Branch Line News International (ISSN 1354-0947), a newsletter about the world's railway geography and infrastructure. 1999 archived text Paragraphs in issues BLN 841 of 09-Jan-1999 to BLN 852 of 19-Jun-1999 are referenced by BLN issue number, but the reference system changed at the end of 1999 second quarter, and the Rinbad paragraphs thereafter are numbered consecutively in a new four-digit series beginning 0001 in the Rinbad pages issued as an optional supplement with BLN 853 of 03-Jul-1999. Last issue of 1999 was BLN 864 of 18-Dec-1999. BLN 841.01][FR] Paris métro: At some point during 1998 Rue Montmartre station was renamed Grands Boulevards. BLN 841.02][FR] Rivesaltes - Estagel - Axat - St.Martin-Lys (- Quillan): (Ball 73A1-72B1) Daily stone trains run on this freight-only SNCF branch, which may see a new tourist-train operation in summer 1999 to St.Martin-Lys, just beyond Axat. In the longer-term track may be relaid on the 7km north to Quillan, reconnecting the line with the Carcassonne - Limoux - Quillan passenger branch (BLN 815.0568). (Today's Railways, #37, January 1999) BLN 841.03][FR] Bédarieux - Lamalou-les-Bains - Mons La Trivalle: (BLN 797.0101; Ball 73B3-73A3) Local-authority finance may allow operation of the Train Touristique Lamalou - Mons La Trivalle, closed for safety reasons in September 1996, to restart in summer 1999. (Today's Railways, #37, January 1999) BLN 841.04][DE] Passenger closures in Sachsen-Anhalt: According to Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, the province of Sachsen-Anhalt are to reduce financial support, leading to passenger closure of the following underused lines by May 1999 or earlier, and eventual elimination of all passenger services used by fewer than 300 travellers a day. On the positive side a new curve (presumably facing east, towards Magdeburg) is to be built at Blumenberg on to the Blumenberg - Eilsleben line, which is also to have higher speeds and more services. Ball atlas Average daily passenger load / references / remarks Elbingerode (Harz) - Königshütte (Harz) 27B1 24 end section of Rubelandbahn, sole German 25kV line Schönebeck - Blumenberg 28A1 12 Blumenberg - Egeln 28A1 12 Haldensleben - Weferlingen 28A2-27B2 69 BLN 742.0342, 769.010, 774.0110 Haldensleben - Eilsleben 28A2-27B2 97 BLN 733.0153 Schönhausen (Elbe) - Jerichow 28B3 37 BLN 767.0504 Jerichow - Genthin 28B3 58 Jerichow - Güsen (Kreis Genthin) 28B3-28B2 37 BLN 767.0504 Güsen (Kreis Genthin) - Ziesar 28B2 28 BLN 765.0462, 767.0504, 772.070 Loburg - Altengrabow 28B2 5 BLN 729.089; was to close end-Dec 1998 Querfurt - Vitzenburg 42A3-42A2 8-14 BLN 803.0255, 810.0436; already closed? Grosskorbetha - Deuben (bei Zeitz) 42B2 29 BLN 776.0155 Zeitz - Osterfeld (bei Zeitz) 42B2 57 BLN 841.05][DE] (Stendal -) Bostel - Niedergörne: (BLN 745.015, 772.070, 836.0495; Ball 28A3-28B3) The branch (entirely in Sachsen-Anhalt, not Brandenburg) closed to passengers 31 December 1995 and was once thought likely to close completely after the demolition, begun in 1994, of the Russian-design nuclear power-station at Niedergörne. In late 1998 it was still in freight use for its whole length. BLN 841.06][DE] Treysa - Homberg (- Malsfeld) and Treysa - Oberaula (- Bad Hersfeld): (BLN 812.0491; Ball 40A1) The Frankfurt am Main - Kassel main line opened in stages in 1849-50 and from 2 January to 4 March 1850 Treysa, in the Schwalm valley between Marburg and Kassel, was its temporary western terminus. After the Franco-Prussian war, the town gained a second railway when the Kanonenbahn, one of a series of lines built mainly for German military traffic to Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine), opened from Treysa east to Malsfeld on 1 August 1879 and beyond Malsfeld to Leinefelde in 1880. Treysa's third railway linked it to the existing Oberaula - Bad Hersfeld line. The steep and curved Treysa - Oberaula section opened 1 August 1907, diverging from the main line at a junction to the south of the river Schwalm, facing away from Treysa's original station on the north side. A new station was built south of the river, as were a locomotive-depot and a small marshalling-yard, but Treysa old station building, now a Bierstube, still stands in the fork between the lines to Malsfeld and Kassel. During World War I the Kanonenbahn fulfilled its intended military purpose, but in World War II railways were less important, though it became a useful alternative route in May 1943 when the Treysa - Kassel line was inundated following destruction of the Eder dam in the famous raid by British Lancaster bombers. As the Kanonenbahn bypassed most major towns, passenger traffic was never of great importance. Treysa - Malsfeld passenger trains were withdrawn in 1981, and Homberg - Malsfeld closed completely, leaving the 20km Treysa - Homberg freight branch with gradually deteriorating track till its closure at the end of 1998. The 34km Treysa - Oberaula line lost all its freight traffic in 1995. During the 1990s, preservation group Eisenbahnfreunde Schwalm-Knüll took over Treysa locomotive-shed, basing three 2-10-0 steam locomotives there to work occasional excursion trains on the branches. A special steam train on 5 December 1998 was advertised as the last such working to Homberg, though it seems EFSK will continue to run on the more scenic Oberaula branch. BLN 841.07][DE] Special trains to Hannover?: (BLN 821.097; Ball 26B2) The CeBIT 1999 event is on 18-24 March. BLN 841.08][DE] Frankfurt-am-Main S-Bahn: (Ball 50A3) Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund, the regional passenger transport authority, were advertising in November 1998 the imminent opening of two new S-Bahn stations: Oberursel-Stierstadt on Frankfurt West - Friedrichsdorf line S5 was to open by 'end 1998' and Frankfurt-am-Main Messe between Galluswarte and West on lines S3,4,5,6 (and trailed as 'Messe/Torhaus' in the 1998-99 Kursbuch) would open 'early in 1999'. (RMV Kunden Express 9804/11) BLN 841.09][DE] Miltach - Konzell-Streifenau: Though shown in the 1998 Ball atlas (61A2), this branch had been lifted near the junction at Miltach by November 1998, and the nearby Blaibach (Niederbayern) - Viechtach - Gotteszell line (BLN 811.0465; Ball 61B2) remained severed at Blaibach, still as in 1997 with a 200m gap where roadworks had removed a bridge and part of an embankment, though track seemed in place beyond. BLN 841.010][AT] Salzburg - Bürmoos - Lamprechtshausen: (Ball 72B2) In October 1998 building work was in progress at the site of the former Lokalbahnhof. The new underground Lokalbahn platforms of Salzburger Stadtwerke Verkehrsbetrieb beneath the main ÖBB station are now numbered 1 and 2, and not 40 and 41 (BLN 807.0362). Freight continues to be significant on the Lokalbahn. In the exchange sidings at Salzburg-Itzling, the first station to the north and site of the SVB depot, an ÖBB Class 2068 diesel locomotive was exchanging two vans with SVB electric E64. A Konzept Stadtbahn Salzburg poster in SVB trains shows a proposed extension of the line continuing under the city with nine new stations, but no dates are given. BLN 841.011][AT] Marchtrenk - Traun (- Linz): (Ball 73B3) The 1998 Ball atlas shows this 1994 cut-off line incorrectly. As noted in BLN 761.0389, its west end is at Marchtrenk station and its east end is a triangular junction between Traun and Ansfelden stations. BLN 841.012][SE] Stockholm suburban: (Ball 29-30) Nationalised operator SJ in December 1998 lost the five-year (2000-2004) contract to operate Stockholm's Pendeltĺg (= 'shuttle-train') suburban lines to the CityPendeln consortium, 51% owned by the French operator VIA-GTI, 39% by Go-Ahead (the Newcastle-based bus group who are also franchisees of Thames Trains and, with VIA-GTI, Thameslink) and 10% by Swedish train-operator BK-Tĺg. Other unsuccessful bidders were Stagecoach's Swebus subsidiary and Vivendi's Linjebuss subsidiary. (The Scotsman, 17 December 1998) Bus-operators Linjebuss already run Roslagsbanan, Stockholm's unusual 891mm-gauge 1500V dc commuter line (BLN 829.0311). BLN 841.013][IT] Palermo Centrale - Vespro - Notarbartolo - Giachery (- Palermo Marittima): (Ball 59A3) The November 1998 ADL tour did not include the line as advertised, but a BLN reporter visited Giachery on the frequent Palermo Metro service, which uses Class 668 diesel railcars though this section is electrified. (Beyond, the branch is freight-only to Marittima.) A few Palermo Metro trains reverse at Palermo Brancaccio, enabling all sides of the triangle outside Centrale to be covered on one return trip if the timetable is studied closely. Between Vespro and Notarbartolo a new suburban station is under construction involving also a new tunnel. The short freight branch shown in Ball south from Notarbartolo to Palermo Lolli is in fact a yard, more or less parallel to the running line. North-west of Notarbartolo, a district where one is advised not to linger and not to leave the station, the Palermo Notarbartolo - Carini (- Trapani) single line is unelectrified and has halts at Francia and Cardillo, not shown in Ball. New alignments for double track and new stations are evident in several places, and may have been there for some time since the second track at Carini, not yet in use, already has bushes growing through the ballast. The works are in connection with the future Carini - Palermo Aeroporto branch which diverges on the north side along the coast west of Carini, but it was impossible to ascertain an opening date (unsurprising, in Italy). BLN 841.014][IT] Eccellente - Tropea - Rosarno: (Ball 61A3) This electrified single-track coastal loop seems to have been the original main line to the toe of Italy before the inland route via the 6km Francica tunnel opened. Local trains run through from Lamezia Terme Centrale with some running forward to Villa San Giovanni. Northbound on the 11:45 from Villa San Giovanni on 16 November 1998 the elderly Class 636 locomotive in faded brown paint lost time and as the FS train ran into Gioia Tauro station, Ferrovie della Calabria railcar #221 failed to wait and was seen departing on the 950mm-gauge Gioia Tauro Cinquefrondi line (BLN 795.074). By Lamezia Terme 30 minutes had been lost, and the onward FS connection to Paola was not held either. BLN 841.015][GR] Pirghos - Katakolo: (Ball 65A2) Rather than repair poor track, OSE closed this 12km metre-gauge branch of the Greek Peloponnese system from 28 October 1998. (Today's Railways, #37, January 1999) BLN 841.016][CH][DE] Romanshorn - Kreuzlingen - Stein am Rhein - Etzwilen - Schaffhausen: (BLN 836.0519; Ball 89A2-88B3-68B2) Swiss private operators Mittelthurgaubahn promised more frequent trains as a condition of being awarded the right to operate this SBB line for a period of years, and their basic hourly service plan is: Stein am Rhein - Etzwilen - Schaffhausen Romanshorn - Kreuzlingen - Stein am Rhein - Etzwilen - Schaffhausen Rorschach - Romanshorn - Kreuzlingen - Konstanz - Singen - Engen Weinfelden - Kreuzlingen - Konstanz - Singen - Engen Wil - Weinfelden However, while MThB await delivery of all ten of their new light electric units, the traditional service pattern of through-running between Rorschach and Schaffhausen continues, since the SBB Class 540 units still used have pantographs that do not suit DB overhead wiring and they do not enter Germany. SBB have extended their Winterthur - Romanshorn local trains to Rorschach to maintain their interest in the Romanshorn - Rorschach Hafen - Rorschach line, so on the Rorschach Hafen - Rorschach section east along the Bodensee three operators, SBB, MThB and RHB, now share the traffic (BLN 836.0522). The operating pattern at Konstanz is not quite as described in BLN 836.0519. Passengers from Switzerland alighting at Konstanz go to the south end of the island platform and use a pedestrian level-crossing protected by a gate to cross the tracks to the customs-post in the station building. German passengers boarding MThB trains at Konstanz for stations to Singen and Engen reach the island platform by the subway further north near the centre of the station. BLN 841.017][CH] Lauterbrunnen - Grütschalp - Mürren: (BLN 839.0603; Ball 93A1) An enquirer was told locally that the stock for the inaccessible Grütschalp - Mürren section was supplied as a kit of parts and assembled at the top. BLN 841.018][HU] Budapest - Esztergom - Komárom: (Ball 44B2-42B1) MÁV say that, because of the condition of the bridge over the river Duna (BLN 835.0473) and poor track, Budapest - Esztergom trains will no longer be locomotive-hauled from the summer 1999 timetable-change. The two pairs of international trains via the Esztergom - Komárom line (BLN 804.0293) will cease. BLN 841.019][HU] Budapest-Ferencváros - Köbánya-Kispest: (BLN 789.0441, 797.0119; EGTRE HU99/1; Ball 44B2) This connecting curve has timetabled MÁV staff trains as well as its few long-distance services. Other short-haul staff workings operate Ferencváros - Rákos and Ferencváros - Kelenföld, and some of these run all the way to the far end of Ferencváros freight-yard. Since MÁV have sold off their mail-handling area at Budapest Nyugati (= west) station, mail trains are to use Budapest-Keleti (= east) beginning some time in 1999, perhaps as early as February. Budapest - Szeged overnight mail-and-passenger trains will reverse at Ferencváros and use the Ferencváros - Köbánya-Kispest curve, but it is not yet clear whether passengers will be carried on the short run between Keleti and Köbánya-Kispest. BLN 841.020][SK] Poprad-Tatry - Starý Smokovec - Štrbské Pleso and Starý Smokovec - Tatranská Lomnica: (Ball 43A2) The T-shaped system of the metre-gauge 1500V dc Tatranské Elektrické Zeleznice serves the Vysoké Tatry, the 'high Tatras', a winter-sports and summer-tourist area in Slovakia's highest mountains. The TEZ, part of ZSR, has connections with ZSR standard-gauge at all three ends. At the southern end TEZ cars originally started in the street outside Poprad-Tatry station and ran through part of the town, but since early 1992 the modern island-platform metre-gauge station has been on top of and at right-angles to the main-line junction station beneath, and the 1960s-built light-rail cars, similar to Tatra T3 town trams, depart north on a viaduct giving views to the west over the station-yard and the depots for both gauges. The 1970-built metre-gauge depot was retained and is accessed from the 1992 elevated route by a steeply-graded connection curving down and under the viaduct. The deviation avoiding the former town tracks is quite lengthy and the original 1908 alignment is not regained until open countryside appears, more than halfway to the first station and passing-loop at Velký Slavkov. Some 13km north of Poprad-Tatry, the junction at the middle of the T, Starý Smokovec, has a 1.9km funicular starting some distance from the station and running from Smokovecký výstup to Hrebienok. At the western end of the TEZ, 16km from the junction, Štrbské Pleso has a modern station building with low platforms and is also the upper terminus of the 4.8km Štrbské Pleso - Štrba metre-gauge rack line that forms the link down to the ZSR standard-gauge at Štrba. Steam-worked when it opened in 1896, the rack line closed in 1932 but was electrified and reopened in 1970, with Swiss (SLM/BBC) stock, an unusual purchase for an eastern-bloc country. At the eastern end, 6km from the junction, the TEZ terminates at Tatranská Lomnica, alongside the terminal platform of the diesel-railcar worked Studený Potok - Tatranská Lomnica branch (Studený Potok = 'cold brook'). Some distance away through the woods is the lower station of the 6km Tatranská Lomnica - Lomnický štit aerial cableway, running in three sections high into the mountains. The future of the TEZ lines seems secure, and in 1998 ZSR ordered fourteen new metre-gauge three-car units of Stadler GTW design for delivery in 2000-01. BLN 841.021][IL] Israel: During the Jewish Sabbath, from Friday afternoon till Saturday sunset, and on certain religious holidays, no rail traffic moves, and thus an unusual feature of the passenger services is that their resumption on Saturday evenings varies with the seasonal length of daylight. Rakevet Israel run regular passenger trains on a standard-gauge network of some 300km, and freight on some 180km more, with 80km of line out of use. On the Tel-Aviv - Zomet Remez - Haifa - Nahariyya - Bezet line several passenger trains an hour run from Tel-Aviv north along the coast to the major port of Haifa and on to Nahariyya, but only an occasional freight train works to Bezet, 3km from the troubled border with Lebanon. Beyond Bezet the coastal line, built by British army engineers in 1942, has been removed or destroyed by war. The relatively recent city-centre connection between Tel-Aviv's main and south stations (Tel-Aviv Merkaz - Tel Aviv Hashalom) led to the easterly loop line round the city (Tel-Aviv Merkaz / Tel-Aviv Barukh - Tel-Aviv Zafon - Rosh Ha'ayin - Lod) losing its passenger trains, but it remains as a freight line. The former inland route north to Haifa along the western edge of Palestinian West Bank territory appears to survive only as two short freight stubs (Rosh Ha'ayin - Kefar Sava and Zomet Remez - Hadera Mizrah) at the south and north ends respectively. Southward, on the Tel-Aviv - Lod - Be'er Ya'akov - Rehovot - Ashdod - Ashqelon line, passenger trains run fairly frequently to Rehovot but only two a day reach Ashdod Darom station. Eastward, the slow, sinuous and steep (Tel-Aviv -) Lod - Na'an - Jerusalem route did have one passenger train each way, but the line is closed for reconstruction work. Lod - Na'an may reopen February 1999 and Na'an - Jerusalem end-1999. During the Lod - Na'an closure, the pair of (Tel-Aviv -) Lod - Na'an - Qiryat Gat - Be'er Sheva passenger trains are diverted via Lod - Ashdod and the Ashdod - Ashqelon - Qiryat Gat link, normally freight-only and used by phosphate and fertiliser trains off the long mineral lines in the Negev south-east of Be'er Sheva (Be'er Sheva - Mamshit - Nahal Zin and Mamshit - Zefa), as they head for the coast to take the Ashdod harbour branch. Track remains out of use on the Ashqelon - Erez - Gaza - Rafiah line running the length of the Palestinian Gaza Strip between Erez in Israel and Rafiah in Egypt, on the British strategic wartime route that once linked Haifa with Cairo (BLN 784.0345, 793.023, 797.0121, 802.0246). (IBSE) BLN 841.022][AU] Belgrave - Emerald - Lakeside - Gembrook: Opened 18 December 1900 eastwards from the splendidly-named terminus of the Melbourne - Ringwood - Upper Ferntree Gully 1600mm-gauge line, the 762mm-gauge 'Puffing Billy' railway is now probably Australia's best-known preservation operation. The line was blocked by a landslip east of Belgrave on 3 August 1953, and since it was already planned to extend the broad-gauge, the narrow-gauge Upper Ferntree Gully - Belgrave section closed 23 February 1958, reopening as broad-gauge, on a different alignment in a few places, on 18 February 1962. Despite the formation of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society, the track beyond Lakeside to Gembrook was lifted in 1961. The narrow-gauge line was reopened in stages from a new terminus a short distance from the new broad-gauge station at Belgrave, to Emerald in 1965, to Lakeside in 1975 and to Gembrook on 18 October 1998. Between Lakeside and Gembrook three timber trestle bridges have been rebuilt. The longest, up to 15m high and over 60m long, is somewhat more impressive than the one at the Belgrave end of the line which appears on many publicity photographs. The new station at Gembrook is a short distance beyond the original station, on the site of the former engine-shed. Tramways of 914mm and 1067mm-gauge once operated from here, and a long-term project is the extension of the railway over the former tramway towards Beenak. BLN 841.023][US] Reno, NV - Truckee, CA - Norden - Colfax - Auburn - Sacramento, CA: Monday 10 May 1999 is the 130th anniversary of the 'golden spike' being driven at Promontory Point, UT, now itself bypassed by trains. Completion of the first US transcontinental main line is being celebrated also on the challenging section through the Sierra Nevada mountains in California on the Central Pacific (later Southern Pacific, today Union Pacific) Donner Pass route, largely built by Chinese labour. During the preceding weekend the Colfax Historical Society are planning a 'historical railroading program' including a Friday visit to various sites along this section. BLN 841.024][MZ][SZ][[ZA] Maputo - Goba CFM - Phuzumoya SR - Golela SAS - Durban: In September 1998 an international passenger service was running on the 1067mm-gauge line from Moçambique's capital, Maputo (Lourenço Marques in Portuguese colonial times), south over the otherwise freight-only Swaziland Railway via Golela on South Africa's Spoornet to Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province. This was said to be the only passenger working out of Maputo, and perhaps on the Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique, so the Maputo - Komatipoort - Johannesburg train (BLN 740.0314) is presumably not now running. To the north, at the mouth of the river Limpopo, at least part of the 147km 762mm-gauge line from Xai-Xai to Mauéle and Chicomo had been operating during 1998, though in September it was out of use allegedly due to lack of wood fuel for the serviceable 1925-built Baldwin 2-8-0 #06 at Xai Xai. Much further north, on the isolated 160km 1067mm-gauge Quelimane - Mocuba line, a freight train was running at least the c.65km out to Namacurra most days, hauled by Quelimane-based Baldwin 2-8-2 #412. Stored at Quelimane was an elderly streamlined diesel railcar, still with its original Michelin rubber tyres. (World Steam, December 1998) BLN 842.025][BE] Knokke - Oostende - De Panne: light rail: (Ball 7A3) A Sunday-evening end-of-service working from the north uses the single-track metre-gauge loop via K.Janssenslaan and IJzerstraat to serve the Oostende town-centre stop at Maria-Joséplein before returning to the main tram-station and the nearby depot sidings. The Adinkerke extension to De Panne NMBS opened 1 July 1998, and the layout and tram-station seem complete (BLN 832.0371). BLN 842.026][BE] Charleroi light rail: (BLN 840.0612; Ball 8B1 not shown) Arriving and departing cars used to use opposite sides of an island platform at the metre-gauge tram-terminus outside Charleroi Sud SNCB station, but the revised balloon-loop layout opened 20 August 1996 has the platforms at an angle to each other. The eastern side of the present Réseau Métro Léger is in an area formerly served by the town tramway of Societé des Transports Intercommunaux de Charleroi, whose last route, running in the street to Châtelineau, ceased 30 June 1974. Single-line working on the Vicinal generally did use signals, albeit simple two-aspect ones. The first car to enter a single-line section, from whichever end, triggered a relay that set the signals in its direction to white and turned the opposing signals to red. Thus they all remained until the car triggered another relay as it cleared the far end of the section. This system remains in use on the Anderlues section beyond the Réseau Métro. From 15 February 1931 to 2 June 1973 the Vicinal ran Charleroi - Anderlues - Binche - Mons, and when Binche - Mons closed the trams were diverted, from 3 June 1973, to run Charleroi - Anderlues - Binche - La Louvičre. The attractive Anderlues - Binche - La Louvičre section through the countryside and mining villages in turn closed 29 August 1993, leaving only Charleroi - Anderlues. Within Anderlues, the short Surschiste - Monument cut-off line avoiding Anderlues Jonction opened 1 November 1941, to speed up service on Charleroi - Mons route #90. Its eastern junction, at the tram-stop once named 'Fontaine l'Évęque Puits No.2', and now variously 'Surchiste' and 'Surschiste' (TEC official usage is not consistent), was on 1 January 1999 still in place, with disused track, wiring and signals, though its western junction at Anderlues Monument is totally removed. The direct line is formally recorded by TEC as operating until 28 August 1993, but BLN 769.05 offered some evidence that it was actually out of use earlier that summer. Later, from some date in 1994-95, the cut-off was temporarily reopened until 27 October 1995 (BLN 752.0146, 760.0370, 767.0501, 773.090). The present passenger terminus, reached via Anderlues Jonction and Anderlues Rue de la Station, is a passing-loop in the street at Monument, beyond which a section of the old route to Binche curves some 100m south into a field as far as the next former passing-loop, now used as headshunt sidings by cars lying over between workings. BLN 842.027][BE] Antwerpen - Herentals - Mol - Neerpelt: (BLN 837.0551, 839.0594; Ball 9B3) Due to the radical engineering works to make it a three-level station with high-speed through platforms, on 30 December 1998 Antwerpen-Centraal still had only three tracks (1, 2 and 3) in passenger use, with track 4 holding an engineering train. Brussel - Amsterdam InterCity trains no longer reverse in Centraal but run direct Antwerpen-Berchem - Antwerpen-Oost. Neerpelt services temporarily run from Oost, picking up passengers from Centraal at Berchem. At Neerpelt, connection between the xx:29 arrival and the xx:31 departure is difficult, for the hourly steam-heated push-pull sets, with a 1960s-built Class 62 diesel at the Antwerpen end, are timed for a 58-minute layover at the branch terminus, and it is therefore not uncommon for the return train to Antwerpen to begin to move from platform 1 as soon as the incoming train has cleared the points into platform 2. Once empty, the incoming train runs on to the northern end of the Neerpelt - Eksel (- Houthalen) line, using it as a headshunt to transfer to platform 1 for loading. BLN 842.028][BE] (Vilvoorde - Delta -) Huizingen - Y Buizingen (- Halle): (BLN 733.0152; Ball 10B1; SNCB/NMBS 26) This southern section of the eastern ring line round the Belgian capital was taken out of use in May 1994 during remodelling of Y Buizingen, the junction with the Brussel/Bruxelles - Halle (- Lille) main line north of Halle. Freight traffic soon resumed, but Halle station is still being radically rebuilt, largely underground, and has insufficient platform capacity to handle the local trains off this line. They have therefore continued to turn back at Huizingen, with a Huizingen - Halle bus link. However, the Belgian public timetable's (very large) supplement of 27 September 1998 shows the last southbound train, the 19:36 from Mechelen, running through to Halle, reopening this section of line to passengers. (Trans-fer, #110, December 1998) BLN 842.029][BE] Dinant - Bertrix (- Virton - Athus SNCB - Rodange CFL): (BLN 722.018, 779.0214; Ball 17A3-17A2) The 25kV 50Hz electrification project for the Athus-Meuse freight route, essentially for Antwerpen - Luxembourg traffic, is proceeding with ponderous slowness. On 2 January 1999 Ligne 166 still had several sections with masts only, though a few had overhead wires, seen to good effect from the end of the 1955-built Class 45 single diesel-hydraulic cars that work the passenger service. Many of the new bi-directional signals were in place but not yet in use. The Libramont - Bertrix section of Ligne 165, similarly worked, likewise had masts only. No sign of recent activity by engineering trains was seen in the area . BLN 842.030][NL] Den Haag HS - Voorburg: (BLN 824.0173; EGTRE NL99/1; Ball 3B2) The first 1998-99 winter-sports charter for Ski Express via the west-to-east Binckhorst curve was to run on 18 December, calling at Den Haag HS 20:54, returning at 09:12 on 26 December. In 1997-98 NS refused to service their competitor's trains and a court upheld this refusal, so in 1998-99 the stock, hired from a German tour-operator in Münster, is to be serviced at Emmerich, thereafter running empty to Rotterdam CS for loading. The charter train, said to cater for a somewhat down-market clientele, runs Rotterdam - Den Haag - Utrecht and thence south via Germany, returning by the same route, SNCB/NMBS having refused it a path on the Belgian network. A few more trains are planned from mid-January, if enough customers book. BLN 842.031][DE] (Neuruppin -) Neuruppin Rheinsberger Tor - Herzberg (Mark): (BLN 828.0283; Ball 20A1) Trains were to be replaced by buses from 13 December 1998. Rebuilding and electrification of Velten (Mark) - Kremmen - Neuruppin Rheinsberger Tor - Neuruppin (BLN 771.055; Ball 31B3-20A1) is proceeding but reopening has been postponed to 30 May 1999. (IBSE) BLN 842.032][DE][BE] Stolberg (Rheinland) - Walheim DB - Raeren SNCB: (BLN 775.0134; Ball 37A1-DE, 10A2-BE) The cross-border section of this line has long been out of regular use, though NATO appear to have regarded it as a strategic link (BLN 836.0491). In 1994, a German group associated with the Belgian Vennbahn operation began running a number of summer tourist trains connecting with those on the Belgian preserved line. However, Walheim viaduct needs repairs, and the costs seem unlikely to be found by the preservation group, so the connecting trains are unlikely to run in summer 1999. (Trans-fer, #110, December 1998) BLN 842.033][DE] Wünschendorf (Elster) - Seelingstädt (bei Werdau) - Werdau: (Ball 42B1; KBS542) Poor track is to lead to closure of this 30km line from a date yet to be fixed, and consideration is being given to diversion of Gera - Zwickau trains by the 14km Greiz - Neumark (Sachsen) line to the south (ex-KBS543; freight-only since June 1997; BLN 803.0255). The Vogtlandbahn are also interested in a passenger service on this line. (IBSE) BLN 842.034][DE] (Oberkleen -) Pohl Göns - Butzbach Ost - Griedel - Gambach - Münzenberg (- Lich - Grünberg Süd) and Griedel - Bad Neuheim Nord: (BLN 840.0617; Ball 49B3) A BLN reporter who lived and worked in Butzbach in 1968-69 recalls the sparse and erratic Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn passenger trains, limited to Butzbach Ost - Bad Nauheim Nord, reversing just east of Griedel, with no regular passenger working east towards Gambach and Münzenberg. Münzenberg - Lich track was in place but out of use. A Butzbach - Bad Nauheim journey using the train both ways had to be planned with care, for it was not easy to tell from the public timetable which BLE services were buses and which were trains, but he was rewarded by a steam locomotive hauling a railcar trailer with a panoramic front-view. Though the alignment of local streets, houses and gardens certainly suggested that a south-to-east curve had once existed at Butzbach, this could not be confirmed locally. Historical timetable evidence would not be conclusive, since apparent workings tightly timed between Butzbach Ost BLE and Butzbach DB may have been buses. Another recollection is of using several railbuses on a Butzbach - Giessen - Wetzlar - Albshausen - Grävenwiesbach - Friedrichsdorf - Friedberg - Butzbach round-trip, over the now-closed Grävenwiesbach - Albshausen line, which is planned for partial reopening (Grävenwiesbach - Brandoberndorf ; BLN 823.0155). BLN 842.035][DE] München S-Bahn: (BLN 836.0506; Ball 71B3) On 29 November 1998, the planned opening day of the Neufahrn - Hallbergmoos link, a BLN reporter used it to travel from München Hbf to the airport. The fairly empty S1 train split at Neufahrn, the front portion continuing north-east to Freising and only the rear portion going east to Flughafen München. After the flying junction north of Neufahrn, the train ran across featureless terrain, later paralleling a motorway until the flat junction with line 8 just before Besucherpark station. From here it ran wrong-line to the airport, taking passengers at Besucherpark by surprise, for they visibly expected a city-bound service on that track. The single journey took 40 minutes. Airborne visitors to the city might incline to the view that, rather than two slow stopping services from the centre to the airport via different routes, offering a fast service by one of the routes would have been more welcome. BLN 842.036][DE][CH] Waldshut DB - Koblenz SBB: (BLN 735.0186, 779.0227; Ball 68A1, 87B3) Electrification work is under way on this 3km international passenger-only link across the river Rhein. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 10/98) BLN 842.037][AT] Jenbach - Fügen-Hart - Mayrhofen: (Ball 80A3) On the 32km 760mm-gauge Zillertalbahn, the first 11km south from Jenbach to Fügen-Hart are to be equipped with three-rail dual-gauge track to increase the capacity of the line by enabling through standard-gauge freight vehicles from ÖBB to be handled without needing to be loaded on narrow-gauge transporters at Jenbach yard. (LCGB Bulletin, 1/99) BLN 842.038][PT] Ermidas-Sado - Sines: (Ball 26A1) In contrast to winter 1997-98 (BLN 825.0210) the freight-only Sines branch during November 1998 was busy with five or six trains a day carrying imported coal for Pego power-station on the river Tejo. Usually hauled by two or three French-built Class 19xx diesel locomotives, trains were running round the clock, taking about 45 minutes to traverse the 48km branch, loading from the stockpile at Sines docks and returning some 2h30min later. The intermediate block-post at Santiago do Cacém seems now to be switched out, as an economy measure. BLN 842.039][PT] Évora - Estremoz: (BLN 806.0342; Ball 26B2-27A2) In November 1998 the Linha de Évora still had a daily Monday-Friday freight (#97531 Évora c.06:15 - 08:45 Estremoz 12:00 - 15:00 Évora #97520) usually shunting at Ameixal, the station before Estremoz, though most traffic, largely fertiliser, was for Estremoz itself. BLN 842.040][IT] San Giorgio di Nogaro - Palmanova: (Ball 44A1) At the end of 1998 this 12km cut-off route seemed out of use, and the one-train-a-day service (BLN 797.0114) no longer appears in the HAFAS computer timetable. BLN 842.041][IT] (Roma - Villa Literno -) San Marcellino-Frignano - Gricignano-Teverola (- Caserta): (EGTRE; Ball 53Bl) Since 28 September 1998 Roma - Bari Pendolino trains have added to the workings on the Aversa avoiding line, but these run Roma - Caserta non-stop. When one is based at Napoli a more convenient way to travel on this curve is to join its sole semi-fast service at Villa Literno at 15:51. The train takes the northernmost of the four tracks before San Marcellino-Frignano, passes that station and diverges on to single track without any further main-line connections. Passing behind the town, well away from Aversa station, the avoiding line comes alongside the double Napoli - Caserta main line and though making a connection continues as a parallel single track as far as Gricignano-Teverola. Why this particular southbound train (D2399 14:18 Roma - Villa Literno - Caserta - Cancello - Acerra - Napoli) is so routed is not known, and there is no similar northbound working. If the circuitous route is for pathing reasons in the Napoli area, this was not effective on 9 November 1998, for a lengthy signal-stop approaching Napoli Centrale gave an 11-minute late arrival. BLN 842.042][IT] Napoli - Cancello - Benevento: (Ball 53B1-54A1) Ferrovie Benevento-Napoli operate green-and-cream electric railcars from bay platform 4 at Napoli Centrale over FS to Cancello and beyond over their own single line to Benevento. FS also run a few trains over FBN including one of the rare through workings on the Benevento - Campobasso line (BLN 795.072), which may account for an Italy Railcard, valid only on FS, being accepted on the private line on 18 November 1998. Three-car electric unit E508, 1991-built, worked the 08:30 from Napoli, the next departure being 31/2 hours later. The single FBN line diverges immediately after the FS station at Cancello and calls at the first of a set of small stations with long names, San Felice a Cancello-Arienzo. After San Maria a Vico, the track climbs high above a pleasant river valley which it then threads all the way, passing other wordy stations serving groups of villages determined to have their names included: San Martino Valle Caudina-Montesarchio-Pannarano, Tufara Valle-Arpaise-Ceppaloni and Arpaia-Airola-San Agata dei Gotti. Asking for a ticket from one to the other in poor Italian would probably be enough to make you miss the train. The FBN headquarters and depot are at Benevento Appia where a new two-car electric unit, still unnumbered, was seen, before the train curved in over a river bridge to use the main platform 1 at Benevento FS station. As soon as passengers had descended the unit reversed empty to Appia depot. The next FBN departure was three hours away. BLN 842.043][IT] (Taranto -) Sibari - Castiglione Cosentino (- Cosenza): (BLN 832.0397; Ball 58A2-58A1) Work on the new tunnel at San Marco Roggiano has stopped, presumably delaying the already protracted electrification. BLN 842.044][IT][SI] Villa Opicina FS - Kreplje SZ: (Ball 44A3-IT; 45B2-SI) This former freight link between Italy and Slovenia seemed used only for storage of wagons when seen in August 1998 from a northbound train passing the junction at Kreplje on the Sezana - Kreplje - Nova Gorica line. BLN 842.045][CH] Lauterbrunnen - Grütschalp - Mürren: (BLN 839.0603, 841.017; Ball 93A1) Cars Be 4/4 21-23 for the 550V dc metre-gauge Grütschalp - Mürren section were delivered on 10-11 May 1967. They arrived complete at Interlaken Ost over SBB and were hauled on their own bogies up the BOB to Lauterbrunnen, where the bogies were removed and the cars shifted by road low-loader the short distance to the foot of the funicular. Mounted on special accommodation bogies they were hauled up the incline one at a time, balanced by a normal funicular car. Just short of the top, they were hoisted off on to a temporary track round the north of Grütschalp station and pushed into their depot. Assembly at the top would amount essentially to reuniting the vehicles with their bogies. Eisenbahn Kurier's EK-Special #18, 100 Jahre Berner Oberland Bahnen, pp116-7, described and illustrated the operation, as also did Schweizer Eisenbahn-Revue, 6/1991, p170. Grütschalp station has since been extended, probably blocking the site of the temporary track, so when the present stock needs replaced another plan may be needed. BLN 842.046][CZ] (Praha-Smíchov -) Praha-Zlicín - Hostivice - Jenec zastávka - Stredokluky (- Zákolany zastávka - Podlešín): (Ball 35A2-35A3; CD121) Praha-Zlicín CD station and Zlicín station on Praha Metro Line B are a very long walk apart. The CD station's former name of Repy is rather more appropriate, and indeed is the name of the nearby tram terminus. Heading north, the Hostivice - Stredokluky section once took a much more direct route, but the main runway of Praha Ruzyne airport cuts across this, and the later railway alignment presumably dates from the time when this runway was extended. A cement-unloading terminal remains at the northern end of the old route. Possibly because of a further runway extension, the later Hostivice - Stredokluky route is now itself closed, with disused track intact but very overgrown, even by the standards of Czech branch lines. The 1994-95 CD timetable showed seven pairs of trains a day on line 121, but a footnote then seemed to indicate bus substitution was imminent on the Hostivice - Stredokluky section, and certainly all subsequent timetables have shown a bus service. Most of the buses run from Jenec rather than Hostivice, making reasonable connections with trains on the Praha - Hostivice - Jenec - Klodno - Chomutov line 120. Even when trains are several minutes late the bus connections seem to be held. Nearby, two former curves are out of use as running lines. Stored wagons occupy the north-to-south Hostivice avoiding line that crosses above line 120. The former Rudná u Prahy avoiding line, not shown in Ball, is severed at the north-west end but is used as a siding at the south-west end. BLN 842.047][CZ] Sokolov - Kraslice - Hranicna CD (- Klingenthal DB): (BLN 752.0166, 802.0237; Ball 35A1) The Kraslice - Hranicna section, reported as reopened to passengers 2 January 1995 but definitely closed again by April 1997, has a passenger service once more, operated by private company Viamont with hired CD Class 714 traction and stock. (LCGB Bulletin, 1/99) BLN 842.048][HU] Mátramindszent - Mátranovák-Homokterenye: (BLN 840.0628; Ball 43A1; MÁV 83) As part of a Hungarian railway enthusiasts' weekend planned there on 9-11 July 1999 by the Tolnay Lajos railway club (TLVK), through carriages are to work to Mátranovák, and passenger trips, probably hauled by a Class M43 or M44 diesel locomotive, are to operate on this 5km closed MÁV branch. BLN 842.049][HU] Budapest: Szemeretelep - Pestszentlörinc-Kavicsbánya - Soroksár: (Ball 44B2 not shown) An unelectrified connection runs from Szemeretelep, south-east of Köbánya-Kispest on line 100a near Ferihegy airport, serves Pestszentlörinc-Kavicsbánya freight depot, heads south-west to intersect with line 142 at a flat crossing (with a north-to-west curve) just north of Pestimre-felsö station, and joins line 150a at Soroksár, south of Pesterzsébet. Before 1990 it was used by freight trains from the Soviet Union entering Hungary at Záhony on the Ukrainian border, which were routed via Szemeretelep - Soroksar and then an on-street line (now removed) leading to the southern end of Budapest- Ferencváros yard. In spring 1997 a couple of international passenger trains ran via Szemeretelep - Soroksár to avoid lines blocked by floods following heavy rains, and it would be a potential route for the Budapest-Keleti - Szeged mail trains (BLN 841.019) to avoid reversal - though not with electric traction. However the flat crossing became damaged and was limiting trains on line 142 to 20km/h, so in mid-December 1998 MÁV removed it, preventing through-running on the link-line. This may be temporary, for the line is regarded as being of strategic importance. If it is restored it would make an interesting route for a charter-train. BLN 842.050][CN] Hong Kong Tsim Sha Tsui - Hung Hom - Tai Wai - Lo Wu - Shenzhen - Changping - Guangzhou: (BLN 840.0638) The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation's East Rail project comprises two elements: the Tsim Sha Tsui - Hung Hom extension, from the former site of Hong Kong's main-line terminus north-east under Kowloon in a 1.5km tunnel to its present site, replacing a surface route unwisely closed in 1975, and the completely new 10.3km Tai Wai - Ma On Shan branch. Plans are to award design contracts by March 1999, begin construction in February 2000 and have trains running by June 2004. From the mainland perspective, the section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway south of the junction at Changping has become part of China's Jing-Jiu line, stretching 2407km from Beijing to Jiulong, Jiulong being the approximate mandarin pronunciation of the two characters pronounced Kowloon in Cantonese. In spring 1998 the non-stop Hung Hom - Guangzhou service of five or six through trains a day was still diesel-hauled, but Continental Railway Journal for winter 1998-99 reported electrification ready by 31 July and electric services running from 28 August. The November 1998 Quail atlas shows 25kV 50Hz wiring extending from Kowloon (Hung Hom) beyond Lo Wu on the Hong Kong border, north through Shenzhen, to just beyond Guangzhou Dong (= Canton East) station, though not reaching Guangzhou main station. As well as the double-deck Ktt train, a TGV and a tilting X2000 set are reportedly being tried on the line. Hung Hom, Shenzhen and Guangzhou all have large new station facilities, including separate accommodation at Guangzhou with passport and customs controls for Hong Kong passengers. Although the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is now part of the People's Republic of China, border formalities remain, with duty-free shops at the terminal stations and a duty-free trolley on the through trains, perhaps unique to this rail route. BLN 843.051][FR] (Paris -) Dreux - Argentan - Folligny - Granville: (BLN 771.047, 815.0562, 840.0608; Ball 23A2-22B2) Extensive upgrading for up to 160km/h running is nearing completion, and the line's new X72500 three-car diesel units may begin working from May. (Today's Railways, February 1999) As 1999 began, the Briouze - Bagnoles-de-l'Orne-Tessé-la-Madeleine branch (Ball 22B2) was seen to be severed from the main line and severed again at a level-crossing some 500m south of Briouze. Flers - Domfront has been lifted. The Cerisi-Belle-Étoile - Caen line is out of use and overgrown at Cerisi. BLN 843.052][FR] St.Hilaire-de-Chaléons - Paimboeuf: (Ball 32A1) Closed to passengers 15 May 1939, this 27km branch saw its last remaining freight customer, Octel at Paimboeuf, despatch the last revenue train on 29 May 1998. Empty wagons were cleared on 24 July, and the line is out of use. The (Nantes -) Ste.Pazanne - St.Hilaire-de-Chaléons - Pornic line has for many years had a summer-only passenger service. (L'Écho du Rail, #190, December 1998) BLN 843.053][FR] Culmont-Chalindrey - Belfort: (Ball 39A3-40B2) The Vitrey-Vernois - Bourbonne-les-Bains branch has been lifted, as has nearby Jussey - Passavant, whose bridge over the main line has also been removed. At Port d'Atelier-Amance the north-to-east side of the triangle remains in place but out of use, with no sign of a south-to-east curve having existed. Between Grattery and Vaivre the north-to-west side of the triangle has been lifted while the east-to-west side, the Vaivre - Gray line, is in place but severed. The Lure - Loulans-les-Forges line remains in place but is out of use. BLN 843.054][FR] Bussičre-Galant - Oradour-sur-Vayres: (BLN 792.0492; Ball 53A2-53A3) The branch track is still in place but from Bussičre station a buffer-stop can be seen blocking the line just before the road overbridge - presumably protecting SNCF traffic from runaway rail-cyclists. BLN 843.055][FR] (Orange -) Sarrians (Vaucluse) - Carpentras: (BLN 783.0295; Ball 65A1) Passenger services from Orange ceased 2 October 1938 and the line is now legally abandoned (déclassée) though not lifted (déposée). A preservation group organised an open day on 14 November 1998 at Aubignan-Loriol station, mid-point of this 9km section, to present a project for a rail-cycle (vélorail) operation. [L'Association Rail Ventoux Nostalgie, Le Sanglas, F-84840 Lamotte-du-Rhône, +33 4 90 16 92 00] (L'Écho du Rail, #191, December 1998) BLN 843.056][FR] Aix-en-Provence - Marseille: (BLN 760.0367; Ball 75B3-75B2) At the beginning of 1999, the Aix-en-Provence - Rognac line seemed in use at the Aix end, as did the Gardanne - Carnoules line at the Gardanne end. BLN 843.057][FR] (Cannes -) Ranguin - Mouans-Sartoux - Grasse: (BLN 825.0204; Ball 77A3) Closed to passengers 2 October 1938 and out of regular use since 28 January 1991, the section beyond Ranguin on 27 November 1998 saw a special train from Cannes (railcar X2217) chartered by the community of Mouans-Sartoux to mark their restoration of the local passenger station building. Politicians present from the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur regional council confirmed they hoped to include in their next proposals to central government the reopening to passengers, and the electrification, of the Cannes - Grasse line. (L'Écho du Rail, #191, December 1998) BLN 843.058][FR] Nice - Digne-les-Bains: (BLN 836.0487; Ball 77B3-67A1-66Bl) The extensive metre-gauge Chemins de Fer du Sud de la France or Réseau Sud-France reached not only north-west to Digne, but once had lengthy lines to the west (Nice - Vence - Grasse - Draguignan - Meyrargues) and south-west (St.Raphaël - St.Tropez - Toulon). Since 1925 the system has been known as the Chemins de fer de la Provence, whose sole remaining line is Nice - Digne, opened in sections 1891-1911. CP remain a Réseau d'Interęt Général even though central government seem to have devolved ownership and control to SYMA, the Syndicat Méditerranée Alpes, a local-authority consortium. Actual operators from 1 July 1974 to 31 December 1987 were CFTA (Societé Générale de Chemins de Fer et de Transports Automobiles) after which a joint venture of CFTA and bus company TNL (Transports de Nice et du Littoral) was formed and, as the Societé Nouvelle des Chemins de fer de Provence, ran the line from 1 January 1988. SYMA met on 22 December 1998 to decide the letting of the operating contract from 1 January 1999. Staff hopes were dashed when SNCF did not bid. With the vote tied seven-all, SYMA's chairman gave his casting vote in favour of CFTA (now a subsidiary of the multinational utility company Vivendi), whereupon the union Confédération Générale du Travail called an immediate strike. In mid-January all trains had been strikebound since 22 December, though over half the services were being covered by buses, crewed by non-striking staff. (La Vie du Rail, 12 November 1987; Voie Étroite, #168, October-November 1998; La Vie du Rail, #2679, 13 January 1999) BLN 843.059][DE] (Braunschweig -) Weddel - Ehmen - Fallersleben: (BLN 836.0493; Ball 27A2 incorrectly shown) The new single-track Weddeler Schleife (the 'Weddel loop') has high-speed connections at both ends, but Weddel has a flat junction and Fallersleben a flying one. As with many new lines, the railway environment has in places been much disfigured by high 'environmental' walls, and it is not easy to see from the train exactly where the old Braunschweig Ost - Lehre - Ehmen route trailed in. BLN 843.060][DE] Köln - Bonn by ICE for a local fare: (Ball 36A3-36B1) Since May 1998 a 34km run on a DB InterCityExpress has been possible with only a local Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg ticket. The southbound ICE842 Otto Lilienthal from Berlin (and the northbound EC25 Franz Liszt from Budapest) are available to ticket-holders without the usual supplements because they fill a late-evening gap in the regular-interval timetable of Regional Express trains. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 5/98) BLN 843.061][DE][AT] Kiefersfelden - Wachtl am Thiersee: (Ball 71B1 not shown) Heidelberger Zement operate an overhead-wired 5km 900mm-gauge industrial railway from limestone quarries at Wachtl am Thiersee in Tirol, Austria, to their Portland-cement factory at Kiefersfelden in Bayern, Germany. Originally used solely by limestone trains, in 1990 the line saw its first summer-weekend passenger Wachtl-Express, employing three ex-Wendelsteinbahn coaches, and in 1994 it received some backing from Bavarian provincial and local authorities and from DB. Its scheduled though infrequent summer tourist trains are unusual in running over an international route. BLN 843.062][SE] (Sundsvall -) Nyland - Örnsköldsvik - Husum - Umeĺ: (Ball 15A3-7A2) North of Sundsvall, the south-to-north main line (Stambanan) heads inland and the two main coastal towns are served by branches, Mellansel - Örnsköldsvik and Vännäs - Umeĺ. A Nyland - Umeĺ high-speed coastal railway, the Bothnia Line (Botniabanan), is being considered, but must be a longer-term project for the infrastructure company Banverket. BLN 843.063][FI] Helsinki metro: The 4km Itäkeskus - Vuosaari branch to the north-east opened in August 1998, with a burrowing junction entirely in tunnel and two intermediate stations. At the formal opening ceremony in September an official said that further extension of the c.20km 1524mm-gauge system was planned, from the existing Mellunmaki - Itäkeskus - Ruoholahti line westward to Espoo. (partly from Today's Railways, #37, January 1999) BLN 843.064][PT] Aveiro - Sernada do Vouga - Espinho: (BLN 697.08; Ball 17A3) Though now together described as the Linha do Vouga, the two metre-gauge routes to Sernada are still worked separately. Much of the service is provided by buses, and some of the trains are short workings, so a through rail journey is not easy. Freight traffic ceased in the 1970s, and Aveiro's former transhipment facilities and goods-shed are disused, with the metre-gauge sidings holding only track-maintenance wagons. On 25 November 1998, the 10:41 Aveiro - Sernada train, an Allen railcar and trailer, left from platform 4 at the north-east end of the station. The many level-crossings on the line are guarded by female crossing-keepers, each with her red 'stop' flag furled and held vertical to indicate 'line clear' as the train passes. Men with flags also string a chain across the carriageway to give the train priority over road traffic, on the single track embedded in the road surface across the high stone viaduct on the approach to Sernada. The Sernada - Viseu line, closed to passengers and to all traffic 1 January 1990 (BLN 697.08), is lost under vegetation at the junction immediately beyond the station. An extensive depot was seen to hold three steam locomotives (2-6-0T #E97, E113 and 4-6-0T #VV12 apparently in good order) and one diesel (#069006), plus many more Allen railcars and trailers than are needed to work present services, and no fewer than four Class 019 three-car diesel units. One of the latter, #019416, formed the 12:39 Sernada - Espinho service, giving a very noisy, cold and draughty ride north. As on the journey reported in BLN 780.0244, the train called at many stations and halts omitted from the tables of CP's Guia Horário Oficial, and shown in the Ball atlas as closed. Traffic was light till the unit neared Espinho, where no traces of goods-yard, transhipment-shed or depot remain. The metre-gauge terminal bay platforms are numbered 1 and 2, as also are the two through platforms for the main-line services! Most of the passengers joined the 14:51 broad-gauge train which reversed at Porto Campanhă for Porto Săo Bento. BLN 843.065][IT] Sacile - Maniago - Pinzano - Gemona del Friuli: (Ball 43B1-44A2; FS 187) This line has virtually no service east of Maniago except on Sundays and holidays (BLN 797.0113). Running at the foot of the Alps, it is quite scenic, but the reason for its odd service pattern is not obvious. A BLN reporter on 1 January 1999 was the only passenger on his eastbound train, and a westbound train was empty. BLN 843.066][IT] Terni - Sulmona: (Ball 50B1-53B3) This single-track cross-country FS line, worked by diesel railcars, is very scenic. Beyond Rieti it climbs tortuously eastwards through the mountains before dropping into a broad valley at the foot of the Gran Sasso d'Italia. This is the highest part of the Apennines, whose summit is Corno Grande (2912m). Snow was down to below 2000m on 26 December 1998. BLN 843.067][IT] Terni - Perugia Ponte San Giovanni - Sansepolcro: (BLN 802.0233; Ball 50B1-50A3) The private Ferrovia Centrale Umbra, with its short and steeply graded branch from Perugia Ponte San Giovanni to Perugia Sant'Anna, is standard-gauge, but the northern end may once have been narrow-gauge. The line was electrified, but when the 3000V dc equipment needed renewal it was simply abandoned. Passenger trains are now diesel railcars similar to those of FS. Some of the old electric railcars passed to Ferrovie del Gargano (BLN 796.093), but a significant number remain dumped at Umbertide depot. BLN 843.068][IT] Rocchetta San Antonio-Lacedonia - Lioni - Avellino: (BLN 796.095; Ball 54Bl) Rocchetta San Antonio-Lacedonia has a few houses for railway staff clustered around a five-platform station with a post-office on the platform. Respectively 14km and 19km from the villages whose names it bears, it is still the meeting point of four routes. Only the north-south Foggia - Potenza line has anything other than a very sparse service. A small diesel shunter was stabled inside an otherwise empty three-road locomotive-shed near the deserted goods sidings. On 18 November 1998 BLN's reporter stood alone on this remote station anxiously awaiting the scheduled 11:50 arrival of the first train from Avellino to form the 12:40 return, the only through train of the day, all other services being by bus. A single Class 668 diesel railcar eventually arrived empty at 12:35, and after a five minute turn-round departed on time. A young man on military service returning from home in Brindisi across the country to his base at Avellino was the only other passenger. Some raucous schoolchildren travelled two stations home from Lioni, but otherwise all was quiet until a few people joined closer to Avellino. The 119km took 21/2 hours across the mountainous central spine of Italy, passing through many tunnels and over numerous rivers and viaducts, with views of hill towns remote from the stations purporting to serve them. At Castelfranci, an insignificant halt, a country footpath crossed the line by a new footbridge. Montemarano and Paternopoli also have station footbridges, all on a line with few trains while passengers still have to walk across the tracks at many busy main-line stations elsewhere. Avellino was reached late despite the undemanding schedule, but there was still ample time to note the barber's shop open for business at the five-platform station, not over-endowed with trains. One of the array of lower-quadrant signals was pulled off for the departure of the 16:00 single Class 668 railcar north on the Mercato San Severino - Avellino - Benevento line, sparsely-trafficked with a five-hour gap in the morning. After Benevento Porta Rufina with its rusty passing-loop comes Benevento Arco Traiano, a station not shown in Ball nor in a 1976 timetable, before a lengthy river bridge brings the single track alongside the FS depot into Benevento main station. BLN 843.069][IT] Bari Nord - Barletta: (BLN 832.0394; Ball 56A1-55A2) Standard-gauge Ferrotranviaria have FS siding connections at both Bari and Barletta, but no evidence was seen of any freight in December 1998. FT have their own station at Bari and seem to have little to do with FS. (In Bari itself, trolleybus wires remain, but no vehicles were seen.) The Bari - Palese - Bitonto section of the FT line is being doubled, but it has been rerouted away from the town-centre at Palese, apparently to facilitate construction of a bypass road. At Barletta FT trains arrive at an island platform with an engineer's depot between it and the FS platforms. BLN 843.070][IT] Palermo Centrale - Giachery: (BLN 841.013; Ball 59A3) ADL point out that the branch was included as an integral part of their November 1998 Sicily tour. After taking participants by road to Giachery both tour-leaders returned with the party up the branch on a Palermo Metro service train to Palermo Centrale. BLN 843.071][GR] Diakopto - Kalavrita: (Ball 66A2-65B2) This scenic but loss-making 23km 750mm-gauge rack-and-adhesion line is unusual for its electric locomotives with diesel-generator tenders. OSE (Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados = Greek railways) want to transfer operation to a local body, and to hurry the negotiations have threatened no further maintenance spending and possible closure. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 5/98) BLN 843.072][NO] (Oslo -) Ski - Mysen - Rakkestad - Sarpsborg: (BLN 738.0267; EGTRE NO99/4; Ball 21A3) Leaving from Oslo Sentral platform 18, part of the new south-side expansion for the Gardermobane airport line, train #183, the 16:20 Oslo - Sarpsborg, was on 14 September 1998 an SJ electric locomotive hauling seven well-loaded Swedish coaches. On the sparsely-trafficked Mysen - Rakkestad - Sarpsborg section, five stations are shown in the timetable but at least five more halts were seen, typically with tiny half-coach-length platforms - and this sizeable train was booked to serve all these on request. It did call to drop people at two points between Mysen and Rakkestad, but south of Rakkestad, BLN's reporter was the only passenger on the entire train and, with no-one hailing it to board, all stations and halts were ignored as it sped to Sarpsborg. There the locomotive ran round and stabled the stock in a siding, perhaps to form the next day's northbound train #158, the 05:52 Sarpsborg - Mysen - Oslo Sentral. The east-to-south Sarpsborg avoiding curve, still incomplete in summer 1994, seemed in use, presumably for freight and perhaps diverted passenger trains via Mysen while the main Ski - Moss - Sarpsborg (- Kornsjř NSB - Göteborg SJ) route is being upgraded. BLN 843.073][CH] Landquart - Klosters: (BLN 784.0337; Ball 95B2-96A3) Between the 786m Fuchsenwinkel tunnel and Furna station, a new passing-loop with a 90km/h limit on the through track is to be ready in late 1999 to cope with more traffic on the metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn single line after opening of their Klosters - Susch / Lavin 21.5km Vereinatunnel (BLN 840.0626), which is now planned for 19 November 1999 according to Today's Railways #38. BLN 843.074][HU][AT] Szombathely MÁV - Rechnitz SRB (- Oberwart ÖBB): (BLN 838.0578; Ball 46B3-HU, 84B3-AT) On the Hungarian side the track now ends in a textile factory at Szombathely, to which freight traffic occasionally runs. Beyond, the running line was abandoned in 1973, though the embankment is mostly in place, and in 1997 a few bridges remained. BLN 843.075][AM] Armenia: Once part of the Soviet Union's Transcaucasian Railway, managed from Tbilisi in Georgia, the all-electric rail system of now-independent Armenia has suffered badly in the last decade. Traffic has fallen precipitously since Soviet days, 1995 passenger km being down to 47% of the 1989 figure, and freight a mere 8%. Though the border with Georgia seems to be open (BLN 791.0485), Armenia does not enjoy good relations with either of its other neighbours, Azerbaijan and Turkey, and rail traffic no longer crosses their frontiers. A 333km main line, (Sadakhlo -) Ayrum - Spitak - Gyumri - Masis - Ararat - Yerash (- Velidag), starts from the border with Georgia in the north, and runs mainly parallel to the border with Turkey in the west, to reach the border with Azerbaijan's Naxcivan/Nakhichevan exclave in the south. Another c.178km main line (Masis - Yerevan - Nurnus - Razdan - Barxudarli) runs from the junction at Masis north to Yerevan and onward to the Azerbaijan border, with a 56km belt line (Masis - Nurnus) offering an alternative route avoiding the capital city of Yerevan. Masis has the country's principal marshalling-yard (in 1998 little used) and the 14km Masis - Yerevan section has its only double track. Gyumri (formerly Leninakan) and Yerevan have maintenance and repair facilities. North of Yerevan a 145km branch (Razdan - Sotk) runs along the north side of Lake Sevan to Sotk (or Zod), a former gold-mining centre whose mine is said to be closed, perhaps temporarily. A short 16km branch (Gyumri - Akhurian) runs west to the closed Turkish border-station on the line to Kars. Other branches serve industrial areas (Gyumri - Maralik, 38km; Oktembri - Arsaluis, ?km; Masis - Karmir Blur, 14km) and bring the total route length to 798km, or 845km according to another report. Maximum speed is theoretically 74km/h, but with many local restrictions, including lengths where the limit is as low as 15km/h. Many facilities on the railway remain damaged following the 1988 earthquake centred on Spitak, 50km north of Gyumri, and indeed help from the UN World Food Programme was continuing in 1998. (mainly from Continental Railway Journal, winter 1998-99) BLN 843.076][JO] Wadi el Abyad / El Hasa - Ma'an - Batn el Ghul - Aqaba: (BLN 840.0636) By mid-2001 the Wisconsin Central-led operating consortium are to add two significant extensions (22km and 16km) to the 300km Aqaba Railway section of the 1050mm-gauge former Hejaz Railway, serving a new mine and an industrial area near Aqaba and increasing annual traffic from 3 to 10 million tonnes by 2002. (Financial Times, 25 November 1998) BLN 843.077][SG] Singapore light rail: The elevated Bukit Panjang light-rail line will pass very close to numerous apartment-blocks, but the modesty of residents is to be preserved by special windows in the vehicles that cease to be transparent as they pass. Embedded within the window glass are two layers of clear polyester film with a polymer/liquid-crystal layer between. When a small alternating current is applied to the film, the liquid-crystal layer allows light through and makes the window transparent. When the current is cut off, the liquid-crystal molecules adopt a random pattern, preventing passengers looking out. The train location system is to de-energise the windows at appropriate points where the line is near to residential buildings. (International Railway Journal, December 1998) BLN 843.078][EC] Ecuador: (BLN 840.0643) A 'timetable' obtained in January 1999 for the passenger trains of Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles del Estado (ENFE or Ferrocarriles Ecuatorianos) is a simple typescript list with no intermediate timings. Text in square brackets has been added for BLN. 07:00 daily San Lorenzo - Ibarra autoferro 07:00 daily Ibarra - San Lorenzo autoferro [no service Ibarra - Quito] [no service Quito - Ibarra] 08:00 SO Quito (Chimbacalle - Riobamba [unadvertised Riobamba - Quito] 08:00 SuO Quito (Chimbacalle) - Cotopaxi 14:30 SuO Cotopaxi - Quito 07:00 MTThSO Riobamba - Huigra autoferro 14:00 MTThSO Huigra - Riobamba autoferro 07:00 WFSuO Riobamba - Huigra [diesel loco-hauled] mixto 14:00 WFSuO Huigra - Riobamba mixto [no service Huigra - Bucay - Duran (for Guayaquil)] [no service Duran - Bucay - Huigra] BLN 843.079] Timetable changes in the next Millennium: Planned dates for future timetable changes in Europe are 10 June 2001, 30 September 2001, 2 June 2002, 29 September 2002 and 15 June 2003. BLN 844.080][FR] Arras - Arras: Raccordement Nord - Triangle de Fretin: (Ball 15A3; SNCF table 704) TGVs on the Nord-Europe axis that diverge from the Ligne ŕ Grande Vitesse and take the Raccordement Sud to serve the town of Arras generally stay on the classic line through Roeux (Pas-de-Calais) and also serve Douai. However, on 29 January 1999, as on various dates since spring 1998, TGV7890/1/2 Nantes / Rennes - Le Mans - Lille was timed into Lille Europe 15 minutes earlier than usual without calling at Douai. After its Arras stop it left the classic line just west of Roeux station and ran down the 1.27km single-track Raccordement Nord (Bifurcation 199,6km - Bifurcation 161,94km) back on to the high-speed line. This west-to-north curve is usually shiny in appearance - yet it seems to have no regular passenger service, no postal TGVs run north of Paris, and presumably no ordinary train without TVM cab-signalling is allowed on to the LGV. BLN 844.081][FR][BE] Charleville-Mézičres - Givet SNCF - Heer-Agimont SNCB - Dinant: (BLN 711.02, 713.06, 804.0271; Ball 16B2-17A3; SNCB Ligne 154) The cross-border section sees irregular summer CFV3V passenger trips but is otherwise disused. SNCF and SNCB are reported as studying electrification and reactivation of the route to meet projected growing demand for international freight paths over the period to 2010. Also now being similarly studied is reopening of the (Valenciennes -) Blanc-Misseron SNCF - Quiévrain SNCB (-St.Ghislain) link, closed at Quiévrain but mostly in place (BLN 713.05, 721.05, 736.0202, 768.0524; Ball 7B1). (LCGB Bulletin, Feb.1999) BLN 844.082][FR] La Brohiničre - Mauron (- Loyat - Ploërmel - Questembert): (Ball 21A1-32A3) La Brohiničre - Ploërmel (42km) closed to passengers 6 March 1972, and Ploërmel - Questembert (33km) as early as 6 March 1939. The Mauron - Loyat section was later lifted and for many years the former through line was worked as two separate freight branches. The La Brohiničre - Mauron section saw its last revenue traffic in May 1998, and it is now out of use. (partly from L'Écho du Rail, #190, December 1998) BLN 844.083][FR] Mézy - Condé-en-Brie - Artonges - Montmirail (- Esternay): (BLN 764.0439; Ball 26B3) Preservation group Chemin de Fer Touristique de l'Omois plan to run trains on the Mézy-Moulins - Artonges section of this former Est line, retained as far as CFD's locomotive-repair works at Montmirail. CFTO have a Picasso railcar X3835 at Mézy-Moulins, plus Y2300 ex-industrial diesel shunters. (LCGB Bulletin, Feb.1999) BLN 844.084][FR] (Montargis - Charny -) Villiers St.Benoît - Toucy (- St.Sauveur-en-Puisaye - Étang de Moutiers - St.Fargeau - Gien): (BLN 819.046; Ball 36B3-37A2) Summer tourist trains on this 9km section began again on 8 August 1998, running on Saturdays and Sundays to end-September, marketed as Le Transpoyaudin and operated by Picasso railcar X3814 based at Toucy. (Today's Railways, #38, February 1999) BLN 844.085][FR] Lyon - La Tour-du-Pin - St.André-le-Gaz - Le Grand-Lemps - Moirans - Grenoble and St.André-le-Gaz - Pont de Beauvoisin - Chambery: (Ball 56B3-57B2) According to a 1914 Indicateur Chaix timetable, the operators of the Nice - Digne line, Chemins de Fer du Sud de la France (BLN 843.058) also once ran the metre-gauge Réseau de l'Isčre. This reached its maximum extent in 1909, comprising local lines Lyon - La Côte-St.André - St.Marcellin; La Côte-St.André - Le Grand-Lemps; La Tour du Pin - Aveničres; and Pont de Beauvoisin - Bonpertuis, but was so unprofitable it was in receivership (mis sous séquestre) by about 1914. The département revoked the concession in 1919, leaving the Sud-France with no further involvement. The lines, not all connected, had all gone by 1939. (partly from Les petits trains de jadis - Sud-Est de la France, by Henri Domengie; 1983) BLN 844.086][FR] Lyon-Perrache - Oullins - Givors: (BLN 835.0455; Ball 56B3-56B2) Today's Railways #38 reported Lyon-Perrache's new platforms on the Givors line as opening with the timetable-change on 29 November 1998 rather than 6 October, and this was confirmed by a local SNCF source. BLN 844.087][FR] Lyon trams: (BLN 814.0541, 818.023) Following the formal declaration of public utility in September 1998, work has started on this two-route 24km system, planned to open in December 2000. Work has likewise begun in Strasbourg city-centre on tram Ligne B (BLN 837.0545). BLN 844.088][FR] Bordeaux: Bifurcation Lormont / Bif Raccordement Circulaire - Bastide: (Ball 59B3) Bordeaux Bastide, the Paris - Orléans terminus, was on the east bank of the river Garonne, and less convenient than the Midi's St.Jean through station on the west bank. Once the two railways merged on 1 January 1934 the run-down of Bastide began, and it closed to passengers in 1955, latterly having but a single passenger train in and out. The triangular junction and most of the short branch to Bastide remain for freight. (Today's Railways #35, with local map) L'Écho du Rail (#192, January 1999) says the derelict passenger station is to be developed as a cinema complex, retaining only the riverfront façade and one of the side walls. BLN 844.089][FR] Rivesaltes - Estagel - Lapradelle - Axat - St.Martin-Lys (- Quillan): (BLN 841.02; Ball 73A1-72B1) Rivesaltes - Quillan passenger trains ceased 18 April 1939, and the 9km St.Martin-Lys - Quillan section closed completely 30 September 1956. Dolomite traffic continued from St.Martin-Lys until 31 August 1998 when, much to the annoyance of local people, SNCF 'suspended' trains on the westernmost 10km of the branch, occasioning heavy lorry traffic from the quarries down to a new loading-point at Lapradelle. (L'Écho du Rail, #192, January 1999) BLN 844.090][BE] Knokke - Oostende - De Panne: light rail: (BLN 832.0371; Ball 7A3) The c.3km former Vicinal branch from De Panne to Adinkerke NMBS station, closed 5 September 1954, has been reincarnated, on a different alignment, as the metre-gauge light-rail extension that opened to traffic on 1 July 1998. Journey-time is 7 minutes. The solidly-built double track runs from the original De Panne Esplanade terminus (where a wye remains to give access to the small depot) at first in central reservation on the main N34 road, and then on its north-east side through a pleasant forest area. The principal road-crossings are light-controlled. The final section is on private track through fields, past a stop with a substantial waiting shelter on the eastbound platform, immediately adjacent to the entrance of the Meli amusement-park, a major traffic-generator. Tram-storage sidings, bus-bays and extensive park-and-ride space, plus what appears to be a sizeable staff building, form part of the new layout, mainly enclosed by the terminal loop. The tram-station has a De Lijn ticket-and-information office, and elaborate electronic departure indicators, not yet functioning on 16 August 1998, the last day of the high-summer timetable. Beneath a new high-roofed loading-area, trams call at what is in effect the north face of the main platform of De Panne (Adinkerke) NMBS station, whose traditional and pleasantly decorated building has been cleaned and restored. Leaflets at Belgian stations advertise the new link. While the design permits easy cross-platform interchange with trains on the Deinze - De Panne branch, electrified 2 June 1996 (BLN 788.0404), NMBS had on 31 December 1998 perversely parked their waiting electric unit on an outer track! The 69km double-track Vlaamse Kusttram route has at least 30 intermediate crossovers, allowing flexible single-track working during engineering operations. Reversing points are rather fewer: two wyes and seven loops, of which three or four appear to be regularly used. Duplicate routes are provided at three points to avoid delay when bridges are open over canals, and in August the longer of the two diversions around the vast inner harbour at Zeebrugge was in use, repair work to the other, damaged, bridge being still in progress, with a short section of single-line working. Many of the distinctive ticket-kiosks (lijnwinkels) have been renewed, and 33 of the 70-odd stopping-places had staff on duty 09:00-18:00 in summer, probably students on vacation. With some 40 cars in peak service, kiosks may require fewer staff than on-tram conductors! De Lijn make a real effort to promote local tram travel to visitors who arrive by private car, stressing the opportunity to avoid parking problems, providing neat pocket timetables and other information, and handing out a free advertising newspaper to passengers. In high-summer 1998 trams were running every twenty minutes the full length of the Flemish coast, taking 139 minutes. Between about 10:00 and 17:00 an interposed twenty-minute service ran on the central section of the route on either side of Oostende, giving a ten-minute frequency between the turning-loop at Blankenberge Duinse and the wye at Nieuwpoort Bad. From 17 August frequency dropped to two cars an hour on each service. On a very hot day in August traffic was heavy, with standing loads in the afternoon, especially into Oostende and Knokke. The single-ended BN articulated cars, among the last built in 1980-82 for the former Vicinal, are still impressively comfortable, fast, and smooth-riding. Metre-gauge but slightly wider than standard-gauge Bruxelles trams, many have been lengthened in the 1990s with new low-floor central sections, giving welcome extra accommodation that caters well for passengers with push-chairs. All the cars have been repainted from their Vicinal livery, and many have overall advertising. Quite high speeds are needed to maintain the timings, especially on the longer open stretches, but traffic congestion is a problem in the few places where the tracks have not been segregated. In the main street of De Panne, private cars parked nose-to-tail along the pavement force the numerous tourist quadricycles - a local curiosity - on to the tram lines, where they pedal along at a snail's pace. The whole Belgian coast from the Netherlands border to France forms in effect a linear entertainment park in summer, and while a long stay might not be to everyone's taste, one can eat remarkably well - and the tramway is an efficient and interesting operation. BLN 844.091][NL] Tilburg / 's-Hertogenbosch - Boxtel - Eindhoven: (BLN 824.0174; Ball 4B1) The new flyover at Boxtel was brought into use on 20 December 1998, but much remodelling work remains to be done in the area. BLN 844.092][DE] Neustadt (Dosse) - Neuruppin: (BLN 799.0164, 804.0282, 810.0436, 828.0283; Ball 19B1-20A1; KBS206.53) This route may see passenger trains of Prignitzer Eisenbahn Gesellschaft, who already run local passenger services such as Pritzwalk - Putlitz and Pritzwalk - Neustadt, and are also planning expansion of freight traffic. (LCGB Bulletin, February 1999; IBSE) BLN 844.093][DE] Industrial railways in the Ruhr area: (Ball 33 not shown) The Ruhrgebiet has long had extensive industrial railways, notably the colliery lines of Ruhrkohle AG (RAG, now merged into Deutsche Steinkohle AG or DSK); the harbour lines of Eisenbahn und Häfen GmbH (EH, owned by the steel company Thyssen, now part of Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG); the Dortmunder Eisenbahn GmbH (DE; jointly owned since 1980 by the city of Dortmund and by steel firms now also merged into Thyssen Krupp) as well as various lines serving specific plants. (A detailed article on the RAG system, with a map, appeared in the German publication Lok Report for July 1998.) The recent mergers in both coal and steel have however led to rationalisation, cost-reduction and closure of facilities. The DE system, which competes for business with EH, is particularly threatened, as is the Dortmund steel site itself, where two blast-furnaces have closed since September 1998. On 26 September 1998 a charter train covered DE's main line, which runs from the 0km point opposite Kokerei Hansa, past DB's Abzw Hansa and DE's Bf Dortmund-Nord (1km), around the harbour area at the head of the Dortmund-Ems Kanal, through Obereving (9.5km) and DE's Bf Körne (14km) to Bf Schüren (17.5km), using the end-on connection there with the internal lines of the Hoesch Phoenix coke-plant (now also part of Thyssen Krupp) to regain the DB at Hörde. The organisers were RuhrTour, part of Kommunalverband Ruhrgebiet, a body for promoting the Ruhr area with a programme of public visits intended to show something of local firms' activities. Most are by road coach but in recent years RuhrTour have run a few weekday rail trips over industrial lines, as well as a regular autumn Saturday tour with a nostalgic theme, using stock from Historischer Schienenverkehr Wesel (HSW). Though forced to cease their weekday trips on the ex-RAG and EH lines, RuhrTour still hope to be able to organise an interesting rail charter in autumn 1999. BLN 844.094][DE] Narsdorf - Rochlitz: (Ball 43A2; KBS526) Poor usage and poor state of the track are to lead to passenger closure of this 10km link from the May 1999 timetable change. (IBSE) BLN 844.095][DE] Frankfurt-am-Main S-Bahn: (BLN 841.08; Ball 50A3) The new Frankfurt-Messe station opened 13 January 1999. (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 1999) BLN 844.096][DE] Stuttgart trams: Gauge conversion of the city's tramway network continues. Part of metre-gauge route #15 between Ruhbank and Heumaden is to close on 31 May 1999 and reopen as standard-gauge on 11 September 1999. (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 1999) BLN 844.097][DE][AT] Kiefersfelden - Wachtl am Thiersee: (BLN 843.061; Ball 71B1 not shown) Though Heidelberger Zement's overhead-wired 5km 900mm-gauge industrial railway is indeed international, its summer tourist trains from Kiefersfelden may remain within Germany, for during passenger operations a moveable barrier (which seems to have no purpose other than perhaps to mark the frontier) remains locked across the running-line towards Wachtl. Here, at the first limestone loading-point, the wired running-line is paralleled by another track with a loading-chute on one side above the height of the wagon-sides and a gap in the overhead wiring next to the chute. The tourist train stops on the running-line just short of the barrier and sets down its passengers. A second locomotive emerges from the loading-line and pulls the coaches clear, releasing the train engine to run back past its stock on the running-line. BLN 844.098][PT] Porto trams: (BLN 818.037; Ball 7A1 not shown) The city's sole tram route, #18, running in a U-shape from Boavista west along Avenida de Boavista out to the roundabout at Castelo do Queijo and back east into town through Foz and along the north bank of the river Douro to Massarelos, has been prolonged east from Massarelos to terminate at Carmo from 16 November 1998, though some services instead branch off at Massarelos on to the former route #1 to terminate at Infante, reopened 23 November. Reopening too of the outer section beyond Castelo do Queijo to Matosinhos is a possibility. The elderly standard-gauge bogie cars, driven with much verve, are still well-used by ordinary passengers, and are not just for tourists. The route includes both central reservation and gutter-running in the roadway, and the riverside stretch has extensive views across the water to the south. BLN 844.099][PT] Lisboa Oriente - Entrecampos - Fogueteiro (- Penalva - Pinhal Novo - Poceirăo): (BLN 798.0143, 832.0386; Ball 25B1) The new lower rail-deck added to the Ponte 25 de Abril suspension-bridge over the river Tejo (Tagus) is complete and a ceremonial first train, a three-car diesel unit driven by Portugal's prime minister, crossed the bridge on 15 November 1998. (Today's Railways, #38) During November one of the four-car double-deck electric units of private-sector operator Fertagus was seen at the new CP maintenance depot on the south side of the Linha do Alentejo at Poceirăo. (LCGB Bulletin, February 1999) From April 1999 the Fertagus sets are to commence passenger services, initially from Entrecampos to Fogueteiro, later from Oriente. BLN 844.0100][ES] Donostia/San Sebastián - Lasarte-Oria: (BLN 831.0360; Ball 6A2-6A1) EuskoTren passenger services from Donostia have now been extended on to the 1.02km branch diverging south to serve the new station at Lasarte-Oria. In reporting this, LCGB Bulletin for February 1999 said the station is located on the former San Sebastian - Pamplona line, closed 1953, though the architectural model seen at the Azpeitia railway museum in September 1998, and the building works themselves, suggested that the branch, on embankment and viaduct, is largely new construction. BLN 844.0101][ES] Monistrol - Montserrat: (Ball 16A3) From 1905 to 1957 the metre-gauge rack line of the Sociedad de Ferrocarriles de Montańa a Grandes Pendientes ran from Monistrol station on RENFE's ex-Norte broad-gauge Barcelona - Manresa (- Zaragoza) line for 8.5km to the celebrated monastery of Montserrat. This attraction now sees some 1.5 million visitors a year arriving by car, and reopening the railway is one of the options being considered by consultants commissioned by the Catalan government. BLN 844.0102][ES] Madrid - Segovia - Medina del Campo / Valladolid: (Ball 21A2-20B3-10A1) Initial design is to be completed by end-1999 for the Variante de Guadarrama, a proposed high-speed line north-west of the capital. Favoured route is Madrid to Tres Cantos, then north of Colmenar Viejo, into 28km tunnel beneath the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains, emerging at Hontoria, 4km south of Segovia, then using out-of-use line to Olmedo, splitting west to enter Medina del Campo from the north, and north to Valladolid. (Today's Railways, #38) Segovia - Olmedo de Adaja - Medina del Campo passenger trains were withdrawn 26 September 1993 (BLN 725.061). BLN 844.0103][ES] Madrid metro: (BLN 805.0313) From 15 October 1998 line 7 (orange) was extended from Gregorio Marańón 1.2km to an interchange with line 2 (red) at Canal. BLN 844.0104][IT] Venezia: (BLN 744.0369; Ball 48B3) The outer avoiding line is closed and most track seems to be lifted, but the triangle closer in at Venezia Mestre remains. BLN 844.0105][IT] Firenze Campo di Marzio - San Piero a Sieve - Borgo San Lorenzo (- Faenza): (Ball 49B3-48A1) Unavailable as a through route since war damage in 1944, the Faentina line saw passenger services resume on the 5km San Piero a Sieve - Borgo San Lorenzo section 16 September 1996 (BLN 799.0173). Reopening of the 34km from Firenze, said to be planned for 14 January 1999 (Today's Railways, #38), was marked by two days of festivities on 8-9 January (L'Écho du Rail, #192). BLN 844.0106][IT] Bari - Brindisi - Lecce: (Ball 55B1-56B2) Brindisi Marittima station, electrified with the rest of this Ferrovie dello Stato line in May 1996 (BLN 784.0335), has only a limited passenger service in summer and was locked shut on 27 December 1998, but it seems to have freight traffic throughout the year. A wagon with a Greek container was stood on the Marittima line at Brindisi Centrale. The Brindisi avoiding line has entirely gone. BLN 844.0107][IT] Bari Centrale FS - Taranto: (BLN 768.0530, 796.099, 832.0396; Ball 56A1-55B1-58B3) At the end of 1998 a further new section of route was under construction near Bari. Substantial sections have already been entirely rebuilt, rather than merely realigned. For much of the way the new line is out of sight of the old or in completely new tunnels. At Nasisi, the eastern end of the former Taranto avoiding line, a very rusted and overgrown single track remains, and some of the industrial sidings at Bellavista may be remnants of its western end. BLN 844.0108][IT] Bari FSE - Putignano - Martina Franca - Francavilla Fontana - Lecce - Zollino - Nardň - Gallipoli: (BLN 803.0261; Ball 55B1-56) At Bari FS station Ferrovie del Sud Est have their own booking-office, and FSE's standard-gauge trains depart from platforms on the south side, where the signs say 'Bari Centro' rather than 'Bari Centrale'. The only FSE timetables seem to be wall posters, on which some times are quoted to the half-minute. Though most FSE services are diesel railcars, some are locomotive-hauled, but no freight traffic appears to remain anywhere on the FSE system. Between Francavilla and Lecce is San Pancrazio station, an old two-storey building to an FSE standard design, now rather overpowered by a large modern platform-canopy. A Midland Railway fan could travel from San Pancrazio to Derby (on the Chivasso - Pré St.Didier line; Ball 40A1; BLN 696.010) and see most of Italy! In a shed at Lecce were steam locomotive #835 244, labelled as owned by Museo Ferroviario Pugliese, plus electric E626 185. Posters at Lecce station advertised a local exhibition to mark the centenary of La tranvia elčttrica Lecce - San Cataldo (1898-1933), with a photograph of a single-deck electric tram at the small coastal resort of San Cataldo, some 11km away. At Gallipoli the line continues several hundred metres beyond the passenger station, but no longer goes all the way to the harbour. BLN 845.0109][IE] Mullingar - Moate - Athlone: (BLN 741.0321, 812.0481, 839.0589) The ex-Midland Great Western line, which has no regular use, is hosting a fibre-optic cable route. After some vegetation clearing, an engineering train with a special plough to entrench the cable was seen working on the line on 19 and 25 October 1998. (Rail Express, January 1999) Just north-west of Athlone's present (ex-Great Southern & Western) passenger station, the MGW line trails into the GSW route at Athlone East Jn, which seemed to show slight signs of use on 26 January 1999. Beyond the sizeable bridge over the river Shannon, the old building of the closed Athlone Midland passenger station remains, on its less-convenient west-bank site, just before the divergence at Athlone West Jn of the lines to Claremorris and to Athenry. The (Athlone -) Ballinasloe - Athenry - Galway section is having track-renewal work, advertised in January 1999 as requiring certain services to be worked by buses between Ballinasloe and Galway BLN 845.0110][IE] Athlone - Knockcroghery - Roscommon - Claremorris: This line was the scene on 8 November 1997 of a major passenger-train derailment at the aptly-named passing-loop of Knockcroghery (BLN 820.065). Paragraphs in a draft report on Iarnród Éireann prepared in August 1998 by British consultants International Risk Management Services for the Irish government, but omitted from the published version, are alleged to highlight Athlone - Claremorris, along with Mallow - Killarney - Tralee and Limerick Jn - Waterford, as posing unacceptable risks to regular passengers and to train-crew. The Cork Examiner for 19 January 1999 quoted several damning passages from the draft: '... no other serious railway in the world is running on such lightweight and obsolete rail-section on main lines. ... The site inspections identified many examples each day of defects which would be quite unacceptable in the rest of Europe. ... staff have become used to mediocrity. Poor track is the norm, and since the last train managed to get over safely, it is assumed the next will too'. BLN 845.0111][IE] Kilkenny: Lavistown North Jn - Lavistown South Jn: Notwithstanding BLN 838.0570, the Christmas-shopping relief to the first northbound Waterford - Dublin train ran on four Saturdays in 1998 (21 November - 12 December). It has not normally run the weekend before Christmas - perhaps regarded as a time for last-minute shopping locally, not for trekking to Dublin - but has run the previous three Saturdays. Operation on 21 November 1998 was thus slightly unusual, and seems to have been to cater for a large organised group of local employees. Dates for the Kilkenny avoiding line in 1999 may be 27 November, 4 and 11 December; check from mid-November by telephoning +353 51 873401. Christmas-shopping travel on IE was very heavy in 1998 and on other routes scheduled trains with capacity for 450 people were reported as carrying 800. BLN 845.0112][IE] (Cork -) Glounthaune - Midleton (- Youghal): (BLN 765.0457, 803.0252, 821.092) Iarnród Éireann told the Cork Evening Echo (15 December 1998) 'we are not ruling out opening [the line to Midleton] again in the long term, but the justification is not there in the medium to short term'. BLN 845.0113][FR] Pont-de-Dore - Courpičre - Ambert - Arlanc - La Chaise-Dieu - Sembadel: (BLN 815.0563; OEIS 9908; Ball 55B3-55B1) Preservation group AGRIVAP (Les amis du musée de la machine agricole et ŕ vapeur), who run this lengthy 94km tourist line from their base at Ambert, have been looking for a replacement for one of their railcars, a Picasso, which is said to be unrepairable following a level-crossing accident in 1998. (Voie Étroite, #168, November 1998) BLN 845.0114][NL] Zuidbroek - Veendam: (Ball 2B3) Flood damage in October 1998 closed this freight-only branch but it had reopened by early February 1999. BLN 845.0115][NL][DE] Enschede NS - Gronau DB: (BLN 797.0106, 836.0491; Ball NL-5B3, DE-24A2) The last timetabled passenger trains ran in 1981 and the last special in 1985, but reopening to cross-border passenger services is now planned for May 2001. BLN 845.0116][DE] (Magdeburg - Biederitz -) Loburg - Altengrabow: (BLN 729.089, 841.04; Ball 28B2; KBS259) Last day of passenger services on this 12km section was 15 January 1999. (IBSE) BLN 845.0117][DE] (Neustadt -) Sebnitz (Sachsen) - Bad Schandau: (BLN 835.0462; Ball 44B2-44B1; KBS248) Trains have been running again since 30 December 1998. (IBSE) BLN 845.0118][SE] Växjö - Sandsbro - Rottne - Ĺseda - Hultsfred - Tuna - Totebo - Ankarsrum - Verkebäck - Jenny (- Västervik): (BLN 775.0142, 793.017, 827.0269; Ball 26A3-22B1) In 1984 Swedish state railway Statens Järnvägar closed this 187km 891mm-gauge route, and in 1987 sold it to private operators VHVJ, who had five successful seasons before being forced into liquidation. Since then, northern Europe's longest narrow-gauge railway has languished, though nearly all its track remains in place. Kronoberg county council are not interested and Växjö local council, owners since 1987 of the crucial southernmost section, are a problem, for since April 1996 they have refused to let Smĺländska Smalspĺret tourist trains run within the town boundary. The preservation group's operating company SMAB sought an order requiring the council to sell the 8km Växjö - Sandsbro section back to them as successors to VHVJ, but having failed to secure the order were in November 1998 appealing to the courts against this government decision. On SMAB's Sandsbro - Rottne - Hultsfred section the track is in fair condition, and some charters and works trains have run the full length, but SMAB had little commercial success when they tried in 1996 to run tourist trains from the village of Rottne, the first practicable turning-point north of Växjö. To the north, Kalmar county council are supportive of tourist operation, and in 1997 'listed' the Totebo - Verkebäck section of the line, thus protecting it by law. The section north of Hultsfred, managed by FAS, a separate entity from SMAB, has had some unemployment-relief work done on it and some EU money spent, so it is in good condition. In 1999 tourist trains of another preservation group, Tjustbygdens Järnvägsförening, are to operate between Hultsfred and Verkebäck. Beyond, the national highways authority Vägverket bought the 6km Verkebäck - Jenny section in connection with the building of their new E22 road, and though they built an overbridge across it in one place, they short-sightedly blocked it in another place by the same road. In 1994 Kalmar county directed Vägverket to replace the road blockage by a bridge, and later successfully fought off appeals against this. Kalmar's directive therefore remains in force though Vägverket have not yet begun the work to clear the blockage. Meanwhile, interim listing by the national heritage body has prevented the highways authority from trying to dismantle the Verkebäck - Jenny section, and SMAB have now applied for listing of the whole narrow-gauge line from end to end. From Jenny the long-term plan is to restore mixed-gauge working through to Västervik over the (Linköping -) Jenny - Västervik standard-gauge route. Tourism to south-east Sweden is expected to increase when the Křbenhavn - Malmö fixed link across the Öresund (BLN 835.0466) opens in July 2000, and the troubled line may yet see passenger reopening throughout. (newsletter from Föreningen Smalspĺret, January 1999) BLN 845.0119][IT] (Catania -) Targia - Siracusa: (Ball 60B1) Replacing the single-track route round the coast and through the town-centre over a level-crossing (BLN 820.075), the new double-track line into Siracusa appears to have opened from the May 1998 timetable change. BLN 845.0120][PT][ES] Porto - Valença do Minho CP - Tui RENFE - Guillarei - Redondela - Vigo: (Ball 7A1-7A3) Domestic CP services also run on the 133km Porto - Valença section, but RENFE trains may no longer serve the 3km Tui - Guillarei section of line within Spain, leaving this to the three international trains daily each way, two starting from Porto Săo Bento and one from Porto Campanhă. On 24 November 1998 the 07:34 from Săo Bento was a three-car CP diesel unit (#030627, of stainless-steel Budd design, built by Sorefame 1978) calling at main stations only to Valença, where a RENFE crew took over. The former customs and immigration offices on the station were closed and the border, formed by the river Minho, was crossed without formality at a stately pace of 10km/h over the long bridge. No sign was seen of the Tui-Frontera station shown in Ball and in RENFE timetables of earlier years, and the train made its first stop in Spain at Tui, just before joining the León - Vigo electrified line at Guillarei. Here it reversed, travelling a further 37km under the wires with one stop at Redondela de Galicia, junction for the unelectrified Redondela - Santiago de Compostela line, before arriving in platform 6 at Vigo's modern terminus, a building in grand RENFE style with eight platforms but few trains. The line has been shortened slightly to build the new terminus, for the old station building can still be seen, isolated and shuttered, across the forecourt, fronting the Praza de Estación. RENFE's technology had some difficulty in describing the platform for the return working. Indicators in the booking-hall, on the concourse and at the platform-end all advised different numbers in the range 2 to 5, while in fact the train departed from platform 6, from which it had not moved! BLN 845.0121][PT] Lisboa Santa Apolonia - Oriente - Entroncamento - Coimbra B - Pampilhosa - Aveiro - Porto: (BLN 819.059; Ball 25B1-17A3) Major infrastructure works to ease curvature and allow faster running on the Linha do Norte were continuing in late November 1998, with European Union financial support. Between Coimbra B and Aveiro, two significant realignments away from the original route were under construction, one of them involving a sizeable new river bridge. Between Pampilhosa and Aveiro, completely rebuilt stations with high platforms were in use at Mealhada, Mogofores, Oiă and Quintans, and reconstruction was under way at Curia, Paraimo-Sangalhos and Oliveira do Bairro, with passengers using temporary wooden platforms on slightly displaced sites. Between Paraimo-Sangalhos and Oliveira do Bairro, a new alignment is in use and the old double-track main line has been singled to become a relief loop on the east side. BLN 845.0122][CH] (Bern -) Löchligut - Mattstetten Ost - Rothrist - Olten: (Ball 92B3-87A1) The short east-to-north Bern avoiding curve (Wankdorf - Löchligut) opened 21 May 1967 and is used mainly by freight, with only a few passenger trains (OEIS 9904; EGTRE CH99/2). On the eastern outskirts of Bern, its northern junction, Löchligut, has since 28 May 1995 also been the western end of the cut-off (EGTRE CH99/3) used by fast Bern - Olten trains through the 6.3km Grauholz tunnel avoiding Zollikofen, which rejoin the classic route at Mattstetten Ost. The Mattstetten Ost - Rothrist section of the cut-off (BLN 835.0468) is still in 1999 under construction, while Rothrist - Olten via Born tunnel opened 31 May 1981. BLN 845.0123][NO] Oslo metro: (BLN 814.0556, 824.0185, 825.0214; Ball 28A2) Oslo Sporveier's Tunnel-Bane or T-Bane system began as a number of separate standard-gauge light-rail or tramway undertakings: Akersbanen (AB), Bćrumsbanen (BB), Holmenkolbanen (sic) (HKB), Smestadbanen (SB), Tryvannsbanen (TB) and Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei (KES, becoming OS from 1 January 1925, when the city that had been called Kristiania reverted to its traditional name of Oslo). Neither SB nor TB had stock of their own, being worked by HKB. Through working between the western and eastern lines commenced April 1993 when Sognsvannsbanen and Lambertseterbanen were linked. Holmenkollbanen trains, dual-fitted, began to run through to Helsfyr from May 1994. Full through working on other routes commenced November 1995. Route numbers were given to the western lines by 1974 and to the eastern lines in 1987, with new route-numbers allocated in November 1995 and some renumbering in April 1998. Details of the routes from west to east are taken from The Tramways and Subways in Oslo by Nils Carl Aspenberg, published by Baneforlaget, Oslo 1994, revised 1998. Kolsĺsbanen. Route #14 until 1995, #4 from November 1995, #3 since April 1998. Overhead-wired throughout. Kolsĺs - BB/KES 1 January 1930 - Avlřs - BB/KES 2 November 1924 - Bekkestua - BB/KES 1 July 1924 - Jar - BB 15 June 1942 - Smestad (Sřrbyhaugen junction). Rřabanen. Route #83 until 1995, #2 since November 1995. Overhead-wired till November 1995, then third-rail. Řsterĺs - SB 16 November 1972 - Lijordet - SB 3 December 1951 - Grini - SB 22 December 1948 - Rřa - SB 24 January 1935 - Smestad (Sřrbyhaugen junction) - SB 24 January 1935 - Smestad - SB 7 November 1912 - Majorstuen. Holmenkollbanen. Route #81 until 1995, #1 since November 1995. Overhead-wired throughout. Řvreseter (Tryvann) - TB 16 May 1916, 800m freight-only section, closed 3 September 1939 - Frognerseteren - TB 16 May 1916 - Holmenkollen - TB 17 July 1915 - Besserud - HKB 31 May 1898 - Slemdal - HKB February 1898 - Majorstuen. Sognsvannsbanen. Route #82 until 1995, #3 from November 1995, #5 since April 1998. Blindern - Majorstuen section also route #5 1995-98 and #4 since April 1998. Overhead-wired till April 1993, then third-rail. Sognsvann - AB 10 October 1934 - Blindern - AB ?10 October 1934 - Majorstuen. Central tunnel section, common to all routes. Majorstuen - Nationalteatret overhead-wired till January 1993, then third-rail; Nationalteatret - Třyen/Munchmuseet third-rail throughout. Majorstuen - HKB 27 June 1928 - Nationalteatret - OS 7 March 1987 - Stortinget (ex-Sentrum) - OS 9 January 1977, closed 20 February 1983, reopened 7 March 1987 - Jernbanetorget - OS 22 May 1966 - Třyen/Munchmuseet. Grorudbanen. Route #5 since November 1995. Third-rail. Třyen/Munchmuseet - OS 16 October 1966 - Grorud - OS 3 March 1974 - Rommen - OS 18 August 1974 - Stovner - OS 21 December 1975 - Vestli. Furusetbanen. Route #2 since November 1995. Third-rail. Hellerud - OS 18 November 1970 - Haugerud - OS 15 December 1974 - Trosterud - OS 19 February 1978 - Furuset - OS 8 November 1981 - Ellingsrudĺsen Řstensjřbanen. Route #3 since November 1995. Overhead-wired till October 1967, then third-rail. Brynseng (Hřyenhall junction) - AB 10 January 1926 as tram, 29 October 1967 as T-Bane - Hellerud - AB 10 January 1926 as tram, 29 October 1967 as T-Bane - Oppsal - OS 20 July 1958 as tram, 29 October 1967 as T-Bane - Břler - OS 26 November 1967 - Skellerud - OS 4 January 1998 (trial running with passengers from 20 November 1997) - Mortensrud Lambertseterbanen. Route #4 since November 1995. Inner section Třyen/Munchmuseet - Helsfyr also route #1. Since April 1998 whole line has worked 07:00-19:00 as route #4, and during peak periods and after 19:00 as route #1. Overhead-wired till May 1966, then third-rail. Třyen/Munchmuseet - OS 22 May 1966 - Helsfyr - AB 18 December 1923 as tram, 22 May 1966 as T-Bane - Brynseng (Hřyenhall junction) - OS 28 April 1957, closed 16 May 1966 as tram, 22 May 1966 as T-Bane - Bergkrystallen. Tramways & Urban Transit for February 1999 listed Oslo Sporveier's street-tramway routes, numbered #10-19, which are to be revised from May 1999 when the Gaustad hospital line opens. BLN 845.0124][HR][YU] (Zagreb -) Vinkovci - Mirkovci - Tovarnik HZ (- Šid JZ - Beograd): (BLN 826.0240; Ball 47B1) The 32km section to Croatia's frontier station had 25kV 50Hz electrification restored on 24 November 1998, enabling reinstatement of electric-hauled Zagreb - Beograd through services. (Today's Railways, #38) BLN 845.0125][UA][PL] Lviv - Rava Ruska UZ - Hrebenne PKP: (BLN 831.0366 with sketch-map) Ukrzaliznitsa trains can be very uncomfortable in winter. In November 1998 works were under way in the main train-shed at Lviv, and #6002 07:25 Lviv - Rava Ruska departed from track 25, parallel to and west of the train-shed and on the same level as the pedestrian subway beneath the main platforms. The Riga-built Class DR1A five-car diesel unit was lightly loaded and became emptier with every station. With a temperature of minus 8şC the entire train was unheated for the whole journey, taking 10 minutes under the timetabled 148 minutes for 67km. Mercifully its doors and windows were on this occasion intact, preventing passengers from actually freezing. Only local freight was seen on the Lviv - Rava Ruska line, and the significant number of wagons in international traffic at Rava Ruska probably move via Sokal rather than Lviv, and use the Rava Ruska UZ - Kaplisze PKP broad-gauge line into Poland. The Rava Ruska - Hrebenne standard-gauge line across the frontier has passenger but no freight traffic. While in 1996 no evidence was seen of a passenger service on the Rava Ruska - Ukhniv - Chervonohrad - Sokal line, a timetable on display at Rava Ruska now shows two trains each way daily, taking two hours for 63km, quite fast for a provincial service in Ukraine. Only 15 passengers alighted from train #6024, the 08:36 from Sokal, when the UZ Class M62 and its three coaches arrived at Rava Ruska at 10:35 on the icy morning of 16 November. Border control of passengers leaving Ukraine takes place on Rava Ruska station, tickets being checked before entry to the customs accommodation. For train #22004/21104 12:16 Rava Ruska - Warszawa, check-in began about 11:30 and the gate closed at exactly 11:56, 20 minutes before departure. Control took place speedily, with about 20 customs officials and border-guards for the 15 passengers to Poland. Ukrainian border-guards joined the train, which set off slowly at about 30km/h, stopping at the frontier. Just inside Poland, the east-to-south Hrebenne avoiding line diverges, track still in place but heavily overgrown, and about 100m west the embankment of PKP's former Rava Ruska avoiding line (Ukhniv - Hrebenne) is still visible trailing in before Hrebenne station. BLN 845.0126][AU] Melbourne - Pakenham - Bunyip - Warragul - Sale: (BLN 843 supplement) The only electrification in Victoria beyond the Melbourne suburban network is the Pakenham - Warragul section of the broad-gauge V/Line route to Sale. Services on this route have diesel traction, those few formerly worked by electric units having ceased 6 December 1998. As it is little-used and fairly flat, the double track between Pakenham and Bunyip has seen much use for testing electric trains, with long sections of 120km/h running possible. It is not clear whether the 1500V dc infrastructure will be retained for such minimal usage. If the power is turned off the copper wire could disappear quite quickly. BLN 845.0127][US] Schellville, CA - Ignacio - Willits - Eureka, CA: On 27 November 1998 the US Federal Railroad Administration shut down the Northwestern Pacific Railroad in northern California because track and highway-crossing deterioration posed risks to employee and public safety and to the environment. The order halted the entire 458km freight-only system, recently carrying as few as 300 freight cars a month, mostly with gravel and timber, between Willits and the link to the national network at Schellville, near Napa. Incorporated in 1907 by Southern Pacific and Santa Fe to consolidate various small railroads north of San Francisco Bay, the original NWP became an SP subsidiary in 1929. SP sold the section north of Willits to Eureka Southern on 1 November 1984, but the remaining line was taken over in 1991 by a public body, the North Coast Railroad Authority, a consortium of local-government agencies. SP leased the section south of Willits to California Northern on 26 September 1993, but they subsequently relinquished their lease to a new company which adopted the old NWP name. Much of the southern portion of the line in Sonoma and Marin Counties was recently proposed for passenger reopening, but voters rejected the necessary transit sales-taxes in a referendum in November 1998. (http://www2.trains.com) BLN 845.0128][BO][CL][PE] Oruro - Tupiza - Uyuni - Villazón and Uyuni - Ollagüe - Calama: It seems Bolivia again has scheduled passenger trains. Buses in each direction between La Paz and Oruro connect with the 'new southern express', a limited-stop air-conditioned train to Villazón, beyond which the metre-gauge line heads south into Argentina. An unnamed train on the same route makes all stops and has no air-conditioning and no bus connections, but it conveys the weekly through coach from Oruro west to Calama on the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia in Chile (BLN 820.088). This is one of only two international passenger services apparently surviving in South America, the other being the railcar-operated 62km standard-gauge Tacna - Arica line crossing from Peru to Chile near the coast (BLN 817.019). Continental Railway Journal #115 for autumn 1998 also reported the timings: El Nuevo Expreso del Sur Oruro 10:10 MO - 21:15 MO Tupiza El Nuevo Expreso del Sur Oruro 10:10 FO - 21:15 FO Tupiza FO - 00:30 SO Villazón Oruro 19:00 SuO - Tupiza FO - 12:15 MO Villazón El Nuevo Expreso del Sur Villazón 15:30 SO - Tupiza 18:20 SO - 07:00 SuO Oruro El Nuevo Expreso del Sur Tupiza 06:00 TO - 18:50 TO Oruro Villazón 15:30 ThO - Tupiza - 08:00 FO Oruro BLN 846.0129][IE] (Dublin Connolly -) Newcomen Jn - Glasnevin Jn: (BLN 839.0589) The new lift bridge over the Royal Canal at Newcomen Jn replaced the old structure on 22 September 1998, but track on its approaches had still not been restored by mid-December. (Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, #138, February 1999) BLN 846.0130][IE] Ennis - Gort - Athenry - Tuam - Claremorris: (BLN 820.064) On this freight-only line, whose Ennis - Athenry section was threatened with closure at the end of 1996 (BLN 792.0487), Gort station loop, out of use due to derailment damage in June 1995 (BLN 758.0319), had by January 1999 been restored, though points were still clipped, locked and scotched pending final adjustment by the Signal Department. At Tuam station, where a railtour in spring 1995 was not allowed to stop because of the condition of the platform (BLN 766.0482), preservation group Westrail had in January 1999 'engaged personnel to undertake construction work on platform', requiring an IE lookoutman in attendance. (Iarnród Éireann engineering works notice, week ending 10 January 1999) BLN 846.0131][IE] Mallow - Banteer - Rathmore - Killarney - Tralee: Following newspaper criticism of the condition of this line and public apprehension about its safety (BLN 845.0110), Iarnród Éireann on 16 February announced a track-improvement programme, and began on the Mallow - Banteer section with complete closure from mid-morning Mondays to afternoon on Fridays, plus weekend timetable revision, during the period 18-28 February 1999. Later, a further 9km of track between Rathmore and Killarney is to be relaid. Manual signalling from signal-cabins is to be replaced by automatic signalling. The work, planned to be complete by October 1999, is to cost EUR8.25M and be 'co-funded by the European Union'. (Iarnród Éireann advertisement, Cork Examiner, 16 February 1999) BLN 846.0132][FR] St.Brieuc - Loudéac - Pontivy - Auray: (BLN 756.0273; Ball 20B2-31A3) The 900t freight trains that convey gas in tank-wagons from St.Brieuc to Loudéac share the track with a sparse passenger service. To the south, passenger trains ceased 27 September 1987, and the 23km Loudéac - Pontivy section seems to have closed completely at that time, though its reopening for freight is now regularly rumoured, according to an SNCF driver at Rennes depot. Freight trains to Pontivy at present work via Auray. BLN 846.0133][BE] Brussel/Bruxelles: The short link between the Bruxelles-Ouest line 28 (BLN 837.0549) and the Bruxelles - Charleroi line 124 (Y Cureghem - Y Forest Est; Ball 10B1; Lijn/Ligne 28/3) was omitted from NMBS/SNCB's network map of 1 January 1998, and was indeed out of use during 1998 while most of its former embankment was removed and replaced by viaduct. On 19 February 1999, a postal electric unit was seen traversing the reopened line 28/3. Only one track seemed to be in use and certainly only one was wired. The new viaduct will permit the later construction through its arches of the high-speed route out of Bruxelles Midi, replacing the present rather circuitous line 96A from Bruxelles Midi to Forest Est. On 15 January 1999 only the northern arc of the flying junction giving access to the airport line (Y Zaventem - Bruxelles-National-Aéroport/Brussel-Nationaal-Luchthaven; BLN 831.0355; Ball 10B2; Ligne/Lijn 36C) seemed in use, with the southern arc still being made ready. By contrast, on 19 February only the southern arc was in use. BLN 846.0134][LU] (Trier DB -) Wasserbillig CFL - Roodt - Oetrange - Luxembourg: (BLN 757.0298, 764.0440, 808.0372; EGTRE LU99/3; Ball 18A2) Infrastructure work is under way between Wasserbillig and Luxembourg in connection with development of the intermodal facility at Bettembourg yard, and on 1-2 March 1999 the westbound line through Roodt was blocked, with all trains using the eastbound line. As in the summer 1998 timetable, westbound fast (RE) trains were running Oetrange - Syren - Howald - Luxembourg (largely single track with passing-loop at Syren), but eastbound trains were running Luxembourg - Sandweiler-Contern - Oetrange. BLN 846.0135][NL] Amsterdam CS - Haarlem - Santpoort Noord - IJmuiden: (BLN 832.0373; Ball 4A3-3B3) Kennemerstrand Expres trains were withdrawn suddenly at the end of August 1998, and operators Lovers Rail have decided not to reinstate the summer-only service, rather to the annoyance of track-authority Railned who invested in upgrading the IJmuiden branch for passenger use. BLN 846.0136][DE] (Greifswald -) Abzw Schönwalde - Lubmin: (BLN 746.035; Ball 13B1) Closure to passengers by end-May 1999 is understood to be likely, as also for (Hoyerswerda -) Knappenrode - Bautzen (44B3-44B2). BLN 846.0137][DE] Hohenwulsch - Kalbe (Milde): (BLN 771.054, 774.0113; Ball 28A3) The former Altmärkische Eisenbahn line is threatened with closure at the May 1999 timetable change. (IBSE) BLN 846.0138][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (Ball 31B3, 31B2) As forecast in BLN 838.0574, Tegel - Hennigsdorf duly reopened 15 December 1998 and Pichelsberg - Spandau on 30 December. BLN 846.0139][DE] (Düsseldorf Hbf -) Düsseldorf-Gerresheim - Mettmann - Dornap-Hahnenfurth: (BLN 723.029; Ball 33B1) Contrary to the original plans, DB Düsseldorf Hbf - Mettmann passenger services were withdrawn from 4 January 1999 to carry out necessary track work for the Regiobahn project, which may start operation in July or August 1999. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/99) On Saturdays from 5 September to 31 October 1999, DB are advertising steam trains beyond Mettmann to Dornap-Hahnenfurth (as in 1998; BLN 823.0150). (IBSE) BLN 846.0140][DE] Butzbach BLE - Butzbach DB: (BLN 840.1617, 842.034; Ball 49B3) The original connection from the Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn to the state railway (latterly DB) was indeed by an east-to-south curve. A short BLE branch diverged west of Butzbach Ost and curved south for 1.2km to terminate at Butzbach West, a single-platform BLE terminus with no run-round loop, immediately to the east of the DB station. To run round, BLE trains set back to the exchange sidings just to the north of the two stations, where the connection with the DB was on the east side of the main line. However, to facilitate road works, and to allow transfer of the DB/BLE connection to sidings on the west side of the main line, the present south-to-west curve linking DB to BLE at Butzbach Nord opened 19 July 1964, and the old Butzbach Ost - West curve was lifted. Since then, running from Butzbach DB to Butzbach Ost has required a reversal at the point where the 1964 curve joins the east-to-west BLE, at the throat of the Butzbach Nord industrial-estate connection (never a passenger station). (mainly Deutsche Klein- und Privatbahnen, Teil 4, published by Kleinbahn-Bücher, 1975) BLN 846.0141][DE] Taunus and Oberhessen local lines: (Ball 50) Wiesbaden - Niederhausen is served hourly by modern diesel units, some of which run forward to Limburg-an-der-Lahn. Between Auringen-Medenbach and Niederhausen, near recently-opened Rhein-Main-Theater station, the line crosses major construction works which appear to be along the route of the Köln - Frankfurt-am-Main high-speed Schnellfahrstrecke. Between the Frankfurt-Königsteiner Eisenbahn's Höchst - Königstein (Taunus) branch and DB's Frankfurt-Höchst - Bad Soden (Taunus) branch, a half-hourly through Königstein - Höchst - Bad Soden service is operated by newish diesel railcar sets based at the small modern FKE depot at Königstein, with about five roads (BLN 812.0496). Track on the FKE branch looks to have been relaid recently and the stations appear new. Though the DB branch is electrified, it seems not now to see any electric trains. Previously peak-hour-only Friedrichsdorf - Friedberg trains have been replaced by regular-interval services using modern railcars of the Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn (BLN 840.0617; Ball 49B2-49B3). Apparently to economise on peak-hour paths from Frankfurt to Bad Vilbel, the 16:15 from Frankfurt Hbf unusually leaves as a combined train formed of a Class 215 diesel locomotive and coaches for the Bad Vilbel - Stockheim (Oberhessen) line plus another Class 215 and coaches for Bad Vilbel - Friedberg - Nidda, the two portions separating at Bad Vilbel (BLN 712.04). The 17:15 operates similarly. BLN 846.0142][DE][FR] Wörth (Rhein) DB - Lauterbourg SNCF: (BLN 821.0100; Ball 57A2-DE, 30B3-FR) As a forerunner to the full reactivation of this cross-border route, three pairs of trains are to run on Sundays only from the timetable change on 30 May 1999. (IBSE) BLN 846.0143][DE] München S-Bahn: Neufahrn - Hallbergmoos - Flughafen: (BLN 842.035; Ball 71B3) When the S1 sets divide at Neufahrn, the station and on-train announcements are in German only, so a number of foreign air-travellers have unwittingly found themselves at Freising instead of the airport. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/99) BLN 846.0144][DE] München - Holzkirchen - Bayrischzell and Holzkirchen - Schaftlach - Lenggries and Schaftlach - Tegernsee: (BLN 712.07; Ball 71B1; KBS955-957) Due to delay in delivery of new stock to Bayerische Oberlandbahn, the timetables valid to 28 November 1998 continue till 29 May 1999, when the BOB service pattern is to commence. BOB are train-operators only, and the track remains owned by DB or the private Tegernseebahn company in the case of the Schaftlach - Tegernsee line. At Schaftlach the ticket-office appears to have closed and tickets are now sold at the Imbiss, the station snack-bar. BOB ticketing applies, and various through skiing tickets and a BOB Wochenende Card are now on sale, but a DB Schönes Wochenende Ticket was accepted on the train. BLN 846.0145][AT] Kapfenberg - Thörl in Steiermark - Aflenz - Seebach-Turnau (- Au-Seewiesen): (BLN 802.0232, 836.0507; OEIS 9834; Ball 74B1) Today's Railways #39 reports that Steiermärkische Landesbahnen want to give up responsibility for this 760mm-gauge railway, which would prevent preservation group Verein Thörlerbahn from running their summer-weekend tourist trains, the sole remaining traffic on the line since 1996. BLN 846.0146][AT] Breitstetten - Orth an der Donau: (BLN 785.0355; Ball 76A3) The last freight train on this short branch ran on 23 December 1998, and was to be followed by a 'farewell trip' on 27 December. (IBSE) BLN 846.0147][AT][SK] (Wien Ost -) Parndorf - Kittsee ÖBB - Bratislava-Petrzalka ZSR: (BLN 817.07, 830.0346; Ball 76A3-76B3-AT; 41B1-SK) The first pair of (diesel-hauled) trains on this reopened and electrified international route duly ran on 7 January 1999 as planned. Service is to increase from May 1999. (IBSE) BLN 846.0148][ES] Colloto - Oviedo - Trubia: (BLN 831.0359; Ball 3A3) On 4 February 1999 FEVE closed both their metre-gauge termini in the city of Oviedo, Jovellanos and Económicos, together with the works and depots at Santo Domingo and Avenida de Santander, also removing the connection just west of Colloto and closing the line passing round the south side of the city-centre (Colloto - Oviedo - La Manjoya - Fuso de la Reina). On the same date FEVE inaugurated a new double-track electrified metre-gauge line from Colloto to the north side of RENFE's Oviedo station, and reopened all but the western end of the ex-RENFE Oviedo- Trubia branch, which has been regauged from broad-gauge to metre and is now being re-electrified at FEVE's 1500V dc. Just west of San Pedro Nora, some 3km short of Trubia RENFE, new metre-gauge track curves south across the river Nalón to Trubia FEVE station on the San Esteban de Pravia - Trubia - Fuso de la Reina - Collanzo line. FEVE timetables have been minimally revised. In the meantime the triangular junction at Fuso de la Reina remains, for passenger trains reverse at its eastern vertex, calling at the station there, and do not use the former freight-only north-south third side. BLN 846.0149][ES] Madrid metro: (BLN 844.0103) Since the cement company's freight service was withdrawn in November 1997 from the 29km industrial remnant of the metre-gauge Ferrocarril del Tajuńa (Vicálvaro - Arganda del Rey; BLN 821.0103, 836.0515; Ball 21A2), rapid progress has been made with gauge-conversion and overhead electrification so that the line can become a lengthy eastern extension of Metro Line 9, built to 1445mm-gauge. Some short new sections of route were necessary, notably at the outer end, where Metro services will arrive at an underground terminus in Arganda town centre, possibly during 1999. BLN 846.0150][ES] (Sevilla -) Fuente de Piedra - Las Maravillas (- Granada): (Ball 35A2-37A2) The 12km north-to-east curve avoiding Bobadilla-Antequera seen under construction in March 1995 (BLN 754.0236) opened on 1 July 1998, enabling Sevilla - Granada - Almería trains to avoid reversal at Bobadilla station. Track has been upgraded to allow speeds up to 160km/h, shortening Sevilla - Granada journeys by as much as 45 minutes. (IBSE) BLN 846.0151][IT] (Luino -) Laveno Mombello - Sesto Calende (- Novara): (Ball 40A3) Work is to begin early in 1999 on a north-to-east curve enabling Luino - Gallarate freight trains to avoid reversal in Sesto Calende. Though a direct (Luino -) Laveno Mombello - Besozzo - Gallarate line already exists, this is single, with a fairly frequent passenger service. (IBSE) BLN 846.0152][IT] (Milano -) Busto Arsizio Nord - Aeroporto della Malpensa: (Ball 41A1) When Milano's Malpensa airport opened in 1998, its planned rail link was not ready, and airlines other than Alitalia complained when they were forced to move out from Milano-Linate airport to this less convenient facility remote from the city. The 12km new railway from the Ferrovie Nord Milano is expected to open 30 May 1999. (partly IBSE) BLN 846.0153][IT] Merano/Meran - Malles Venosta/Mals: (BLN 808.0390; Ball 42B3) After a decade or so of disuse the 60km Vinschgaubahn, in German-speaking Italy close to the Austrian border, is heavily overgrown and has its rails tarred over at many level-crossings and at the terminal station, Malles Venosta/Mals. Talk of reopening in 2000 seems over-optimistic. (IBSE) BLN 846.0154][IT] Isola della Scala - Bovolone - Cerea: (Ball 47B3) Out of use since May 1992, this line reopened to passenger trains 27 September 1998 and now has quite a frequent train service. BLN 846.0155][IT] Suzzara - Poggio Rusco (- Ferrara): (Ball 47B3) This section of the private Ferrovia Suzzara - Ferrara is being electrified and upgraded for 150km/h running. From autumn 1999 to spring 2000 the line is to be closed while work is carried out at places where new alignment conflicts with the old. (IBSE) BLN 846.0156][HU] Dunaföldvár - Solt: (BLN 822.0131, 840.0634; Ball 47B3) To make room for road vehicles, MÁV say they may at some unspecified future date remove the rail track over the river Duna bridge at Dunaföldvár. The freight-only line is used occasionally by trains carrying nuclear material from the nearby Paks power-station. BLN 846.0157][HU][SI] Zalalövö MÁV - Murska Sobota SZ: (BLN 726.67, 797.0120; Ball 46B3) Notwithstanding some reallocation of finance elsewhere (BLN 840.0633), construction of the 22.5km direct Hungary - Slovenia link is under way, and opening to passengers and freight is expected during 1999. (IBSE) BLN 846.0158][AU] Sydney Central - Sydney Airport International Terminal (- Turrella): A number of the stations on the New Southern Railway under construction to the airport, due to open in time for the 2000 Olympic Games, are being equipped with side platforms rather than the island platforms shown in the May 1998 Quail atlas. (Quail) BLN 846.0159][US] San Francisco, CA: cable-cars: The San Francisco Municipal Railway, operators of the extensive Muni Metro standard-gauge light rail system, also run the classic 1067mm-gauge cable-cars, invented in the city in 1873. Of the maximum network of 83km, three very steep city-centre routes remain to serve citizens and visitors, with a total track length of 7km (and a cable length of 17.2km). The entire operation was lovingly restored in 1982-84, and its combined car-barn and power-house also houses a free museum. The magnificent Victorian engineering is unique, and the intimacy and informality of operation, with the gripman pulling big levers and stamping on brake-pedals in the midst of passengers hopping on and off the open cars, is a striking and refreshing contrast to present-day American tendencies to preoccupation with public-transport safety precautions. BLN 846.0160][US] San Francisco - San Jose Diridon - Tamien - Gilroy, CA: The main transcontinental railroad routes across America have always ended east of San Francisco Bay, short of the city itself, traditionally reached from Oakland by ferry, or now from Emeryville by Amtrak bus across the Bay Bridge, or from Richmond by cross-platform interchange from Amtrak to the broad-gauge (1676mm) Bay Area Rapid Transit heavy metro. But the Southern Pacific did give San Francisco a modest downtown train-station of its own at 4th & King Streets, serving a single commuter route south down the peninsula, now marketed as Caltrain. The area round the station was once rather run-down but major city redevelopment is now taking place between it and the Bay shore, and the N (Judah) line of the Muni Metro standard-gauge light rail system that used to terminate in the heart of the city at Embarcadero, beneath Market Street in a bi-level underground station shared with BART, has recently been extended in a short tunnel curving north-east and then on the surface south to terminate outside the Caltrain station, giving an excellent and well-used connection for commuters to many parts of the city. The Caltrain terminus itself has a bright modernised passenger building nearing completion, and a service of 33 push-pull diesel trains each way Mon-Fri (14 Sat, 10 Suns & holidays) south past Millbrae (free shuttle bus to SFO International Airport) and the Silicon Valley towns of Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara to San Jose's main station, 75km and 90 minutes from San Francisco. This station occupies the site of the 1877 West San Jose depot of the former narrow-gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad, succeeded in 1888 by the Southern Pacific. SP's pleasant 1935 building was rededicated in 1994 and named after local-authority Supervisor Rod Diridon, who was instrumental in pressing for revitalisation of the commuter service and its acquisition by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board in 1992. San Jose Diridon is a junction where connection can be made with north-south Amtrak trains (the Seattle, WA - Portland, OR - Sacramento, CA - Oakland - San Jose - Los Angeles Coast Starlight and Colfax, CA - Sacramento - Oakland - San Jose Capitols) and since October 1998 with the new east-west Stockton, CA - Livermore - San Jose Altamont Commuter Express (BLN 836.0540). Caltrain services all run beyond Diridon for 3km to Tamien which offers interchange (beneath a freeway) to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's local light-rail line (BLN 804.0298). Beyond Tamien, only four Mon-Fri afternoon Caltrains run further south to Gilroy, 123km from San Francisco, with balancing early-morning inward workings. Caltrain's modern bi-level gallery cars (built Nippon Sharyo 1985-87) are of interest, being different from the double-deckers used elsewhere in California and in many European countries. Single seats accessed from a narrow aisle run along each side of the upper level, and the space between the two upper aisles is partly occupied by sizeable baggage-shelves, but the structure is open, enabling the conductor patrolling the single aisle between the double seats on either side of the lower level to sell and check tickets of passengers on both levels. Information: www.caltrain.com. BLN 846.0161][US] Los Angeles, CA: Metro: (BLN 821.0112) Extension of the 'heavy-rail' Red Line has been delayed. Passengers heading from Amtrak trains at Los Angeles Union Station to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) via the Metro's Red, then Blue, then Green Lines should note that the interchange between the latter two light-rail lines was during 1998 renamed Rosa Parks instead of Imperial/Wilmington. Maps and other information: www.westworld.com/~elson/larail/ BLN 846.0162][US] San Diego, CA: light rail: (BLN 816.0610) Immediately south of the handsome 1915 Santa Fe depot used also by Amtrak intercity and Coaster commuter trains, the San Diego Trolley has a double-track triangle whose north-to-east (Blue Line) and south-to-east (Orange Line) sides are both severely curved, as also is the section common to both Lines continuing north-east through America Plaza station. The straight western side of the triangle, avoiding America Plaza, is therefore very short (<50m). It is not normally used by scheduled passenger workings. However America Plaza is closed for repairs to the track, mostly embedded in roadway, from 1 March 1999 for about "one month". A temporary 'station' just to the east in C Street serves as the downtown starting-point for Blue Line cars south to the Mexican border at SanYsidro/Tijuana and Orange Line cars east to Santee. A temporary Green Line service, with a palm-tree symbol, is operating from the usual downtown terminus of the Orange Line at 12th & Imperial north via Seaport Village and the America Plaza avoiding line direct to Santa Fe Depot and beyond to Mission San Diego, normally the northern terminus of the Blue Line. Information: www.sdcommute.com. BLN 847.0163][FR] Paris: Batignolles - L'Évangile - Bercy - Tolbiac (- Grenelle - Auteuil-Boulogne - Avenue Henri Martin - Batignolles): (Ball 81B3) The Grenelle - Auteuil-Boulogne section of the Petite Ceinture, the inner ring railway close to the centre of Paris, was removed before 1982, and the Auteuil-Boulogne - Avenue Henri Martin section had gone by 1990, but much of the remainder has merely lain out of use (neutralisée) since 1992-93 (BLN 702.04, 716.03, 718.06, 744.0370). Track remains in place from Batignolles (near Gare St.Lazare) via L'Évangile (near Gare de l'Est) and Bercy (near Gare de Lyon) to Tolbiac (near Gare d'Austerlitz). Its owner, Réseau Ferré de France, the French (public-sector) equivalent of Railtrack, would not be averse to remunerative use of their unproductive asset, but SNCF remain opposed to running specials, on dubious 'technical grounds'. Nevertheless, on 23 December 1998 a special train, worked by railcar X4671 in the colours of the Picardie region and carrying officials responsible for public transport in the Île-de-France region, ran over at least part of this eastern sector of the Petite Ceinture. (partly L'Écho du Rail, #193, February 1999) BLN 847.0164][FR] St.Brieuc - Loudéac - Pontivy - St.Nicolas-des-Eaux - Auray: (BLN 846.0132; Ball 20B2-31A3) The first line to Pontivy (then called Napoléonville) was built in 1864 by the Paris-Orléans railway as a branch north from Auray, and the passenger building at Pontivy still attests to its PO origin. In 1874 the Ouest railway completed their branch south from St.Brieuc, but until the PO section became part of the État system in 1934, the two branches were worked separately, with no through running. St.Brieuc - Loudéac has an SNCF autorail twice a day as well as freight. Loudéac - Pontivy closed to passengers 28 September 1988, and is out of use for freight. Pontivy - Auray lost its passenger trains from the 1949 winter timetable, but remains open for freight. The preservation group Chemin de Fer du Centre-Bretagne based at Loudéac were in 1997 planning to restore their Picasso railcar X3890 and run tourist trains on the Loudéac - Pontivy - St.Nicolas-des-Eaux section, but their website does not suggest that trains will be running in summer 1999. Information: perso.wanadoo.fr/rail-22/cfcb.htm. BLN 847.0165][FR] Orléans trams: (BLN 814.0541) Tracklaying began at the southern end of the first line, in the La Source area of the city, on 19 January 1999. (Today's Railways, #40, April 1999) BLN 847.0166][FR] Salbris - Romorantin - Gičvres - Luçay-le-Mâle: (BLN 762.0401, 771.049, 788.0398, 793.03, 803.0253; Ball 36A1-35B1) Since its Luçay-le-Mâle - Buzançais section closed to passengers 28 September 1980, the lightly-used and rural Chemin de Fer du Blanc ŕ Argent, 67km of SNCF-owned metre-gauge track operated by a local company, has led a charmed life, and in recent years has seen new investment. On 22 December 1998 the Région du Centre decided to buy for the CFBA five air-conditioned panoramic twin railcars to be built by CFD-Bagnčres, at the former Soulé factory that provides most or all of the traffic on SNCF's Tarbes - Bagnčres-de-Bigorre freight branch (BLN 749.087; Ball 70B1-2). (L'Écho du Rail, #193, February 1999) An ADL charter using a 1948-built railcar is to tour the full CFBA line from Salbris to Luçay on 2 May 1999. BLN 847.0167][FR][DE] (Mulhouse -) Lutterbach (Haut-Rhin) - Kruth: (BLN 697.03, 723.024; Ball 41A3-40B3) Upgrading of the branch has begun, with a view to electrification and operation of light-rail vehicles through from the centre of Mulhouse, perhaps by 2003. The proposed light-rail system may eventually include reopening to Guebwiller of the Bollwiller - Guebwiller - Heissenstein - Lautenbach branch, closed in 1992 and proposed for a preservation scheme in 1995 (BLN 762.0400), and may also use the Mulhouse SNCF - Neuenburg DB line crossing the river Rhin/Rhein into Germany (BLN 796.088). (Today's Railways, #40, April 1999) BLN 847.0168][FR] Neussargues - Le Monastier - Sévérac-le-Château - Béziers: (BLN 719.03, 736.0199, 747.047, 757.0294; Ball 55A1-73B2; SNCF 544) The scenic 280km Ligne des Causses, a secondary main line, crossing Gustave Eiffel's famous Garabit viaduct, and climbing long 1-in-30 grades over the Massif Central, was electrified in the 1920s at 1500V dc by the Midi railway, whose distinctive ogival-arch catenary supports remain. One of the lightest-trafficked electric lines in the world, it has from time to time seemed threatened, but was politically difficult to close. It now looks to have a more secure future. The route of its through trains from Paris, the Clermont-Ferrand - Arvant - Neussargues section, hitherto diesel-operated, is to be electrified at 25kV 50Hz, and new 25kV electrification is also to replace the original Neussargues - Béziers wiring. (Op de Rails, 1998-12) BLN 847.0169][FR] Nice - Digne-les-Bains: (BLN 843.058; Ball 77B3-67A1-66Bl) The French government intervened on 26 January, 'inviting' SYMA to 'reconsider' the 15-year operating contract awarded to CFTA for the metre-gauge CF de la Provence line, so the strikers went back to work and rail services resumed on 31 January 1999. Concern was expressed not about the contract being let to a private firm as such, but about its terms giving inadequate guarantees of public service and poor conditions for employees. (L'Écho du Rail, #193, February 1999) BLN 847.0170][BE] (Dendermonde -) Baasrode-Noord - Puurs: (BLN 799.0163; Ball 8A2-8A3) Compared with three round-trips on each of 15 operating days in 1998, Stoomspoorlijn Dendermonde - Puurs will run on only six days in 1999 (10,11,25 July, 8,22 August and 18 September) and with one short working (Baasrode-Noord 14:00 - 15:00 Puurs 16:00 - 17:00 Baasrode-Noord), at a return fare of BEF240. Because railcar #4302, their only piece of equipment passed to run on NMBS, is out of action, SDP are unable to run from their base at Baasrode-Noord west into Dendermonde station. (Febelrail) At the Puurs end, the SDP station - which doubles as the local tourist office - is some 100m short of the now-removed junction with NMBS, so no through-running is involved. BLN 847.0171][BE] (Anderlues -) Lobbes - Thuin trams: (BLN 769.05, 840.0612, 842.026; Ball 8B1 not shown) In spite of financial difficulties and problems with the power-supply on this preserved metre-gauge line, the Association pour la Sauvegarde du Vicinal have made good progress with their tramway museum at Thuin. A maintenance pit was ready in November 1998, tracks were in place inside the depot by 15 February, and the concrete floor was finished by 11 March 1999. December 1998 saw approval of a EUR200k grant to construct a new electricity substation, and to begin on a second museum building. ASVi plan to transfer six heritage trams from Anderlues TEC depot by rail to Thuin before the new museum opens in July. Summer 1999 should see a diesel car running, joined by electric cars when the power-supply is restored. The Anderlues - Lobbes section has served to link the museum line, somewhat tenuously, with sparse passenger services, to the Charleroi - Anderlues light-rail system. Once the Thuin substation is built, it is possible ASVi may decide to abandon the Anderlues - Lobbes electric poles and overhead wiring to reduce costs, but the track will still be used for rolling-stock exchange using ASVi's two diesel tractors, at least until 2003, the planned date of completion of the second building at Thuin. Some ASVi stock is also kept at Gosselies depot, ironically the most distant point from Thuin on the entire remaining network, at the far end of the TEC's non-passenger Piges - Jumet - Gosselies Calvaire - Gosselies Dépôt branch (BLN 840.0612). When finances permit, TEC plan to reopen the whole of this branch to passengers, but their policy is to run public tram services only on routes which are mainly reserved track. From the junction at Piges along the Chaussée de Bruxelles to Jumet, the double track is still nearly all in the street. It is nevertheless in daily use by empty cars, for most of the tram fleet operates out of Jumet TEC depot and nearly all maintenance is undertaken there. From Jumet the section to Gosselies Calvaire is now mostly on reservation, with track newly laid in winter 1997-98, but it has scarcely been used since and then only by ASVi's preserved trams. Beyond Gosselies Calvaire, TEC plan to renew the old track completely, eventually establishing a new interchange between trams and buses at Gosselies Dépôt. Meanwhile it costs little or nothing to keep this section available for movement of ASVi stock once or twice a year. Information: www.asvi.org. BLN 847.0172][BE] Marbehan - Y St.Lambert - Sainte-Marie - Croix-Rouge (- Virton SNCB - Montmédy SNCF): (BLN 763.0420, 813.0524; Ball 17B2; Ligne 155) As well as visiting Croix-Rouge, whose sawmill is a freight customer at the present-day terminus of this truncated secondary line, a tour run by Patrimoine Ferroviaire et Touristique on 20 March 1999 visited the Y St.Lambert - zoning de Gantaufet industrial branch. Leaving the north-south Ligne 155 at Y St.Lambert, the c.4km single-track Ligne 289 heads east, climbing significantly, running adjacent to a road for about 1km before crossing it on the level to end in a shallow sandy cutting. There three tracks serve the modern Gantaufet industrial estate, close to the village of Etalle. The tour train stopped just short of the gate on the most northerly track. Construction of the rail connection, whose traffic is mostly or wholly Valvert mineral-water, received financial support from the local authority in order to minimise road movements. One of SNCB's most recent extensions, Ligne 289 opened to traffic on 2 June 1997, according to one GTF publication, and was formally inaugurated on 1 July 1997, according to GTF Trans-fer, #105. BLN 847.0173][DE] Linz (Rhein) - Kalenborn: (Ball 48A3) In 1994 threatened with total closure (BLN 738.0261), this very steep DB freight branch clambering up the east bank of the river Rhein has been taken over by a private-sector consortium which may run a weekend passenger service 'from 2 April till end-June 1999'. BLN 847.0174][DE] Karlsruhe trams on railways: (BLN 836.0503; Ball 57A1-58A2) DB's Pforzheim - Bad Wildbad branch is to be electrified and extended 1km into Bad Wildbad town-centre, becoming part of the growing AVG light-rail network centred on Karlsruhe. (Today's Railways, #40, April 1999) BLN 847.0175][DE] Ulm Hbf - Erbach (Württemberg) - Laupheim Stadt: (Ball 69B3) The May 1999 timetable change is to see reopening of the short Laupheim Stadt branch, diverging from the Ulm - Aulendorf (- Friedrichshafen) line just north of Laupheim West, with through passenger trains from Ulm. (Today's Railways, #40, April 1999) BLN 847.0176][AT] Hieflau - Eisenerz: (BLN 747.058, 779.0216; Ball 74A1-74B1) ÖBB plan to withdraw passenger trains by the end of May 1999. (Today's Railways, #40, April 1999) BLN 847.0177][IT] Terni - Perugia Ponte San Giovanni - Umbertide - Cittŕ di Castello - Sansepolcro: (BLN 843.067; Ball 50B1-50A3) Until 1956 the northern Umbertide - Sansepolcro section of the Ferrovia Centrale Umbra was 950mm-gauge, and one of the narrow-gauge steam locomotives is plinthed at Cittŕ di Castello railway museum. The narrow-gauge section closed, but was subsequently standard-gauged, electrified and reopened. Now ageing, the FCU's single track ambling up the valley of the river Tevere (= Tiber) is not in good condition, and semaphore signals and now-abandoned overhead wiring also reflect a past era. At Perugia Sant'Anna, graffiti-covered passenger coaches slumbered. At Umbertide, the main town on the northern section, similar coaches, freight wagons and some elderly electric locomotives were to be seen. However in late 1998 the somewhat rickety-looking bridge over the Tevere at Umbertide was being repaired, with government assistance. BLN 847.0178][IT] Napoli - Cancello - Benevento: (Ball 53B1-54A1) Notwithstanding BLN 842.042, passengers might be well advised not to attempt travel on private railways like Ferrovie Benevento-Napoli with an FS Italy Railcard. In May 1996 when a single Benevento - Napoli ticket was bought from FBN at Benevento, the ticket showed the ITL6900 fare apportioned 4200 to 2700 between FBN and FS, revealing that the state railway received a share for the Cancello - Napoli part of the journey. When the journey back was made a few days later, Napoli FS ticket-office advised that an FS Italy Railcard was valid Napoli - Cancello, that an FBN ticket was needed for Cancello - Benevento, and that the FBN ticket could be bought on the train. This was indeed all true, but the FBN fare charged was not just the expected ITL4200. The conductor exacted also a penalty of ITL10,000 plus ITL300 value-added tax for having notionally boarded an FBN train without a ticket at the staffed station of Cancello. One could of course have alighted at Cancello and bought a ticket - but the next railcar to Benevento would not have called there for two hours. The ITL10,300 penalty paid thus more than outweighed the envisaged ITL2700 saving. Complaining about this sharp practice to FBN headquarters at Benevento Appia was of course time completely wasted. BLN 847.0179][CH] Lac Léman steamers: In 1997 only four of the eight vintage (1904-27) paddle-steamers operating on Lake Geneva in summer were in fact steam-driven, for the others had their original steam propulsion supplanted many years ago by diesel power. Now new steam engines are being fitted to replace worn-out diesel-electric machinery. Compagnie Generale de Navigation sur le Lac Léman say that computer control of combustion makes operation possible from the ship's bridge without the engineers and stokers required by traditional steam, and pollution will be lower than with diesel propulsion. (partly from Daily Telegraph, 18 February 1999) BLN 847.0180][CH] Oensingen - Balsthal: (Ball 86B1) On 26 February 1999 the Oensingen Balsthal Bahn's 10:12 Monday-Friday mixed train, a single elderly ex-SBB electric railcar and one freight wagon, waited by the station building until the 10:02 ordinary passenger train left, with about ten passengers aboard, on its nine-minute journey the length of this very short railway. After a ticket check of its only passenger, BLN's reporter, the mixed train then set off, on time, past a number of factories on the outskirts of the town. No traffic, freight or passenger, was on offer at intermediate stations. At Balsthal, where the passenger was asked to alight, the yard contained a variety of vintage passenger stock as well as assorted freight wagons. The railcar shunted several wagons and, after a break, propelled the one it had brought from the junction about 200m beyond Balsthal station into a factory siding. The passenger service is under threat, for the local canton believe they can save CHF400,000 by replacing the train with a bus on the parallel road. It is not clear whether the freight would continue. BLN 847.0181][CH][DE] Koblenz SBB - Waldshut DB: (BLN 842.036; Ball 68A1, 87B3) Electric services are to begin with the May 1999 timetable, when SBB Winterthur - Zurzach trains (SBB table 701) will instead run Winterthur - Zurzach - Koblenz - Waldshut. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 1/99) BLN 847.0182][CH][DE] Etzwilen - Ramsen SBB - Rielasingen DB - Singen: (BLN 838.0583; Ball 88B3) Unless and until MThB reopen the line, connection is not made at the somewhat lonely junction, Etzwilen (BLN 836.0520), but at Stein am Rhein station, from which the bus crosses the river to serve Stein town-centre on its way to Singen. BLN 847.0183][CH] (Yverdon -) Onnens-Bonvillars - Concise (- Neuchâtel): (BLN 835.0468; Ball 91A2) From the start of October 1998 trains began to use the new Onnens - Concise alignment, at first a single track, along the shore of the Lac de Neuchâtel, and the old track has been removed. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/98) BLN 847.0184][CH] (Bern RBS -) Worblaufen - Deisswil (- Worb Dorf): (Ball 92B3) A third rail allows standard-gauge freight to work over part of the metre-gauge Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn, but the track on this section requires renewal to allow continued freight access to the Worbental valley. The federal government have offered CHF2.5M towards this investment if the canton of Bern will put up CHF3.5M. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/98) BLN 847.0185][CH] (Luzern -) Kupferhammer - Kriens: (Ball 93A3) This section of the short freight-only Kriens branch south-west of Luzern is no longer operated. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 5/98) BLN 847.0186][CH] Zürich HB - Zürich Letten: (BLN 836.0524; Ball 97A2 not shown) Part of the trackbed of this line, lifted in 1998, is to become a footpath, from Limmatstrasse across the river Limmat bridge to the former Letten station. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/98) BLN 847.0187][CZ] Ceska Trebová - Semanin - Svitavy - Skalice nad Svitavou - Brno: (Ball 41A3) On 16 September 1998 CD electrified the Ceska Trebová - Svitavy section (22km) at their 'northern' standard voltage of 3000V dc, and on 21 January 1999 energised Svitavy - Brno (72km) at their 'southern' standard of 25kV 50Hz, completing electrification of the strategic Decin - Praha - Brno - Breclav corridor. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/98) BLN 847.0188][HU] Budapest: (BLN 841.019, 842.049; EGTRE HU99/1; Ball 44B2) Track had been removed from the former mail terminal at Nyugati station by end-February 1999, but new construction on the site had not yet begun. When MÁV timetable amendment #8 took effect on 31 January, mail trains transferred from Nyugati to Keleti and some transferred from Keleti to Deli. The new schedule appears to allow time for the Budapest Keleti - Szeged mail train to be routed in a complete circle (Köbánya felsö - Rákosszentmihály - Rákosrendezö - Köbánya-Teher - Köbánya-Kispest) rather than reversing at Ferencváros. The Budapest Keleti - Nyiregyháza mail runs via line 120a. MÁV say they want to open up the basement under Keleti station and locate ticket-offices and shops there. On the Budapest Batthyány tér - Szentendre suburban BHÉV line, severe speed restrictions have been imposed north of the Budapest city boundary. BLN 847.0189][HU] Hungary: narrow-gauge forest railways: (BLN 777.0175, 821.0109) After a difficult period the remaining twelve ÁEV 760mm-gauge forest railways seem in 1999 to be faring better. Timber is being carried on an increasing number of the systems, including Csömödér, Lenti and Kaszó (Ball 46B2) and Gemenc (47B2), and all except the Lenti system have some passenger trains. By the end of 1999 new construction is to connect the Csömödér and Lenti systems with each other, creating a network of more than 100km over which timber will flow to two sawmills (BLN 836.0535). The Nagyírtás - Nagybörszöny line (Ball 42B1), closed in 1991, is shortly to reopen for passengers, and preparatory work has begun to reopen the Szob - Márianosztra - Nagyírtás section, which would link this somewhat remote line to the standard-gauge MÁV network at Szob. (Op de Rails, 99-1) BLN 847.0190][UA] Teresva - Dubovoe - Ust Chorna: This 750mm-gauge Ukrainian forest railway, whose sparse passenger service was described in BLN 810.0456, was so severely damaged by floods in November 1998 that it seems unlikely to reopen. (Today's Railways, #40, April 1999) BLN 847.0191][US] Washington, DC - New York, NY - New Haven, CT - Boston, MA: (BLN 840.0642) Following Thalys, the word invented as the brand-name for Paris - Bruxelles - Köln / Amsterdam TGVs (BLN 751.0128), and Alaris as the brand for RENFE's Madrid - Valencia tilting trains (Today's Railways, #40) comes yet another fabricated brand-name, Acela, this time for high-speed trains on the US Northeast Corridor. The word is intended to evoke 'acceleration' and 'excellence', according to Amtrak's announcement of 9 March 1999. The first of the 240km/h 304-seat electric trainsets, built by Bombardier-Alstom in north-eastern USA, is being sent westwards to the national test-track in Pueblo, CO, for extensive trials, and all twenty are to be delivered in late 1999 and early 2000. Following completion of New Haven - Boston electrification during the year, high-speed Washington - New York - Boston service should begin late in 1999, probably in December, competing for time-sensitive business travellers with Delta and US Air shuttles and with the Interstate 95 freeway. Some three-hour Washington - New York rail trips are to be cut to 2h30min, and 4h30min New York - Boston trips to three hours. To meet increased demand, Amtrak intend to double the number of trains in New England. (www2.trains.com) BLN 847.0192][US] Los Angeles, CA: Metro: (BLN 846.0161) The 7.4km five-station extension of the 'heavy-rail' Red Line from Wilshire & Vermont north and west to Hollywood & Vine, planned to open December 1998, is to be 'dedicated' on 11 June and opened to the public on 12 June 1999. The planned Blue Line light-rail extension from Los Angeles Union Station 22km north to Pasadena is slightly more likely to proceed thanks to a 12 March 1999 decision by the Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority, a specially-created body, to approve a measure of finance for a proposed 'design & build' contract. Other state and local finance will however be needed if the line is to be built by the new target-date of June 2003. The expensive project is opposed by a local bus-riders pressure-group. (Los Angeles Times, 13 March 1999) BLN 848.0193][IE] Dublin North Wall: East of Spencer Dock, where the Royal Canal meets the river Liffey estuary, the Spencer Dock Development Company are proposing a huge and controversial docklands redevelopment scheme, largely on the 24ha site of Iarnród Éireann's rail freight depots at North Wall. 'Three listed buildings, the former Midland Hotel, the former London & North Western Railway station and the Woolstore, off North Wall Quay, will be restored. A new main-line rail terminus is proposed for this area.' (Irish Times, 3 March 1999) BLN 848.0194][FR] Boulogne: Bifurcation d'Outreau - Faisceau Loubet: (Ball 6A2) Rail access to Boulogne docks is now possible only by the direct line from Bif d'Outreau through the tunnel and past the site of Boulogne-Aéroglisseurs (the former passenger station for the cross-channel hovercraft in BR Seaspeed days) to Faisceau Loubet sidings. On the alternative route from Bif d'Outreau via Boulogne Maritime (the former passenger station for the BR Sealink conventional ferry) to Faisceau Loubet, some of the track has been abandoned. BLN 848.0195][FR] St.Omer - Arques - Lumbres - Desvres - Hesdigneul (- Boulogne): (BLN 756.0270, 798.0133, 825.0197, 831.0351; Ball 6B2-6A1) A single Class BB66000 diesel locomotive works a daily freight trip out from St.Omer at c.08:00 to serve Cristal d'Arques (the firm is a big SNCF customer employing 12,000 people and every year making 2 million items in glass) and the large Ciments d'Origny cement plant at Lumbres. When seen one day in March 1999, the return working was setting off from Lumbres at c.10:00 with a number of covered vans. This traffic shares the track with the weekend operations of the CF Touristique de la Vallée de l'Aa. By contrast, the Arques - Wardrecques stub is served on demand only. Lumbres - Desvres now seems abandoned. At the western end, Hesdigneul - Desvres also sees significant freight traffic, mainly inward steel coils from Dunkerque (or from Biache-St.Vaast near Arras, via Dunkerque) to the Sollac galvanising plant at Desvres, and the resulting galvanised steel outward to Boulogne and then Tergnier or Lille-Délivrance for distribution throughout France and Europe. A pair of BB66000s work a daily trip from Dunkerque Grande Synthe via Calais to Boulogne (c.09:00) continuing, after shunting, to Desvres (c.11:00) where they shunt wagons, sometimes in and out of the plant, before returning (c.12:00) to Boulogne. BLN 848.0196][FR] Lille metro and light rail: (BLN 732.0130) Opening of the Fort de Mons - Roubaix - Tourcoing Ligne 2 extension of the city's driverless light metro (the pioneer Matra VAL system = véhicule automatique léger) has been postponed, probably until September 1999. (Today's Railways, #40, April 1999) Meanwhile the Lille - Croisé Laroche - Roubaix / Tourcoing surface tramway, re-equipped and reopened 1994, remains busy. BLN 848.0197][FR] St.Brieuc - Loudéac (- Pontivy - Auray): (BLN 847.0164; Ball 20B2-31A3) On Saturday 3 April 1999 the 13:33 St.Brieuc - Loudéac, the only train of the day, left on time with just five passengers on the two-car diesel unit. The train was advertised on the platform as calling at Quintin and Loudéac only, but before it left the conductor came through and enquired if anyone wanted it to call at any of the other request stations or halts. No stop was made at St.Julien (just a short platform and shelter) nor at Plaintel (passing-loop removed, but signs of some freight activity). The call at Quintin produced another five passengers. The loop here is still in place but out of use. Some freight traffic seems to remain, largely timber. Though the line to the freight-yard had two tree-trunks stuck into the ballast preventing access, a number of wagons stood in the yard. No stop was made at Le Pas, Ploeuc-l'Hermitage (loop removed) or Uzel (loop in place and some freight), but a passenger alighted at La Motte, a single cinder platform with a small shelter next to a level-crossing. Arrival at Loudéac was on time at 14:28, with nine passengers, of whom two continued on the rail-replacement bus to Pontivy. Loudéac's large station seemed used only by the sparse passenger service, with the gas-tank freight traffic (BLN 846.0132) keeping a low profile. The line onwards to Pontivy is very rusty and overgrown, clearly not having had traffic for some considerable time. BLN 848.0198][FR] (St.Brieuc -) Lamballe - Dinan: (BLN 759.0348; Ball 21A2-21B2) Only a sparse passenger service remains on this rural line in Brittany, yet in April 1999 Plancoet station was still staffed three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - except during the traditional long French lunch-period, naturellement. Most of the station building had however been taken over by an insurance firm. The passing-loop was still in place but out of use. Recent freight activity was evidenced by a relatively shiny loop in the yard and a rake of wagons parked there, loaded with tree-trunks. By contrast, Corseul-Languenan had been reduced to a platform, nameboard and small shelter at a level-crossing midway between its two villages, with a notice to advise intending passengers of the timetable. The former station building was bricked-up at ground-floor level and fenced off. BLN 848.0199][FR] La Brohiničre - Le Quiou-Évran (- Dinan): (Ball 21A1) La Brohiničre - Dinan closed to passengers 6 February 1939. The remaining 17.8km La Brohiničre - Le Quiou-Évran section closed to freight 1 January 1985, being officially abandoned (déclassée) in September 1992 (BLN 699.03). In April 1999 the line was devoid of track and had become a footpath and cycleway, though horses were forbidden to use it, presumably because hooves damage the surface. Plouasne station and goods-shed remained standing, in an industrial area. Le Quiou-Évran station had been pleasantly restored, complete with nameboards, at a level-crossing between its two villages. BLN 848.0200][FR] Pontoise - Ermont-Aubonne - St.Gratien - Épinay-Villetaneuse and Sartrouville - Val d'Argenteuil - Argenteuil - Épinay-sur-Seine - Épinay-Villetaneuse - Pierrefitte-Stains - Le Bourget - Bobigny - Noisy-le-Sec: (Ball 81A1-81B3) SNCF and RFF in February 1999 began consultation on the first stage of the planned RER Tangentielle Nord line, making use of the freight-only Grande Ceinture around the north of Paris to link suburbs without crossing the city-centre. Trains from Pontoise would diverge from RER line C south of St.Gratien on to a new north-to-east chord to join trains from Sartrouville on the Grande Ceinture, which would be equipped with four new stations and with new platforms above, below or close to existing stations on the suburban lines out of Paris-St.Lazare, Nord and Est, allowing interchange with RER lines A, B, C, D and E, as well as tramway T1. Earliest likely date for Sartrouville - Noisy-le-Sec trains is 2004, and of Pontoise - Épinay - Le Bourget ones 2007. BLN 848.0201][FR] Chinon - Loudun: (Ball 34B1-44A3) This line has been severed just south of the junction with the Chinon - Richelieu line used by Trains ŕ Vapeur de Touraine (BLN 814.0539). A new road roundabout occupies part of the trackbed, though track beyond remains in place. (letter in Today's Railways, #40, April 1999) BLN 848.0202][FR] St.Georges-de-Commiers - La Mure: (BLN 826.0223, 835.0456, 836.0486; Ball 57B1) From Easter Friday 2 April until end-October 1999, the CFTA-operated trains on this 30km metre-gauge electric line leave St.Georges-de-Commiers 09:45, 12:00*, 14:30, 17:00* and La Mure (Gare) 09:45*, 12:00*, 14:30, 17:00, with one-way journey-time 1h45min, calling at La Motte d'Aveillans and making photo-stops along the scenic route. Departures marked * run in July and August only. Adult round-trip fare is FRF97 (=EUR14.79). BLN 848.0203][NL] Rotterdam metro: (Ball 3B2 not shown) The two metro lines have been given names, the north-south one from Rotterdam Centraal station being the Erasmuslijn and the west-east one from Marconiplein being the Calandlijn. Churchillplein station has been renamed Beurs-Churchillplein, giving the interchange point the same name on both lines. New system maps at Eendrachtsplein in March 1999 showed a Calandlijn extension planned beyond Marconiplein south-west under the river Maas to Spijkenisse, but without any proposed opening date. A new junction and station are to be built near Hoogvliet. BLN 848.0204][NL] Lage Zwaluwe - Oosterhout-Weststad: (Ball 3B1-4A1) This freight branch ("Low Swallow - Eastwood West Town") sees some traffic to a container-repair company. The siding to the British Army car-distribution centre has gone, but so has the tree growing through the adjacent siding at Weststad, which in late March 1999 held two car-transporters. A van from France for the Whirlpool domestic-appliance company was also present. The nearby but unconnected short branch from Gilze-Rijen to Oosterhout-Vijf-Eiken ("Five Oaks"), which once served two warehouses and a car-unloading facility, is now out of use. BLN 848.0205][NL] Tilburg / 's-Hertogenbosch - Boxtel - Eindhoven: (BLN 824.0174, 844.091; Ball 4B1) Boxtel's old station building on the original island platform has gone and the northbound slow line has been realigned through the middle of the old platform site, with the fast line also to be realigned during the weekend 8-9 May 1999. This straightens the curvature and makes room for the new building on the east side closer to the town. The whole Boxtel area project, including widening from two to four tracks south through Best, is expected to be complete in 2002. BLN 848.0206][DE] Spiekeroog Alter Bahnhof - Sturmeck: horse tramway: (Ball 15B3) On the Frisian island of Spiekeroog off the North Sea coast of Germany, the 1.3km metre-gauge Pferdebahn opened in 1885, and the vehicle now in use was built in 1887 for the Stuttgart horse tramway. Services in 1999 run 15 July-24 October, Mondays excepted, though they are suspended during bad weather or if the wind-speed exceeds Force 8. Departures from the Alter Bahnhof, about a 10-minute walk from the pier, are at 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, with additional trips subject to demand. The journey takes between 10 and 15 minutes, depending on the direction of the wind. BLN 848.0207][DE] Ganzlin - Röbel (Mecklenburg): (Ball 19B2) Over Easter weekend, 3-5 April 1999, special trains were to run through between Plau am See and the freight-only Röbel branch. BLN 848.0208][DE] Eberswalde Hbf - Niederfinow - Wriezen - Werbig - Frankfurt (Oder): (Ball 21A1-30B3) Some 2km from Niederfinow station is the impressive ship-lift, completed in 1934 to replace a flight of locks on the Oder-Havel Kanal. It can be seen from the train east of Niederfinow, but this makes it hard to appreciate how large the structure is, with a height difference of no less than 36m. The lift does not operate in the winter when the canal is frozen, but on Sunday 21 March 1999 it was hard at work raising boat-loads of Polish coal. Motor-vessels typically push several unpowered cargo barges, not all of which may fit in the lift at once, so a cable system is provided to haul the dumb barges out of the lift. The cable replaced electric locomotives, one of which is preserved on a short section of track at the upper level. Seen from the train, the Bad Freienwalde - Angermünde, Wriezen - Neurudnitz and Wriezen - Tiefensee lines remained connected, but were all very rusty, with a red stop-board on the Tiefensee line (BLN 825.0205). Seasonal sugar-beet traffic has ceased on the Abzw Alt Bliesdorf - Zuckerfabrik Thöringswerder branch, which formally closed 29 December 1998, but it was still in place, well rusted, in March 1999. The St.Vossberg branch had been lifted. Werbig north-to-east curve was in use. The Libbenichen - Seelow (Mark) Stadt branch was out of use, with mud over the tracks. Boossen - Küstrin-Kietz seemed in use. Returning west from Frankfurt, a red stop-board was seen blocking the Fürstenwalde (Spree) - Beeskow line at the junction (BLN 816.0595). BLN 848.0209][DE] (Kaarst - Neuss - Düsseldorf Hbf -) Düsseldorf-Gerresheim - Mettmann (- Dornap-Hahnenfurth - Wuppertal-Vohwinkel): (Ball 33B1) This section now seems likely to reopen to passengers in September 1999 (BLN 846.0139), with new Talent diesel railcars replacing the former DB trains and running through from Kaarst to Mettmann, initially hourly till delayed signalling alterations permit greater frequency. Regiobahn plan to extend the service east of Mettmann over the freight-only section to Dornap-Hahnenfurth by 2001, and later over the closed section beyond to Wuppertal-Vohwinkel. (Today's Railways, #40, April 1999; Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 2/99) BLN 848.0210][DE] Linz (Rhein) - Kalenborn (- Flammersfeld): (Ball 48A3) This cross-country route once continued east to join the Altenkirchen (Westerwald) - Flammersfeld - Siershahn freight line, but part of it never reopened after World War II, a second part closed in the 1950s or 1960s and the present short very steep branch is the stub that remains. For such Steilstrecken (= 'steep lines') special sure-footed rolling-stock has always been needed, such as Class 94 0-10-0T steam or Class 213 diesel locomotives (BLN 738.0261) or a version of the Class 798 railbus fitted with extra braking equipment. One or two of these rare Class 798, owned by the preservation group Oberhessische Eisenbahnfreunde and managed by operators Rhein-Sieg-Eisenbahn, may be used to run the summer weekend passenger trains (BLN 847.0173) that the Eifelbahnverkehrsgesellschaft consortium hope to start in May 1999. The RSE name, once that of a historic Kleinbahn, was resurrected by the founders of the private company set up to rescue the Bonn-Beuel - Hangelar Industriebahn Beuel-Groenbusch (BLN 763.0422; Ball 36B1). RSE are licensed not only as 'rail infrastructure managers' (Eisenbahninfrastrukturunternehmen) for the Hangelar line but also have significant business as 'rail transport operators' (Eisenbahnverkehrsunternehmen) on the DB network, handling, for example, most if not all Adtranz vehicles going on test-runs or in transit to and from customers. RSE acquired some MAN railbuses from SWEG, and these have been used by railtours, including IBSE's February 1999 trip in the Köln area. BLN 848.0211][DE] Zeitz - Teuchern - Weissenfels: (Ball 42B2) Notwithstanding BLN 810.0436, Karsdorfer Eisenbahn Gesellschaft have not become operators of passenger services at their own hand. Till 31 December 1998 the railbuses owned and maintained by KEG were leased to and crewed by DB, but from 1 January 1999 they have been leased to Burgenlandbahn, a new operating company jointly owned by DB and KEG (50%-50%). Burgenlandbahn now run local trains around Zeitz and Merseburg (KBS551, 585, 586, 587 and part of KBS588) and have their own staff, many of them ex-DB. From 1 January, the local timetables changed significantly, and new regular services make scheduling trips over this group of lines rather easier. Hourly Zeitz - Weissenfels trains (KBS551) run, with alternate ones conveying a Naumburg portion detached or attached at Teuchern, doubling the Weissenfels service and providing the Teuchern - Naumburg section with trains every day. With a driving-cab extending only just over half the car width, the new railcars used give passengers an excellent forward view. On the Weissenfels - Merseburg section (KBS581) elderly MAN railbuses are still in use. De-electrified since about 1996, Merseburg - Mücheln (Geiseltal), has an hourly service, with alternate trains continuing Mücheln - Querfurt (KBS586). Merseburg - Buna-Werke - Schafstädt (KBS588) trains are also hourly. Though its passenger trains ceased at the end of 1998, the Querfurt - Vitzenburg section (BLN 841.04) remains open for empty-stock movements. BLN 848.0212][DE] Zwickau - Plauen: (BLN 818.030; Ball 43A1-42B1-53A3-54B2) Bavarian-owned private operators Vogtlandbahn GmbH now run four lightly-trafficked ex-DB rural routes wandering through the Vogtland area of south-west Saxony and eastern Thuringia: Zwickau - Reichenbach - Herlasgrün - Plauen - Adorf - Bad Brambach (blue route; KBS544); Zwickau - Lengenfeld - Falkenstein - Zwotental - Adorf (red; KBS539); Reichenbach - Herlasgrün - Falkenstein - Zwotental - Klingenthal (green; KBS539); and Plauen - Schönberg - Schleiz West (orange; KBS543). A useful DEM12 day-ticket is available on the red and green routes excluding the Reichenbach - Herlasgrün section. Information: www.vogtlandbahn.de. The new Zwickau Hbf - Glück Auf - Zwickau Zentrum line is under construction, leaving the existing line north of Zwickau-Schedewitz and heading east on the formation of an industrial siding. At the Glück Auf commercial centre the tracks become three-rail mixed-gauge (standard and metre) and head north into the town-centre. From the end of May 1999 Vogtlandbahn's one-person-operated light low-floor RegioSprinter diesel railcars are to use this street-running section, sharing it with the metre-gauge town trams from September 1999 when they extend south through the centre to serve Glück Auf. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 2/99) At Herlasgrün, a new platform has been built on the south-to-west curve (shown in Ball as out of use) and this is to be used from the May 1999 timetable by Vogtlandbahn trains from Falkenstein to Plauen. As part of route modernisation before the take-over from DB, track layouts were much simplified. The Muldenberg - Schönheite Ost freight branch is disconnected at the junction. At Klingenthal, trains stop at a new or rebuilt platform south of the station building and adjacent to the bus station on the site of the former tram terminus. Two trams are on display but the small railway museum in the station building is open at weekends only. Beyond Klingenthal a sizeable rail bridge is missing over a main road on the German side of the Czech border, but Der Schienenbus for April/May 1999 reports that rebuilding of the line the short distance to Hranicna is to start in May 1999 for completion by March 2000. Vogtlandbahn trains will then run through to Sokolov, operated by Czech VIAMONT crews south of Kraslice (BLN 848.0233). BLN 848.0213][DE][FR] Dillingen (Saar) - Niedaltdorf DB - Guerstling SNCF - Bouzonville: (Ball DE-55B3, FR-18B1) The 8.7km border-crossing section is normally freight-only (BLN 754.0229), having lost its passenger service 28 May 1949, but on Friday 2 April 1999 special trains ran from Dillingen in connection with an Easter market in Bouzonville. The regular Dillingen - Niedaltdorf passenger service is worked by Class 212 diesels and push-pull sets, one of which was used on the four return trips to Bouzonville, which were well-patronised throughout the day. The specials were fitted around the ordinary DB service, and only one crossing move seems to have been booked at Hemmersdorf, the sole intermediate block-post. The 20km link, opened in 1901 as part of a through route to Metz when French Alsace-Lorraine was still German Elsass-Lothringen, has features characteristic of German railways of the time, but its junctions were laid out in a manner requiring much expensive construction. Trains leave Dillingen from platforms on the east side of the Saarbrücken - Trier main line and cross a flyover to head west, while at the other end a dive-under takes them below the electrified Béning - Thionville freight line to arrive at Bouzonville on the west side. The buildings at Guerstling, latterly the French border station, still stand. BLN 848.0214][DE] Germany: reopenings: The following lines are at various stages of consideration for possible reopening to passengers, according to Today's Railways for April 1999: Osberghausen - Wiehl - Hermesdorf - Waldbröl (Ball 38B1; work started; initial reopening to Wiehl) (Andernach -) Mayen Ost - Gerolstein (BLN 836.0491; Ball 48A3-47B2; recommended by study) Darmstadt-Eberstadt - Pfungstadt (Ball 49B1; under consideration) Wiesbaden Ost - Bad Schwalbach (Ball 50B1-49A2; Aartalbahn ; local authorities planning on reopening) Wächtersbach - Bad Orb (BLN 752.0154; Ball 51A2; last timetabled train 4 March 1995; special in Nov 1998) Forchheim - Hemhofen (Ball 52B1; local authorities have decided on reopening) Dombühl - Dinkelsbühl (BLN 833.0425; Ball 59A1-59A2; local authorities have decided on reopening) BLN 848.0215][AT] Austria: narrow-gauge freight: ÖBB Rail Cargo Austria are withdrawing all freight services from their 760mm-gauge lines. Freight on the Zell am See - Krimml Pinzgauer Bahn (BLN 789.0432; Ball 81A3-80B3) ceased at the September 1998 timetable change, and during 1998 also on the St.Pölten - Ober Grafendorf - Loich (- Mariazell) Mariazellerbahn and the Ober Grafendorf - Ruprechtshofen - Wieselburg an der Erlauf section. Wieselburg - Gresten was regauged to standard for freight to continue (BLN 840.0618-9; 75A3-74B2). On the Gross Gerungs - Gmünd NÖ - Litschau Waldviertelbahn (BLN 839.0596-7; 63B1-63B2) and the Waidhofen an der Ybbs - Gstadt - Ybbsitz / Lunz am See Ybbstalbahn (BLN 839.0601; 74A2-74B2), cessation of all freight piggybacked on narrow-gauge transporters is likely at the May 1999 timetable change, though this may be postponed to early October. Austria is to have a general election on 3 October 1999. BLN 848.0216][AT] Gmünd NÖ - Alt Nagelberg - Brand - Litschau: (BLN 839.0597; Ball 63B2) At km3.8, between the former Gmünd-Böhmzeil and Breitensee halts, a private siding served directly from Gmünd has seen some quite heavy waste traffic inbound to builders Leyrer & Graf for recycling as construction material. Most of the year one train a month has sufficed to serve the rest of the line, normally on Fridays, with approximate timings Gmünd 10:45 - 12:10 Litschau 12:40 Gmünd 14:00. Loadings have varied, but most freight in recent years has been timber, loaded on Rs or Eaos standard-gauge bogie wagons at Alt Nagelberg, Brand or Litschau, with some grain loaded in Tds or similar wagons at Litschau Lagerhaus. Between January and March, the conditional freight train has run up to twice a week. On four Sundays in 1998 (21 June, 2,23 August, 4 October) a steam-hauled ÖBB Nostalgie passenger train ran Gmünd - Litschau - Gmünd, with an additional photographers' special working Litschau - Alt Nagelberg - Litschau, meeting the regular WSV steam trains on the Alt Nagelberg - Heidenreichstein line (Saturdays and Sundays, July-September; BLN 839.0598). The ÖBB Nostalgie trains in 1998 were insufficiently used, so in 1999 only one is scheduled, on Sunday 1 August in connection with a local festival at Litschau. A charter is to run to Litschau on Friday 8 October for the members of the German group ARGE-Schmalspur who hold their annual general meeting at Gmünd on 9 October. The weekend 9-10 October is to see a Schmalspur-Expo 1999 event at Gmünd, with three Gmünd - Weitra and Gmünd - Alt Nagelberg return specials using different locomotives (#399.03, 399.04, 2091.03). The latter specials will connect with WSV trains. Information: www.byronny.at/bahn/wsv/ENGL/times.htm and www04.netway.at/schmalsp/schmalsp.nsf/. (Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnverein) BLN 848.0217][PT] Porto trams: (BLN 818.037, 844.098) On 20 March 1999 an ADL charter tram ran Infante - Massarelos - Castelo do Queijo - Boavista - Castelo do Queijo - Massarelos - Carmo, and service trams were also seen running through between Castelo do Queijo and Massarelos. By 27 March several weeks' work had been completed on the short in-town sections Carmo - Massarelos and Infante - Massarelos, and one tram was in service on these, giving it seems an hourly service till 19:00 in the evening. Three trams were in service running perhaps half-hourly Boavista - Castelo do Queijo - Foz (Passeio Alegre), but the riverside section Passeio Alegre - Massarelos was closed, with works under way on a building close to the line, and trackworks on this section also due to begin shortly. Future tram operation is to centre on Massarelos depot, beside the museum. Boavista tram depot was in use, but due to close by May 1999, its site to be used for a musical/cultural building. Restoration of trams to the city-centre section from Porto Săo Bento CP station downhill to Infante has been proposed, as also on the outer section beyond Castelo do Queijo north to Matosinhos. Trolleybus operation has ceased in Porto, but wires remain. BLN 848.0218][PT] (Porto -) Contumil - Săo Gemil - Custóias - Leixőes: (BLN 798.0141, 819.059; Ball 7A1) CP's broad-gauge branch to Leixőes docks is electrified and in good condition, in contrast to poor track and no wiring on the north-to-west Ermesinde - Săo Gemil chord giving access to the branch from the Douro valley. South-west of the point where the Leixőes branch crosses beneath the Porto Trindade - Custóias - Póvoa de Varzim metre-gauge line lies the modern EMEF railway works at Custóias, on a green-field site with connections from both gauges. North of Custóias metre-gauge station, a south-to-west connection carries metre-gauge shuttle trains for workers to a basic platform, used on 23 March 1999 by an ADL party detraining to visit the works. It is not clear whether any regular service calls at the other works platform, apparently new, on the broad-gauge line, but the visitors later joined a special train there, running to Leixőes station, still staffed but with no passenger service. BLN 848.0219][PT] (Porto -) Trofa - Lousado - Santo Tirso - Lordelo - Guimarăes: (BLN 826.0235, 828.0289, 838.0579; Ball 7A1-7B1) The metre-gauge element of the mixed-gauge track between Trofa and Lousado has gone. CP are building a new four-platform Lousado station east of the old one. Only the two platforms on the line east to Santo Tirso were in use in March 1999, but track already laid showed that the line north to Famalicao is to deviate significantly to the east of its old route. Between Lousado and Santo Tirso broad-gauge has replaced metre-gauge, with earthworks making it difficult to see how closely the new follows the old formation. Broad-gauge trains run through from Porto, or from the northern bay platform at Trofa, to a new two-platform Santo Tirso station, west of the former one, making a temporary end-on connection there with metre-gauge trains eastwards. These are to cease from October 1999, when conversion to broad-gauge will begin from Santo Tirso east to Lordelo and eventually Guimarăes. BLN 848.0220][PT] Aveiro - Agueda - Sernada do Vouga - Oliveira de Azemeis - Espinho: (BLN 843.064; Ball 17A3) Closure to passengers of the central Agueda - Sernada do Vouga - Oliveira de Azemeis section of the metre-gauge Linha do Vouga has been proposed, with more frequent trains on the two remaining stubs. The line's depot and workshops are at Sernada, so Agueda - Sernada track might remain, but a housebuilder wants to buy part of the Sernada - Oliveira trackbed. BLN 848.0221][PT] Tua - Mirandela - Carvalhais (- Bragança): (BLN 832.0385; Ball 8B1) The CP's remaining Tua - Mirandela service and the local Mirandela Metro are kept apart by a yellow bar across the metre-gauge track, north of Mirandela CP station and south of the two new platforms beside the bus-station whence the Metro's diesel railcars run north on the 4km section to Carvalhais, reopened 28 July 1995. Several new intermediate stopping-points include one named after Jacques Delors, retired president of the Commission of the European Union, whose taxpayers largely financed this rather lavish little rail project. Carvalhais has been given a modern depot to look after the four LRV2000 railcars. Beyond, the line to Bragança remains out of use. The operators of the Metro are seeking to take over the Tua - Mirandela service from CP, no doubt restoring through-running at Mirandela, but this had not happened by 21 March 1999 when an ADL tour party changed trains at this small Portuguese country town, walking between its two stations. BLN 848.0222][ES] Hendaia/Hendaye - Irun - Donostia/San Sebastián - Bilbao/Bilbo Atxuri: (BLN 831.0360; Ball 6A2-5B1) The Thomas Cook timetable indicates that the fast metre-gauge Euska-Pullman service requires reservations, but trying to book at San Sebastian in the morning for the afternoon train to Bilbao was met initially with incomprehension. Eventually, presumably just to pacify his two non-Spanish-speaking tourist customers, the EuskoTren booking-clerk produced tickets, but no seat reservations. It seems the procedure is just to buy a ticket when starting one's journey - if the next train is the Euska-Pullman the ticket is for it, since the fares are now the same as for ordinary trains. In fact, advance purchase of tickets caused a minor problem at Bilbao, where the automatic barriers rejected them, presumably because the time of issue was too early! BLN 848.0223][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo - Desertu-Barakaldo - Muskiz / Santurtzi: (BLN 792.0513; Ball 5B3-5A3) The riverbank suburban terminus of La Naja is closed and RENFE services now run from the nearby main station, Bilbao Abando, using a former freight-only link to reach the branches to Muskiz and Santurtzi. On 15 March 1999 rails were being lifted on the old line from La Naja north along the river Nervion. BLN 848.0224][ES] Bilbao - Aranguren - Santander - Gijon - Aviles - Pravia - Ribadeo - Xove - Ortigueira - San Sadurnino - Xuvia - Ferrol: (BLN 823.0160; Ball 5B3-1B2) From Bilbao westward FEVE serve well over 150 stations and halts on their very lengthy metre-gauge line along Spain's north coast to Ferrol. The principal freight traffic in March 1999 appeared to be double-headed trains of sheet metal coils from Aviles eastward to Bilbao. A container terminal at Xove (Jove Pueblo in Ball) seemed active, as indicated by a diesel locomotive with several wagons and two lorries loading or unloading containers there. At the far western end, two stations (Virxe de Mar and Santa Icia) lie between Pineiros and Ferrol, not one (Santa Cecilia) as shown in Ball. Presumably Santa Icia is Galician for Santa Cecilia. In addition to the long-distance services shown in the Thomas Cook timetable, Ferrol's FEVE station in spring 1999 has 24 departures, mainly short-haul workings to Xuvia (Jubia in Ball) but with a number extended to San Sadurnino and one to Ortigueira on workdays. BLN 848.0225][ES] Oviedo - San Claudio - Trubia: (BLN 846.0148; Ball 3A3) The broad-gauge RENFE station and the new metre-gauge FEVE station at Oviedo are linked by a wide walkway above the platforms, all under the same high roof, above which a public open space is being created. North of the RENFE platforms, FEVE have an island platform and another platform with a bay at each end. In March 1999 station information was still primitive, with no monitors, departure or arrival boards, and platform numbers given out solely by the public-address system, poorly attuned to the station's acoustics. A few local timetables were stuck to the walls in a rather random order. On the now-regauged ex-RENFE branch, three FEVE stations - Argońas-Lavapies, Las Campas and Las Mazas - are now shown between Oviedo and San Claudio, the first station shown in Ball. BLN 848.0226][ES] (Madrid -) Tres Cantos - Colmenar Viejo - Aranda de Duero - Burgos: (BLN 694.02, 780.0246, 816.0603, 820.074; Ball 21A2-11A3) The Tres Cantos - Colmenar Viejo section is to be electrified and included in the Madrid Cercanías suburban network. North of the suburban area, however, the spectacular 282km route, completed as late as 1968, seems threatened, for only one regular daily service remains, a Madrid - Bilbao / Hendaye Talgo which still makes an Aranda call in each direction. The Madrid - Paris Talgo sleeper was re-routed via Valladolid in 1997 and the weekend-only Madrid - Burgos regional trains ceased from 8 August 1998, closing all intermediate stations except Aranda. (Today's Railways, #39, March 1999) BLN 848.0227][ES] Madrid-O'Donnell - Aeropuerto de Madrid-Barajas: (Ball 22B3) At a time when many countries are improving rail links to airports, the short freight branch to Madrid-Barajas, built in the 1950s but out of use since an aviation-fuel pipeline replaced it in 1983, was lifted at the end of 1998. (Today's Railways, #39, March 1999) BLN 848.0228][ES] Madrid - Salamanca: (Ball 21A2-19B3) From 7 February 1999 RENFE's Tren Regional Diesel units have reduced the Madrid - Salamanca journey-time to just over 2h30min. However, the service is still only three through trains daily each way, now comprising two coaches instead of the three usual on the old regional trains. Furthermore, reservations are required, restricting the choice of seats, and the TRDs have fixed seating rather than the reversible seat-backs of the old sets that usually allowed one to choose to travel facing forwards. The 07:45 Salamanca - Madrid TRD on 22 March 1999 carried, in addition to the conductor, two hostesses whose sole task seemed to be to stand in the doorways at stations and hand out a free newspaper. The advertised bar ambulante service was not provided and the set had only one working toilet for an almost full train. To achieve the 2h30min end-to-end time, several stops have been eliminated. This led to a demonstration on 21 March at Babilfuente, protesting against the removal of the direct service to Madrid and against the new trains running fast through their community - probably because their speed hazards locals given to the common Spanish practice of walking freely across or along railway lines. The suburban junction of Villalba de Guadarrama (Ball 20B2) has an east-facing bay platform unusually numbered zero, which is labelled for use by Madrid Chamartín - Atocha - Principe Pio - Villalba Cercanías C10 trains BLN 848.0229][ES] Madrid - Aranjuez - Cuenca - Valencia: (Ball 21A2-32A3) On this 400km non-electrified route from the capital to one of the principal cities on the Mediterranean coast, a few stations are staffed, but otherwise it is virtually impossible to distinguish which are closed and which are open, since both have some sort of name-board and both seem equally derelict. At Yémeda-Cardenete, where two passengers joined the train, not only was the station building derelict but so were all the other four buildings in the vicinity. The settlement pattern of central Spain is typically villages rather than single farmhouses, so where a settlement is at a distance from the railway, the station that purports to serve the village can appear amazingly remote and isolated in the middle of nowhere. BLN 848.0230][IT] Venezia metro?: A metro has been proposed, running in a loop Mestre FS - Venezia Aeroporto Marco Polo - Murano - Venezia Centrale/San Francesco della Vigne - Lido - Giudecca - Santa Lucia FS, in narrow 4m-diameter tunnels except for the Mestre - Aeroporto surface section. An unusual feature would be its use by night to carry goods. (Sunday Telegraph, 7 March 1999) However, this is the city that has dithered for decades about investment to halt its own gradual descent beneath the Adriatic. Don't hold your breath. BLN 848.0231][NO] Grong - Namsos: (Ball 6A3-5B3) Poor track, and the expense of keeping some 70 level-crossings clear of snow in winter, were to lose the 51km freight-only Namsosbane its remaining traffic from the beginning of 1999, though formal closure has been deferred, perhaps till a national rail planning review in 2002. (Today's Railways, #39, March 1999) A special train was to visit Sira - Flekkefjord (Ball 19B2), a short out-of-use branch off the Oslo - Stavanger line, on 17 April 1999. BLN 848.0232][NO] Hjuksebř - Tinnoset - (Tinnsjř train-ferry) - Mćl - Rjukan: (Ball 20B3-12A1) Swedish preservation group Svenska Motorvagnsklubben are to visit these out-of-use Norwegian freight lines with their railtour of 21-25 May, to be repeated 4-8 August 1999 (OEIS 9904, 9911). The inland lake Tinnsjř is part of a hydro-electric system and its water-level varies, but SMoK hope to take their X21 railcar through on the train-ferry to visit the isolated Rjukanbane section without change of train. BLN 848.0233][CZ] Sokolov - Kraslice - Hranicna CD (- Klingenthal DB): (BLN 752.0166, 802.0237, 842.047, 848.0212); Ball 35A1) Private-sector operators VIAMONT continue to use the former CD rolling-stock. On the outward journey from Sokolov the locomotive runs round at Kraslice, and propels the 4km to Hranicna, a very basic platform with no loop, at km27, about 200m south of the German frontier. An up branch train was quite well used by people who had been shopping across the border in Klingenthal, only a short walk (<1km) away. BLN 848.0234][HU] Szob - Szobi Köbánya - Márianosztra - Nagyírtás - Nagybörzsöny: (BLN 847.0189; Ball 42B1) Though the Szob - Szobi Köbánya section remained in freight-only use carrying stone (BLN 797.0117) after the rest of the 760mm-gauge line closed, some of the track south of Márianosztra is missing, and the Márianosztra - Nagyírtás section is in very poor condition. The Nagyírtás - Nagybörzsöny section may reopen to passengers in summer 1999, but progress has not been rapid and only a few enthusiasts are yet available to run the line. BLN 848.0235][HU] Budapest-Ferencváros - Köbánya-Kispest: (BLN 841.019, 847.0188; EGTRE HU99/1; Ball 44B2) It appears that the Budapest Keleti - Szeged mail train is attached to the rear of the Budapest Keleti - Kiskunhalas train and runs thus to Ferencváros, where it is detached. Another V43 locomotive then comes on the rear and hauls it via Köbánya-Kispest non-stop to Cegléd and onward to Szeged. BLN 848.0236][HU] Budapest Széchenyi-hegy - Hüvösvölgy: (BLN 777.0175; Ball 44A2-44A1) The 760mm-gauge Budapest Children's Railway (Budapesti Gyermekvasút) opened its first 3.1km section in July 1948, and completion of the present 11.2km line followed in August 1950. The line, still worked largely by young volunteer staff, remains a popular way of visiting the attractive wooded hills just west of the capital. In recent years, support of business sponsors and the Soros Foundation has become important, but state railway MÁV still maintain the nine diesel-hydraulic locomotives and provide adult drivers. (Financial Times, 27 March 1998) The Hungarian-language website www.c3.hu/~gyvasut includes the line's timetable (= menetrend). BLN 848.0237][BG][RO] Bulgarian and Romanian narrow-gauge: (BLN 825.0218) The remaining two 762mm-gauge railway systems in Bulgaria (Septemvri / Pazardzhik - Varvara - Dobrinishte; Ball 52B2, and Cherven Bryag - Oryakhovo; 52B3), both still with public passenger services, are to be visited by an innovative railtour planned by TransilvIBSE for 10-17 July 1999. Also offered will be a 600mm-gauge salt railway in Bulgaria and industrial and forestry lines in Romania, including Covasna - Comandau, with its horse-haulage and famous incline (BLN 839.0606). Information: www.ibse.de; fax +49 6221 372903; telephone +49 6221 374069; leaflet in English. BLN 848.0238][KH][TH] Sihanoukville (Kompong Som) - Phnom Penh - Sisophon - Poipet CFC - Aranyaprathet RSR: Cambodia's railway comprises two single-track metre-gauge lines carrying both passengers and freight from the capital Phnom Penh to the port of Sihanoukville in the south and to the town of Sisophon in the north-west. Some stretches of rail were first laid in the 1920s, and the Chemins de Fer du Cambodge have suffered decades of war and neglect, with little investment since French colonial times. In 1998 the last Khmer Rouge guerrillas surrendered, bringing peace to the whole country for the first time since the late 1960s. The 48km line between Sisophon and the Cambodian border town of Poipet, and the 6km beyond to the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet, out of use since the early 1970s but with track still in place, may now be reopened to boost cross-border trade. No estimates of project costs or time-scale were revealed by the Royal Cambodian Railway announcement on 7 April 1999, but Cambodian and Thai officials were to meet later in April to work out details. (Reuters) BLN 848.0239][AU] Railways of Victoria: Some notes updating, amplifying and amending the BLN 843 supplement: Gauge: The Melbourne Spencer Street - Tottenham - Albury (- Sydney) route had standard-gauge track added in 1962. On the Melbourne - Adelaide route, standard-gauge was completed in 1995: Melbourne - Tottenham is common with the Sydney route; Tottenham - Newport is mixed-gauge; Newport - North Shore (junction for Geelong) had a new standard-gauge single track laid in parallel; North Shore - Gheringhap (north-west of Geelong) is mixed-gauge; from Gheringhap (where the broad-gauge diverges to Ballarat) to Ararat (about 200km from Melbourne) a broad-gauge minor line was converted to standard; and from Ararat into South Australia the former broad-gauge main line was likewise converted. In broad-gauge days Melbourne - Adelaide trains ran via Ballarat and Ararat, but now the V/Line broad-gauge passenger service on that route goes no further than Ballarat - whose station, dating from 1862 and still complete with its overall roof, is an architectural gem. Passenger services: In the Thomas Cook timetable, the Melbourne - Sydney Daylight XPT is now the Olympic Spirit, and the Overnight XPT is the Southern Cross. Melbourne - Stony Point service requires a change at Frankston from an electric to a diesel unit, as indeed the suburban map indicates. Freight services: Australian National Railways, set up by the Commonwealth (federal) government in 1975, latterly owned the former Commonwealth Railways (across the Nullarbor Plain and to Alice Springs), and ran the non-urban parts of South Australia's railways (taken over 1978), and the Tasmanian Government Railways (taken over 1977). ANR operated interstate passenger and both inter- and intra-state freight services until they were sold off in 1998. National Rail, set up in 1992 and owned by the Commonwealth, New South Wales and Victoria, are interstate rail freight operators, owning no track. National Rail freight trains run on routes between Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice Springs and Perth. The federal government have announced that they intend to sell their interest in National Rail , 72.3% of the equity, but only 45.3% of the voting shares. Suburban map: For 'Royal Oak' read Royal Park. The broad- and standard-gauge lines to Albury leave the Bendigo line at Albion, between Sunshine and St.Albans, not at St.Albans itself. The Port Melbourne and St.Kilda lines were not in fact closed, but converted to standard-gauge light-rail, linked to the city tram system. Old lines not shown include the Hawthorn - Kew branch (from Hawthorn, between Burnley and Camberwell, 1.5km north to Kew), closed to passengers in 1952 and competely in 1957; and the Fairfield - Riversdale line (from Fairfield, between Clifton Hill and Eltham, to Riversdale, the first station on the Alamein branch), the last main section of which (Deepdene - East Camberwell) closed to passengers in 1927 and completely in 1943. The Alamein line also used to continue to Oakleigh, between Caulfield and Springvale, but this closed in the 1890s. Electrification: The line to Sale (BLN 845.0126) used to be wired beyond Warragul as far as Traralgon. Rolling-stock: As well as the Comeng and (Australian-built) Hitachi electric units, Melbourne's broad-gauge suburban network has a solitary Goninan-built Tangara double-deck unit, as used extensively on the standard-gauge in Sydney. The Sprinter railcars are not confined to short-distance workings, but are also used for longer journeys, such as Melbourne -Ballarat. BLN 849.0240][FR] France: freight branches: The St.Quentin - Foreste (- Villers-Aubigny) line (Ball 15B2) had been lifted by April 1999. The St.Erme - Sissonne branch to the French army's Camp de Sissonne (16A1 not shown) was open and clearly used, as was Aguilcourt-Variscourt - Berry-au-Bac (16A1) which had fertiliser traffic in summer 1998. Dole-Ville - Mont-sous-Vaudrey (39A1-49B3) appeared to be in use at least as far as Parcey. Remoulins-Pont-du-Gard - Uzčs (BLN 806.0338; 64A1) was still in place but out of use, with level-crossing barriers removed. A couple of times a month the Barbentane-Rognonas - Châteaurenard - Plan-d'Orgon branch (65A1-75A3) receives a block train of potash from Richwiller near Mulhouse (41A3). Two shunters based at the small Châteaurenard shed of local operators Régie Départmentale des Transports des Bouches-du-Rhône (BDR) were seen in April 1999 splitting the nineteen-wagon train into three rakes, working them to the fertiliser factory at Plan-d'Orgon on the Tuesday and returning the empties as one train on the Thursday. The Cavaillon - Apt branch (65A1-65B1) had been lifted apart from a short stub at Cavaillon, though Apt station was still extant. The Le Cailar - Trinquetaille (- Arles) branch across the Camargue marshes (74B3-75A3) appeared out of use at the eastern end, close to Arles. BDR has a depot at Arles and shunts some factory sidings close to the station. Arles - Fontvieille (75A3) serves a French army base, and a large tank wagon was seen at Fontvieille just outside the gates of the base. Apart from a short stub near the junction, Arles - Mas-Thibert (- Port-St.Louis) (BLN 762.0403; 75A3) was out of use, with level-crossing barriers removed. Cheval Blanc - Pertuis - Meyrargues (75B3), proposed for partial reopening to passengers (BLN 825.0202), was in use and in good condition. At Cheval Blanc, a short stub off the Paris - Marseille main line has been electrified to serve an LGV-Mediterranée construction base recently built south of the line to Meyrargues but still north of the river Durance. BLN 849.0241][BE] (Anderlues -) Lobbes - Thuin trams: (BLN 847.0171; Ball 8B1 not shown) Thuin's new Vicinal museum was connected to the metre-gauge running line by 16 April 1999. During April, ASVi were fettling up the connection, building a passenger platform in front of the museum, tidying the site and putting up signs etc. May was to see transfer by rail and road of various items of stock. Public opening is planned for 4 July 1999, with a diesel presence guaranteed so that if necessary a tram service can run independently of the electricity supply. BLN 849.0242][DE][PL] Wolgaster Fähre - Zinnowitz - Seebad Heringsdorf - Ahlbeck Grenze: (BLN 807.0355, Ball 13B1-14A1) Under discussion between DB and PKP is a further short extension of Usedomer Bäderbahn regional trains back beyond Ahlbeck Grenze to Swinoujscie in Poland, formerly the German town of Swinemünde, with on-train border-checks being undertaken to minimise delays. (www.bahn.de) BLN 849.0243][DE] Karlsruhe trams on railways: (BLN 836.0503; Ball 57A2-58A2) Main-line electrification above the DB Eppingen - Heilbronn line is complete and through Karlsruhe - Eppingen - Heilbronn Hbf services using light-rail vehicles were to start at the end of March 1999, but on weekends and holidays only, with diesel traction (railcars or hauled stock) continuing Mondays-Fridays till the September 1999 timetable change. The service is to be extended from the forecourt of Heilbronn Hbf over a street-running section under 750V dc wiring into the town-centre, which is planned to open in mid-2000. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 2/99) BLN 849.0244][DE] Cham (Oberpfalz) - Waldmünchen: (Ball 61A3) This lightly-trafficked 22km branch near the Czech border was on 14 March 1999 being worked by Regentalbahn's refurbished driver-only Esslingen railcar VT07, a down journey carrying two passengers and the corresponding up journey four. The only freight is from a rubbish-loading siding south of Wilmering, the first station, all other sidings having been either removed or secured out of use. Waffenbrunn and Balbersdorf halts have very basic 'platforms' of rubble, and even the branch terminus, Waldmünchen, is now an unstaffed halt - though it has been given a modern warning-sign ('Beware of incoming and passing (sic) trains! Stand clear of the platform edge') A rather more sensible investment has been made at the penultimate station, Grub (Oberpfalz), in the shape of a new wooden waiting-shelter. (IBSE) BLN 849.0245][DE] Prien-am-Chiemsee - Prien-Stock: (BLN 829.0309; Ball 72A2; KBS10602) Closure is no longer in prospect for the short but attractive metre-gauge line linking Prien DB station with Prien-Stock lakeside pier. The cruise-vessel company, the local authorities and the province of Bavaria have agreed to share the Chiemseebahn's operating deficit. (Drehscheibe, via IBSE) BLN 849.0246][PT] (Lisboa Oriente -) Entrecampos - Fogueteiro: (BLN 844.099; Ball 25B1) An advertisement promoting Portugal in The Economist for 17 April 1999 quoted July 1999 as the month for inauguration of the Fertagus services which will use the rail-deck retrofitted to the 1966-built Ponte 25 de Abril suspension-bridge over the river Tejo. 'Passengers will travel in 18 blue-and-white high-tech trains made by GEC-Alsthom ... [comprising] four two-tier carriages ... [with] air-conditioning and background music. The trains will run almost 24 hours a day at intervals of 7.5 minutes.' Today's Railways for May 1999 suggested 26 June as the start date. BLN 849.0247][CZ] Sinister Czech movements: On most CD double-track lines trains run on the right, but left-hand running is the rule on the Cheb - Kadan section in the north-west (Ball 35A1-35B1) and on the whole of the (Wien - Bernhardstal ÖBB -) Breclav CD - Prerov - Prosenice - Hranice na Morave - Bohumín route (41B2-42B3). The west-east Praha - Olomouc - Prosenice - Hranice na Morave - Horni Lidec CD (- Zilina ZSR - Kosice) main line shares tracks with the Breclav - Bohumín route for about 20km, and to avoid conflicting movements both ends of the common section (42A3) have quite lavish grade-separated junctions, a relatively rare feature on Czech passenger lines. The triangle north of Prerov has a flat junction at its western vertex but at the eastern vertex the westbound track towards Olomouc flies over all the other lines. North-east of the triangle is quite a long section of four tracks, only merging into two at Prosenice station, and then a short distance beyond Drahotuše the eastbound line for Slovakia dives under the other lines to run parallel, over a separate viaduct, into Hranice na Morave station. Most routes in the Czech Republic are signalled for bi-directional working, and operational requirements often result in trains not using the 'obvious' route at these junctions. BLN 849.0248][HU] Budapest Nyugati: (BLN 847.0188; Ball 44B2) New passenger platforms 20-22 have been built virtually overnight alongside the truncated tracks leading into the former mail facility in this terminus. Further works at Nyugati will see some trains terminating short at Rákosrendezö from the next minor amendment to the MÁV timetable (#9, 26 April 1999). A temporary car-park is to cover tracks 1-7 until about November 1999. BLN 849.0249][HU][YU][BG][TR] Budapest - Beograd - Sofia - Istanbul: (Ball 47-52-53) The Hungarian and Bulgarian railways suggested re-routing traffic via Romania to avoid the NATO bombing of Serbia, but Yugoslav policy was to ignore the air attacks and maintain a pretence of political normality, so train EN490/491 Budapest - Istanbul continued for some time to operate as shown in the Thomas Cook timetable. On 17 April 1999 a BLN reporter waiting in Sofia for the southbound train saw it arrive from Beograd three hours late, comprising only four through coaches (two TCDD Bm with 2nd-class seats, one JZ Bc 2nd-class couchette, one JZ WLAB 1st/2nd sleeper). Most of the windows were damaged by bullets or shrapnel, underlining the advice to through rail passengers between western Europe and Turkey to go via the Romanian capital and use Bucuresti - Istanbul trains D498/499. Three days later, during the night of 20-21 April, NATO planes severely damaged Zezel road-and-rail bridge in Novi Sad, the third and last of the city's bridges over the river Dunav (= Danube), not only cutting off the provincial capital of Vojvodina from the rest of Serbia but blocking the railway from Hungary to Beograd used by EN490/491. BLN 849.0250][YU][MK] (Beograd - Niš -) Doljevac - Leskovac - Ristovac - Preševo JZ (- Kumanovo MZ - Skopje): (Ball 52B3-52A2) NATO air attack on 12 April 1999 destroyed a Beograd - Ristovac passenger train and damaged the girder-bridge over the river Yuzhna Morava south of Leskovac. (Guardian, 13 April 1999) This electrified main line from the Serbian/Yugoslav capital Beograd does not enter Kosovo but approaches its eastern edge just before crossing into Macedonia north-east of the Macedonian capital Skopje. Two other routes from Beograd do enter the Kosovo area, and one leaves Kosovo for Macedonia, none of the three electrified. On one of these, the main (Beograd -) Kraljevo - Raška - Kosovo Polje line, which follows the river Ibar valley, NATO forces have destroyed a bridge near Raška. BLN 849.0251][AL] Albania: (BLN 803.0265; Ball 52) In late March 1999 HSH started running additional Shkodër - Tiranë trains to help convey Kosovar refugees. Since early April refugees have been directed to Mjede, one station south of Shkodër, whence special trains have taken them, possibly via the north-to-south Durrës avoiding line, to Vlorë at the south end of the system. In the new HSH timetable from 1 November 1998 the summer trains (BLN 791.0484) from Tiranë via the Durrës avoiding line to Plazh (= 'beach') unsurprisingly do not feature. BLN 849.0252][UA][GE][AZ][KZ] Ilichovsk UZ - (Black Sea train-ferry) - Poti - Tbilisi - Alyat - (Caspian train-ferry) - Aktau QTJ: The old Soviet train-ferry facility at Batumi in Georgia is unsafe and wagons using it find insurance difficult, but some 80km north a new train-ferry ramp at the Black Sea port of Poti is opening up a rail route that avoids Russia for wagons from Hamburg via Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan to Almaty in Kazakhstan. Other traffic east to the Caucasus and central Asia may use train-ferries from Romania (Constanta SNCFR - Poti) and to Turkmenistan (Alyat - Turkmenbashi, formerly Krasnovodsk). (The Economist, 17 April 1999) BLN 849.0253][IN] Delhi - Chandigarh - Kalka and Kalka - Shimla: During the 'hot weather' season, Delhi-based British administrators of the Raj and their families used to retreat north 268km on the 1676mm-gauge main line to Kalka, 771m above sea-level, transferring there to a 762mm-gauge line climbing to the much cooler 'hill-station' of Simla, 2042m up in the foothills of the Himalayas. On 4 April 1999 the broad-gauge trains were still diesel throughout, though the Northern Railway had already wired Delhi - Chandigarh for 25kV 50Hz traction and were wiring the single-line Chandigarh - Kalka section. In good condition and fully signalled with lower-quadrant semaphores, the narrow-gauge Kalka - Shimla line was well used, with three trains each way plus extras at holiday times, taking 5h30mins for the 97km journey, up gradients as steep as 1 in 33 and curvature as tight as 45m radius. It is said to have 850 bridges and 105 tunnels, figures not checked by BLN's reporter, though he did count six passing-loops. The spelling 'Shimla' seems now to be favoured for the upper terminus, which is on a very tight curve, with a scissors-crossover allowing two trains to be in the station at once. Bo-Bo diesel locomotives (Henschel-built in 1985) haul seven 30-passenger 12.5t vacuum-braked coaches, and a small four-wheel railcar is also in service. Britons serving in Calcutta were carried to their summer hill-station of Darjeeling by the Northeast Frontier Railway's famous Himalayan line (New Jalpaiguri - Siliguri Jn - Tindharia - Kurseong - Ghoom - Darjeeling; 87km, 610mm-gauge, 1-in-23 gradients). This line has always been afflicted by track washouts, and on 28 March 1999 two such washouts meant it was not open throughout, and indeed it was said that only the top 6km section from Ghoom summit down into Darjeeling was available. However all trains had anyway been cancelled due to a political murder that day in Darjeeling. One of the 0-4-0T locomotives (#788) was seen in steam, shunting Darjeeling station. BLN 849.0254][US] Charlottesville, VA: (SPV atlas VA-4) For some time after the establishment of nationalised Amtrak in 1971, Washington, DC - Charlottesville, VA - Cincinnati, OH - Chicago, IL passenger trains George Washington and James Whitcomb Riley continued to use the C&O's Charlottesville Main Street Station, making only connectional request stops at the joint Charlottesville Union Station, strategically sited where the Southern (now Norfolk Southern) and Chesapeake & Ohio (now CSX) main lines cross on the level. By contrast Southern Railway trains and their Amtrak successors on the Washington, DC - Charlottesville, VA - Salisbury, NC - Atlanta, GA - Birmingham, AL - New Orleans, LA route have always called at the Union station. Both main lines through the city have continued to be used but by 1987 all Amtrak's Charlottesville stops were at Union station. In February 1999 Amtrak opened a new passenger station at 810 West Main Street, making use of the former Railway Express Agency parcels building adjacent to the old Union station, whose site is to be redeveloped. (www2.trains.com) BLN 849.0255][AR] Buenos Aires metro and light rail: (BLN 738.0273, 759.0363, 767.0515, 793.028) A visit in January 1999 found travel very cheap on the city's five-line 1435mm-gauge underground system, known as the Subterráneo or Subte and now run by private-sector operators Metrovías. No tickets are issued, but a flat-fare token purchased at a staffed window for 50 centavos, about 30p, is inserted in an entry-turnstile which then retains it. The trains are frequent, hot and full. The original Anglo-Argentine Tramways Line A of 1913 has 1100V dc overhead, Line B, built 1928-31 by a different company, has 550V dc third-rail, while Lines C (1933-37), D (1937-40) and E (1944-86) all use 1500V dc overhead. Interchange stations between the lines can carry different names on different lines. Line A still uses traditional old wooden stock with a half-width driving compartment, allowing one to stand at the front and watch the track ahead, cooled by ventilation from the opening front windows. Line B was originally a freight as well as a passenger line, linking the standard-gauge main line with the port area. From the end of Line E at Plaza de los Virreyes the light-rail line opened in 1987 goes by the name of Premetro, a slightly surprising use of this term, given that the investment in equipping the new line's two branches for tramway-type surface operation suggests no early plans to convert it to heavy-rail for through-running Subte trains. Transfer between Subte and Premetro is free, for on passing through a barrier a transfer-ticket for the tramway is issued without charge. The sixth Premetro stop at Presidente Illia is a useful interchange point with the station of the same name on the Ferrocarril General Belgrano (Sur), whose Buenos Aires terminus is not on the Subte network. BLN 849.0256][AR] Buenos Aires suburban: Retiro (Mitre) - Tigre / Bartolomé Mitre / José Léon Suarez: As noted in BLN 759.0363, the city's three separate Retiro termini stand side by side near the estuary of the Rio de la Plata, closer together than Euston, St.Pancras and King's Cross, with buildings of contrasting architectural style and merit. Grandest and farthest from the shore is the huge train-shed of the FC General Bartolomé Mitre, whose 57km suburban system, comprising three 1676mm-gauge branches worked by 800V dc third-rail electric units of Trenes de Buenos Aires, has seen recent investment. The Tigre branch has the most frequent service. The 18:21 Retiro - Tigre on a weekday in January 1999 was full, with passengers standing for most of the 40-minute journey, calling at all stations. Tigre station has been completely rebuilt and boasts a large clock tower. According to the useful website http://www.rieles.com.ar/empresas.htm, which lists the few long-distance services to survive privatisation of the country's railways, Retiro (Mitre) retains passenger trains to both Rosario and Tucumán. BLN 849.0257][AR] Buenos Aires suburban: Retiro (Belgrano) - Villa Rosa: Between the two broad-gauge Retiro termini lies that of the non-electrified metre-gauge Ferrocarril General Belgrano (Norte), running 50km out to Villa Rosa, a journey of about 1h20min in elderly stock hauled by an equally elderly US-design diesel locomotive of operators Ferrovías, which quickly ran round at Villa Rosa for the return to Retiro. Tickets were collected in the traditional manner at the exit barrier here, as at all the terminal stations used. BLN 849.0258][AR] Buenos Aires suburban: Retiro (San Martín) - Palermo - Dr.Domingo Cabrero: Also using diesel locomotives and hauled stock is the 1676mm-gauge Ferrocarril General San Martín, run by Metropolitano from the northernmost, and humblest, of the Retiro termini. This line was briefly sampled by riding on Subte lines C and D to Palermo, and paying the equivalent of 30p for the short hop back into Retiro. At the rush-hour trains were frequent but still full going into the city. Disused, or apparently little-used, freight tracks of the various gauges extend beyond the Retiro stations and indeed other Buenos Aires termini, leading by various routes into the city's huge port complex. BLN 849.0259][AR] Buenos Aires suburban: Federico Lacroze - Coronel Lynch - Ruben Dario - General Lemos: Some distance to the north-west of Retiro, and across the road from the outer terminus of Subte line B, is the faded but once imposing station named Federico Lacroze, after the founder of the standard-gauge railway today still best known by its name when nationalised, Ferrocarril General Urquiza. Suburban trains, run by Metrovías, the private-sector operators who run the Subte, are fairly modern 600V dc third-rail electric units. They call at all stations to General Lemos, taking about an hour for the 27km journey though a few peak workings skip some of the stops, according to poster timetables. Attractive old British-style semaphore signals still enhance the scene. Some 11km out, Coronel Lynch station is the headquarters of Ferroclub Argentino, who like all preservation groups have much elderly stock lying about, hopefully awaiting restoration. At the junction of Ruben Dario (km21) the unelectrified main line was so overgrown as to look out of use where it diverged from the short branch to the suburban terminus General Lemos. Back at Federico Lacroze, however, one booking-office queue did seem to be for a long-distance rather than a suburban passenger train, but the destination of this was unclear, and no such operation appears on the www.rieles.com.ar website. BLN 849.0260][AR] Buenos Aires suburban: Once / Plaza Miserere - Moreno: On the original Subte line A, Plaza Miserere is a new underground station giving cross-platform interchange with some suburban workings of operators Trenes de Buenos Aires, as well as being convenient for the original surface terminus of Once, which retains the rest of TBA's frequent 800V dc third-rail service on the 1676mm-gauge Ferrocarril D F Sarmiento out to Moreno (km36.4). The www.rieles.com.ar website says Once has long-distance passenger trains to Pico, Santa Rosa and Lincoln, but the non-suburban platforms looked out of use in January 1999. Drawings on public view suggest plans to restore the original frontage of the terminus, but close it as a station. TBA suburban trains could all be diverted to use the recent short link down to Plaza Miserere, and might then run inward on a new broad-gauge extension to be built parallel to standard-gauge Subte Line A through the city-centre to the port area. BLN 849.0261][AR] Buenos Aires suburban: Plaza Constitución - La Plata: Subte Line C links Retiro with Plaza Constitucion main-line station of the 1676mm-gauge Ferrocarril General Roca, a bustling place with different booking-office queues for the different destinations offered by suburban operators Metropolitano. The Plaza Constitución - Temperley - Ezeiza / Glew lines are electrified at 25kV 50Hz overhead and total 54.8km including both branches, but the line to La Plata is diesel-worked with hauled stock. A single ticket to La Plata, about 50km out, was bought for ARP3.50 (=USD3.50 or about Ł2.30) The 13:50 Plaza Constitución - La Plata on 13 January 1999 left slightly early, to proceed at a leisurely pace along grass- and weed-infested track with vegetation obscuring the rails in places. Much work on improving the railway was in progress, however, and it seems some suburban lines closed to passengers may reopen. La Plata station is protected by a superb gantry of semaphore signals and has an overall roof similar to but smaller than the former Manchester Central (now G-MEX). Outside this fine train-shed, two tracks disappeared off into the undergrowth beyond the station, perhaps leading to freight sidings. BLN 849.0262][AR] Buenos Aires suburban: Buenos Aires - Aldo Bonzi - Gonzáles Catán: Buenos Aires station, the only one of the city's eight termini to bear its name, is not on the Subte, but is only a short bus journey from Plaza Constitución. A single-storey wooden building of indeterminate age, it is not unlike the setting for a Western movie. Its elderly diesel-hauled local trains on the Metropolitano-operated metre-gauge Ferrocarril General Belgrano (Sur) are not as frequent as on the other lines already described. BLN 850.0263][FR][BE] (Dunkerque - Leffrinckoucke -) Bray-Dunes SNCF - De Panne NMBS: (Ball 6B3-7A3) In May 1999 SNCF and NMBS were well advanced with their joint plans to reopen this line, at present out of use east of the Valdunes scrap-steel private siding at Leffrinckoucke and west of the passenger-stock headshunt at De Panne (BLN 837.0548). SNCF are said to have in mind specific limited freight flows, notably molten steel from Dunkerque to Belgium, probably to Gent. For their part, NMBS seem to have a broader vision of a potential strategic freight route from the Channel Tunnel, running via Gent entirely through the Flemish part of Belgium, and perhaps continuing east via Herentals and Neerpelt NMBS - Weert NS to the German frontier. Belgian investment in upgrading the line may have less to do with its economic rate of return and more to do with matching in Flemish-speaking Flanders the expenditure on electrifying and improving the Athus-Meuse freight route through French-speaking Wallonia (Dinant - Bertrix - Athus SNCB - Rodange CFL; BLN 842.029; Ball 17A3-17A2). BLN 850.0264][DE] Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket validity: From 1 April 1999, a Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket priced at DEM35 (=EUR17.90) is valid for Saturday or Sunday second-class travel by one to five persons on any of the local services listed. (DB leaflet) DB Regio RE, RB, SE and S-Bahn trains but only going into or out of the area, not locally within it AVV Augsburger Verkehrsverbund DING Donau-Iller-Nahverkehrsverbund Gesellschaft htv Heidenheimer Tarifverbund RVF Regio-Verkehrsverbund Freiburg RVL Regio-Verkehrsverbund Lörrach TGO Tarifverbund Ortenau VRK Verkehrsverbund Region Kiel WTV Würzburger Tarifverbund VVW-Rostock Verkehrsverbund Warnow DB Regio RE, RB, SE and S-Bahn trains and other DB local transport within area RMV Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund VHB Verkehrsverbund Hegau-Bodensee VSN Verkehrsverbund Süd-Niedersachsen VVO Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe WTV Waldshut DB Regio RE, RB, SE and S-Bahn trains plus all U-Bahn trains, trams and buses within area AVV Aachener Verkehrsverbund GVH Grossraum-Verkehr Hannover HVV Hamburger Verkehrsverbund KVV Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund MVV Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund NVV Nordhessischer Verkehrsverbund RMT Anbietergemeinschaft Regionalfahrplan Mittelthüringen (except Stadtverkehr Weimar) VBB Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg VBN Verkehrsverbund Bremen/Niedersachsen VGM Verkehrsgemeinschaft Münster-Land VGN Verkehrsverbund Grossraum Nürnberg VGWS Verkehrsgemeinschaft Westfalen-Süd VPE Verkehrsgemeinschaft Pforzheim-Enzkreis VRB Verbundtarif Region Braunschweig VRL Verkehrsgemeinschaft Ruhr-Lippe VRN Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar VRR Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr VRS Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg VTG Verkehrs- und Tarifgemeinschaft Halle VTO Verkehrs- und Tarifgemeinschaft Ostharz VVS Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart BLN 850.0265][DE] Türkismühle - Nonnweiler - Hermeskeil (- Trier): (Ball 48A1) This line closed to passengers 31 May 1969 and its Hermeskeil - Trier section closed to freight 10 August 1998, but Nonnweiler still has scrap-metal traffic and Hermeskeil handles timber. Hermeskeil also has a local railway museum, with a large group of derelict locomotives to restore. Not shown in Ball (48A1-56A1) is the remaining 2.5km stub now known as the Mariahütte branch, part of the former Nonnweiler - Mariahütte (- Wadern) line which closed to passengers 3 October 1959 and freight 30 April 1968. DB track is retained from Nonnweiler on a descending gradient to a headshunt whose stop-blocks are on the viaduct over the Braunshausen - Kastel road. Trains reversing here can access a long (c.400m) private siding that descends further to serve the Firma Diehl munitions factory at Mariahütte. On 5 April 1999 the Hochwaldbahn, in association with the rail museum and a local radio-station that was promoting an Easter festival in the village, ran an excursion to Hermeskeil, and to Mariahütte headshunt. The train consist was three red railbuses, a red railbus trailer and an incongruous two-tone green modern DB coach, two of the five vehicles being from the Pfalzbahn. Of these, only the railbuses went down to Mariahütte. Repeat trips were planned for 24 May and 4 September 1999. Information: hochwaldb@aol.com. BLN 850.0266][DE] Haldensleben West - Weferlingen (- Grasleben - Helmstedt): (Ball 27B2-28A2; KBS314) Trains on the threatened DB Weferlingen branch (BLN 841.04) leave from Haldensleben West platform, poorly signposted from the main platforms on the Magdeburg - Oebisfelde line (turn left, cross at the level-crossing and take the next right turn). On 30 March 1999 the 09:33 train was well used for most of the journey. The short freight branch to Forsths Eiche is in regular use and a quarry near Bodendorf seems to produce sufficient traffic to justify recently relaid track from Haldensleben to this point. At Weferlingen Zuckerfabrik the Braunschweigische Landes-Museums-Eisenbahn preservation group (BLN 774.0110) store a sizeable and varied collection of stock including two Class 52 steam locomotives, though they give no indication locally of their 1999 operating days. At Weferlingen reversal is needed to proceed towards Helmstedt (not as shown in the 1998 Ball). BLN 850.0267][DE] (Stendal -) Hohenwulsch - Kalbe (Milde) (- Beetzendorf (Sachsen-Anhalt)): (Ball 28A3) In April 1999 the threatened DB Kalbe branch, part of the former Altmärkische Eisenbahn (BLN 846.0137), ended at Kalbe platform in plain line and a lightweight buffer-stop, with the running-line westward apparently in place but out of use. The tracks leading from the nearby two-road shed, now disconnected from DB, showed signs of fairly recent use and in the locked shed were two flat-wagons with passenger seats, two vans and two preserved diesel locomotives (#100872 plus a Class 312 lookalike that once worked at Milchwerke Mittelelbe GmbH, Stendal). No signs were present to advertise the preservation group or any 1999 operating days. BLN 850.0268][DE] Guntersblum - Rheindürkheim - Osthofen: (Ball 49A1) The Altrheinbahn, an unelectrified loop off the Mainz - Worms (- Mannheim) main line, is out of use except for occasional special trains (as on 26-27 August 1995), but Land Rheinland-Pfalz are understood to be considering passenger reopening. BLN 850.0269][DE][CZ] Oberkotzau - Selb-Plössberg - Selb Stadt - Wunsiedel-Holenbrunn: (Ball DE-53B2, CZ-35A1) Much of the layout at Selb-Plössberg has been disconnected, but the line heading east into the Czech Republic (Selb-Plössberg DB - Aš CD), which lost its last regular freight in May 1995 (BLN 764.0449), in April 1999 was still in place though out of use. All except one of the platform lines at Selb Stadt are lifted, and the remaining line has a 100m gap south of the station. Beyond, track remains in place towards Wunsiedel and is occupied by a preservation group. The short Untersteinach - Stadtsteinach freight-only branch (53A2) had shiny rails, but the similarly short Falls - Gefrees line is lifted. BLN 850.0270][AT] Zell am See - Krimml: (BLN 789.0432, 848.0215; Ball 81A3-80B3) The Pinzgauer Bahn is to pilot a simplified signalling system for local lines using global positioning satellites to pinpoint the location of rolling-stock. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 3/99) BLN 850.0271][SE] Stockholm metro: Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, the Greater Stockholm public-transport company, have agreed to sell 60% of SL Tunnelbanan, their metro subsidiary, to CGEA Transport, owned (like Connex Rail) by the French utilities group Vivendi. SL will remain owners of T-Bana infrastructure and rolling-stock while CGEA become operators. (Financial Times, 5 May 1999) BLN 850.0272][PT] Viana do Castelo funicular: (BLN 780.0243; Ball 7A2) The CP-operated Elevador de Santa Luzia, a 632m-long metre-gauge funicular, was out of service on 23 April 1999, but is expected to reopen. The lower station was locked and forlorn, weeds on the track had not been disturbed for some time and no work was in progress, but sleepers and cable-pulleys had recently been replaced higher up the line. Due to continuing engineering work, CP on 20 April cancelled a 24 April trip to the funicular organised by Porto members of the Portuguese enthusiast group APAC, with whom CP normally have close relations. BLN 850.0273][PT] (Porto -) Trofa - Lousado - Santo Tirso (- Guimarăes): (BLN 848.0219; Ball 7A1-7B1) Of Lousado's original station, only the single Minho line platform remained in use in April 1999, still awaiting the substantial diversion of the Linha do Minho to serve the new station. During reconstruction, builders' detritus has obscured the course of the north-to-east metre-gauge curve once used by summer trains from Póvoa de Varzim to the Linha de Guimarăes (BLN 780.0244) and its concrete platform-shelter could no longer be seen from a passing train. BLN 850.0274][PT] (Porto -) Contumil - Săo Gemil - Guifőes - Leixőes: (BLN 848.0218; EGTRE PT99/8; Ball 7A1) Local staff, and the working timetable, confirm that the EMEF railway carriage and wagon works near Porto is named Guifőes rather than Custóias, and that broad-gauge as well as metre-gauge trains run for workers. The Contumil - Guifőes section has two unadvertised Mon-Fri workers' trains each way to and from Guifőes works broad-gauge halt, which has no public access. On the 1994 Quail railway map of Portugal, Guifőes is incorrectly shown, being south-west (not north-east) of the intersection of the two gauges, and the Leixőes branch goes over (not under) the (Porto -) Senhora da Hora - Trofa metre-gauge line. At Ermesinde it is the Minho rather than the Douro line (BLN 848.0218) that gives direct access to the north-to-west Ermesinde - Săo Gemil chord. BLN 850.0275][PT] Tua - Mirandela - Carvalhais (- Bragança): (BLN 832.0385, 848.0221; Ball 8B1) The full name of the Mirandela Metro's station is Mirandela Piaget. The yellow bar across the track is at Mirandela Piaget, far enough north of the CP station to allow the diesel locomotives working CP trains to clear the points there. BLN 850.0276][PT] Lisboa trams and funicular: The Graça - Martim Moniz section of Carris tram route #28 appears to have reopened by or during October 1998. Route plans dated September 1998 show the line complete, but October is the date on timetables. Carris have their Elevador Glória closed for maintenance from 26 April to 2 June 1999. BLN 850.0277][PT] Lisboa metro: (BLN 826.0236, 828.0291) On the Metropolitano de Lisboa, line numbers and letters have now definitely given way to colours, and the lines have also been given names and pictograms: Girassol (= sunflower) or Yellow line (Rato - Rotunda - Entre Campos - Campo Grande); Giavota or Blue line (Baixa-Chiado - Restauradores - Rotunda - Sete Rios - Colégio Militar - Carnide - Pontinha); Caravela (= sailing-ship) or Green line (Cais do Sodré - Baixa-Chiado - Rossio - Alameda - Areeiro - Campo Grande); and Oriente (with compass symbol) or Red line (Alameda - Oriente). BLN 850.0278][PT] Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Braço de Prata - Lisboa Oriente - Póvoa - Alverca: (BLN 845.0121; Ball 25B1) The double-track Linha de Cintura round the north of the city through Entrecampos and the double-track Linha do Norte out of Santa Apolónia terminus converge at Braço de Prata. Both pairs of tracks then continue north in parallel without any physical junction, passing the building of the former Cabo Ruivo station which still stands on the west side, till they reach the crossovers at the south end of the new main station Lisboa Oriente. From Oriente north through Póvoa to a flyover between Póvoa and Alverca, four tracks are planned, with Cintura trains using the western pair and Santa Apolónia trains the eastern pair. North of this flyover, Cintura trains are to use the outer two tracks and Santa Apolónia trains the centre two. The flyover, already built, will carry the easternmost southbound Cintura track over the two centre Santa Apolónia tracks. In April 1999 this layout was still incomplete. The westernmost island at Oriente, platforms 1 and 2, was not open to the public but was in temporary use for storage of electric units. From Oriente to Santa Iria, the eastern (Santa Apolónia) tracks were in use, but between there and Póvoa, these tracks swing across and take up the alignment of the western (Cintura) tracks, thus using the western platforms at Póvoa. From the flyover north to Alverca only the outer two (Cintura) tracks were in use, though the centre tracks were already in place. BLN 850.0279][PT] (Lisboa Oriente -) Entrecampos - Sete Rios - Campolide - Alcântara-Terra: (Ball 25A1-25B1) Services on the Campolide - Alcântara-Terra section of the Linha de Cintura were suspended in 1997 (BLN 819.057) to allow track-doubling, resignalling, rebuilding of Campolide station and installing the junction for access to the rail-deck of the Ponte 25 de Abril suspension-bridge (BLN 849.0246), but although works continue, a limited service was restored from 22 February 1999. Twelve peak-hour round-trips (six morning, six evening) work through between Oriente (or beyond) and Alcântara. The new Entrecampos station has two islands, only one of them in use in April 1999, and is much longer and broader than before, having taken over not only the site of the old Entrecampos through station but also that of the short-lived adjacent terminus, 5 de Outubro (BLN 827.0270). Rego station and the former junction for 5 de Outubro have been completely obliterated. Sete Rios has all four platforms in use, two for Cacém and two for Campolide. BLN 850.0280][ES] Mallorca: (BLN 833.0432; Ball 38A1-38A2) Most of the site of the former FEVE station and sidings at Palma has been cleared for redevelopment, a single platform being provided for Palma - Inca trains, worked by the modern metre-gauge two-car diesel units of Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca. Nearby, the 1200V dc 28km 914mm-gauge Palma - Sóller line through the mountains continued to run normally, but the company's Sóller - Puerto de Sóller tramway extension was temporarily closed in April 1999 in connection with plans to spend EUR300k on local refurbishment. Last day of tram operation was 18 April, and on the following day the roadway at a roundabout was seen dug up, with fresh track being laid. BLN 850.0281][IT] Cuneo - Cuneo-Gesso - Mondovi: (Ball 45B2) After weakening or partial collapse of two arches of the 1887-built brick viaduct over the river Gesso near Cuneo-Gesso station, this line closed to through traffic temporarily on 8 October 1996 (BLN 799.0172) and 'permanently' on 15 June 1997 (BLN 824.0182), though regular freight use continues on each side of the river. Work was to start in spring 1999 to demolish the old viaduct and replace it, reopening the line as a through route. (L'Écho du Rail, #194, March 1999) BLN 850.0282][CH] Lausanne - Echallens - Bercher: (Ball 91A1) The terminus of the metre-gauge LEB at Lausanne-Chauderon was put underground in 1995. Tunnelling began in September 1997 (BLN 820.080) and was completed in December 1998 (Eisenbahn Amateur, 3/99) for a 445m extension which is to open in May 2000, offering interchange at Place du Flon with Métro-Gare, Métro-Ouchy and Métro-Ouest. BLN 850.0283][CH] Neuchâtel funicular: (Ball 91B3) Passengers arriving at Neuchâtel CFF station can take trolleybus #6 or a London-style black taxi to reach the town-centre and the terminus of the metre-gauge lake-shore tramway (Neuchâtel Place Pury - Boudry TN) some 500m downhill to the south-west. Another option will soon be offered by a new funicular from the station heading south for 350m down to the university, also on the lake shore. Construction is planned to start in 1999 for completion by 2001, and is to serve Expo.01, an exhibition to be held on various sites in Switzerland in that year. (L'Écho du Rail, #194, March 1999) BLN 850.0284][CH] Moléson funicular: To supplement the gondola and cableway lines serving the popular ski area of Le Moléson in the canton of Fribourg, a new automated funicular (length 1400m, rise 415m, with two 90-passenger Von Roll cars) opened at the beginning of winter 1998-99. (L'Écho du Rail, #194, March 1999) BLN 850.0285][CH] (Bern - Lyss -) Busswil - Brügg BE (- Biel/Bienne): (Ball 92A3-86A1) The May 1999 timetable change is to see SBB open a new halt at Studen, between Busswil and Brügg. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 3/99) BLN 850.0286][CH][FR] Bouveret - St.Gingolph CFF - Évian-les-Bains SNCF: (BLN 798.0130; Ball CH-98B3, FR-50B2) Poor track is likely to prevent Rive Bleue Express tourist trains running in summer 1999. BLN 850.0287][YU][RO] (Beograd -) Vršac - Vatin JZ - Stamora Moravita SNCFR (- Timisoara - Bucuresti): (BLN 849.0250; Ball 48B1) The more important of the two international lines between Yugoslavia and Romania was severed during the night of 6-7 May 1999 when NATO aircraft destroyed a railway bridge at Vatin about 15km north of Vršac. This seems to have been the bridge over a branch of the Vršacki canal just south of the Romanian frontier. BLN 850.0288][US][MX] San Diego - San Ysidro, CA - Tijuana - Redondo - Tecate - Campo, CA - Miller Creek - Plaster City - El Centro: (BLN 816.0611) The port of San Diego was in the early 1900s, and is today, at the end of a branch line from Los Angeles, and Pacific shipping heads for Los Angeles in order to have direct access to the east by train. In an attempt to get a direct transcontinental line to the port, John D Spreckels, a local sugar magnate, planned the San Diego & Arizona Railroad. The company was founded in 1906, but the line was not finished until 1919 due to the difficulty of the terrain. It runs south from San Diego and crosses into Mexico at Tijuana. After gaining height by a loop at Redondo (34km from Tijuana) to reach the Mexican border town of Tecate (59km), famous for its beer, the line crosses back into the United States by a tunnel under the border, reaches the crest of the Pacific Coast range near Campo (80km), descends into the desert by track built high into the walls of the Carrizo Gorge, finally reaching El Centro and the Southern Pacific transcontinental main line. The SD&A always had some ties to the SP and rented a number of SP locomotives in the early days, but the SP eventually bought it outright in 1932, and changed its name to the San Diego & Arizona Eastern. The SD&AE is famed for Carrizo Gorge and Goat Canyon Trestle, a timber structure 55m tall and 183m long, built in 1932 when an adjacent tunnel collapsed. Another part of the SD&AE (San Diego - El Cajon - Lakeside - Foster) was originally the San Diego, Cuyamaca & Eastern Railroad, which sought to serve gold mines at Julian but had reached only to Foster, at the base of San Vicente Dam, when the mines became worked out, and eventually the tracks were cut back to Lakeside. High expenses and low traffic meant that the SD&AE was always a marginal operation, and after hurricane Kathleen severely damaged it, the SP in 1976 threatened abandonment. The San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board offered at first to buy the track from San Diego to the Mexican border to create the first route of the proposed San Diego Trolley, but later agreed to buy the whole line within the US as far east as Plaster City near El Centro. The electrified San Diego - San Ysidro section hosts the successful Trolley (BLN 846.0162), and the same trackage also serves a number of industrial sidings. The San Diego - El Cajon - Santee Trolley line mostly follows the SDC&E, though in places the frequent Trolleys soar over highway intersections on new flyover alignment while the sparse freight traffic sticks to the original ground-level track. The rest of the SD&AE has been leased by the transit board to various private operators, but not with great success. In 1999 some freight was operating on the San Ysidro - Tijuana - Tecate section in Mexico, and the San Diego Railroad Museum at Campo run weekend excursions to Tecate and to Miller Creek, but east of Miller Creek the line is disused and unavailable as a through route. Nevertheless the original idea of bringing trains over the SD&AE to attract international shipping to San Diego's port is not completely dead, and the potential for container traffic has been studied in recent years. BLN 850.0289][US] Amtrak's growing parcels traffic helps support US inter-city passenger network: In 1997 Union Pacific objected to Amtrak's plan to resurrect the withdrawn Chicago, IL - Portland, OR Pioneer as an 'express freight' (= parcels) train, and to their adding express boxcars to the Chicago, IL - Los Angeles, CA Texas Eagle and the Orlando, FL - New Orleans, LA - Los Angeles, CA Sunset Limited. UP and other private-sector freight railroads argued that express should be 'incidental' to Amtrak's subsidised passenger service, and sought to impose various limitations on it, including restricting express to small packages, requiring trains to have at least as many passenger cars as express cars, prohibiting the use of other railroads to reach shippers' sidings, and prohibiting the use of third-party consolidators or carriers such as United Parcels Service. But in May 1998 the federal Surface Transportation Board ordered UP to allow Amtrak express over UP lines, clearing the way for Amtrak to solicit express business on passenger trains operating over any of their host freight railroads, though non-passenger parcels-only trains are limited to the Amtrak-owned Northeast Corridor. Amtrak therefore continue to explore possible new passenger routes, especially ones that could generate express traffic. As an example, on 7 June 1998, an Amtrak test train ran Chicago - Fox Lake, IL - Janesville, WI - Milton - Madison, on freight-only ex-Milwaukee Road track north of Fox Lake, outer limit of Metra's Chicago-area commuter operation. (www2.trains.com) BLN 850.0290][GT] Ciudad Guatemala - El Chile - Puerto Barrios: US interests originally built the 914mm-gauge International Railways of Central America (BLN 721.013), but the part that became the nationalised Ferrocarriles de Guatemala gradually ceased operations in the face of road competition, and by 1995 or 1996 had effectively closed. In June 1997 new US operators Railroad Development Corporation secured a 50-year concession to reactivate and run FEGUA (BLN 815.0587), and 15 April 1999 saw the first 65km of the moribund line reopened east of the capital. The remainder of the line from El Chile to the Caribbean coast port of Puerto Barrios is to reopen in July. (partly International Railway Journal, May 1999) BLN 851.0291] European Union: electrification: All fifteen EU member-states are gradually electrifying their railway networks, though progress is uneven, according to statistics given to the UK Parliament in late 1998. The figures are rather dated and fail to reveal that Ireland has been extending Dublin's DART electrification out from Bray to Greystones (BLN 758.0317) and from Howth Jn to Malahide (BLN 788.0394), and that Greece, still entirely unelectrified in 1996, is slowly wiring from the border with Macedonia south to the capital and its port (Idomeni - Thessaloniki - Athinai - Piraeus; BLN 792.0515). Eleventh out of fifteen in percentage terms, Britain scores relatively poorly. With the GB railway industry now fragmented among passenger and freight train-operators all at different points in their investment cycle (but nearly all going for the flexibility of new diesel traction), it becomes more difficult to assemble a business case for Railtrack investment in new wires. Unless, that is, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and the Strategic Rail Authority under Sir Alastair Morton mandate a rolling programme of electrification as an environmental priority. Electrified track 1975 1987 1996 Electrified track 1975 1987 1996 [LU] Luxembourg 33% 67% 95% [FR] France 27% 34% 45% [BE] Belgium 32% 61% 73% [DE] Germany 25% 34% 45% [NL] Netherlands 61% 68% 73% [FI] Finland 7% 25% 35% [SE] Sweden 62% 64% 68% [GB] United Kingdom 20% 25% 30% [IT] Italy (national railways only) 49% 57% 64% [PT] Portugal 11% 14% 22% [AT] Austria 46% 54% 60% [DK] Denmark 4% 8% 17% [ES] Spain 27% 44% 56% [IE] Ireland, Republic 0% 0% 2% [GR] Greece 0% 0% 0% (Commons Hansard, 30 November 1998, Written Answer, column 52, PQ61655) BLN 851.0292][FR] French railtours list: French special trains and railtours, some ten pages of them as at 21 May 1999, are listed at http://www.trains-fr.org/cftv/spe.htm. BLN 851.0293][FR] Calais-Ville - Lourdes: A charter train for British pilgrims is to leave Calais (Ball 6A2) on Saturday evening 24 July 1999 for Lourdes (70A2), returning early on 31 July. Route is not confirmed, but may be as in 1998 (BLN 833.0414) to suit the availability of traction and to allow, with a booked outward dog-leg via Bayonne, copious recovery time nearing Lourdes. Punctual arrival is critical due to the many specials arriving and departing. Indeed, to accommodate the pilgrimage traffic during the season several timetabled trains are replatformed from day to day, with details posted locally. The charter organiser is Tangney Tours, Pilgrim House, Station Court, Borough Green, Kent TN15 8AF; 0800 783 1178. BLN 851.0294][FR] (St.Omer -) Arques Les Fontinettes - Arques - Lumbres (- Hesdigneul - Boulogne): (BLN 756.0270, 798.0133, 825.0197, 831.0351, 848.0195; Ball 6B2-6A1) In 1998 the summer weekend trips on the Chemin de Fer Touristique de la Vallée de l'Aa began at Arques Les Fontinettes, the special platform next to the 13m-tall preserved 1887 canal boat-lift. The 1999 timetable says they still do, but on 16 May at least the Picasso railcar was starting at Arques SNCF, the old passenger station. This is signposted and not difficult to find, but intending passengers may wish to arrive in Arques in good time to check whether Les Fontinettes will be used. A four-page article in Today's Railways for June 1999 gives the CFTVA's timetable as well as fully describing and illustrating the line, the closest to Britain of the European mainland's preserved railways. BLN 851.0295][FR] St.Pierre-du-Vauvray - Louviers - Acquigny - Hondouville - Brosville - Gravigny - Evreux-Embranchement: (Ball 24A3 partly shown) On this former through route, St.Pierre-du-Vauvray - Louviers closed to passengers 28 September 1969, Louviers - Acquigny (- Bueil) 1 July 1950, and Acquigny - Evreux as early as 1 March 1940. Louviers - Acquigny - Gravigny closed to freight 31 May 1959 and Gravigny - Evreux 1 October 1990, but presumably the short Louviers - Acquigny link reopened subsequently, for it was shown on an SNCF map of 1978. According to a Fret Affaires insert in SNCF's Fret Magazine for April 1999, the 14km Acquigny - Hondouville section reopened 'at the end of 1998', allowing SNCF subsidiary VFLI to serve two sidings for the Fort James paper company. Significant traffic is expected, comprising 120,000t annually of waste-paper and 10,000t of chemicals inward and 80,000t of finished products outward. BLN 851.0296][FR] Chartres - Beaulieu-le-Coudray - Voves - Fains-la-Folie - Orgčres-en-Beauce - Patay - Orléans (Bif de Chartres): (Ball 24B1-36A3) The Région Centre have commissioned a feasibility study with a view to reopening this cross-country route, closed to passengers 16 February 1942. BLN 851.0297][FR] (Metz-Ville -) Woippy - Maizičres-lčs-Metz - Hagondange: (EGTRE; Ball 28B3-18A1) On 6 April 1999 train #2140 (Strasbourg -) 07:58 Metz - Lille took the crossover just north of Woippy station to use the freight lines west of Woippy-Triage yard, running non-stop before returning to the more usual passenger route by the crossover at Bifurcation de Maizičres. It is not known whether this was a regular working or merely a chance diversion. On a journey in April 1994, train #64468 16:28 Mon-Fri Metz-Ville - Conflans-Jarny also used the Woippy west freight lines, but took this route to call at a Woippy-Triage staff halt. In 1995 train #64474 17:18 Metz-Ville - Hagondange - Chalons-sur-Marne was reported (OEIS9517) as being a regular user. BLN 851.0298][FR] Messac-Guipry - Guer (- Ploërmel): (Ball 32B3-32A3) This line in Brittany closed to passengers 6 March 1939. Cut back to Guer de Bretagne, the remaining branch closed to freight 1 February 1988. By summer 1998 Guer station had been converted to a council building and the track to the east was lifted. BLN 851.0299][DE] German railway companies list: Railway infrastructure and operating companies in Germany are usefully listed at http://ibm.rhrz.uni-bonn.de/%7Euzs980/bahnen.html. BLN 851.0300][DE] (Wittgensdorf ob Bf -) Limbach (Sachsen) - Oberfrohna: (Ball 46B2; KBS526) Due to poor track, this 1km section at the end of an 8km branch near Chemnitz is expected to close, supposedly 'temporarily', possibly before the September 1999 timetable change. It is thought unlikely to reopen. BLN 851.0301][DE] Boppard - Buchholz - Emmelshausen (- Pfalzfeld - Simmern): (BLN 738.0261; Ball 48B2) From a north-facing junction with the Mainz - Koblenz main line at Boppard, the single-track Hunsrückbahn climbs very steeply away from the scenic river Rhein through lush deciduous woodland before turning south to Buchholz. Here the passing-loop and the 'runaway' siding protecting the incline are now out of use, but a new platform and station-building are under construction, suggesting a reasonably secure future for the 15km branch that remains. Fleckertshöhe has two basic platforms on either side of a level-crossing in the forest. The line once extended beyond its present terminus at Emmelshausen, but Emmelshausen - Pfalzfeld closed completely in the 1980s, and Pfalzfeld - Simmern, retained until the 1990s partly to give access to a military air-base, is also now out of use. The branch is normally worked by a single Class 215 diesel-hydraulic locomotive with a two-car push-pull set, running hourly, with good connections from and to Koblenz. Weekday traffic is light, even in the peak-hours, and the last (mid-evening) working on 26 April 1999 carried three passengers out from Boppard and only BLN's reporter on the way back. Sunday trains however can carry large numbers of ramblers. The incline on to the branch is dramatic, rising from the end of Boppard station yard at 6.09% (more than 1-in-16) continuously for some 5km to the approach to Buchholz. In steam days, and into the early diesel era, the climb was rack-assisted, but the rack was later removed. This must be one of the steepest non-electrified standard-gauge passenger lines in Europe; can readers suggest any other contenders? BLN 851.0302][DE] Rottenbach - Obstfelderschmiede - Katzhütte: (BLN 708.04, 723.035, 731.0127, 794.045; Ball 52B3; KBS562) During summer 1999 buses are to replace trains on this line, but it is expected to reopen after track work, restoring rail access to the bottom of the Oberweissbacher Bergbahn 1800mm-gauge funicular (Obstfelder-schmiede - Lichtenhain) and thence to the 3km standard-gauge branch at its top (Lichtenhain - Cursdorf). BLN 851.0303][DE] Karlsruhe trams: On 28 September 1997 Stadtbahn route S2 began running on the section from Karlsruhe Sinnsheimer Strasse northwards to Blankenloch Nord (BLN 816.0595). From 22 March 1999 route S2 was extended at the southern (Rheinstetten) end from Mörsch (Merkurstrasse) westwards via Am Hang to a new terminus named Bach West on its platform sign and Bach Strasse on route-plans in the cars. The turning-circle at Merkurstrasse was removed and a triangular junction provided, though no track was at that time laid beyond the triangle's southern vertex in the direction of Durmersheim. The Daxlanden Waidweg - Rappenwört section of Karlsruhe town route #2 (formerly #3) is timetabled to run daily all year (hourly Mon-Sat 12:00-18:00; every 20min Sun 10:00-18:00) though shown in Tramway & Light Railway Atlas, Germany 1996 (map, p151) as running only seasonally. In early April 1999 buses were replacing trams on this section. KVV maps and timetable leaflets for the public show the Leopoldshafen - Forschungszentrum branch and its peak-hour tram services, with no indication that use may be restricted to workers at the nuclear research-centre (BLN 835.0463; EGTRE DE99/608; Ball 57A2 not shown). One of these services (SSuX S11 Ittersbach - 07:49 Schweriner Strasse - Forschungszentrum Bf) seems to be the only working booked to leave Karlsruhe Albtalbahnhof and use the south-to-west curve towards Ebertstrasse instead of towards Hbf. The other two research-centre services timetabled are SSuX S1/11 Marktplatz - 07:53 Frankfurter Strasse - Forschungszentrum Bf and SSuX S1/11 16:37 Forschungszentrum Bf - Marktplatz. BLN 851.0304][DE] Bad Herrenalb funicular: (Ball 57A1) From Bad Herrenalb AVG station a funicular now climbs up to Falkenburg. The line seems recent, and an intermediate halt is not yet in use because the part of the hillside development to be served by it is not complete. The fare is DEM1 uphill, free downhill. BLN 851.0305][DE] Stuttgart trams: The Ruhbank - Heumaden section of metre-gauge route #15 is to close on 31 May 1999 for gauge-conversion and to reopen as standard-gauge on 11 September 1999. Metre-gauge route #2 (Hölderlinplatz - Obere Ziegelei) will close in 2000 for conversion, but its street loops at each end will close permanently. (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 1999) BLN 851.0306][DE][CZ] (Flöha -) Annaberg-Buchholz Süd - Cranzahl - Bärenstein DB (- Vejprty CD - Chomutov): (BLN 803.0258; Ball DE-54B3, CZ-35A1-35B1; KBS517) From 30 May 1999, when parts of the line become subject to a 10km/h speed-restriction due to poor track, buses are to replace Cranzahl - Bärenstein passenger trains. Bärenstein - Vejprty, the short section across the border viaduct, is to close without bus replacement. Both sections should reopen however by or at the September timetable-change. The delay in undertaking trackwork is to do with local authority Kreis Annaberg's wish for the section north of Cranzahl to be dual-gauged to allow through running from the 750mm-gauge Cranzahl - Kurort Oberwiesenthal line (BLN 818.032; KBS518). BLN 851.0307][SE][NO] Luleĺ - Boden - Gällivare - Rĺtsi - Kiruna - Riksgränsen - Narvik: (BLN 773.095, 784.0338, 792.0509; Ball 3A1-3A3-4B3-4A3) Iron-ore trains from the LKAB mine at Kiruna can run direct via the west-to-north connection to Kiruna yard and continue north-west to Narvik on the Norwegian Atlantic coast, but southbound trains for the pelletising plant at the end of the Rĺtsi - Svappavaara branch or for the Swedish Baltic port of Luleĺ have hitherto had to reverse in Kiruna yard. The original line from the mine to Kiruna yard was built on a causeway across Lake Luossajärvi, but the lake is being partially drained to allow mining to take place beneath it, and this has facilitated the construction of a new west-to-south curve, which now allows southbound trains to avoid reversal. BLN 851.0308][SE] Kristinehamn - Nykroppa - Hornkullen - Daglösen - Filipstad and Hornkullen - Hällefors - Ställdalen: (BLN 811.0473, 831.0357; Ball 22A3) The experimental weekend-only service on these otherwise freight-only lines was amended from January 1999, and now includes Sunday journeys over the whole of the Hornkullen - Ställdalen section as part of a round-trip to Borlange. The trains are SuO #3198 Kristinehamn - 17:35 Nykroppa - Hornkullen - Ställdalen - Borlänge Central, returning as SuO #3199 Borlänge C - 21:20 Ställdalen - Hornkullen - Daglösen - Filipstad. SJ have subcontracted Tĺgĺkeriet i Bergslagen (Tĺgab) to operate the service. (Modern Railways, January 1999) BLN 851.0309][PT] (Porto -) Trofa - Lousado - Santo Tirso (- Guimarăes): (BLN 850.0273; Ball 7A1-7B1) The CP timetable valid from 31 January 1999 showed four broad-gauge trains a day running through from Porto Săo Bento or Campanhă to Santo Tirso, and connections out of Porto Trindade - Trofa metre-gauge trains into Trofa - Santo Tirso broad-gauge shuttle workings numbering some 18-20 on weekdays and about ten at weekends. The connecting buses (BLN 838.0579) had ceased by, or from, that date. BLN 851.0310][PT] Aveiro - Sernada do Vouga - Oliveira de Azemeis - Espinho: (Ball 17A3) While the stone rail-and-road viaduct continues to carry the metre-gauge Aveiro - Sernada section over the river Vouga (BLN 843.064) into Sernada, at the opposite end of the village the trackbed of the lifted Sernada - Viseu line is now a highway, and its (rather shorter) bridge over the river is used by road vehicles, which have to drive in single file through the girder-work. Crossings on the Sernada - Oliveira section (BLN 848.0220) have been unstaffed and trains now carry a travelling level-crossing operator to work the barriers. BLN 851.0311][PT] Vila Real de Santo Antonio - Vila Real de Santo Antonio-Guadiana: (Ball 34A2) Apparently closed 15 July 1998 (BLN 838.0581), the riverside Guadiana station was still extant in early May 1999, though clearly out of use, with bushes growing through the track. BLN 851.0312][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo: (La Naja -) Guggenheim - Parkea - Olabeaga: (BLN 848.0223, Ball 5B3-5A3) Though RENFE's La Naja terminus is out of use and the riverside line northward is lifted, frequent shuttle trains are reported as operating on the short section beyond, between the city's magnificent new Guggenheim art museum and the junction at Olabeaga with the Bilbao Abando - Olabeaga - Desertu-Barakaldo - Muskiz / Santurtzi suburban lines. (Railway Gazette International, May 1999) BLN 851.0313][ES] (Madrid -) Colmenar Viejo - Aranda de Duero - Burgos: (BLN 848.0226; Ball 21A2-11A3) The few passenger trains on this spectacular route may be withdrawn at short notice, as may the sparse services on two other lines - Torralba - Soria (- Castejón de Ebro) (BLN 814.0552; Ball 21B3-11B2) and Zafra - Huelva (BLN 727.074; 27B1-34A2) - if they have not already gone. BLN 851.0314][ES] Madrid metro: (Ball 22A3-22B2) From 29 March 1999 line 7 extended north-west to Pitis RENFE station (BLN 844.0103), and from 7 April line 9 extended east to Arganda (BLN 846.0149). (RGI, May 1999) BLN 851.0315][IT] Pisa: (Ball 49A2) Only 500m from the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, workers 'digging the foundations of a railway station for a new high-speed link' from Roma to Genoa discovered in December 1998 the remains of at least ten Roman ships, well-preserved in the clay at the bottom of an ancient harbour, now some 5km from the coast. Archaeologists regard the find as a major one, and hope in July 1999 to move the ships, dating from the period 100BC-200AD, to safe storage in a hall where restoration can take place over the next decade. (Sunday Telegraph, 16 May 1999) Presumably this will allow work on the new railway to resume. BLN 851.0316][CH] Treib - Seelisberg funicular: Unusually if not uniquely, this funicular from Treib on the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne) is economically run during the winter by a single staff-member, with one vehicle carrying the operator and any passengers while the balancing vehicle runs empty. (L'Écho du Rail, #194, March 1999) BLN 851.0317][NO] Eina - Dokka - Leira: (Ball 13A2-12B2) The Dokka - Leira section of the Valdresbane was already out of use when the last timber train ran from Dokka to Eina on 31 March 1999. Formally closed as long ago as 31 December 1989 but never lifted, the 93km Kongsberg - Rřdberg Numesdalsbane (Ball 12B1) has since seen sporadic freight traffic, which seemed to have increased in early 1999. (Today's Railways, June 1999) BLN 851.0318][PL] Grzmiaca - Polczyn Zdroj: (Ball 31B2; PKP 386) This 32km line was to close from 29 May 1999. BLN 851.0319][PL] Gniezno Waskotorowe - Witkowo - Powidz (- Anastazewo): (Ball 37A3; PKP 391) Polish 750mm-gauge steam remains in ordinary (as distinct from tourist or charter) use, hauling standard-gauge wagons on transporters from Gniezno to Witkowo and Powidz, and also on the advertised Sroda - Zaniemysl 'mixed' trains, which are usually passenger-only in practice (BLN 808.0393; Ball 37A3; PKP 319). (L'Écho du Rail, #194, March 1999) Gniezno - Powidz should also see some weekend-only passenger trains in summer 1999. BLN 851.0320][GE][AM][AZ][TR] Caucasus frontiers: (BLN 843.075) Rail border-crossings from Georgia to Armenia and Georgia to Azerbaijan are on the 13-26 September 1999 itinerary of GW Travel's broad-gauge steam charter hotel-train, The Trans-Caucasian, as is a side trip on the 16km Gyumri - Akhurian branch in Armenia to the frontier with Turkey. Early plans also included a connecting Akhurian - Kars standard-gauge TCDD train. Information: GW Travel Ltd, 6 Old Market Place, Altrincham WA14 4NP; 0161 928 9410; fax 0161 941 6101. BLN 851.0321][AU] Sydney - Adelaide - Alice Springs: (BLN 815.0585) The Ghan began running through from Sydney to Alice Springs on 11 April 1999. (Railway Gazette International, May 1999) BLN 851.0322][CA] Hawk Jn - Siderite Jn - Michipicoten Harbour: Wisconsin Central's Canadian subsidiary Algoma Central Railway plan to close this 42km freight-only branch running west from Hawk Jn, 264km north of Sault Ste.Marie on their south-to-north Sault Ste.Marie - Hawk Jn - Hearst main line (BLN 799.0175). Private-sector or government bids to take the branch over are invited (International Railway Journal, May 1999). The line was first laid to link iron-ore mines near the Michipicoten river with steel-mills at Sault Ste.Marie, and the first section opened from the mines 30km west to the harbour on Lake Superior before the 12km east to Hawk Jn. From 1901 to 1965 the ACR was the Algoma Central & Hudson Bay Railway (BLN 766.0495) and until 1995 formed part of the Algoma Central Corporation, a Canadian conglomerate with steel and lumber interests which also operated bulk-carrier ships on the Great Lakes. Closure, or at least disposal, of the branch therefore marks a significant break with the railway's origins. Hawk Jn - Michipicoten (sic) still had a daily passenger service in 1957 (timetable valid from 28 April 1957 in the Official Guide for October 1957). By 1983 the short Siderite Jn - Siderite mineral branch was out of use but two weekday freight round-trips were still running between Hawk Jn and Wawa (previously Jamestown), with one continuing to Michipicoten Harbour (sic) (Railway Map of Northern Ontario; Clyde Publishing Ltd, Guelph, 1984). The current (1998) edition of the Railway Association of Canada's Canadian Railway Atlas calls the terminus Michipicoten without the 'Harbour' suffix. BLN 851.0323][US] Washington state: Amtrak's Empire Builder from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest splits at Spokane and one portion takes Burlington Northern Santa Fe's ex-Great Northern line via Stevens Pass and the 12km Cascade Tunnel, longest in the USA (Spokane - Wenatchee - Everett - Edmonds - Seattle, WA) while the other takes BNSF's ex-Spokane, Portland & Seattle line (Spokane - Pasco - Wishram, WA - Portland, OR). Lying between these routes, the ex-Northern Pacific line up the Yakima valley and over Stampede Pass (Pasco - Yakima - Seattle) last carried passenger trains in 1979. Indeed in 1983 Burlington Northern completely closed the NP route, but the demand for paths led BNSF to reopen it in 1996 for through freight trains. Stampede Pass may yet see Amtrak trains again, for in May 1999 Washington State Department of Transportation asked the state legislature for finance to study reintroduction of a passenger service, perhaps in 2001. WSDOT are also seeking state finance for Amtrak to run a second Vancouver, BC - Everett, WA - Edmonds - Seattle international train, perhaps from summer 1999. A new Seattle - Tacoma, WA commuter rail service is to begin in December 1999. (www2.trains.com) BLN 852.0324][FR] Ponte Leccia - Île Rousse - Calvi: (BLN 820.068; Ball 78) Of Corsica's metre-gauge rail system, the 73km Calvi branch is of particular interest. Ponte Leccia - Calvi trains are fast and noisy 1970s-built diesel-hydraulic railcars, traversing spectacular scenery. Many remains of closed stations, water-towers and other buildings associated with the steam era survive along the route. The Île Rousse - Calvi local shuttle service is still worked by a 1949-built Renault Class ABH8 diesel-mechanical railcar and a 1947-built Billard Class A150D6 former railcar converted to a control-trailer. This set produced exclamations of Incroyable! and Formidable! from French visitors on board, as it set off on 10 May 1999. How much longer will such museum-pieces last? Speed rises to about 60km/h but the ride is very bouncy and it would be a rash driver indeed that let the Renault into top gear. The last 2km section into Calvi is taken at 10km/h, due to the present poor condition of the track along the sandy beach - rather than the view of the topless bathers nearby. BLN 852.0325][BE] Dendermonde - Baasrode-Noord - Puurs: (BLN 847.0170; Ball 8A2-8A3) Stoomspoorlijn Dendermonde - Puurs are discussing with NMBS the repair of railcar #4302, and hope that running it from their base at Baasrode-Noord west into Dendermonde NMBS station can resume during summer 1999. (Febelrail) BLN 852.0326][NL] Amsterdam - Schiphol - Hoofddorp (- Leiden): (Ball 3B3) Several days before the May 1999 timetable-change the major station at Schiphol airport closed temporarily for significant engineering work. The old double-track tunnel taking the line under the airport is now out of use until perhaps spring 2000 while refurbishment takes place. A parallel new double-track tunnel came into service with the summer 1999 timetable, restoring passenger service to the airport station, and will eventually provide this important route with four tracks. BLN 852.0327][NL] Gilze-Rijen - Oosterhout-Vijf-Eiken: (BLN 848.0204; Ball 4A1) The Vijf-Eiken branch track is still connected to the north-side freight loop at Gilze-Rijen, but road-signs at level-crossings have been removed, indicating that it is out of use. On the south side of the running-line at Gilze-Rijen a connection into a military airfield remains, but it too is out of use, with level-crossing signs similarly removed. BLN 852.0328][DE] Berlin U-Bahn and S-Bahn museums: The former signal-box above Olympia-Stadion (Ost) station on line U2 houses various preserved U-Bahn exhibits, including the original 1930s miniature-lever power-frame that once controlled the extensive sidings at nearby Grunewald depot. BVG's service-information leaflets available in local buses and trams give the museum's opening dates, for example Saturday 8 May 1999 and another Saturday in June. In DDR times Griebnitzsee on the Berlin - Wannsee - Potsdam line was a stop whose sole function was to allow grim frontier-guards with dogs to check long-distance trains through the Wall surrounding West Berlin, but it has now reverted to the less dramatic role of an ordinary S-Bahnhof, with a former electricity-substation there housing S-Bahn exhibits. The S-Bahn information-office at Zoologischer Garten station and posters around the system advertise the museum opening dates, for example Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 during the month of May 1999. BLN 852.0329][DE] Berlin outer tramways: Three semi-rural tramways connect Berlin S-Bahn stations with small towns on the eastern edge of the metropolitan area. Layouts are shown in Quail's 1994 Berlin Track Maps and in the LRTA's 1996 Tramway & Light Railway Atlas of Germany. Although operated independently, not by the capital's BVG, each line has a number in the BVG tram-route numbering system. Berlin tickets for Zone C are valid, and visiting all three systems in a single day is good value for money with a Berlin ride-at-will ticket. The connecting S-Bahn trains and the trams themselves all run at 20-minute intervals daily including Sundays. Strausberger Eisenbahn GmbH (S-Bhf Strausberg - Strausberg Lustgarten; Ball 30A3; tram #89) are a standard-gauge former steam railway company, still with freight connections from DB though these look little-used. Starting from Strausberg station on line S5, their single-track passenger route with passing-loops runs mainly on roadside reservation for just under 6km to Lustgarten terminus in the town-centre, which has a tourist-information office. On 9 May 1999, former Berlin four-wheel trams of the late 1960s were operating, though the line also has more modern Czech articulated cars. Starting from Friedrichshagen on line S3, Schöneicher-Rüdersdorfer Strassenbahn GmbH (S-Bhf Friedrichshagen - Alt-Rüdersdorf; Ball 32B2; tram #88) operate a c.14km metre-gauge line through the small towns of Schöneiche and Rüdersdorf to a terminus in the countryside at Alt-Rüdersdorf. This has a mix of street-running and reservation, single and double track, with turning-circles at each end for the single-ended articulated Czech trams of c.1980. Starting from Rahnsdorf on line S3, the standard-gauge single track of Woltersdorfer Strassenbahn GmbH (S-Bhf Rahnsdorf - Woltersdorf Schleuse; Ball 32B2; tram #87) runs mainly in the road to the town of Woltersdorf, terminating at Woltersdorf Schleuse, where a large lock and a lifting road-bridge were under reconstruction in May 1999. The trams are four-wheelers from c.1960 that once ran in Dessau and Schwerin, and run round their four-wheel trailers at each terminus. BVG tram routes #60, 61 and 68 of the main Berlin city system also penetrate quite rural areas alongside the lakes to the south-east of the city. Route #60 terminates at Wasserwerk Friedrichshagen where one of the original ornate brick buildings and its steam pumping-engines are now a waterworks museum. BLN 852.0330][DE][BE] Stolberg (Rheinland) Hbf - Walheim DB - Raeren SNCB: (Ball DE-37A1, BE-10A2) After regular traffic ceased, this line remained a NATO strategic diversionary route (BLN 836.0491) for out-of-gauge military loads too large for the Gemmenich or Botzelaer frontier tunnel on the Aachen West DB - Montzen SNCB route used by ordinary freight. However, installation of a third, centred, pair of rails through the double-track tunnel removed this justification for the retention of Stolberg - Raeren in 1991. The summer tourist trains connecting with the Belgian Vennbahn (BLN 747 suppt) have been the only recent traffic and are now threatened (BLN 842.032). It seems however that a German firm are seeking to buy the section from Stolberg Hbf to the Belgian frontier, and also to restore the nearby Stolberg - Aldorf - Herzogenrath line, all with a view to setting up a local railway network, perhaps by May 2000. The latter line once served a large coke-works at Aldorf, whose site has now been completely cleared and rehabilitated. (Trans-fer, #111, April 1999) BLN 852.0331][DE] Dülken - Waldniel: (Ball 37B2) This freight branch north-west of Mönchengladbach had been severed close to the junction by end-May 1999, though the rest of its track appeared to remain in place. BLN 852.0332][DE] Kassel - Hessisch-Lichtenau: trams on railways: (Ball 40A2-40B2) Kasseler Verkehrs-Gesellschaft are from 27 June 1999 to run light-rail passenger services east on this section of the latterly freight-only Lossetalbahn. (Railway Gazette International, June 1999) Since 1995 KVG have operated trams on the Kassel - Naumburg freight line west as far as Baunatal Grossenritte (BLN 756.0280). BLN 852.0333][AT] Kapfenberg - Thörl in Steiermark - Aflenz - Seebach-Turnau (- Au-Seewiesen): (BLN 846.0145; Ball 74B1) Given the recent negative attitude of the authorities, the preservation group Verein Thörlerbahn say tourist-train operation on the line will be impossible in 1999, and probably in future. (http://www.bahn.sembach.de) BLN 852.0334][DK][SE] Helsingřr DSB - Helsingborg SJ: (BLN 824.0181; Ball DK-4B1, SE-25A2) With the Křbenhavn DSB - Malmö SJ fixed link across the Řresund/Öresund in closer prospect, passenger-train workings on the ferry were to change with Sweden's new 14 June 1999 timetable. Three through trips by Křbenhavn - Göteborg Kustpilen trains were to cease, but for summer 1999 at least the train-ferry will see four pairs of through services: the traditional Křbenhavn - Oslo and Křbenhavn - Stockholm overnight trains and new Křbenhavn - Oslo and Křbenhavn - Stockholm day trains. BLN 852.0335][SE] Göteborg - Halmstad - Helsingborg: (Ball 21A1-25A2) Between Varberg and Falkenberg the west-coast line (Västkustbanan) now runs parallel with and immediately west of the E6/E20 main road. It seems to have been rerouted relatively recently, for the ballast on the old formation is almost entirely free of vegetation. Possibly the earliest new section is between Brännarp and Halmstad, where the railway has been diverted inland on an alignment that appears on a map dated 1991. The new line converges with the Värnamo - Halmstad secondary line on the northern edge of the town. Through Halmstad itself most of the formation of the old main line is now a road (Järnvägsleden), but the section near the junction, including the bridge over the river Nissan, is a footpath. The old Halmstad Norra station building still stands on the west side of the river. On the new Halmstad - Bĺstad section the station relocated is Laholm not Halholm (BLN 833.0430). BLN 852.0336][SE] Helsingborg - Landskrona - Lund: (Ball 25A2-25A1) At Helsingborg the new railway to Lund now being built starts on the east side of the present main line and then climbs to cross it on an overbridge. Construction of this bridge appears to have been the reason for the July 1998 diversion of passenger trains via the Ängelholm - Ĺstorp - Teckomatorp freight line (BLN 833.0430). The new line passes directly to the east of the town of Landskrona. It seems that the present Kävlinge - Landskrona branch (BLN 829.0310) will close, as the new formation crosses it several times on the level, but the short section of line to the present Landskrona station is being retained, perhaps for freight only. A flying junction has been built where it diverges from the new formation, and the branch has already been slewed to its new alignment. At Lund, the platform the Lund - Kävlinge - Landskrona shuttle trains run from is a loop rather than a bay (BLN 811.0471). BLN 852.0338][CH] Luzern - Kupferhammer - Kriens: (BLN 847.0185; Ball 93A3) The Luzern - Kupferhammer section has four rails since the standard-gauge Kriens-Luzern Bahn shares the formation of SBB's metre-gauge Luzern - Brünig line. Beyond, on the 1.2km Kupferhammer - Kriens section, losses were such as to threaten its closure during 1997 (Today's Railways, June 1997). On 1 November 1997 the city of Luzern sold the KLB for CHF25,000 (= c.Ł12,000) to an operating co-operative including factories and the town councils of Horw and Kriens (Today's Railways, December 1997; L'Écho du Rail, #179, January 1998) but this did not save Kupferhammer - Kriens, which closed 23 May 1998 (Schienennetz Schweiz, second edition). BLN 852.0337][ES] Ribes Enllaç - Ribes Vila - Queralbs - Nuria: (Ball 15A3) On the broad-gauge Barcelona - Puigcerda RENFE - La Tour-de-Carol SNCF line, Ribes de Freser RENFE station has an adjoining terminal-bay section called Ribes Enllaç (= junction, in Catalan). From here Ferrocarrils Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC, the Catalonian provincial government railways) run an attractive 13km metre-gauge electric line climbing to a height of 1965m in the Pyrenees mountains, Spain's highest railway and probably now its only rack operation. A short uphill adhesion section brings the train to Ribes town station, where the depot and workshops are, and north of which the slow climb up the rack begins. The local road is not far from the line as far as Queralbs, but beyond only a steep footpath follows the railway to Nuria, a mountain resort with cable-car and ski-lifts, plus a complex including a hotel, youth-hostel, and a church with the figure of a saint with skis. On 4 May 1999 the train was a modern two-car electric unit which shunted freight wagons of supplies it had brought up to Nuria. Fare was about Ł9, which also covered a cable-car trip and admission to a small exhibition at Nuria about the rack railway. BLN 852.0339][NO] Oslo trams and metro: From 30 May 1999 trams #17 and 18 were extended from Ullevĺl Hageby (John Colletts plass) on new track to Rikshospitalet, the national hospital resited from the inner city to the north-west suburb of Gaustad (BLN 845.0123). At Forskningsparken, two stops south of Rikshospitalet on the new section of route, work has begun on the upper level of a tram-metro interchange with T-bane route #5. The tram-stops are in place, but the T-bane station is not yet ready. When Forskningsparken station opens, perhaps with the timetable change on 22 August 1999, it is to replace Vestgrensa, the next Sognsvannslijnen station to the north, which remains in the summer 1999 timetable. Rikshospitalet terminus has no turning-loop, which is odd, since all Oslo trams are single-ended. The trams reverse empty to the previous stop, run round a loop there and reverse back to the terminus to pick up passengers. The north-eastern end of route #17 was also to change on 30 May. Instead of running north-east on the tracks previously shared with trams #12 and 15 via Torshov to terminate at Sinsenkrysset, route #17 was to share with #10 and 11, running past Sinsenkrysset to terminate one stop further north, outside the tram-depot, at Grefsen stasjon on the NSB, eliminating turnbacks at the Sinsenkrysset triangle. BLN 852.0340][NO] Oslo Sentral - Lillestrřm - Asper - Gardermoen - Eidsvoll: (BLN 825.0213; Ball 20B1-20B2) BAA's Heathrow Express is not unique in hitting unwary air-travellers with a premium fare. On flying into Gardermoen airport little indication is given of the choice of trains for Oslo, to which the single fare is NOK90 on the Airport Express, on which no InterRail, Eurodomino, FIP or other concessionary tickets are accepted, in contrast to NOK58 (= Ł4.55) on the ordinary NSB Oslo - Lillehammer services, which call at least hourly and accept the full range of tickets. From near Oslo S out to Lillestrřm the new line (Gardermobanen) runs in a tunnel that has had serious construction problems and is still not in service. From Lillestrřm to south of Jessheim the new line largely follows the old main line (Hovedbanen) with some of the curves smoothed out, deviating in places where the single-track old line follows its original alignment to serve local stations. South of Jessheim the airport line loops away to the west to serve Gardermoen, where the Airport Express trains terminate and start in centre platforms, reversing in sidings north of the station. Further north the Gardermobane loop becomes single and rejoins the Hovedbane at Eidsvoll. The junction is immediately north-west of the old Eidsvoll station, and a new station has been built there, mainly on the new line, with three platforms, #1 on the west side having the main station building and #2 and 3 forming an island. The Hovedbane connects with the Gardermobane part way along platform 3, just beyond the end of the platform canopy, forcing local passengers to get wet when it rains! BLN 852.0341][NO] (Oslo -) Roa - Hřnefoss: (Ball 20B2-20A2) Though shown in Ball as freight-only with intermediate stations closed, this electrified line continues to host passenger trains (EGTRE NO99/3). Monday-Friday commuter workings booked to call at the intermediate stations of Kalvsjř, Grindvoll and Jevnaker are shown in Rutebok for Norge table 21-300, but the casual reader of NSB's timetable leaflets might miss their appearance as a sidenote in the leaflet for the Oslo - Roa - Gjřvik line (Ball 13A1-13A2). BLN 852.0342][NO] (Oslo -) Sarpsborg - Kornsjř NSB - Göteborg SJ: (BLN 738.0267, 843.072; Ball 21A2) At Kornsjř, 1km short of the Swedish frontier, the impressive Norwegian border station latterly saw passenger stops only at 01:15 and 04:33 when the Oslo - Křbenhavn overnight trains called, but it lost even this vestigial service in January 1999. When southbound Swedish electric unit on an SMoK railtour charter called briefly to set down its NSB pilot train-crew on 25 May 1999, Kornsjř station was still displaying a manuscript notice saying that trains would cease to call from Tuesday 12 January. The new NSB timetable started on Sunday 10 January, but it seems the overnight departures on Sunday night may have continued to call at Kornsjř in the early hours of Monday 11 January, perhaps to set down returning weekenders for the last time. BLN 852.0343][NO] (Hjuksebř -) Notodden - Tinnoset - (Tinnsjř train-ferry) - Mćl - Rjukan (- Vemork): (BLN 848.0232; Ball 20B3-12A1) Shortly after Norway gained independence from Sweden in 1905, a new industrial complex exploiting copious local hydro-electric power was built in what had been a remote, narrow pastoral valley. To bring people in and products out, Norsk Hydro sponsored two standard-gauge railways linked by a train-ferry. The 30km Notodden - Tinnoset line (Tinnosbanen), the 30km ferry route along the lake, Tinnsjř, and the 16km Mćl - Rjukan line (Rjukanbanen) were all inaugurated for public service 9 August 1909. A short but very steeply-graded freight-only extension beyond Rjukan served industry at Vemork. The railways were electrified in 1911, and Notodden - Tinnoset was taken over by the state railway NSB on 1 July 1920. Nomenclature has changed over the years: Rjukanbanen was originally Vestfjorddalsbanen, Mćl was known as Rollag until 1921 and Rjukan was Saaheim until 1912. During World War II the area became of strategic importance when its occupation raised fears of German exploitation of a plant at Vemork to produce deuterium oxide ('heavy water'), used in moderating nuclear reactions and thus of value to Hitler's government in developing an atomic weapon. In 1943 the Norwegian resistance were successful in preventing shipment of heavy water from Vemork to Germany, by planting explosives on the train-ferry Hydro which sank the vessel and its then-irreplaceable cargo in the middle of the lake, a story immortalised in the film Heroes of Telemark. Passenger trains on the private RjB's Mćl - Rjukan section ceased 31 May 1970 and on NSB's Notodden - Tinnoset section 1 January 1991. Norsk Hydro freight traffic transferred to the roads, and on 5 July 1991 the train-ferries ceased to operate. Mćl - Rjukan was in effect abandoned and Rjukan - Vemork was lifted. Notodden - Tinnoset remained available for freight traffic, but none passed. Formed in 1992, preservation group Rjukan- og Tinnosbanens Venner hope to restore both the railways and the two ferries for tourist service. The out-of-use Tinnosbane remains in NSB ownership south of an RjB-NSB end-on junction at the landward end of the Tinnoset linkspan. Operating arrangements here remain the subject of discussion with the Norwegian authorities, delaying the start of passenger services. Meanwhile activities have been concentrated north of Tinnoset. After a frustrating gestation process, the ferries and the RjB were in 1997 handed over to Stiftelsen Rjukanbanen, a foundation supported by the preservation group, and the track that passes through the active Norsk Hydro industrial area at Rjukan is now held on a long lease. The first RjB works train under the new administration ran on 21 April 1998, and the train-ferry Storegut, a fine 1956-built motor-vessel, became available for charter trips from August 1998. The other surviving train-ferry, the 1929-built steamship Ammonia, is also being restored. The preservation group had planned to start diesel-hauled passenger trains in summer 1999, and still hope this may be possible, but since work on the overhead wiring remains to be done, electric trains cannot begin before 2000. Passenger operation of a sort started on 2 May 1999 when Dressinsykling (rail-cycling) was offered to the public at times when works trains are not running. Conflicts are prevented by a simple but effective train-staff system, unusual in Norwegian railway practice though familiar in Britain. 'Draisines' have been constructed from thirty cycle kits and are available for hire from near Mćl station. The rail-cycles seem to be barred from the Mćl station area itself and from the leased section of line in Rjukan, where gates limit them to reaching only the southern end of that town. Rjukan station building is shared by the preservation group and the local radio station. Contact: Stiftelsen Rjukanbanen, Rjukan stasjon, N-3660 Rjukan; +47 35 09 22 85; fax +47 35 08 15 06. Rjukan tourist bureau can be e-mailed at tinntur@telnett.no. BLN 852.0344][PL] Poland: May 1999 timetable: (BLN 851.0318) Warszawa Gdanska station was to lose all its long-distance trains at the timetable change. Passenger closures were to include (Kraków Glówny -) Kraków Batowice - Kraków Nowa Huta - Podleze (23km; PKP 122), Katowice Ligota - Katowice Ochojec (2km; PKP 151) and Wloszczowa Polaczenie - Zelislawice (EGTRE PL 99/1; the short north-to-west curve off the Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa (= Central Main Line).. BLN 852.0345][SY][IQ] (Nusaybin TCDD -) Al-Qamishli CFS - Rabia al-Yaroubiah IRR (- Mosul - Baghdad): Two lines once connected the Chemins de Fer Syriens and the Iraqi Republic Railways, and both countries have recently been discussing restoration of international rail links for freight and passengers. Before the 1991 Gulf War, through wagons from Europe could be routed via Turkey to Al-Qamishli in Syria, cutting across the north-east corner of that country to Rabia al-Yaroubiah in Iraq, and on to Mosul and Baghdad. Unsurprisingly in these troubled times this traffic no longer flows, but a line heading south-west within Syria (Al-Qamishli - Al-Hasakah - Dayr-az-Zawr) connects the oilfield area of Al-Qamishli, and the otherwise isolated and now out-of-use northern link, with the rest of the CFS standard-gauge system. The southern link, built in the 1980s with aid from the then Soviet Union, follows the river Al-Furat (= Euphrates) where it crosses from Syria to Iraq. Though unavailable as an international route in recent years, this line (Dayr-az-Zawr - Abu Kamal CFS - Husaiba IRR - Al-Qa'im - Baghdad) remains complete on the Iraqi side and currently carries passengers from the Syrian border. (partly CNN) BLN 852.0346][US] Santa Clara County, California: light rail: (BLN 804.0298) The 12.2km Tasman West light-rail extension from Old Ironsides west along Tasman Drive to Mountain View is planned to open formally on 17 December 1999, with free rides till commercial operation begins on 20 December. (Railway Gazette International, May 1999) BLN 852.0347][ZW] (Bulawayo -) Colleen Bawn - Beitbridge: The Beitbridge - Bulawayo Railway will connect Zimbabwe's second city more directly with South Africa. The new 170km section of 1067mm-gauge line is to open on 15 July 1999, making a strategic link between NRZ's Bulawayo - Colleen Bawn - West Nicholson branch and the Harare - Gweru - Rutenga - Beitbridge NRZ - Messina SAS - Pretoria line south across the frontier. (Railway Gazette International, June 1999) rinbad 0001][GB] (London Waterloo -) Fawkham Jn - Southfleet Jn - Ashford International - Continental Jn: (Baker 12A2-13B2) Preliminary works to move existing pipes and cables from beneath the formation had already been under way for some months when UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott officially launched construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link at Cuxton on the bank of the river Medway in Kent on 15 October 1998. By June 1999 CTRL construction works were clearly visible alongside the M20 motorway for most of the distance from Maidstone to Ashford, where vegetation had been cleared and topsoil removed. By 2003 the first section of the CTRL should give Eurostar trains out of Waterloo a new fast route from Fawkham Jn (between Farningham Road and Longfield on the Swanley - Rochester line) to the Tunnel. 0002][IE] Mullingar - Moate - Athlone: (BLN 845.0109) CIE have chosen Mullingar as the site for Ireland's national transport museum, a EUR13M project for which finance has yet to be found, though a local spokesman was hopeful of opening in 2001. The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland already keep some of their stock in Mullingar, and the Royal Canal also passes nearby. The out-of-use 45km ex-Midland Great Western Mullingar - Athlone line could see steam trains based at a working museum. (Irish Times, 13 May 1999) 0003][IE] County Offaly peat railways: An extensive system of 914mm-gauge railways owned by Bord na Móna, the Irish Turf Board, has over many years carried tonnes of peat ('turf') from Boora bog south-west of Tullamore to two Electricity Supply Board generating-stations, Shannonbridge and Ferbane. Recently Boora peat has been hauled some 30km to Shannonbridge power-station, south-west of Athlone (see Quail Railway Track Diagrams - Ireland or Baker Rail Atlas 8th edition, 94A1). On 13 June 1999, as an add-on to a main-line tour, the Irish Traction Group ran a trip on the Boora lines using a diesel locomotive and a single well-filled coach borrowed from the BnM Coolmacnoise & West Offaly Railway tourist operation at Blackwater. The little train started from Derrinlough BnM briquette-factory to the south of the system, and ran north to Ferbane power-station, which was not operating at the time and had its loop blocked by wagons, preventing a complete circuit. After a lunch-break the train continued north-west of Ferbane to the main peat-working area and, after traversing some very rough track extremely cautiously, and judiciously avoiding a loop with a missing track-section, it took another loop to end an interesting trip at Boora BnM workshops. 0004][FR] Lille museum tramway: (Ball 7A1 not shown) About 5km to the north of Lille city-centre in the suburb of Marquette-lez-Lille, the metre-gauge Tramway Touristique de la Vallée de la Deűle, opened 1 April 1995, runs from Marquette Pont Mabille past Marquette Depôt for 1.5km north-west along the bank of the river Deűle to Wambrechies Vent de Bise. A local-authority corridor project entitled la coulée verte de la Deűle which is to provide un espace naturel métropolitain along the river from Lambersart to Deűlemont offers the possibility of the line being extended, though the tramway would not run anything like the full distance. Extension from Marquette Pont Mabille south towards the city-centre is blocked by a road embankment, but extension to the north would be possible beyond the passing-loop at Wambrechies, into which trams do not normally venture at present. In 1999 the tramway operates every Sunday and holiday afternoon from April to September, relatively frequently for a French tourist line, and it can easily be visited in a day trip from southern England. Buses #9 and 18 run from Lille Flandres station to Marquette Mairie, where the trams can be found round the back of a nearby housing estate. The operators, preservation group Amitram, founded 1968, have a number of old tramcars and buses, but most are non-operational and stored away from the line. Of the four working electric cars, only one is local, #304 having been built 1906 for the Tramway Roubaix-Tourcoing, the other three being Swiss, from Bern, Neuchâtel and Fribourg. 0005][FR] Chinon - Beuxes - Loudun - Arçay - Thouars: (BLN 762.0399, 848.0201; Ball 34B1-44A3) This line lost its passenger trains 31 May 1970, and its freight services have since seen a series of operators. From 1 February 1971 Arçay - Thouars closed completely and for the rest of 1971 CFD ran Chinon - Arçay freight trains on behalf of SNCF. From 1972 to 1989 SNCF ran its own freight, also operating the Loudun - Le Bouchet and Arçay - St.Jean-de-Sauves branches from the Chinon end. From March 1989 the preservation group Trains ŕ Vapeur de Touraine (BLN 814.0539) took over the freight workings. On 28 January 1992 the western end, Arçay - Thouars, reopened for freight and the northern end, Chinon - Beuxes, closed completely, though Chinon - Beuxes continued to appear on official French rail network plans at least as late as 1996. According to Howarth's Tourist Railways of France, second edition, TVT continued for a period in 1992 working the freight trains on the western side of the Chinon - Beuxes gap, with their locomotives having to run light Chinon - St.Pierre-des-Corps - Saumur - Thouars. Presumably however SNCF are again the operators of the lines east of Thouars. The 1995 proposal by Thouars town council that SNCF should reopen Chinon - Thouars to passengers does not seem to have progressed. 0006][FR] Mont St.Michel: The 2km causeway and huge ugly car-park right at the base of the 1000-year-old Benedictine abbey on its rock, France's most-visited monument outside Paris, are to be replaced by 2003 by parking for 4000 cars about 2.5km inland and a shuttle service of 'trains' over a new bridge to Mont St.Michel. (Guardian, 8 June 1999) It seems however these may be road-trains with no fixed track, and not a 9km rail link from Pontorson-Mont-St.Michel on the Folligny - Dol line (BLN 835.0454; Ball 22B2). 0007][BE] Bruxelles - Ličge: (BLN 802.0227; Ball 9A2-9B2) Between Leuven and Awans the high-speed line is being built alongside motorway E40. Earthworks and concrete bridges were under construction in June 1999. For much of the way one of the eastbound lanes of the autoroute has been reserved for exclusive use of rail construction traffic, with a (not widely observed) speed limit of 90km/h imposed on the other two lanes. Further east, between Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher and Ans, all trains now use the former 'slow' lines via the old Voroux station in place of the former 'fast' lines slightly to the north via Voroux-Goreux, which have been severed at the west end. The 'up' line was swapped on the weekend of 27-28 February and the 'down' line on the weekend of 8-9 May 1999. New platforms have been constructed on the totally rebuilt tracks at Voroux, Bierset and Ans. 0008][LU] Bettembourg - Dudelange-Usines: (Ball 18A1) With the timetable change of 30 May 1999 CFL opened two new halts on this 6km branch close to the French border, which now sees a RegioSprinter light diesel railcar hired from Dürener Kreisbahn calling at Dudelange-Burange, Dudelange-Ville, Dudelange-Centre and Dudelange-Usines. (CFL Express, 2/99) 0009][DE][PL] Wolgaster Fähre - Zinnowitz - Seebad Heringsdorf - Ahlbeck Grenze (- Swinemünde Bad): (BLN 849.0242; Ball DE-13B1-14A1, PL-31A2) Up to 30,000 people a day or 2.6 million a year use the pedestrian-only German-Polish frontier crossing-point at Ahlbeck Grenze and most of them walk the 2.5km to or from the centre of Swinoujscie, formerly the German town of Swinemünde. From the present terminus of Usedomer Bäderbahn's regional trains at Ahlbeck Grenze, the disused railway embankment remains in good order for 1.9km as far as the former station of Swinemünde Bad on the western edge of the town, but a housing estate has been built over the formation beyond to the former Swinemünde Hbf. The project to extend UBB trains therefore is envisaged as having two phases, the first being to a new Swinoujscie UBB terminal station on the site of Swinemünde Bad. The second, more ambitious, phase would require trains to reverse at Swinoujscie UBB and take an entirely new curve tightly circling the western edge of the built-up area before rejoining the formation of the abandoned Swinemünde Bad - Swinemünde Hbf - Garz - Kutzow - Karnin - Ducherow line (BLN 830.0328), then heading back into Germany for some 3km to reach the small regional airfield, Flugplatz Heringsdorf, near Garz. Further projects, perhaps restoration back to Ducherow, and/or a fixed link over or under the broad navigation channel of the Swine estuary to the Swinoujscie - Miedzyzdroje PKP line on the east bank (BLN 810.0435), are also under consideration. (Bahn Report, 3/99) Investment on such a grand scale must surely be further in the future, perhaps becoming possible when Poland joins the European Union. 0010][DE] Potsdam: (BLN 830.0345; EGTRE 99/268-9; Ball 31B1-31A1) Potsdam Stadt station is reportedly to become Potsdam Hbf, but the old name is still shown in the summer 1999 Kursbuch. At Potsdam-Wildpark station the imperial Kaiserbahnhof building was being renovated in November 1998, and the station has now been renamed Potsdam Park Sanssouci, after the huge and impressive park and palace nearby, comparable to Windsor or Versailles. Pirschheide, in DDR days Potsdam's Hauptbahnhof, but latterly an unstaffed halt, has in May 1999 seen further decline. Warszawa - Köln overnight trains EN248/9 probably still use the Saarmund - Potsdam-Pirschheide - Werder (Havel) section, without stopping, but the Strausberg Nord - Berlin-Lichtenberg - Pirschheide - Golm weekday trains RB5837/8 no longer run, and Potsdam-Pirschheide now has no passenger trains calling at its high-level platforms. 0011][PT] Porto - Trofa - Lousado - Santo Tirso - Guimarăes: (BLN 826.0235, 828.0289, 838.0579, 848.0219, 850.0273, 851.0309; Ball 7A1-7B1) Trofa - Santo Tirso (new station) broad-gauge shuttle trains replaced the Trofa - Santo Tirso (old station) buses connecting the two metre-gauge sections on some date before 26 November 1998. When a BLN reporter used the new service on that date blank paper had recently been pasted over the bus times on timetable posters at Porto Trindade. No information was anywhere on display at Porto Săo Bento about through broad-gauge trains to Santo Tirso, but a broad-gauge electric unit stabled at Santo Tirso and not in use on the shuttle service may have been for such a working. Santo Tirso old station was already closed and metre-gauge Santo Tirso - Guimarăes services passed it without stopping. 0012][PT] Coimbra-B - Coimbra - Coimbra-Parque - Serpins: (BLN 776.0159, 806.0341; Ball 17B2) The out-of-town Coimbra-B station on the Lisboa - Porto main line (B = bifurcaçăo = junction) is still referred to locally, though not officially, as Coimbra 'Estaçăo Velha' (= old station), while Coimbra is the 'Estaçăo Nova' (= new station). Continuing beyond Coimbra's platform 1 on the south-west side of what is otherwise a terminus, a single line heads south-eastwards, first running through the street, crossing at least one main road and paralleling the street side of the attractive riverside park. Coimbra-Parque 'station' was till about 1988 no more than a bus-stop-type halt on the street at the edge of the park, only a short walk from the main station beyond a busy intersection where a road-bridge crosses the river Mondego. In April 1988 a more significant station was under construction but not yet open, a few hundred metres to the south-east on a site with a little more space. This presumably became the present Coimbra-Parque, thus slightly lengthening the Coimbra - Coimbra-Parque street section with its vestigial passenger service. In the spring 1999 timetable these advertised trips of the Serpins branch train on the street section, restricted to the early morning to avoid conflict with road traffic, appeared unbalanced: the up train was daily, the down one Mon-Sat only. An unadvertised empty working ran on Sundays at about 22:15 from Coimbra to form train #6535 22:30 Coimbra-Parque - Serpins. This was not required Mon-Fri when the 22:30 was formed by an inbound working from Serpins, nor on Saturdays when the 22:30 did not run. 0013][PT] Lagos - Portimăo - Silves - Tunes - Albufeira - Faro - Tavira - Vila Real de Santo Antonio: (Ball 33A2-34A2) From the timetable-change on 30 May 1999 Barreiro - Tunes - Lagos Inter-Regional through trains ceased, and Barreiro - Lagos passengers have to change at Tunes, perhaps presaging the future service pattern when the whole (Lisboa -) Aguas de Moura - Ermidas-Sado - Funcheira - Tunes - Albufeira - Faro main line is electrified (BLN 793.018; Ball 26A2-33B2). All crossings on the Lagos - Tunes section are timetabled to take place at Portimăo and Silves which are still staffed. At Silves the track to the goods shed has been disconnected. New credit-card-size computerised tickets are issued at Lagos, Portimăo and Tunes, but in early June 1999 Silves was still issuing traditional Edmondson card tickets. Mexilhoeira Grande, Estombar and Alcantarilha ceased to issue tickets 1 January 1999 and became unstaffed from 30 May, and their buildings are now locked up. The new timetable pages show no trains calling at Figueira, Alvor, Alvalede, Benfarras, Vale de Eguas, Marim, Bias and Santa Rita halts, although they are not officially closed and may remain as request-stops (as in BLN 780.0244). Nor does the timetable make any mention of Vila Real de Santo Antonio-Guadiana, the riverside terminus, which is overgrown and apparently derelict (BLN 851.0311). All trains along the Algarve coast are now Regional (that is, local), and most are hauled by Class 1400 diesel locomotives, working Lagos - Tunes - Faro, though in some cases the stock adopts a new train-number and also runs forward Faro - Tavira or Faro - Tavira - Vila Real. 0014][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo: transporter-bridge and funiculars: The world's first transporter-bridge, in effect a 162m-long broad-gauge railway with a suspended car, is the Puente Vizcaya, opened 28 July 1893 across the river Nervión from near Areeta metro station to Portugalete on the Bilbao Abando - Olabeaga - Desertu-Barakaldo - Santurtzi RENFE branch (BLN 851.0312; Ball 5B3-5A3). On the west bank of the Nervión, accessible from Desertu-Barakaldo RENFE station by Bizkabus to its lower station of La Escontrilla/San Salvador del Valle, the Funicular de la Reinata is operated by EuskoTren, the Basque railways (BLN 789.0433). Another funicular in the city is run by a local council enterprise, Funicular de Artxanda SA. Opened 7 October 1915, its two cars run every 15 minutes carrying up to 70 passengers, climbing at 18km/h the 770m from Plaza Funicular to Monte Archanda/Artxanda. Information on the operating times and fares of the bridge and funiculars, as also on the city's RENFE, FEVE, EuskoTren and Metro Bilbao rail services, can be found at http://www.bilbao.net/ 0015][NO] Trondheim trams: The city's small metre-gauge system opened 1901, from St.Olavs gata in the city-centre to a depot and workshop about 5km south-west at Munkvoll, the original terminus till 1925. By 1933 the line extended to its present length of 8.8km, out past Kyvannet lake to Lian. On 13 June 1988 A/S Trondheim Trafikkselskap closed the tramway, though museum trams ran until 1 November 1988. However the city council found new operators, A/S Grĺkallbanen, to begin running again in 1990. Munkvoll now has a tramway museum open on summer Saturdays. 0016][YU] (Beograd -) Pozega - Bistrica na Limu - Podgorica: (Ball 52A3-52A2) NATO warplanes cut the electrified JZ main line between the Yugoslav and Serbian capital Beograd and the Montenegrin capital Podgorica, formerly Titograd. This is the only railway from Serbia into Montenegro. A photograph in the Guardian for 11 June 1999 showed a modern steel-girder bridge, with remains of a line of rails and catenary supports, lying in the river Lim at Bistrica na Limu, between Priboj and Prijepolje in Serbia. 0017][SI][HU] (Ljubljana - Pivka -) Divaca - Hrpelje Kozina - Koper: (BLN 836.0536; Ball 45B1-45A1) Just south of Trieste in Italy, on Slovenia's very short Adriatic coastline, is the country's only significant port, Koper. Founded as recently as 1957, the port is prospering, particularly by unloading new cars from Asia coming via the Suez Canal to central Europe. By handling this traffic reliably Koper can charge more than Rotterdam, eight days' extra sailing-time to the north. Innovative methods include calling out hundreds of students to drive cars quickly and safely off a ship when it arrives, at a rate of 200 cars an hour - with a world record of 8,600 cars from one vessel! The existing steeply-graded, sinuous and single-track 43km Divaca - Koper SZ rail link, electrified at Slovenia's standard 3000V dc, is a potential bottleneck threatening the port's further growth prosperity, so plans are to seek private capital to rebuild it with a 25-30-year operating concession. Freight from Koper Luka (luka = port) will also be an important user of the Murska Sobota - Puconci SZ - Zalalövö MÁV Slovenia-Hungary link planned to open during 1999 (BLN 846.0157; Ball 46B3). (Financial Times, 7 June 1999) 0018][TH] Bangkok metro: Financial troubles in South-east Asia generally and problems with the main contractor have not eased construction of the new Bangkok Mass Transit System, but it is expected to open for business in November before an official opening on 5 December 1999, birthday of the King of Thailand. Test trains have been running (BLN 840.0639) and the Bangkok Post recently showed a photograph of one negotiating a sharp curve on the BTS line over Sathorn Road. The paper was covering two issues. A local Catholic school on Phloen Chit Road was protesting about a nearby BTS station causing increased local pollution which, given Bangkok's legendary traffic jams, seems an odd ground on which to oppose an electric railway built to reduce road congestion. Disabled groups concerned about access from street-level to the mostly-elevated platforms were being partially mollified by an agreement that lifts should be provided at some of the major stations, though the agreement does not say who will provide the necessary finance. 0019][CA] Toronto - Doncaster - Washago, ON - ... - Edmonton, AB - Vancouver, BC: VIA Rail Canada's westbound transcontinental train #1, the Canadian, has since September 1996 (BLN 706.010, 797.0126) been routed east out of Toronto Union Station then north via Oriole and Doncaster over CN's Bala Subdivision along the east shore of Lake Simcoe to its first scheduled stop at Washago. On 18 May 1999 however train #1 somewhat unexpectedly left Toronto westward then turned north on the Toronto - Snider - Newmarket - Bradford GO Transit commuter line as if taking its old route via CN's Newmarket Subdivision, now partly abandoned north of Bradford. Some 30-45 minutes later, the train stopped at what must have been Snider junction, reversed on to the north-to-west curve there, reversed again to head east for some 8km on CN's York Subdivision and took the west-to-north curve at Doncaster, identified by a sign. Here it regained what presumably would have been its booked route on the Bala Subdivision, passing through the GO commuter stations at Langstaff and Richmond Hill. Possibly the Toronto - Oriole - Doncaster section was unavailable for some reason, because freight traffic was heavy, progress on the single track was slow, and arrival at Washago was over 1 hour behind schedule, having taken over 31/2 hours for the 116km shown in the timetable. The new VIA passenger station a short distance from the main-line junction at Edmonton (BLN 816.0609), opened in early 1998 according to on-train staff. A direct curve exists to the line serving the station, but the Canadian does not use it, instead making a backup move so that the locomotives can remain on the same end of the train. A final backup occurs just before arrival in Vancouver, where the train reverses around a wye to leave the traction at the end of the consist away from the buffer-stops. 0020][US] Los Angeles, CA: Metro: (BLN 846.0161, 847.0192) The 7.4km extension of the 'heavy-rail' Red Line from Wilshire & Vermont north and west to Hollywood & Vine was duly celebrated with Tinseltown razzmatazz on 11 June and opened to the public on Saturday 12 June 1999, with free rides on the Red Line all weekend and entertainment events on both days at the five new stations. 0021][US] Fort Worth, TX - Oklahoma City, OK: (BLN 829.0319) Amtrak returned to the state of Oklahoma on 14 June 1999 with the Heartland Flyer, a new daily passenger service over the former Santa Fe Texas Chief route. 0022][US] New Jersey Transit: South Jersey light rail: After the June 1999 division of the large Conrail system between the two major eastern US freight operators, Norfolk Southern and CSX, the 1830s-built Camden & Amboy Railroad temporarily remains among the jointly-owned 'Conrail Shared Assets'. However, New Jersey Transit are to buy the 54km line, one of America's earliest, for passenger use, with Conrail retaining running powers to operate freight at night between 22:00 and 06:00. Construction work is to begin September 1999 with a view to opening as a light-rail line in 2002, but - unusually - with no electrification. Unlike all other North American light-rail vehicles, the new cars are to be powered by small on-board diesel engines. (paragtraphs 0021 and 0022 from www2.trains.com) 0023][FR] Lille trams and metro: (BLN 848.0196; Ball 7A1-7B2 not shown) A tram journey out and back from Lille Flandres visiting both outer termini, Roubaix Eurotéléport and Tourcoing Centre, takes just short of two hours. In early June 1999 both tram routes were loading well. Posters in the trams advertised the extension of the VAL driverless light metro Ligne 2 as opening beyond Fort de Mons to Tourcoing Centre on 20 June 1999 (which will relieve the tramway). A leaflet gave an opening-date of November 2000 for the further Ligne 2 extension to Tourcoing Dron. Transpole's FRF22 (=EUR3.35) day ticket for metro, tram and bus is good value. 0024][FR] Rosporden - Concarneau: (BLN 759.0347; Ball 19B1) A weed-spraying train visited the branch terminus, Concarneau, on 8 June 1999. No freight had been handled there for some time, as all the lines in the station area were very rusty except for the track used by the arriving train. The station building remains open for the sale of SNCF tickets, although the only passenger service is by rail-replacement bus. 0025][FR] (St.Brieuc - Loudéac -) Pontivy - Auray: (BLN 846.0132, 847.0164, 848.0197; Ball 20B1-31A3) Condition of the track in early June 1999 both at Pontivy and further south near Pluvigner suggested continued regular use of the Pontivy - Auray section. Pontivy station still has a passenger ticket-office. 0026][FR] Auray - Quiberon: (BLN 700.05, 808.0369; Ball 31A2) In the second week of June 1999 heavy rust on the track at a level-crossing on the northern edge of Quiberon showed that nothing had run through to the terminus for some time. However, a civil-engineer's rail vehicle was on the branch, sand was being cleared off the track where it runs south down the narrow isthmus, and the numerous level-crossing barriers were being reactivated ready for the short operating season as a passenger line. 0027][FR] Grenoble trams: (Ball 57B1) TAG tram routes in June 1999 were still as described in BLN 839.0593, but at Saint-Bruno junction new track was in place for the extension of Line B. This is first to run northwards, broadly parallel to the west side of the SNCF station, then westward to Palais de Justice (test-running in July; public opening in August 1999) and to Cité Internationale (opening March 2001). 0028][BE] Tournai - St.Ghislain: (BLN 721.05; EGTRE BE99/23; Ball 7B1-8A1) The Tournai line arrives at St.Ghislain round a curve into platforms 1 and 2, the straight alignment through platforms 3 and 4 being the original main line to France, now the dead-end St.Ghislain - Quiévrain branch. On 11 June 1999 the 11:17 from Tournai took the relief passenger line from Ville-Pommerœul to arrive in St.Ghislain platform 3. This is off-pattern for the hourly service, which normally uses platform 1, and the train is timed to run forward 3 minutes later than the pattern. The move allows the 10:34 Paris Nord - Namur Thalys to overtake - which it duly did. 0029][LU] Bettembourg - Dudelange-Usines: (R99.0008; Ball 18A1) The RegioSprinter hired from DKB for summer 1999 is covering for a CFL electric unit being repaired after collision damage. (Today's Railways, #43, July 1999) The short Dudelange branch may have a self-contained shuttle diagram for a single train, not involving multiple working with other units, making it the best place to use the 'odd' item of rolling-stock. 0030][DE][DK] Niebüll DB - Třnder DSB: (BLN 812.0497, 826.0228, 835.0465; Ball 5B1-9B3) Level-crossing work led to postponement from 30 May of the planned new service of four daily cross-border passenger trains each way on this latterly freight-only line, but they should start during summer 1999, with German private operators Nordfriesische Verkehrsbetriebe AG providing train-crew and Danske Statsbaner, the Danish state railways, supplying a diesel railcar set. (Today's Railways, #43, July 1999) 0031][DE] Göhren (Rügen) - Putbus - Lauterbach Mole : (BLN 739.0279, 797.0103, 835.0459; Ball 13B2) DB's standard-gauge Putbus - Lauterbach Mole section was dual-gauged for 750mm-gauge trains by mid-May, though the connection from the Rügensche Kleinbahn and the run-round facility at Lauterbach were not quite ready at the timetable change, slightly delaying till 3 June 1999 the start of RüKB's Rasende Roland steam tourist trains through to Lauterbach Mole, near the pier. (World Steam, July 1999) 0032][DE] Emden - Abelitz - Norden - Norddeich - Norddeich Mole: (Ball 15A3; KBS390, 395) Though electrified and carrying IR trains, the 35km line is single track with passing-loops. On a May 1999 trip two gated level-crossings between Norden and Norddeich were worked by the driver. Norddeich has carriage-sidings and a washing-plant opposite the station. Beyond, the short section to Norddeich Mole is single with no run-round loop at the pier. Norddeich is the port (and airport) for the German Frisian islands of Juist and Norderney. 0033][DE] Hamburg S-Bahn: Hbf - Bergedorf - Reinbek - Wohltorf - Aumühle: (BLN 818.027, 832.0380, 836.0492; Ball 22B2-22B3) The third-rail 1200V dc S-Bahn is now being extended beyond Reinbek as double-track to Wohltorf, then single-track to Aumühle. When the extension opens, Reinbek, the eastern S-Bahn terminus since 1997, (BLN 815.0572) is to become a plain-track Haltepunkt without points. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 3/99) 0034][DE] (Stendal -) Hohenwulsch - Kalbe (Milde) (- Beetzendorf): (BLN 850.0267; Ball 28A3; KBS304) The Kalbe branch train departs from the separate (former Altmärkische Eisenbahn) platform at Hohenwulsch (BLN 774.0113). This is little more than across the road, but it is not well signposted and not immediately visible from the main station exit. On an early-morning round-trip on the Class 772 railbus on 7 May 1999 our reporter was the only passenger westward and had one companion for part of the return journey. Though the service seems to continue in the summer 1999 timetable, the track is poor and closure does seem likely before long. 0035][DE] Güsen (Kreis Genthin) - Jerichow - Schönhausen (Elbe): (BLN 767.0504; Ball 28B2-28B3) On 11 May 1999 our reporter was the only passenger on the 07:12 Güsen - Jerichow (Class 772 railbus and trailer) and on the 08:14 Jerichow - Schönhausen (single Class 772). Freight traffic appeared to remain at Zerben, with cement-works sidings east of the single track, and at Parey, with sidings for an engineering works. Jerichow station still had three platforms for its three lightly used services. At Schönhausen the train arrived and terminated at the local platform some 10m south of the entrance to the main station. Güsen - Jerichow (KBS263), Jerichow - Schönhausen (KBS264), Genthin - Jerichow (KBS264) and Güsen - Ziesar (BLN 772.070; KBS262), all closed to passengers with the end-May 1999 timetable change. 0036][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (Ball 32A2) Treptower Park - Baumschulenweg S-Bahn tracks were closed for bridge-renewal work from 30 May, probably till end-September 1999. A new signal-box, Schöneberg (Wannseebahn), opened 2 February 1999, dividing the long Yorckstrasse - Feuerbachstrasse section. Special-trains platforms at S-Bhf Olympiastadion were brought into operation 5 May 1999. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 3/99) 0037][DE] Halle (Saale) trams: (Ball 42B3 not shown) New points at Rennbahnkreuz, where the existing route to Heide turns north, will form the triangular junction for the tramway extension west to Halle-Neustadt. Some rails have also been laid at the Neustadt end. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 3/99) 0038][DE] Reichenbach - Herlasgrün - Plauen / Falkenstein: (BLN 848.0212; Ball 42B1-53B3, KBS439) Some work seemed to have been done on refurbishing the platform on the north-to-south curve at Herlasgrün, but work on the Vogtlandbahn's new platform on the west-to-south curve was still in progress on 7 May 1999. The latter platform looked unlikely to be ready for the timetable change, and indeed the summer 1999 Kursbuch shows all Herlasgrün trains working to or from Reichenbach, and none running direct between Plauen and Falkenstein. 0039][DE] Flöha - Pockau-Lengefeld - Neuhausen (Erzgebirge): (BLN 812.0493; Ball 43B1; KBS519) Just east of the passing-loop at Hetzdorf (km6) the 49km branch passes beneath the (Chemnitz -) Flöha - Dresden main line high above on its impressive stone viaduct. Oberneuschönberg (km42) has another passing-loop. The 12km Pockau-Lengefeld - Marienberg (Sachsen) branch is mostly worked separately, with only two services a day through to Flöha. Trains are DB's Romanian-built Class 219 locomotives with three-coach push-pull sets. 0040][DE] (Senftenberg -) Brieske - Abzw Peickwitz - Hohenbocka: (Ball 44A3 not fully shown) On 10 May 1999 the flyover route between Abzw Peickwitz and Hohenbocka was flagged out of use at the northern end. 0041][DE] Appenweier - Kehl DB (- Strasbourg SNCF): (BLN 809.0412; Ball 57A1-56B3) From the north-south Karlsruhe - Appenweier - Offenburg (- Basel) main line a triangle at Appenweier gives access on to the line west to Kehl and across the river Rhein to Strasbourg in France. Local trains to Kehl, as distinct from international services through to Strasbourg, have since 1998 been run by new operators Ortenau S-Bahn GmbH, affiliated to the local bus company. These trains used to run alternately from Appenweier (with connections from the Karlsruhe direction) and from Offenburg. However, with the recent realignment of the layout at the triangle, westbound trains using the single-track north-to-west curve have to leave the main line north of Appenweier's original platforms and can no longer serve the station. A new platform 9 has therefore been opened on the single-track south-to-west curve, some 300m distant from the original station buildings, and this is served by the local trains, now all working Offenburg - Appenweier - Kehl. This change in operating pattern may have begun with the summer 1999 timetable. 0042][DE] Dresden trams: freight: During and after World War II when fuel for lorries was scarce, a number of German towns used their tramways for freight, serving bakeries, printing-works and coal-yards, sometimes towing ordinary drawbar lorry-trailers behind passenger cars. In the late 1940s, Hamburg supplied food to street-markets using converted tramcars. In 1999 plans are under way for a rail-and-road-served warehouse outside Dresden to supply components on a 'just-in-time' basis to Volkswagen's new car-assembly plant in the city using freight trailers working over the 1450mm-gauge tramway of Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG. (Truck magazine, June 1999) 0043][AT] Gmünd NÖ - Alt Nagelberg - Brand - Litschau: (BLN 848.0216; Ball 63B2) The 1999 conference of Fedecrail, the European federation of museum and tourist railways, was held in Praha. On 19 April 1999 participants arrived by bus from Nova Bystrice in the Czech Republic to join a 14:25 Litschau - Gmünd charter, hauled by ÖBB steam locomotive #399.04, which was to offer photo-stops or runpasts at Brand and Alt Nagelberg. At Litschau an ÖBB 760mm-gauge diesel locomotive with a train of timber was drawn up behind the steam special ready to follow it. 0044][DK] Viborg - Lřgstřr: (BLN 835.0465; Ball 2A2-2A3) Reopened for freight in 1998 by Privatbanen Sřnderjylland, this lengthy freight branch in northern Denmark is again out of use, after its last customer was lost to road transport. (Today's Railways, #43, July 1999) 0045][ES] Martorell - Igualada: (Ball 15A1-14B1) Electric operation of this line from 1 February 1999 completed the electrification of the metre-gauge suburban network of the Ferrocarrils Generalitat de Catalunya, the Catalonian provincial government railways, centred on Barcelona. Only FGC's freight-only San Boi de Llobregat - Barcelona Port branch remains diesel-worked. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 3/99) 0046][ES] Alacant/Alicante trams: From 17 March 1999 a new metre-gauge electric Tramvia service began, running hourly from Alacant FGV station one stop north-east to Albufereta over the existing track of the Alacant/Alicante - Albufereta - Benidorm - Denia line of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Válenciana (BLN 748.069; Ball 32A1-32B2), and running every 15 minutes two stops south on 7R99.00m of new paved reserved track to La Marina and Puerta del Mar, the present southern terminus. (Today's Railways, #42, June 1999) 0047][IT] Caldaro San Antonio - Passo Mendola: funicular with drawbridges: In the tourist area which was once the Austrian South Tirol, and which since 1919 has been the largely German-speaking Italian province of Alto Adige, the small town of Kaltern/Caldaro stands a few km west across the river Adige valley from Bronzolo station on the (Verona -) Trento - Bozen/Bolzano (- Brennero) main line (Ball 43A2). Above it is the Mendola pass, once served from the west by the Taio - Fondo - Mendola branch of the Ferrovia Elettrica Alta Anaunia off the Trento - Taio - Male line (Ball 42B2). The main road winds spectacularly up to the pass but the Standseilbahn St.Anton - Mendelpass or Funicolare San Antonio - Passo Mendola runs from St.Anton or San Antonio station in Kaltern/Caldaro straight up the mountainside to Mendola. This funicular, built in 1903, had till the 1970s an unusual, possibly unique, feature at its lower end: two drawbridges which allowed road-vehicles on two minor roads to cross its track. The bridges were raised vertically while the cable-hauled rail-vehicles passed. One bridge remains, its two triangular metal leaves now fixed in the vertical position, so only pedestrians can cross the line there. The other bridge was too slow in being lifted one day and was hit by a funicular car. It was later removed in favour of an underpass for pedestrians and bicycles, but its site is still discernible. The web magazine, Funimag, #14 of June 1999, at http://www.imaginet.fr/~mikeaz, has more detail, pictures and maps. 0048][IT] (Milano Cadorna -) Busto Arsizio Nord - Aeroporto della Malpensa: (BLN 846.0152; Ball 41A1) Ferrovie Nord Milano services began as planned on 30 May 1999 over the 11km new section to Milano's large new Malpensa airport. (Today's Railways, #43, July 1999) 0049][IT] Bologna Centrale - Bologna San Vitale - Portomaggiore - Dogato - Codigoro: (Ball 49A1-48B2) The Centrale - San Vitale section of the Ferrovia Bologna-Portomaggiore is closed till 2001 while the line is rebuilt in a cut-and-cover tunnel, releasing valuable city land for redevelopment. Some 13km of new line are to be built linking the FBP at Portomaggiore with the Ferrovie Padane at Dogato, allowing through Bologna - Codigoro trains. (Today's Railways, #43, July 1999) 0050][IT] Poggibonsi-San Gimignano - Colle Val d'Elsa: (Ball 49B3) FS closed this tightly curved 8km branch as long ago as 1987, removed the main-line junction in 1998, and plan to sell some of the trackbed for road improvements, but a local preservation group are running a Fiat 500 converted to a draisine on some 500m of the track and hope to reopen the whole branch for tourist trains. (Today's Railways, #42, June 1999) 0051][PL] (Wolsztyn -) Grodzisk Wielkopolski - Piastowo - Koscian: (OEIS 9845; Ball 36B3) On 2 June 1999 the yard at Grodzisk, completely covered in long grass, was being scythed by two PKP workers, rather a labour-intensive alternative to a weed-spraying train. South-eastward the equally grassy line towards Koscian remains open for freight at least as far as Piastowo, which has two or more trains a week serving a factory making concrete slabs or beams. One open and one closed wagon were left in the loop there. Our reporter, driving the steam locomotive while its crew went forward along the side of the engine to oil it, found it disconcerting ploughing through grass on barely discernible and apparently disused track. The line runs through flat but attractive countryside with little sign of habitation. During the late-1998 sugar-beet season it was possible by paying an informal fare of some PLZ50 (= GBP9), to ride in a van on a steam-hauled PKP freight train over the c.25km of non-passenger line to Koscian. Timings then were (TThSO, as train #485) Wolsztyn 07:50 - Grodzisk (shunting, then becoming train #486) - 11:50 Koscian 12:50 (#487) - Grodzisk (#484) - 16:15 Wolsztyn. 0052][PL] Poznan trams and park railway: (Ball 37A3 not shown) Poznan offers enthusiasts a three-hour driving-course on the municipal tram system, an enjoyable experience, though traversing the city-centre is not for the faint-hearted! East of the Stare Miasto (= Old Town), across the river Warta and close to the tram-stops at Rondo Sródka, is the inner end of the city's 750mm-gauge Kolejka dzicieca (= children's railway) with an excellent bar-restaurant nearby. The 3km route, including a steeply-graded section of some difficulty, and balloon-loops at each end, heads east through lightly-wooded parkland close to a long lake well-equipped for aquatic sports, to reach the Poznan Zoo. On 3 June 1999 an 'all-line' tour was available for a small fee to the driver of the elderly railcar, which had a British-built Ford engine. Another railcar was in the shed. An 0-6-0 steam locomotive, rebuilt from an early and historic narrow-gauge engine, was on display at Poznan World Trade Centre, and this was to be running on the park railway from mid-August 1999. In due course it too may be available for 'driving-lessons'. For information on both trams and park railway, in English, try +48 683 842 543. 0053][PL] Gniezno Waskotorowe - Witkowo - Powidz - Anastazewo: (BLN 851.0319; Ball 37A3; PKP 391) On 31 May 1999 Gniezno 1435mm/750mm-gauge exchange sidings were busy with freight. A steam-hauled 750mm-gauge freight appeared to be running daily on the 38km section to Anastazewo, beyond which the line is closed. A railcar or steam passenger train on the section still open can be hired for parties, celebrations etc, at a reasonable price, given notice. Much coach-cleaning activity seemed to indicate that charters are not infrequent. World Steam for July 1999 reports that a weekend passenger train (Gniezno 09:10) is to run 3 July - 29 August 1999. Gniezno's large depot is worth the small entry fee to see the steam locomotives being worked on there. 0054][CZ] Praha-Smíchov - Hostivice: (BLN 842.046; Ball 35A2; CD 122) Known as the 'Praha Semmering' for its severe gradients, tortuous route, spectacular viaducts and panoramic views of the city, this 19km single-track line, opened 1872, has only a sparse passenger service. Klub Historie Kolejove Dopravy, the rail transport history club of Praha, operate occasional steam specials, and one such charter ran on 18 April for participants in the 1999 Fedecrail conference, returning to Praha from the museum locomotive depot at Luzná u Rakovníka, where a number of preserved engines are stabled at the old roundhouse. Over this section the special was double-headed by KHKD's 1917-built 2-6-2 #354-7152 and 1928-built 2-8-2T #423.094. KHKD trips advertised to the public include 'Santa Claus' trains on 4 and 5 December 1999. 0055][CZ] Jindrichuv Hradec - Nova Bystrice: (BLN 812.0511, 826.0238, 833.0435, R99.0043; Ball 41A3-41A2; CD 206, 205). A Nova Bystrice - Litschau link - between two Austro-Hungarian 760mm-gauge branches less than 10km apart - was proposed in 1902, but never completed. In October 1938 Hitler's Germany annexed part of Czechoslovakia, so from 1938 to 1945 the line from km4.2 out of Jindrichuv Hradec to Nova Bystrice formed part of Deutsche Reichsbahn. Trains on this southern 26km portion appeared in the summer 1939 DR Kursbuch as an isolated service under the management of Reichsbahndirektion Wien. After World War II, the German population in the area were displaced, and the resulting sparsity of local settlement led to the suspension of passenger trains from 1949 to 1957. The line was then part of the CSD (Czechoslovak) and later CD (Czech) state railway systems until both infrastructure and stock were sold for a nominal sum to private-sector operators Jindrichohradecke mistni drahy in 1997. For the first 2.7km out of Jindrichuv Hradec, the 33km 760mm-gauge line still shares the trackbed of the Jindrichuv Hradec - Horní Cerekev line, with its rails laid between CD's standard-gauge ones. JHMD run irregular, largely seasonal, diesel-hauled passenger trains south to Nova Bystrice and more frequent all-year-round ones on the 46km Jindrichuv Hradec - Obratan line running northwards. According to an English summary in their guidebook, JHMD also handle freight in standard-gauge wagons on transporters, but no freight traffic was seen on 19 April 1999 when a Fedecrail party travelled to Nova Bystrice in a charter train hauled by 1907 Henschel-built Mallet steam locomotive #U47.001, owned by the Czech national technical museum in Praha. 0056][GB] Irish optics smiling?: The fibre-optic telecommunications cables that now run beside many railway lines in the USA, Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere generate useful extra revenue for the infrastructure owner. Northern Ireland Railways took an advertisement in the Financial Times of 11 June 1999, somewhat belatedly trying to interest cable-operators in the potential of their still-nationalised 320km system. 0057][IE] Dublin North Wall: Church Road Jns - East Wall Yard - Dublin Ferryport: On the north bank of the Liffey estuary, major development is already in progress in the Spencer Dock area, but the proposal for a new main-line station here is very tentative and controversial, with many options still to be explored (BLN 848.0193). The branch south of the former GSW Point depot, the North Quay Extension, last saw service about 1997, when IE and NIR imported from De Dietrich in France new Eurostar-type coaches for the Dublin - Belfast Enterprise service, and the track here is still usable, although probably not without some attention. Downstream of East Wall Yard the double-track Alexandra Road Tramway (BLN 765.0454) still runs eastward in the street for nearly 2km, and on 29 May 1999 the road surface in which it is embedded was at one point being replaced, with some work apparently under way on the lines themselves. The extensive street trackwork once gave access to numerous sidings (see Quail's Railway Track Diagrams, Ireland), but its locomotive-hauled workings are now restricted to the threatened zinc-ore trains from the Drogheda - Navan branch bound for the Tara Mines terminal at Alexandra Quay, which is the first active siding off the Tramway and diverges to the south, and one container train daily to the new Coastal Containers yard, on the extension at the far end of the Tramway beyond the former B+I Dublin Ferryport container siding. Four-wheel tank wagons are worked by road tractor to and from both the Iarnród Éireann oil terminal and the Esso oil terminal, the latter traffic going forward to Sligo and being the only long-distance movement of oil on IE. In summer 1999 all other sidings off the Tramway were out of use. No railtour seems to have visited the Alexandra Road Tramway. About 1960 a chartered railcar started from North Wall (LNW) yard and ran to Curragh Siding, Ballylinan, Mountmellick and Portarlington BnM, and Railway Preservation Society of Ireland tours visited North Wall (Midland) and Point yards on 11 September 1971 and Point yard on 7 October 1972. These are thought to have been the only tours anywhere in the North Wall area, and in the present safety-conscious climate, it seems unlikely that future tours will venture there. 0058][IE] Dublin Connolly - Mullingar (- Longford - Sligo): (BLN 854.503) During July 1999 engineering work, Dublin - Sligo midweek trains (excluding the busy workings on Monday mornings and Friday evenings) are replaced by buses between Mullingar and Longford. The entrance to Mullingar station, where the buses arrive, is in the angle between the down Sligo and up Athlone platforms. The conventional mechanical signalling apparently makes it difficult for a locomotive to run round its train in the down Sligo platform before departing back to Dublin, so to permit same-level transfer to and from the buses, the trains are shunted empty to the up Athlone platform and depart from there. This provides an opportunity to traverse a section, albeit a very short one, of the Mullingar - Moate - Athlone line (BLN 845.0109, 854.501, R99.0002) which, although intact, is not currently available to passenger trains, even railtours. In the evenings, when two trains are at Mullingar, the stock off the 17:15 Dublin - Longford stables in the down Athlone platform. 0059][IE] County Offaly peat railways: (BLN 854.502; R99.0003; Baker 94A1) A drive from Portarlington via Tullamore to Shannonbridge crossed four level-crossings over narrow-gauge peat lines, and the road passed close to the sidings complex at Ferbane power-station. Road-signs pointing to the Bord na Móna tourist-train operation refer to the 'Blackwater railway' rather than the 'Clonmacnoise & West Offaly Railway', the name used on publicity leaflets. (The Baker atlas calls the line 'Coolmacnoise & West Offaly Rly'.) Whatever it is called, it is worth visiting. The 914mm-gauge tourist trains offer a run of some 6km, though they avoid the double-track 'main line' to Shannonbridge power-station. A BnM guide said the freight trains convey some 90t to 150t of peat in rakes of up to fifteen wagons. The visitor-centre surprisingly had no books about the railway system, and it would be interesting to know what has been published about Bord na Móna lines. 0060][IE] Galway - Oughterard - Maam Cross - Recess - Clifden: (BLN 854.504) The Galway, Oughterard & Clifden (or Clifden Bay) Railway was incorporated in 1872, eventually opened by the Midland Great Western Railway in 1895 and closed in 1937, but many traces were still to be seen in summer 1999. Parts of the substantial embankment remain in Galway city, as do a number of the piers of the lengthy viaduct over the river Corrib. Between Oughterard and Recess some cuttings and embankments remain, along with stone bridges and the occasional girder bridge. Some sections of route are farm tracks, and at Maam Cross the stone-built water-tower and goods-shed are in industrial use. Station buildings also survive at Recess. Clifden goods-shed seems to have been incorporated into a hotel development. 0061][FR] (Châlons-sur-Marne - Troyes -) Sens - Courtenay (- Chuelles - Trigučres - Montargis - Orléans): (Ball 26A1-37A3) Sens - Courtenay opened 19 October 1874 as part of a through secondary route from Châlons-sur-Marne (now Châlons-en-Champagne; BLN 821.095) to Orléans, later part of the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée railway. Troyes - Sens - Montargis passenger services ceased 2 October 1938. The rail bridge over the river Yonne east of Sens station was destroyed in World War II and never replaced, so the Troyes - Sens-St.Clement (or Sens-Est) section became a dead-end branch (not the through line shown in Ball, 1991 edition) until it was abandoned. Passenger trains ceased to run Montargis - Orléans 4 November 1969 and Châlons - Troyes 28 May 1972. From June 1996 to June 1997, some 700,000t of aggregates were hauled from various quarries, via Sens, to a new temporary terminal near Villeneuve, between Sens and Courtenay, for the building of autoroute A19. On 6 June 1999 a Rail Vaux d'Yonne excursion successfully traversed the Sens - Courtenay section. The line, with a speed limit of 30km/h, is now retained for seasonal grain traffic, and a private shunting locomotive stands at the silo in Courtenay, awaiting action. Beyond Courtenay the track remains in place for c.9km to Chuelles, very much out of use, but technically available for traffic and possibly with the prospect of scrap-metal business, for Chuelles station is a scrap-merchant's yard, with his stock spilling over the track. Chuelles - Trigučres closed 7 April 1969 and was later abandoned (neutralisée). West of Trigučres, the line becomes part of the Montargis - Châteaurenard - Trigučres - Charny branch (BLN 844.084; Ball 36B3-37A2), still in use for freight to Charny. 0062][FR] SNCF tourist trains in the Aurillac area: (Ball 53B1-54A1-62B3-55A1) SNCF and tourist interests are promoting the use of trains in Cantal. To allow walkers to visit the otherwise difficult-of-access Gorges de la Cčre between Laval-de-Cčre and Laroquebrou (also rendered as La Roquebrou) specified trains on the St.Denis-prčs-Martel - Miécaze line from 13 June to 12 September 1999 make request stops at the closed station of Lamativie, whose crossing-loop remains in use, now apparently remotely-controlled. On Wednesdays 21 July to 11 August 1999 an advertised excursion runs Aurillac - Miécaze - Laroquebrou - St.Denis-prčs-Martel (reverse) - Roc-Amadour-Padirac. Further east, on Tuesdays 6 July to 24 August an unusual working on the Neussargues - Le Monastier line (BLN 847.0168; SNCF 544) appears in the Indicateur Horaires, running outward Neussargues 11:22 - St.Chély-d'Apcher, return St.Chély-d'Apcher 16:09 - Neussargues - Aurillac. This train is an advertised excursion to the Garabit viaduct. Visitors are told about Gustave Eiffel's magnificent structure and then spend the afternoon locally. The unadvertised calls at Garabit are at 11:57 and 16:31 respectively. 0063][BE] (Anderlues -) Lobbes - Thuin trams: (BLN 849.0241; Ball 8B1 not shown) Summer 1999 sees the Association pour la Sauvegarde du Vicinal again operating on their preserved 6km section of metre-gauge line, which makes its way through countryside unknown to car-drivers, taking short-cuts through the fields, avoiding modern civilisation. Tram passengers have unique views of the monastery at Lobbes and the old church of St.Ursmer, begun in the 9th century, as well their own crossing of the river Sambre. ASVi's new Thuin museum and operating-base, opened 4 July 1999, is in the rue de Fosteau at the former Thuin-Ouest railway station on SNCB Ligne 109 (Lobbes - Thuin-Ouest - Thuillies - Berzée). On summer Saturdays and Sundays, 12:00-17:00, a dozen old tramcars are on display, the oldest dating from 1888. On Sundays until 15 October 1999, diesel car ART300 is running, making three trips Thuin (Ouest) - Thuin (Ville-Basse) and two trips Thuin (Ouest) - Lobbes (Pont du Nord). When electric working becomes possible, perhaps during a festival planned for 14-15 August, 'standard' electric car #10308 of 1942, will be added to the diesel service. The austere finish of this car, built during World War II, contrasts with car #9515 of 1918, with its first- and second-class compartments, hand-crafted ceilings and many brass fittings. #10308 usually pulls a closed trailer, #9515 an open baladeuse. 0064][DE] Berlin-Spandau - Elstal - Priort - Golm - Werder (Havel) - Brandenburg Hbf: (BLN 786.0366, 830.0345; Ball 31B2-29A3) Kursbuch tables 38 and H4 show overnight Berlin - Amsterdam trains D340/41 calling at both Berlin-Spandau and Brandenburg Hbf, taking quite a long time between Berlin and Brandenburg. It seems in fact that they take a devious route, via the east-to south Elstal - Priort curve, the north-south Aussenring and the north-to-west Golm - Werder curve. 0065][DE] (Chemnitz -) Flöha - Dresden: (Ball 43B1) The impressive stone structure near Flöha, the highest single-stage viaduct in Germany (R99.0039), was subject for many years to a very severe 20km/h speed restriction. From 12 May 1992 it was bypassed by a 2km new cutoff shortening the Chemnitz - Dresden main line by 966m. Though preserved, the viaduct is no longer on the main line. 0066][DE] Hermeskeil - Türkismühle - Freisen (- Schwarzerden): (BLN 850.0265; Ball 48A1-56A3) On 5-6 June 1999 the Hochwaldbahn preservation group marked the end of Hermeskeil's regular passenger services thirty years earlier by demonstrating a new Siemens-Verkehrstechnik RegioSprinter alternating with their own red railbus to run hourly trains Türkismühle - Freisen and two-hourly trains Türkismühle - Hermeskeil. On the 11.4km freight-only Türkismühle - Freisen branch trains called at both Nohfelden Süd and Asweiler, where nameboards and timetable displays had been erected. No calls however were made at Wolfersweiler, where the station is now a building-supplies yard; with a liquefied-petroleum gas siding nearby, nor at Eitzweiler, so presumably access to these former station sites could not be negotiated. The trains terminated at a low cinder platform at Freisen with no buildings nor space for buildings, so this location was presumably short of the original station. Sidings with wagons for a furniture factory were in use, and continued round a corner out of sight, but time did not permit closer inspection. The line once continued from Freisen to Schwarzerden, where it joined the Ottweiler - Schwarzerden - Kusel - Altenglan line. Ottweiler - Schwarzerden is still open to serve a factory producing military tanks, but Schwarzerden - Kusel is abandoned. Altenglan - Kusel still has passenger trains. 0067][DE] Boppard - Buchholz - Emmelshausen (- Pfalzfeld - Simmern): (Ball 48B2) The junction is at the north end of Boppard station, facing south (not as in BLN 851.0301). The Boppard - Pfalzfeld Hunsrückbahn opened 3 August 1908 and the Boppard - Buchholz rack section, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 16.5, operated as such until 1931. Emmelshausen - Simmern closed to passengers 28 May 1983 and Emmelshausen - Pfalzfeld closed completely 31 March 1987. Pfalzfeld - Simmern appears still to have been open for freight in 1993, but was refused for a railtour through Simmern in September 1995, and is now closed. (mainly from Abschied von der Schiene 1980-1990 by Wolfgang Fiegenbaum & Wolfgang Klee; foreword dated 1993; published by transpress Verlag, 1997) 0068][DE] Alzey - Kirchheimbolanden (- Marnheim): (BLN 833.0422; Ball 49A1) Closed to passengers in 1951, this freight branch reopened 30 May 1999 for passenger trains, marketed as Donnersberg Express, operated by Eurobahn Verkehrs GmbH and subsidised by the Land of Rheinland-Pfalz, reportedly as a one-year experiment. The former intermediate station of Wahlheim is now a private residence, so a ground-level cinder platform has been provided much closer to the level-crossing at the Alzey end of the station site. A similar new halt has been constructed at Freimersheim where no station previously existed. Morschheim, still open for freight but not well-sited for passengers, has not reopened, though Eurobahn use it as their operating base. At Kirchheimbolanden trains terminate on a fairly tall embankment at a new wooden platform requiring significant scaffolding support. This platform, with bus-stop and large car-park nearby, cannot have been cheap to construct, but the former station is on the far side of a viaduct, and this structure may have been regarded as not warranting renovation until the experimental trains prove successful or otherwise. 0069][DE] Köln - Frankfurt-am-Main Flughafen Fernbahnhof - Frankfurt Hbf: (Ball 50) A 10km section at the southern end of the Köln - Frankfurt high-speed new line (Neubaustrecke) opened 30 May 1999, serving the new above-ground Frankfurt airport station for long-distance trains. Ffm-Flughafen Fernbahnhof has hourly Köln - Basel IC and hourly Köln - Frankfurt Hbf (reverse) - Nürnberg IC or ICE trains in each direction, while every two hours Hamburg - Stuttgart ICE trains reverse here (and again at Frankfurt Hbf). The earlier airport station, in tunnel on its sharply-curved loop off the Mainz - Frankfurt line, is renamed Flughafen Regiobahnhof, and now has only S-Bahn services plus certain overnight trains (Amsterdam - Basel and Dortmund - Wien). The newly-opened track starts east of Raunheim at km17.8 on the Mainz - Frankfurt route, from which a 0.6km single-track link joins the NBS alignment at about NBS km163.4. The NBS itself heads east to cross the old Flughafen loop at km168.2 and forms the outer tracks through the two island platforms of Flughafen Fernbahnhof at about km169.2 before continuing, largely in tunnel, curving west-to-north to a junction south of Sportfeld at NBS km173.4. Diverging at a km0.0 point just west of the Fernbahnhof platforms, the two inner tracks, after further crossovers to the NBS east of the station, become a 5.2km chord curving west-to-south, also mainly in tunnel, towards Zeppelinheim. The NBS thus joins the Frankfurt-Sportfeld - Zeppelinheim line in an expensive high-speed triangle, all three sides being double-track and each apex being a flying junction. 0070][DE] Grünstadt - Neuleiningen-Kleinkarlbach - Drahtzug (- Altleiningen): (Ball 57A3) New in 1999 as table 177 in Kursbuch der deutschen Museums-Eisenbahnen are the tourist trains on this line, running every other Sunday from 9 May to 10 October. Pfalzbahn Eisenbahnbetriebs GmbH are shown as operators, but they seem to provide the stock and work it under charter to Förderverein Eistalbahn eV, a volunteeer group with local-authority support. Trains do not call at Sausenheim (km3.2) and run beyond Neuleiningen-Kleinkarlbach (km4.4; the end of the line shown in Ball) to the present Drahtzug, a ground-level cinder platform just short of the km8 post and the end of DB track. Beyond, the running-line now forms a private siding leading straight into a factory, built partly over the trackbed, which uses rail-delivered steel wire to manufacture baskets for dish-washers. This obstruction effectively prevents any extension to the former stations of Drahtzug (km8.3) and Altleiningen (km10.7). 0071][DE] Gotteszell - Viechtach (- Blaibach (Niederbayern)): (BLN 811.0465, 841.09; Ball 61B2) In 1890 (10 November for freight, 20 November for passengers) the standard-gauge Lokalbahn AG Gotteszell - Viechtach opened. From 1 February 1928 it extended to Blaibach and that year altered its name to Regentalbahn AG (= 'Rain valley line'). Flooding caused all Viechtach - Blaibach trains to cease prematurely on 2 February 1991, just ahead of the planned complete closure date, 30 April 1991, and much of this section has since become a cycle-path although the formation is severed by a road about 1km south of Blaibach. While 30 April 1991 also saw the end of passenger trains on the Gotteszell - Viechtach section, freight still includes some traffic from a quarry on the branch, though movements are only 'as required'. Viechtach however remains the main engineering base of Regental-Bahnbetriebsgesellschaft where heavy maintenance is done on the railcars used on the several passenger services the company is contracted to operate in this part of Bavaria. The Gotteszell - Viechtach section runs alongside the river Teisnach at the bottom of the valley, which cannot have been convenient for ordinary passengers, but the scenic ride attracts tourists to the summer service which has run since 1991, comprising up to three round-trips each Sunday from late May to September (23 May-3 October in 1999). A Regentalbahn locomotive and driver are hired but the stock belongs to and is crewed by the volunteer group Wanderbahn im Regental eV. 0072][DE] Weil (Rhein) - Lörrach-Stetten - Lörrach (- Zell): (BLN 792.0507, 798.0138; Ball 67B1) Temporarily closed from 29 September 1996, this 'Switzerland avoiding line' in Germany just north of Basel reopened 16 April 1999 in connection with the Landesgartenschau Grün 99 being held in Weil. Along with redevelopment and new roads in the town, railway bridges were rebuilt and a new halt, Weil-Gartenstadt, opened to serve the garden festival. Although the formation between Lörrach-Stetten and Lörrach is shared with the Basel Bad - Riehen (bei Basel) - Lörrach line, the lines are two parallel single tracks with no physical junction until Lörrach. 0073][AT] Wien S-Bahn: Klein Schwechat - Gross Schwechat: (Ball 77B2) This section of the line to Wien airport is being doubled, on a slightly different alignment to the west of the original single track. 0074][SE][NO][FI] Göteborg / Stockholm - Gävle Central - Boden Central - Luleĺ / Narvik: (Ball 21A1-15A1-3A1-3A3) Private operators Tĺgkompaniet (= 'the train company') have won the concession to run long-distance passenger trains from Göteborg and Stockholm to northern Sweden and on to Narvik in Norway from January 2000. Tĺgkompaniet's plans also include a summer service on the latterly freight-only Boden Central - Haparanda SJ - Tornio VR line, closed to passengers August 1992 (BLN 837.0556). 0075][PT] Sintra trams: (BLN 839.0602) From Sintra station (not Portela de Sintra, the penultimate station, where some unwary people alight) Stagecoach Portugal buses run to the Ribeira de Sintra tram-terminus. Leaving the CP station, the bus-stop is about 50m on the right on the far side of the road. The #441 bus is the conventional public service and the #400 is a double-deck open-top right-hand-drive Routemaster with connecting departures 15 minutes before the trams from Ribeira, which leave at 11:35, 12:05, 14:05, 15:05, 16:05, 17:05 and 18:05. A combined open-top-bus and tram ticket for the day costs PTE1500 (=EUR7.48 or about GBP5). The one-way tram-only fare is PTE500. The Sintra-Atlântico metre-gauge roadside electric tramway runs daily in August 1999, taking some 40 minutes for its 9km trip. The Atlantic terminus, Praia das Maçăs, is an attractive seaside town with some good restaurants featuring local seafood, ideal for a lunch break. Praia das Maçăs - Ribeira trams are at 11:19, 12:19, 14:19, 15:19, 16:19, 17:19 with the last car to traverse the line at 17:49. Summer should allow use of the original 1903 Brill open cars which have had no structural or equipment alterations during their long lives, though in wet or cold weather enclosed cars can be run. All staff at Banzăo depot speak English, and should be able to answer British visitors' questions. (E-mail from tramway manager) 0076][IT] Gemona del Friuli - Venzone - Carnia - Pontebba - Tarvisio FS (- Thörl-Maglern ÖBB): (Ball 44A2) This predominantly single-track section of international main line is being almost entirely realigned, a project the 1993 Ball atlas shows schematically rather than with strict geographical accuracy. The Gemona - Venzone new alignment, including a tunnel, has been in use for some time, as has Venzone - Carnia, not in practice as significantly realigned as Ball suggests. Carnia - Pontebba however does have the illustrated substantial cut-off, mostly in three tunnels, and the circuitous old route has been abandoned, leading to buses replacing its local trains, which also served intermediate stations beyond Pontebba. East of Pontebba, the old alignment remained in use in summer 1999, though construction was proceeding apace. The new line is on the north side of the old, mainly in tunnel, to a point between Ugovizza and Valbruna stations, both now closed to passengers, where it springs forth by a bridge over the old line to run on the south side. Near Valbruna, a station seems under construction on the new line, which dives into tunnel again and (Ball notwithstanding) remains on the south side all the way to the junction with the old line a few metres short of the Austrian border. On this section, a massive new Tarvisio station can be seen under construction on the south side of the valley about where the abandoned Jesenice - Tarvisio direct line must once have run. 0077][CH] Yverdon - Neuchâtel: (BLN 835.0468, 847.0183; Ball 91A3) The new 2250m St.Aubin-Sauges tunnel, first of four on the Onnens-Bonvillars - Gorgier-St.Aubin section, was formally inaugurated on 27 May 1999 and has been in use since the timetable change, replacing the old alignment. Limestone rock from the tunnelling was recycled, being rail-hauled away from Vaumarcus to a cement-factory. The tunnels and realignments are part of the Rail 2000 upgrading project to raise speeds on this lakeside main line to 180km/h. Work continues until 2000, and in the May 1999 timetable, local (but not InterRegio) trains on the Yverdon - Gorgier-St.Aubin section are reduced to two round-trips Mondays to Fridays. (L'Écho du Rail, #197, June 1999; International Railway Journal, July 1999) Between Yverdon and Neuchâtel various realigned sections are being brought into service at different dates, with temporary links betweeen 'old' and 'new' tracks, but on 21 June 1999 at least there was no section where two routes were both operating in parallel. 0078][CH][FR] St.Maurice - Monthey - Bouveret - St.Gingolph (Suisse) - Évian-les-Bains SNCF: (Ball CH-98B3, FR-50B2) Threatened with passenger closure as long ago as 1994 (BLN 723.041), the CFF line to the French border at St.Gingolph has in summer 1999 seven return trains on working days and two on Sundays. However some of these trains are qualified as to days and dates of operation, and much of the service is provided by St.Maurice - Monthey short workings with onward bus connections, so quite careful study of the Swiss timetable is required to plan an all-rail journey to St.Gingolph. Freight traffic is heavy as far as Monthey with its Ciba-Geigy chemical plant, but little if any runs beyond and none across the border. The Bouveret - St.Gingolph - Évian Rive Bleue Express international tourist trains on the so-called Ligne de Tonkin are not running in summer 1999 (BLN 850.0286), confirmed by a notice on 20 June 1999 at Bouveret station, where the coaches and diesel locomotive BB71010 were stored in sidings. A single track diverges from the CFF yard through a locked gate and runs in the roadway along Route de la Plage, marked with lines and the words 'Passage Train', the restriction on parking being well observed by law-abiding Swiss motorists, though the track had clearly seen no rail traffic for some time. A road/rail bridge across the Stockalper canal where it emerges from Lac Léman bears the zero km marker for the canal. After 850m the track passes through steel gates across the road and continues into the distance. Further exploration was discouraged by a sign 'Privé. Attention, chien méchant', but it seems the Rive Bleue Express steam locomotive, ex-Sihltalbahn #2, not to be found at or near the station, may be stored in premises here. What was the original purpose of this branch? Across the frontier, Réseau Ferré de France, the French rail-infrastructure authority, are studying track-improvement and 25kV 50Hz electrification of the Ligne de Tonkin to reopen it to international freight, relieving the Torino FS - Modane SNCF - Chambéry route, a scheme given added impetus by the March 1999 fatal lorry fire in the Mont-Blanc road-tunnel. (Today's Railways, #43, July 1999) 0079][HU][RO][BG][GR][TR][MK][YU] Balkans: (Ball 47-48-52-53) The Transbalkan, a new international train avoiding Yugoslavia, commenced running Budapest - Lökösháza MÁV - Curtici SNCFR - Bucuresti - Giurgiu SNCFR - Ruse BDZ - Sofia - Kulata BDZ - Promachon OSE - Thessaloniki, apparently on 3 June 1999. Journey time across the four countries is over 36 hours, with evening departures from both Budapest and Thessaloniki. The former Budapest - Beograd - Sofia - Istanbul through service no longer seems to run, even on the Sofia - Istanbul section (BLN 849.0249). Sofia passengers for Turkey now need to change at Dimitrovgrad on to the Bucuresti - Giurgiu SNCFR - Ruse BDZ - Dimitrovgrad - Svilengrad BDZ - Kapikule TCDD - Istanbul train. Passenger services in Macedonia, which were apparently temporarily suspended, have resumed with Skopje - Bitola domestic services, plus one daily international return working to Greece (Skopje - Gevgelija MZ - Idomeni OSE - Thessaloniki.) (Thomas Cook European Timetable, July 1999) The Royal Logistic Corps are using locomotives carried by ship from Marchwood military port in Hampshire, plus larger JZ traction units (including at least one Class 661 'Kennedy' GM diesel), to marshal and to operate trains ferrying supplies and personnel on the Skopje MZ - Kacanik JZ - Kosovo Polje - Pristina line. This is 'the first operational deployment of trains by the British Army since the Normandy landings in June 1944' according to The Times of 19 June 1999. 'Operational deployment' in this context presumably means the conveyance of British railway equipment abroad in support of a military operation. 0080][US] Schellville, CA - Willits - Eureka - Arcata, CA: (SPV CA-11-10-9) After long neglecting repairs to track, bridges and drainage structures, and to broken highway-signals at many level-crossings, the impoverished Northwestern Pacific became in November 1998 the first lengthy railroad in US history to see its whole system (458km) shut down by the federal government on safety grounds (BLN 845.0127). Still, state and federal 'disaster-relief' money may see the NWP reopened to freight trains from the Bay Area north through California's rain-soaked redwood forests in spring 2000, and restoration of freight on the otherwise isolated California Western Willits - Fort Bragg line, home of the Skunk steam tourist-train operation. (www2.trains.com) 0081][GB] Belfast Central - City Jn - Central Jn: (BLN 836.0482) Just south of the city centre, the Belfast Central Railway, linking Central station and the main line out of Great Victoria Street, is closed from late May to late August 1999 to permit total reconstruction of the infrastructure. The result has been a sharp drop in local rail traffic. North of the blockage, Belfast - Larne and Belfast - Bangor trains, nearly all three-car diesel units, are terminating at Central, the Larne ones being poorly used, the Bangor ones loading better. Though some halts on the Larne and Bangor routes have been rebuilt with platforms accommodating only three coaches, the 17:15 Central - Bangor rush-hour 'flyer' is still a seven-car rake of corridor coaches, topped and tailed by diesel locomotives. Since it stopped working through from Great Victoria Street, however, it has lost about half its customers. 0082][GB] Belfast - Lisburn - Knockmore - Portadown: The service is generally halved in frequency during the Belfast Central Railway works, although the peak-hour trains mostly remain. Regular traffic at Adelaide and Balmoral has been hard hit, although special events can bring traffic to both. Finaghy, Dunmurry and Derriaghy are very quiet indeed. Lambeg now serves a growing opulent suburb and remains reasonably busy. Hilden has always been quiet. Even Lisburn, nearing completion of a major upgrade, seems to have only a few dozen regular commuters. A number of local stations on the Adelaide - Knockmore section have been rebuilt with simple metal shelters and fencing, and concrete platforms accommodating only three-car units, an indication of how the rush-hour traffic has fallen. A few of them have British-style platform-end ramps but at several the fence extends across the end of the platform, with no ramp. At Knockmore the layout features three parallel tracks, down main, up main, and Antrim bi-directional, with new short platforms on the two outer tracks only, there being no space for a platform face on the up main. Knockmore thus has a better service down from Belfast (several Portadown trains call) than up to the city (when it has to make do with the meagre Antrim line service). An up-main-to-Antrim-line crossover could be installed south-west of Knockmore to let trains from Portadown call but this is probably not considered worth the expense. Knockmore, in a growing residential area, has around a dozen daily commuters to Belfast. 0083][GB] Lisburn - Knockmore - Antrim: Poor local traffic makes it unlikely that the passenger service on this line will survive the reopening of the Bleach Green Jn - Antrim section and the diversion thence of Belfast - Coleraine - Londonderry trains. Regular daily commuters to Belfast or Lisburn from individual stations number four from Glenavy and fifteen from each of Ballinderry, Crumlin and Antrim. 0084][IE] Drogheda - Navan: The Tara Mines operation at Navan has been threatened with closure due to depressed zinc prices. A labour agreement reached on 16 July 1999 is enabling production to continue, but the long-term outlook may be poor for ore traffic off this branch west from the Dublin - Belfast main line. 0085][IE] Dublin - Clonsilla - Maynooth - Mullingar - Longford - Sligo: Works to double the Clonsilla - Maynooth suburban section were under way on 7 July 1999, imposing a severe speed limit on trains. The Mullingar - Longford engineering work (R99.0058) was due to end 23 July 1999. Sligo station now has continuous welded rail on the arrival and departure tracks. (partly Sligo Champion, 14 July 1999) 0086][IE][GB] Ireland: container freight: In summer 1999 IE's Containerail division were offering to handle domestic and maritime ISO containers at twelve places on the island, and operating nine scheduled liner-trains each way daily Mon-Fri from Dublin North Wall (R99.0057) to Dundalk, Belfast, Sligo, Ballina, Limerick, Tralee, Cork (two) and Waterford. The other locations served are Longford, Galway and Mallow. (www.irishrail.ie) 0087][FR] Paris RER Ligne E: Est-Ouest Liaison Express: (BLN 816.0591; Ball 81B2) French national day 14 July 1999 saw opening of phase 1 of the EOLE project, a 7km link in tunnel across the north of Paris between SNCF's eastern and western suburban lines out of Est and St.Lazare. (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 1999) Trains from the Noisy-le-Sec direction are diverted from Est to serve two new underground RER stations, Magenta (for Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est and RER Lignes B and D) and Condorcet (for Gare St.Lazare and RER Ligne A). 0088][FR] (Sedan -) Pont-Maugis - Mouzon - Stenay (- Verdun): (BLN 810.0432, 840.0610; OEIS 9936; Ball 17A2) The CF Touristique Mouzon - Stenay, based at Mouzon and run by Les Amis de la Traction Vapeur en Ardenne, are in 1999 also operating north to Pont-Maugis, just short of the junction with the (Lille -) Sedan - Longuyon (- Strasbourg) main line. Though ATVA charter trains seem to have run there from time to time, the regular service is new, and ATVA hope to continue it in future years, subject to SNCF approval. A single Pont-Maugis trip runs each Sunday 18 July - 22 August (but not on 15 August when ATVA have an autorail festival on their other line at Attigny; BLN 840.0609; OEIS 9936). At the southern end of the tourist line, Stenay is a pleasant small town with a rail-served paper-mill and an interesting beer museum, including a short piece of rail with a railway van in Kronenbourg livery containing a small display about transporting beer. In the heat of Sunday 18 July 1999 the free sample of the brew was most welcome. Stenay station is signposted a short distance south of the town, close to an overbridge. The conductor on the 15:30 railcar (14:50 from Mouzon) sold a Stenay - Pont-Maugis ticket for FRF50 (=EUR7.62). The Mouzon - Pont-Maugis return fare is FRF35 (=EUR5.34). Patronage was poor but at Mouzon four enthusiasts joined the train, which left on time at 16:20, passing sidings filled with wagons and an SNCF shunting-engine. The line follows the road closely and the train-crew demonstrated the radio control for the level-crossings. At Autrecourt the station remains but is now in private ownership. At Remilly-Aillicourt a large new shed obscured the view but it appeared that a branch had once trailed in from the south. At Pont-Maugis the Picasso stopped just past an old goods-shed about 50m short of the signal protecting the junction with the main line. Travellers aiming to make a single journey on the 16:45 Pont-Maugis - Stenay departure are advised to be there well before time as it seems from comments that the train might return south early. A short walk into the village showed that the modern former station at Pont-Maugis is now a private house. Sedan station is a 4km walk to the north-west. 0089][FR] (Montargis - Charny -) Villiers-St.Benoît - Toucy (- St.Sauveur-en-Puisaye - Étang de Moutiers - St.Fargeau - Gien): (BLN 819.046; Ball 36B3-37A2) Beyond Charny, reached by SNCF freight (R99.0061), the section to Villiers-St.Benoît remains out of use. However, the operators of the Villiers-St.Benoît - Toucy tourist train Le Transpoyaudin (BLN 844.084) have ambitions to extend beyond their present 9km stretch of track south to St.Fargeau in 2001 or 2002, and north to Charny thereafter. 0090][FR] (Annecy - St.Jorioz - Doussard -) Ugine - Albertville: (Ball 58A3) This line mostly in Haute-Savoie lost its passenger trains 5 May 1938. Annecy - St.Jorioz closed completely 1 August 1966 and St.Jorioz - Doussard likewise by 1964. In 1989 Doussard - Ugine too went out of use and was formally abandoned (déclassée) 23 May 1999. Ugine - Albertville had workmen's trains until 1953 and remains in use for freight. 0091][LU] Luxembourg Hollerich - Howald (- Berchem): (EGTRE LU99/1; Ball 18A2) In 1998 car-carrying passenger trains used the Luxembourg avoiding line, but in summer 1999 they are diverted to call at Luxembourg station, and this short curve has no booked passenger train. 0092][NL] Netherlands: station renaming: The abbreviation CS has fallen from favour, and nameboards, signs, ticket-machines etc are all due to be changed, at considerable expense, to read Amsterdam Centraal, Den Haag Centraal, Rotterdam Centraal and Utrecht Centraal. However the new NS standard provides that only stations handling more than 40,000 passengers a day qualify to be called 'Centraal'. Almere CS became Almere Centrum from 30 May 1999. (Op de Rails, 99-5) 0093][DE] Güstrow - Plaaz - Rostock: (Ball 12B1) On the DB map accompanying the Kursbuch this line is now shown as non-electrified and private. Since Lalendorf Ost - Plaaz - Rostock (BLN 732.0138) forms part of an important freight route from Berlin to the port of Rostock, it is unlikely that DB Netz AG, responsible for rail infrastructure, would de-electrify and sell the track. The map needs to be interpreted as describing the service rather than the line, indicating simply that Güstrow - Plaaz - Rostock passenger trains are all diesel-worked and non-DB. 0094][DE] (Berlin -) Stendal - Möringen - Nahrstedt - Vinzelberg (- Oebisfelde): (Ball 28A3) West of Möringen and east of Vinzelberg a high-speed ladder junction links the new Schnellfahrstrecke that avoids Stendal and the parallel Stammstrecke through Stendal station. In early 1997 the planned name of this junction was Abzw Nahrstedt, after a nearby village, but when the new layout actually opened for business in 1998 it was named Abzw Möringen, apparently taking over the name of the temporary junction just east of Möringen station that had previously allowed trains through Stendal to join or leave the fast tracks to the west (BLN 805.0307). From the May 1999 timetable change the high-speed junction has become Abzw Nahrstedt as originally planned. 0095][DE] Wuppertal-Vohwinkel - W-Varresbeck - W-Heubruch (- W-Wichlinghausen): (BLN 739.0284; Ball 34A1) A special train on the Wuppertaler Nordbahn on 27 June 1999 ran to Wuppertal-Heubruch, beyond which track is removed. 0096][DE] Düren - Bedburg (Erft): (BLN 752.0148; Ball 37B1) In June 1999 this line was out of use and completely overgrown where it leaves the Aachen - Düren - Köln main line. 0097][DE] Osberghausen - Wiehl - Hermesdorf - Waldbröl (Rheinland): (Ball 38B1) In June 1999 a sleeper blocked this line at the junction, though it may reopen for passengers, initially to Wiehl (BLN 848.0214). Nearby, the Dieringhausen - Bergneustadt freight branch is signalled and apparently in use, though somewhat overgrown. 0098][DE] Halle (Saale) trams: (R99.0037; Ball 42B3 not shown) Opening of the extension west to Halle-Neustadt is planned for end-October 1999. (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 1999) 0099][DE] Kall - Olef - Höddelbusch - Schleiden - Oberhausen - Hellenthal: (BLN 823.0153; Ball 47B3) The branch closed to passengers 31 May 1981 and to all traffic between Höddelbusch military siding (km10.7) and Hellenthal (km17.1) in May 1994. Kall - Höddelbusch sees military trains twice a month, with tanks of the Belgian army. Höddelbusch - Hellenthal was formally abandoned 15 December 1997 and track from Schleiden (km12.1) to Hellenthal is heavily overgrown with long grass and small bushes between the rails. Hellenthal station however has kept its sidings and most of its infrastructure, as have former halts at Olef (km9.0), where the line runs along the street, and Oberhausen (km14.0). Since 1995 a local committee have fought vehemently for restoration of passenger trains. The county council, Kreis Euskirchen, and other local authorities joined in, and Land Nordrhein-Westfalen decided to support reopening. In summer 1999 Kreis Euskirchen and Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg were still arguing with DB Netz (infrastructure) and DB Personenbahnhöfe (station services) about the costs of the new service, but it is likely to go ahead. Kall - Hellenthal buses carry 930 passengers on weekdays and trains are expected to carry 2,500. On 25 July 1999 advertised excursion train DZ92520 09:44 Köln Hbf - Schleiden, steam-hauled by #94 1294, departed via Köln-Deutz, reversing at the derelict passenger station of Köln-Kalk before crossing the Südbrücke to Köln-Eifeltor. At Hürth-Kalscheuren it was looped on a non-platform line for RE11405 10:14 Köln-Deutz - Gerolstein to overtake. At Kall the train set back into the branch platform for the locomotive to run round before taking the freight-only branch. In the village of Olef, 3km north of Schleiden, the line runs along the street. On reaching the site of Schleiden passenger station, the locomotive again ran round and propelled the train south to the limit-of-shunt towards Hellenthal, in order to take water from a hydrant by a level-crossing. This could not have been done during the run-round movement because tanks on the train needed replenishing as well as the locomotive's quite small side-tanks. Timekeeping was poor, with arrival at Schleiden 25 minutes late and departure 45 minutes late. From 28 August 1999, DZ92500 09:44 Köln Hbf - Remagen - Kreuzberg (Ahr) replaces the Schleiden trip, and seems also to run outward via Köln-Kalk and Köln-Eifeltor, returning via Bonn-Beuel. 0100][DE] Appenweier - Kehl DB (- Strasbourg SNCF): (Ball 57A1-56B3) Notwithstanding R99.0041, the layout at Appenweier does technically allow a short local train to call at the northern end of Gleis 6, the westernmost of the original platforms, and then from halfway along the platform to take a connection leading west on to the single-track north-to-west curve to head for Kehl and Strasbourg. In practice the present through EC and IR trains do not come near a platform at Appenweier, and the local Ortenau S-Bahn Offenburg - Appenweier - Kehl service calls at the new platform 9 on the south-to-west curve, 300m away. 0101][AT] Schwarzenau - Zwettl - Zwettl Stadt (- Martinsberg-Gutenbrunn): (BLN 823.0157; Ball 63B1) ÖBB's summer 1999 timetable shows most Martinsberger Lokalbahn passenger services running south from Zwettl for 1km over the viaduct to Zwettl Stadt. Only a few weekday workings with tight turn-rounds terminate at Zwettl. 0102][PT] (Lisboa - Louriçal -) Amieira - Reveles (- Verride - Coimbra): (BLN 820.073; Ball 17A2) In the summer 1999 timetable the single-track and electrified Concordância de Verride, the south-to-east curve of the triangle near Figueira da Foz, has one passenger train each way (SuX #6405/4 Campolide - Cacém 05:41 - Louriçal 08:55 - Coimbra and SX #6428/9 Coimbra 19:07 - Reveles 19:50 - Campolide). 0103][PT][ES] (Entroncamento - Abrantes -) Elvas CP - Badajoz RENFE: (Ball 27A2-27B2) From 30 May 1999 the Linha do Leste cross-border route has seen only one passenger round-trip daily (#5501 09:55 Abrantes - Badajoz and #5506 14:35 Badajoz - Abrantes). For several years too the (Entroncamento - Abrantes -) Marvăo-Beiră CP - Valencia de Alcántara RENFE Ramal de Alcácer (27A3) and the (Pampilhosa -) Vilar Formoso CP - Fuentes d'Ońoro RENFE Linha da Beira Alta (BLN 803.0260; Ball 18B2) border-crossings have each seen but a single round-trip - at night. Only the Valença do Minho CP - Tui RENFE (- Vigo) Linha do Minho (BLN 845.0120; 7A3) retains a more frequent international passenger service within Iberia. 0104][PT] (Lisboa Oriente - Braço de Prata -) Entrecampos - Sete Rios - Campolide - Alcântara-Terra: (BLN 850.0279; Ball 25B1) Despite the new timetable from 30 May 1999, a June notice showed Linha de Cintura weekend services (15:25 Sat - 04:15 Mon) still suspended between Braço de Prata and Sete Rios while remodelling proceeds. Track to the east of Entrecampos is double, but then becomes quadruple westward to the junction at Sete Rios. Entrecampos now serves a major commercial area of the city and is being developed with in effect six CP platforms as well as its metro station beneath. While a new entrance seems to have been brought into use from 5 April 1999, in late June Entrecampos station was still a building site, with public information minimal. The northern island platform (tracks #1 and 2) was in operation, but the southern one (#3 and 4) was not, its track being in place but not connected to the running lines at the east end. At the west end of the northern platform an uncovered walkway, on which a travolator was yet to be commissioned, led to a further island platform named Entrecampos Poente (= West). Poente's two platform tracks (confusingly also numbered #1 and 2) are additional loops set between the two tracks serving the main northern island, so that an eastbound train could for example call at Poente and be overtaken before running forward to the main island. In practice, Poente is used for terminating trains from the Sintra line, in effect a reincarnation of the former Terminal 5 de Outubro. Curiously, Rego station, which has now totally vanished, was still maintaining a ghostly existence on the electronic displays in the area. Making something of a contrast with its shabby predecessor, Campolide's new building opened 7 June 1999, but the station remained unfinished, with lifts and footbridges not yet in use and passengers still using temporary foot crossings over the tracks. The distinctive signal-box building has happily been preserved within the reconstruction scheme, but perhaps not in its original role. Two platforms instead of one now serve trains to Alcântara-Terra, though their main use will be for the much-delayed intensive service over the Ponte 25 de Abril across the Tejo estuary. South of the new flying-junction with the double track on to the bridge, the Alcântara-Terra line reverts to single track, on which normal services have been restored. 0105][ES] Madrid metro: (BLN 851.0314; Ball 22A3-22B2) Though the disused broad-gauge main-line link to Aeropuerto de Madrid-Barajas was removed at the end of 1998 (BLN 848.0227), metro line 8 was extended north from Campo de las Naciones 5.4km to the airport on 14 June 1999, and is soon to be further extended to Pueblo de Barajas. (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 1999, quoting Railway Gazette International) 0106][IT] (Ortona -) Ortona Marina - Caldari (- Crocetta): (BLN 796.092, 824.0183; Ball 51B1) This section of the Ferrovia Adriatico Sangritana, closed to passengers in the 1980s and to all traffic in December 1996, has reopened. (Today's Railways, #44, August 1999) 0107][CH] Romont - Vaulruz-Nord - Bulle: (Ball 91B2) The Gruyčre-Fribourg-Morat company or Chemins de Fer Fribourgeois have two separate standard-gauge sections linked only by CFF's (Lausanne -) Romont - Fribourg (- Bern) main line. Running through relatively flat though sparsely populated agricultural country, Romont - Bulle has for many years had a poor service by Swiss standards, though the summer 1999 timetable shows some improvement. On 24 June 1999 our reporter was the only one off the connecting train from Lausanne to join the 09:04 Romont - Bulle (electric railcar #181 and driving-trailer Bt381) which left with just six passengers. GFM also run three metre-gauge lines based on Bulle, and from Vaulruz-Nord their Palézieux - Vaulruz-Sud - Bulle line comes quite close, eventually using through platforms 1-4 at Bulle, where the standard-gauge terminates in a bay (Voie A). Nearby are interchange sidings where standard-gauge wagons are placed on metre-gauge bogies for trip-working over the 5km Bulle - Broc-Fabrique line (BLN 758.0334) to the Nestlé chocolate-factory at Broc-Fabrique. The Bulle - Montbovon metre-gauge line south links with the Montreux Oberland Bernois system. From Bulle to Fribourg a GFM express bus offers a quicker (30 minutes) journey than returning to Romont for a CFF train. 0108][CH] Fribourg - Belfaux-Village - Murten - Muntelier-Löwenberg - Ins: (Ball 92A2-91B3) On 24 June 1999 the 12:46 Fribourg - Ins (GFM standard-gauge electric railcar #173+driving-trailer Bt373) left Fribourg CFF platform 5, taking an independent third track that soon swings away from CFF's Fribourg - Bern main line, but for some 4km also carries CFF's Fribourg - Belfaux CFF - Payerne trains. Belfaux-Village has a rail-connected factory, but at most stations the sidings are rusty. The train was well-used as far as Murten, but lightly loaded thereafter. From Murten's outer platform 3, GFM shares the track of CFF/SBB's Payerne - Murten - Muntelier-Löwenberg - Kerzers - Lyss line as far as Muntelier-Löwenberg, where CFF/SBB Tm643 was resident to shunt the substantial goods-yard. Sugiez had a GFM shunting locotracteur Tm85. At Ins station, extensively rebuilt with higher platforms and new buildings, GFM trains use track 3, the outer face of the island platform where Bern - Neuchâtel trains call. The BN company is part of the Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon group. 0109][CH] Zermatt - Gornergrat: (BLN 812.0504; Ball 99B2) On 22 June 1999 the lower station of the Gornergratbahn, across the road from the BVZ terminus in Zermatt, was under partial reconstruction, with the booking-office a temporary structure in the street. From the sidings of the rack-and-adhesion BVZ, wired at 11kV 16.7Hz, a short non-electrified section of metre-gauge adhesion track runs along the road to link with the 725V 50Hz three-phase rack-only GGB. The Gornergratbahn, Switzerland's first electric rack line, opened in 1898, is one of only two Swiss railways still using three-phase electrification, requiring two side-by-side pantographs contacting two parallel overhead wires, the third-phase contact being the wheels on the track. Three of the original 1898 Class He2/2 four-wheel rack locomotives still exist, and #3003 was posed outside the depot at Zermatt. The GGB also remains Switzerland's highest railway in the open air (the rival Jungfraubahn goes higher, but terminates in tunnel at the top). The 9.34km line has 3.79km of double track, an unusual feature for a mountain railway, and rises from 1604m at Zermatt to 3089m at Gornergrat summit, average gradient being 16% and maximum 20%. The five tunnels, some of them more like snow-sheds, total 1320m. As well as passenger traffic, the GGB conveys supplies to various hotels along the railway and to the summit facilities at Gornergrat, all without road access. A railcar was seen arriving at Zermatt with a refrigerated container wagon, a bogie van was in a siding at Dienststation Riffel, a non-passenger location above Riffelalp, and an oil tank-wagon was discharging in a siding at Riffelberg. In June snow was still much in evidence, especially by taking the Gornergrat - Stockhorn two-section cableway to a height of 3413m, which offered a spectacular panorama of 29 mountain peaks all over 4000m, of which the Matterhorn is perhaps the best known. 0110][PL] Poznan park railway: This 'children's railway' is 600mm-gauge, not 750mm as stated in R99.0052. 0111][HU] Székesfehérvár - Várpalota - Veszprém - Ajka (- Celldömölk - Szombathely): (Ball 47A3; MÁV 20) The Várpalota - Hájmaskér section is being straightened by a 2km cut-off with a new underpass under highway 8. Earthworks were still unfinished at end-July 1999. Further west, electrification is well under way, with buses replacing many Veszprém - Ajka and Ajka - Tüskevár trains on various dates during August. As with previous MÁV electrification projects, some subcontracts use foreign haulage, and Czech diesel locomotive #730.632 has been stabled at Ajka. In July 1999 through trains from Budapest were still changing traction from electric to diesel at Székesfehérvár, but the engine change may move to Várpalota at the end of the high summer season on 29 August. 0112][HU] Kiskunhalas - Bácsalmás - Baja - Pörböly - Bátaszék: (Ball 47B2; MAV 154) In summer 1999 buses are replacing Baja - Bátaszék trains while a bridge at Baja is rebuilt. 0113][SI] (Ljubljana - Pivka -) Divaca - Hrpelje Kozina - Koper: (BLN 836.0536; Ball 45A1) From 1902 to 1935 a narrow-gauge railway, presumably Austro-Hungarian 760mm-gauge, ran 122km south along the Adriatic coast from Trieste (Trieste/Trst - Capodistria/Koper - Portorose/Portoroz - Buje - Parenzo/Porec). Later, when the standard-gauge came from the north-east over the mountains, passenger trains used a station in the town on the line to the freight depot, Koper Tovorna, and the port, Koper Luka. A separate short branch now leads to the present Koper passenger station on its greenfield site, served by local buses, south of the old town and north of the newer resort area. The station bears a plaque giving its opening-date of 25 May 1979, and has a plinthed steam locomotive commemorating the vanished narrow-gauge line. 0114][CA] North Vancouver, BC - Squamish Jn - Squamish (Loggers Lane): (BLN 809.0426) Squamish Dock, where the Pacific Great Eastern Railway reached tidewater, was once an important point for transhipment of freight from rail to sea transport, but when the PGE extended southwards to connect with CP and CN at Vancouver, the former main line to the dock became a short branch. The British Columbia Railway (as the PGE became in the 1970s) do not regard the branch as significant enough to be shown in the 1998 Canadian Railway Atlas, but it remains trailing into the present main line by a north-facing junction at milepost 39.5 (=km63), just short of Squamish BCR passenger station at milepost 39.9 (=km64) - and it does have a passenger service. The North Vancouver - Squamish Royal Hudson steam-hauled tourist train does not use the through BCR station, but reverses at the junction and propels down the branch to terminate in a siding at Loggers Lane, opened to passengers 29 March 1995 (BLN 759.0360). This has no station facilities of any kind, passengers simply descending to the roadside to join buses that take them on a variety of excursions. A boat leaves from a nearby dock for those cruising back to Vancouver. Meanwhile locomotive #2860 heads back to the junction to turn on the wye, returning in time to propel its train back to the junction and head south to North Vancouver some two hours later. 0115][CA] Squamish, BC: park railway: An excursion that is free to Royal Hudson steam-train passengers is by vintage motor-bus to the West Coast Railway Heritage Park, on a greenfield site just north of Squamish BCR station. A c.130mm-gauge railway (fare a nominal CAD1) runs from a station at the entrance (Wilkie) to a terminus (Sweet Apple) where the locomotive turns on a wye for the return, passing Wilkie station via a loop at Twin Cedars and back to Wilkie. In summer 1999 a track extension at Twin Cedars was clearly marked out, but whether the present route would also remain was not clear. 0116][CA] Vancouver (Waterfront) - Coquitlam - Mission, BC: (BLN 835.0479) In summer 1999 the West Coast Express commuter service also includes one return trip on Sundays 4 July - 29 August, leaving Mission at 10:00 and Waterfront at 17:00. It was well filled in both directions on 4 July. 0117][CA] Vancouver - Fraser Mills - Coquitlam - Matsqui - Basque (- Ashcroft - Kamloops, BC): (R99.0019) ViaRail Canada's transcontinental Canadian and the Rocky Mountaineer tour train are booked to run from Vancouver's ex-CN/GN Pacific Central station east on CN some 15km to Fraser Mills, then CP via Coquitlam to Matsqui, then CN up the Fraser river valley (BLN 761.0394, 800.0209). On 13 June 1999 the westbound Canadian was diverted off its booked route at Matsqui over the CN via New Westminster to Fraser Mills and into Vancouver, omitting the timetabled Port Coquitlam (CP) stop. This diversion may also have been used by the two previous Canadians. On 15 June, reportedly due to a rock-fall on the CN route higher up the Fraser valley, the eastbound Canadian ran from Fraser Mills over CP via Coquitlam, Matsqui and Mission before rejoining CN at Basque, more than 300km out of Vancouver, missing its scheduled stops at Chilliwack, Hope and Boston Bar on the booked CN route, though making substitute calls on the other side of the river. 0118][CA] Vancouver metro: (BLN 835.0479) On the site of the former Canadian Pacific Railway terminal on Cordova Street, Vancouver's Waterfront station hosts West Coast Express commuter trains and has nearby SeaBus ferries to North Vancouver. It is also the downtown terminus of the SkyTrain driverless linear-induction-motor elevated metro. SkyTrain seems to offer no obstacle to people travelling beyond its Waterfront platforms into the reversing sidings, and many travellers do this, some arriving from other stations on inbound trains in the evening peak, presumably to secure a seat on the outbound journey. An inspector was seen one evening trying to empty an inbound train on arrival at Waterfront but without much success as the set did not stay in the platform long enough! Outbound, the line makes a horseshoe curve round the downtown past Main Street/Science World SkyTrain station (which serves the Via Rail Canada/Amtrak passenger terminal) before heading south-east out to New Westminster. Between Columbia station in New Westminster and the SkyBridge across the Fraser River to Scott Road, the turnouts installed in spring 19999 for the planned branch extension are visible in both the outbound and inbound tracks, the latter at present leading to an emergency siding. SkyTrain was last extended on 28 March 1994 from Scott Road 4km south to its present terminus in Surrey city centre at King George station - where a visit to the reversing sidings was not attempted. The next extension, to open perhaps in 2001, is to head north-east to Vancouver Community College, looping back through Burnaby to cross the existing line at Broadway, details being available at www.skytrainreview.gov.bc.ca. 0119][CA] Vancouver heritage tramway: The British Columbia Electric railway, a classic North American interurban, once served the area, and though its last car ran to Steveston (south of Vancouver International Airport) on 28 February 1958, some of its tracks remain as freight branches. With a view to reintroduction of electric light rail, the city in 1996 bought the old Canadian Pacific railway alignment along the south bank of False Creek, and this now forms the basis for a demonstration heritage tramway, the Downtown Historic Railway. From 13:00 to 17:00 on weekends and holidays till September 1999, a tram service runs from Science World (near Main Street/Science World SkyTrain station and the Via Rail Canada/Amtrak main-line passenger station), west via Leg-in-Boot Square to Granville Island, ending beneath the freeway bridge. Opening ceremony for the Science World - Leg-in-Boot section was due to be on 15 July 1999, but on 4 July the tram track still had no overhead wires on its electrification poles, so opening was perhaps delayed. Further extensions beyond Science World north into the downtown area, and beyond Granville Island north-west to Vanier Park, are planned, though a building currently blocks the trackbed just west of Granville Island. The tram used is interurban car #1207, one of three built locally for inauguration of service from Marpole to Steveston in 1905, and restored by BC Transit in 1990. 0120][CA] Toronto - Snider Jn - Doncaster - Washago, ON (- Vancouver, BC): On a March 1998 journey the westbound transcontinental Canadian/Canadien also departed westward from Toronto Union station and made the double reversal at Snider Jn to reach Doncaster, so this may not be an unusual movement as was suggested by R99.0019. The long train consist includes an observation car on the rear, and as noted originally in BLN 706.010, whatever the booked route the aim is always to arrive at Toronto from one direction and leave from the other. 0121][CA] Toronto - Kingston - Brockville, ON - Dorval, QC - Montréal Centrale: The Toronto end of VIA's Toronto - Montréal Corridor is shared with the Government of Ontario's GO Transit commuter services. New GO timetables show all-day bus services as well as trains, making it easier to travel each line and return to the city the same day, even on the sparsely trafficked Toronto - Stouffville section (BLN 799.0176). East out of Toronto, the first VIA stop, Guildwood, is also a GO station. Toronto - Guildwood - Pickering GO services terminate at Pickering in a bay-platform on the south side of the main line, but GO trains beyond Pickering Jn (Toronto - Guildwood - Oshawa) have their own commuter tracks on the north side of the main line. VIA's 07:10 Toronto - Montréal, diesel locomotive plus four coaches, was well-filled on 1 July 1999, Canada's national day and a public holiday. The schedule, 539km in 4h46min with five stops, seemed none too challenging. Belleville was reached at 08:38 for an 08:46 departure and Kingston at 09:18 for 09.21, though an engineer had to inspect the train there and actual departure was at 09:42. At the eastern end of Brockville station VIA's (Toronto -) Brockville - Smiths Falls - Ottawa single-line passenger route curves away sharply to head north-west. After a short stop at Dorval for the airport, arrival at Montréal's Gare Centrale was just 3 minutes late at 11:59. Return was on the flagship express of the day, the 17:00 from Montréal, calling only at Dorval and booked into Toronto Union station in 4h4min. Some sections of route were traversed at a respectable 160km/h and, though 12 minutes down at Kingston after a long permanent-way slack between Les Cčdres and Coteau Ouest, QC, the train was on time at Toronto. 0122][CA] Montréal Centrale - Mont-Royal - Deux Montagnes, QC: Starting from rather dingy platforms at the Gare Centrale and immediately entering a long tunnel heading north-west under the city-centre to emerge at Mont-Royal, this CN suburban (banlieue) line was extensively reconstructed and re-electrified (formerly 2400V dc, now 25kV 60Hz) in 1995 (BLN 773.0104) and has a basic hourly service, thinner at weekends. Journey time to the outer terminus, Deux-Montagnes, is 38 minutes. According to leaflets, the line is now operated for a new Agence Métropolitaine de Transport rather than the Societé de Transport de la Communauté Urbaine de Montréal (STCUM) as before. 0123][CA] Montréal Windsor - Dorval - Dorion - Rigaud, QC: This CP line from Gare Windsor carries trains de banlieue operated for AMT. From Ballantyne through Dorval out to Dorion it runs parallel to, but separate from, the CN main line out of Gare Centrale used by VIA Montréal - Dorval - Coteau, QC - Toronto, ON and Montréal - Dorval - Coteau, QC - Ottawa, ON inter-city Corridor services One Mon-Fri banlieue train each way takes the Dorion - Rigaud branch (17:20 outbound, 06:49 inbound, journey time 76 minutes). 0124][CA] Montréal Jean-Talon - Henri-Bourassa - Saint-Martin - Sainte-Rose - Rosemčre - Sainte-Thérčse - Blainville: This CP line to the north seems to be a new addition to the AMT banlieue system, and its inner terminus, Gare Jean-Talon, on the northern edge of the city-centre near Parc métro station, is not shown in the 1998 Canadian Railway Atlas. A shuttle bus (navette trainbus 935) from Guy-Concordia, Place-des-Arts and Parc métro stations takes train passengers to Jean-Talon. Trains provide an all-day service both ways Mon-Fri except holidays, but with big gaps between the peaks. Journey time is 32-43 minutes. 0125][CA] Montréal métro: The four STCUM underground lines all use the rubber-tyred trains pioneered by the Paris Métro. At the termini, trains arrive and depart from different platforms, reversing in tunnel beyond. All are three-car sets, running as nine cars on Lignes 1 and 2, six cars on Ligne 4 and (temporarily, till end-August 1999) as three cars on Ligne 5. At all the termini except Longueuil it is possible to return without leaving the paid area of the station, thus obviating the need to use a new ticket (flat fare CAD1.95 or six tickets for CAD8.25). Covering the entire existing system took three hours and five minutes. New maps in the trains show the lines as follows: Ligne 1, Verte: Angrignon - Lionel-Groulx - Berri-UQAM - Honoré Beaugrand Ligne 2, Orange: Côte-Vertu - Snowdon - Lionel-Groulx - Berri-UQAM - Jean-Talon - Henri-Bourassa Ligne 4, Jaune: Berri UQAM - Longueuil Ligne 5, Bleue: Snowdon - Parc - Jean-Talon - Saint-Michel Proposed extensions are shown (without any stations marked) north from Côte Vertu on Ligne 2 and east from St.Michel on Ligne 5. No Ligne 3 exists, but an unnamed proposed line is shown from Pié IX on Ligne 1 running northwards across the extension of Ligne 5 up to Rivičre-des-Prairies, then east along the riverbank. 0126][US] Rutland - Burlington, VT: (SPV VT-3,1) Amtrak's Vermonter, supported by Vermont state (New York, NY - New Haven, CT - Springfield, MA - Essex Junction, VT - St.Albans, VT; BLN 792.0530) calls at Essex Junction, some 8km east of Burlington, the state's largest city, but Vermont is considering extension of Amtrak's Ethan Allen, also state-supported (New York - Albany-Rensselaer - Whitehall, NY - Rutland, VT; BLN 799.0179, 806.0348) from Rutland north on the Vermont Railway to Burlington itself. (www2.trains.com) 0127][CU] Habana La Coubre / Casa Blanca - Hershey - Matanzas: (BLN 826.0245) A new station, La Coubre, at the foot of Calle Egido, has since 6 June 1999 allowed two Hershey trains a day to start in the capital city proper rather than on the eastern side of the river at Casa Blanca, from which the rest of the service continues to operate. Track from La Coubre has not yet been electrified, so the ex-Barcelona electric units have to be hauled by diesel locomotives till they reach the wires. (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 1999) 0128][GB] (Belfast - Antrim -) Coleraine - Londonderry: Eglinton, the former Royal Navy airfield that is now the small airport serving the Derry area, is reportedly to be extended, with a runway making a new level-crossing over the former LMS Northern Counties Committee main line. (Irish Railway News, Vol.6, #1, Jan 1998-May 1999) Runway level-crossings are rare on the world's railways (BLN 767.0498, 795.078), but only 13km to the east on the same NIR line was a famous but now-disused level-crossing with the main runway of Ballykelly airfield, extended thus to take Coastal Command Liberators during World War II. RAF maritime-reconnaissance Avro Shackleton aircraft used the base until the 1960s and were sometimes seen waiting for a train to pass. 0129][IE] DART: (Howth - Dublin -) Bray - Greystones: (BLN 758.0317, 817.01, 851.0291) Southern extension of Dublin Area Rapid Transit 1500V dc electric services from Bray to Greystones is not expected to commence before the new Iarnród Éireann timetable on 19 September 1999. 0130][IE] Mullingar - Moate - Athlone: (BLN 845.0109, R99.0002, 0058, 0085) Relaying on the Mullingar - Longford - Sligo line has led to engineering trains being routed via Moate in spring 1999, but it seems that the section is still barred to passenger trains (BLN 839.0589), along with Athenry - Tuam - Claremorris (BLN 846.0130) - where the Irish Railway Record Society were refused a planned trip in May 1999 - and Limerick - Foynes (BLN 820.064). Iarnród Éireann have a big backlog of engineering work still to do (BLN 845.0110), but in a debate on 1 April 1999 in Ireland's parliament, the Dáil, the Minister for Public Enterprise said that the government are committed to retaining all the existing rail network. (Irish Railway News, Vol.6, #1, Jan 1998-May 1999) 0131][FR] Niort - Benet - Fontenay-le-Comte: (Ball 43B1-43A2) The line closed to passengers 3 March 1969, but Région Pays-de-Loire hope to reopen it with shuttle services (navettes) making five daily round-trips, with one intermediate stop at Benet, to a new, more convenient terminus at Fontenay. (L'Écho du Rail, #198, July 1999) 0132][FR] Pau funicular: (BLN 746.028, 785.0350; Ball 70A1 not shown) Opposite Pau railway station, on the other side of both the river and the street, a metre-gauge funicular climbs 32m on 103m of track to the Boulevard des Pyrénées at the end of Place Royale. Opened in October 1905, it has had periods out of service for overhaul etc (1952-54, 1962, 14 September 1993 to winter 1995-96) but on 2 July 1999 it was running every three minutes (SuX 06:55-12:30, 12:55-19:30, 19:55-21:40; SuO 13:30-19:30, 19:55-21:00). Travel is free, thanks to the local council. 0133][FR] (Miramas -) Rassuen - Bac de Barcarin - Salin-de-Giraud: (Train-ferry supplement with BLN 755, BLN 762.0403; Ball 75A2) Salt traffic from Salin-de-Giraud by rail to St.Auban has ended, and the bac de Barcarin, a private rail-wagon ferry which has since 1958 given access to the works of the Compagnie des Salins du Midi across the 200m-wide mouth of the river Rhône near Fos, ceased operating in late 1998 or early 1999. Some Rhône-estuary salt is still despatched by rail from Aigues-Mortes on the St.Césaire - Le Cailar - Aigues-Mortes - Le Grau-du-Roi branch (BLN 806.0338; 74B3). (L'Écho du Rail, #198, July 1999) 0134][BE][DE] (Ličge -) Welkenraedt SNCB/NMBS - Aachen DB: (BLN 832.0372; Ball BE-10A2, DE-37A1) At about km146.5, just inside Belgium, the double-track international main line crosses a deep river valley by a sizeable bridge, recently replaced by a new parallel structure. Between 22:11 Saturday 5 June (Aachen Hbf arrival of #9457 Thalys Paris - Köln) and 01:24 Sunday 6 June 1999 (Welkenraedt passing time of INT243 Paris - Berlin / Hamburg) all eastbound trains were switched to running on the single westbound line over the new Hammerbrücke and the old bridge was taken out of service. By 23 July the old structure was largely demolished. Single-line working on the new bridge continues until its eastbound track is completed. (partly Trans-fer, #112, July 1999) 0135][NL][DE] Netherlands: new operators: From 30 May 1999 the state-railway passenger division NS Reizigers gave way to new operators NoordNed on the Leeuwarden - Stavoren, Leeuwarden - Harlingen Haven and Leeuwarden - Groningen lines, and from spring 2000 Groningen - Roodeschool, Groningen - Delfzijl and Groningen - Nieuweschans - Weener DB - Leer services are to follow, completing the hand-over of diesel-worked lines in the north of the country (Ball 1B2-2B3). From 30 May 1999 Syntus took over the Zutphen - Winterswijk and Doetinchem - Winterswijk diesel-worked local lines in the east (Ball 5A3-5B2). (Today's Railways, #44, August 1999) 0136][NL][DE] Heerlen NS - Herzogenrath DB: (Ball NL-9B2-10A2, DE-37A1) Freight operators NS Cargo and DB Cargo, due to merge on 1 January 2000, have since end-1998 again been conveying freight by this secondary cross-border route. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 6/99) 0137][DE] (Züssow - Wolgast Hafen -) Wolgaster Fähre - Zinnowitz (- Seebad Heringsdorf - Ahlbeck Grenze): (BLN 807.0355, R99.0009; Ball 13B1; KBS194) Usedomer Bäderbahn's old Wolgaster Fähre terminus closed 21 May 1999 and was replaced by a new Wolgaster Fähre halt on the alignment leading to the not-yet-complete rail link across the road/rail Peenebrücke bridge to Wolgast Hafen. (IBSE) 0138][DE] Sande - Esens (Ostfriesland): (Ball 16A2-15B3) This DB branch closed on 15 March 1999 for modernisation. When reopened in 2000 it is to be operated by Nord-West Eisenbahn, new name for a joint operation of private Deutsche Eisenbahn Gesellschaft and municipal Stadtwerke Osnabrück. (Op de Rails 99-6) 0139][DE] Ganzlin - Röbel (Mecklenburg): (BLN 848.0207; Ball 19B2) The branch had regular passenger services from 1 May 1899 to 31 October 1966. Regular freight ceased 31 May 1992 when the locomotive based at Röbel was withdrawn, and freight has since operated only 'as required'. However from 1991 Röbel has had a Bahnhofsfest every autumn, with excursions running through to Plau-am-See. IBSE advise that in 1999 the event is on 24-26 September. Information: Eisenbahnverein Hei Na Ganzlin, Am Bahnhof 4, D-17207 Röbel/Müritz; fax: +49 3993 152 550. 0140][DE] Berlin Aussenring: Priort - Falkenhagen - Hennigsdorf Nord - Hohen Neuendorf West: (Ball 31A2-31B3) Though omitted from the map in the summer 1999 DB Kursbuch, the Priort - Falkenhagen section of the north-west BAR still has four weekday Potsdam - Hennigsdorf (bei Berlin) train-pairs, as footnoted in the timetable (KBS206.21). Also missing from the map is the short section of the outer-ring line passing through Hennigsdorf Nord upper platforms, though this line is used by Berlin - Rostock IR trains. (IBSE) 0141][DE] Berlin-Spandau - Elstal - Wustermark: (R99.0064; Ball 31A2) Just within the Berlin outer-ring, Wustermark Rangierbahnhof halt and yard were officially renamed Elstal from December 1998 (and the station only is shown thus in the 1998 Ball atlas). Trains are expected to call there again from October 1999, after a temporary closure due to the weak condition of the very long passenger-access bridge crossing the whole width of the yard. (IBSE) 0142][DE] Potsdam: (R99.0010; Ball 31B1) Platforms are being moved to the west as part of the reconstruction of Potsdam Stadt station, to be renamed Potsdam Hbf from 26 September 1999. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 4/99) 0143][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: Warschauer Strasse (Stw Vsr) - Ostkreuz - Frankfurter Allee (Abzw Ostkreuz Nord): (BLN 761.0384; EGTRE DE00/252; Ball 32A2; KBS200.85) An inspection on 28 June revealed spreading track and from 12:00 on 29 June 1999 the through west-to-north curve, booked to be used by two S-Bahn trains only, closed for an indefinite period. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 4/99) By 11 August the curve seemed once again in use. 0144][DE] Kassel trams on railways: (Ball 40A2-40B2) Kasseler Verkehrs-Gesellschaft tram-route #8 was extended 2 October 1998 east to Kaufungen Papierfabrik, but the further extension over the Lossetalbahn to Hessisch-Lichtenau Stadt (BLN 852.0332) was still under construction in August 1999. Though DB Netz AG are handing over the Kassel - Papierfabrik - Hirschhagen - Hessisch-Lichtenau - Walburg - Epterode infrastructure to a KVG-affiliated company, freight traffic is to continue for a scrap-yard at Hirschhagen and a coal-mine at Epterode. Of Epterode - Grossalmerode West only a headshunt remains (BLN 723.030). Walburg - Eschwege West remains out of use, with at least one bridge over a road removed, though passenger reopening in the longer term is a possibility, perhaps by 2010. 0145][DE] Kassel trams: Route-number changes on 30 May 1999 were accompanied by opening of Brückenhof Mitte northwest-to-northeast curve, used by diverted route #6 coming off the line via Hellenböhn, whose southern end was itself opened 3 October 1998. A Kassel Oldtimer tourist-tram runs on the first Saturday of the months July-September, covering sections of routes #7, 9, 5, 4 and 1, and including a southwest-to-west curve at Walther Schücking Platz which otherwise has a relatively limited timetabled service, linking routes #3 and 4 with route #1 to Betriebshof Wilhelmshöhe tram-depot and Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe main-line station. 0146][DE] Zwickau: trains on tramway: (BLN 848.0212; Ball 43A1) The inaugural train carrying invited guests from Zwickau Hbf through the streets of the town reached the new Zwickau Zentrum halt at 11:10 on 28 May. Regular Vogtlandbahn Zwickau Zentrum - Hbf - Klingenthal services (KBS539) began with the timetable-change on 30 May 1999, hourly Mon-Fri, every two hours at weekends. Neumarkt - Zentrum - Glück Auf tram service is planned to begin 1 October 1999, when the standard-gauge trains will begin sharing part of the new street-running section with metre-gauge trams. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 4/99) 0147][DE] Boppard - Buchholz - Emmelshausen: (R99.0067; Ball 48B2) The north end has a physical junction, but through-running on to the branch can be via the points at the south end of Boppard station. The first branch train of the day, advertised to run through from Koblenz, arrives at Boppard southbound on Mondays to Fridays at a time when a northbound local electric train is occupying the west-side loop platform so as to be overtaken by a faster northbound working. The diesel push-pull branch train, with passengers aboard, reverses beyond the points at the south end of the station, enters the loop platform from the south to come up behind the electric, and waits for it to head off north before setting off from the loop up the steep incline to Buchholz. 0148][DE] Grünstadt - Neuleiningen-Kleinkarlbach - Drahtzug (- Altleiningen): (R99.0070; Ball 57A3) The line was and is part of the national network (the present DB Netz) only as far as Neuleiningen-Kleinkarlbach, shown as the terminus by Ball and on DB official maps. Beyond, the branch has always been private even when it carried public services. One curious result of that continuous history is that while DB and the federal rail-safety authority Eisenbahnbundesamt impose a low speed-limit on tourist trains as a condition of approval, this limit does not apply beyond the first 4.45km - as was demonstrated on a June 1999 trip! Pfalzbahn Eisenbahnbetriebs GmbH, a small company involved in many of the recent demonstration-services and reopening projects in Rheinland-Pfalz, are the stock-owners and licensed operators. Förderverein Eistalbahn eV, whose name appears on the tickets, are a closely associated promotional group, originally for the Grünstadt - Ramsen line in the Eisbach valley just to the north, now successfully reopened to passengers. 0149][DE] Germany: privatisation and franchising: The German model is rather different from the British. The Deutsche Bahn AG group of companies remain for the moment owned by the federal government, but privatisation is planned, and the once-copious federal subsidy for unprofitable regional trains is no longer available directly to DB, instead being paid as a grant (Regionalisierungsmittel) to the provinces who decide what services they want. Thus all German regional passenger rail services, whether or not on DB track, are now operated on behalf of - and where necessary are financed by - the province (Land). In some areas the Land have chosen to devolve the responsibility to a local authority, transport authority or special-purpose body (Landkreis, Verkehrsverbund or Zweckverbund). Regional operators may be DB's regional company, DB Regio AG, or other DB subsidiary companies like S-Bahn Berlin, ZugBus and Usedomer Bäderbahn, or entirely unrelated non-DB companies like Altona-Kaltenkirchen-Neümunster Eisenbahn and Vogtlandbahn. One DB company, DB Netz AG, continue to own DB track and other infrastructure, and indeed an amendment to the German constitution would be needed before more than 49% of this DB company could be sold. DB Cargo AG run freight. DB Reise und Touristik AG run unsubsidised passenger services, such as ICE, EC, IC, IR and D trains. Open access to railway infrastructure is available in principle, so DB Reise und Touristik would not be prevented from running a railtour over a private company's track. 0150][DE] Karlsruhe trams on railways: Rastatt - Forbach-Gausbach (- Freudenstadt Hbf): (BLN 796.087; Ball 57A1) To achieve the necessary clearance for electrification at main-line voltage (15kV 16.7Hz) through the tight tunnels of the northern Murgtalbahn, DB are to use special flat steel sleepers on a thin bed of ballast with a rigid overhead rail attached to the tunnel roof. With work to begin in late 1999, Karlsruhe S-Bahn light-rail vehicles are planned to augment the service beyond Rastatt to Forbach-Gausbach in 2001. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 4/99) 0151][DE][CZ] Bad Schandau - Schöna DB - Dolni Zleb CD - Decin: (Ball DE-44B1, CZ-35B2) As well as long-distance through workings, this electrified international route again has a stopping passenger service, provided three times a day by Czech diesel trains. (Op de Rails, 99-6) 0152][DK][SE] Křbenhavn DSB - Malmö SJ: (BLN 852.0334; Ball DK-4B1, SE-25A2) Target date for through freight trains starting on the fixed link across the Řresund/Öresund is 1 July 2000. (Skandiapilen, journal of the Scandinavian Railways Society, #22, spring 1999) 0153][PT] (Porto -) Santana-Cartaxo / Setil - Morgado - Canha - Bombel / Vendas Novas (- Faro): (BLN 819.055; Ball 26A3-26A2) No Porto - Faro summer daytime trains have run since 1996 and summer overnight Comboios de ferias (= holiday trains) taking up various paths to the south have not run since 1997. However, the all-year Porto Campanhă - Faro Comboio Azul (= blue train) continues, now without its vintage ex-Wagon-Lits sleeping-car. Only the southbound run was and is overnight. From 30 May 1999 the Comboio Azul runs south as #20804/5, SuO in winter, TThSu in summer, and north as #20860/1, FO winter, MWF in summer. The sets need to reverse en route and until recently did so at Setil station, not advertised as a stop. However, one northbound working in summer 1999 has been reported reversing at Bombel and running forward by the west-to-north Concordância de Bombel (Bombel - Canha) and the east-to-north Concordância de Setil-Norte (Morgado - Santana-Cartaxo). Confirmation that this is now the booked route for the Comboio Azul in each direction would be welcome. Neither of the two chords has any other passenger service, being mainly used by heavy coal trains making a direct west-to-north run from port to power-station (Sines - Ermidas-Sado - Poceirăo - Bombel - Canha - Morgado - Santana-Cartaxo - Entroncamento - Abrantes - Pego; BLN 842.038). 0154][PT] Sintra trams: (Ball 25A1 not shown) From the point where the road to the coast leaves the main street, about 500m north-east of the CP station in the lower part of the town, near the former tram-stop Nunes de Carvalho, the old tram trackbed can still be seen by the roadside west to Ribeira de Sintra. Metre-gauge track components are in place most of the way but after long disuse are quite unusable, so reopening here would require complete track renewal as well as restoration of overhead wiring. The site of another intermediate halt, Monte Santos, remains visible. The Ribeira - Praia das Maçăs trip is well worthwhile. The new overhead supports do not look exactly Victorian but doubtless are the best Stagecoach Portugal could purchase as a small order. The operators are to be complimented on restoring their elderly tramcars sympathetically in an attractive, presumably original, Sintra-Atlântico livery - not the Stagecoach house-style of 'go-faster' stripes! The services described in R99.0075 run not just in August but in the peak season till 19 September 1999. Thereafter service patterns vary, though trams are to run at least at weekends until 19 December. 0155][PT] Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Braço de Prata - Lisboa Oriente - Póvoa - Alverca: (Ball 25B1) Notices about platforming at local stations indicated that the extension of quadruple track came into use 'from June', presumably at the 30 May 1999 timetable change. From Oriente north through Póvoa the main-line fast tracks are those on the west side of the layout (platforms 1-4 at Oriente), with the suburban slow tracks to the east (platforms 5-8 at Oriente). The flyover between Póvoa and Alverca takes the southbound fast track over both slow tracks. From the flyover north to Alverca, main-line trains use the outer tracks, and suburban trains the inner pair. The present arrangements are different from those surmised in BLN 850.0278, and remain something of a puzzle, for it seems that all main-line trains from or to Santa Apolónia have to cross the path of all Cintura trains at the crossovers at the south end of Oriente. CP's longer-term plan may be for most suburban and main-line trains to use the Cintura, calling at the six through platforms of Entrecampos/Entrecampos Poente (R99.0104), and leaving Santa Apólonia with many fewer services. 0156][PT] Fogueteiro - Pragal - Campolide - Entrecampos (- Lisboa Oriente - Porto): (Ball 25B1) Fertagus local commuter service over the Ponte 25 de Abril (BLN 849.0246) began 29 July 1999 (Today's Railways, September 1999). CP's new Alfa Pendular inter-city services from the south shore (Margem Sul) of the Tejo estuary through to Porto were to begin with the 06:30 Pragal - Porto on 16 August 1999, initially with one such long-distance working each way. (www.cp.pt) 0157][PT] Lisboa trams: (BLN 818.039, 850.0276) The disused appearance of the dead-end spur on the west side of the square suggests that Eléctrico das Colinhas tourist-trams now depart from the ordinary paragem on the 900mm-gauge running-line along the north side of the Praça do Comércio. Route is Praça do Comércio - Praça Figueira - (as route #12) - Martim Moniz - (#28) - Graça - Săo Bento - Estrela turning-circle - (#25) - Lapa - Santos - Praça do Comércio. Departures are 11:30 Jul-Sep, 13:30 Mar-Oct, 14:30 Jul-Aug, 15:30 Mar-Oct, 16:30 August only. Journey-time is 75-90 minutes, fare PTE2800 (=EUR13.97 or an expensive GBP9.50). Carris however also sell a Bilhete Turistico at PTE450 (GBP1.50) for one day or PTE1050 (GBP3.50) for three, giving unlimited use of scheduled trams, funiculars and buses though not the Metro. A Passe Turistico includes the Metro too, and costs PTE1680 for the minimum of four days and PTE2380 for seven days. 0158][PT] Costa da Caparica - Fonte da Telha: (Ball 25B1 not shown) From Lisboa the 12.5km 600mm-gauge Transpraia tourist line may be reached from Cais do Sodré (near Cais do Sodré CP station) or from Cais Alfândega (alongside Terreiro do Paço, the ex-CP, now SOFLUSA, landing stage at Praça do Comércio) by frequent Transtejo ferry south across the river to Cacilhas, then west by bus. A through ferry-plus-bus round-trip ticket to Costa da Caparica at PTE500 (=EUR2.49 or GBP1.65) is cheaper than buying separate tickets, but you may have to insist on being sold one! At Cacilhas the separate landing-stages for the two ferry-routes are on the edge of the bus-station. Amid the frenzy, look for Transportes Sul do Tejo route #124 (every 15 minutes) or #135 (express bus hourly at xx:30). Route-numbering has recently been altered and some buses may still show #24 or #35. Other routes from Lisboa are by through bus (#153 from Praça de Espanha, #161 from Praça do Areeiro) across the Ponte 25 de Abril to Costa da Caparica, but these services run less frequently. From the Sul do Tejo bus station at Costa da Caparica a short walk west towards the ocean cuts across the Transpraia line at halt #2, and its terminus is visible one stop to the north. The 1999 service advertised at Costa da Caparica booking-office runs 1 June - 30 September, 09:00-19:00, and at least every 30 minutes, using three trains. When necessary it can run every 20 minutes with four trains and all loops in use. The ex-industrial diesel locomotives are turned at each end. Round-trip fare end-to-end (two zones) is PTE600 (=EUR2.99 or GBP2). Operators are Transportes Recreativos da Praia do Sul Ltda., of Fonte da Telha. The stopping-places are marked along the lineside by numbers only, and a plan at the booking-office lists them with names of various beaches etc as follows: Costa da Caparica (terminus with loop) - 2.Praia Nova - 3.S.N. - 4.Nova Praia - 5.Praia da Saúde - 6.C.C.L. - 7.Piedense (loop used only during 20min service) - 8.P. da Mata - 9.Praia da Riveira (fare-zone boundary, depot, loop used for 30min service) - 10.P. da Rainha - 11.P.do Castelo - 12.Cabana do Pescador - 13.Praia do Rei - 14.Morena Bar / Borda d'Agua - 15.P.da Sereia / Waikiki - P.do Infante - 16.(no name, located between two beaches, loop used only during 20min service) - Nova Vaga - 17.P.da Bela Vista - Malvinas - 19.(no name, located between two beaches) - Fonte da Telha (terminus with loop). Costa da Caparica is called 'Praia do Sol' on the 1994 Quail Portugal Railway Map. According to The Narrow Gauge (#153, 1996), Malvinas is halt #18, halt #19 is 'Praia Azul' and Fonte da Telha is #20, but the plan on display on 25 June 1999 did not confirm this. 0159][PT] Pedras d'el Rei - Praia do Barril: (BLN 779.0224; Ball 33B2 not shown) Sources disagree about the origin of this 1.2km 600mm-gauge tourist line across the narrow island of Barril just off the Algarve coast. Moving fish from a landing-place seems slightly unlikely since Praia do Barril (praia = beach; barril = cask, barrel) offers no protection for boats, and nearby Santa Luzia would have been the local fishing village. Perhaps a more credible story is that track was bought from a mine and laid to convey materials for conversion or construction of buildings in the present tourist-hotel 'village' on the ocean side of the island, to which no road runs. However, one building carries a date in the 1930s, well before the tourist boom. The change to tourist operation was in 1969, according to the 1994 Quail Portugal Railway Map. The line is a 6km walk from Tavira CP station (not Luz station). Take the road opposite the station and follow signs first to Santa Luzia, then to Pedras d'el Rei, where a pontoon footbridge extends to the island. Operators EVA run seven buses a day from Tavira bus-station to Pedras d'el Rei village, Mon-Fri only, taking about ten minutes to the stop just before the bridge. (At weekends, buses run only as far as Santa Luzia.) Just beyond the bridge the railway begins, as a single track with a simple platform on each side, no run-round loop, no nameboard and no timetable, not even an indication of what months or hours the line operates. Trains propel in one direction, and the only loop is at the depot, about three-quarters of the way along the line. At the Atlantic end Praia do Barril station, serving the tourist 'village', is similarly minimalist. A short length of track beyond the platforms is used by a rail wagon bringing supplies. Tickets bear the name of the proprietors or operators Pedras d'el Rei Gestăo e Turismo SA of Tavira. One-way fare is PTE100, about 35p. On 29 June 1999 service had started by 09:15, but the second train was not operating until nearer 10:00. (References: The Tramways of Portugal, LRTA, 4th edition, 1995; Narrow Gauge News, #211, November 1995; The Narrow Gauge, #158, 1997) 0160][IT] Merano/Meran - Malles Venosta/Mals: (BLN 808.0390, 846.0153; Ball 42B3) Services were suspended in June 1990, but the province of Bolzano and the region of Trentino-Alto-Adige have agreed to finance reopening. Work on clearing undergrowth and repairing line structures began in spring 1999, track-relaying is due in 2000 and station renovation in 2001. (L'Écho du Rail, #198, July 1999) 0161][IT] Treviso - Portogruaro Caorle: (Ball 43B1-44A1) Closure to passengers was in the mid-1960s, but reopening has been planned since 1981. In March 1999 test trips were taking place on the electrified line. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 6/99) 0162][IT] Venezia: (Ball 48B3) In summer 1999 the former Venezia outer avoiding line, long recorded as closed (BLN 744.0369, 844.0104) was seen to be blocked at its western end where it left the Padova - Venezia line and to be lifted at its former flat crossing over the Venezia - Treviso line. 0163][IT][SM] Rimini - San Marino: (Ball 48B1 not shown) A narrow-gauge electric railway running inland from Rimini on Italy's Adriatic coast some 32km south-west to the tiny independent republic of San Marino was completed in 1932, and one of its trains featured proudly on the republic's postage-stamps in the 1930s. The line was severed during fighting in 1944, but much remained intact, including rolling-stock at the San Marino terminus. Modern Tramway in 1988 suggested the international line was about to be rebuilt and reopened. A report about the present position locally would be welcome. 0164][CH] Realp DFB - Furka - Gletsch (- Oberwald): (BLN 832.0401; Ball 94A1-93B1) Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke expect to complete reinstatement to Gletsch of the old Furka-Oberalp line by 9 September 1999, but official opening and commencement of timetabled DFB (Realp -) Furka - Gletsch services is planned for 14 July 2000. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 6/99) 0165][CH] Genčve trams and trolleybus: The three metre-gauge tram routes continue as in BLN 825.0212. Route #16 (Gare Cornavin - Moillesulaz) was created by linking route #12 (Bachet de Pesay - Moillesulaz) at Bel-Air (Cité) and route #13 (Gare Cornavin - Bachet de Pesay - Palettes) at Stand. This short link, immediately south of the river Rhône bridge, is actually two separate single tracks in parallel streets. The short branch to the Eaux-Vives turning-loop ceased to be used by peak-hour route #21 trams in September 1996 (BLN 791.0478), but alternate route #12 trams now turn back here during part of the day (c.09:30-15:30 Mon-Fri, c.11:40-19:00 Sat, not Sun) instead of continuing east to Moillesulaz on the French border. The Eaux-Vives loop again sees special restaurant-tram and historic-tram workings in summer 1999 (BLN 835.0470; www.agmt.ch). Genčve Cointrin airport, served by SBB trains, is also served by a quite lengthy local trolleybus route, #10. A Transports publics genevois (www.tpg.ch) day-ticket on trams, trolleybuses and buses costs CHF8.50. 0166][PL] Stargard Szczecinski Waskotorowy - Stara Dabrowa - Dobra Nowogardzkie: (Ball 31A2; PKP378) Staff were expecting all traffic on this 44km section of metre-gauge line to cease after 31 August 1999. (IBSE) 0167][PL][SK] Lupków PKP - Palota ZSR - Medzilaborce: (Ball 43B3) After years of delay and wrangling over frontier formalities (BLN 820.081), cross-border passenger service by this route started 27 June 1999. According to the Czech magazine dráha, trains convey only Polish and Slovakian citizens, but PKP's alterations-to-services website contradicts this, saying that the new rail frontier crossing-point is open to those of all nationalities (www.pkp.com.pl/zmiany/). (IBSE) 0168][HU] Budapest: Köbánya felsö - Rákos: (Ball 44B2; MÁV 120a) Suburban train #3636 15:58 Budapest-Józsefváros - Mende is the only passenger working booked to use the low-level tracks passing under the main line and taking the west-to-east side of the triangle to Rákos, being routed this way to avoid conflict with other trains using the upper line at this busy time. However, any train can use the low-level route if required. One train that has done this in the past is #5019 02:55 Füzesabony - Budapest-Keleti (MÁV 80a). 0169][HU] Kistolmács - Csömödér - Lenti - Szilvágy: (BLN 847.0189; Ball 46B2) Some 2km of 760mm-gauge track has already been laid as part of the new link between the separate Csömödér and Lenti forestry railway systems, and the whole connection is expected to open for freight at the end of summer 1999. Later, but not before 2000, through Kistolmács - Csömödér - Lenti narrow-gauge passenger trains are to run, though the section from Lenti to Szilvágy at the northern end of the Lenti line is to remain freight-only due to poor track. Once the new Csömödér - Lenti line is open, the forestry company wants to start work on a further extension from Kistolmács south to Letenye. 0170][HU] Rétszilas - Mezöfalva and Dunaújváros - Mezöfalva - Dunaföldvár - Paks: (BLN 840.0634; Ball 47B3) In August 1999 the southwest-to-southeast Mezöfalva avoiding curve was seen to be disconnected. 0171][HU] Hungary: 1999 timetable changes: Many MÁV lines (2,30a,40a,42,46,50,70,75,71, 90,98,100a,120a,142,154) are affected by amendments to the 1999-2000 published timetable, which by August 1999 had already had three amendment leaflets and three bus-substitution leaflets, all with relatively complex Hungarian-language footnotes. A major supplement is to appear at end-September 1999, containing all the changes so far, but travellers may find it best to consult on-train staff, who are supposed to keep their copy of the timetable up-to-date! 0172][HU] Hungary: diversions: From 30 August until 9 October 1999 the Budapest-Déli - Budapest-Kelenföld section serving Déli terminus is to be temporarily closed, with passenger services diverted to use Keleti or Józsefváros. The Miskolc - Hidasnémeti section (Ball 43A1-43B2; MÁV 90) is also to be closed for track work from end-August till mid-October 1999, with some or all international services to Slovakia diverted to run (Miskolc -) Szerencs - Hidasnémeti (MÁV 98), a route which does not normally see locomotive-hauled trains. Single-line working applies on parts of the Budapest - Cegléd - Szolnok line (Ball 47B3-48A3; MÁV 100a) to allow engineers to raise speed-limits, which will then enable MÁV to divert traffic off line 120a on to line 100a. From September 1999 till spring 2000 Budapest - Újszász - Szolnok (MAV 120a) is to have works on the Újszász - Szolnok section, and from spring 2000 engineering work on line 120a closer to Budapest will mean diversion of some passenger trains via an unusually circuitous route within the city (Budapest-Keleti - Köbánya felsö - Rákosszentmihály - Rákosrendezö - Köbánya-Kispest) allowing them to use line 100a to the east. 0173][HU] Hungry in Hungary?: On the Csajág - Alsóörs - Tapolca secondary line along the north side of lake Balaton (Ball 47A3; MÁV 29) the buffet in the old station building at Alsóörs has reasonably-priced hot meals and good beer, while at Tapolca the buffet whose entrance is under the canopy of the station building has good sandwiches and draught beer. Railway staff use it in preference to two other places outside the station. In the south-east, the buffet at Gyula on the Békéscsaba - Kötegyán line (Ball 48B2; MÁV 128) serves 500ml of good beer for HUF60, about 15p. 0174][HU] Kiskörös - Torokfai - Kecskemét KK: (BLN 821.0109; Ball 47B2-48A3) This MÁV 760mm-gauge line follows a new formation east of Torokfai due to the building of a major new road. Changes since the timetable was published mean four trains no longer run and four run earlier by up to 30 minutes. 0175][HR][SI] Zagreb - Karlovac - Ostarije - Ogulin - Moravice - Rijeka - Šapjane HZ - Ilirska Bystrica SZ - Pivka: (Ball 46A1-45B1) The line runs through attractive mountain scenery, with a spectacular and steeply-graded descent to the Croatian coast at Rijeka. In 1936 the Italians electrified from the Trieste - Ljubljana main line at Pivka down to Rijeka, and 3000V dc wires were later extended to Moravice, due to the difficulty of working this steep line with steam locomotives. However, Zagreb - Karlovac - Moravice electrification was completed using JZ standard 25kV 50Hz. Moravice was formerly Srpske Moravice, but the prefix 'Serbian' in Croatia is now politically incorrect! The station has no tracks with switchable overhead, just a dead section between the two voltages. Electric locomotives coast into the station with pantograph down, and are fly-shunted back under their own wires by the relieving locomotive. As few trains convey a buffet, the locomotive change is very much to the business advantage of the station refreshment-room. Rijeka is a through station, but all passenger trains terminate and start there. Through Rijeka - Pivka (- Ljubljana) working by HZ or SZ 3000V dc electrics would be possible, but in practice locomotives are changed again at Šapjane, extending journey-times by some 20 minutes. 0176][HR][SI] Zagreb HZ - Dobova SZ - Ljubljana - Pivka - Divaca - Hrpelje-Kozina - Rakitovec SZ - Buzet HZ - Lupoglav - Pula: (BLN 836.0536; Ball 46A2-45A1) Dismembering federal Yugoslavia has introduced many operationally unnecessary locomotive changes, but on the Zagreb - Ljubljana main line, the traction-changes at Dobova on the Croatia-Slovenia border, with fly-shunting of locomotives across the neutral section between the 25kV 50Hz and 3000V dc, pre-date the break-up. Zagreb - Pula through trains still run, but with no concessions for Croatians in transit across the former sister republic of Slovenia. Passengers undergo full passport and customs checks at both frontiers, and fares are charged at higher international rates. Under the old federal JZ, the best Ljubljana - Pula time was 3h30min by express diesel railcar, but in summer 1999 trains take four hours or more, as an SZ electric is changed for an SZ diesel locomotive at Hrpelje-Kozina, and after only 27km an HZ diesel takes over at Buzet. Cheaper Zagreb - Pula through fares are available by avoiding Slovenia altogether on an HZ-sponsored bus linking Rijeka and Lupoglav. The bus passes through a 5km single-bore road-tunnel, allowing passengers the opportunity to guess the quantity of flammable animal-fats in the lorry directly in front and ponder on the relative distances permitted between passenger and freight vehicles on roads and railways! 0177][BG] Sindel - Razdelna - Varna: (Ball 53B3) The timings for the 34km branch to the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Varna show the train-pair #2337/2330 footnoted as running 'to/from Pirsa', a station not on the map in the BDZ timetable book. At Varna station the departures-list shows what is apparently the same place with the name 'Varna Feribotna', indicating that it is the station for a connecting ferry-boat service, perhaps to Istanbul, Constanta or Odessa. The branch (Razdelna - Pirsa/Varna Feribotna) diverges from the main Varna line at Razdelna, 6km east of Sindel, to run independently for some distance into the Varna port area. (IBSE) 0178][EE][LV][LT][PL] Tallinn - Tartu - Valga EVR - Lugazi LDZ - Riga - Meitene LDZ - Joniskis LG - Kaunas - Šeštokai - Mackovo LG - Trakiszki PKP - Bialystok - Warszawa Zachodnia: A through Balti Ekspress is timetabled, running across the Russian-gauge (1520mm) railways of all three of the Baltic states (Eesti Vabariigi Raudtee, Latvijas Dzelzceli and Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai) to standard-gauge Poland, taking some 21-22 hours. Gauge-change is at Šeštokai in Lithuania (BLN 774.0122). 0179] Timetable changes in the next Millennium: Notwithstanding BLN 843.079, the European Train Forum, who co-ordinate international timetables, have decided that, with effect from 2002, the main annual timetable change will be during earl-to-mid December rather than around the end of May, the aim being to give operators more time to publicise their summer services in advance. (International Railway Journal, July 1999) 0180][TH][LA] (Bangkok -) Nong Khai RSR - Vientiane: Landlocked Laos has no railway, but its administrative capital Vientiane is only some 14km from Nong Khai, the nearest railhead on the metre-gauge RSR (Thai State Railway) system in northern Thailand, and the Thai-Lao Friendship road bridge now provides a fixed link across the broad Mekong river between the two points. The Lao government in 1998 granted a concession to build a railway across the Friendship bridge, but following an economic study the project was 'put on hold' in summer 1999. 0181][AU] Adelaide - Melbourne: (BLN 815.0585, 851.0321) The Wednesdays-only eastbound run of the Ghan is the only daylight passenger working on the South Australia - Victoria interstate standard-gauge route. When the timetable of 6 December 1998 was replaced by that of 4 July 1999 the overnight Overland ceased to call at a number of stations west of Ararat but now calls at the new standard-gauge station of North Shore for Geelong. With a history of indifferent timekeeping, first on the broad-gauge and from 1995 on the standard-gauge, the Overland has been irreverently known locally as the Overdue. Since 1998 the Ghan (now running alternately Alice Springs - Adelaide - Melbourne and Alice Springs - Adelaide - Broken Hill - Sydney), the Overland (Adelaide - Melbourne) and Indian Pacific (Perth - Adelaide - Broken Hill - Sydney), have all been operated by Great Southern Railway (www.gsr.com.au), a company in which GB Railways, holders of the Anglia Railways franchise in the UK, have a major interest. 0182][FR] Lille metro: (Ball 7A1-7B2 not shown) Though an 'opening' event seems to have been held on 20 June (R99.0023), leaflets from operators Transpole (= Transports en commun de la métropole lilloise, part of the VIA-GTI group) confirm that public service on the Fort de Mons - Tourcoing Centre section started 18 August 1999. 0183][FR] Gurs concentration camp: (Ball 69B2 not shown) In the tiny village of Gurs, in the far south of Aquitaine, the French Government in 1994 erected a memorial on the site of one of the country's largest World War II concentration camps. The camp was originally built to shelter Spanish Republicans fleeing from General Franco's regime after the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, but in 1941 the Nazi-puppet French government based in Vichy used it for holding thousands of Jews and others, who were later taken from Gurs to places such as Auschwitz, now in Poland. Presumably the camp was rail-connected, for the memorial includes a length of track flanked by platforms on either side, though no railway now runs within several kilometres of Gurs. The branch would have gone along the valley of the river Gave d'Oloron, perhaps eastward towards Oloron-Ste.Marie or more probably westward to Sauveterre-de-Béarn, but in August 1999 no obvious traces could be seen in either direction. 0184][BE][NL] Neerpelt - Hamont NMBS - Budel NS - Weert: (BLN 839.0594; EGTRE BE00/7; Ball 9B3) Belgium's 1999 TTB (= Train+Tram+Bus) day, which promotes public transport with national day-rover tickets, is on Saturday 2 October. Previous such days have seen Antwerpen - Neerpelt trains extended on the freight-only line to Weert in the Netherlands. 0185][DE] (Wustermark -) Neugarten - Ketzin: (Ball 30A2) This freight-only branch just to the west of the Berlin Aussenring was to see a special service of passenger trains on 29 August 1999, the first train working through from Berlin-Charlottenburg, departing 10:06, with a Wustermark - Ketzin shuttle service all day thereafter. All ordinary DB and VBB tickets including SWT were to be valid. (IBSE) 0186][DE] Linz (Rhein) - Kalenborn: (BLN 848.0210; Ball 48A3) Drachenland-Express passenger trains seem set to continue on summer Sundays and holidays until 3 October 1999, but the short and very steep branch may have little or no freight traffic, for the track was very rusty before the first train of the day on 29 August 1999. Connecting conveniently with DB arrivals, the RSE departures from platform 3 at Linz are hourly 11:00-18:00. Two intermediate stops are made, at Kasbach, an old station, and at Brauerei Steffens, a new halt with a gradient past the platform that would probably have denied it Railway Inspectorate safety approval in the UK. 0187][SE][NO][FI] Bräcke - Vännäs - Umeĺ / Luleĺ / Narvik / Tornio: (Ball 6B1-3A1-4A3) From 10 January 2000 the state railways are to withdraw from passenger-train operation in the whole of Norrland, Sweden's north country, and all SJ passenger services north-east of Bräcke on the Ĺnge - Bräcke - Östersund - Storlien line, including the through overnight trains from Göteborg and Stockholm (R99.0074), are to transfer to the new operators Tĺgkompaniet. From the same date all SJ Göteborg - Helsingborg - Malmö Västkustbana passenger services (Ball 21A1-25A1), apart from the through Křbenhavn - Göteborg - Oslo overnight trains and the local Pĺgatĺg services south of Helsingborg, are to transfer to Sydvästen AB, a consortium of BK-Tĺg, Go-Ahead and Via GTI. The 1999 SJ timetable valid until 12 June 2000 gives no clue as to what services the new operators will run, though it seems that when Tĺgkompaniet take over the night services, some trains are to use both the south-to-east and (more recent) east-to-north chords at the Vännäs triangle to work into and out of Umeĺ before continuing north. 0188][SE] (Stockholm - Upplands Väsby -) Skavstaby - Arlanda Nedre - Arlanda C - Myrbacken (- Knivsta): (BLN 718.013; EGTRE SE00/20; Ball 23B2) When the Arlandabana finally opens, two distinct lines and services will serve Stockholm's newer and larger airport. North of Upplands Väsby station, SJ airport trains will use a through loop line diverging at Skavstaby, running to a second junction at Arlanda Nedre (= lower) then through Arlanda C (= central) station, located between airport Terminals 4 and 5, to rejoin the existing line at Myrbacken, south of Knivsta station. The dedicated Arlanda Express trains run by A-Train AB will use the dead-end Arlanda Nedre - Arlanda S - Arlanda N branch, diverging from the through line to serve Arlanda S (= south), between Terminals 2 and 4, and Arlanda N (= north) under Terminal 5, with only a reversing siding beyond. Arlanda Express service (www.arlandaexpress.com) had been planned to start 21 August 1999 but has been delayed. SJ's Tĺgtider valid until 12 June 2000 shows their airport trains starting 10 January 2000. 0189][SE] Malmö - Lomma - Kävlinge (- Landskrona): (Ball 25A1-25A2) Though passenger services are planned (BLN 835.0466), the direct line via Lomma is still freight-only except for one booked empty-stock working, the 07:18 SuO Malmö Central - Landskrona, which works back as Pĺgatĺg #1141 via Lund. 0190][IT] Palazzolo sull'Oglio - Paratico-Sarnico: (Ball 42A1) From the electrified Rovato - Bergamo line at Palazzolo sull'Oglio, where the station is in the fork of a junction facing Rovato, a short unelectrified branch runs to a single station serving the towns of Paratico and Sarnico at the south end of the Lago d'Iseo. Paratico-Sarnico station building remains in reasonable condition, though the line appears to have no freight nor has it had an ordinary passenger service since 1966 (BLN 809.0420). Most summer Sundays in 1999 however see special passenger workings on the branch, the majority connecting with pleasure sailings on the lake. Operated by the non-profit group Ferrovia del Basso Sebino on behalf of a consortium of town and provincial councils, and marketed as Il Treno Blu, the train is normally a diesel unit hired from FS, but on certain holidays, including May Day and Assumption, it is steam-hauled, usually comprising a Class 880 tank engine and vintage carriages. Steam service is less frequent than diesel, due to the need to run round and to take water. On both steam and diesel days some trains run through from and to Bergamo, reversing at Palazzolo sull'Oglio. 0191][IT] Firenze Campo di Marte - San Piero a Sieve - Borgo San Lorenzo: (BLN 844.0105; Ball 49B3-48A1) From the principal Firenze station, Santa Maria Novella, trains on the reopened but unelectrified line to San Piero have to reverse at Campo di Marte (not as shown in Ball). San Piero - Borgo reopened to passengers 16 September 1996, but reconstruction of Firenze - San Piero, with its steep gradients, tunnels and viaducts, took longer than expected. Three double-headed steam specials ran on 9-10 January, and Firenze - San Piero - Borgo ordinary passenger trains began 14 January 1999. Many of the new services are circular, making the outward or return journey via the Firenze - Pontassieve - Borgo San Lorenzo line. (Continental Railway Journal, #118) 0192][IT] Foggia - Manfredonia: (BLN 796.094; Ball 54B2) Buses have replaced FS trains on this route. 0193][NO] Bjarkřy: On the Norwegian island of Bjarkřy, 70km north-west of Narvik, a railway that served the mining industry until 1910 is now a walking trail. Nearby, a derelict steam locomotive lies forlornly on its side. 0194][NO] (Hjuksebř - Notodden - Tinnoset - Tinnsjř train-ferry -) Mćl - Rjukan: (BLN 848.0232, 852.0343; Ball 20B3-12A1) The first passenger-carrying charter train over the preserved Rjukanbane section is understood to have operated on 27 July 1999, but when the Svenska Motorvagnsklubben charter ran in early August, regular trains had not yet begun. No train has yet run through from the Tinnosbane using the preserved train-ferry. 0195][PL] Elk Waskotorowy - Laski Male - Zawady Tworki / Kalinowo - Turowo: (Ball 34A2; PKP 624) Passenger services are presumably to continue on the 750mm-gauge Elk system in north-eastern Poland. Its two ex-Gdansk Class Mbd1 railcars, one of them now inoperative, have been joined by two Class Mbxd2 railcars from the closed Gdansk system and one from the closed Opalenica system. (L'Écho du Rail, #194, March 1999) The easternmost 7km Kalinowo - Turowo section, closed in spring 1997, has had passenger trains again since the May 1999 timetable change. (IBSE) 0196][CZ] Mladejov na Morave: Mladejov na Morave, on the Trebovice v Cechách - Chornice line (Ball 41B3), has a museum with 10km of restored 600mm-gauge railway. Tourist trains for the public were planned for 28 August and 18 September 1999, with more regular weekend operation in summer 2000. The preservation group's website, in Czech, is http://members.xoom.com/Klub_Draharu/kpz/ASCII/frames.html. 0197][PL][HU] Poland and Hungary: line closures: PKP have published plans to close some 6000km of their extensive 22,000km network, with long lists of threatened lines in the Polish press in summer 1999. (IBSE) Hungary too has new plans for MÁV to shed many lines by 2000, and local authorities and private-sector operators are unlikely to take on ex-MÁV passenger services without financial support. As in Britain in the past, dramatic lists of proposed closures are doubtless partly intended to shock the public into putting pressure on politicians to provide more deficit finance for the rail operators, so it is difficult to assess the real threat to individual lines, especially as the lists keep changing. However, many unremunerative lines do seem doomed. Almost certain to be closed are the following 300km in Hungary: Mátramindszent - Mátranovák-Homokterenye (BLN 842.048; Ball 43A1; MÁV83); Nagykálló - Nyíradony (43B1; MÁV112); Keszöhidegkút-Gyönk - Tamási (47A2; MÁV48); Székesfehérvár - Lovasberény (47A3-47B3; freight-only); Pusztaszabolcs - Börgönd (47B3; MÁV44); Dunaföldvár - Solt (BLN 846.0156; 47B3; freight-only); and a number of freight curves like those near Kazincbarcika and Eger (both 43A1). Also threatened are Mezöhegyes - Battonya (Ball 48A2-48B2; MÁV125a) and Kisszénás - Kondoros (Ball 48A3; MÁV126). Another twenty lines may be taken out of MÁV hands, including the five 760mm-gauge ones at Nyíregyháza (BLN 840.0629; Ball 43B1; MÁV118,119); Balatonfenyves (BLN 777.0177; Ball 47A3; MÁV39); and Kecskemet (R99.0174; Ball 47B3; MÁV148,149). 0198][HU] (Veröcemaros -) Kismaros - Királyrét: (BLN 777.0175; Ball 42B1) On the 12km 760mm-gauge Királyréti vonal, track is still in place, disused and impassable, under the main-line viaduct south of Kismaros MÁV station and beyond the short distance towards Veröcemaros on the river Duna (= Danube). At the 'country' end, the ÁEV forestry line ends at Királyrét loop, with no obvious sign of the extension which once went to Nagyhideghegy and Csóványos. 0199][HU] Kiskörös - Kalocsa - Kalocsa Laktanya: (BLN 822.0131; Ball 47B2) Halfway along the length of Kalocsa station platform, identified by those whitewashed stones that are the traditional trade-mark of the military, a branch diverges north to the Kalocsa Laktanya camp of the Hungarian army, now a NATO force. Weekend-leave trains run through from Nyíregyháza, and ordinary passengers appear to be carried as far as Kalocsa, though they are probably not supposed to remain on board through to Laktanya. Known timings are Nyíregyháza 16:00 - 18:10 Szolnok 18:13 - probably via Cegléd avoiding-line - 20:58 Kiskörös 21:00 - 22:30 Kalocsa 22:33 - 22:43 Kalocsa Laktanya. Dates of the inward services on Sunday or holiday-Monday evenings are believed to be 22 August, 24 October, 19,26 December 1999, 2 January, 24 April and 1 May 2000, with the outward services running from the camp on the preceding Friday (Kalocsa Laktanya 12:50 - Kalocsa 13:00 - 14:25 Kiskörös). 0200][SI][HR] Slovenia and Croatia: border-crossings on secondary lines: On the Ljubljana - Novo Mesto - Metlika SZ - Karlovac HZ route (Ball 46A1), passengers change between SZ and HZ diesel units at Metlika. On the Stranje - Imeno SZ - Kumrovec HZ - Savski Marof line and the Stranje - Rogatec - Sveti Rok ob Sotli SZ - Krapina HZ - Zabok line (Ball 46A2), no passenger services run across the border, though tracks at both Imeno and Sveti Rok ob Sotli appear to be intact. All afternoon trains return empty from Sveti Rok to Rogatec, possibly because a Slovenian policeman is not then on duty to check passports of the Croatians who seem to be the main passengers on the SZ service from the border station. 0201][HR] Zagreb - Karlovac - Ogulin - Knin - Split: (BLN 820.083, 837.0561; Ball 46A1-51A3) At Knin, the main railway junction in southern Croatia, the diesel-worked (Zagreb - Karlovac -) Ogulin - Knin line converged with the more important (Zagreb / Beograd -) Bihac - Knin - Split electrified main line. Both lines were single-track through mountains. The last JZ timetable to be published for the whole of former Yugoslavia, in 1991-92, showed three Zagreb - Bihac - Knin - Split expresses with a best time of 6h41min, plus a fourth summer-only train, and one Zagreb - Karlovac - Knin - Split express taking 7h42min, plus two summer-only services. Ten trains a day were shown on the electrified Knin - Zadar branch. In practice, it is unlikely that all of these trains were still running through Knin in 1991. The surrounding area, Krajina, was inhabited by Serbs who sought autonomy from Croatia in summer 1990 and declared an independent state in 1991, but were mostly forced to flee when their Republika Srpska Krajina was crushed by the Croatian army in summer 1995. In summer 1999 Knin has no trains via Bihac, now in the Muslim-Croat Federation part of Bosnia-Hercegovina. The electrification wires have been torn down and the disused track is becoming overgrown. The line crosses and recrosses the border, but the HZ timetable indicates that Martin Brod would be the official frontier station. One diesel-hauled Zagreb - Karlovac - Knin - Split train runs daily, taking 8h45min, plus one overnight, taking 9h, with extra overnight trains in summer. Trains are patrolled by armed police. Freight traffic appears negligible. Knin - Zadar has a single train each way, reportedly under threat. The railways run through spectacular scenery, but the countryside is littered with wrecked buildings and several wayside stations have been reduced to ruins. Knin station itself is relatively undamaged, but as a railway centre it is a shadow of what it once was. 0202][HR] Vinkovci - Borovo - Erdut HZ (- Bogojevo JZ): (Ball 47B1) On 13 July 1999, the 19:17 Class 7221 railcar carried but eight passengers, and after Borovo our reporter was the only remaining traveller. Nustar (km5) had an unstaffed building on plain line. Brsadin (km8) was a nameboard in the grass and a slight widening of the ballast, but Brsadin-Lipovaca (km12) had a derelict station-building as well as a disused siding leading to agricultural silos which had been shelled during the fierce fighting in this area of Slavonia, where Croatia abuts the Vojvodina province of Yugoslavia on the east bank of the river Dunav (= Danube). Borovo station too had been hit by shells, and a portable cabin and a container formed a temporary structure. Borovo (km15) was the junction for the short Borovo - Vukovar freight branch heading east to the river, but the branch could not be seen, and the fairly extensive layout here at one time had been reduced to one line in use. Virtually every visible building had suffered war damage. Borovo-Trpinja (km20), an unstaffed station on plain line, was also damaged, but Novi Dalj (km28), unstaffed with two loops, was apparently unscathed. The station at Dalj (km31), junction for the out-of-use Osijek - Dalj line, appeared undamaged and retained quite an extensive layout. Erdut (km37), the last station in Croatia, retained four lines available, and still had both railway and customs staff, though no services were running through to JZ, and no evidence was seen of any freight on the journey. 0203][HR] Vinkovci - Zupanja: (Ball 47B1) On 13 July 1999, the 14:43 Class 7221 railcar had some twenty passengers leaving Vinkovci, with another dozen joining at Vinkovacko Novo Selo (km2), a halt with a building on plain line at a level-crossing on the outskirts of the town. Rokovci, on plain line with a simple shelter, seemed to serve only a cemetery. Andrijasevci, formerly Rokovci-Andrijasevci (km10), had a loop as did Cerna (km15). Gradiste (km21) had a station-building on plain line. A fair number of passengers travelled through to the last station, Zupanja (km28). Zupanja's three loops held locomotive #2062024 plus two rakes of bogie open wagons, Type Eas. Track continued beyond the station, the first 400m or so in good condition forming the headshunt for an industrial siding, probably serving a fruit-processing plant, thereafter deteriorating as it led to two sidings (containing fifteen DR coaches and three DB postal vans, all derelict, with no sign of a nearby scrapyard) and terminating, apparently severed, some 100m beyond that. Neither a 1970 JZ timetable nor a 1990 JZ map give any indication that the line ever went further south and into Bosnia. 0204][HR][BA] Vinkocvi - Gunja HZ (- Brcko ZRS): (BLN 837.0563; Ball 47B1-51B3) The 09:32 Class 7221 railcar on 13 July 1999 had some twenty passengers leaving Vinkovci but they gradually alighted till only six remained at Gunja. The single track through Vinkovci revealed much evidence of fighting, with many damaged properties. At Vrapcana (km6), the junction for two industrial lines now disused, all the railway buildings were wrecked and the station no longer seemed even to have a nameboard, though it retained several loops. Privlaka (km13) had a building and a single loop. Otok (km19) had hardstanding with signs of recent timber traffic, and several loops, containing an inspection-car and a Plasser & Theurer USP3000C track-machine. Spacva (km31) had a building, loops and hardstanding with definite signs of recent use. Vrbanja (km38) and Drenovci (km46) had buildings and loops, the latter holding locomotive #2062036 and a permanent-way van. Gunja (km50), the last station in Croatia, was plain line with a small building. The track leading on to Brcko (km52) in Bosnia's Republika Srpska did not seem to have seen recent traffic except possibly a railcar. 0205][CA] Montréal Windsor - Montréal West - North Jn - Jean-Talon (- Saint-Martin - Blainville): (R99.0124) Montréal's Agence métropolitaine de transport announced on 11 August 1999 that Blainville commuter services would be re-extended downtown in November 1999. Route is from CP's Gare Windsor via the north track through Montréal West station on the Vaudreuil Subdivision to a reconnected North Junction Lead on to 7.7km of StL&H's Adirondack Subdivision thence to Jean-Talon. On the Adirondack Sub, a c.1.5km section of double track, removed during work on a road overpass in the town of Montréal West, is to be relaid using welded second-hand rail, but most of the work, costing CAD1.9M, is at North Junction. (www2.trains.com) 0206][CA][US] Montréal Centrale - Saint-Lambert - Cannon - Saint-Bruno - Saint-Hilaire - Saint-Hyacinthe: In the late 1840s the St.Lawrence & Atlantic Railway was built east from Saint-Lambert to Saint-Hyacinthe, later reaching Sherbrooke, QC, and eventually Island Pond, VT, in the US. In 1853 the line became part of the Grand Trunk system, later Canadien National. On 9 September 1988 the last railway-owned and -operated commuter train in Canada ran from Montréal's Gare Centrale to Saint-Hilaire Est. VIA passenger trains (Montréal - Québec and Montréal - Gaspé, QC / Halifax, NS) still operate over CN's Saint-Hyacinthe Subdivision, and Amtrak's Adirondack (Montréal, QC - New York, NY) does so as far as Cannon. On 6 August 1999 Montréal's Agence métropolitaine de transport announced agreement with CN to reintroduce commuter trains on the Saint-Hyacinthe Subdivision. Not all the South Shore municipalities have yet agreed to contribute, but AMT say an interim service of one morning and two evening Montréal - St.Bruno trains could be running during 1999, with five peak-hour trains each way out to Saint-Hilaire by 2001. (www2.trains.com) 0207][US] Rutland - Charlotte - Middlebury - Burlington, VT: (R99.0126) An experimental Ethan Allen Connection passenger train (Burlington 10:00 - 12:30 Rutland 12:50 - 15:20 Burlington) began 16 August 1999, to run weekdays-only till 6 September, resuming 25 September - 31 October and connecting at Rutland with Amtrak's New York, NY - Rutland, VT Ethan Allen #299 and #294. Vermont Railway operate the train for Vermont Transportation Agency using ex-Virginia Railway Express coaches bought by the state for future Burlington - Charlotte commuter service. The first southbound train carried 15 passengers. (www2.trains.com) 0208][PE] Cuzco - Machu Picchu: A private-sector consortium in July 1999 won a 30-year concession to run the country's three main rail routes, and on 21 September 1999 the Consorcio de Ferrocarriles del Peru are to take over from the state railways, Enafer. In late August striking railway-workers, apprehensive of their privatised future, halted Cuzco - Machu Picchu passenger services, leaving many tourists stranded. The Inca sanctuary of Machu Picchu is Peru's biggest tourist attraction, and the trains from the Andean city of Cuzco carry more than 400,000 passengers a year. (Financial Times, 26 August 1999) 0209][FR] Paris RER: Pantin - Magenta - Haussmann-St.Lazare: (Ball 81B2) The RER Ligne E station serving the main-line Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est is indeed named Magenta, as reported (R99.0087), but when the first phase of the new Est-Ouest Liaison Express link opened on 14 July 1999, SNCF had dropped the planned name 'Condorcet' for the other underground station that serves the main-line Gare St.Lazare and forms the line's temporary western terminus. Its name in the summer 1999 SNCF timetable is Haussmann-St.Lazare. 0210][FR] Local lines north of Cognac: France's network of rural railways was once quite dense for so sparsely populated a country, and evidence can still be found today of the many relatively short-lived local routes. An example is the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer Départementaux system in the area bounded by Marans (Ball 43A1), Épannes (43B1), Saint-Saviol (44A1), Angoulęme (52A3), Cognac (51B3) and Saint-Jean-d'Angély (51B3). The network comprised: Angoulęme - Rouillac (a 36.5km line legally regarded as of intéręt local only, opened 19 November 1889); Rouillac - Matha (25.7km, intéręt local, 20 September 1896); Matha - Saint-Julien-de-l'Escap - Saint-Jean-d'Angély (intéręt général, 25 September 1896); Matha - Cognac (intéręt général, 25 September 1896); Saint-Julien-de-l'Escap - Saint-Saviol (70.3km, intéręt général, 4 October 1896); Saint-Jean-d'Angély - Ferričres-d'Aunis - Marans (66.6km, intéręt général, 6 October 1896); and Ferričres-d'Aunis - Épannes (24.9km, intéręt général, 26 November 1899). All were lightly trafficked, carrying some three or four trains a day in 1914, and all closed 1 January 1951. Traces of the long-vanished system were still visible at Matha in August 1999. More detail may be found in Les Petits Trains de Jadis - Sud-Ouest de France, by the late Henri Domengie, published by Editions du Cabri, but now out of print. A section of the Saint-Jean-d'Angély - Matha CFD line seems to have survived for some time as part of a Saint-Jean-d'Angély - Fontenet branch serving a military camp. This branch did not at first follow the CFD line, for the CFD swung round the north side of Saint-Julien-de-l'Escap village, while the military line went round the south side, but thereafter, paralleling the south side of the N139 road to just beyond Fontenet village, the CFD and military alignments appear to be one and the same, so far as can be seen by comparing Michelin 1:200,000 maps of 1951, 1971 and 1982. An IGN 1:250000 map of 1993 does not show the military line, so presumably this last remnant of the CFD was removed in the 1980s. 0211][BE] Eeklo - Maldegem: (Ball 7B3) A two-hourly Gent - Eeklo service, still diesel-hauled with heritage stock (BLN795.062), serves the NMBS station at Eeklo, whence a preservation group operate summer-Sunday trains west to their Stoomcentrum Maldegem base. On 22 August 1999 the first and last of their three Maldegem - Eeklo round-trips used three coaches hauled by expatriate steam locomotive Fred, built by Avonside in Bristol, while the middle trip used a single diesel railcar. On the former trackbed from Maldegem west towards Brugge a 600mm-gauge line runs for about 2km, to end in a run-round loop nowhere in particular, described in leaflets as 'richting Donk', that is, in the direction of Donk, a village some 4km from Maldegem. The return journey, in open-sided carriages much like a fairground ride, took about 20 minutes and trips were on offer at least half-hourly, rather than at the hourly intervals promised in the publicity. A BEF300 ticket (=EUR7.44 or GBP5) included the Eeklo - Maldegem train, the narrow-gauge train and admission to the small museum in the shed at Maldegem. The station at Maldegem is well-preserved and houses the Steaming Inn buffet with an appropriate selection of Belgian beers. 0212][BE] Ronquičres inclined plane: (Ball 8A1 not shown) The canal incline at Ronquičres is a very specialised railway using huge multi-wheeled water-filled caissons, balanced by 5200t counterweights, to raise and lower boats up and down a slope between two levels of the complex inland-waterway system in the south of Belgium. In appearance it is a concrete-lined sloping cutting 1432m long, with a height difference between top and bottom of 67.55m, containing what look like two parallel double-track railway lines of approximately standard gauge. Each of the pairs of tracks is independent of the other, and on an August 1999 visit only the western one appeared to be in use. Passenger journeys up and down the incline are possible, for tour-operators Brussels by Water organise full-day excursions from May to September (advance reservation essential; telephone +32 2 203 64 05; price a modest BEF650 =EUR16.11 or GBP11). In 1999, boats left from Halle (Suikerkaai) at 09:00 on Thursdays and Fridays, going uphill at Ronquičres to arrive about 13:00 at Seneffe, where passengers transferred to a bus to visit the hydraulic lifts on the Canal du Centre before returning to the starting-point at Halle by 18:00. Saturday trips started from Bruxelles, going by bus to Seneffe, then back by boat downhill at Ronquičres. On the particular excursion our reporter joined, the commentary was in Dutch, but the commentator also spoke English and was helpful with summary information. The trip offers some views of the SNCB Tubize - Clabecq branch and the internal railway system of the Forges de Clabecq steel plant, which crosses the canal in two places. 0213][BE] Ciney - Spontin - Spontin-Sources (- Dorinne-Durnal - Yvoir): (BLN 716.07; Ball 17A3-9A1) Preservation group Patrimoine Ferroviaire Touristique run trains west of Ciney on this section of SNCB line 128, the last operating day of their 1999 season being 21 August. PFT are based at the well-preserved Spontin station, with a buffet and bookstall. Spontin-Sources has no station or platform, but passengers can detrain. The single diesel railcar stopped immediately before the level-crossing. Beyond, the track looked to be in good condition. PFT hope to extend operation west to Dorinne-Durnal in 2000 and later to Yvoir, the junction with SNCB line 154. A booklet, La Ligne de Chemin de Fer 128 Ciney - Yvoir, Histoire et documents by Jean Pierre Hamblenne (Éditions Altair, BP19, B-1420 Braine l'Alleud, price BEF295) contains much information and numerous illustrations including reproductions of old passenger and working timetables. Two episodes of World War II history stand out, both involving tunnels on the line. The German invading army constructed a bunker accessible from within the 1055m railway tunnel at Yvoir Carričres, and Adolf Hitler spent the night of 28-29 June 1940 there, protected from Allied air-raids. On 19 July 1944, Belgian resistance fighters captured a stone train climbing out of Spontin towards Ciney, then sent it careering back to collide with a train of German aviation-fuel tank-wagons sheltering in Spontin tunnel. The result was a spectacular explosion and the loss of 50,000 litres of valuable fuel. 0214][DE] Lathen - Werlte: (Ball 15B1) A 750mm-gauge locomotive plinthed at Lathen is a reminder of the origins of this branch off the Rheine - Emden line. Opened 13 August 1898 and converted to standard-gauge 18 November 1957, the Hümmlinger Kreisbahn lost its regular passenger service 31 March 1970. The track remains in good order but, with sparse oil and other traffic, operators Emslandische Eisenbahn run freight trains only as required. Regular EHH tourist trains seem last to have run in the middle 1990s. On 4 September 1999 a charter train left Lathen DB to curve sharply southwards away from the DB line under a road, after about 2km passing beneath the concrete viaducts of the Transrapid magnetic-levitation test-track, continuing across open country with few houses to the small town of Sogel. At the terminus, the train reached the buffer-stop by Werlte station building, now in private use. In a two-road shed two diesel locomotives sat in a dismantled state. 0215][DE] Essen (Oldenburg) - Herzlake - Haselünne - Vormeppen - Meppen: (Ball 25A3-24B3) On 4 September 1999 a charter train on the Meppen-Haselünner Eisenbahn freight line diverged south to visit the 2km Herzlake - Herzlake Ort branch (not shown in Ball), stopping at the old station serving the village, beyond which the run-round loop and sidings looked well-used. The tour train was advertised to run through to Meppen DB station but was unable to go beyond Vormeppen due to a late-running IR train occupying the block-section. 0216][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: Hennigsdorf (bei Berlin): (BLN 846.0138; Ball 31B3) Hennigsdorf station is a double terminus, as at Ormskirk or Kirkby, with no through running of passenger trains. S-Bahn trains from Lichterfelde Süd in the south arrive and terminate at buffer-stops, while a short distance away trains north to Velten, Kremmen, Oranienburg and Spandau start from beyond another set of buffer-stops. No running connection exists between the two sections, although a track from the north continues south of the station into the former AEG works. 0217][DE] Berlin Nordbahnhof - Humboldthain - Gesundbrunnen: (Ball 32A2) North of Nordbahnhof on the Nord-Süd S-Bahn a large cleared area to the east of the line indicates the location of the infamous Wall. From the vanished main-line Berlin Stettiner Bahnhof (from 1950 Nordbahnhof, closed 17 May 1952) a huge girder bridge, now securely fenced off, once carried the long-distance tracks over Liesenstrasse and Gartenstrasse. To the north a derelict signal-box and a disc-signal survive, and disused and disconnected Fernbahn tracks still parallel the S-Bahn on the west side at Humboldthain. North of Humboldthain a long-disused branch climbed south up the east side of the cutting to serve the Siemens works near Voltastrasse, and this retains its rails south of the point where the tracks in the cutting have been realigned in connection with the new layout at Gesundbrunnen (BLN 838.0574). 0218][DE] Jena trams: (Ball 42A1 not shown) Jena's metre-gauge system has expanded significantly in recent years, with new routes operated by new low-floor trams south-east to Lobeda West and Lobeda Ost. However the city is one of the few in Germany still to see all-day service by four-wheel 'Gotha' cars with trailers, mostly dating from 1958-61. Unusually for German trams, the four-wheelers are double-ended, so could run round their trailers at each terminus, but on route #1 (Winzerla - Zwätzen) they use turning loops at each end. New trams operate on route #4 to Geschwister Scholl Strasse, but a roadside single-line section beyond appears unsuitable for them and two single four-wheelers now provide a Geschwister Scholl Strasse - Jena Ost shuttle-service as route #2. During the evenings, however, a different route pattern is worked and the single cars on route #2 run through from and to Goethegalerie in the city-centre. 0219][DE] Saarbrücken trams: (BLN 829.0308; Ball 56A2) Operators Saarbahn+bus GmbH in July 1999 extended their line at the Saarbrücken end to Cottbuser Platz. (Tramways & Urban Transit, September 1999) 0220][DE] Stuttgart trams: (Ball 58A1 not shown) On 22 May 1999 Stadtbahn line U14 was extended from Mühlhausen north-east to Ramseck-Neckargröningen. (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 1999) The planned end-May closure of Ruhbank - Heumaden (BLN 851.0305) was postponed, and in the last week of July metre-gauge trams were seen still running on that section of route #15, though the outer end of the route had already been singled to assist construction of the parallel standard-gauge Stadtbahn. The last #15 tram was due to run out to Heumaden in the early evening of 31 July 1999. Standard-gauge track under the main street of Sillenbuch is to replace the metre-gauge street tracks. On metre-gauge route #2, the north-eastern terminus at Obere Ziegelei has a simple balloon-loop in a turning off the main road, and on gauge-conversion in 2000 this will presumably be replaced by a stub reversal-point in the vicinity. However, at the other route #2 terminus, Hölderlinplatz, the trams run around a series of narrow streets in a large loop whose closure will slightly shorten the route. 0221][AT] Mariazell - Erlaufsee: (Ball 74B2 not shown) A 2.5km standard-gauge tourist tramway with steam traction (and perhaps electric trams in future) was operating weekends and holidays July-September in 1999. Departures north from Mariazell were at 10:30, 11:30, 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30, the return trip taking about 45 minutes at a return fare of ATS80 (=EUR5.81 or GBP4). The group operating the tramway are also hoping to reopen the closed end section of the 760mm-gauge Mariazellerbahn south from Mariazell to Gusswerk. 0222][DK] (Randers -) Fĺrup - Handest - Mariager: (Ball 2A2) Poor loadings may threaten the Randers - Fĺrup - Handest passenger trains linking the Danish network with the Handest - Mariager tourist line. Their 1999 timings did not permit a return Randers - Handest - Mariager rail journey, but a Hobro - Mariager link by boat allowed a circular tour. Although the boat and the steam tourist trains were well filled on 1 August 1999, the first Handest - Randers diesel railcar carried only our reporter as a passenger and the return working had a mere handful more. 0223][DK] Křbenhavn H - Řsterport - Nörrebro - Křbenhavn H: (BLN 811.0469; Ball 9A2-9A1) Summer Sunday Rundt om Křbenhavn tours ran again in 1999, on 8, 15 and 22 August, from platform 2 at Křbenhavn main station at 10:38, 11:32 and 12:38, calling at platform 0 at Řsterport and running anticlockwise via Nörrebro using goods lines to Křbenhavn yard then back to platform 2. Fare was a modest DKK40. On 15 August the train, four vintage coaches and a van hauled by 1899-built steam locomotive K563, was well filled with local families, despite the wet weather. 0224][SE] (Sundsvall -) Nyland - Örnsköldsvik - Husum - Umeĺ: (BLN 843.062; Ball 15A3-7A2) Construction has begun of the high-speed Botniabana, 190km of freight-and-passenger single track with passing loops every 10-14km. The new line, to be complete by the start of 2006, is to cut the Stockholm - Umeĺ distance by rail from 850km to 594km and enable a journey time of 5h30min. (International Railway Journal, 9/99) 0225][SE] Kristinehamn - Hornkullen - Daglösen - Filipstad and Hornkullen - Ställdalen (- Grängesberg - Borlänge Central): (BLN 811.0473, 831.0357, 851.0308; EGTRE SE00/17,17A; Ball 22A3) The experimental Kristinehamn - Filipstad trains, now run by Bergslagstĺget, seem to have become fairly permanent. From 16 August 1999 the winter service is: #3191 SSuX Filipstad 05:45 - 06:37 Kristinehamn; #3192 SSuX Kristinehamn 19:25 - 20:05 Filipstad; #3193 FO Filipstad 20:10 - 21:00 Kristinehamn; #3198 SuO Kristinehamn 17:11 - 19:50 Borlänge C; #3199/0 SuO Borlänge C 20:25 - 22:37 Filipstad. Train #3198 reverses at Daglösen, now reopened, but the other trains do not, for the junction there faces east, not west as shown in Ball. Southbound, instead of using the normal Grängesberg - Hörken - Ställdalen ex-SJ route, train #3199/0 uses the unusual Grängesberg - Silverhöjden - Ställdalen ex-TGOJ route (BLN 820.072) over which only one other passenger train (#803 SSuX Falun C 05:21 - Mjölby) is booked. The Kil - Daglösen section saw a sparse summer 1999 service (one Karlstad - Borlänge round-trip) for the first time in several years but, while the operators hope to provide more trains, they as yet offer no winter service. Inter-Rail tickets were accepted on Bergslagstĺget trains in summer 1999. 0226[SE] Stockholm - Arlanda: (R99.0188; Ball 23B2) The Arlanda Nedre - Arlanda Södra - Arlanda Norra dead-end branch diverges to the east of the Skavstaby - Arlanda Nedre - Arlanda C - Myrbacken through loop. The junction at Arlanda Nedre has a subsurface flyover by which the branch trains change from Sweden's normal left-hand running to arrive at Arlanda S and Arlanda N running on the right. In table 46 of the Swedish Restider, Arlanda Södra and Arlanda Norra (= 'south' and 'north') are shown with their names in full, but Arlanda C has only the initial C (for 'central'). 0227][SE] Fĺgelsta - Vadstena: (Ball 22A2) The short 891mm-gauge Wadstena-Fogelsta Jernväg museum line was closed during summer1999, as track repairs are required before trains can resume. 0228][CH] Rheineck - Walzenhausen: (BLN 818.040; Ball 89B2) The RhW line has been extended, though not far. RhW passengers now board in front of Rheineck station building where track #1 has been regauged from 1435mm to 1200mm and connected to the RhW running-line, 400m of which has been realigned. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 7/99) Not only is the RhW's 1200mm-gauge unusual, but the line has only a single item of rolling-stock. 0229][TR] Istanbul Haydarpasa - Gebze - Izmit - Arifiye (- Ankara): Izmit station was relocated, and a new 12km double-track alignment designed for higher speeds replaced the old single track over several level-crossings through the crowded city-centre. Fortunately the new line was brought into service just two weeks before the devastating earthquake on 17 August 1999, so trains can operate normally, even though the original alignment, now disconnected, is blocked by debris. Beyond Izmit, at the country junction of Arifiye, the 8km electrified Arifiye - Adapazari branch diverges north-eastwards from the main line. Some planners involved in reconstruction call for the entire town of Adapazari to be rebuilt after the earthquake away from its present location directly on the North Anatolian fault, so it is possible the branch might lose its traffic. Meanwhile through Haydarpasa - Adapazari services continue to operate. 0230][TR] Izmir Alsancak - Izmir Basmane: The Izmir - Tire and Izmir - Ödemis local trains which used to run from Izmir Alsancak terminus by a northwest-to-southwest curve to serve also Izmir Basmane terminus have since 9 August 1999 operated from Izmir Basmane only, and the curve is without a passenger service. 0231][TR] Gumüsgün - Bozanönü - Egridir: TCDD still serve the Egridir line with one daily return service, which also visits the Bozanönü - Isparta branch, running Istanbul Haydarpasa - Arifiye - Eskisehir avoiding line - Alayunt - Afyon - Karakuyu - Gumüsgün - Bozanönü - Isparta (reverse) - Bozanönü (reverse) - Egridir. The train then remains at Egridir 08:30-19:10 before returning, but a traveller need not do so, for bus transport is easy and frequent to many places. 0232][TR] Samsun - Carsamba: This 35km branch east along the Black Sea coast of Turkey has six daily return workings, taking an hour each way. At km5.6, another branch diverges for 5.9km to Azot refinery, served by five daily return trains, taking 20 minutes. TCDD give no indication that Samsun - Azot trains are for refinery workers only, but it appears the area is restricted, for our reporter, though remaining on the train while the locomotive ran round at Azot, was hassled by fierce Turkish security police. Anyone using the service is advised to be able to speak some Turkish and to carry identity documents. 0233][TR] (Ankara -) Elazig - Tatvan - (Van Gölü train-ferry) - Van - Kapiköy TCDD (- Razi RAI - Tabriz): Closed since the mid-1990s due to Kurdish unrest and terrorism in Turkey's south-eastern provinces, TCDD's Elazig - Tatvan section reopened to passengers in summer 1999. The Tatvan - Tatvan pier section, the lake Van train-ferry (R99.0209) and the last stretch from Van to the Iranian frontier are not known to have reopened. 0234][US] Sacramento - Stockton (- Bakersfield): During the last week of August 1999, Amtrak's new Sacramento - Bakersfield San Joaquin train, which has no station stop between Sacramento and Stockton, changed its route on this section from Union Pacific's ex-Southern Pacific line to UP's ex-Western Pacific line. The train will eventually return to the SP line once track improvement is completed. (www2.trains.com) 0235][US] San Diego - Solana Beach (- Oceanside - Los Angeles, CA): (BLN 840.0640) At the beginning of September 1999 the major earthworks to put the line in deep cutting at Solana Beach station appeared to be complete, with the new road bridge in use ready to replace the busy grade-crossing and the new passenger platforms for Amtrak inter-city and Coaster commuter services nearing completion. Elevators down into the cutting were being built. Some track had already been laid. However the running line on its temporary deviation at the original higher level was still in use, as evidenced by a northbound train stopping to pick up many racegoers who arrived on a red open-topped British bus from a race-meeting at nearby Del Mar. Opening of the new line in the cutting is planned for October 1999. 0236][US] Washington, DC - New York, NY - New Haven, CT - Boston, MA: (BLN 847.0191) Amtrak announced on 1 September that wheel-flange and suspension problems during testing of the Bombardier-Alstom 240km/h Acela Express electric train-sets are to delay their introduction from December 1999 'until sometime during spring 2000'. New Haven - Boston electrification work is on time however and should permit a launch in early January 2000 of two limited-stop Acela Regional New York - Boston round trips hauled throughout by existing AEM7 electric locomotives with refurbished Amfleet coaches. (www2.trains.com) 0237][FR][BE] (Dunkerque -) Leffrinckoucke - Bray-Dunes SNCF - De Panne NMBS: (BLN 850.0263; Ball 6B3-7A3) Work to clear the line of sand and scrub was delayed due to the discovery of a rare violet that had spread from the nearby dunes. However SNCF have said the line is to reopen to freight traffic at the end of October 1999, initially with one return train a day carrying molten steel (approximate timings Dunkerque Grande-Synthe 00:00 - 04:00 Charleroi 04:30 - 11:00 Grande-Synthe). A passenger service was not mentioned. 0238][FR] Montpellier trams: (BLN 814.0541; Ball 74A3 not shown) The 15.2km line 1 of the new tramway is to be inaugurated 22 July 2000, with full revenue service from September 2000. (Tramways & Urban Transit, Oct 1999) 0239][DE] Germany: passenger reopenings?: (BLN848.0214) Individual Länder are planning these reopenings: Schleswig-Holstein Niebüll DB - Třnder DSB R99.0030 5B1-9B3 summer 2000 Neumünster - Bad Segeberg BLN 836.0491 11A1-10B1 summer 2001 Nordrhein-Westfalen Gronau DB - Enschede NS BLN 797.0106 24A2 before 2007 Münster - Neubeckum 24B1-25A1 before 2007 Stolberg Hbf - Stolberg-Hammer BLN 852.0330 37A1 summer 2001 Stolberg Hbf - Eschweiler Tal - Weisweiler BLN 852.0330 37A1 summer 2002 Herzogenrath - Alsdorf - Hoengen-Begau BLN 852.0330 37A1 summer 2002 Jülich - Linnich BLN 728.076 37B1 before 2003 Gummersbach - Meinerzhagen - Brügge BLN 836.0491 38B2 before 2005 Siegen-Weidenau - Netphen - Deuz 39A1 before 2007 Brilon Wald - Brilon Stadt 39B2-39B3 before 2007 Paderborn - Borchen 39B3 before 2005 Kall - Hellenthal R99.0099 47B3 before 2005 Rheinland-Pfalz Mayen West - Kaisersesch 48A3-48A2 summer 2000 Hessen Kaufungen-Papierfabrik - Hessisch-Lichtenau R99.0144 40A2-40B2 between 2001 and 2007 Grävenwiesbach - Brandoberndorf BLN 823.0155 49A3-49B3 summer 2000 Wiesbaden - Bad Schwalbach BLN 848.0214 50B1-49A2 2007 Offenbach-Bieber - Dietzenbach BLN 838.0576 49B2 2006 Baden-Württemberg Maulbronn West - Maulbronn Stadt BLN 811.0463 57B2 around 2004 Sindelfingen - Renningen 57B1 around 2006 Rudersberg Nord - Oberndorf BLN 785.0353, 810.0436 58A1 2000 or 2001 Hüfingen - Bräunlingen 68B2-68A2 around 2005 0240][DE] (Köln -) Abzw Kinzenberg - Wiesbaden: (Ball 50B1) A short section of the Wiesbaden branch off the high-speed Neubaustrecke opened 12 July 1999, between Abzw Kinzenberg (km10.3) and Wiesbaden Hbf (km13.1). 0241][DE] Mellrichstadt-Bhf - Ostheim - Fladungen: (Ball 52A3 not shown) Work should start in autumn 1999 to reopen - perhaps by summer 2000 - the closed 8km Mellrichstadt - Ostheim line north-west up the river Streu valley. The aim is to restore rail access to the isolated 10km Ostheim - Fladungen section, which has steam tourist trains based at the Fränkische Freilandsmuseum in Fladungen. (Würzburger Main-Post, via LOK-Report) 0242][DE] Stuttgart light rail and trams: (R99.0220; Ball 58A1 not shown) To the north, on the new U14 Mühlhausen - Ramseck-Neckargröningen section opened in May 1999, another Stadtbahn depot is under construction. South of the city-centre, between Olgaeck and Degerloch, the triangle where U7 now diverges from U5/U6 seems to have flying junctions in tunnel at each vertex, though the west-to-east curve seems to be used only by special services for sporting events and non-revenue journeys to and from the main southern depot at Möhringen. The last Ruhbank - Heumaden metre-gauge tram #15 was to run on the Friday evening, 30 July 1999. Route #15 now terminates at Ruhbank Fernsehturm at the turning-circle above the tunnel-mouth where standard-gauge Stadtbahn U7 emerges into a new station in cutting before joining the former metre-gauge alignment. The Ruhbank - Heumaden U7 extension opened 11 September 1999. By 25 September metre-gauge 'third rail' had been removed from much of the route. From Silberwald (in cutting) via Sillenbuch (underground) to Schemp Strasse (in cutting), the standard-gauge has a new sub-surface alignment replacing the street-running metre-gauge - from whose formation a crane was removing track near Schemp Strasse. At the Heumaden terminus the old metre-gauge balloon-loop had gone, partly built over by a three-platform through station. Beyond, track continued for the planned further extension to Ostfildern-Nellingen. Apart from the truncated #15, the city's only remaining metre-gauge routes are #2, to be converted in 2000, #10, the short Riggenbach rack line, and the very short (563m) funicular. 0243][AT] Wien: Jedlersdorf - Leopoldau: (Ball 77B3) The Floridsdorfer Hochbahn, a high-level freight avoiding line on lengthy viaducts north of Wien, was built during World War I, mainly by Italian prisoners-of-war, hence its nickname Italienerschleife (= 'Italian loop'). Although constructed in haste and without refinement, its concrete structures have a certain simple style. Between the wars the line had little significance, but it again became important in World War II. Vulnerable because of its viaducts, it closed after an air-raid on 12 March 1945. Fearing its destruction, Deutsche Reichsbahn had built a wartime relief line on the level, which lasted until superseded in 1959 by the present Nordbahn tracks. Various plans over forty years to rebuild the Hochbahn's derelict viaducts came to nothing. Eventually ÖBB decided that reconstruction would be cheaper than demolition, and after the inevitable planning delays, work started in winter 1995, only to be temporarily suspended as public expenditure was cut back to help Austria meet the Maastricht Treaty criteria for economic and monetary union. However, the old concrete viaducts with their 114 arches were duly made good, three large and several smaller steel bridges were built, and after 54 years lying dormant, the Floridsdorfer Hochbahn reopened to freight 29 May 1999. Fourteen trains run daily Mondays-Fridays, ten on Saturdays and none on Sundays. No passenger workings are timetabled, but the line is already popular for occasional excursions, giving panoramic views - unlike other new or rebuilt ÖBB lines, disfigured by tall noise-barriers more obtrusive than elsewhere in Europe. 0244][SE] Helsingborg: (Ball 25A2) The Swedish city and ferry-port for Denmark, spelled Hälsingborg till 1973, used to have two separate stations on the surface, Helsingborg Färjestation on the west side of the central harbour, adjacent to the old train-ferry terminal, and Helsingborg Central to the south-east, on the site of the present Knutpunkten, the multi-level transport interchange that incorporates the bus-station and the now-underground Central station, with a pedestrian link to the present train-ferry terminal. The two old stations were directly linked by rail only by a street-running tramway section, which was used by through Göteborg - Helsingborg F - Helsingborg C - Malmö sleeping-cars conveyed on the Oslo - Göteborg - Helsingborg F - Helsingřr - Křbenhavn - Paris international train. At that time all other through Göteborg - Malmö services avoided Helsingborg, running via the Ängelholm - Ĺstorp - Teckomatorp line, now a freight route. With the opening on 9 June 1991 of the rail tunnel under the city through the new Central station, Göteborg - Ängelholm - Helsingborg - Malmö running became the norm, the Färjestation and its rail approach from the north were abandoned, and a new train-ferry berth and link-span were built, accessed on the surface from the east (BLN 837.0555). In summer 1999 the old wooden Färjestation still stands, though the restaurant that took over the building when the railway left (BLN 714.023) now seems in turn to have gone out of business. The trackbed north towards Ĺngelholm has been built on. Platforms and their awnings remain, still forlornly bearing plates to indicate which vanished track was which, but the track area has been made up to platform level and given over to the inevitable car-park. To the west of the building, the abandoned old train-ferry link-span survives, still with rails. Ironically, the link-span that replaced it faces similar abandonment in summer 2000 when the Öresund fixed link is to come into use (R99.0152). 0245][IT] Modena - Sassuolo: (Ball 47B2) The electrified standard-gauge Azienda Trasporti Consorziale di Modena line has its own terminal stations at each end, the one at Modena being a 30-45 minute brisk walk from the FS station, though work on a rail link to the FS is in progress, perhaps having started during 1999. The line uses ex-SNCB 3000V dc units. At the Sassuolo end the ATC terminus is only a short distance from the ACT terminus of the unelectrified standard-gauge Reggio Emilia - Sassuolo line run by Azienda Consorziale Trasporti di Reggio Emilia. ATC also run the nearby Casalecchio di Reno - Bazzano - Vignola - Confine line, on part of which passenger services were to be reintroduced (BLN 747.056). Did a physical link exist between the two ATC lines? 0246][IT] Bari Nord - Bari Aeroporto (- Bitonto - Barletta): (BLN 832.0394, 843.069; Ball 56A1-55A2) Bari Aeroporto station on the standard-gauge electrified Ferrotranviaria line is not the world's best rail-air interchange. The (unsignposted) route from the station to the airport terminal crosses the FS main line by a level-crossing whose closure could add appreciably to the walking time. Even without being thus obstructed, two reasonably fit travellers with small rucksacks took at least 35 minutes to reach the check-in desk, and only because they had allowed plenty of time were they able to catch their Bari - Roma flight. 0247][CH] (Bern RBS -) Worblaufen - Deisswil (- Worb Dorf): (BLN 847.0184; Ball 92B3) The third rail that allows standard-gauge wagons to pass on their own wheels over part of the metre-gauge Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn line was laid in stages: Worblaufen - Papiermühle 22 July 1968, Papiermühle - Bolligen B-Anlage 21 September 1971; B-Anlage - Deisswil Bhf 23 May 1979. Until the 30 May 1999 timetable change, the freight wagons were hauled by an RBS fourgon automoteur, but an SBB standard-gauge diesel locotracteur now performs the task. (L'Écho du Rail, #199, Aug 1999; Schienennetz Schweiz/Réseau ferré suisse by H G Wägli et al, AS Verlag, 1998) 0248][NO] Oslo metro and trams: (BLN 845.0123) The Jar - Avlřs - Kolsĺs section of Oslo's Kolsĺsbanen sees both T-bane metro trains and trams, but the balloon-loop at Kolsĺs is used only by the trams, which run the night service west of Jar. Some trams are also based at Avlřs depot. 0249][CZ] Chomutov - Jirkov (- Litvinov): (BLN 818.042; Ball 35B1; CD133) Reopened to passengers in 1997, this line seems once to have been part of a through route whose track and trackbed have disappeared east of Jirkov and west of Litvinov. In between was an enormous mining area, presumably for brown coal, but now no longer in use. Jirkov is a different station from Jirkov zastávka (= halt) on the Chomutov - Most line 0250][CZ] Havlíckuv Brod - Chotebor: Two routes exist between these places. One (as shown in Ball 41A3) leaves the main line south of Havlíckuv Brod and the other (not shown) leaves from a separate branch platform to the north, looping round to join the first. Both routes are used by passenger trains, and indeed our reporter used both on 2 April 1999, on train #5310 Havlíckuv Brod 13:47 - Pardubice and #5365 Chotebor 14:17 - Havlíckuv Brod, later forming #15944 Havlíckuv Brod 14:46 - Humpolec. 0251][CZ] (Ceský Tešin -) Karviná - Závada (- Petrovice u Karviné): (Ball 42B3) Passenger use of this southeast-to-east avoiding curve near Detmarovice is not restricted to international trains, running Zilina - Cadca ZSR - Ceský Tešin CD - Petrovice CD - Katowice PKP by day and Budapest - Warszawa overnight, since at least one Czech domestic service also uses the curve. On our reporter's trip in mid-September 1999, train #13037/6, the 13:38 SSuO Bohumín - Petrovice, a well-filled Class 810 railbus, ran from Detmarovice an extra 7km south to call at Karviná and reverse before taking the Detmarovice avoiding line to arrive at the very small 'non-customs' platform at Petrovice, last Czech station before the Polish border. 0252][HU][SI] Zalalövö MÁV - Hodoš SZ - Puconci - Murska Sobota: (BLN 846.0157, R99.0017; Ball 46B3) The Hungary - Slovenia line now being built is planned to open in December 2000, with a passenger service. 0253][UA] Zdolbunov - Rivne/Rovno - Klevan - Kovel: (Quail atlas 1) An electric locomotive was seen using overhead wiring, not shown in the Quail atlas, which extends from Zdolbunov, on the northbound track only, as far as Rivne freight yard though not into Rivne passenger station. This station, the most attractive building in the town, has recently been refurbished, with few signs of the Soviet era now visible, except that around the top of the building a hammer-and-sickle motif discreetly remains, no longer picked out in distinctive colours like the other reliefs. To the north-west, just east of Klevan, a 6km single-track freight branch, not shown in Quail, runs south to a large and busy collective farm which has a glass-works. Several freight trains a week till recently conveyed sand inward and bottles and jars outward, but a steep increase in the tax on vodka (now about 50p/litre!) has hit bottle production. 0254][UA] Lviv local transport: (Quail 4, 16) In the city once known as Lemberg (Austrian), Lwów (Polish), Lvov (Russian) and now Lviv (Ukrainian), major refurbishment work on the main station, seen under way in November 1998 (BLN 845.0125), was continuing in August 1999. The station building had already been repainted externally, and the first of the two large train-sheds had been gutted for renewal of parts of the metal structure, reglazing and repainting. Outside the train-sheds just to the west, reached by a pedestrian subway beneath the main tracks, is island-platform 5, apparently used by local services only. It feels rather unsafe, since it is narrow and seemingly permanently crowded, and is built of wood that flexes slightly alarmingly under one's feet. Ukrzaliznitsa trains remain in poor condition, with windows and doors missing, not always replaced by plywood. Local trains are especially filthy, and most diesel units are now locomotive-hauled, presumably for lack of spare parts to repair their engines. A public-transport map, not always easy to acquire in ex-Soviet cities, shows a track-plan of Lviv station and yard as well as the tram, trolleybus and bus routes. In mid-August 1999 major works on the track blocked the Vulitsa Lychakivska - Ploshcha Ivana Franka section of tram-routes #1, 3, 4, 7 and 9, preventing most tram service to the east side of the city, where very few town buses were running. 0255][UA] Lviv children's railway: Not shown on the public-transport map is the 750mm-gauge former Pioneer railway in Shysky park, south-east of the city-centre, on trolleybus route #5 and bus route #8, one stop past the war-memorial. The park was laid out in the 1890s with trees, gardens, fountains and baroque buildings, but is now in rather sad condition. Its café sells beer and vodka at bargain prices! From Lonryna station, not far from the bus-stop, the little railway runs for less than a kilometre in an L-shape to Larkova, which has a three-road shed and two static carriages and a van. Four other carriages and two blue-and-yellow diesel locomotives, one at least being ex-PKP, comprise the rolling-stock. All the staff except the driver are (enthusiastic and welcoming) young people. Trains run on Sunday only, at a fare of UAH0.30 (=GBP0.05) for which an Edmondson-style card ticket is issued. 0256][UA] Kyiv funicular, metro and trams: (Quail 7) The pleasant funicular in the centre of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv (Kiev in Russian) has been closed during August and September 1999, the main tourist season. Some individual carriages of metro sets have been repainted all-over blue instead of grey. Metro trains and trams seem rarely to reach 45km/h, presumably because of power-supply problems. Long sections of tramway were in mid-August 1999 marked as limited to 25km/h, making service very slow. On tram-route #27, track and overhead wires had recently been removed from the Boulevard Lesi Ukrainki and Boulevard Druzhbi Narodiv between Palats Sportiv and Ploshcha Geroiv. Tram #27 now joins the route of trams #21, 31 and 34, running south from the city-centre on reserved track along the west bank of the river Dnipro to Ploshcha Geroiv. In full, this is 'square of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War' (World War II), and is just at the foot of the huge female warrior statue on a hill that dominates the south of the city. 0257][UA] Kolomiya - Zavalye - Chernivtsi/Chernovtsi - Glubokaya - Vadul Siret UZ (- Vicsani CFR): (Quail 18) From this main UZ line into Romania, two single-track branches head west into the foothills of the Carpathian mountains, a beautiful area with some dense forests whose timber both lines (Zavalye - Vizhnitsa and Glubokaya - Beregomet) now exploit, serving many sawmills, timber-processing plants and furniture factories, with sizeable freight-yards and long sidings. Each branch has a morning and an evening passenger working from Chernivtsi, and buses connect Vizhnitsa with Beregomet. Beyond Vizhnitsa station the branch continues a short distance to a large sawmill. On the main line the fine 1918-built passenger station in the historic city of Czernowitz (Austrian) or Cernauti (Romanian) or Chernovtsi (Russian) or Chernivtsi (Ukrainian), essentially untouched since becoming part of the Soviet railway system after World War II, closed for two weeks in May 1999 for thorough refurbishment, including a new track layout and new paving on the platforms, in preparation for a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Romania in the city on 28 May. Much of the layout, including the main running-lines, is still controlled by hand-points, worked by attractive young female operators clad in high-visibility orange vests, who come out as necessary from the 'signal-boxes' at each end of the station. In mid-afternoon Chernivtsi station is busy with long-distance (sleeper) trains as well as local services and freight workings, especially of petroleum tank-wagons. An old tramcar is plinthed outside the station. Chernivtsi's local trolleybus fleet is in poor condition, with many broken windows replaced by plywood. 0258][TR] (Ankara -) Elazig - Tatvan (- Van Gölü train-ferry): At stations from Ankara eastwards, and on the carriages themselves, trains are indeed shown as going to and from Tatvan (R99.0233), and the official stance is that the railway to Tatvan is open. However a visit to Elazig by our reporter in September 1999 revealed that in fact all Elazig - Tatvan passenger trains remain suspended - since summer 1993, according to Elazig's station-master. Occasional freight trains run, with military personnel on board. The passenger service to Tatvan is by bus, and most travellers welcome this, since buses are faster and more comfortable, and TCDD charge the railway tariff, only 40% of the usual bus fare for the distance. 0259][FR][BE] (Dunkerque -) Leffrinckoucke - Bray-Dunes SNCF - De Panne NMBS: (Ball 6B3-7A3) The Valdunes scrapyard at Leffrinckoucke (BLN 850.0263) may now be out of use, for on two occasions in September 1999 it was seen to be locked and silent, with its private siding obstructed. Rehabilitation of the running line eastward into Belgium was under way, however. Though still devoid of wording, new warning signboards were in place where the line crossed roads and footpaths. On either side of Bray-Dunes, fencing along the railway was being renewed and in Bray-Dunes station the loop had been given new ballast, though some sleepers here and on the running line were in poor condition and still appeared unsuited to carrying heavy trains of molten steel (R99.0237). Much of the track was still deep in sand. However, some new sleepers had been put in and more were lying beside the track. The antique telephone allegedly connecting to Dunkerque signal-box was still in place on the French side of the level-crossing over the minor road north to Maison des Dunes. The actual border runs along the centre of this road, so west of this level-crossing is France and east of it is Belgium. Some new signs and a new signal had been erected just inside Belgian territory. At De Panne, the derelict signal-box (BLN 837.0548) has been demolished. SNCF said locally that the first test-train was to run 18 October 1999. 0260][FR][BE] (Charleville-Mézičres -) Givet SNCF - Heer-Agimont SNCB - Hastičre - Dinant: (Ball 16B2-17A3) At Givet the long-disused rails of the factory siding (BLN 713.06) still survive on the bridge over the river Meuse, but they have been removed from the street nearby. The old four-square (carré) mechanical signals have disappeared and the station trackwork has been rationalised, leaving the platforms no longer islands, with only one road each. From its junction in front of the signal-box, the cross-border line runs without further signals straight to the north into Belgium. Though a possible future strategic freight route (BLN 844.081), this still sees no traffic except CFV3V's irregular summer tourist trips. Just inside Belgium a level-crossing still has red warning lights flashing, and at Heer-Agimont the handsome canopied station stands deserted with a number of carriages in the sidings. At Hastičre, running-line and loop are both very rusty, and the station is to be converted into a restaurant. In September 1999 no notices advertising past or future tourist trips were visible at any of the three locations, but a Dinant - Givet return steam working is planned for 8 April 2000 (adl.tours@virgin.net). 0261][FR] Malesherbes - La Chapelle-la-Reine (- Bourron-Marlotte-Grez): (Ball 25B1) From Malesherbes to the silo at La Chapelle-la-Reine with its ex-SNCF shunter, the line in September 1999 looked regularly used. Eastward, in the direction of Bourron-Marlotte-Grez, track remained, relatively weed-free and possibly used occasionally, though level-crossing barriers had been removed. 0262][FR] Les Laumes-Alésia - Époisses (- Maison-Dieu): (Ball 38A2) The former intermediate station at Semur-en-Auxois now hosts tax offices, but a grain silo remains. Époisses has a thriving silo of Dijon Céréales with ex-SNCF shunter Y6503, but west of the old station the track has completely gone, part of the formation now being used by autoroute A6 and being crossed by the Paris-Sud-Est Ligne ŕ Grande Vitesse opened in 1981(BLN 779.0210). 0263][FR] La-Guerche-sur-l'Aubois - Marseilles-lčs-Aubigny: (Ball 47A3 not shown) This 17km former chemin de fer économique (= light railway) south-west of Nevers on 19 September 1999 saw what the itinerary claimed was its first passenger train since 1948. Two return trips behind steam locomotive #141R840 ran in association with an open day at the Cimenterie Calcia south of Beffes, part of the autumn programme of such heritage 'open-doors' days (Journées du Patrimoine), now Europe-wide. Starting from the goods-yard at La Guerche the train climbed north over the Bourges - La-Guerche - Saincaize main line. The track was not in good condition but rapid progress was made past several former station buildings. Torteron station had been converted into a large family home. Passing a ruined cement-works the train turned sharply east on the outskirts of Marseilles-lčs-Aubigny and stopped in a rounding-loop parallel to the Canal du Berry, about 200m from the present cement works. Passengers used steps to descend, and could participate in works visits, heritage tours or a boat-ride on the canal. The works was not actually operating and no wagons were visible, but coal traffic had passed fairly recently. The afternoon return trip continued with the stock beyond La Guerche north-west to Bourges. 0264][FR] France: reopenings?: A leaflet picked up at Bourges in September 1999 said that Région Centre are studying passenger reopening of Tours - Loches - Verneuil-St.Germain - Buzançais - Chateauroux (BLN 715.01; Ball 34B1-35A1-45A3-45B3) and Orléans - Vitry-aux-Loges - Bellegarde-Quiers - Montargis (R99.0061; 26A1-37A3), as well as Chartres - Voves - Orgčres-en-Beauce - Patay - Orléans, already noted (BLN 851.0296; 24B1-36A3). La Vie du Rail says that Chartres - Orléans may reopen by 2004, with the three intermediate stations mentioned, ten trains a day and a 55-minute journey over the 78km. 0265][BE] (Brussel - Weerde -) Y Prinsenhoek - Hever (- Leuven): (EGTRE BE00/16; Ball 8B2) From 26 September 1999 hourly SSuX Knokke - Brussel - Leuven - Tongeren trains on IC route E use this west-to-east curve avoiding Muizen to relieve the main Brussel - Zaventem - Leuven line 36 during major engineering work. 0266][BE] (Vilvoorde - Delta -) Huizingen - Y Buizingen (- Halle): (BLN 842.028; Ball 10B1) Now that further platforms have become available at Halle, the southern end of line 26 again has a regular 20-minute weekday service from 26 September 1999. From Huizingen, line 26 now crosses over both the LGV tracks and the line 96 tracks before dropping down on the west side of the layout at Y Buizingen. Only the extra northbound track, designated line 96E, runs to the west of line 26 at the overbridge. 0267][BE][LU] Ličge - Rivage - Trois-Ponts - Gouvy SNCB - Troisvierges CFL - Luxembourg: (BLN 721.09; Ball 9B3-18A2; SNCB 45) SNCB's much-delayed electrification (partly 3kV dc, partly 25kV 50Hz) was still not ready in October 1999. An SNCB diesel locomotive and four SNCB coaches ran from Ličge to Trois-Points, where passengers and the SNCB crew changed trains, boarding four coaches hauled by a new CFL Class 3000 dual-voltage electric. At Gouvy the SNCB crew handed over to a CFL crew to work south to Luxembourg. 0268][BE][DE] (Ličge -) Welkenraedt SNCB/NMBS - Aachen DB: (R99.0134; Ball BE-10A2, DE-37A1) Just inside Belgium and just west of the diveunder where Belgian left-hand running becomes German right-hand running, the impressive new Hammerbrücke had its northern track in place, but was not yet wired, on 26 September 1999. A construction-train with an elderly Belgian Class 59 locomotive was in attendance. 0269][BE] Eupen - Monschau - Weywertz - Malmédy - Trois-Ponts: (Ball 10A2-9B1) TTB day on 2 October was one of seven days in 1999 when return trips were offered (at only BEF800 or DEM40 =c.EUR20) over this 83km route of the preserved Vennbahn (BLN 813.0523). Other scheduled steam trips ran on seven Sundays over the Eupen - Monschau - Weywertz - Butgenbach route. 0270][DE] Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: closures?: Financial support is under review for five services used by fewer than 500 passengers per route-km on weekdays: Güstrow - Karow (Mecklenburg) - Meyenburg (BLN 747.048; Ball 12B1-19B2; KBS174); Hagenow Land - Zarrentin (Mecklenburg) (18B2-18B3; KBS104); Gadebusch - Rehna (18B3; KBS153); Ludwigslust - Dömitz (BLN 807.0356; 19A2-18B1; KBS171); and Neustrelitz Süd - Feldberg (Mecklenburg) (BLN 717.06; 20A2-20B2; KBS187). Three more are also under review, but it seems financial support will continue: Velgast - Barth (13A2; KBS167); Ludwigslust - Karow - Waren (BLN 747.048; 20A3; KBS172) and Jatznick - Ueckermünde (21A3; KBS192). 0271][DE] Berlin-Spandau - Elstal - Wustermark: (Ball 31A2) Notwithstanding R99.0141, only the halt Wustermark Rangierbahnhof was officially renamed Elstal from December 1998. The yard itself is still Wustermark Rangierbahnhof, as correctly shown in the 1998 Ball atlas. 0272][DE] Mannheim light rail: Abzw Collini-Center - Kurpfalzbrücke: (Ball 55A1) At the former Mannheim terminus of the metre-gauge Oberrheinische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft the simplified layout of the short branch (BLN 832.0382) remained in place in September 1999, a brief walk from Collini-Center OEG tram-stop at the junction. The former siding area has been landscaped, and the remaining two terminal roads shortened so that their buffer-stops are at least 20m from the still-standing OEG station-building. Scissors crossovers would allow full flexibility in use, but neither track showed signs of recent traffic. A starting-signal remained lit. Where a footpath led on to the rudimentary platform a sign warned: Achtung! Eingeschränkter Winterdienst (= limited winter service). 0273][DE] Bad Dürkheim - Neustadt (Weinstrasse): (BLN 760.0378; Ball 57A3) Bad Dürkheim DB station, a terminus where trains reverse, is not electrified as shown in Ball, though outside in the Bahnhofsvorplatz the impressive seven-section articulated tramcars of the metre-gauge electric Mannheim - Ludwigshafen - Bad Dürkheim Rhein-Haardt Bahn snake round their turning-circle. The 1995 station, Neustadt-Böbig, is at the point where the Bad Dürkheim - Neustadt and Ludwigshafen - Neustadt lines converge. An interesting signal-box sits on its own bridge above the running-lines east of Neustadt (Weinstrasse) Hbf. The north-to-south Neustadt avoiding line has been de-electrified and is entirely disconnected at the south end. 0274][DE] Winden (Pfalz) - Schweighofen DB - Wissembourg SNCF: (BLN 794.048; Ball 57A2) Pairs of tilting Class 611 diesel units running Kaiserslautern - Neustadt - Winden - Wörth-am-Rhein - Karlsruhe now form Winden's Regional Express service, but the junction alignment and the kilometre-posts still clearly reveal that the Wissembourg branch, reopened in 1997 with hourly Class 628 units, was once the main line south. The halts on the branch have been given clocks whose faces are the blue of the European flag, with twelve gold stars to mark the hours. Schaidt has a new station on a site significantly to the north of the closed original Bahnhof Schaidt, which survives as a hostelry. The town of Wissembourg, Alsace, France (formerly Weissenburg, Elsass, Germany) is included in the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar area, whose day- and three-day tickets are an economical way to explore Rheinland-Pfalz branches, which now have a basic hourly Taktfahrplan timetable. In insular Britain, it is difficult to imagine passenger-transport authority season-tickets for local trains and buses covering any part of a neighbouring state. 0275][DE] Gotteszell - Viechtach (- Fichtental - Blaibach (Niederbayern)): (Ball 61B2) Closure at short notice of the Fichtental - Blaibach section to all traffic, and Viechtach - Blaibach to passengers, on 2 February 1991 came when the viaduct just south of Blaibach was found to be unsafe, rather than due to flooding. It is not clear that this pre-empted a 'planned closure date' (R99.0071), for when the Gotteszell - Viechtach passenger service also ceased on 30 April 1991, the legal closure process was not complete, and the summer 1991 DB Kursbuch showed KBS866 still with Gotteszell - Viechtach - Blaibach trains. It was after the passenger closure in spring 1991 that heavy rainfall washed away the embankment between Fichtental and Blaibach. Viechtach - Fichtental remained open for freight for a short time, till about 1992, and on 20 July 1991 an IBSE-chartered RBG railcar from Gotteszell ventured up to the damaged embankment just north of Fichtental. 0276][AT] (Stammersdorf -) Obersdorf - Gross Schweinbarth - Pirawarth - Gaweinstal-Brünnerstrasse (- Höbersbrunn-Atzelsdorf -) Paasdorf Lokalbahn - Mistelbach Lokalbahn: (BLN 737.0237, 749.093, 785.0356, 790.0459; Ball 65A1) Though the track of the Stammersdorfer Lokalbahn west towards Stammersdorf was lifted by 1996, the trackbed at Obersdorf was entirely clear of vegetation in September 1999. Station-names here are confusing. The high-level single-platform station on the Wien - Mistelbach S-Bahn line is Obersdorf-Pillichsdorf, the nearby single Lokalbahn platform beneath it and a few metres to the east is Obersdorf, and a Lokalbahn halt 2km further east is Pillichsdorf. Sugar-beet was being loaded at most stations in the area, including Paasdorf Lokalbahn, on the freight-only section worked as a long siding from Mistelbach Lokalbahn. A stop-block and fence at Gaweinstal-Brünnerstrasse prevent through working from the southern end. 0277][AT] Mistelbach - Enzersdorf - Laa an der Thaya - Laa an der Thaya Stadt: (BLN 789.0429; Ball 65A1-64B2) On a September 1999 trip on the 12:58 from Mistelbach, one of the schooldays-only through trains to Laa Stadt station, our reporter was the only passenger to remain after reversal at Laa an der Thaya, but the single railcar had a more than full load of teenage students on its return trip at 13:51. 0278][AT][SK] (Wien Süd -) Parndorf - Kittsee ÖBB - Bratislava-Petrzalka ZSR (- Bratislava hlavni stanice): (BLN 846.0147; Ball AT-76A3-76B3, SK-41B1) Originally opened 18 December 1898 as part of a link between two provincial capitals on the western edge of the Hungarian kingdom - from Sopron (Ödenburg, in German) to Pozsony (Pressburg in German; now Bratislava, capital of Slovakia) - the line had by 1921 been intersected by two frontiers of three states. Thus handicapped, it never regained any importance, and after World War II the Parndorf - Kittsee section was lucky to survive carrying sugar-beet, grain and straw, mostly in the harvest season. Attempts to close it completely did not succeed, and during the communist period consideration was given to reopening it as a through route, for in the 1980s the rail networks round Wien and Bratislava were somewhat congested. The existing Wien - Marchegg - Bratislava link fed into the Praha - Brno - Bratislava - Budapest main line, one of the busiest in central Europe, and could not cope with more traffic. But nothing was done before the end of communist rule, and though Parndorf - Kittsee remained intact, the line was in a poor state and severed at the then Czechoslovak border. The decision to reconstruct the line was a political one during the euphoric mood of 1989-90, when unrealistic levels of traffic were forecast, but the change from a command to a market economy, and the separation of Slovakia from the Czech Republic, hit rail freight badly. While the Praha - Bratislava main line is still busy, its Wien - Marchegg - Bratislava feeder could now cope with many more freight trains between Austria and Slovakia. ÖBB have never been enthusiastic about Parndorf - Kittsee, and ZSR had indeed nearly finished their short section before ÖBB construction started in earnest in July 1997, though work then progressed swiftly, track being laid from both ends, with Austrian construction-trains and tamping-machines brought on site via Bratislava. Reconstruction was thorough, and no old track material was reused. Two sections were realigned on a straighter course, requiring deviations of 50m and 300m away from the original route. Though the embankment is wide enough to host a second track, the 25km line is single with two passing-loops, at Gattendorf (remote-controlled) and at Kittsee. It is electrified at the ÖBB standard of 15kV 16.7Hz through to Petrzalka station. It has a limit of 160km/h and a ruling gradient of 1:80 across an area that is generally flat. Tall and expensive noise-barriers were provided as a sop to environmentalists, blocking views and making the stations claustrophobic. Signs of lack of enthusiasm remain. The formal inauguration train ran 15 December 1998, to fulfil a promise to reopen the line on its hundredth birthday, but it was not allowed to cross the border, and dignitaries from Slovakia came by car to meet it at Kittsee. Though the speeches were friendly and optimistic, ÖBB's general manager did not attend, though his job cannot involve many openings of significant new railway. The first train, hauled by a Class 1014, carried no decorative flags, and one coach was disfigured by graffiti. After the symbolic inauguration, nothing happened till a single daily non-stop train each way began on 7 January 1999. Arrangements were made almost as an afterthought for local trains to serve Neudorf, Gattendorf, Pama and Kittsee, which regained passenger service after an absence of 48 years with the timetable change on 30 May 1999, but this involved another fiasco when ÖBB 'forgot' to liaise with customs officials, who allowed across the border only the expresses, not the new local trains. Only on 1 August did a proper service start, with three pairs of expresses each weekday, hauled by ageing Class 1046 light express locomotives, running Wien Süd - Petrzalka - Bratislava hlavni stanice, plus nine pairs of Wien Süd - Petrzalka locals, using Class 4020 electric units. The express trains via Petrzalka to Bratislava main station are slower and dearer than when they took their traditional route via Marchegg. Petrzalka itself is a depressing dormitory suburb, unattractive to tourists, shoppers or day-trippers from Wien, with no onward connections except a slow local bus to the distant historic centre of Bratislava with its many baroque buildings. For travellers from the east, expensive fares are a deterrent, and rail's market-share is low. Nevertheless, traffic is growing, and the September 1999 timetable saw three more trains added. For freight the new line would have several advantages over the Marchegg route: it is fully electrified, it bypasses busy suburban lines, the Wien - Bratislava distance between marshalling-yards is shorter, and it avoids two climbs that sometimes require banking - yet no freight actually runs that way because rail and customs staff at Marchegg are unwilling to move to Kittsee ! In fact freight operations via Marchegg may hold a record for labour-intensive inefficiency, for in the westbound direction they can require up to seven locomotives over a distance of some 70km (ZSR electric Bratislava yard - Devinska Nová Ves, sometimes with a helper loco; ZSR diesel Devinska Nová Ves - Marchegg (6km); ÖBB diesel, more usually a pair, Marchegg - Gänserndorf (17km); and ÖBB electric Gänserndorf - Wien yard, sometimes with a helper loco from Stadlau. 0279][AT] Mariazell - Erlaufsee: (R99.0221; Ball 74B2 not shown) The Erlaufseebahn hope to extend their standard-gauge tramway from the present inconspicuous Mariazell terminus south into the centre of the town, but a management spokesman confirmed that these plans, aimed at picking up more casual tourist traffic for their weekend-and-holiday summer operation, do not involve the trackbed of the closed Mariazell - Gusswerk section of the 760mm-gauge Mariazellerbahn. On a September 1999 Sunday visit to the line and its extensive workshops and shed, our reporter was impressed by the positive attitude of the operators and the substantial progress made in a relatively short space of time. 0280][PT] Porto metro: (BLN 818.037; Ball 7A1-7B1) The planned 70km light Metro do Porto, with its Strasbourg-type Eurotrams, is to comprise a new short north-to-south line partly underground through the city and south across the river Douro (Hospital San Joăo - Trindade - Vila Nova de Gaia - Santo Ovideo); a mainly new west-to-east line from the Atlantic coast inland linking Porto's CP stations (Matosinhos - Senhora da Hora - Trindade - Săo Bento - Campanhă), taking over most of the present Senhora da Hora - Trindade CP metre-gauge alignment (with Trindade terminus replaced by an underground interchange station); and two much longer extensions out over the existing metre-gauge surface routes to the north-west (Senhora da Hora - Póvoa de Varzim) and to the north-east (Senhora da Hora - Trofa). The Trofa route will deviate from the present alignment north of Senhora da Hora to serve urban development south of Mandim. Lifting appears to have begun of the out-of-use Póvoa de Varzim - Famalicăo metre-gauge line (BLN 828.0288). 0281][CH] (Basel -) Muttenz - Liesthal (- Olten): (BLN 835.0468; Ball 86B2) The new main-line alignment via the Adler (= eagle) tunnel between Muttenz and Liestal had track in place but not fully connected up in September 1999. It may come into use from the May 2000 timetable change. 0282][CH] Rheineck - Walzenhausen: (R99.0228; Ball 89B2) The regauged track #1 now used by the 1200mm-gauge RhW line is level with the platform, so a very short section of higher platform, with steps and a ramp, has been built on top of the main surface to help people to board the RhW's single car. During a September 1999 visit, the RhW driver also performed station and ticketing duties. A principal function of the short rack line seems to be conveyance of parcels and mail between SBB trains at Rheineck and the sizeable parcels-office at Walzenhausen, the top station. 0283][CH] Zürich-Manegg - Kilchberg-Tunnel: (Ball 97A1 not shown) From Zürich-Manegg on the SZU Zürich - Sihlbrugg line a new railway has been built north for about 1km to the construction site of the significant (8km+) Kilchberg tunnel on the planned Zürich-Wiedikon - Thalwil / Zug main line. 0284][CH] Zürich Stadelhofen - Realp - Forch - Esslingen: (Ball 97A1-97B1) From a loop by Zürich Stadelhofen SBB station, the 16.6km metre-gauge electric Forchbahn, originally a rural tramway, now a busy suburban light-rail line, runs south-east, initially using the street tracks of Verkehrsbetriebe der Stadt Zürich municipal tram-route #11, skipping all but the main stops. Beyond the Rehalp VBZ terminus (km3.37), the FB slews across a main road, running in roadside reservation for some distance. Just south-east of Waltikon it enters a 1976-built 1.7km double-track tunnel, calling at underground stations Zumikon and Maiacher and emerging again at Neu Forch. Beyond, the line becomes single with passing-loops. Forch station has the depot nearby. The Esslingen terminus was rebuilt around 1996 on a slightly different site, with bus-interchange (BLN 714.019). 0285][CZ][PL] Bohumín CD - Chalupki PKP: (Ball 42B3-42A3) Open days at Bohumín depot on 11-12 September 1999 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of this line saw the normal timetable augmented by hourly Czech steam trains and an afternoon through PKP steam working. On each day two return specials ran on the Ceský Tešín - Orlova - Bohumín line, which seems now to be a private industrial railway run by OKD Doprava to serve mineral workings, and is not shown in the Ball atlas and shown as closed on the 1996 Quail map. For CZK50 (about 90 pence or EUR1.35) a preserved ex-CSD M131 railbus and two trailers with wooden seats trundled slowly over this line, the generous 1h 30min journey-time including a photo-stop at what seemed to be the site of Orlova's passenger station. 0286][SK] (Košice - Trebišov -) Bánovce nad Ondavou - Vel'ké Kapušany - Matovce: (Ball 43B2-44A2; ZSR195) This electrified standard-gauge line in eastern Slovakia parallels part of the electrified 1520mm Russian-gauge freight line to Ukraine, whose route (Haniska pri Košiciach - Trebišov - Vel'ké Kapušany - Matovce ZSR - Uzhhorod UZ; BLN 808.0395) is incorrectly shown in the Ball atlas. On 7 September 1999 a ZSR Class 460 standard-gauge electric unit formed local train #9309, the 13:42 from Bánovce to Vel'ké Kapušany, arriving some 3 minutes early. Though the timetabled return departure westward was not till some 35 minutes later, a number of passengers boarded, so our reporter remained on the train - and it set off eastwards on non-passenger track. Passing extensive marshalling yards for both gauges as well as what appeared to be transfer sidings, it halted after 2.7km alongside an administrative building with a Matovce signboard and a large footbridge straddling the standard-gauge yard - but no platform, not even the minimal earthen mound sometimes seen at Slovakian halts. Train staff raised no objection to finding a foreign traveller - complete with suitcase! - on this railway-workers' service, and once they had confirmed he would be returning with the train, they were relaxed about allowing him to alight for photography. After some 15 minutes, the train departed westward to take up its path as #9308, the 14:54 Vel'ké Kapušany - Bánovce - Michal'any. In the ZSR timetable all the trains shown as terminating at Vel'ké Kapušany (eight Mon-Fri, seven at weekends) have time to run out to Matovce and back, but the 16:22 from Banovce the same day, loco-hauled by a Class 163 electric, did not do so. Probably the passenger workings are extended to Matovce only when they fit in with shift changes at the yard. 0287][ZA] Cape Point funicular: Africa's most southerly railway is a funicular from the car-park 127m above the sea to an upper station at 214m, from which it is a short climb to the historic lighthouse at Cape Point, the southern tip of the continent. The Cape-gauge (1065mm) line opened about 1996 to replace an ageing 16-seat road bus that could not cope with increasing tourist traffic, and rails now occupy the curving route of the single-track road, thus avoiding the need for new formation in the National Park. The line can convey up to 450 people per hour (40 per car for the three-minute journey). The tickets issued on a September 1999 visit show the length of the line as 585m, while the operators' website (http://www.capepoint.co.za/funicular.htm) says 562m. 0288][ZA] Cape Town - Mossel Bay - George - Oudtshoorn (- Klipplaat - Port Elizabeth): (BLN 824.0195) In September 1999 the Union Limited, a six-day excursion, was running weekly on part of the famous Garden Route, including the spectacular Montagu Pass through the Outeniqua mountains between George and Oudtshoorn. The tourist train comprises a dozen heritage coaches, including several articulated vehicles, plus a generator car, a car with a steam-boiler for evening heating and a refrigerator car for provisions. Various steam locomotives haul the train by day, with diesels when the train is on the move overnight. The 21-26 September trip ran Cape Town - Worcester - Hartenbos - George - Oudtshoorn - George - Knysna - George - Cape Town. Overnight station stops were made in the platforms at Hartenbos, George and Knysna. Information: http://www.steamsa.co.za or via Ffestiniog Travel on +44 (0) 1766 512 340. The enterprising Outeniqua Power Van company based at George railway-museum now hires out three ex-Spoornet 'speeders', permanent-way people-carriers with 14 tram-type seats, reversible to face direction of travel, and the operator's phone-number on the side, like taxicabs! Trips may be available at as little as 30 minutes notice, depending on paths controlled by Spoornet traffic-control at Oudtshoorn. Destinations can be north up the Montagu Pass to Power (price ZAR40 for 90 minutes) or Topping (ZAR50 for 3h), but on 25 September, a group of 12 passengers from the Union Limited travelled on an OPV speeder west along the coast half an hour ahead of the main train from George to Hartenbos and Voorbaai depot and down the short branch to Mossel Bay, now freight-only, meeting the main train back at Hartenbos. Information: opv@mweb.co.za; tel +27 44 801 8239. 0289][ZA] George - Knysna: Waterfront development, partly on former railway land, has changed the layout at Knysna, terminus of the 67km scenic coastal branch, still regularly used by steam-hauled local tourist trains as well as long-distance excursions. A turntable has replaced the wye for turning the locomotives and is ac