the July 1998 Nijmegen Vierdaagse event. BLN 832.0375][DE] Kiel - Schönberg (Holstein) - Schönberger Strand: (BLN 753.0180, 823.0142; Ball 10B2-11A2) Kiel - Schönberg opened 7 July 1897 and Schönberg - Strand 18 June 1914. Schönberg's original station prior to the 1914 extension is now the goods-yard, which diverges to the north on the western approach. On 31 May 1975 Schönberg - Strand saw its last passenger train, and that section closed to all traffic, but a single weekday Kiel - Schönberg passenger round-trip may have continued for a short while. The Kiel-Schönberger Eisenbahn still own and operate the line from Kiel Stw Ss, their junction with DB, as far as Schönberg, but the section onward to Strand seems now to be owned by the local authority or the preservation group VVM. VVM commenced their summer tourist operation on 26 June 1976. At Strand a short demonstration tram layout of three-rail mixed-gauge track (standard and metre) offers rides, free to holders of train tickets, DEM2 otherwise. BLN 832.0376][DE] Stendal - Tangermünde West - Tangermünde (- Tangermünde Nord): (BLN 803.0257, 814.0542; Ball 28A3-28B3; KBS269) A May 1998 leaflet about the new double-deck railbus service on the branch includes reference to a future halt (künftige Haltestelle) at Tangermünde West and an extension to a planned halt (geplante Haltestelle) at Tangermünde Nord. No indication is given of likely timescale. BLN 832.0377][DE] Königswinter - Drachenfels: (Ball 36B1) From the Bonn Stadtbahn #66 stop at Clemens-August-Strasse beside the river Rhein the pedestrian route to the Drachenfelsbahn station behind Königswinter is not signposted, but one way to find it is to walk uphill through the town following the sound of traffic on Autobahn A42 which strides past nearby on massive concrete viaducts. A steam rack locomotive, built by Esslingen in 1927, is plinthed outside the modern covered station and depot. From here the metre-gauge rack line, electrified in 1958, ascends south-eastwards with a passing-loop at Schloss Drachenburg and two anonymous halts, one above and one below the loop, to an upper terminus devoid of nameboard, but with a restaurant and spectacular views of the Rhein valley. On 17 April 1998, in poor weather, only one car out of six was running, and no intermediate stop was made. BLN 832.0378][DE] Wangerooge - Saline - Westanleger and Saline - Westen: (OEIS9833; Ball 16A3) The German Frisian island of Wangerooge is reached by ferry from Harlesiel on the mainland. Though the Jever - Harle branch is lifted, the old station building is still in use as a ferry booking-office, and a passenger coach is stabled on a length of platform track. On the island a short metre-gauge Inselbahn (= island railway) from Wangerooge town station to Westanleger harbour connects with the boats, its timetable (KBS 10007) varying daily with the tides in the shallow Wattenmeer. Passenger traffic was heavy on the morning and afternoon sailings on Saturday 18 July 1998. Two boats were in use plus a small one for day-trippers, and two train-sets were running, using one of the six diesels DB keep there, plus a steam locomotive borrowed from the Deutscher Eisenbahn Verein preservation group at Bruchhausen-Vilsen (Ball 16B1). Each train has several passenger coaches plus three flat wagons for luggage containers, these being detached at the harbour end and shunted forward a few metres to line up with the relevant boat for transhipment. Sometimes the locomotive runs round at the harbour, but it may push the train back to the town, the driver keeping in radio contact with a shunter at the leading end. The first of the three services connecting with the afternoon sailing was on its return journey recessed on the Westen branch for the second train to pass. The virtual absence of motor transport on the island means the railway also carries some freight. East of the town station the line continues about 400-500m over a road crossing to reach a siding on the north side containing fuel wagons, one of which appeared to be in use, and a loop on the south side contained wagons of building rubble. To the west of the town on the north side of the line a short branch with locked points serves a refuse depot, whence containerised refuse seems to be carried to the harbour on flat wagons to be shipped to the mainland. A sign said Grenze der Privat Anschlussbahn, indicating that the branch is a private siding, not DB-owned, as distinct from various other items of infrastructure such as bridges, which had DB bar-codes. The town station has the zero km post, and various posts were seen westwards down the 'main line', but none on the branch. The short Saline - Westen branch ends without a run-round loop, but a recess siding diverges just before the paved platform. A pile of new concrete sleepers lay nearby, indicating that the branch is still being maintained. Beyond, the track continues across a road through a closed gate, with another 'private siding' sign, before curving round to disappear into what seems to be a yard containing piles of gravel, possibly for sea defences. Two flat wagons with luggage containers, some of them labelled the previous day, lay at the platform, so presumably a train had used the branch then. On most days that week (not Friday) special trips were visiting both the harbour line and the Westen branch, running in late afternoon, making it virtually impossible to use them on a day-trip to the island. The specials were advertised in a leaflet specific to the week, but given the tidal variability of the timetable, other weeks in the summer may have similar leaflets. BLN 832.0379][DE] German railway terminology: Among the kinds of different Bahnanlagen, railway layouts, to be found auf freier Strecke, on the open line (that is, not within the home-signals of a station), are an Abzweigstelle (Abzw), a junction or connection between the tracks of different lines, but not within a station, and an Überleitstelle (Üst), a crossover or running connection between different tracks of the same double-track line, not within a station. A line with Überleitstellen often has Gleiswechselbetrieb (GWB), a facility for wrong-line running, equivalent to the French ligne banalisée, where each track is equipped with signals for both directions, allowing a train to avoid a track section temporarily out of use for maintenance, or allowing fliegende Überholung, overtaking on the move, where two trains run parallel in the same direction at different speeds, and the slower train keeps running. A Blockstelle is a place not within a station and without points, but equipped with a Blocksignal (Bk) that splits the distance between stations into shorter Blockstrecken, block sections, that may not be entered by a second train before the first train has left. Most Bk have been replaced by a Selbstblocksignal (Sbk) or automatic intermediate block signal. An Sbk has only a number, but Abzw, Üst and Bk are given names, which can as in Britain be whimsical rather than geographical. An Anschlussstelle (Anst) is a siding, normally with hand-operated points, which can be unlocked using a key. A train bringing wagons to the siding, or collecting wagons from the siding, must obtain the key from the nearest station, and no other train may enter the same section of line until the key has been brought back to the station. An Ausweichanschlussstelle (Awanst) is a siding as above, but with additional equipment allowing a train to take refuge in the siding protected by the points, which are locked in the straight position with the key and then electrically prevented from moving by the signal-box of the nearest station, thus making the line section clear for other trains. A Bahnhof (Bf) is a proper station, a place with points where trains may start or finish their journey, as distinct from a Haltepunkt (Hp), a place with a platform where passenger trains regularly stop, but with no points, or a Haltestelle (Hst), which is an Hp combined with an Abzw or Üst or Anst or Awanst. No particular term is employed for a running junction within a station area, but it would not be described as an Abzw, only by the station name, if necessary followed by the number of the point (eg Weiche 123). BLN 832.0380][DE] Germany: what is an S-Bahn?: The original S-Bahn (Schnellbahn) concept, developed in Berlin, was to provide entirely segregated tracks to carry a frequent service of local dc third-rail electric trains stopping at all stations, without obstructing freight or long-distance passenger trains. The London Euston - Watford Jn 'New Line' is the nearest equivalent in Britain. Hamburg's S-Bahn developed in much the same way, also using dc third-rail power. After 1945 west German S-Bahn systems used ac traction like the main lines, but generally had their own segregated tracks, and new underground S-Bahn links came to be built beneath several city-centres. To the east, in the former DDR, the S-Bahn concept was likewise recognised as adding prestige to a city, but only limited resources were available for construction and little more was done than electrifying a few local lines and providing double-deck trains. Leipzig's system comes closest to the original idea of an S-Bahn, and includes an entirely new line to serve housing estates in the western suburbs (Leipzig-Plagwitz - Miltitzer Allee; Ball 46A3), but Dresden's has no segregated track, only hourly trains on some lines and some diesel-worked services, and is an S-Bahn only in name.. BLN 832.0381][DE] Halle S-Bahn: Halle-Trotha - Halle (Saale) Hbf - Silberhöhe - Zscherbener Strasse - Neustadt - Nietleben - Halle-Dölau: (Ball 42B3) In Halle Deutsche Reichsbahn created an interesting semi-segregated S-Bahn, but at the price of severely limiting operational flexibility. The single U-shaped route serves pre-1939 suburbs at the Trotha end and extensive 1960-70s housing estates at Südstadt and Neustadt. The (Aschersleben -) Halle-Trotha - Hbf line was once double-track, but was converted to two independent single lines, one becoming the ac-electric S-Bahn and the other remaining unelectrified as a Fernbahn for longer-distance trains. No crossovers at all now remain between the two, but disused electrification masts beyond the S-Bahn stop-block at Trotha suggest a former connection via the goods-yard. South of Trotha the first passing-loop on the S-Bahn is at Steintorbrücke, one station north of Hbf. South of Dessauer Brücke the S-Bahn and Fernbahn follow different routes, joining only at Stw Hs2, just north of Halle (Saale) Hauptbahnhof, where all S-Bahn trains, in both directions, call at a single unnumbered platform on the west side of the station, outside the train-shed. This is shown on the main-concourse departure-board as Gleis S, though since no obvious direction signs point to its location, DB might more helpfully give travellers a clue by redesignating it Gleis 0 or 1A. S-Bahn trains then take the north-to-west curve via Rosengarten on to the double-track electrified Halle - Nordhausen line. East of Silberhöhe station a single track diverges to become a loop, apparently specially built for the S-Bahn, with stops at Silberhöhe and Halle-Südstadt. Südstädt has a passing-loop, not used in normal traffic. (The south-to-west curve from Halle-Ammendorf also passes Silberhöhe but does not join the Nordhausen line till the west end of Silberhöhe station, by Stw Abzw Wörmlitz, so it is not possible for trains to run between Ammendorf and Südstadt.) The S-Bahn physically rejoins the westbound Nordhausen line to cross the river Saale before branching north as a single track to Zscherbener Strasse. The line across the river bridge is double track, but has no crossovers to allow trains to or from Südstadt to use the southern (eastbound) track. Most westbound main-line trains from Halle cross to this eastbound track over the river, to avoid conflict with S-Bahn trains. Effectively, the S-Bahn is thus single track throughout the Silberhöhe - Südstadt - Zscherbener Strasse sections. After the single-track Merseburg - Buna Werke - Zscherbener Strasse line converges, the section north to Halle-Nietleben is double track. Some maps, and the La plan, suggest two independent single tracks, but Zscherbener Strasse has crossovers to the north and south. Beyond carriage-sidings at Nietleben is a single track north to Halle-Dölau, the remnant of a local line from Halle-Klaustor to Gerbstedt. The high proportion of single track in this layout makes the S-Bahn timetable very inflexible. A 20-minute interval service operates throughout the day, every day, because nothing else is possible. The frequency is determined by the time required to run from Steintorbrücke to Halle-Trotha and back, allowing for reversal. In normal service, trains also pass at Rosengarten, again between Zscherbener Strasse and Halle-Neustadt, and at Nietleben - where they have a seven-minute wait, for it is impossible to run out to Dölau's single platform and back in 20 minutes. BLN 832.0382][DE] Mannheim light rail: (BLN 772.071, 785.0352; Ball 55A1-55B2) The 07:17 tram was once the sole working out of Mannheim-Kurpfalzbrücke (BLN 789.0427), but no such service ran on Monday 20 April 1998, though this was a school-day. The Oberrheinische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft terminus remains, but is reduced to just one platform and a siding, with the buffer-stops moved away from the building. The platform, trackwork and overhead all looked new, but the metre-gauge rails were rusty as if a new layout had yet to be brought into use. On OEG's circular route #5R Rundfahrt (Mannheim Hbf - Käfertal - Weinheim - Dossenheim - Heidelberg - Edingen - Mannheim Hbf) work was in hand beyond Dossenheim to double the existing ballasted and sleepered single track on reserved alignment. OEG also operate a short route #5 Mannheim Hbf - Käfertal, essentially part of the Mannheim town system, but the OEG Käfertal - Heddesheim branch, shown in Ball, is now worked by MVG (Mannheimer Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft) as part of their lengthy route #4 (Ludwigshafen-Oggersheim - Mannheim Hbf - Käfertal - Heddesheim (Baden) Ort). At Oggersheim interchange is possible with the metre-gauge Mannheim Hbf - Bad Dürkheim Rhein Haardt Bahn. BLN 832.0383][DE] Monsheim - Grünstadt - Bad Dürkheim: (BLN 763.0426; Ball 49A1-57A3) To celebrate 125 years of the Pfälzische Nordbahn on 18-19 July 1998, steam was operating at Grünstadt. The DGEG Kückucksbähnel brought two trains from their Neustadt (Weinstrasse) base. One train ran a Grünstadt - Monsheim shuttle every other hour, taking the place of the normal Class 628 diesel unit, rather to the surprise of customers, particularly when their connections were broken at Monsheim.... The other train ran over the 5.6km Grünstadt - Neuoffstein freight line, remnant of a through line to Worms, which now serves a sugar-factory. With two of Grünstadt's platform roads removed in recent years, and only three left to accommodate the steam specials and the regular services (Grünstadt - Monsheim and Frankenthal - Grünstadt - Eisenberg - Ramsen; BLN 763.0425), operating was somewhat tight. A long wait on the Neuoffstein branch ensued before the return train could get back into the station. In addition Pfalzbahn Eisenbahnbetriebs GmbH were running an hourly shuttle service using railbus #798 622 plus trailer on the first 5.3km of the Monsheim - Harxheim-Zell (- Langmeil) line (49A1-56B3), until recently blocked by stored wagons. Several branches in western Rheinland-Pfalz have regained passenger trains in recent years and a local pressure group are seeking to have this line reopened also. Two Berlin - Frankfurt-am-Main - Paris trains used to traverse it each way daily, running non-stop between Worms and Kaiserslautern. BLN 832.0384][AT] St.Michael - Leoben Hbf: (BLN 827.0268; Ball 74B1) The first train through the Galgenberg tunnel ran on 17 May 1998 and regular services started with the summer timetable a week later. Initially only a single track is in use. (Schienenverkehr Aktuell, July 1998) BLN 832.0385][PT] Tua - Mirandela - Carvalhais (- Bragança): (BLN 758.0329; Ball 8B1) The Mirandela - Bragança section of the scenic metre-gauge Linha do Tua lost its services 15 December 1991, but the 4km Mirandela - Carvalhais section reopened 28 July 1995. A so-called Metro service is provided by diesel railcar, with local-authority sponsorship and considerable subsidy. Now it is proposed that the Metro should take over operation of the Tua - Mirandela section from CP. The company would enlarge its membership to include the regional development body Prodouro and three other municipalities that the line crosses, Carrazeda de Ansiaes, Alijo and Vila Flor. BLN 832.0386][PT] Lisboa Oriente - Entrecampos - Fogueteiro (- Pinhal Novo): (BLN 827.0270; Ball 25B1) Fertagus have become the first private-sector train operators in Portugal since nationalisation in the 1970s of the Sociedade Estoril's 1500V dc Lisboa - Cascais line. From April 1999 Fertagus double-deck electric units are to operate the new rail link across the river Tejo, initially from Entrecampos to Fogueteiro, later from Oriente. The main shareholders are Vivendi (BLN 827.0246) and the Barraqueiro group, operators of buses in the area round Lisboa. BLN 832.0387][ES] (Ponferrada -) Cubillos del Sil - Villablino: (BLN 798.0144, 810.0442; Ball 9A3-3A1) At Ponferrada on the Madrid - León - La Coruńa broad-gauge RENFE main line, once the interchange point with the metre-gauge industrial Ferrocarril Ponferrada-Villablino, the railway museum's locomotive hall was externally complete by July 1998, with work in progress on refurbishment of the old station building linked to it, and metre- and broad-gauge locomotives still lying in the open. The vast site once occupied by Minero-Siderúrgica de Ponferrada's staithe, stockpiles, briquette-plant, power-station and locomotive-depot had been completely cleared and was already beginning to disappear under residential development. From Ponferrada north to a point north of San Andres de Montejos, track had been removed and level-crossings tarred over, and near Cubillos del Sil a disused section of the former running-line had become a siding for wagon storage. By contrast, the metre-gauge track beyond was completely renovated and well ballasted throughout for the coal traffic from Villablino to the Compostilla-II power-station at Cubillos, six trains daily each way in summer and nine in winter. The three Alco locomotives acquired from RENFE and regauged are in service. Plans to run Cubillos - Villablino tourist trains at weekends, when little or no coal is moving, were mentioned by station staff at Cubillos, but Engerth steam locomotives #19 and 31 have not yet been restored and the start date of May 1998 has slipped. The Villablino - Caboalles branch, out of use since early 1995, is to become a vía verde for walkers and cyclists. BLN 832.0388][IT] Sardegna: narrow-gauge in Cagliari: (BLN 825.0211; Ball 39) Opened in 1968, Cagliari Piazza Repúbblica FdS station replaced the old FCS passenger station, Cagliari Viale Bonaria, whose demolition in 1970 is depicted in photographs in the local museum. Piazza Repúbblica was originally a 'through' station in the sense that one set of 950mm-gauge rails ran through where the stop-blocks would otherwise have been and headed into and down the street, but through workings may have been for freight to the docks area, and it is not certain whether passenger trains worked through Piazza Repúbblica to serve Viale Bonaria for a short period before it closed, or whether Viale Bonaria closed when Piazza Repúbblica opened. Cagliari also had a partly-constructed but never-completed narrow-gauge freight link from Monserrato that would have run south-west to meet the standard-gauge FS north of Cagliari FS main station. More local information would be welcome. BLN 832.0389][IT] Sardegna: metro and other plans: (Ball 39) In 1998 ambitious plans exist for the urban section of the FdS to become the core of a Cagliari narrow-gauge metro, and this would include re-extension, probably underground, via the original Viale Bonaria terminus site. Not to be outdone, the island's second city, Sassari, also has a 950mm-gauge metro project whereby the Alghero and Sorso FdS lines, which share the present station with the standard-gauge FS, would feed into an underground loop beneath the city centre. Finally - if the munificent European Union taxpayer has any largesse left to line the pockets of Italy's public-works contractors - investment is planned in regauging Macomer - Nuoro to standard! BLN 832.0390][IT] Sardegna: deviations: (BLN 750.0125, 767.0511, 780.0247, 795.070, 825.0211, 829.0313; Ball 39) The island's 950mm-gauge railways have benefited (or suffered) from many deviations, some of them quite radical, and not all of them undertaken at the same time. The official distance measurements are complex, and of course many of the kilometre-posts are now wrong, so the deviations below are mostly listed in relation to successive stations in the Ball atlas, using shorter forms of complicated names where these are in general use on the line or in timetables. In April 1998, the sections recently abandoned still had track in place except where broken by the active line on its new alignment. Cagliari - (0.5km cut-off of large curve just south of) - Settimo - (from 1km north, new straighter alignment for the whole 7km to) - Soleminis - Dolianova - (from 1km north, a 2km cut-off of major bend, then 3km of sinuous unimproved line, then 4km completely realigned to) - Donori - Barrali - (from 3km north, a completely new 3km alignment, running east of the main road and eliminating level-crossings, 1km shorter than old line, till entering) - Senorbi - (no deviations) - Mandas - (no deviations) - Sorgono. The long and constantly twisting Mandas - Arbatax branch has one realignment at Villanovatulo, where the line now shares a new road-bridge, crossing a new reservoir on an easier curve that bypasses an earlier rail viaduct. Macomer - Biori - (short deviation in cutting, not recent, easing a curve just west of) - Bortigali - Silanus - (new straightened alignment, criss-crossing old line, for almost whole 4km to) - Ley - (spelled thus, not Lei, in 1998 timetable; then short deviation in cutting, easing a curve) - Bolótana - (whence, except at Tirso and Iscra stations, some 18km of old route is replaced by new direct alignment, much of it so distant as to be out of sight, as far as 1km west of) - Orotelli - Oniferi - (two deviations, not recent, to permit building of dual-carriageway road, one of 0.5km midway, one of 1km, entering) - Prato Sardo - Nuoro. Sassari - Molafŕ - (7km of completely new direct alignment, saving 4km, cutting across the meandering old line in the valleys, with new San Giorgio station at right angles to the old one, and sited 50m higher on the hill) - Arcone - Alghero San Agostino. Sassari - (doubled for 3.5km to) - Rodda Quadda - (then three cutoffs built across valleys with new embankments and viaducts, replacing old line that followed contours to the east, shortening distance from 11km to under 10km, through Crabulazzi and Funtana Niedda to) - Sorso. The Sassari - Palau line has one deviation, a new viaduct at San Antonio which eases a curve compared with its predecessor. BLN 832.0391][IT] Roma Piazzale Flaminio - Prima Porta - Viterbo Nord: (BLN 771.062; Ball 52A1-52B3-50A1) This standard-gauge electrified line, once run by Societŕ Romana per le Ferrovie del Nord, is now operated by the Lazio regional transport authority COTRAL (Consortile Trasporti del Lazio). From Flaminio station on metro line A the walk to the city terminus is clearly signposted, unusual for Italy. Roma Piazzale Flaminio is a covered and somewhat gloomy island-platform station whose single track immediately vanishes into a tunnel. The line passes the first station, Piazza Euclide, before emerging into the open just before Acqua Acetosa station and depot. Double track then commences, heading north through ten stations including Centro RAI, a new-looking one with overall roof and footbridge, to Prima Porta, where the servizio urbano terminates. The inner suburban trains run throughout the day with approximately ten-minute frequency, remarkable given the proportion of single track. Beyond Prima Porta the track is again single with passing-loops at most stations. The servizio extraurbano is much less frequent, with only five through trains to Viterbo, timed very much with commuters in mind. Trains into Roma for example depart Viterbo at 05:00 and 06:00 with a gap then until 11:20. From Roma the first through train to Viterbo usually leaves at 13:25. BLN's reporter travelled on a Sunday, 12 April 1998, when the Easter festivo service provided a convenient departure at 09:30 operated by 1997 stock. Running is painfully slow, and the 102km to Viterbo on a train skipping the inner city stops still occupied 2h38m. The Platform 5 book on Italian Railways published in 1995 suggests incorrectly that trains reverse at Fabrico di Roma but it is a conventional through station with passing-loop preceded by a lower-quadrant semaphore signal. Similar signals precede stations at Corchiano, Vignanello, Soriano and Vitorchiano. Some were off and some were on, but the train passed them all regardless, slightly alarming until one realised that the only working from the north had already crossed and the line would be deserted now till the present set returned at 14:20. Viterbo does not display the 'Nord' suffix to the station name shown in Ball. The three-platform COTRAL terminus uses two platforms to stable elderly stock, including a 1932 motor luggage-van. BLN 832.0392][IT] (Roma Ostiense -) San Pietro - Pineta - Cesano di Roma - Bracciano - Viterbo Porta Fiorentina (- Attigliano-Bomarzo): (BLN 771.062; Ball 52A1-52B3-50A1) This FS route to Viterbo is being electrified, and a temporary timetable commenced 31 January 1998 valid "until completion of works". Since Porta Fiorentina station is already wired for services north and east to Attigliano-Bomarzo, it was not possible to say if the electric unit seen stabled at Viterbo on Sunday 12 April was yet able to work any electric services to the south. The 13:04 from Viterbo was a two-car diesel unit as far as Cesano di Roma, where BLN's reporter and the sole other passenger were transferred to a bus due to works on the line beyond to Pineta. The bus ran non-stop not to the station Roma Pineta Sacchetti shown in Ball, but to a substantial new single platform without buildings bearing the name FS Fermŕta Pineta (= Pineta Halt), possibly a temporary facility for the duration of the electrification work. The large bus parking area held six buses, one of which departed after the arrival of the next train from Roma Ostiense. Two passengers arrived on yet another bus, making a total of four people joining the three-car diesel unit forming the 15:42 Pineta - Roma Ostiense which arrived on time at 15:58, giving a journey time of 2h54min for the 88km from Viterbo. On the ring route around the south-west of the city between Pineta and Ostiense, new alignments are evident including a double-track tunnel, as yet without track, a double-track viaduct with one track laid and in use alongside an old viaduct now out of use, and a further tunnel of double-track width with only one track so far laid. BLN 832.0393][IT] Napoli Montesanto - Torregaveta: (Ball 55A3) Adjacent to the lower station of the Funicolare Montesanto and only a few minutes walk from Montesanto FS station, through a confusing maze of narrow streets with no signposting, is the four-platform covered terminus of the electrified standard-gauge lines operated by SEPSA (Societŕ per l'Esercizio di Pubblici Servizi). Two platforms are used by the trains west to Torregaveta (Ferrovia Cumana) and two by those on the Licola loop (Ferrovia Circumflegrea), a few of which also run forward to Torregaveta by this longer alternative route further inland. On 5 April 1998 the service was being badly delayed by engineering work. The trains are externally heavily disfigured with graffiti and look dirty and careworn. However extensive works are in hand beyond Lucrino where a new double-track tunnel is being bored inland of the existing single-track one. The new tunnel emerges beyond Baia, so that station will no longer be served when the new alignment is brought into use. Track is already laid into the new tunnel at the west end. New double track has been laid between Fusaro and the terminus at Bacoli Torregaveta, but only one track is in use. BLN 832.0394][IT] Bari Nord - Barletta: (BLN 796.097; Ball 56A1-55A2) Once steam-worked and narrow-gauge, but at some point electrified and regauged to standard, the Ferrovia Bari Nord or Ferrotranviaria starts close to Bari Centrale FS from its own two-platform station approached down steps from the street-level entrance building where tickets are sold, Italian fashion, from the tobacco kiosk. On the single track the first halt at Bari Via Quintino Sella has a platform so narrow it would certainly be disallowed by the UK Railway Inspectorate. Several more halts are passed before crossing the Bari Centrale - Barletta (- Foggia) FS line on a long curving viaduct, probably replacing a flat crossing. In 1944 invading Allied forces were reputed to steam up a narrow-gauge engine for outings, between more serious business from the airfield at Bari, presumably the one the FT now serves by Bari Aeroporto station. On 3 April 1998 the 17:20 from Bari Nord was a four-car set packed with commuters. The rear railcar was detached at Bitonto and a trailer at Corato, leaving two railcars to complete the run to Barletta, where the island-platform terminus is close to the FS station, close enough indeed for BLN's reporter to connect from an 18:37 arrival into the (11.05 Milano -) 18:37 Barletta - Bari Centrale, running five minutes late. BLN 832.0395][IT] Bari Centrale FAL - Altamura - Matera Sud: (BLN 796.097; Ball 56A1-55A1). From 28 September 1997 the service pattern of the 950mm-gauge Ferrovie Appulo Lucane line became Bari - Altamura - Matera Sud and Gravina in Puglia - Avigliano Lucania - Potenza Scalo, with an Altamura - Gravina shuttle linking the two sections. On 4 April 1998 the 14:26 shuttle was a single 1952-built diesel railcar, full and with standing passengers, collected at Altamura off two separate three-car trains from Bari and Matera Sud. The layout at Altamura is being extensively relaid, including some mixed 950mm/1435mm gauge track connecting the FAL with the parallel FS, to no obvious present purpose since the FAL has no freight traffic to interchange. The Matera Sud line runs parallel to the Gravina line for a short distance before crossing above the FS and heading south. Beyond Venusio, Matera seems to have six stations rather than the three shown in Ball, including four new ones, the first unopened and nameless, then Matera Serra Refusa, Matera Villa Longo, and another unopened and nameless. A tunnel follows, containing an underground station complete with loop, Matera Centrale, and a further tunnel immediately precedes the two-platform terminus at Matera Sud, which appears to serve a housing estate rather than the town proper. Matera Sud has however a new-looking footbridge, a feature rare at Italian stations and perhaps unique on the narrow gauge. From it one can see beyond the high concrete wall blocking the end of the line to note an overgrown cutting with a road overbridge, presumably the trackbed for the proposed but suspended Matera - Ferrandina standard-gauge line (Ball 55A1-58A3). BLN 832.0396][IT] Bari Centrale FS - Taranto: (BLN 768.0530, 796.099; Ball 56A1-55B1-58B3) On 3 April 1998 the realignment work seen in spring 1996 was still in progress at various places. Double track extends out almost to Modugno Cittŕ. A closed station with a loop on the existing single track is presumed to be the former Pale del Colle. Just before the new Bitetto-Pale del Colle station, the new double track trailing in from the north now has masts but not yet wires. Before Acquaviva del Fonti, a new single track diverges eastward, again with masts but no wires. BLN 832.0397][IT] (Taranto -) Sibari - Castiglione Cosentino (- Cosenza): (Ball 58A2-58A1) The electrification shown in Ball, though begun (BLN 708.06, 780.0248, 795.069), is still not complete on this section, and on 3 April 1998 the 11:36 Cosenza - Taranto was a diesel locomotive and two coaches. BLN 832.0398][IT] Catanzaro Lido - Catanzaro - Catanzaro Cittŕ - Cosenza: (BLN 795.075, 796.0100, 820.078; Ball 61B3-57A2) From its terminus at Lido the 950mm-gauge Ferrovie della Calabria line is relatively level until Catanzaro FC station (next to Catanzaro FS main-line station) where a steep climb on the rack commences, initially in tunnel during which the FS line crosses over. Beyond, the FC line continues to climb, clinging to a ledge on the east side of a steep-sided valley with the river far below. A modern concrete road-bridge strides across in a spectacular single span. The rack finishes at Catanzaro Practica (not shown in Ball) which precedes Catanzaro Piazza Matteotti. A fairly frequent Lido - Cittŕ shuttle seems to operate with rack-equipped railcars, and a sparser service beyond with adhesion-only railcars. The Lido - Cittŕ arrival at 15:37 on 2 April 1998 had no forward connection until the 17:19 Cittŕ - Cosenza, the final train of the day. The last of the commuters alighted at Soveria Mannelli, beyond which the railcar made its lengthy journey through wild and lonely mountain country, crossing the last train the other way at Colosimi, a remote place with FC buses parked in the former freight yard, to arrive in Cosenza at 20:00. Cosenza's joint station, a terminus for both railways, is on a lavish scale, with five FS standard-gauge platform roads, laid out as through lines, and no fewer than six narrow-gauge terminal platforms, only one of which appears necessary to handle the timetabled FC services. A rake of restored bogie coaches and a four-wheeled van seemed to indicate that a locomotive-hauled narrow-gauge train is readily available for charters or excursions, and FC retain a number of steam locomotives in store at various locations including Cosenza. BLN 832.0399][IT] (Cosenza -) Pedace - Camigliatello Silano (- San Giovanni in Fiore): (BLN 795.073; Ball 58Al-58Bl) From the junction at Pedace, lavishly equipped with colour-light signals and motorised points worked remotely from Cosenza Centro, the FC 950mm-gauge branch climbs steeply in a large horseshoe curve to gain height, so that from Pedace-Serrapedace the junction lies below like a model-railway layout. Service trains now terminate at Camigliatello Silano, but the section beyond to San Giovanni in Fiore remains intact and available for charters such as one by a German group on 2 April 1998. Traffic remains very light. On 3 April the 07:55 from Cosenza Centro, one of the two remaining trains a day, carried only a BLN reporter and six of the German enthusiasts travelling to join a photographic-charter freight train running from San Pietro in Guarano to San Nicola-Silvana Mansio, the highest station in Italy, on the closed section. The 09:30 back from Camigliatello, with the reporter as sole passenger, crossed the charter freight at Redipiano. BLN 832.0400][IT] Gioia Tauro - Palmi Centrale (- Sinopoli San Procopio): (BLN 820.078; Ball 61A2) On this 950mm-gauge Ferrovie della Calabria line, the track beyond the platform at Palmi on the closed section to Sinopoli has now totally vanished beneath vegetation. Nevertheless, the Italian group CVFI are advertising (Today's Railways, July 1998) a steam-hauled train to Sinopoli as part of their railtour on 28 September - 2 October 1998. BLN 832.0401][CH] Realp DFB - Tiefenbach - Furka - Gletsch (- Oberwald): (BLN 704.06, 709.012, 741.0331; Ball 94A1-93B1; SBB 615) Opening the 15.4km Furka base-tunnel in 1981 closed the old summer-only line of the metre-gauge Furka-Oberalp Bahn, with its famous removable folding bridge across the avalanche-prone Steffenbach gorge, and its spectacular climb high over the Furka Pass past the Rhône Glacier. The preservation group Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke have been active in gradually reopening the route from the Realp end, to Tiefenbach in 1992 and to Furka on 30 July 1993. To the west various blockages included two level-crossings on the Muttbach-Belvedere - Gletsch section where rails were removed from the roadway. These crossings have been restored, and on 11 July 1998 the first DFB work-train, diesel-hauled, reached Gletsch station. Passenger traffic to Gletsch is unlikely to begin before September 1999 at the earliest, with summer 2000 more likely. In summer 1998 DFB steam tourist trains are again running between Realp and Furka, climbing 600m in about 8km. Operation is on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from end-June to early October, and daily mid-July to mid-August. Contact DFB, Oberwald, on +41 27 973 33 73. BLN 832.0402][NO] (Oslo -) Hřnefoss - Haugastřl - Finse - Myrdal (- Bergen): (BLN 709.013; Ball 12B1-12A2) Norway's Bergenbane, opened 27 November 1909 westward across the high plateau to the coast, has had major works on either side of Finse to improve winter operations and increase line capacity. To the west, a lengthy new alignment and the associated 10.3km Finsetunnel opened 16 May 1993. To the east, between Haugastřl and Finse, works are in progress in 1998 on another new tunnel to replace some at least of five shorter existing tunnels. BLN 832.0403][NO] Drammen - Sande - Třnsberg - Larvik (- Nordagutu): (Ball 20A1-20B3) Opened 13 October 1881 with 1067mm-gauge track, Drammen - Larvik was not regauged to standard until as recently as 3 October 1949. In 1998, as part of a Drammen - Třnsberg upgrading including double-tracking, and in connection with major road improvements alongside, several km of Vestfoldbane route through and on either side of Sande are being transferred to a completely new alignment. Sande station is being relocated. BLN 832.0404][PL] Bytom Waskotorowy - Miasteczko Slaskie Waskotorowe: (BLN 831.0368; Ball 40A1 not shown) Times of the summer trains on the 785mm-gauge line are at http://friko.onet.pl/ka/jakubh/index11.htm. BLN 832.0405][CZ] Praha metro: (BLN 694.011; Ball 35B2) An extension of Line B to Cerný Most (= black bridge) is still due to open November 1998, though the city has run into financing problems and only three of five planned new stations may be ready. (The Prague Post, 15 July 1998) At Vysocany, about 300m east of the CD station, are two new island platforms apparently complete but with no track. These are on the surface, unusual for this mostly underground system. BLN 832.0406][CZ] Praha trams: Route #17 has been extended from Braník on reserved ballasted track segregated from road traffic, with new flyovers, south to Modrany. Comparative lack of graffiti suggests the extension is recent. BLN 832.0407][CZ] (Lovosice -) Dolní Zálezly - Ústí nad Labem západ: (EGTRE; Ball 35B1) Not clearly shown in Ball is the south-to-west curve linking CD lines 090 (Praha - Decín) and 130 (Ústí nad Labem hlavní nádrazí - Chomutov). A few trains use it to avoid reversal at Ústí nad Labem hlavní nádrazí (= main station) and call instead at platforms on the curve at Ústí nad Labem západ (west) station before joining line 130. One such is the 09:04 Praha - Karlovy Vary, taking a rather indirect route but one electrified throughout. BLN 832.0408][CZ] Kutná Hora hlavní nádrazí - Kutná Hora mecto - Zruc nad Sázavou: (Ball 36A1-41A3; CD 235) At Kutná Hora the physical junction faces away from the main-line station, not as shown in Ball. Trains for Kutná Hora mecto (= town station) and beyond proceed some 500m south-east down a headshunt parallel and close to the main line 230, then reverse on to line 235. BLN 832.0409][HR][YU] (Zagreb -) Vinkovci - Mirkovci - Tovarnik HZ - Šid JZ (- Beograd): (BLN 826.0240, 828.0294; Ball 47B1) The summer 1998 HZ timetable shows two local trains plus two through long-distance workings across the Croatia - Serbia frontier. BLN 832.0410][TR] Istanbul heritage trams: (BLN 825.0219) With a fare of about 20p, the two little trams and trailers of the 1km metre-gauge heritage tramway along the upmarket shopping street Istiklâl Caddesi are busy all day until late evening, filled with local users rather than tourists. Due to the location of the boarding and alighting stops a northbound journey offers a slightly longer ride. The south end, close to the Tünel underground funicular, has a simple reversing siding, but the northern end has a balloon-loop at Taksim square. The trams normally traverse this empty after unloading, but a BLN reporter was allowed by a driver to stay on board. BLN 832.0411][US] Boston, MA - Wells, ME - Saco - Old Orchard Beach - Portland - Freeport - Brunswick, ME: (BLN 820.086; SPV atlas MA-2,4b, NH-3, ME-3) Boston's North Station is at present used only by suburban commuter trains, run by Amtrak under contract to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, who own the Boston & Maine line as far as the state border. However an inter-city passenger service of four trains a day north-east to Portland and beyond seems likely to go ahead, perhaps by end-1999, after the US federal Surface Transportation Board in May 1998 thwarted an attempt to block it by Guilford Transportation Industries, the owners of the B&M route through New Hampshire and Maine. The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority hope that work to prepare 183km of line for 95km/h running can begin August 1998. Six stations are planned in Maine, all with concrete platforms about 100m long, plus canopies, lighting and parking, and most if not all are to have station buildings. (http://www2.trains.com) Amtrak's plans mean that the state would again have scheduled passenger trains, absent since the last run on 15 December 1994 of VIA Rail Canada's Montréal, QC - Moncton, NB Atlantic/Atlantique, which used to traverse the rural north of Maine during the night (BLN 795.079). The B&M route to Portland last saw passenger services in 1965. BLN 832.0412][IT][SI] Gorizia Centrale FS - Nova Gorica SZ: (BLN 714.024; Ball IT-44A1, SI-45A2) Due to engineering work until 5 September 1998 on the Villa Opicina FS - Sezana SZ line, all trains are bus-replaced except #220/1 Simplon Express, diverted in each direction via the Gorizia Centrale - Nova Gorica link, freight-only since at least 1993. BLN 833.0413][FR] (Paris Est -) Coulommiers - La Ferté-Gaucher - Villeneuve-la-Lionne - Esternay - Sézanne - Oiry: (BLN 752.0143, 775.0129; Ball 26A2-26B2) Coulommiers - La Ferté-Gaucher still has passenger services, but from mid-August 1998 trains run only in the evening, daytime services being by bus. At La Ferté-Gaucher track has been removed from the level-crossing across the N34 road but is still in place beyond to the east. La Ferté-Gaucher - Villeneuve-la-Lionne closed in 1990 and is now neutralisée (= out of use). Villeneuve-la-Lionne - Esternay closed in 1989 and was déclassée (= abandoned) 10 April 1996. The 16km Esternay - Sézanne section, and the Sézanne - Anglure branch, see freight use as required by operator CFTA, about three times a week in 1995 according to Voies Ferrées. Esternay - Sézanne also has tourist trains of the CF Touristique de la Traconne (BLN 808.0370; information from La Mairie, F-51310 Esternay, +33 3 26 81 50 13). BLN 833.0414][FR] Calais-Ville - Lourdes: Pilgrimage trains offer interesting long-distance through workings. On 25 July 1998 a BLN reporter accompanied Liverpool passengers on charter train #33028, with locomotive 22250 and fifteen bogie vehicles including three ambulance cars and a van leaving about an hour late. Much of the main-line running, out and back, was at 160km/h. Route was Calais-Ville - Hazebrouck - Béthune - Lens - Arras - Longueau - Survilliers avoiding line - Creil - Pierrefitte north-to-east chord - Grande Ceinture - line avoiding both Noisy yard and Noisy-le-Sec passenger - Sucy avoiding line - Valenton yard - Les Saules - Athis-Mons - Les Aubrais. Locomotive 7397 then worked forward Les Aubrais -... - Dax - Bayonne - Puyoô - Lourdes. After arrival by this dog-leg route, the operating remained impressive, the train being shunted, split and partly re-platformed, still fully loaded, all within fifteen minutes of its three-minutes-early arrival. The return journey on 1 August ran direct Puyoô - Dax and via Survilliers-Fosses, but otherwise followed the outward route, with the same stock and locomotives 6573 and 26086 again changing at Les Aubrais. BLN 833.0415][NL] (Bilthoven -) Blauwkapel Oost aansluiting - Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum - Utrecht Lunetten: (BLN 757.0299, 827.0255; EGTRE; Ball 4A3-4A2) The former Utrecht Maliebaan passenger station, east of the town-centre on this active freight line avoiding Utrecht CS, hosts the Dutch national railway museum. On the Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the Whitsun weekend each year a special steam event is held. In 1998 a free shuttle train service operated between Utrecht CS and the museum, out via Bilthoven (reverse) and back via Lunetten sidings (reverse). Details of the next event on 22-24 May 1999 are likely to become available in due course on the website http://www.tref.nl/utrecht/stoom99. BLN 833.0416][DE] (Stralsund -) Abzw Borchtitz - Sassnitz Fährhafen: (BLN 816.0596, 822.0122; Ball 13B3) An afternoon Bergen (Rügen) - Sassnitz Fährhafen local train allows a good view of the area in daylight. From Abzw Borchtitz the line is effectively two separate branches heading east to Mukran, running parallel several hundred metres apart with several connections between them, both linking into the extensive marshalling-yards. The southerly running-line appears to lead to the broad-gauge area, as various Russian-looking vehicles could be seen in the distance in that direction. Passenger trains use the more northerly line, which passes two of the former staff halts, both still in good condition with nameboards. Mukran West is alongside the present running-line, but Mukran Mitte is one track away from it, and the platform road now seems to be used for locomotive stabling. Mukran Mitte platform is next to the km3.2 post, and the new Sassnitz Fährhafen passenger terminus and ship loading-ramp (opened 7 January 1998) must be about 4km from Abzw Borchtitz. Trains arrive in a dead-end island platform. Any rail vehicles to be embarked are then hauled back into the yard area and propelled on to the ferry. Vehicles off the Berlin service not going forward by ferry remain for twelve hours until the next train back. Budapest Keleti - Malmö trains #310/1 also use the ferry but, with no advertised stops in Germany, they do not appear in the Kursbuch. As an indication of the speed at which freight is now working between Germany and Sweden, a train seen at Bergen (Rügen) on Saturday afternoon was in Trelleborg yard on Sunday morning. This was a service between Italy and Scandinavia via Chiasso and Basel, with wagons on lengthy routes such as Ascoli - Trondheim. BLN 833.0417][DE] Berlin: Güterbahnhof Treptow - Anschluss Estrel: (Ball 32A2 not shown) On Sunday 23 August 1998 a special train was to run at 07:55 from Anschluss Estrel to Dresden in connection with a boat trip on the river Elbe, returning at 20:00, and more such excursions are planned (information from +49 30 6831 22332). On the local freight line (Industriebahn) serving sidings in the Neukölln area, Anschluss Estrel is a wooden platform accessed from the car-park directly behind the Hotel Estrel, Sonnenallee 225, at the corner of Ziegrastrasse, only 50m from S-Bahnhof Sonnenallee. Departing trains head south on the east bank of the Neuköllner Schiffahrtskanal beyond a junction south of Grenzallee, reverse, head west beyond a junction at Landstrasse/Niemetzstrasse, reverse, and head north on the west bank of the waterway, converging with the Südring just north of Sonnenallee station, and physically joining at Gbf Treptow the Neukölln - Sonnenallee - Treptower Park passenger route, reopened 18 December 1997 (BLN 823.0149, 824.0177). BLN 833.0418][DE] Radebeul Ost - Moritzburg - Radeburg: (BLN 827.0263; Ball 44A2-44A1) The 750mm-gauge line near Dresden is not being cut back to the Radebeul Ost - Moritzburg section, though delayed completion of track rehabilitation work did postpone its reopening from 1 August to 28 August 1998. Track crew then moved to work on the nearby Freital-Hainsberg - Kurort Kipsdorf line, also 750mm-gauge, which will reopen once the worst sections have been renewed. Its stations have already been smartly repainted. BLN 833.0419][DE] (Dresden - Freital-Birkigt -) Abzw Freital Ost - Gittersee (- Possendorf): (BLN 805.0306; Ball 45B1; Kursbuch der deutschen Museums-Eisenbahnen 306) To celebrate the 90th anniversary of passenger services to Possendorf, the preserved Windbergbahn is to see special trains from Dresden Hbf on 12-13 September 1998, connecting with a historic bus replacing the closed Gittersee - Possendorf section, or with a one-way trackbed walk at 10:00 on the Sunday morning for the more energetic. Information from +49 351 401 3463 (Mon-Fri 17:00-20:00 Sat 10:00-17:00). BLN 833.0420][DE] Bad Schandau Stadtpark - Lichtenhainer Wasserfall: light rail: (Ball 44B2 not shown) Opened 28 May 1898, the Kirnitzschtalbahn, a 8.2km metre-gauge tramway, a seasonal operation before 1938, runs from Bad Schandau - a small town of 4000 but a health-resort with many visitors - through the attractive Sächsische Schweiz national park. The waterfall at the terminus is somewhat bogus, for its summer flow, a mere trickle, is held back for 15 minutes or so, and then released to look impressive! The rest of the scenery is spectacular, however. BLN 833.0421][DE] Horka - Rothenburg (Lausitz) - Lodenau (- Steinbach (Kreis Niesky) DR - Behelfsbrücke - Sanice PKP): (BLN 797.0108; Ball 45A3) In DDR days the branch served an airfield at Lodenau and had passenger trains as far as Steinbach, close to which it accessed one of those strategic locations where a Warsaw Pact temporary rail bridge, last erected in 1986, could have been quickly thrown across the river Neisse to Sanice in Poland in time of war. On 2 August 1998 the group Ostsächsische Eisenbahnfreunde eV organised a steam special on the line, which is virtually out of use, with the remaining sidings at Rothenburg and Lodenau heavily rusted. At Lodenau, no trace of station buildings remains, and beyond the run-round loop at about km12.7 a civil-engineers' Schwellenkreuz (= crossed sleepers) blocks the track as it continues, presumably to the point of official abandonment at km13.457. BLN 833.0422][DE] Alzey - Kirchheimbolanden: (Ball 49A1) Closed to passengers in 1951, this is another freight branch (BLN 832.0383) that the progressive Land of Rheinland-Pfalz may reopen. (LCGB Bulletin, 7/1998) BLN 833.0423][DE] (Carlsfeld -) Schönheide Mitte - Neuheide - Stützengrün (- Wilkau-Hasslau): (Ball 54A3 not shown) Part of the once-extensive Saxon narrow-gauge network, but closed to passengers in summer 1975 and to freight from 1 May 1977, a 3.9km section has been rebuilt as the 750mm-gauge Schönheider Bahn'l and is run by a preservation group with steam locomotive #99 582 and a diesel. Running days in 1998 are listed as 14,15 Feb, 10,11,12,13 Apr, 1,3,30,31 May, 1,20,21 Jun, 18,19 Jul, 15,16 Aug, 12,13 Sep, 3,4,17,18 Oct, 4,5,6,12,13 Dec, but trains can be run on other dates for groups etc. Contact Museumsbahn Schönheide/Carlsfeld eV, Am Fuchsstein Lokschuppen, D-08304 Schönheide; +49 377 55 4303 or fax +49 377 55 2561. BLN 833.0424][DE] Walldürn - Hardheim: (BLN 824.0180; Ball 58A3) On Sundays and public holidays from 7 June to 4 October 1998 eight return passenger workings have been running on this freight branch to encourage people to visit Hardheim, and perhaps go cycling in the countryside around it. The first train down the branch leaves the junction at 08:15 (an incongruously early start for a service of this kind, especially on a wet Sunday morning), and the last returns at 21:30. Two shifts of DB train-crew paid at double time must add up to quite a subsidy bill for (presumably) the local council of an unexceptional small town. BLN 833.0425][DE] Nördlingen - Wilburgstetten (- Dinkelsbühl - Dombühl): (BLN 724.050; Ball 59A1-59A2) According to Lok Report for August 1998 the southern Nördlingen - Wilburgstetten section has been closed since 1997, and with the nearby Nördlingen - Oettingen (- Gunzenhausen) line also unavailable 'on technical grounds', the Bayerische Eisenbahnmuseum have been running their steam-hauled tourist trains to Harburg (Schwaben) on the electrified Nördlingen - Donauwörth line. Dinkelsbühl had timber traffic in mid-July 1996, and if this is still handled presumably it moves via the connection at the Dombühl end. BLN 833.0426][DE] Saal (Donau) - Kelheim: (Ball 60B2) Factories at the end of this short Bavarian branch no longer receive goods by rail, so the line closed to all traffic at the May 1998 timetable change. Track remains, but a derailer is in place at Saal, the junction station. No Abschiedsfahrt (= farewell trip) seems to have run, and indeed a Regensburg - Kelheim steam special due to operate on 22 August 1998 was cancelled. BLN 833.0427][DK] Vemb - Lemvig - Thyborřn Havn: (BLN 770.036, 823.0159; Ball 1A2-1A3) The Vemb-Lemvig-Thyborřn Jernbane built their steep Lemvig - Lemvig Havn line beyond the town station to the harbour in 1892 for movement of coal, and it still sees occasional freight including winter timber traffic to a firm in the dock area. The present summer service on the so-called BjergBane (= 'Mountain Railway'; Mon-Fri 1 July - 4 August in 1998) began in 1990, the initiative of three elderly VLTJ drivers, one of whom has since died. Early summer 1998 loadings have been 20% better than 1997's, though understandably few were attracted to go on the advertised connecting Limfjord cruise on 14 July, a day of pouring rain and gale-force wind. The train, one of VLTJ's ex-SJ Class Y7 railcars, ran however, proving that the ten-minute trip with one reversal is regarded as an all-weather service, though the timetable is indicative rather than rigidly adhered to. The timber platform at Lemvig Havn, close to the bus-station, is temporary, and marks on the tarmac, as on a theatre stage, show where it is to be placed each summer! Trains from Vemb reverse at Lemvig for Thyborřn, and on the northern part of the VLTJ main line run through sand dunes and past lagoons close to the sea. At Rřnland the Cheminova chemical works has a private siding, and one wonders what noxious process is banished to a place so remote, yet seemingly vulnerable to inundation. Beyond Thyborřn Havn station, the passenger terminus, lie further sidings serving industrial premises. BLN 833.0428][DK] Helsingřr - Hornbćk - Gilleleje: (BLN 823.0159; Ball 4B1) At Helsingřr, the private Helsingřr-Hornbćk-Gilleleje Jernbane has a connection on the west side of the DSB station, but a stop-board and rail-clamp prevent HHGB trains running through towards Křbenhavn except by special arrangement. HHGB services depart from the westernmost platform at Helsingřr station and run outside the west wall of the station-building traversing a short street-running section at the beginning of their 25km line along the coast to Gilleleje. BLN 833.0429][DK] Křbenhavn S-bane: Vanlřse - Lindevang - Solbjerg - Frederiksberg: (Ball 9A2) The 1500V dc S-Tog branch service from Vanlřse was due to be suspended from the last train on 23 May 1998 until 28 May while track and signalling were altered at Solbjerg station, allowing the Solbjerg - Frederiksberg section to close permanently to permit Metro construction (BLN 812.0499). In fact closure was deferred to 20 June, and the Vanlřse - Solbjerg section reopened 24 June. Redundant overhead wiring was still being removed on 16 July. Trains now reverse at Solbjerg in what was the outbound platform, and track to the other has been disconnected. The south-to-east (Domhus - Flintholm) and north-to-east (Grřndal - Flintholm) unelectrified curves on to the branch have both been disconnected, probably not so recently. On alternate Sundays 28 June - 2 August 1998 a 'veteran S-Tog' was advertised to make several return trips over a particular S-Tog line, for example two Ballerup - Nřrrebro - Klampenborg workings on 26 July using the connection from high-level to low-level lines at Vanlřse. On the Vanlřse - Nřrrebro - Ryparken loop, the building survives of the former Hareskovbane terminus, closed in 1977 when Nřrrebro - Emdrup (- Farum) trains were diverted to run Ryparken - Emdrup (- Farum) and the Farum line was electrified as part of the S-Bane network. BLN 833.0430][SE] Halmstad Central - Trönninge - Skottorp - Bĺstad - Ängelholm (- Helsingborg - Malmö): (Ball 25A3-25A1) The new Trönninge (Eldsberga Jn) - Skottorp line via the relocated Halholm station, avoiding Vallberga, has been in use since 1996, though further south the Skottorp - Ängelholm cut-off through the 8km Hallandsĺs Tunnel, avoiding Bĺstad, is not yet open, having been much delayed by technical and environmental problems. However the passing loop at Bĺstad has already been removed. Apparently to allow construction just south of Helsingborg of a new underbridge, Halmstad - Malmö trains on 16-20 July 1998 were diverted via the Ängelholm - Ĺstorp - Teckomatorp direct freight line, with connections at Ängelholm for Helsingborg passengers. BLN 833.0431][SE][FI] (Boden -) Haparanda - Tornio (- Kemi): (Ball 3B1) Passenger trains ceased to run eastwards from Boden in the 1980s, but freight continues. At the far western end of Haparanda yard an experimental TALGO gauge-changing facility is sheltered by a large tent. In June 1998 only two wagons were using this equipment, but if trials are successful up to 450 may be modified with dual-gauge wheelsets, greatly easing the flow of cross-border freight. Some 300,000t/year now moves through the conventional facilities in the yard, a rail-mounted gantry crane straddling two tracks of different gauges which transfers containers and large items, and a covered transhipment shed where forklift trucks transfer smaller goods between vans of different gauges positioned on either side of a central platform. East of the yard is Haparanda station, an island platform with 1524mm-gauge track to the north and 1435mm to the south, merging into a four-rail dual-gauge section that crosses into Finland by a long bridge over the Torneĺ/Tornio river, on which an SJ Class T44 locomotive and a VR Class Dv12 were seen hauling freight trains back to their home countries. How far 1435mm-gauge track once extended into Finland, and whether it now extends beyond Tornio freight yard, was not clear, nor were the former Boden - Kemi passenger arrangements, which presumably must have involved change at Haparanda, at Tornio or at either. BLN 833.0432][ES] Mallorca: Palma - Inca: (BLN 808.0388; Ball 38A1-38A2) The metre-gauge ex-FEVE Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca opened new workshops at Son Rullan, north of Palma, on 29 July 1998 (Majorca Daily Bulletin, 30 July), and the rail/bus station in Palma's Plaza d'Espańa is to see further phases of development. New diesel railcars, superbly air-conditioned, with illuminated plans showing the line's new and renovated stations in every coach, indicate the commitment to investment in the last three years, and the Inca - Sa Pobla/La Puebla branch is to reopen early in 1999. A possible new extension north of Sa Pobla to Alcudia is mooted, as also is a light-rail system serving the Palma Nova - Universidad - Palma - Aeropuerto - Arenal coastal corridor. Class 700 trams from Lisboa sold to the Palma - Sóller railway for their tramway extension (Sóller - Puerto de Sóller) were renovated by Talleres Agapito in Zaragoza province and slightly regauged from 900mm to 914mm. The first two, #20 and 21, arrived in Sóller in February and entered service in May 1998. BLN 833.0433][CZ] Most - Louka u Litvínova - Moldava v Krušných: (BLN 802.0239; Ball 35B1-35B2; CD 135) This scenic branch, threatened with closure in June 1997, was visited on the evening of 4 August 1998. Departing from Most the single railcar was well-filled, but only one person remained on arrival at the terminus, apart from the BLN reporter's party of three. Severe speed restrictions were in force through some of the tunnels, which had strengthening ribs, like those in Holme Tunnel on the Rose Grove - Todmorden line. BLN 833.0434][CZ] Tanvald - Harrachov: (BLN 821.0107, 825.0215; Ball 36A1; CD 035) This branch has now reopened and, along with the Liberec - Smrzovka - Tanvald - Zelezny Brod loop line and the Smrzovka - Josefuv Dul branch, is operated by GJW Praha, though some locomotives and railcars carry Jizerska draha branding. In August 1998 Harrachov trains were either a single Cl.810 railcar or a Cl.743 locomotive hauling one bogie coach. The adhesion railcars seem to have no problem with the 5.7% gradients and the rack remains disused. BLN 833.0435][CZ] Jindrichuv Hradec - Nova Bystrice / Obratan: (BLN 800.0240, 805.0322, 812.0511; Ball 41A3-41A2; CD 205, 206). Half an hour before departure on 8 August 1998 the Jindrichuv Hradec - Nova Bystrice summer-weekend steam train comprised locomotive #U47.001, four four-wheelers and two bogie vehicles, but as the train became full the operators decided to add another bogie coach by hand-shunting, four people pushing it from an adjacent siding. The privatised 760mm-gauge line runs through an area of forests and lakes, popular with the Czech families on holiday who formed almost all the passengers, and its diesel trains were also well-patronised. The 17:30 Jindrichuv Hradec - Obratan on the same day comprised 1954-built diesel locomotive #705.905 hauling two bogie coaches, the rear one being reserved for a group whose late-running CD connection from Veseli delayed the narrow-gauge departure for 17 minutes. The group alighted at Zdar halt, and the rear coach was detached at Kamenice nad Lipou, the main intermediate station on the line. The front coach was reasonably well-filled on departure, but numbers gradually fell to four between Chvalkov and Cernovice. To make up time the train-crew decided to stop at minor halts only on request, but failed to stop at Chvalkov - where a young couple wished to alight. Seeing their alarm as the the train 'sped' through at 50km/h, the conductor pulled the emergency-brake handle, and the couple were able to descend to the rather overgrown lineside some 400m beyond their station. Rather than run round at Obratan the locomotive fly-shunted its coach into a siding before continuing on the parallel running-line, and the train-crew hand-shunted the coach back into the station before the locomotive dropped back on to it. Operating methods might suggest flexibility and an eye to economy by the new private owners, but study of the timetable reveals that no fewer than four train-sets are required to run the sparse service on this line, which includes an unusual short afternoon working from Kamenice nad Lipou to the next station, Vcelnicka, and back, some 3km each way. BLN 833.0436][HU] Miskolc - Putnok - Bánréve - Ózd: (Ball 43A1) On 10 August 1998 train #902 Miskolc - Ózd reversed at Bánréve. The avoiding line that would have permitted through running was disconnected at both ends and its semaphore signals had been removed. BLN 833.0437][HU][SI][HR] Zalaegerszeg - Csömödér - Lenti - Rédics: (Ball 46B3-46B2; MÁV 23). Recent BLS travellers found Rédics an unexciting destination and were not surprised that planned development of the rural branch by a tourist partnership is focusing on the Zalaegerszeg - Csömödér - Lenti section (BLN 825.0217). The 18km Csömödér - Kistolmács 760mm-gauge ÁEV forestry line nearby is well worth a visit. At Rédics, disused trackbed continues westwards towards the nearby frontier. Restoration as a Hungary-Slovenia international link has never been likely since the nearest Slovenian station, Lendava, is itself accessible only by the Cakovec - Mursko Sredisce HZ - Lendava SZ branch from Croatia and is not connected directly to the SZ system. BLN 834.0438][FR] Le Crotoy - Noyelles-sur-Mer - St.Valéry-sur-Somme - Cayeux-sur-Mer: (BLN 832.0370; Ball 14A3) With five steam locomotives as well as vintage diesel traction and elderly carriages, the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme - twinned with the Kent & East Sussex - is enjoyed by some 60,000 passengers each season. Easily reachable from Britain by car plus Eurotunnel shuttle-train, this attractive railway can be combined with, for example, the 600mm-gauge Froissy - Cappy - Dompierre (Ball 15A2) and standard-gauge St.Quentin - Origny-Ste.Bénoîte (BLN 714.04; 15B2) steam lines, to make a pleasant summer weekend visit. In summer 1887 the Societé Générale des Chemins de fer Économiques opened a network of metre-gauge lines serving the dual purpose of bringing tourists to the seaside resorts of the Somme estuary and carrying the local produce, principally shingle, shellfish and beet. In its early years much of the line was carried on long low trestle viaducts some 4.5m above the open salt marshlands, but since then the marshes have considerably silted up, and the full name of the main-line junction, Noyelles-sur-Mer, is today a bit of a misnomer, with the shore some 2km away. One part of the system that has not survived is the Noyelles- Canchy line, which ran on a still-traceable embankment north alongside the (Paris -) Noyelles - Rue (- Boulogne) SNCF line before crossing it and heading east for 14km. Its last regular traffic was sugar-beet for the factory at Lanchčres-Pende on the Cayeux line, but the final working was on 7 January 1965, official closure came in December 1966, and the local authority sold the trackbed in May 1967. Noyelles - Le Crotoy freight had already vanished when this line closed to passenger trains from 1 January 1970. Noyelles - St.Valéry - Cayeux-Brighton lost its passenger trains from 1 January 1973. A photograph of the last train appeared in La Vie du Rail of 4 February 1973. Freight remained only on the mixed-gauge Noyelles - St.Valéry-Canal section, where in 1972 standard-gauge wagons were hauled by a metre-gauge locomotive of CFTA, who then worked the system. This SNCF freight traffic continued for a time. The Association du Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme preservation group was formed in 1970 (La Vie du Rail, #1357) and the associated Compagnie des Chemins de Fer Touristiques et Industriels began running seasonal tourist trains Le Crotoy - Noyelles 4 July 1971 and Noyelles - St.Valéry - Cayeux from summer 1973. The short St.Valéry-Ville - St.Valéry-Port branch first saw passenger trains (but not those to/from Cayeux) either some time in summer 1973 or at the start of summer 1974 (CF Régionaux et Urbains, #189), but after summer 1975 trains seem again to have terminated at St.Valéry-Ville, and by 1978 the Port line was tarred over where it crossed the road. In summer 1975 operations, under the title CF de la Baie de Somme, were cut back to St.Valéry-Port - Noyelles only, but in summer 1976 expanded again to St.Valéry-Ville - Noyelles - Le Crotoy. In summer 1976 or 1977 a distinct faction in the preservation group recommenced running St.Valéry-Ville - Cayeux as a separate operation, but since summer 1978 all trains have run under the CFBS banner (La Vie du Rail, 23 July 1978). In summer 1985, or possibly 1986, the Port branch reopened in conjunction with local road improvements (CF Régionaux et Urbains, #189). Days of operation have gradually increased, and summer 1997 saw introduction of the morning trains at July and August weekends. The Cayeux line has always been operated with stock from St.Valéry, but before 1997 only a single round-trip from the Cayeux end was advertised, and the stock worked out and back empty. Since summer 1997 the same workings have been more sensibly advertised also as two round-trips from St.Valéry. BLN 834.0439][DE] Munster (Örtze) - Munster Haltepunkt Emminger Weg (Anschluss Bundeswehr): (EGTRE 99/154; Ball 17B1 not shown) A passenger branch serves a German army camp some 3km south-west of Munster, with IC1146/7, a pair of weekend InterCity trains footnoted in the public timetable (KBS116) as running from and to Anschluss Bundeswehr, though the platform served is described locally as Munster Hp Emminger Weg. It is in a public area, though the street Emminger Weg becomes restricted to military traffic beyond the level-crossing next the station. The empty stock is propelled in down the branch at about 10:50 for the outbound Fridays-only train at 11:22 to Köln Hbf, whence the return working arrives just after midnight on Monday morning. BLN 834.0440][DE] Achern - Achern Stadt - Ottenhöfen: (BLN 743.0358, 777.0167; Ball 57A1) With the rebuilding of much of the Karlsruhe - Basel main line (BLN 809.0412), Achern's old junction station has been completely demolished, and the Achern - Achern Stadt section of SWEG's Achertalbahn has been realigned. A short piece of the SWEG line to the old station remains as a siding. BLN 834.0441][AT] Kienberg-Gaming - Lunz am See: (BLN 778.0190; Ball 74B2) Connecting at both ends with lines still part of the ÖBB system (Pöchlarn - Kienberg-Gaming, standard-gauge, and Waidhofen an der Ybbs - Lunz am See, 760mm-gauge), this section of former ÖBB 760mm-gauge track was taken over in 1988 by the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Lokalbahnen as a tourist Museumsbahn. In 1998 Ybbstalbahn trains run every Saturday and Sunday until 11 October (plus 24-26 October, but not 5-6 September), from Kienberg-Gaming at 10:30 and 15:00, returning from Lunz am See 12:10 and 16:40. Information from +43 74 165 2692. (Schienenverkehr Aktuell, 8/98) BLN 834.0442][AT] (Payerbach Lokalbahnhof -) Reichenau - Hirschwang (- Windbrücke-Raxbahn): (Ball 75B2-75A2) Opened in 1926, the electrified 760mm-gauge Höllentalbahn once started close to Payerbach-Reichenau station on ÖBB's Wien - Bruck an der Mur Südbahn main line, but the 2.4km Payerbach Lokalbf - Reichenau section has been out of use since at least 1992. The line used also to connect with the Raxbahn cableway above Hirschwang. In 1998 tourist trains were advertised every Sunday in July and August, plus 13,27 September and 11 October, with departures from Reichenau hourly 10:00-16:00 (not 13:00), returning from Hirschwang 30 minutes later. Contact Österreichische Gesellschaft für Lokalbahnen on +43 266 622 0627. (Schienenverkehr Aktuell, 8/98) BLN 834.0443][AT] Gmünd NÖ - Alt Nagelberg - Litschau: (BLN 810.0439; Ball 63B2-63B1) On this 760mm-gauge line, ÖBB advertised Gmünd - Litschau excursions on four dates in 1998 of which one remains: the train on 31 December returns on 1 January 1999 after passengers have seen in the New Year at Litschau. On the Alt Nagelberg - Heidenreichstein branch, trains of the preservation group Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnverein have been advertised to operate in 1998 on Saturdays and Sundays May - October (OEIS 9818), running from Alt Nagelberg ÖBB station rather than WSV's temporary Alt Nagelberg Friedhofweg halt as in 1997. BLN 834.0444][AT] Stainz - Wohlsdorf - Preding-Wieselsdorf: (BLN 751.0138; Ball 83B2) This 760mm-gauge line opened in 1892 and closed completely 1 February 1932, as a result of the economic depression, closure in 1930 of the local match-factory, and road improvements, though it reopened for limited freight services exactly a year later. During World War II, public freight services also resumed, and passenger services even ran again, from 1945 until withdrawn 1 February 1951. Commercial freight was carried only in standard-gauge wagons on narrow-gauge Rollwagen transporters, loaded at Preding-Wieselsdorf on the standard-gauge Graz - Lieboch - Wies-Eibiswald line of the Graz Köflacher Bahn, the GKB being mixed-gauge for about 1km south to Wohlsdorf where the narrow-gauge diverged west. Freight ceased 31 March 1980. Since as long ago as 3 July 1971, it seems summer tourist trains have run on the former Steiermärkische Landesbahnen line, offering a two-hour round-trip from the Stainz end, the journey time being padded out by refreshment stops. In summer 1997 the line still terminated at a run-round loop at Wohlsdorf, just short of the GKB, but work seemed well-advanced on widening the GKB trackbed and extending a culvert over a stream, so that the narrow-gauge trains could run alongside the standard-gauge into Preding-Wieselsdorf station. Schienenverkehr Aktuell for September 1997 said the extension was to open at the start of the 1999 season, but even without it travellers should have no difficulty in alighting at Wohlsdorf and making their own way to Preding-Wieselsdorf to catch a GKB train, a useful option since GKB buses to Stainz at the weekend are not frequent. In 1998 the Stainzer Flascherlzug departs Stainz at 15:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from May till end-October (including Monday 26 October). When required for pre-booked parties, morning trains run on these days at 10:00. Information from +43 3463 5500 or fax +43 3463 220322. BLN 834.0445][US] New York, NY: St.George - Tottenville: As well as the 371km third-rail dc New York City Subway network, the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority run the 23km Staten Island Railway, effectively an isolated and above-ground subway line with hourly off-peak trains. The Staten Island Ferry from Manhattan is now free both ways, and St.George ferry-interchange seems to have the only pay-booth on the railway. Other stations are unstaffed, apart from a few selling tokens in the morning peak, and it seems to have no on-train sales. BLN 834.0446][US] New York, NY: Metro-North Railroad: main lines: The MTA also run two separate and extensive regional railways, Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). The huge and impressive two-tier Grand Central Terminal currently being renovated now hosts only Metro-North trains, all running on electric power at least within the city, as New York law requires. The most westerly line of three, the scenic Hudson Line (Grand Central - Mott Haven Jn - Spuyten Duyvil - Croton-Harmon - Poughkeepsie, NY) diverges at Mott Haven Jn from the New Haven Line and heads north, running close to the river Hudson for most of the way. Amtrak's trains now all use Penn Station (BLN 821.0113) and their line joins at Spuyten Duyvil, with inter-city and commuter trains then sharing Metro-North-owned tracks as far as Poughkeepsie. Hourly third-rail electric units run out to Croton-Harmon, and hourly push-pull trains with electro-diesel locomotives run fast to Croton-Harmon, switching to diesel power to call at most stations beyond to Poughkeepsie. Weekend services run at similar frequencies. Metro-North's electric units on the New Haven Line (Grand Central - Mott Haven Jn - Woodlawn - New Rochelle, NY - Stamford, CT - South Norwalk - Bridgeport - Stratford - New Haven, CT) turn north-east along the coast and switch from third-rail to overhead on the move shortly before reaching New Rochelle, where they join Amtrak's Northeast Corridor from New York Penn station. The basic Metro-North off-peak service is a half-hourly Mon-Fri (hourly at weekends) stopping train to Stamford and an hourly express fast to Stamford, then stations to New Haven. At Bridgeport, it is a short walk to the ferry-terminal whence several sailings a day go to Port Jefferson on Long Island, where it is a rather longer walk to the LIRR branch terminus. BLN 834.0447][US] New York, NY: Metro-North Railroad: branches: The New Haven Line has three branches. Stamford - New Canaan has a basic electric-unit suburban shuttle, with Mon-Fri peak through trains to Grand Central. The lines further out retain more of their branch-line character, running through pleasant rural scenery. South Norwalk - Danbury has Mon-Fri peak through trains to Grand Central, plus six Mon-Sun push-pull diesel local workings that terminate at the single-platform terminus before stabling in the yards adjacent to Danbury's Railroad Museum. Bridgeport - Stratford - Waterbury push-pull diesel trains diverge from the main line at Stratford, with six round-trips Mon-Fri and four at weekends, terminating at a high-level platform a short distance south of Waterbury's historic 'depot'. Beyond Metro-North's limits, Amtrak are upgrading and electrifying the important New Haven, CT - Boston, MA section of their Northeast Corridor. Lying between the other two Metro-North lines, the Harlem Line (Grand Central - Mott Haven Jn - Woodlawn - North White Plains - Brewster North - Dover Plains) diverges at Woodlawn from the New Haven Line to run north parallel to the Hudson Line but away from the river. Half-hourly Mon-Fri stopping trains run to North White Plains with hourly service through thinning suburbia to Brewster North, the terminus for electric trains. Beyond, apart from peak through trains, push-pull diesel services run at two-hourly intervals through lightly populated varied rural scenery, with a 40-minute layover in the pleasant small town of Dover Plains. Metro-North seem to offer no rover-type tickets, but fares are moderate, a Grand Central - Dover Plains off-peak return costing about USD12. BLN 834.0448][US] New York, NY: Long Island Rail Road: Jamaica, a large island-platformed interchange station, is the effective hub of the 524km LIRR, 195km of it electrified, with 750V dc third-rail. With the exception of those on the Woodside - Port Washington branch, all LIRR passengers from the New York metropolitan area bound for Long Island points to the east must pass through or change at Jamaica. Connections are well orchestrated but rely almost totally on announcements. The platforms seem to have no train indicators, though the booking-hall has a TV screen. From the city direction three lines converge eastwards on Jamaica. The northerly one, the 18km Penn Station - Woodside - Jamaica LIRR main line, is quadruple, though in summer 1998 two Woodside - Jamaica tracks were out of use for engineering work, and the short Long Island City - Hunterspoint Avenue - Woodside link was also closed till 13 September. Five minutes from peak-hour East River ferries and a subway station, Long Island City terminus serves diesel trains barred from entering the tunnels to Manhattan and is little more than a set of bare tarred strips between the tracks to the north side of Long Island City Yard. All its services were temporarily diverted to use the Long Island City - Fresh Pond - Jamaica branch. This depressing unelectrified line lost its intermediate stations in March 1998 and normally has only Mon-Fri peak trains with careworn carriages of the kind used on all LIRR diesel services, often sandwiched between two locomotives. The southernmost line converging on Jamaica, from Brooklyn (Flatbush Avenue - Jamaica), is however electrified with a frequent service. If as planned in the longer-term, perhaps by 2009, MTA connect Metro-North at Grand Central Terminal through existing and new tunnels to LIRR at Sunnyside Yard (near Hunterspoint Avenue), almost half the existing LIRR service would divert to start from GCT. East of Jamaica the LIRR has eight short and two long branches off its main 45km Jamaica - Mineola - Hicksville - Bethpage - Babylon spine. To the south-east are two separate routes to Rosedale. According to timetables, Jamaica - St.Albans - Rosedale is served only by trains for the 8km (Rosedale -) Valley Stream - West Hempstead branch, but a Jamaica - Rosedale - Babylon electric ran fast that way and all may do so. Diesel trains to Babylon probably all take the main line via Bethpage. At the triangular junction leading to the shortest branch, to Belmont Park racetrack, the east-to-south curve was very rusty in late May but the branch had trains twice daily 13 May-26 July (MTX) in connection with racing there. Diesel trains serve both the 21km Mineola - Oyster Bay branch and the outer end of the 53km Hicksville - Huntington - Port Jefferson branch. Notices at Oyster Bay warn that only residents are allowed to walk from the station through to view the magnificent shoreline, and that evidence of identity may be asked for at any time! BLN's reporter was not challenged. The lengthy 110km Bethpage - Ronkonkoma - Greenport and 126km Babylon - Patchogue - Montauk branches to the east end of Long Island both have similar services aimed at the city-bound commuter. The diesel-worked Montauk branch has a reasonable service out to Patchogue, but Montauk inbound Mon-Fri departures are at 00:52, 05:38, 11:27 and 22:36, requiring a 07:49 departure from Penn station for a weekday round-trip, with little time at the outer terminus. The best time for a round-trip on either branch is at the weekend, when 07:57, 09:57 and 11:57 departures from Penn, changing at Jamaica, all allow suitable return times. On a Sunday trip an electric unit took BLN's reporter to Ronkonkoma, where the connection for the final 34km was two coaches between two diesels. In spite of this power, the train barely reached 70km/h through the pastoral scenery, arriving late at Greenport, a waterside terminus with nearby ferry slips offering frequent service to offshore islands. BLN 834.0449][US] New Jersey Transit: The 22km Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) subway, a joint New York-New Jersey operation, and New Jersey Transit's regional trains also take rail-borne commuters home from Manhattan through tunnels under the Hudson estuary. New Jersey has possibly the best passenger rail coverage of any state in the USA. NJT also serve part of New York state on behalf of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and in the south run into Philadelphia, PA. Traditionally PATH subway trains, ferries and buses brought passengers from the city to NJT's waterside terminus opposite Manhattan at Hoboken, NJ, whence ran all the commuter trains for north and middle New Jersey. All that changed with the opening in late 1996 of the Kearny Connection linking Amtrak's New York Penn - Newark Penn, NJ - Trenton, NJ Northeast Corridor tracks with NJT's Hoboken - Newark Broad Street line just east of Hudson Tower. A parallel Waterfront Connection also climbs from Hoboken through Kearny Yards to join the Northeast Corridor south. Kearny Connection services from New York Penn are branded Midtown Direct and have proved so popular that Hoboken's role has reduced, especially off-peak. New York Penn station however has insufficient capacity to handle more peak trains, and to free up platforms through-running of MTA and NJT trains is being considered. The NJT lines from Hoboken that branch off east of the Kearny connection are also to have links from New York Penn. The Newark Broad Street - Montclair Bay Street electric line is to be extended a short distance to meet the Hoboken - North Newark - Upper Montclair - Great Notch - Boonton - Denville diesel line, thus bypassing the existing section through North Newark which may close. Electrification will be extended from Montclair out to Great Notch. Hoboken - Boonton - Denville has commuter-timed trains only, though this will change when the Montclair link opens. Where the Northeast Corridor crosses the remaining NJT lines (Hoboken - Ridgewood, NJ - Suffern, NY - Port Jervis and Hoboken - Spring Valley, NY, both unelectrified) a new two-level interchange is to be built at Secaucus. The most easterly NJT route, Hoboken - Spring Valley, is the purest of commuter lines with seven Mon-Fri morning trains inbound and ten back in the afternoon and evening, but planned service enhancement may make it easier to visit from New York city. A day trip is however available at convenient times using the two different routes (Main Line and Bergen County Line) between Hoboken and Ridgewood, giving an increasingly scenic ride northwards from Suffern into New York state to the well-sited terminus at Port Jervis, where the old depot serves as a small-exhibits railway museum and the town is in an attractive riverside location. An opportunity to travel Hoboken - Port Jervis behind steam (Chesapeake & Ohio 4-8-4 #614) is offered on six days in 1998 (10,11,17,18,31 October and 1 November; details from http://www.chessie614.com). The Newark Broad Street - Summit - Denville - Dover line and the Summit - Gladstone branch both have a daily service of at least hourly electric trains. Beyond Dover a Mon-Fri, mostly peak-hour, diesel service extends Dover - Mount Olive - Hackettstown, the outer terminus. Hoboken - Hackettstown round-trips are possible at 05:58 and 13:55. Newark Penn - Raritan - High Bridge has diesel trains to Raritan all week and High Bridge Mon-Fri, with round-trips to High Bridge, a small town high up in the New Jersey hills, possible only at 06:35 and 15:05. Its branch connection off the Northeast Corridor at Hunter Tower is being reconstructed for higher speeds. BLN 834.0450][US] New Jersey Transit: light rail: NJT's 8km Newark Penn - Franklin Avenue line, opened 1935-40, runs initially in a 2.5km tunnel, then uses an old canal-bed as reserved-track through rather dreary suburbs to the north. At present an anachronism in its use of ex-Minneapolis-St.Paul PCC tramcars, due to be replaced by 2000, it is well worth the USD1 fare each way. BLN 834.0451][US] New Jersey Transit: Northeast Corridor: NJT electric units run half-hourly Mon-Fri and hourly at weekends on the Northeast Corridor (New York Penn - Newark Penn, NJ - Princeton Jn - Trenton, NJ) with connections onward from Trenton to Philadelphia 30th St by South East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority trains. Through NJT-SEPTA fares are about a quarter of those on Amtrak's faster trains. Jersey Avenue station between Newark Penn and Princeton Jn is unusual in that both its platforms are on the west side. NJT trains southbound from New York call approximately hourly Mon-Fri but northbound trains start from a terminal platform on a spur off the running lines with the last train at 09:12! At Princeton Jn the branch connection sees no through passenger use, but a single electric car connecting out of Northeast Corridor trains serves the university town of Princeton 5km away (BLN 809.0428). The Rahway - Long Branch - Bay Head branch south off the Northeast Corridor is electrified to Long Branch, with diesel trains beyond to Bay Head. A few direct Mon-Fri trains run Hoboken - Bay Head using the Waterfront Connection. Philadelphia 30th Street - Frankford Jn, PA - Haddonfield, NJ - Lindenwold - Atlantic City (BLN 755.0262), though a branch off the Northeast Corridor, starts in the neighbouring state of Pennsylvania and is thus detached from the rest of the NJT system. Some 13 return workings run daily, diesel-operated. A round-trip revealed that few passengers board or alight at the low-level platforms of 30th St main-line station, most using the interchange at the Lindenwold, NJ, terminus of Philadelphia's PATCO subway. Atlantic City's modern spacious terminus is in a convention-centre, well-sited and with frequent bus connections to the famous casinos. BLN 835.0452][FR] Portbail - Carteret: (Ball 11A1) The depot at Carteret looked decidedly run-down in summer 1998, even for a preservation group's base, but the short Ligne de la Côte des Isles was advertised to operate TThSuO until 1 September. Contact details are: Train Touristique du Cotentin, F-50270 St.Jean de la Rivičre; telephone +33 2 33 04 70 08. Disused Carentan - Baupte - La Haye-du-Puits - Portbail track seems mostly intact, though BLN 749.084 noted that in 1994 it was severed in more than one place, and earlier plans to run through had been abandoned. Elsewhere in Normandie, Sottevast - La Haye-du-Puits - Coutances (BLN 807.0350; 11A1-22A3) St.Lô - Condé-sur-Vire - Torigni-St.Amand (22A3), Pontaubault - St.Hilaire-du-Harcouët (BLN 780.0237; 22A2), Vire - Mortain-le-Neufbourg (BLN 737.0226; 22B2), Caen - Clécy (BLN 750.0106, 23A3-22B3) and Caen - Soumont-St.Quentin (23A3) all appear to have been wholly or partially lifted. BLN 835.0453][FR] (Hayange -) Bif de Florange - Thionville: (BLN 829.0301; Ball 18A1) On 22 August 1998 train #2125 06:50 Lille Flandres - Metz used this west-to-north curve to reverse at Thionville, making a connection there for Strasbourg. Until May 1998 this train took the west-to-south curve avoiding Thionville and made the connection at Metz for Strasbourg. The new Thionville routeing was not shown on the departure screen at Lille, nor in the SNCF summer timetable book, though the SNCF May 1998 computer timetable includes it. BLN 835.0454][FR] (Caen -) Lison - St.Lô - Coutances - Folligny - Dol (- Rennes): (Ball 23A3-21B1) An SNCF publicity leaflet picked up at St.Lô in summer 1998 promises some expensive improvements on this line, until recently thought to be a possible candidate for closure. Track is to be upgraded to allow 130km/h running on some sections and 160km/h on others, and new X72500 diesel railcars are to operate an accelerated service, giving a 2h30min Caen - Rennes timing. The leaflet also talks of a proposed new branch from near Pontorson to Mont-St.Michel, to be operated as a light railway or tramway. Also shown on the map in the leaflet but not mentioned in the text is a north-to-west Folligny avoiding curve, presumably for a new Caen - Granville service. BLN 835.0455][FR] Lyon-Perrache - Oullins - Givors: (BLN 798.0131; Ball 56B3-56B2) Lyon-Perrache's new platforms on this line were to open on 6 October 1998, with a walkway to the main station. All platforms are renumbered. The trains running through from/to Lyon-Part-Dieu may continue to reverse at Perrache Poste 1 signal-box. BLN 835.0456][FR] St.Georges-de-Commiers - La Mure: (BLN 826.0223; Ball 57B1) Just short of the present station at La Mure, 881m above sea-level, a single track leaves the running-line, heading behind and to the west of the former goods-yard over an automatic half-barrier level-crossing and continuing downhill parallel to the road for several hundred metres to a tarmac platform with modern concrete edging. The track is not in use and very rusty, but not overgrown except near the goods-yard. The overhead wiring is carried on modern steel masts, unlike the ageing concrete poles used on the rest of the line. The branch terminates on the edge of the built-up area, closer to the town-centre than La Mure station, but at a lower level, 865m. The platform has no nameboard, only a large advertisement for the line. The railway's literature calls the location La Mure-Ville, but does not label it a station. Do the Vivendi subsidiary company CFTA, new operators of the metre-gauge line, maybe plan to divert the trains in 1999? BLN 835.0457][FR] Rodez - Sévérac-le-Château: (BLN 781.0256; Ball 62B2-63A2) The sparse service shown in the Languedoc-Roussillon Guide Régional des Transports for 24 May to 28 November 1998 seems to have been superseded, for an SNCF Midi-Pyrénées local timetable valid from 30 August 1998 gives the following trains: Mon-Fri Rodez 14:09 - Sévérac-le-Château (- 15:36 Millau) Sun only (Toulouse-Matabiau 14:26 -) Rodez 16:57 - Sévérac-le-Château (- 18:26 St.Rome-de-Cernon) Mon-Fri Rodez 18:17 - Sévérac-le-Château (- 19:35 Millau) Fri only (Toulouse-Matabiau 17:22 -) Rodez 19:28 - Sévérac-le-Château (- 20:44 Millau) Mon-Sat (St.Rome-de-Cernon 07:08 -) Sévérac-le-Château 08:03 - 09:43 Rodez Mon-Fri (Millau 15:49 -) Sévérac-le-Château 16:26 - 17:06 Rodez Sun only (St.Rome-de-Cernon 18:48 -) Sévérac-le-Château 19:36 - 20:35 Rodez BLN 835.0458][FR] (Toulouse-Matabiau -) Toulouse-St.Cyprien-Arčnes - Les Capelles - Colomiers (- Auch): (Ball 71B3-71A3) In the Midi-Pyrénées local SNCF timetable valid from 30 August 1998, six new shuttle workings are shown from 31 August between St.Cyprien-Arčnes and Colomiers, giving a total of some 16 trains Mon-Fri each way on this section. Although worked by diesel railcars and trailers, the St.Cyprien-Arčnes - Colomiers line is now shown, rather unusually, as Métro Ligne C on the Toulouse public-transport map, with an interchange at St.Cyprien-Arčnes to Ligne A, the city's first and only real metro line, which uses the driverless light-metro VAL equipment pioneered in Lille. SNCF accept Métro tickets on Ligne C for the appropriate zonal fare. BLN 835.0459][DE] Bergen (Rügen) - Putbus - Lauterbach Mole: (BLN 739.0279, 797.0103; Ball 13B2; KBS198) To allow completion of track work on the c.300m extension down the formation of the former freight line to the harbour, rail-replacement buses were to run from 13 July, this Schienenersatzverkehr being advertised to continue until 14 August. It seems likely that trains were restored thereafter, and used the old Lauterbach halt for another month. The new Lauterbach Mole halt at the end of the extension opened on Tuesday 15 September 1998, the first train being the 05:39 from Bergen, with BLN's prescient (and early-rising) reporter in attendance. At the same time the old Lauterbach (Rügen) station, latterly only a halt, closed. Its station building is in residential use and the platform remains, but all trains now pass through without stopping. On opening-day, signposting in the village was still ambiguous, and only a small A5-size notice on the platform side at the old station warned of the change of location that day, nearly causing one potential passenger to miss the first train from the new halt! All pointwork at Lauterbach has been removed and no third-rail has been laid, nor sleepers prepared, to allow RüKB 750mm-gauge Göhren - Putbus Rasende Roland steam tourist trains to reach Lauterbach Mole. However a recent RüKB press-release says this is still planned and work should start shortly. BLN 835.0460][DE] Dessau Wörlitzer Bf - Wörlitz: (BLN 753.0184, 783.0303, 812.0489, 825.0206; Ball 28B1; KBS257) The Dessau-Wörlitzer Eisenbahn's WSSuO trains are to continue till 3 November 1998, after which the whole line, in poor condition, is to close for two years for rebuilding. When it reopens trains will use Dessau Hbf and a new alignment across the goods-yard. According to a driver on the line, Wörlitzer Bf may close completely, but it could become used by a preservation group, perhaps with steam. Parts of a steam locomotive were to be seen in the yard on 30 August 1998. BLN 835.0461][DE] Berlin Lehrter Bahnhof: (BLN 816.0598, 819.052; Ball 32A2) A new four-track bridge under construction during summer 1998 will carry the Stadtbahn (both S-Bahn and Fernbahn tracks) over the Humboldthafen river basin and via east-west high-level platforms above the north-south low-level platforms of the new central Lehrter Bf. This will divert the Stadtbahn somewhat south of its present alignment, which explains why the viaduct through and alongside the present Lehrter Stadtbf was not rebuilt along with the rest of the Stadtbahn. BLN 835.0462][DE] (Neustadt -) Sebnitz (Sachsen) - Bad Schandau: (Ball 44B2-44B1; KBS248) Buses were replacing trains from August 1998 until further notice due to poor condition of a bridge at Rathmannsdorf (Kreis Pirna), with complete closure threatened, perhaps from November. BLN 835.0463][DE] Leopoldshafen - Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe: (EGTRE 99/608; Ball 57A2 not shown) For an open day at the Karlsruhe nuclear research-centre on 18 September 1998, AVG ran a special shuttle service using one four-car set comprising two double-ended two-car trams with Sonderzug on the destination screen. The set waited in the southbound (western) loop at Leopoldshafen Frankfurter Strasse till the northbound S1/S11 tram had left, allowing time for transfer of passengers and for the single line to the junction just north of the station to clear before setting off on the journey of only a few minutes to the research-centre. The electrified branch headed east for about 1km, crossing a road and entering woodland. An unelectrified run-round loop outside the site showed signs of use, but a similarly unelectrified siding was rusty and disused as it branched off on the north side of the line some 200m before the boundary-fence to enter the site through a gate. The electrified line continued east through its own separate gate into the site, and once inside another unelectrified siding, this time with shiny rails, branched off on the north side toward a storage area. The electric route curved south, running for some 500m past waste-treatment ponds before swinging east for another 500m to terminate at a 'station' comprising two parallel sidings, each with a platform able to take a three-car set, but with no nameboards. The four-car set was just too long for the north platform, so it fouled the point for the other road, and only the north platform was seen in use on the open day. No other AVG staff were on duty at either end of the branch, and the tram-driver would have no time, or reason, to change the point and use the south platform road - which was nevertheless shiny, indicating some recent use, perhaps by a service tram the previous day. No information about the special or the normal service was seen here or at other stations on the line. BLN 835.0464][AT] Graz trams: (BLN 816.0601; Ball 83B3 not shown) The Hilmteich - Maria Trost section of route #1 closed for track works again during 1998 (11 Jul-11 Sep), as also did Hauptplatz - Andritz on routes #4 and 5. (Schienenverkehr Aktuell, 8/98) BLN 835.0465][DK][DE] Viborg - Lřgstřr: (Ball 2A2-2A3) This lengthy freight branch in northern Denmark, visited by a BLS railtour in April 1995, closed to DSB traffic in 1997, but in 1998 Privatbanen Sřnderjylland (BLN 823.0159) have reopened it for freight under new 'open access' rules. PBS also operate freight on the Bramming - Grindsted branch (5B2-5B3) and work closely with NVAG on the cross-border Třnder DSB - Niebüll DB line (BLN 812.0497, 826.0228; 5B1-9B3), once restricted to military traffic, according to Today's Railways for July 1998. BLN 835.0466][DK][SE] Křbenhavn - Kastrup DSB - (tunnel) - Peberholm/Pepparholm (artificial island) - (bridge) - Lernacken SJ - Svĺgertorp - Fosieby - Malmö: (BLN 811.0470; Ball DK-9A2, SE-25A1) With the opening of the Danish part of the Řresund/Öresund fixed link as far as Kastrup airport on 28 September 1998, local trains are to run direct to Rřskilde and to Helsingřr, plus some Lyntog (= 'lightning train') services to Aarhus. Though not planned for completion till 2000, the link is also affecting the pattern of services at the Swedish end, for an official booklet shows the Bjuv - Ĺstorp line (BLN 811.0471), hitherto virtually freight-only, as having a passenger service from 17 August 1998. By 2000 passenger trains are to run on the Malmö - Lomma - Kävlinge direct line and the Teckomatorp - Ĺstorp line (BLN 833.0430), both freight-only at present. The initial Lernacken - Fosieby (- Malmö) Kontinentalbanan route from the bridge, which is to join the Trelleborg - Malmö line at Fosieby, just north of its junction with the Ystad - Malmö line, will close to passengers once the more direct Lernacken - Malmö route in tunnel under the latter city opens in around 2005. Ystad and Trelleborg passenger trains will also divert away from their present route into Malmö and use the city tunnel instead. BLN 835.0467][SE][FI] (Boden -) Haparanda - Tornio (- Kemi): (BLN 833.0431; Ball 3B1) In summer 1954 the Haparanda - Tornio passenger service was a shuttle worked by Finnish broad-gauge coaches and locomotive, typically a 4-6-0 wood-burner, as photographed by a BLN reporter at the time. Through passengers had to change trains at both ends of the cross-border link. Another reporter who travelled this way around 1991 points out that the cross-border passenger services lasted longer than 'the 1980s' - but when did they end? It seems that the standard-gauge never went north of Tornio. In August 1998 the 1435mm-gauge tracks on the west side of Tornio yard merge into one track ending at a buffer-stop in the disused 'Swedish' bay at the south-west end of Tornio station, and the 1524mm-gauge passes the single through platform. Tornio has no passenger trains, but retains a ticket-office. BLN 835.0468][CH] Switzerland: new alignments: The lengthy new Lötschberg Basistunnel from Frutigen to Raron (Ball 92B1-99B3) is to be mainly single-track, to keep down the huge capital cost. Nothing can yet be seen of its southern approach from the Martigny - Brig line west of Visp, but in summer 1998 various other new alignments under construction were certainly visible to the passing traveller. The Basel - Olten line is being realigned between Muttenz and Liestal (86B2) and the Olten - Bern line between Rothrist and Mattstetten (87A1-92B3). On the Yverdon - Neuchâtel line the new double-track alignment crosses the present single-track alignment several times between Onnens-Bonvillars and Gorgier-St.Aubin (91A2-91A3). On the Lausanne - Fribourg line the present 921m tunnel north of Vauderens (91B1) is unsuitable for alteration to accommodate double-deck trains, and is being replaced by a new one which may in the longer term form part of a cut-off extending from Vauderens to Villars-sur-Glâne on the outskirts of Fribourg. Realignment is under way between Zürich and Thalwil (97A1). On the metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn's Bever - Scuol-Tarasp line, a triangular junction between Susch and Lavin (96A3) now indicates the presence of the Vereinatunnel link to the Chur - Davos - Filisur line at Klosters. Sagliains, the new vehicle-loading station at the south-east end of the 21.5km tunnel, not yet opened, already bears its nameboards. BLN 835.0469][CH][FR] Genčve-Eaux-Vives - Ambilly - Annemasse - Évian-les-Bains: (BLN 746.042, 748.071, 791.0478, 792.0516; Ball 97A3) Though well-kept and electrified at 25kV 50Hz, Genčve-Eaux-Vives is an SNCF backwater, with an overgrown yard and an unmanned immigration-and-customs area. A typically-French intermittent service runs to Annemasse with some trains extended beyond. A machine issues a single ticket to Évian for CHF12, but BLN's (Scottish) reporter bought his for CHF11.50 from the ticket-office, staffed part-time. Only four passengers were on the 14:11 two-car electric unit on 12 August 1998, and one other joined at Ambilly, a suburb of Annemasse. Annemasse - Évian is single-track with several loops, worked by local electric units plus locomotive-hauled trains connecting out of TGVs at Lyon or Bellegarde. A through Paris - Évian TGV runs on Sundays. Freight includes many vans of Évian bottled mineral water. Return was by the 17:55 Évian - Genčve paddle-steamer, the Rhône of 1927. BLN 835.0470][CH] Genčve trams: (BLN 791.0478, 825.0212) On four summer Sundays a year a heritage tram touristique tours the city, using the former route #12 terminal loop at Carouge Rondeau and the terminal loop at Gare Eaux-Vives, neither used by ordinary services. An hour's city travel costs CHF2.20 (=Ł0.90), a day-ticket is CHF5, and the tourist-tram supplement is CHF3 or CHF5 respectively. The tram restaurant, a modern eight-axle articulated metre-gauge car in Coca-Cola livery, also traverses the Eaux-Vives loop in the course of its lunch or dinner cruise round the city (Wed-Sat, 10 Jun-24 Oct 1998; meals CHF32-39; reservations +41 79 321 39 89). BLN 835.0471][CH] Bex - Villars - Bretaye: (BLN 810.0448; Ball 98B3) In connection with strengthening of the nearby river-bank, a section of the metre-gauge BVB line near Bex is to be realigned so that it will no longer cross from one side of the road to the other. Train services will be interrupted during the work. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 6/98) BLN 835.0472][HU] Felsögalla - Alsógalla - Tatabánya - Környe - Oroszlány: (Ball 42A1-47A3; MÁV 12) Electric locomotives and push-pull sets work a through local service off the Felsögalla branch via the 4km Alsógalla - Tatabánya section of the Budapest - Wien main line on to the Oroszlány branch. The short Alsógalla - Felsögalla branch in the Tatabánya urban area (alsó = lower; felsö = upper; the Galla is a small local river) has only four trains each way and is not shown either in the Ball atlas or on the MÁV timetable map. It seems to be part of a loop off the main line, perhaps trackage supplanted in recent years by the straighter alignment now used by long-distance trains. BLN 835.0473][HU] Budapest Nyugati - Rákosrendezö - Angyalföld - Újpest (- Esztergom): (BLN 772.078; Ball 44B2-42B1) After leaving Nyugati (= west) station and heading north-east to Rákosrendezö, the Esztergom line swings west to cross the various channels of the river Duna (= Danube) by a series of bridges, the main bowstring-girder bridge having a severe speed restriction. Beyond these bridges the Budapest Batthyány tér - Szentendre HÉV suburban line passes underneath following the west bank of the river north upstream. A south-to-west HÉV-MÁV connection remains, clearly once wired throughout for 1000V dc HÉV trains but now with some of the wiring derelict. The link continues into Újpest (= new Pest) station, and the sidings alongside are also wired. Was there once a passenger service between Batthyány tér HÉV and Újpest MÁV, and if so when did it cease? BLN 835.0474][HU] Budapest Boráros tér - Csepel: (Ball 44B2) In summer 1998 this isolated Helyi Érdekú Vasút suburban line (standard-gauge, electrified 1000V dc overhead, run by Budapesti Közlekedési Részvénytársaság, BKV, the city transport company) appeared closed and its Budapest terminus in Boráros tér (tér = square) was being rebuilt, incidentally removing the disused connection to the city tram-tracks. No information could be found about the duration of closure or about any replacement buses. BLN 835.0475][RO] Apahida avoiding line: Cojocna - Jucu: Not shown in the Ball atlas (49B3) but displaying signs of regular use in June 1998 was this single-track south-to-north curve near Cluj-Napoca in central Romania. BLN 835.0476][HR] Bisovac - Belisce: (Ball 47A1) Ball shows this Croatian branch as being freight-only, but a diesel railcar service was running through from Osijek in August 1998. Belisce has a big wood-products complex, and its private sidings, and the station area, held many vans, from several countries including Bosnia. BLN 835.0477][AU] (Brisbane -) Rockhampton - Longreach (- Winton): The east-to-west route of Queensland Rail's twice-weekly Spirit of the Outback in August 1998 had major work in progress on a deviation between Bogantungan and Drummond, to ease tight curves and steep gradients (up to 1 in 70 for 13km) where the 1067mm-gauge line climbs through the Drummond Ranges. QR staff on the train thought completion would be about end-1998. Increasing tourist interest in the area may lead to re-extension of passenger trains on the freight-only line beyond Longreach north-west to Winton. BLN 835.0478][AU] Brisbane - Helensvale - Robina: Formal opening on 31 May 1998 of Robina station, south of Brisbane at the end of an 18km extension south from Helensvale, marked completion of Stage 2 of the Gold Coast Railway, by which 1067mm-gauge Queensland Rail is serving a rapidly developing area near the New South Wales border. BLN 835.0479][CA] Vancouver - Coquitlam (- Mission, BC): (BLN 800.0209) A visitor to Vancouver can sample both the West Coast Express commuter service and the SkyTrain driverless elevated metro on a circular trip taking about two hours, buying for only CAD4 (=Ł1.60) a one-way WCE ticket which acts as a free transfer on to BC Transit and SkyTrain until 20:00. WCE departures from Waterfront station are at 15:50, 16:20, 16:50, 17:30 and 18:20 for the 26-minute run east to Coquitlam Central. A 30-minute transfer by half-hourly BC Transit #169 bus takes one south to New Westminster station, whence a SkyTrain leaves every five minutes for the 28-minute ride north-west back to the starting-point at Waterfront, site of the former CP passenger station. (WCE leaflet 'Try a Different Track') BLN 835.0480][US] Klamath Falls, OR - Stronghold, CA - Bieber - Keddie - Oroville - Marysville - Sacramento, CA: Two of Amtrak's daily Coast Starlight trains in each direction were diverted following a freight derailment on 10 September 1998 that blocked the usual Union Pacific route via Dunsmuir and Redding, CA. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe 'Inside Gateway' line via Bieber to Keddie offers rare views of Mount Shasta from the east, but it has never had an ordinary passenger service, and only in an occasional emergency has it seen passenger trains. South-west of Keddie, the diversion also included the scenic Feather River Canyon. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 835.0481][ER] Massawa - Asmara (- Agordat): Diversion of resources to war with Ethiopia during 1998 can have done nothing to speed the reopening of Eritrea's defunct railway, but the self-help project (BLN 771.068; Financial Times, 22 December 1995) continues doggedly on, according to The Guardian of 9 September 1998. Eritrea aims to rebuild 117km of 950mm-gauge line from the Red Sea port of Massawa to the capital Asmara, using local labour and recovered materials, including the original pre-World War II Italian-built steam traction. BLN 835 supplement][IT] Roma - Firenze: FS' impressive Direttissima route has a line speed of 300km/h north of Chiusi and 250km/h south thereof. Emergency crossovers between northbound and southbound Direttissima tracks can be negotiated at 160km/h. All connections between the Direttissima and the old main line make a flying junction with the former and a flat junction with the latter. The junctions at both ends of the connections have the same name. The Direttissima junction at Biv Orte Sud is inside Orte Tunnel. The line has conventional signalling and is electrified at 3000V dc from 16 substations. Of its 36 tunnels, the longest are San Donato (10.76km), Orte (9.32km), Castigliona in Teverina (7.39km), San Oreste (5.71km), Monte Celadno (3.18km) and Monte Perazzo (3.09km). It has 53 viaducts, including the Paglia Viaduct, which at 5,375m is the longest in Europe. From 1976 to 1980 a temporary connection linked the Direttissima with the old main line at Gallese. km 0.00 Roma Termini 16.23 Sette Bagni start of Direttissima opened 14 December 1976 to Gallese 31.96 Capena emergency crossover 43.94 San Oreste emergency crossover 60.80 Gallese emergency crossover opened 29 April 1980 to Orte / Orte Nord 64.68 Biv Orte Sud junction to Orte 74.22 Biv Orte Nord junction from Orte opened 16 February 1977 to Orvieto 76.31 Bassano emergency crossover 93.39 Rio Torbido emergency crossover 104.62 Biv Orvieto Sud junction to Orvieto 108.58 Orvieto emergency crossover opened 16 September 1976 to Cittŕ della Pieve 114.92 Biv Orvieto Nord junction from Orvieto 121.21 Allerona emergency crossover 134.93 Biv Chiusi Sud junction to Cittŕ della Pieve 138.63 Cittŕ della Pieve emergency crossover opened 29 September 1985 to Arezzo Sud 156.32 Biv Chiusi Nord junction from Chiusi Chianciano Terme (Sienna branch) 166.42 Farmeta Sud emergency crossover 169.00 Farmeta Nord emergency crossover 183.00 Rignuto emergency crossover 190.60 Biv Arezzo Sud junction to Arezzo opened 27 May 1990 to Valdarno Sud 196.90 Arezzo emergency crossover 199.60 Biv Arezzo Nord junction from Arezzo 212.80 Ascione emergency crossover 215.00 Biv Valdarno Sud junction to Montevarchi opened 31 May 1992 to Valdarno Nord 227.80 Renacci emergency crossover 234.70 Biv Valdarno Nord junction from Figline opened 29 May 1988 to Rovezzano 235.00 San Donato emergency crossover 253.42 Biv de Rovezzano end of Direttissima; 307km from Roma Termini via old main line BLN 836.0482][GB] Belfast - Lisburn (- Portadown - Newry NIR - Dundalk IE - Dublin): (BLN 831.0350) Nearly all NIR services use Belfast Great Victoria Street, but Belfast - Dublin trains use Central station and the east-to-south Great Victoria Street avoiding line (City Jn - Central Jn). However, when Belfast Central - City Jn - Central Jn track is renewed shortly the cross-border Enterprise trains are to use Great Victoria Street, probably platform 1. All four platforms began being extended in August 1998. Work started in February appears to involve complete reconstruction of the trackbed between Belfast and Lisburn, and in October 1998 the main line is temporarily singled between Finaghy and Derriaghy, with all trains using the northbound track. (partly Railway Observer, Oct. 1998) BLN 836.0483][FR] Chaulnes - Péronne - Roisel - Epehy - Cambrai: (Ball 15A2-15B3) This former through route is still in use at each end, the southern portion, reopened April 1997, being visible from a London - Paris Eurostar. Trains run from Chaulnes to La Chapelette industrial estate on the southern outskirts of Péronne to collect Flodor potato-crisps for Italy (BLN 810.0430), but a branch into a Castrol plant shows little sign of traffic. Péronne - Roisel was still in place around 1993 when Roisel - Epehy had already been lifted. Now all track has been removed from Péronne station (inclusive) to Epehy. The SVI sugar-refinery at Sainte Émilie has two of its own shunters and a three-siding formation yard, connected by a c.2km branch parallel with the old running line to Epehy. Epehy station survives, with a loop for running-round and train staging. Outside the sugar-beet season the Epehy - Cambrai section sees little use, but from October to December 1998 around 50 trains are programmed, mainly carrying limestone inwards from the Boulogne area and sugar outwards to the Channel ports. Traction is usually a pair of Class BB66000, two of which were seen on the morning of 12 October 1998 struggling with a train of around 1600t, taking 30 minutes from the refinery to Epehy station, and blocking a level-crossing for 15 minutes. An afternoon train also ran that day. BLN 836.0484][FR] Plouaret-Trégor - Lannion: (Ball 20A2) This 17km SNCF branch in Bretagne (Brittany) is to be electrified and improved by mid-2000. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 8/98) BLN 836.0485][FR] Rhône west-bank diversions: Givors-Canal - St.Rambert d'Albon: (Ball 56B2) On the printed departure-sheets at Valence station on 4 October 1998, the 09:10 Valence - Lyon was shown as diverted to call at Sainte-Colombe-la-Vienne on 4, 10, 11 October and 9, 10, 12, 13 November. On Sunday 4 October this train duly took up its diverted path and ran north to arrive Lyon-Part-Dieu at its booked time 10:22. BLN 836.0486][FR] St.Georges-de-Commiers - La Mure: (BLN 835.0456; Ball 57B1) The La Mure Ville branch opened for regular traffic 26 June 1988 but may have closed after the 1991 season, for it seems not to have been used in the 1992 season, nor does it appear to have seen regular use since. BLN 836.0487][FR] Château-Arnoux-St.Auban - Digne-les-Bains: (BLN 819.051; Ball 66A1-66B1) The SNCF bus uses a road parallel to this disused 22km standard-gauge SNCF branch. Heavily overgrown by trees and bushes, the trackbed may have been breached at the western end, and at least one bridge over a road has been removed. SNCF still have a ticket-office at Digne, and CP now have their own one next door in the SNCF station building. The CP operating contractor changed at the beginning of 1998, and the scenic metre-gauge Digne - Nice line is now run by the Societé Nouvelle des Chemins de Fer de Provence. BLN 836.0488][FR] Ossčs-St.Martin-d'Arrossa - St.Étienne-de-Baďgorry: (Ball 68B3-69A2) This short branch off the scenic Bayonne - St.Jean-Pied-de-Port line (BLN 709.05) lost its passenger trains 8 October 1950, but a connecting SNCF bus still appears in the local timetable. General freight seems to have ceased January 1991, but ballast traffic from a quarry at St.Étienne continued till December 1997. Improvements to the Bordeaux - Bayonne RN10 road may call for rail-borne aggregates from this quarry. (L'Écho du Rail, #182, April/May 1998) At the junction at Ossčs on 2 September 1998 the track looked out of use, but still in place and not much overgrown. BLN 836.0489][FR] Lourdes - Pierrefitte-Nestalas: (Ball 70A2-70A1) Electrified in 1914 at 12kV 16˛/3Hz but converted in 1922 to 1500V dc, this branch lost its ordinary passenger service in 1970, though some winter-sports trains continued to run. It has closed completely and its formation is to become a cycle-track. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 6/98) BLN 836.0490][BE] Boom - Willebroek: (BLN 802.0225, 827.0249; Ball 8B3; Lijn 52/2) In addition to the Boom - Puurs line, now reinstated as single track, this short north-to-south curve is also being electrified and restored to use. Electrification equipment has already been erected, at the Boom end at least. BLN 836.0491][DE] Strategic lines in western Germany: The end of the Cold War removed the strategic justification not only for many Warsaw Pact lines in the east (BLN 797.0108) but also for some NATO ones in the west. Following questioning by the Green Party, some details have emerged of German defence-ministry finance given since 1994 to DB lines maintained for strategic rather than economic purposes. The information falls short of a definitive list, which the government declined to give, but such lines identified by the Greens include Jünkerath - Losheim DB - Belgian frontier (- Losheimergraben SNCB) (BLN 795.064; Ball 47B3), Monsheim - Langmeil (Pfalz) (49A1-56B3), Überherrn DB - French frontier (- Hargarten-Falck SNCF) (BLN 809.0410; 55B3) and Germersheim - Landau (Pfalz) (57A2). NATO support for Monsheim - Langmeil has now been withdrawn. Other lines thought to be threatened by similar loss of NATO support include Flensburg Weiche - Lindholm (10A3-9B3), Bad Segeburg - Neumünster (11A1-10B1), Gronau DB - Dutch frontier (- Enschede NS) (BLN 797.0106; 24A2); Stolberg (Rheinland) - Walheim DB - Belgian frontier (- Raeren SNCB) (BLN 775.0134; 37A1); Meinerzhagen - Gummersbach (BLN 716.019; 38B2); Düren - Zülpich (- Euskirchen) (37B1); Mayen Ost - Gerolstein (48A3-47B2); and Wasserburg (Inn) - Mühldorf (Oberbayern) (71B2-72A3). (Eisenbahn-Kurier, 8/98) BLN 836.0492][DE] Hamburg S-Bahn: (BLN 832.0380; Ball 22) The system now called the Hamburg S-Bahn was in fact first electrified with 6300V 25Hz overhead wiring, using equipment similar to that of Britain's LB&SCR. Limited electric operation began 1 October 1907, and a full electric timetable between Blankenese and Ohlsdorf began 29 January 1908. In the late 1930s a major expansion was planned, involving tunnel extensions. Direct-current third-rail operation of the Berlin S-Bahn had proved very successful, and Hamburg's alternating-current equipment and many of the trains were ageing. The decision was therefore made to convert to 1200V dc third-rail, a voltage higher than Berlin's 800V, with a transition period involving mixed ac and dc operation over the same tracks. The first new dc trains appear to have entered service 12 December 1939, with timetabled operation from 22 April 1940. Wartime supply of new dc stock slowed and eventually ceased in 1943, and mixed operation had to continue until post-war deliveries finally enabled full dc operation from the timetable change on 22 May 1955. Today's Railways for September 1998 reports a proposal to employ dual-current units to extend third-rail S-Bahn services west from Hamburg-Neugraben to Buxtehude under existing wires. As regards the design criteria for S-Bahn lines generally, the former West German DB regarded high platforms as important for speedy loading and unloading, but the Hannover S-Bahn now under construction appears to specify intermediate-height platforms. BLN 836.0493][DE] Braunschweig - Braunschweig Ost - Lehre - Fallersleben: (BLN 749.090, 805.0307; Ball 27A2) Last day for the old route was 19 September 1998. Braunschweig - Braunschweig Ost remains as a siding, but the section from Braunschweig Ost to the meeting-point with the new line north of Lehre, including the halt for local trains at Lehre, closed completely and by 27 September had been lifted, at least at its northern end. From that date ICE and RB trains have used the Weddeler Schleife, the newly electrified single-track (Braunschweig -) Weddel - Fallersleben 'Weddel loop'. From a high-speed junction at Weddel (km3.713, measured downwards from Fallersleben) it is entirely new construction, but a little north of a new Betriebsbahnhof Lehre (km11.93-km12.68) it takes over the alignment of the old line (built 1941) and runs due north through the closed station of Ehmen to the new high-speed non-conflicting junction at Fallersleben. The 1998 edition of the Ball atlas does not show this line (nor indeed the Fallersleben - Wolfsburg - Oebisfelde - Stendal - Berlin Schnellfahrstrecke) correctly. BLN 836.0494][DE] Güterglück: (BLN 830.0344; Ball 28B1) Unstaffed, and with its building seemingly no longer in railway use, this unusual two-level station is still served by stopping trains on both routes, and at least one high-level Belzig - Barby - Magdeburg train in each direction waits for some minutes in order to connect with the low-level Dessau - Biederitz - Magdeburg service. From the road approach it is necessary to go through the subway linking the low-level platforms and then climb the stairs on the east side to reach the upper tracks and their rail-level 'platforms'. Ancient-looking lifts also link the levels, but it is not clear whether these can still be used. The high-level has a disused signalbox of somewhat British appearance, but signalling is now controlled from a pedestal-type Deutsche Reichsbahn box located between the low-level line and the northeast-to-northwest avoiding curve, both of which are electrified, along with the line from Berlin and Belzig. Concrete masts are in position from the junction on the Belzig line east of the station through the high-level but these appear never to have supported wires. The southeast-to-southwest freight curve is single and apparently little-used, but has wires for most of its length. West to Barby the line is not electrified. BLN 836.0495][DE] Brandenburg branches: On 30 July 1998 the (Stendal -) Bostel - Niedergörne branch (BLN 772.070; Ball 28A3-28B3) showed signs of recent use at the junction. However, a buffer-stop now blocks the track close to the junction of the Paulinenaue - Fehrbellin branch (29A3-20A1). BLN 836.0496][DE] Berlin-Spandau: (Ball 31B2) Work on the S-Bahn extension from Pichelsberg (BLN 826.0232) appears well on schedule for opening by end-1998. North of Pichelsberg the former Spandau Hauptbahnhof to the east of the river Havel is to become an S-Bahn stop with the name of Stresow. In the new Berlin-Spandau Hbf to the west of the Havel (BLN 814.0544) tracks 1 and 2 will serve the S-Bahn's northern island platform, tracks 3 and 4 are the westbound main lines, and tracks 5 and 6 are the eastbound main lines. West of the Hbf the main-line tracks are, north to south, to Hamburg, to Hannover, from Hamburg, from Hannover; east of the Hbf they are from the new low-level Lehrter Bahnhof via Jungfernheide, from the Stadtbahn, to the Stadtbahn, and to the Lehrter Bahnhof. BLN 836.0497][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (BLN 787.0384; Ball 31-32) By summer 1998, other planned reopening dates were: Schönholz - (open) - Tegel - (end 1998) - Hennigsdorf (S25 Kremmener Bahn) Lichterfelde Ost - (end-1998) - Lichterfelde Süd - (2002) - Teltow Stadt (S25; BLN 814.0545) Westkreuz - (open) - Jungfernheide - (1999) - Westhafen - (2000) - Gesundbrunnen - (2000) - Schönhauser Allee - (open) - Ostkreuz - (open) - Treptower Park - (open) - Neukölln - (open) - Westkreuz (S4 Innenring; BLN 804.0284) BLN 836.0498][DE] Berlin Lehrter Bahnhof: (BLN 835.0461; Ball 32A2) The difference in levels between old and new Stadtbahn alignments requires quite a steep temporary ramp on to the western end of the deviation leading to the new bridge across the Humboldthafen. The deviation to the south will entirely replace the section on which stands the Lehrter Stadtbahnhof, which is to be demolished though it is a listed building not long ago expensively restored for the 750th anniversary celebrations of the city of Berlin. Its fate has caused considerable local discontent. Meanwhile, the west-east Stadtbahn main lines across the excavation for the new north-south lower-level station have a 30km/h limit, making the schedules between Zoo and Ostbahnhof rather tight. Work on the deviation is reportedly running late, and it is unlikely to be available for the summer 1999 timetable as planned. BLN 836.0499][DE] Berlin: Abzw Grünau - Berlin ILA Bahnhof (Flughafen Schönefeld-Süd): (BLN 732.0142; Ball 32B1 not shown) This freight branch diverges from the Berlin - Cottbus main line and runs along the southern edge of Schönefeld airport, serving various sidings. During the week-long ILA aerospace shows (Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung) in 1994, 1996 and 1998, special trains ran to a temporary station part-way down the branch, but DB say they may not do so in 2000. Allegedly the stock will be busy with Expo 2000 at Hannover - and 1998's pathing problems on the Berlin Stadtbahn may still not have been resolved. (Der Schienenbus, October 1998) BLN 836.0500][DE] Berlin / Dessau - Bitterfeld - Halle / Leipzig: (Ball 42B3) From mid-August 1998 till summer 2000 the five-way junction layout at Bitterfeld is being radically remodelled, and some unusual routes through the area are seeing use by passenger trains. By end-August the station was already in a state of upheaval, with the east side (main lines 1&2, main IC/IR platform, subway and station buildings) largely gone. IC/IR trains are using the middle island platform (tracks 3&4) and locals the western one (tracks 5&6). Leaving the station southward only two bi-directional single running-lines are available, one for Halle and one for Leipzig, both initially using the formation of the ramp up to the flyover that took the old southbound Leipzig line over the Halle lines. BLN 836.0501][DE] Torgau - Elsnig (Elbe) (- Pretzsch): (BLN 803.0255; Ball 43A3-29A1; KBS217-8) This section remains in use for freight, but no traffic now works through to Pretzsch. The southern section of Eilenburg - Bad Düben (Mulde) (- Pretzsch) likewise still has freight trains. BLN 836.0502][DE] Wüstenbrand - Ursprung - Lugau - Neuoelsnitz: (Ball 46A1-44A1) Wüstenbrand - Lugau opened 1858 and Lugau - Neuoelsnitz in 1879, built largely for coal traffic which ceased in 1971. Passenger trains ended 13 August 1990 and the last remaining freight on 28 September 1996, though the line was never formally closed. A local preservation group in the Chemnitz area, Lugauer Eisenbahnfreunde eV, cleared undergrowth from the Lugau - Ursprung section and were able to run a number of special steam-hauled trains in June 1998. They hope eventually to see the whole line restored. (Eisenbahn Kurier, 8/98) BLN 836.0503][DE] Karlsruhe trams on railways: (Ball 57A1-58A2) After a period of bus substitution, rail services were to recommence on 14 September 1998 on the Eppingen - Heilbronn Hbf line, which is being electrified and is to have light-rail services as a lengthy eastern extension of the network centred on Karlsruhe (BLN 823.0156). Trackbed is also being prepared in Heilbronn's main street, Kaiserstrasse. Last scheduled passenger working on the DB-Albtalbahn link in Ettlingen (Ettlingen West DB - Erbprinz AVG - Ettlingen Stadt; BLN 796.086) was on Sunday 20 September. Ubstadt Ort - Odenheim (BLN 783.0311) was to reopen on 26 September with light-rail service S31 running through hourly from Karlsruhe via Bruchsal, some services being combined with those on the Ubstadt Ort - Mensingen branch. From the present S4 terminus on the Karlsruhe - Basel main line, Baden-Baden station, once known as Baden-Oos, a short electrified branch, still open in the 1970s, headed south-east to the former town station, Baden-Baden Stadt - which in April 1998 became Germany's largest opera-house. BLN 836.0504][DE] Trossingen Bahnhof - Trossingen Stadt: (BLN 730.0117, 763.0430; Ball 68B2; KBS743) The end of December 1998 is to see 600V dc electric operation cease on this delightful municipally-owned rural light railway connecting the small town of Trossingen with the DB network 4.3km away. Passenger operation is expected to resume, but perhaps not for some months. (IBSE) BLN 836.0505][DE] Albstadt-Ebingen - Albstadt-Onstmettingen: (BLN 761.0387; Ball 69A3; KBS767) The Talgangbahn, an 8km branch operated by Württembergische Eisenbahn GmbH (WEG), and latterly used only by services for schoolchildren, closed with the end of term, from 1 August 1998. (IBSE; Eisenbahn Amateur, 7/98) BLN 836.0506][DE] München S-Bahn: (BLN 824.0179; Ball 71B3) Local publicity says 29 November 1998 will see opening of the Neufahrn - Hallbergmoos (- Flughafen München) link, giving another S-Bahn route to the airport. BLN 836.0507][AT] Kapfenberg - Aflenz (- Seebach-Turnau): (BLN 802.0232; OEIS 9834; Ball 74B1) Opened in 1893, this 760mm-gauge line of Styrian Provincial Railways (Steiermärkische Landesbahnen) closed to regular passenger trains 15 May 1959, and complete closure of the upper section, Aflenz - Seebach-Turnau, came on 31 December 1990. After run-down of the local iron industry, Kapfenberg - Aflenz closed to freight 31 December 1996, though a special, apparently to clear wagons, ran on 15 May 1997. Summer tourist passenger trains run by the preservation group Verein Thörlerbahn began 14 September 1991 and have continued, operating in 1998 on Saturdays and Sundays from end-May to end-September, except for two weekends at the end of July and beginning of August. BLN 836.0508][AT][HU] (Wiener Neustadt -) Oberwart ÖBB - Rechnitz: (BLN 768.0528, 779.0222; Ball 75B1-84B3) In 1998 Südburgenländische Regionalbahn's only advertised passenger trains ran Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 1 May - 30 September, diesel-worked on Saturdays in May and June but steam-hauled on other days, to these timings: Oberwart 14:00 - 15:40 Rechnitz 16:30 - 17:20 Oberwart. Telephone SRB for information on +43 3362 2231 or fax +43 3362 255313. The Oberwart - Oberschützen branch, reported out of use in July 1994 (BLN 737.0236) but still shown in a brochure supplied by SRB in 1997, was deleted from the 1998 schedule. BLN 836.0509][AT] Bludenz - Lorüns - Schruns: (Ball 78A3-78A2) Freight remains on this pleasant 12.8km non-ÖBB branch, the Montafonerbahn. Between Lorüns and Schruns a new 1.5km alignment came into operation in May 1998. A cheap way to travel Feldkirch - Bludenz - Schruns is a Vorarlberg Region day ticket, also accepted on local buses. MBS stock includes a pair of electric cars converted from DB diesel railcars originally built in 1935. BLN 836.0510][AT][CH] Lustenau - Rheindamm: (BLN 761.0388 with sketch-map; Ball 89B2 not shown) An hourly ÖBB electric unit on the Bregenz - Lustenau Markt ÖBB - St.Margrethen SBB line serves Lustenau Markt, a single-platform unstaffed halt at the Austrian (eastern) end of the river Rhein bridge, just a couple of minutes away from St.Margrethen in Switzerland. From Lustenau Markt can be seen, immediately to the north, the main repair depot of the Dienstbahn der Internationalen Rheinregulierung, some 30km of 750mm-gauge industrial railway operated by an international administrative body, mainly Austrian-Swiss, which was set up to control flooding by building and maintaining the banks of the canalised river Rhein where it flows north from Buchs into the Bodensee (Lake Constance). The railway conveys materials, principally stone, and operates on both the Austrian and Swiss banks, with an electrified main line and numerous locomotives shedded at various work centres, including some trolley-pole electro-diesels for working into non-electrified sidings. Lustenau Dienstbahn depot has an informative museum, with railway exhibits and extensive photographic coverage, usually open 1 May-30 Sep, WFSSuO plus Austrian public holidays, at a fee of ATS40. In summer 1998 a passenger train, with proper covered saloon coaches, ran from this depot at 15:00 FSSuO north along the Austrian bank on a 45-minute journey each way, returning to Lustenau at 16:45. With the normal electric haulage, fare was ATS90 return including admission to the museum, though on specific days with steam traction advertised the fare was ATS100. The quite scenic route included two level-crossings with international main roads, and terminated next to Rheindamm pier on the Bodensee where boat connections to Lindau or Bregenz were advertised on some days. More extensive tours of the system are possible for groups by arrangement. Details of train times and steam days will be available in spring 1999 from Rheinschauen, Postfach 308, A-6893 Lustenau. BLN 836.0511][SE][FI] (Boden -) Haparanda - Tornio (- Kemi): (BLN 833.0431, 835.0467; Ball 3B1) Passenger trains were withdrawn 16 August 1992. BLN 836.0512][SE] Oxelösund - Nyköping - Eskilstuna - Ställdalen - Grängesberg - Borlange: (Ball 22B2-14B1; BLN 820.072, 829.0311) Trafik Grängesberg-Oxelösund Järnvägar confirm that they no longer operate passenger trains, but do continue to haul freight, under what they describe as a 'so-called short-line agreement with SJ'. The main TGOJ traffic is steel for SSAB from the steelworks at Oxelösund to the sheet-metal plant in Borlange. BLN 836.0513][SE] Uppsala Östra - Marielund - Länna - Almunge - Faringe: (Ball 23A3, not 381mm-gauge as shown) The preserved 32.6km 891mm-gauge Uppsala - Lenna Jernväg has generally offered only one train each way the full length of its line, a morning train from Faringe and an evening return, essentially working from and to the depot c.1km beyond Almunge. As an experiment, for one week in 1998 (21-25 July) trains ran daily instead of summer weekends only, and a diesel railcar ran from Uppsala Ö at 12:55 to connect with a Marielund - Faringe steam train, giving an arrival back at Uppsala Ö at 16:51. This pattern may be repeated in 1999. A morning railcar also ran Uppsala Ö - Almunge, and BLN's reporter and others rode on it beyond the station to the depot. Contact +46 18 13 05 00; http://www.srjmf.se. BLN 836.0514][ES] (Zumárraga -) Azpeitia - Lasao (- Zestoa-Balneario - Zumaia): (BLN 822.0127; Ball 6A1) LCGB Bulletin 9/98 gives 12 June 1998 as opening date for the restored line from the Basque Railway Museum at Azpeitia the 4.5km to Lasao, travelled by a BLN reporter on 1 September, including a steam-propelled empty-stock movement from Azpeitia station south into the shed, housing an attractive and varied collection. An 1898 Nasmyth Wilson 2-6-0T was used. Just south of the Lasao run-round loop, the metre-gauge single track unusually shares its alignment for several hundred metres with a northbound bus-only slip-road off the main highway, and train times in each direction have to be co-ordinated with the buses, run by Eusko Trenbideak, the Basque Railways. Extension of the line north beyond Lasao is planned but no indication was given about when this might happen. BLN 836.0515][ES] (Madrid Nińo Jesús) / Vicálvaro - Arganda: (Ball 21A2) It seems that the metre-gauge industrial Ferrocarril del Tajuńa ceased operations on 8 November 1997, a few months before its history appeared in BLN 821.0103. (Continental Railway Journal, #115, autumn 1998) BLN 836.0516][IT] Roma - Ponte Galleria - Fiumicino Aeroporto: (BLN 772.076; Ball 52A3) One way to judge a country's national characteristics is to see how easy they make it for a foreigner to find his way from the airport to the capital. Since Roma Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) airport is 26km from the city-centre, a taxi can cost the equivalent of Ł40 and the only other option is Ferrovie dello Stato. The airport railway-station was readily reached by either subway or bridge across the main roadway from the terminal, but all the automatic ticket-machines were out of action, and tickets had to be bought from the FS ticket-office, where service was slow, not assisted by the fact that one of the three windows was closed while the clerk attended to his lunch. FS staff at this major international airport speak little English - and elsewhere on the network, it seems, none at all, matching the average Briton's famous facility with languages. Ticketing is not simple. As at Heathrow and Gatwick, distinct rail services operate, at very different fares. Metropolitana (City Trains) run two or three times an hour on a peripheral route not serving Roma Termini, the main station, and passengers for the city-centre have to alight at Roma Ostiense and travel onward by Metro. Most air-travellers seem to choose instead the hourly diretto to Termini, at double the price. As with Heathrow Express, through tickets on this service are not available to stations beyond, and separate tickets need to be bought from the ticket-office. Various supplements may then be required on top of the basic km-related fare. Finally, though this is not made clear, since about November 1997 FS requires one - as in France - to validate one's ticket before travelling, in this case in a relatively inconspicuous small yellow machine near the start of the platform. BLN 836.0517][GR] Paleofarsalos - Kalambaka and Paleofarsalos - Velistinon - Volos: (BLN 824.0184; Ball 62A2-62B1) LCGB Bulletin 9/98 reported both metre-gauge services still operating 14-17 June 1998, and the Railway Observer for October 1998 said that services on both lines ceased 29 June, the former line closing for the long-awaited realigning and regauging to standard, the latter closing completely. This would appear to be the end of the Thessaly Railways metre-gauge, whose first section Larissa - Velistinon - Volos opened 1884 and was realigned and regauged to standard as long ago as September 1960. BLN 836.0518][CH] (Luzern -) Emmenbrücke - Waldibrücke (- Lenzburg): (Ball 93B3-87B1; SBB 651) Highway improvements are now absorbing some of the roadside trackbed from Emmenbrücke via Emmen, abandoned from May 1998 (BLN 829.0314), though part of the old alignment, now connected only at the Waldibrücke end, remains to serve factories and Emmen airfield. The new alignment is 5.9km long, of which 4.7km including the 628m Hüslen tunnel is new construction. The 36km section northward remains of interest, with much roadside running. The road is busy and not especially wide. With no protection between railway and highway, in some places the fixed steps on the SBB Class 560 four-car electric units overhang the road surface. Earthworks are minimal, and trains climb and descend the many minor humps along the undulating route without slackening speed and with much whistling. The line is said to have 360 level-crossings between Luzern and Lenzburg. After dark, it must be unnerving to a motorist unfamiliar with the road to be faced by oncoming lorry headlights to his left and train headlights to his right. At Lenzburg, trains use Gleis 11, out in the yard to the west of the main station, another legacy of the Seetalbahn's light-railway origins and an arrangement more characteristic of the Swiss narrow-gauge than standard-gauge SBB. BLN 836.0519][CH][DE] Weinfelden - Kreuzlingen SBB - Konstanz DB - Singen - Engen: (BLN 775.0144, 815.0583; Ball 89A2-88B3-68B2) Though they still share with SBB services on sections of the Rorschach - Romanshorn - Kreuzlingen - Etzwilen - Schaffhausen line, Swiss private operators Mittelthurgaubahn run the through trains via Konstanz into Germany, using their own rather gaudy electric sets. Although this is not readily apparent from either the Swiss national timetable or MThB leaflets, the MThB operating pattern is typically an hourly Weinfelden - Kreuzlingen service alternating with an hourly service from the Rorschach - Romanshorn - Kreuzlingen line which reverses at Kreuzlingen, to run forward as a half-hourly Kreuzlingen - Konstanz - Engen service. Ordinary passenger trains no longer use the Kreuzlingen Hafen SBB - Konstanz DB east-to-north curve avoiding Kreuzlingen, though special workings may be booked to do so, such as an eastbound 'Orient Express' steam-hauled train on 28 August 1998. Following the MThB takeover, infrastructure improvements are in progress, and after recent alterations at the west end of Kreuzlingen station the line from Weinfelden now arrives on its south side. In early August 1998 demolition was under way of the flyover shown in Ball which once permitted MThB Weinfelden - Kreuzlingen - Konstanz trains to avoid conflict with SBB Romanshorn - Kreuzlingen - Schaffhausen ones. Kreuzlingen still has its attractive signal-box, complete with geraniums and working traditional station bells (BLN 715.011). MThB passengers from Switzerland are all expected to alight at Konstanz and descend into a subway where customs and immigration controls take place. Meanwhile, the train pulls forward past a barrier on the platform. Through passengers then regain the platform from another subway ramp and rejoin the train. BLN's reporter, 'not understanding' this procedure, remained on the train, missing none of the track. BLN 836.0520][CH][DE] Etzwilen - Ramsen SBB - Rielasingen DB - Singen: (BLN 779.0227, 815.0583; Ball 88B3) For much of its route, a bus follows the closed line, one of the few in Switzerland with no electrification, latterly freight-only and operated by MThB. The rails seemed heavily rusted and all signals seen were extinguished. Tickets for the bus (timetable 820.20; CHF4.80 single) are sold from the rail-ticket machine at Etzwilen station. BLN 836.0521][CH] Herisau - St.Gallen - Romanshorn: The BT/SBB junctions at St.Gallen are not quite as shown in Ball (89A2). The Bodensee-Toggenburg line descending from Herisau past St.Gallen Haggen crosses the SBB on a bridge to enter St.Gallen on its north side. BT and SBB trains then share the 1.5km Rosenberg tunnel to St.Gallen St.Fiden, where the BT Romanshorn line diverges from the SBB Rorschach line on its east side to climb up and over the SBB just before entering the 1.7km Bruggwald tunnel. Another junction not quite as shown in Ball (87B2) is north of Wettingen, where the Wettingen - Baden Oberstadt (- Othmarsingen) secondary line diverges first to the east then climbs up and over the Kreuzliberg tunnel. BLN 836.0522][CH] Rorschach Hafen - Rorschach - Wienacht-Tobel - Heiden: (BLN 818.040; Ball 89B2) Rorschach Heiden Bergbahn trains share with MThB the tracks from Hafen to Rorschach SBB station before reaching their own standard-gauge Riggenbach-rack-equipped line. Swift turn-rounds at each end of the 23-minute journey enable a solitary electric unit to provide the hourly service with no need for intermediate loops. Two public steam-worked trains were added on 5 and 6 September 1998, departing from Rorschach SBB immediately following an ordinary RHB service. On arrival at Wienacht, the steam train paused to take water, then moved complete with passengers into the headshunt of the small goods-yard, thus clearing the line for the downhill service train - and covering new track for those on board. BLN 836.0523][CH] Lauterbrunnen - Wengen (- Kleine Scheidegg): (BLN 828.0293; Ball 93A1) On the 800mm-gauge 1500V dc Wengernalpbahn, the original, steeper line to Wengen was in use in summer 1998 by trains hauling materials for station rebuilding, according to LCGB Bulletin 9/98. BLN 836.0524][CH] Zürich HB - Zürich Letten: (Ball 97A2 not shown) June 1998 saw the track lifted from the former branch leaving the main line north to Wipkingen and running east to Letten on the north bank of the river Limmat. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 8/98) BLN 836.0525][CH] Montreux - Chamby - Blonay - Vevey: (Ball 98Al) From the May 1998 timetable change, low-floor light-rail vehicles of the metre-gauge CF Montreux Oberland Bernois have been running Mon-Sat Montreux - Vevey through commercial services over the Chamby - Blonay section, since 1966 a museum line only (BLN 813.0529, 816.0606). Trains with heritage traction have the CF Musée Blonay-Chamby tracks to themselves on Sundays. BLN 836.0526][CH] Switzerland: open access: Open access to Swiss tracks for other operators' trains is to be allowed from 1 January 1999. One condition is that diesel traction will be forbidden through any tunnel more than 1.5km long. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 6/98) BLN 836.0527][CH] (Arth-Goldau -) Erstfeld - Amsteg - Sedrun - Faido - Biasca (- Bellinzona): (Ball 94B2-101B3) Switzerland's NEAT project (Neue Eisenbahn-Alpen-Transversale) is a series of huge investments to increase railway capacity by taking north-south main lines through the Alps without the steep gradients on either side of present tunnels like the St.Gotthard. Work has begun on the planned 57km Erstfeld - Biasca Gotthard Basistunnel, which is to have three intermediate access-shafts at Amsteg, Sedrun and Faido. The Erstfeld - Amsteg standard-gauge construction branch, not shown in Ball, was built in the middle 1990s so that it could first be used for renovation and extension of the hydro-electric plant at Amsteg, but it was always intended mainly for NEAT tunnel works. It diverges at Erstfeld, the famous station and locomotive-depot at the beginning of the climb south on the existing St.Gotthard line, and follows the river Reuss, crossing it twice by steel bridges, far below the main line passing through Amsteg-Silenen station, now closed to passengers. In 1998, the branch is apparently out of use, awaiting the start of serious digging for the Basistunnel. Rock conditions here are stable, but two areas further south are known to have difficult material, so trial tunnels are first being bored at Sedrun and Faido to explore geological conditions inside the mountain. These will later be used in constructing the main-line tunnel itself, and when it eventually opens they are to remain as emergency exits. Groups of visitors can at present have guided tours into one of the access tunnels by special arrangement with the information-centre at Sedrun, but this will not be possible once construction work begins in earnest, employing a labour-force of 600, with 200 always on site at any time, day and night. A new metre-gauge FO branch serves the Sedrun site (BLN 836.0528), but no special rail installation seems at present to be associated with the Faido access-shaft. BLN 836.0528][CH] Andermatt - Sedrun - Bugnei - Disentis/Mustér: (Ball 94A1-94B2) Nearing completion in autumn 1998 on the west-east Furka-Oberalp Bahn between Sedrun and Bugnei is a new metre-gauge freight branch, electrified and rack-equipped, with substantial works including a tunnel and a large steel bridge. The line descends steeply down the valley side to the river below, and leads to the Zwischenangriff Sedrun intermediate access-shaft of the Gotthard Basistunnel. The FO are also renewing and improving their Sedrun - Disentis section (BLN 778.0198), and adding a new passing-loop to prepare for the heavy freight traffic expected when construction begins. Spoil from the Basistunnel is to be taken by rail over the FO and RhB to Chur, and used as aggregate for concrete and road-building. The FO sought government finance to invest in new locomotives too, but were told to use their Class HGe 4/4 I electrics built in the early 1940s, the ones with the 'garden-fence' in front of the driver's cab. BLN 836.0529][CZ] Cheb: Novy Drahov - Vonsov: Not shown in Ball (35A1) nor on the Quail map is a 6km 600mm-gauge industrial railway which continues to serve two iron-ore mines east of Cheb. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 6/98) BLN 836.0530][CZ] Postoloprty - Louny: (EGTRE CZ99/7-8; Ball 35B1) Not shown in Ball is the Postoloprty avoiding line, a single-track unelectrified north-to-east curve diverging from the double-track electrified Obrnice - Postoloprty line. Its only passenger trains are #890/1 Most - Ceské Budejovice, which since May 1998 use it in each direction (not just southbound as in the 1997-98 timetable). These trains also use the west-to-south Louny avoiding line. BLN 836.0531][CZ][AT] Ceské Budejovice - Rybník - Horní Dvoríšté CD - Summerau ÖBB (- Linz): (BLN 812.0509; Ball CZ-40B2, AT-63A1) On this Czech line to the Austrian border, loop-lengthening, relaying and electrification works occasioned diversions and bus-substitution during various one- to two-week periods of closure from spring till 11 October 1998. On the Austrian side, 15kV 16.7Hz catenary does not begin till a short distance south of the frontier, but the section of the single running-line already wired seems longer than would be necessary as a headshunt north of Summerau. BLN 836.0532][CZ] Šumperk - Petrov nad Desnou - Sobotín: (BLN 818.042, 822.0130; OEIS 9841; Ball 41B3-37A1; CD 291) This 9km section, damaged by 1997 floods, reopened 19 July 1998, but the 13km Petrov nad Desnou - Kouty nad Desnou branch remained closed. BLN 836.0533][HU][SK] Miskolc Tiszai - Sajóecseg - Putnok - Bánréve - Ózd: (BLN 757.0310, 761.0392; Ball 43A1) On the Sajóecseg - Tornanádaska branch north off the Miskolc - Bánréve line, passenger trains terminate at Tornanádaska, but well-polished track continues beyond towards and perhaps across the Slovakian border close by. Deprived of the Bánréve avoiding line, disconnected at both ends and with its semaphore signal-arms removed (BLN 833.0436), MÁV's twice-daily Miskolc - Ózd InterPici trains must reverse at Bánréve, a Hungarian station so close to the Slovakian border that one can clearly see ZSR trains on the nearby Lucenec - Lenartovce - Košice line. Border-crossing by train is not so easy, for the three daily Bánréve MÁV - Lenartovce ZSR trains are normally available only to Hungarian and Slovakian nationals. The 10:00 InterPici #902 to Ózd on 10 August 1998 was a single Class Bzmot four-wheel railbus, #399, rebuilt with air-conditioning and more comfortable seats, but still an unusual vehicle for a reservation-only named train. BLN 836.0534][HU] Gyöngyös - Mátrafüred / Lajosháza: (BLN 777.0175, 734.0170, 821.0109; Ball 43A1) North-west of Gyöngyös MÁV station, quite close but not in sight, is the separate ÁEV station where these two 760mm-gauge ex-forestry lines start, running alongside the road for some distance till they divide north of Gyöngyös-felsö. The 11km Lajosháza line is perhaps the more interesting, running along the street in Zemenek, with a section also along the bank of a stream to one side of the road. Lajosháza terminus is in the woods, not in any obvious centre of population, while Mátrafüred station appears to be in the middle of the village. BLN 836.0535][HU] Csömödér - Kistolmács: (BLN 821.0109, 833.0437; Ball 46B2) This 760mm-gauge line of the former ÁEV (Állami Erdei Vasutak = State Forestry Railways) is still a genuine forestry railway, with two freight-only branches as well as the 18km passenger line. It starts 100m from Csömödér-Páka MÁV station past a derelict steam locomotive in a large timber-yard with no station building, no platform, no signs, no timetables and indeed no information of any sort, though a café is nearby. Kistolmács, the southern terminus, is a small shelter alongside a main road with little habitation in sight, only a bus-stop. When a BLN reporter travelled on 4 August 1998, diesel locomotive C50-406 hauled two coaches which seemed occupied mainly by holidaymakers. The service, unlike that on other ÁEV lines, runs Monday-Friday only. Continental Railway Journal #115 for autumn 1998 reports that a new 760mm-gauge link is under construction and is to open in spring 1999, crossing the MÁV Zalaegerszeg - Csömödér - Lenti - Rédics line on the level at Csömödér and heading west to make a triangular junction with another forestry railway at Lenti, which also has a flat crossing with the MÁV line. BLN 836.0536][SI] Divaca avoiding line: Povir (km670.5) - Rodik: (EGTRE SI99/2) Not shown in Ball (45B1) is a fairly recent-looking west-to-south curve, single-track and electrified, avoiding Divaca in Slovenia, and linking two nearby cross-border lines, the Trieste - Vila Opicina FS - Sezana SZ (- Divaca) line from Italy and the (Divaca -) Hrpelje Kozina - Rakitovec SZ - Buzet HZ - Pula line to Croatia. Train IC1472 Pula - Sezana - Zagreb uses this curve, as do a pair of weekend trains #24201/24216 between Jesenice ÖBB and Koper SZ, and presumably the banana-container freight workings from Vado Ligure FS to Koper (Today's Railways #34). BLN 836.0537][UA] Novopoltavka - Volodymyrivka/Vladimirovka: This 32km line north-east of Odessa was built in 1943 as a 600mm-gauge military railway and converted in 1969 to its present 750mm, which is the more usual narrow-gauge in the former Soviet Union. In 1998 it has no regular freight and only two pairs of passenger trains a week. The Ukrainian railway (Ukrainska Zaliznitsa, who now on publicity material shorten their name to Ukrzaliznitsa) will however run specials to order, at modest expense. (IBSE) BLN 836.0538][CN] Hong Kong: Kowloon - Tuen Mun: (BLN 738.0271, 815.0584) In summer 1998 the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region finally authorised major investment in the ambitious West Rail project. The line, with the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation as a major shareholder, is to open in 2003, linking Kowloon (in Cantonese; Jiulong in Mandarin) to the mostly rural north-west New Territories, and connecting with the KCRC's existing Tuen Mun light-rail system. BLN 836.0539][AU] Sydney, NSW - Campbelltown - Goulburn, NSW - Canberra, ACT: October 2003 should see eight-car 320km/h TGVs leaving Sydney Central by the New Southern Railway (now being built to serve Sydney Airport), taking the East Hills line to Campbelltown (connecting with CityRail Parramatta trains), joining a new 270km fast line mainly alongside motorways, and arriving in Canberra after an 81-minute journey, compared with 247 minutes in the 1998 timetable. Also announced on 4 August 1998 was the preferred bidder to build and operate the line for 30 years, a consortium including Alstom, SNCF and Qantas. (Railway Gazette International) BLN 836.0540][US] Stockton - Tracy - Livermore - Pleasanton - Niles - Fremont-Centerville - San Jose, CA: (BLN 822.0133; 829.0317) The 136km Altamont Commuter Express service between the San Joaquin Valley and Silicon Valley begins 19 October 1998, initially with two trains each weekday from Stockton at 04:12 and 05:22, arriving at San Jose's Diridon station at 06:30 and 07:40, departing 16:15 and 17:45 to arrive back in Stockton 18:34 and 19:54. Advance demand for season-tickets has been brisk and the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission are actively trying to find more coaches so customers will not have to stand. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 836.0541][US] New York City subway: On 27 September 1998 a railtour was to run over IRT subway and elevated lines in Manhattan and the Bronx, offering 'many unusual moves' and using 1917-vintage stock ('wicker seats, overhead fans, growling motors') not employed in regular service since the mid-1970s. Since it was billed as the 'third annual IRT LO-V trip in co-operation with the New York Transit Museum' (BLN 793.027) a similar tour may run in 1999. Contact +1 718 855 1499 or fax +1 717 624 0306. BLN 837.0542][FR] Paris métro: Madeleine - Pyramides - Châtelet - Gare de Lyon - Bercy - Cour Saint-Emilion - Bibliothčque François Mitterrand: (BLN 825.0198; Ball 81B2-82A2) This first section of new line 14, a project earlier known as Météor (MÉTro Est-Ouest Rapide), officially opened on 15 October 1998. It is entirely in double-track tunnel, and operation is automatic, using MP89 trains which lack cabs and provide passengers with a forward view. Signals are provided, and non-automatic trains can work on the line if required, while Line 14 trains can run elsewhere on the Réseau Urbain under manual control. A single-track connection to Line 6 diverges at Bercy. Bibliothčque François Mitterrand is a particularly grand station, for interchange with RER Line C when the SNCF station there opens in 2000. The line continues beyond Bibliothčque to a depot at Olympiades, and may later extend further west. At the northern end, Madeleine - Gare St.Lazare is to open in 2003, and Line 14 may thereafter take over the St.Lazare - Gennevilliers branch of Line 13. Some RATP and other maps show Bibliothčque François Mitterrand as 'Tolbiac-Masséna' and Cour St.Emilion as 'Dijon', indicating a change in name prior to opening. BLN 837.0543][FR] Survilliers-Fosses: (Ball 81A3) South of Survilliers the fast lines are on the east side of the slow lines through the station, but move to lie outside the slow lines to the north. The northbound fast avoids the station and crosses both slow lines on a flyover and the southbound fast makes a wide swing out to the east. The Calais - Lourdes pilgrim train (BLN 833.0414) therefore went fast line southbound and slow line northbound. BLN 837.0544][FR][DE] Strasbourg: Neudorf Poste 1 - Bif Graffenstaden: (BLN 799.0154; EGTRE; Ball 30A2) The DB Kursbuch winter 1998-99 supplement deletes table F3, comprising Frankfurt - Bourg St.Maurice winter ski-trains. This may mark the demise of passenger service on the east-to-south Strasbourg avoiding line, the Raccordement du Gliesberg, though summer AutoZüge, restricted to travellers accompanying cars, may run again in 1999. BLN 837.0545][FR] Strasbourg trams: (BLN 830.0323) From a north-facing junction just south of Étoile, clearly laid in when the initial Ligne A was built, a short stub branch no more than 100m long reaches a turn-back station with a pair of platforms, served by short workings across the town-centre, described as Ligne D, but in effect duplicating Ligne A. Some track appears to continue beyond, presumably presaging an eventual extension east to Neudorf - although this did not appear on the map of future lines in Light Rail & Modern Tramway for June 1997. The airport shuttle-bus does indeed continue to run (every 15 minutes) from its modern and permanent-looking bus-terminal at the former Baggersee tram-terminus. Tramways & Urban Transit quotes the opening date for Ligne A beyond Baggersee as 4 July 1998, and system maps are dated July 1998. Rather than the provisional name of Cité Technique (from its proximity to the Cité Technique du Bâtiment) the new southern terminus has been named Illkirch-Lixenbuhl. Beyond, the double track strides boldly round the corner of a building, but is no more than an extended headshunt. The poles supporting the end of the overhead wiring stand to each side and avoid obstructing the line of route, clearly allowing for extension to the centre of Illkirch. However, the site had been tidied up and further construction did not in October 1998 look in immediate prospect. BLN 837.0546][FR] Clamecy - Prémery - Urzy - Les Perričres (- Nevers): (Ball 37B2-47A3) A planned Rail Vaux d'Yonne trip on 20 September 1998 using CFTA's 1952-built Picasso railcar, X3876, Le Furet de Morvan, was cancelled. Though in spring 1998 the line was still used once or twice a month for light-engine movements, its northern section had no freight. RVY say it has now been officially closed as a through route, and that 'no work has been done on it'. Possibly this refers to essential maintenance or simply to clearance of the vegetation which prevented a 1997 trip (BLN 808.0370). In any case the 'Ferret' was being internally refurbished, and unavailable. BLN 837.0547][FR] Rochefort-sur-Mer - La Rochelle-Ville - Piscine-Champ-de-Mars (- La Pallice): (Ball 43A1) Tuesday 22 September 1998 was a journée sans voiture when car use was discouraged in some larger cities and towns in France, including La Rochelle. Five extra local trains each way ran from Rochefort north along the coast, calling at Angoulins, a normally-closed station, and going forward beyond La Rochelle-Ville as far as a halt at Piscine-Champ-de-Mars, north of the town centre, using part of the otherwise freight-only branch to La Pallice. BLN 837.0548][FR][BE] (Dunkerque -) Bray-Dunes SNCF - De Panne NMBS: (BLN 815.0569; Ball 6B3-7A3) Bray-Dunes passenger building remains, with bricked-up toilets still bearing their Hommes sign, as in 1993 (BLN 713.04). The station area has been tidied and the tree growing between the rails in 1997 has gone, but the level-crossing has lost its barriers and the goods-shed is no more, while a new road now serves the Zone Industrielle beside the railway. The disused single line remains in place across the border. Beyond the Langeleedstraat level-crossing, the single track becomes a rusty unelectrified double-track loop, alongside the 3000V dc electrified sidings where NMBS Brussel - De Panne trains lie over between journeys, near the derelict signal-box. Points at the west end of De Panne station platform giving access from the Bray-Dunes direction seem intact, and colour-light signals guarding them are still lit, showing red aspects. BLN 837.0549][BE] Brussel/Bruxelles: Y Jette - Y Pannenhuis - Simonis - B-West/Ouest - Y Cureghem (- B-Zuid/Midi): (BLN 736.0203, 769.06; Ball 10B2-10B1; Lijn/Ligne 28) The September 1998 timetable saw a regular if sparse service begin again on the north-to-south belt-line circling the city to the west, long earmarked for a possible future RER. Three Mon-Fri Brussel - Dendermonde P53xx trains each way, out in the morning and back in the afternoon, making no intermediate calls on the belt-line, hardly constitute an RER, however. Presumably they use the alternative route to relieve congestion on the very busy Noord/Nord - Centraal/Central - Zuid/Midi link. BLN 837.0550][BE] Bruxelles/Brussel trams: Métro route 1A was extended westwards one station from Heysel to Roi Baudouin from 25 August 1998, according to STIB posters. On the busy north-south 'pre-métro' underground tram-route between Nord/Noord and Midi/Zuid stations, a surge of flood water on 5 October pushed out the tunnel-wall under Place Rogier, causing a blockage expected to last for several days. BLN 837.0551][BE] Antwerpen-Berchem - Antwerpen-Centraal: (BLN 791.0467; Ball 8B3) Berchem was officially renamed Antwerpen-Berchem from the May 1998 timetable, reflecting its increased importance while the diamond city's distinguished early-20th-century terminus, Centraal, is extensively upgraded, making way for the new south-to-north high-speed main line to the Netherlands to run under the existing station in tunnel. The carriage sidings in the triangle just north of Berchem have been replaced by new ones at Schijnpoort, and Berchem north-to-east curve has been realigned to swing rather further south into the area of the triangle. Since May a number of trains have been diverted at Berchem to run to or via Antwerpen Oost to reduce demand for the temporarily limited platform space at Centraal. Only four out of the ten terminal platforms were available on 17 October 1998. BLN 837.0552][BE] Antwerpen trams: The link at Ten Eekhovelei, just beyond Sportpaleis, between the 'pre-metro' tunnel of route #3 and the outer end of route #12 is complete, but not yet in regular use in October 1998. West of Sportpaleis #12 trams continue to use their surface route. This has single-track sections where the inward and outward tracks use different roads, with a flat crossing between the two directions at one point. BLN 837.0553][DE] Berlin: The 3km Lichterfelde Ost - Lichterfelde Süd S-Bahn S25 extension opened 25 September 1998 (BLN 836.0497; Ball 32B2). The 10km former direct alignment avoiding Berlin-Wannsee (Zehlendorf - Düppel - Griebnitzsee; 31B2-31B1) is to reopen. It is likely to be single and diesel-railcar-worked initially, but may later be restored to double main-line status and electrified as a fast route out to Potsdam from the new central Lehrterbahnhof (BLN 836.0498; 32B2). Tunnel work on the north-south main-line link (Putlitzstrasse - Berlin Lehrterbahnhof - Potsdamer Platz) is due to be completed in 2003. (Today's Railways, November 1998) BLN 837.0554][DE] Friedland (Han) - Arenshausen: (BLN 734.0164; Ball 40B3-40B2) The new north-to-east curve avoiding Eichenberg has been in use since 27 September 1998 by passenger trains. A Göttingen - Erfurt RE service running two-hourly is shown in the autumn timetable supplement (KBS600). BLN 837.0555][SE] (Halmstad Central -) Bĺstad - Ängelholm - Helsingborg (- Malmö): (BLN 833.0430; Ball 25A2) In summer 1998 trains were still calling at the old Bĺstad station, but its passing-loop had been replaced by a loop at the new, not-yet-opened Bĺstad station, slightly to the north of the town at the point where the new 8km Hallandsĺs Tunnel cut-off line leaves the existing alignment south to Ängelholm. On the north side of Helsingborg harbour, the old ferry loading-ramp plus the building and short sections of platform-canopy of the former terminal station, Helsingborg F, remained, but the yard area and the former harbour branch had entirely gone (BLN 714.023). BLN 837.0556][SE][FI] (Boden -) Haparanda - Tornio (- Kemi): (BLN 833.0431, 835.0467, 836.0511; Ball 3B1) In the years before the last scheduled SJ passenger service ran on 16 August 1992, a through passenger could change at either end of the cross-border link, since SJ trains ran forward to Tornio and VR trains to Haparanda. Though it was proposed at one time to extend 1435mm-gauge track from Tornio south to Röyttä, to serve a Finnish company, Outukumpu, it seems that the standard-gauge has never reached beyond Tornio freight yard and the 'Swedish' bay at Tornio passenger station. BLN 837.0557][IT] Orvieto funicular: (Ball 50A1) Orvieto town in Umbria sits atop a high pillar of rock, with the classic Roma - Firenze main line (and the parallel Direttissima; BLN 835 supplement) of necessity remaining in the flat valley bottom below. The attractive funicular connecting Orvieto station with the town is now part of a useful visitor-management system. Instead of winding their way up to the congested, historic streets, cars and coaches are directed into parking near the FS station at the lower end of the funicular, whose modern vehicles depart every 15 minutes 07:30-20:30, and are very well used. A combined ticket allows onward connections by local shuttle buses to the main points of interest at the top, and entry to various attractions. Both funicular and the fully integrated local buses are operated by the local transport undertaking. BLN 837.0558][IT][SI] Gorizia Centrale FS - Nova Gorica SZ: (BLN 714.024, 832.0412; Ball IT-44A1, SI-45A2) The 1998 summer diversions by this route were occasioned by work on the FS Monfalcone - Trieste Centrale line, rather than on the actual cross-border section (Villa Opicina FS - Sezana SZ), but the effect was to replace all Italy - Slovenia trains by buses across the frontier, except for #220/1 Simplon Express. These overnight trains were diverted by the Ronchi dei Legionari Sud - Nord curve avoiding Monfalcone, which normally sees one passenger train a day each way, as well as taking the freight-only Gorizia - Nova Gorica line. This ensured that the stock remained facing the correct way after no fewer than three reversals, at Gorizia, Nova Gorica and Sezana. (The Nova Gorica - Sezana line heads south under the Sezana - Ljubljana main line before curving north-west into Sezana station, not quite as shown in Ball.) The several reversals were unhurried - but the slack in the schedule is such that when a BLN reporter travelled westbound into Italy on the night of 31 August, train #220 was back on time when Lac Léman came into view on the morning of 1 September! BLN 837.0559][CH] Brig - Oberwald - Realp - Andermatt - Disentis/Mustér: (Ball 94A1-94B2) The Furka Oberalp Bahn has always been a key strategic route, and this led to its electrification in 1941 at a time when the neutral Swiss were surrounded by Europe at war. Even before NEAT tunnelling begins (BLN 836.0527-8) the area round Andermatt where the west-to-east metre-gauge FO crosses the north-to-south standard-gauge SBB has extensive underground installations in mountain caverns, and mysterious sidings branch off deep inside the 15km Furka Basistunnel between Oberwald and Realp. The Andermatt - Goschenen branch leaves the east end of Andermatt station at a west-facing junction, not east-facing as shown in Ball, so through FO trains from Disentis reverse at Andermatt to head north down the steep rack-equipped incline to arrive at the west side of Goschenen SBB station. On the way down a short freight branch diverges and crosses just above the main-line Gotthard tunnel portal to reach a quarry also served by SBB, east of Goschenen station (BLN 739.0288; not shown in Ball). BLN 837.0560][NO] (Oslo - Lillestrřm -) Asper - Oslo Lufthavn Gardermoen - Eidsvoll: (BLN 825.0213; Ball 20B1-20B2) InterCity trains were timetabled to use the new Gardermobane loop from 27 September 1998 and to call at Gardermoen airport station - whose official opening date was 8 October. Local trains continue to use the old line, which was part of Norway's first railway, opened 1854. BLN 837.0561][HR][BA] Zagreb - Sisak-Caprag - Sunja - Kostajnica - Volinja HZ - Dobrljin ZRS - Bosanski Novi - Blatna ZRS - Otoka ZBH - Bihac ZBH - Knin HZ - Split: (Ball 46B1-51A3) The former JZ electrified main line to Split is now indeed split, among three successor railways. On the northern section, Sisak-Predgrade station is now named Sisak-Caprag. Sunja yard and traction-depot are out of use and overgrown, and signs still warn that the site is in a known minefield. The Sunja - Novska line, diverging to the east and entirely in Croatia though closely paralleling the Bosnian frontier, is overgrown, with no visible sign of reconstruction work. From Sisak-Caprag to Volinja, the last station in Croatia, all signalling is out of use. In October 1998 the passenger service on this section was a Ganz-Mavag electric unit #6 111 102, originally all-first-class, but now in poor internal condition and unsurprisingly declassified. HZ locomotive #1141.109 was seen arriving at Volinja on a train consisting of bogie open wagons and oil tanks, perhaps from Bosnia, for the line towards the border was shiny. Today's Railways for November 1998 reports that Volinja - Dobrljin has indeed been physically restored, as has Blatna - Otoka, and that the badly war-damaged Bihac - Knin section, crossing the Bosnia-Croatia frontier seven times, was to be restored by September 1998, following repair by Italian army personnel assigned to NATO. Though the line to Bihac is visibly shiny north of Knin, this is for a short distance and it is possibly being used only as a headshunt. BLN's reporter warns that Knin, in the once-Serb-populated Krajina region of Croatia, offers no hotel or pension accommodation. BLN 837.0562][HR][BA] Strizivojna Vrpolje - Slavonski Šamac HZ (- Bosanski Šamac ZRS - Grapska): (Ball 47A1-51B3) The line is in good condition and electrified, but the HZ passenger service to Slavonski Šamac in October 1998 was operated by a diesel unit. Some sugar-beet freight traffic was to be seen. To the south the line is clearly out of use, and Today's Railways for November 1998 notes that the Slavonski Šamac - Bosanski Šamac link into Bosnia still requires repair. BLN 837.0563][BA][HR][YU] Bosnia-Hercegovina: (BLN 752.0167, 777.0179, 793.021, 820.083, 826.0239; Ball 51A3-51B3-52A3) The two railway administrations in Bosnia, Zeleznice Bosne i Hercegovine and Zeleznice Republike Srpske, have agreed to some co-operation, and through commercial freight traffic including Volkswagen parts is moving to Sarajevo using the reopened Vinkovci HZ - Brcko ZRS - Špionica ZBH - Bosanska Poljana - Lukavac ZBH - Doboj ZRS - Sarajevo ZBH route. The self-styled 'Serb Republic Railways', not ZBH, run the north-south Dobrljin - Bosanski Novi - Blatna, the west-east Bosanski Novi - Banja Luka - Grapska - Doboj and the north-south Bosanski Šamac - Grapska sections. JZ run the Šid - Bijeljina branch and the Šabac - Zvornik Grad line, both mainly in Serbia but extending just inside Bosnia's 'Serb Republic'. The Zvornik Grad JZ - Caparde (- Tuzla ZBH - Bosanska Poljana) link is still awaiting repair. (Today's Railways, November 1998) BLN 837.0564][TH][MM] (Bangkok -) Nong Pladuk - Kanchanaburi - Nam Tok (- Thanbyuzayat): During World War II the Japanese army constructed a strategic railway from Thailand through jungle-covered mountains to Burma. At Nong Pladuk junction, km64.196 from Bangkok, the new line diverged eastward from the metre-gauge main line south to Malaysia and Singapore (Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur - Singapura), crossing the river Kwai near Kanchanaburi and following the river Kwai Noi to cross the Thai-Burmese border at Chedi Sam Ong village. Continuing north-west into Burma, it connected at Thanbyuzayat to the British-built Burmese railway system, also metre-gauge. Total length was 415km, 303.95km in Thailand and 111.05km in Burma. Construction began October 1942 and track-laying was completed by 23 October 1943. A work-force of about 60,000 men included paid labourers from India, China and all over south-east Asia as well as many Allied prisoners of war captured by the Japanese. Indescribably bad working conditions, especially for the prisoners under Japanese command, as well as the tropical climate and lack of hygiene, soon gave this line the unofficial name 'Death Railway'. To speed up construction, the Japanese army built a temporary railway bridge across the river Kwai Yai, upstream and quite close to the existing river Kwai bridge east of Kanchanaburi. After completion of the permanent bridge the temporary one was dismantled to facilitate local river traffic. During Allied bombing, the permanent steel bridge was damaged, and several steel spans had to be replaced. After the war, in 1945, the British army dismantled the track from km300 to the Burmese border, and in 1947 the remaining Thai track was handed over to the State Railway of Thailand, who were authorised to dismantle the section from Nam Tok to km300, and to upgrade the remaining length of 130.204km to operational permanent-way. Nong Pladuk - Kanchanaburi reopened 24 June 1949, Kanchanaburi - Wang Pho 1 April 1952 and Wang Pho - Nam Tok 1 July 1958. In 1998 three daily return trains operate to Nam Tok, with weekend steam excursions on the most scenic section from Kanchanaburi over the river Kwai bridge to Wang Pho. From Nam Tok to the Burmese border the old route can no longer be identified, for maps of the time are inadequate and the jungle has been very efficient in covering any remaining traces. Little is known about the section in Burma, now Myanmar, but sources there say the railway is untouched since 1945 and well overgrown. On-site investigation is not readily feasible, for this province of Myanmar is generally closed to visitors, as is the border with Thailand, open only at minor check-points for local people. Any information about this part of the line would be welcome. (partly from State Railway of Thailand publicity) BLN 837.0565][CA] Montréal Gare Centrale - Charny - Québec / Lévis, QC: Canadian National want to abandon part of their 35km Montmagny Subdivision north of Lévis, QC, so VIA Rail Canada's Océan (Montréal - Matapédia, QC - Halifax, NS; 1352km), combined three days a week with the Chaleur (Montréal - Matapédia - Gaspé, QC; 949km), was on 24 October 1998 to make its last run along the south shore of the St.Lawrence river and its last call at Lévis station, where passengers had made connections by the road-vehicle ferry to and from Québec City riverfront opposite. From 25 October the Océan is diverted by a shorter route. After making a single stop in the Québec City area at Charny, it takes CN's 27km Diamond Subdivision, heading east via Joffre Yard instead of north-east, to regain its previous route at St.Charles south-west of Montmagny. Charny, on the south shore close to the huge Québec cantilever bridge over the St.Lawrence, is also a calling-point for VIA trains on the 272km Montréal Centrale - Québec corridor, which cross this famous 'Forth Bridge look-alike' to call again on the north shore at suburban Sainte-Foy before circling Québec City to reach its downtown Gare du Palais. The Québec Bridge took 16 years to complete, opening 17 October 1917; it has a single clear span of 549m compared to the Forth Bridge's two spans of 521m each. (partly http://www2.trains.com) BLN 837.0566][CA] Mattawa, ON - Témiscaming, QC (- Angliers): Diverging at Mattawa from the (Montreal, QC -) Smiths Falls, ON - North Bay section of Canadian Pacific's transcontinental main line, the Angliers branch till 1957 or later enjoyed a weekday round-trip by air-conditioned Budd Rail Diesel Car over its full 187km length, running north-westwards roughly parallel to the Ottawa river which forms the Québec-Ontario border. In 1998 the Timber Train, a new passenger excursion to view autumn foliage colours, was advertised to make a round-trip daily 11 Sep-15 Oct over the remaining southern 66km. The 6h30min trip included two hours at Témiscaming (the Québec-French version of the native name, spelled Timiskaming in 1957) and an optional tour of the Tembec pulp and paper mill. [Timber Train, Box 147, Mattawa, ON, P0H 1V0; +1 705 744 0148, fax +1 705 744 1716; http://www.canadian-ecology.com/train.htm] (Toronto Globe & Mail, 26 August 1998) BLN 837.0567][US] Canon City - Royal Gorge - Parkdale, CO: (BLN 813.0536, 826.0244, 829.0318) Canon City & Royal Gorge Railroad ran its first four crew-training round-trips carrying invited guests through Colorado's dramatic Royal Gorge on 17 October 1998, with ex-C&NW F7 diesel locomotive #403 heading three cars still in VIA Rail Canada blue. The new tourist line expects to start revenue operations in May 1999, making three daily round-trips with both its classic F7 units hauling the train and running round at Parkdale. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 838.0568] (Belfast -) Bleach Green Jn - Antrim: (BLN 776.0147, 832.0369) After lengthy indecision, the Government now regard themselves as having given 'approval on 7 August 1998 to the upgrading and reopening of the Antrim - Bleach Green line for passenger traffic. There are no further plans to expand the [Northern Ireland] railway system.' (Mr Paul Murphy MP, junior Minister, Northern Ireland Office; Hansard, Written Answer, col.33, 26 October 1998) BLN 838.0569][IE] Dublin: Islandbridge Jn - Glasnevin Jn: (BLN 830.0321; EGTRE, PSUL p15) The 14:05 MO Ballina - Dublin Pearse Irish-holiday-Monday relief train proved insufficently popular and last ran on 1 June 1998. BLN 838.0570][IE] Kilkenny: Lavistown North Jn - Lavistown South Jn: (BLN 784.0323, 822.0117; EGTRE, PSUL p15) Christmas-shopping specials are again expected to operate in 1998 using the Kilkenny avoiding line, leaving Waterford c.07:10 for Dublin Heuston on the first three Saturdays in December, though not during November as in 1997. The return trains are to call and reverse at Kilkenny station. BLN 838.0571][FR] Le Crotoy - Noyelles-sur-Mer - St.Valéry-sur-Somme - Cayeux-sur-Mer: (Ball 14A3) Despite poor weather, the CF de la Baie de Somme had a good season. Summer 1998 trains ceased after 18 October, but 12 and 13 December will see Pčre Noël travelling on the line. The weekend morning trains (BLN 834.0438) were a success and may lead to weekday morning services in 1999, more readily enabling one to travel all the available track in a day. CFBS would like to divert passengers from heavily-loaded afternoon workings, for the loop at St.Valéry-Port limits trains to seven or eight vehicles, and they cannot be lengthened further. (Voie Étroite, #168) BLN 838.0572][FR] (Amiens - Chaulnes -) Jussy - Montescourt (- St.Quentin): (BLN 793.02; OEIS 9843 Ball 15B2) From 7 September 1998 the 2km west-to-north barreau de Jussy, a reinstated former military curve, has had passenger trains, giving faster times between Amiens and St.Quentin by avoiding reversal or change at Tergnier. BLN 838.0573][FR] Marseille-St.Charles - La Joliette - L'Estaque: (BLN 804.0277; EGTRE; Ball 75B2) When engineering possessions of the main line in 1994 diverted several local trains via freight lines and a reversal in the long-closed station at La Joliette, a number of port and office workers preferred to descend unofficially at the reversing-point, to save doubling back by metro from Marseille-St.Charles main station (BLN 730.0105). SNCF decided to regularise the practice, built a rudimentary platform with a small sign indicating the way out to the Place de la Joliette but no nameboard and no ticket-validator, and used the route for a few regular commuter trains, indicated only by footnotes in the local fiche-horaire leaflet, without mention in the national timetable. In 1998 even the footnotes have disappeared, but one train each way (07:12 L'Estaque - Marseille-St.Charles and 17:10 return) still calls to set down and pick up a small contingent of regular passengers. TGVs too have occasionally been seen running via La Joliette either because of works in connection with the installation of crossovers to the new LGV, or to avoid various demonstrators blocking the main line. BLN 838.0574][DE] Berlin: (Ball 31-32) For a period in summer 1998 southbound S-Bahn trains were calling at the old platform at Gesundbrunnen, and northbound ones at a new island platform to the south, but all have now been diverted to this island platform, and yet another new platform is being built on the site of the old station. The present arrangement seems temporary, and the final layout is to allow cross-platform interchange between westbound/southbound and eastbound/northbound trains (BLN 823.0149). At nearby Bornholmer Strasse, work progresses, but S-Bahn trains via Pankow are still using the temporary station on the east side of the site. On the Lichterfelde Ost - Lichterfelde Süd S-Bahn section, reopened 25 September 1998 (BLN 837.0553), an entirely new station, Osdorfer Strasse, has been built between the bridges over Osdorfer Strasse and Hildburghauser Strasse, with access to both streets. This may be the first new Berlin S-Bahn station since Wartenberg opened in 1985. Lichterfelde Süd station has two platforms and double track is in place, but the timetable provides for rapid reversals and only the southbound platform seems to be in regular use. Notices at stations indicate that the Tegel - Hennigsdorf conductor-rail is energised from 8 November, and it is planned to open 15 December 1998. Pichelsberg - Spandau is planned to open on 30 December 1998 (BLN 836.0496-7). At Olympiastadion, the terminal island platform nearest to the through lines is being returned to use (BLN 826.0232). Griebnitzsee - in DDR times a sinister checkpoint where trains were stopped and searched before going forward into West Berlin (BLN 734.0164) - now has an S-Bahn Museum, but it is open only one weekend each month, and not at all during the winter. Bergholz has closed, apparently in May 1998. The bi-level station was in an isolated woodland setting, and with near-elimination of passenger trains on the Saarmund - Potsdam-Pirschheide section of the Aussenring it had lost its interchange function with the Berlin-Wannsee - Seddin line beneath (BLN 699.010, 830.0345). BLN 838.0575][DE] Lollar - Mainzlar (- Londorf - Grünberg): (Ball 49B1-39B1) At Lollar, the station building stands between the Kassel - Giessen main line and the branch platform on its west side which was used by trains on both the now-lifted Lollar - Kinzenbach - Wetzlar line to the south-west and the Lollar - Mainzlar - Grünberg line, the Lumdatalbahn, to the east. Passenger services on the latter ceased about 1981, but Lollar Nord, the relatively modern halt that once served local housing, still retains its nameboard, in surprisingly unvandalised condition. On 24 October 1998 a ProBahn&Bus charter train visited the remaining 4km of the line, retained in freight use to reach a factory some 500m beyond Mainzlar station. The track is understood to be impassable though in place from Mainzlar to Londorf, but has been lifted beyond. BLN 838.0576][DE] Dreieich-Buchschlag - Ober Roden - Dieburg: (Ball 50B3-49B1; KBS647) Branch trains are Class 628 diesel units, and some peak-hour workings run through from and to Frankfurt, though most rely on Frankfurt - Darmstadt S-Bahn connections. Near Neu Isenburg the 'branch' track diverges from the Fernbahn long-distance tracks and runs parallel southward to Dreieich-Buchschlag, which has platforms to the west on the S-Bahn tracks and one to the east on the branch, but none on the main-line tracks in between. This branch junction was previously Buchschlag-Sprendlingen but the district prefix Dreieich has now supplanted the suffix, and indeed it now prefixes other stations at the north end of the branch. Trains head south-east past stations remodelled with high-level platforms, new shelters and navy-blue corporate-identity signs with white letters, though curiously most stations have old signs (with upper-case black letters on white, or the older-still upper-and-lower-case black-on-white) left attached to now-redundant buildings or at now-abandoned outer ends of platforms. At some places, for example Münster, the former station building, now too large, has been converted to another use but neatly integrated into new facilities; elsewhere, for example Eppertshausen, the new has simply been set down incongruously among the deteriorating old. A relatively recent addition is the halt at Wiebelfeld. The linked Offenbach - OF-Bieber - Ober Roden - Dieburg line (KBS617) has a poorer service, locomotive-worked by Class 212 plus four coaches, with no Saturday-evening or Sunday trains. Branch trains start at Offenbach Hbf, but most traffic seems to interchange with the S-Bahn at Offenbach-Ost. OF-Ost, as its signs abbreviate it, is not quite as shown in Ball, being alongside the Frankfurt - Hanau main line though with no platforms on the Fernbahn tracks. The junction layout at OF-Ost and the first 200m or so of the branch have already been set out ready for electrification and extension of the S-Bahn to OF-Bieber and beyond, perhaps taking over part or all of the Bieber - Dietzenbach branch, clearly still in use for freight only. A massive excavation under way at Obertshausen, apparently to create a road underbridge, doubtless presages better passenger facilities at the line's as-yet unrefurbished stations. The junction station is unsure what to call itself. Ober Roden in timetable KBS617, on the station-building, the signal-box and some old black-on-white signs, it is Ober-Roden with a hyphen on some non-standard blue-on-cream signs on some platforms, and Rödermark-Ober Roden in KBS647 and (with the district prefix Rödermark in smaller type) on new white-on-blue signs on the remodelled platforms 3 and 4 ! Trains on the three single lines entering the station once had a lavish seven platforms to choose from, but the layout is in the throes of being reduced to (it seems) four. Offenbach trains use Gleis 1, on which the station building stands; the old 2/3 seem to be out of use; the island 3/4 (formerly 4/5) have been refurbished; and the old 6/7 have gone. A pedestrian underpass is to replace the overbridge at the north end of the platforms. Signal-boxes remain at both ends, with the controlling box Of at the north end. At the south end, separate stabling sidings are provided on the west side for the Class 628 units and on the east side for the Offenbach loco-hauled trains. BLN 838.0577][DE] Sonneberg (Thüringen) - Lauscha - Ernstthal - Probstzella: (BLN 795.067, 824.0180; Ball 52B3-53A3) Sonneberg - Lauscha reopened to passengers on 26 September 1998, with special trains, but DB are said to have ceased planning to reopen the Ernstthal - Probstzella section. (Eisenbahn Kurier, 11/98) BLN 838.0578][AT][HU] Oberwart ÖBB - Rotenturm an der Pinka SRB - Grosspetersdorf - Rechnitz SRB (- Szombathely MÁV): (BLN 737.0236, 768.0528, 779.0222, 836.0508; Ball 84A3-84B3) The only obvious freight activity on this Südburgenländische Regionalbahn line seems to be shunting private sidings on the industrial estate at the south-east end of Oberwart, beyond the ÖBB/SRB boundary. Sidings at Rotenturm hold several stored or abandoned railbuses, presumably acquired for the apparently abortive 1996 project of running regular SRB passenger trains as well as summer weekend trips. The SRB headquarters depot at Grosspetersdorf is also replete with locomotives and stock in varying condition. Rechnitz station, poorly sited c.2km from the town, has a couple of sidings and a silo or warehouse, so may have seasonal agricultural traffic, perhaps sugar-beet, though no wagons were present on 30 August 1998. Beyond the points for Rechnitz run-round loop is a c.500m headshunt, in which lie various items of stored or abandoned passenger rolling-stock. The headshunt ends at a solid stop-block, but abandoned track remains in place beyond, very overgrown and in quite unusable condition, continuing towards the Hungarian frontier. Information about the state of the track on the Hungarian side would be welcome. BLN 838.0579][PT] (Porto Trindade - Senhora de Hora - Trofa -) Lousado - Santo Tirso - Lordelo - Guimarăes: (BLN 826.0235, 828.0289; Ball 7A1-7B1) In late October CP notices and the Porto Săo Bento departures-board confirmed completion of regauging of Lousado - Santo Tirso from metre-gauge. Timetable leaflets were not yet available, but around six broad-gauge trains each way daily (Porto Săo Bento - Campanha - Contumil - Ermesinde - Trofa - Lousado - Santo Tirso) seem to have been introduced as an experimental service, perhaps from 4 October 1998. Meanwhile, according to the May 1998 Guia Horário Oficial, still current and not amended by posters in this respect, the Trofa - Lousado and Trofa - Santo Tirso connecting buses and the Santo Tirso - Guimarăes metre-gauge trains continue to run, so Santo Tirso is presumably now the break-of-gauge station. BLN 838.0580][PT] Lisboa: (BLN 828.0290; Ball 25B1) Since Expo 98 ended at the beginning of October, many extra services in the CP timetable of 17 May 1998 have been cancelled by means of notices at stations, and the service pattern is now similar to that in force before the opening of Lisboa Oriente. The midweek Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Setil - Bombel - Poceirăo - Pinheiro - Faro trains, unadvertised in the Guia Horário Oficial, no longer run; the daily 20-minute frequency Lisboa Oriente - Areeiro - Cacém service is cut back to run Areeiro - Cacém and does not run at all at weekends; and the Linha da Cintura is again closed between 15:00 Saturday and Monday morning, so during that period the Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Cacém - Figueira da Foz IR trains start and terminate at Cacém, and suburban trains from the north via Oriente - Areeiro - Campolide are diverted to run Oriente - Santa Apolónia. BLN 838.0581][PT] Vila Real de Santo Antonio - Vila Real de Santo Antonio-Guadiana: (Ball 34A2) Near the terminal for the ferry across the Guadiana estuary to Ayamonte in Spain, and convenient for the bus-station whence connections leave for Ayamonte and Huelva, is the border town's Guadiana station. However CP appear to have closed it, perhaps by stealth, for two notices were seen at various CP stations in the Algarve region, one indicating closure 15-22 July 1998, and a second stating a further 'temporary' closure from 22 July onwards. No physical reason for closure was in evidence on 30 October when the line between Vila Real de Santo Antonio's main and Guadiana stations was traversed on foot. While a short stretch seems to be in use as a headshunt for empty stock moving between the main station and the adjacent sidings, the appearance of the rest of the track, and minor obstructions such as the odd tree branch, suggested that no rail traffic had for some months been near Guadiana station, which looked locked-up and abandoned. Effective date of closure may well have been 15 July 1998. BLN 838.0582][GR] Paleofarsalos - Kalambaka and Paleofarsalos - Velistinon - Volos: (Ball 62A2-62B1) On 26 June 1998 a BLN reporter travelled both sections, seeing no notices presaging closure three days later (BLN 836.0517) - though the large banners at Volos announcing a strike on 29 June may perhaps not have been coincidental. Some inconclusive evidence of realignment was seen on the Paleofarsalos - Kalambaka section but not confirmed by any piles of ballast or new rails. On the doomed Paleofarsalos - Volos section a half-hour wait in a passing-loop was spent hosing down the train as well as any of the few passengers or more numerous railway staff who volunteered. BLN 838.0583][CH][DE] Etzwilen - Ramsen SBB - Rielasingen DB - Singen: (BLN 836.0520; Ball 88B3) Notwithstanding BLN 815.0583, when closure came in May 1996, this unelectrified freight-only cross-border route was still operated by SBB, the usual locomotive being Class Bm6/6 #18514. However MThB did then express interest in later restoring passenger services. If reopening goes ahead, it will probably be with light diesel RegioSprinter railcars like those MThB use for Radolfzell - Stockach trains (BLN 810.0436). BLN 838.0584][CH] Nyon - St.Cergue - La Cure: (BLN 762.0412, 809.0402; Ball 90B1) To eliminate several level-crossings, a 210m underground link is proposed to reach the new three-track metre-gauge NStCM terminus on the north side which is to replace the track in the street to the south of Nyon CFF station. The project has cleared the public consultation stage but finance has yet to be arranged. (L'Écho du Rail. #187, September 1998) BLN 838.0585][CH] Bex - Villars - Bretaye: (BLN 835.0471; Ball 98B3) The metre-gauge BVB is out of use between Bex CFF station and Pont-Neuf from 24 August 1998 unt