2000

0399][IE] Drogheda: Cement Branch Jn - Boyne Road siding: (Baker 100C2)  The Great Northern Railway of Ireland opened this 1.8km branch in April 1938 to serve Drogheda cement factory.  At least one passenger train is known to have visited the line: an IRRS railtour on 20 September 1969.  However in June 1972 a new cement factory opened at Platin on the Drogheda - Navan branch, and in 1976 a second kiln was added there, and the older Drogheda factory closed.  Boyne Road - Platin oil traffic continued until the early 1980s.  In 1993 Iarnród Éireann set up a ballast depot at the former Fields yard and, as the October 1995 Quail track diagrams show, by that time only this depot was still connected, the rest of the branch being out of use.  By 1996 the ballast depot too was out of use.  On 13 October 1996 IE removed Cement Branch Jn on the former GNR(I) main line, in preparation for Drogheda resignalling, thus severing the last remaining km or so of the branch.  Johnson's atlas, published 1997, erroneously recorded the branch as still open throughout.  (Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, #133, June 1997; Irish Railway News, Vol.4, #2; Johnson's Atlas & Gazetteer of the Railways of Ireland, S Johnson, Midland Publishing)

0400][IE] Drogheda: Buckie's sidings: (Baker 100C2)  This short 0.5km branch served the original terminus of the Dublin & Drogheda Railway, which opened 26 May 1844 but was superseded by the present through station when the line north across the river Boyne was opened by the Dublin & Belfast Junction Railway a decade later.  The branch, comprising three parallel sidings of which one connected with the shed turntable road, remained as refuging for trains, particularly those held overnight, and came to be known as Buckie's or Buckey's sidings (uncertainty remains about the correct spelling).  An IRRS railtour visited on 20 September 1969.  At some point the link with the turntable seems to have been removed, as shown in the October 1995 Quail track diagrams, but during January 1997 it was put back, but into the headshunt beyond the turntable.  For two months this indirect route via Buckie's sidings became the only access to Drogheda shed, while ground behind the up main platform 2 was being excavated to make a new dead-end platform 3 for turning back Dublin suburban workings, on the site of the short bay that had once held Navan branch trains.  The 1997 remodelling and resignalling at Drogheda was one of the largest station-renewal projects undertaken in Ireland in the 20th century, and included replacement of the interlaced track across the Boyne Viaduct with points at each end of a section of single track.  With the work nearing completion, Buckie's sidings became redundant, the ground-frame at the south end was taken out of use on 15 March 1997 and the turnout from the up main line was removed.  The new signalling was commissioned on 17 March, with the new platform 3 coming into public use on 18 March 1997.  (Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, #133, June 1997; Irish Railway News, Vol.5, #1)

0401][IE] Dublin North Wall: (BLN 765.0454, R99.0057; Baker 96B1-96B2)  The RPSI St.Manntán tour of 11 September 1971 included a memorable evening running Connolly - North Strand Jn - Glasnevin Jn - Liffey Jn (reverse) - Newcomen Jn - Church Road Jn - Point Depot GSW (reverse) - Church Road Jn - Newcomen Jn (reverse) - North Wall MGW (reverse) - West Road Jn (reverse) - North Wall LNWR (reverse) - Church Road Jn - East Wall Jn (reverse) - Connolly.  At that time access to the two North Wall depots (if not Point) was still fully block-signalled, a legacy of the passenger services that had run in connection with cross-channel steamers until the 1920s.  However, as part of the resignalling west of Dublin Connolly, Liffey Jn signal-cabin was abolished 16 June 1991 and the former Midland Great Western Liffey Jn - Newcomen Jn line was transferred to Centralised Traffic Control.  A week later West Road Jn cabin was abolished and the former Great Southern & Western Cabra - North Strand Jn line was similarly transferred.  The lines onwards to the North Wall complex became sidings and Church Road Jn cabin was reduced to the status of a ground-frame, except that block-working continued on the East Wall Jn - Church Road Jn section until 11 October 1992 when that, too, became sidings.  Since then, Connolly CTC has handled all train movements in and out of the dock area whether via Newcomen Jn, North Strand Jn or East Wall Jn. 

Beyond Church Road, Granaries Jn block-post was abolished 15 November 1987, but the Granaries Jn - Point Depot - North Quay Extension branch still diverges here from the line through East Wall Yard.  At the time of the 1971 RPSI railtour a cabin also stood at the Sheriff Street Upper level-crossing but that may have been a gate-box rather than a block-post.  Just south of this crossing was the throat of the former G&SW Point depot, whose building alone remains, now an 'event' venue (R99.0366).  Here too the North Quay (or North Wall) Extension line, though not in regular use, still diverges eastward to head along the peninsular quay between the river Liffey and the Alexandra Basin.  Between 13 May 1996 and 3 March 1997, new passenger carriages from De Dietrich of France for the Dublin - Belfast Enterprise service were transferred from ship to rail here.  Though IE's imported 2700 Class railcars in 1998 came from Barcelona by lorry and roll-on/roll-off ferry, it seems likely that the 20 diesel railcars and 16 DART electric cars ordered in February 1999 for delivery in July-August 2000 will arrive from Mitsui of Yokohama by ship and will use the North Quay Extension.  

At the east end of IE's East Wall yard a line crosses East Wall level-crossing to become the Alexandra Road tramway, owned by Dublin Port & Docks.  It appears on a 1969 Ordnance Survey map, so it seems to have opened before 1971, the date quoted by the Johnson atlas.  The tramway runs as double-track due east down the middle of Alexandra Road serving various sidings, the first being the Alexandra Terminal for Lead & Zinc Concentrates, to which locomotive-hauled trains run from Tara Mines near Navan.  Motive power for petroleum traffic from other sidings off the tramway seems generally to have been a road-tractor.  Indeed on the afternoon of 26 November 1999 a Dublin Port & Docks road-tractor was observed using a long chain to haul tank wagons westwards towards the East Wall level-crossing, and then propelling them over the crossing into IE's East Wall yard.  To shunt wagons within their sidings Esso installed two motorised capstans, and in 1992 Irish Shell added one at their sidings also.  However, oil traffic has languished in recent years.  Because of new more stringent EU regulations about petroleum-vapour retention, on 12 March 1998 Esso ceased conveying petrol by train to Sligo, though they continue to move diesel, fuel and heating oil there, their last remaining traffic flow on Irish rails.  The Irish Shell site continues to handle fuel oil and bitumen, and in November 1999 contained a number of rail tank wagons, but they may not now move in traffic.  

Beyond the Irish Shell sidings, the tramway runs as single-track on the south side of the road, serving first the ex-B+I Irish Ferries Dublin Ferryport container terminal (now apparently disused) and then the Asahi sidings (also out of use, the daily Dublin - Ballina chemical train ceasing 28 October 1997 prior to the Ballina factory closure at the beginning of December 1997).  Until 1997 the tramway terminated near the intersection of Alexandra Road and Terminal Road, but now crosses the intersection to run on its own right-of-way for about 300m along the north side of Alexandra Road to reach the Coastal Container Line's terminal, where the line swings south to a 250m loop and a container gantry.  IE and Dublin Port & Docks built the EUR2.2M (=GBP1.4M) 600m extension with 35% finance from the European Union taxpayer.  Work started 5 August 1997, the first ballast train ran 28 February, a trial freight train 18 March, and regular services began 21 April 1998.  Formal opening of the Coastal Container Line terminal by the Taoiseach, Ireland's prime minister, was on 2 November 1998.  Normally one train a day Mon-Fri runs from Dublin North Wall to Cork North Esk yard, though second trains have been required on occasions.  The CCL traffic generates the only locomotive movements over the full length of the tramway, usually two round-trips daily.  The containers from Cork leave North Wall yard about 10:00, the engine returns light, and a second light engine sets off from North Wall yard about 17:30 to collect the containers for Cork.  (Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, #116, Oct 1991, #120, Feb 1993, #131, Oct 1996, #133, Jun 1997, #135, Feb 1998, #135(sic), Jun 1998, #138, Feb 1999; Irish Railway News Vol.4, #2, Vol.5, #1)

0402][IE] DART: Howth Jn - Dublin - Bray:  Planning permission was granted on 4 January 1999 for a new Barrow Street station between Dublin Pearse and Lansdowne Road stations, near the Grand Canal bridge, at the site of the former Grand Canal Street locomotive-shed and works.  Track-layout alterations started on 19 April and work to disconnect and lift old sidings at Barrow Street on 27 July 1999.  (Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, #139, June 1999, #141, October 1999)  DART timings already allow for the new stop.

0403][IE] Ballybrophy - Roscrea - Nenagh - Silvermines Jn - Kilmastulla - Birdhill - Killonan Jn (- Limerick): (R99.0360; Baker 94C1-93C2)  At Ballybrophy the direct running-leads with the Dublin - Limerick Jn main line were disconnected on 17 October, and 27 October 1985 saw the new layout come into use, a ground-frame-controlled run-round loop for trains arriving from the Roscrea direction, with only a trailing connection to the up main, thus simplifying the extension of CTC to this section of the main line.  Notice was given of withdrawal from 11 April 1991 of many freight sundries facilities in Ireland, including those at the remaining stations on the line, Roscrea and Nenagh.  However the regular ordinary freight train (10:40 SX Limerick - Roscrea and 13:27 return) was not withdrawn until 2 September 1991.  The Silvermines Jn - Silvermines mineral branch closed to revenue freight in November 1993 (BLN 724.045, 765.0456).  Trains with bagged cement were the last regular freight workings north of Kilmastulla until they ceased in winter 1997-98, leaving the Kilmastulla shale traffic as the only freight flow at end-1999.  (Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, #115 June 1991, #117, February 1992)

0404][IE] Limerick Check - Limerick Cement Factory (Castlemungret): (R99.0361; Baker 93C1)  At least one tour train has visited the branch, the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland's North Kerry railtour on 3 June 1972.

0405][IE] Limerick Check - Foynes: (R99.0130, 99.0362; Baker 93C1)  Although the branch has no regular service in the working timetable, is barred to passenger excursions, and has an overall speed limit of 50km/h, it does not seem to be under threat, and indeed no fewer than three road-over-rail bridges were being constructed for the county council during 1999.  The line is said to be retained because Foynes is the Irish Republic's only rail-connected 'dirty' port, meaning that bulk commodities like coal can be handled in the open rather than under cover.  Molasses is handled occasionally, as is fertiliser, though a flow of imported fertiliser for Ennis was in 1999 moved by road.  Regular Foynes - Limerick - Athenry - Claremorris - Ballina coal trains for Inver Resources started early in 1998 (BLN 820.064) but traffic failed to build up as expected.  Though at least two such coal trains ran in early 1999, one on 27 January, they were not followed by further workings, hence the expiry of drivers' route-knowledge on the 'Western Freight Corridor' (R99.0363).  (Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, #135, February 1998; Irish Railway News, Vol.6, #1)

0406][IE] (Cork -) Cobh Jn/Glounthaune - Midleton - Youghal: (R99.0368; Baker 90C2-91C1)  Branch passenger trains were withdrawn 4 February 1963, but regular summer-Sunday excursions continued until summer 1979, with occasional pilgrimage specials to Claremorris for Knock shrine in years thereafter.  The last passenger trains recorded were from Midleton to Dublin on 17 March 1988.  (BLN 765.0457 quoting Irish Railway News, Jan-Apr 1995)  Ordinary freight ceased 2 June 1978, though seasonal sugar-beet traffic lasted until the 'campaign' of winter 1981-82.  (partly Johnson's Atlas & Gazetteer of the Railways of Ireland, S Johnson, Midland Publishing, 1997)  In summer 1999 consultants began studies of passenger reopening as far as Midleton (not Youghal), broadly estimated as costing EUR10M (=c.GBP7M).  (Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, #141, October 1999)

0407][IE] Waterford (Abbey Jn) - New Ross: (R99.0367; Baker 91B2-91A2)  The last revenue traffic from New Ross seems to have been in March 1995 (BLN 757.0293) and the last movement on the branch a weed-spraying train on 28-29 June 1995 (BLN 765.0458).  Leaving the disused branch some 800m east of Abbey Jn the planned new 1165m spur would serve the timber-processing plant directly, releasing extensive railway land at Waterford yard, at present used for timber transhipment, but wanted for a road scheme.  A Railway Works Order was in preparation with a view to construction starting in 1999, but it seems that the planning permission already granted by the county council may have been challenged, causing potential disruption and delay for both the rail and the highway schemes. (Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, #139, June 1999; Irish Railway News, Vol.6, #1)

0408][FR] Marseille-St.Charles - La Joliette - Arenc - L'Estaque: (R99.0296; EGTRE FR00/159; Ball 75B2)  During November 1999 a grain silo on the landward side of the line was demolished, and a local SNCF source confirmed that a new double-track curve would shortly be built there allowing trains from Marseille-St.Charles, the city's main station, to avoid the reversal at La Joliette and run directly towards Arenc and L'Estaque.  It is not clear whether the present dead-end Joliette platform would survive, though in December 1999 it was sporting smart new 'Halte la Joliette' signboards with the SNCF logo - and at the Métro station on the other side of the Place de la Joliette a sign in similar style indicated the SNCF facility's existence, previously rather tenuous.  Though the Place still has rails crossing it diagonally towards the port, they are nothing more than a nostalgic architectural feature, for the area in the middle of the square has been raised and is reached by steps - and the rails also are stepped!  The very infrequent special trains into the docks, arranged for school-trips and pilgrimages to connect with ferries to and from Corsica, have to use a junction with the Joliette - L'Estaque line further north at Arenc. 

0409][FR][MC] Nice - Monaco-Monte Carlo - Menton: (R99.0374; Ball 77B3-67B1)  Work on commissioning the new line under Monaco commenced at 22:00 on 26 November and the new station opened to traffic on 27 November 1999 when train #56906 called there at 05:52.  (La Vie du Rail)  Prince Rainier formally inaugurated 'Monte Carlo's grand new underground railway station' on 7 December 1999, 'in his 50th year as the country's reigning prince'.  (Financial Times, 8 December 1999)

0410][BE] Dendermonde - Baasrode-Noord - Puurs: (BLN 852.0325; Ball 8A2-8A3)  It is unlikely that Stoomspoorlijn Dendermonde-Puurs were able to run from their base at Baasrode-Noord west into Dendermonde NMBS station at any time during summer 1999, for only in the autumn were they finally able to buy from NMBS various parts for the repair of diesel railcar #4302, their sole vehicle allowed to run on the main line.  Through running to Dendermonde should again be possible in summer 2000.  (Febelrail, autumn 1999)

0411][BE][DE] (Liège -) Welkenraedt SNCB/NMBS - Aachen DB: (R99.0134, 0268; Ball BE-10A2, DE-37A1)  Just inside Belgium, where the world's first international main line crosses the deep valley of the river Gueule, double-track working over the new Hammerbrücke was to replace the long period of single-line working on 15 November 1999.  The two central girders of the old structure were taken down on 12-13 July 1999, and piers #1 and 3 were blown up on 13 August.  The central pier #2 was reduced in height to some 8m, leaving it with its commemorative plaque as a monument to the Belgian soldiers killed dynamiting the strategic viaduct in May 1940.  (Trans-fer, #113, October 1999)

0412][BE] Y Zaventem - Bruxelles-National-Aéroport/Brussel-Nationaal-Luchthaven: (R99.0326; Ball 10B2)  Double-track working on line 36C to the airport was restored 26 September 1999.  Y Zaventem north-side lead (track A) had been out of use from 22 March to 1 May 1998 and again from 16 October 1998 to 25 September 1999, with all trains in both directions using Y Zaventem south-side track B to run between line 36 and line 36C.  (Trans-fer, #113, October 1999)

0413][BE] Libramont - Bastogne-Sud - Bastogne-Nord: (BLN 752.0147; Ball 17B3)  During summer 1999 track between Bastogne-Sud and Nord was lifted, and a new road was laid on the platform side of the station-building at Bastogne-Sud.  (Trans-fer, #113, October 1999)  Each year since May 1993 the SNCB public timetable has repeated the fiction that Libramont - Bastogne trains are only temporarily (provisoirement) replaced by buses, but the reality is that neither the railway nor the Région Wallonne will stump up the costs of refettling line 163 and reintroducing passenger trains, now increasingly unlikely.  

0414][DE] Bohmte - Schwegermoor: (Ball 25A2-25A3)  A Museums-Eisenbahn Minden special on 2 January 2000 is likely to have been the last passenger working on the non-DB, freight-only Wittlager Kreisbahn.  (IBSE)

0415][DE] Hannover S-Bahn: (R99.0380; Ball 26B2)  The first section of Line S1 is the upgraded existing Hannover Hbf - H-Nordstedt - H-Leinhausen - Seelze east-west line, which has had a StadtExpress local service from about 1997 while still awaiting its purpose-built S-Bahn units.  The rest of the planned system is likewise to use existing routes, except for the new Langenhagen - Flughafen Hannover S-Bahn branch.  This appears ready, but no opening date has yet been announced.  The through station H-Messe/Laatzen has a bay-platform for terminating S-Bahn trains during events at the exhibition site.  The new Class 424 Adtranz electric units were planned to be in service from summer 1999, but their electrical equipment has been causing interference with track-circuits, and in December 1999 they were still banned from DB tracks.  It is hoped the problems will be resolved before the next big exhibition.  Dates of key events in 2000 are CeBIT (24 Feb-1 Mar) Hannover Messe (20-25 Mar), EXPO2000 (1 Jun-31 Oct), and in 2001, CeBIT (22-28 Mar) and Hannover Messe (23-28 Apr).

0416][DE] Chemnitz Hbf - Stollberg (Sachsen): (BLN 840.0616; Ball 46B1-43A1)  Chemnitzer Verkehrs AG, who run the city trams and buses, and Autobus Sachsen GmbH, who run regional buses, jointly set up City-Bahn Chemnitz GmbH to take over passenger services on this 23km DB line.  Initially the stock used was two railbuses of Karsdorfer Eisenbahn, but the plan is to make a running connection from the Chemnitz tram network at Altchemnitz and electrify out to Stollberg at 700V dc.  At the end of 1999, six trams were ordered for Stollberg services.  

0417][DE] Haldensleben West - Weferlingen (- Grasleben - Helmstedt): (BLN 850.0266; Ball 27B2; KBS314)  Several quarries in this area remain rail-served.  A branch diverges about 1km east of Süplingen station, heads south for about 2km to serve Steinwerk Eiche and continues for about 1km to terminate at Steinwerk Dönstedt.  From nearby Flechtingen station on the Haldensleben - Oebisfelde line, a second mineral branch, not shown by Ball, heads west for 5km, serving a quarry from which trains were being collected by ex-DSB Class MY diesel locomotives of private-sector operators Norddeutsche Eisenbahngesellschaft.  Weferlingen Zuckerfabrik, despite its name, has no sugar factory apparent, but hosts stored (or dumped) rolling-stock of the Braunschweigische Landes-Museums-Eisenbahn preservation group.  On a casual visit to the site in October 1999, our reporter was repulsed by a man carrying a wooden club like a baseball bat !

0418][DE] Trier Nord (Moselbahnhof) - Ruwer West (- Leiwen - Neumagen-Dron - Bernkastel Nord - Zeitingen - Traben-Trarbach Ost - Enkirch - Reil - Bullay Süd): (Ball 47B1 not shown)  On 2 April 1903 Moselbahn AG of Trier opened 29km of standard-gauge railway from Trier Nord eastwards along the steep southern bank of the river Mosel to Leiwen.  The July 1944 wartime Kursbuch shows the line as extending at that time 102.2km to Bullay Süd, with (allegedly) five Trier - Bullay round-trips daily, taking c.3h45min for the one-way journey, plus some weekday short workings.  By the January 1947 Kursbuch the service was (perhaps more realistically) shown as running weekdays-only, with in effect four round-trips.  The whole line east of Ruwer closed by 1968, but left until at least 1995 a curious trace in the shape of suffixes added to the names of certain north-bank stations on the Bullay (DB) - Reil (DB) - Traben-Trarbach (DB) Moselwein-Bahn, no doubt originally to distinguish them from their Moselbahn rivals on the south bank.  

In 1999 a mere 4.6km of the Moselbahn remains in use, for freight only, worked by DB though still privately owned (by Schauinsland-Reise Herresthal GmbH of Trier, according to EK-Verlag's Privatbahn-Lexikon 1991).  Access is by the DB Trier Hbf - Ruwer (- Hermeskeil) line, closed to passengers 31 May 1969 and to freight beyond Ruwer 10 August 1998 (BLN 850.0265).  Reversal at Ruwer DB back via north-facing points leads to a set of south-facing points on the Moselbahn just south of their Ruwer West station.  The Moselbahn heading south-west then parallels the DB back from Ruwer towards Trier, passing under the Trier Hbf - Pfalzel (- Bullay - Koblenz) main line just north of Trier DB carriage and locomotive depot.  The remnant's present function seems to be to serve some private sidings on the way into Trier Nord (also known as Moselbahnhof).  On 10 October 1999 an IBSE charter train reached one of these sidings.  

0419][DE] Annaberg-Buchholz ob Bahnhof - Königswalde ob Bf - Cranzahl - Kurort Oberwiesenthal: (BLN 851.0306; Ball 54B3; KBS518)  The plans of local authority Landkreis Annaberg to allow through running to the 750mm-gauge line in the Erzgebirge involve laying narrow-gauge track on disused standard-gauge alignment from Annaberg's old upper station south-east to the old upper station at Königswalde, building a new north-to-west curve on to the (Bärenstein -) Königswalde - Cranzahl (- Annaberg-Buchholz Süd) standard-gauge line (KBS517), and dual-gauging south-west to Cranzahl.  Progress on this quite ambitious project seems recently to have slowed.  (World Steam, December 1999; IBSE)

0420][AT] Innsbruck - Bergisel - Igls light rail: (BLN 810.0440; Ball 79B1 not shown)  Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe's scenic but threatened metre-gauge line #6 was reprieved for the three years ending December 1999.  It seems experience has been sufficiently satisfactory to allow a further three years of continued operation (2000-02) before another review takes place.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, December 1999, quoting Eisenbahn)

0421][AT] (Oberwart ÖBB - Rotenturm an der Pinka SRB -) Grosspetersdorf - Rechnitz: (BLN 836.0508, 838.0578, 843.074; Ball 75B1-84B3)  Südburgenländische Regionalbahn's summer 1999 leaflet showed their weekend tourist trains running only from their headquarters at Grosspetersdorf to Rechnitz, a further cutback.  The 1998 leaflet showed SRB trains on the Oberwart ÖBB - Rechnitz section and the 1997 one also on the Oberwart - Oberschützen ÖBB branch.  

0422][SE] Sweden: rail owners and operators: (BLN 829.0311)  Nationalised rail-infrastructure company Banverket own most Swedish tracks, but some Stockholm suburban lines - including the 891mm-gauge 1500V dc Roslagsbana operated by Vivendi's Linjebuss (BLN 841.012) - belong to Stockholm county (Storstockholms Lokaltrafiks Järnvägar or SLJ).  Inlandsbanan AB (http://www.inlandsbanan.se/) own their own very lengthy Mora - Östersund - Arvidsjaur - Gällivare line (BLN 818.034; Ball 14A2-3A3) with its summer-only trains.  The new airport line, (Stockholm -) Skavstaby - Arlanda - Myrbacken (R99.0188, 0226; 23B2), belongs directly to the government rather than BV.  Sweden's King and Queen officially opened Arlandabanan on 24 November, and the first Stockholm - Arlanda public train set off at 04:35 on 25 November 1999, operated by the Arlanda Express consortium (http://www.arlandaexpress.com/index2.htm), who have traffic rights for 50 years.  

BSM-Järnväg operate various local passenger services around Nässjö (Ball 22A1): Jönköping - Vaggeryd; Nässjö - Vaggeryd - Värnamo - Halmstad; Nässjö - Åseda; Nässjö - Hultsfred; Tranås - Nässjö - Stockaryd and in 2000 also Nässjö - Jönköping - Falköping - Skövde.  BK-Täg (http://www.bktag.se/) operate local trains Borlänge - Malung (14B1-14A1) and Ystad - Simrishamn (BLN 822.0124; 25B1) and from 13 June 2000 also Hallsberg - Lidköping - Herrljunga (22A2-21B3).  Three new operators began from 10 January 2000.  Tägkompaniet (http://www.tagkom.com/) operate Göteborg / Stockholm - Umeå / Luleå / Narvik NSB long-distance night trains, and will run seasonal Boden - Haparanda BV - Tornio VR local trains when this border-crossing line (R99.0187; 3A1-3B1) reopens in summer 2000, carrying the Tägkompaniet name to three countries.  CityPendeln (http://www.citypendeln.se/), a consortium of BK-Tåg, Go-Ahead and Via-GTI, took over Stockholm suburban trains (BLN 841.012) and another consortium of the same three companies, Sydvästen AB (http://www.sydvasten.com/), took over Göteborg - Helsingborg - Malmö trains (R99.0187; 21A1-25A1).

0423][DK][SE][NO] Narvik replaces Thurso:  Since 1 December 1999, Railtrack's Thurso station (58 degrees 35 minutes North) has no longer been the most northerly point on the European connected standard-gauge rail network (BLN 707.08).  Continuous steel rail now runs from Denmark across the Øresund/Öresund to Sweden, though through traffic, freight and passenger, is not to begin till the København - Malmö fixed link opens on 1 July 2000 (R99.0152; Ball DK-4B1, SE-25A2; http://www.oresundskonsortiet.com/newsinfo/press/archive/991201.htm).  The northernmost connected line in Europe is now in Norway, the Riksgränsen - Narvik section of the international railway heading west from the Swedish border to Narvik (BLN 851.0307; Ball 4B3-4A3).  The nearest point to the North Pole is 3.1km east of Narvik and 68 degrees 27 minutes North.  (Today's Railways, #49, January 2000)

0424][PT] Lisboa: Fogueteiro - Foros da Amora - Corroios - Pragal - Campolide - Sete Rios - Entrecampos Poente (- Areeiro - Oriente): (R99.0156; Ball 25B1)  Suburban services over the Ponte 25 de Abril do not feature in CP's timetable nor its September 1999 supplement.  Operators are Fertagus Travessia do Tejo, Transportes SA, trading as Fertagus, with principal shareholders the French utility multinational Vivendi and the Barraqueiro group, associated with SulFertagus, who run buses on the south bank of the Tejo estuary (BLN 832.0386).  Services run from the Fogueteiro end, with first departures 05:35 SSuX, 05:50 SSuO and last arrival back 01:54, basically four trains an hour, but eight an hour in the SSuX peaks, two an hour after 20:50 SSuX, after 15:50 SSuO and all day on winter Sundays after 2 November.  End-to-end journey-time is 27 minutes.  All trains turn back at Entrecampos Poente (R99.0104), though they may at a later stage continue east to Areeiro or - as in the original plan - to Lisboa Oriente.  A useful article on the line appeared in Today's Railways, #31, of July 1998.  CP's Alfa Pendular trains run one round-trip from Pragal over the bridge north to Porto, but services may increase in 2000.  

0425][ES] Mallorca: (R99.0341; Ball 38A1-38A2)  The single-track Inca - Sa Pobla/La Puebla branch closed 31 March 1981, but gauge-conversion of the remaining Palma - Inca section then took place over a two-year period of single-line working.  Services used one 914mm-gauge track while the second track was regauged, then switched to the metre-gauge track while the first one was converted.  In 1983 double-track working resumed, with both tracks metre-gauge.  (The Railways and Tramways of Majorca, Giles Barnabe, Plateway Press, 1993)  By November 1999 the Inca - Sa Pobla trackbed had been cleared and ballasted throughout, and Sa Pobla had a store of sleepers and rail.  However no track was in place on the branch itself, no track work seemed in progress, and the formation was breached in two places for work on a new water-main.  Opening in summer 2000 seems unlikely.  Indeed, since a change of government on the island, it seems priority may be given to reopening from Inca to Manacor, a larger town than Sa Pobla.  (Majorca Daily Bulletin, 12 November 1999)  The only track relaid by November was the short section from Inca to the former branch junction, common to both routes.

0426][CH] (Landquart -) Klosters - Selfranga - Sagliains (- Scuol-Tarasp): (BLN 843.073; Ball 95A3)  On 19 November 1999 the metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn duly opened their 21.5km of new line including the 19.1km Vereinatunnel.  Europe's longest narrow-gauge rail tunnel was started in 1991 and took six months less to complete than originally planned.  It offers a much shorter and faster route to the Lower Engadine Valley for rail passengers, and an all-year-round, all-weather route for drivers, thanks to Selfranga - Sagliains car-ferry trains.  Selfranga station, on the only open-air section of the new line, is not shown in the passenger timetable but Sagliains, with an exchange platform as well as terminal roads for the ferry-trains, is shown footnoted 'for connecting only'.  Sagliains is some 30m from the tunnel mouth, its platform beginning just after the lines from Klosters and from Samedan converge at the eastern vertex of the triangle.  Lavin station is a few km (4 minutes) east of Sagliains towards Scuol-Tarasp, not at the junction as shown in Ball.  Susch, near the south-western vertex where the lines from Klosters and from Scuol-Tarasp converge, is closer to Sagliains, only 2 minutes by the most tightly-timed train.  

The official inauguration began with the running of special trains for invited guests.  St.Moritz - Scuol-Tarasp service trains were already making additional calls at Sagliains on Friday 19 November, but the first train through the tunnel that was open to fare-paying passengers seems to have been the 18:00 from Chur to a rock-concert at Sagliains.  Return transport from this unlikely venue was provided by departures at 02:30 and 02:40 on the Saturday in the three possible directions, with intermediate request-stops.  The first special train in daylight on the Saturday from the north-west end was the very busy 08:30 Landquart - Sagliains, calling at Selfranga and making several stops in the tunnel to cross the first specials arriving from the south-east end and to view a son-et-lumière show.  The train also slowed to enable passengers to see and hear a rock-band in railway-uniform playing on a platform somewhere near the middle!  Sagliains had stalls selling various local produce and souvenirs, and the roofed queuing area for road-vehicles had been partly enclosed by canvas to serve as a catering area with a stage for entertainment.  During the Saturday shuttle trains running in 'flights' through the tunnel mostly comprised rakes of open-sided car-carrying wagons temporarily fitted with four rows of longitudinal benches.  RhB staff manned the ends of each wagon, roped off during the journey, but did not trouble to check all the special CHF10 day-trip tickets available from RhB stations.  Fortunately, given the time needed to exchange passenger loads at each end, the weather stayed fine, despite low temperatures and quite a lot of snow underfoot.  The pattern of service trains and specials, advertised as every 12 minutes from Landquart, plus local shuttles, was repeated on the Sunday.  

Normal passenger service began with the timetable change on the morning of Monday 22 November 1999, the first train being an 05:25 Scuol - Klosters short working.  As well as the vehicle shuttles, Landquart - Scuol trains now provide a basically hourly service, and Scuol-Tarasp, easternmost point on the Swiss rail network, is now only 2h43min from Zürich, with the last outward connection leaving as late as 20:10.  In winter 1999-2000 no passenger train or vehicle shuttle is timetabled over the northwest-to-southwest curve avoiding Sagliains, but RhB plan Engadine Star tourist trains from end-May to mid-October 2000, running in each direction in a huge circle round Graubünden canton (Chur - Landquart - Klosters - Samedan - St.Moritz - Filisur - Chur). 

0427][CH] Luzern - Brünig - Meiringen - Interlaken: (BLN 741.0330, 812.0502, Ball 93B2)  Operation of SBB's sole metre-gauge line, the Brünigbahn, is to be the responsibility of a separate company, perhaps from 1 April 2000. 

0428][HU] Györ - Csorna - Sopron: (Ball 42A1)  An 03:00-12:00 strike on 20 December 1999 hit MÁV, but GySEV services continued to run, using Györ-GySEV station, south-west of Györ main station and not shown in Ball.  This track is rarely used by passenger trains.  

0429][HU] Budapest-Nyugati - Ferihegy?: (BLN 849.0248, R99.0348; Ball 44B2)  Tracks 1-6 at Budapest Nyugati reopened 13 December 1999 after being covered by a car-park in connection with building the massive new shopping and office complex next to the station.  The property-developer has expressed interest in financing a rail link to Budapest Ferihegy airport, south-east of the city, near Szemeretelep on the Budapest - Cegléd line.

0430][HU] Balatonszentgyörgy - Sármellék (- Zalaszentgrót - Zalabér-Batyk): (Ball 46A3)  The former through line following the river Zala is cut back at its southern end to a short unelectrified freight branch to Sármellék, ending 12km from Balatonszentgyörgy and 8km from the junction off the electrified Balatonszentgyörgy - Keszthely line 26a round the western end of Lake Balaton.  Grain is loaded at Sármellék, and in the period up to 18 December 1999 MÁV diesel locomotive M40.235 had the duty, working empty wagons out from Balatonszentgyörgy c.08:30 and back light-engine, returning in the afternoon for the loaded wagons.  

0431][HU][AT][RO][SI] Budapest - Györ - Hegyeshalom (- Wien ÖBB): (Ball 42B1-41B1)  Using European Union pre-accession finance, MÁV plan to upgrade links with Austria, Romania and Slovenia, and equip all three lines with standard European Train Control System transponders.  Included as well as the main line to Wien are Budapest - Cegléd - Szolnok - Békéscsaba - Lökösháza (- Arad CFR) (Ball 47B3-48B2) and (Budapest - Székesfehérvar - Veszprém -) Boba - Ukk - Zalaegerszeg - Zalalövö (- Hodoš SZ - Murska Sobota) (R99.0252; Ball 47A3-46B3).  

0432][RO] Covasna - Comandau: (BLN 804.0295, 808.0396, 812.0512, 839.0606)  The timeless Caile Ferate Forestiere 760mm-gauge line in Romania, famous for its horse-haulage and its steep rope-worked incline, now a protected monument, saw no more than a couple of trains a week during summer 1999, and seems since to have effectively closed, with staff being made redundant.  (World Steam, December 1999)

0433][GR][TR][BG] Pithio - Nea Orestias - Ormenio OSE - Svilengrad BDZ: (Ball 53A2)  The layout of lines along the Greek-Turkish border reflects the history of the area known as Thrace, which was all still within the Ottoman Empire when the railway through Bulgaria to Turkey was completed and the Orient Express first ran through in June 1889 from Paris to Constantinople (not renamed Istanbul till 1930).  Though western Thrace was ceded to Greece in November 1919, part of the line between Pithio and Ormenio, both in Greece, continued to pass through Turkey near Edirne for well over half a century.  On 2 November 1975 OSE brought into use a new line entirely within Greece, running parallel with the main Istanbul - Pehlivanköy - Edirne - Kapikule TCDD - Svilengrad BDZ route.  The Greek and Turkish lines each run close to the border on their own side for some 60km till they converge at Svilengrad, just inside Bulgaria.  In December 1999 the European Union formally welcomed Turkey as a candidate for eventual membership, so the future of the third cross-border route in Thrace, the underused Pithio OSE - Uzonköprü TCDD - Pehlivanköy (- Istanbul) line, may be brighter.  

0434][YU] Kosovo: (BLN 849.0250, R99.0079, 0350)  The United Nations Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) have established a Kosovo Railway Enterprise.  (House of Lords Hansard, 9 December 1999)

0435][AM] Yerevan children's railway:  Like Lviv in Ukraine (R99.0255), Armenia's capital has retained its Soviet-era 750mm-gauge training railway for children (Detskaya Zheleznaya Doroga in Russian), about 1km long and located in the gorge beneath the Hotel Hradzan on tram-route #7.  In 1999 trains ran on summer weekends, hauled by diesel locomotive Tu7.096 and propelled on the return journey, the loop at the far end being out of use.  The loop at the main terminal station held an 0-8-0TT steam locomotive, built Podolsk 1937, out of use but in good external condition.  (World Steam; Continental Railway Journal; LCGB Bulletin, December 1999)

0436][JP] (Hiroshima -) Yokogawa - Kabe - Kake - Sandankyo: (Quail 3B2)  Yokogawa - Kabe opened 1909-11 as 762mm-gauge, was electrified 1928 and regauged to 1067mm in 1930.  The line was nationalised and extended to Aki-Imuro in 1936, to Kake in 1954 and to Sandankyo in 1969.  Like many Japanese secondary lines, the Kabe line was planned to be connected at both ends, running coast-to-coast to Hamada on the Sea of Japan, but Sandankyo - Hamada was never built.  Hiroshima - Kabe services in 1999 are electric units running through city suburbs for some 30 minutes, but JR West's diesel-worked Kabe - Sandankyo rural section beyond, winding its way north up a series of deep and scenic valleys, is under threat of closure, possibly from March 2000.  This branch now has quite a sparse service, for only a few through trains run the full 46km, taking some 90 minutes, with a couple more providing connections at Kake, a small island-platform station with a one-road locomotive-shed housing a spare single railcar. 

0437][NZ] Picton - Blenheim - Christchurch - Invercargill: (BLN 714.027, 784.0344, R99.0394)  Tranz Rail have plans for a new ferry-port at Clifford Bay, near Blenheim.  If this were to replace Picton as the South Island port for inter-island sailings and connecting trains, Wellington - Christchurch journey-time could be cut by at least an hour.  By autumn 1999 Tranz Rail had planning consent for construction, but had not announced a decision.  (http://byrail.wellington.net.nz)

0438][GB] (Belfast -) Bleach Green Jn - Mossley West - Templepatrick - Antrim: (BLN 776.0147, 832.0369, 838.0568)  The GBP14.4M project, formally announced by a Northern Ireland minister on 18 September 1998 and now proceeding slowly, involves relaying 20.8km of single and 2.4km of double 1600mm-gauge track with continuous welded rail, providing a c.300m passing-loop and two new stations, installing track-circuit-block signalling controlled from Belfast signalling-centre, converting four level-crossings to automatic half-barriers, upgrading an existing automatic half-barrier crossing, improving accommodation crossings and other infrastructure works.  Mossley West new station is c.400m west of Mossley old station, with a single platform on the south side of the line serving a new development for Newtownabbey Borough Council who are relocating to the adjacent old Mossley mill.  Templepatrick loop is between Ballymartin level-crossing and Templepatrick old station, with Templepatrick new station a short distance further west on the north side of the line. (IRRS)

0439][IE] Ireland: cement terminals: (R.0086)  Iarnród Éireann withdrew all public rail freight facilities for general traffic from 11 April 1991, but palletised bagged cement continued to be handled as public traffic.  Killarney freight terminal closed 17 April 1996, with most of the site being sold for commercial development, and by early 1998 Gort, Nenagh, Roscrea, Rathmore, Arklow, Gorey, Enniscorthy and Wexford had all ceased to be rail-served, though the last four remained as road-fed terminals.  Millstreet had ceased to handle cement, but still loads timber.  In 1999 the Platin cement factory on the Drogheda - Navan branch (R.0399) was still supplying bagged cement by rail to Dublin North Wall, Carlow, Kilkenny, Mullingar, Longford and Sligo, and the Limerick factory on the Limerick Check - Castlemungret branch (R.0361, 0404) by rail to Ennis, Portlaoise, Thurles, Clonmel, Waterford, Charleville, Mallow, Cork and Tralee.  The future of Dublin's Cabra bulk-cement depot on the Glasnevin Jn - Islandbridge Jn line seems uncertain.  Part of the site has been sold for housing, and no sign of rail or any other activity was seen when our reporter passed on 27 November 1999.  (Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, #115, Jun 1991, #135, Feb 1998, #141(sic), Oct 1999; Irish Railway News, Vol.5, #1)

0440][FR] Paris métro: Gare du Nord:  When Ligne 5 was first completed to Gare du Nord in 1907 it ended in a double-track balloon-loop with an island-platform station on its west side.  The Ligne 5 extension north to Église de Pantin, delayed by the outbreak of World War II, opened in 1942, the new line following the east side of the old loop, with a new Gare du Nord station further north.  Still visible from Ligne 5 trains just north of Gare de l'Est Verdun station is the junction on to the west side of the old loop, now connected at its south end only.  This junction leads also to non-passenger connections to Ligne 2 west of Anvers and, with reversal, to Ligne 4 between Gare du Nord and Barbès-Rochechouart.  Only the inner loop track remains through the old Ligne 5 Gare du Nord platform, now used for training, and this track has an inspection-pit, so that staff can be shown underfloor equipment on the trains.  Buildings accommodating classrooms and the like occupy the site of the outer loop, but two tracks continue beyond, round the north end of the loop as far as a wall blocking off the training area from the present Ligne 5 running line.  Three trains are used by the training school, one stabling in the platform and the other two in the sidings beyond.  As most seats have been removed from these units, they seem to be permanently allocated to training.  The quite lengthy connecting line between Lignes 5 and 2 is also used as part of the training facility, and nameboards 'Gare de l'Est', 'Gare du Nord' and 'Anvers' are attached to the tunnel-wall, forming dummy stations at which trainee-drivers practise stopping.  Various other items of equipment along the tunnel have signs indicating that they are for training only.  Occasional excursions traverse the voies d'instruction, including the nocturnal railtour that visited about 03:30-04:20 on 5 December 1999.  One of the training trains was shunted to a loop towards Anvers so that the tour-train could run into the old Gare du Nord platform, where a choice of pink and white champagne was served!

0441][FR] Paris métro: Gambetta - Porte des Lilas - Pré-Saint-Gervais:  From 1905 to 1921 Gambetta was the easternmost station on Ligne 3, equipped with a double-track balloon-loop which had separate island platforms for arrivals and departures, with trains apparently running empty round most of the loop.  In November 1921 the line was extended to Porte des Lilas and Pré-Saint-Gervais.  Eastbound Ligne 3 trains continued to use the old arrival platform at Gambetta, still running most of the way round the loop there before gaining the new line north-eastwards.  Westbound trains from Porte des Lilas ran via the old departure platform at Gambetta.  Through Ligne 3 trains never worked north of Porte des Lilas, but turned there on another balloon-loop.  Beyond, the short 767m Porte des Lilas - Pré-Saint-Gervais section had a shuttle service from 1921 to 1939, and again from April 1952 to May 1956 during experiments with pneumatic-tyred rolling-stock, but no service trains now run.  The present platforms at Porte des Lilas are not on the originally-planned alignment, and the disused station for trains to and from Pré-Saint-Gervais can be glimpsed as one departs from Porte des Lilas south-west to Gambetta, or from the platforms at Saint-Fargeau, the first station south, by looking straight ahead to the north.  (This section is not on a curve as suggested by Quail's Paris railways map.)  The only significant section of the Métro to close, Porte des Lilas - Pré-Saint-Gervais is now used for staff training, and its platforms, one never used, are sometimes called for when filming requires a Métro location.  Occasional excursions also cover the track, as on the night of 4-5 December 1999.  

In 1971 Gambetta - Porte de Bagnolet - Galliéni opened as an eastward extension of Ligne 3, diverging just east of Gambetta's former arrival platform, which was removed.  The first station west of Gambetta, Martin Nadaud, which had been very close, had its platforms extended eastwards to form the new Gambetta Ligne 3 station. Gambetta - Porte des Lilas became Ligne 3bis, running as a self-contained shuttle and using the former departure platform at Gambetta, now a dead-end.

The visitor to Gambetta station can see several indications of this complex history, the most obvious being the access from the former Martin Nadaud station, requiring a lengthy walk east along the original Martin Nadaud platforms, fenced off from the running lines.  From the westbound Ligne 3 platform the passenger walkway to Ligne 3bis, the original Gambetta departure platform, uses a short section of what was once the running tunnel.  East of Gambetta, the site of the original arrival platform can be distinguished by the wider-than-usual running tunnel, accommodating a middle siding, and still lined with the characteristic bevelled white tiles found at stations of the former Chemin der Fer Métropolitain de Paris.  Most of the original balloon-loop survives, as part of Lignes 3 and 3bis, as an empty-stock connection between them, or as a pair of dead-end sidings off this connection.  The sidings can be seen from Ligne 3bis trains, but stock seems not to stable there regularly.

0442][FR] Paris métro: Jasmin - Porte d'Auteuil - Porte Molitor - Porte de Saint-Cloud:  When Ligne 9 was extended from Exelmans to Porte de Saint-Cloud in September 1923 an additional Métro service was planned for special events at the Parc des Princes sports stadium nearby.  For this purpose a somewhat circuitous 1.83km single-track balloon-loop, entirely underground, was built from Jasmin via Porte d'Auteuil (on what is now Ligne 10) and Porte Molitor to Porte de Saint-Cloud.  The running tunnels, track and electrification were all duly completed and - to cope with the planned large numbers of sports enthusiasts - a broad island platform was constructed at Porte Molitor on a short two-track section of the loop, in a station tunnel of typical Métro design.  However, access to the surface was never provided and passenger trains never ran before the scheme was abandoned.  The loop, running partly beneath the Boulevard Murat and dubbed la voie Murat, is still a through line, now used to stable rolling-stock.  On the concourse at Porte d'Auteuil station is a noticeboard with a large track-map of the area, including Porte Molitor, showing the berthing-locations where trains are stabled.  

0443][FR] Sembadel - Estivareilles: (BLN 815.0563; Ball 55B1-56A2)  Preservation group AGRIVAP (Les amis du musée de la machine agricole et à vapeur), operators on the 93km Pont-de-Dore - Courpière - Ambert - Sembadel section, plan to extend seasonal tourist trains to run to Estivareilles in summer 2000.  (L'Écho du Rail, #203, December 1999)

0444][DE] (Hövelhof -) Verl - Gütersloh Nord - Harsewinkel (- Ibbenbüren): (Ball 25B1-24B2)  Two sections of the private Teutoburger Wald Eisenbahn, Gütersloh - Verl and Gütersloh - Harsewinkel, may reopen as passenger branch lines in 2004, following recent political decisions in Nordrhein-Westfalen.  So too may the nearby Lemgo - Barntrup line (BLN 793.011; 25B1-26A1), whose track may be bought from DB Netz by the private and electrified Barntrup - Rinteln Süd Extertalbahn (BLN 828.0284).  Since closure in 1966 of the line from Rinteln DB station through the town to Rinteln Süd, the junction at Barntrup has been the Extertalbahn's only link with the national rail network.  

0445][DE] Herborn (Dillkreis) - Hartenrod (Kreis Biedenkopf) (- Niederwalgern): (Ball 39A1-39B1; KBS624)  The Aar-Salzböde-Bahn may close to passengers at end-May 2000.  In the province (Land) of Hessen local transport matters have been delegated (perhaps unwisely) to the counties (Kreise).  Local politicians are unwilling to pay for badly needed engineering work on the line, maybe over-estimated by DB Netz at EUR25M, and closure would also allow savings to be made by not building a bridge where a planned new road is to cross the line at Herbornseelbach.  With no evening and weekend services, the branch's push-pull sets (four 1960s Silberling coaches with a Class 216 locomotive) are not that well patronised.  Also in Hessen, not far to the south (49B3), the (Friedberg - Beienheim -) Wölfersheim-Södel - Hungen section of KBS632 is similarly threatened with closure at end-May 2000 (as foreshadowed in BLN 712.04 of 1993!).  Giessen county council are no longer willing to pick up the deficit for the northern part of the line, even though the adjacent county, Wetteraukreis, plan to continue supporting Beienheim - Wölfersheim-Södel trains on their own territory.  As with KBS624, patronage is average.  The present service is provided by new Stadler GTW 6/6 light diesel railcars of the Hessen-owned Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn (BLN 846.0141).

0446][DE] Köln - Montabaur - Frankfurt-am-Main / Wiesbaden: (R.0069; Ball 48B3)  The high-speed Schnellfahrstrecke under construction is to have a new intermediate station at Montabaur.  Track-laying there is starting in early 2000, and to provide rail access to the works, a temporary siding is being installed near the home-signal of the present Montabaur station on the Limburg (Lahn) - Siershahn line (KBS629).  On 7 July 2000 the existing line is to be connected to the new station, and the old station is to be abandoned. 

0447][DE] Kaiserslautern Hbf - Lampertsmühle-Otterbach - Lauterecken-Grumbach: (Ball 56B3-48B1)  Rheinland-Pfalz are considering lightweight diesel cars running from the main station through the streets of Kaiserslautern via the Rathaus to rejoin the existing DB line at Kaiserslautern Westbahnhof, heading north to Lampertsmühle, then serving both the Lautertalbahn to Lauterecken-Grumbach (KBS673) and the Bachbahn to Weilerbach.  The former Lampertsmühle-Otterbach - Weilerbach - Reichenbach-Steegen branch closed to passengers in May 1972, to freight beyond Weilerbach in 1988 (after severe deterioration of the track) and completely in May 1995.  Lampertsmühle - Weilerbach is heavily overgrown with track in bad condition, while the Weilerbach - Reichenbach-Steegen section is now a well-used cycleway.  

0448][SE] Jörn - Arvidsjaur: (Ball 8A3-2B1)  Linking Sweden's northern main line (Stockholm - Jörn - Boden) with the parallel Inlandsbana (Mora - Östersund - Arvidsjaur - Gällivare) from 1 December 1928, this 75km cross-country route closed to passengers and freight 27 May 1990, except for a 5km Norlunda - Arvidsjaur stub retained for freight.  (Svenska Järnvägsklubben: Järnvägsdata 1999)  No train has used the line for many years, though recently rail-cycle hire (Dressinuthyrning) has been possible from May to September (http://www.arvidsjaurturism.se/sjvg.htm).  In 1999 the track was in poor condition and the line was threatened with being lifted, but it now seems it may be reopened for freight, and at least part of it may be visited, from the Arvidsjaur end, by SMoK's autumn railtour (29 August - 10 September 2000).  (Motorvagnen, 4/1999, published by Svenska Motorvagnsklubben, the Swedish Railcar Society)

0449][PT] Portugal: closed, disused and non-passenger lines at end-1999: south: (Ball 25-26-27)  South of the river Tejo, the Pinhal Novo - Montijo Ramal do Montijo (BLN 819.056), whose junction was severed in the mid-1990s, was lifted during the week ending 20 November 1999, and is to become a cycleway.  The Torre da Gadanha - Montemor-o-Novo Ramal de Montemor was lifted during the 1990s as was the Évora - Mora Ramal de Mora.  The Évora - Reguengos de Monsaraz Ramal de Reguengos still has occasional sugar-beet traffic (BLN 806.0342-3) and was visited by a PTG railtour on 26 June 1999.  The Évora - Estremoz section of the Linha de Évora (BLN 842.039) still sees a daily cement train.  The Estremoz - Portalegre section has no regular traffic, though CP keep it available as a south-north emergency link, as before.  The Estremoz - Vila Viçosa Ramal de Vila Viçosa is still in place but in a poor state, without traffic, the last train being the PTG railtour on 27 June 1999. The recently reopened Beja - Moura Ramal de Moura had no traffic in late 1999, but the track was in reasonable condition, only lightly overgrown, and should host a PTG railtour on 31 January 2000.  This tour will also visit Ermidas-Sado - Sines (BLN 842.038), the Linha de Sines, which continues to see heavy coal trains daily from Sines port, though its passenger station is now cut off from the rails.  The 8.2km Castro Verde-Almodôvar - Aljustrel Ramal de Aljustrel sees occasional freight use.  The 2.2km Funcheira avoiding line shown on the 1994 Quail map - long installed but not commissioned - was brought into use at the beginning of December 1999, giving a shorter journey for the Sociedade Mineira de Neves-Corvo traffic between the pyrites mines on the Ourique - Neves-Corvo branch and Praias-Sado near Setúbal (BLN 825.0210).  The 1km Vila Real de Santo Antonio - Guadiana extension still has track but is disused and rubbish-strewn (R.0013).  (Portuguese Traction Group newsletter #3, Dec 1999; http://www.ptg.org.uk, Jan 2000)

0450][PT] Portugal: closed, disused and non-passenger lines at end-1999: north: (Ball 7-8-17)  The Valença do Minho - Monção Ramal de Monção is still in place but heavily overgrown and in a poor state, breached by a road just west of Monção station (BLN 777.0174).  The Contumil - Leixões Linha de Leixões has regular freight (BLN 850.0274) but the 1.5km Leixões - Leixões-Serpa Pinto end-section was lifted before the 1990s.  Regauging now under way on the Santo Tirso - Guimarães section of the Linha de Guimarães (R.0011) will see broad-gauge passenger trains extended about a kilometre beyond the present metre-gauge Guimarães station.  The Guimarães - Fafe section, closed 1986 (BLN 697.08), is now a tarred cycleway.  The Póvoa de Varzim - Famalicão metre-gauge Ramal de Famalicão was lifted during 1999, though long-term plans exist for its possible incorporation into the new Porto metro system (R.0280).  The metre-gauge Linha do Tâmega still has Livração - Amarante passenger trains (BLN 809.0418) and plans exist for reopening the Amarante - Arco de Baúlhe section which, although heavily overgrown in places, is complete and in very good condition with all infrastructure in place.  On the metre-gauge Linha do Corgo Régua - Vila Real trains continue (BLN 809.0418) and plans exist to reopen 3.7km of the Vila Real - Chaves section north to Abambres, beyond which the line is expected to become a cycleway.  Some lifting has taken place at the Chaves end.  The Tua - Mirandela and Mirandela - Carvalhais sections of the metre-gauge Linha do Tua have separate passenger services (BLN 848.0221, 850.0275, R.0338) and plans exist to restore trains north to Macedo de Cavaleiros on the Carvalhais - Bragança section.  Some of the track has been stolen, though no official lifting has taken place.  Long-term plans exist for possible reopening of the Pocinho - Mos section of the Pocinho - Mos - Duas Igrejas-Miranda metre-gauge Linha do Sabor (BLN 825.0209), but 1999 saw the first official lifting, possibly of all the track east of Mos.  The beautiful Sernada do Vouga - Viseu Ramal de Viseu was lifted during the 1990s (BLN 851.0310).  The Santa Comba Dão - Viseu Linha do Dão, also metre-gauge, closed 1988 (BLN 697.08) and had lost its track at the Santa Comba Dão end by December 1997.  Lifting was completed during 1999, but plans exist for possible reopening as a broad-gauge branch to serve the important town of Viseu.  (Portuguese Traction Group newsletter #3, December 1999)

0451][IT] Paola - Sibari: (BLN 780.0248; Ball 58A1-58A2)  The short Cosenza avoiding line, a concrete viaduct for most of its length, is of recent origin and did not gain a passenger service until June 1996, when a Roma - Crotone inter-city working was routed that way in each direction.  From 1997 a Paola - Bari express also used the curve each way.  Since September 1999 these trains have all reversed at Cosenza, leaving the curve again without any passenger service.  

0452][IT][CH] Brig SBB - Simplon tunnel - Iselle di Trasquera FS - Domodossola:  (Ball IT-41A2, CH-100A3-100B2)  The first three stations south of the Simplon tunnel, Iselle di Trasquera, Varzo and Preglia, are all in Italy and owned by FS, and the electrification masts are of Italian tubular design, but the current is Swiss 15kV 16.7Hz and only Swiss trains call.  Passenger trains not using dual-system equipment change traction at Domodossola, where electric locomotives are fly-shunted back to their own end of the station.  Freight trains not requiring remarshalling change locomotives in sidings to the north-east of the passenger station, but both SBB and Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon trains can be seen running beyond these exchange sidings on a 15kV 16.7Hz electrified single track heading south parallel with the 3000V dc main line and passing beneath it to reach the very large marshalling-yard on the west side a few km south of Domodossola.  

0453][CH] (Flamatt -) Laupen - Gümmenen: (BLN 772.077, 791.0477; Ball 92A3)  The private Sensetalbahn now have eight four-seat rail-cycles at Laupen for hire on their de-electrified and otherwise disused standard-gauge line to Gümmenen.  The trips by bicycle-trolley (Velo-Draisinenfahrten or voyages en draisine-vélo) are available 09:00-18:00 daily all year at CHF85 the 75-minute round-trip - with a surcharge of CHF100 for a 50-minute single journey!  It is not clear whether these are average or maximum journey-times, but departure and return times are by arrangement. Book at least two hours in advance via bahnhof.laupen@laupenamt.ch; fax +41 31 740 62 99; telephone +41 31 740 62 11; or Sensetalbahn AG, Murtenstrasse 17, CH-3177 Laupen.  The line has hosted the world-championships for human-powered rail-vehicles, according to the website http://www.laupenamt.ch.  Motor-draisine trips are also available.  A preservation group are also running special trains on the Laupen - Gümmenen line on four days in 2000 (Laupen - Gümmenen - Kerzers - Lyss - Murten on 26 March, and Laupen - Flamatt - Laupen - Gümmenen - Laupen on 24 April, 3 September and 26 December).  Bookings to Verein Dampfbahn Bern, Postfach 5841, CH-3001 Bern, telephone +41 31 741 01 34.

0454][CH] (Brig -) Andermatt - Disentis/Mustér: (BLN 837.0559)  The new tunnel on the metre-gauge Furka Oberalp's short realigned section at Disentis (BLN 778.0198; Ball 94B2) was in use by the end of 1999.

0455][CH] (Arth-Goldau -) Brunnen - Flüelen (- Andermatt): (Ball 94A3)  SBB has two different routes between Brunnen and Flüelen on the climb south to the Gotthard tunnel.  The original single track runs close to the shore of the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne), passing through a series of short tunnels.  The second track follows a more direct route through longer tunnels, though the two lines come together through Sisikon station.  Reversible signalling is installed, but left-hand running is normal, so northbound descending trains usually run alongside the lake and southbound ascending ones through the newer tunnels.  

0456][CH] (Montreux -) Chamby - Blonay (- Vevey): (BLN 813.0529, 816.0606, 836.0525; Ball 98Al; SBB 113)  This section of metre-gauge line opened 1 October 1902, closed 21 May 1966, reopened for CF Musée Blonay-Chamby trains 20 July 1968 and for an ordinary passenger service 24 May 1998.  (Schienennetz Schweiz, second edition)  Now it seems that the Chemin de fer léger de la Riviera through services from Montreux are to cease running over the museum line at end-May 2000.  (http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/3504/agenda.html) 

0457][SK] Tisovec - Revúca - Slavošovce: (Ball 43A2 not shown)  The dismembering of Czechoslovakia under German pressure in 1938 led to parts of southern Slovakia being ceded to Hungary, and was perhaps the reason for this alternative route entirely within Slovakian territory, begun in 1941 but never completed.  Post-war Czechoslovakia, with its lost land restored, abandoned the project in 1952, but much heavy civil-engineering work can still be seen.  From Tisovec on the Brezno - Jesenské line, the route headed north-east through a 2km tunnel dug under the mountain-pass at Dielik, and much of the formation was completed onward to Revúca on the Plešivec - Murán branch.  Beyond, a large concrete-arch viaduct was built across a valley near Magnezitovce, followed by another 2km tunnel before the route curved north into Slavošovce. 

0458][HU][SK] Nógrádszakál MÁV - Bušince ZSR - Malé Straciny: (Ball 43A1-42B1)  Built in the late 1890s when the whole area was part of Hungary, the Lucenec - Kalonda ZSR - Ipolytarnoc MÁV - Nógrádszakál - Balassagyarmat line became a secondary cross-border route when Czechoslovakia was created in 1919.  In Communist times Hungary and Czechoslovakia co-operated sufficiently to build a 13km international branch, opened 12 September 1951, from Nógrádszakál in Hungary northwards to tap the Slovak coalfield at Malé Straciny.  This line was extended westwards from Malé Straciny to Vel'ký Krtiš on 28 February 1978, but plans to extend from Vel'ký Krtiš south-west to Šahy, possibly with the intention of avoiding the transit through Hungary, were abandoned.  Lucenec - Vel'ký Krtiš passenger trains ran until about 1989, and Lucenec - Balassagyarmat international services lasted until the early 1990s.  In late 1999 the only remaining traffic on the branch, coal from Malé Straciny via Nógrádszakál and Lucenec to the power-station at Zemianske Kostol'any, south of Prievidza, is threatened by cheaper Polish coal, and ZSR may close this isolated section of their network. 

0459][HU] Miskolc Kilián-Észak - Papírgyár - Mahóca (- Taksalápa - Farkasgödör-Örvénykö): (BLN 777.0175; Ball 43A1; MÁV 331)  Hungary's forests remain state-owned but private-sector timber companies now operate the forestry railways, though they have 50-70% of their shares held by the state, and the lines have retained the ÁEV designation (Állami Erdei Vasutak = State Forestry Railways).  From Miskolc MÁV station, tram #1 runs the 6km to Miskolc Kilián-Észak ÁEV station, the present inner terminus of the 760mm-gauge Lillafüredi vonal (vonal = line), now owned by Északerdö Rt.  Some 4km out along the Miskolc - Lillafüred ÁEV 'main line' is Papírgyár, junction for the 12km branch to Mahóca.  This line once extended some 7km further, but track beyond Taksalápa has been unofficially removed.  Since summer 1998 the branch has had two pairs of tourist trains on May-September weekends (SSuO Miskolc 08:45 - 10:00 Mahóca 12:00 - 12:40 Papírgyár 13:20 - 14:00 Mahóca 16:30 - 17:40 Miskolc), a pattern different to the single round-trip at 08:45 shown in the 1999-2000 MÁV timetable.  It appears that weekday trains can be chartered.

0460][JP] Nogata - Orio - Wakamatsu: (Quail 2C1)  In the north of Japan's southern island of Kyushu, new masts and overhead line equipment have appeared on the Chikuho line sections south and north of the junction at Orio, so local diesel-hauled trains may not last long.  In October 1999 their activity levels were much reduced, but the elderly Class DD51 Bo-2-Bo diesel locomotives still had three passenger duties a day, hauling six Type 50 coaches on well-filled peak-hour trains: (duty 1) #2630 Nogata 06:53 - 08:10 Mojiko; (duty 2) #6532 Iizuka 06:44 - 08:06 Wakamatsu plus #6559 Wakamatsu 16:00 - 17:11 Iizuka; and (duty 3) #2659 Mojiko 17:18 - 19:11 Iizuka.  These may be the last regular DD51-hauled daytime trains in Japan, though DD51s also work Hakodate - Sapporo overnight sleepers on the northern island of Hokkaido (Quail 6A3-6C2), and the Kyoto - Izumoshi Izumo sleeper service (Quail 3F2-3C1).  On JR Kyushu's Tosu - Kurume - Oita line, Class DE10 Bo-A1A diesel locomotives still retain some passenger duties (Quail 2C2-2D2).  Hauled trains can normally be identified in the JR timetable by a train number not including the suffixed letter that indicates a type of multiple-unit.

0461][CA] Toronto - Cochrane, ON: (BLN 813.0534)  Ontario Northland Railway's Northlander train may again be threatened.  Ontario's provincial government, owners of ONR, are considering three cost-cutting options: reduction from six to three trains a week, buses on part of the route, and buses replacing the whole service. (Railpace Magazine, Nov 1999)

0462][CA] (Ottawa -) Hull, QC - Montebello (- Montréal, QC):  Chemin de Fer Québec-Gatineau (QGRY), a Canadian 'short line' company who are part of the US group Genesee Rail-One, now own the ex-Canadian Pacific Ottawa - Montréal line which runs parallel to and north of the Rivière des Outaouais, the boundary between Québec and Ontario.  From 12 November 1997 they took over the steam tourist-train operation that began in 1992 offering 32km rides north up the west bank of the Gatineau river (Hull - Wakefield, QC; BLN 775.0146).  On 14 October 1999 QGRY ran a steam-and-diesel excursion from Hull 70km east to Montebello along their ex-CP track, presaging a number of such trips planned for 2000.  Curiously for North America, not only is their steam locomotive Swedish (SJ #909), so too is their diesel (SJ #244).  (Railpace Magazine, December 1999)

0463][DE][FI][US] Train-ferry routes of the world: (R.0394)  The Lübeck-Travemünde - Hankö Railship service from Germany across the Baltic to Finland was diverted in 1998 to run Lübeck-Travemünde - Turku.  Since the demise of the 'railroad car-ferries' on Lake Michigan, at least some of which were self-powered vessels, the remaining North American ferry routes seem all to use barges ('carfloats') pushed or pulled by powerful tugs.  Long routes worked thus are Seattle, WA - Ketchikan AK - Sitka AK (Knappton Marine Ferry) and Seattle, WA - Whittier, AK (Crowley Marine Services, an even longer route than CN's Prince Rupert, BC - Whittier, AK Aquatrain), while shorter routes across estuaries are Jersey City (Greenville Yard), NJ - New York (Brooklyn Bay Ridge Yard), NY (New York Cross Harbor Railroad; BLN 840.0641) and Cape Charles, VA - Norfolk (Little Creek), VA (Eastern Shore Railroad).  (US routes shown in SPV Railroad Atlases)

0464][US] (Middleboro, MA - Buzzard's Bay -) Sandwich - Hyannis, MA:  The Bay Colony Railroad owns and operates the freight lines on the Cape Cod peninsula.  Amtrak's seasonal New York, NY - Hyannis, MA Cape Codder ceased after summer 1996 (BLN 782.0286), but some short-distance tourist trains then ran until local concern about discharge of sewage on to the track led to the then operators' authority being withdrawn.  From 28 May 1999, however, Cape Cod Central Railroad recommenced Hyannis - Sandwich tourist trains over BCLR tracks.  (Railpace Magazine, 1999)

0465][US] Edaville Railroad:  The 9km 610mm-gauge Edaville Railroad was built specially as a tourist line around a cranberry farm near South Carver, Massachusetts, south of Boston, as a home for equipment being abandoned by lines in Maine.  After disputes among owners, the line closed 1991, but reopened 4 September 1999.  New operators CranRail Corporation, associated with the nearby Cape Cod Central Railroad, have a 20-year lease.  (Railpace Magazine, Nov. 1999)

0466][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Ridgefield - Hoboken - Jersey City - Bayonne, NJ:  New Jersey Transit awarded the contract to 21st Century Rail Corporation to 'design, build, operate and maintain' the Hudson-Bergen light-rail line, the first part of which is to open 1 March 2000.  The line is eventually to extend 35km from Ridgefield in the north via Hoboken (on the shore of the Hudson river opposite New York City) and Jersey City to Bayonne in the south.  The 'Initial Operating Segment Phase 1' is new formation from Jersey City Exchange Place to Liberty State Park, then largely follows old Lehigh Valley Railroad trackbed south to Bayonne East 34th St, with a branch westward in Jersey City (Liberty State Park - West Side Avenue) being mainly on old Central Railroad of New Jersey trackbed.  Newport - Exchange Place is expected to open December 2000, and Hoboken Terminal - Newport in mid-2001.  Further extensions north and south are not yet timetabled in detail, but NJT hope to complete the whole project in 2003.  When the line's new six-axle articulated cars are delivered, similar vehicles will go also to NJT's Newark City Subway (R.0467).

0467][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Newark Penn Station - Franklin Avenue: (BLN 834.0450)  From 4 October 1999 platforms on NJT's 8km Newark City Subway have ticket-vending machines, and crew on the elderly ex-Minneapolis-St.Paul PCC tramcars no longer collect fares on board.  A new station, Branch Brook Park, is to replace both Heller Parkway and Franklin Avenue at the outer end of the line, and work is under way on a 1.5km extension partly on the trackbed of the Erie Railroad's former West Orange branch to a new station at Bloomfield Avenue, at a quite different location from the existing station of that name.  A longer-term aspiration is to extend the city end of the line north to Newark Broad Street Station.  Around March 2000 the power-supply is to be converted from 600V to 750V dc, and cab-signalling equipment is to be provided, after which the traditional PCC cars (designed before World War II for the electric railroads' Presidents' Conference Committee) will no longer be able to work the line, being replaced by new cars like those on the Hudson-Bergen line (R.0466), the two light-rail lines then coming under common NJT management.  This change will leave only two operators in the USA still with PCC cars: San Francisco's Muni with their F-Market Street heritage line and Boston's MBTA with their Red Line Ashmont - Mattapan shuttle.  (http://www.njtransit.state.nj.us; Railpace Magazine, 1999)

0468][US] Tuckahoe, NJ - Woodbine - Cape May Court House - Cold Spring - Cape May City, NJ:  The former Reading Railroad Cape May branch, now owned by the state of New Jersey, closed to passengers 2 October 1981 and to freight 10 September 1983.  Operators Cape May Seashore Lines are gradually reopening it to tourist trains, which began on the middle section between 4-H Fairgrounds (near Cape May Court House) and Cold Spring 18 May 1996 and extended southwards to Cape May (City) 12 June 1999.  Seasonal trains ran daily to 1 October 1999, then SSuO to 19 December, and resume in spring 2000.  The remainder of the line north to Tuckahoe may reopen during 2000, if the state grants USD2.6M to rehabilitate the Woodbine trestle over the trackbed of the formerly-competing Pennsylvania Railroad branch, now abandoned south of Manumuskin.  (http://www.cmslrr.com/history)

0469][US] (Philadelphia, PA -) Warminster, PA - Ivyland - Lahaska - New Hope, PA:  From 17 July 1999 the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad extended their seasonal weekend New Hope - Lahaska tourist trains to run through to an end-on connection at Warminster with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's Philadelphia - Warminster electric commuter trains on this ex-Reading Railroad line.  (Railpace Magazine, 1999)

0470][US] Philadelphia, PA - Wilmington, DE - Newark - Porter - Dover - Harrington - Laurel, DE:  The Delaware State Fair is held annually in July (24 July in 1999) south of the state capital, Dover, at Harrington on the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Wilmington, DE - Porter - Laurel, DE - Cape Charles, VA route, now a freight-only line mainly owned by Norfolk Southern.  Under charter to Delaware Department of Transportation, NS use Amtrak equipment for a day excursion from Philadelphia's main 30th Street station, running via the Amtrak Northeast Corridor passenger route south-west as far as Newark, Delaware, where the push-pull set reverses to go via Porter to Harrington, part of the original direct Wilmington - Porter route having been lifted.  Passengers need not actually visit the State Fair, and can stay aboard as the train goes forward another 42km to Laurel to await its return trip, offering 134km travel over non-passenger track each way. 

0471][US] White Plains (Indian Head Jn) - Indian Head, MD:  This c.20km line, owned by the US Navy but out of use since 1991, gives rail access to the naval base at Indian Head on the Potomac river south of Washington, DC.  After some short trips within the base perimeter on 2 October 1999, tourist-excursions and dinner-trains were to begin traversing the wetlands along the Mattawoman Creek, operated by the Northern Central Railway but marketed as the 'Indian Head Central Railway - Route of the Blue Heron'.  Excursions are to last 60-90 minutes, which may not be long enough to cover the full length of the line, though dinner-trains will presumably have a rather longer schedule.  NCR may also offer freight service, possibly moving coal to the naval base.  (Railpace Magazine, October 1999)

0472][FR][LU] Thionville - Hettange-Grande SNCF - Bettembourg CFL - Luxembourg: (Ball 18A1-18A2)  Hettange-Grande was to reopen 31 January 2000 as a park-and-ride station for French commuters into Luxembourg.  (CFL Express, #3/1999)

0473][BE] Knokke - Oostende - De Panne: light rail: (R.0323; Ball 7A3)  A feature of Belgium's Kusttram (= coastal tram) line is alternative rail-routes at opening bridges to avoid delay by movements of waterborne traffic.  During a trip on 18 January 2000 a passing ship caused the lengthy and double-track diversionary route at Zeesluis to be used, but not the shorter single-track one at Vaart.  Noteworthy as architecture are De Lijn's somewhat ornate 1920s Vicinal station building at De Haan aan Zee and a rather fine 1920s-style concrete shelter at Bredene Renbaan.  Altered line-diagrams inside the cars reveal the existence of a former stopping-place between Duinpark and Groenendijk-Bad, not now readily visible on the ground.  The modest double-track diversionary route at the harbour bridges in Oostende was blocked and perhaps under repair, though work was not visibly in progress.  The cars normally run through from end to end, but drivers work the line as two routes back-to-back on either side of Oostende.  Knokke - Oostende is route #1 and Oostende - De Panne #2, though the numbers are not displayed on the trams themselves.  Extensive track-relaying on the Raversijde - Ravelingen promenade section meant buses were replacing trams on the 28-minute journey between Oostende Station and Westende-Bad.  Cars were turned using the Marie-Joséplein loop at Oostende and the loop at Westende, taken round as empty stock by a specially rostered shunt driver, while the ordinary drivers worked their normal route #2 duties, driving both bus and tram and transferring at Westende along with their passengers.  The present tram-halt at De Panne Esplanade runs across the site of the former terminal turning-circle, but trams can still turn there using the triangular junction where the short branch diverges to the little tram-depot.  The Oostende-facing curve of this triangle remains as in the previous layout but the one facing Adinkerke was installed when the line was extended to De Panne NMBS station.  

0474][DE] Stendal - Salzwedel - Bergen - Nienbergen - Schnega - Soltendieck - Wieren - Uelzen: (Ball 18B1-18A1; BLN 796.084)  Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahn obtained the concession to build a Stendal - Uelzen railway in 1867 and the State of Bremen was granted a similar concession for the Uelzen - Munster (Örtze) - Soltau - Langwedel line (18A1-17A1) in 1870.  Stendal - Salzwedel opened 15 March 1870 and Salzwedel - Uelzen - Langwedel 15 May 1873, all worked by the Magdeburg company, though it was necessary to change at Uelzen until 1883, when Bremen sold their line to the Prussian State Railway.  The Uelzen - Langwedel line became known as the Amerika Linie, because of heavy emigrant traffic - particularly from Berlin - to Bremerhaven.  However, the Salzwedel - Uelzen route seems always to have had as much traffic from the Magdeburg direction as from Berlin.  In 1897 just one Berlin - Wilhelmshaven train each way ran by this route, and the most important service was a Wien - Dresden - Leipzig - Magdeburg - Stendal - Hamburg-Altona train-pair.  Summer 1914 saw three Berlin - Norddeich expresses run, one of them overnight, plus one Berlin - Oldenburg, and three expresses from Dresden or Leipzig.  The level of service was similar in 1939, with noteworthy workings including a Karlsbad (now Karlovy Vary) - Magdeburg - Hamburg-Altona sleeping-car train and a Dresden - Magdeburg - Hamburg express diesel railcar.  The Berlin - Bremen - Wilhelmshaven diesel express ran via Hannover, however.  

From the end of World War II until the track was lifted about 1948 no passenger train seems to have used the Bergen - Nienbergen section across the Innengrenze between East and West Germany, though a few freight trains may have run.  On the east side of the border a Salzwedel - Bergen passenger service ran until 1952, when the line closed.  On the west side Haltepunkt Nienbergen was the terminus for passenger trains from Uelzen from about the end of 1945 until Wieren - Nienbergen services were withdrawn 25 May 1974.  From 19 December 1999 local services began on the reinstated Salzwedel - Wieren line, calling at two new stations, Schnega and Soltendieck, before converging at Wieren with the Gifhorn - Wissingen - Wieren - Uelzen secondary line and passing beneath the Hannover - Uelzen - Hamburg main line several km south of Uelzen.  While Stendal - Salzwedel - Uelzen is now electrified, Uelzen - Langwedel is not, and the present timetable continues the tradition that the fastest Berlin - Bremen journey is not via Uelzen but via Hannover, often with a change of train there.  Through Berlin - Bremen trains are all via Hannover, comprising one ICE pair (from Bremen very early and from Berlin very late) plus somewhat slow InterRegio workings.  

Uelzen station is in two parts.  The new two-hourly Magdeburg - Stendal - Salzwedel - Uelzen RegionalBahn electric trains and Uelzen - Bremen RegionalExpress diesel trains use tracks 301-304 to the west of the station building and seem able to use only the west side.  Main-line trains generally use tracks 101-103 east of the station building, but can run to or from any platform.  The hourly Uelzen - Hamburg RegionalExpress workings all start and terminate on the west side, but from 28 January 2000 the only trains to and from the Hannover line booked to use the west side and the connection between the two routes south of Uelzen station are:  SE34501 06:06 Uelzen - Kreiensen; and UrlaubsExpress UEx13419 16:58 Hamburg Hbf - Venezia Santa Lucia (which runs Fridays only, not during winter and early spring).  

0475][DE] Munster (Örtze) - Munster Haltepunkt Emminger Weg (Anschluss Bundeswehr): (BLN 834.0439; EGTRE DE00/154; Ball 17B1 not shown)  An increasing proportion of the soldiers stationed at the Bundeswehr camp near Munster are from the 'new provinces' of eastern Germany rather than the Rheinland.  The military-leave weekend workings of IC1146/7 11:10 FO Anschluss Bundeswehr - Munster (Örtze) - Köln Hbf and 19:13 SuO return are accordingly replaced from 28 January 2000 by new workings D1149 11:27 FO Anschluss Bundeswehr - Munster (Örtze) - Salzwedel - Leipzig and D1148 SuO return.  

0476][DE] Schwerin (Mecklenburg) - Gadebusch - Rehna: (R.0270; Ball 18B3; KBS153)  The planned closure of the Gadebusch - Rehna section from May 2000 has been dropped.  From end-May 2001 Mecklenburg Bahn, a subsidiary of Stadtwerke Schwerin, are to take over operating both Schwerin - Rehna and Schwerin - Parchim (BLN 827.0259; KBS152), and they say the additional cost of running beyond Gadebusch to Rehna will be minimal.  However, three other lines in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are still likely to close to passengers.  Since patronage is greater during the tourist season, especially at weekends, all three have been reprieved for the summer, but the Land have cancelled the order for services after 30 September 2000 on Güstrow - Karow (Mecklenburg) - Meyenburg (BLN 747.048; Ball 12B1-19B2; KBS174), Ludwigslust - Dömitz (BLN 807.0356; 19A2-18B1; KBS171) and Neustrelitz Süd - Feldberg (Mecklenburg) (BLN 717.06; 20A2-20B2; KBS187)  The last of the three has around 300 passengers a day on its two-hourly service, but its traffic potential is felt not to justify the investment of EUR15M needed to renew track and intermediate halts.

0477][DE] Rahden (Kreis Lübbecke) - Uchte: (Ball 25B3)  For the last decade before freight ceased in 1995 (BLN 775.0138), DB served this branch once a week on Saturdays.  In 1999 the line had tourist trains only (KBS12388), but Rhein-Sieg Eisenbahn are to take over the infrastructure and reopen it for regular freight in April or May 2000, possibly with a greater frequency.

0478][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (Ball 31B2-32A2)  The Jungfernheide - Westhafen section of the Innenring, closed since October 1980, duly reopened 19 December 1999 (R.0306), as did the Treptower Park - Baumschulenweg section, closed since 30 May 1999 (R.0036) for bridge engineering work that took longer than expected.

0479][DE] Hagen-Haspe - Gevelsberg-Poeten - Ennepetal-Altenvörde: (Ball 34B2-34B1)  Most of this unelectrified freight branch lies between two parallel through passenger routes, the Hagen Hbf - Ennepetal - Schwelm (- Wuppertal) main line (KBS455) and the Hagen Hbf - Gevelsberg Hbf - Schwelm (- Wuppertal) S-Bahn line (KBS450.8).  Its own hourly passenger service ceased in 1967, but several freight customers remain, served by a train every weekday.  The private Eisenbahn im Bergisch-Märkischen Raum (EBM) consider the branch has potential and purchased it from DB Netz on 1 January 2000. 

0480][DE] Osberghausen - Wiehl - Hermesdorf - Waldbröl (Rheinland): (BLN 848.0214, R.0097; Ball 38B1)  The private Rhein-Sieg Eisenbahn (RSE) have bought the infrastructure from DB Netz, though agreement on a price to use the DB junction points at Osberghausen has been taking some time.  Meanwhile track improvement work has begun, and hired RegioSprinter of Dürener Kreisbahn ran a trial shuttle service as far as the former halt at Weiershagen on 4 December 1999.  Eisenbahn im Bergisch-Märkischen Raum (EBM) are to operate freight and tourist trains on the Osberghausen - Wiehl section from May 2000.  Wiehl - Waldbröl track is still in poor condition, so reopening is unlikely before late 2001.  However local politicians are backing efforts to establish, perhaps by 2004, a regular Osberghausen - Waldbröl passenger service on an hourly basis, under the regional Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg.

0481][DE] Sachsen: closures?: DB Netz announced in November 1999 that they had no further interest in operating the infrastructure of seven lines in the province: Grossbothen - Colditz - Rochlitz (Sachsen) - Penig - Glauchau (R.0383; Ball 43A2-43A1; KBS529); St.Egidien - Neuoelsnitz - Stollberg (Sachsen): (R.0331; 43A1; KBS523); Niederwiesa - Hainichen (46B1-43B2; KBS516); Pockau-Lengefeld - Neuhausen (Erzgebirge) (R.0039; 43B1; KBS519); Pockau-Lengefeld - Marienberg (Sachsen) (R.0039; 43B1; KBS519; service temporarily suspended because of storm damage); Freiberg (Sachsen) - Holzhau (43B1-44A1; KBS514); and (Hoyerswerda -) Knappenrode - Bautzen (BLN 846.0136; Ball 44B3-44B2; KBS234; already closed due to track condition).  The regional Zweckverbände who subsidise local rail services in Land Sachsen were displeased, but it is to some extent their own doing.  They may want passenger trains to continue but the services they pay for are only two-hourly on all the lines listed except KBS523, and little or no freight runs, so train movements are too few to bring DB Netz the income to justify investment in much-needed renewal of worn-out Reichsbahn track.  Furthermore, the train-operating contracts are for quite short periods of two to five years, leaving DB Netz exposed to the risk that investment in track might be wasted if poor patronage led to subsidised trains being withdrawn.  

0482][DE] (Friedberg -) Beienheim - Wölfersheim-Södel - Hungen: (R.0445; Ball 49B3; KBS632)  Giessen county have relented, and the local authorities have contracted for passenger services to continue as before, so the Wölfersheim-Södel - Hungen section is no longer threatened with closure at end-May 2000.  

0483][DE] Wächtersbach - Bad Orb: (Ball 51A2)  By 1981 freight on the Bad Orber Kleinbahn had dwindled to nothing, and passenger traffic was seriously loss-making, though still amounting to 483,595 journeys a year, not bad for a 7km branch.  The owners, local energy and transport providers Kreiswerke Gelnhausen, sought closure, but were rebuffed by the town of Bad Orb, who threatened to buy their energy elsewhere.  In 1983 Saturday-afternoon and Sunday trains were discontinued, and by 1988 only 306,989 passengers were carried.  Kreiswerke Gelnhausen in 1989 began another attempt to close the line, and after long negotiations, Bad Orb council agreed to the closure.  The last timetabled train ran on 4 March 1995 (BLN 752.0154), and a special is reported to have run in November 1998.  Several level-crossings within the town of Bad Orb have since been tarred over, and notwithstanding the Today's Railways report of April 1999 (BLN 848.0214), the political will to reopen the line is not there.  

0484][DE] Ottweiler - Schwarzerden: (R.0066; Ball 56A3; ex-KBS644)  DB passenger trains ceased 30 May 1980, but the line continues to see a freight working every weekday serving the single customer, a factory at Schwarzerden repairing military tanks, an important traffic that would be unwelcome on the local roads.  On occasions when the branch has been out of service for any reason, the tanks had to be handled at Baumholder, about 20km away on the Heimbach (Nahe) - Baumholder freight branch.  As a measure of local support the Kreis St.Wendel council have purchased the Ottweiler - Schwarzerden line from DB Netz with effect from 1 January 2000.  It is possible that weekend tourist trains may run, but plans are not yet firm.

0485][DE] (Eggmühl -) Eichbühl Anschlussstelle - Langquaid bei Eggmühl: (Ball 60B1)  Rhein-Sieg Eisenbahn now own the infrastructure of this disused part of the Bavarian network, but when the line reopens for freight in February 2000, DB Cargo will operate the trains, since they already serve Eichbühl military siding.

0486][DE] (Immendingen -) Hintschingen - Leipferdingen - Zollhaus-Blumberg and Hüfingen - Bräunlingen: (R.0239; Ball 68B2)  Passenger reopening of these two branches is planned as part of Baden-Württemberg's ambitious Ringzug local rail scheme that also includes the electric line Rottweil - Tuttlingen - Immendingen - Donaueschingen - Villingen, the diesel-worked Rottweil - Trossingen Bahnhof - Villingen, and the little 600V dc light-rail branch Trossingen Bahnhof - Trossingen Stadt, still operating in municipal ownership (BLN 836.0504).  More than 40 stations may be reopened or newly built.  Operators will be Hohenzollerische Landesbahn (HzL), mainly owned by the Land of Baden-Württemberg itself.  The branch to Zollhaus-Blumberg diverges at the former station of Hintschingen, not shown in Ball, and now just a junction.  The original plan was to run trains to Leipferdingen on weekdays, continuing to Zollhaus-Blumberg only at weekends, to connect with the spectacular Zollhaus-Blumberg - Weizen Sauschwänzlebahn tourist line (BLN 798.0138), but it has been agreed that Zollhaus-Blumberg should have three trains in and out on weekdays and the full two-hourly service at weekends.  Hüfingen - Bräunlingen is to have hourly trains.  The vehicles for the new branch services may not be delivered before 2003.

0487][SE] Stockholm light rail:  Opened 8 January 2000, after a five-month delay, the orbital light-rail line from Gullmarsplan to Liljeholmen, route #22, links two major bus and metro interchanges south and south-west of the city and is run for Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (Greater Stockholm local transport) by metro operator Tunnelbana, now a Vivendi subsidiary.  The remainder of the 10km line, Liljeholmen - Alvik, is to open in August 2000.  (http://www.lrta.org)

0488][PT] Sintra trams: (R.0154)  The Stagecoach concession from the Portuguese Direcção Geral dos Transportes Terrestres to run the metre-gauge Sintra-Atlântico heritage tramway expired on 31 December 1999, commemorated by a special trip with ticket revenue going to a local charity.  Midnight on New Year's Eve saw the last car in public service rolling down the hill into Banzão, so that if there had been a millennium power-failure locally, the crew would still have been able to put it away manually!  Operations have ceased for the present, though Stagecoach's British manager was still there caring for his line on 2 January, out with a car and a tower-wagon cutting back some lineside bushes.  Future public services will be a matter for the Câmara Municipal de Sintra who are supposed to be taking over before long.

0489][ES] Monistrol-Enllaç FGC - Monistrol-Vila - Montserrat: (R.0340; Ball 16A3) The original (1905-1957) metre-gauge rack railway connected not only with what is now the FGC's Barcelona - Martorell-Enllaç - Monistrol - Manresa-Baixador metre-gauge line, but also with RENFE's ex-Norte Barcelona - Manresa (- Zaragoza) broad-gauge line on the other side of the valley (BLN 844.0101).  The broad-gauge line is still open, but its Monistrol station has long been closed, and the rebuilt Montserrat line is unlikely to extend beyond the metre-gauge connection at Monistrol-Enllaç.  The provincial government, Generalitat de Catalunya, have announced their intention that the line should reopen on 27 April 2002, that being the annual feast-day of the Virgin of Montserrat, Catalonia's holiest shrine.  (Continental Railway Journal, #120)

0490][IT] La Spèzia - Vezzano Ligure - San Stèfano di Magra - Aulla - Berceto - Solignano - Fornovo - Parma: (Ball 47A1-47A2)  In early January 2000 work was under way to quadruple the line between La Spezia Scalo and Vezzano Ligure, though only one track had been laid and this appeared to be used solely by freight trains.  Four tracks were in use through Vezzano Ligure junction station, with Pisa trains normally using the southern pair and Parma trains the northern pair extending as double track to San Stefano di Magra.  From the Roma - Pisa - Arcola - La Spezia main line heading north-west along the coast, a new Arcola - San Stefano di Magra curve was nearly complete, heading inland to the new San Stefano marshalling yard, already active. Continental Railway Journal, #120, reported San Stefano di Magra station goods-yard as the site of the new La Spezia Land Transport Museum, with half a dozen steam locomotives.  Further north, between Berceto and Solignano the old single track and electrification masts were still in place but out of use, with wires removed, replaced by the first section of the planned Arcola - Fornovo Alta Velocità railway, a double-track line higher up the valley side.  This seems to have opened during 1999, for its new concrete infrastructure was sparkling clean.  However, no other sign of ongoing construction work was seen between La Spezia and Parma.  

0491][IT] Asti - Castagnole delle Lanze: (Ball 45B3-45B2)  In January 2000 engineering work was preventing trains on this line from using the main station at Asti, and they were starting and terminating at 'Asti Boana', with a shuttle bus connection.  Asti Boana may be a temporary halt, since its name does not seem to appear on railway maps nor in old timetables.  The line leaves Asti by crossing the river Tanaro, so the bridge may be under repair.

0492[IT] Novara - Vignale - Borgomanero - Premosello-Chiovenda - Domodossola: (Ball 41A1-41A2)  This secondary line running west of the Milano - Gallarate - Sesto Calende - Premosello-Chiovenda - Domodossola main line, and closely paralleling it between Premosello and Domodossola, is to be electrified as an alternative route for freight, especially piggyback traffic via the Simplon tunnel and Switzerland (BLN 772.075).  From a non-stop Cisalpino passing on the main line in late December 1999, the secondary line seemed not yet to be electrified south of Premosello, but to be wired north thereof.  The connections at Premosello between the routes are via the goods yard, and appeared more like through sidings than running lines. 

0493][IT] Campiglia Marittima - Piombino Marittima: (Ball 49A2)  The Piombino branch makes a triangular junction with the Roma - Pisa main line.  The north-to-west curve has several trains in summer but in December 1999 had only a single timetabled working (05:40 Firenze SMN - Piombino Marittima; EGTRE IT00/35).  Most trains run from or via the junction station of Campiglia Marittima at the south-eastern vertex of the triangle, several kilometres from the sea in spite of its name.  During the winter the branch service is sparse, though train tickets are valid on the buses running approximately hourly.  The branch runs through the Piombino steelworks, with ore-handling facilities and a rolling-mill on one side of the line and blast-furnaces on the other.  The raw materials for steel-making appear to be brought in by ship, but the steelworks has an internal railway system, with torpedo-wagons carrying molten metal within the complex, and steel coil is despatched by rail.  At Piombino station, in the town-centre, the train reverses down a short branch to Piombino Marittima, near the terminal for ferries to Elba and several smaller islands.  Sailings are quite frequent, so all trains run to and from Marittima.  

0494][IT] Firenze Campo di Marte - San Piero a Sieve - Borgo San Lorenzo: (BLN 844.0105, R.0191; Ball 49B3-48A1)  Only a few trains on this 34km line, reopened 14 January 1999, run from or to the city's principal station, Firenze Santa Maria Novella, and they have to reverse at Campo di Marte, where the present junction faces east.  However a west-to-north curve is under construction there and will permit through working from Firenze SMN without reversal.  Meanwhile most of the line's diesel railcars start and terminate at Firenze Campo di Marte, offering an approximately hourly service though with a stopping pattern at intermediate stations which is far from standard.  Most stations are simple halts, but the old buildings at Fiesole-Caldine and Vaglia have been attractively renovated and Fontebuona and Campomigliai have new brick buildings.  A few trains continue beyond Borgo San Lorenzo south-east to Vicchio or north-east to Faenza. 

0495][IT] Sinalunga - Arezzo - Bibbiena - Pratovecchio-Stia: (Ball 50A3)  La Ferroviaria Italiana sounds a very grand and important railway, but in fact the company operate no more than two standard-gauge 3000V dc branches from Arezzo on the Roma - Firenze FS classic main line.  The Arezzo - Sinalunga section climbs 40km south-west into the hills to meet the FS again at Sinalunga, junction with the Chiusi Chianciano Terme - Sinalunga - Siena line.  The Arezzo - Pratovecchio-Stia line heads north for 45km up the river Arno valley.  For several km south of Corsalone, it is being diverted, possibly to enable the existing trackbed to be used for road-widening, and the new concrete viaduct - inevitable in Italy - strides up the valley, awaiting track.  LFI services use Arezzo FS station and LFI tickets are sold from a designated window at the FS booking-office, but timetable co-ordination is poor.  Despite their age, LFI trains ran punctually, however, so our reporter had no problem in practice connecting from the Sinalunga - Arezzo 15:21 LFI arrival into the 15:17 FS Arezzo - Roma express.

LFI are noted for their varied and antique rolling-stock, much of it dating from the 1920s.  Having seen fewer alterations than the extensively rebuilt motor coaches, the trailer coaches used on most trains offer passengers much of the environment of an earlier era - though not the wooden seats probably once fitted.  LFI have acquired three 1956-built Belgian electric units (AM56 #142, 144, 149, with Budd stainless-steel panelling), but only one was seen in service, and the older trains soldier on.  LFI also have several steam engines, which appear to be in working order, and a well-preserved rake of vintage carriages.  

Seen stabled at Bibbiena in December 1999 was a remarkable survivor, LFI's early British diesel shunter, #700.003.  This locomotive was London Midland & Scottish Railway #7106, completed Derby Works 3 December 1941 and soon transferred to the War Department for service abroad with the British forces, working in North Africa on Chemins de Fer Tunisiens in Tunis June 1943 and in Algeria November 1943.  Shipped to Bari March 1944 and working in Falconara August 1944, it was sold to FS with three others in 1946.  In 1972 it was reported at San Giuseppe di Cairo, and believed then to be allocated to nearby Savona.  Ferrovia Stia-Arezzo-Sinalunga, predecessor to LFI, bought it around 1985. (Diesel Locomotives of the LMS, by J W P Rowledge, Oakwood Press Locomotion Papers #88; LMS Diesel Locomotives & Railcars, by E V Richards, RCTS)

0496][GR] Athinai metro:  Notwithstanding the Today's Railways report quoted in R.0342, the new Attiko Metro line - the city's second, 7km in length - was being formally inaugurated by the Greek prime minister on Friday 28 January 2000, with free travel on both the old and new lines on the Saturday and Sunday following.  Ancient artefacts unearthed during construction are displayed at the showpiece new city-centre station beneath Syntagma square.  New route totalling 11km - including a third line - is said to be due to open during 2000, with more to follow, and the Metro is eventually to join up to the light-rail surface line being planned to run east to the new airport at Spata.  (Financial Times, 28 January 2000)

0497][CA] Victoria - Esquimalt - Malahat - Nanaimo - Parksville - Courtenay, BC:  In January 1999 Canadian Pacific sold to RailAmerica their isolated 225km standard-gauge system on Vancouver Island, the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway.  VIA continue to operate the ordinary passenger service, using elderly Budd railcars, but RailAmerica have contracted with Ross Rowland to run tourist trains, initial plans calling for diesel-hauled excursions over the 32km Victoria - Malahat section during 2000, with the possibility of steam traction, maybe Chinese-built, at a later stage.  (Continental Railway Journal, #120, winter 1999-2000)  According to the Railway Association of Canada's December 1998 atlas, the freight-only Parksville - Port Alberni, BC branch also remains, presumably continuing to serve the paper pulp mill at Port Alberni.

0498][FR] Rouen trams: (BLN 731.0121, 748.065, 815.0561; Ball 13B1)  The three termini are Boulingrin (Rouen) in the north, Georges Braque (Grand Quevilly) to the south-west and Technopôle (St.Étienne-du-Rouvray) to the south-east.  The stop for Rouen Rive Droite SNCF station is Gare-Rue Verte (Rouen).  At each stop, and in the timetable, the name has a suffix denoting the local authority, the suffixes being in smaller type but without the brackets inserted here for clarity.  The junction between the two southern arms is Saint-Sever (Rouen), which has a single-track west-to-east avoiding-line in tunnel, giving access between the depot at Charles de Gaulle (Petit-Quevilly) and the Technopôle branch.  This triangle is not shown on the system map that appeared in Light Rail & Modern Tramway in March 1995.  Services are frequent, with journey-times of 26min for Boulingrin - Georges Braque and 22min for St.Sever - Technopôle.  Fares are FRF8 for an hour, with returns apparently allowed within that time, or FRF20 for a day-rover (calendar day, not 24-hours).  Tickets are valid on trams and buses, both branded as Métrobus and operated by Transports en Commun de l'Agglomération Rouennaise.

0499][FR] Mesnil-Mauger - Gacé - Sainte-Gauburge: (BLN 719.02; Ball 23B2) The line closed to passengers 5 May 1938, to freight south of Gacé 1 August 1954 and north of Gacé 30 September 1990.  When seen from a train at Mesnil-Mauger on 8 February 2000, the formation was trackless and appeared to have become a footpath or cycleway.

0500][FR] Esbly - Crécy-en-Brie-La-Chapelle: (Ball 25B2)  At Esbly, movement between the Paris-Est - Épernay main line and the branch is possible only by reversal, and only when the shunt-frame cabin controlling the through siding is staffed.  From the single platform 'C', across the station-approach from the main-line platforms, a push-pull electric set shuttles up and down 10km of pleasant semi-rural electrified railway, which seems to have no freight.  The only other pointwork is a loop at Crécy, whose rails on a February 2000 visit suggested use for emergency running-round or engineering trains only.  The current timetable and the nameboards now seem to call the terminus 'Crécy-La-Chapelle', though Parisian ticket-machines try to confuse travellers by describing it as 'Crécy-en-Brie'.  (The full name with both epithets was used in a 1974-75 timetable and in the 1991 Ball atlas.)  Trains are normally hourly during the day, with more at peaks, and none on Sundays.  A gap in the pattern at 10:05 allows the stock to be cleaned, at least in theory, and gives an hour's break to the train-crew.  On the SNCF, with strong trade-unions, driver-only operation of such trains is an economy not yet attained.  

0501][DE] Brandenburg: closures?:  Brandenburg's transport minister has threatened several branches with passenger closure.  Templin Stadt - Prenzlau (BLN 764.0442; Ball 20B2-21A2; KBS206.12) is likely to close completely at end-May 2000.  Following German reunification the line's industrial customers closed down, and no freight is handled.  The first trains in the morning run too late for most people to travel to work, and even schoolchildren travelling from Hassleben and Mittenwalde into Templin have to take the bus because the first train is timed 15 minutes too late for them to use.  On an average weekday the seven Class 628 diesel units each way carry a mere 50 passengers, though more people travel at weekends, many bringing bicycles to visit the attractive countryside north of Templin.  Also likely to lose its passenger trains at end-May 2000 is Cottbus - Peitz (Ball 30B1; KBS206.43), part of the former Cottbus - Peitz - Grunow - Frankfurt (Oder) line, whose Peitz - Grunow section closed to passengers in 1994, but is to remain open for freight including timber traffic at Jamlitz (BLN 740.0308, 782.0282).  Cottbus - Peitz train service is better than ever, hourly on weekdays and every two hours at weekends, and an intermediate stop at Cottbus-Willmersdorf reopened in 1997, but despite their modernisation the elderly Class 772 four-wheel railbuses are not very comfortable and patronage is below average.  Other lines in Brandenburg province with very low patronage are Rathenow - Neustadt (Dosse), Neustadt - Pritzwalk and Pritzwalk - Putlitz (BLN 804.0282, 844.092; 28B3-19B1-19A2), all three already economically operated by Prignitzer Eisenbahn railbuses, Pritzwalk - Meyenburg (- Karow) (19B2), Löwenberg (Mark) - Herzberg (Mark) (BLN 783.0302, 842.031; 20B1-20A1), Templin - Joachimsthal (- Britz) (20B2-21A1) and Brandenburg - Belzig (BLN 749.091, 757.0300; 29A3).

0502][DE] (Dieringhausen -) Osberghausen - Wiehl - Hermesdorf - Waldbröl (Rheinland): (Ball 38B1)  Former stations and halts were Dieringhausen (km0.0) - Brunohl (km2.7) - Osberghausen (km5.4/0.0) - Weiershagen (km7.5/2.1) - Bielstein (km9.3/3.9) - Alperbrück (km11.7/6.3) - Wiehl (km14.0/8.6) - Oberwiehl (km16.3/10.9) - Remperg (km18.1/12.7) - Brüchermühle (km21.3/15.9) - Denklingen (km23.4/18.0) - Hermesdorf (km26.2/21.8) - Waldbröl (km29.0/23.6).  It is not yet clear which of these might have stops by EBM tourist trains in 2000 and 2001 (R.0480).  The 7.2km Hermesdorf - Morsbach branch is what remains of the Hermesdorf - Morsbach (Sieg) - Volperhausen - Wissen (Sieg) line that once carried through trains from Waldbröl (Reichsbahnhof) to Wissen.  The line was badly damaged in World War II and Volperhausen - Wissen was never rebuilt.  Hermesdorf - Morsbach - Volperhausen closed to passengers 1960 and the 3.2km Morsbach - Volperhausen section was dismantled soon after.  Until 1 October 1994, when Wiehl and Waldbröl ceased to be Gütertarifpunkte, and the weekly (Tuesdays-only) Osberghausen - Waldbröl freight working was withdrawn, this train used to run to Morsbach also, when required.  Most of the time the short branch remained in a state of hibernation, though in 1991-92 a factory at Morsbach had an order for thousands of containers to be delivered to Ukraine, and freight workings ran every weekday for several months.  Disused track remains, but the future of the Morsbach branch is uncertain. 

0503][PT] Sintra trams:  Stagecoach's concession to operate the metre-gauge Sintra-Atlântico heritage tramway was awarded by Sintra council rather than the national transport authorities (R.0488), and remains formally in existence until the handover date, believed to be the end of February 2000.  A public service has not run during January and February because of major sewer works which cut the line in the Rodizio area, and are likely to continue until the end of March, but the c.8km section that is still operational is seeing tramcars on private hire, mainly from the nearby Miramonte Hotel, frequented by many British guests.  Sintra council have voted to buy all the tramway assets, and say in a press release that they have at least two other operators besides Stagecoach ready to finance the future re-extension, and to operate the tramway thereafter.  An informed source estimates that it may be Easter (late April 2000) before public services restart, but that reconstruction of the section from Ribeira de Sintra through the town to Sintra station may commence shortly thereafter.

0504][ES] Mallorca: (R.0425; Ball 38A1-38A2)  If reopening beyond Inca is to happen, it does not seem imminent.  Immediately to the east of the town, the metal bridge which once carried the line over Inca's ring-road, and which had remained in place since closure in 1981, was seen in January 2000 to have been recently removed, thus severing the routes to both Sa Pobla and Manacor.  A visit to Sa Pobla on 28 January revealed no ballasting, though the former trackbed did appear to have been cleared as far as the outskirts of the town, and the stockpiled sleepers were marked '99', perhaps their date of manufacture.  The final section of the Inca - Sa Pobla branch formation has been converted into a block-paved pedestrianised street with trees planted down the centre, and the old station building seems attractively preserved, the southern end still bearing its Castilian Spanish name, La Puebla.  At Petra, an intermediate station on the former Inca - Manacor route, the old 914mm-gauge track was still in place at the level-crossing and among the weeds on either side.

0505][ES] Sevilla - Utrera - Pedrera - Fuente de Piedra - Las Maravillas - Antequera (- Granada): (Ball 35A2-37A2)  The extensive realignment during the 1990s of this not-very-busy single-track cross-country route was again highlighted on a trip in January 2000 aboard a Tren Regional Diesel (BLN 848.0228), one of the new RENFE two-car units with the 'big-kiss' (or 'black-pudding') rubber front-end first seen on Danish IC3 sets.  Just south of Sevilla, the station shown in Ball as 'La Salud' appears closed and replaced by a new station, Bellavista, some 200-300m to the south.  The north-to-east curve built to avoid reversal at Utrera station, and not shown in the Ball atlas (BLN 754.0236), now seems to carry all the passenger trains, leaving the original south-to-east curve rusting, with no scheduled services.  From El Sorbito, the main line has been realigned east to Arahal (not now 'El Arahal'), and the old main line, now very rusty at the junction, has become part of the El Sorbito - La Trinidad - Morón de la Frontera single-track freight branch, perhaps disused.  La Trinidad - Arahal is lifted.  Arahal has a single train daily each way, and Marchena, Osuna and Pedrera also remain open.  About 3km east of Pedrera the new west-to-south alignment direct to Fuente de Piedra diverges from the old west-to-east alignment to the triangle at La Roda de Andalucia.  The new alignment appears to have all the passenger trains, though the latter remains and seems still to appear on the schematic map of Andalucian regional services.  The painted sign on the old station building says 'Fuente Piedra', but RENFE usage for the junction is now Fuente de Piedra.  Here the unelectrified line from Sevilla trails into the electrified Córdoba - La Roda de Andalucia - Bobadilla - Málaga line.  South of Fuente de Piedra, running broadly parallel but sometimes up to 1km to the east of the electrified running line, is c.10km of new non-electrified single track, and this deviation was used by the TRD set.  The c.1.25km north-to-east unelectrified curve linking the Córdoba - Bobadilla line and the Bobadilla - Antequera - Granada line and avoiding Bobadilla station, has been open longer, since 1 July 1998 (BLN 846.0150).  Some realignment also seems to have taken place from the eastern vertex of the Bobadilla triangle east through Apeadero (= halt) Las Maravillas to the small town of Antequera.  Bobadilla station, no longer called 'Bobadilla-Antequera', does not serve a significant settlement and trains on the Bobadilla - Ronda - Algeciras line now generally run the extra 16km from or to Antequera.  

0506][IT] Lecce - Zollino - Gagliano Leuca: (BLN 844.0108; Ball 56B2)  Ferrovie del Sud Est have an extensive and important local network in the heel of Italy, but Ferrovie dello Stato posters continue to ignore FSE arrivals and departures at FS stations, and the FS booking-office at Lecce, the state system's south-easternmost station, no longer sells FSE tickets.  Since 1 March 1999 FSE have had their own booking-office in a room in the engine-shed at the north end of Lecce station, with direct access to the platform.  

A hazard of travelling by FSE is that although trains run at the times shown in the timetable, the through services and connections may not be as advertised.  At a junction such as Zollino several trains arrive from the different lines, but they may not continue to the place indicated in the timetable.  Travellers who thought they were on a through train have to change, while those who alighted to join a connecting service are told to re-board the train they have just left.  What is more, during the station stop, the staff may change their minds about which train is going where!

0507][IT] Taranto - Ferrandina-Pomarico-Miglionico - Potenza: (Ball 55A1-58A3)  From the east side of the line at Ferrandina, a concrete viaduct without track curves away across the Basento valley to a tunnel-mouth on the far side.  No sign can be seen of any construction activity.  The 1993 Ball atlas notes that work on the proposed standard-gauge Ferrandina - Matera line was suspended.  It is hard to understand why a railway was ever planned, far less started, north to Matera, which is already served by the 950mm-gauge Bari Centrale - Altamura - Matera Sud line of the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (BLN 832.0395).  No doubt the concrete industry made some profit.

0508][JP] Japan: electrification continues: (Quail 2C2)  The 22.6km Kumamoto - Higo-Otsu section of JR Kyushu's 1067mm-gauge Hohi line was electrified from 1 October 1999, and JR West's 16.4km Ayabe - Higashi-Maizuru 1067mm-gauge Maizuru line (Quail 3E1) was electrified from 2 October 1999.

0509][CA] Vancouver, BC - Matsqui Jn - Nepa/Coho, BC:  Following agreement between Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National, as from 9 January 2000 both companies' trains share one company's single track in each direction between Matsqui Jn and a new interchange crossover at Nepa CPR / Coho CN (between Basque and Ashcroft).  Eastbound trains use the CPR Cascade Subdivision, westbound ones the CN Yale Subdivision.  At Matsqui Jn westbound CPR trains cross the Fraser River bridge to Mission Jn on the north bank to rejoin the CPR for Coquitlam and Vancouver.  VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer passenger trains follow the same new pattern.  The eastbound Canadian ceases to call at Matsqui, Chilliwack, Hope and Boston Bar CN stations on the south-east bank of the Fraser, and calls instead at Agassiz and North Bend CPR stations on the north-west bank.  The former connection between CPR and CN tracks at Basque has been removed.  In an unrelated further change from 16 January 2000, the Canadian in both directions has been rerouted between Vancouver and Matsqui Jn, now running via BNSF tracks to the Fraser River bridge at New Westminster, and then over the CN Yale Sub, instead of its former routing over CPR tracks via Port Coquitlam, which station it no longer serves.  West Coast Express commuter trains continue passenger service over the Vancouver - Coquitlam - Mission section of the CPR.  

0510][CA] (Halifax, NS -) Truro, NS - Sydney, NS:  This former CN line, now the Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway, is to reopen to passengers from 9 May to 18 October 2000 for the Bras d'Or, a weekly VIA Rail train aimed at the tourist market, departing Halifax on Tuesdays and Sydney on Wednesdays.  (http://www.viarail.ca)

0511][PE] Perú:  All Peruvian railways are single-track, but potential delays are reduced by the many loops and sidings, most of which remain operational even on lines with very sparse service.  On the highest lines medical personnel and oxygen supplies are required by law, and indeed are often essential.  The terrorist threat that caused many passenger services to be suspended in 1991 had largely receded by November 1999, when ADL charter trains visited much of the system, but armed police were still accompanying trains in some areas.  Privatisation of Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles (ENAFER), the former Peruvian state railway system, was well under way and further changes to the established pattern of passenger services are to be expected.  Some of the kilometre figures for sections of line are taken from a Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable and may be approximate, especially where realignment has taken place.  The standard-gauge Ferrocarril Tacna-Arica that crosses the Chilean border was not visited (BLN 817.019, 845.0128).  

0512][PE] Lima Callao - Lima Desamparados - Ticlio - Galera - Rumichaca - Cut-Off - La Oroya Central - La Oroya CdeP: (222km, 1435mm-gauge, Ferrocarril Central del Perú, Western section)  The freight-only line from Callao port has considerable traffic, mainly mineral related, with oil moving inland and zinc ingots down to the docks.  Unique dual-purpose freight wagons are still widely used to reduce track occupancy and haulage of deadweight over this most difficult line.  In November 1999 the impressive passenger station and railway headquarters at Lima Desamparados was in a restricted area, patrolled by the military, and was closed to visitors.  According to the current Cook, a Lima - La Oroya - Huancayo passenger train for tourists is scheduled to run monthly but though a couple of trial workings are believed to have run, it is possible the service has yet to commence on a regular basis.  The main attraction is the continuous climb to the world's highest railway summit (4784m) inside the Galera tunnel.  Several changes in alignment over the years have been needed to repair and avoid the frequent wash-outs on the line, and more recently to permit significant upgrading of the adjacent highway.  A recent deviation at the former long double hairpin bend near Surco involved a major new spiral tunnel and some 2km of new track.  Ticlio was once the highest railway junction in the world, but the c.20km Ticlio - Morococha - Cut-Off line that diverged there was, it seems, disconnected some years ago, though Morococha is still served from Cut-Off on an infrequent basis. 

0513][PE] La Oroya CdeP - Cerro de Pasco: (132km, 1435mm-gauge, Ferrocarril Cerro de Pasco)  La Oroya had two passenger stations, the FCC's Central station, in the town, and the Cerro de Pasco station further on, at the original junction facing Huancayo.  A west-to-north chord built recently from near the Central station to the CdeP line has created a triangle and allows through-running of freight from Lima to Cerro de Pasco.  However, since privatisation of ENAFER the original north-to-south chord has reverted to the CdeP mining company, now called Centromin, and is unavailable to passenger trains.  Thus the ADL Cerro de Pasco - La Oroya - Huancayo charter unexpectedly had to use the new chord and reverse at La Oroya Central station instead of running direct.  The CdeP main line remains a busy freight railway, mainly carrying mineral ore southwards to the enormous rail-served zinc smelters at La Oroya and fuel and supplies northwards to the mines.  Passenger trains appeared in Cook till at least 1987, but have since ceased, though the stations remain intact.  Track on the many branches has been removed. 

0514][PE] La Oroya CdeP - Pachacayo - Tambo - Huancayo Central: (124km, 1435mm-gauge, Ferrocarril Central del Perú, Southern section)  By contrast, La Oroya - Huancayo is a quiet backwater.  Little freight traffic is in evidence and the tourist passenger service does not seem to have resumed, for local people were surprised to see a train.  The CdeP Pachacayo - Chauca mineral line is in use, owned and operated by Centromin.  Surprisingly, the Tambo - Jauja branch, reported as closed in the late 1980s, was still in place, and even appeared to have seen traffic recently, though this was maybe just turning on the wye at Tambo.  The former FCC facilities at Huancayo Central have closed though a 914mm-gauge steam engine remains at the station there.  Dual (914mm and 1435mm) gauge track runs south-east through the streets from the FCC station to the old FCHH station, closed c.1996, and was recently extended beyond to the east to give access to the Chilca stabling, shed and works area, now used by both FCC and FCHH.  The standard-gauge ADL charter went close to the extremity of the dual-gauge line and reversed into the Chilca sidings.  

0515][PE] Huancayo Chilca - Huancavelica: (127km, 914mm, Ferrocarril Huancayo-Huancavelica)  The present FCHH Huancayo Chilca station, east of the dual-gauge section, has quite an impressive building, possibly the former freight depot, but the single curved platform opened c.1998 holds only six coaches.  The timetable is as shown in Cook, but tourists seem rare and the service is definitely local in character, the second-class being packed and the limited first-class accommodation only slightly less full, with standing passengers.  The present Huancavelica station is on the northern side of town, but a more central station at Huancavelica still exists, with some 200m of apparently useable track remaining beyond.  It seems that in the 1958 timetable one of the two trains a day was extended to 'Sub-Estación Hvca'.  At one time the line extended 15km from Huancavelica to Lachoc, but it is not known when this section opened or closed.  Seen later from a Huancavelica - Ayacucho bus, on the (lightly-used) highest surfaced road in the world, the hamlet of Lachoc looked derelict and tiny, so presumably the railway traffic must have been mineral.  

0516][PE] Mollendo / Matarani - Islay - La Joya - Arequipa: (c.150km, 1435mm-gauge, Ferrocarril Sur del Perú, Southern section)  The FCS has no physical connection with the FCC, nearly 1000km away to the north-east up the Pacific coast.  The FCS' original port of Mollendo required lighters to unload sea-going ships at anchor offshore, but though Mollendo continues to handle oil products using floating buoys, proper dock facilities were built in 1951 at Matarani, along the coast to the south-west, together with a new Matarani - La Joya freight branch linking it to the existing FCS.  Mollendo - La Joya passenger services later ceased and the original Mollendo - La Joya section closed completely in 1991 when a new freight-only line was built from Mollendo to a triangular junction with the Matarani line at Islay.  The ADL charter visited both Matarani docks and the old passenger station at Mollendo, being wyed at both, and also traversed the triangle at Islay.

0517][PE] Arequipa - Juliaca - Puno: (1435mm-gauge, Ferrocarril Sur del Perú, Central section)  In November 1999 the scheduled twice-weekly passenger service was unfortunately timed to run overnight over the spectacular 306km Arequipa - Juliaca section.  The 47km Juliaca - Puno section also has trains from Cuzco.  Buses running from Puno to Copacabana to connect with the hydrofoil to Huatajata and the catamaran to Chua have replaced the FCS classic passenger ferry from Puno across Lake Titicaca to Guaqui in Bolivia, but at Puno Muelle (= pier), FCS wagons are still carried on the train-ferry to Guaqui that now sails monthly for freight only (BLN 817.021).  No Bolivian-gauge (1000mm) track was seen at Puno Muelle and it is doubtful if the train-ferry is mixed-gauge (R.0394).  Two steamships (Yavari, built Barking 1862, reassembled and launched on Lake Titicaca 1870, and Yaranti, built Hull 1926, launched 1928) were moored at the pier.  Yaranti is in working order and used for charters but considerable effort in restoring the older vessel was evident and was continuing.  A 150km extension of the railway is proposed south along the Peruvian shore of Lake Titicaca to Desaguardo close to the Bolivian border.

0518][PE] Juliaca - Cuzco Avenida Sol: (338km, 1435mm-gauge, Ferrocarril Sur del Perú, Northern section)  This FCS section has Puno - Cuzco passenger trains four times a week and a freight at least daily, traffic appearing buoyant with significant movement of oil products up from the coast.  From the FCS yard at Cuzco Huanchac, a lengthy dual-gauge connection through the streets runs across the city to facilities at Cuzco San Pedro.  As a large market sets up on this line daily and - unusually for Perú - seems reluctant to relocate itself at short notice, the cross-town connection is available only before 05:00, so the daily 914mm-gauge Avenida Sol - San Pedro passenger train runs at 03:30 and any 914mm-gauge stock going to or from the main works at Arequipa has also to cross Cuzco during the night.  Bogie-changing is sometimes necessary at San Pedro, perhaps because the FCS structure-gauge does not allow the movement of some items of narrow-gauge stock on standard-gauge flat wagons.

0519][PE] Cuzco San Pedro - Aguas Calientes - Puente Ruinas - Quillabamba: (170km, 914mm-gauge, ex-Ferrocarril Sur del Perú)  Now fully privatised (R.0208), this is a passenger railway whose revenue comes mainly from tourists visiting the ruined Inca city of Machu Picchu, a world heritage site 8km from Puente Ruinas station.  In November 1999 the traditional three-train morning timetable - not the schedule shown in Cook - was operating, comprising a first-class-only railcar (fare USD75 for c.109km), a 'tourist Pullman' (USD25) and a local (USD3 for travel inside, but a seat only for the most assertive).  With the opening in April 1999 of a spur to a single-platform tourist station on the east side of Aguas Calientes and upgrading of the road thence to Machu Picchu, Puente Ruinas station is no longer busy.  However the new tourist station has no loop, and the Pullman is obliged to continue as empty stock, by a double reversal, to Puente Ruinas, where the locomotive runs round and stables until its return working.  The local train calls at the original Aguas Calientes station then runs directly to Puente Ruinas.  In February 1998 the disturbed El Niño weather pattern caused a large part of the mountain to collapse just north of km123, damaging the local hydroelectric plant, destroying a village and removing part of the Puente Ruinas - Quillabamba line.  Because road access is poor, reinstatement has become an important local political issue, and a presidential election campaign is under way.  Probably because of this, a daily rail service has been restored between Puente Ruinas and km121.9, site of a hydroelectric plant, a shanty town and a local market.  This uses the locomotive plus one coach of the Cuzco - Puente Ruinas local train, propelling for part of the return journey until the engine can be turned on a wye.  Local people say that seat reservations are essential - even though a wait at Puente Ruinas of over four hours, with not much to do, is obligatory before the various trains depart for Cuzco.

0520][CU] Habana / Casa Blanca - Hershey - Matanzas: (BLN 826.0245, R.0127)  Union de Ferrocarriles de Cuba may call on assistance from Ferrocarrils Generalitat de Catalunya to wire 12km of track out of Habana main station so that UFC's regauged ex-Barcelona electric trains on the Hershey line can work from there rather than their separate Casa Blanca terminus on the east side of the river.  A rail-cruise train, the Cuba y Caribe Express, may be touring the 5000km UFC system by 2001.  (Railway Gazette International, November 1999, September 1999)

0521] Paragraph number not used

0522][FR] Le Havre - Harfleur-Halte - Montivilliers - Rolleville: (Ball 12B1-13A2)  The single-track Rolleville branch diverges at a junction west of Harfleur station on the Le Havre - Harfleur - Bréauté-Beuzeville line, and Harfleur-Halte and Harfleur are some distance apart.  The branch has a modest commuter service, and is now plain line with no pointwork and no freight traffic, though it used to be double at least as far as Montivilliers.  Resleepering is taking place here till 10 March, and the middle-of-the-day round-trip is temporarily by bus.  On 7 February 2000 fewer than a dozen passengers were travelling each way, and only our reporter completed the whole run to Rolleville, whose unstaffed station is conveniently in the village, not always the case on rural railways.  Beyond the end of the platform and the out-of-use level-crossing a single rail has been removed to prevent further progress north-eastward.  The crossing cottage, presumably no longer needed by SNCF, has been unsympathetically enlarged.  The Rolleville - Criquetot-l'Esneval - Les Ifs line closed to passengers 2 October 1938, but reopened apparently during or just after World War II, to close again 6 April 1969, at which date freight appears to have been withdrawn from the Rolleville - Criquetot-l'Esneval section.  Criquetot-l'Esneval - Les Ifs is also now totally out of use.

0523][FR] Bréauté-Beuzeville - Les Ifs - Fécamp: (BLN 790.0448; Ball 13A2)  The line closed to passengers 6 April 1969, but reopened 27 September 1981.  Visited on 7 February 2000 it seemed to have reasonable passenger support, but showed no evidence of freight.  At Les Ifs station, the disused Rolleville - Les Ifs line, with track still in place, converges from the south, running through the 'branch' platforms, a layout which would formerly have allowed through-running from Le Havre to Etretat without conflicting with Bréaute - Fécamp trains, which still call at the 'main' platform on the remaining single track.  A crossover linking the Le Havre and Bréaute lines south of the station has gone, but one remains north of the station, allowing access from the SNCF to the Les Ifs - Les Loges - Etretat line, opened 22 June 1895, closed to passengers 30 June 1951 and freight 3 April 1972.  Part of it is now used by a preservation group (BLN 746.025), who also use an area at Les Ifs, including the former goods-yard, to store a substantial amount of rolling-stock.  Further north, Fécamp station retains no facilities for running round a passenger train, and the freight yard was completely empty.  Track was still in place on the Fécamp - Colleville-Sainte-Hélène - Cany-Barville - St.Vaast-Bosville line, closed to passengers 2 October 1938, but it was not possible to determine whether any freight traffic remained on part of it.  The Colleville - St.Vaast section was reported out of use (neutralisée) by 1996, and indeed Cany - St.Vaast had been abandoned by 1979.  

0524][FR] St.Aubin-du-Vieil-Evreux - Prey - St.André-de-l'Eure - St.Georges-Motel (- Dreux): (Ball 24A3-24B2)  Seen from a passing train in February 2000, the flying junction at St.Aubin that once gave access to this secondary line had become a simple single-track connection.  The line lost its passenger trains 1 July 1939 and freight was progressively cut back to St.André de l'Eure 3 April 1972.  In 1995 La Vie du Rail noted that freight trains to St.André ran 'as required', though a daily freight train still visited the Prey - Breteueil (Eure) branch.  

0525][FR] Chinon - Ligré-Rivière - Champigny-sur-Veude - Richelieu: (Ball 34B1-44B3)  BLN 750.0109 set out some of the history of the Chinon - Ligré-Rivière section.  The Ligré-Rivière - Richelieu section opened 7 September 1884.  Regular passenger traffic ceased 1 March 1937, was partially re-established during World War II, officially reinstated July 1947, but finally ceased from 31 January 1960.  Original operators were Chemin de Fer de l'État, succeeded by SNCF and, from 1 May 1950, CF Départementaux.  On 1 January 1972 a specially-formed local-authority body Régie Ferroviaire de Richelieu took over the line.  After running steam trains over SNCF lines from their Longueville base in 1971 and 1972, the Association des Jeunes pour l'Exploitation de Chemins de fer Touristiques et d'Attractions (AJECTA) had been refused permission for the 1973 season, so they commenced seasonal passenger operation over the Richelieu line 30 June 1974 (BLN 814.0539).  In 1979 the operators were an associated body, AJECTA-Touraine, and in 1980 they became Trains à Vapeur de Touraine.  The pattern of operation has varied considerably over the years.  In 1994, for example, as many as three Richelieu - Chinon round-trips ran the full 21km on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, from mid-May to early September (OEIS).  In 1995 TVT operations were limited to Chinon - Ligré-Rivière due to poor track to the south.  In 1996 two Richelieu - Chinon round-trips ran SSuO from early July to end-September (OEIS9650) and in 1997 Richelieu - Chinon trains were similarly on offer.  In 1998 only one Richelieu - Chinon round-trip ran SSuO from late May to end-September and daily from mid-July to mid-August.  In 1999 only Richelieu - Ligré-Rivière trains ran and only on two specific dates (CF Régionaux & Urbains, #272).  The published timetable for 2000 shows a 15:00 Richelieu - Ligré-Rivière round-trip on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 July to 3 September.  

0526][FR] St.Denis-près-Martel - Martel (- Souillac): (BLN 839.0592; Ball 53B1-61B3, not shown)  The Chemin de Fer Touristique du Haut Quercy operate this spectacular 6.5km route along a corniche above the river Dordogne with a succession of viaducts and tunnels.  Track westwards beyond Martel to Souillac is still in place but overgrown.  With steam-worked trains, the locomotive propels from its base at Martel eastwards down to the level-crossing near the junction with SNCF at St.Denis-près-Martel, and then returns westward chimney-first up the gradient.  On the return journey a halt is made at a lineside hut for refreshments, while the engine driver explains the history of the line and the current operation.  In 1999 two departures were advertised from Martel, at 14:45 and 16:45, the round-trip taking 90min, with steam traction on Sundays and public holidays April-September, and WO mid-July to mid-August, and diesels running to the same times WFO April-June and September and MX in July-August.  (Continental Railway Journal, #120, winter 1999-2000)  

0527][FR] Raccordement de Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence - Valence TGV - Raccordements de Lapalud: (Ball 57A1-66A1)  In mid-February 2000, TGVs to and from Valence were already using the new alignments of the flying junction on to the north-to-southwest curve (Raccordement de Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence) at the north end of the LGV Méditerranée.  Just to the south, where the existing Grenoble - Valence line crosses over the future Ligne à Grande Vitesse, Valence TGV station, north-east of the town, was visibly under construction.  Further south, between Pierrelatte and Lapalud, the classic PLM main line runs for several km parallel to the new LGV formation, apparently ready to receive its deep ballasting, and several links  (Raccordements de Lapalud) are to be put in between the  various tracks of the old and new lines. 

0528][BE][DE] (Liège -) Welkenraedt SNCB/NMBS - Aachen DB: (R.0134, 0268, 0411; Ball BE-10A2, DE-37A1)  The eastbound line A across the new Hammerbrücke was commissioned early, with the first passenger train being eastbound Thalys #9433 on 5 November 1999.  (Trans-fer, #114, December 1999)

0529][DE] Lauterbach Mole - Putbus - Binz - Sellin - Göhren: (BLN 739.0279, 741.0326, 797.0103; 835.0459, R.0031; Ball 13B2)  On the German Baltic island of Rügen, the present 750mm-gauge Rügensche Kleinbahn line with its Rasende Roland tourist trains opened as follows: Lauterbach Mole - Putbus (as standard-gauge) 15 May 1890, (as dual-gauge) 3 June 1999; Putbus - Binz 22 July 1895; Binz - Sellin West 22 May 1896; Sellin West - Ost 23 May 1896; Sellin Ost - Göhren 13 October 1899.  Freight was withdrawn 11 December 1967, and the line transferred to the island's local authority, Kreis Rügen, on 1 January 1996.  

750mm-gauge lines now gone were Altefähr - Putbus (4 July 1896 - 23 September 1967), and two unconnected sections in the north of the island: Bergen - Trent - Wittower Fähre (21 December 1896 - 20 January 1970; retained for Bergen - Trent freight till 26 September 1971); and Fährhof - Wiek - Altenkirchen (opened autumn 1895 for sugar-beet, 21 December 1896 for public traffic, closed 10 September 1968).  The short-lived Wiek (Abzw Buhrow) - Dranske - Bug branch opened 1 November 1918 to serve a seaplane base and lasted until 1920, though freight may have continued later.  The Wittower Fähre - Fährhof link was by narrow-gauge train-ferry across a strait, which began 1 September 1895, and continues as a local road-vehicle ferry. (mainly Eisenbahnen in Pommern, by Bäumer & Bufe, published Bufe Fachbuch Verlag 1988; and Eisenbahn Journal special #5/95 'Volldampf auf Rügen', Hermann Merker Verlag, 1995)

0530][DE] (Züssow -) Wolgast Hafen - Wolgaster Fähre (- Zinnowitz - Seebad Heringsdorf - Ahlbeck Grenze): (BLN 807.0355, R.0137; Ball 13B1; KBS194)  It seems the train-ferry to the Baltic island of Usedom was used for the last time in 1993, carrying refurbished Class 771 railbuses for Usedomer Bäderbahn.  It may just possibly have been used again in 1994, though this is unconfirmed.  By that time the track down to the ferry-slip at Wolgast Hafen was no longer usable, so a large crane lifted the railbuses on to the ship.  (Purists might not count this as a true train-ferry movement since the vehicles did not run on and off on rails at both ends!)  Rolling-stock could later be exchanged across the new Peenebrücke once it opened for road traffic in 1997.  May 2000 should see through trains running over this road-and-rail bridge to the island.  (IBSE)  From 26 September 1999 operation of the Züssow - Wolgast Hafen mainland section transferred from DB Regio to Usedomer Bäderbahn 

0531][DE] Grossbothen - Colditz - Rochlitz (- Penig - Glauchau): (R.0383, 0481; Ball 43A2-43A1; KBS529)  Trains appeared to have been reinstated on the Grossbothen - Colditz section by end-January 2000, with buses substituting only on the Colditz - Rochlitz section.  (http://www.bahn.hafas.de)

0532][AT] Stainz - Wohlsdorf - Preding-Wieselsdorf: (Ball 83B2)  The Wohlsdorf - Preding-Wieselsdorf section, as initially opened 1892 and finally closed 31 March 1980, was mixed-gauge, with the Steiermärkische Landesbahnen 760mm-gauge line sharing for about 1km the track of the Graz Köflacher Bahn 1435mm-gauge Graz - Lieboch - Wies-Eibiswald line (BLN 751.0138, 834.0444).  The interlaced track remained until 14 April 1980.  In 1981 Stainz town council took over the narrow-gauge line for their Stainzer Flascherlzug tourist trains.  The new extension, from Wohlsdorf loop by a separate narrow-gauge track parallel to the standard-gauge into Preding-Wieselsdorf station for interchange with GKB trains, opened right at the end of the season on 5 November 1999.  (Schienenverkehr Aktuell, #1/2000, quoted in IBSE Telegramm)

0533][PT] Viana do Castelo funicular: (BLN 780.0243, 850.0272; Ball 7A2)  The Elevador de Santa Luzia, a CP-operated 632m-long metre-gauge funicular from a lower station just above CP's main-line platforms to an upper station 180m above sea-level, did duly reopen in 1999, and during winter 1999-2000 was to be working 09:00-18:00 at weekends and public holidays, as well as afternoons on the third Friday of each month.  

0534][PT] Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Entrecampos - Sete Rios: (BLN 838.0580, R.0104; Ball 25B1)  Major works on the Linha de Cintura seem largely complete, for by end-January 2000 weekend trains seemed again to be running between Santa Apolónia and the Linha do Oeste north of Cacém.  At Entrecampos, nearly all CP trains use the northern island platforms 1 and 2.  Only CP's short workings to Cacém use the westward extension of this island, dubbed Entrecampos Poente (platforms 1P and 2P).  Entrecampos - Campolide - Fogueteiro Fertagus trains use the southern island platforms 3 and 4, not Poente as stated in R.0424.  Almost no trace remains of the short-lived CP suburban terminus that once abutted Entrecampos (Terminal 5 de Outubro, opened October 1992, closed after 15 May 1998; BLN 827.0270).

0535][PT] Lisboa metro: (BLN 850.0277)  A January 2000 Metropolitano de Lisboa leaflet for travellers advertising the strengthening of certain trains to six cars included a system plan showing the following extensions 'em construção': Baixa-Chiado - Santa Apolónia on the Blue (Gaivota) line A; Campo Grande - Odivelas on the Yellow (Girassol) line B; and Campo Grande - Telheiras on the Green (Caravela) line C.  The layout at Campo Grande is two stations side by side (not as shown on the 1994 Quail map).  The existing Green line surfaces from its tunnel and heads west as it arrives at Campo Grande, eventually to extend further west to Telheiras.  The Yellow line heads east as it arrives at Campo Grande and will continue east on a new viaduct above the Green line, presumably later turning north-west to Odivelas west of the airport.  The Alameda - Campolide westward extension of the Red (Oriente) line D is a longer-term plan, and is not shown.  

0536][PT] Lisboa trams:  In February 2000 the passing-loops were seen to be disconnected on the steep single-track Martim Moniz - São Tomé section, for Carris route #12 is now a clockwise-only 21-minute circle running from Praça Figueira 07:00-20:00 SSuO, 07:00-20:45 SSuX every 12/13 minutes (every 25 minutes on Sundays before 10:00).  The Eléctrico das Colinhas tourist-tram (R.0157) was running a single (expensive) afternoon tour daily in January and February, thereafter twice daily, with more planned for July-September.  Starting-point of these tours seems to continue to be the the dead-end siding on the west side of the Praça do Comércio, notwithstanding the disused appearance of the track.  

0537][PT] Ermidas-Sado - Sines (R.0449; Ball 26A1)  The freight-only Linha de Sines has been relaid with heavier rail to carry trains of coal from Sines port to the distant Pego power-station (R.0153).  At about km168 the present-day main freight line to the docks diverges from the original line to Sines, which is still in place, with its visibly lighter track seeming not totally out of use, though the PTG tour train of 31 January 2000 was barred from using it.  A local topographical map shows a line diverging north then west from this passenger line at about km173.  The 1994 Quail map quotes Sines passenger station as being at km177.2.  After the km168 junction the main freight line heads south, and at about km169 a line diverges west, indicated on the local map as a balloon-loop curving back to face Ermidas-Sado, though its second junction at about km170 has been removed.  Also at about km170, another branch diverges west, presumably to the Petrogal plant.  At about km171.5 the cutting of an abandoned or never-laid curve trails in from the west before the port line itself swings west towards the coast.  At km174.8 a line diverges southwards, possibly to Sines power station, which is also served by a cross-country conveyor-belt from the coal import facility.  Reaching the coast, the port line turns north-west to reach parallel loops whose north end is at km180.2.  Here the PTG tour train ran round.  Beyond, a single track leads to the coal-handling plant where the Pego trains are loaded.  

0538][PT] Beja - Moura: (R.0449; Ball 26B1-27A1)  Work to clear a landslip on the Ramal de Moura allowed it to be reopened for freight, but it still showed no signs of having any traffic when visited by a PTG railtour on 31 January 2000.  

0539][ES] (Madrid -) Linares-Baeza - Espeluy - Córdoba: (Ball 37A3-36A3)  Since completion of the Alta Velocidad Española standard-gauge line (Madrid - Ciudad Real - Córdoba - Sevilla), this section of the classic broad-gauge main line sees few daylight trains.  On the Espeluy - Jaen branch, none of the intermediate stations appears to remain open.  Córdoba's present partially-underground station opened 9 September 1994, with six standard- and three broad-gauge tracks, but the old building survives some 400m to the east and seems to form part of an ambitious plan for new construction in this area.  Broad-gauge trains now all stay to the north of the AVE line for some 3-4km west of Córdoba before taking a flyover above it and heading south for Bobadilla or continuing west to Sevilla on the classic line.  Broad-gauge track that once ran from the west end of Córdoba Central station south of the AVE line was probably removed when the new station was built.

0540][IT] (Sinalunga - Arezzo -) Rassina - Corsalone - Bibbiena (- Pratovecchio-Stia): (Ball 50A3)  The not-yet-opened LFI alignment seen on viaduct near Corsalone in December 1999 (R.0495) is said to be part of a 5km deviation avoiding a sinuous section prone to landslips.  

0541][GR] Piraeus - Athinai - Paleofarsalos - Thessaloniki: (BLN 792.0515; Ball 66B2-62B2)  OSE's standard-gauge main line is being electrified at 25kV 50Hz.  By February 2000 electrification masts were in evidence for most of the way from Paleofarsalos to Thessaloniki, and several stretches of new alignment were under construction along this route.  Much in evidence on the Athinai - Thessaloniki and Thessaloniki - Alexandroupolis lines were OSE's ABB-Henschel-built DE2000 twin-engined diesel-electric locomotives, designed for conversion to 25kV 50Hz electrics at some future stage.

0542][GR] Paleofarsalos - Kalambaka: (BLN 838.0582; Ball 62A2-62B1)  The leisurely conversion of the former metre-gauge line appeared well advanced in February 2000 and it seems possible standard-gauge trains may be running by the summer.  The Paleofarsalos - Velistinon - Volos section of metre-gauge line has definitely been abandoned but a preservation group would like to reopen at least part of the route.

0543][GR] Athinai metro: (R.0342, 0496)  In early February 2000 the sections operating were the original line 1 (Piraeus - Omonia - Attiki - Kifissia), line 2 (Syntagma - Omonia - Stathmos Larissa - Attiki - Sepolia) and line 3 (Syntagma - Ethniki Amyna).  No signs were seen indicating further openings shortly.  Some metro stations opened with different names from those originally published in the railway press.  'Akademia' became Panepistimio, 'Deligianni' became Metaxaourghio, 'Larissa' became Stathmos Larissa (near OSE's standard-gauge Athinai Larissa station).  The flat fare is GRD250 (=c.50p).

0544][CH] Brig - Oberwald - Realp - Andermatt - Sedrun - Bugnei - Tschepps - Mompé-Tujetsch - Disentis/Mustér: (BLN 836.0528, 837.0559, R.0454; Ball 94A1-94B2)  The Furka Oberalp Bahn are reported to be planning to receive some AlpTransit construction traffic via Brig at the west end of their line.  The timber electrification masts still in place over the Oberalp Pass may yet be replaced by new steel ones like those on the Sedrun - Disentis section, now extensively upgraded to assist with the massive north-south Gotthard Basistunnel project.  At Tschepps, east of Sedrun, the new rack-equipped, electrified and signalled freight branch specially built for the AlpTransit project diverges south at an east-facing junction, passing through a short tunnel and over a four-span steel-girder viaduct 207m long, descending steeply to the valley-floor to serve the Sedrun tunnelling work-base.  East towards Disentis the main line has been much rebuilt to eliminate rack working, and at least one additional passing loop has been installed, at Mompé-Tujetsch.  Sedrun - Disentis was temporarily closed 5 April-13 May 'for work on the new alignment at Disentis', which may therefore have come into use on 14 May 1999.  

0545][RU] Rail-tunnel to Sakhalin: (R.0389)  In the early 1950s some 5700 prisoners were forced to begin work on an 11km rail tunnel from mainland Russia to the northern end of Sakhalin island where the Tatar strait is narrowest, but the project was abandoned after ruthless Soviet dictator Josef Stalin died in 1953.  The February 2000 issue of National Geographic magazine depicts one of the 70m-deep access shafts that remain near Nikolaevsk-na-Amure.  Substantial new trackage on the mainland would be required as well as the tunnel itself if the project were to be reactivated.  

0546][NZ] (Dunedin -) Wingatui Jn - Taeri - Pukerangi - Middlemarch (- Ranfurly - Alexandra - Clyde - Cromwell):  Opened between 1889 and 1921, the Otago Central Branch north-west of Dunedin in New Zealand's South Island has long been closed to ordinary passengers (Dunedin - Alexandra 25 April 1976, Alexandra - Cromwell 11 May 1958).  The Taeri - Middlemarch section was sold to Dunedin City Council 30 April 1990, and the Otago Excursion Train Trust now run Dunedin - Pukerangi tourist trains daily in the southern summer, extended to Middlemarch on Sundays, with bus connections to Queenstown.  Through excursion trains also run for passengers on visiting cruise-ships, starting from Port Chalmers, Dunedin's port, north-east of the city on a short branch off the Christchurch - Dunedin (- Invercargill) Main South Line.  Beyond Middlemarch (km64), the Otago Central Branch was lifted in 1992, and on 20 February 2000 the 150km Middlemarch - Ranfurly - Clyde section saw a high-profile opening by New Zealand's Governor-General as a new recreational trail.

0547][CA] Edmonton, Alberta:  VIA Rail Canada's transcontinental Toronto, ON - Winnipeg, MB - Edmonton, AB - Vancouver, BC Canadian/Canadien is in 2000 still the only main-line passenger train to call at Edmonton, though the city also has a modern light-rail system (and five trolleybus routes: #3, 5, 7, 133 and 135).  The previous (ex-CN) passenger station was at the 101 St/104 Ave intersection, but since early 1998 VIA Rail's passenger facility has been relocated north-west of the downtown area, at the 121 Street/124 Avenue intersection, within walking distance of trolleybus route #3 or bus #12, and just west of Edmonton Municipal Airport.  Both station sites were originally on a c.10km downtown loop leaving the CN transcontinental main line to the north-east of the city at East Jn and rejoining it to the north-west at West Jn.  Nearly all the western part of this loop had been abandoned and built over by 1997, leaving a 5km stub from East Jn still serving the old CN station (BLN 816.0609).  This was in turn abandoned, and only a vestigial stub of the downtown loop remains as a branch serving the new passenger station, maybe 1km south of West Jn, and perhaps some freight sidings at Procyk.  As noted in R.0019, the Canadian in each direction runs past the triangle at West Jn on the main line and reverses into the station branch to avoid the locomotives having to run round.  Edmonton's northeast-to-southwest light-rail line (Clareview - Belvedere - Churchill - Corona - Grandin - University) parallels the former CN downtown loop from Belvedere, near East Jn, to Churchill, just north of which it enters a city-centre tunnel section before emerging to cross the North Saskatchewan River to the University of Alberta.

0548][US] (Los Angeles, CA -) Barstow, CA - Las Vegas, NV (- Salt Lake City, UT):  Amtrak are to acquire a fifth Talgo set, leased from the Spanish manufacturers for an experimental Los Angeles - Las Vegas train, to be financially supported by the gambling industry.  This would restore, perhaps from July 2000, perhaps from September, passenger service on the Barstow - Las Vegas section of this Union Pacific transcontinental main line, from which Amtrak withdrew the Los Angeles - Salt Lake City Desert Wind in 1997 (BLN 792.0529).  (partly http://www.cuerpo8.es/STOL/ultima/)

0549][PA] Ciudad Panama - Colon: (BLN 803.0268, 828.0298)  Opened in 1855 and prosperous for over a century as a freight and passenger carrier paralleling the Canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic, the 1524mm-gauge 76km Panama Railroad fell into disrepair in the 1980s and had virtually ceased operations by 1996, when Panama's government gave Kansas City Southern Railroad and Mi-Jack, a US intermodal-terminal company, a 25-year concession to run it.  The American consortium on 15 February 2000 formally began reconstruction of the derelict line to standard 1435mm-gauge, and hope to have the new Panama Canal Railway in operation across the isthmus by autumn 2001.  (http://www2.trains.com)

0550][BR] (São Paulo -) Santa Fé do Sul - Aparecida do Taboado - Chapadao do Sul - Alto Taquari (- Rondonópolis - Cuiabá):  The 19th-century saw railways built all over the world to open up areas for economic development.  Major rail-construction projects of this kind continue into the 21st-century in Brazil.  The new 1600mm-gauge Ferronorte line heads west from Santa Fé do Sul by a 3770m road-and-rail bridge across the Paraná river to Aparecida do Taboado.  Beyond, the 120km Chapadao do Sul - Alto Taquari section opened in 1999, completing the first stage of the project.  Finance is agreed for construction of the 390km second stage, Alto Taquari - Rondonópolis, to be completed by 2001, and the line is planned to extend eventually to Cuiabá, deep in the Mato Grosso, 1038km from Santa Fé do Sul.  (International Railway Journal, 9/99)

0551][FR] Toul - Neufchâteau - Merrey (Haute Marne): (Ball 28B2-39A3)  Major engineering work is planned for this line from end-July to early September 2000, requiring considerable diversion of freight and presumably passenger trains.  

0552][FR] St.Sulpice-Laurière - Vieilleville - Guéret - Busseau-sur-Creuse - Lavaufranche - Treignat - Montluçon-Ville: (Ball 45B1-46B1)  In early 2000 the Vieilleville - Bourganeuf branch was still in use for freight, mainly timber.  The stub of the former Guéret - Aigurande line (BLN 807.0354) was in use for petroleum products.  Busseau-sur-Creuse - Felletin (BLN 810.0433) has timber traffic and retains its sparse passenger service.  Lavaufranche - Boussac, closed to passengers 6 March 1939 but still open to freight in 1990, had clearly been out of use for some time and the track, though still in place, was overgrown.  Between Lavaufranche and Treignat, on the south side of the line, is a busy industrial siding, with two rail-connected quarries further east. 

0553][FR] (Montluçon-Ville -) Lapeyrouse - St.Eloy-les-Mines - Gouttières - Les Fades - Les Ancizes-St.Georges - Volvic - Clermont-Ferrand: (Ball 46B1-55A3)  Given the sparsely-populated area through which the line runs and the alternative Lapeyrouse - Gannat - Riom - Clermont-Ferrand route nearby, the survival of a passenger service is perhaps surprising.  Unusually for France, the line is laid with bullhead rail, and much of it is limited to 60km/h.  The Lapeyrouse - St.Eloy section has no midweek service (EGTRE FR00/164), but in the 1999-2000 timetable the Saturday southbound train has been retimed and makes good connections at both ends, opening up a number of journey possibilities.  On 26 February 2000 this train, the 10:31SO Montluçon - Clermont-Ferrand, was a single-unit railcar X2848, reasonably well-filled.  As its full name implies, St.Eloy was once a coal-mining town and still sees some freight traffic.  At Gouttières can be seen the abandoned trackbed of the Montluçon - Pionsat - Gouttières line, closed to passengers 15 March 1939 and to freight Montluçon - Pionsat 3 November 1969, Pionsat - Gouttières 1950.  Just north of Les Fades is the famous Viaduc des Fades, the highest in France (R.0554).  Further south, near Les Ancizes, is a steelworks employing over 1000 people, but sadly generating no regular rail traffic.  A number of other private sidings elsewhere on the line are also disused.  Volvic station on the hillside does not handle the famous mineral-water.  Volvic water is shipped by rail in large quantities, but from the bottling-plant's own industrial branch at a lower level near Riom on the Vichy - Clermont-Ferrand main line. 

0554][FR] France: high viaducts:  When the railways were built, the Massif Central of volcanic outcrops and limestone plateaux bisected by deep river gorges required major engineering features.  The three highest rail viaducts in France are all in this area, and indeed these three are among the seven highest in the world.  Carrying the (Lapeyrouse -) St.Priest-Sauret - Les Fades (- Volvic) line 132.5m above the river Sioule on 465m of steel spans supported by masonry piers, the Viaduc des Fades (Ball 55B3) opened in 1909, and was the highest in the world until 1976, when Yugoslavia's newly-built (Beograd -) Pozega - Podgorica (- Bar) line opened across the Mala Rijeka viaduct.  Perhaps better known is the Viaduc de Garabit (R.0062; Ball 55A1), on the (Neussargues -) Ruynes - Garabit (- Le Monastier) Ligne des Causses.  Designed by Gustave Eiffel, it opened in 1884 with its rails then 122m above the river Truyère.  More recently the river has been dammed, reducing the height to 112m above the water.  The third is the Viaduc du Viaur (Ball 62B1) on the (Rodez -) Naucelle - Tanus (- Albi) line, 116m above the river Viaur.  All are more impressive from nearby vantage points than from the train.

0555][FR] Brive-la-Gaillarde - St-Denis-près-Martel - Capdenac: (Ball 53B3-62A3)  At St.Denis the level-crossing barriers, and one rail, have been removed from the St.Denis-près-Martel - Martel line, preventing through running of CFT du Haut Quercy trains (R.0526).  At Capdenac, the Cahors - Calvignac - Cajarc - Capdenac line, over which Quercyrail have run summer tourist trains in recent years (BLN 798.0132), had a metal scotch attached to the track, and the home signal, installed as part of Capdenac resignalling during the 1990s, was disconnected.  A two-car autorail with Quercyrail markings languished behind Capdenac station in poor external condition on 10 February 2000, and their Picasso was seen later in the month at Cahors in a similar state.  Quercyrail are not advertising trips out of Capdenac in summer 2000, only on the Cahors - Cajarc section, and Cajarc - Capdenac seems therefore once again out of use.  The Ball atlas implies an east-to-south chord east of Capdenac station, but no trace of this now remains.  

0556][FR] Capdenac - Penchot - Decazeville - Rodez: (Ball 62A3-62B2)  This single-track line still carries daytime and overnight through trains of Corail coaches from Paris, hauled by 67400-series diesels from Brive.  The attractive countryside of the limestone-plateau causses is brusquely interrupted by an area of decaying industry around Decazeville, where opencast coal is still extracted and huge slag-heaps overlook the railway.  Near Penchot an antiquated coal-fired power station is still active and rail-connected, but the only evidence of rail traffic in February 2000 appeared to be a few tar-tankers and fly-ash hopper-wagons.  The west-to-east access to the former Decazeville - Decazeville-Fontvergne branch has been completely removed, and the south-to-east chord which used to carry the branch passenger shuttle has been cut back to a 100m siding ending at buffers over which a small shed has been erected. 

0557][FR] Rodez - Sévérac-le-Château: (BLN 781.0256, 835.0457; Ball 62B2-63A2)  In 1959 SNCF introduced ten domed autorails panoramiques, numbered in the X4200 series, and one of these, preserved by AGRIVAP (BLN 803.0254) has become a familiar vehicle on railtours.  For some twenty-odd years the X4200s operated a number of scenic routes in southern France, including at least two summer-only long-distance services which have subsequently vanished: a Genève - Grenoble - Digne train, with a Digne - Nice connection over the metre-gauge CF de la Provence; and a Toulouse - Albi - Rodez - Sévérac (reverse) - Le Monastier (reverse) - La Bastide - St.Georges d'Aurac (reverse) - Le Puy - Lyon working.  Two central sections of the latter train's route have experienced mixed fortunes.  The section Le Monastier - Mende - La Bastide-St.Laurent-les-Bains (Ball 63B2-64A3), probably the more scenically attractive, has reverted to being served from each end to Mende, making a through rail journey quite difficult.  On the Rodez - Sévérac section all-year trains ceased 28 September 1980, so withdrawal of the seasonal train on 28 August 1988 left it without any passenger service for a year or two, and with only sporadic freight.  However it has recently found a place in the rail transport plan of the Région Midi-Pyrénées, who pay SNCF to provide all-year local trains.  The 1999-2000 timetable shows no eastbound train on Saturday, and no westbound train on Sunday, but the section may now have its best service in the last fifty years.  A journey on the 07:00 Tournemire - Toulouse on 10 February 2000 revealed an encouraging number of passengers.  The train was an X2100-series single-unit railcar, to which a trailer was attached at Rodez.  A similar unit was employed on the Brive - Millau return working, a daily running-distance of 470km, creditably high for these small railcars.  Midway, traces of the junction station at Bertholène and of the Bertholène - Espalion line - shown in Ball as proposed for preservation but lifted by 1996 (BLN 781.0256) - have been almost completely obliterated. 

0558][BE] (La Louvière-Sud -) Y Haine-St.Pierre - Leval - Binche: (Ball 8A1; SNCB 108)  The old Saxby signal-boxes at Leval and Binche are to be abolished when the planned singling of Ligne 108 (BLN 828.0278) goes ahead later in 2000.  A railtour run by preservation group Patrimoine Ferroviaire Touristique on 18 March 2000 was probably the last train on the Raccordement Electrabel, a c.2km industrial line leaving Ligne 108 at Leval to serve a power-station, now disused, just north of Binche.  No traffic had passed for some time and it is likely the connection at Leval, an indirect one from a siding on the west side of the main running lines, will be removed with the singling and resignalling.  On the Electrabel line the PFT railcar managed to pass cautiously an embankment slip that had left the sleeper ends unsupported, but it could not proceed beyond the level-crossing at Rue de l'Industrie, Ressaix, about 1.5km from Leval, where road repairs had filled in a section of the rails.  The Electrabel line is not shown on railway maps, but does appear on the 1:200,000 Michelin road map. 

0559][DE] Priemerburg - Plaaz - Rostock: (R.0093; Ball 12B1)  This line is again shown as electrified on the DB system map issued with the September 1999 issue of the Kursbuch.  

0560][DE] Schlüchtern - Elm: (Ball 51A3-51B3)  The Frankfurt-am-Main - Fulda rail link was established 15 December 1868, with trains reversing at Elm, originally a terminus.  On 6 May 1872 the Gemünden (Main) - Elm line opened, approaching from the south by a horseshoe curve, sometimes described as one of the tightest on the German main-line network, and joining the former dead-end at Elm, which was given a huge station for such a lonely area in the hills.  Not until 1 May 1914 did Frankfurt - Fulda through-running become possible, when the Schlüchtern - Flieden section through Distelrasen tunnel was completed, avoiding Elm, and the stations Schlüchtern, Elm and Flieden became the corners of a somewhat misshapen triangle.  Today, passenger trains no longer use Schlüchtern - Elm and do not stop at Elm station, whose track layout has been reduced to a minimum.  However, the line, though now single-track, has not been abandoned and is indeed electrified, because it forms a useful route enabling taller loads to avoid the restricted loading-gauge in the Schwarzkopf tunnel between Laufach and Heigenbrücken on the present Frankfurt - Würzburg main line.  On Sunday 10 September 2000, when the annual cycling event Kinzigtal total takes place, roads along the Kinzig valley will be closed to motor traffic, and DB will run special Hanau - Schlüchtern - Elm - Sterbfritz passenger trains, traversing the otherwise freight-only section.  

0561][DE] Dresden industrial narrow-gauge railway museum:  Since 1978 the Historische Feldbahn Dresden eV preservation group in eastern Germany have collected no fewer than 270 wagons and 82 light locomotives, mostly diesels and mostly 600mm-gauge, but also three AEG electrics of 1914, 1921 and 1924, a Krauss 0-4-0T steam engine of 1923, and rolling-stock of 500mm, 550mm, 700mm, 750mm, 800mm, 900mm and 1435mm gauges.  At their premises in Dresden-Klotzsche, north-east of the city and 2km from the airport, they have a small (115m) circle of track, where they are holding a Feldbahnausstellung event over the weekend before Easter (10:00-18:00 Sat-Sun 15-16 April 2000 at Stralsunder Strasse 5, D-01109 Dresden, which is also their postal address).  This is likely to be the last event there before a move to larger premises at Pirna, some 20km to the south-east.  Intending visitors can e-mail Marian Sommer for directions to the site (sommer@pssrs1.phy.tu-dresden.de).  

0562][DE] Gaildorf - Laufen (Kocher) - Untergröningen: (Ball 58B2)  The sparse passenger service on the Kochertalbahn may possibly be withdrawn at the timetable change on 28 May 2000.  A visit was made on 24 March, not without difficulty, using a bus in one direction.  The line is operated by railbus VT114, ex-SWEG but leased from a private firm, and carries few passengers other than schoolchildren.  The Monday-Friday 18:03 Untergröningen - Gaildorf working in particular regularly runs empty.  Freight traffic on the Württembergische Eisenbahn line, mainly wood chippings from Laufen, was previously substantial but has recently declined to about four wagons a day.  Apart from a few 10km/h restrictions on bridges over the river Kocher, the track, light rails spiked without base-plates directly on to wooden sleepers, seems in reasonable condition. 

0563][PT] Valença do Minho - Monção: (R.0450; Ball 7B2)  In March 2000 the track of the Ramal de Monção was seen to be lifted at the Valença end.  

0564][PT] Porto Campanhã - São Romão - Trofa - Lousado (- Famalicão - Nine - Valença do Minho): (BLN 798.0141; Ball 7B1)  In March 2000 São Romão remained the northern limit of double track and electrification but work on doubling was in progress north to Lousado, with foundations for overhead-line masts already installed.  No work was evident north of the point where the new alignment of the Linha do Minho at Lousado meets the original alignment, to the north of the station.  At Lousado new station, all four platforms were in use, two on the Lousado - Nine main line, and two on the Lousado - Santo Tirso branch.  

0565][PT] (Porto - Trofa - Lousado -) Santo Tirso - Guimarães: (BLN 851.0309; Ball 7A1-7B1)  In March 2000 no work appeared to have started on conversion of the Santo Tirso - Guimarães section from metre to broad gauge.  Guimarães has a new maintenance shed for the three two-car metre-gauge diesel units now confined to the branch.  Quite a lot of EU money seems to have been spent, though a poorer service has resulted for Porto - Guimarães passengers, who have seen their journey times lengthen by some 10 minutes and who now generally have to change trains twice, at Trofa and Santo Tirso.  Though three Porto São Bento - Porto Campanhã - Santo Tirso through trains run daily, the connections they provide to Guimarães offer a service no faster than the withdrawn metre-gauge through trains from Porto Trindade.

0566][PT] Ermesinde - São Gemil: (BLN 848.0218, 850.0274; Ball 7B1)  During March 2000 the Ermesinde station area was being remodelled and the Concordância de São Gemil was noted as being disconnected at the Ermesinde end.  

0567][PT] Coimbra - Serpins: (R.0012; Ball 17B2)  Portugal's rail infrastructure authority REFER (Rede Ferroviária Nacional) are studying conversion of the 35km branch for light rail operation.  (Railway Gazette International, August 1999)

0568][PT] Abrantes - Torre das Vargens - Portalegre - Elvas CP - Badajoz RENFE: (BLN 856.0103; Ball 26B3-27B2)  By summer 1999 this cross-border route had just one daily round-trip, and the substantial CP passenger timetable supplement effective from 26 September 1999 showed the times altered only slightly (Abrantes 09:50 - 12:30 Badajoz 14:30 - 17:15 Abrantes).  In quoting these Badajoz times the CP timetable risks confusing the unwary passenger by failing to mention the one-hour difference between Portuguese and Spanish time zones, a curious omission since it dutifully draws attention to this time difference in tables 1-3, covering the three other border-crossings (Valença CP - Tui RENFE, Ball 7B2; Vilar Formoso CP - Fuentes de Oñoro RENFE, 18B2; and Marvão-Beirã CP - Valencia de Alcántara RENFE, 27A3).  

On 28 January 2000 the CP train duly carried our reporter and two other eastbound passengers to Badajoz.  A zealous RENFE policeman banned photography on the station, and followed the suspicious foreigner around for some time.  At 13:30 the town seemed to have gone to sleep, but fortunately the station buffet remained open.  The departure-sheet on the platform of course showed the westbound train as departing at 15:30 for Lisboa.  The Madrid - Badajoz Talgo arrived 20 minutes late and set off back to the capital 40 minutes late having awaited the on-time arrival of the Puertollano - Badajoz diesel railcar.  Both arrivals offered the connection into Portugal, but no-one took this opportunity, and our reporter rode entirely on his own aboard the locomotive-hauled two-coach train (one first, one second) back across the unmarked border.  At Elvas the waiting passengers were not allowed to board until Portuguese police with sniffer dogs had searched the train, apologising but not actually examining our man's luggage.  The train then picked up passengers at most stations - it was Friday afternoon - and was full by Abrantes, where most passengers transferred to the connecting 15:10 Covilhã - Lisboa rapido, also full.  

0569][PT] Lisboa: Alcântara Terra - Alcântara Mar:  (Ball 25B1, electrification not correctly shown)  The 25kV 50Hz electrified single-track Campolide - Alcântara Terra branch (BLN 728.080, 819.057, R.0104) continues southwards as a short unelectrified single-track freight line, crossing 900mm-gauge street-tram route #15 and 18 on the level before trailing into the 1500V dc Lisboa Cais do Sodré - Alcântara Mar - Cascais double-track passenger line just west of Alcântara Mar station.  Immediately to the west of this junction an unelectrified freight branch diverges into a container terminal in the dock area.  CP are understood to have ordered dual-voltage electric units, whose only possible purpose would be to run through services from Lisboa Entrecampos over the Alcântara Terra - Mar link to the Cascais line, but in February 2000 the unwired section still separated the two electrification systems, and it was not clear how wiring it up would cope with Carris low-voltage overhead at the street-tramway crossing.  Presumably through-running between the Linha da Cintura and the Linha de Cascais will involve only some of the trains, for the limited capacity of the single-track Campolide - Alcântara section would make it difficult to divert the whole intensive service out of Cais do Sodré.  Furthermore the Lisboa Metro was extended as recently as 18 April 1998 to Cais do Sodré (BLN 828.0291, 850.0277, R.0535), so this riverside terminus does seem to continue to feature in CP's plans.  

0570][PT] Lisboa: Entrecampos - Campolide - Pragal - Fogueteiro: (R.0156, 0424, 0534; Ball 25B1)  Fertagus have their own tickets and booking-offices at Entrecampos and Campolide, and their commuter trains over the Tejo estuary are not shown in CP timetables.  Times and fares are available at http://www.fertagus.pt.  Through-ticketing on to CP seems to be restricted to monthly passes, which are valid for travel also on the Lisboa Rossio - Amadora section of CP's Linha de Sintra.  The Entrecampos - Fogueteiro return fare (PTE900 = EUR4.49 or about GBP2.80) is pitched somewhat above CP fare levels, but a Fertagus double-deck four-car electric unit from Entrecampos platform 4 on the evening of 2 March 2000 was well used by homebound commuters.  The new Campolide station is a complete contrast to the former single platform on the Campolide - Alcântara-Terra line, whose CP trains now share Campolide platforms 6 and 7 with Fertagus services.  Just north of the 25 de Abril bridge is the unnamed and not-yet-in-use station variously described as Alvita or Alvito by Today's Railways #31. Comprising two island-platforms devoid of any buildings, it was put in as an emergency turn-back point for Fertagus trains in case of problems on CP, but it may later become a proper station.  South of the bridge the line is in tunnel to Pragal, served also by one daily CP train-pair to and from Porto.  Crossing the A2 motorway the line remains continuously on viaduct or embankment to Fogueteiro, a section which has obviously been very expensive to build.  Fogueteiro station has three platforms, although only two are needed for the current ten-minute peak frequency.  The station is not close to any residential or commercial development, but is a major bus interchange and park-and-ride point.  Beyond, the line continues south-east to Coina depot, some distance away, and is planned eventually to join up with CP's Penalva - Pinhal Nova freight branch to attain the main CP line to the south at Pinhal Nova.  The Fogueteiro - Coina - Penalva (- Pinhal Nova) link has reportedly been postponed until at least 2005 due to shortage of finance.  

0571][PT] Santana-Cartaxo / Setil - Morgado - Vidigal - Bombel / Vendas Novas: (BLN 819.055, R.0153; Ball 26A3-26A2)  Timetable posters seen at main-line stations on 27 January showed the Porto Campanhã - Faro Comboio Azul making a booked stop at Setil and therefore not running via the electrified north-to-east Concordância de Setil-Norte.  This is somewhat surprising as Setil is in the throes of complete reconstruction, and one might have thought it operationally convenient to avoid the station.  While realignment is under way, Setil's main-line platforms are temporarily trackless, and northbound trains from Lisboa call at a temporary wooden platform with no identification, south of the station.  The only platform on the southbound (east) side appeared to be the one used by the Vendas Novas train.  On 2 February 2000 the 06:20 Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Setil was delayed by engineering works, and the connecting 07:23 Setil - Vendas Novas departed 27 minutes late with five travellers including our reporter aboard.  Some spirited driving of Allen diesel railcar #020113 ensued, with speeds up to 90km/h and non-stop running through the halts at Lavre, Canha and Vidigal, all being request-stops where the driver was obviously confident that no-one would be waiting.  No passengers were picked up, though one did alight at the remote halt of Salgueirinha.  Vidigal station has a substantial building and appears in the 1999-2000 timetable, but is not shown on the Quail map nor in the Ball atlas.  It lies immediately north of the point where the electrified Setil - Vidigal line splits into the electrified north-to-west curve for Bombel (used by electric-hauled Sines - Pego coal trains) and the unelectrified north-to-east curve for Vendas Novas.  Time recovery was impressive until a red signal brought the railcar to an abrupt stop at the junction with the main line outside Vendas Novas, where it was held till the (07:35 Beja -) 08:50 Vendas Novas - Barreiro departed, thereby preventing our reporter from making a fast connection back to Lisboa.  The railcar then ran into the bay platform where it sat until it set off as the 10:30 Vendas Novas - Barreiro local train, calling at most stations. 

0572][PT] Lisboa trams:  On 1 February 2000 the dead-end siding on the west side of the Praça do Comércio (R.0157) was used to start a special tram-tour using Carris car #742, and later in the day the advertised Eléctrico das Colinhas tourist-tram was seen standing there.  The tram-tour, operating in connection with a PTG railtour, covered some unusual track.  First running east to Alfândega turning-circle, it then took route #15, parallel to CP's Lisboa Cais do Sodré - Cascais line, west to Alcântara to enter Santo Amaro depot yard.  Within Santo Amaro depot, tourist-tram #2 (ex-#437), with upholstered seats and curtains, offered an internal ride including a visit to the operating company's museum.  Tram #742 then continued via the non-passenger west-to-north curve at Alcântara into Rua Leas de Oliveira to join route #18 westwards to Ajuda turning-circle.  Returning east to Alfândega turning-circle and departing for a second time, the tour-tram took the non-passenger east-to-north curve into Rua da Prata to join route #15 to Praça da Figueira, then route #12 to Martim Moniz and route #28 to Prazeres turning-circle, returning via route #25 to Alfândega and ending the tour.  The need to use the Alfândega turning-circle three times shows the relative lack of other options in the city-centre following system retrenchment.  As noted in R.0536, route #12, which threads through extremely narrow streets, now runs as a clockwise-only circular route and its former passing-loops are redundant.  Anticlockwise running was abandoned due to traffic and obstruction by parked cars. 

0573][PT] Castro Verde-Almodôvar - Aljustrel: (R.0449; Ball 33B3 not shown)  CP said in February 2000 that no traffic was currently using the Ramal de Aljustrel, shown as closed but in place on the 1994 Quail map.  

0574][ES] Coruña trams: (BLN 808.0384; Ball 1B2 not shown)  The metre-gauge tourist heritage tramway inaugurated on 10 May 1997 in the Galician city of A Coruña/La Coruña was extended on 23 April 1999.  On 13 March 2000 visitors on an ADL railtour traversed the system from the depot near the Torre de Hercules, site of a Roman lighthouse.  Both the original 4.5km section south to Castillo de San Antón and the newer 3.5km section west then south-west to Playa de Orzán are double-track, running in the roadway along the coastal promenade.  The line may be further extended at the San Antón end, with a 1km single track running closer to the city-centre by 2002.

0575][ES] Llovio - Ribadesella Puerto: (BLN 797.0111; Ball 4A2 not shown)  Diverging from FEVE's metre-gauge Oviedo - Llovio - Ribadesella - Santander line at the east end of Llovio station, this branch, in effect a single-track long siding, runs beside the river down to a single platform closer to the town-centre than Ribadesella station at a higher level on the through line.  No run-round loop is provided, and no buffer-stop physically prevents trains continuing past the Puerto platform into the street, but the line beyond round the harbour is out of use, tarred over for much of its length, and blocked by parked cars.  An ADL railtour again visited Ribadesella on 14 March 2000, but on this occasion was refused access to the Puerto branch due to engineering work thereon.  The work seemed quite extensive, with the trackbed near the platform being prepared for new ballast and a big pile of second-hand but newly-creosoted sleepers nearby.  By summer 2000 the branch may again be ready to receive excursions, including those run in connection with the annual canoe race down the river.  

0576][ES] Puente Poncebos - Bulnes: underground funicular: (BLN 814.0550; Ball 4A1 not shown)  By March 2000 the tunnel-mouth at the lower station, Puente Poncebos, 250m above sea-level in northern Spain's spectacular Picos de Europa national park, was clearly visible, and locals said track was in place in the 2.2km-long tunnel climbing some 400m to the upper station in the tiny village of Bulnes, but that traction cables had not yet been installed.  An opening date of July 2000 has been quoted, but this may be optimistic.  For the moment, access to road-less Bulnes remains solely by steep mule-path.  

0577][ES] Alacant/Alicante trams: Puerta del Mar - La Marina - Albufereta - Lucentum (- Discotecas): (R.0046; Ball 32A1 partly shown)  Electric wiring extends over the 700m length of single-track metre-gauge tramway inaugurated 17 March 1999 from Puerta del Mar north-east to a low section of platform with its own shelter at Alacant La Marina station of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Válenciana, and then over some 5km of the original railway shared with FGV Alacant - Denia diesel trains north-eastward to a low-platform halt called Lucentum immediately beyond Condomina station.  In March 2000 the trams were terminating at Lucentum, but masts and part of a second track were in place out as far as the next station, Discotecas.  Travellers seeking overlap of track between the tram and the train should change at Lucentum rather than Alacant La Marina.  Two trams are operated, #3806 from Valencia and #500 from Halle, Germany, the latter reliveried externally, but still carrying inside, for the doubtful benefit of Spanish passengers, all the rules of its original operator in solemn Teutonic detail!  

0578][ES] Alacant/Alicante Término - San Gabriel - Elx/Elche - Albatera-Catral - Alquerías-Santomera - Murcia: (Ball 32A1-38B3)  Trains on this unelectrified 1668mm-gauge RENFE line leave Alacant main station on the former Ferrocarril de Madrid a Zaragoza y Alicante, and immediately curve sharply south and east to join the line of the former Ferrocarril Andaluces, reversing just beyond this junction at the halt of San Gabriel.  San Gabriel has two platform roads, the northern one ending in a buffer-stop, the southern one still in March 2000 continuing towards the site of the original FC Andaluces terminus and the port area.  Reaching Elx, the line has since 15 December 1977 passed beneath the city in some 4km of cut-and-cover tunnel broken by a viaduct over a palm-lined river.  Both the city's stations are underground.  The Albatera-Catral - Torrevieja freight branch was seen to be lifted.  Beyond the Alquerías-Santomera - Cartagena branch trails in from the south-east before the line reaches Murcia.  

0579][ES] Murcia - Alcantarilla Los Romanos - Lorca - Almendricos - Aguilas: (Ball 38B3-38A2)  The lines westward from Murcia station are two single tracks, not as shown in Ball.  Reaching the town of Alcantarilla the northernmost line turns away towards Chinchilla and Madrid, while the southern one, gradually diverging, calls at a newish halt, Alcantarilla Los Romanos, south of the town-centre.  The north-to-west alignment shown in Ball is no more, and the trackbed of this curve has become a street.  Most of the trains on the line terminate at Lorca, and in the January 2000 timetable only three workings a day ran forward though they call at several local stations shown in Ball as closed.  Some at least of the track and signalling of the closed Almendricos - Guadix (- Granada) line were seen still in place in March 2000.  Aguilas, the terminus, was formerly a mineral-handling port, but has seen busier times.  

0580][IT] (Torino Porta Susa -) Torino Dora - Ciriè - Germagnano - Pessinetto - Ceres: (BLN 752.0160, 817.09; Ball 45B3-45A3)  Società per Azioni Trasporti Torinesi Intercomunali are slowly upgrading their partly-electrified commuter line which diverges from FS at Torino Dora.  Work is under way on a deviation, partly underground, to serve the international airport at Torino Caselle, and the Torino Dora - Ciriè section is closed from 2 May 1999 till perhaps 2001.  Ciriè - Germagnano was closed 1 August - 10 September 1999 while several bridges were built to replace level-crossings.  (The In Treno timetable pessimistically showed SATTI buses instead of trains for the whole summer.)  Floods in September 1993 damaged a bridge beyond Pessinetto and led to buses replacing Germagnano - Ceres trains.  It is not clear if trains have run since, though the eventual aim is still restoration and electrification.  (mainly L'Écho du Rail, #205, February 2000)

0581][CH] Brig - Andermatt - Disentis/Mustér: (R.0544; Ball 94A1-94B2)  According to Swiss Express, journal of the Swiss Railways Society, the new Furka-Oberalp Bahn tunnel at Disentis was completed in September 1999, so the new alignment did not open before then.  

0582][HU] Kemence forestry railway:  This isolated 600mm-gauge line ran in the Börzsöny hills, near the Slovakian border, some 100km north-west of Budapest.  Floods in 1995 and 1999 damaged the track and some eight bridges need rebuilding work, but a preservation-group are creating a small railway and forestry museum at the Kemence depot and hope to have an initial 2km section operating during summer 2000.  For more information, including pictures, visit http://www.zpok.hu/fjoo/kemence1.htm or e-mail, in English, to fjoo@zpok.hu. 

0583][RO] Sibiu - Agnita: (BLN 805.0325, 809.0422; Ball 49B2-50A1; CFR 204)  This Caile Ferate Romane 760mm-gauge line was reported in March 2000 as still operating passenger trains: daily Sibiu 08:05 - 10:42 Agnita 15:20 - 18:00 Sibiu, with diesel haulage.  The CFR narrow-gauge lines around Tirgu Mures have closed.

0584][RO] Romania: forestry lines: (R.0432)  Of all the apparently timeless Caile Ferate Forestiere 760mm-gauge lines in Romania, only the Viseu de Sus system is reported in March 2000 to be still hauling timber, and with diesel traction.  For the moment tourist steam charters remain possible on this system and on those at Moldovita and Covasna, through the Ronedo organisation.  

0585][AL][YU] Milot - Rrëshen (- Morine - Prizren JZ): (BLN 793.020; Ball 52A2)  A preliminary study was completed in late 1999 of a possible link involving restoration of HSH's abandoned Milot - Rrëshen line, and construction of 83km of new railway north-east through Albania plus an extension of some 17km to join the Yugoslavian system at Prizren in Kosova/Kosovo.  (http://www.angelfire.com/ak/hekurudha/hshproj.html)

0586][IR][PK] (Tehran - Bafq -) Kerman - Zahedan (- Mirjaveh RAI - Qila Saveh PR - Quetta):  Iranian railways (RAI) plan during the current Islamic year 1379 to open a standard-gauge (1435mm) line from the main Rah Ahan Iran system at Kerman 540km east to Zahedan.  Zahedan is the Iranian end of the broad-gauge (1676mm) line, British-built in 1920, which runs some 90km east to the Pakistan border, and is worked effectively as part of the Pakistan Railways system.  A weekly international through train is timetabled, departing on Mondays from Zahedan, Saturdays from Quetta, 734km away.  The Kerman - Zahedan link would for the first time bridge the gap between the railway networks of west and south Asia, and thus enable an all-rail journey from Europe to the Indian subcontinent.  (Unofficial RAI website: http://www.msedv.com/rai)

0587][IN] Delhi - Ambala - Chandigarh - Kalka and Kalka - Shimla: (BLN 849.0253)  Although nearly all of the Delhi - Ambala - Chandigarh - Kalka broad-gauge line appears electrified, the wires do not quite reach the platforms at Kalka, and may not be live, so 25kV 50Hz traction throughout is still not feasible.  On 14 February 2000 the New Dehli - Kalka Himalayan Queen 1676mm-gauge express was terminated at Ambala because of a derailment the previous night on the Ambala - Kalka section.  Indian Railways do not provide any onward connections by bus, only a refund for the part of the journey not completed, so it was up to passengers to make their own way.  After much delay our reporter completed his journey to Shimla by road as the last uphill Kalka - Shimla train had long gone.  By 16 February broad-gauge services had been restored, and the train from Delhi ran through to Kalka, arriving diesel-hauled.  The 762mm-gauge Kalka - Shimla line, with its spirals and steep gradients, remains well maintained.  At the Shimla end, some services terminate and start up to 2km beyond the main station at Shimla Extension, which comprises a platform, a run-round loop and a few sidings in a concrete basement beneath the bus-station.  The Extension may once have been a freight line, but it seems to be used for passenger interchange because buses cannot easily reach Shimla main station.  

0588][IN] New Jalpaiguri - Siliguri Jn - Sukna - Tindharia - Kurseong - Ghoom - Darjeeling: (BLN 849.0253)  The major washouts of March 1999 were restored, and in February 2000 the 87km Darjeeling and Himalayan Railway was operational throughout.  The junction of New Jalpaiguri on the Northeast Frontier Railway has Indian broad-gauge (1676mm), metre-gauge and narrow-gauge (610mm) lines.  The 610mm-gauge DHR runs parallel to the metre-gauge line as far as Siliguri Jn and then, still on fairly flat terrain, diverges to Sukna where it starts its climb up gradients as steep as 1-in-23 to the summit at Ghoom.  From Sukna to Darjeeling, the track follows the mountain road very closely, also using the main streets in towns like Kurseong.  As the road curves more sharply than the railway, the track seems to cross each corner of the road on major bends, giving rise to about 132 level-crossings, many giving drivers very limited visibility.  Several spirals and zig-zag reversals are used to gain height.  During busy times, several trains may run in convoy.  Few loops exist and trains usually pass by one of them reversing into a siding.  The simple layouts can cause delay, as at Sonada, where the uphill train takes on water at the station before drawing forward and reversing into the siding, leaving the downhill train to wait around the corner for its access to the station.  Some stations, including Darjeeling, lack watering facilities, and water is taken on between stations, usually where the line crosses a small river and a simple tank has been installed.  All of this leads to a typical journey time of nine hours, at an average speed of less than 10km/h.  The elderly steam locomotives each have a crew of up to five, comprising driver, fireman, man on top of engine to pass coal to fireman, and two men on the front to sand the rails.  Due to the reduced boiler pressure now permitted they can pull only three carriages rather than four, and they have become increasingly unreliable.  On 19 February  a New Jalpaiguri - Darjeeling train failed several times (bearings, slide valve, blown plug), and was three hours late by sunset at Kurseong, where it was terminated.  It was reported locally that diesels were to take over on the New Jalpaiguri - Darjeeling through trains from 5 March 2000, but only one diesel was observed at New Jalpaiguri depot and full implementation may take longer.  This diesel is in the same number sequence as those used on the Neral - Matheran line near Mumbai.  

0589][IN] Mumbai: Elefanta Island railway:  This island off Mumbai (formerly Bombay) has a short 890mm-gauge railway to convey tourists, making a sharp right turn from the pier to run some 800m to the steps leading to the Monolithic Temple, a major visitor attraction.  Attached to each end of the train is a diesel locomotive modelled to resemble a steam locomotive in appearance.  The locomotives have forward gears only, so the driver changes ends and starts the front locomotive before departure.  

0590][CA] Toronto - Snider Jn - Doncaster - Washago, ON (- Vancouver, BC): (R.0120)  It is confirmed that the complicated route of the westbound transcontinental train #1, the Canadian/Canadien, (leaving Toronto heading west, with the Snider Jn double reversal and the west-to-north curve at Doncaster, described in R.0019, and thought to be an unusual movement) has in fact been the booked route since 22 September 1996 (following the closure of part of the Newmarket Subdivision, described in BLN 797.0126).  

0591][CA] Montréal Windsor - Montréal West - North Jn - Jean-Talon - Blainville: (R.0124, 0205, 0318)  The Agence Métropolitaine de Transport took over from the Societé de Transport de la Communauté Urbaine de Montréal (STCUM) in March 1996 (R.0122).  AMT's Montréal Jean-Talon - Blainville commuter trains began 12 May 1997, initially on a temporary basis during major roadworks, but in early 2000 finance was secured from adjacent local authorities and the service is assured at least until August 2000.  The Gare Windsor from which the trains now run is not the original CP station, but a rudimentary commuter terminus cobbled together a little to the west, at the old station's throat near the Rue de la Montagne road underbridge.  November 1999 was to see reinstatement of the North Junction Lead, an east-to-northeast curve permitting the Blainville trains to avoid a reversal.  Even so, the September 1999 inner-end extension of the route (Windsor - Jean-Talon) remains particularly circuitous, according to CP figures some 19km by rail against 7km by road.  Gare Jean-Talon is what used to be known as Montreal Park Avenue station, just north of the junction where the lines from CP's Windsor and Place Viger stations converged, north of the Parc du Mont-Royal, and close to the freight location described as Breslay in the 1998 Canadian Railway Atlas.  Confusingly, commuter interchange between Gare Jean-Talon and the city's rubber-tyred underground trains is not Jean-Talon métro station, at the intersection of the Bleue and Orange lines, but Parc métro station, which is two stops further west on the Bleue line.  The outer suburban terminus, Blainville, is a short distance north of Sainte-Thérèse junction, on the line to Saint-Jérôme, which formerly continued to Mont-Laurier.  

0592][US] Washington, DC - New York, NY - New Haven, CT - Boston, MA: (R.0236)  The first electric working north of New Haven with passengers on board was Amtrak's early-morning Washington - Boston train #12, the Fast Mail, on Friday 28 January, hauled by two electric locomotives, with a diesel as back-up.  From Monday 31 January 2000, two Acela Regional round-trips were electric-hauled to and from Boston.  (Maine Sunday Telegram, 30 January 2000)  Though Amtrak are still using refurbished Amfleet cars, and not their new 240km/h Acela Express electric trains, the journey on the now all-electric Northeast Corridor is nearly an hour shorter, and February 2000 saw ridership up about 50% on February 1999.  (http://www2.trains.com)

0593][US] Point of Rocks - Frederick Jn - Frederick, MD:  The former Baltimore & Ohio, now CSX, Washington, DC - Point of Rocks, MD - Harper's Ferry, WV - Martinsburg, WV line carries Amtrak as well as Maryland Rail Commuter trains from the capital north-west across the state of Maryland, but the B&O's 1832 'Old Main Line' (Baltimore - Point of Rocks) seems not to have seen passenger service since before 1957.  Point of Rocks, on the Potomac river, where the two lines converge, has (or had until recent years at least) a classic nineteenth-century (c.1875) American small-town junction station, much photographed.  From January 2001 some MARC trains from Washington are to reverse at Point of Rocks and head north-east to Frederick Jn, reversing again to head north on the short branch to Frederick, a stretch of some 22km of track that is at present freight-only.  (Railpace Magazine, January 2000)

0594][FK] Falkland Islands:  On the north side of Stanley Harbour, directly opposite the town of Stanley, is the old Navy dock known as the Camber, formerly served by the Camber Railway.  Parts of the trackwork are still in place in the original location, but some rails seem to have been moved, perhaps during the 1960s, to a nearby quarry where lies an abandoned stone-crusher.  During the 1982 conflict the old steel rails and wagons - mainly V-section tippers, with a few flat trucks - were pressed into service to build shelters and the like, and as a result railway remnants are now to be found in various strange locations.  The Falkland Islands government still have the original two Camber Railway locomotives in storage but they have deteriorated significantly since the 1930s.  A rail-mounted crane may survive with other railway artefacts in the scrap heap on the Camber side of the harbour.  Military interest in the railway ceased when the forces moved in 1986 from Stanley to their permanent base at Mount Pleasant, some 60km away.

The business case is not yet fully worked out, but the Falkland Islands Development Corporation have a proposal under consideration for a new 610mm-gauge railway to transport calcified seaweed from Ruggles Bay beach, some 160km west of Stanley, across the moorland for 24km to the disused Sound House, halfway along what will be a new Goose Green - North Arm road.  If built, the railway would use a UK-built Alan Keef K-40 diesel locomotive and twelve 2t open-frame four-wheel wagons each fitted with two 1.7m³ box skips, the calcified seaweed being fairly light, with a density of only 600kg/m³.  FIDC have also costed a short 610mm-gauge tourist railway at Stanley, ironically an idea pioneered in these latitudes by Argentina with their 500mm-gauge Tren del Fin del Mundo at Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego (BLN 750.0126).  (Falkland Islands Development Corporation, Stanley)

0595][ZA] Cape Town - Simonstown:  Some outer-suburban electric trains from Cape Town include an interesting extra coach.  A restaurant-car called Biggsy's Bar is attached to the 08:40 Mon-Fri departure from Cape Town and continues in service during the day in the workings of that set.  In January 2000 breakfast cost only ZAR16.95 plus a ZAR3 cover charge on top of the ZAR18 first-class return fare to the naval port of Simonstown, giving a round-trip of over two hours including a meal for under GBP4.  

0596][FR][BE] Hautmont avoiding line (Feignies - Sous-le-Bois): (BLN 779.0212, 808.0368, 818.022; EGTRE FR00/125; Ball 16A3)  The Mons SNCB - Maubeuge SNCF ordinary passenger service on the Raccordement de Sous-le-Bois ceased 6 August 1973, though this north-to-east curve near the Belgian border either retained or later acquired locally-advertised summer weekend SNCB trains between Maubeuge and the Belgian coast.  In summer 1996 the main Bruxelles - Paris service became Thalys trains running via LGV Nord-Europe instead of the traditional route, Bruxelles - Mons - Quévy SNCB - Feignies SNCF - Aulnoye - Paris.  New connections from Mons into France had to be established and most of them were and are made at Aulnoye-Aymeries.  However, from 2 June 1996 the Sous-le-Bois curve was given a very limited all-year passenger service from Mons for those few connections made with the SNCF at Maubeuge instead of Aulnoye.  This service became weekends-only from 28 September 1997, and is now reduced to SSuO train L5704 Mons - 07:00 Quévy - Maubeuge, connecting into the Berlin - Paris overnight train #242.  With the summer 2000 timetable the Berlin - Paris overnight train is to be diverted via Bruxelles - Mons - Quévy - Aulnoye, and it is likely therefore that from 28 May 2000 all Mons - Paris connections will be made at Aulnoye.  The Raccordement de Sous-le-Bois would thus lose its vestigial all-year service, though the weekend seaside trains - which are advertised from Maubeuge only locally - may well run again in summer 2000.

0597][FR] Bourg-St.Maurice: (Ball 58B3)  SNCF have considerably extended Bourg-St.Maurice station to cope with winter-sports traffic.  A platform on the west side, separated from the rest of the station by a security fence, is used by Bourg-St.Maurice - London Waterloo Eurostar departures, though not arrivals.  The Bourg-St.Maurice funicular railway runs from near the SNCF station via two intermediate stops (Montrigon and Les Granges, not served by all workings) to Arc 1600, where buses take passengers to the higher ski resorts.  Opened 23 February 1989 to replace a télépherique cable-way, it is one of Europe's newer funiculars, and is operated by Société des Télépheriques de l'Aiguille Rouge.  The 3km line is lengthy for a funicular, and not straight.  The centre passing-loop is quite long, possibly so that the single cars can be augmented should an increase in capacity be required.  The entire line is on a concrete viaduct which does not enhance the scenery.

0598][FR] Valence - Lapalud - Avignon - Nîmes / Marseille: (R.0527; Ball 65A3-75B2)  Work in late March 2000 to connect the Raccordements de Lapalud between the classic PLM main line and the new Ligne à Grande Vitesse Méditerranée south of Pierrelatte caused some passenger trains to be temporarily diverted via the west-bank freight line (La-Voulte-sur-Rhône - Avignon).  Engineering trains could be seen on the new viaducts over the river Rhône, carrying the LGV 'trunk' (Lapalud - Avignon Triangle Les Angles) near Roquemaure, the LGV Nîmes branch (Avignon Triangle Les Angles - Redessan) near Aramon, and the LGV Marseille branch (Avignon Triangle Les Angles - St.Louis-lès-Aygalades) near Avignon.  South of Avignon, on the north bank of the river Durance, the old main line crosses above the LGV Marseille branch, running east-west at that point, and the new track could be seen in position.  At the south ends of both LGV branches the new junctions were already connected.  East of Manduel-Redessan is a flying junction, the southbound LGV track flying over the original Avignon - Nîmes line.  Between Séon-St.Henry and St.Louis-lès-Aygalades the tracks of the classic Avignon - Marseille main line have been realigned and the LGV emerges from a tunnel between them.  The Valence - Avignon - Nîmes / Marseille LGV routes are all due to open 1 June 2001.

0599][FR] (Rassuen -) Bif de Lavalduc - Bif de Viguerat - Bif km17.636 - L'Eysselle - Bac de Barcarin - Salin-de-Giraud: (BLN 762.0403, R.0133, 0296, 0394; Ball 75A3-75A2)  From the Miramas - Rassuen - L'Estaque line round the Mediterranean coast west of Marseille, SNCF's electrified Bif de Lavalduc - Bif de Viguerat - Fos line diverges west at Bifurcation de Lavalduc Nord, 1.91km south of Rassuen station, to handle the heavy freight traffic of the major industrial port area of the Bouches du Rhône.  Lavalduc is a fully electrified triangular junction, with the signal-box in the north fork, though the south-to-west curve is not shown by Ball.  At Bif de Viguerat, 11.524km west of Lavalduc, the Fos line curves south to serve the port's Mole Céréal and Quai Mineralier, while the Bif de Viguerat - Port-St.Louis-du-Rhône branch, constructed 1982, continues westward.  (Until 1982 the Arles - Mas-Thibert - Port-St.Louis line served the area, but it was then severed by the new west-to-east Canal de Liaison Rhône-Fos.)  Just short of Port-St.Louis, from another triangular junction (unnamed; the points on the Raccordement Viguerat-Port-St.Louis are at km17.636 and km18.071 measured from Lavalduc) a private railway heads south-west to the Salin-de-Giraud salt-works.  This 2km branch and its exchange-sidings at L'Eysselle just east of the main channel of the river Rhône seem to be known to SNCF as EP Salicam (embranchement particulier = private siding).  Beyond L'Eysselle the bac de Barcarin, a private rail-wagon ferry across the 200m-wide mouth of the Grand Rhône, gives access to the salt-works on the west bank.  In 1999 the Salin-de-Giraud branch, and presumably therefore the train-ferry, saw freight totalling c.240,000t, mainly the four 1400t trainloads of salt sent weekly via Miramas, Cavaillon (reverse) and Pertuis to the chemical plant at St.Auban (Ball 66A1).

In their July 1999 issue (#198) L'Écho du Rail reported the cessation of salt traffic from Salin-de-Giraud and the withdrawal of the bac de Barcarin.  However the April 2000 issue (L'Écho du Rail #207), making no reference to the earlier report, tells a more optimistic story. Though threatened in 1999 by uncertainty over the future of salt-production, the rail traffic and the wagon-ferry now seem likely to continue for another five years.  On 12 January 2000 the Syndicat mixte des traversées du Delta du Rhône called for tenders for management and operation until 31 December 2005 of their internal rail system, including shunting at L'Eysselle and the wagon-ferry to Salin-de-Giraud.  The future operator was to be required to take on the rail staff of the salt company and to provide the necessary shunting locomotives, hitherto hired from SNCF.  

0600][FR] Marseille-St.Charles - La Joliette - Arenc - L'Estaque: (R.0408; EGTRE FR00/159; Ball 75B2)  The platform at Joliette still has no shelter or indeed any other facility, but it does have direction-signs from the street.  Trains run Monday-Friday and are advertised only by footnotes in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur Guide des Transports Express Régionaux.  In winter 1999-2000 La Joliette's trains were arrivals from Miramas at 07:28, 11:37 and 13:58, reversing to proceed to Marseille-St.Charles, and arrivals from St.Charles departing at 08:32 to Avignon and 17:20 to Miramas.  No sign was seen on 30 March 2000 of work on the proposed new curve to eliminate the reversal.

0601][FR][MC] Nice - Monaco-Monte Carlo - Menton: (R.0374, 0409; Ball 77B3-67B1)  By late March 2000 track and electrification equipment had been removed from the old (1964-1999) alignment, running partly on the surface through the Principality of Monaco.  (The recovered track materials are said to have been acquired by the metre-gauge Nice - Digne Chemin de fer de la Provence.)  The new SNCF main line, all underground, enters its new tunnel while still in France and heads east to pass through the new Monaco-Monte Carlo station, which has three tracks, an island platform and a side platform.  Although the station is in tunnel, it is possible through its main entrance to catch a glimpse of Monte Carlo (and a tunnel portal of the recently-closed line).  Just east of the station, still in tunnel, the new line joins the 1964 alignment.  Back in France, at the east end of the tunnel, some of the original 1868-1964 trackbed can still be seen. 

0602][DE][PL] Görlitz - Hagenwerder DB - Krzewina Zgorzelecka PKP - Hirschfelde DB - Zittau: (Ball DE-45A2, PL-36A2)  The Görlitz - Zittau line follows the river Neisse/Nysa forming the post-World War II German-Polish frontier, and crosses in and out of Poland.  DB domestic trains call at the Polish station of Krzewina Zgorzelecka, where German passengers use a special footbridge over the river to reach the settlement of Ostritz in Germany without passing through border controls.  Nearby, the international line Zittau DB - Hràdek nad Nisou CD (- Liberec) crosses, without any stop, in and out of the far south-west corner of Poland, on a short section of PKP track isolated from the rest of the Polish network.  

0603][SE][FI] (Luleå -) Boden - Haparanda (- Tornio VR): (R.0187, 0422; Ball 3A1-3B1)  This section is to have a summer passenger service restored, with long-distance overnight connections at Boden.  Between 13 June and 20 August 2000 Tågkompaniet are to run a (presumably daily) train to the following timings: Luleå 10:41 - 14:27 Haparanda 18:42 - 22:20 Luleå.  No timings are yet available for the promised extension of this service the short distance across the border from Sweden into Finland.

0604][SE] (Sundsvall Central -) Härnösand - Nyland - Långsele: (Ball 15A3-7A1)  At the end of May 2000 the electrified Ådalsbana north of Härnösand is to close to all traffic as a through route because the track is in poor condition and becoming unsafe.  The line has two pairs of passenger trains, one daily, the other Mon-Fri only.  Freight customers are mostly at the Härnösand end, and some track will remain as a long siding served by shunting movements, vagn-uttagning (= wagon-exchange) being the Swedish term.  Some sections of the Ådalsbana may be incorporated in the Sundsvall - Nyland - Örnsköldsvik - Husum - Umeå Botniabana under construction along the Baltic coast (R.0224).  (Tåg, journal of Svenska Järnvägsklubben, #3/2000)

0605][SE] Växjö - Sandsbro - Rottne - Braås - Åseda - Hultsfred - Verkebäck - Rödsle - Jenny (- Västervik): (BLN 775.0142, 793.017, 827.0269, 845.0118; Ball 26A3-22B1)  In 1984 the Swedish state railway closed this 187km 891mm-gauge line, and in 1987 sold the southernmost 8km Växjö - Sandsbro section to Växjö kommune (= district council) and the rest to private operators Växjö-Hultsfred-Västervik Järnväg, who ran tourist trains over the whole line, and had contracts for freight and for carrying pupils from Braås to school in Växjö.  In 1992 VHVJ alas went into liquidation, to be succeeded by two new companies associated with preservation groups, Småländska Smalspåret Aktiebolag (SMAB) south of Hultsfred and Förvaltningsaktiebolaget Smålandsbanan (FAS) on the northern part.  SMAB ran some tourist trains, but Växjö council were unhelpful and in 1999 SMAB too went bankrupt.  Their liquidator, given the task of realising as much cash as possible to pay debts, offered all the railway property for sale, and on 15 February 2000 the local newspaper reported that Växjö and Uppvidinge councils (the latter responsible for the Åseda area) had decided to buy the 50km Sandsbro - Rottne - Åseda section, with the aim of lifting the track by October 2000, and using the land in places to extend existing industrial areas.  It is just possible that the district councillors may not support the plans of their officials, but hope is fading for restoration of Växjö - Åseda trains.  

At Åseda, the 891mm-gauge line used to cross the 1435mm-gauge Nässjo - Åseda - Orrefors - Nybro line on the level, but the Åseda - Orrefors section was closed and lifted some years ago, and it became possible to realign the narrow-gauge line around the dead-end of the Nässjo - Åseda standard-gauge branch.  Though SMAB completed this new alignment, by early 2000 it had not seen any narrow-gauge traffic.  Uppvidinge council's stance is that if narrow-gauge tourist trains from Åseda to Hultsfred and beyond begin by 2001, they will be content, but otherwise they will seek to buy and lift another kilometre of track north-east of Åseda station.  This would leave the railway ending at an unattractive place in the forest, which would probably kill the whole Åseda - Hultsfred section.  

To the north, things are more optimistic.  The 70km Hultsfred - Verkebäck section is safe, because it has been declared of national-heritage importance.  Furthermore, though in 1993 a road embankment was built across the line at Rödsle near Västervik, severing its northern connection, during 2000 a new road bridge is being built there over the railway, which will allow preservation group Tjustbygdens Järnvägsförening to run trains from Hultsfred as far as Jenny and, if rail infrastructure authority Banverket restore the mixed-gauge track beyond to good order, into Västervik.  (Tåg, #3/2000)

0606][ES] Salamanca - Guijuelo y Campillo - Plasencia: (Ball 19B3-19A1)  Freight trains ran regularly until 1995-96.  The line then lay out of use till 1998 when Salamanca - Guijuelo, the northern section, reopened for ballast traffic.  The Guijuelo - Plasencia section is in effect abandoned and unusable, not even the weed-killing train venturing there.  

0607][ES] Almorchón - Obejo - Córdoba: (Ball 28B2-36A3)  Freight traffic continues to run south as far as Obejo, which has an important military base.  The Obejo - Córdoba section was severed at the southern end by the construction of the high-speed standard-gauge AVE line in 1991 and has lain out of use since, but it retains its track and might be passable by a train as far as the point of severance.  

0608][GR] Paleofarsalos - Karditsa - Trikala - Kalambaka: (BLN 838.0582, R.0542; Ball 62A2-62B1)  An inaugural Athinai - Paleofarsalos - Karditsa train ran on 4 March 2000, marking the reopening of the first section of the regauged branch.  Standard-gauge should reach Trikala by mid-April and Kalambaka by June 2000.  A few local trains have begun running from Paleofarsalos, initially to Karditsa.  An Intercity set is timetabled to work from Athinai to the end of the branch in the evening, but it then runs to Larissa to stable overnight before working a morning train from the branch back to the capital.  It is not clear whether the positioning movements to and from Larissa are available to passengers. 

0609][GR] Athinai - Keratea - Lavrion: (BLN 793.019; Ball 66B1 not shown)  This c.50km metre-gauge line serving the peninsula south-east of the Greek capital closed as long ago as 1956 or 1957 (sources differ), but outside the city much of the track is still in place.  A preservation group are endeavouring to reopen part of the railway near Keratea, 17km from Lavrion, and in spring 2000 a 3km section can already be traveled by draisine at weekends, when members are working on the line.

0610][GR][TR] Thessaloniki - Xanthi - Alexandroupolis - Pithio OSE - Uzonköprü TCDD - Pehlivanköy - Istanbul: (R.0433; Ball 53A2)  In January 2000 a Greek Intercity diesel train-set made a special through run to Istanbul, a clear indication of improved political relations between the two countries.  Both a Thessaloniki - Istanbul sleeping-car service and a Xanthi - Istanbul day service are planned for reintroduction, perhaps from end-May 2000.  

0611][SK] Trencianska Teplá - Trencianske Teplice: (Ball 42A2)  After a derailment on 27 February 2000 this 5.4km 760mm-gauge roadside electric light railway was found to be significantly out-of-gauge in places and immediately closed, with buses replacing the rail service.  ZSR were understood to be finding it difficult to finance work to reopen the line.  

0612][HU] Mátramindszent - Mátranovák-Homokterenye: (Ball 43A1; MÁV83)  In the 1991-92 MÁV timetable a sparse train service was shown, but by 1995-96 no timings appeared, and by the May 1998 edition the 5km branch had vanished.  Though specials ran in summer 1999 (BLN 842.048), formal closure to all traffic is likely (R.0197).

0613][HU] Keszöhidegkút-Gyönk - Tamási: (Ball 47A2; MÁV48)  Passenger trains had ceased by the 1991-92 timetable, but the line remains open for freight, though with probably little more than seasonal sugar-beet traffic.  A railtour visited in November 1999, but complete closure is likely (R.0197).  MÁV's Menetrend still has a Table 48 showing the link from the Budapest - Pecs main line to Tamási, but this is now a bus service, making the connection not at the wayside junction of Keszöhidegkút-Gyönk but at the more important station of Pincehely, 10km to the north.

0614][JM] Jamaica:  Jamaica's first line opened as long ago as 1845 (BLN 823.0167), and the island once had about 320km of standard-gauge railway, comprising a lengthy main line from the capital on the south-east coast through the highlands to the north-west coast (Kingston - Spanish Town - Bodles Jn - Williamsfield - Montego Bay), a branch to the north-east coast (Spanish Town - Bog Walk - Port Antonio), and a second much shorter branch in the interior (Bog Walk - Linstead).  An agricultural branch also served the Cockpit Country.  The Bog Walk - Port Antonio section was abandoned after a hurricane in 1978 caused massive washouts.  General freight service on the island ceased in 1989.  Kingston - Montego Bay continued in operation, in increasingly poor condition, until 1992 when passenger trains were suspended.  In spring 2000 the Williamsfield - Bodles Jn and Linstead - Bog Walk - Spanish Town - Bodles Jn sections continue to carry bauxite (aluminium-ore) trains, typically two or more a day on each line.  The ore trains diverge from the Jamaica Railway Corporation's tracks at Bodles Junction, using a short private railway (Bodles Jn - Port Esquivel) south to Port Esquivel, where the bauxite is loaded into ships.  The 16km Kingston - Spanish Town section remains marginally in service, to move locomotives to and from the JRC Kingston workshop, which is still quite functional and maintains both privately-owned locomotives and some of JRC's own, leased to Alcan and Alcoa, the bauxite-mining companies.  JRC also dispatch the trains and maintain the track.  Three other private railways on the island carry bauxite, and one crosses the JRC line (but does not connect) at a place called Jacob's Hut.  

Jamaica has serious transport problems, and reopening the railway could yield benefits all round.  International consultants advising the National Investment Bank of Jamaica have recently recommended (1) reopening Kingston - Spanish Town for commuter trains, using refurbished JRC coaching-stock and locomotives; (2) construction of a short (2km) spur over JRC-owned right-of-way to Kingston Free Port, then offering wagonload JRC freight service between the port and customers located on the active bauxite lines; (3) incremental reopening of the Williamsfield - Montego Bay section, which has two potentially significant shippers about 25km from the current end of the active line at Williamsfield plus a cluster of potential shippers at Montego Bay Port; and (4) tourist trains, in particular on the Montego Bay line, which is very scenic, passing through half a dozen tunnels and over a summit 536m above sea-level.  (5 April 2000 posting from one of the NIBJ project consultants to the misc.transport.rail.misc web newsgroup)

0615][KH][TH] Sihanoukville (Kompong Som) - Kampot - Kampong Trach - Phnom Penh - Battambang - Sisophon (- Poipet CFC - Aranyaprathet RSR): (BLN 848.0238)  The whole metre-gauge passenger system of Chemins de Fer du Cambodge can be covered in an arduous two and a half days' travel.  For non-Cambodians it can be done very economically, since it is unlawful for CFC to sell tickets to foreigners, but not for the foreigners to travel on the trains - so visitors from overseas at present travel officially free of charge!  Staff and local passengers alike are very welcoming, clearly considering a westerner's presence highly amusing.  All trains are mixed, with the passenger stock being in a sorry state, minus lighting, windows and several of the wooden seats.  Some of the older Alsthom locomotives still carry armour-plating, with narrow slits for the cab windows, but the practice of propelling a 'sacrificial' boxcar on the front of the train to explode booby-traps on the track has now ceased.  Trains from the port of Sihanoukville to the capital Phnom Penh run on alternate days in each direction; Phnom Penh - Battambang has a daily train in each direction; and Battambang - Sisophon has a daily out-and-back working.  Average end-to-end speeds are about 20km/h, with lengthy shunting operations at major intermediate stations.  

An echo of Network SouthEast in Asia is the station sign saying 'Welcome to Sihanoukville' in English.  This sign does not bear the port's former name of Kompong Som, but train-numbers on the line are prefixed PK, which may stand for Phnom Penh - Kompong Som.  On 21 March 2000 the 06:30 Sihanoukville - Phnom Penh departed 72 minutes late and was delayed for some 90 minutes just short of the viaduct to the west of Kampot while permanent-way work was completed on the track ahead.  This viaduct was unusable as recently as 1997, according to guidebook sources, with the Kampot - Sihanoukville section out of use.  A ballast-hopper was attached to the rear of the train at Kampot, and was used in a lengthy process of depositing ballast at permanent-way worksites between Kampot and Kep stations.  Some rare track was covered just beyond Kampong Trach, when the whole train set back down a sharply-curved spur into a ballast-quarry in order to detach the hopper.  Phnom Penh's spacious terminus, its three platforms lined with palm-trees, was reached at 21:41, 131 minutes late.  Most passengers made relatively short intermediate journeys, with Kampot and Kampong Trach being the busiest stations for joining and leaving.  Only a few remained on board the two passenger cars at the terminus.  On 23 March, the 06:20 Phnom Penh - Battambang left the capital 50 minutes late, its path having been allocated to an oil-tank train.  Station staff offered our reporter the alternative of a brake-van trip with the freight, but he chose to join the locals on the mixed train.  The Battambang and Sihanoukville lines diverge at the second station, some 8km west of Phnom Penh.  The up mixed was the only train encountered, crossed at Pursat station.  Right time had apparently been regained by there, and subsequent station stops involved lengthy waits for time.  Battambang was reached 9 minutes early at 21:11.  Many passengers travelled the whole length of the route, with three passenger cars being provided, in contrast to only two on the day's up working.  The different travel patterns may be explained by the relative indirectness of the Sihanoukville line, and the poor condition of roads paralleling the Battambang line.  On 24 March, the 06:30 Battambang - Phnom Penh was seen leaving at 06:45 before the 06:00 Battambang - Sisophon left at 07:10, lightly loaded.  No shunting was done on the way, and arrival at Sisophon was 80 minutes early at 10:40.  By remaining on board during shunting operations, a few metres of the line towards Poipet were covered.  

The headshunt continues out of sight of the station area, but track has been lifted at all points observable from the Sisophon - Poipet road.  At Poipet what appears to be the trackbed disappears into a building-site at the back of the town, but the possible existence of landmines deterred a close inspection!  No trace of any station could be found.  To the west, trackless railway formation emerges from beneath first an electricity-utility compound and then a very new casino development, and approaches the bridge which once carried the line across the stream forming the Cambodia-Thailand border, just north of the 1995 road bridge.  The girder bridge is still in place, complete with track but festooned with razor-wire.  Rusty but intact track then continues into Thailand for the 6km to Aranyaprathet.  Two level-crossings on this section have been tarred over.  Strangely, Aranyaprathet's neat little station building seems never to have had frontier facilities.  Some sources, including official ones (see the April 1999 Reuters report quoted in BLN 848.0238) talk of reopening the 54km Sisophon - Poipet - Aranyaprathet section and restoring Phnom Penh - Bangkok passenger trains, but the developments on the ground at Poipet would seem to make that difficult.

0616][TH][LA] (Bangkok -) Nong Khai RSR - Vientiane: (R.0180)  The link from the metre-gauge Thai State Railway to Vientiane, the administrative capital of rail-less Laos, seemed well under way in March 2000 - at least on the Thai side.  On RSR's Bangkok - Nong Khai line, about 3km south of the existing Nong Khai terminus, itself some 3km from the town-centre, a large new station building was nearing completion, and seemed to have quite lavish facilities for local passengers as well as frontier-crossers.  Given the scale of construction here, it seems possible that RSR may abandon the existing route into Nong Khai once the through international line is commissioned.  At a point about 1km north of the new station, track had been laid but not yet connected along a new formation, diverging to the west of the present line to head north toward the river.  Just south of the abutment of the existing Thai - Lao Friendship Bridge, the new line joins its approach-road and runs on to the bridge as a tramway track in the middle of the single-carriageway road, coming to an abrupt end at the precise change of national jurisdiction above the broad Mekong river.  No construction or even preparation and planning work was observed on the Lao side or in Vientiane city.  Some reports speak of a proposed extension to the royal capital Luang Prabang, an important World Heritage city about 380km north of Vientiane.  The serrated nature of the northern Laos landscape would make this a major engineering feat, unless a very roundabout route along the Mekong were followed.  (The Friendship bridge, incidentally, is a rare instance of a highway frontier-crossing where the rule-of-the-road changes between driving on the left and on the right.  The changeover takes place on the Lao side just north of the bridge, where the road becomes a dual-carriageway with vehicles still driving on the left.  The two lanes gradually diverge, then curve back to cross at right angles under traffic-light control, before passing, now running on the right, on either side of the Lao frontier-post.)

0617][GB] (Portrush -) Bushmills - Giant's Causeway: (BLN 782.0269, 831.0349)  Some 3km of the route of the former tramway in County Antrim that closed in 1949 should reopen in June 2000 as the 914mm-gauge Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway, using track and stock from the Shanes Castle railway at Antrim, which closed in 1994.  

0618][IE] Dublin light rail:  In April 2000 work was already under way on parts of line A from the south-west into the city-centre (Tallaght - Middle Abbey Street) and the project team have started on the south-eastern line B into town (Sandyford - Ranelagh - St.Stephen's Green) with a view to completion of both by 2003.  The revised application being submitted for the short line C section (Middle Abbey Street - Connolly Station) seems to envisage Luas trams from Tallaght terminating on the ramp outside the main-line station, but the project team say this would not prejudice future extension further east to the developing Docklands area.  The main unresolved issue is the underground section the Irish government asked for in 1998 (St.Stephen's Green - Broadstone) on the line north to Ballymun.  A consortium led by the Japanese firm Mitsui have submitted to the government a rival plan for a heavy-rail metro line from Sandyford north to Dublin Airport, underground between Ranelagh and Broadstone, but the Luas project team say this is no reason to hold up the Sandyford light-rail line which could be upgraded to metro standard later if required.  (Irish Times, 12 April 2000)

0619][FR][LU] Thionville - Hettange-Grande SNCF - Bettembourg CFL - Luxembourg: (R.0472; Ball 18A1-18A2)  The station at the border village of Hettange-Grande, closed since the 1940s, saw transport ministers of France and Luxembourg present on Saturday 29 January 2000 to mark its reopening as a halt with new platforms and an extensive car-park for French commuters into Luxembourg.  The old pedestrian subway beneath the tracks is back in use.  (Eisenbahn Amateur, #3/2000)

0620][FR] Lyon - Chasse-sur-Rhône - St.Rambert-d'Albon - Valence - Avignon: (Ball 56B3-56B2)  The SNCF yard at Chasse-sur-Rhône on the east bank was seen to be completely lifted in March 2000.  

0621][FR] Lyon - Givors-Canal - Tournon - St.Péray - La Voulte-sur-Rhône - Le Pouzin - Le Teil - Nîmes: (Ball 56B3-64B1)  On Monday 27 March 2000 the (Toulouse -) 09:38 Nîmes - Lyon-Part-Dieu train was diverted as planned north up the west bank of the river Rhône as far as St.Rambert-d'Albon, where it crossed to the normal east-bank passenger line.  A casual traveller going to the town of Valence would have had little warning that his train would take anything other than its usual route.  Boarding at Nîmes, with the departure indicators showing 'Valence', our reporter did not detect any special announcement either on the platform or on the train, so the few moments after departure were uncertain until the sharp left turn at the east end of Courbessac yard.  The train called at St.Péray station, used only during such diversions and equipped with signs reading 'Valence-St.Péray', but anyone expecting to descend at Valence's usual station on the east bank might have been a bit confused.  Seen from another diverted train on the west bank on 30 March, the Le Pouzin - Chomérac (- Privas) branch was in place but clearly out of use, with two sleepers in a V-shape planted between the rails, and the Le Teil - Vogüé line was likewise in place but covered in vegetation.  Le Pouzin - Chomérac was already closed to freight by 1994 (L'Écho du Rail, #140, December 1994) and the upper section (Chomérac - Privas) was seen in autumn 1994 to be lifted at the Privas end.  

0622][FR] Cahors - Capdenac: (Ball 61B2-62A3)  Notwithstanding R.0555, Sunday 30 April 2000 was to see one return voyage en autorail over the complete length of the Cahors - Capdenac line ('exceptionnellement' according to Karine Chever of the operators Quercyrail, telephone and fax +33 5 65 23 94 72.)  (La Vie du Rail, #126, 5 April 2000)

0623][BE] Brussel-Schaarbeek - Y Laken - Y Pannenhuis - Bruxelles-Ouest - Y Cureghem - Bruxelles-Midi: (BLN 837.0549; EGTRE BE00/23; Ball 10B2-10B1; NMBS/SNCB 28)  Construction of the Bruxelles - Liège high-speed line requires use of the site of the Schaarbeek car-sleeper terminal, which is to close with the May 2000 timetable, the car trains then being handled at Denderleeuw.  Some of the sparse passenger workings that ran via Bruxelles-Ouest over line 28 to avoid reversal will thus cease.  (LCGB Bulletin, April 2000)

0624][NL] Santpoort Noord - IJmuiden: (BLN 846.0135; Ball 3B3)  By April 2000 the Netherlands rail-infrastructure authority Railned had removed the connection on to the IJmuiden branch once used by the Lovers Rail passenger service.  Though out of use, the line may not be formally closed.  

0625][NL] Breda - Gilze-Rijen - Tilburg - Boxtel: (BLN 852.0327; Ball 4A1)  The link into the military airfield on the south side of the running-line at Gilze-Rijen saw some minimal use on at least three occasions during 1999, notwithstanding removal of its level-crossing signs.  An armed-forces exercise involved a visit there by an old NS diesel unit, later scrapped.

0626][NL] Zuidbroek - Veendam - Stadskanaal-Hoofdstation - Musselkanaal-Valthermond (- Ter Apel): (BLN 845.0114; Ball 2B3)  A rare passenger train was on 29 April 2000 to venture over the freight-only Zuidbroek - Veendam connection on to the Stadskanaal - Musselkanaal section operated by the preservation group STAR.  (www.nvbs.com)

0627][DE][NL] (Leer -) Ihrhove - Weener DB - Nieuweschans NS (- Groningen): (BLN 811.0464, R.0135, 0379; Ball DE-15B2-15A2, NL-2A2)  Engineering work has been delayed, and the buses replacing trains on the Leer - Groningen cross-border service from 1 April are to continue from 27 May throughout the summer (until 4 November or 31 December 2000, according to different reports).  (IBSE; LCGB Bulletin, April 2000; Today's Railways, #53, May 2000)

0628][DE] Dannenberg Ost - Dannenberg West - Lüchow (- Wustrow): (BLN 807.0356; Ball 18B1)  This section is to reopen to passengers from the May 2000 timetable change.  Deutsche Regionalbahn are likely to handle schools traffic using a 1950s-built MaK diesel railcar, repatriated from Italy.  (Today's Railways, #53, May 2000)

0629][DE] Nienhagen (bei Halberstadt) - Dedeleben (- Jerxheim): (BLN 742.0346, 774.0111; Ball 27B1)  From 1 April 2000 the passenger service was withdrawn and the line closed.  (IBSE)

0630][DE] (Dorsten -) Hervest-Dorsten - Deuten - Borken (Westfalen) (- Burlo DB - Winterswijk NS): (Ball 38A3-24A1)  This DB passenger branch, worked till the mid-1990s by battery railcars (BLN 723.029), has a connection not shown in Ball diverging beyond Deuten and heading east for 7km to Wulfen munitions depot.  A DGEG railtour from Dorsten is planned to visit this Militärbahn Wulfen on 20 May 2000.  Beyond the passenger terminus, Borken, the DB line continued north-west to cross the Netherlands border, but the Borken - Burlo section is shown as out of use in both the 1993 and 1998 Ball atlases, and the track is lifted at Winterswijk (R.0304).  

0631][DE] Wennemen - Wenholthausen - Fredeburg - Schmallenberg (- Altenhundem): (Ball 39A2)  In early 1998 (BLN 818.029) this line was reported to have had no regular freight since December 1994.  At Wennemen on 3 April 2000 it certainly looked somewhat rusty, but did not seem to have been put out of use.

0632][DE] Wabern (Bezirk Kassel) - Bad Wildungen: (BLN 784.0329, 792.0500; Ball 40A2)  Two rather upmarket two-car articulated diesel units, in silver Kassel-Naumburg Eisenbahn livery, were working the branch on 3 April 2000, but patronage on three evening services seemed poor.  Bad Wildungen station building was being comprehensively rebuilt, and the platform next to it was roped off, requiring trains to terminate beyond, at the extreme end of the track.  

0633][DE] Rottenbach - Obstfelderschmiede - Katzhütte: (BLN 708.04, 723.035, 731.0127, 794.045, 851.0302; Ball 42A1-41B1-52B3)  With the May 2000 timetable-change passenger services may end on this branch, and it seems also on the (Rudolstadt -) Rudolstadt-Schwarza - Bad Blankenburg (- Rottenbach) section, served by the same KBS562 trains.  Rail access may thus cease to the bottom of DB's Oberweissbacher Bergbahn 1800mm-gauge funicular (Obstfelderschmiede - Lichtenhain) which leads at the top to the isolated 3km standard-gauge electric Lichtenhain - Cursdorf branch (KBS563)

0634][DE] Langenlonsheim - Simmern - Büchenbeuren - Hermeskeil: (Ball 48B1-48A1)  Anyone using Ryanair's no-frills flights to 'Frankfurt' will actually land at Flughafen Hahn im Hunsrück, near Lautzenhausen in the countryside nearly 100km west of the city of Frankfurt-am-Main.  Though it now sports a new passenger-terminal opened in March 2000, Hahn was formerly a rail-served USAF military airfield and disused sidings can still be seen, as well as blast-resistant hangars and other defensive works.  The DB rail network is some 2km to the south, the nearest station being Büchenbeuren on the lengthy freight-only Langenlonsheim - Hermeskeil line.  Airport publicity says that 'a local rail connection is planned from Frankfurt via Mainz to Hahn', but such a service would seem to require reversal at Bingen Hbf and expensive upgrading of some 50km of Langenlonsheim - Büchenbeuren freight track.  The annual Hahn in Motion air-show does however offer an opportunity to sample part of the freight line, for an excursion is to run to Büchenbeuren on 24 June 2000.  Details of the airfield's history are at http://www.hahn-air-base.de, of the airport's services at http://www.hahn-airport.de and of the air-show at http://www.hahn-in-motion.de.  For the excursion train visit http://www.rhein-nahe.com/eisenbahntours/termine.htm or contact Herrn Thullen, Birkenweg 3, D-55559, Bretzenheim; telephone or fax +49 671 302 33. 

0635][DE] Alzey - Kirchheimbolanden (- Marnheim): (Ball 49A1)  The Rheinland-Pfalz 'experimental' passenger reopening of this rural branch from 30 May 1999 seems a success, judging by early-afternoon carryings on Wednesday 5 April 2000.  Alzey station, with its five platform roads, is quite a bustling location, and now has a pedestrian subway with lifts to the platforms.  Eurobahn's four-wheel partly-low-floor DWA railbus forming the 13:43 Alzey - Kirchheimbolanden carried more passengers than any of the DB branch services used by our reporter that day.  The branch seems to have been reasonably well-maintained during its 48 years without passengers, thus facilitating its reopening.  About 1km short of the present terminus, the ballast loading-point that provided much or all of its freight traffic is still served by DB, and wagons were seen there being moved around by an elderly four-wheel diesel shunter.  Kirchheimbolanden's 'temporary' station described in R.0068 shows signs of becoming a permanent terminus, with a buffer-stop erected just beyond the platform and a rail lifted beyond.  Most local travellers seemed content to use a car or connecting bus for their onward journey.  

0636][DE] Grünstadt - Eisenberg (Pfalz) - Ramsen (- Eiswoog - Enkenbach): (BLN 760.0378, 763.0425; Ball 57A3; KBS666)  The Land of Rheinland-Pfalz are making impressive efforts to develop local public transport, reopening lines, building new halts and specifying timetables with convenient connections at junctions.  A useful bus/rail interchange at Grünstadt has been created during 1999 by replacing two redundant platform tracks nearest the station building with a bus lane and stands.  Following the progressive reopening to passengers of the branch first as far as Eisenberg and then to Ramsen, Today's Railways (#53, May 2000) report that Rheinland-Pfalz are now to finance reopening of Ramsen - Eiswoog.

0637][DE] Monsheim - Harxheim-Zell - Langmeil (Pfalz): (BLN 832.0383, 836.0491; Ball 49A1-56B3)  Just beyond the junction at Monsheim, a civil-engineers' Schwellenkreuz (= two upright sleepers in a cross or V-shape) had been fixed between the rails, indicating the line's present closure to all traffic.  Similarly just beyond the junction points, a rail had been removed from the nearby Armsheim - Wendelsheim branch, so in April 2000 it remains out of use, as shown in Ball.

0638][AT] (Wels -) Haiding - Eferding - Aschach an der Donau: (BLN 765.0470; Ball 73B3; ÖBB 15a)  From the May 2000 timetable, the threatened 22km Haiding - Aschach branch is to have a single passenger train each way, Mon-Fri only.

0639][AT][HU] (Baumgarten ÖBB -) Sopron MÁV/GySEV - Harka/Magyarfalva MÁV - Deutschkreutz ÖBB - Lackenbach (- Oberloisdorf): (BLN 716.0217, 778.0200; Ball AT-76A1, HU-41A2-41A1; ÖBB 73)  The short Sopron - Deutschkreutz cross-border section has been newly electrified at the Hungarian standard 25kV 50Hz, and from the May 2000 timetable the ÖBB dual-voltage units already running to Sopron just inside Hungary will run beyond to Deutschkreutz, just inside Austria.  The unelectrified Deutschkreutz - Lackenbach section will lose its passenger trains, threatened since the early 1990s.  The future of freight, mainly timber, on the Harka - Deutschkreutz - Lackenbach - Oberloisdorf branch is unknown.  

0640][FI] Kerava - Olli - Porvoo: (Ball 24B3)  This freight-only line is to see a summer Saturday service from Helsinki to the heritage area of Porvoo, provided by a rake of elderly but immaculate preserved Dm7 railcars owned by the Porvoo Museum Railway.  (http://helsinkiww.net/pmr/sve/tid2000.html)

0641][CH] Bülach - Embrach-Rorbas - Winterthur: (Ball 88A2)  SBB are repairing and improving the 1.8km Dettenberg tunnel, and since May 1999 buses have been replacing trains on the Bülach - Embrach-Rorbas section.  Through trains are to be restored from the May 2000 timetable change.  

0642][CH] St.Gallen - Goldach - Rorschach Stadt - Rorschach: (Ball 89B2)  New SBB halt Rorschach Stadt is to open with the May 2000 timetable change.  (Eisenbahn Amateur, #3/2000)

0643][CH] Lausanne métro: (BLN 811.0477, 820.080, 850.0282; Ball 91A1)  The metre-gauge Lausanne - Echallens - Bercher line's 445m underground extension is to open in May 2000 to Flon, on the hillside above Lausanne CFF station, where the short Métro-Ouchy and Métro-Gare standard-gauge rack lines already interchange with the standard-gauge light-rail Métro-Ouest (Lausanne-Flon - Renens CFF).  Future plans are for Métro-Ouchy and Métro-Gare, both formerly funiculars, to be replaced, perhaps by 2005, by a rubber-tyred metro line climbing from the lakeside via the station and Flon to head northwards beyond to Epalinges (Ouchy - Gare - Lausanne-Flon - Epalinges).  (Today's Railways, #53, May 2000)

0644][CH] Chur - St.Peter-Molinis - Arosa: (BLN 823.0163; Ball 95B2)  The metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn branch running from Chur station forecourt suffered a landslip, and for at least the five days 10-14 April buses were replacing the trains between Chur and St.Peter-Molinis, with two train-sets operating the temporarily isolated section beyond to Arosa, one push-pull and one with the locomotive running round.  Trains were restored throughout by Saturday 15 April 2000.  On the RhB southern branch over the Bernina pass into Italy (Pontresina - Bernina - Campocologno - Tirano; BLN 774.0119; 96A1) nearly all the southbound passenger trains, some of them hauled by two power-cars, were picking up at Pontresina one or two flat wagons loaded with tree-trunks, and conveying these to Tirano for transhipment of the timber to road vehicles.  

0645][CH][FR] Genève - La Plaine CFF - Pougny-Chancy SNCF - Bellegarde: (BLN 746.042; Ball CH-97A3, FR-49B1)  Local trains from Genève to La Plaine, just inside Switzerland, are to be extended west to Bellegarde in France from 3 December 2000.  (Today's Railways, #53, May 2000)  The present service began operating in September 1994 under the title of Rhône Express Régional (echoing the Paris RER), its Class 550 light-rail vehicles, CFF's only 1500V dc stock, sharing with TGVs for Paris the French-voltage electrification west of Genève.

0646][CH] (Bellinzona -) Mezzovico - Sigirino - Taverne-Torricella (- Lugano): (Ball 101B2)  FFS have provided a temporary halt at Sigirino for the benefit of groups visiting the extensive building works on the Monte Ceneri section of the 57km Gotthard Basistunnel, part of Switzerland's huge AlpTransit project.  (Eisenbahn Amateur, #11/99)

0647][HU] Budapest - Szolnok - Szajol - Törökszentmiklós - Debrecen - Nyíregyháza - Záhony MÁV (- Chop UZ): (Ball 47B3-48B3-43B1; MV 100)  In mid-April 2000 the large rivers Tisza and Zagyva, which meet just south-east of Szolnok, were running unusually high and were only just staying within their banks, which had to be strengthened and heightened to keep the water from flooding nearby towns.  Just east of Szolnok on line 100 the bridge across the Zagyva and some smaller bridges between the main Tisza bridge and Szajol all had to be reinforced by positioning loaded ballast-wagons on one of the tracks, leaving only a single track in use, passable at no more than 5km/h.  

Several trains were diverted by unusual routes, including the Budapest - Záhony - Moskva trains #15/16 Tisza, which ran via Miskolc, taking the Nyíregyháza avoiding line, rarely used by passenger services, to resume their normal route.  Connections were provided at Sostohegy, the second station north of Nyíregyháza, with special Törökszentmiklós - Debrecen - Nyíregyháza - Záhony short workings running more or less in the original path.  The up IC607 was rescheduled to depart Debrecen at 07:10 via unelectrified line 108 (Debrecen - Füzesabony) with an M62 diesel plus generator-van, and the usual V43 electric locomotive coupled inside.  Approaching Budapest IC607 took the connecting curve between Köbánya felsö and Köbánya-teher stations.  Budapest - Cluj IC20/21 Ady Endre used line 102 (Kál-Kápolna - Kisújszállas) with the same M41 diesel locomotive working both the up and down trains, giving very little time to run around at Kál-Kápolna and causing some delays.  The Warszawa - Bucuresti Karpaty trains were diverted via Miskolc - Nyíregyháza - Debrecen instead of running via Hatvan - Szolnok, and thus used the east-to-southeast Szajol avoiding curve (not shown in the Ball atlas).  The river dikes were well saturated, prolonging the flooding danger, so the diversions were to last well into late April.

0648][CA] Ottawa: Greenboro Transit Station - Carleton University - LeBreton Flats:  A pilot project will see work begin in June 2000 on an 8.3km section of existing single track in Canada's capital with a view to local operators OC Transpo running an urban passenger service from August 2001.  A new intermediate station is to be built at Carleton University, where the two German-built low-floor 135-seat light diesel railcars working the line will be timed to meet at a passing-loop.  If successful, the service may be extended. (Ottawa Citizen, 11 April 2000, quoted by http://eriksrailnews.com)

0649][CA] Montréal Centrale, QC - Saint-Lambert - Saint-Bruno - McMasterville - Saint-Hilaire, QC: (R.0206) Commuter service is to be reintroduced 1 June 2000 from Montréal on CN tracks east across the St.Lawrence River, calling at St.Lambert and St.Bruno to McMasterville, 29km out.  Initially one inbound and two outbound weekday peak-hour trains will run, but Agence métropolitaine de transport plan more trains, extended to St.Hilaire during 2001.  (www2.trains.com)

0650][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Jersey City - Bayonne, NJ: (R.0466)  The first 11km section of NJT's Hudson-Bergen line opened 15 April 2000, serving 12 stations from Exchange Place, Jersey City, to 34th St, Bayonne. (www.lrta.org)

0651][US] Dallas - South Irving - CentrePoint - Fort Worth, TX: (BLN 790.0461, 801.0221, 820.087)  Western extension of the 16km Dallas - South Irving Trinity Rail Express local commuter service is planned in two stages: from South Irving to CentrePoint, south of the huge Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) airport, in September 2000, then from CentrePoint to Fort Worth's ex-Texas & Pacific station in early 2001.  (Railfan & Railroad, May 2000)

0652][US] Chicago, IL - Glenview - Fox Lake, IL - Walworth, WI - Janesville, WI: (BLN 850.0289)  First new route in Amtrak's Network Growth Strategy was inaugurated on Saturday 15 April 2000 when the Lake Country Limited began running over the tracks of Metra, Chicago's commuter-rail system, as far as Fox Lake, then on Wisconsin & Southern Railroad via Walworth to a temporary passenger facility on the south-east side of the city of Janesville at South Wright Road and East Delavan Drive.  Journey time is about 3 hours, with an all-reserved daily early-morning departure from Janesville into Chicago and a late evening return, at a fare of USD22 each way.  However, Chicago - Janesville buses are cheaper, faster and more frequent.  After the inaugural run, Lake Country patronage in the first week was poor, with some trains running empty, but Amtrak have in mind that mail-and-express (= parcels) contracts yet to be confirmed will underpin the economics.

The last passenger train to serve Janesville was Milwaukee Road's Chicago - Madison Varsity, which left at 20:30 on 30 April 1971, the day before nationalised Amtrak took over America's intercity passenger services.  Not long afterward, the Milwaukee Road went bankrupt, and the Fox Lake - Janesville section eventually lay out of use for more than a decade.  In 1989 Janesville-based shortline Wisconsin & Calumet cleared the trees from the track and reopened it for freight traffic - at 8km/h!  In 1992 Wisconsin & Calumet were bought by Wisconsin & Southern, who lease the track from the state's Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission and operate daily freight trains.  Speeds permitted are a swaying 48km/h for passenger and 40km/h for freight, with a handful of spots where 25km/h is the maximum, but W&S hope to see track upgraded for 95km/h passenger and 72km/h freight trains by 2002.  South of Fox Lake, however, Metra commuter tracks, well-maintained and with heavier rail, do let the Lake Country accelerate to a smoother 125km/h.  (Amtrak press release; Janesville Gazette; www2.trains.org)

0653][US] Kenosha streetcars:  Metra commuter trains from Chicago, IL run over ex-Chicago & North Western tracks north along the shore of Lake Michigan to Kenosha, WI, a town of 80,000 people.  Kenosha gave up its streetcars in 1932 (in favour of trolleybuses), but in spring 2000 Kenosha Electric Railway are to open a 3km circular tram route round the downtown area using refurbished Toronto PCC cars of the 1950s, regauged from 1495mm to 1435mm, and adding a new US operator of this venerable 1930s design (R.0467).  (Railfan & Railroad, March 2000; Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2000)

0654][US] San Francisco, CA: Muni Metro: (BLN 846.0159-60)  San Francisco Municipal Railway are operators of both the historic cable-cars and the extensive Muni Metro light-rail system.  From 22 January 2000 Muni Metro's F (Market) line was extended from its downtown terminus (at the north-east end of Market Street near the Transbay Ferry Terminal) north-west along the Embarcadero to the tourist area of Fisherman's Wharf, close to the northern termini of both the Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde cable-car lines.  Muni acquired elderly Peter Witt-type cars from Milano to supplement the F line's restored PCC cars (R.0467).  Market Street has three levels of urban rail on three gauges.  On the surface traditional streetcars of the F line run on standard-gauge tramway in the street, making connection with two of the three 1067mm-gauge cable-car lines at the Market & Powell intersection; in a shallow tunnel beneath run modern light-rail cars of lines J, K, L, M and N, also standard-gauge; and beneath that runs the separately-managed 1676mm-gauge BART 'heavy-rail' metro on its way from Colma in the south under San Francisco Bay north-east to Oakland.  (partly Railfan & Railroad, April 2000)

0655][US] San Francisco, CA: Bay Area Rapid Transit:  Construction of a 14km four-station extension of the broad-gauge (1676mm) BART 'heavy-rail' metro from Colma south through the peninsula towns of South San Francisco and San Bruno to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Millbrae began in late 1998.  The existing BART line north of Colma took over part of the formation of the ex-Southern Pacific San Bruno - Colma - Daly City branch, and the new extension from Colma heads south-east initially using more of this formation, but diverging on to its own route before the SP junction and the Caltrain station on the surface at San Bruno.  (A short stub of the old SP branch is shown in the 1997 SPV atlas as still in Union Pacific freight use in South San Francisco.)  Much of the new extension is underground, including South San Francisco and San Bruno BART stations, but an elevated branch then runs east from a triangular junction to SFO Airport BART station, itself an elevated structure, linked to the departure-level of the international terminal now under construction.  South of the airport, the BART line is to terminate at Millbrae, a surface station with cross-platform interchange to the San Francisco - San Jose - Gilroy Caltrain standard-gauge commuter line, and a transfer-point for local buses.  (This is the station from which the existing free shuttle bus leaves for the c.3km trip to the SFO terminal buildings.)  BART trains are to run between central San Francisco and SFO Airport every 15 or 20 minutes, taking about 30 minutes, but no opening date was yet being quoted on the www.bart.gov website at end-April 2000.  (partly Railfan & Railroad, February 2000)

0656][US] Santa Clara County, California: light rail: (BLN 804.0298)  The existing 34km Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light-rail system saw its 12km West Tasman extension open for revenue traffic on 20 December 1999.  The extension runs north-west of San Jose through the heart of Silicon Valley, reaching a second interchange at Mountain View with the San Francisco - Mountain View - San Jose - Tamien - Gilroy Caltrain commuter line.  Light rail and Caltrain already meet at Tamien, south of downtown San Jose.  (Railfan & Railroad, March, April 2000)

0657][US] Redwood Jn (Redwood City, CA) - Dumbarton - Fremont-Centerville (Fremont, CA):  The California state legislature are considering a proposal to rehabilitate the (ex-Southern Pacific, now Union Pacific) drawbridge over the south end of San Francisco Bay at Dumbarton to carry the San Jose - Stockton Altamont Commuter Express passenger service that started in 1998 (BLN 836.0540, 846.0160).  These trains run direct San Jose - Santa Clara - Newark - Fremont-Centerville but could be rerouted San Jose - Santa Clara - Sunnyvale - Mountain View - Palo Alto - Menlo Park - Atherton - Redwood Jn - Fremont-Centerville thus serving existing Caltrain stations in congested Silicon Valley before either reversing at Redwood City station or taking a reinstated southeast-to-east avoiding curve at Redwood Jn to head east across the bay to Centerville.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2000)

0658][FR][BE] (Dunkerque -) Leffrinckoucke - Bray-Dunes SNCF - De Panne NMBS: (R.0237, 0259; Ball 6B3-7A3; NMBS 73)  The cross-border line reopened in December 1999 for test trains carrying steel from the Sollac/Usinor works at Dunkerque in north-east France to the Cockerill-Sambre works at Charleroi in southern Belgium.  Usinor, who have taken over Cockerill-Sambre, were evaluating the tests in January, with further tests planned for April and July.  If regular traffic begins in September 2000, the loaded trains, running overnight, would consist of three torpedo-wagons each carrying 300t of molten metal at a temperature of 1300-1400ºC, plus four barrier-wagons.  (Trans-fer, #115, April 2000)  On 12 May 2000 Bray-Dunes passenger building, its interior gutted and its roof-covering removed, was under reconstruction as a local library.  The Hommes sign noted in 1993 (BLN 713.04, 837.0548) was still there, and the surviving station nameboards on the platform are understood to be likely to remain.  New long barriers were in place at Bray-Dunes town level-crossing, warning-notices (Attention aux trains) had been put up at all road and footpath crossings in France, and new ballast was visible on the French side of the frontier level-crossing.  The rusty track however still had quite a number of timber sleepers in poor condition, making our reporter again wonder how well it would cope with heavy freight traffic.  At De Panne, the Langeleedstraat level-crossing remained unguarded, with no warning notices protecting the unelectrified line, which arrives from France to pass signal LT21 and join the south-west end of electrified platform 1 in the station.  

0659][FR] Compiègne - Rethondes - La Motte-Breuil - Vic-sur-Aisne (- Soissons): (BLN 780.0236, 810.0431; Ball 15A1-15B1)  The gare bois at Rethondes is little more than a clearing in the forest.  No siding is to be seen, and the timber seems to be loaded while the trains stand on the running line.  The main customer on the branch is the Clariant chemical plant at La Motte-Breuil, where several sidings, a group of tank-wagons and an industrial shunter were seen on 9 May 2000.  Beyond, though automatic level-crossings remain in place, the line seems disused and slightly overgrown as far as Vic-sur-Aisne, where the Roquette cereal-processing factory retains a rail connection.  East of Vic-sur-Aisne the track eastward to Soissons had gone by May 1996, and undergrowth hides the trackbed.  The Anizy-Pinon - Coucy-le-Château branch, in place but out of use in May 1995, lifted by 1997, had its trackbed in use as a path at the Coucy end by May 2000.  Coucy station has been restored as part of a local landscaping scheme.  The Soissons - Ciry-Sermoise branch appeared well-used at the Soissons end.  From the station at Crouy on the Soissons - Laon line, an industrial branch not shown in the 1991 Ball atlas descends quite steeply to the south, with a small yard after about 1km.  From the north end of this yard another branch heads east for 1.5km to a sugar-refinery at Bucy-le-Long, where a rake of wagons sat on 9 May.  From the south end of the yard, a third branch curves round to the north-west for c.1km to a glass-factory of the Saint-Gobain company.  This receives covered hoppers, perhaps carrying soda ash, and a block train of open hoppers full of cullet (broken glass for recycling) was also seen, apparently trip-worked from the major yard at Tergnier via Laon by two SNCF Class BB66000 diesels.  

0660][FR] Mézy - Condé-en-Brie - Artonges - Montmirail: (BLN 844.083; Ball 26B3)  This branch is SNCF-worked as far as the grain silo at Artonges, but worked by Chemins de Fer Départementaux beyond, serving their workshops at Montmirail.  One consequence of CFD's losing the Avallon - Autun contract (R.0663) is that the Montmirail workshops may be sold, but this is understood not to threaten operation of the Mézy - Artonges section, including the CF Touristique de l'Omois.

0661][FR] Verdun - Ancemont - St.Mihiel - Han - Lérouville: (Ball 28A3-28A2)  Closed to passengers 31 May 1959 and partly disused, but with track still in place, this through line may see tourist trains of Autorails du Réseau Est during 2001.  

0662][FR] Blois - La-Chapelle-Vendômoise - Villefrancœur (- Selommes - Vendôme): (Ball 35A2)  The out-of-use La-Chapelle-Vendômoise - Villefrancœur section of the former through Blois - Vendôme line is to reopen for freight in June 2000 to serve a new cereal silo at Villefrancœur.  (Today's Railways, #54, June 2000)

0663][FR] (Cravant-Bazarnes -) Avallon - Autun (- Étang): (BLN 827.0247; Ball 37B3-48A3)  Private-sector Chemins de Fer Départementaux, current operators of expatriate ex-BR Class 20 diesel locomotives, lost to SNCF subsidiary Voies Ferrées Locales et Industrielles the contract to work passengers and freight on SNCF's Avallon - Autun section from 1 June 2000.  (Today's Railways, #54, June 2000)

0664][FR] Miécaze - Saint-Étienne-Cantalès - Bort-les-Orgues: (BLN 736.0198, 815.0565; Ball 54A1-54B2)  This 84km line closed to freight in 1992, and to passengers from 3 July 1994 when Auvergne regional council withdrew subsidy.  At the southern end, 1.5km of the disused track (Miécaze - Saint-Étienne-Cantalès) is to reopen during 2000 to serve a cement-factory specialising in large-diameter concrete pipes.  Both pipes and bagged cement will be forwarded by rail, substantially increasing the freight traffic on the Miécaze - Viescamp-sous-Jallès - Figeac route.  (La Vie du Rail, #130, 3 May 2000)

0665][FR] Le Monastier - Chanac - Mende - Allenc - Larzalier - La Bastide-St.Laurent-les-Bains: (R.0557; Ball 63B2-64A3)  SNCF single diesel railcar XAB2126 (apparently based at Toulouse but inappropriately sporting maps of Brittany) worked the 12:48 Marvejols - La Bastide on Sunday 7 May 2000, but the signaller at Marvejols had incorrectly set the junction at Le Monastier and time was lost waiting for it to be re-set for the Ligne Translozérienne.  Our reporter and his companion were the only passengers west of Chanac, where one person joined, followed by two more at Mende, all going through to La Bastide.  East of Mende right time was maintained throughout.  On the curving section east of Allenc the splendid stone-built snow-shelter near Larzalier can be photographed as the train approaches it.  A new Class 72000 two-car diesel set worked the through Béziers - Nîmes - La Bastide - Mende train that day.

0666][BE] (Brugge -) Y Dudzele - Zeebrugge: (Ball 7B3; NMBS 51A)  The new Zeebrugge-Strand station (BLN 828.0277, 830.0326) is expected to be ready during summer 2000.  When services there begin, the present passenger station will close.  (Trans-fer, #115, April 2000)

0667][BE] (Oudenaarde -) Y Leupegem - Ruien (- Herseaux SNCB - Wattrelos SNCF - Roubaix): (BLN 800.0182; Ball 7B2; NMBS 85)  Electrabel have contracted to move power-station coal by water rather than rail, and the last coal train on this 11km branch ran on 30 December 1999.  With no other traffic passing, the line, remnant of a former through route to France, seems unlikely to survive for long.  (Trans-fer, #115, April 2000)

0668][BE] (La Louvière-Sud -) Y Haine-St.Pierre - Leval - Binche: (R.0558; Ball 8A1; SNCB 108)  From Leval, line 241 heads south-west for some 2km.  It was originally opened 17 February 1868 to serve the mine-shaft Puits Sainte-Barbe, and later extended to Péronnes coal-fired power-station, 3km from Leval.  The GTF 1978 map of Les Voies Ferrées de Belgique shows line 241 to have had several ramifications, no doubt serving other mines or associated industry.  Latterly known as the Raccordement Electrabel, Leval - Puits Sainte-Barbe seems never to have had a passenger service.  The GTF railtour from Charleroi on 13 May 2000 made a more successful visit than the PFT one on 18 March.  Despite Ligne Industrielle 241 being officially hors service someone had reballasted the area where the embankment had slipped and, more importantly, had chipped away the paviors that had earlier blocked the rails at the Rue de l'Industrie level-crossing in Ressaix.  The tour train was therefore able to reach the gate of the now-disused power-station.  This time it probably will prove to have been the last train on line 241, for singling of the Binche branch and its resignalling from La Louvière is said to be starting in May 2000.  Regrettably, too, a separate project may later see the branch cut back to a new Binche station on the north side of the level-crossing over the main road from Anderlues, leaving the present fine station abandoned to the south.  Binche station, built 1905-10 to the design of Pierre Langerock, may be disproportionate to present-day requirements, and is no doubt expensive for SNCB to maintain, but it is magnificent architecture from the era that also saw the creation of Antwerpen Centraal.

Other nearby branches were also visited by the GTF tour.  Piéton - Bascoup (line 113) serves an SNCB permanent-way depot.  Piéton - Viernoy - Cokeries d'Anderlues (line 251) serves a contractor's depot at Viernoy and a coke-plant (not 'Charbonnages d'Anderlues', as in BLN 778.0183 and on some maps, including Ball).  Y Forchies - Fontaine-L'Évêque - Puits No 1 (line 252) involves a reversal at Fontaine-L'Évêque.  Beyond, the mines are no more and the line now serves to bring in bundles of steel wire to the factory of Fontainunion SA, which appears to make electrical equipment.

0669][BE][NL] (Brussel -) Antwerpen Centraal - Noorderkempen NMBS - Breda NS (- Amsterdam): (BLN 791.0467; Ball 8B3-4A1; NMBS Lijn 4)  Construction of the cross-border high-speed line paralleling the A16/E19 motorway formally began on 27 March 2000, with a view to opening in 2005.  It is to have one intermediate station, Noorderkempen, on a greenfield site with extensive car-parking near the Brecht motorway junction.  Traffic will not be restricted to Paris - Bruxelles - Amsterdam Thalys TGVs, and the line is to have ordinary passenger services, possibly Charleroi - Brussel - Antwerpen domestic IC trains extended across the frontier to Breda in the Netherlands.  (Trans-fer, #115, April 2000)

0670][BE] Herentals (Y Albertskanaal) - Y Wolfstee - Zittaart: (Ball 8B3-9A3)  NMBS line 29 was once a Tilburg NS - Turnhout NMBS - Herentals - Aarschot through route, and part of it is today's electrified Herentals (Y Kruisberg) - Turnhout passenger branch.  Its short Y Albertskanaal - Y Wolfstee section also remains in use, as a freight-only link to industrial line 207 (Y Wolfstee - Zittaart) which heads east for some 20km along the bank of the Albertskanaal and was in spring 2000 being extended a few hundred metres to serve a container depot at Meerhout.  To the south another remnant of line 29 (Y Wolfstee - Noorderwijk-Morkhoven) lies disused.  A connection formerly headed east from Morkhoven for some 4km to the military camp of Olen, but this military line saw its last train on 3 March 1996 and has since been lifted.  (Trans-fer, #115, April 2000)  An ADL railtour is due to visit Zittaart on 9 September 2000.  (http://homepage.virgin.net/adl.tours/)

0671][BE] Neerpelt - Eksel (- Y Houthalen): (BLN 778.0184, 800.0183, 842.027; Ball 9A3; NMBS 18)  Originally part of the Liégeois-Limbourgeois railway from Eindhoven in the Netherlands south to Hasselt, opened 20 July 1866, this stub south of Neerpelt was retained to serve a military installation at Eksel.  The last military traffic ran on 3 July 1996, and the section was officially taken out of use from 26 August 1996.  In spring 2000 the track was being lifted and the trackbed is to become a footpath.  (Trans-fer, #102, December 1996, #115, April 2000)

0672][BE][NL][DE] (Antwerpen -) Neerpelt - Hamont NMBS - Budel NS - Weert - Roermond - Vlodrop NS - Dalheim DB (- Mönchengladbach): (R.0302, 0304; Ball BE/NL-9B3, DE-37A2)  Following agreement by unenthusiastic NS to allow transit traffic to cross the Netherlands for a short distance via Roermond, the Eisenrhein ('Iron Rhine') line seems likely to reopen as a through route for freight from the Belgian port of Antwerpen to Germany.  (Today's Railways, #54, June 2000)

0673][BE][NL] Y Beverst - Lanaken NMBS - Smeermaas NS - Maastricht: (BLN 778.0184, R.0303; Ball 9B2; NMBS 20)  If plans go ahead for an additional paper-factory at Lanaken in Belgium, the out-of-use line to Maastricht in the Netherlands may reopen for freight.  (Op de Rails, 2000-3)

0674][BE] Statte - Moha (- Landen): (Ball 9A1; SNCB 127)  Beyond the quarry at Moha the line has been out of use since before 1993 (BLN 711.05).  The trackbed north of Fumal is to become a footpath, but first will be used to bury cables carrying power to a new railway.  Electrabel's Tihange nuclear plant near Statte is to supply power to a single substation near Landen which will feed the (Bruxelles -) Bierset - Ans (- Liège) high-speed Ligne 2 at 25kV 50Hz.  Opposition to high-voltage wires on pylons led to the expensive decision to put the cable route underground.  (Trans-fer, #115, April 2000)

0675][BE] Namur - Statte - Huy - Flémalle - Liège: (Ball 9A1; SNCB 125)  The town of Huy on 3-4 June celebrates 150 years since the arrival of the Namur - Liège railway in 1850.  A steam-hauled train is to run a Huy - Flémalle shuttle service.

0676][NL] Beverwijk - IJmuiden Hoogovens: (OEIS 0022; Ball 1A1)  To the north of the now out-of-use Santpoort Noord - IJmuiden passenger branch (R.0624) a separate branch continues to serve the Ijmuiden steelworks of Corus, the merged successor to British Steel and the Dutch firm Hoogovens.  (Hoogovens, 'high ovens', are blast-furnaces.)  A steam-hauled Corus Excursietrein from Beverwijk NS station offers a 21km 1h45min round-trip down the branch to the plant on various dates in 2000, including 5 June, 30 July, 24 September and 29 October.  Information: Depot Excursietrein, 2G-07 Postbus 10000, 1970 CA IJmuiden; telephone +31 251 498 384.

0677][NL][DE] Enschede - Glanerbrug NS - Gronau (Westfalen) DB: (R99.0239, 0304; Ball NL-5B3, DE-24A2)  Passengers detraining at Enschede's NS passenger platform will need to use a level-crossing to reach trains to Gronau in Germany, since for operational and signalling reasons a separate platform is being provided on the nearest of the present freight tracks.  Work began at the end of 1999 to clear undergrowth from the Enschede - Glanerbrug trackbed.  Cross-border passenger reopening is planned in 2001.  (Op de Rails, 2000-3)

0678][SE] Växjö - Rottne - Klavreström - Åseda - Hultsfred (- Västervik): (Ball 26A3-22B1)  Notwithstanding R.0605, the new layout at Åseda was used by 891mm-gauge trains during what turned out to be the last of Smalspåret's short summer seasons in 1997.  A reporter travelled Hultsfred - Åseda - Klavreström - Åseda - Nässjo on 8 August 1997.  

The southwest-northeast Växjö - Åseda - Hultsfred narrow-gauge and northwest-southeast Nässjo - Åseda - Orrefors standard-gauge running lines used to make a flat crossing just north of Åseda station, before running roughly northwest-southeast through the station area, with the building on the east side, then through narrow-gauge tracks, then through standard-gauge tracks on the west side.  After the Åseda - Orrefors standard-gauge section was lifted, the narrow-gauge line was slewed south of Åseda station running through the station on the west side and rounding the dead-end of the remaining Nässjo - Åseda standard-gauge branch.  The flat crossing could thus be removed.  The work was probably done between Smalspåret's 1996 and 1997 seasons, judging by the appearance of the track in 1997.  The present layout, from east to west, is station building, disused space, dead-end standard-gauge track with sparse passenger service, disused narrow-gauge tracks.

0679][SE] Sweden: Pågatåg local trains in the Skåne area: (R.0187, 0189)  Local trains in the Skåne area of south-west Sweden round Malmö have the brand-name Pågatåg, with the logo, also found on other local public transport, of a stylised flying swan.  Tåg is Swedish for train, but Påg is a Skåne dialect word for a boy or youth, and is an allusion to Skåne understood by all Swedes because of a children's story of c.1900 by Nobel-prize-winning author Selma Lagerlöf, featuring a boy, Nils Holgersson, who flew round Sweden on the back of a swan.  Pågatåg is pronounced 'pawgatawg', approximately.

0680][FI] Honkataipale logging railway: (Ball 17B2 not shown)  Near Mäntyharju on VR's 1524mm-gauge Kouvola - Pieksämäki line an isolated 7km metre-gauge logging railway worked between 1909 and 1975 transporting felled timber between two lakes, running from Honkataipale on Lake Kuolimonjärvi to nearby Lake Kallavesi.  Its unusual feature was submersible wagons.  Loading was achieved by using a fixed winch and cable to lower the wagons down a sloping line into the lake until they were completely submerged.  Bundles of logs were floated into position and secured to the wagons which were then hauled out of the lake by the winch.  At the other end of the line a similar process was used for unloading, though here the wagons were lowered and raised using a long cable attached to the locomotive.  Until 1971 the line was worked by an 0-6-0WT steam locomotive (Krauss #6206), pictured in the magazine Junat (#65, dated 1999 though issued 2000).  (http://www.grafiscreen.fi/junat/)

0681][PT] Porto trams: (BLN 848.0217)  Restoration of tram services to the city-centre is planned for May 2001, with a circular route from Carmo via Praça de Liberdade and Batalha, passing close to Porto São Bento CP station.  (Today's Railways, #53, May 2000)

0682][ES] Santiago de Compostela - Meirama - A Coruña: (Ball 1B1-1B2)  South-east of Meirama station, a new 3-4km broad-gauge branch trails in to this RENFE line in the far north-east of Spain.  Not yet connected up when seen on 13 March 2000, the branch is to carry imported coal to the large Meirama power-station, visible nearby and hitherto supplied by road.  

0683][ES] Barcelona metro:  Conversion of the power-supply from trackside third-rail to rigid-overhead was seen to be under way in spring 2000 on metro line 3.  Today's Railways (#53, May 2000) says conversion of lines 1 and 4 is envisaged.

0684][IT] Trento - Malè (- Mezzana): (BLN 808.0391; Ball 42B1-42B2)  Work is under way on a 10km extension of Trentino Trasporti's metre-gauge Ferrovia Ellettrica Trento-Malè beyond Malè to Mezzana, to give access to the winter-sports resort of Marilleva.  (Today's Railways, #53, May 2000)

0685][IT] Treviso - Portogruaro Caorle: (Ball 43B1-44A1)  Closed in autumn 1966 after flood damage, the restored and electrified line saw test trips in March 1999 (R.0161), but freight reopening did not come until a year later, on 29 February 2000, and passenger reopening is to wait until the winter 2000-01 timetable.  (mainly Today's Railways, #53, May 2000)

0686][IT] (Sinalunga - Arezzo -) Rassina - Corsalone (- Bibbiena - Pratovecchio-Stia): (R.0495, 0540; Ball 50A3)  The new 2.3km LFI deviation, mainly on viaduct, is to have an 800m branch to the cement-works at Begliano, the largest in Italy.  (Eisenbahn Amateur, #3/2000)

0687][CH] Solothurn - Büren an der Aare - Busswil: (BLN 734.0165, 815.0581; Ball 86B1)  SBB have de-electrified the Solothurn - Büren section, freight-only since May 1994.  (Today's Railways, #53, May 2000)

0688][CH] (Langenthal -) Langenthal Gaswerk - Kaltenherberg (- St.Urban Ziegelei): (Ball 87A1)  Since mid-December 1999 metre-gauge Aare-Seeland Mobil (ex-Regionalverkehr Oberaargau) trains on this section have used a flyover above the new (Bern -) Mattstetten Ost - Rothrist (- Olten) SBB alignment (BLN 845.0122).  (Eisenbahn Amateur, #1/2000)

0689][PL][UA] Przemysl - Malhowice PKP - Khyriv/Khyrov UZ - Kroscienko PKP - Zagórz: (BLN 730.0119, 736.0223; Ball 44A3)  This international line includes 46km across Ukraine, mostly equipped with four-rail track to carry both PKP's 1435mm-gauge and Ukrzaliznitsa's 1520mm Russian-gauge trains.  Until the mid-1990s two pairs of Polish domestic standard-gauge trains covered the route, taking the avoiding line at Khyriv and not stopping in Ukraine except to pick up and drop Soviet (latterly Ukrainian) armed frontier guards.  These guards rode on the outside steps of the carriages, which cannot have been a welcome job in winter!  The 'corridor' workings later ceased, replaced by two pairs of Zagórz - Khyriv international trains, with conventional border controls. 

0690][PL] Lodz trams: (OEIS 0017)  Tram-route #7 to Koziny and route #16 to Warszawska are to close in spring 2000.  More cuts are expected in August 2000 when the number of routes is planned to drop from 22 to 15.  Sections to close are Wroblewskiego - Czerwona (route #20), Polnocna (routes #5 & 22), Nowomiejska (routes #4, 15, 16 & 19) and lines to terminals at Polnocnej and Niepodleglosci.  

0691][PL] Poznan park railway: Maltanka - Zwierzyniec: (R.0052, 0110)  The full name of the lakeside 600mm-gauge line is Kolejka Dziecieca 'Maltanka' (= 'Maltanka children's railway').  In winter 1999-2000 departures from Maltanka were hourly from 10:00 SSuO, with last train at 16:00 (October and April 17:00).  Summer should see more trains.  A diesel railcar is normally used, but the line has a 1925-built 0-4-0T Borsig steam locomotive.  (Continental Railway Journal, #121)

0692][HU] (Nyíregyháza -) Balsa - Balsai Tisza-part: (BLN 840.0629; Ball 43B1; MÁV 118)  The narrow-gauge railway from Nyíregyháza seems once to have continued beyond Balsa north across the broad river Tisza, but only the abandoned approach-embankment remains, with the present-day line dropping down one side to terminate near the river, hence the name Tisza-part (part = riverbank).  The local comment (BLN 797.0118) that trains run down to the river only in summer contradicts MÁV's timetable but is confirmed by several observations.  During early April 2000, the river was very swollen (R.0647) and the Balsa - Balsai Tisza-part section of the line was unsurprisingly seen to be out of use.  Perhaps vulnerability of the riverbank section to flooding and deposits of silt on the 760mm-gauge track may explain its seasonal operation.

0693][NZ] Christchurch tramway race:  Since 1995 Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand has had a standard-gauge heritage tramway making a 2.5km circle around the city-centre (information from +64 3 366 7830).  Having read a news story about people in Manila making informal use of Philippines railway lines with human-powered carts ('skates' or 'jiggers'; BLN 788.0419), a Christchurch man suggested a sports event using similar vehicles to race round the tram-tracks.  Running The Rails, a time-trial event for corporate teams, may feature in a future Christchurch Adventure Festival.  A four-person lightweight jigger made from aluminium, magnesium, and carbon-fibre, perhaps capable of 50km/h, was to be tested in February 2000.

0694][CA] Montréal Windsor - Dorval - Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue (- Dorion - Rigaud, QC): (R.0123)  West of Montréal, the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National lines run closely parallel, both with passenger services, the CP (St.Lawrence & Hudson) hosting AMT commuter trains, the CN carrying VIA inter-city trains.  As well as their trains de banlieue, the Agence métropolitaine de transport are planning an excursion train récréo-touristique.  The train, Le Riverain, comprising former GO Transit cars hauled by one of AMT's remaining serviceable FP7 locomotives - a traditional American diesel streamliner design of the 1950s - is to make 90-minute round-trips from Gare Windsor west to Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue at a fare of CAD19, operating daily (four trips Mon-Fri, six on Saturdays, five on Sundays) from 23 June to 4 September 2000, with an inaugural run on 5 June.  (www2.trains.com)

0695][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Camden - Trenton, NJ: (R.0022)  NJT began work in May 2000 to prepare their 54km section of the former Camden & Amboy Railroad, latterly Conrail's Bordentown Secondary line, for passenger service.  From December 2002, diesel light-rail cars making 120 movements a day should be carrying 4500 passengers to and from 20 stops along the route.  By night the line will revert to Conrail, who continue to work local freight in the South Jersey Shared Assets Area on behalf of the two huge railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern.  CSX and NS have been joint owners of Conrail since June 1999.  (www2.trains.com)

0696][GT] Ciudad Guatemala - Puerto Barrios: (BLN 815.0587, 850.0290)  The c.300km 914mm-gauge line from Guatemala's capital to the Caribbean port of Puerto Barrios reopened for freight in January 2000.  The US-backed operators Ferrovías who replaced nationalised Ferrocarriles de Guatemala have a Baldwin 2-8-2 steam locomotive, #205, again available for tourist charter trains (BLN 721.013).  (World Steam, April 2000)

0697][IE] Dublin Connolly - Newcomen Jn - Glasnevin Jn: (R.0357; Baker 96B2)  The Connolly - Newcomen Jn section, temporarily closed since 18 May 1998 (BLN 839.0589), still has a problem.  Though first assembled in 1993 and installed in September 1998 (BLN 846.0129), the lifting-bridge over the Royal Canal has never worked properly.  An Office of Public Works spokesman said that the four 22t automated jacks at the four corners of the 72t span seem unable to lift it evenly.  The bridge was supposedly to be removed again on 16 May 2000 for redesign work, and indeed it appeared to be absent in media pictures of the Canals of Dublin Millennium Rally on Sunday 21 May, when boats went down the Grand Canal to the river Liffey, crossed to Spencer Dock and made their way up the Royal Canal.  However the bridge and the track thereon were in place when seen from a northbound DART train on 24 May.  Meanwhile the (North Wall -) West Road Jn - Newcomen Jn section remains in use only as a headshunt from the North Wall direction.  West of Newcomen Jn the ex-Midland Great Western route is temporarily severed at the south end of Croke Park Gaelic Athletic Association stadium, which is being comprehensively reconstructed before the railway is reinstated beneath.  Big piles of concrete sleepers are dumped on the line east and west of the blockage, and red signal aspects are displayed at each end.  During the stadium work the closely parallel Royal Canal was temporarily de-watered between Second Lock and Third Lock, but it was refilled by 21 May, another Press photograph showing a boat afloat with the new stands in the background.  

0698][IE] (Dublin -) Glasnevin Jn - Broombridge - Castleknock - Maynooth - Kilcock - Enfield - Mullingar: (R.0085, 0359; Baker 95A2-95A1)  West of Glasnevin Jn, the Midland Great Western line continues to run alongside the Royal Canal.  The railway crosses from the north to the south side of the waterway at Seventh Lock, near where the old formation trails in from the MGW's onetime Dublin terminus Broadstone to Liffey Jn, just before the present Broombridge station.  The station house survives in private ownership on the site of the MGW's original Kilcock station, closed 10 November 1947, but the present Kilcock/Cill Choca station, opened 2 November 1998, is 400m to the east and more conveniently located for the small community, at an overbridge which also extends across the canal.  It has two trains a day each way, Mon-Sat, and comprises a single platform on the down side, a shelter and a container that may house a ticket-office open at appropriate times.  At Enfield, the signal-box is at the Dublin end of the up platform.  As on most single-track Irish routes, both roads through the station are reversible and trains in each direction can use either the main or the loop.  The through (fast) road is the former up line, but the up platform is no longer in use.  Services in both directions call at the down platform on the loop.  Platform remains are visible at the long-closed stations of Ferrans Lock/Ferns Lock, Moyvalley and Hill of Down, and the signal-box and passing-loop also remain in use at Killucan.  Beyond Mullingar yard limits, the 45km Mullingar - Athlone section of the ex-MGWR main line to Galway remains intact but out of use, perhaps awaiting use as a museum line (R.0002, 0130).

The Royal Canal was successively in MGWR (1845-1925), Great Southern Railway and Córas Iompair Éireann ownership, but the last boat passed through from Dublin to the north Shannon in 1955.  Formal closure to navigation came in 1961 and transfer to the Irish government's Office of Public Works in 1986.  Happily the canal is again navigable from Twelfth Lock, near Castleknock station, for some 101km west through Mullingar to Abbeyshrule, and was traversed by our reporter in early May 2000.  It is hoped to reopen the remainder, from Dublin Spencer Dock the c.10km to Twelfth Lock and from Abbeyshrule the 34km to the river Shannon at Cloondara, west of Longford.  Just west of Mullingar, the canal has recently been rerouted for a short distance enabling a bypass road to cross both the waterway and the out-of-use Mullingar - Athlone railway on a single span.  

0699][IE] Dublin DART: (Connolly -) Pearse - Barrow Street - Lansdowne Road (- Bray): (R.0402; Baker 95B2)  The old track maintenance depot was demolished by mid-August 1999 and construction of the new Barrow Street station began in November 1999.  (http://www.irrs.ie)  In May 2000 the platforms were taking shape but were not yet surfaced, the building was well advanced and the footbridge stucture was in place.  Opening seems unlikely before autumn 2000, however.

0700][IE] Blackwater peat railway: (R.0003, 0059; Baker 94A1)  The 914mm-gauge Blackwater system of Bord na Móna, the Irish Turf Board, is mainly in County Offaly but near Shannonbridge power-station a branch crosses the river Shannon south-west into County Galway, throwing off several branches up to 15km long.  Nearby, the Ballinasloe branch of the Grand Canal was abandoned and de-watered about 1962, and peat lines adopted much of its bed.  Railways taking over canal beds are not that unusual (Kittybrewster - Inverurie Port Elphinstone and Shields Depot - Paisley Canal are two sections in Scotland, both with passenger services) but at Kylemore, 11km south-east of Ballinasloe, the BnM line gained the unusual distinction of passing through a former canal lock still equipped with the remains of lock-gates.  The railway in the canal lock was pictured in Waterways World for September 1998.

Our reporter, arriving by narrow-boat on 16 May 1968, found that he had come too late to cruise from Fanning's Lock to Ballinasloe, for rails had already replaced the waterway, but on 23 May 1987 he returned to ride a Wickham railcar the 12.4km from Fanning's Lock through Kilmacshane and Garryduff bogs to Kylemore Lock, and onward a further 2km or so through Lismanny.  At that date, the long BnM branches west of the river Shannon and north of the river Suck, heading north to Cloonbeggaun and west to Culliaghmore, were relatively recent, and the northern line was being extended towards Cornafulla.

0701][FR] Chalon-sur-Saône - Allerey - Verdun-sur-le-Doubs - St.Bonnet-en-Bresse - Pierre-de-Bresse - Authumes - Neublans-Petit-Noir - Chaussin - Tavaux - Dole: (Ball 48B3-49A3, partly shown)  The Chalon - St.Bonnet - Dole cross-country line had five passenger trains each way in 1914 but closed to passengers east of Allerey 23 May 1954.  Verdun - St.Bonnet was not shown in an SNCF official freight atlas of 1964.  However, the SNCF's official date for freight closure of the 44km middle section, Verdun - St.Bonnet - Tavaux, was 5 July 1971.  The end sections, Chalon - Allerey - Verdun and Tavaux - Dole-Ville, are both understood to remain in freight use.  

The situation at St.Bonnet-en-Bresse is of interest.  A pre-World War II Michelin 1:200,000 map shows the north-to-south Dijon - Bourg-en-Bresse line bridging the west-to-east Chalon - Dole line, with west-to-north and south-to-east curves, neither serving either station, apparently.  The two St.Bonnet stations are shown not quite one above the other, the high-level one being slightly to the south and the low-level one slightly to the west, but the 1914 Indicateur Chaix timetable makes no distinction between high- and low-level stations.  It shows some trains on the low-level line scheduled to spend only a minute between arrival and departure, so they could not have had time to run to the high-level and reverse there.  Conversely, other trains are allowed much longer, to make connections.  A 1966 Michelin map shows both through lines and three connecting curves, west-to-north, west-to-south and south-to-east, but erroneously omits the high-level station.  A 1993 IGN 1:250,000 map shows the high-level line and its station, the (supposedly closed 1971) line from Verdun now terminating in the low-level station, and only one connecting curve, west-to-north.  A 1997 Michelin map shows the same, except that the line from Verdun approaches St.Bonnet but does not reach the low-level station site, instead continuing along the west-to-north curve.

On the ground, on 28 April 2000, seen from one of the infrequent Dijon - Bourg-en-Bresse trains, the Chalon - Dole line was still there beneath, with a double track running through the old St.Bonnet-en-Bresse low-level station, most of which was still extant though obviously out of use. 

Why did the Verdun-sur-le-Doubs - St.Bonnet-en-Bresse section disappear from SNCF's freight atlas in 1964, seven years before the SNCF official closure date in 1971?  And why is the track in place three decades later?  Fret SNCF sources in May 2000 said that, unelectrified and requiring much attention to make its neglected track usable, the route would not be of much use for diversions in case of a blockage on the PLM main line.  Neither did they know of any movement occurring in recent years, nor of any strategic, military or industrial reason for the line, non exploitée en service commercial, being retained. 

0702][FR] Cahors - Cajarc - Vers - Capdenac: (R.0622; Ball 61B2-62A3)  Strenuous negotiations were apparently needed before SNCF allowed QuercyRail to run the full 70km length of this otherwise disused section on 30 April 2000.  The well-filled autorail Picasso left Cahors just after its booked 09:00 departure time.  Scheduled to arrive Capdenac 11:30, it in fact took 3h20min, with much slow running past scenic highlights and châteaux; a stop to visit a flower-nursery (not at a station, but at a point just west of Cajarc where the road parallels the railway); and a photo-stop at the closed but attractively-restored station of Vers.  However, arrival at 12:20 was in good time for lunch, always a civilised focus for French railtours.

0703][BE] (Anderlues -) Lobbes - Thuin trams: (R.0063; Ball 8B1 not shown)  The Association pour la Sauvegarde du Vicinal began on 8 May 2000 building a new substation which will allow electric access to the new (July 1999) facilities at Thuin (Ouest), and will provide power to their Lobbes - Thuin museum line independently of the tramway company TEC, to whose system ASVi are somewhat tenuously connected by the otherwise out-of-use Anderlues - Lobbes section.  Twenty new overhead-line masts are being erected at Thuin (Ouest) and by 15 May all the concrete bases were in place.  A new transformer has been ordered, but some other equipment is second-hand, recovered from the substation at Binche on the La Louvière - Binche - Anderlues section (closed August 1993) of the once-extensive metre-gauge Vicinal network.  The ASVi museum is open 13:00-18:00 Sundays 1 Jun - 1 Oct 2000, with some tram activity, but special trips can be organised on other days through Thuin tourist office (telephone & fax +32 71 59 54 54 during Mon-Fri office hours)  (ASVi, by e-mail)

0704][DE] Lutherstadt Wittenberg - Pratau (- Bitterfeld): (Ball 29A1; KBS250, 218)  The old rail bridge over the river Elbe was still in use on 24 April but by 21 May 2000 the new bridge was carrying traffic.  Track had been lifted from the old alignment at the northern end and it appeared that its embankment might also be removed eventually.  

0705][DE] Köln - Frechen-Königsdorf - Horrem - Düren - Aachen: (BLN 829.0306, R.0382; Ball 38A1-37A1)  Quadrupling to accommodate both high-speed Thalys and frequent local S-Bahn trains was well under way in May 2000.  From west of the junction at Köln-Ehrenfeld to east of Frechen-Königsdorf, all trains were using a new pair of tracks to the north of the old formation, which was under reconstruction.  From Frechen-Königsdorf (inclusive) to east of Horrem the line is being widened on the south side, and eastbound trains were using the new formation, which for much of the way is at a higher level than the old.  The old eastbound track had been de-electrified, but westbound trains were still using the old westbound track.  Between Horrem and Düren work was still at the earthworks stage.

0706][DE] Köln - Siegburg - Montabaur - Frankfurt-am-Main / Wiesbaden: (R.0446; Ball 38A1-49A2)  On the Köln - Frankfurt high-speed line now under construction, trains were by May 2000 already using the new tracks and temporary wooden platforms at Siegburg.  Work also seemed well advanced, with masts in place, on the Schnellfahrstrecke where it crosses over (but does not connect to) the Frankfurt - Wiesbaden line.

0707][DE] (Dieringhausen -) Osberghausen - Wiehl (- Hermesdorf - Waldbröl): (R.0097, 0480, 0502; Ball 38B1)  Tourist trains on this branch are to start as planned during summer 2000.  A shuttle service is to run from Dieringhausen on 10, 11 and 12 June 2000 at 11:15, 13:15 and 15:15, fare DEM15.  Booked haulage is steam locomotive #94 1538. 

0708][DE] Kassel - Obervellmar - Volkmarsen - Korbach: (BLN 729.093; Ball 40A2-39B2)  Trains on 3 April 2000 were busy, slightly surprising on a line still partly closed not so long ago.  Volkmarsen - Korbach lost its passenger trains 31 May 1987.  Temporarily reopened for an event in Korbach 20-29 June 1997, this section reopened permanently 4 October 1998. 

0709][DE] Könnern - Baalbarge (- Bernburg-Waldau): (Ball 42A3-28A1; KBS341)  The track on the 11km Könnern - Baalbarge section is in bad condition.  On 11 May 2000 the Class 771 railbus did most of the journey at walking-pace, and even at that speed the ride was poor.  The service is not known to be threatened, but must be a candidate for bus replacement.  

0710][DE] Linz (Rhein) - Kalenborn (- Flammersfeld): (BLN 848.0210, R.0186; Ball 48A3)  The Kalenborn branch is the remains of a Königlich Preussischen Eisenbahn (KPEV) local line (Nebenbahn), opened Linz - Flammersfeld 1 October 1912.  The Rhein-Sieg Eisenbahn are again operating Drachenland Express branch trains hourly on Sundays from April until end-October 2000, and their railbus seems to do quite good business serving walkers.  The line climbs very steeply out of the Rhein valley almost all the way to Kalenborn, momentarily running on the level through Kasbach station, close to which is a high viaduct.  Freight traffic at Kalenborn seems slight, with factory sidings there well overgrown.

0711][DE] Private take-over of Eifel area lines:  The company Eisenbahngesellschaft im Bergisch-Märkischen Raum have already purchased from DB Netz one lightly-used branch (Hagen-Kückelhausen - Gevelsberg-Poeten - Ennepetal-Altenvörde; R.0479; Ball 34B2-34B1), bought on 1 January 2000 and  served by one freight train each weekday.  On 1 July 2000 EBM are to buy three more sections of underused DB line, all of them running through landscape of outstanding beauty and frequently visited by tourist rail excursions (http://www.eifel-bahn.de).  EBM have established an office in Gerolstein to win back former rail customers and to revive freight traffic on all three lines. 

The Jünkerath - Stadtkyll - Losheim DB - Belgian frontier (- Losheimergraben SNCB - Weywertz) line (BLN 836.0491; Ball 47B3; 15km; ex-KBS248) was built for the military before World War I and opened 1912.  Stations and halts were Jünkerath (km0), Stadtkyll (km4.2), Kronenburg (km7.4), Hallschlag (km8.5) and Losheim (km13.2).  Passengers were few even in 1939, when only 150 people a day used the trains, and after 1945 they dwindled further, the three passenger trains a day each way ceasing in 1963.  Freight too was barely enough for the two trains a week, which ceased in October 1981 due to the very poor condition of the track.  However strategic considerations led to a NATO decision to pay for track-renewal, and from the mid-1980s the line was steadily improved, with UIC60 welded rail on concrete sleepers (BLN 836.0491).  When the Raeren - Sourbrodt Vennbahn closed in 1989, Belgian army traffic from garrisons in Germany to Sourbrodt SNCB station (for the nearby military training area of Elsenborn) were re-routed via Jünkerath - Losheim - Weywertz, giving the line a new importance.  In late summer 1993 (BLN 722.017) wagonloads of timber recommenced to a sawmill at Losheim, only to end in 1997 because DB Netz wanted to close the line. In spring 2000 timber traffic again began to run to Losheim, on a trial basis, and its success led to EBM's decision to buy the lines. 

West of Gerolstein, Pronsfeld was once a junction for lines in four directions, but after World War II all four declined in importance, the lightly populated area generating few passengers, and freight being significant only at Pronsfeld itself (agricultural goods, coal, timber) and at Neuerburg (coal and timber).  The Pronsfeld - Bleialf - Ihren DB (- St.Vith SNCB) line ran north-west into Belgium, Pronsfeld - Waxweiler ran south, and Pronsfeld - Neuerburg south-west.  The first two closed to passengers 1966 and freight 1987, the third to passengers 1969 and freight 1989.  Of the four only Gerolstein - Gondelsheim - Prüm - Pronsfeld (Ball 47B2; ex-KBS434) remains, and is being bought by EBM.  Stations and halts were Gerolstein (km0), Lissingen (km1.6), Müllenborn (km6.3), Oos-Müllenborn (km7.2), Büdesheim (km10.4), Schwirzheim (km13.0), Gondelsheim (km15.9), Willwerath (km19.1), Prüm (km24.3), Watzerath (km29.3) and Pronsfeld (km32.5).  Prüm - Pronsfeld closed to passengers May 1972.  Gerolstein - Prüm trains, latterly elderly 1950s-built Class VT798 railbuses, fell from six each way in 1974 to three in 1978 and to one, for school-children, in 1979, before being withdrawn 30 May 1980.  Freight to Pronsfeld ceased 1992 and to Prüm station in 1994.  Since 1994 the only traffic has been at Gondelsheim, where the thrice-weekly freight train has two customers, the more important being Streif, a company making prefabricated houses. 

The Gerolstein - Kaisersesch (- Mayen West - Andernach) section (BLN 848.0214; Ball 47B2-48A2; ex-KBS602) never had more than seven trains each way, and was threatened with closure as early as 1974.  Passengers and services continued to decrease and all trains but two came to be run by Class VT798 railbuses.  Stations and halts were Gerolstein (km0), Pelm (km2.1), Hohenfels (Eifel) (km7.7), Dockweiler-Dreis (km13.2), Rengen (km19.9), Daun (km22.7), Darscheid (km27.2), Utzerath (km31.4), Berenbach (km34), Ulmen (km36), Uersfeld (km41.5), Laubach-Müllenbach (km46) and Kaisersesch (km51.4).   Freight flows, especially timber, were still heavy in the 1980s, but most stations closed for freight after 1989 and the section closed to passengers also from 1 November 1991.  The line survived as a strategic NATO west-to-east route during the Cold War era (BLN 836.0491).  

0712][DE] Warthausen - Maselheim - Ochsenhausen: (BLN 786.0368; Ball 69B2 - the Ball 1993 edition shows the names of the line's end-points transposed, but Ball 1998 is correct).  The Öchsle-Bahn have the ambitious long-term aspiration to extend their line back to start in Biberach.  The original narrow-gauge trackbed, with many of its own series of km-posts still visible, remains parallel to the DB line northwards from Biberach to Warthausen, but it lies on the west side, so a flat crossing would seem to be needed.  The present 19km 750mm-gauge Warthausen - Ochsenhausen section can however again be reached by standard-gauge train, since Warthausen DB station has reopened, 'a few weeks ago', according to the Öchsle-Bahn train-conductor on 14 May 2000.  The restored Warthausen station building now houses an 'international button museum' to while away the time if you miss a connection!  Diesel haulage was on offer for the DEM20 ride to Ochsenhausen and back, for the line's sole working steam locomotive was said to be under repair 'for a few months'.  The non-profit-making company that owns and maintains the infrastructure has a majority of its shares in local-authority hands, and a Warthausen - Maselheim weekday schools service is planned, but the operation does seem a little precarious.  The track is c.100-year-old rail, already second-hand when laid by Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1935, and replacement will be expensive.  

0713][DE][NL][CZ] Germany: May 2000 timetable: closures and openings:  Passenger trains were to cease on these lines:  

Leer - Weener DB - Nieuweschans NS (- Groningen) (R.0627; Ball DE-15B2-15A2, NL-2A2; KBS397; the temporary closure was delayed and bus substitution did not begin on 1 April)
Hagenow Land - Zarrentin (Mecklenburg) (R.0270; Ball 18B2-18B3; KBS104)
Ludwigslust - Dömitz (R.0476; Ball 19A2-18B1; KBS171)
Neustrelitz Süd - Feldberg (Mecklenburg) (R.0476; Ball 20A2-20B2; KBS187)
Templin Stadt - Prenzlau (R.0501; Ball 20B2-21A2; KBS206.12)
Cottbus - Peitz (R.0501; Ball 30B1; KBS206.46)
Calbe (Saale): Abzw Werkleitz - Abzw Tornitz (BLN 830.0344; Ball 28A1; KBS258)
Calbe (Saale) West - Güsten (BLN 830.0344; Ball 28A1; KBS258; trains RB38191/2 were diverted via Güterglück east-to-north curve and Magdeburg in February, so the western part of KBS258 has been without traffic since March 2000)
Dallgow-Döberitz - Wustermark Rbf - Priort (R.0064; Ball 31A2; KBS260/206.21; hitherto served by train IR340/1)
Golm - Werder (Havel) (R.0064; Ball 31A1; KBS260/206.21; hitherto served by train IR340/1)
Rottenbach - Obstfelderschmiede (R.0633; Ball 41B1-52B3; KBS562; the Mellenbach-Glasbach - Katzhütte section of this branch closed 1 October 1999, Obstfelderschmiede - Mellenbach-Glasbach closed 1 November 1999)
Rudolstadt-Schwarza - Bad Blankenburg (Thüringer Wald) (R.0633; Ball 42A1; KBS562)
Grossheringen - Camburg (Saale) (Ball 42A2; KBS560; closure of this curve not shown in Kursbuch)
Grossbothen - Colditz - Rochlitz (Sachsen) (R.0531; Ball 43A2-43A1; KBS529)
Narsdorf - Rochlitz (Sachsen) (BLN 844.094; Ball 43A2; KBS526)
Freiberg (Sachsen) - Holzhau (R.0481; Ball 43B1-44A1; KBS514)
Wolkenstein - Cranzahl - Bärenstein DB - Vejprty CD (BLN 851.0306; Ball DE-43B1-54B3, CZ-35A1-35B1; KBS517)
Dresden-Friedrichstadt - Dresden Mitte (EGTRE DE00/308; Ball 45B1; KBS243/241; hitherto served by train D450/1)
Wittgensdorf oberer Bahnhof - Limbach (Sachsen) (BLN 851.0300; Ball 46B2; KBS526)

Passenger trains were to commence on these lines:

Niebüll DB - Tønder DSB (R.0239; Ball 5B1-9B3; KBS A3; Nordfriesische Verkehrsbetriebe AG; 2 Jul - 23 Sep 2000 only)
Züssow - Wolgast Hafen - Wolgaster Fähre (R.0530; Ball 13B1; KBS194; Usedomer Bäderbahn's new bridge to island)
Kremmen - Neuruppin Rheinsberger Tor - Neuruppin (BLN 842.031; Ball 20A1; KBS206)
Neuruppin Rheinsberger Tor - Herzberg (Mark) (BLN 842.031; Ball 20A1; KBS206)
Langenhagen - Hannover Flughafen (R.0415; Ball 26B2; KBS123.1)
Magdeburg-Sudenburg - Magdeburg-Buckau (Ball 28A2; KBS 310/340; trains IR 2785/6)
Berlin-Charlottenburg - Halensee (Ball 31B2; KBS 200.4)
Röderau - Zeithain Bogendreieck (BLN 803.0255; Ball 43B3; KBS216/500; train D1904, not 14-29 Jun 2000)
Dresden: Neucoswig - Radebeul-Naundorf (BLN 827.0264; Ball 45A1; KBS240; train IC879 appears to use this route)
Mayen West - Kaisersesch (R.0239; Ball 48A3-48A2; KBS478; from 14 August 2000)
Herlasgrün west-to-south curve (R.0038; Ball 53B3; KBS539; from autumn 2000)
Klingenthal DB - Hranicna CD (BLN 848.0212; Ball 54A3; KBS539)
Hockenheim (northern connection from high-speed line to platform road) (Ball 57B3; KBS700; train RE5863)

0714][ES] Mallorca: Palma - Inca: (BLN 833.0432, 850.0280; Ball 38A1-38A2)  Since 1998-99 the metre-gauge terminus of Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca in the island's capital Palma has seen reconstruction of platforms, tracks and signalling, and provision of a new canopy and covered way out from the existing building, itself sympathetically refurbished.  In spring 2000 a peninsular platform, lying between the two tracks with faces on both, was still incomplete and passengers were boarding from a temporary wooden side-platform next to the inbound (western) track, currently used by all SFM trains, on the nearer side of the layout to the station of the 914mm-gauge electric Ferrocarril de Sóller.  At the outer end of the platforms are a scissors crossover and a centre siding accessible from both platform roads.  The Palma - Inca section is all double-track with right-hand running, and at present directional working begins at a trailing crossover a few hundred metres outside Palma station.  Level access to the modern air-conditioned diesel railcars is ensured by the high platforms in use at all stations, contrasting with traditional narrow-gauge practice exemplified by some remains of low platforms.  At Inca trains take a facing crossover west of the station to terminate at the northern (Palma-bound, 'up') platform, beneath the new overall roof.  The 'down' platform and track exist and will no doubt be used when the line is extended.  A single track heads east out of Inca station, awaiting progress with these extension plans (Inca - Sa Pobla; Inca - Manacor; R.0425, 0504).

0715][PL][RU] Gdynia - Gdansk - Elblag - Bogaczewo - Slobity - Chrusciel - Braniewo PKP - Mamonovo RZD - Kaliningrad: (BLN 713.010; BLN 1996 supplement, now at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/ru_kalin.htm)  Joining at Gdansk, our reporter made a long day trip into the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on 20 April 2000.  The 07:30 train comprised PKP electric EU07 193 (Gdansk - Elblag), then PKP diesel SU45 162 (Elblag - Braniewo), hauling three day coaches for Braniewo, plus two Berlin-Lichtenberg - Kaliningrad sleepers and two couchettes (only one of each in use).  The 1993 Quail map shows Russian 1520mm-gauge track beginning inside Poland at Bogaczewo, but the layout there could not be confirmed.  To the east the broad-gauge running line was certainly out of use at Slobity, where some fishplates had been removed, but by Chrusciel the broad-gauge rails were shiny with use.  At Braniewo, PKP standard-gauge diesel ST44 004 removed the sleepers and couchettes from the rear of the train; placed them on the rear of three elderly day coaches labelled Braniewo - Kaliningrad; propelled SU45 162 dead with its empty stock into a yard at the north end of the station, and finally dropped on to the front of the train for Kaliningrad.  

It seems PKP prefer not to send their more respectable stock into Russia.  In each direction day-coach passengers were required to walk between platforms at Braniewo, apparently as a discouragement to cross-border day-traders.  Smuggling is said to be rife, and strip-searches of day-coach passengers by exasperated border-guards are not unknown.  Travellers in a through sleeper or couchette had less hassle.  PKP ST44 894 and ST44 1004 were observed operational in the yards north of Braniewo, apparently on the broad-gauge.  The Braniewo - Kaliningrad run was painfully slow, never exceeding 50km/h, with various lengthy border stops.  In some places the standard-gauge track runs alongside the broad-gauge, but the two gauges are interlaced over a couple of four-rail sections within Russia.  An RZD Class 2M62 twin electric locomotive was seen on broad-gauge oil-tank wagons at Mamonovo.  The impressive station in Kaliningrad has open access to and from the platforms, including the far platform where the standard-gauge train arrives at 15:35.  In Kaliningrad the only locomotives noted were two RZD Class TEM2 diesel 'road-switchers', one on a departing freight, the other on station-pilot duties and fitted with a visible silencer box on top, plus a single M62 running light.  The afternoon Kaliningrad - Moskva passenger train left behind an RZD Class TEP70.  

PKP ST44 004 hauled the 15:55 passenger train back to Braniewo.  Russian border controls delayed the return journey slightly, but the Polish border-guards at Braniewo apparently discovered smugglers and impounded the train.  Departure from Braniewo, behind a different Class SU45, was nearly three hours late, in darkness.  The through Kaliningrad - Berlin-Lichtenberg sleeper and couchette, the two vehicles which had been locked out of use on the outward journey, were eventually shunted into Gdynia carriage-sidings to be conveyed forward on a morning train, giving an arrival in Berlin eight hours late.  No sign was seen of any through day coaches.  The through coaches were in any case to cease from the May 2000 timetable change, but a connecting service remains available.  As regards travel arrangements, Trains Europe made the reservations in both directions and issued tickets in the UK.  InnTel Moscow Travel, a specialist agency in London, provided at a cost of GBP75 the visa required for an out-and-back trip to Kaliningrad within the day.  Neither the Russian agency Intourist nor the Russian Embassy in London would issue a visa unless at least one night's accommodation was booked.  At the Russian border, in each direction, the authorities ask for declarations of the amounts of foreign currency carried, and filling in the Soviet-style form, all in Cyrillic print, may require significant help from the conductor.  It is alas also a chore distracting one from proper observation of the railway scene!

0716][UA][HU] (Moskva RZD -) Kyiv/Kiev UZ - Lviv/Lvov - Uzhhorod/Uzhgorod - Chop UZ - Záhony MÁV - Budapest: (R.0647)  Our reporter used train #15 Tisza southbound from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv to Miskolc in northern Hungary on the night of 20-21 April 2000.  At the front were three well-filled international coaches (all RZD, European profile, green, unmodernised) labelled Moskva - Budapest, Moskva - Venezia and Moskva - Beograd, the Beograd coach perforce terminating at Novi Sad due to NATO's destruction of the bridge there over the river Dunav (= Danube).  The ten Moskva - Uzhhorod coaches (RZD or UZ, Russian profile) also seemed to be full, but with many passengers alighting and boarding at each station.  Three UZ coaches (European profile, blue and yellow, modernised) attached at Kyiv were labelled Kyiv - Budapest, Kyiv - Zagreb and Kyiv - Beograd, and they were more lightly loaded.  A further UZ coach (European profile, blue and yellow, modernised) was labelled Lviv - Budapest.  After the regauging of the seven through vehicles from 1520mm to 1435mm bogies at Chop, four MÁV seating coaches were attached and were collectively about 30% full leaving Chop.  On the Tisza's run from Moskva to Budapest (2106km by its regular route via Debrecen), only the 7km Chop - Záhony section seems to be unelectrified, with an MÁV Class M62 diesel locomotive on duty.  Due to the floods, the Tisza took the route described in R.0647, stopping at Sostohegy instead of Nyíregyháza and taking the Nyíregyháza avoiding line.  Passengers were not kept too well informed.  Well after the special Sostohegy stop, when the train was already on the avoiding curve, one conductor was seen explaining to some passengers in a mixture of Russian and Hungarian that Nyíregyháza was 'over there' (holding his arm out of the window and pointing south to the town) but that the train wouldn't stop there today, and the next stop was Miskolc.  

0717][TR] Izmir metro:  This ten-station 11.5km double-track standard-gauge metro opened 23 May 2000.  (Adtranz)

0718][AU] (Sydney Central -) Green Square - Mascot - Sydney Airport Domestic Terminal - International Terminal - Wolli Creek (- Turrella): (BLN 846.0158)  The new airport loop was to open 21 May 2000, serving five new stations with eight trains an hour during peak periods.  Suburban operators CityRail run Wolli Creek, the interchange station with the existing Illawarra Line, but the Airport Line company run the other four new stations.  (http://www.cityrail.nsw.gov.au)

0719][CA] Montréal Gare Centrale - West Jn - St.Charles - Matapédia, QC: (BLN 837.0565)  CN's 27km Diamond Subdivision (West Jn - Joffre Yard - St.Henri - St.Charles) was part of the original Intercontinental Railway from Montréal to the Maritime Provinces.  The alternative but longer West Jn - Lévis - St.Charles line opened 21 July 1884, and the old main line then retained only one or two passenger trains a day until c.1920 when these too ceased (after June 1918 but before February 1922).  However, 25 October 1998 saw the Diamond Subdivision start hosting VIA Rail Canada's Océan (Montréal - Matapédia, QC - Halifax, NS), combined three days a week with their Chaleur (Montréal - Matapédia - Gaspé, QC).  The Océan eastbound from Montréal runs forward from West Jn to call at Charny passenger platform (for Québec City) on the west-to-north curve of the triangle, then backs out to West Jn at the Chaudière River bridge before continuing forward over the west-to-east curve to head for St.Charles.  The westbound train reverses this manoeuvre. 

0720][CA] Prince George, BC - Wakely - Quintette, BC: (BLN 776.0165, 809.0427)  The remote Quintette mine is to close on 31 August 2000, two years earlier than expected, depriving the railway of some 66% of their remaining revenue from British Columbia coal, and threatening BC Rail's 50kV 60Hz electrified Tumbler Ridge coal line.  (www2.trains.com)

0721][CA] Vancouver, BC - Matsqui Jn - Nepa/Coho - Ashcroft, BC: (R.0509)  Since January 2000 the westbound transcontinental Canadian/Canadien continues to run by the CN route down the Fraser valley, but the eastbound train runs upriver by the parallel CPR route.  The four intermediate stops before Ashcroft - the CN stations at Matsqui, Chilliwack, Hope and Boston Bar on the south-east bank - remain in the VIA Rail timetable as eastbound pick-up points, but passengers are actually taken by taxi to join the train at North Bend CPR, on the north-west bank of the Fraser opposite Boston Bar.

0722][US] Chicago, IL - St.Louis, MO - Poplar Bluff, MO - Little Rock, AR - Texarkana, AR/TX - Mineola, TX - Dallas - Fort Worth - San Antonio, TX:  As part of Amtrak's Network Growth Strategy, the once-threatened Texas Eagle is to run daily rather than four days a week from 21 May 2000.  Unusually, introduction of daily service will require the train to operate on different routes in each direction between its stops at Texarkana and Mineola in east Texas.  The northbound Eagle will continue to run Mineola - Big Sandy - Longview - Marshall - Texarkana, and to call at Longview, TX and Marshall, TX, but the southbound Eagle will run Texarkana - Mount Pleasant - Big Sandy - Mineola, and stop once at a bus-transfer location near Longview on the new route.  The Texas Eagle will continue to run through to Los Angeles once a week and to connect with the Orlando, FL - Los Angeles, CA transcontinental Sunset Limited at San Antonio three days a week.  The Amtrak network totals over 35,000km.  (Amtrak news release)  

The diversion brings passenger trains to a section of line which did not have such a service even in 1957.  It results from a wish to minimise freight-train congestion following the huge Union Pacific/Southern Pacific merger.  From 1 February 1998 UP introduced a large-scale one-way system from Poplar Bluff and Dexter, MO right across Arkansas and east Texas to Hearne, TX and Houston, TX.  Keeping the predominant flow directional over two separate single-track routes eliminates crossing-meets for all but local freight trains.  Amtrak's passenger train is now to conform more with the pattern, though the southbound Eagle will still be running 'against the flow' from Poplar Bluff to Texarkana.  Texarkana - Marshall - Longview - Big Sandy - Mineola - Dallas - Fort Worth is ex-Texas & Pacific trackage, later Missouri Pacific, now UP, while Texarkana - Mount Pleasant - Big Sandy is ex-St.Louis South Western, now UP (the SLSW or 'Cotton Belt Route' having latterly been a Southern Pacific subsidiary).  (RM Library)

0723][FR] (Lens -) Sallaumines - Pont-à-Vendin - Don-Sainghin (- Lille): (Ball 7A1)  This double-track electrified line has few passenger trains but very heavy freight traffic, being used as the main route from Somain, Douai, Arras and Lens to the large Lille Délivrance yard.  The minor station of Pont-à-Vendin has a small yard, now mainly used during track-renewal works, and on 7 June 2000 it hosted ex-DB Class 211 diesel locomotives owned by French contractors SECO DG (Today's Railways, #35).  From this yard two single-track industrial lines diverge, neither of them shown by Ball.  One, in place but disused, heads south-west towards the northern edge of the town of Lens.  The other (Pont-à-Vendin - Wingles - Douvrin - Violaines) runs north-west to Wingles, serving a BSN bottle factory and a BP Chemicals plant, and on to Douvrin to the Societé Française de Mécanique car-engine works.  The Wingles - Douvrin section looked only lightly used, and beyond track no longer continues to trail into the Don-Sainghin - Béthune SNCF line at Violaines.

0724][FR] Sotteville - Rouen-St.Sever - Petit Couronne - Grande Couronne - Elbeuf-Ville - St.Pierre-lès-Elbeuf: (BLN 785.0349; Ball 13B1)  This line closed to passengers 12 December 1965, but still sees Sotteville - St.Pierre-lès-Elbeuf freight trains.  From 1991, preservation group Club Ferroviaire d'Elbeuf were based at the huge Victorian station of Elbeuf-Ville, south of Rouen, running Chemin de Fer de la Forêt de la Londe tourist trains at weekends on the section north through wooded hills along the river Seine, eventually reaching Petite Couronne 8km away in the industrial belt on the south bank close to the city.  The tourist-train operation ceased in 1997, but Elbeuf-Ville station, now mostly converted into retirement flats, was in May 2000 still a fine sight.  In the longer term, Rouen's Métrobus trams (R.0498) may be extended to use part of the route.  (partly Tourist Railways of France by Richard Haworth, first edition, 1995; Today's Railways, #51, March 2000)

0725][FR] Glos-Monfort - Pont-Audemer - Quetteville - Honfleur: (Ball 13A1-12B3)  SNCF's Evreux-Embranchement - Le Neubourg - Glos-Montfort - Pont-Audemer - Quetteville (- Honfleur) line closed to passengers 28 September 1969 and Pont-l'Evêque - Quetteville - Honfleur followed 26 September 1971.  Glos-Montfort - Honfleur remains as a branch, and still had a daily freight in 1994 (Today's Railways #1).  A rake of wagons was to be seen in a siding at Honfleur in May 2000.  

The current edition of the IGN 1:100,000 map shows passenger stations at both Pont-Audemer and Honfleur as open, and the railway between them labelled PontAuRail, the name of the preservation group running Pont-Audemer - Honfleur tourist trains since 1996 (BLN 784.0324).  As well as the single-track running line, showing signs of recent use, Pont-Audemer retains a substantial layout.  Part of an old goods-shed at the eastern end of the station building appears to have been converted into a workshop or small engine-shed, well maintained and clearly in use, with doors open though inaccessible behind a high wire fence.  On Sunday 14 May 2000 the only other indication of preservation activity was an advertisement for a 'pilgrimage' trip to a church at Honfleur that day, though no sign was seen of a tourist train at either end of the line.  

An ancient and attractive seaport opposite Le Havre on the south bank of the Seine, Honfleur is dominated by the tall cable-stayed Pont de Normandie that since the 1990s has carried autoroute A29/E44 across the estuary east of the town.  The river channel has been narrowed by extensive port and industrial developments on both sides, and facilities for sea-going vessels and river barges have spread far beyond Honfleur's original picturesque harbour.  The town-centre is no longer served by the imposing 19th-century station seen on old maps and photographs, and the present Honfleur SNCF station is a rather ugly 1960s building, presumably originally a goods-office, at the end of one of the several (recently underused) sidings overlooked by the Normandy bridge.  Unlike most disused French passenger stations, it is fenced off from the public.  Nearby, however, is a well-used café - local cider, perry and calvados a speciality - together with a gift-shop, a viewing-area for people wanting to admire the bridge, and a stop for the free bus into town that PontAuRail's website advertises to connect with their trains. 

0726][FR] Les Ifs - Les Loges - Etretat: (BLN 746.025; Ball 13A2-12B2)  The current IGN 1:100,000 map shows passenger stations at both Les Loges and Etretat open for tourist trains, and indeed the track is marked more prominently than SNCF main lines!  While the preservation group use Les Ifs for stock storage (R.0523), only the 5km Les Loges - Etretat section sees passenger trains.  In Etretat, a seaside place that once attracted impressionist painters, the station is up a side road at the back of town.  The old building, still intact, seems to be in use by SNCF for staff holidays or a similar purpose, but the track now stops c.100m short at a recently-built small platform.  On 15 May 2000 two diesel locotracteurs stood there on either end of a pair of smartly painted red-and-yellow railcar-trailer coaches.  A notice advertised four or five Sundays-only return trips to Les Loges.  

0727][DE] Fredersdorf (bei Berlin) - Rüdersdorf (bei Berlin): (Ball 32B2)  On 4 June 2000 a Traditionszug Berlin steam-hauled special train headed west from Berlin-Charlottenburg, ran round the north Aussenring, took the Biesdorfer Kreuz north-to-east curve to join the Ostbahn towards Küstrin-Kietz, and at Fredersdorf ran on to the freight-only Rüdersdorf branch.  Track condition on the branch was good, and the special ran swiftly through to the extensive yard at Rüdersdorf.  Continuing down the yard to the signal-box, it picked up a shunter, set back on to one well-used industrial branch, and ran forward down another 2km branch into Rüdersdorf cement-works, finally stopping outside the ruins of a 19th-century kiln where passengers descended for a guided tour of the Museumpark Baustoffindustrie Rüdersdorf, an industrial museum.  Production moved to a nearby new cement-works owned by Readymix, and the old plant, closed in 1992, is largely derelict.  However, although no wagons remained, the old works' internal railway system seemed largely intact and the steam locomotive was able to continue, very slowly, to the far end of the site to obtain water.  Display panels in the museum made little mention of Rüdersdorf's railway but concentrated on the canal which runs alongside the site.  

0728][DE] Kall - Höddelbusch - Schleiden - Hellenthal: (R.0099; Ball 47B3)  This 17.6km branch is still used only twice-monthly for trains to the military siding at Höddelbusch (km10.7).  In 1998 and 1999, DB Reise & Touristik ran scheduled steam excursions on Saturdays in July and August as far as Schleiden (km12.2).  The section beyond to Hellenthal is formally closed.  In spring 2000 DB Netz made an offer to sell the whole line for EUR660,000 to Kreis Euskirchen for passenger reopening, but the county council are unwilling to pay that much, and further rounds of negotiation are likely.  Meanwhile Land Nordrhein-Westfalen have announced that, uniquely among the Länder, they are willing to pay an initial operating subsidy of EUR8 per train-km to support reopening.  

0729][DE] Wiesbaden - Bad Schwalbach - Hohenstein - Kettenbach - Hahnstätten - Diez: (BLN 848.0214, R.0239; Ball 50B1-49A2; ex-KBS548)  Stations and halts on the Aartalbahn were Wiesbaden Hbf (km0), Wiesbaden-Landesdenkmal (km2.2), Wiesbaden-Waldstrasse (km3.3), Wiesbaden-Dotzheim (km6.1), Chausseehaus (km10), Eiserne Hand (km14.1), Hahn-Wehen (km16.6), Bleidenstadt (km18.3), Bad Schwalbach (km23.5), Adolfseck (km24.8), Breithardt (km28.3), Hohenstein (km30.1), Laufenselden (km31.5, closed 1969), Michelbach (km35.6), Kettenbach (km37.5), Rückershausen (km39.6), Zollhaus (km42.8), Hahnstätten (km45.1), Oberneisen (km47.2), Flacht (km49.6) and Diez (km53.7).  Passenger trains ran through beyond Diez to Limburg-an-der-Lahn (km57.3).  In the early 1980s all stations and several crossings were manned and little attempt was made to reduce operating costs.  An unattractive timetable latterly led to the service at the southern end being lightly used on weekdays.  Ten trains each way carried only 400 passengers a day to and from the large city of Wiesbaden, though Eiserne Hand served a popular beauty-spot and traffic was higher on Sundays and holidays.  Closure to passengers and freight of the 23.5km Wiesbaden - Bad Schwalbach section came on 24 September 1983.  

Further north, Kettenbach station served Passavant AG, the biggest employer in the region, with more than 2,700 workers in the 1980s, and the 30.2km northern end saw Bad Schwalbach - Diez passenger trains until 26 September 1986.  Bad Schwalbach - Hohenstein freight ceased 28 December 1990 and Hohenstein - Kettenbach freight 30 December 1992.  During the 1980s, traffic still required three Kettenbach - Diez freight trains each weekday, but in 1989 the midday train was withdrawn and the poorer service led an important customer, the limestone quarry Kalkwerke Schäfer near Hahnstätten, to switch 65,000t/year from rail to road transport.  DB then tried to discourage the remaining traffic, openly saying that they wished to close the line, with the result that the last Kettenbach - Diez freight train ran on 23 February 1999.  By spring 2000 the track was heavily overgrown, especially between Hohenstein and Kettenbach, where no train had run for seven years.  

In 1983 or 1984, to protect the line from being dismantled, Land Hessen put a preservation order on the section from Wiesbaden north as far as their border with Land Rheinland-Pfalz, between Rückershausen and Zollhaus, and soon after, DB leased this section to local public-transport operators Stadtwerke Wiesbaden (ESWE).  In 1985 Nassauische Touristikbahn tourist trains (KBS12628) began on the Wiesbaden-Dotzheim - Hahn-Wehen section.  In 1989, after a missing bridge beyond Hahn-Wehen was rebuilt, these trains were extended to Bad Schwalbach, and in 1993 to Hohenstein.  The future of the southern end seems bright, for a substantial majority on Wiesbaden city council have voted for reopening Wiesbaden - Bad Schwalbach as an electrified light-rail line, with a new route through the inner city.  The northern end faces more uncertainty, but Land Rheinland-Pfalz have ordered a feasibility study of reopening Bad Schwalbach - Diez, and Kalkwerke Schäfer have indicated that they are again interested in making use of rail transport at Hahnstätten.  

0730][DE] (Mainz - Worms -) Ludwigshafen Hbf - Mannheim Hbf: (Ball 55A1)  The new bridge to carry two additional (Rhein-Neckar S-Bahn) tracks from Ludwigshafen Hbf over the river Rhein into Mannheim Hbf was placed in position during 1999, but in the cramped conditions of the conurbation, complex work is needed on the approach embankments and track - including blockages to tram-lines in Ludwigshafen - and the new tracks may not be ready until 2002 or 2003.  In September 1999 the whole big stone edifice of Mannheim Hbf was being gutted for complete reconstruction, and all station business was being done from a very large portable building in the forecourt, described by DB as the 'Containerstadt'.  In May 2000, the Containerstadt was still flourishing and reopening of the 'real' station building did not appear to be imminent.  South of Ludwigshafen, new formation seemed to indicate a chord under construction north of Schifferstadt which would enable Ludwigshafen - Kaiserslautern trains to avoid Schifferstadt station and its curvature.  

0731][DE] (Karlsruhe -) Rastatt - Bühl (Baden) - Offenburg (- Basel): (Ball 57A1-68A3)  Quadrupling of this section of main line was progressing in spring 2000.  Two new fast tracks are already in use on the west side of the formation from Bühl to Offenburg.  Alas, much of the huge investment serves merely to make rail journeys unattractive for passengers, whose view is obscured by kilometres of dull 'environmental' walls, taller than what would really be needed to absorb or deflect wheel-on-rail noise, and no doubt soon to acquire mindless graffiti.  DB (or maybe Green Party?) enthusiasm for these wretched structures has even led to their being placed between parallel tracks.  

0732][SE] (Sundsvall Central -) Härnösand - Nyland - Långsele: (R.0604; Ball 15A3-7A1)  SJ appear to have decided at the last moment to retain a rail service for one year, so the Ådalsbana is not after all closing to passengers.  In the summer timetable (13 June - 13 August 2000) SJ daily local trains #8391/2 remain, evening northbound, early-morning southbound, though the former daytime round-trip is absent.  (Rikstidtabellen, #41; http://www.samtrafiken.se/linjetids2000.html)

0733][SE] Mellerud - Bengtsfors (- Arvika): (BLN 792.0510; Ball 21A2)  Länståg are running three round-trips a day Monday-Saturday from 26 June to 26 August 2000.  (Rikstidtabellen, #204; http://www.samtrafiken.se/linjetids2000.html)

0734][SE] Kil - Daglösen - Hornkullen - Ställdalen; Kristinehamn - Hornkullen; and Daglösen - Filipstad - Persberg: (BLN 811.0473, 831.0357, 851.0308, R.0225; EGTRE SE00/17,17A; Ball 22A3)  The experimental Mon-Fri Kristinehamn - Hornkullen - Daglösen - Filipstad all-year commuter trains run by Bergslagståget were in the old national timetable expiring Monday 12 June, a public holiday, but not in the summer 2000 edition, valid 13 Jun-13 Aug.  The few trains that do appear seem to run only during Sweden's brief summer season, and not throughout that, the pattern of operating dates seemingly designed to confuse potential customers.  However, the short Filipstad - Persberg section reopens to passengers.  Länståg run train-pair #8978/9, 13:00 Mon-Fri Kristinehamn - Hornkullen - Daglösen - Filipstad - Persberg and 14:45 Mon-Fri return, connecting at Persberg with an Inlandsbana bus to and from Mora.  BT Tåg run four weekend trains: 10:00 SO Låxa - Kristinehamn - Hornkullen - Ställdalen - Falun; 14:30 SO Falun - Ställdalen - Hornkullen - Daglösen - Kil - Karlstad - Kristinehamn; plus 09:40 SuO Kristinehamn - Falun and 14:30 SuO Falun - Kristinehamn.  The Sunday trains use the same circuitous route (via Kil) as the Saturday afternoon one.  (Rikstidtabell #75; http://www.samtrafiken.se/linjetids2000.html)

0735][PT] Pocinho - Moncorvo - Carvalhal - Mós - Carviçais - Duas Igrejas-Miranda: (BLN 697.08, 825.0209, R.0450; Ball 8B1-9A1)  On the 106km metre-gauge Linha do Sabor, closed to passengers in 1978 and to freight 1 January 1989, the 23km Pocinho - Carvalhal section retained its track in May 2000, with local hopes of reopening in the long-term, though not as far as the growing settlement of Carviçais, it seems.  Moncorvo station building and yard are now a local council depot.  Beyond Carvalhal track has gone and intermediate stations lie derelict.  Duas Igrejas, the point in the countryside where the line petered out, fatally 10km short of the town of Miranda do Douro, still had its station building, in reasonable condition including fine tiled murals, and its locomotive-shed and water-column.  As in March 1998 the turntable was still operable.

0736][PT] Lisboa Rossio - Campolide: (BLN 819.057; Ball 25B1)  The exterior of Lisboa's dignified Rossio terminus proudly proclaims it to be the Estação Central.  Work is under way on the lengthy Rossio tunnel, so the terminus and the line out to Campolide have been closed every night (00:00-04:45) and weekend (00:00 Sat - 04:45 Mon) since 17 January 2000, and this closure pattern continues into the new timetable period from 28 May until further notice.  

0737][PT] Lisboa: Rio Tejo ferries: (BLN 775.0143; Ball 25B1)  Privatised in 1995, and now run by Sociedade Fluvial de Transportes SA (SOFLUSA), the ex-railway-owned Lisboa - Barreiro classic ferries continue to carry passengers from their city-centre landing-stage, Terreiro do Paço, hard by the Praça do Comerçio, across the Rio Tejo estuary to CP's south-bank main-line station, Barreiro, still the rail gateway to the Algarve.  Immediately next to Terreiro do Paço is the Estação Fluvial of rival operators Transportes Tejo whose catamarans carry passengers on two other Trans Tejo routes to piers on the south bank, each of them close to the extant terminus of a long-closed former CP branch line.  On the Lisboa - Montijo crossing, TT offer frequent catamaran trips (22 each way on weekdays, fewer at weekends, 35min journey, one-way fare EUR1.50) to a modern ferry terminal no more than a 10min walk from the former Montijo station.  The 9km Pinhal Novo - Montijo branch lost its freight traffic and its (latterly vestigial) passenger service on 28 May 1987.  Track was eventually lifted in November 1999 (R.0449) but the goods-shed is still standing, as is the passenger building, apparently no longer occupied.  The Lisboa - Seixal crossing, which in 1985 enjoyed only two trips each way (weekdays only, 35min journey), now has frequent catamaran trips (4 an hour in the weekday peaks, falling to hourly off-peak and weekends, 15min journey, one-way fare EUR1.10).  As well as its modern ferry terminal, Seixal has a vast car-park, this being the route for south-bank car commuters who choose not to bring their vehicles into central Lisboa by bridge or ferry.  Across the car-park is a well-preserved former station and goods-shed, now occupied by the Portuguese Red Cross.  This was the terminus of the 5km Barreiro - Seixal branch, closed December 1969 and now lifted.  The branch's original name of Ramal de Cacilhas suggests that it never reached its intended destination, for Cacilhas is rather further downstream on the Tejo south bank, almost opposite Cais do Sodré.  

0738][CH] Lausanne - Echallens - Bercher: (R.0643; Ball 91A1)  The first part of the metre-gauge LEB line opened in 1874, and its 'temporary' Lausanne-Chauderon terminus was at street-level in the angle between Avenue de Morges and Avenue d'Echallens.  From the original site a short single-track ramp leads down to the island platform beneath the Place du Chauderon which became the LEB terminus from 27 May 1995, but beyond this a further double-track extension in a 445m tunnel now leads to the new Lausanne-Flon terminus, opened 28 May 2000.  This has a single platform between two terminal bays, reached by lifts or escalators down from the termini of the two Lausanne Métro lines, which are at the same level as the adjacent Rue Centrale.  Lausanne-Flon - Renens CFF is now Métro Ligne 1 and Lausanne-Flon - Gare - Ouchy is Métro Ligne 2.  Lausanne-Flon LEB terminus may have been built at a lower level to facilitate possible future extension, perhaps towards Lausanne CFF station, only a few hundred metres away horizontally, but some 30m lower.  The name Flon is that of the stream, now buried beneath the Rue Centrale, that once powered the watermills of Lausanne.  (http://www.lrta.org)

0739][HU] (Nyíregyháza -) Balsa - Balsai Tisza-part: (R.0692; Ball 43B1)  Working this section (BLN 777.0176) involves the locomotive running round on the triangle just beyond Balsa and then propelling the train down the incline on a curve, so operation in winter is likely to be a bit harder.  Furthermore, the riverbank station Balsai Tisza-part serves little more than a café-restaurant and a country park, and demand to be taken down there to see the waters of the river Tisza roll by under wintry skies is probably limited.  However the seasonal service is now acknowledged by the timetable, which no longer shows all-year operation to Tisza-part.  The summer 2000 Menetrend table 118 shows four trains footnoted 'runs to Balsai Tisza-part up to 30 September and from 28 April'.  Departures from Nyíregyháza NyK (directly outside the main-line station) are at 05:32, 08:10, 11:19 and 14:29, from Balsai Tisza-part at 08:10, 11:23, 14:30 and 17:05.  The other two Nyíregyháza departures at 16:59 and 20:05 are both shown as terminating at Balsa.

0740][HU] (Miskolc Kilián-Észak -) Papírgyár - Mahóca - Taksalápa - Farkasgödör-Örvénykö: (BLN 777.0175, R.0459; Ball 43A1; Menetrend 331)  On the northern arm of the ÁEV 760mm-gauge Lillafüredi vonal, scheduled passenger services to Farkasgödör-Örvénykö ceased around 1990, but occasional traffic such as excursions for school groups continued until summer 1994.  The last freight train on the former forestry system ran in 1990, carrying timber to the Ladi sawmill.  Track re-laying on the Papírgyár - Mahóca section began in 1996, the first passenger train to Mahóca thereafter ran in 1997, and scheduled services began again with the May 1998 timetable.  In summer 2000 one return trip runs on Saturdays and Sundays, out from Miskolc Kilián-Észak at 10:00, back by 18:00, with a 5h20min layover at Mahóca.  A plan to re-lay Mahóca - Taksalápa, abandon Taksalápa - Farkasgödör and build a new extension to the village of Tardona, 4km north-west of Farkasgödör, was much promoted by Tardona's mayor, keen to attract tourists, but was opposed by the Bükk National Park authorities and recently abandoned.  On the southern arm of the system (Miskolc Kilián-Észak - Papírgyár - Lillafüred - Garadna), steam locomotive #447.401, which last ran in May 1983, has been rebuilt and is working at weekends in summer 2000, running Miskolc Kilián-Észak 11:00 - Garadna - Lillafüred - Garadna - Miskolc Kilián-Észak 16:35.  

0741][RO][BG] Calafat CFR - Vidin BDZ train-ferry: (R.0394; Ball 52B3)  A 1956-built two-lane road-and-rail span carrying the (Bucuresti -) Giurgiu CFR - Ruse BDZ line (Ball 53A3) is the only bridge on the 400km of the river Dunarea or Dunav (= Danube) that lies between Romania and Bulgaria.  In June 2000, however, the two governments agreed to build a second road-and-rail bridge to replace the Calafat - Vidin lorry-and-rail-wagon ferry, boosting trade on this route bypassing troubled Yugoslavia.  European Union finance may be available for the bridge and for better road and rail links to it, including doubling the (Lökösháza MÁV -) Arad CFR - Timisoara - Craiova - Calafat line (Ball 48B2-52B3).  (Reuters)

0742][RU] (Moskva - Rostov-na-Donu -) Mineralnye Vody - Prokhladnaya - Grozny - Gudermes (- Baku): (BLN 784.0343)  Those looking for a challenge might like to try travelling Russia's broad-gauge railways through and around Chechnya.  The electrified main line east across the troubled Chechen 'autonomous republic' to Dagestan and Azerbaijan meets the electrified Prokhladnaya - Mozdok - Gudermes secondary route through North Ossetia, and the unelectrified Astrakhan - Gudermes north-south main route down the west bank of the Caspian Sea, at the junction of Gudermes, temporarily the administrative centre of Chechnya while the war-damaged capital Grozny is being repaired.  The station building at Gudermes was itself much damaged during the first conflict in the mid-1990s and has never been fully restored, but following the recent fighting the station reopened for passenger business on 8 June 2000.  Local trains are again running Prokhladnaya - Gudermes, Grozny - Gudermes and Mozdok - Gudermes, and longer-distance trains are shortly to begin running Pyatigorsk - Mineralnye Vody - Prokhladnaya - Gudermes, starting on the Mineralnye Vody - Pyatigorsk (- Kislovodsk) branch.  

0743][NZ] Auckland area:  The New Zealand Government have since 1993 leased the national rail system's 1067mm-gauge tracks to private-sector operators Tranz Rail, in which Wisconsin Central have a major interest (BLN 714.027, 798.0150).  To allow development of 'new public passenger transport services', Tranz Rail at the end of May 2000 agreed in principle to sell on to Auckland Regional Council the lease for the so-called Newmarket Branch, actually a through route which was formerly part of the North Island Main Trunk, and for the North Auckland Line as far west as Swanson.  Tranz Rail retain the lease on the North Island Main Trunk via Tamaki, but have agreed to provide 30% of the paths by this route in and out of the city for local services contracted out by the Regional Council.  Access will be preserved for Tranz Rail's long-distance passenger trains and freight trains in the region, and Tranz Rail will be able to bid to provide future local trains.  

Until the Regional Council put in place alternative contracts, Tranz Rail will continue to operate existing Tranz Metro local trains on the three routes Auckland - Newmarket (reverse) - Swanson - Waitakere; Auckland - Newmarket - Penrose - Westfield - Papakura and Auckland - Tamaki - Westfield - Papakura, the latter two interworking as a loop through Auckland main station.  (http://www.tranzrailtravel.co.nz/tranzmetro/auckland/default.asp)  Specials run along the Penrose - Onehunga Industrial Line for events at Ericsson Stadium, Mount Smart, and in high summer some Papakura trains are extended to Paerata North Jn and over the Paerata - Glenbrook (- Mission Bush) branch to connect with the Glenbrook Vintage Railway, which operates along the ex-NZR Glenbrook - Waiuku branch.  

In a separate development, on 26 June 2000 Tranz Rail introduce an experimental Hamilton - Auckland long-distance-commuter train, with a journey time of just under two hours, making more intensive use of their three Silver Fern railcars.  Two units are to run Monday-Friday Hamilton - Auckland, arriving 08:11, then daily out from Auckland - Hamilton, dividing there, with one unit running Hamilton - Rotorua - Hamilton as the Geyserland, the other running Hamilton - Tauranga - Hamilton as the Kaimai Express, joining again to run back to Auckland, finally departing 17:19 Monday-Friday Auckland - Hamilton.  Tranz Rail also announced in June 2000 cessation of rail freight to Rotorua.  

0744][US] Kenosha, WI: streetcars: (R.0653)  The new tramway opens 17 June 2000, its newly rebuilt ex-Toronto PCC cars (fare USD0.25) running in a 3km loop from the Metra commuter-rail station to the city's lakefront development.  

0745][US] Amtrak 'closures'?: (R.0723)  Further Network Growth Strategy proposals still being developed may lead to diversion of passenger trains away from certain sections of their current routes.  The Orlando, FL - Los Angeles, CA Sunset Limited may quit ex-Southern Pacific, now Union Pacific, trackage between Houston and El Paso (Houston, TX - San Antonio - Del Rio - Sanderson - Alpine - Sierra Blanca, TX) and the Chicago, IL - Toronto, ON International may no longer run via a section of Grand Trunk Western trackage (Battle Creek, MI - East Lansing - Durand - Flint - Lapeer - Port Huron, MI - Sarnia, ON).  (Railfan & Railroad, July 2000)

0746][GB] (Belfast -) Bleach Green Jn - Mossley West - Templepatrick - Antrim: (R.0438; Baker 102C1-102C2)  The junction at Bleach Green has been temporarily severed, and new concrete-sleepered track is being laid from the Antrim end, with ballast supplied by road through a hole in the hedge near the abandoned station of Dunadry.  The diesel locomotive employed on Coleraine - Portrush engineering work had failed, and the one assigned to Bleach Green - Antrim ballasting was sent to replace it, so a steam locomotive was recruited from the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland.  An ex-Londonderry port industrial tank-engine was therefore to be seen working ballast trains near Dunadry on 19 June 2000.

0747][GB] Coleraine - Portrush: (BLN 769.01, 770.024; Baker 101A2)  The branch is temporarily closed (19 June - 10 September 2000 inclusive) for major track-relaying and resignalling works.  The old somersault signals at Portrush will disappear, probably to the Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway.

0748][GB] (Portrush -) Bushmills - Giant's Causeway: (R.0617)  On 19 June 2000 a diesel locomotive and one coach (both ex-Shanes Castle Railway) formed the first passenger working on the 914mm-gauge Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway.  Locomotive and carriage sheds, and a new station building in traditional Irish narrow-gauge style, have been erected at the Giant's Causeway end of the 3km line, and the 'inspection' train for visiting enthusiasts worked from there about 1km towards Bushmills.  The bridge over the river Bush will not be ready until late summer 2000, and though it is possible that weekend public passenger trains may run in September and October, full operation may await the 2001 summer season.

0749][IE] Dublin - Maynooth - Mullingar - Edgeworthstown - Carrick-on-Shannon - Sligo: (R.0359)  Major engineering work here during spring 2000 has included much track replacement and the raising of a bridge over the river Shannon by about a metre.  Sunday-morning Dublin - Maynooth services (R.0698) have been by bus until the 13:35 train from Sligo, and no trains have run north-west of Edgeworthstown (formerly Mostrim) between Monday morning and Friday evening since 13 March.  The whole line is to be restored to full service from 28 July 2000, with accelerated timings.  

0750][FR] (Metz - Nancy - Mirecourt -) Hymont-Mattaincort - Vittel - Contrexéville - Merrey (Haute Marne) (- Dijon): (BLN 719.03; Ball 28A1-39B3; SNCF 114)  While engineering work takes place on the Toul - Neufchâteau - Merrey line (R.0551; Ball 28B2-39A3), some (but not all) Grandes Lignes trains between Metz and Dijon (and beyond) are diverted via this sparsely served secondary route on some (but not all) weekdays from 26 July to 8 September.  A single northbound train is similarly diverted on Mondays only from 11 September to 13 November 2000.

0751][FR] Les Laumes-Alésia - Pouillenay - Semur-en-Auxois - Époisses (- Maison-Dieu): (R.0262; Ball 38A2)  Autorails Bourgogne Franche-Comté ran a railtour from Dijon which visited part of the freight-only Époisses branch on 1 June 2000.  At the junction, Les Laumes-Alésia, five or six elderly coaches remain in the sidings, including an inox (stainless-steel) vehicle, and a pantograph-equipped car from an electric unit, but with little sign of preservation activity.  On the branch itself progress of the well-filled Picasso railcar was very sedate.  The Pouillenay - Vitteaux - Pouilly-en-Auxois - Arnay-le-Duc line seemed to have been lifted recently, judging by the short grass just beginning to sprout through the ballast.  After an 09:54 arrival at Semur, the Picasso made three shuttle trips along the c.400m section to Semur viaduct, before our reporter left the tour on the 12:20 Semur - Montbard SNCF service bus.

0752][FR] Mulhouse area: (BLN 794.036; Ball 41A3)  The Ball atlas omits the Raccordement de Dornach, a single-track southeast-to-northeast curve between Mulhouse-Dornach and Mulhouse-Nord yard, avoiding Lutterbach.  At the south-eastern junction of the Raccordement de Dornach, but not accessible to trains using that chord, is a single platform on the reversible western track of the two between Mulhouse-Dornach and Lutterbach.  This is Mulhouse-Musées station, close to the French national railway museum (and the fire-brigade museum) but used only by special trains.  The local timetable for the Mulhouse - Basel route shows journey times extended by about 8-10 minutes for a small number of trains on some but not all dates between 26 June and 7 July 2000.  These may use the route Mulhouse - Mulhouse-Dornach - Raccordement de Dornach - Mulhouse-Nord Triage - Contournement de Mulhouse - Bifurcation de Wanne - Rixheim - Basel. 

0753][BE] (Eeklo -) Baigerhoek - Maldegem: (R.0211; Ball 7B3)  NMBS inspectors have banned use of the Eeklo - Baigerhoek section because of unsafe track condition.  Stoomcentrum Maldegem are running only on the c.5km from Maldegem to Baigerhoek, which has no run-round loop, only a siding.  Working there requires the use of overhead-maintenance trolley ES202 to shunt-release the stock.  This pattern of operation is expected to apply for most of the (summer Sunday) season in 2000.  Intending visitors may wish to check with the preservation group by e-mailing scm@yucom.be.  Operations of other Belgian tourist lines may also be affected by tightening-up on track safety.  

0754][DE] Züssow - Wolgast Hafen - Wolgaster Fähre - Zinnowitz - Seebad Heringsdorf - Ahlbeck Grenze: (R.0009, 0137, 0530, 0713; Ball 13B1-14A1; KBS194)  Diesel railcars of DB's island subsidiary Usedomer Bäderbahn now work the Züssow - Wolgast Hafen mainland section, which has been de-electrified very neatly, with all mast-bases removed and no cut-off stumps.  At Wolgast Hafen, measurement from Berlin via Züssow ceases, and a new km244 post shows measurement beginning by the original, now abandoned, route to Usedom (BLN 810.0435) from Berlin Stettiner Bahnhof round via Ducherow, Swinemünde and Heringsdorf.  The new Peenebrücke at Wolgast is a drawbridge with prominent counterweights, designed for road and rail traffic but road-only from its opening in 1997 until 28 May 2000.  On the island side a new road approach was built across the trackbed leading to Wolgaster Fähre, so the old station closed and was replaced from 21 May 1999 by a new Wolgaster Fähre, temporarily a terminus and now a Haltepunkt, on the rail alignment over the bridge.  On 29 May 2000 the service comprised new diesel units running hourly Züssow - Ahlbeck Grenze, supplemented by classic Ferkeltaxi railbuses, running motor+trailer+motor, on hourly shorter workings, and on the 12km Zinnowitz - Peenemünde Dorf branch.  Quite a few railbuses were dumped out of use at the depot at Zinnowitz, just beyond the junction where the branch trails in.  UBB have a new rolling-stock depot under construction in the fork of the next junction, at Seebad Heringsdorf where trains reverse.  A few metres beyond the km204.3 board at the Swinemünde end of the platform at Ahlbeck Grenze, UBB metals end at a buffer-stop right on the border, with German and Polish marker-posts immediately adjacent.  The halt, opened 1 June 1997, is surrounded by the rather seedy market-stalls found at frontiers, and the 'last German Gaststätte before Moskva'.  The border-crossing is still for pedestrians only, with buses and taxis waiting on the Polish side to take passengers the 2-3km into town or to Swinoujscie PKP station. 

0755][DE] Hannover S-Bahn: Hbf - Vinnhorst - Langenhagen Mitte - Langenhagen Pferdemarkt - Hannover Flughafen: (R.0415, 0713; Ball 26B2)  Passenger service to Hannover Flughafen began with free-of-charge public test trains in the late afternoon of Saturday 27 May, followed by free travel on the whole of the new S-Bahn Netz on Sunday 28 May 2000, the first day of the summer timetable.  The crowds had subsided by 19:00.  The Hbf - Flughafen trains call only at Langenhagen Mitte, apparently an entirely new station, and the route diagrams and timetables therefore imply that Langenhagen Pferdemarkt is north of the junction, which it is not.  It appears that Pferdemarkt is the former Langenhagen (Han.) station rebuilt and renamed.  The junction for the airport branch is just beyond, at the divergence of the lines to Celle and to Soltau.  The short Flughafen branch is single track and in the open until the immediate approach to the underground two-track terminus.

0756][DE] Rostock Friedrich-Franz Bahnhof: (Ball 12B1)  Opened in 1850 as the terminus of the Bad Kleinen - Rostock Friedrich-Franz Eisenbahn, this station has since 1906 been for goods only.  At end-May 2000 much track had been lifted from the route into the Güterbahnhof, and earth-moving and other construction work was under way.  To judge by the positioning of new electrification mast-bases, this work may possibly be for an S-Bahn line to a more central station for the Hanseatic city, on the Gbf site, as presaged by the experimental reopening to passengers during autumn 1994 (BLN 746.031). 

0757][DE] (Berlin -) Hennigsdorf - Velten (Mark) - Kremmen - Neuruppin: (BLN 771.055; Ball 29B3-20A1)  The third-rail Berlin S-Bahn now ends at Hennigsdorf (R.0216) though third-rail used to extend to Velten, where the S-Bahn depot still stands.  Since 21 September 1983 Hennigsdorf - Velten has had 15kV 16.7Hz overhead electrification, but trains on the single-track Kremmener Bahn north-west to Neuruppin are a mixture of Class 628 two-car units and Ferkeltaxi railbuses, and new diesel units are to enter service later in 2000.  The single track causes serious delays when the service is disrupted, as it was on 30 May 2000.  The former Haltepunkt, Neuruppin Rheinsberger Tor, near the level-crossing at the east end of the main street, is now Neuruppin's main station.  New platforms have been built and the adjacent gatehouse and tower doubles as tourist information-centre and railway booking-office.  The former Neuruppin station, down back-streets some way from the town-centre, has closed and a new halt, Neuruppin West, has been built near the divergence of the lines to Wittstock (Dosse) and Neustadt (Dosse).  The May 2000 Kursbuch still incorrectly shows Neuruppin in the table for Neustadt trains.

0758][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (Ball 31B2-32A2)  The latest part of the Innenring to reopen (Jungfernheide - Westhafen, 19 December 1999; R.0478) is temporarily worked as two single lines from crossovers west of Beusselstrasse east to Westhafen.  The Westhafen - Gesundbrunnen section is not yet reopened, and much remains to be done at Gesundbrunnen station.  North of the Ringbahn, on the Gesundbrunnen - Bornholmer Strasse section, the S-Bahn still uses what will become the northbound pair of tracks, but work has started on laying the southbound tracks.  The freight line via Greifswalder Strasse that joins and parallels the Bornholmer Strasse - Tegel - Hennigsdorf S-Bahn serves an engineer's depot at Schönholz and a scrapyard at Reinickendorf, but the latter seems to be its most northerly source of traffic and the freight track extends no further than Eichborndamm.  However, the Niederbarnimer Industriebahn freight line (not shown in Ball) is still in place at Berlin-Tegel heading east towards Wittenau.

0759][DE] Berlin: Neukölln - Teltowkanal - Rudow Kraftwerk: (Ball 32A2 not shown)  The Neukölln-Mittenwalder Eisenbahn is a private freight-only railway with its own tracks in (the former American sector of west) Berlin.  To celebrate the NME's 100th anniversary, four return trips ran on 10 June 2000 from the far end of the system at Rudow power-station to the exchange-sidings with DB at Neukölln yard.  Hauled by an NME locomotive, the well-filled train started from a rounding-loop outside the power-station beside the Teltowkanal, passing south-east through a tank-farm before curving to run south-west down the middle of Stubenrauchstrasse, with a well-used industrial branch trailing in to join it.  Also trailing in, just before the site of Rudow Nord station, was a disused 'branch', once the main line to Mittenwalde, but now with a stop-block erected a short distance down the track at Rudow West.  The train then ran north-west through the suburbs, with the Gradestrasse municipal-waste siding trailing in from the east.  After briefly reversing into Teltowkanal NME yard to water one of the coaches, it continued under a motorway junction to a point close to S-Bahnhof Hermannstrasse where it swung east to parallel the separate DB freight and S-Bahn tracks forming the Innenring.  Opposite S-Bahnhof Neukölln, just short of the DB connection, the NME train finally stopped for the locomotive to run round.  Nearby, the exchange sidings were filled with Polish wagons of coal, coal inbound to the power-station and outbound waste being the NME's main traffics.  

0760][DE] Düsseldorf - Düsseldorf-Unterrath - Düsseldorf Flughafen - Angermund (- Duisburg): (Ball 33A1) Düsseldorf Flughafen, a new through station serving the city's airport, opened to regular traffic on 28 May 2000.  S-Bahn and some main-line services call, though curiously Aachen - Bielefeld Regional Express trains do not.  The original Düsseldorf Flughafen station, at the end of a short branch off the same line, has been renamed Düsseldorf Flughafen Terminal, and has been somewhat eclipsed.  Though it is still served by S-Bahn line S7 (Flughafen - Düsseldorf Hbf - Solingen-Ohligs), line S1 trains (Düsseldorf - Duisburg) no longer call.  As a result, the only remaining passenger service over the north-to-west curve on to the branch is an overnight train southbound from Münster (Westfalen) that calls at Duisburg Hbf at 03:30.  This is one of a number of trains in the small hours from nearby cities, for the use of airport staff and passengers leaving on early flights. 

0761][DE] Garmisch - Grainau - Eibsee - Riffelriss - Zugspitzplatt / Schneefernhaus: (Ball 70B1-79A3)  Close to DB's Garmisch-Partenkirchen main-line station is the Garmisch station of the metre-gauge Bayerische Zugspitzbahn.  The first section is adhesion worked with modern stock, but passengers change vehicles at Grainau, where the BZB depot is located and the rack section begins.  Some of the trailer coaches on the rack section date back to the opening of the line, with motor coaches from the 1950s, now modernised.  The line becomes much steeper at Eibsee.  Beyond Riffelriss the last 4.5km is in tunnel.  Although the spectacular views are lost, the tunnel section is surprisingly interesting, not only having distance-markers every 10m, but numerous other signs.  Most of these indicate that one has reached the height of noteworthy other places, such as the summit of Pilatus or the Ospizio Bernina.  The points 2000m above Leipzig and Berlin are also marked.  The line was built in a great hurry to ensure that it opened before the 1930 Oberammergau Passion Play - which it did, just in time, on 8 July 1930.  Accordingly, the tunnel was bored from no fewer than five worksites, leaving various recesses and side-passages today.  Some of these are now occupied by advertisements that light up when the train passes.  At one point a door across the tunnel slides open as the train approaches.  At a junction 3799m into the tunnel passenger trains join a new section of line opened in 1987 to Zugspitzplatt, 2590m above sea-level.  The original line to Schneefernhaus, higher up at 2650m, seems still in use for goods, perhaps Europe's highest freight-only branch.  The DEM79/EUR40 return fare is good value, and includes the Zugspitzplatt - Zugspitzgipfel cable-car to the summit.

0762][DE] Altenglan - Lauterecken-Grumbach - Staudernheim: (Ball 56B3-48B1)  Passenger trains ceased to run Altenglan - Lauterecken-Grumbach 31 May 1985 and Lauterecken-Grumbach - Staudernheim 30 May 1986.  (Abschied von der Schiene, transpress 1997)  From May to October 2000 rail-cycles for four persons can be hired at DEM49/EUR25 a day, in opposite directions on alternate days from the end-points of the line (on the Landstuhl - Altenglan - Kusel branch and the Mainz - Staudernheim - Türkismühle line respectively).  Details: Touristen-Information Kusel, Trierer Strasse 41, D-66869 Kusel; telephone +49 6381 424 270; fax +49 6381 424 280; http://www.draisinentour.de/.  (IBSE Telegramm, May 2000)

0763][AT] (Attnang-Puchheim -) Vöcklabruck - Kammer-Schörfling: (Ball 73A2)  This ÖBB branch has significant freight, the main source of traffic being the Lenzing AG works, the largest integrated pulp and viscose-fibre plant in the world according to the company's website.  Lenzing station has extensive sidings, with both tank wagons and vans present on 1 June 2000.  Kammer-Schörfling, the terminus on the Attersee, has a rail-served sawmill.

0764][PT] Lisboa - Benfica - Cacém - Meleças - Martingança - Guia - Louriçal - Figueira da Foz: (BLN 806.0339, 820.073; Ball 25B2-17A2)  From Bifurcação de Benfica to Cacém the route is being quadrupled.  At Bif de Cacém, a new track, not yet fully connected up nor in use on 2 June 2000, diverges on the south side of the electrified Cacém - Sintra line and dives under it to come up alongside the still-single running line of the Linha do Oeste as it heads north.  A small set of sidings has been installed on the west side of the line and all tracks have been electrified as far as the country end of this new yard.  By 2003 the new flying junction and the yard are to serve a short double-track electrified suburban section of the Linha do Oeste out to the first station, Meleças.  

Further north, 146km from Lisboa, a significant source of traffic for the Linha do Oeste is the Ramal da Maceira, a c.5km privately-owned single-track branch diverging at Martingança to serve the extensive Maceira works of Cementos Liz.  Shown on the Quail map but not in the Ball atlas, the branch is clearly well used, despatching cement in block trains assembled by the factory's own shunting locomotive.  

Notwithstanding BLN 806.0339, the Guia - Louriçal section is unwired.  As the Linha do Oeste drops down north into Louriçal station, 193km from Lisboa, a south-facing junction leads to a branch, the Ramal de Louriçal, diverging to the north-west (not to the south-east as shown on the Quail map).  In practice the main access to the branch is from the north.  Electrically-hauled freight trains leave the Linha do Oeste just north of Louriçal station, run into sidings parallel to and west of the platforms, cut across the south-facing branch access, and stop in one of three dead-end loops parallel to the main line at lower level.  From these loops, trains reverse and are diesel-hauled down the branch, which is controlled by colour-light signals but is unelectrified, notwithstanding Today's Railways #6.  The km0 point is a very short distance on to the branch, opposite Louriçal station.  The single track heads north-west to km5.6, where it splits at a junction, remotely controlled from Louriçal, the eastern (and slightly longer) arm rising to cross the main road and reach the Soporcel factory, while the western arm proceeds to a gate at km6, beyond which is the unloading area for timber to the Celbi factory, with enormous stacks of wood.  The whole area is pervaded by the sickly cellulose smell produced when trees are rendered down into wood-pulp.  The 10km quoted by Quail as the length of the branch seems on the high side for what might perhaps be 7km of running track.  

0765][PT] Santana-Cartaxo / Setil - Morgado - Vidigal - Bombel / Vendas Novas: (Ball 26A3-26A2)  The Porto Campanhã - Faro Comboio Azul used to use the east-to-north Concordância de Setil-Norte, avoiding Setil station, but when it began to carry cars, from summer 1996 (BLN 805.0311), a reversal en route became necessary and the train was booked instead to reverse at Setil station.  However, in summer 1999 the northbound Comboio Azul was reported (R.0153) as reversing south of the river Tejo at Bombel, then taking the west-to-north curve to Vidigal and the Setil north curve, and indeed this was also the route taken on 5 May 2000.  In January 2000 (R.0571) CP confirmed that Setil reversal was still the booked route, so Bombel reversal was maybe just a temporary expedient during track remodelling and resignalling at Setil station that lasted many months.  On 4 June 2000 it was clear from a passing train that this engineering work had recently been completed, so it would no longer inhibit use of Setil station for the reversal.  The new timetable from 28 May 2000 shows the Comboio Azul with no advertised commercial stop at either Setil or Bombel, offering no clue as to whether and where it might reverse. 

0766][PL] (Bydgoszcz -) Maksymilanowo - Weirzchucin - Lipowa Tucholska - Bak - Koscierzyna - Gdynia: (Ball 32A1-32B3)  PKP's unelectrified cross-country line 440, heading due north for some 170km in the post-World War I 'Polish Corridor' to the Baltic seaport of Gdynia, was completed in 1930 when the competing port of Danzig, now Gdansk, was not part of Poland but a (largely German) Free City.  Line 440 services have been cut back markedly in recent years.  The May 2000 timetable change saw the end of through trains, and the 66km Weirzchucin - Koscierzyna section reduced to two trains a day shuttling each way, with even these marked as threatened.  It also saw withdrawal of the last booked services over the links at Lipowa Tucholska with northwest-to-southeast line 429 (Bak - Czersk - Szlachta - Lipowice Pomorskie).  From the north end of Lipowa Tucholska station, the south-to-west curve to line 429 facing towards Czersk had lost its limited services by 1997-98 (and remains out-of-use, decidedly rusty but signalled) but until the end of the 1999-2000 timetable, the south-to-east Lipowa Tucholska - Szlachta curve still carried passenger trains.  All three reversed at Szlachta, one heading north before its reversal and two heading south after reversal.  On 21 April 2000, a 17:07 southbound arrival on line 440 at Lipowa Tucholska followed by a brisk 2km walk to Szlachta ensured catching the 17:36 to Bydgoszcz, allowing travel over this now-closed link.  The walk even contained additional railway interest, for a sawmill straddled the line approaching Szlachta, and a significant narrow-gauge internal system, apparently human-powered, crossed the connecting road on the level.  

0767][KP][KR] North to south in Korea:  The 1950-53 fighting ended with a temporary armistice, and no peace treaty has ever been signed, leaving the peninsula still technically at war, but the rapprochement between the two Korean states begun in June 2000 may lead to restoration of railway links closed for nearly half a century, according to the Guardian of 16 June 2000.  The likely routes are the main line between the capitals, (Pyongyang -) Kaesong [KP] - [KR] Munsan (- Seoul), and the line from the Russian border and the east coast (Wonsan - Anbyon -) Pyonggang [KP] - [KR] Sintanri (- Seoul).  

Our reporter once visited the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in 1987, arriving on the Beijing - Dandong [CN] - [KP] Sinuiju - Pyongyang sleeper, to which a steam engine added at the border a North Korean dining-car serving excellent food at a single long table down the centre.  Continuing by the Pyongyang - Kaesong sleeper, he visited the armistice site at nearby Panmunjom.  A further visit by road to the port of Wonsan on the east coast, and thereafter south to the spectacular scenery of the north's tourist area round Mount Kumgang, revealed that a third line that had once crossed into the south (Anbyon - Kosong [KP] - [KR] Kojin - Yangyang) was derelict and trackless, with a number of bridge abutments long destroyed, presumably in the 1950s war.  This line seems very unlikely to reopen.  Like the southern capital Seoul (BLN 778.0203), the north's capital Pyongyang has a showpiece metro system, comprising two lines totalling 22.5km in 1987.  Since everything in the feudal DPRK seemed to require seeking prior permission from the (then) Great Leader Kim Il Sung, it was necessary first to 'lose' the official guides in order to complete a comprehensive trip to all the metro's termini.

0768][CA] (Winnipeg, MB -) Selkirk - Gimli, MB and (Calgary, AB -) Eltham - Vauxhall, AB:  Canadian Pacific Railway formally propose to discontinue (freight) operation of a 60km section of the Winnipeg Beach Subdivision and of the entire 158km Lomond Subdivision.  Closure is also proposed of short sections totalling 17km of the Beachburg, Alexandria and M&O Subdivisions in Ottawa (R.0648).  Under the Canada Transportation Act, CPR must now offer the lines for sale to commercial 'short-line' operators, and then to governments, before operations cease.  (CPR news release, 2 June 2000)

0769][US] Portage, AK - Whittier, AK:  As well as its 750km-plus Seward - Portage - Anchorage - Fairbanks, AK main line, the standard-gauge Alaska Railroad has a 19km branch from Portage passing some fine scenery, including glaciers, on its way to Whittier, the train-ferry port on Passage Canal, one of Alaska's many fjords.  As well as freight-wagons arriving by coastal barge from Seattle, WA and Prince Rupert, BC (R.0394, 0463), the branch has had a unique shuttle service carrying not only walk-on passengers but motorists in their cars, forming Whittier's link to the Seward - Anchorage highway.  However a new Portage - Whittier highway has opened, sharing one of the railroad's tunnels, and with the Whittier Shuttle cancelled from 8 June 2000, summer service on the branch is sparse.  Details are at http://www.akrr.com.  (www2.trains.com)

0770][US] Chicago, IL - Milwaukee, WI - Duplainville - Fond du Lac, WI:  Amtrak are tentatively planning September 2000 as start-date for their existing Chicago - Milwaukee Hiawatha trains #332 and #341 to be extended to Fond du Lac, making a daily round-trip, with an early-morning departure from Fond du Lac, and a near-midnight arrival from Chicago.  From Milwaukee, the new trains will share with Amtrak's Empire Builder 26km of Canadian Pacific trackage west to Duplainville, then turn north on Wisconsin Central to a Fond du Lac depot site on the south side of town.  (www2.trains.com)

0771][US] Scranton, PA - Conklin, NY - Binghamton - Marathon - Cortland - Syracuse, NY:  Steamtown, the preservation operation at Scranton is part of the US federal National Park Service.  Trains run within the museum complex (close to Scranton's bus-station), but also make regular longer trips as far as Moscow on the Scranton - Moscow - Mount Pocono branch.  On 29-30 April 2000, during National Park Service Week, Steamtown used Amtrak stock to run two specials, to Mount Pocono in the morning and Binghamton in the afternoon.  The specials were promoted partly as a preview, for plans exist to reopen both routes to passenger trains.  The 'Binghamton' passenger trip in fact stopped several km short at Conklin yard, just on the New York side of the state line, but on their return positioning run the Amtrak cars left Scranton towards Binghamton, presumably continuing through Binghamton east to Albany.  On 8-9 April 2000 the National Railroad Historical Society used the stock of local Syracuse commuter operators OnTrack (BLN 804.0297, 820.085) to run a shuttle service from Cortland south to the Maplefest at Marathon, with first and last trains running through from and to Syracuse.  

0772][US] New York Grand Central - Woodlawn - Brewster North - Dykemans - Dover Plains - Wassaic, NY: (BLN 834.0447)  Metro-North Commuter Railroad's Harlem Line trains are to run beyond Dover Plains to Wassaic from July 2000, and work to upgrade the track north of Brewster North led to buses replacing off-peak trains during the spring.  In connection with the Railfair in Danbury on 6-7 May, an excursion with Metro-North stock appears to have run from Poughkeepsie on the scenic Hudson Line (Grand Central - Croton-Harmon - Beacon - Poughkeepsie, NY) taking the west-to-east Beacon - Dykemans line - which currently sees little regular traffic and may be bought by the state for rail heritage use - then running forward by the Dykemans, NY - Danbury, CT freight line to the fair.  From the fair, shuttle trains of Metro-North stock ran Danbury - Dykemans, but were prevented by safety considerations from venturing far beyond the Dykemans junction.

0773][US] Tuckahoe, NJ - Woodbine - Cape May Court House - Cold Spring - Cape May City, NJ: (R.0468)  The Cape May Seashore Lines reopening from 4-H Fairgrounds north towards Tuckahoe is postponed beyond the summer 2000 timetable.  Details of the four trains daily each way are at http://www.cmslrr.com. 

0774][PY] Asunción - San Salvador - Encarnación: (BLN 793.029)  Legislation is planned to privatise the moribund Ferrocarril Presidente Carlos Antonio Lopez, Paraguay's British-built 441km standard-gauge railway, probably the world's last national system to remain wholly steam-operated, with wood-burning locomotives.  (The Economist, 27 May 2000)

0775][FR] Paris Austerlitz - St.Michel-de-Notre-Dame - Musée d'Orsay - Invalides: (Ball 82A2)  While many Parisiens and Parisiennes take their summer break, the key central tunnel section of RER Ligne C is to be closed from 22 July to 27 August 2000 for grands travaux on the track support infrastructure.

0776][FR] Montpellier trams: (R.0238; Ball 74A3 not shown)  The new tramway's 15.2km line 1 was ceremonially inaugurated on Friday evening 30 June, with free travel for the public on the Saturday and Sunday, and revenue service from 05:00 Monday 3 July 2000.  (http://www.lrta.org)  The inauguration, planned for the central Place de la Comédie, had to be moved to La Paillade maintenance-depot when the square was occupied by some 300 noisy local publicity-seekers demonstrating not against the tramway, but against town-planners bent on expanding the agglomération of Montpellier into surrounding communities.  Meanwhile a high-wire artiste performed above, presumably as booked.  Not far away a separate demonstration by trade-unionists against the Swissair takeover of the small French airline Air Littoral added to the comedy.  Les forces d'ordre soon sorted things out.  Our reporter spotted three different kinds of police.  

0777][BE] Gent trams: Gent-Sint-Pieters - Zwijnaardebrug: (R.0324)  From 28 May 2000 tram-routes #21 and 22 were extended south of Sint-Pieters station, replicating route #5, abandoned in the 1960s.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, July 2000)

0778][DE] Rostock trams: (Ball 12B1)  Before the last local election the SPD (Socialists) who now form the majority party on the city council promised not only the passenger reopening of the old Friedrich-Franz Bahnhof as an S-Bahn terminus (R.0756), but also various extensions of the Rostock tram network.  The new 2.7km Marienehe - Evershagen section opened June 2000, Evershagen - Lütten Klein is to follow in 2001, and the section from Lütten Klein to a terminus at Lichtenhagen in 2002.  A new tram route to the Südstadt should also open in 2002.  

0779][DE] (Rostock -) Rövershagen - Ostseebad Graal-Müritz: (Ball 12B2; KBS166)  Branch trains are in summer 2000 still temporarily replaced by buses for technical reasons, but Land Mecklenburg-Vorpommern plan that the branch should be electrified and integrated into the Rostock S-Bahn network, with an hourly service.

0780][DE] Bad Oldesloe - Bad Segeberg - Neumünster Süd - Neumünster: (BLN 836.0491, R.0239; Ball 18A3-11A1-10B1)  Operators Altona-Kaltenkirchen-Neümunster Eisenbahn and Hamburger Hochbahn AG have jointly won the franchise to run this line from December 2001, when the Bad Segeberg - Neumünster Süd section is to reopen for passengers.

0781][DE] Wuppertal monorail: Vohwinkel - Oberbarmen: (BLN 752.0152; Ball 34A1)  The city's distinctive 13.2km suspended metro, the Schwebebahn, now about a century old, is closed 30 June - 7 August 2000 for refurbishment.  

0782][DE] Wernfeld - Waigolshausen: (Ball 51B2)  This line, still single-track with passing-loops, was opened by Bayerische Staatseisenbahn on 15 May 1879.  The Gemünden (Main) - Wernfeld - Arnstein (Unterfr) - Waigolshausen - Schweinfurt - Bamberg route became electrically worked from 26 September 1971.  Wernfeld - Waigolshausen passenger trains ceased in 1976 and seem all to have been local Gemünden - Schweinfurt workings.  Wernfeld - Waigolshausen - Schweinfurt - Nürnberg remains an important route for freight, which thus avoids heavy passenger traffic on the Gemünden - Wernfeld - Würzburg - Nürnberg main line.  Steam excursions from the Frankfurt area to Nürnberg sometimes also run this way, for the same reason, and a Nürnberger Eisenbahnfreunde railtour ran on 3 June 2000, crossing two eastbound freights.  Most of the original stations remain, little modified, including the large station building at Arnstein.

0783][DE] Gaildorf West - Laufen (Kocher) - Untergröningen: (R.0562; Ball 58B2)  Ordinary passenger trains appear to have been replaced by buses even before the May 2000 timetable-change.  Rail services were reported as running on 12 May but on 15 May the 12:04 Gaildorf West - Untergröningen was worked by a bus because the WEG railcar had been damaged by a collision with a freight train.  On 1 June various units lay at both Gaildorf and Untergröningen, but a WEG official said none was in working order and the ordinary service was again by bus.  On 1 June however three steam-hauled Kochertal-Express return trips were advertised.  Following arrival of a connecting Backnang - Gaildorf West steam train, the 13:20 Gaildorf West- Untergröningen was a well-filled special headed by a tank engine.  Further steam trips are advertised for 27 Aug, 8 Oct (bring a teddy-bear!) and 9 & 10 Dec 2000, but it is not known whether ordinary trains will restart.

0784][DE] Fürth Hbf - Nürnberg-Rangierbahnhof - Fischbach / Nürnberg-Dutzendteich: (Ball 65B3) In an 1892 Order the Bayerische Staatseisenbahn promoted a freight route round Nürnberg, avoiding the Hauptbahnhof.  The main part, the Nürnberg Südliche Verbindungslinie, opened 1 October 1898, runs from Fürth to Fischbach, with connections to the Stuttgart line at Stein and to the Donauwörth line at Eibach.  The curve to Dutzendteich anticipated the connections to the Amberg and Bayreuth lines, which opened 1 May 1900.  The large Nürnberg marshalling-yard (Rangierbahnhof) came into use 3 August 1903, with c.250km of sidings and some 1,300 staff.  A Nürnberg Hbf - Dutzendteich - Rangierbahnhof public passenger service began 10 July 1904.  The north side of the ring line, via Nürnberg-Nordost, was completed in 1910 (BLN 813.0525).  The Eibach - Rangierbahnhof connection was electrified in 1935 along with the Nürnberg - Donauwörth main line, with further wiring of the Verbindungslinie as other lines out of Nürnberg were electrified.  Advertised Nürnberg Hbf - Dutzendteich - Rangierbahnhof passenger trains ceased 27 September 1987.  Unadvertised staff trains did continue thereafter, but no longer operate.  (partly from Nürnberger Eisenbahnfreunde railtour itinerary, 3 June 2000)

0785][AT] (Lambach -) Neukirchen bei Lamb - Bachmanning - Haag am Hausruck: (BLN 800.0197; Ball 73B3-73A3)  This 22km ÖBB branch has since 1932 been run by private-sector operators Stern und Hafferl, who electrified it at 800V dc.  In recent years, three dual-voltage power-cars have worked both passengers and freight through from Lambach, sharing a 4.4km section of ÖBB's Linz- Salzburg main line wired at 15kV 16.7Hz.  However S&H in 2000 bought their first-ever diesel locomotive, from the Schaftlach - Tegernsee line near München, and branch freight trains are now routinely diesel-hauled.  The future of the passenger service may not be secure, but the branch is likely to be reasonably busy with freight till 2001-02, thanks to a contract to clean up a rubbish-tip.  On 2 June 2000 private sidings at Bachmanning were in use, but beyond that no freight traffic was apparent.  This and other S&H lines seem to have fixed signs at passing-loops indicating which trains are to cross there, so presumably timetables do not change much.  

0786][AT] (Wels -) Haiding - Eferding - Aschach an der Donau: (R.0638; Ball 73B3; ÖBB 15a)  Since the May 2000 timetable change the only remaining passenger train on the 22km Haiding - Aschach branch is at 05:30 Mon-Fri from Wels Hbf, returning at 06:26, the journey taking considerably less time than the buses that provide the rest of the service.  Replacing driver-only trains by slower buses has produced no savings, especially as the line's only other direct employee, the Fahrdienstleiter at Eferding, has to be kept on anyway, for he is also responsible for traffic on the intersecting Linz - Eferding Haltestelle - Niederspaching - Peuerbach Lokalbahn.  Although Aschach's sparse passenger trains may not last long, the track seems in good condition and freight traffic remains.  The line continues beyond Aschach station to silos by the river Donau, and the town also has several private sidings.  On 2 June 2000 the southbound passenger working crossed at Eferding a train of hopper wagons and Interfrigo banana vans from the banana-ripening warehouse at Aschach. 

0787][AT][HU] (Wiener Neustadt -) Loipersbach-Schattendorf ÖBB - Sopron-déli MÁV - Sopron GySEV: (Ball AT-76A1-76A2, HU-41A2-41A1)  On the unelectrified secondary line from Wiener Neustadt the first station in Hungary, Sopron-déli (= 'Sopron South'), is actually 2km north-west of Sopron main station, for it owes its name not to its location but to its former owners, the Déli Vasút or Südbahn, now part of MÁV, who provide its service by Sopron-déli - Sopron - Harka - Szombathely trains.  By contrast, the main proprietors of Sopron station are not MÁV, but that corporate remnant of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the Györ-Sopron-Ebenfurti Vasút or Raab-Oedenburg-Ebenfurter Eisenbahn, an international line never absorbed into either state railway.  ÖBB however do now have a share of Sopron station, having paid some years ago for the construction on tracks 4 and 5 of an island-platform with typically Austrian clock, train-indicators and benches, where 'extraterritorial' connections can be made between domestic ÖBB trains without passing Hungarian customs.  Similar connections were possible even during the Cold War era.  Today anyone with 15 minutes to spare is recommended nevertheless to pass the customs desk and try Sopron's station-buffet, where beer is considerably cheaper than in Austria!

0788][AT][HU] (Wulkaprodersdorf - Baumgarten ÖBB -) Sopron GySEV - Harka/Magyarfalva GySEV - Deutschkreutz ÖBB - Lackenbach - Oberloisdorf: (R.0639; Ball AT-76A1-76A2, HU-41A2-41A1)  For a number of years ÖBB dual-voltage units have run through from Wulkaprodersdorf to Sopron in Hungary, but from the May 2000 timetable change they continue, with bilingual GySEV crews, beyond Sopron back across the border to Deutschkreutz in Austria, the limit of the new wiring.  The Sopron - Harka - Deutschkreutz cross-border track is owned by ÖBB but the overhead is owned and maintained by GySEV, being Hungarian-standard 25kV 50Hz rather than Austrian-standard 15kV 16.7Hz.  The junction station of Harka used to be staffed by MÁV, but is now staffed by GySEV, though many of the trains that pass are ÖBB's and the trains that stop are MÁV's Sopron-déli - Sopron - Harka - Szombathely units.  The Deutschkreutz - Lackenbach section is now closed to passengers.  Freight, mainly timber and grain, continues on the whole of the Harka - Deutschkreutz - Lackenbach - Oberloisdorf branch, and the daily train is sometimes hauled by a pair of diesels or hauled in two portions over the steeper parts of the line.  ÖBB are involved in talks about a new long siding to serve a recycling plant.  Sugar-beet is also despatched, electric-hauled, from a wired siding at Deutschkreutz. 

0789][CH] Genève RER: Cornavin - La Praille - Eaux-Vives - Chêne-Bourg - Annemasse?: (BLN 746.042; Ball 97A3-97B3)  The city is once again actively considering building a link between the La Praille freight branch and the underused SNCF terminus at Eaux-Vives, with a view to a further extension of the successful Rhône Express Régional commuter operation (R.0645).  (Tribune de Genève, 15 June 2000) 

0790][PL] (Berlin - Frankfurt-an-der-Oder DB -) Rzepin PKP (- Poznan - Warszawa): (Ball 36A3)  As part of the major upgrading of the Berlin - Warszawa main line, a principal route between Western and Eastern Europe, it appears that a new island platform is being added north of the original platforms at Rzepin station.  (Maybe new station toilets will be provided, too.  The existing elderly facility here, the first town east of the Oder, is among the most odorous in Europe.)

0791][PL] Poznan - Szczecin: (Ball 37A3-31A2; PKP 360)  During summer 2000 Adtranz were renovating this PKP main line, and delays to trains could amount to two hours because of the many stretches of single-line working, including a quite disruptive one of c.6km approaching Szczecin from the south-east.  

0792][PL] Poland: passenger charters on closed lines?:  A number of PKP lines closed to passengers from the May 2000 timetable change or from 23 June 2000, and others remain under threat, with services footnoted 'until further notice'.  A list of these is at present at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/pl_misc.htm.  However, it appears from the public timetable that some of the closed lines remain open for charter trains, with train-hire possible at a price.  

0793][PL] Grodzisk Wielkopolski - Piastowo - Koscian: (R.0051; Ball 36B3)  The sugar-beet company have allegedly not yet paid PKP for use of the railway during the winter 1999-2000 beet campaign, and this freight-only line is under threat of closure, though the rails running south-east of Grodzisk were shiny on 1 June 2000.  

0794][PL] (Poznan Glowny - Puszczykowo -) Puszczykówko - Osowa Góra: (Ball 37A3-36B3; PKP 399)  The 6km electrified branch from Puszczykówko into the National Park at Ozowa Góra is no longer in the May 2000 PKP timetable, nor on the PKP map, but on 3 June 2000 the rails were still very shiny and a heavily-loaded electric unit was seen leaving Puszczykowo at about 10:30 bound for the branch.  

0795][PL] Inowroclaw - Znin (- Damaslawek): (Ball 32A1; PKP 395)  Since 1995-96 passenger trains have terminated at Znin.  The line, mostly single-track, runs through attractive countryside, with many lakes, but also several sizeable cement-works.  Apparently because of subsidence, line-speeds in many places are lower than 25km/h, very slow even by Poland's unambitious standards, so the service offers ominously little competition to the private cars now widely owned. 

0796][PL] Znin - Wenecja - Biskupin - Gasawa: (Ball 32A1; PKP 463)  Begun in 1892 when the area was part of Prussia, the local 600mm-gauge railway system eventually extended to 79km, and after 1945 was still carrying 800,000t of freight and 82,000 passengers a year.  Passenger operation seems to have been 'suspended' in 1962, but the line was in the 1985-86 PKP timetable, operating seasonally and reduced to 12km.  In 2000 this length remains as a tourist line from Znin to the railway museum at Wenecja and the ethnographic museum at Bizkupin, continuing south to Gasawa, though relatively few passengers travel this far.  The line's brochure describes it in English as a 'commuter' railway, but this is a mistranslation, for it winds through fields of poppies, surrounded by lakes, with no houses to be seen.  PKP operate the line with one Class Px38 steam locomotive and several diesels, hauling brightly-painted recently-modernised open-sided carriages.  On 31 May 2000 trains were busy, mostly with school parties.  The one-way fare (EUR1 or GBP0.60) is good value.  The guard sells souvenirs such as stamped postcards and small credit-card-size photographs.  The open-air Wenecja museum with its collection of 600mm-gauge locomotives and rolling-stock is worth a visit, and is being substantially extended.  

0797][PL] Elk Waskotorowy - Laski Male - Sypitki - Kalinowo (- Turowo) and Laski Male - Zawady Tworki: (R.0195; Ball 34A2; PKP 624)  No stock is kept at the outer termini of the two arms of this 750mm-gauge system, and empty-stock workings that are not in the public timetable can in fact convey passengers.  A call to Elk narrow-gauge station (+48 87 610 8471) established that on 23 May 2000 the early-morning outbound railbuses would leave separately, for Zawady Tworki 04:00 and for Kalinowo 04:30, rather than running coupled together and splitting at Laski Male.  Reporting to Elk Wask. station office at 03:50, as dawn swiftly broke, our reporter and a colleague were escorted to their railbus, departing from the nearby depot rather than the passenger platform.  A local fisherman was already in his place on the train to Zawady Tworki.  No passengers were picked up on the 31km Elk - Kalinowo outward journey.  On the Kalinowo 05:52 - 07:20 Elk working, 44 people boarded, mainly schoolchildren, including some picked up at farmyard crossings rather than stations.  The only loop that showed signs of use was at Sypitki (km16).  The 2000-01 PKP timetable shows railbuses leaving Elk Wask at 04:25 for Zawady Tworki (back 06:25), at 13:00 for Sypitki (back 14:50) and at 16:00 for Turowo (back 19:30), plus an unbalanced Turowo 05:40 - 07:20 Elk.  However, local management seem to pay little heed to PKP timetablers in Warszawa, for a notice at Elk Wask. said the lunchtime short working to Sypitki was to cease at the end-May timetable change, and the northern arm is definitely truncated at Kalinowo, despite the 7km Kalinowo - Turowo section being shown as open in both the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 timetables.

0798][PL] Katowice - Lukow by Vltava: (Ball 37B1-39A3)  The Praha - Moskva sleeper Vltava is unusual not only for avoiding Warszawa but for using quite different routes across Poland in each direction.  In the 1999-2000 timetable the eastbound train, after calling at Katowice, took the Katowice - Wloszczowa (- Warszawa) Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa (= Central Main Line) turning east on to the (Czestochowa -) Wloszczowa - Kielce line (PKP 109).  The only passenger train to use the west-to-northeast curve avoiding Kielce station, it then continued Kielce - Radom - Deblin - Lukow to join the (Warszawa -) Lukow - Terespol PKP - Brest BCh - Moskva RZD main line.  By contrast, westbound from Lukow the Vltava ran via the threatened Lukow - Mszczonow (- Skierniewice) east-west line (PKP 604), a slow-speed route used mainly by freight, before turning south on the high-speed CMK to reach Katowice.  In the 2000-01 timetable, the eastbound train runs from Katowice via the CMK but takes a south-to-east curve (Idzikowice - Radzice) which had no booked passenger workings in 1999-2000, joining the Radzice - Radom line (PKP 113) to continue Radom - Deblin - Lukow as before.  The westbound train still runs via line 604 to the CMK but has been speeded up.  

A group visiting Poland in May 2000 used the Vltava both ways, though not without difficulty.  Praha - Lukow bookings were not a problem, but PKP do not accept bookings on this international sleeper service for the relatively short Lukow - Katowice internal journey, nor even for Lukow - Praha.  To get round this restriction, a Brest - Katowice group-booking was made, and a message (and some US dollars!) passed via the balancing working to explain that the Brest-booked passengers would in fact board at Lukow.  However, when the group attempted to board the appropriate coach, no response could be obtained from the locked vehicle.  The commotion attracted attention further along the train, and the group headed quickly towards the one open door of the lengthy formation, but it began to pull away and was brought to a standstill only when some of the party gave the appropriate arm signal to the driver to stop!  Scrambling aboard, the group found that the Russian coach attendant was not expecting joining passengers, but with DEM and USD hard currency deployed, she soon warmed to the task of preparing the allocated compartments and offering refreshments for the leisurely six hours booked for the c.380km journey to Katowice.  Even when it joined the high-speed CMK, the Vltava was looped to allow two expresses to pass and then kept well below maximum line speed for the remainder of the journey to Katowice, arriving on time.

0799][HU] Diósjenö - Tolmács - Rétság - Bánk - Romhány: (Ball 42B1)  Heading east off the Vác - Diósjenö - Drégelypalánk line (BLN 772.079) this 18km single-track branch has three intermediate stations, all with passing-loops.  Just west of Tolmács a factory appears to generate freight traffic and Rétság seems to handle timber.  Bánk station has a freight-only narrow-gauge feeder line, and in June 2000 the track looked in good condition, with undergrowth recently cut back.  Its one train a day each way brings a white mineral, perhaps gypsum, in small wagons that tip directly into standard-gauge four-wheel MÁV wagons with sliding roofs.  Romhány has one factory with fairly extensive sidings still in use and another which appears not to generate traffic at present.

0800][HU] Kistolmács - Csömödér - Lenti: (R.0169; Ball 46B2)  On 24 June 2000 our reporter rode on the first passenger train to traverse the connecting line between the Csömödér and Lenti 760mm-gauge forestry systems, an unusual railway to be newly built in the 21st century.  An open day on the Csömödér system saw a special service operating to Kistolmács.  Following a run to Kistolmács the second train of the day returned to Csömödér and, after dropping one coach, reversed back to the rail entrance to the sawmill that is the headquarters of the system.  What is now the Csömödér - Lenti running line until recently served only some sidings, and the layout requires all trains either from Csömödér narrow-gauge station or from the sawmill to reverse before heading towards Lenti.  A break in the sawmill perimeter-fence allowed the train through, heading north for 300m to cross the Zalaegerszeg - Csömödér-Páka - Rédics standard-gauge MÁV line on the level before passing a fishing lake and a former army gunnery-range.  The new line has a maximum gradient of 4.6%, and some construction trains had to be double-headed.  Running through several cuttings, it is substantially engineered for a narrow-gauge forestry line, and has plenty of stone ballast, normally a rarity on such systems.  At km6.7 measured from Csömödér, it makes a triangular junction with the freight-only Lenti - Szilvágy line.  The special took the west curve, stopping at the junction, where the diesel locomotive (C50-405) uncoupled, ran forward and reversed north-east towards Szilvágy.  The train was then allowed to run forward by gravity towards Lenti, permitting the engine to couple up for the journey back.  Eleven Class C50 or similar locomotives, including three derelict ones, were seen that day, as well as steam engine #490.2002, though this was not in steam.  

0801][HR] Croatia:  Reopened to passengers from 28 May 2000 were the Sunja - Novska line, entirely in Croatia though closely paralleling the Bosnian frontier (BLN 837.0561; Ball 46B1), and the Osijek - Dalj line, likewise within Croatia but close to the frontier with the Vojvodina province of Yugoslavia (R.0202; Ball 47B1).  (IBSE)

0802][TR][AR] Kars - Akyaka - Dogukapi TCDD (- Akhurian - Gyumri): (BLN 843.075, 851.0320)  In summer 2000 no freight trains are booked east of Kars (km1365.2 from Ankara).  Two local passenger trains a day run as far as Akyaka (km1418.4).  Beyond, the line is out of use to Dogukapi (km1428.5) and the closed Turkey-Armenia frontier (km1429.4), notwithstanding any information to the contrary in the Thomas Cook timetable.  

0803][TR][IR] (Istanbul Haydarpasa - Ankara -) Tatvan - train-ferry - Van - Özalp - Kapiköy TCDD - Razi RAI (- Tehran): (R.0233, 0258)  In June 2000 the Istanbul - Ankara - Tatvan - Tehran Vangölü Ekspresi (= Lake Van Express) was booked to leave Istanbul three days a week (MWSO) and arrive Tatvan WFMO, with TCDD stock.  The line from Tatvan Gar (= station) to Tatvan Iskele (= quay) may or may not be used on Mondays and Fridays, but it is served on Wednesday afternoons, when the train-ferry takes the passengers and a single TCDD baggage-car east across the lake to Van Iskele (km0.0).  Van Gar is at km6.8.  At Van, the baggage-car is coupled to some eight Iranian Acm-type first-class couchettes, and the train then calls at Özalp and Kapiköy before crossing the Turkey-Iran frontier at km116.7, continuing towards Tehran.  The westbound ferry-boat working is on Wed night/Thu morning.  TCDD have no booked freight trains east of lake Van in summer 2000.  

0804][TR][SY] Fevzipasa - Islahiye - Tahtaköprü TCDD - Meydan Ekbez CFS (- Halab):  This is the main rail route from Turkey to Syria.  The summer 2000 TCDD working timetable shows many freight trains booked to Islahiye, a minor village mainly inhabited by army, border-police and customs staff.  Presumably these trains continue to Syria under a different train-number, perhaps remarshalled and operated by Chemins de Fer Syriens.  The Sunday-morning departure of the Istanbul Haydarpasa - Adana - Fevzipasa - Gaziantep Toros Ekspresi conveys a weekly sleeping-car, detached at Fevzipasa, through to the northern Syrian city of Halab, otherwise known as Aleppo.  The northbound working leaves Halab on Tuesday, arriving Istanbul Wednesday afternoon.  Distances, measured from Konya, are Fevzipasa (km511.4), Islahiye (km520.7), Tahtaköprü halt, on the frontier, (km548.4) and Meydan Ekbez (km549.8).  To the east, on the Gaziantep - Karkamis - Nusaybin TCDD (- Al-Qamishli CFS) route (BLN 852.0345), the mixed freight-and-passenger train seems again to be running (#62951/2 Gaziantep 07:00 - 17:15 Nusaybin 06:30 - 17:18 Gaziantep).  East of Karkamis it parallels the frontier with Syria for over 250km to the Turkish border station at Nusaybin, but it appears that no regular traffic crosses the border to Al-Qamishli, though this oilfield area is served by CFS from the south-west.  The Karkamis - Çobanbey TCDD - Akhterin CFS (- Halab) international line has no traffic, and is not now shown in the TCDD working timetable.  

0805][TR] Turkey: passenger timetables:  TCDD's main official website (http://www.tcdd.gov.tr) has up-to-date timetable information in English and Turkish on long-distance and express services but local, and especially rural branch-line, trains are unfortunately not included.  For the Izmir region, another official website (http://www.tcdd3bolge.gov.tr) includes details of all services, long-distance, suburban and local.  Though this site is in Turkish only, the timetable information is easily understood, but note that browser software with Western settings may not display correctly a few Turkish accented letters.

0806][IE] Ireland: summer timetable hit by strike:  The summer timetable on the Dublin Connolly IE - Belfast Central NIR international line came in on the standard European changeover date, 28 May 2000.  Iarnród Éireann had planned that other changes were to come into force then too, but were hampered by continuing industrial unrest.  In the fiercely-booming Irish economy, fuelled by Euroland-wide low interest rates, management is in a weaker position, and organised labour for the moment has the whip-hand.  New timetables for InterCity trains out of Dublin Heuston began on 18 June, with service reductions caused by dissident drivers, but at the end of July disputes were still preventing implementation of suburban-line changes.  Some DART drivers have refused to accept agreed rosters, and training to provide them all with route-knowledge of the newly-electrified Howth Jn - Malahide section was still incomplete (R.0358).  Meanwhile the Railway Inspecting Officer had still not formally approved the electrification works, though the 1500V dc wires were declared live as long ago as 1 October 1999.  

0807][FR] Arras Raccordement Nord: Arras (Bifurcation km199.6) - Lille (Bif km161.94): (BLN 844.080; EGTRE FR01/127; Ball 15A3 not shown; SNCF 704)  The 1.27km single-track west-to-north curve linking Arras station with the northbound LGV Nord-Europe is still - in the summer 2000 timetable - shown as rarely used, by TGVs running between Arras and Lille without stopping at Douai, most of them operating on a few dates only.  TGV7099 Paris Nord 22:58 - 23:47 Arras 23:50 - 00:12 Lille Flandres is the only train that runs most days Mon-Sat during the timetable period to 2 December 2000.  Full details of trains on this and other sparsely-trafficked lines across most of Europe can be found on the EGTRE website (Enthusiast's Guide to Travelling the Railways of Europe;  http://www.steane.com/egtre/).

0808][FR][BE] (Paris - Aulnoye - Hautmont -) Feignies SNCF - Quévy SNCB (- Mons - Bruxelles): (R.0596; Ball 16A3)  Until the summer 1996 launch of the successful Thalys services that now run via the French and Belgian Lignes à Grande Vitesse, this was a busy international main line between two European Union capitals.  The cross-border service today seems unnaturally sparse, with only one booked all-year-round passenger working each way from 28 May 2000, the overnight #242/3 Paris - Bruxelles - Berlin / Hamburg sleeper.  All other trains are seasonal (EGTRE FR01/132).  Notwithstanding R.0596, May 2000 also saw complete withdrawal of the short-haul Belgian services that formerly ran from Mons to Aulnoye or Maubeuge to connect with trains in France.  The high international fares charged apparently discouraged short-distance traffic.  If they follow the 1999 pattern, two summer 2000 weekend return workings to the seaside, shown in the SNCB timetable as running within Belgium, will probably again be locally advertised as actually starting in France, running Maubeuge - Sous-le-Bois - Feignies SNCF - Quévy SNCB - Mons - Blankenberge via the otherwise non-passenger Raccordement de Sous-le-Bois (EGTRE FR01/131).  

0809][FR] (Tours -) Jaunay-Clan - Futuroscope - Chasseneuil (- Poitiers): (Ball 44B2)  The new main-line station serving the Futuroscope theme-park north of Poitiers opened on 28 May 2000.  (Today's Railways, August 2000)

0810][FR] Bifurcation de Civrieux - Aéroport Saint-Exupéry-TGV - Bif de St.Marcel-lès-Valence: (BLN 730.0103; Ball 56B3-57A1)  From 29 June 2000 Lyon Satolas airport was renamed 'Saint-Exupéry', as was Satolas-TGV, the impressive but underused airport station on the TGV Rhône-Alpes line avoiding Lyon to the east.  The station's new title is understood also to avoid the word 'Lyon'.  (La Vie du Rail, #2752, 21 June 2000)  Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) was a pioneer aviator and a literary figure who is commemorated on the current French 50-franc note.  The introduction of euro currency notes in 2002 will doubtless simplify international rail travel, but one small sadness will be the disappearance of the attractive Saint-Exupéry banknote, whose imaginative motifs include (look for it!) an elephant swallowed by a boa-constrictor.

0811][FR] Mulhouse area: (R.0752; OEIS0027; Ball 41A3)  Trains off the Müllheim DB - Chalampé SNCF - Bantzenheim - Mulhouse freight line head west through Mulhouse (Ville) passenger station and Mulhouse-Dornach to take the single-track southeast-to-northeast Raccordement de Dornach and join the Contournement de Mulhouse avoiding line, arriving at the west end of Mulhouse-Nord Triage (= sorting yard).  The passenger-and-freight avoiding line (Lutterbach - Mulhouse-Nord - Rixheim) comprises tracks M1 and M2 (M= Marchandises) which part company to run either side of the yard.  At the eastern end is another triangular junction, whose single-track northwest-to-southwest Raccordement de Wanne is used by freight trains between the east end of the yard and the Belfort line but also by through passenger trains routed Colmar - Lutterbach - Mulhouse - Lutterbach - Belfort to avoid reversal at Mulhouse.  On Sundays till 3 September 2000 a steam-hauled train makes two circuits round the ring, picking up at Mulhouse (Ville) 14:00 and Mulhouse-Musées 14:50, returning Mulhouse (Ville) 15:50, at a fare of EUR9.91=FRF65.

0812][FR] Paris métro:  From 3 July to 2 September 2000, RATP's métro urbain is closed between Barbès-Rochechouart and Belleville.  This is the mainly-elevated west-to-east section of line 2 crossing the throat of both Paris-Nord and Paris-Est.  The 100th anniversary of the French capital's first métropolitain train, from Porte Maillot to Porte de Vincennes on line 1, was on 19 July 2000. 

0813][BE][LU] Liège - Rivage - Martinrive - Trois-Ponts - Gouvy SNCB (- Troisvierges CFL - Luxembourg): (R.0375; Ball 9B3-18A2)  Electric services (3000V dc to Martinrive, 25kV 50Hz beyond) began 28 May 2000, but not without problems.  High winds blew down a tree on to the wires.  (Trans-fer, #116, June 2000)

0814][BE] Jemeppe-Froidmont - Moustier: (R.0325; Ball 8B1)  On weekends 29-30 July and 5-6 August 2000 southbound trains on InterCity routes J and M were again being diverted via Gembloux - Jemeppe-Froidmont (line 144), the non-passenger north-to-east curve avoiding Jemeppe-sur-Sambre (line 130/1), then Moustier - Namur (line 130).  Local trains were being replaced by buses, and northbound IC trains were not being diverted off their usual line 161. (SNCB public notice)

0815][BE] Ciney - Braibant - Spontin - Spontin-Sources (- Dorinne-Durnal - Evrehailles - Yvoir): (Ball 17A3-9A1)  This secondary line was relatively late in being built by the Chemin de Fer de l'État belge (which became SNCB in 1926), the Ciney - Spontin section opening 5 May 1898, Spontin - Dorinne 1 May 1902, Dorinne - Evrehailles 1 May 1903, eventually reaching Yvoir 1 June 1907.  It closed to passengers (and completely west of Evrehailles) 31 July 1960.  Freight beyond Spontin-Sources ceased in the late 1960s, but the whole line west of there was not officially put out of service until 29 January 1971.  Meanwhile the Carrières de la Rochette at Spontin-Sources continued to supply SNCB with ballast until 7 November 1983.  SNCB may have formally abandoned the route in 1993 (BLN 705.02).  Preservation group Patrimoine Ferroviaire Touristique first ran a trip on the line in September 1992, with more trips in later years.  Regular Ciney - Spontin-Sources PFT trains ran on July and August Saturdays from 10 July 1999 (R.0213).  The PFT preservation operation now calls itself Chemin de Fer du Bocq, after a local river whose valley the line follows.  

The Ciney - Halloy - Braibant section is a third track following the same alignment north as the (Luxembourg -) Ciney - Namur (- Bruxelles) main line, but without any connection north of Ciney.  Stations and halts were Halloy (alongside a chapel, remains of a low platform are just visible); Braibant (km3.367 from Ciney, where the secondary line diverges west; the building still stands, in private ownership and good condition); Sovet (km6.126; building in private ownership, at the bottom of a cutting in a remote spot); Senenne (a low platform remains); and Spontin (km8.790; building in good condition, probably in local-authority ownership, partly used by PFT, part for other purposes; on 22 July 2000 it seemed to be in use for a wedding reception).  Spontin Sources at about km9.5 had no halt in pre-preservation days and is no more than a nameboard and temporary steps.  Some technical setback has prevented the extension, timetabled for summer 2000, to Dorinne-Durnal (km11.6), so the tourist trains run to Spontin-Sources and reverse just beyond, at a point a few metres beyond the km10 post, on the Ciney side of the first culvert.  They are then timed to spend 30 minutes at Spontin on their return journey.

0816][DE] (Rostock -) Pantelitz - Stralsund-Grünhufe - Stralsund Hbf: (Ball 13A2; KBS165/167)  A new station is to open at Stralsund-Grünhufe in 2001.

0817][DE] Bremervörde - Worpswede - Osterholz-Scharmbeck: (Ball 17A2-16B2)  Passenger trains are running on this otherwise freight-only line during the (June-October) EXPO 2000 event at Hannover.  (Today's Railways, August 2000)

0818][DE] (Wernigerode -) Vienenburg - Oker (- Goslar): (BLN 783.0304; Ball 27A1; KBS330, 353)  In summer 2000 the Bad Harzburg avoiding line sees relatively frequent Halle - Wernigerode - Goslar - Hildesheim trains, but the Kursbuch appears to indicate that from 5 November 2000 it will revert to its previous sparse service.

0819][DE] Eggmühl - Schierling - Eichbühl - Oberleierndorf - Langquaid bei Eggmühl: (R.0485; Ball 60B1)  Now owned by Rhein-Sieg Eisenbahn, and reopened to freight beyond Eichbühl military siding in early 2000, the branch was to see steam-hauled special passenger trains on 16 July 2000.  (http://www.lok-report.de/news/news_museum.html)

0820][AT] Schwarzenau - Zwettl - Zwettl Stadt (- Martinsberg-Gutenbrunn): (Ball 63B1)  Passenger services on the Zwettl - Gutenbrunn section of the Martinsberger Lokalbahn were withdrawn 1 October 1986.  Freight, notably timber, continued, and ÖBB decided to rebuild the Kamptal viaduct at Zwettl for heavier trains (BLN 823.0157).  Two of the masonry piers were reinforced with concrete and the steel-girder deck was entirely replaced.  Since 30 May 1999 regular passenger trains have again crossed the river Kamp (R.0101), though not all of them run the extra 1km forward to the new halt, Zwettl Stadt, and those that do return forthwith to Zwettl to await their up journey.  Formal completion of the renewed viaduct was on 13 August 1999.  One bay of the old deck stands in the car-park at Zwettl, and a smaller piece of girder is a feature of the station garden.  Zwettl Stadt - Martinsberg-Gutenbrunn remains freight-only, apart from occasional excursions.  

0821][AT] Hadersdorf am Kamp - Schönberg am Kamp - Horn - Sigmundsherberg: (Ball 64A1)  This route follows the river Kamp, crossing several times from one bank to the other.  Its bowstring-girder bridges are being rebuilt and the line is closed between Schönberg am Kamp and Horn from 08:00 26 June to 12:00 18 August 2000.  The midday reopening suggests that some ceremony may be planned.

0822][AT] Sigmundsherberg - Zellerndorf: (Ball 64A1)  In summer 2000 this freight-only line seemed in use at the Sigmundsherberg end, but was overgrown at the Zellerndorf end, with a Schutzhalte plate in position to prevent traffic using it.  By contrast, the Zellerndorf - Laa an der Thaya freight line (R.0335; 64A1-64B2) looked well-used at its western end.  

0823][AT] Wien S-Bahn: Wien Nord - Rennweg - Südbahnhof - Meidling: (Ball 77)  Rennweg station is closed from 3 July to 4 September 2000 in connection with works to construct a flying junction where the Rennweg - Simmering-Aspangbahn - Flughafen Wien-Schwechat - Wolfsthal line diverges.  On an ÖBB plan dated c.1995 the point of divergence was captioned Abzw Wien Matzleinsdorf 5 SB, but in summer 2000 the actual signal-box at the junction still bore the name Abzw Aspangbahn, reflecting the line's origins as part of the Wien - Simmering-Aspangbahn - Zentralfriedhof - Felixdorf - Aspang route.  When the works are completed, a new diveunder will bring northbound S-Bahn trains from Wolfsthal and the airport beneath the Rennweg - Südbahnhof S-Bahn tracks.  

0824][DK][SE] København DSB - Malmö SJ: (R.0152, 0423; Ball DK-4B1, SE-25A2)  The tunnel-and-bridge fixed link from Denmark across the Øresund/Öresund to Sweden duly opened on 1 July 2000.

0825][SE][FI] Luleå - Boden - Karungi - Haparanda (- Tornio VR): (R.0187, 0422, 0603; Ball 3A1-3B1)  In summer 2000 Tågkompaniet's daily return working from Luleå, newly-introduced on 13 June, was terminating at Haparanda, the last station in Sweden.  The train comprised an elderly diesel locomotive (ex-Danish Class MX, now owned by Inlandsbanan) hauling two reasonably well-filled coaches and a generator van, with all vehicles carrying Tågkompaniet branding.  At Karungi the train stopped on the running line, not the platform loop, and the guard descended with some wooden steps to help passengers climb aboard.  From Haparanda the 1435mm-gauge track does seem to remain in place the short distance across the bridge to Tornio in Finland where the short 'Swedish' bay platform was last used by regular passenger trains (SJ diesel units) on 16 August 1992.  However, the new carriage destination-boards read Luleå - Haparanda, so it seems that plans for through running have either been abandoned or are still some way from fruition.  Perhaps the extra revenue is thought unlikely to justify the administrative cost of entering another country, and the Tornio layout may not facilitate a locomotive running round its train.  

At Haparanda, the experimental Talgo gauge-changing facility in the tent at the western end of the yard (BLN 833.0431) seems to have been a success, for it was in June being relocated to a permanent building, which will help the railway to recycle fluid from the de-icing sprays used in winter.  A sign said the gauge-changer was to reopen in 2000.  Initially only two wagons were modified for the trials but if regular through traffic is to start between the Swedish 1435mm and Finnish 1524mm gauges further wagons will need to be fitted with Talgo wheelsets.  At Tornio, another experimental gauge-changer using a different and incompatible system developed by Radsatzfabrik Ilsenburg for DB Cargo was out of use following a recent mishap, and it was not known if trials would restart.  This DB Cargo system has also been tested at Svappavaara on the LKAB mineral branch (Råtsi - Svappavaara) using a modified ore-wagon.  At present ironstone from the Swedish Malmberget (= ore mountain) area is rail-hauled Vitåfors - Gällivare - Boden - Luleå to be loaded on ships at Luleå port for Raahe in Finland (Ball 9A3).  With automatic gauge-change at Haparanda or Tornio this bulk traffic could go by rail all the way.  News about any of these trials would be welcome.  

0826][IT] Suzzara - Poggio Rusco - Ferrara: (BLN 846.0155; Ball 47B3)  After major upgrading the single-track Poggio Rusco - Ferrara section of the private Ferrovia Suzzara-Ferrara reopened 11 June 2000, though the 3000V dc electrification is not being brought into use till January 2001.  An underground chord is planned to link the upgraded section to the Ferrara - Ravenna line, allowing freight trains to avoid Ferrara station.  (Today's Railways, August 2000)

0827][CH] Realp DFB - Furka - Gletsch (- Oberwald): (R.0164; Ball 94A1-93B1)  The Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke's official reopening to Gletsch was on Friday 14 July 2000 as planned, followed by a programme of pre-booked specials.  Full operation was to begin 24 July, with tourist trains running daily until 17 August and FSSuO until 8 October 2000.

0828][NO] Oslo West: (Ball 27B2 not shown)  Trains for the Oslo - Drammen - Nordagutu - Stavanger main line once departed from this significant terminus, but it became redundant with the development of Oslo Sentral and the line west via Nationalteatret in the long tunnel beneath the city-centre.  In July 2000 the Oslo West station building housed a tourist-information office.  The original buffer-blocks remained, but the rails had gone, and the platform area was a car-park, with an area of derelict land beyond.  Some 500m to the west, four buffer-stops marked the ends of the truncated tracks in the former station throat.  On a quiet Sunday evening, the yard beyond held empty electric units.  South towards the shore, the sidings next the Color Line terminal were still in use for container traffic, except at their eastern extremity.  

0829][SK] Trencianska Teplá - Trencianske Teplice: (R.0611; Ball 42A2)  Closed since a February 2000 derailment highlighted unsafe track, ZSR's 5.4km 760mm-gauge roadside electric light railway was being rebuilt during the June-August period, and it may reopen during 2000.  (Today's Railways, August 2000)

0830][HU] (Budapest -) Szárliget - Felsögalla - Alsógalla - Tatabánya (- Wien): (BLN 835.0472; Ball 42A1-47A3; MÁV 12)  Some 62km west of Budapest, part of the Szárliget - Alsógalla section of the main line was realigned around 1988-89 leaving an 'oxbow' loop of electrified track no longer traversed by long-distance trains, which now use a straighter alignment to the north avoiding Felsögalla's through station.  Felsögalla appears to have freight traffic originating from both a colliery and a factory, but its extensive layout and goods-yard seem little-used.  Szárliget - Felsögalla seems to have no passenger service, but passenger trains run on the 2km Felsögalla - Alsógalla section of the loop, continuing on through Tatabánya and down the Tatabánya - Környe - Oroszlány branch, worked in push-pull mode by Class V43 electrics with two coaches. 

0831][HU] Miskolc - Miskolc Kilián-Észak: (BLN 777.0175, R.0459, 0740; Ball 43A1; Menetrend 331)  The 760mm-gauge Lillafüredi vonal forestry line used to begin at an interchange with the standard-gauge MÁV near Miskolc steelworks, serving Ladi-rakodo freight siding on its way through the town, crossing at right-angles the road on which tram-route #2 now runs, just before reaching the Kilián-Észak passenger station.  Latterly at least, the Miskolc in-town section carried freight only, so it closed when the last freight flow, timber to the Ladi sawmill, ceased in 1990.  When the Miskolc city tramway system was extended in the early 1990s, the inner end of the ÁEV line was lifted and has left few traces.  Paul Engelbert's book Forestry Railways in Hungary says that Miskolc Kilián-Észak - Papírgyár - Lillafüred - Garadna opened to passengers 3 May 1924 and Papírgyár - Farkasgödör-Örvénykö opened 1963. 

0832][HU] Budapest-Nyugati - Istvántelek: (Ball 44B2-44B3)  North-east of the city-centre, close to Istvántelek station and railway workshops, the Hungarian national railway preservation site includes the former Eszaki roundhouse, also known (from the name of the nearby street) as Tatai út shed.  Future events should see special trains running into the site itself, as happened for the foundation-stone ceremony on 22 November 1999 (R.0388) and for the official opening on 14 July 2000.

0833][HU] Debrecen-fatelep - Hármashegyalja (- Guth - Nyírlugos - Nyírbéltek): (Ball 48B3 not shown)  In 1882 the Austrian firm Kopf & Steinberger opened the first 22.6km section of this light railway from a timber-yard (fatelep) in the town of Debrecen east-north-east to Guth, carrying agricultural and forest products.  The gauge was 950mm, uncommon except in Italy.  In the early years of the 20th century the Zsuzsi (= 'Susie') line was extended to Nyírlugos (km39) and in 1950 to Nyírbéltek (km48).  In 1925 the line became a public passenger carrier.  In 1961 Hungary's MÁV state railway system rebuilt the track and some of the stock to the more usual Austro-Hungarian narrow gauge of 760mm to facilitate use of common designs of wagons and motive-power, but by 1968 MÁV were already seeking to close the line since it was uneconomic.  Though some improvement work took place in the 1970s, on 31 August 1977 the last regular passenger train ran to Nyírbéltek.  MÁV handed over the inner 16.6km Debrecen - Hármashegyalja section to the town's transport operators to become the Debreceni Úttörövasút (= 'pioneer railway'), and the rest was dismantled.  Regular maintenance ceased.  By the 1990s somewhat precarious May-September seasonal operation was the rule, and even this was suspended in 1995 due to financial problems.  However local support for the little railway has seen the creation of a 'Friends of the Zsuzsi Line' group and a charitable trust to help finance its operation.  Since 1996 the Zsuzsi Erdei Kisvasút (= 'little forest railway') has been back in operation, and is understood to have acquired a forestry-line steam locomotive from Caile Ferate Forestiere in Romania.  Information: Zsuzsi Erdei Vasút, 4025 Debrecen, Piac u 3; fax +36 52 453 234.  (mainly from Zsuzsi leaflet)

0834][TR] Turkey: 'mixed' and non-passenger lines:  The TCDD working timetables may not be a totally reliable guide to what happens on the ground, but the lines shown in the 2000 edition as served by Karma (= mixed) trains, conveying one or two first-class carriages along with freight wagons as required, comprise the 418km Gaziantep - Nusaybin line (R.0804); the 27km Köprüagzi - Kahramanmaras branch; the 24km Senyurt - Mardin branch; and Armutçuk - Eregli, worked apparently as an isolated 'mixed' section of the freight line along the north coast west of Zonguldak.  Freight-only lines shown in the working timetable comprise the 40km Mandira - Kirklareli branch on the European side of the Bosphorus; the 14km Tavsanli - Tunçbilek branch, which may be irregularly used or even out of use, for it looked very rusty recently, though wagons were still in place at Tunçbilek power-station; the nearby Kütahya - Sevitömer branch; the Sütlac - Civril branch, which appeared disused at both ends in September 1999; and the 44km Hanli - Bostankaya line avoiding Sivas.  Shorter non-passenger curves include the northwest-to-southwest Izmir Alsancak - Izmir Basmane connecting curve (R.0230), which now sees only occasional locomotive or stock transfers; the east-to-south electrified curve avoiding Cetinkaya; the north-to-west electrified curve avoiding Malatya; the east-to-south electrified curve avoiding Toprakkale; and the access routes from the north and east to Yenice marshalling-yard, 1km from Yenice passenger station.

0835][IL] Tel-Aviv Savidor - Bene Beraq - Rosh Ha'Ayin: (BLN 841.021)  The line from northern Tel-Aviv east to Rosh Ha'Ayin, latterly freight-only, reopened as a commuter route on 3 June 2000.  (Railway Gazette International, July 2000)

0836][AU] Alice Springs - Darwin:  In July 2000 construction work was about to begin on a south-to-north line across Australia's huge but underpopulated and underdeveloped Northern Territory to the city and port of Darwin.  When the line opens, planned for 2003, the Great Southern Railway's famous Ghan (Sydney / Melbourne - Adelaide - Alice Springs; R.0181) may be extended some 2000km north.  (Sunday Telegraph, 23 July 2000)

0837][US] Oakland, CA - Sacramento - Stockton - Bakersfield, CA (- Tehachapi - Mojave - Los Angeles, CA): (R.0234)  On 4 July 2000 Amtrak opened a new USD15M station in Bakersfield, twelve blocks towards downtown from the old station.  (www.amtrakcalifornia.com)  San Joaquin trains from Oakland run north to the state capital, Sacramento, then south down California's Central Valley to terminate at Bakersfield, 14th busiest stop on the Amtrak system, expected soon to handle some 500,000 passengers a year.  The spectacular section of line continuing south over the Tehachapi Pass is alas freight-only, and connections south of Bakersfield to Los Angeles and elsewhere are by Amtrak Thruway bus.  

0838][US] Los Angeles, CA: metro: (R.0020)  The further extension north-west of the 'heavy-rail' Red Line Metro (Hollywood & Vine - Hollywood & Highland - Universal City - North Hollywood) opened on 24 June 2000.  

0839][US] Denver light rail:  A 14km extension of the system opened on 14 July 2000 with a ceremonial five-car train.  Route is from the former southern terminus (I-25 & Broadway) south along Santa Fe Drive to Littleton at Mineral Road.  The last traditional trolley-car on the nearby Denver - Englewood route ran in 1950.  (www2.trains.com; www.lightrail.com)

0840][US] (Ann Arbor, MI -) Whitmore Lake - Durand - Owosso - Cadillac - Kalkaska - Boyne Falls - Petoskey, MI: Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway are to host the Northern Arrow weekend excursion train to be launched on 4 August 2000.  The TSBY route is ex-Ann Arbor Railroad to Cadillac, then ex-Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway, later Pennsylvania Railroad, to Petoskey.  Year-round departures from Whitmore Lake, just north of Ann Arbor, are at 14:00 on Fridays, and from Petoskey at 14:00 on Sundays.  Journey-time is six hours, passenger capacity 330, round-trip fare USD120.  Bookings may be made by calling Resort Trains on 888 377 0026 (this toll-free number may not be accessible from outside USA). 

0841][US] (New York Grand Central -) Dover Plains - Tenmile River - Wassaic, NY: (R.0772)  From the 9 July 2000 timetable change Metro-North Commuter trains were extended to run 10km beyond Dover Plains to Wassaic.  (www.mnr.org)

0842][GB] (Belfast - Downshire -) Kilroot - Whitehead (- Larne): (BLN 754.0211, 761.0381, 796.081)  At end-June 2000 all trains were still using the former up line, the single track nearer the coast, avoiding Whitehead tunnel.  The track was severed at both ends of the former down line through the tunnel.

0843][IE] Dublin: Glasnevin Jn - Cabra - Islandbridge Jn: (R.0439)  Opened 1965 on the site of a former GS&WR cattle depot, Dublin's Cabra bulk cement terminal on 9 December 1999 saw its last train, six wagons from the Platin cement factory on the Drogheda - Navan branch.  The terminal closed on 23 December 1999 and the land has been sold for redevelopment as apartment dwellings.  (Irish Railway Record Society Journal, #142, June 2000)

0844][IE] (Kilkenny -) Lavistown Jns - Thomastown - Ballyhale - Waterford:  As part of a Mini-CTC resignalling project Iarnród Éireann have laid a new passing-loop at Ballyhale to replace the loop at Thomastown, now regarded as too short for freight trains.  (Irish Railway Record Society Journal, #142, June 2000)

0845] Promotion of 'sustainable' transport:  In a symbolic move to increase awareness of the air pollution caused by private cars, various towns and cities in a number of countries are making Friday 22 September 2000 a 'no-car day' or 'journée sans voiture'.  Some places may run special rail trips on unusual lines, like the 1998 shuttle along a section of the freight-only La Rochelle - La Pallice line in France (BLN 837.0547).  Readers might look out for, and tell us about, any such schemes.  Belgium will be declaring the following eight days a 'national week of sustainable mobility' culminating in the annual TTB (Train+Tram+Bus) day on Saturday 30 September, which promotes public transport with cheap fares and a few unusual journey opportunities, including Neerpelt NMBS - Weert NS trains (R.0302).

0846][FR] Amagne-Lucquy - Attigny - Vouziers - Challerange: (BLN 840.0609; Ball 16B1)  In 2000 Les Amis de la Traction Vapeur en Ardenne (telephone/fax +33 3 24 38 26 79) have again been operating their two separate preserved lines on summer Sundays (18 Jun-3 Sep), except that during a three-day festival (13-15 Aug) the Attigny line had only Attigny - Vouziers shuttles.  To ride both lines in a day, one needs to use a car and go to Attigny first, thus:  Attigny 10:30 - Challerange - 12:42 Attigny, lunch, Attigny 14:30 - Amagne-Lucquy - 15:15 Attigny, then by car to Mouzon 16:20 - Pont-Maugis - Mouzon - Stenay - 18:55 Mouzon. 

0847][FR] Pont-Maugis - Remilly-Aillicourt - Autrecourt-Villers - Mouzon - Stenay: (BLN 840.0610, R.0088; Ball 17A2)  At Pont-Maugis, ATVA trains still stop by the old goods-shed in the vee of the junction, just short of the branch home-signal and some 500m short of SNCF's former passenger-station building beyond the junction on the Lille - Strasbourg main line.  At Remilly-Aillicourt (Remilly in the 1914 Chaix timetable) the station building still stands, somewhat shabby but occupied, at right angles to the present line because it was in the vee of the junction with the Remilly - Raucourt branch, which lost its passenger service as long ago as 15 May 1939.  Autrecourt-Villers station, inconvenient for both its eponymous villages, is occupied and in very good condition.  At Mouzon, the ATVA base, the station is occupied, upstairs as a residence and downstairs as the SNCF goods-office, open Monday-Friday.  The yard has a covered shed with an overhead crane for handling inward steel coils to a factory in the automotive business.  Stenay's paper-mill is rail-served and receives china-clay and (seasonally) talc, but the branch is said now to have no outward traffic.  International Ferroviaire Club (fax +33 1 46 65 70 22) are chartering an ATVA Picasso railcar to run through from Charleville-Mézières via Pont-Maugis to Stenay on 11 November 2000.

0848][FR][BE] Carignac - Messempré: (Ball 17A2)  In the 1914 Chaix timetable this branch was shown as a chemin de fer d'intérêt local, exploité par la Compagnie de l'Est, offering a single round-trip daily at 13:12 from Carignan, a thin service even for France - though with three classes of accommodation!  In 2000 the line remains as an SNCF freight branch heading north from the Lille - Carignan - Strasbourg main line to serve a factory near Pure, just short of Messempré, close to the Belgian border.  On the Belgian side, the SNCB's (Bertrix -) Y Orgeo - Ste.Cécile - Muno Ligne 163A, opened 20 April 1919, diverged from the east side of the present Bertrix - Florenville (- Virton) Ligne 165 and dropped to pass beneath it, heading south-west towards the frontier.  Latterly renumbered from Ligne 163A to 165A, this branch lost its passenger and freight trains 23 February 1959 and was finally lifted in 1968.  

Both Carignac - Messempré and Bertrix - Ste.Cécile - Muno are shown as separate dead-end branches on a 1965 Michelin 1:200,000 map, but a Belgian railway map (Les Voies Ferrées de Belgique; GTF, 1978) shows line 163A as having continued into France.  Between Messempré and Muno an obvious railway formation remains, not just following the terrain but properly engineered with embankments and stone-arch bridges, climbing over the watershed between the Chiers and Semois rivers, crossing the Franco-Belgian border and becoming a countryside trail through the village of Muno and onward for another 6km to Ste.Cécile.  On 1993 and 1997 Michelin maps this route is formally shown as a cycleway from the border to Ste.Cécile.  Clearly a Messempré - Muno international railway was built, but did it open, and if so what traffic did it have and when did it close?

0849][FR] Rosheim - Ottrott - St.Nabor: (BLN 812.0485; Ball 30A2)  This 12km private branch is owned by the company working the quarry at St.Nabor, and is used by aggregate trains.  The quarry is due to close in spring 2002, and the line could then be available for regional passenger trains.  (Eisenbahn Amateur, #5/2000)

0850][FR] Lyon (and other) trams: (BLN 844.087)  Much of the track for Lyon's new tramway had been laid by end-June 2000, and is visible near both Perrache and Part-Dieu main-line stations.  Opening of the first two lines is planned for end December 2000, or 2 January 2001 at the latest.  Perhaps because of temporary disruption to their overhead wiring during tramway works, several trolleybus routes were seen being worked by diesel buses.  

The magazine La Vie du Rail, in its Cahier Tramway supplement of 21 June 2000, records the nominal gauge of the new systems in Lyon and Montpellier (R.0776; first line opened 1 July 2000) as being 1430mm, slightly tighter than the 1435mm of the systems in Nantes (BLN 745.09; extension and new line opening 28 August), Strasbourg (BLN 837.0545; two new lines opening 2 September) and Orléans (BLN 847.0165; first line opening in October 2000).

0851][FR] Mulhouse trams on railways: (BLN 847.0167; Ball 41A3-40B3)  The initial 59km light-rail system is to comprise three lines, now planned to be open around mid-2005.  One route will run on new urban tracks south-to-north (Gare centrale - Porte Jeune - Wittenheim); another urban route from the developing south-western suburbs will intersect with it in Mulhouse city-centre and head north-east (Coteaux - Porte Jeune - Illzach / Modenheim); and the third, suburban, route will head generally west-north-west (Gare centrale - Porte Jeune - Dornach - Lutterbach - Cernay - Thann - Kruth).  Running on new urban track to Dornach, this western line will serve France's national railway museum before joining the existing SNCF branch up the valley of the river Thur to Kruth, where trams will replace the present diesel railcars.  Wiring on the single-track branch is to be 25kV 50Hz as far as Thann for freight trains, but 750V dc beyond..  In the longer term the system may be further extended.  The local potash-mining operation Mines de Potasse d'Alsace is expected to close by 2005, and the MDPA's existing industrial lines paralleling the (Mulhouse -) Lutterbach - Bollwiller (- Colmar) SNCF main line may be refurbished and wired to take the trams north to join the existing but disused Bollwiller - Guebwiller (- Heissenstein - Lautenbach) SNCF branch, closed in 1992.  

0852][FR] Château-Arnoux-St.Auban - Digne-les-Bains: (Ball 66A1-66B1)  This 22km standard-gauge SNCF branch has been disused since 1989.  BLN 836.0487 reported it heavily overgrown, with a bridge over a road removed, but Eisenbahn Amateur (#5/2000) said the line is still given minimal maintenance, and was visited on 17 January 2000 by works trains.  Reopening is being studied by the Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, according to Today's Railways, #57, September 2000

0853][BE] Han-sur-Lesse Église - Entrée des Grottes de Han: (BLN 696.05; Ball 17A3 not shown)  Some 8km west of the main-line railhead at Jemelle, a short 5.3km remnant of Belgium's once-extensive metre-gauge Vicinal system of local railways remains in passenger use, with tourist trains to the caves using leased track once owned by the Societé Nationale des Chemins de fer Vicinaux.  On 30 July 2000 two sets were working the Sunday-morning half-hourly service, each comprising a diesel tramcar plus three trailers, with another set and a single tram available on a standby track.  The two trains left in quick succession, arriving at Entrée des Grottes in close line astern.  The loop is long enough to run round both trains, so the first traction-unit duly ran round to couple to the rear of the second train, while the second traction-unit uncoupled from its train and recoupled to what had been the rear of the first train.  Both trains then set off back to Han village, where the turning-circle installed by 1990 makes operation even simpler.  Operating dates in 2000 are 27 Feb-12 Mar, 18-19 Mar, 25-26 Mar, 1 Apr-5 Nov, 11-12 Nov and 26-31 Dec.  Frequency varies between four times a day in winter (11:30, 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00) to half-hourly in the summer peak (15 Jul-20 Aug; 10:00-18:00 except 12:30).  Only tram-plus-caves tickets (price BEF360=EUR8.92) are sold at the Grottes booking-office; for a tram-only round-trip of about 20 minutes, pay the ticket-collector at the platform-barrier the fare of BEF70=EUR1.74.  

0854][NL] Utrecht light rail: (Ball 4A2)  Service on the city's Utrecht - Nieuwegein / IJsselstein sneltram (= express tram) line was suspended between Hoghewaerd and Achterveld from 13 March 2000 until the opening on 2 July 2000 of the new 2.5km Achterveld - IJsselstein-Zuid southward extension of the IJsselstein branch.  (www.connexxion.nl)

0855][NL] Deventer - Bergweide: (Ball 5A3 not shown)  On 27 May 2000 a special train with a steam locomotive on one end and a diesel on the other made several trips between Deventer station and Bergweide industrial-estate.  This was advertised as a farewell event, for the line, partially street-running, was to be closed.  

0856][DE] Köln - Montabaur - Frankfurt-am-Main / Wiesbaden: (R.0446, 0706; Ball 48B3)  Montabaur old station on the Limburg (Lahn) - Siershahn line (KBS629) saw its last train on 6 July, and buses replaced trains for three days.  A 2km deviation opened on Monday 10 July 2000, enabling local trains to be the first to use Montabaur new station on the Schnellfahrstrecke, the high-speed line not yet open at this point.  

0857][DE] (Wolkenstein -) Steinbach - Stolln - Jöhstadt: (Ball 43B1 not shown)  The 750mm-gauge Pressnitztalbahn was closed by Deutsche Reichsbahn in the period 1983-85, before German reunification in 1990.  A preservation group have reopened the short Stolln - Jöhstadt section at the top end of the line, and were also to reopen Steinbach - Stolln on 18 August 2000, running tourist trains on a total 7.8km of track.  (Today's Railways, #57, September 2000)

0858][AT] (Payerbach Lokalbahnhof -) Payerbach Ort - Reichenau/Rax - Hirschwang (- Windbrücke-Raxbahn): (BLN 834.0442; Ball 75B2-75A2)  The 500V dc 760mm-gauge Höllentalbahn seems to have opened for freight 7 February 1918 but did not open to passengers till 1 September 1926, as the Lokalbahn Payerbach-Hirschwang.  On 2 October 1927 the line was extended from Hirschwang (km5.2) to Windbrücke-Raxbahn (km6.1), and at the inner end from Payerbach Ort (km0.4) to Payerbach Lokalbf (km0), alongside and to the north of Payerbach-Reichenau station on ÖBB's Wien - Bruck an der Mur Südbahn main line.  All LBP-H passenger traffic ceased 1 July 1963.  Freight on the Hirschwang - Windbrücke-Raxbahn section ceased 24 October 1965 and the track there was lifted, but some freight continued (with diesel traction from 1972) on the remainder of the line, until the last LBP-H train ran on 12 August 1982.  

Meanwhile, on 17 June 1979 the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Lokalbahnen began seasonal Museumbahn operation, running from Payerbach Ort (only a short distance south-west of the ÖBB station) to Hirschwang.  The Payerbach Lokalbf - Payerbach Ort section was never used by ÖGLB trains and was lifted in 1982.  ÖGLB trains from Payerbach Ort (km0.4) to Reichenau/Rax (km2.8) ceased at the end of summer 1991 due to condition of the track, and were restored only in summer 1999, the first day of the season being 13 June 1999.  Information: http://www.byronny.at/bahn/htb; ÖGLB, Poschgasse 6, A-1140 Wien; telephone (ÖGLB, operating days only) +43 2666 52552; (tourist office) +43 2666 52206, 52227 or 52865.

0859][SE] Stockholm light rail: (R.0487)  Liljeholmen - Alvik opened 1 June 2000  (Today's Railways, #57, Sep 2000)

0860][SE][FI] Haparanda - Tornio: (R.0825)  Malmtrafik AB, Swedish rail-transport division of mining-company LKAB, say that a decision is likely by 2003 on the strategic proposal that c.2Mt/year of Malmberget iron-ore should be rail-hauled throughout in special wagons that change gauge at the border, replacing the present transfer to coastal shipping at Luleå for Rautaruukki's steelworks at Raahe in Finland.  If the plan goes ahead ore traffic could start around 2008, routed Vitåfors - Gällivare - Boden - Morjärv - Haparanda - Tornio - Oulu - Tuomioja - Raahe (Ball 3A3-9A3).  LKAB confirm that successful winter trials with DB Cargo's gauge-changing system took place at Svappavaara in 1998.  Uad-type wagon #920483-2 made 49 Kiruna - Svappavaara trips totalling 4,508km between 5 March and 28 April 1998 before sustaining damage seemingly unrelated to its gauge-change modification.  However, following another incident the experimental DB Cargo gauge-changer at Tornio seems to have been out of use since February 2000.  The extreme temperature range to which a wagon can be exposed in these latitudes may have caused build-up of condensation in one of the special bearings and consequent rusting, leading to failure and thus derailment.  

0861][PT] Lisboa trams:  The Carris museum is on tram-route 15, at the headquarters and garage of the city's tramway operators in Rua 1 de Mayo.  It is open 10:00-17:00 weekdays, and on Sundays and holidays, admission PTE350=EUR1.75.  A vintage tram runs from the first hall, containing small exhibits, to the second, containing the trams and buses.  

0862][CH] Realp DFB - Tiefenbach - Furka - Gletsch (- Oberwald): (R.0827; Ball 94A1-93B1)  The summer-only Furka Oberalp metre-gauge main line over the Furka pass closed 11 October 1981, and the new all-year-round route, nearly all in a 15.4km tunnel, opened 25 June 1982.  When Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke took over part of the disused route and reopened it for Realp - Tiefenbach tourist trains on 11 July 1992, these ran not from Realp FO station but from a terminus about 700m to the south, near the divergence of the old and new routes.  For their 1997 season, however, DFB extended their track alongside the FO to the present Realp DFB station at the first road bridge over the FO, only 300m south of Realp FO station.  

0863][CH] Klosters - Selfranga - Sagliains west curve - Susch: (R.0426; EGTRE; Ball 95A3; KBS910, 960)  Though the metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn's 19.1km Vereinatunnel opened 19 November 1999, the northwest-to-southwest curve at the south-eastern end saw its first timetabled passenger trains at the May 2000 summer timetable change.  The sparse service includes the RhB's new named train for tourists, the Engadin Star.  

0864][NO] Oslo metro:  The northern Ullevål Stadion - Sognsvatn section of Oslo Sporveier's T-Bane system is closed for reconstruction work from 29 May until December 2000.  

0865][NO] Oslo Sentral - Drammen - Nordagutu - Nelaug - Kristiansand - Egersund - Gandaal - Stavanger: (Ball 12B1-20B3-19A3)  Problems with Signatur tilting trains, booked to work Oslo - Kristiansand daytime expresses, led to their withdrawal from 29 June, with their return to service not expected before 20 August 2000.  The hauled stock that replaced them seemed quite unable to keep to the timetable, even as amended by notices.  Some 20-30 minutes were being lost by Oslo - Kristiansand trains used by our reporter, though Kristiansand - Stavanger services seemed unaffected.  

At Kristiansand the short avoiding line looked well-used.  From the west side of the station throat a line heads past the landward side of the ferry-terminal to container sidings where recent shunting had taken place.  Beyond, the line was tarred over at Gravane but then intact to the Fiska Mølle mill by Kristiansand's southernmost quay.

The Egersund - Stavanger section remained narrow-gauge (1067mm) until as late as 1944, and Egersund's original station was more centrally located.  With the change to standard gauge the present station was opened on the main line some 20 minutes walk from the town centre.  Passenger trains lingered on the Egersund town branch until 1948, as did mixed-gauge track, and freight traffic is thought to have ceased in the mid-1980s.  No trace remains of the line between the present station and the old one, but rails remain on the quays near the town centre.  Hourly local trains run Egersund - Stavanger.

Trains arrive from the south in Stavanger's terminus, whose four platforms are partially covered at the south end by an elevated car-park.  The eastmost platform 4 is the stabling point for the Oslo sleeper.  Seating coaches off the sleeper are used for the 10:48 Stavanger - Kristiansand and 14:14 return.  On 11 July 2000 the latter train arrived in the long westmost platform 1, which extends some 50m further north than the rest.  To the west of platform 1, at the station throat, the Stavanger harbour line starts its descent into a tunnel from which it emerges, close to a supermarket service-bay, on to the quayside, its exit controlled by a working signal complete with route-indicator.  The harbour line did not appear to have been used for some time, but on the west quayside a single unobstructed track still extended to the Stavanger - Newcastle ferry terminal, with a run-round loop beyond to the south.  A track on the east quay is tarred over in places and clearly out of use.

A boat trip on the Lysefjord to the south-east of Stavanger passed Flørli hydro-electric plant, with massive pipes down the hillside to the turbines, paralleled by 'Europe's longest staircase, with 4484 steps'.  Of railway interest was an open wagon by the water's edge, probably just on a short internal system but possibly a remnant of an industrial funicular up the hill.

0866][NO] Drammen - Sande - Holmestrand - Tønsberg (- Larvik - Nordagutu): (BLN 832.0403; Ball 20A1-20B3)  The Drammen - Tønsberg section of the Vestfoldbane was closed 3-7 July 2000 for works on the 12.5km high-speed cut-off at Sande.  Much of the new alignment was apparently complete, including overhead wiring both north and south of the town, with building under way at Sande's new station, some 100m to the west of the old one.  Further preparatory work seemed to be in progress south of Holmestrand.  

0867][NO] Nelaug - Rise - Brastad - Arendal: (BLN 768.0531; Ball 20A3-20A2).  On 10 July 2000 the 12:25 Nelaug - Arendal branch train, a two-car electric unit running 25min late, carried a respectable load.  No stop was made at the first four halts but business was done at Rise and Brastad before entering the 871m Barbu tunnel to emerge at Arendal.  At the south-east end of the tunnel a motorised turntable remains but its only outlet is towards the station, and what appears to have been the engine-shed behind is fenced off and in non-railway use.  Arendal station comprises a main platform with the station building at the south end and a two-coach bay on the west side.  A buffer-stop opposite the building prevents any southwards progress on the platform line.  The yard on the east side consists of a run-round loop and headshunt adjacent to the turntable connection.  All the yard lines converge at the south-end overbridge, with a headshunt to the east immediately south of the overbridge.  Another line proceeds for a further 250m south to end in a buffer-stop without reaching the port, now no longer rail-served.  Disused rails continue to just north of the harbourside road, splitting four ways for a few metres before being lost under tarmac, the eastmost siding disappearing beneath a supermarket car-park before reappearing on the east quay.  The second siding, to the DFDS terminal, briefly reappears on the south side of the harbourside road.  The main sidings serving the west quay remain mostly in place, complete with point-levers.

0868][NO] Rise - Grimstad: (Ball 20A2 not shown)  This branch closed in 1961.  In summer 2000 a road occupies its final approach through a tunnel to the port of Grimstad.  Two parallel sidings remain on either side of a shed on the fish quay. 

0869][NO] Gandaal - Ålgård: (Ball 19A3)  In July 2000 this out-of-use line was still in place but very rusty at Gandaal.

0870][HU] Kemence forestry railway: (R.0582)  The first 2km section to be restored of this isolated 600mm-gauge line was inaugurated on 29 July 2000 at Kemence, a small village some 100km north-west of Budapest.  About 300 people attended.  

0871][HR] Osijek - Osijek Donji Grad - Dalj: (R.0202, 0801; Ball 47B1)  The 4km Osijek - Osijek Donji Grad section was already open, so the 28 May 2000 reopening was of the remaining 20km from Donji Grad (= 'lower town') to Dalj.

0872][TR] Bursa light rail:  The Turkish city of Bursa is not served by the TCDD standard-gauge system, but the 41km metre-gauge Bursa - Mudanya line, opened in 1891 by a Belgian-French group and closed in the 1970s, once linked it with the port of Mudanya on the Sea of Marmara to the north.  The line ran through several areas near Bursa that have been developed as part of the expanding city, so much of the old formation has vanished beneath roads and is unavailable for the new metro.  In Mudanya, the station building still stands near the pier and is nowadays an upmarket hotel, while the goods-shed and the pier itself are in use as a (rather good) fish-restaurant.  In summer 2000 a consortium led by Siemens are building a new 21km standard-gauge light metro system which in several places crosses the old formation.  Opening is expected in October 2001.

0873][TR] Zonguldak - Kozlu - Cataldere - Eregli and Cataldere - Armutçuk: (R.0834)  West of Zonguldak along the north coast of Turkey, the Zonguldak (km0.0) - Kozlu (c.km5.0) section is freight-only.  Kozlu - Cataldere may see occasional trains such as stock transfers, but it does not appear in the TCDD working timetable, and may be disused.  Cataldere (km30.3) - Eregli (km36.2) has mixed trains as does the Cataldere (km0.2) - Armutçuk (km6.1) branch.

0874][TR] Istanbul Haydarpasa - Ankara - Yolçati - Elazig - Tatvan:  Further research has revealed continuing substantial differences between what TCDD print in their working timetable and the trains they actually operate.  Notwithstanding the movements currently booked (R.0803), the thrice-weekly Istanbul - Tatvan Vangölü Ekspresi was in August 2000 still terminating at Elazig, as in September 1999 (R.0258).  On TThSO, days with no booked Vangölü Ekspresi arrival, a karma (= mixed) train runs Elazig - Tatvan.  An eastbound rail traveller thus faces a enforced one-day wait in Elazig between arrival on the express from Istanbul or Ankara and continuation on the mixed train to Tatvan.  An alternative itinerary is to take the Haydarpasa - Ankara - Yolçati - Kurtalan Güney Ekspresi (which operates on alternate days to the Vangölü Ekspresi, using the same Haydarpasa - Yolçati path), alight at Yolçati in the early morning, and cover the c.25km Yolçati - Elazig distance by minibus.  The minibus driver prefers to wait for his vehicle to fill up with passengers, but a bakhshish payment can help him decide on a timely departure, necessary to catch karma train #52862, timed Elazig 06:30 - 16:09 Tatvan TThSO.  The return working is #52861 Tatvan 06:30 - 15:27 Elazig MWFSO.  Notwithstanding all the detail given in the TCDD working timetable, it seems that both Tatvan Gar - Tatvan Iskele and Van Iskele - Van Gar - Özalp - Kapiköy remain without passenger service, even by mixed train.  A Turkish-speaker could telephone to check the up-to-date position with the stationmasters at Elazig (+90 424 218 3463) and Tatvan Gar (+90 434 827 5702) but no English is spoken.  

0875][IN][BD] (Kolkata/Calcutta - Bangaon Jn -) Petrapol ER - Benapol BdR (- Jessore):  This 1676mm-gauge link from India's Eastern Railway to the Bangladesh Railway closed in 1974.  (Shown on the 1975 eighth edition of the official railway map of India, it appears to be broken on the 1979 tenth edition.).  In summer 2000 the two governments signed an agreement to restore a short section of the broad-gauge track and resume cross-border freight.  (International Railway Journal, August 2000)

0876][AU] Sydney light rail:  The city's 3.6km Metro Light Rail line (Sydney Central Station - Wentworth Park) is being extended a further 3.1km (Wentworth Park - Glebe - Jubilee Park - Rozelle Bay - Lilyfield) from 13 August 2000.  The trams will use refurbished track and formation of the Pyrmont - Glebe goods line, out of use since the mid-1990s.  

0877][NZ] Greymouth - Hokitika:  A Hokitika development group are planning steam-hauled tourist trains on this freight-only line, marketed as part of a package for visitors using the Christchurch - Greymouth Tranz Alpine Express to reach the west coast of the South Island.  Tranz Rail, operators of New Zealand's 1067mm-gauge system, responded cautiously to the suggestion that passenger trains could be running south of Greymouth 'perhaps by Christmas 2000', pointing out that safety and other issues remained to be addressed.

0878][CA] Sherbrooke, QC - East Angus - Thetford Mines - East Broughton - Tring-Jonction - Vallée-Jonction, QC:  Trains Touristiques Chaudières-Appalaches began weekly passenger operation on the Québec Central Railway on Saturday 24 June 2000 as planned.  TTCA are based in Vallée Jn and operate to Tring Jn and return in the morning, and from Vallee Jn to East Broughton in the afternoon, usually with Quebec Central's diesel locomotive (U23B JMG-1), two former Long Island Rail Road commuter cars and an ex-LIRR FA-1 cab/power unit to supply electricity to the air-conditioned coaches.

The QCR, closed by CPR in 1994 but bought and revived as a 'short line' by road-haulage entrepreneur Jean-Marc Giguère, saw its first revenue freight train on 18 July 2000.  Timber road-hauled from Scott Jn south-east to Tring Jn was loaded on a centre-beam bulkhead flat-car which left as a single-car train south-west to Sherbrooke, to be taken east on former CPR tracks of the Canadian American Railroad (Sherbrooke, QC - Brownville Jn, ME) into the USA, heading for Texas.  Meanwhile, empty cars were readied for loading at East Angus, Tring Jn and Vallée Jn.  Later in 2000 freight should begin between Sherbrooke and the Cascades paper-mill in East Angus, and repairs to QCR's Lévis and Chaudière Subdivisions should permit freight service down the Rivière Chaudière from Vallée Jn via Scott Jn to Harlaka near Québec City, and upriver from Vallée Jn via Saint-Georges-de-Beauce to Lac Frontière on the Québec-Maine border.  None of the QCR lines is shown in the Railway Association of Canada's 1998 Canadian Railway Atlas.  (www.railpace.com; www.montrealgazette.com)

0879][CA] Port Colborne, ON - Welland - Merritton, ON: (BLN 799.0178)  As in 1999, during Canal Days, a local event on the Welland Canal (Lake Erie - Lake Ontario), on 4-6 August 2000 Trillium Rail were to be operating top-and-tailed passenger trains on this freight track, including a three-hour round-trip each evening to Merritton on the CN's Toronto, ON - Hamilton - Merritton - Niagara Falls, ON (- Niagara Falls, NY - Buffalo, NY) international passenger line.  Shorter 40min Port Colborne - Welland trips were to run hourly during the day on the Saturday and Sunday.  (www.railpace.com)

0880][US][CA] Skagway, AK - White Pass Summit, BC - Fraser, BC - Lake Bennett, BC - Carcross, YT - Whitehorse, YT):  The international White Pass & Yukon Route was begun for the Yukon gold rush of 1898 and completed to Whitehorse in July 1900.  The Alaska-based 914mm-gauge tourist line was to celebrate its 100th anniversary on 29 July 2000 at Carcross, Yukon Territory, Canada, and in an unusual way.  The 68km Carcross - Whitehorse section has been out of use for decades (BLN 823.0166), but a group of private owners of railroad 'speeders' (motor-trolleys used by maintenance-of-way gangs) were to be carrying their vehicles north by road to run in convoy on this disused track.  (www2.trains.com)

0881][US] (Ann Arbor, MI -) Whitmore Lake - Kalkaska - Boyne Falls - Petoskey, MI:  Just over one week before the advertised start date on 4 August 2000 of their Northern Arrow weekend excursion train (R.0840), the Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway announced its indefinite postponement.  (www2.trains.com)

0882][US] Tuckahoe, NJ - Woodbine - Cape May Court House (- Cold Spring - Cape May City, NJ): (R. 0468, 0773)  The New Jersey State Assembly's Transportation Committee on 28 February 2000 approved legislation to grant USD3.6M for rehabilitation of the 20km section between Tuckahoe and 4-H Fairgrounds (near Cape May Court House), northern terminus for Cape May Seashore Lines' present tourist operation.  Running may commence in 2001.  (Railpace Magazine, May 2000)

0883][US] White Plains, MD (Indian Head Jn) - Indian Head Naval Warfare Station, MD: (R.0471)  The Indian Head Central Railway's first tourist-excursion train ran 18 March 2000 (Railfan & Railroad, August 2000) and the first Sunday-afternoon dinner train on 23 July 2000 (www.railpace.com).

0884][US] Washington, DC - Point of Rocks, MD - Frederick Jn - Frederick, MD:  MARC's Washington - Frederick commuter trains to be introduced from January 2001 are not to reverse at Point of Rocks (R.0593), but will use the southeast-to-northeast curve avoiding the station.  The tight curve has recently been eased to facilitate the passage of passenger vehicles, resulting in the loss of some fine old B&O-style 'color position' signals east of Point of Rocks.  Work has begun on the passenger station at Frederick.  (Railpace Magazine, April 2000, May 2000)

0885] Closer European union?:  Opening of the Denmark-Sweden tunnel and bridge (R.0892) means that Europe now has many more km of standard-gauge railway physically linked to the main network.  A few standard-gauge lines with passenger trains do remain isolated: [GB] Ryde - Shanklin on the Isle of Wight, the [ES] Madrid - Sevilla AVE high-speed line and the [IT] Sardegna and Sicilia systems.  Apart from purely urban railways, and temporarily detached sections of track in the Balkans resulting from the self-inflicted damage there, can readers suggest any other such passenger lines?

0886][FR] Paris: unusual diversions: (The Quail map of Paris railways is recommended.)  On two Sundays 11 and 18 June 2000, the Sunday-night southbound Calais - Narbonne car-sleeper (auto-train #1538/9) saw a creative diversion worthy of a railtour: Creil - Persan-Beaumont - Épluches - Bifurcation de Liesse - Eragny-Neuville (two chords together avoiding Pontoise) - Bif de Conflans - Bif Neuville - Achères-Ville - Bif des Ambassadeurs (north-to-west curve) - Aubergenville-Elisabethville - Bif de la Butte des Graviers - Bif des Étumiéres - Plaisir-Grignon - St.Cyr Bif de Granville - Versailles-Chantiers - Massy-Palaiseau - Orly Poste R - Juvisy (circular loop descending to the Sud-Est main line).  The northbound Hendaye - Strasbourg train #1576/7 followed this route in reverse as far as Bif des Ambassadeurs, then ran Achères-Grand-Cormier - Sartrouville - Bif de Stains (part of the Grande Ceinture) - Bobigny Grande-Ceinture - Chénay-Gagny to reach the Est main line.  

0887][BE] (Dinant - Y Bouvignies - Anhée -) Warnant - Carrière Haut-le-Wastia - Falaën - Denée-Maredsous (- Ermeton-sur-Biert - Tamines): (BLN 792.0493, 816.0593; Ball 9A1-16B3-8B1; SNCB 150)  Anhée - Ermeton-sur-Biert opened 15 October 1890, together with the (Yvoir -) Y Houx - Anhée north-to-west (freight) curve.  Y Bouvignies - Anhée, the south-to-west curve used by passenger trains, seems to have followed on 5 July 1891.  Passenger services were withdrawn 26 August 1962, from which date Haut-le-Wastia - Ermeton-sur-Biert and Y Bouvignies - Anhée closed completely, the latter being lifted by 1976 and barely visible on the ground in 2000.  Y Houx - Haut-le-Wastia freight trains continued to serve the quarry but seem to have ceased between 1976 and 1988.  Disused track remains from Y Houx to Anhée (the station site behind the town-hall appears to have a goods-shed still standing) and Warnant (station building extant, with disused sidings). 

In May 1994 SA Les Draisines de la Molignée, trading as Rail-Bike, began hiring out rail-cycles to run on part of the abandoned track, initially only on the 3km (upper) section from Falaën to Denée-Maredsous, now referred to simply as Maredsous.  (Trans-fer #92, July 1994)  In summer 1999 Rail-Bike began operations also on the 4km (lower) section from Warnant to Falaën, their Warnant terminal being some 500m west of the old station, thus avoiding a main-road level-crossing.  Both sections are uphill on the outward journey and downhill on the way back (good psychology!), running through limestone-gorge scenery along the river Molignée, with two tunnels on the lower section and some attractive viaducts over the road and river which meander beneath.  Though the formation was built for double track, the line is single, with some concrete-and-steel tie-bar sleepers, but the condition of the majority of the wooden sleepers is such that real trains could not use the line again without considerable trackworks.  The only set of points encountered, at the former Haut-le-Wastia quarry, has been carefully adapted by welding small pieces of metal to block the gap at the point-frog and to keep the toe closed.  Falaën station building is occupied but not associated with the rail-cycle operation.  At Sosoye, the former halt's platforms can be seen beneath the undergrowth.  Maredsous station is in use as a bar-restaurant accessible to rail-cyclers, and the proprietor seems to be involved, at least in turning the cycles round.  Beyond the 'limit of navigation' is another tunnel, with 1888 carved in the arch. 

The rail-cycles, built by Valdenaire SA of Remiremont in France, take two pedallers (minimum) plus up to two passengers (maximum).  Rail-Bike must have over 50 cycles, all of them numbered, but they are organised in two pools and do not inter-work at Falaën; the ones that stay on the lower section have yellow brake-pedals, the 'upper' ones red!  Between the top of the lower section and the bottom of the upper section is a level-crossing, and about 100m of track including this crossing is barred to rail-cycles.  On each section, the rail-cycles can be hired only at the lower end, with timed 'windows' for uphill and for downhill movements on each section.  By having customers join only at the lower end, Rail-Bike always have enough rail-cycles for everyone to come back, however long they choose to spend at the top end of either section.  Staff turn the rail-cycles at each end of each section, but do not in practice use the neat little turntables provided (one, at least, was said to be 'kaput'!) merely manhandling the cycles round on sections of track where gravel has been laid to virtually railhead level.  

The best way to cover the whole line is to start at Warnant, pedal up to Falaën, transfer to the upper section, pedal up to Maredsous and back, transfer back to the lower section and pedal back to Warnant.  Operation is daily, year-round except that the lower section is not available on Mondays.  The Rail-Bike pamphlet advertises Warnant - Falaën MX departures at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 18:00, but a permanent sign allows departure within 30-minute 'slots' at 10:00-10:30, 12:00-12:30 etc, though not admitting to a slot at 18:00.  You can leave in any slot but once having set out in a given direction you have to reach the other end within the time allowed.  Corresponding Falaën - Warnant MX departures are at 11:15-1130 etc.  The pamphlet advertises Falaën - Maredsous departures daily at 11:00-11:30, 13:00-13:30, 15:00-15:30 and 17:00-17:30 but in practice, though no sign was displayed, departures seemed to be allowed on the hour with return from Maredsous on the half-hour.  Rail-Bike's price for two people for a trip over both sections was BEF640=EUR15.87.  SNCB in 2000 continue to offer their inclusive package #102 at a reasonable price (BEF470=EUR11.65 per adult from the cheapest SNCB zone, for a minimum of two people, booking two days in advance), but it includes only the upper section, above Falaën.  SNCB have given up on the very infrequent TEC bus as a connection and use a pre-booked taxi between Dinant station and Falaën.  

0888][FR][BE] Carignan - Messempré SNCF - Muno SNCB (- Y Orgeo - Bertrix): (R.0848; Ball 17A2)  On the French side, Carignan - Messempré opened 3 September 1871, and passenger trains continued until 1938.  The extension into Belgium was built by the German military during World War I, and its legal status in France was regularised by a décret d'utilité publique in 1922.  The Messempré - Muno section however appears never to have had a passenger service, and it is not clear if its track remained in place for the whole of the inter-war period.  In World War II, the cross-border line seems again to have been intensively used by the German forces during 1940-42, but saw little traffic thereafter.  It closed to freight in 1955, and was formally abandoned (déclassée) 7 December 1965.  (Trains Oubliés, volume 1, 1981; Les Petits Trains de Jadis, volume 10, 1995; both published by Les Éditions de Cabri)

0889][DE] Berlin trams:  From 28 May 2000 the city tram network saw a further modest expansion when route #20 was prolonged by 610m to a new terminus at Warschauer Brücke.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, September 2000)

0890][DE] Blankenburg (Harz) - Elbingerode (Harz) - Königshütte (Harz): (BLN 841.04; Ball 27B1)  At a level-crossing a few km to the west of Elbingerode, terminus since May 1999 of the truncated passenger service on the Rübelandbahn, the rails appeared to have seen some recent use in mid-August 2000.  At Königshütte, however, the rails were dark with rust though the 25kV 50Hz overhead wiring, unique in Germany, seemed to be intact above the disused end section of the branch.

0891][AT] Schwarzenau - Zwettl - Zwettl Stadt (- Martinsberg-Gutenbrunn): (R.0820; Ball 63B1)  Zwettl station lies on the northern fringe of the small town, but the new halt Zwettl Stadt lies on its southern edge and has no better claim to being 'Zwettl town'.  Traffic on this rather unexpected minor extension of the ÖBB passenger network has not been encouraging.  Our Austrian reporter was the only passenger on a train at Zwettl Stadt in the middle of the day during the Christmas 1999 holiday period - and remains sceptical about whether the service there will last.

0892][DK][SE] København - Lufthavn Kastrup - (tunnel) - Peberholm DSB - (bridge) - Lernacken SJ - Svågertorp - Fosieby - Malmö: (R.0824; Ball DK-9A2, SE-25A1)  At Københavns Lufthavn Kastrup, freight trains use an avoiding line to the north so as not to pass through the airport's passenger station.  East of the station the passenger and freight lines converge at complex flying junctions, and tracks branch off to carriage-sidings used by the domestic DSB trains which have terminated and started at Kastrup since September 1998.  

The new link that opened 1 July 2000 across the strait called Øresund (in Danish) or Öresund (in Swedish) is a most impressive piece of engineering, and from the rail passenger's point of view easily the most spectacular of the fixed links opened in the last ten years.  From the Danish shore a 3.5km immersed-tube tunnel takes the road and railway to an artificial island about 4km long.  The nearby natural island in the strait is Saltholm, so its man-made counterpart, flat and still rather barren, was christened Peberholm (Pepparholm in Swedish).  From there the bridge structure stretches east for almost 8km, with approach bridges on multiple piers leading to a central cable-stayed truss-girder span high above the important navigation channel.  The railway runs within the girders, with the road deck on top, so passengers enjoy panoramic views.  The line changes from Danish to Swedish signalling at the Peberholm/Pepparholm crossovers, but tunnel and bridge sections both have Danish 25kV 50Hz main-line electrification, with a change to Swedish 15kV 16.7Hz wires at Lernacken, immediately east of the bridge.  After the loops at Svågertorp the Öresund line joins the classic Banverket network at Fosieby, south of Malmö.  New motorway bridges nearby have been built to accommodate the still-uncompleted direct line north-east under Malmö city-centre and the projected west-to-south curve on to the Malmö - Trelleborg / Ystad line.

København - Kastrup - Malmö regional trains run every 20 minutes, Mondays-Fridays from the main station, København Hovedbanegård, but through from Østerport at weekends.  They are meant to be worked electrically, but only some of the purpose-built dual-current units were available in July and August 2000, and some DSB and SJ diesel units had to be pressed into service.  SJ run København - Stockholm expresses every two hours, worked by X2000 tilting electric sets, modified to operate in Denmark and designated X2K.  DSB run three or four diesel trains a day from København to Ystad, primarily to connect with the ferry to the Danish island of Bornholm, but available to passengers for Swedish intermediate stations.  Until a west-to-south direct curve is built, these trains have to reverse in a siding on the west side of the line at Fosieby.  One of the Hamburg - København EuroCity services is extended daily to run Hamburg - København - Malmö, worked by a DSB diesel set.  On the debit side the overnight København - Oslo train which used to run via the Helsingør - Helsingborg train-ferry has been cut back to run Malmö - Oslo.  Its carriages, large-profile traditional stock used in Sweden and Norway but too big for most Danish lines, were cleared by DSB to run on the København - Helsingør section only.  Presumably they do not meet technical or safety standards for operation across the Øresund. 

0893][SE] Lund - Kävlinge - Landskrona - Helsingborg: (BLN 829.0310, 852.0336; Ball 25A1-25A2)  A local map in SJ's winter Rikstidtabellen says the existing Kävlinge - Landskrona branch is to close in December 2000, its town-centre terminus being replaced by an edge-of-town Landskrona station on the new through alignment to open in January 2001.  The timetable also gives Helsingborg-area timings valid only until 6 January 2001, suggesting that the new Kävlinge - Landskrona - Helsingborg section at least will open on 7 January.  At Landskrona, work was already well advanced by August 2000, but at Lund track had still not been laid at the new line's dive-under near the point where the existing lines to Kävlinge and to Stockholm diverge.  Due to lack of paths on the present single-track Lund - Kävlinge line, some Lund - Helsingborg fast trains, generally the ones timed to take at least 41 minutes, use a longer route via Eslöv - Marieholm - Teckomatorp (BLN 811.0471), though late running can result in their reverting to the Kävlinge route.  When the new line opens it is unlikely that passenger trains will need to make use of the Eslöv - Teckomatorp section.

0894][SE] Mellerud - Åsensbruk - Håverud - Långbron - Billingsfors - Bengtsfors - Årjäng (- Arvika): (BLN 792.0510, R.0733; Ball 21A2)  On Mondays to Saturdays during summer 2000, Dal-Västra Värmlands Järnväg were again running Mellerud - Bengtsfors passenger trains, using elderly diesel railbuses.  As their custom is almost entirely leisure travellers, it is slightly odd that no trains operate on Sundays.  The railway runs through forest for most of the way, following the Dalslands Kanal, and combined round-trips by train and boat are on offer.  A viaduct soars high over the lock at Håverud, and Långbron and Billingsfors both have lifting-bridges over the canal.  As far as Billingsfors the branch is owned by the infrastructure authority Banverket and still sees regular freight, the main source of traffic being the Håfreström works at Åsensbruk, where paper is manufactured or processed.  Beyond Billingsfors the line remains to Bengtsfors and Årjang, perhaps in the ownership of the local councils.  Rail-cycling is possible between Bengtsfors and Årjang, though the rails are not continuous.  Users are warned of the need to wheel their steeds over roads that have been resurfaced across the track.

0895][SE] (Stockholm - Kristinehamn -) Karlstad Central (- Kil - Charlottenberg SJ - Oslo NSB): (Ball 21B3)  Karlstad Central on the Stockholm - Oslo main line is noteworthy for having a single, very long, through platform with a scissors crossover midway connecting the platform road to a parallel running line, plus bays at both ends.  Cambridge in England has a similar layout, which does not make for easy station working.

0896][SE] Stockholm - Jakobsberg - Kungsängen - Enköping - Västerås Norra - Västerås Central: (BLN 811.0472; Ball 29A3-23A3-22B3)  In summer 2000 work was under way north-west of Stockholm on the Görväln cut-off between Jakobsberg and Kungsängen.  An earlier cut-off takes the same line over the Ekolsundsvik bridge, eliminating a dog-leg round the north end of this inlet off the Norra Björkfjärd.  West of Enköping the east-to-southwest chord completed in 1997 to Västerås Norra avoids the sharp curve at Tillberga.  

0897][PL] Hajnowka - Cisowka PKP (- Volkovysk BCh) and Chelm - Wlodawa PKP (- Brest BCh): (Ball 34A1-34B1; 39A2)  The Poland-Belarus frontier intersects both these routes, so PKP's branch passenger trains as far as the border serve only small places and were due to cease from 24 June 2000.  Local authorities agreed to pay 80% of the alleged deficit and PKP reprieved the services for three months, deploying railbuses for economy.  (Railway Gazette International, August 2000)

0898][LV] (Moskva RZD -) Zilupe LDZ - Rezekne - Krustpils - Jelgava - Tukums - Ventspils:  On the Moskva - Vindava - Rybinsk Railway's line west to the Latvian port of Ventspils, avoiding Riga, the Jelgava - Tukums section lost its passenger trains in 1999.  Krustpils - Jelgava was also due to close to passengers at a timetable revision from 3 August, but closure was deferred until 21 August and our reporter was able to travel the line on 16 August 2000, a three-hour dawdle over the c.130km.  At Krustpils the layout is not now as shown on the 1996 Quail map.  The direct line avoiding Krustpils station to the north has become a minor road, and all trains from Moskva and the Rezekne direction come through the station.  Trains for Jelgava leave Krustpils on the line north to Riga, but at the station throat diverge east before swinging round to the west, gaining height to cross first the Riga line then the Daugava river.  From the same point of divergence, a line curving very sharply east might once have been a chord to the direct avoiding line, but seems now to be used only for wagon storage.  

0899][SY][IQ] Halab - Dayr-az-Zawr - Abu Kamal CFS - Husaiba IRR - Al-Qa'im - Baghdad: (BLN 852.0345, R.0804)  At the beginning of August 2000 a passenger train from Iraq, the first since the early 1980s, arrived in the northern Syrian city of Halab, otherwise known as Aleppo.  (Financial Times, 16 August 2000)  This restored link would seem to offer, in theory at least, the option of a journey from Europe via Turkey and Syria to Iraq, all by rail except for the Bosphorus ferry.

0900][IR] Tehran Sadeghieh - Karaj (- Mehrshahr):  In February 1999 the Tehran Urban & Suburban Railway Company opened their double-track standard-gauge 25kV 50Hz commuter line parallel to but significantly north of the Teheran - Tabriz (- Van TCDD) main line of RAI, the national railway.  From Sadeghieh Square on the west side of the Iranian capital, the new operators' Chinese-built double-deck push-pull trains head west on their own alignment north of the airport for 31.5km to Karaj.  A 10km Karaj - Mehrshahr extension is due to open in February 2002.  To link the city-centre to their commuter terminus, the same company on 20 February 2000 opened the first section of the standard-gauge 750V dc Tehran metro: Imam Khomeini Square - Sadeghieh Square, part of east-west line 2.  The next metro section due to open, in February 2001, is part of the north-south line 1 (Jahan-e-Koodak - Imam Khomeini Square - Teheran RAI main station - Ali Abad).  (Railway Gazette International, July 2000)

0901][CA] Whitehorse, YT heritage tramway:  Disused and unelectrified waterfront track of the 914mm-gauge White Pass & Yukon Route (R.0880) is hosting summer operation from 15 July 2000 of an elderly tramcar from Lisboa, regauged from 900mm and towing a diesel generator, a rather bizarre sight pictured in Tramways & Urban Transit for September 2000.

0902][US] Dallas, TX - South Irving - West Irving - CentrePort (for DFW Airport) - Hurst/Bell - Richland Hills (- Fort Worth, TX): (R.0651)  The westward extension of Trinity Railway Express commuter trains on ex-Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific track was to begin Saturday 16 September 2000, with Monday 18 September seeing the full regular service of 17 round-trips from downtown Dallas Union station (interchange with Amtrak and with DART Blue Line and Red Line light rail) to the new CentrePort station (whence airline passengers can take one of four free shuttle buses to the various terminals at the huge Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport).  Three other new commuter stations also open, and bi-level coaches and locomotives acquired second-hand from Toronto's GO Transit join the refurbished elderly Budd RDC railcars that have since December 1996 worked TRE trains the 16km to South Irving.  In October 2001 service is to extend into Fort Worth T&P station, and through trains on the 54km route will link two big-city downtown areas via their busy airport.  (www.trains.com)

0903][US] Tavares, FL - Mount Dora - Sorrento (- Sanford, FL):  The Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis Railroad, trading as Mount Dora Scenic Railway, have leased the 18km Tavares - Sorrento section of the former Atlantic Coast Line, later Seaboard Coast Line, now part of Florida Central Railroad.  From 1 July 2000 tourist trains (steam at weekends, but a fine old 1930s 'doodlebug' petrol-electric railcar on Thursdays and Fridays) run from Mount Dora east for 3km then back through town and west for 5km alongside Lake Dora, giving a 16km round-trip.  Neither Tavares nor Sorrento is reached on these short jaunts, but the operators run occasional longer-haul excursions from Mount Dora east on the Florida Central to Sanford and south as far as Altamonte Springs on the Sanford - Winter Park, FL line, also used by Amtrak trains.  

0904][FR][BE] (Charleville-Mézières -) Givet SNCF - Heer-Agimont SNCB - Hastière - Dinant: (R.0260; Ball 16B2-17A3)  Preservation group Chemin de Fer à Vapeur des Trois Vallées are the sole users of this section, but are withdrawing at the end of the summer 2000 season.  SNCF and SNCB are to reclaim the cross-border line and upgrade it for through SNCF trains, expected to be running in 2002.  Last regular weekend workings of the CFV3V autorail were to be on 16-17 September, with a final run on Saturday 11 November 2000.

0905][DE] Mainz-Mombach - Mainz Nord - Abzw Kaiserbrücke Ost - Abzw Kostheim - Mainz-Bischofsheim: (Ball 50B1)  Because of a passenger incident at Mainz Süd, the 08:00 Köln - Frankfurt-am-Main train on Sunday 27 August 2000 called at Mainz-Mombach instead of Mainz Hbf and was diverted via Mainz Nord and the Kaiserbrücke over the river Rhein, taking the freight-only line from Abzw Kaiserbrücke Ost south-east to Abzw Kostheim, then crossing the river Main to rejoin its booked route at Mainz-Bischofsheim.

0906][DE] Mellrichstadt-Bhf - Ostheim - Fladungen: (R.0241; Ball 52A3)  A DGEG-Würzburg excursion with steam locomotive #52 7409 was advertised to run Würzburg - Schweinfurt - Mellrichstadt Bhf - Ostheim - Fladungen on 26 August 2000, using the newly reopened 8km Mellrichstadt - Ostheim line to run through on to the previously isolated 10km Ostheim - Fladungen section, already used by steam tourist trains based at Fladungen.  (http://www.rail-telex.de/site/termine.htm)

0907][DE] München trams:  At Petuelring, a U-Bahn interchange and northern terminus of tram-route #27, an unusual feature is a balloon-loop round which the (right-hand-running) trams proceed clockwise rather than anticlockwise.  Outbound trams first cross the inbound line to reach the set-down point on the west side of the loop and continue round it to the pick-up point on the east side, where the loop track briefly becomes double to accommodate extra waiting trams.  

0908][AT] Linz Urfahr - Rottenegg - Aigen-Schlägl: (BLN 800.0196; Ball 73B3-62B1)  This unelectrified ÖBB branch starts in the complex layout of freight lines east of Linz Hbf, but the first short section is freight-only, and Mühlkreisbahn passenger trains start at Linz Urfahr, a separate passenger terminus on the north bank of the river Donau, reasonably well sited to serve the northern edge of the city-centre, but a tram-journey away from Linz Hbf.  On 17 July 2000 the frequent trains to Rottenegg (13km) seemed fairly busy, but the breakfast-time train out to Aigen-Schlägl (58km) and back was almost empty in both directions.  Perhaps weekend walkers or winter skiers bring more traffic.  At Aigen-Schlägl the line ends in a simple station and siding below the small town, and the attractive church looked a little too far away to visit in the turnround time, especially given the infrequency of the (once again threatened) train service.  

0909][AT] Leoben Hbf - Leoben Donawitz - Vordernberg Markt (- Erzberg - Eisenerz - Hieflau): (Ball 74B1)  On 19 July 2000 traffic on a midweek morning train seemed reasonable, with people either joining or leaving the train at most stations on the 18km branch.  Vordernberg Markt station, now the terminus of the truncated passenger service, has a small exhibition about the line, with 2-12-2T locomotive #297.401 of 1941 standing as a plinthed reminder of the difficulty of working its steep upper reaches in steam days.

0910][AT][SI] Villach Hbf - Warmbad Villach - Rosenbach ÖBB - Jesenice SZ: (Ball 82A1)  As well as long-distance international trains, some Austrian local workings run forward through the 8km Karawanken tunnel beneath the frontier to terminate at Jesenice, returning more or less forthwith.  On 18 July 2000 a moderately well-filled ÖBB local train took our reporter to Jesenice, where Slovenian immigration staff were surprised, though unconcerned, to find him not entering their country but remaining on board to go back to Austria.  

0911][AT] Klagenfurt Hbf - Weizelsdorf - Rosenbach: (Ball 82B1-82A1)  On 18 July 2000 a locomotive-hauled but lightly-loaded ÖBB train was plying this 31km secondary route in southern Carinthia.  Midway, diverging at a Rosenbach-facing junction, the short Weizelsdorf - Ferlach freight branch has in recent years seen a museum-train operation calling itself Nostalgiebahn in Kärnten.  

0912][SE] (Sundsvall Central -) Härnösand - Nyland - Långsele: (R.0604, 0732; Ball 15A3-7A1)  Heavy rain during late July 2000 caused track problems on the Ådalsbana.  Härnösand - Nyland freight traffic is again running, but the single daily passenger train each way is cancelled until 1 November 2000, with Härnösand - Nyland - Långsele bus replacement, while Banverket make repairs to the passenger-only Nyland - Långsele section.

0913][SE][FI] Haparanda - Tornio: (R.0825, 0860; Ball 3B1)  Haparanda came into being as a town only when Finland became independent of Sweden, and the Swedes built it as their border-post.  Though in different time-zones an hour apart, the inhabitants of the twin towns continue to share facilities, including even a single tourist-office on the Finnish side.  A joint Swedish/Finnish railtour recently covered the cross-border tracks on both gauges.  On 2 September 2000 the preserved diesel railcar of Svenska Motorvagnsklubben took the 1435mm-gauge tracks which run on the south side of Haparanda station, joining the gauntletted four-rail line across the 406m river-bridge at the border, then a second bridge within Finland, turning sharply north to terminate in the (very rusty) standard-gauge track in the platform on the west side of Tornio station.  It returned forthwith empty to Luleå.  On 4 September the 1524mm-gauge diesel railcar of Museorautatieyhdistys ry made the passage from the broad-gauge east side of Tornio station to the north side of Haparanda station and back, then visited Tornio north junction to reverse before setting off on the north-to-east Tornio avoiding line the short distance south to Kemi.  

0914][FI] Tornio - Kolari: (Ball 3B1-3B3)  Tornio station is staffed, including the booking-office, although passenger trains do not actually call there.  VR withdrew the service through Tornio to Haparanda in May 1988 and SJ their service from Haparanda in August 1992.  Passenger trains call instead some 800m away at Tornio-Pohjoinen (='Tornio North'), on the inside of the east-to-north curve of the triangle (not at the north vertex as shown by Ball).  Pohjoinen, a rudimentary gravel platform, seems hardly suitable for awaiting a night train to Helsinki in midwinter!  The line north from Tornio to Kolari opened for freight during the 1960s, but first saw passenger trains in 1985.  It appears that initially these reversed at Tornio station, but since the creation of Pohjoinen platform about 1986 they have used the avoiding line.  Tornio signal-box has an NX (entry-exit) panel controlling the area from the triangle south-eastwards, and also controls operations to the north by radio.  Like Pohjoinen, the intermediate stations are now unstaffed, but in contrast Kolari, northernmost terminus of Finland's passenger network, has quite recently acquired an attractive modern station, including a restaurant in a section of the building shaped like a giant Sami (= Lapp) tepee.  This splendid facility is used by only three Helsinki - Kolari overnight round-trips a week, reducing to two in the autumn before skiing begins and in the spring after it ends.  The principal traffic on the line is timber.

0915][FI] Kolari - Niesa - Äkäsjoki and Niesa - Rautuvaara: (Ball 3B3)  North of Kolari, these two branches were visited by a railtour on 4 September 2000.  Neither has ever had a passenger service, and they now have no regular freight.  Indeed an earlier railtour in 1993 may have been the most recent previous train to Äkäsjoki.  The junction at Niesa is just a set of points, with no building.  At Äkäsjoki is a disused plant built to fulfil a Finnish contract to supply cement for major construction work at the Russian town of Kostomuksha.  It received coal by rail, and at its peak was forwarding at least one block train of cement a day via the Oulu - Kontiomäki - Vartius VR (- Kostomuksha RZD) route (Ball 9A3-10B3).  Output and traffic however ceased about 1985, and the huge concrete monstrosity now lies eerily abandoned in the Finnish forest.  

The Niesa - Rautuvaara branch served an ironstone mine with both opencast and deep-shaft workings, the ore being treated on site and despatched by rail.  The high level of phosphorus content in the ore led to the mine's closure about 1990, though ore continued to be rail-hauled away from its stockpile for several years.  Thereafter, the treatment plant extracted gold from ore hauled in by road from some 100km away, and the finings from this process were moved by rail to southern Finland for the extraction of copper.  Rail activity seems to have petered out about 1995.  Although both mine and treatment plant lie disused, they and the railway are retained in case changed economic circumstances again make extraction worthwhile.  A conveyor-belt has however been demolished across the tracks and it is no longer possible to run round trains at Rautuvaara.  

0916][FI] (Kemi -) Laurila - Rovaniemi - Kemijärvi: (Ball 3B1-4B2)  Several trains a day run to Rovaniemi, but the overnight service to and from Helsinki is now the only passenger train to Kemijärvi.  The principal freight is timber, loaded at most stations.  Kemijärvi station, opened c.1934, is a terminus at the northern vertex of a triangle on the north side of the through line continuing to Kelloselkä, not as shown by Ball.  The 1964 VR timetable indicates that passenger trains from the south once ran via the west-to-east Kemijärvi avoiding line, reversed at a platform, Pajula, at the eastern vertex of the triangle (in a more convenient location for the town-centre), then took the east-to-north curve to terminate in Kemijärvi station.  In the up direction, trains started at Pajula (or at Kelloselkä), used the east-to-north curve, reversed in Kemijärvi station and took the north-to-west curve, thus not using the avoiding line.  Pajula closed 31 May 1970, but its platform edge remains, behind a fast-food restaurant attached to a petrol-station.  

0917][FI][RU] Kemijärvi - Kelloselkä VR (- Alakurti RZD): (Ball 4B2)  This line, opened in the early 1940s, once connected with the Ruchi-Karelskie - Alakurti branch off the Sankt Peterburg - Murmansk main line in northern Russia, and was said to have been built on the orders of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, following the Winter War of 1940 when the Soviet Union defeated Finland.  As Finland turned more toward the West politically the cross-border railway became a casualty of the 'cold war' in the 1950s, and was lifted on the Russian side.  The Finnish section appears to have had a passenger service till 28 May 1967 and remains open for timber traffic (notwithstanding the doubt expressed in the Ball atlas).  At Kelloselkä the line extends for perhaps 200m or so as a headshunt to a metal 'red flag'.  Beyond, though a few rails are removed, the track continues largely intact, with decayed timber sleepers, towards the present Russian border.  A Finnish document equivalent to the British 'Sectional Appendix' shows the line still extending, out of use, 8.1km beyond Kelloselkä, presumably to the frontier.  The Russians are said to have begun rebuilding their 68km section, but the project has run into the kind of management problems common in that country.  

0918][FI] Kerava - Olli - Porvoo: (R.0640; Ball 24B3)  The summer-Saturday excursion from Helsinki to the freight-only Kerava - Porvoo branch comprised five well-filled railbuses on 29 July 2000.  The train ran a short distance beyond Porvoo's old passenger station, the turntable and the shed for the Porvoo Museum Railway's steam locomotive, and terminated at a platform comprising a small raised area bounded by old sleepers, adjacent to the buffers and convenient for a footbridge across the river into the town. Three cars returned to Kerava as an early-afternoon short working, leaving two at the riverside.

0919][PL] Elk Waskotorowy - Laski Male - Sypitki - Kalinowo - Turowo: (R.0797; Ball 34A2)  On 23 June 2000 Polish passengers on the 16:00 train from Elk, comprising 750mm-gauge railcar plus trailers, clearly expected it to terminate at Kalinowo as usual, in defiance of the PKP timetable (table 624), and all of them alighted.  However on board was a foreign tour group accompanied by a representative from PKP headquarters who insisted that the train continue as timetabled to Turowo, where the group's tour bus was waiting.  The railcar shed its trailers and continued beyond Kalinowo, the crew having to dig out a disused level-crossing on the way, and to drive through and destroy two fences which had been put up across the line.  On arrival at Turowo the group left the railcar, which left empty to return to Elk, where it was seen the next day awaiting repair. 

0920][HR][BA] (Zagreb HZ -) Grapska - Doboj - Mostar - Gabela ZBH - Metkovic HZ - Ploce:  A Talgo 200 set on a passenger-carrying demonstration run for Croatian Railways crossed Bosnia and on 23 May 2000 reached Ploce on Croatia's Adriatic coast.  (Railway Gazette International, July 2000)

0921][TR] Istanbul metro: Yenikapi - Taksim - Sisli - 4.Levent:  A Siemens-led group began building the city's 'heavy metro' with a view to a 1998 opening of the first 7.8km section (Taksim - Sisli - 4.Levent) on the north side of the Golden Horn (BLN 825.0219).  However 1997 saw a local-authority review of the project and eventually an Alstom-headed group took it over.  (International Railway Journal, January 2000)  Four-car Alstom metro trains were expected to begin Taksim - Sisli revenue service in September 2000, and works on the Yenikapi - Taksim section are well under way. 

0922][JP] Shimokita - Mutsu Sekine - Ohata: (Quail 5C2)  A feature of the Japanese railway industry is the so-called 'third-sector' operators (with local-authority backing, neither publicly-owned nor wholly private-sector) who have taken over a number of formerly nationalised branches and secondary lines.  Some of these local lines remain unremunerative even with more economical methods of operation, and lead a somewhat precarious existence.  Another third-sector line is to close in 2001: the 18km 1067mm-gauge Shimokita Kotsu railway which took over the former Japan National Railways' Ohata line in Aomori province, the northernmost branch on Japan's main island of Honshu.  Traffic on the line's diesel railcars dropped from 414,000 passengers in 1986 to a mere 237,000 in 1998.  (Japanese Railway Society Bullet-In, after Tetsudo Journal)

0923][JP] Nishi-Kuwana - Ariyoshi - Ageki: (Quail 4B4-4B3)  Unusual among the world's electrified commuter railways for its very narrow gauge of 762mm is Kintetsu's 20.4km Hokusei line, which branches off from both the 1435mm-gauge (private-sector) Kintetsu line and the 1067mm-gauge (formerly nationalised) JR Central line west of the city of Nagoya.  Alas, traffic on the little trains has fallen from 6 million passengers in 1975 to fewer than 3 million in 1999, and on 3 July 2000 Kintetsu announced their intention to close the Hokusei line by 2003.  (JRS Bullet-In, after Tetsudo Journal)

0924][US] Dallas, TX - CentrePort for DFW Airport - Fort Worth, TX: (R.0902)  Amtrak's long-distance passenger trains use the Santa Fe station at Fort Worth, but the plans for Dallas local commuter trains via DFW Airport to extend westward in 2001 include use of a nearby site at Fort Worth Texas & Pacific Railroad Terminal, which closed as a station in 1967.  Developers are looking at the ten-storey 1930s art déco building that was once the headquarters of the T&P with a view to turning it into a four-star hotel with a railway theme.  (www.trains.com)

0925][US] (Tavares, FL -) Mount Dora - Sorrento - Sanford - Winter Park - Orlando, FL: (R.0903)  On Monday 4 September 2000, the US Labor Day public holiday, an excursion train ran from Mount Dora over former Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line tracks through to Orlando.  The Mount Dora Cannonball, comprising a 1913-built Baldwin 2-6-2 locomotive and four passenger cars, was the first steam-hauled passenger train seen in downtown Orlando since at least 1955.  The 139 passengers were dropped off three blocks from Church Street Station.  (www.trains.com)

0926][US] Mangonia Park, FL - West Palm Beach - Boca Raton - Fort Lauderdale - Fort Lauderdale Airport - Miami Airport, FL:  South Florida commuter-train operators Tri-Rail opened their new Fort Lauderdale Airport station on 14 August 2000, when a new timetable was introduced.  An opening event followed on Saturday 19 August.  The new commuter station, at 500 Gulf Stream Way, replaces one closed at 275 Tigertail Road.  (www.tri-rail.com)

0927][PE] Cuzco San Pedro - Aguas Calientes and Cuzco Avenida Sol - Juliaca - Puno: (R.0208, 0511, 0517-0519)  In July 1999 PeruRail, a private-sector consortium led by Sea Containers, were awarded a 30-year franchise to operate passenger and freight trains on c.1200km of the Peruvian state railways, Enafer.  In their first year the new operators of the Ferrocarril Sur del Perú have concentrated on overhaul of traction and stock, reform of management and shedding some 300 of the 900 employees.  Now planned are additional trains in upmarket Orient Express-style, with panoramic observation cars, for both the 914mm-gauge Cuzco - Aguas Calientes route (to the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu) and the 1435mm-gauge Cuzco - Puno route (to Lake Titicaca), which already carry annually some 400,000 visitors to the Andes.  An elderly British-built steamship is being refitted to carry tourists on the world's highest navigable lake.  (Financial Times, 8 September 2000)

0928][UY][AR][BR] Montevideo - 25 de Agosto - Florida - Paso de los Toros - Chamberlain - Tacuarembó - Rivera: (BLN 780.0252, 757.0313, 722.020, 707.07)  Lying between the huge nations of Argentina and Brazil, the small country of Uruguay has some 3.5 million people and a railway network of some 2900km, all standard-gauge, linking not only the important towns but many rural communities.  The longest lines are a substantial 500-600km.  After a round of passenger closures in November 1985, the nationalised Administración de Ferrocarriles del Estado withdrew all passenger services from 2 January 1988.  Passenger services were however restored in 1993 on two sections of line, Montevideo - 25 de Agosto (63km, opened 25 August) and Tacuarembó - Rivera (118km, opened 11 January), both initially being privately managed with AFE trains and drivers.  In 1997 AFE took over management of both lines.  The Montevideo commuter operation has been relatively successful, and on 3 February 2000 AFE added a fifth Monday-to-Friday round-trip and a summer weekend train on Saturdays and Sundays, running out to 25 de Agosto in the morning and back to the capital in the evening.  The fine Montevideo Central station is however threatened with redevelopment for non-railway purposes, and its fate remains in the balance (see http://lfu1.tripod.com/index-8.html).  

The Tacuarembó - Rivera passenger operation in the rural north of the country has had a more difficult time, with political problems, lacklustre management and unprofitability, and its trains have been withdrawn no fewer than three times since 1993 (closed 6 January 1997, reopened 3 March 1997, closed 31 December 1998, reopened 26 April 1999, closed 31 December 1999, reopened 13 March 2000).  Líneas Férreas Uruguayas have a private project to take over this operation, initially with leased AFE Brill railcars, pending track renewal.
 
Freight trains operate on the whole AFE network except nine sections now out-of-use (Salto - Baltasar Brum - Cuareim; Baltasar Brum - Artigas; Durazno - Trinidad; Florida - Km329; San José - Mal Abrigo - Fray Bentos; Mal Abrigo - Colonia; Nico Pérez - Melo; Km144 - Maldonado; and Rocha - La Paloma).  The Florida - Km329 branch may be reopened.  A section of the short Maldonado branch has been lifted to built one lane of a road on the right-of-way.  Some sections of track in use are in good condition, and long sections with old rail dating from 1889-92 (Paso de los Toros - Chamberlain - Tacuarembó - Rivera and Chamberlain - Paysandú - Salto) are to be renewed soon with Russian rails.  Two lines remain in poor condition (Fray Bentos - Algorta and San Carlos - Rocha).  

The country's only through international rail link, from Salto to Concordia on the privatised standard-gauge Ferrocarril Mesopotamico in Argentina, built in the 1970s on top of the impressive dam across the river Uruguay, and opened in 1982, sees quite frequent if irregular freight trains.  At Rivera, the Ramal Frontera is a short dual-gauge (1435mm/1000mm) freight branch across the frontier to Santana do Livramento on the Livramento - Entroncamento - Porto Alegre metre-gauge line in Brazil.  Uruguayan standard-gauge trains on the Montevideo - Nico Pérez - Rio Branco line also once crossed from Rio Branco over the Puente Mauá road-rail bridge a short distance into Brazil to tranship freight at Jaguarão, but the Brazilian metre-gauge Basilio - Jaguarão branch was lifted in the 1980s, and though transhipment at Jaguarão to road vehicles continued until recently, in mid-2000 the cross-border trains are temporarily suspended due to problems with the international bridge.

0929][PY] Asunción - Ypacarai (- San Salvador - Encarnación): (R.0774; BLN 793.029)  A Sunday tourist train that had been reintroduced from the Paraguayan capital to Ypacarai (km44.7) comprised the sole precariously remaining passenger service on the moribund Ferrocarril Presidente Carlos Antonio Lopez, but this was withdrawn after a derailment on 16 July 2000.  The 441km British-built system was already terribly run down when our reporter visited in 1988, himself sustaining one derailment and one breakaway while riding behind the FCPCAL's magnificent wood-burners.  Very substantial investment would be needed, but this railway still has significant potential as a through standard-gauge route for container freight trains from landlocked Paraguay, across the 1990 road/rail bridge from Encarnación to Posadas on the Ferrocarril Mesopotamico in Argentina, and onward to either Buenos Aires in Argentina or Montevideo in Uruguay, major seaports as well as capital cities.

0930][FR] Plouaret-Trégor - Lannion: (R.0319; Ball 20A2)  The new wiring on the 17km branch was energised (mise sous tension) on 15 June, and the new signalling installation at Lannion was declared operational on 22 June, allowing passage of a test train hauled by a Class BB22200 locomotive.  Official inauguration was scheduled for 29 June, with the Minister of Transport and other dignitaries to arrive by TGV from Paris and Rennes, but this ceremony had to be postponed until 17 July.  Commercial services on the branch resumed on Saturday 1 July 2000, including one return TGV daily until 27 August, plus an extra weekend TGV down on Friday evenings, up on Sunday evenings, which is to continue in the winter timetable.  Local TER trains remain worked by diesel railcars because no suitable electric units are available.  (Rail Passion, September 2000)

0931][FR] Chartres - Voves (- Orgères-en-Beauce - Patay - Orléans): (R.0264; Ball 24B1-36A3)  Chartres - Orléans passenger reopening by end-2003 is foreshadowed by current empty-stock workings on the freight-only Chartres - Voves section.  Because SNCF maintain their new X73500 diesel railcars at Tours, a Monday-to-Saturday return working (train #97902/3) runs Chartres - Voves - Châteaudun - Tours, carrying passengers southbound on the Châteaudun - Tours section and northbound Tours - Châteaudun - Voves.  (Rail Passion, September 2000)

0932][FR] Troyes - Piney - Brienne-le-Château (- Vitry-le-François): (Ball 27A1-27B2)  A well-filled two-car diesel unit comprised the Association Chemin de Fer Touristique Auboise special train on Sunday 17 September 2000, leaving Troyes at 10:47 and making fairly brisk progress east along this SNCF freight line to arrive Brienne 11:37.  The intermediate stations at Thennelières, Rouilly-Rosson, Piney and Brévonnes, all closed to passengers before 1975, seemed reasonably complete, with buildings, platforms and blue enamel nameboards.  Rails on the Brienne - Dienville freight branch were shiny at the east-facing junction, as also were the rails continuing beyond Brienne towards Vitry-le-François.

0933][FR] Strasbourg trams: (BLN 837.0545, R.0850; Ball 30A2)  Friday 1 September 2000 saw inauguration of 12.6km of new lines B (Elsau - République - Hoenheim Gare) and C (Elsau - République - Esplanade).  (www.lrta.org)

0934][FR] Nantes trams: (BLN 745.09, R.0850; Ball 32B1)  A 5.3km extension of line 1 (Bellevue - St.Herblain-François Mitterrand) and the first 4.2km of line 3 (Commerce - Plaisance) opened Saturday 2 September 2000.  (www.lrta.org)

0935][FR] Lyon métro and trams: (BLN 818.023, R.0850; Ball 56B3)  The 2.4 km extension of line B (Jean Macé - Jean Jaurès - Debourg - Stade de Gerland) opened Monday 4 September 2000.  Though this is likely to be the last addition to the 'heavy metro', the city's first new tram line is to open on 22 December 2000.  (www.lrta.org)

0936][BE] Basècles-Carrières - Basècles (- Leuze): (Ball 7B1)  Seen from a train passing Basècles-Carrières on 9 September 2000, the short remaining stub of the former through line 86 to Leuze looked recently lifted. 

0937][DE] Bremen-Huchting - Stuhr - Brinkum - Leeste - Thedinghausen: (Ball 16B1)  In 1997 only the eastern end of the private Bremen-Thedinghauser Eisenbahn seemed in use by freight operators Kleinbahn Leeste (BLN 818.024).  The western end is likely to see passenger services on two extensions of the Bremen city tramway.  Route #8 may run from Roland-Center to Varreler Landstrasse then over the rail alignment to Stuhr, and route #5 from Huckelriede to Brinkum then over the railway to Leeste.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 2000)

0938][DE] Wuppertal monorail: Vohwinkel - Oberbarmen: (R.0781; Ball 34A1 not shown)  The city's unique 13.2km suspended metro, the Schwebebahn, was to close again from 25 September to 22 October 2000.  Further closures may occur during the extensive renewal works planned for completion by 31 May 2003.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 2000)

0939][DE] (Düren -) Jülich - Linnich: (Ball 37B1)  Since starting their rail operation Dürener Kreisbahn have each year run three or four pairs of trains from Düren to the fair usually held on the last Monday in November in Linnich, at the end of a non-passenger branch at the northernmost point of the DKB system.  This special service is likely to operate on 27 November 2000.  A regular service is still planned (BLN 728.076, R.0239), possibly even beginning in 2001.

0940][DE] Düren - Distelrath (- Zülpich - Euskirchen): (Ball 37B1)  With the May 2000 timetable change Dürener Kreisbahn introduced experimental weekend passenger trains running from Düren Hbf for about 1.5km south-east along the otherwise disused Euskirchen line (BLN 836.0491) before diverging slightly to the west into DKB's depot area at Distelrath, specially equipped with a passenger platform.  From 28 May to 24 September 2000 four Sundays-only return workings operated, with a scheduled one-way journey-time of 20 minutes, probably because of two manually-worked level-crossings.  Departure times were Düren Hbf 09:30, 10:30, 17:40, 18:40 and Distelrath 09:55, 10:55, 18:05, 19:05.  The trains were mentioned from time to time in the local newspaper, but otherwise were only minimally advertised locally, by separate small posters at Düren Hbf and a rather well-hidden note in the DKB timetable booklet.  For the future, a weekday service is a possibility, perhaps in conjunction with a park-and-ride facility.  

0941][DE] Düren - Bedburg (Erft): (Ball 37B1)  This line was lifted all the way to Bedburg by July 1997.  (Lokrundschau, September/October 1997)  Only a short section of track at the Düren end survived, visible from the main line, and by June 1999 it was much overgrown (R.0096).  Strangely it remained fully signalled until it too was lifted in early 2000, as part of works on the Köln - Düren - Aachen Ausbaustrecke to provide both a high-speed route and a Köln S-Bahn extension.

0942][DE] Stuttgart light rail: (R.0242; Ball 58A1 not shown)  The extension of the standard-gauge Stadtbahn beyond Heumaden for 6.3km to Nellingen was to open on 9 September 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 2000)

0943][DE] Erfurt trams: (Ball 41B1 not shown)  From 27 May 2000 route #2 was extended 4.6km to Ringelberg, and the summer saw work in progress on its extension at the other end to Messe.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 2000)

0944][AT] Austria: withdrawal of ÖBB passenger services:  Österreichische Bundesbahnen have sought government permission to withdraw ÖBB passenger trains from the following lines.  This does not necessarily mean that all would close, for provinces or localities could decide to run trains or subsidise private companies to replace the federal railways as operator.

Gmünd NÖ - Gross Gerungs (Waldviertelbahn; 760mm-gauge; BLN 848.0215; Ball 63B2-63B1)
Waidhofen an der Ybbs - Gstadt - Lunz am See (Ybbstalbahn; 760mm-gauge; BLN 848.0215; Ball 74A2-74B2)
Gstadt - Ybbsitz (760mm-gauge; BLN 848.0215; Ball 74A2-74B2)
St.Pölten - Ober Grafendorf - Mariazell (Mariazellerbahn; 760mm-gauge; BLN 848.0215; Ball 75A3-74B) 
Ober Grafendorf - Wieselburg an der Erlauf (760mm-gauge; BLN 848.0215; Ball 75A3-74B2)
Zell am See - Krimml (Pinzgauerbahn; 760mm-gauge; BLN 848.0215; Ball 81A3-80B3)

Retz - Drosendorf (Ball 64A2)
Drösing - Zistersdorf Stadt (BLN 716.021; Ball 65A1)
Leoben Hbf - Vordernberg Markt (R.0909; Ball 74B1)
Freiland - Türnitz (BLN 716.021; Ball 75A1)
Friedberg - Oberwart (BLN 716.021; Ball 75B1-84A3)
Siebenbrunn-Leopoldsdorf - Engelhartstetten (BLN 790.0459; Ball 76A3)
(Garmisch-Partenkirchen DB -) Ehrwald Zugspitzbahn - Reutte in Tirol - Schönbichl (BLN 716.021; Ball 79A3-70B1)

0945][AT] Wien Mitte - Rennweg - Zentralfriedhof - Klein Schwechat - Gross Schwechat - Flughafen Wien-Schwechat - Fischamend - Wolfsthal (- Bratislava): (BLN 747.059; Ball 75B3-76B3)  The Pressburgerbahn was completed in 1914 as an interurban electric line running from the centre of the Austro-Hungarian imperial capital out on street-tramway trackage to Gross Schwechat and on via Wolfsthal to Pressburg, the German-language name for the town of Pozsony, then just inside Hungary.  After World War I, Pozsony became Bratislava in Czechoslovakia.  Following track damage in World War II, Pressburgerbahn trains were diverted to their present Wien - Gross Schwechat route but did not work east of Wolfsthal to Bratislava after 1945.  Wien - Gross Schwechat was electrified in 1962 and since then Wien - Wolfsthal electric trains have used broadly the present alignment, a considerable part of which is still single-track.  A major improvement came in 1977, when the Gross Schwechat - Markt Fischamend section was doubled, and the basic unstaffed halt on the surface that served the airport was replaced by an underground station named Flughafen Wien-Schwechat beneath the terminal buildings.  Klein Schwechat - Gross Schwechat was reconstructed 1997-99.  From Zentralfriedhof (=central cemetery) to Klein Schwechat the old alignment following the south wall of the extensive cemetery is being replaced by a completely new alignment along the northern edge of the huge Kledering freight marshalling-yard.  Further reconstruction and double-tracking of what is now S-Bahn line S7 is well under way, including major work in central Wien (R.0823) which closed Rennweg station for a significant period in summer 2000.  Little progress however seems to have been made with plans to re-extend the Pressburgerbahn from Wolfsthal some 10km east across the river Donau/Dunaj (= Danube), which would provide a useful rail link from Wien international airport to nearby Bratislava, capital of independent Slovakia since 1993.  

0946][AT][SI][IT] Wien Süd - Semmering - Graz - Spielfeld-Strass ÖBB - Maribor SZ - Bleiburg ÖBB - Klagenfurt - Villach - Lienz ÖBB - San Candido/Innichen FS - Fortezza - Brennero FS - Innsbruck ÖBB: (Ball 75B3-83B3-81A2-79B3)  The original Südbahn through route from Wien to Innsbruck was completed in 1871 entirely on Austrian territory, but after World War I the Spielfeld-Strass - Marburg - Bleiburg section passed to Yugoslavia, now Slovenia, and the section from east of Innichen to Brenner was ceded to Italy.  Parts of the route have therefore lost something of their imperial importance - as an example, in early September 2000 ÖBB and Slovenske Zeleznice had a combined engineering possession all the way from Graz to Maribor, requiring international passengers to use substitute buses.  Furthermore, passenger services through Slovenia are now fragmented, and only a couple of local trains a day from Maribor cross the Austrian frontier to Bleiburg.  From Lienz to Innsbruck, the Treaty of Paris in 1946 guaranteed the Austrians the right to run 'corridor' services through Italian territory without border formalities, and for many years ÖBB ran two or three such trains a day, superimposed upon the local FS services within Italy.  Electrification was completed in 1989, Lienz - San Candido at ÖBB 15kV 16.7Hz and San Candido - Fortezza at FS 3000V dc.  On the main line over the Brenner Pass, Fortezza - Brennero was by that time already electrified at 3000V dc and Brennero - Innsbruck at 15kV 16.7Hz.  In the late 1990s, the Colle Isarco - Brennero section saw a major change in alignment with the opening of the Aster tunnel (7338m; German rendering of its name).  Following the Schengen agreement on European Union border controls, local passengers within Italy can now use the through Lienz - Innsbruck trains.  These are mainly worked by ÖBB's five Class 1822 dual-voltage locomotives and Austrian stock, with FS train-crew from San Candido to Brennero, but some trains timed to make longer stops at these two stations use FS 3000V dc traction on this Italian section.

0947][AT] Wien West - St.Pölten - Linz - Salzburg: (BLN 756.0285; Ball 75B3-73B3-72B2)  The Wien - Salzburg Westbahn is ÖBB's prime main line, completed 1860, all double-track by 1902, electrified 1940-1952, and converted from left- to right-hand running 1938-1991.  In the 1990s increasing capacity constraints and difficult curvature by modern standards led ÖBB to begin progressively rebuilding the Westbahn, partly by widening the existing formation for extra tracks and easier curves, partly by completely new alignments.  From Wien to St.Pölten a new route over most of the distance is to be built at some time in the future, so in mid-2000 only one major work is in progress on this section, the former four tracks between Wien Hütteldorf and Unter Purkersdorf being reduced to two during extensive reconstruction.  

The St.Pölten - Linz section has been seeing much of the recent construction effort.  From east of Loosdorf to west of Melk a new line including the two Wachberg tunnels (1001m and 292m) and the Melker tunnel (1845m) is currently being built.  This is to be a bypass for through traffic only, and stopping trains will continue to use the old line.  From west of Melk to Pöchlarn the new line opened in May 1997 is used by all trains and the old route lies abandoned.  From east of Krümmnussbaum through Sittenberg tunnel (4692m) to west of Säusenstein, another bypass completed in March 1994 is used by non-stopping trains only.  From east of St.Peter-Seitenstetten to St.Johann-Weistrach, yet another stretch of new line is under construction, as is a further bypass for non-stopping trains from St.Johann through the lengthy Sieberg tunnel (6480m) to St.Valentin.  

Linz - Salzburg has three new sections already in use.  The single-track Traun - Marchtrenk bypass line opened to freight May 1994 and to passenger trains May 1995 (BLN 841.011; Ball 73B3).  Since January 1995 non-stopping trains also bypass Lambach station on a new line via Kalvarienberg tunnel (1410m).  In June 1997 a new line used by all trains opened from Breitenschützing via Römerberg tunnel (710m) to east of Schwanenstadt.  Yet more new route is planned at the Westbahn's western end towards Salzburg.  (partly from ÖBB Handbuch, Bohmann Verlag 1999)

0948][DK] København S-bane: Ballerup - Målov - Kildedal - Veksø - Stenløse - Ølstykke - Frederikssund: (Ball 8B3-8A3)  This lengthy section forming the outer 22km or so of Line H is single with passing-loops, but was in September 2000 seeing very substantial investment to double the track, presumably so that the basic 20-minute frequency characteristic of the whole S-bane system can be increased.  Station improvements were under way at all stations north-west of Ballerup.  The second Ballerup - Veksø track was already laid, and was looking lightly used, perhaps by tampers or other engineering equipment.  Local system maps said the new station at Kildedal was to open 26 November 2000, when extra (Line H+) trains will run beyond Ballerup to terminate at Veksø.  The Veksø - Stenløse section has track in place, not yet connected up, while Stenløse - Frederikssund has some new underbridges but only bare trackbed in various stages of preparation.  

0949][DK] København S-bane: Hovedbanegård - Vesterport - Nørreport:  (BLN 833.0429; Ball 9A2)  Overhead third-rail rather than catenary wiring now supplies the 1500V dc on the very heavily-used S-bane tracks from the platforms of the main station København H north through Vesterport to the temporarily truncated platforms at Nørreport, reverting to conventional wiring by Østerport station.  The light aluminium overhead rail, still shiny in September 2000, is supported without classic ceramic insulators, so the horizontal supporting arms must be of non-conductive material to avoid earthing to the steel masts.  The parallel tracks with 25kV 50Hz electrification have conventional catenary.  

0950][DK] København metro: (BLN 812.0499)  The west-to-southeast route planned under the city-centre splits into two branches heading south on the island of Amager.  Line M1 is to run Vanløse - Frederiksberg - Nørreport - Kongens Nytorv - Christianshavn - Ørestad - Vestamager and line M2 (Vanløse -) Christianshavn - Lergravsparken - Lufthavn Kastrup.  Metro construction is well under way at Nørreport (signs at stations warn that DSB's underground platforms at Nørreport are temporarily shortened and accessible only to the southern four coaches of an S-tog or Regionaltog), at Kongens Nytorv (where the hole-in-the-ground building-site reveals the shallow running tunnels, and hoardings give details of the works, including planned opening dates) and at Ørestad (where the unfinished metro platforms and the twin running-line viaducts can be seen at right-angles above the recently-opened DSB station on the København - Ørestad - Tårnby - Københavns Lufthavn Kastrup DSB - Malmö SJ international line).  From an airport train on 25 September 2000 a three-car metro set branded Ansaldo Breda was seen high above, moving slowly south apparently on test under its own power, though the first sections (Nørreport - Christianshavn - Vestamager and Christianshavn - Lergravsparken) are not planned to open for business until 1 October 2002, still two years away.  Vanløse - Frederiksberg (the former S-bane section; BLN 833.0429) and Frederiksberg - Nørreport are to open in 2003, followed by Lergravsparken - Lufthavn Kastrup in 2005.

0951][DK] Jægersborg - Lyngby lokalstation - Fuglevad - Ørholm - Nærum: (Ball 9A2)  The Lyngby-Nærum Jernbane or Nærumbane, a short outer suburban branch close to København, celebrated its centenary on 25 August 2000.  Its two short platforms at Jægersborg lie to the east of DSB's island-platform S-bane station at a slightly lower level, and interchange requires descent of one flight of steps and climbing another, making access with heavy luggage or a pram a little inconvenient.  Though a trailing connection allows exchange of stock with the S-bane, the LNJ seems self-contained, with its own small depot and lightweight rails.  Two 1997-built Duewag RegioSprinters (LNJ Lm23 and Lm24) operate the line, which with a journey-time of 12 minutes is just too long for one unit to offer the 20-minute frequency necessary to match the S-bane.  In the 1987 timetable trains crossed at Fuglevad but in 2000 they cross at Ørholm, where the originally single-platform station has been modified to provide a passing-loop.  

0952][SE] (Östersund Västra -) Duved - Storlien SJ (- Hell NSB): (Ball 6A1-5B2)  During engineering work, buses are replacing trains on the Duved - Storlien section until 1 November 2000.  

0953][PL] Sroda - Zaniemysl: (BLN 851.0319; Ball 37A3; PKP 319)  This 750mm-gauge PKP line saw a new timetable begin on 1 September 2000, with just three departures from Sroda, at 06:07, 13:38 and 16:36.  Diesel railcar Mbxd2 229 worked all trains during a visit on 4 September, and three steam locomotives were stored out of use at Sroda shed.  

0954][YU] (Titovo Uzice -) Sargan-Vitasi - Jatare (- Visegrad - Sarajevo):  After two years of restoration work in mountainous western Serbia along part of the 207km route of the closed Titovo Uzice - Sarajevo line, the first 8km section of a 15.5km 760mm-gauge tourist railway was reportedly ready on 14 September 2000, and the rest is to open in spring 2001.  

0955][LV] Latvia: passenger services:  Latvia's passenger railway is in decline.  Though all but the main highways are untarred 'sand roads' (the local term), and buses charge higher fares than trains, the 1520mm-gauge LDZ system is gradually losing to road competition.  Elektrovilcieni, the electric trains in the suburban area from Riga out to Skulte, Aizkraukle, Jelgava and Tukums 2, load quite well but ticket-checking seems non-existent.  Dizelvilcieni, the diesel regional trains, with a fare-scale about 30% higher than the electrics, by contrast seem poorly loaded.  The ticket-checking is more effective, but expensively labour-intensive with two collectors to every three vehicles!  Speeds are disappointingly low.  As an example, the Riga - Ergli branch is only 97km long, but the afternoon diesel train takes 174 minutes out and 196 minutes back, an average of less than 32km/h, the trundling journey becoming quite tiresome in the gathering dark.

0956][LT] Panevezys - Anyksciai - Rubikiai (- Utena - Svencioneliai): (BLN 824.019, 826.0242)  This 69km 750mm-gauge line was in March 1996 added to Lithuania's 'national register of immovable cultural heritage', so listing may inhibit its complete closure.  The line links Panevezys, a sizeable manufacturing town, with Anyksciai, a large village, but it plays only a minor role in the passenger transport network.  While it serves intermediate hamlets not on the main road, the country has many similar small places with neither train nor bus.  Advertised trains in mid-2000 comprise two workings a day four days a week (TFSSuO and public holidays Panevezys 07:00 - 08:05 Anyksciai 08:47 - 09:52 Panevezys and Panevezys 16:00 - 17:05 Anyksciai 17:47 - 18:52 Panevezys).  To advertise their line, Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai have produced a glossy colour leaflet in English including a diagrammatic map showing also the Anyksciai - Rubikiai section, now available for charter trains only.  A Crookham Travel excursion on 20 August was the third such train during 2000.

Panevezys is a not-untypical post-1945 Soviet station, with a low two-storey building and much track, but only vestigial passenger services.  The narrow-gauge tracks, on the north side of the station layout, seemed the more extensive, with plenty of rolling-stock lying inactive but no evidence of any current freight movement.  Broad-gauge freight was however much in evidence.  The 750mm-gauge line leaves town on the north side, but climbs on a sweeping curve northwards to swing south and cross the 1520mm-gauge on an overbridge more than 2km east of the station (not as shown on the Quail map).  The line now has km posts measured from zero at Panevezys (again, not as shown by Quail).  The train, hauled by a TU2 diesel locomotive, trundles (at 40km/h according to the leaflet) through unexceptional rural scenery to Anyksciai (56km).  Here the whole station and its outbuildings have been pleasantly refurbished, though restoration of the wooden-stockaded hole-in-the-floor earth-closets has not changed their classic smell!  A freight train stands on a siding, but may be a static exhibit associated with the small museum in the goods-shed.  Closed to ordinary traffic, the section beyond Anyksciai is more scenic, continuing a further 13km east to Rubikiai, where a run-round loop precedes a dirt platform with a waiting-shelter of distinctly non-railway type, a sort of wooden pagoda or bandstand.  Rubikiai platform is within a short walk of a large man-made lake, which LG may have had in mind as an attraction for the charter train traffic which has not so far materialised.  Rails end abruptly short of a former level-crossing, though the formation continues as a farm track south-east towards Utena.  

Utena narrow-gauge station was just south of the town, and in August 1998 traces of old trackbed, a water-tower and an old freight wagon were still to be seen there.  From the later Utena station, some 7km south of the town, the line was regauged to 1520mm after 1981 and became LG's broad-gauge Svencioneliai - Utena branch.  By August 1998 the branch passenger service had dwindled to trains from Vilnius on Fridays and Sundays only, said to be kept running to carry mushroom-pickers into the countryside.  Our reporter at the time confirmed the nature of the traffic, though presumably the weekend trains would also be used by urban workers going home to see their families in the country.  

0957][LT] Panevezys - Joniskelis - Petrasiunai - Pakruojis and Petrasiunai - Linkuva:  As well as the Rubikiai line to the south, Panevezys had some 100km of 750mm-gauge lines to the north, but LG staff in August 2000 said all were out of use since 1998 or before.  On the Joniskelis - Pasvalys - Birzai branch, closed 1 July 1996, narrow-gauge track was visible on both sides of the level-crossing north of Pasvalys, but the rails crossing the M12 road had been removed or deeply tarred over.

0958][TH] Bangkok: Thon Buri - Taling Chan Jn:  Thon Buri passenger terminus on the west bank of the river has closed and trains now use the new Bangkok Noi station adjacent to the locomotive shed.  (Continental Railway Journal, #123, autumn 2000)

0959][CA] Toronto trams:  The 800m Harbourfront extension began regular service on 23 July 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 2000)

0960][BO] Oruro - Cochabamba - Aiquile:  Far from being extended east to link Bolivia's separate metre-gauge networks (Red Occidental and Red Oriental) as once proposed (BLN 758.0341), it seems this 240km branch may have closed completely, for operators Ferrocarril Andina announced in late 1999 that they could no longer afford to repair damage from the frequent rainy-season washouts and landslides to which all railways in the unstable strata of the Andes are unfortunately prone.  (Continental Railway Journal, #123, autumn 2000)  Can this closure be confirmed?

0961][GB] (Portrush -) Bushmills - Giant's Causeway: (R.0617, 0748)  By early September 2000 the bridge over the river Bush had been replaced, but no public passenger trains on the 914mm-gauge Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway are planned until spring 2001.

0962][FR] Boulogne-Ville - Marquise-Rinxent - Caffiers - Calais-Fréthun: (Ball 6A2)  At Marquise-Rinxent the quarry linked to the small station yard is served as required, but in September 2000 the large quarry at Caffiers had several freight trains a day, hauled under the wires by pairs of SNCF Class BB66000 diesel locomotives.  

0963][FR] Chartres - Lucé - La Taye - Courtalain-St.Pellerin: (BLN 750.0107, 782.0273, 783.0291; Ball 35A3)  A new station at Lucé in the south-western suburbs of Chartres appears in the timetable for the sparsely-served 55km Courtalain branch.  Its location and distance from Chartres seem incorrectly printed, but the train times look credible.

0964][FR] Andelot - Champagnole - St.Laurent (Jura) - Morez - St.Claude - Oyonnax - La Cluse - Bourg-en-Bresse: (BLN 778.0181, 801.0212-3, 809.0402; Ball 49B3-49A1)  Until the 1960s the Paris - Interlaken sleeper detached a through portion at Andelot, which was then locomotive-hauled via Morez and La Cluse to Bellegarde, primarily to serve the resort of Nantua.  In more recent times the single-track cross-country Andelot - Bourg line, just over 150km long and highly scenic in places, has become something of a backwater, operated almost entirely by Class X2800 autorails, singly or in pairs.  It is timetabled and marketed as two distinct sections: (Paris -) Dijon - Dole - Andelot - Morez - St.Claude, and St.Claude - Bourg - Lyon.  Through journeys are thus not exactly encouraged.  On 7 September 2000 the 09:08 Dole - Andelot - St.Claude train saw passengers only in single figures between Champagnole and St.Claude, and the track was in poor condition for several kilometres, hence local speculation about closure of the northern section.  South of Champagnole the line is passenger-only.  Several tunnels and a falling gradient of 1 in 33 around a spectacular horseshoe curve enliven the last 20km or so south into Morez, where trains reverse.  Morez station was being decked out in tricolore bunting for festivities celebrating the line's centenary the following weekend, when a classic Picasso autorail was to visit, shuttling to and from St-Laurent.  South of Morez, the steep gradient continues, with the line clinging to the side of a ravine.  Although not advertised as running through, the railcar set that arrived at St.Claude at 11:30 continued as the 12:04 to Lyon.  Much higher patronage was apparent on trains seen on the southern section.  Vestiges of several private sidings can be seen around Oyonnax.  At La Cluse, the train takes the June 1996 north-to-west curve.  The north-to-east curve to the former station (BLN 771.051, 783.0292) has completely disappeared, and a factory has been built over the trackbed.  The west-to-east curve has been disconnected, and a short section has been removed, but most of it remains, complete with mechanical signals.  The closed La Cluse - Nantua - Bellegarde section (BLN 801.0214) continues to feature in various SNCF schemes for improved rail access to Genève in Switzerland and to Italy.  Topography on the La Cluse - Bourg section requires two long and several shorter tunnels, and a magnificent viaduct at Cize-Bolozon spanning the gorge of the river Ain, 69m below.  Towards the end of World War II this was sabotaged by maquisards, and not rebuilt until maybe 1950, using mainly the original materials recovered from the river-bed.  

0965][FR] (Lyon-St.Paul - Lyon-Gorge-de-Loup -) Tassin - Alai - Francheville - Chaponost - Brignais (- Millery-Montagny - Givors): (BLN 730.0104; Ball 56B3)  Until the 1950s the double track south from Tassin was a useful freight route avoiding Lyon and in particular Lyon-Perrache station.  Partly due to SNCF's increasing use of electric traction, the unwired line gradually declined and was singled, mostly using the former northbound track.  It may have been saved from complete closure by the decision to reopen the Tassin - Brignais section to passenger trains from 9 September 1991.  Class X4600 two-car autorails based at Lyon-Vaise provide the service, originally a simple Tassin - Brignais shuttle connecting at Tassin with trains out of Lyon-St.Paul, but in recent years a more frequent service running through from Lyon-St.Paul, connecting at Gorge-de-Loup with the Lyon metro and reversing at Tassin to head south to Brignais.  No freight now remains, and the branch is configured for 'one train working', being for much of the day at the limit of its present capacity.  A mid-afternoon visit on 7 September 2000 revealed healthy patrona