1117][GB] Northern Ireland Railways:  A new timetable came into force from Saturday 25 November 2000 until further notice.  Presumably it will be short-lived, given the significant changes to services planned early in 2001 (R.1066, 1118, 1119).  A weekend visit on 1-3 December 2000 revealed quite a mixed picture.  Substantial investment was under way at Belfast Central.  The pedestrian ramp serving the western island (platforms 4 and 3) and most of the canopy and structures on that island had been removed, and much of the platform surface had been excavated away.  The signal at the north end of platform 4 remained lit but most of the track was removed, leaving only a stub at the south end, capable of accommodating a three-car unit.  Through track served platform 3, only a narrow strip of which was available for passengers to alight or board.  The original ramp remained to the eastern island (platforms 2 and 1), and a temporary, partially covered, footbridge at the south end linked the two islands.  Posters advised passengers to allow an extra five minutes to negotiate a longer route to catch their trains.  The concourse level was also being rebuilt, with reduced retail facilities.  Station staff said work was to continue until December 2001, and that escalators to the platforms would be included in the final design.  Noteworthy investment was under way also at Bangor, with a new station building under construction.  The northernmost platform road 3 had no track at all and was being completely reballasted.  Brand-new canopies extended three or four coach-lengths along platforms 3 and 2, and above the bus-bays that share the south side of platform 2 east of the shortened platform 1.  Station staff said the work was to be completed in late January 2001, possibly an optimistic estimate.  An NI Railways leaflet offered thanks to the public for their political support in securing inclusion in the provincial Assembly's budget of an additional GBP20M for the railway in 2001-02, which should allow a start to be made on relaying track on the Belfast - Bangor line and on ordering 23 new trains.  The Assembly duly approved this budget on 19 December 2000.

On the debit side, track condition was palpably bad in many locations, not only on the Bangor line.  Clear signs of (still-nationalised) Translink's neglect of proper maintenance over the years were liquid mud visibly pumping through the ballast in places, and missing rail-chair keys.  Train speed near the southern end of the Lisburn - Antrim line was restricted to below 40km/h for a considerable distance.  Several classic metal footbridges (for example at Antrim, Ballymena and Coleraine) had been condemned as unsafe and blocked off, with somewhat rickety-looking temporary scaffolding bridges provided by way of replacement - though at Coleraine at least the scaffolding bridge was being ignored by staff and passengers in favour of a more convenient but more hazardous barrow-way at track-level.  Operating practices seem more informal than in Great Britain, notably treating off-peak calls at less important stations as request-stops.  While fewer bombs and bullets fly in south Armagh, the pastime of stoning the cross-border trains seems still prevalent.  The Eurostar-style coaches that arrived in 1997 for the (well-patronised) Belfast - Dublin Enterprise trains now all bear numerous small scars, carefully filled and repainted.  

Much remains of historical interest.  A Belfast & Northern Counties Railway warning-sign was still standing at a minor crossing near Ballymoney.  The closed Craigavad station east of Cultra on the Belfast - Bangor line retains its station nameboards.  Traces were visible in various places of the old practice of ballasting beneath the running rails but leaving something of a valley in the 'four-foot' between them, bridged by the sleepers.  Coleraine's old turntable no doubt facilitates the running of RPSI steam specials to the Coleraine - Portrush branch.  Somersault semaphore signals remain in use, not only at Dhu Varren and Portrush (R.0747), but on both the up and down sides at Castlerock on the Coleraine - Londonderry main line.  Ballykelly airfield is still used by light aircraft.  The runway runs right up to the track but its level-crossing has gone and the runway extension on the north (seaward) side, used by the RAF's big maritime-patrol Avro Shackletons of yesteryear, is now derelict.  Some 10km to the west at Eglinton, the former Royal Navy airfield that is now Derry's civil airport, both runways 26 and 21 have thresholds close to the track, but no sign was seen of proposed works to extend across the line to the seaward side (R.0128).  

On Sundays before 15:00 stations and train-conductors sell a 'Day Tracker' ticket for GBP3 valid on NIR trains throughout the province.  Main stations also sell a Translink 'Freedom of Northern Ireland' scratchcard ticket for GBP10, which can be validated for any one day's use on both buses and trains.  The latter ticket must be very difficult for conductors to check, for it has been carefully produced so that the scratch panels show the same colour whether scratched or not!

1118][GB] (Belfast -) Bleach Green Jn - Mossley West - Templepatrick - Antrim: (R.0746, 1066; Baker 102C1-102C2)  A six-coach locomotive-hauled special organised by the Irish Railway Record Society and the Modern Railway Society of Ireland duly traversed the entire length of the line on 16 December 2000 with some 200 passengers aboard, pausing at Mossley West, where the new station was still under construction.  It seems regular passenger services, the first since 1978, may begin at the end of February 2001, when Belfast - Londonderry trains are diverted to the more direct route. (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1119][GB] Lisburn - Knockmore - Antrim: (R.0083)  Diversion of the Belfast - Derry trains is likely to see closure of this section, for NIR have no spare rolling-stock to work it, nor the finance to repair the track to meet safety standards.  However an NIR spokesman mentioned 'creating a circle line from Belfast to Antrim and Lisburn and back' and said 'if we do have to mothball the line we hope in the medium to long term to be able to have it reinstated'.  (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1120][IE] Belturbet, County Cavan:  Both the 1600mm-gauge Great Northern Railway and the 914mm-gauge Cavan & Leitrim Railway served Belturbet station, opened June 1885 and closed March 1959.  The station and ancillary buildings remained derelict until Belturbet Community Development Association acquired them in 1995.  Following extensive restoration a heritage-tourism project aims to welcome visitors in spring 2001, comprising budget accommodation, restaurant and a railway-theme visitor-centre with old rolling-stock.  The original stone GNR(I) goods-shed has become a conference or training venue, able to seat some 90 people.  (Belturbet Station, Railway Road, Belturbet, Co.Cavan, Ireland; www.belturbet-station.com; e-mail info@belturbet-station.com; fax +353 49 952 2581; telephone +353 49 952 2074 or +353 49 952 2502)

1121][IE] Dundalk Barrack Street: (BLN 741.0318, 749.078, 765.0480, 766.0480, 776.0149; Baker 100B1)  The turnout at Dundalk South Jn remains, giving access to a short storage siding for track-maintenance vehicles, but the Barrack Street branch proper closed in 1995 and has been lifted, while the site of the Barrack Street terminus of the 1847 Dundalk & Enniskillen Railway has been sold and now hosts a headquarters building for Louth County Council.  

1122][IE] Drogheda: Buckey's or Buckie's sidings: (R.0400; Baker 100C2)  The original 1844 terminus of the Dublin & Drogheda Railway later became Buckey's or Buckie's sidings.  The origin of the name is now obscure, and both spellings seem to have been used interchangeably over the years, as for example in the Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society (articles in February 1981, October 1989, June 1997).  The permanent historical display in Drogheda station booking-hall uses the spelling Buckey's, as did notices during Drogheda resignalling in 1997.  Conversely, civil engineering notices during the 1997 redevelopment used Buckie's, as does the Baker atlas and the Quail track atlas of November 1995.  

1123][IE] Dublin Area Rapid Transit: Malahide / Howth - Howth Jn - Connolly - Pearse - Grand Canal Dock - Lansdowne Road - Bray - Greystones: (R.0806, 1037-8; Baker 95A2-95B2)  Although a public timetable for the Dublin suburban lines with a cover showing it to be valid 18 June - 16 September 2000 was certainly printed (our reporter has a copy), it seems not to have been generally issued to passengers because the summer's labour disputes prevented its implementation.  In November 2000 the timetable whose cover is dated 19 September 1999 - 27 May 2000 remained in use - subject to significant amendments including the limited electric service extensions to Greystones from 10 April 2000 and to Malahide from 9 October 2000.  Expanded electric service to both Malahide and Greystones finally commenced on Monday 18 December 2000, with a few difficulties on the first day (the 08:09 from Malahide failed at Portmarnock and the 08:24 Howth - Bray was cancelled due to the absence of a driver).  Early in the first week a summary of the new DART service was on the Iarnród Éireann website (www.irishrail.ie), but not full timings.  Provision is understood to be similar to that in the timetable dated 18 June 2000, which never operated.  The new timetable is not ideal.  The Howth branch has lost about a third of its service, but by cancellation of individual trains rather than by spacing out evenly the intervals between those remaining.  Thus peak-hour trains now run about every 20 minutes, while immediately after the morning peak a 10-minute service runs for a period.  For the remainder of the day, off-peak headways vary from a minimum of 5 minutes to a maximum of 40 minutes, and do not appear to bear any relation to passenger demand.  The south side too seems to have more erratic headways, with at least the perception of an increased number of long gaps.  In fairness to IE, total DART train-kilometres are up 30%, and track-km by 25% with only 12% more coaching-stock, which was needed anyway to cope with traffic growth on the original route.  By 29 December 2000 the long-awaited new station between Pearse and Lansdowne Road was nearly ready and seemed likely to open at short notice.  It had acquired nameboards on its lamp-posts indicating that it is to be called Grand Canal Dock, perhaps a little more upmarket than the provisional name 'Barrow Street' (R.1038).  A new agreement with the staff came into force on 18 December but with most DART drivers refusing to work rostered rest-days, some service disruption was still continuing at the end of the year.

1124][IE] Dublin suburban: (Connolly -) Clonsilla - Leixlip (Confey) - Leixlip Louisa Bridge - Maynooth: (R.0085; Baker 95A1)  Double track between Clonsilla and Maynooth was commissioned on Monday 4 December 2000.

1125][IE] Dublin suburban: Heuston - Kildare: (BLN 729.082; Baker 95A2-94B2)  Iarnród Éireann invited bids by 12 December 2000 for a EUR159M scheme to increase the capacity of the Dublin - Kildare line, including a second pair of tracks on a 19km section, and resignalling over 48km.  (International Railway Journal, December 2000)

1126][IE] Dublin North Wall: (BLN 765.045, R.0057, 0401; Baker 96B1-96B2)  Track remains connected from (Upper) Sheriff Street level-crossing through the car-park alongside the former Point Depot to the North Quay Extension terminal of Pandoro Ltd (P&O roll-on/roll-off).  A photograph in the Irish Railway Record Society Journal (#143, p510) shows locomotive #143 hauling out two Japanese-built 2800 Class diesel railcars delivered from Yokohama by the Mammoet Line vessel Enchanter, itself also clearly shown in the picture, bow-in towards the East Link Toll (road) Bridge, with another railcar being swung ashore.  The accompanying report confirms twenty cars were unloaded between the vessel's arrival on 6 July 2000 and 8 July, and hauled by rail to Inchicore works.  On 18 August 2000 mv Transporter delivered sixteen 8500/8600 Class electric-unit cars from Yokohama.  On 18-19 August these were discharged at North Quay Extension and rail-hauled to Inchicore.  A photo of a vehicle being unloaded appears in Today's Railways #58.  The Alstom electric units for DART delivered in April and May 2000 were however road-hauled from the factory in Spain to Inchicore, via Liverpool and roll-on/roll-off ferry.

1127][IE] (Dublin -) Mallow (- Cork): (Baker 90B1)  At Mallow, junction station for the Mallow - Killarney - Tralee line, the old locomotive shed, once the base of the Great Southern Railway Preservation Society, has been demolished.  A new passenger footbridge with lift was nearing completion in December 2000, so the classic covered footbridge at the north end of the platforms will presumably be removed.  (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1128][GB][FR] Folkestone East Jn - Folkestone Harbour and Boulogne Bifurcation d'Outreau - Boulogne-Maritime: (BLN 848.0194, BLN 888; Ball 6A2)  Services, latterly seasonal, on the Folkestone - Boulogne sea route were suspended for the winter from 2 October 2000, but ferry-operators Hoverspeed subsequently confirmed that they would not be reopening the route in 2001.  However, the expensively-produced brochures for Venice Simplon Orient Express operations in summer 2001, despatched to customers in mid-December 2000, and the VSOE website at the end of December, both continued to show a detailed itinerary involving running via Folkestone and Boulogne, so perhaps special arrangements will be made for VSOE passengers to continue to use that sea route, Hoverspeed and VSOE both being owned by James Sherwood's Sea Containers group.  The VSOE was already the only passenger train on the short branch to Boulogne-Maritime station, and it may possibly become the only one on the Folkestone Harbour branch - or both branches may now have closed to passengers. 

1129][FR] Lille metro: (R.0182; Ball 7A1-7B2 not shown)  French prime minister Lionel Jospin on Friday 27 October 2000 inaugurated the 3.5km line 2 extension of Lille's driverless VAL metro from Tourcoing to the Centre Hospitalier Dron, close to the Belgian border, and free rides followed on the Saturday.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, December 2000)

1130][FR][BE] (Charleville-Mézières -) Givet SNCF - Heer-Agimont SNCB - Hastière - Dinant: (R.0904; Ball 16B2-17A3)  Passenger reopening is planned for summer 2002, with through TER regional trains from Reims to Namur, worked by SNCF X73500 single diesel railcars.  (L'Écho du Rail, #216, December 2000)

1131][FR] St.Brieuc - Binic - Plouha - Guingamp and Plouha - Paimpol: (Ball 20B2 not shown)  The system of the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer des Côtes du Nord comprised, at its maximum extent, 457km of metre-gauge track spread across the eponymous département in Brittany.  The St.Brieuc - Plouha - Guingamp line opened 1905 and Plouha - Paimpol much later, in 1922.  In later years the département itself owned and operated the railway.  Although narrow-gauge, the system was by no means lightly constructed, having some dramatic concrete viaducts and, at St.Brieuc, a Gare Centrale with an impressive overall roof.  This building, which was not adjacent to the SNCF main-line station, remained in use as a bus-station and depot for many years after the line closed, and may still be extant.  The CF des Côtes du Nord were early users of internal-combustion railcars.  Their first De Dion-Bouton autorails were delivered in 1923, and railcars (popularly known as michelines, since some French railcars had Michelin rubber suspension) were a regular feature on the system from about 1925.  Alas, the sprawling system was unable to withstand competition from improved roads and motor-cars, and 240km had closed by 1939, including the Plouha - Guingamp section, although it is possible it may have been used during World War II.  The final stretches of the CDN, including St.Brieuc - Binic - Plouha - Paimpol, closed in 1956.

1132][FR] St.Pierre-du-Vauvray - Louviers - Acquigny - Hondouville (- Gravigny - Evreux-Embranchement): (BLN 851.0295; Ball 24A3 partly shown)  St.Pierre-du-Vauvray - Louviers - Acquigny track remains in place and can be used if necessary, but SNCF subsidiary Voies Ferrées Locales et Industrielles operate the Acquigny - Hondouville section in isolation from the French network solely for movements between works of a paper manufacturer.  (L'Écho du Rail, #211, July 2000)

1133][FR] La Loupe - Senonches: (Ball 24A1)  This branch, once part of the south-to-north La Loupe - Evreux route and now a 10.2km freight-only stub, may see a tourist train formed of four ex-RATP vehicles hauled by a diesel locomotive bringing visitors to attractions in the forest of Senonches.  Local press reports say that the Association du Train Touristique et du CF Musée du Perche are studying the possibility, though no start-date has been quoted.  (L'Écho du Rail, #214, Oct 2000)

1134][FR][DE] Lorraine colliery railway: (BLN 839.0590; Ball FR-29B3)  Noted for running their own international passenger trains carrying miners between nearby pitheads in France and Germany, French colliery-operators Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine now plan to outsource various activities, including their standard-gauge industrial railway and its tunnel under the frontier near Merlebach.  The 273 employees hope SNCF will take over, but whoever secures the operating contract, the railway's future is uncertain.  Coal extraction is planned to end in 2005.  (L'Écho du Rail, #212, August 2000)

1135][FR] Blois - La-Chapelle-Vendômoise - Villefrancœur (- Selommes - Vendôme): (R.0662; Ball 35A2)  Passenger trains ceased 2 October 1938.  The 5km La-Chapelle-Vendômoise - Villefrancœur section then closed completely some time between 1980 and 1990, but reopened on 30 June 2000.  (L'Écho du Rail, #216, December 2000)

1136][FR] Les Aubrais - Châteauneuf-sur-Loire - Sully-sur-Loire - Argent-sur-Sauldre - Aubigny-sur-Nère - Bourges: (Ball 36A3-36B1)  Closed to passengers Les Aubrais - Argent 15 May 1939 and Argent - Bourges 1 March 1940, this line still sees freight from Les Aubrais to Châteauneuf or Sully once or twice each working day, and on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, through to a gas depot at Aubigny.  (L'Écho du Rail, #213, September 2000)  To the south, the Aubigny - Bourges section was shown as open in SNCF's freight atlas of 1980 but as closed in the 1990 edition.

1137][FR] Dunières SNCF - Dunières-Ville - Montfaucon-en-Velay - Tence - Le Chambon-sur-Lignon - St.Agrève: (BLN 815.0566, 817.04, 822.0119; Ball 56A1)  Summer tourist trains of preservation group Voies Ferrées du Velay on this section of the metre-gauge Vivarais system generally operate to and from Dunières-Ville, a little way short of the northern end of the line, but locotracteur-hauled VFV trains continue through the tunnel to run round at Dunières-Gare, the former interchange station with the SNCF standard-gauge.  Passengers are conveyed there if they wish.  (Narrow Gauge News, #241, November 2000)

1138][FR] Arles - Fontvieille: (Ball 75A3)  Passenger trains on this 10km CF des Bouches-du-Rhône branch were first withdrawn as long ago as 1933, then restored during the German occupation of France in World War II, and finally withdrawn in 1947.  The preservation group AJECTA ran summer Sunday tourist trains in 1979, 1980 and 1981.  The line was still serving a French army base in 1999 (BLN 849.0240).  On Thursdays and Fridays in August 2000 and on Wednesdays in December 2000, the local-authority Régie Départementale des Transports des Bouches-du-Rhône ran three shuttle trips to Fontvieille, using 1954-built Renault autorail X5845 as Le Train des Alpilles.  Departures appear to have been from the RDT yard at 17bis Avenue de Hongrie, close to Arles SNCF station.  

1139][FR] La Ciotat Gare - La Ciotat Ville: diesel light rail: (Ball 76A2)  This branch was built as a standard-gauge line of intérêt local and was open for passengers from 1887 to 1955, with 600V dc electrification from 1935 to 1955, remaining in use for freight thereafter.  Since closure of the naval dockyard in the mid-1980s the line has lain out of use, but the track remains in place - and a German wagon still stands at the old Ville station.  On 28 September 2000 La Ciotat town council approved passenger reopening of the line from the SNCF station for 5.1km past the marina to the present bus-station.  On the section next the port de plaisance, not served by bus routes, the three articulated light autorails to be obtained from Germany could call at as many as eleven intermediate stops.  Beyond the bus-station terminus, a 700m section along the quays could be reopened as a second stage.  Finance for the EUR6.29M project would come from the European Union, the French government and the local authorities.  Local sources report that the town council (conseil municipal) have now purchased the line from the county council (Département des Bouches-du-Rhône).  (L'Écho du Rail, #217, January 2001)

1140][NL] Den Haag trams: (R.0328)  Trams were restored to Grote Marktstraat from 18 November 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, December 2000)  

1141][NL][DE] Schin-op-Geul - Simpelveld - Kerkrade: (BLN 840.0613, R.0304; Ball NL-9B2-10A2, DE-37A1)  Timetabled steam and diesel tourist trains of preservation group Zuid Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij (www.zlsm.nl) now generally use Kerkrade Centrum NS station.  Previously the ZLSM railbus used ZLSM's own platform 100m short of the end-on junction, while steam workings continued to the NS station, but the railbus has been tested to make sure NS signalling can detect it reliably, so it is no longer barred from main-line tracks.  From time to time when ZLSM trains are hauled by small diesel locomotives not cleared to run on NS, they do terminate at the ZLSM platform, but conductors always go to the NS station to look for passengers waiting there.  ZLSM charter trains not in the timetable usually use the ZLSM platform, giving the operators more freedom to plan the trip, not having to take into account movements of NS trains terminating at Kerkrade.  Opening date of the ZLSM's international branch (Simpelveld - Bocholtz [NL] - Vetschau [DE]; R.0329) was 13 April 2000.  

1142][DE][NL] Leer - Weener DB - Nieuweschans NS (- Groningen): (R.0627, 0713; Ball DE-15B2-15A2, NL-2A2; KBS397)  Temporary closure of this cross-border line, with bus substitution, was continuing during December 2000.

1143][DE] Bremerhaven-Speckenbüttel - Kaiserhafen/Nordhafen - Bremerhaven Columbusbahnhof: (R.1103; Ball 16B3)  In 1986 the branch electrification extended into sidings at the north end of the docks complex, but not beyond.  It seems unlikely that the now virtually disused Columbusbahnhof has since been wired, and indeed a photograph of one of the special passenger trains for the 'tall ships' event of 31 August - 3 September 2000 shows haulage by a diesel shunting-locomotive for the final leg of the journey down the branch.

1144][DE] Halle (Saale) trams: (R.0037, 0098; Ball 42B3 not shown)  The extension west of S-Bhf Halle-Neustadt to Eselsmühle opened 20 August 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, December 2000)  

1145][DE][FR] Saarbrücken Hbf - Saarbrücken Ost - Brebach - Hanweiler-Bad Rilchingen DB - Sarreguemines SNCF: (BLN 817.02; Ball DE-56A2; KBS684)  Rolling-stock not fitted with German standard Indusi signalling equipment may be barred from working over DB lines, perhaps from 1 January 2001.  This could mean withdrawal of the few Saarbrücken - Sarreguemines (- Strasbourg) through services, which are worked by SNCF autorails and are the only passenger trains on the short Saarbrücken Ost - Brebach section.  Frequent Saarbrücken - Sarreguemines local service is provided by Saarbahn light-rail vehicles (R.0219), but these use their own tracks within the German city and only join the DB line at Brebach.  An extension of the Saarbahn tramway from Cottbuser Platz to Siedlerheim (R.0219) was to open on 12 November 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, December 2000)

1146][DE] Germany: sun power for night-time signals:  Deutsche Bahn's 15,000 semaphore signals are mostly illuminated at night by propane gas, but Siemens are to supply light-emitting diodes, partly powered by solar cells, yielding savings on the costs of gas bottles and maintenance, and reducing carbon-dioxide emissions by 13,400t/year.  (Wirtschaftswoche, 7 December 2000)

1147][AT] Austria: closures?:  The following passenger services are reported to be listed for withdrawal at the June 2001 timetable change.  The last three sections of line have not hitherto appeared to be threatened.

Gmünd NÖ - Gross Gerungs: (R.0978; Ball 63B2-63B1; KBS84; 43km; 760mm-gauge)
Retz - Drosendorf: (R.0983; Ball 64A2; KBS94a; 41km)  
Drösing - Zistersdorf Stadt: (R.0984; Ball 65A1; KBS93c; 12km)
Haiding - Eferding - Aschach an der Donau: (R.0638, 0786; Ball 73B3; KBS15a; 22km)
Leoben Hbf - Vordernberg Markt: (R.0909, 0985; Ball 74B1; KBS61; 18km, electrified)  
Ober Grafendorf - Ruprechtshofen: (R.0981; Ball 75A3-74B2; KBS11c; 28km; 760mm-gauge)  
Friedberg - Oberwart: (R.0987; Ball 75B1-84A3; KBS52; 26km)
Siebenbrunn-Leopoldsdorf - Engelhartstetten (R.0988; Ball 76A3; KBS71a; 23km)

Bad Aussee - Stainach-Irdning: (Ball 73B1; KBS17; 30km, electrified)
Arnoldstein - Kötschach-Mauthen: (Ball 82A1-81A1; KBS67; 62km)
Zeltweg - Wolfsberg: (Ball 83A3-83A2; KBS62; 51km)

1148][PT] Aveiro - Agueda - Sernada do Vouga - Oliveira de Azemeis - Espinho: (BLN 851.0310; Ball 17A3)  Though Aveiro - Agueda (21km) and Oliveira - Espinho (34km) retain more frequent services, the 24 September 2000 supplement to the CP timetable shows few trains on the 39km middle section, Agueda - Sernada - Oliveira.  Sernada is served by two round-trips from each end (Sernada 07:37 - 08:38 Aveiro 10:42 - 11:40 Sernada 13:55 - 14:56 Aveiro 17:32 - 18:32 Sernada; and Espinho 06:46 - 08:51 Sernada 09:40 - 11:40 Espinho 14:06 - 16:15 Sernada 17:05 - 19:15 Espinho).  Traversing the whole of this metre-gauge line in either direction thus takes over eight hours, with a five-hour break in Sernada (northbound Aveiro 10:42 - 11:40 Sernada 17:05 - 19:15 Espinho; southbound Espinho 06:46 - 08:51 Sernada 13:55 - 14:56 Aveiro).

1149][PT] Lisboa: Entrecampos - Campolide - Pragal - Fogueteiro - Coina - Penalva - Pinhal Novo: (R.0570; Ball 25B1-26A2)  On 24 September 2000 a PTG tour visited the line beyond the south-bank passenger terminus at Fogueteiro as far as the Fertagus depot at Coina, and on 25 September it visited the industrial branch heading west from Pinhal Novo to serve the Volkswagen factory at Penalva.  Beyond the freight loop near Penalva, new track disappeared west into the distance, but it seems c.5km still remains to be completed of the Coina - Penalva link.  (Portuguese Traction Group newsletter)

1150][PT] (Lisboa -) Setil - Santana-Cartaxo - Vale de Santarem (- Santarem - Entroncamento): (R.0571; Ball 26A3)  Visited in December 2000, Setil (56.4km from Lisboa Santa Apolónia) is the junction station for the important link to Vendas Novas and CP's southern lines, but it is situated in a somewhat desolate location at the end of a road some 5km from the nearest town, Cartaxo.  The station was remodelled in early 2000 and comprises two island platforms on each side of the Lisboa - Porto main line.  No tickets are issued but one member of staff remains in a little office, with the rest of the large station building apparently locked up and disused.  To the north, Santana-Cartaxo (60.3km), with three platforms, two of them on an island, remains open but unstaffed, with a vandalised station building.  The station-master's house was apparently unoccupied, with some ground-floor windows broken.  Vale de Santarem (66.3km) is similar in layout to Santana, again unstaffed, but the station building was in good repair. 

1151][PT] (Pinhal Novo -) Vendas Novas - Torre da Gadanha (- Casa Branca): (Ball 26A2-26B2)  Visited in December 2000, Vendas Novas, junction station for the link to Setil and the north, has two through platforms and a west-facing bay.  The station café was open, and the booking-office was still issuing Edmondson-card tickets.  A water-tower was standing between the station and the former locomotive-yard to the east, where some old stock was parked or dumped.  Some 18km to the south-east, Torre da Gadanha (75.2km from Barreiro) was a former junction station, still with two through platforms and a bay at the Casa Branca end, no doubt once occupied by the Montemor branch train.  Station buildings were in good repair, but tickets are no longer sold, and no sign was seen of any staff.  A water-tower was still standing.

1152][PT] Torre da Gadanha - Paião - Montemor-o-Novo: (R.0449; Ball 26B2)  The Ramal de Montemor, opened 2 September 1909, closed 28 May 1987, had track removed from its whole length when visited in December 2000.  The only intermediate station on the branch was Paião, whose crossing-keeper's house still indicated its distance from Barreiro, the station itself (at 81.0km), and the hamlet of Paião being about 1km away.  The station house was occupied and in good repair.  The passenger platform faced west and the goods platform was behind it facing east.  A metal girder-bridge remained c.1km out of Montemor.  Though now trackless, the layout at Montemor (88.0km) seemed to have been fairly extensive for a short rural branch.  Both the station and the goods-shed were in good repair.  The passenger building (including the platform, enclosed by a fence) is in use as a nightclub.  

1153][ES] Mallorca: (Palma -) Inca - Llubi - Muro - Sa Pobla/La Puebla: (R.0341, 0425, 0504, 0714; Ball 38A1-38A2) The former Inca - La Puebla branch, opened 1878 and closed 31 March 1981, has reopened, regauged from 914mm to 1000mm.  Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca ran an inaugural passenger train on 28 December 2000, and revenue service was to begin 6 January 2001.  Reopening south-eastward from Inca to Manacor by 2003 is also planned, and work on a completely new northward extension to the coast (Sa Pobla - Alcudia) is said to be 'already under way'.  (www.majorcadailybulletin.es)

1154][IT] Mondovì funicular: Breo - Piazza: (Ball 45B2 not shown)  The funicular from the commercial quarter up to the historical centre of Mondovi closed in 1975, but is to reopen on a slightly modified alignment.  The lower station at Breo is to become a funicular museum.  Reopening is planned for Christmas 2002.  (L'Écho du Rail, #211, July 2000)

1155][IT] Firenze: Bivio Pellegrino - Bivio San Marco Vecchio: (R.0494; Ball 49A1)  This rebuilt west-to-north chord, opened 5 November 2000, will - perhaps from January 2001 - allow Firenze - Borgo San Lorenzo passenger trains to run from the city's principal station, Firenze Santa Maria Novella, making a new stop at San Marco Vecchio, and ceasing to reverse at Firenze Campo di Marte.  (Today's Railways, January 2001)

1156][IT] Italy: new Direttissima lines:  The International Railway Journal for December 2000 reports the following progress with high-speed line construction in Italy.

Roma - Napoli:  The 204km line, including 38km in tunnel, is 71% complete, and should open end-2003.  The last 14km section into Napoli may be built later, or existing lines may be upgraded instead.
Firenze - Bologna:  The 92km line, including 73km in tunnel, is 45% complete, and should open in 2007.
Bologna - Milano:  Work has just begun on this 182km line, to open in 2006.
Milano - Novara - Torino:  Work is to begin in early 2001 on this 125km line.  The Milano - Novara section is to open at end-2005, and a branch to Milano Aeroporto della Malpensa is to open before the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.
Milano - Verona:  Planning of this 148km line is under way.
Milano - Genova:  Planning has yet to start.
Padova - Venezia:  Planning has yet to start.

1157][CH] (Basel -) Muttenz - Liesthal (- Olten): (R.0281; Ball 86B2)  The new main-line alignment via the 5.3km Adlertunnel opened 4 December 2000.  (Today's Railways, January 2001)

1158][PL] Kraków trams:  An extension south to Kurdwanow opened 1 October 2000. (Tramways & U.Transit, Dec 2000)

1159][HU][SI] Zalalövö - Bajánsenye MÁV - Hodoš SZ - Puconci - Murska Sobota: (R.0017, 0252, 0431, 1034; Ball 46B3)  On 18 December 2000 MÁV opened their new line from Zalalövö westwards to c.4km short of the Slovenian border at Bajánsenye, and Bzmot railbuses have begun a passenger service of four or five round-trips.  However through international services on the new line, the only direct rail link between Hungary and Slovenia, are not to begin until all works on the Slovenian side are completed, about March 2001, and official inauguration by the two prime ministers has been delayed until then.  From the June 2001 timetable change the Budapest - Ljubljana - Trieste - Venezia train Drava should begin to use the new route, initially using diesel haulage, though MÁV and SZ hope to electrify, perhaps by 2006.

1160][BA][YU] Banja Luka - Doboj - Petrovo ZRS - Miricina ZBH - Lukavac - Bosanska Poljana - Zivinice - Kalesija ZBH - Osmaci ZRS - Zvornik Grad ZRS - Zvornik JZ - Šabac - Ruma - Beograd: (R.0352; Ball 51B3-52A3)  The Thomas Cook timetable shows a passenger train starting at Banja Luka on the Zeleznice Republike Srpske (the railway of the Bosnian Serb Republic), passing over the Zeleznice Bosne i Hercegovine (of the Bosnian Muslim-Croat Federation) and running through to Beograd, capital of Serbia and the rump of Yugoslavia.  (Today's Railways, January 2001)  The ill-fated section of this route from Zivinice (on the Banovici branch near Tuzla) to Zvornik Grad (c.50km not shown in the Ball atlas) was planned by 1914 but saw its first train only on 18 January 1992, less than three months before civil war began in Bosnia.  

1161][AU] Melbourne - Adelaide: (R.0181)  The Overland, formerly an overnight train in each direction, continues to run westbound by night, but has been retimed to run eastbound by day.  (www.gsr.com.au)

1162][AU] Adelaide - Kalgoorlie - Perth:  A special charter working of the Indian Pacific transcontinental train is to head west from Adelaide on 22 October 2001, stopping for various events and visits at Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Pimba, Ooldea, Kalgoorlie and Northam, arriving Perth 25 October.  A side-trip to Woomera to see the launch of a space-rocket is promised, but it is not clear that this means the train will traverse the short freight-only Pimba - Woomera branch serving the launch-site, or whether buses will be provided for the 310 passengers.  The trip is to commemorate completion of the standard-gauge Trans Australian Railway on 25 October 1917, which fulfilled the federal promise made to the state of Western Australia when the Commonwealth of Australia became a unified nation on 1 January 1901.  (www.cof.ocmi.wa.gov.au/tracks.htm)

1163][CA] North Vancouver - Squamish - Lillooet - Prince George, BC: (BLN 801.0219, 809.0426)  BC Rail have for many years operated North Vancouver - Lillooet trains daily and North Vancouver - Lillooet - Prince George workings three times a week each way.  However, winter trains on the Lillooet - Prince George section have been carrying fewer than 40 passengers per trip, so from 10 January to 24 April 2001 and again from 24 October to 18 December 2001 Cariboo Prospector trains will run Lillooet - Prince George northbound on Fridays and Sundays only, southbound on Saturdays and Mondays only.  However North Vancouver - Lillooet service on this scenic line remains daily all year, and the summer 2001 timetable will include a new Whistler Northwind locomotive-hauled tourist train of single-level dome-cars, running north to Prince George on a leisurely three-day schedule, marketed as a package including overnight hotel accommodation.   (www.bcrail.com)

1164][US] Schellville, CA - Petaluma (- Willits - Eureka - Arcata, CA): (BLN 845.0127, R.0080)  In November 1998 safety concerns led the federal government to shut down the Northwestern Pacific's entire 458km freight-only system in northern California, but this c.45km section may be allowed to reopen in early 2001.  (www.trainsmag.com)

1165][IE] (Dublin -) Roscommon - Castlerea (- Westport): (R.0359; Baker 98C2)  Major track-relaying and upgrading work recommenced on 8 January 2001 and over the 14 weeks until the Easter weekend buses are to replace trains between Roscommon and Castlerea from mid-morning Monday until lunchtime Friday, and around lunchtime Saturday. (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1166][FR][BE] Nancy TVR guided-transit: Essey - Brabois:  Stemming from Bombardier's early-1990s experiments on the Guided Light Transit test-track occupying the formation of the former Jemelle - Rochefort (- Houyet) line in Belgium (BLN 704.02, 737.0230), the Transport sur Voie Réservée concept is not exactly a railway, but uses low-floor articulated rubber-tyred trolleybuses powered from overhead wiring but guided mechanically by a rail embedded in the roadway.  Tramways & Urban Transit for January 2001 reported that this first line in revenue service opened on 8 December 2000.

1167]][FR] Lyon trams: (R.0850, 0935; Ball 56B3)  Both lines of this new tramway system, numbered T1 and T2, opened for business on 2 January 2001.  (www.lrta.org)

1168][NL] Houten - Houten-Castellum: light rail: (Ball 4A2)  National rail operators Nederlandse Spoorwegen on 8 January 2001 began a light-rail feeder service shuttling between the existing Houten station and a new platform 1.9km to the south at Houten-Castellum.  The project, set up in four months, involves a second-hand double-ended eight-axle Stadtbahn car built for Hannover in 1974, running on a third track laid alongside the Utrecht - Geldermalsen main line and electrified at 750V dc using a mobile substation loaned from Den Haag.  (www.lrta.org)

1169][DE] Münster (Westfalen) Hbf - Neubeckum - Beckum - Lippstadt - Erwitte - Belecke - Warstein: (Ball 24B1-25A1-39A3)  Westfälische Landeseisenbahn GmbH operate the line and own all but the earliest part of it, the Neubeckum - Beckum section opened by Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn in 1879, which remains part of DB Netz.  WLE also own and operate the two remaining short branches, Neubeckum - Ennigerloh and Belecke - Heidberg (Möhne).  Lippstadt - Belecke - Warstein opened 1883 as the Warstein Lippstadter Eisenbahn, but the system was considerably expanded in 1898-99 with the opening of Beckum - Lippstadt, Neubeckum - Ennigerloh, Belecke - Soest and Belecke - Heidberg - Brilon Stadt.  Münster - Neubeckum opened 1903.  Belecke - Soest has since closed entirely, apart from a short section at Soest, as has Heidberg - Brilon Stadt.  Regular passenger trains ceased running in 1975, but a Münster - Neubeckum service is proposed (R.0239).  This would require upgrading of the line for higher speeds, and doubling the 5km Münster-Wolbeck - Albersloh section.  Local councils along the line offer all-party support, except for CDU-controlled Kreis Warendorf who oppose the project.

The railway is a typical Nebenbahn, single-track, unelectrified and running through a largely rural area.  For most of the way the countryside is quite flat and agricultural, but towards Warstein the line runs through the forested uplands of Arnsberger Wald.  Special passenger trains operated by Eisenbahn-Tradition eV run on a few days each year, but usually only over Münster - Neubeckum.  Apart from these, the line is freight-only, the main traffic being cement from works at Ennigerloh, Beckum and Erwitte.  The last two also receive brown coal.  Much of the cement is routed via Münster, worked onward by the Bentheimer Eisenbahn.  Beckum forwards scrap-metal, Erwitte receives timber and a big quarry at Warstein despatches stone.  Various other sidings serve industry, including the famous Warstein brewery, but traffic at most of these appears light. 

A pleasant Münster - Warstein return trip on 6 January 2001 was made on an excursion train of vintage carriages hauled by a Class 50 steam locomotive.  A supplement of DEM20 for an upholstered second-class seat proved well worthwhile, for it would have seemed a very long day sitting on a wooden seat!  At Neubeckum a portion from Oberhausen was added, after which the train comprised no fewer than 16 carriages, being double-headed by the Class 78 locomotive that had worked from Oberhausen.  Small-town Germany on a Saturday afternoon can be very quiet, and Warstein was no exception.  Despite having several hundred people descending on the town for about three hours, virtually all the shops and most of the restaurants closed as usual at 14:00, immediately after the train arrived - in complete contrast to the brass-band civic welcome that often greets excursions, especially rare ones such as this.

1170][DE] Greifswald - Greifswald Hafen: (Ball 13B1)  In December 2000 this short freight branch seemed recently used.

1171][DE] Charlottenhof (Kreis Pasewalk) - Abzw Belling: Pasewalk avoiding line: (BLN 797.0108; Ball 21A3)  The west-to-north strategic Verbindungskurve, shown in the Ball atlas as out of use, had been lifted by December 2000.  

1172][DE] Jatznick - Tolgelow - Eggesin - Ueckermünde: (R.0270; Ball 21A3; KBS192)  In December 2000 new Bombardier diesel railcars of Ostmecklenburgische Eisenbahn provided the service from Pasewalk north for 11km under the wires, then through on to the 19km Ueckermünde branch.  The junction, Jatznick, had facilities for waste-transfer and timber-handling, and Tolgelow also seemed to have seen recent timber traffic.  Tolgelow, Eggesin and Ueckermünde are all staffed.  The freight-only extension to Ueckermünde Hafen showed no sign of any recent traffic.

1173][DE] Aachen area: (R.0239, 0973; Ball 37A1-37B1)  In December 2000 plans for local train services in the three-country 'Euregio' border area around Aachen were as follows.  In 2001 the existing Heerlen - Landgraaf NS - Herzogenrath DB - Aachen Hbf trains are to run forward, augmenting the service to Stolberg Hbf, where they are to reverse and run south-west as far as Stolberg-Hammer on the currently freight-only northern section of the Vennbahn (Stolberg Hbf - Stolberg-Hammer - Walheim DB - Raeren SNCB).  In 2002 Köln - Düren S-Bahn trains begin, and the present Mönchengladbach - Aachen - Düren - Köln Grenzlandbahn services are to be cut back to run Mönchengladbach - Aachen - Düren.  In 2003 two other sections are to reopen to passengers (Mariadorf - Herzogenrath and Stolberg Hbf - Eschweiler Tal - Weisweiler), and a short new link (Weisweiler - Langerwehe) is to be built.  New light diesel railcars, probably locally-assembled Bombardier (Talbot) VT643 Talent units, are to join and split at Herzogenrath and Stolberg Hbf, on the following two-line pattern: Heerlen / Mariadorf - Herzogenrath - Aachen Hbf - Stolberg Hbf - Stolberg-Hammer / Weisweiler (Euregiobahn) and Mönchengladbach / Mariadorf - Herzogenrath - Aachen Hbf - Stolberg Hbf - Stolberg-Hammer / Düren (Grenzlandbahn).  In 2005, a new light-rail line is to be built (Aachen Bushof - Aachen Nord - Würselen - Mariadorf) and the trains previously starting at Mariadorf are then to start back from Aachen Bushof, making a wide circle to the north before running west-to-east through the Hauptbahnhof to the south of Aachen city-centre.  (http://www.mousepark.de/avvneu/index.html)

1174][DE] Düren - Im grossen Tal - Huchem-Stammeln - Jülich - Linnich: (R.0939; Ball 37B1)  Since 5 November 2000 Dürener Kreisbahn Düren - Jülich trains have called at a new request-stop named Im grossen Tal, which serves a (fairly flat) industrial area not very obviously in a valley (like Lichfield Trent Valley, perhaps).  DKB have announced that regular passenger trains are to begin on the Jülich - Linnich section in June 2001.  Also on 5 November 2000 the freight stations on the Jülich - Puffendorf section (BLN 728.076) were formally closed, and this branch now has no regular traffic. 

1175][ES] Sevilla: (Ball 35A2)  The railways in Sevilla were almost entirely rebuilt between 1985 and 1992 in connection with construction of the standard-gauge high-speed Madrid - Córdoba - Sevilla Alta Velocidad Española line and the world fair, Expo 92.  Before the alterations, the main station was Plaza de Armas, a terminus to the north-west of the city-centre used by most trains from Madrid and Córdoba, and by trains west to Huelva.  On the north-eastern outskirts of the city the main line from Córdoba heading into Plaza de Armas made a triangular junction with a line passing immediately to the east of the city-centre and serving the important station of Sevilla San Bernardo on its way south to Cádiz.  

The centrepiece of the reconstruction work was a splendid new main station, Sevilla Santa Justa, east of the city-centre on the Cádiz line.  This was the worthy winner of the 1992 Brunel Award for outstanding visual design in public railway transport, and is a striking but practical structure.  On its east side are the standard-gauge platforms where Madrid - Sevilla AVE trains terminate, and on the west side are broad-gauge through lines continuing south in tunnel.  This tunnel, slightly to the east of the old surface route of the Cádiz line, includes a new underground San Bernardo station of simple configuration, with one up and one down platform.  

With Santa Justa to replace it, the old terminus Plaza de Armas closed entirely, its access line being cut back to the goods station at San Jeronimo.  The line from Plaza de Armas curving west towards Huelva also closed, not least because it passed through the middle of the Expo site.  To replace it, an entirely new railway was built from a triangular junction on the Córdoba line at Majarabique, about 6km north of Santa Justa, heading west to join the line to Huelva.  A dual-gauge branch off this new Majarabique - Villanueva (- Huelva) line ran Majarabique - Estadio Olímpico - Cartuja, terminating at a special station on the Expo site to the west side of the city.  A further development in preparation for Expo 92 was construction of additional road bridges over the Canal de Alfonso XIII, which separates the city-centre from the Expo site.  One of these, the Puente de las Delicias, was built to carry a railway also and this serves industry to the south-west of the city.

In December 2000, the Expo site has gone the way of the old British Empire Exhibition at Wembley.  Part is in use as an amusement-park, and some other areas are occupied by offices and light industry.  However, much seems to see little or no use, and the huge car-parks are used for storage of dismantled exhibition structures.  The cars from the monorail that served the Expo site are stored in a yard nearby.  Cartuja station, with its huge overall roof comprising fabric slung from steel arches, still stands, but though track is in place at all four platforms, it seems not to see any traffic, and eight years on has become rather tatty.  Slightly to the north the more modest passenger station adjoining the Olympic Stadium is kept in good order, with name-signs on the platforms, and may still see special trains in connection with major events.  Plaza de Armas station has become a smart shopping-centre and cinema.  Work is to a very high standard and it is pleasing to see this fine building well cared for and put to good use. The large signal-box outside Plaza de Armas where the old Huelva line once diverged has become a restaurant.  Much of the surface formation of the old railway through San Bernardo is a main road or has been used for housing development.  One of the bridges that used to span this line is still in place, now serving as a road flyover.  The buildings of the old San Bernardo station are still occupied by RENFE as offices and a fresh-produce market occupies the space under the overall roof where the platforms once were, but in contrast to Plaza de Armas, this station seems shabby and neglected.  

1176][MT] Malta - Gozo train-ferry?:  Neither small island has a railway, and the 11km Malta Railway that closed as long ago as 1931 was metre-gauge (R.0316).  However, one of the inter-island ferries operating in autumn 2000, mv Calypso, has a single track of standard-gauge rails on her car-deck.  Some 88m long, and with a certificate for 550 passengers, she was built by Svendborg Skipsvaerft, Svendborg, Denmark, in 1970 and worked until 1993 as DSB's mv Kärnan.

1177][AU] (Melbourne -) St.Albans - Delahey - Sydenham (- Bendigo):  On the 1600mm-gauge network north-west of Melbourne, work has begun on extending 1500V dc suburban electrification out to Sydenham, with a new intermediate station at Delahey.  (http://people.enternet.com.au/~cbrnbill/maps/devel.htm)

1178][AU] Brisbane: Corinda - Yeerongpilly:  The shuttle service on this 1067mm-gauge Queensland Rail link line south of the Brisbane River was withdrawn in December 2000, since when only peak-hour through services remain, with rumours that all trains may be withdrawn at the next timetable change.  (http://people.enternet.com.au/~cbrnbill/maps/devel.htm)

1179][CA] Edmonton, AB: East Jn - West Jn downtown loop: (R.0547)  From 1989 the sole passenger train serving the city, the transcontinental Canadian/Canadien, used a 5km stub from East Jn to reach the CN station, and most of the loop west of that point closed.  From 29 May 1998 the Canadian transferred from the old CN station to the new VIA station, sited on another 1km stub of the former loop south from West Jn, allowing closure of the eastern stub.  West Jn is a triangle, but the east-to-south curve off the transcontinental main line is very sharp for passenger trains, and in practice the west-to-south curve is used, the westbound Canadian reversing into the station and the eastbound reversing out.  

1180][US] Dallas, TX heritage trams: (BLN 801.0221)  In 1989 McKinney Avenue Transit Authority began operating veteran streetcars with volunteer drivers through the city's Uptown area.  From early 1999 extensive road works restricted operations to weekends, and later the 4.5km line was completely closed for several months, but daily (10:00-22:00) service was restored on 4 January 2001.  Work to extend the standard-gauge heritage line some 1.5km to the CityPlace station of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light-rail system, also standard-gauge, is to start soon and should be complete in December 2001.  Plans also exist to extend to the downtown West End Historic District.  Hitherto largely a tourist novelty, the MATA tramway will become more of a serious transport option once it links with DART.  (Dallas Morning News)

1181][KE] (Mombasa - Nairobi - Gilgil - Nakuru - Rongai -) Maji Mazuri - Sabatia - Equator - Eldoret (- Malaba KR - Tororo UR): (R.1094)  Between Maji Mazuri and Sabatia stations the Kenya Railways metre-gauge main line makes a significant loop north, and some maps suggest that two crossings of the Equator may occur here, though no trackside markers are to be seen.  Officially, the line crosses the Equator at the south-east end of Equator station, 815km from Mombasa, 2665m above sea-level, marked by an attractive metal sign with two interlinked hoops representing the globe and by a smaller concrete sign on the opposite side of the track.  However, immediately north-west of the station a sweeping S-bend results in a further two recrossings of the Equator, marked by more concrete signs.  About 1km beyond, the line begins a spiral.  The roughly parallel road runs in the forest just above the railway and has a roadside Equator marker.  No nearby trackside signs were noted, but it is possible that further brief switches of hemisphere occur hereabouts.  At km826 from Mombasa the line reaches its summit of 2783m, the highest point ever reached by any railway in the former British Empire, and in the Commonwealth that succeeded it.  Traffic is reasonably heavy by local standards, typically between two and four trains a day each way, each loading to up to 1000t, hauled by diesel locomotives of Classes 87, 92, 93 and 94.  

1182][KE] Nairobi - Thika - Sagana - Karatina - Naro Moru - Nanyuki: (R.1094)  Nairobi passenger-station platform 1 has an example of a zero distance-post, 'Nanyuki branch 0km'.  This KR branch also crosses the Equator, but only just, the railway line intersecting the geographical one south of the Nanyuki terminus.  Nairobi - Thika is relatively busy with trains serving rail-connected industrial estates, notably a Del Monte pineapple-canning factory.  Any tin of pineapple labelled as being of Kenyan origin almost certainly travelled by rail from Thika to Mombasa.  Northward the line may possibly be closed beyond Sagana, though in 1997 it was continuing to serve the oil-terminal at Naro Moru, the last southern-hemisphere station, and to pick up agricultural traffic from Nanyuki, a major commercial farming area..  Economic operation was badly handicapped by the steeply graded Sagana - Karatina section where a Class 62 locomotive, the only kind usually available because of axle-load restrictions, could lift only 140t, less than three loaded bogie wagons.

1183][KE] Gilgil - Nyahururu (Thomson's Falls): (R.1094)  This KR branch is effectively closed.  Small loads of agricultural produce and fertiliser were once carried, but like Sagana - Nanyuki the line is penalised by light track and low traffic potential.  In June 2000 staff at Nakuru yard said that no traffic had passed for perhaps a year, though the railway's commercial manager there said the line could be reactivated if trainload freight were offered.  The Rongai - Solai branch was completely derelict.  Judging by the state of the track near Rongai, traffic may have ceased by 1980 or earlier.

1184][KE] (Nakuru -) Kisumu - Maseno - Butere: (R.1094)  In June 2000, the thrice-weekly (TThSO) Kisumu - Butere service offered the only opportunity in Kenya to cross the Equator (indicated by a sign at Maseno station) on board a scheduled passenger train.  Provided KR deploy the second-class coach, it is a pleasant but slow day-excursion, though in third-class it would be rather a scrum among the market-traders and their bags of produce.  Booked haulage is one of the four remaining 1971-built English Electric Class 72 locos, of rare 1BoBo1 wheel-arrangement, though Henschel Class 62 frequently deputise, since the Class 72s are more profitably deployed on the Eldoret - Kitale branch.  Locomotives of English Electric 1960-67-built Class 87, though overweight for the line, make the occasional illicit visit.

1185][UG] (Malaba KR -) Tororo UR - Busambatia - Iganga - Jinja - Kampala:  In February 1999 Uganda Railways were operating only this metre-gauge main line, together with two short branches to the Lake Victoria train-ferry ports, Jinja - Jinja Port and Kampala - Port Bell (R.1186), and no longer ran either passenger or internal freight services.  International freight wagons and containers were handled at Jinja and at Kampala, mainly the latter.  Most traffic passed via the train-ferries and Port Bell to and from Kampala.  The dire condition of the Jinja - Kampala main line was causing such frequent delays due to derailments or track works that the Jinja Port branch was in use as a diversionary route to move wagons between Jinja and Kampala via the ferry.  The northern loop line (Busambatia - Kaliro - Kamuli - Jinja; the original main line) was long disused although track remained in place at both junctions.  Tororo - Pakwach (- Arua), the long branch to the north-west, and Kampala - Kasese, the line west toward the Congolese border, both closed in 1998.  Inspection of the Kampala station-foreman's train-register showed that the last (freight) train to Kasese left on 19 September 1998, arriving back at 06:50 on 23 September.  The projected extension (R.1094) beyond Kasese and across the Equator to Katwe on Lake Edward was never built.

1186][KE][UG][TZ] Lake Victoria train-ferries: (R.0394, 1094)  Metre-gauge train-ferries serve six ports on Lake Victoria: Kisumu in Kenya, Jinja Port and Port Bell in Uganda, and Kemondo Bay, Mwanza and Musoma in Tanzania.  Our reporter visited both Kisumu and Port Bell in February 1999, and travelled Port Bell - Mwanza - Dar by ship and rail.  Before 1977 Kisumu was the hub of East African Railways' lake operations and has quite an extensive port area and marine-engineering workshops with a dry-dock.  A short connection leads down from the main yard to serve sidings for warehouses and the quay, which is parallel to and about 500m downhill from Kisumu passenger station.  Four ferry reception lines curve through a right angle and give access to the track on the link-span perpendicular to the main quay.  KR's 1967-built Barclay Class 46 diesels are booked to do the shunting, though when they are unavailable locomotives of Classes 72 and 87 are used.

Jinja Port is on a steep c.3km branch from the main yards at Jinja station.  Its only function in 1999 was to handle local transfers to and from Port Bell (R.1185).  Port Bell is on a 7km branch from Kampala and has three reception lines for the link-span plus a siding.  Trips on the branch are arranged by UR Control as required.  A floating-dock for maintenance of the train-ferries is moored adjacent to the link-span.  An ordinary quayside berth serves the passenger ships to local islands and the weekly service to Mwanza.  Banknotes for UGS5000 (Uganda shillings) depict a UR Henschel Class 62 or 73 locomotive shunting a hypothetical train-ferry terminal, more like Port Bell than Jinja Port.  Class 73s are indeed the normal shunting power, although our reporter arrived from Kampala by getting a lift on an Alsthom-built Class 82 travelling light-engine.  This helpfully bypassed security procedures at this international border-zone, though he did have written permission to visit. 

Facilities at Kemondo Bay and Musoma were described by the captain of one of the train-ferries as 'wagon sidings'.  Kemondo Bay on the west shore of the lake serves the town of Bukoba, but this port and Musoma on the eastern side are isolated from the TR rail system.  Wagons are disembarked to sidings but no railways serve the hinterland.  Traffic is probably internal to Tanzania and exists because road access around the lake is very poor.  A first-hand report would be welcome.  The main Tanzanian railhead, Mwanza is on the south shore of the lake.  Its train-ferry terminal is attached to the main freight-yard at Mwanza, a few km out of Mwanza passenger station and not at the original quay in the town, so was not seen in transferring from the passenger vessel to the train for Dar. 

Service is provided by five train-ferry vessels, all constructed as kits of parts in European shipyards, sent by sea and rail to Kisumu and assembled there.  KR-owned Uhuru (= freedom) and TR-owned Umoja (= premier) were built 1964, and UR-owned Kaawa (= coffee), Pamba (= cotton) and Kabalega (traditional title for a king in Uganda) were built 1983-86.  Each vessel has four tracks and carries 22 bogie wagons.  Large amounts of deck cargo are also squeezed between the wagons. The prominent sign Défense de Fumer carried on the bridge-deck above the rail-deck seems curious since no francophone country borders Lake Victoria, although significant amounts of the import/export trade of Rwanda, Burundi and eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo do pass this way.  Passengers are not carried on the train-ferries, but Tanzanian Railways' mv Victoria makes a weekly Mwanza - Bukoba - Port Bell passenger trip across the Equator, leaving Mwanza on Sunday and Port Bell on Tuesday.  This traditional passenger vessel, built by Yarrow of Glasgow in 1961, is the most comfortable surface public transport in the region, with maintenance standards well above the local average, including cabin-doors which lock and complete sets of life-jackets and other safety equipment, though her facilities do not come anywhere near what would be expected in Europe.  The portholes of the Gents, Western Lav (sic), necessarily kept open, give a fine view across the lake as one tries out the well-used urinals.  Passengers other than Tanzanians or Ugandans must pay their fares in US dollars, tendering the exact money in small banknotes though, on board, the Tanzanian shilling is the sole currency. 

The economic role of the ferries is to carry landlocked Uganda's imports and exports, especially trade through Indian Ocean seaports with countries outside East Africa, coffee being the most valuable export.  The most important route, served typically by two ferry journeys daily, is Mombasa - Nairobi - Nakuru - Kisumu KR - train-ferry - Port Bell UR - Kampala.  Its main drawback is that capacity is severely limited between Nakuru and Kisumu and the largest permitted locomotives (English Electric Class 87) are elderly and unreliable.  However, freight shippers are said to like this route because Uganda requires only one customs inspection, in Kampala.  If wagons run throughout on rails via the Malaba - Tororo border, two inspections are required, in both Tororo and Kampala, with consequent delay and additional documentation.  The next most important route is Dar-es-Salaam - Tabora - Mwanza TR - train-ferry - Port Bell UR - Kampala, on which bureaucratic Tanzania's customs are probably more demanding.  TR track is poor, evidenced by the remains of many overturned wagons by the line, but the motive-power is reliable, with operations in the remoter parts north of Tabora entrusted to the robust and dependable ex-Indian Railways Class YDM4A locomotives.  Transit is thus assured if the train stays on the track.  Both are equatorial rail routes (R.1094) to the extent that they involve revenue-earning traffic in rail wagons - even if the wheels aren't actually turning at the time they cross the Equator, on Lake Victoria in Ugandan waters!

1187][IE] Dublin DART: (Connolly - Pearse -) Grand Canal Dock (- Lansdowne Road - Bray - Greystones): (R1123; Baker 95B2) Iarnród Éireann announced that Grand Canal Dock DART station at Barrow Street close to the city centre was at last to open on Monday 22 January 2001. (Railway Preservation Society of Ireland Bulletin, 19 January 2001) 

1188][FR] Paris RER: (Gare Austerlitz -) Bibliothèque François Mitterrand (- Boulevard Masséna - Ivry-sur-Seine): (Ball 82A3)  Boulevard Masséna station has closed, replaced on 3 December 2000 by the rather grand six-platform RER line C station nearby at Bibliothèque François Mitterrand, a major new interchange with métro line 14 (the Météor line; Madeleine - Bibliothèque François Mitterrand; opened 15 October 1998; BLN 837.0542).  (Today's Railways, Feb 2001)

1189][FR] Le Rody - Brest Port de Commerce: (BLN 759.0344; Ball 19A3-19A2)  From a junction c.2km west of Le Rody station on the Paris - Rennes - Brest main line a single-track electrified freight branch, not shown in Ball, diverges to descend south-westwards to extensive and well-used railway yards at the newer docks on the eastern edge of the port city of Brest.  From these sidings a line, perhaps out of use, continues west through the streets passing mostly derelict older docks to reach the Port de Commerce, whence ferries ply to Le Fret, Île Molène and Île d'Ouessant.  At this point the line is partly visible from the car-park at Brest passenger station, high above and to the south.  In September 2000, the state of a run-round loop at the Port de Commerce suggested that the line was not entirely disused.  The hand-worked points at both ends of the loop had been dug out of the roadway, their mechanisms looked intact and useable, and they were both protected on two sides by the kind of barriers used for crowd-control.  Was the line perhaps used by passenger trains in connection with the 'tall ships' event in August 2000 (R.1143)?  Continuing beyond the Port de Commerce the line splits, one branch disappearing through a tunnel into the old naval dockyard on the banks of the river, the other vanishing through a gate into what might be a munitions store beneath the walls of the château.  A 1983 Michelin 1:200,000 road-map shows a freight railway emerging from tunnel to cross the river and continue westwards along the shore towards the Pointe de Portzic, perhaps to the Electricité de France plant nearby.  

1190][FR] Mézy - Condé-en-Brie - Artonges - Montmirail: (BLN 844.083, 0660; Ball 26B3)  Though problems remain, preservation group Chemin de Fer Touristique de l'Omois hope their Picasso railcar X3835 will be allowed to run tourist trains on the line in summer 2001.  CFTO are also trying to organise a through Paris Est - Mézy - Montmirail special excursion.  (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/cfto/; telephone +33 3 2371 4605; CFTO, La Mairie, F-02330 Condé-en-Brie)

1191][FR] Alès - St.Julien-les-Fumades - Bessèges: (Ball 64A1-64A2)  The area has many remains of coal-mining and other long-gone industrial processes, and in September 2000 various remnants of closed branches or mineral lines seen from the train looked walkable.  The St.Julien-les-Fumades - St.Florent freight branch shown in Ball had gone.  The intermediate stations appeared somewhat run-down, though the terminus at Bessèges looked in good order.  Track here continued a little way past the platform-end but with buffer-stops shortly before a former level-crossing with the rails now removed or covered over.  Beyond, the track reappeared, running alongside the river for a short distance with various sidings disappearing across the road into seemingly-disused factories. 

1192][BE] Brussel-Schaarbeek/Bruxelles-Schaerbeek: (R.0623; Ball 10B2)  Since the May 2000 timetable change the car-sleeper trains have been handled at Denderleeuw, and the sidings at Schaarbeek where the cars were once loaded and unloaded had been lifted by January 2001, to allow for construction work on the Bruxelles - Liège high-speed line.

1193][BE] Bruxelles/Brussel metro and trams:  Extensive work to improve the environs of Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid, the city's main station, caused temporary closure of Rue Theo Verhaegen Straat from 17 October 2000, with tram routes #81 and 82 diverted via Avenue Wielemans Laan using an unusual curve at the junction with Avenue Van Volxem Laan.  Tram route #18 is diverted to run direct from Midi/Zuid via Avenue Van Volxem Laan to Saint Denis/Sint Denijs, following the regular route of tram #52.  In connection with the Bizet - Erasme extension of metro line 1B, tram route 56 was cut back to terminate at Saint Nicolas/Sint Niklaas with effect from 12 January 2001.  The former north-western terminus of metro line 1A, Stade, was in the open, but the recent Stade - Roi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn extension is entirely in tunnel, including a new subsurface station at Stade.

1194][DE] Dessau trams: Museum - Dessau-Alten: (Ball 28B1 not shown)  This 3.1km westerly extension of the system (line 3) was inaugurated 31 October, and came into full service 5 November 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, Jan.2001)

1195][DE] Bad Salzungen - Leimbach-Kaiseroda - Tiefenort - Merkers - Dorndorf (Rhön) - Vacha: (Ball 41A1-40B1; KBS576)  For a threatened branch the 16km Werratalbahn was doing good business on 8 December 2000, in contrast to the September report (R.1048).  The 13:47 Bad Salzungen - Vacha comprised two Class 771 railbuses with c.25 passengers, with someone joining or alighting at every station, and the 14:15 return working also saw useful traffic.  Leimbach-Kaiseroda had a freight siding in use.  Just beyond, the short north-to-west (Oberrohn - Tiefenort) curve avoiding Bad Salzungen, shown in the Ball atlas as out of use, was disconnected at both ends.  Merkers retained a passing-loop, both sides of which were traversed.  Dorndorf had a single operational siding where 11 wagons were being loaded with timber, but the rest of the layout was out of use, including the Dorndorf (Rhön) - Kaltennordheim branch (Ball 40B1-52A3; exKBS577), still in place and retaining its signalling.  At Vacha only one line other than the platform road showed any sign of recent use.

1196][DE] Düsseldorf - Düsseldorf-Unterrath - Düsseldorf Flughafen - Angermund (- Duisburg): (R.0760; Ball 33A1)  At the new Düsseldorf Flughafen through-station on the main line, check-in is available for most flights, but rail tickets can be purchased only from a machine, for the station has no booking-office and few railway staff.  At the older Düsseldorf Flughafen Terminal, the branch terminus served by S-Bahn trains, the DB ticket-office is closed and dismantled, but tickets can now be bought at a DB counter in the arrivals hall of terminal C.  A Schwebebahn to link the airport terminals and the main-line station is under construction, but is not expected to open until mid-2002.  Meantime a free bus service is provided.

1197][AT] (Innsbruck -) St.Anton-im-Arlberg (- Feldkirch): (Ball 78B3)  The railway at the eastern end of the 10.3km Arlberg tunnel was diverted to a new alignment, and a new station at St.Anton-im-Arlberg replaced the old one from 11 September 2000.  (Today's Railways, December 2000, February 2001)

1198][SE] Luleå - Boden - Karungi - Haparanda (- Tornio VR): (R.0187, 0422, 0603, 0825; Ball 3A1-3B1)  It is reported that Tågkompaniet have decided not to run seasonal Boden - Haparanda trains again in summer 2001.

1199][ES] Coruña trams: (R.0574; Ball 1B2 not shown)  The metre-gauge heritage tramway in A Coruña/La Coruña was further extended in August 2000 to Playa Riazor.  (Today's Railways, February 2001)

1200][ES] (Madrid -) Alcázar de San Juan - Vadollano (- Córdoba): (Ball 30A3-30A1)  Some 150km south of Madrid, the main line to Valéncia diverges from the classic but now under-used broad-gauge route to Córdoba at the important junction of Alcázar de San Juan.  Its large and lofty refreshment-room has an attractive timber-panelled ceiling and ornate wall-tiling, but it is the vast collection of objects on the wall that make it remarkable.  Locomotive works-plates, number-plates and the like mingle with oil-lamps and spanners, a working model of Joy's steam-locomotive valve-gear and a number of technical objects whose function is unclear.  However, it is not just railwayana that the successive operators of the room have accumulated, for the brass- and copper-ware ranges from warming-pans to coach-horns, and is accompanied by bellows, scales, wooden buckets and tubs, glassware and china.  The collectors clearly preferred to have at least six examples of each kind of artefact, if possible.  Behind the bar is a huge and ornate glass case, incorporating a clock and containing three monumental ceramic urns.  Posters and other documents adorn the walls, and include the special menu served to mark the eclipse of the sun on 28 May 1900.  It appears that in the past RENFE have proposed station modernisation, thus threatening dispersal of the collection, but it has achieved such fame that they have always backed off.  Another slightly bizarre collection can be found just outside the station, where the local Asociación de Amigos del Ferrocarril Alcázar de San Juan have a railway museum housed in a windmill that appears straight from the pages of Cervantes' Don Quixote.

1201][ES] (Madrid -) Vadollano - Linares-Baeza - Espelúy - Córdoba: (R.0539; Ball 30A1-36B3)  Some 158km south of Alcázar de San Juan, from a junction just north of the closed Vadollano station, a line diverges south-west.  Only a short stub of this remains, apparently to serve an army camp north of Linares, but it was once a through Vadollano - Linares - Espelúy route carrying trains from Madrid which ran via Linares and passed through Espelúy station west to east before heading south on what is now the Espelúy - Jaén branch.  Later, the Vadollano - Córdoba main line was built, passing to the south of Linares town through the present Linares-Baeza station and continuing through Espelúy parallel with and north of the line to Jaén.  On this new line trains from Madrid ran through Espelúy east to west.  Later still, the original through route via Linares closed.  Madrid - Jaén trains now run via Linares-Baeza to a point c.1km east of Espelúy where the main line and the branch from Jaén run parallel, using a connection there on to the branch to arrive and reverse at a platform on the south side of Espelúy station.  The layout at Espelúy resembles some German country junctions, with the main line on one side of the buildings and goods-yard, and the local line on the other side.  Just east of the station, it is possible to shunt between main and branch lines via sidings, and immediately to the west is a second running connection.  These somewhat lavish arrangements look set to change.  In December 2000 a new alignment was being prepared east of Espelúy, apparently to allow trains to run direct from the main-line platforms on to the branch.  This may result in much rationalisation of the layout and closure of the Jaén side of the station, but reversal at Espeluy is likely to continue, for an east-to-south curve directly on to the branch would require an expensive bridge over the Rio Guadalquivir.

1202][ES] Córdoba - Sevilla: (R.0539; Ball 36A3-35A2)  Under RENFE's original plans a 1668mm broad-gauge high-speed line was to be built from the outskirts of Madrid south as far as Córdoba, after which trains were to use this existing line west to Sevilla, but the Spanish government took the strategic decision to build the Madrid - Ciudad Real - Córdoba - Sevilla Alta Velocidad Española line to standard-gauge throughout, and it came into operation in 1992.  The AVE scheme included a new partially-underground passenger station some 400m to the west, ceremonially opened over two years later, on 9 September 1994.  Córdoba's old station building remains, and was being renovated in December 2000.  The broad-gauge west of Córdoba was realigned to the north of the standard-gauge, so broad-gauge Córdoba - Bobadilla trains cross the AVE line on a flyover to head south, and the old formation of the Bobadilla line south of the standard-gauge to the west of Córdoba now hosts a gauge-changing installation.  This is used by the Talgo trains that run on the standard-gauge from Madrid to Córdoba, then join the broad-gauge to Bobadilla and thence through to Málaga or Algeciras.  Córdoba also sees the Garcia Lorca, a classic broad-gauge locomotive-hauled Barcelona - Málaga day train comprising portions for Badajoz and Sevilla daily, and for Granada and Almería on alternate days (Tuesdays excepted).  Its timekeeping is not good, and its schedule is very slow because of all the shunting.  Though only the Sevilla and Málaga portions reach Córdoba, re-marshalling here is quite complicated because each includes a car-carrying wagon.  One can see why most European railways have abandoned multi-portion domestic daytime services.

1203][ES] Sevilla - Utrera - Jerez de la Frontera - Cádiz Cortadura (- Cádiz Término): (BLN 711.010, 754.0235; Ball 35A2-34B1)  In December 2000 the line was being reconstructed through Jerez de la Frontera, famous for sherry, and with a fine station.  To the south, the railway was also being rebuilt through Cádiz, in a new tunnel.  During these works trains are terminating and starting on the north side of the town at a new station, Cádiz Cortadura (= 'cutting'), opened on 25 June 2000.  It appears that Cádiz Término passenger station, close to the rail-served port, will reopen once its access is restored.

1204][ES] Sevilla - Utrera - Pedrera - Fuente de Piedra - Bobadilla - Antequera - Granada: (BLN 754.0236, R.0505, Ball 35A2-37A2)  The south-to-east curve at Utrera noted as rusting in January 2000 had been removed by December 2000, so the newer north-to-east curve (not shown in the 1993 Ball atlas) carries all the traffic, avoiding Utrera station.  The Pedrera - La Roda de Andalucía line remains but has no passenger service.  Sevilla - Granada workings take the west-to-south Pedrera - Fuente de Piedra cut-off, and avoid Bobadilla using the north-to-east Fuente de Piedra - Las Maravillas cut-off.  Neither of these is shown by Ball.  The new cut-offs and new north- and south-facing junctions at Fuente de Piedra enable trains to run direct from either Sevilla or Córdoba to either Granada or Málaga, but despite its apparent potential as an interchange, Fuente de Piedra station is not used as such.  Indeed it appears moribund, though remaining a live station on RENFE's website.  The main station in the area is still Bobadilla, a classic country junction that serves only a few houses and is used mainly by passengers changing trains.  Good connections are offered once a day in the period 14:23-15:05, when trains arrive and depart on five lines, from and to Córdoba, Algeciras, Granada, Sevilla and Málaga.

1205][ES] Linares-Baeza - Moreda - Granada and Moreda - Huéneja-Dólar - Almería: (BLN 754.0236; Ball 37A3-37B1)  Linares-Baeza - Moreda - Granada and Moreda - Huéneja-Dólar are incorrectly shown in the Ball atlas as electrified, and both remained unwired in December 2000.  However the Huéneja-Dólar - Marquesado iron-mine branch and the main line south are electrified to handle heavy ore traffic down to the coast at Almería.  The original 1911 electrification of 21km, later extended to 46km, was 5500V three-phase ac but the wiring is now RENFE standard 3000V dc.  Several sections of the line have been rebuilt to give easier gradients through the mountains.  Almería has a new rail-and-bus station building, recently opened and immediately north of the old railway-station building, with the platforms remaining in much the same position.  A new rail-wagon unloading-hopper stands nearby, with conveyors to carry the ore towards the port, and the line onward to the Estación Marítima had been disconnected.  

1206][IT] Torino rack tramway: Sassi - Superga: (Ball 45B3 not shown)  After closure since perhaps 1997 (BLN 817.010, 823.0162), the line reopened in summer 2000, but shortly afterwards suffered a derailment.  It is not clear whether it is again running.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, January 2001, February 2001)

1207][CZ] Praha metro:  Just north of Praha-Krc station is a link from the CD national network to the city metro system.  An unelectrified siding leaves the 3000V dc Praha-Krc - Praha-Vrsovice line to pass through a gate across the rails, remaining unelectrified for about two metro train-lengths before the 750V dc bottom-contact metro third-rail begins.  The single metro track then parallels the CD line towards Praha-Vrsovice for about 1km before curving away out of sight in a cutting towards the Kacerov district where the metro depot is.  The track is unobstructed, well-maintained, signalled and looks operational though it may not be in regular use.

A city metro/tram/bus/funicular 'transfer ticket' in January 2001 cost CZK12, valid for 90 minutes on Saturday or Sunday or 20:00-05:00 Monday-Friday, and 60 minutes at other times.  Price of a 24-hour ticket was CZK70.

1208][AL] Fier - Kraps - Kasnice - Ballsh: (BLN 781.0268; Ball 52A1)  In the 1999-2000 timetable this 25km branch in southern Albania still had two passenger trains daily each way, for workers at the Ballsh oil-refinery, but the HSH timetable valid from 1 November 2000 no longer shows any services.  Have they ceased running or do they now operate unadvertised?

1209][SG][MY] Singapura - Johor Bahru (- Gemas - Kuala Lumpur):  Although on Singapore's soil, the 1923-built metre-gauge line linking the island city-state to the railway system of the Malaysian peninsula is operated (and apparently owned) by the Malaysian state railway Keretapi Tanah Melayu, successors to the Federated Malay States Railway, whose initials remain over the portico at Singapore station.  The KTM passenger terminus, whose nameboards say simply Singapura, is on the south coast of Singapore island just to the west of the central business district, an impressive concrete edifice from the great days of the British Empire, opened in 1932 to replace an earlier station on a different site.  In late 2000, amid all Singapore city's prosperity, the station had clearly seen better days, looking sad and run-down, a poor advertisement for a journey to Mahathir Mohamad's Malaysia.  The station hotel, integral with the passenger building, and doubtless once magnificent, had closed, and the roof of the concourse was letting in tropical downpours at numerous inappropriate places.  Presumably the railway has been starved of investment because neither country is motivated to spend much on it as a link with the other.  KTM staff there issue tickets and make reservations by computer but were unable to provide a copy of their current timetable.  The goods-yard, hidden from the passenger station by the hill on which stands the Spottiswoode Road estate, seemed still to handle traffic.  The KTM line heads north-north-west across Singapore island, being joined at Bukit Timah by a freight branch built in 1966, and passes beneath both the metro (R.1210) and the Ten Mile Junction shopping-centre served by the light-rail system (R.1211).  At Woodlands, the train runs on to the international causeway across the Selat Johor strait to make its first stop at Johor Bahru in Malaysia.  In the timetable that came into effect on 1 November 2000, KTM run six pairs of passenger trains a day from and to Singapura: three north up Malaysia's west coast on the line for Kuala Lumpur, two north up the east coast on the line for Gua Musang, and one local to Gemas, the junction where the west and east coast lines diverge.  

1210][SG] Singapore metro: (BLN 758.0339, 763.0433, 778.0202)  Operators Singapore MRT Ltd seem now to refer in their publicity material only to MRT and never 'Mass Rapid Transit'.  At end-2000 the extent of their 1435mm-gauge left-hand-running system, mostly underground or on overhead concrete spans, remained as in our 1995-96 reports.  The two lines seem not to be officially named or numbered but they are colour-coded by direction, a rather unusual practice, and their stations are numbered.  Green represents the west-to-east line (W12 Boon Lay - W9 Jurong East - W1 Tanjong Pagar - C1 Raffles Place - C2 City Hall - E1 Bugis - E12 Pasir Ris) and Blue east-to-west.  Red represents a clockwise run round the Woodlands loop to the north, then south through the centre (W9 Jurong East - N23 Bukit Batok - N21 Choa Chu Kang - N16 Woodlands - N1 Dhoby Ghaut - C2 City Hall - C1 Raffles Place - M1 Marina Bay), while Yellow is northbound then anticlockwise.  From the two central-area stations C1 Raffles Place and C2 City Hall, the station numbers spread out E1-12 to the east, W1-12 to the west, N1-23 round the northern loop and M1 to Marina Bay in the south-east.  The lines run in tunnel between stations W4 and E3, E7 and E8, N8 and M1, all these six stations except M1 being on the surface.  Depot branches diverge between N8 and N9 (Bishan depot spur faces north), E9 and E10 (Changi depot spur faces west), W8 and W9 (Ulu Pandan depot spur faces east).  Jurong East is a junction between the west-to-east line and the north loop.  Two island platforms flank a single track where north line trains terminate, the outer platform edges hosting the west- and east-bound trains.  Passengers to/from the north line generally have to make the cross-platform interchange here.  However, north-west of the station, the eastbound track crosses the north line on an overbridge.  A chord from the north line to the eastbound platform, and a crossover from the north line to the westbound platform allow through running.  From 28 August 2000 five morning trains (c.07:15-08:15) start on the north line (possibly from Bishan depot) and use the linking chord to run through to E12 Pasir Ris, but it was not established if any return workings are advertised.  The metro twice crosses KTM's metre-gauge Singapura - Johore line (R.1209), on overbridges between W6 and W7 and between N18 and N20.  No N19 station has yet been built, but doubtless Sungei Kadut industrial estate will get its station at some time.  On 7 November 2000 the junction was in place between E9 and E10 for the new branch which should open during 2001 to serve Singapore's Changi International Airport.  New construction was also under way on the so-called North/East Line (Ponggol - N1 Dhoby Ghaut - W2 Outram Park - Harbour Front).  Ponggol is on the north-east coast of the island, and Harbour Front is on the south coast, at Keppel, opposite Sentosa Island.  Another line, the so-called Marina branch, is to run from N1 under the main hotel area at Raffles Boulevard to the National Stadium east of the central business district, and is planned to open in 2005.

1211][SG] Singapore light rail: (BLN 843.077)  Metro operators Singapore MRT Ltd have a subsidiary, Singapore LRT, who operate the Bukit Panjang Light Rapid Transit system on the west side of the island.  Unlike 'MRT', the three words Light Rapid Transit are spelled out on company publicity.  The system, opened in 1999 or 2000, is an elevated guideway with rubber-tyred vehicles, not unlike the people-movers at Gatwick and Stansted airports, and has 14 stations, A1-14.  Station A1 is grafted on the side of N21 Choa Chu Kang metro station.  A short 'trunk' line runs east to A6 Bukit Panjang, junction for a balloon-loop around Bukit Panjang New Town.  Clockwise trains are service A on the outer loop, anti-clockwise service B on the inner loop.  At the west end of Bukit Panjang station is a second junction, facing east towards the balloon-loop.  This is the access to the short single-station branch to A14 Ten Mile Junction, worked by service C which includes a clockwise circuit of the balloon-loop.  As well as saving customers from having to cross the busy Woodlands Road to reach the shopping development called Ten Mile Junction, the branch also hosts the SLRT depot.  Because the SLRT track is elevated and in many places passes close to residential property, the vehicles have special 'modesty' windows with a liquid-crystal layer that is automatically rendered non-transparent as the car comes alongside an apartment-block; the effect is as if the window-glass suddenly steamed up!

1212][AU] Alice Springs - Darwin:  (R.0836)  Construction work on the new railway began during 2000.  The Sydney / Melbourne - Adelaide - Alice Springs Ghan is indeed to be extended north from Alice Springs to Darwin, and trips on the inaugural train, planned for 2003, are already being marketed.  (http://people.enternet.com.au/~cbrnbill/maps/devel.htm)

1213][CA] Toronto - London, ON:  Since 12 December 2000, VIA trains calling at London, Ontario, have used a temporary station adjacent to the old CN Tower on York Street, pending clearance of the site of the town's old station.  Demolition of the old building was scheduled for 09:15 Sunday 4 February 2001, with a local contest to choose who is to trigger the explosives.  A new London station is planned to open on the site in summer 2001.  (canadian-passenger-rail@egroups.com)

1214][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Newark City Subway: (Newark Broad Street Station -) Newark Penn Station - Heller Parkway/Branch Brook Park - Franklin Avenue (- Belleville - Bloomfield): (R.0467, 1089)  Notwithstanding the reports quoted in R.1089, Branch Brook Park station is not yet open, but NJT plan to complete it by the end of 2001.  It is not exactly replacing Heller Parkway station, for the present access from the Heller side will still be available, but the old and new facilities are being combined into one and renamed Branch Brook Park.  Franklin Avenue station did not close on 30 October 2000.  The entrance by the park was closed, but the station remains the outer terminus of the Newark City Subway.  The park entrance is to remain closed and a new access to the station is being designed.  At the beginning of 2001 work was under way to extend the City Subway beyond Franklin Avenue station, with two additional stops.  One is to be in Belleville, in the Silver Lake area, off Franklin and Belmont Avenues.  The new outer terminus is to be in Bloomfield, on Grove Street by the Wendy's fast-food restaurant.  (New Jersey Transit e-mail response to our reporter)

1215][MX] Mexico City metro: Villa de Aragon - Ciudad Azteca:  This 10km extension (line B) was inaugurated on 30 November 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, January 2001)

1216][BE] Bruxelles/Brussel metro and trams: (R.1193)  The Heysel/Heizel - Roi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn extension of metro line 1A opened in August 1998, when the present subsurface Heysel (not 'Stade') station serving the stadium replaced the original open-air station, provided in some haste at a time when the city was to host both a football cup competition and a papal visit.  The works under way in early 2001 in Avenue Fonsny Laan near Midi/Zuid station are complex and involve relocation of tram-tracks from side to centre reservation, but the diversion of tram routes #18, 81 and 82 has been occasioned rather by renewal of rails and paving in Rue Theo Verhaegen Straat, some of the worst track remaining on the STIB system, which has seen an extensive programme of track and overhead renewal in recent years.  The cut-back of the western end of tram-route #56, from Érasme/Erasmus to St.Nicolas/Sint Niklaas, took place in January 1999.  The Bizet - La Roue/Het Rad - CERIA/COOVI - Maurice Careme - Érasme/Erasmus metro extension is to have four new stations, the first two opening perhaps in 2002-03 and the rest of the extension in 2004.  So as not to duplicate the metro, tram #56 may then be rerouted, closing the interesting post-war tramway extension from Bizet south to the educational campus at CERIA.  Clemenceau - Delacroix - Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation - Beekkant (Beekkant = 'Brookside') should be the next metro extension, filling a gap so that line 2 can become a complete circle.  A day-ticket giving unlimited travel on STIB's metro, trams and buses from time of validation until 02:00 the following day can now be used by two people travelling together on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.  On working days it is valid for one person only.  The February 2001 price was BEF145=EUR3.59=c.GBP2.30. Websites of relevant interest are http://bsubway.ibelgique.com/bsubway/ (for pre-metro and metro maps and chronology) and http://www.tramwayresources.org.uk (for trams).  Place- and street-names in the above text generally follow the bilingual French/Flemish format conventionally used on city street-maps.

1217][DE] Guntersblum - Rheindürkheim - Osthofen: (BLN 850.0268; Ball 49A1)  The Altrheinbahn, an unelectrified loop off the Mainz - Worms (- Mannheim) main line with both its junctions facing north, was reported in spring 1999 as out of use except for occasional special trains.  However, just south of the junction at Osthofen, the line had in late 2000 acquired a new bridge crossing a recently-built link road.  Are Land Rheinland-Pfalz contemplating passenger reopening, as earlier reported?

1218][DE][FR] Saarbrücken Hbf - Saarbrücken Ost - Brebach - Kleinblittersdorf - Hanweiler-Bad Rilchingen DB - Sarreguemines SNCF: (R.1145; Ball DE-56A2)  SNCF autorails continue to provide a sparse passenger service over the short Saarbrücken Ost - Brebach section.  At 17:10 on 8 February 2001 a lightly-loaded twin railcar set carried our reporter south from Saarbrücken Hbf to Kleinblittersdorf.  The three timetabled workings are somewhat unbalanced. 

	Mondays to Saturdays		(Strasbourg 08:02 -) Sarreguemines 09:27 - 09:46 Saarbrücken Hbf
	Saturdays only			(Strasbourg 11:00 -) Sarreguemines 11:27 - 11:46 Saarbrücken Hbf
	Daily					Saarbrücken Hbf 17:10 - 17:27 Sarreguemines (- 19:00 Strasbourg)

Saarbahn trams, running on street tracks out to Brebach, by contrast offer a half-hourly cross-border service (Siedlerheim - Cottbuser Platz - Saarbrücken Hbf (Bahnhofvorplatz) - Römerkastell - Brebach - Kleinblittersdorf - Hanweiler-Bad Rilchingen DB - Sarreguemines SNCF).  The DB sidings at Hanweiler seem disused and the running-line has been singled where it crosses the frontier.  International freight is probably all routed via Saarbrücken - Forbach.  

1219][AT] Austria: closures?: (R.1147)  It is difficult to predict what closures might actually happen.  Yet another different list was promulgated in an ÖBB press release of 12 February 2001.  This said that 'with the new summer timetable' - which starts on Sunday 10 June 2001 - 'some secondary lines will no longer appear in the Kursbuch' (Mit dem neuen Sommerfahrplan werden einige Nebenbahnen nicht mehr im Kursbuch aufscheinen), and lists these as:

Retz - Drosendorf: (R.0983; Ball 64A2; KBS94a; 41km)  
Freiland - Türnitz: (R.0986; Ball 75A1; KBS11a)  
Siebenbrunn-Leopoldsdorf - Engelhartstetten: (R.0988; Ball 76A3; KBS71a; 23km)
Drösing - Zistersdorf Stadt: (R.0984; Ball 65A1; KBS93c; 12km)
Ehrwald - Reutte in Tirol - Schönbichl: (R.0989; Ball 79A3-70B1; KBS41)  
Leoben Hbf - Vordernberg Markt: (R.0909, 0985; Ball 74B1; KBS61; 18km, electrified)  
Zell am See - Krimml: (R.0982; Ball 81A3-80B3; KBS23; 760mm-gauge)  

(http://www.oebb.at/kal-cgi/showPresse.pl?FILE=/news/presse/presse18_2.html

1220][PT] Porto Trindade - Senhora da Hora (- Trofa / Póvoa de Varzim): (R.0280; Ball 7A1)  The double-track line out from the present city terminus, Trindade, to the junction at Senhora da Hora is to see its last metre-gauge passenger service on 3 March 2001, after which the section is to be rebuilt and partially rerouted to become part of the new standard-gauge Metro do Porto light-rail system.  The Portuguese Traction Group hope to run a farewell trip on 3 or 4 March, to include also the original terminus and depot, Porto Boavista, on a stub branch some 2.2km from Trindade, adjacent to Avenida de França halt and the old Boavista tram terminus.  (PTG leaflet; http://www.ptg.org.uk)

1221][PT] Lisboa metro and trams: (R.0157)  A day-ticket valid both on the Metropolitano de Lisboa and on Carris trams has been available since 15 November 2000, price PTE500=EUR2.49=c.GBP1.60.  

1222][PT] Mouriscas-A - Pego: (BLN 819.060; Ball 26B3)  A Portuguese Traction Group railtour on 28 January 2001 was the first passenger train to use the 8.7km Ramal do Pego.  The present layout at the junction, Mouriscas-A, appears to date from the branch opening in 1991.  It seems that rather than work the points remotely CP chose to install signalling equipment and a new staffed station at Mouriscas-A - which looks a commercially unpromising spot, though the two passenger platforms do allow it to function as a passing-place on the Entroncamento - Mouriscas-A - Castelo Branco Linha da Beira Baixa.  The single-track branch, electrified 17 May 1995, diverges on the north side of the not-yet-electrified main line, climbing up and swinging south to cross above it and the river Tejo on a bridge shared with a road.  The branch then curves westward and at km6.7 enters the gate of the thermal power-station.  Coal imported at Sines docks (Ball 26A1) is brought in by block-train, but no balloon-loop for merry-go-round operation is provided, and two sets of dead-end sidings arranged in a vee both seem to have separate discharge facilities at the far end.  The northernmost siding, seemingly the more used of the two, was visited by the special.  The layout of this branch, incorrectly shown on the 1994 Quail map, has been corrected in the January 2001 edition. 

1223][PT] (Cuba -) São Matias - Reprezas - Santa Vitória: (Ball 26B1-33B3 not shown; see 1994 or 2001 Quail map)  Remains of this old alignment, closed 14 January 1971, can still be seen on the ground west of Beja.  At the former triangular junction just north of Beja station, the south-to-west curve was in January 2001 still in use as a siding to serve the EPAC grain-silos at about the western vertex of the old triangle.  The abandoned alignment ran to the north of the present Linha do Alentejo, whose new Beja - Penedo Gordo - Santa Vitória-Ervidel section opened 15 January 1971, and seems to have crossed it just east of Santa Vitória, whose old station is still extant south of the present station, the two alignments then again converging just east of the Ponte do Roxo.  Why was the railway realigned here?

1224][PT] Évora - Arraiolos - Pavia - Mora: (R.0449; Ball 26B2)  The Ramal de Mora opened to Arraiolos 20 April 1907, to Pavia 25 May 1908, and to Mora 11 July 1908, closing 28 May 1987.  Track had been removed along its length when visited in December 2000.  Just north of Évora (116.6km from Barreiro), more or less still in the suburbs of the town, was the first station, Leões (119.6km).  Just to the south of the station the line crossed the Évora - Estremoz road, and the crossing-keeper's house retained its tiled numbers showing the distance from Barreiro.  An old crane stood on the goods platform, but no sign remained of a goods shed.  The station building was occupied and in good repair, but the trackbed between the two platforms was waterlogged.  The track once crossed three level-crossings before the site of the next halts at Loredo and Senhor dos Aflitos (= 'Lord of the Afflicted'), neither of which had left any trace.  About 1km east of Graça was an overbridge carrying the road to the station, itself about 1km east of the village, whose full name is Nossa Senhora da Graça do Divor.  The passenger platform was on the north side of the station building, which looked slightly dilapidated, though occupied.  The goods-shed on the south side of the station was in very bad repair and the trackbed was strewn with rubbish.  Arraiolos station (141.2km) was about 2km east of the town in splendid isolation though close to the Montemor - Estremoz road.  Approached by a drive past a small very dilapidated cottage, the two-storey station building, all its windows bricked up, stood on the eastern side of the two through platforms.  The goods-shed and a water-tower were to the south, and opposite the goods-shed was a platform with warehouse which appeared once to have had a couple of sidings.  A broken concrete 'station this way' sign indicated the site of Vale de Paio station, approached by a drive, but the whole area was fenced off by barbed-wire.  A goods-shed and passenger platform with a single-storey building appeared in good order.  Pavia station (159.9km) was down a drive off the Évora - Mora road, about 1km south of the village.  Overshadowed by a huge grain silo, the remains of the station, once a busy layout with perhaps four tracks, were sad to see.  The passenger building, the goods-shed and two small buildings were all vandalised and virtually roofless.  Cabeção (167.6km), several km from the village but adjacent to the Évora - Mora road, also had a vandalised and roofless station building and goods-shed.  On this very overgrown site, even the platform edging had vanished.  At the terminus, Mora (176.6km), was a turntable pit and an old wooden shelter for a single locomotive.  The goods-shed still stood, with a goods platform at one end and a cattle-pen at the other.  The passenger building was a fine two-storey edifice which appeared in use by a chemical firm.  Toilets seemed in good repair, and the awning remained above the passenger platform.

1225][PT] Funcheira avoiding line: Montenegro - Panóias: (R.0449; Ball 33A3)  Though shown by Quail as complete by 1994, this curve was not brought into freight use until the beginning of December 1999.  A Portuguese Traction Group railtour on 27 January 2001 is believed to have been the first passenger train to traverse it.  The curve runs from km160.9 on the Linha do Sul, south of Montenegro, to just short of Panóias on the Linha do Alentejo.  At 2.2km it is a rather longer curve than the 1994 and 2001 Quail maps imply.

1226][PT] Castro Verde-Almodôvar - Aljustrel: (R.0449, 0573; Ball 33B3 not shown)  The 8.2km Ramal de Aljustrel served a mine, but in recent years has seen little use.  Floods following storms on 21-22 January prevented an inspection car reaching the end of the branch, and the Portuguese Traction Group railtour was unable to visit Aljustrel on 27 January 2001 as planned.  A Canadian firm have bought the mining operation, however, so traffic may resume.  

1227][IT] (Bolzano - Fortezza -) Colle Isarco - Brennero: (BLN 779.0226, R.0946; Ball 43A3)  The new late-1990s alignment through the 7338m Aster tunnel runs west of the old route through Moncucco station, closed without replacement.  At the north end a very short stretch of the old line was retained as access to a ballast-quarry, where a train was seen loading on 22 September 2000.  When was the new alignment brought into use?

1228][IT] Gemona del Friuli - Carnia - Pontebba - Bagni San Caterina - Ugovizza-Valbruna - Tarvisio Boscoverde FS (- Thörl-Maglern ÖBB): (R.0076; Ball 44A2)  Today's Railways #59 describes the gradual rebuilding since 1985 of this international route, involving major realignment between Carnia and the Austrian border just south of Thörl-Maglern.  The first new section, Carnia - Pontebba, with no intermediate stations, opened 12 July 1995, followed on 12 December 1999 by Pontebba - Ugovizza-Valbruna and on 26 November 2000 by Ugovizza-Valbruna - Thörl-Maglern.  East of Pontebba the new line runs to the north of the original route, eventually sweeping out of a tunnel to cross above the old line just east of the closed station of Ugovizza, then passing through the new station of Ugovizza-Valbruna and continuing south of the old line all the way to the frontier (not as shown in Ball).  Local trains have disappeared from the line, and the two FS stations now open between Pontebba and Tarvisio have sparse services indeed.  In late 2000 the new station Bagni San Caterina (replacing Bagni di Lusnizza on the old line) had one daily train, northbound only, and the equally new Ugovizza-Valbruna (replacing Ugovizza and Valbruna-Lussari) one daily train northbound, plus one each way on Sundays and holidays.  Tarvisio Città and Tarvisio Centrale have closed, replaced by a large new Tarvisio Boscoverde station on the site of the former Tarvisio - Jesenice line east into Slovenia.

1229][AL] Fier - Kraps - Kasnice - Ballsh: (BLN 781.0268, R.1208; Ball 52A1)  The Fier - Ballsh line, opened 9 March 1975, was not originally a branch, for the present Fier - Vlorë main line to the south did not open throughout until 14 October 1985.  The 1978 timetable showed one of the three daily Tiranë - Fier trains running through to Ballsh, plus two Fier - Ballsh shuttle workings.  By 1987 the other two Tiranë - Fier trains had been extended to Vlorë.  During the civil unrest of 1991 the through Tiranë - Fier - Ballsh train ceased and was never reinstated.  The branch trains seem sometimes to have been unadvertised, and omitted from the station timetable posters at Tiranë and Durrës.  Timings appeared in the November 1999 timetable (Ballsh 04:45 - 05:40 Fier 05:50 - 06:40 Ballsh; Ballsh 15:40 - 16:33 Fier 18:30 - 19:19 Ballsh) but not in the November 2000 issue.  Nevertheless, the trains have been described as essential for the workers at the Ballsh oil-refinery, so are likely still to be operating.  HSH statements to the media via the Albanian telegraph agency have been somewhat confused.  On 31 July 2000 HSH said that the Ballsh line had closed at the end of May for two months work to repair the track and replace sleepers, but freight service had now resumed.  In October 2000 HSH said closure had been since February, possibly the date when the passenger service was suspended.  In November HSH said that closure had lasted from March for eight months until the line reopened to passengers on 13 November 2000.

1230][PK] Peshawar Cantonment - Jamrud - Medanak - Changai - Shahgai - Landi Kotal:  The broad-gauge (1676mm) railway west to the Khyber Pass was built by the British in 1920-26 essentially to facilitate deployment of troops to their Indian Empire's frontier with Afghanistan, then as now a violent place.  The line still appeared in the April 1987 issue of Pakistan Railways public timetable with a pair of passenger trains (P-475/6 Fridays-only 1st & 2nd class Peshawar Cant 09:00 - 11:55 Landi Kotal 14:00 - 17:05 Peshawar Cant) but, with their two reversals (at Medanak and Changai) and the fierce ruling gradient of 1 in 33, the trains were no match for frequent local buses.  By the timetable for 15 October 1989 - 14 April 1990 no train service was shown, the line's distances (52km) and heights (365m at Peshawar Cant, climbing to 760m at Landi Kotal) alone remaining.  (These heights are not necessarily correct, for another table in the same book shows Peshawar Cantonment as 319m above the sea!)  In the current PR timetable, valid 15 October 2000 - 14 April 2001, the line has vanished altogether.  Nevertheless tourist trains run, and seem well-supported, though they cannot be particularly profitable given the high operating costs of a locomotive on each end.  Peshawar motive-power depot has five 2-8-0 HGS Class steam locomotives available to work to the Khyber Pass.  Consideration is being given to tourism elsewhere in the area, including use as a tourist base of one of the stations on the Rawalpindi - Attock - Nowshera Jn - Peshawar main line, Attock Khurd, a charming building close to an attractive section of the river Indus.  A small railway museum is being planned within Peshawar depot, with the support of PR's District Superintendent.  On the debit side, the 2000-01 timetable has also marked the disappearance of the branches Nowshera Jn - Mardan Jn - Durgai and Mardan Jn - Charsadda.

1231][CN] Golmud - Lhasa:  China plans to build a 1125km strategic railway from Golmud in Qinghai province through the Kunlun mountains and over two 5000m passes to Lhasa in the autonomous region of Tibet.  Some 80% of the line would be higher than 3600m above sea-level and 50% of it would be built over terrain permanently frozen.  The business case for this challenging project is both economic (exploitation of mineral resources) and political (better links with the heartland may encourage Chinese workers to settle in Tibet).  (Guardian, Daily Telegraph, 10 Feb 2001; Economist, 17 Feb 2001)

1232][NZ] Wellington - Auckland:  The last all-sleeper service was the Silver Star which ran 5 September 1971 to 8 June 1979.  Much of its 1971 Japanese-built 1067mm-gauge stock - after eventual asbestos removal - went to form the Eastern & Oriental Express, a luxury rail-cruise train owned by James Sherwood's Venice Simplon Orient Express group, which has run in the Malaysian peninsula since 1993.  From 1979 the Wellington - Auckland overnight trains were locomotive-hauled with seating and sleepers, and the day trains were Silver Fern railcars.  The further reorganisation of workings in December 1991 released the Silver Fern railcars for other duties (BLN 798.0150) by using the same air-conditioned seating-only locomotive-hauled sets for the day Overlander and the night Northerner, and this pattern continues for the present, though the future is uncertain with operators Tranz Rail having put their Tranz Scenic passenger operation up for sale.  The rear coach has all seats facing forwards, but has a small unreserved lounge area and observation window at the back of the train, so the sets have to be turned at each end of the journey.  In November 2000 the day train from Wellington was booked to arrive via Tamaki and to depart Auckland 65 minutes later via Newmarket as the night train back to Wellington, while the night train from Wellington arrived via Newmarket and had 90 minutes in Auckland before leaving again via Tamaki.  At Wellington the layout does not permit similar movements, so the vehicles must be turned by turntable during their twelve-hour layover.  

1233][NZ] South Island passenger services: (R.1011, 1060, 1063, 1064)  Connecting with the Wellington - Picton inter-island ferry, Tranz Rail's Picton - Christchurch train is generally busy, loading to more than New Zealand's usual two carriages and a van, and conveying a non-air-conditioned vehicle for passengers travelling at reduced 'backpacker' fares.  Formerly the Coastal Scenic, it was renamed TranzCoastal from May 2000.  It is second to the Christchurch - Greymouth TranzAlpine in popularity, but both have seen traffic increase appreciably in recent years.  The Christchurch - Dunedin - Invercargill Southerner trails a poor third.  Nevertheless, Tranz Rail's corporate relations manager told The Press, a Christchurch newspaper, on 6 November 2000 that despite poorer loadings, the company had no plans to scrap the Southerner.  In acknowledging that the train had been replaced by buses when flooding had affected the line, the official said that, with very light loadings on the Southerner and an unexpectedly late finish to the dairy season, Tranz Rail might use buses 'when passenger numbers were very low', in order to release the locomotives for freight work.  Economies in working the Southerner (and indeed the Overlander and Northerner on the North Island) include the on-board staff (though not the footplate crew) working out and back in a shift, swapping between the up and the down trains at unadvertised crossing-stops.

1234][CA] Toronto - Parkdale - Snider - Rutherford - Newmarket - Bradford, ON and Toronto - Scarborough - Hagerman - Stouffville (- Uxbridge - Lindsay, ON): (BLN 783.0321, 797.0126, 799.0176, R.0019, 0121)  CN intend to retain ownership of the southern part of their Newmarket Subdivision (Parkdale - Snider), used for freight diversions (and in one direction by VIA's Canadian/Canadien; R.0590).  CN are however selling the Snider - Bradford section to GO Transit, the commuter-rail agency set up by the Government of Ontario.  GO Transit already sponsor the line's passenger service, and on 8 January 2001 opened an additional commuter station north of Snider at Rutherford to handle increasing traffic.  The Newmarket Sub north of Bradford lost GO Transit services 5 July 1993 and VIA's Canadian 21 September 1996, and was abandoned in 1998 or 1999.  CN are also selling GO Transit the remaining active section of their Uxbridge Sub (Scarborough - Hagerman - Stouffville).  GO Transit in 1993 bought the Stouffville - Uxbridge section of this Subdivision with a view to possible extension of their Stouffville commuter service, but it has not yet seen any passenger workings other than (since 14 September 1996) summer tourist trains of the York-Durham Heritage Railway.  (canadian-passenger-rail@egroups.com)

1235][US] Stockton - Livermore - Niles - Fremont-Centerville - San Jose, CA: (BLN 836.0540, 846.0160, R.0657)  The successful Altamont Commuter Express passenger service that started in 1998 operates over the ex-Western Pacific, now Union Pacific, single track through Niles Canyon, which is prone to landslides.  A section of the parallel ex-Southern Pacific single track through the Canyon is now a tourist line, the Niles Canyon Railroad.  In January 2001 construction was under way at each end of the Niles Canyon RR to allow it to be used as an emergency bypass route for the ACE.  (commuterrail@egroups.com)

1236][US] Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal - Downtown Pomona - Riverside-Downtown, CA:  On 5 February 2001 Los Angeles-area commuter-rail operators Metrolink opened Downtown Pomona station, served by six weekday and two Saturday round-trips on the Riverside line.  (http://www.metrolinktrains.com/images/routemap.gif)

1237][US] Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal - Pasadena, CA: light rail: (BLN 847.0192)  Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority were to begin work in January 2001 with removal of old Santa Fe railroad tracks and relocation of underground pipes and cables, followed in February 2001 by construction of the sub-surface cut-and-cover section in Old Pasadena.  Target for opening the 22km 13-station light-rail line is July 2003.  (commuterrail@egroups.com)

1238][US] Los Angeles heritage trams:  The greater Los Angeles metropolitan area owed its early development not to the automobile but to the Pacific Electric Railway's 'Red Car' trolleys and interurban cars which once served the region with more than 1600km of track, the last line closing to passengers in 1961.  From about June 2001 replica 1909 trolley-cars are to return to 2.4km of ex-Pacific Electric trackage, currently freight-only but being re-equipped with 600V dc overhead, connecting the San Pedro cruise-ship terminal with other points in the Port of Los Angeles Waterfront area.  The cars are to work at weekends (Friday-Monday).  Information about this and other North American heritage operations can be found on the website http://www.railwaypreservation.com/vintagetrolley/vintagetrolley.htm.

1239][US] Los Angeles funicular:  The historic little 160m-long 762mm-gauge Angels Flight Railway is out of service following a fatal collision on 1 February 2001.  It seems the traction cable slipped off the pulley at the top leaving enough slack in the cable for the descending car to strike the ascending one.  (partly from http://www.funimag.com)

1240][US] Chicago, IL - St.Louis, MO - Texarkana, AR/TX - Mineola, TX - Dallas - Fort Worth - San Antonio, TX: (R.0722; EGTRE US5)  To fit in more readily with Union Pacific's one-way system for long-distance freight trains, instituted in 1998 to reduce network congestion, Amtrak's Texas Eagle in May 2000 adopted an unusual asymmetric running pattern (Texarkana - Mount Pleasant - Big Sandy - Mineola southbound; Mineola - Big Sandy - Longview - Marshall - Texarkana northbound).  However, from 12 March 2001 the Eagle is to revert to its former route via Longview southbound as well as northbound.  (Amtrak)

1241][US] Washington, DC metro: Anacostia - Congress Heights - Southern Avenue - Naylor Road - Suitland - Branch Avenue:  Free travel on Saturday 13 January 2001 inaugurated this five-station south-western extension of the Green Line, marking completion of the original 165km plan for the Metrorail network, begun in 1976.  The US capital now has the nation's second-busiest rapid-transit system after New York city, beating Chicago into third place.  (www.wmata.com)

1242][BE][DE] Eupen - Raeren - Roetgen - Lammersdorf - Konzen - Monschau - Kalterherberg - Sourbrodt - Weywertz: (Ball BE-10A1, DE-47B3)  Since just after World War I the Vennbahn has occupied a unique corridor of Belgian territory passing south through several German villages near the border, its unusual history being summarised in BLN 717.05 and http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/be_venn.htm.  The line was badly damaged in World War II, and some of its track still dates from 1945 when American Army engineers made the basic repairs necessary for reopening.  By the time SNCB closed the Vennbahn to normal traffic in 1989, the track was so bad that in places on the Raeren - Konzen section trains were limited to 5km/h, and even on the rather better Monschau - Sourbrodt section to 40km/h, reduced in 1993 to 20km/h.  After the preservation group took over, thousands of sleepers and several kilometres of rails were replaced, especially on the northern section, but some of the contract work was not done adequately, particularly as regards the sleepering beneath the rail-joints, and the many dipped joints make the trains ride badly.  Overall, track condition is again poor.  Furthermore, the relatively few active preservation-group members have six locomotives and nearly 40 vehicles to maintain, and ensuring the service of seasonal trains operated wholly by volunteers cannot be easy.  For many ordinary customers the single train in each direction may not be a particularly attractive offer, especially when a one-way trip from Raeren south to Weywertz, then east to Bütgenbach, takes nearly 2h30min.  Around 80% of the customers come from Germany, and have to make a not-very-convenient journey from Aachen by bus, or come by car to Eupen or Raeren, neither of which has good parking facilities.  The result is that passenger numbers have been falling in recent years.  In early 2001 it was rumoured that Prignitzer Eisenbahn, commercial operators of regional trains in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg, might take over passenger workings on the Vennbahn, perhaps using their Class VT798 railbuses, whose low axle-load would minimise further track damage.  

1243][DE] DB passenger closures?:  DB on 1 December 2000 replaced Brandenburg - Belzig trains with buses and do not intend to repair the line (BLN 736.0208; Ball 29A3-29A2; KBS209.52).  Poor condition of DB infrastructure and/or other factors may lead to withdrawal of more passenger services before or at the next major timetable change on 10 June 2001.

Löwenberg (Mark) - Herzberg (Mark) (R.0501; Ball 20B1-20A1; KBS209.54)
Hohenwulsch - Kalbe (R.0034; Ball 28A3; KBS307)
Könnern - Baalberge (Ball 28A1-42A3; KBS341)
Rathenow - Neustadt (Dosse) (R.0501; Ball 28B3-19B1; KBS209.50)
Treuenbrietzen - Jüterbog (Ball 29A2-29B1; KBS209.33)
Leinefelde - Teistungen (R.1028; Ball 41A3; KBS599)
Bleicherode Ost - Grossbodungen (BLN 730.0115; Ball 41A3; KBS598)
Bad Salzungen - Vacha (R.1195; Ball 41A1-40B1; KBS576)
Ilmenau - Ilmenau Bad (Ball 41B1; KBS566)
Wechselburg - Rochlitz (Ball 43A2; KBS529)
Pockau-Lengefeld - Neuhausen (Erzgebirge) (R.0039, 0481; Ball 43B1; KBS519)
Eibau - Varnsdorf (Ball 45A2; KBS236)
Bad Schandau - Sebnitz (Sachsen) (BLN 845.0117; Ball 45B2; KBS248)
Leipzig-Connewitz - Leipzig Bayer Bf (Ball 46B2-46B3; KBS531)

1244][DE] Bad Malente-Gremsmühlen - Lütjenburg: (BLN 823.0143; Ball 11A1-11A2)  Malente-Gremsmühlen is to have a new electronic signal-box replacing several mechanical boxes.  If the new box is to be connected up to work the junction on to the Lütjenburg branch, the extra cost - still uncertain - would fall in the first place upon DB Netz AG, who would probably seek to recover their money by charging operators of charter trains on to the otherwise disused branch.  Some local voices claim that retaining a signalled physical link with the national network at Malente is too expensive and should be abandoned, and local politicians and others then interpret this concern as meaning that any kind of connection at Malente would be expensive, and argue for keeping a run-round loop only at the Lütjenburg end!  Serious negotiation about how the line might be taken over, or about what physically should be retained, has not really begun between DB and the local authorities, and no leader has come forward to orchestrate various bodies into contributing to development of the line.  The local Freunde von Hein Lüttenborg do not have the finance to do much at their own hand.  Meanwhile no excursions are planned on the branch in 2001.

1245][DE][FR] Völklingen - Überherrn DB - Hargarten-Falck SNCF: (BLN 836.0491; Ball 55B3)  In February 2001 this electrified line seemed to continue in freight use as far as Überherrn, and a local resident mentioned the car traffic (BLN 809.0410).  DB were seen to have weeded the double track to the west of the disused passenger halt and the main-road level-crossing but only as far as the first crossover beyond.  Further west the dewired tracks are in place towards the nearby frontier with France, but vegetation would need to be cleared before cross-border trains could operate.  Plans call for Saarbahn trams to be extended to restore a passenger service on the Überherrn branch (BLN 829.0308)

1246][DE] Stolberg Hbf - Stolberg-Hammer (- Walheim DB - Raeren SNCB): (R.1173; Ball 37A1)  Construction work is under way, and infrastructure company Euregio Verkehrsschienennetz GmbH (EVS) assured our reporter that this 3.8km German section of the Vennbahn (ex-KBS247, closed to passengers end-May 1962) is to reopen on 10 June 2001 as the first Euregiobahn line, with Heerlen - Landgraaf NS - Herzogenrath DB - Aachen Hbf - Stolberg Hbf - Stolberg-Hammer trains.  

1247][DE] Kaiserslautern Hbf - Lampertsmühle-Otterbach - Wolfstein - Lauterecken-Grumbach: (R.0447; Ball 56B3-48B1; KBS673)  Lautertalbahn trains leave from one of several high-numbered bay platforms at the west end of the north side of Kaiserslautern Hbf, and follow the river Lauter that rises nearby in the northern Pfälzer Wald, heading north-west for 35km till the Lauter joins the river Glan at Lauterecken-Grumbach.  The branch soon leaves the Kaiserslautern - Homburg - Saarbrücken main line, but just before it swings away north it serves the single-platform factory halt Kaiserslautern Pfaffwerk (km1.4).  At the time of our reporter's visit in October 2000, the branch had its usual hourly service of Class 628 diesel units supplemented on the half-hour until 14 October by Landesgartenschau-Express shuttle trains to serve a garden-festival on the edge of town at Kaiserslautern West (km3.3).  Well over half the passengers on the 12:45 northbound train alighted here, and traffic was sparse thereafter, though double figures were attained on the 14:09 southbound run.  The shuttle service was running out as far as Lampertsmühle-Otterbach (7.7km), once a junction with three platforms, still retaining its passing-loop.  The track of the 16.5km Lampertsmühle-Otterbach - Weilerbach - Reichenbach-Steegen branch, whose last section closed in 1995, was in place, but disconnected, not open to freight as shown in the 2001 Schweers+Wall atlas (85D).  At Kreimbach (km20.4) a new platform was under construction at which the train did not call, though a Kreimbach stop was shown in the timetable.  Most calling-points seemed unstaffed except Wolfstein, where the trains crossed.  Many of the pink sandstone stations, built in a standard style, have been converted to other uses, and no sign was seen of any freight activity.  North of Wolfstein is the short Eisenknopf tunnel, probably the line's main engineering feature.  At Lauterecken-Grumbach rail-cycles (Draisinen) could be hired from a covered section of platforms 2 and 3 for use on the otherwise abandoned track of the closed Altenglan - Lauterecken-Grumbach - Staudernheim line (R.0762).  Even at the start of the 21st century, with modern units and apparently reasonable track, the Lautertalbahn with its slow trains (average speed 55km/h, slowing further to hoot at ungated crossings) seemed to epitomise the German rural railway tradition.  

1248][DE] (Kaiserslautern -) Pirmasens Nord - Pirmasens Hbf: (Ball 56B3-56B2)  The Kaiserslautern - Pirmasens line running north-to-south intersects with the Landau - Pirmasens Nord - Zweibrücken - Rohrbach (- Saarbrücken) unelectrified secondary line running east-to-west across the Pfälzer Wald at the sizeable junction station of Pirmasens Nord, inconveniently situated to the north of the settlement it purports to serve.  The north-to-south line therefore continues as a 6.8km single-track branch with no intermediate station, heading up quite a steep grade and through a tunnel to Pirmasens, an industrial town of c.51,000 population and a centre of the shoe industry.  Parallel to the tunnel and to the east of it is an abandoned tunnel with a trackbed leading to it, evidence of former double track, or perhaps a change of alignment.  At one time the branch was served partly by DB Ferkeltaxi railbuses shuttling from the junction (BLN 712.02) to connect with east-west trains, but the present service pattern has trains from the north-east (Bingen - Kaiserslautern - Pirmasens Nord - Pirmasens Hbf; KBS672), from the west (Saarbrücken - Zweibrücken - Pirmasens Nord - Pirmasens Hbf; KBS674) and from the east (Landau - Pirmasens Nord - Pirmasens Hbf; KBS675) running up the hill to terminate at the Hauptbahnhof.  Topped by a small DB office block, and architecturally unattractive even by the standards of recent concrete stations, Pirmasens Hbf is a five-platform terminus.  Four platforms were in use on a Saturday afternoon in October 2000, when our reporter was in the area for the Rheinland-Pfalz Plandampf steam event to celebrate 125 years of the Landau - Pirmasens Queichtalbahn. 

1249][DE] Hinterweidenthal Ost - Hinterweidenthal Ort - Bundenthal-Rumbach: (BLN 803.0255, 828.0287; Ball 56B2; KBS675)  Main-line trains on the Landau - Hinterweidenthal Ost - Hinterweidenthal - Pirmasens Nord route do not normally stop at the large country junction station of Hinterweidenthal Ost, and the branch thence to Bundenthal-Rumbach is freight-only during the week.  However, on Sundays only, main-line trains offer connections into a Class 628 unit that makes four round-trips on the branch.  During the Plandampf weekend event of 30 Sep-1 Oct 2000, the railcar shared its Bundenthaler duties with steam traction.  The scenery is pleasant rather than striking, with traditional castles visible on the heights.  The end of the branch is only a few km from the border with France.  

1250][DE] Rheinland-Pfalz: progress on passenger reopenings:  Land Rheinland-Pfalz have been thorough in undertaking feasibility studies for full passenger-service restoration on nearly all of the branch lines in the province, including even the Brohl - Oberzissen - Engeln Brohltalbahn with its metre-gauge tourist trains (BLN 827.0266; Ball 48A3).  Unsurprisingly, the likeliest prospects were picked first for reopening: - for example, Grünstadt - Eisenberg (Pfalz) - Ramsen (R.0636; Ball 57A3; reopened in two stages) and Alzey - Kirchheimbolanden (R.0635; Ball 49A1; May 1999) - so recent results have been more negative, and scepticism has increased as passenger numbers have levelled out at a disappointing 200 per weekday on the Mayen West - Kaisersesch section of the Eifelquerbahn, reopened 14 August 2000 (R.1029; Ball 48A3-48A2).  

The Guntersblum - Rheindürkheim - Osthofen Altrheinbahn loop (Ball 49A1), closed to passengers 1968, seems unlikely to see passenger services again.  The new overbridge reported in R.1217 is in fact on a short part of the line still in freight use.  About 1km of track south-east of Osthofen serves industrial sidings and sees a daily freight working north from Worms.

However, a few more Rheinland-Pfalz local lines should reopen: Ramsen - Eiswoog (R.0636; Ball 57A3; from 10 June 2001); Wörth-am-Rhein DB - Lauterbourg SNCF (BLN 846.0142; Ball 57A2; upgrading from Sundays-only to a full service); Langenlonsheim - Simmern - Büchenbeuren - Hahn Flughafen (R.0634; Ball 48B1-48A1; maybe in 2003); Engers - Siershahn (R.0974; Ball 48B3); and Diez - Hahnstätten - Bad Schwalbach (R.0729; Ball 49A3-49A2).

1251][DE] Gunzenhausen - Wassertrüdingen - Oettingen - Nördlingen: (BLN 833.0425; Ball 59B2-59A1)  On this section of the former König-Ludwig-Nord-Süd-Bahn main line in Freistatt Bayern, passenger trains ceased 1985 and freight traffic in 1994.  However an important customer of DB Cargo, the cosmetics firm Schwarzkopf, who have a branch plant in Wassertrüdingen, fought for restoration of service.  Freight reopening is to go ahead during 2001, though with a speed-limit of only 30km/h. 

1252][DE] Warthausen - Maselheim - Ochsenhausen: (R.0712; Ball 69B2)  Much of the 19km 750mm-gauge Öchsle-Bahn is in bad condition and needs immediate renewal.  Costly repairs are also required to the century-old and now dilapidated engine-shed at Ochsenhausen, a listed heritage building.  The private operators are unable to finance this work, but the line is important for local tourism, so the county council and the town councils of Warthausen, Maselheim and Ochsenhausen have agreed to form an association to take over operation.  However it will take time to renew several km of track and build a new engine-shed at Warthausen, so the trains, run entirely by volunteers, are unlikely to operate during summer 2001.  

1253][DE][AT] Kempten - Pfronten-Steinach DB - Schönbichl ÖBB - Reutte in Tirol - Ehrwald Zugspitzbahn ÖBB - Griessen DB - Garmisch-Partenkirchen: (R.1219; Ball 70A1-70B1)  BLN 789.0428 and 796.089 noted the closure of the unelectrified Pfronten - Reutte section from 28 September 1996, but its reopening from 24 May 1998 seems never to have been recorded.  More recently, safety concerns about the electric power-supply caused Reutte - Garmisch trains to cease from 16 October 2000, but from 3 February 2001 DB's Kempten - Reutte diesel railcars have run forward to Ehrwald, using what would have been layover time at Reutte, thus reopening the Reutte - Ehrwald section.  The Ehrwald - Garmisch section remains without passenger trains.  ÖBB have threatened to withdraw entirely from the Ausserfernbahn, but it seems DB may take over and run a Kempten - Reutte - Garmisch through service from 10 June 2001.

1254][AT] Wien U-Bahn: (BLN 814.0548)  The 3.1km Erdberg - Simmering extension of line U3 opened 2 December 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2001)

1255][IT] Milano trams: Tram route #24 was extended 1.5km from Vigentino to Fatima (Via Selvanesco) on 6 November 2001.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2001)

1256][SE] Kävlinge - Landskrona - Helsingborg: (R.0893; Ball 25A2)  This cut-off line duly opened on 7 January 2001.  (Railway Gazette International, February 2001)

1257][CH] Oensingen - Balsthal: (BLN 847.0180; Ball 86B1)  From the June 2001 timetable change OeBB passenger services will be mainly by bus, with two train-pairs at peak hours Monday to Friday only.  (Today's Railways, March 2001)

1258][HU] Budapest trams:  From 15 December 2000 express tram line #1 was extended at its southern end to reach the river Duna (Danube) on the Pest side of the Lagymanyosi bridge.  (Today's Railways, March 2001)

1259][JP] Tokyo metro:  Tokyo's already-dense urban railway network continues to extend.  Shinjuku - Tocho-Mae city-centre loop of metro line 12 opened 12 December 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2001)

1260][CA] Vancouver, BC - Matsqui Jn - Nepa/Coho - Ashcroft, BC: (R.0509, 0721)  In January 2000 VIA began one-way working of the transcontinental Canadian/Canadien, with westbound #1 running downriver by the CN route and eastbound #2 running upriver by the parallel CPR route.  Initially passengers eastbound from the four intermediate stations Matsqui, Chilliwack, Hope and Boston Bar on the CN route (south-east bank) were collected by road and taken to North Bend on the CP route (north-west bank) where #2 made a single unadvertised stop to pick them up.  Since October 2000, however, #2 has made advertised calls on the CP route at Mission (presumably the West Coast Express commuter station), Agassiz, Katz and North Bend.

Directional running on the two 'competing' single-track routes in the Fraser valley was mainly for the benefit of the numerous freight trains, and has resulted in a major increase in line capacity for both railways, enabling many sidings to be taken out of service as redundant.  CN and CP are seriously examining directional running on their Winnipeg, MB - Toronto, ON routes.  This could possibly affect VIA's passenger trains, not only the transcontinental Canadian/Canadien, but the Sudbury - White River, ON trains #185/186 Lake Superior/Lac Supérieur, operated by elderly Budd Rail Diesel Cars over a 484km section of the original CP main line (BLN 792.0526).

1261][CA] Kamloops, BC: Kamloops North CN - Kamloops East Jn CP:  Comprising two portions (for Banff and Calgary and for Jasper) running combined between Vancouver and Kamloops in each direction, the Vancouver-based Rocky Mountaineer private-venture tourist train follows the same route over this section as VIA's Canadian/Canadien, including the directional running between Mission/Matsqui and Nepa/Coho.  North of Nepa/Coho, the combined Mountaineer uses the CN route on the north-west side of the Thompson river and Kamloops Lake, crosses the North Thompson, but diverges from the Canadian's route just before entering Kamloops CN/VIA passenger station (called Kamloops Jn till 1977, now known to CN as Kamloops North).  At Kamloops North the Mountaineer takes the west-to-south side of the wye on to the c.5km connection heading south through what was CN's earlier (1927-built) Kamloops station to reach the CP at the east-facing Kamloops East Jn, at which point it reverses into what was Kamloops CP station to spend the night.  The following morning, the Banff and Calgary portion heads east on CP while the Jasper portion returns via the link line to Kamloops North CN.  In the westbound direction the movements are reversed.  

Though off the CN main line, the CN 1927 station on the link south to the CP was used until the late 1940s by CN main-line passenger trains, backing in one direction from Kamloops Jn.  Thereafter, until it closed in the 1960s, the station was used by CN Kamloops - Campbell Creek - Armstrong - Kelowna local trains, which had running powers over 18km of CP track from Kamloops East Jn east to Campbell Creek before heading south over what was then part of CN's Okanagan Subdivision and is now Kelowna Pacific Railway, a freight-only short line.  

1262][CA] Toronto - Cochrane, ON: (R.0461)  Ontario Northland Railway's Northlander may be withdrawn in June 2001.

1263][CA] Hamilton - Smithville - Welland - Brookfield - Niagara Falls, ON (- Niagara Falls, NY):  This route is part of the former Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway, jointly owned until 1977 by Canadian Pacific and New York Central.  In autumn 2000 CP subsidiary St.Lawrence & Hudson Railway were reported to be hoping to reach a deal with Canadian National that would allow CP freight trains to divert to CN's shorter Hamilton - St.Catharines - Niagara Falls, ON route, already used by VIA/Amtrak international passenger trains.  The TH&B Hamilton - Smithville - Welland section, which lost its passenger trains on 27 April 1981, could then be closed.  The report talks of removing traffic from downtown Niagara Falls, ON, but does not make clear whether CP have in mind closure also of their former Michigan Central line from Brookfield to Niagara Falls, ON and the separate CP Niagara bridge to Suspension Bridge Yard, NY.  (Railpace Magazine, August 2000)

1264][CA] Montréal Windsor - Montréal Ouest/West - North Jn - Jean-Talon - Jacques Cartier Jn - Blainville, QC: (R.0124, 0205, 0318, 0591)  Agence Métropolitaine de Transport envisage electrification of the Montréal - Blainville service banlieue, with trains ceasing to use CP's Gare Windsor and running instead from CN's Gare Centrale, terminal for the Montréal Centrale - Mont-Royal - Deux Montagnes, QC suburban service which was modernised and re-electrified at 25kV 60Hz in 1995 (R.0122).  At Jonction de l'Est, the trains would leave the CN Deux Montagnes Subdivision (formerly Mount Royal Subdivision) to take the CN St.Laurent Subdivision (formerly part of the Joliette Sub) over the short distance to Gohir before joining the CP (St.Lawrence & Hudson Railway) Lachute Subdivision at Jacques Cartier Jn, then following their present route to Blainville.  The CP line from Montréal Ouest/West via Jean Talon (formerly Park Avenue) station to Jacques Cartier Jn would lose its passenger service, but commuters would benefit by avoiding this frustratingly slow and circuitous stretch on their journey from and to the downtown area.  AMT's plans include extending double track to the 7.8km Val Royal - Roxboro section of the Deux Montagnes Subdivision, and bridgeworks to replace the present flat crossing (with northeast-to-southeast and northwest-to-southwest curves) where the Deux Montagnes and St.Laurent Subdivisions intersect.  No doubt bringing these proposals to fruition will take some time.  

1265][CA][US] Montréal, QC - Sherbrooke, QC - Greenville, ME - Mattawamkeag, ME - Saint John, NB:  Denver Railway Car Company, American operators of land-cruise trains in Mexico - South Orient Express through Copper Canyon and Expreso Maya in the Yucatan peninsula - hope to start, perhaps during 2002, the Acadian Railway Company to run a land-cruise train in eastern Canada and northern New England, travelling only in the daytime and stopping overnight in Greenville, Maine.  (http://www.thetraincollection.com; canadian-passenger-rail@egroups.com)  This would seem to follow the former Canadian Pacific route of VIA's Atlantic/Atlantique overnight passenger train, withdrawn in December 1994 (BLN 795.079).  

1266][US] Santa Clara County, CA: light rail: (R.0656)  Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in January approved a construction contract to begin in spring 2001 on a light-rail extension south-west past San Jose Diridon station (interchange with Amtrak, Caltrain and Altamont Commuter Express; BLN 846.0160) to Campbell.  Target opening date for San Jose - Campbell is autumn 2004.  When finance is approved the line will be extended beyond Campbell to Los Gatos. (Palo Alto Daily News, 13 January 2001)

1267][US] San Diego, CA: light rail: (BLN 816.0610, 846.0162)  Fenton Parkway station opened in September 2000, between Rio Vista and Qualcomm Stadium on the Mission Valley section of the San Diego Trolley Blue Line.  Approval has been given to the Blue Line extension inland from Mission San Diego to serve San Diego State University 3km to the east, involving the first tunnel section on the system, and to link up near Grossmont Center with the Orange Line to El Cajon and Santee.  Target opening date is 2004.  

Opening dates of the existing sections were: Blue Line: San Ysidro - 26 July 1981 - 12th & Imperial - 26 July 1981 - City College - 26 July 1981 - America Plaza - 26 July 1981 - Santa Fe Depot - 16 June 1996 - Old Town - 23 November 1997 - Mission San Diego; Orange Line: 12th & Imperial - June 1990 - Seaport Village - June 1990 - America Plaza - City College - 12th & Imperial - 23 March 1986 - Euclid Avenue - May 1989 - Spring Street (La Mesa) - 25 June 1989 - El Cajon Transit Center - August 1995 - Santee.  Note that Orange Line cars make a circle round downtown San Diego, sharing with Blue Line cars the street-running America Plaza - City College - 12th & Imperial section.

Santa Fe Depot - Seaport Village, the (very short) third side of the (very tightly curved) triangle outside the fine 1915 station shared by Amtrak, Coaster and the Trolley, is not covered by normal Blue and Orange Line workings.  According to a Pocket Guide effective June 2000, it sees a 'special-event service only, between Mission Valley and downtown', doubtless because stepping up the frequency to handle crowds when big events are staged at the huge Qualcomm Stadium is easier if the extra cars, dubbed Green Line workings, can on reaching the downtown area stay on reserved track back to the depot rather than entering the street-running section east of America Plaza.  In addition, according to a Blue Line timetable effective October 2000, cars from Mission San Diego after midnight on Tuesday to Sunday mornings run back via Santa Fe Depot - Seaport Village to the depot at 12th & Imperial, again avoiding downtown street-running. 

1268][US] Atlanta, GA metro:  The 7.5km extension of the North Line from Dunwoody to North Springs opened 18 December 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2001)

1269][US] Jacksonville, FL monorail:  An extension to King Avenue opened on 1 November 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2001)

1270][IE] (Dublin Heuston - Kildare - Cherryville Jn -) Monasterevin (- Portarlington):  Monasterevan station (thus spelled in the Quail track atlas) closed to all traffic in 1976.  On 8 March 2001 Iarnród Éireann announced that the station is soon to reopen to serve the small town of some 5,000 people, 60km from Dublin.  Two Arrow peak-hour commuter trains each way and two inter-city trains are to call.  (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1271][IE] Dublin light rail:  Preparatory work on diversion of pipes and cables had already begun (R.0618), but on 8 March 2001 the main construction contracts were awarded for the Irish capital's Luas light-rail lines (Tallaght - Middle Abbey Street - Connolly Station and Sandyford - Ranelagh - St.Stephen's Green).  The first trams should be delivered during 2001, and are still on target to begin running in 2003.  (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1272][FR] Lille museum tramway: Marquette-lez-Lille - Wambrechies Vent de Bise: (R.0004; Ball 7A1 not shown)  Because of dredging work on the canalised river Deûle, the 1.5km metre-gauge Tramway Touristique de la Vallée de la Deûle was out of use during the summer 2000 season (apart from a single day, 8 April 2000), but preservation group Amitram hope to reopen it in April 2001.  Extensions at both ends that might double the line's total length are planned, according to a sketch-map in Voie Etroite (#182, February-March 2001), though the magazine gives no indication of any time-scale for completion.  At the Marquette end, closer to the city though some 5km from the centre, the proposed extension goes under Pont Mabille parallel to the Deûle, then crosses the river Marque where, in the south-east quadrant between the two rivers, a triangle is planned with short arms beyond, roughly parallel to each watercourse.  At the north-western end, the line may be extended from just beyond Pont de Wambrechies at Wambrechies Vent de Bise out to Ferme Ghestem.  

1271][FR] Trouville-Deauville - Dives-Cabourg: (BLN 790.0447; Ball 12B1)  Complete closure of the branch was studied but rejected in 1996.  Since then, its prospects have improved.  From 1998 to 2000 the (summer-only) passenger traffic rose by 146%, and a new halt at Port-Guillaume is to open in summer 2001.  Région Basse-Normandie have agreed in principle to pay a large share of the cost of modernation.  Options include extending the branch 1km beyond its present terminus across the river Dives to serve Cabourg town-centre.  (La Vie du Rail, #178, 7 March 2001)

1272][FR] Dunières SNCF - Dunières-Ville - Montfaucon-en-Velay - Tence - Le Chambon-sur-Lignon - St.Agrève: (BLN 822.0119, R.1137; Ball 56A1)  The Tence - St.Agrève section of the formerly-extensive metre-gauge Vivarais system has been out of use since 26 September 1986, but work to fettle up the track began on 8 January 2001 under a contract let by the local authorities as owners.  Completion is expected by end-March 2001.  Bids were due in just before the end of 2000 for operation of summer tourist trains from 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2010.  (Voie Etroite, #182, February-March 2001)

1273][FR][BE] Nancy rail-guided trolleybuses: Essey - Brabois: (R.1166)  The city of Nancy are pioneering the Bombardier centre-rail mechanically-guided trolleybus system variously known as Tram sur Pneus (tram on rubber tyres), Transport sur Voie Réservée (TVR) and Guided Light Transit (GLT).  The first line, its opening delayed from December 2000, began public service on 11 February 2001 but closed again following accidents on 6 and 10 March 2001.  It seems that vehicles switching from guided to unguided mode collided with masts supporting overhead wires.  (http://www.lrta.org)

1274][DE] Hannover S-Bahn: Hbf - H-Nordstadt - H-Leinhausen - Letter (- Seelze): (R.0415, 0755; Ball 26B2)  East-west S-Bahn line S1 has its own route separate from the parallel Hannover - Minden main line at least as far west as Letter, part of it being former goods lines and part new construction.  From Hbf, the S1 tracks run significantly to the south of the main line, and through the new Hannover-Nordstadt station near the city's main freight yard (Hauptgüterbahnhof).  H-Nordstadt (not 'Nordstedt' as shown in Ball) replaced the local station H-Hainholz some distance to the north on the main line.  At a point close to the overbridges carrying the Hannover - Langenhagen main line and now also the Hannover - Langenhagen - Flughafen S-Bahn tracks curving away to the north from a flying junction, S1 trains dive beneath the Minden main line and run on the north side of that line through the new H-Leinhausen platforms and on to Letter.  A StadtExpress local service ran on the new route, possibly from the May 1998 timetable, and certainly before the new stock was ready for the definitive launch of Hannover's S-Bahn Netz on 28 May 2000.

1275][DE] Hannover S-Bahn: (Hbf - H-Nordstadt -) H-Herrenhausen - H-Ledeburg - Vinnhorst - Langenhagen Mitte - Langenhagen Pferdemarkt - Hannover Flughafen: (R.0415, 0755; Ball 26B2)  From the flying junction with the Hannover - Seelze S-Bahn tracks north-west of Nordstadt (R.1274) the dedicated S-Bahn tracks are effectively a new route that opened 28 May 2000, with one entirely new station, Langenhagen Mitte.  Langenhagen (Han.) station (km11.4 from Hannover) was rebuilt and renamed Langenhagen Pferdemarkt, but though it is the physical junction for the S-Bahn Flughafen branch, airport trains call only at Langenhagen Mitte.  The Flughafen branch seems not entirely new.  A 1988 topographical map shows a single track diverging at Langenhagen (Han.) station to run north-west to the airport, presumably for aviation-fuel delivery.  Just before the single-track S-Bahn branch dives underground at the airport perimeter to reach its new Flughafen terminus, a rail-less trackbed can be seen curving away on the surface slightly to the south, with a km14.4 post remaining in place near it.  Flughafen station itself is a basic pair of dead-end platforms, with no DB station staff to help mystified foreigners and no ticketing facilities apart from machines.

1276][DE] Frankfurt-am-Main trams: Hbf - Festhalle/Messe - Bockenheimer Warte:  This 1.7km extension of tram route U4 north-west from the Hauptbahnhof to an interchange with routes U6/U7 at Bockenheimer Warte opened 10 February 2001.  (Railway Gazette International, March 2001)

1277][PT] Pampilhosa - Vilar Formoso CP - Fuentes de Oñoro RENFE (BLN 819.061; Ball 18B2)  The 25kV 50Hz Linha da Beira Alta electrification was noted on 29 January 2001 to extend from Vilar Formoso east c.100m across the border into Spain, presumably to allow Portuguese electric locomotives to be released and run round under their own power on otherwise unwired RENFE tracks. 

1278][ES] Madrid suburban: Cantoblanco-Universidad - Alcobendas-San Sebastian de los Reyes: (Ball 22A3 partly shown)  This 7.1km branch off the Madrid - Burgos line opened 9 February 2001 and RENFE Cercanías trains (line C1) were diverted to use it instead of terminating at Tres Cantos.  (Railway Gazette International, March 2001)

1279][ES] Mallorca: (Palma - Santa Maria -) Inca - Llubi - Muro - Sa Pobla/La Puebla: (R.0341, 0425, 0504, 0714, 1153; Ball 38A1-38A2)  When the Palma - Inca section was regauged to 1000mm in 1981-83, the line's attractive original station buildings were retained, with ramps up to the new higher platforms that give less-mobile customers level access to (underfloor-engined) railcars, but on the Sa Pobla branch, reopened 6 January 2001, none of the three stations makes use of the old buildings or platforms.  Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca have clearly spent a lot on infrastructure works including deep-ballasted track and new high platforms, plus toilet facilities on the two unstaffed intermediate country stations Llubi and Muro.  The original terminus, now lying c.300m beyond the end of the branch, is in educational use, still bearing its Castilian Spanish name, La Puebla, but in mid-February 2001 the new terminal station at Sa Pobla was incomplete, with temporary access to the platforms.  Its site does not seem particularly appropriate to its eventually becoming a through station, for the track is not at a high enough level to bridge the main road, and an onward route through the town looks problematical.  No sign was seen of physical work having yet begun on the planned Sa Pobla - Alcudia extension.  

Trains again pass the building at Empalme, the former junction to the south-east of Inca where the line diverged to Manacor and Arta, but the station is in quite an isolated location and has not been reopened.  (Our reporter was able to reconnoitre his subsequent farm-road access to it from his easyJet flight on approach to Palma airport!)  Empalme - Sineu - Petra - Manacor - Son Servera - Arta closed in 1977 but the right of way was protected and the line is planned for reopening to Manacor in 2003 and Arta in 2004.  In many locations the old 914mm-gauge track is still in place, complete with pointwork, but a tarred cycle-path fringed by trees has temporarily replaced it down one of Manacor's main streets.  The stations are all in surprisingly good condition, especially Sineu, Son Servera and Arta.  Trackbeds of the Palma - Santany line, closed 1964, and Santa Maria - Felanitx, closed 1967, have mostly returned to agriculture, but many of the stations can still be seen, notably the fine restoration at Santa Eugenia, the first station east of Santa Maria, now part of a local sports complex.

1280][IT] Napoli: local railways, metro and trams:  These December 2000 notes briefly update the December 1996 supplement on Public Transport in Napoli (http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/it_npoli.htm).  On the Gianturco - Napoli Centrale/Piazza Garibaldi - Pozzuoli Ferrovie dello Stato line through the city-centre, Sunday Trenitalia services were running at c.12 minute intervals, a frequency perhaps recently introduced since it was not shown in the December 2000 In Treno timetable.  Electrification of the Piedimonte Matese branch was almost complete, and Ferrovia Alifana were running two Sunday-evening Napoli Centrale - Piedimonte Matese services.  On the 950mm-gauge Circumvesuviana line to Baiano (Napoli Stazione Terminale - Napoli Centrale FS - Centro Direzionale - Poggioreale - Casalnuovo - Pomigliano - Saviano - Baiano), a new underground station had been provided at Centro Direzionale.  Rebuilding was continuing between Poggioreale and Casalnuovo, but seemed complete beyond, including a large new station at Pomigliano and a new connection dropping down to join the (renamed) Pomigliano - Alfa Lancia branch shortly before it disappeared underground.  A new double-track viaduct was in use east to Saviano.  On the city metro, construction work was under way on the circuitous Vanvitelli - Piazza Garibaldi extension, with some traffic disruption at several station sites.  On the city tramways, the Dazio - Piazza Vittoria section was closed for rebuilding.  Route #4 was operating Piazza Vittoria - Poggioreale, covering the third side of the triangle at the junction between routes #1 and 29.  Route #29 (Poggioreale - Piazza Garibaldi - San Giovanni) was seen to be operating on Sundays and holidays.  

Giranapoli tickets are now accepted within the city on Circumvesuviana and SEPSA trains as well as FS/Trenitalia, ATAN metro, funiculars, trams, trolleybuses and buses, and ACRP buses.  Single-journey Giranapoli tickets are ITL1500=EUR0.77, allowing as before 90 minutes travel including changes, but only one funicular ride.  The all-day Giranapoli ticket is ITL4500=EUR2.32  Giranapoli tickets are no longer a curious shape but have become conventionally rectangular, and Circumvesuviana stations have different barriers to accommodate them.  Circumvesuviana and SEPSA stations and the funiculars now have ticket-machines, but Giranapoli tickets are still on sale at tobacconists.  On SEPSA Giranapoli tickets are valid out as far as Dazio Terme and Pisani.  Beyond the city itself, the region now has a Unico two-zone fare-scheme.  The inner-zone fare of ITL2500=EUR1.29 reaches Circumvesuviana stations just outside the city while the outer-zone fare of ITL3000=EUR1.55 applies to journeys like Napoli - Pomigliano or Napoli - Torre Annunziata on Circumvesuviana or Montesanto - Torregaveta on SEPSA.  The Circumvesuviana website (http://www.vesuviana.it/) is a useful resource.

1281][HR][BA] (Zagreb -) Sunja - Volinja HZ - Dobrljin ZRS - Novi Grad - Blatna ZRS - Bosanska Otoka ZBH - Bihac - Ripac ZBH - Martin Brod HZ - Knin (- Split):  (R.0201, 0352; Ball 46B1-51A3)  JZ in 1988 completed electrification of the Una valley route across a corner of Bosnia to Knin, but in early 2001 electric working was possible only on the HZ Zagreb - Sunja - Volinja section, much of the overhead equipment from Volinja south to Knin having been stolen or damaged in the fierce fighting of the mid-1990s.  Though the official Croatian border stations are Volinja and Martin Brod, the railway actually crosses and recrosses the Croatia-Bosnia border several times south of Bihac.  HZ had concentrated traffic on the alternative but unelectrified Zagreb - Karlovac - Ostarije - Knin - Split secondary route entirely within Croatia, and in 1999 the Martin Brod - Knin section lay disused and overgrown, but HZ now plan to reinstate electrification and improve the track.  A special Zagreb - Bihac - Knin train carrying railway officials of Croatia and both Bosnian administrations ran on 26 January 2001.  Initially the restored route via Bosnia will see freight traffic, but from 27 June 2001 HZ hope to run some through Zagreb - Split passenger trains this way.  (Railway Gazette International, March 2001)

1282][EE] Estonia:  Other than the Tallinn 3000V dc suburban electrics (Riisipere - Tallinn - Aegviidu), and a couple of RZD international workings (Tallinn - Aegviidu - Tapa - Auvere - Narva - Sankt Peterburg / Moskva), uncertainty remains over Estonia's passenger trains.  It seems that many services are from 4 March 2001 being provided by buses instead of trains, perhaps temporarily while Edelaraudtee's new franchisees, a group led by GB Railways of Britain, continue to negotiate with the government over subsidy.  Tallinn - Lelle - Pärnu and Tallinn - Lelle - Viljandi retain their former train service for the moment.  Tallinn - Aegviidu - Tapa - Tartu has a daily train-pair, extended to run Tartu - Valga on Fridays and on Sundays to connect with Latvian Valga - Riga workings, and subsidised until the end of 2001.  Tartu - Orava and Valga - Vöru - Veski have lost their passenger trains.  The Tapa - Auvere section now has no domestic trains, just the through services to Russia.  Narva - Auvere - Musta local mineworkers' trains are thought to be continuing.  

1283][CN] Shanghai - Shanghai airport maglev:  On 1 March 2001 China began construction of a German-designed maglev line linking Shanghai's financial district to one of the city's two airports.  Chinese firms are building the track while German companies ThyssenKrupp and Siemens are to supply the stations and the vehicles, planned to carry 600 passengers at 400km/h.  Target opening date is 2003.  (Associated Press via http://www.eriksrailnews.com)

1284][AU] Australia: minor railways:  The South Australian state government announced on 13 February 2001 that the 1067mm-gauge preserved Pichi Richi Railway (Stirling North - Woolshed Flat - Quorn) is to be extended from Stirling North into Port Augusta railway station, using 22km of rails recovered from the disused 1600mm-gauge Apamurra - Cambrai line.  By early 2001, during the southern summer, the Yorke Peninsula Railway (Wallaroo - Kadina - Bute), a tourist line west of Adelaide, South Australia, had begun running north-east of Kadina to Bute, and the Rutherglen - Wahgunyah tourist line north of Melbourne also opened.  (http://people.enternet.com.au/~cbrnbill/maps/devel.htm)

1285][AU] (Brisbane -) Eagle Jn - Brisbane Airport:  The new timetable to be introduced on 7 May 2001 is likely to see opening of the new 1067mm-gauge Airtrain line to Brisbane Airport, and withdrawal of the remaining peak-hour Queensland Rail passenger trains on the Corinda - Yeerongpilly line (R.1178).  (http://people.enternet.com.au/~cbrnbill/maps/devel.htm)

1286][CA] Vancouver - Fraser Mills - New Westminster - Matsqui Jn - Mission VIA - Mission Jn - Mission WCE - Agassiz - Katz - North Bend - Nepa/Coho - Ashcroft, BC: (R.0117, 0509, 0721, 1260)  Opening date was 27 October 2000 for VIA's four eastbound-only advertised flag-stops on the CP route along the north bank of the Fraser (Mission, Agassiz, Katz and North Bend), where train #2, the transcontinental Canadian/Canadien, now calls on request to pick up passengers.  The Mission flag-stop is not the Mission commuter station used by the West Coast Express.  Eastbound from Vancouver, initially via BNSF to New Westminster, then the CN Yale Subdivision on the south bank, train #2 turns sharply north at Matsqui Jn to join CP's Mission Subdivision, which includes the long drawbridge over the broad Fraser River.  Just north of the bridge is the new VIA flag-stop, a decidedly basic halt comprising a 30m-long patch of asphalt surrounded by a chain-link fence, accessed from Harbour Avenue.  Some 800m to the north is the triangular Mission Jn where train #2 takes the south-to-east curve to join the CP Cascade Subdivision, converging with the Vancouver Waterfront - Coquitlam - Mission route of the West Coast Express, which uses the west-to-east curve.  (Mission Jn west-to-south curve, formerly used by train #2 when it crossed the bridge in the opposite direction to run from CP to CN, no longer has a passenger service.)  About 500m east of Mission Jn on the Cascade Sub is the WCE Mission City commuter station, on North Railway Avenue near the Van Horne overpass.  

1287][CA] Winnipeg St.James - Woodman - Inkster - Grosse Isle - Warren (- Oak Point, MB):  A 22.5km section of this line, built in 1905 from Winnipeg north-west to Oak Point and latterly known as CN's Oak Point Subdivision, remains in use by tourist trains, but a lengthy extension (Oak Point - Gypsumville; 1910) and a branch (Grosse Isle - Hodgson; 1912-14) are both now closed.  West of Winnipeg CN/VIA station, the Oak Point Subdivision left the CN main line at St.James Jn, headed north through St.James station and, at the Woodman diamond on the north-western edge of Winnipeg, crossed the double-track Canadian Pacific main line on the level to run north-west to Grosse Isle and Oak Point. 

The Vintage Locomotive Society's Prairie Dog Central Steam Museum Train was already a well established tourist operation when visited in 1991, running then on the c.29km Winnipeg St.James - Grosse Isle section.  At that time the VLS kept their stock, preserved since the 1960s, at or near CN's Transcona Yard, east of the city, so at the beginning and end of each operating day it had to make an empty trip between Transcona and St.James along the CN main line through the VIA station area.  However, in 1996 CN sought to sell most of the Oak Point Subdivision, and the Prairie Dog Central's last advertised trip was on Sunday 29 September 1996, with a private charter on Sunday 6 October 1996.  

CN eventually failed to find a commercial buyer for the Oak Point Subdivision, but decided to retain a short section north of the Woodman diamond out to km17.6 (milepost 11) to service a new grain silo, later reaching agreement with CP to remove the operationally inconvenient flat diamond-crossing and install a simple connection off the CP main line.  For their part, the VLS re-established themselves at Inkster, beyond the Woodman diamond, at about km13.6 (milepost 8.5).  Here they built new workshops and a storage shed, and brought the St.James station building, a designated heritage structure, to the site.  They obtained running rights over 4km of CN (between mileposts 8.5 and 11) and purchased some 18.5km of track beyond through Grosse Isle to Warren.  Prairie Dog Central seasonal weekend operations recommenced on Saturday 3 August 1999, a 2h30min 45km round-trip from Inkster across the Manitoba prairies with stops at both Grosse Isle and Warren.  In 2001 the operating season is from Sunday 20 May to the last Sunday in September.  The Prairie Dog runs twice daily (11:00 and 15:00) on Saturdays and Sundays in July and August, and on Sundays only in May, June and September, plus holiday Mondays during the season.  During July and August when the train operates on both Saturdays and Sundays, a 1952 diesel is to be the motive power on Saturdays.  Operating details are at http://www.vintagelocomotivesociety.mb.ca.

1288][US] Schellville, CA - Petaluma (- Penn Grove - Windsor - Willits - Eureka - Arcata, CA): (BLN 845.0127, R.0080, 1164)  In November 1998 the US federal government closed the 458km freight-only Northwestern Pacific system in northern California on safety grounds, but this c.45km section was allowed to reopen on 16 February 2001, and the Petaluma - Penn Grove - Windsor section to the north may follow in May 2001.  (http://www.railpace.com/hotnews)

1289][US] Los Angeles, CA: Angels Flight Railway: (BLN 821.0111)  This 160m-long 762mm-gauge funicular is one of five 'inclined planes' in the USA recorded in the transit statistics of the American Public Transportation Association.  Opened 31 December 1901 alongside 3rd Street in the elegant Bunker Hill district of downtown Los Angeles, it was rebuilt to a consistent 1 in 3 (33%) gradient in 1905.  Although designated City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #4 on 6 August 1962, it closed on 18 May 1969 and was dismantled.  During the line's first life the Bunker Hill district had gradually degenerated to little better than a slum, but when the area was redeveloped the little railway was rebuilt half a block south of its original location and reopened 24 February 1996, linking 351 South Hill Street with the Watercourt at California Plaza.  It is accessible from Pershing Square station on the Metro Red Line (take the 4th St exit).  The rebuilt Angels Flight comprises 60% of the original railway, including the two cars named Olivet and Sinai, the station-house and the two station arches, the lower one with the cryptic initials BPOE, allegedly for the 'Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks'.  Supported by a non-profit foundation, the line was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 13 October 2000.  Before the fatal accident on 1 February 2001 (R.1239), Angels Flight Railway operating times were 06:30-22:00 daily (08:00-22:00 on the first and third Thursday of the month, when maintenance work was scheduled). 

1290][US] Chicago, IL - Milwaukee, WI - Duplainville - Fond du Lac, WI:  Uncertainty over Canadian National's pending purchase of Wisconsin Central is delaying until at least late 2001 the planned extension (R.0770) of one of Amtrak's Chicago - Milwaukee Hiawatha passenger trains north to Fond du Lac.  (http://www.railpace.com/hotnews)

1291][US] Meridian, MS - Jackson - Vicksburg, MS - Shreveport, LA - Dallas, TX:  A requirement for additional sidings and signals to be installed along this Kansas City Southern section of route has delayed until autumn 2001 at the earliest implementation of Amtrak's proposal to have the New York, NY - Washington, DC - Atlanta, GA - Meridian, MS - New Orleans, LA Crescent convey a new portion, the Crescent Star, west to Dallas, Texas.  A test train however ran on 7 March 2001.  (http://www.railpace.com/hotnews)

1292][US] New Orleans, LA trams: (BLN 815.0586)  The city transit system owned by New Orleans Regional Transit Authority and managed by Transit Management of Southeastern Louisiana includes three streetcar lines.  All have the unusual broad gauge of 1587mm (5ft 2.5in), though ironically two of them began as standard-gauge and the third is newly built.  The 10km St.Charles line, looping through the downtown area via Carondelet, Canal Street, St.Charles Avenue and Lee Circle before heading out along St.Charles Avenue and Carrollton Avenue to South Claiborne Avenue, can trace its history back to 1835 when it was formed as the New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad.  It was electrified in 1893 and regauged 2-3 October 1929 to match other city streetcar lines, all now closed.  The separate 3km ten-station Riverfront line runs from Esplanade (near French Market) south past the end of Canal Street (Aquarium and Canal Street Ferry) to Robin.  It took over disused Public Belt Railroad freight track and opened as a standard-gauge tourist streetcar on 14 August 1988, being regauged in 1997 to match the St.Charles line.  The Canal Street line is new, part of a plan to restore streetcars up the main street of New Orleans, running north-west from the Mississippi riverfront in central reservation, currently used by buses.  Its first phase, opened in the late 1990s from the Ferry to Carondelet provides a short connection between the Riverfront line and the St.Charles line, normally worked by a single-car shuttle.  The link also allows Riverfront cars to reach the St.Charles line's Carrollton car-barn and workshops.  Cars need to make a reversing move from Canal Street to access the outbound St.Charles line but can run directly from the inbound St.Charles line along Carondelet into Canal Street.  In early 2001 design work was still under way on the second (longer) phase of the Canal Street line from Carondelet north-west to the Cemetery.  Fares are: St.Charles line USD1.25 plus 25c for a transfer to bus; Riverfront line USD1.50; Canal Street shuttle 25c; day ticket USD5.  

1293][US] Scranton, PA heritage trams: Steamtown - Roaring Brook (- Moosic, PA): (R.0771)  The Lackawanna County electric trolley line is to open in spring 2001, running from the Steamtown National Historical Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for 2km to a temporary platform near Roaring Brook, with plans to extend in several years' time via the Laurel Line right-of-way to Montage Mountain Road in Moosic.  (http://www.railpace.com/hotnews)

1294][US] Jacksonville - Miami, FL:  Amtrak have three daily long-distance passenger trains from New York through Florida to Miami.  In March 2001 on-line timetables showed two distinct routes in use south of Jacksonville (both mainly over CSX tracks), the SilverStar and the Silver Meteor running Jacksonville - Sanford - Orlando - Kissimmee - Winter Haven - West Palm Beach - Fort Lauderdale - Miami; and the Silver Palm Jacksonville - Ocala - Lakeland - Tampa - Lakeland - Winter Haven - West Palm Beach - Fort Lauderdale - Miami.  Amtrak are seeking agreement to run at least one train by the less circuitous Florida East Coast Railway (Jacksonville - Cape Canaveral Jn - West Palm Beach - Fort Lauderdale - Miami) perhaps by early 2002.  A test train ran on 21 February 2001.

1295][AQ] Antarctica:  Though no railway has ever crossed the Antarctic Circle (R.1093), that huge and desolate continent may in fact have witnessed steel-wheel-on-rail technology at least once.  On 17 February 1956 the Daily Telegraph reported that fourteen French explorers were constructing the first railway in Antarctica, 100m long, at Geology Point, Petrel Island, Adelie Land, to facilitate movement of 350t of stores and equipment from the quay to the explorers' temporary base.  Adelie Land has the dubious distinction of having the highest recorded wind-speeds at sea-level anywhere on the planet.

1296][GB] Lisburn - Knockmore - Ballinderry - Glenavy - Crumlin - Antrim: (R.0083, 1119)  On 12 January 2001 Northern Ireland Railways formally announced their proposal to withdraw Lisburn - Antrim rail services and to close Knockmore (Londonderry line), Ballinderry, Glenavy and Crumlin stations from Sunday 4 March 2001.  (Belfast Telegraph) However, the devolved administration of the province deferred the closure.  Because NIR argue they do not have enough stock to work both routes, the opening of Bleach Green Jn - Mossley West - Templepatrick - Antrim (R.1118) was also deferred, and trains continue working to the timetable of 25 November 2000, pending political decisions.  A compromise is perhaps a likely outcome, with at least one train each way routed via Crumlin.  The maximum demand on rolling-stock is during the weekday morning peak, and a spare train could perhaps be found for Lisburn - Antrim at other times.  One possibility is for the Monday-Friday 06:15 from Londonderry to offer a peak service at stations via Crumlin, but for all other Coleraine / Portrush / Londonderry services to run via Templepatrick.  

On Friday 16 March 2001 the 06:40 Belfast - Lisburn - Londonderry train derailed as it arrived at Antrim, blocking the Lisburn - Antrim line.  To minimise delays, the 09:52 Belfast Central - Portrush was diverted via Bleach Green Jn - Antrim, becoming the first 'public' train over this section, which had not yet formally reopened.  While NIR were working to remove the blockage two more trains were diverted, the 10:25 Belfast Central - Londonderry and the 10:10 Portrush - Belfast Central, running as a through service in lieu of the 09:45 from Londonderry which connected into it at Coleraine.  

The threatened Lisburn - Antrim section begins at a physical junction within Lisburn station limits, but the single track then continues to run west parallel to the double-track Belfast - Dublin main line for 3km, curiously rising to at least the height of a train above the main line before dropping down to become level with it again.  It seems NIR installed this 'third road' only in 1977, at the time the former physical junction at the point of divergence (Knockmore Jn) was removed.  For much of the distance the main line is in a wide shallow cutting, and the third track was built on a ledge set into the north side of it, apparently to minimise excavation.  Some 1.7km west of Lisburn is a road overbridge with two arches high above the main line, built with a third arch spanning the side slope of the cutting, possibly originally designed thus to provide for the future third track.  To use this third arch without deep excavation and without having to reconstruct the bridge foundations, the ledge bearing the third track rises to pass through the arch then falls away beyond it.  Knockmore station has flank platforms, staggered on either side of the road overbridge and at different levels, the higher one on the north-east side served by up and down Antrim trains on the single track, the lower one on the south-west side served by up (Belfast - Dublin direction) trains only.  The down main line has no platform, and trains from the Dublin direction cannot call.  Knockmore has therefore a somewhat unbalanced service (four Monday-Friday trains to Belfast, two on Saturdays, but eleven and six respectively from Belfast).  

On Monday 12 March 2001 the 17:16 Belfast Central - Londonderry train did relatively little business at the intermediate stations on the threatened section (Ballinderry 9 adults and 4 children off, no-one on; Glenavy 1 adult, 2 children off; no-one on; Crumlin, 4 adults and 14 children off, 1 child on), hardly large numbers for the evening peak.

1297][FR] Châteauroux - Ardentes - La Châtre - Champillet-Urciers - La-Ville-Gozet (- Montluçon-Ville): (Ball 45B3-46B1)  This line lost its passenger service through to Montluçon 28 September 1969 and closed to freight Ardentes - La Châtre 1 July 1992; La Châtre - Champillet-Urciers perhaps in 1969 along with the passenger closure and certainly by 1980; Champillet-Urciers - La-Ville-Gozet 1 December 1990.  The La Châtre - Aigurande (- Guéret) branch lost its freight service sometime between 1980 and 1992.  Châteauroux - Ardentes closed to freight in 1993, but is reported (La Vie du Rail, 24 January 2001) as reopening in early 2001 to handle local timber traffic.

1298][FR] Bourg-en-Bresse - La Cluse - Nantua - Bellegarde: (R.0964; Ball 49B1)  SNCF are to electrify the scenic single-track ligne du Haut-Bugey at 25kV 50Hz for Paris - Genève TGVs, reopening the disused section east of La Cluse.  Trackbed through tunnels will be lowered by 500mm to allow clearance for overhead wiring.  (La Vie du Rail, 14 Mar 2001)

1299][FR][ES] (Pau -) Oloron-Ste.Marie SNCF - Canfranc RENFE: (BLN 717.04, 718.010, 787.0381, 793.06; Ball FR-69B1, ES-13A3)  This French line clambering south up narrow wooded Pyrenean valleys was never easy to work, being both steep and sinuous, with many tunnels including the long (7874m) Somport tunnel under the frontier into Spain, only to end in a major inconvenience at Canfranc, the break-of-gauge point where 1435mm SNCF track met the 1668mm-gauge RENFE at a large and underused passenger station and freight yard.  The 58km line's potential was always much lower than the alternative Atlantic (Hendaye SNCF - Irún RENFE) and Mediterranean (Cerbère SNCF - Port Bou RENFE) sea-level routes around the ends of the Pyrenees mountain range.  After a runaway freight train demolished a key bridge at L'Estanguet on 27 March 1970, SNCF were never eager for reopening, even in the face of local political pressure.  An expensively-constructed parallel road tunnel at Somport will soon see international traffic.  Meanwhile the Oloron - Canfranc line, formally 'out of use' (neutralisée) rather than 'closed', lies spectacularly derelict.  In the circumstances it is surprising that French prime minister Lionel Jospin expressed his support for reopening at a public meeting in Clermont-Ferrand on 5 February 2001.  (La Vie du Rail, 14 February 2001)

1300][DE] Schwerin (Mecklenburg): (R.0476; Ball 18B3-19A2)  Mecklenburg Bahn, a sister company of Nahverkehr Schwerin, operators of Schwerin's town tramway, are to take over running DB's Schwerin - Gadebusch - Rehna and Schwerin - Parchim lines from summer 2001.  The trains are to be maintained at Haselholz tram-depot, and track-laying on a 1.9km link from the depot to the Schwerin - Parchim line began on 21 November 2000.  (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/2001)

1301][DE] Halberstadt trams: (Ball 27B1 not shown)  This small metre-gauge tramway system (with only 8.9km of route) is threatened with possible closure.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2001)

1302][DE] Dessau trams: (Ball 28B1 not shown)  The branch opened on 5 November 2000 (R.1194) extends from a triangular junction at Museum west to the terminus Kleine Schaftrift.  The daytime routes are line 1 Hbf - Museum - Klughardtstrasse - Tempelhofer Strasse; line 2 Kleine Schaftrift - Museum - Klughardtstrasse - Sportplatz Kreuzbergstrasse; line 3 Hbf - Museum - Kleine Schaftrift; and line 4 Hbf - Museum - Klughardtstrasse  - Sportplatz Kreuzbergstrasse.  After about 20:00 routes 2 and 4 are withdrawn and line 1 trams make a trip east down the Kreuzbergstrasse branch and back before continuing south to Tempelhofer Strasse (Dessau Süd).  Thus the short west-to-south curve at Museum is in use by line 2 in the daytime and the short east-to-south curve at Klughardtstrasse by line 1 in the evening.  (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/2001)

1303][DE] Herborn (Dillkreis) - Hartenrod (Kreis Biedenkopf) (- Niederwalgern): (R.0445; Ball 39A1-39B1; KBS624)  This passenger service threatened in 2000 is now expected to be withdrawn from the timetable change on 10 June 2001.

1304][DE] Berlin: Abzw Eichgestell - Wuhlheide Rbf - Biesdorfer Kreuz: (Ball 32A2; KBS209.24)  It seems that a regular passenger service is to be reinstated on this section of the Aussenring from the June 2001 timetable change, when the outer-suburban local service RB24 (Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld - Wünsdorf-Waldstadt) is extended at the inner end of its route to run in a circle through Berlin-Lichtenberg (Wünsdorf-Waldstadt - Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld - Grunauer Kreuz - Abzw Eichgestell - Biesdorfer Kreuz - Berlin-Lichtenberg - Berlin-Schöneweide - Grunauer Kreuz - Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld - Wünsdorf-Waldstadt).  

1305][DE] Bonn - Siegburg light rail:  (Ball 36B2)  Trams began to use the new underground terminus at Siegburg Bahnhof on 16 October 2000.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2001)

1306][DE] (Köln - Horrem -) Sindorf (- Buir - Düren - Aachen): (R.1173; Ball 37B1)  A notice displayed at stations locally said that on 18 March 2001 a new Sindorf halt replaced the old one some 600m to the west.

1307][DE] (Niesky/Niska -) Abzw Särichen - Horka: (Ball 45A3; KBS220)  The 4km Niesky - Horka shuttle service using a Class 771 Ferkeltaxi railbus is little-used and may be withdrawn from the June 2001 timetable change, closing to passengers the short section from Abzw Särichen to Horka.  (Today's Railways, April 2001)

1308][DE] Nördlingen - Wilburgstetten - Anschlussstelle Rettenmeier - Dinkelsbühl - Dombühl: (BLN 724.050, 833.0425; Ball 59A1-59A2)  DB withdrew Nördlingen - Wilburgstetten freight trains in 1994.  The track deteriorated and after 1997 became unavailable to the steam-hauled tourist trains of Nördlingen-based Bayerisches Eisenbahnmuseum.  BEM plan to reopen the Nördlingen - Dinkelsbühl line with a passenger special on 7 April 2001.  (Today's Railways, April 2001)  The northern section, served from the Dombühl end, has remained in freight use as far south as Anst Rettenmeier, a siding just north of Wilburgstetten.  Restoration of a Dinkelsbühl - Dombühl passenger service has been proposed (BLN 848.0214).  

1309][AT] Gmünd NÖ - Gross Gerungs and Gmünd NÖ - Alt Nagelberg - Litschau: (R.0978, 1147; Ball 63B2-63B1; KBS84)  Since ÖBB have declared their intention to discontinue traffic on these and other lines, Austrian railway legislation (Eisenbahngesetz 1957, amended 1992) requires publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities of calls for tenders to take over infrastructure and/or services.  The legal processes were started on 15 March 2001 and a number of ÖBB lines are out to tender.  However, the province of Niederösterreich are unlikely to support bids to provide local passenger services on the 760mm-gauge Waldviertelbahn lines when ÖBB withdraw.  Studies of usage during 1999 and 2000 showed no significant demand.  The province might have considered subsidising two daily trains each way provided enough commuters and tourists could be attracted, but the towns and villages between Gross Gerungs and Litschau showed little or no interest in encouraging the use of their trains even though they were asked for no financial contribution.  Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnverein, the operators of tourist trains on the Alt Nagelberg - Heidenreichstein branch, may tender for the northern line, Gmünd - Alt Nagelberg - Litschau, but would need to build support among the very local communities who have proved indifferent so far.  Even if the Litschau line could be retained for tourist trains, it seems unlikely that economics would allow restoration of 'real' railway operations, either freight or passenger.  (Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnverein)

1310][ES] Guillarei avoiding line: Las Gándaras - Tui: (Ball 7B2)  A new short north-to-west curve will allow through running from Vigo in Spain to Porto in Portugal.  (Today's Railways, April 2001)

1311][IT] Brescia - Breno - Edolo: (BLN 741.0328, R.0314; Ball 42A1-42A2)  Following a landslide, a deviation is being built between Darfo and Boario Terme, south of Breno on this Ferrovie Nord Milano line.  (Eisenbahn Amateur, 1/2001)

1312][IT] (Roma - Pisa -) La Spezia - Genova - Ventimiglia: (Ball 47A1-45B1)  The strategic main line following the Ligurian coast towards France opened in 1874.  From early in the 20th century into the 21st, many works have been undertaken to realign and double this scenic route.  Chronology of these realignments is in Today's Railways for April 2001.

1313][GR] Paleofarsalos - Karditsa - Trikala - Kalambaka: (R.0608, 1004; Ball 62A2-62B1)  After several planning delays, this formerly metre-gauge line eventually closed 29 June 1998 (BLN 836.0517) for regauging.  Leisurely engineering works then followed.  An inaugural Paleofarsalos - Karditsa train ran on 4 March 2000 and the Karditsa - Trikala section reopened 21 December 2000, but it was not until 27 January 2001 that the line opened throughout to Kalambaka for standard-gauge trains.  Some thought is being given to extending the branch to the important Adriatic ferry-port of Igoumenitsa, but no finance for this is in the European Union programme of support for transport infrastructure up to 2006.  

1314][GR] Krionerion - Messologion - Agrinion: (Ball 65B3 not shown)  The isolated 61.4km metre-gauge North-Western Railway of Greece, opened 1890-91 and closed 5 August 1970, was to have reopened in 1997 (BLN 802.0235), but lack of finance halted work.  In spring 2001, to fulfil an election pledge by the Greek transport minister, a contract is to be let by ERGOSE, the project-management company of OSE (Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados = Greek railways), for rehabilitation of the long-disused line, on its present alignment, with a view to reopening in September 2002.  (ERGOSE)

1315][GR] (Piraeus - Athinai -) Acharne - Thriassio Pedio - Korinthos: (Ball 66B2-66A2)  Some 20km north of Athinai on the Athinai - Thessaloniki trunk line, now being electrified, a new and complex junction has begun to be created at Acharne.  By the summer Olympic Games of 2004, new standard-gauge lines will extend east from Acharne to Spata international airport, which opens during March 2001, and west, nearly all on new alignment, to Korinthos.  An east-to-west curve avoiding Acharne station will enable through running of trains from the airport to Korinthos.  Athinai - Spata airport express trains will also bypass Acharne station, while local trains will reverse at Acharne on their way to the airport.  From the Acharne - Spata airport line further extensions are planned after 2004 towards Rafina and Lavrion, though not following the alignment of the old Athinai - Keratea - Lavrion metre-gauge line (R.0609).  Already under construction parallel to the new Korinthos line some 15km west of Acharne is the new 'freight village' of Thriassio Pedio, comprising a container-terminal and freight-yard.  A 4km Thriassio Pedio - Ikonio freight line will be built south to the port of Ikonio north-west of Piraeus, and a west-to-north curve at Acharne will allow freight trains to head north to Thessaloniki and the rest of Europe.  

When the standard-gauge Acharne - Korinthos line opens, it will replace the busiest 100km of OSE's metre-gauge Peloponnese system, the Piraeus - Athinai - Isthmos - Korinthos section (BLN 694.06, 794.050, 798.0146).  OSE are still considering what to do with the short metre-gauge Isthmos - Loutraki branch, closed 1957 but reopened to passengers in the early 1990s (BLN 774.0116).  Korinthos new station will become a break-of-gauge point, and a new east-to-south curve will connect it with the metre-gauge line to the south of the Peloponnese peninsula (Korinthos - Argos - Tripolis - Zevgolatio - Kalamata).  The latest plans for the line to the west (Korinthos - Kiaton - Diakopto - Patrai - Kiparissia) call for a new double-track alignment from Korinthos new station to Kiaton, initially equipped with one standard-gauge track and one metre-gauge, the latter to be replaced by standard-gauge once the Kiaton - Patrai section comes to be regauged.  (ERGOSE)

1316][CH] (Yverdon -) Onnens-Bonvillars - Concise - Vaumarcus - Gorgier-St.Aubin (- Neuchâtel): (BLN 835.0468, 847.0183; Ball 91A3)  On this lakeside section of the Ligne du Pied du Jura, work continues on the Rail 2000 realignment and double-tracking project to provide higher speed and greater capacity.  La Raisse tunnel between Concise and Vaumarcus opened 28 May 2000, as did the new alignment in cutting at La Rochelle, followed by the cut-and-cover tunnel at Concise and Fin-de-Lance tunnel east of Concise on 21 January 2001.  The whole 10.4km new section is due to be inaugurated on 18 May 2001, when presumably the last sections of the former alignment will close.  (La Vie du Rail, 7 March 2001) 

1317][CH] Lausanne - Fribourg - Bern - Löchligut - Mattstetten Ost - Rothrist - Olten (- Zürich): (BLN 845.0122; Ball 91A1-92B3-87A1)  Much work is being done to upgrade the Ligne du Plateau.  Four tunnels between Lausanne and Fribourg have been enlarged to allow double-deck inter-city trains to run west of Bern.  The new Mattstetten - Rothrist high-speed line has twelve tunnels, including one of 4742m near Murgenthal.  Target opening date is 19 December 2004.  The single-track Solothurn - Inkwil - Herzogenbuchsee line, closed to passengers 31 May 1992 (BLN 699.013; Ball 86B1), is to be upgraded as far as the former Inkwil station, beyond which it will trail into the new line, offering an alternative route from the Pied du Jura line to Olten and Zürich.  Rothrist station is being modified and will be the only stopping-point between Bern and Olten for trains on the new line.  (La Vie du Rail, 7 March 2001)

1318][HU] (Budapest - Szárliget -) Felsögalla - Alsógalla (- Tatabánya - Wien): (R.0830; Ball 42A1-47A3)  This c.2km section, part of a loop bypassed by the realigned main line, is to lose its passenger trains with the June 2001 timetable change.  

1319][LT] Panevezys - Anyksciai - Rubikiai: (BLN 824.019, 826.0242, R.0956)  Notwithstanding its 'heritage listing' by the Lithuanian government, the 69km 750mm-gauge line was to close from 25 March 2001.  (5feet@yahoogroups.com)  Latterly it had timetabled trains only on the Panevezys - Anyksciai section, though tourist charters ran beyond during 2000.

1320][IR][TM][TJ][UZ] (Tehran -) Mashhad - Sarakhs RAI - Tedzhen TDZ (- Chardzhoy - Dushanbe / Tashkent):  A Tehran - Dushanbe / Tashkent passenger train is reported to have begun running from 11 January 2001.  (Railway Gazette International, February 2001)  This long-distance working from the capital of Iran via Turkmenistan to the capitals of both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan may possibly be the first passenger use of the Sarakhs border-crossing, inaugurated 13 May 1996 (BLN 779.0231).  Two hours are allowed there for border formalities and bogie-changing from 1435mm to 1520mm-gauge.  

1321][AU] Perth - Fremantle: (BLN 802.0245)  Suburban trains on this route and three others (Perth - Claisebrook - East Perth - Midland; Perth - Claisebrook - Armadale; and Perth - Currambine) are 1067mm-gauge air-conditioned electric units operated by Westrail (Western Australian Government Railway) on behalf of Transperth, the local equivalent of a British passenger-transport authority.  Target opening date for the Currambine - Clarkson extension is now autumn 2003.  The website http://people.enternet.com.au/~cbrnbill/maps/devel.htm has a useful schematic map of Perth's passenger lines. 

The passenger trains, all on the 1067mm-gauge, arrive from the north-east, pass the now-derelict narrow-gauge access at Leighton box into Fremantle docks, then head through North Fremantle station south across the dual-gauge Fremantle Bridge to reach Fremantle passenger station, on the south bank where the lower reaches of the Swan River become Fremantle Harbour.  The overhead equipment for the suburban service stops at the first level-crossing south of Fremantle station, but though the track continues as dual-gauge beyond, the inner rail for the narrow-gauge shows no sign of regular use.  Perth - Fremantle passenger trains were withdrawn about 1981 and reinstated only after electrification in the 1990s, so a curious feature on a current topographical map of the area is the named 'stations' shown on the line beyond Fremantle to the south at The Esplanade, Success Harbour, South Beach and Robb Jetty.  These may represent long-gone passenger stations that lost their services before 1981, or just possibly they are planned new stations, but they are not in use at present.

The diesel-hauled freight trains, all on the 1435mm standard-gauge, head west from the transcontinental railway at West Midland, make a wide sweep through Perth's south-west suburbs, pass Fremantle passenger station and cross the Fremantle Bridge heading north, before turning west to enter Fremantle docks, a busy port today owned by P&O.

1322][AU] Western Australia:  A day-trip on the only long-distance 1067mm-gauge passenger service out of Perth, the 182km Perth - Armadale - Byford - Bunbury Australind (BLN 802.0245) is still possible, but the timetable in November 2000 had become the same on weekdays and Sundays, giving only a three-hour stay in Bunbury.  The Australind now calls at Byford station, which reopened in the week beginning 14 January 2001.  On the 1435mm-gauge, the East Perth - Kalgoorlie Prospector offers one round-trip daily, with a second round-trip MWFO, but the trains are timed to cross each other in such a way that is not possible to make a day-trip from the Perth end.  

1323][AU] Victoria: (Moe - Erica -) Thomson - Happy Creek (- Walhalla):  The Moe - Walhalla railway was one of four experimental narrow-gauge routes built by Victorian Railways to develop isolated districts where a broad-gauge branch would be too costly.  Construction began in 1904 from Moe on the 1600mm-gauge (Melbourne -) Warragul - Moe - Traralgon -Sale line (BLN 845.0126), reaching the Gippsland goldmining town of Walhalla in 1910, but by then the goldfields were in decline and nearly all Walhalla's mines closed within a few years.  Nevertheless the railway operated to Walhalla until 1944.  The final section Moe - Erica closed in 1954, the entire line being dismantled between 1958 and 1962.  Only some timber trestles and a substantial bridge over the Thomson River survived.  Some of the rolling-stock went to the 762mm-gauge Puffing Billy line east of Melbourne (Belgrave - Gembrook; BLN 841.022).  Since 1993 however a new tourist line, the Walhalla Goldfields Railway, has been created, with trains running again within station limits at Thomson by April 1994.  In October 1994 restoration of the Thomson River bridge allowed trains again to run north up Stringers Creek gorge.  Trains now run north to Happy Creek, but Happy Creek - Walhalla is planned to reopen during 2001.  In the longer term, perhaps by 2005, reopening southward from Thomson to Erica may be possible.  (partly from http://www.comu.net.au/wgr/index.htm)

1324][AU] Tasmania: Queenstown - Lynchford - Rinadeena (- Teepookana - Strahan Regatta Point):  Opened in July 1896 from Regatta Point south of the town of Strahan inland to Teepookana, and extended by December 1897 north-east through mountainous terrain to Queenstown, the 34km 1435mm-gauge Abt Wilderness Railway takes its name from the type of rack used to cope with its gradients of up to 1 in 16.  The rack variant invented by the Swiss engineer Roman Abt uses a centre rail with two parallel rows of staggered teeth projecting above the running rails, in this case by 130mm.  The line closed in June 1963, but has begun to be reopened as a tourist line.  Steam-hauled trains began running Queenstown - Lynchford from 4 November 2000, and by early March 2001 were running to Rinadeena, the end of the line at that time.  Reopening of Rinadeena - Regatta Point is planned during 2001.  (http://www.geocities.com/heartland/flats/7143/rail.htm)

1325][CA] Whitehorse, YT heritage tramway: (R.0901)  The Whitehorse Trolley is a 1925 Brill-built ex-Lisboa tramcar, regauged from 900mm to 914mm, that operates in summer carrying tourists along the waterfront in downtown Whitehorse, on local track once used by White Pass & Yukon Route freight trains.  The car is owned by the Yukon Territory government, and operated under contract by Miles Canyon Historic Railway Society.  In 2000 the run was short, less than 1km, with three stops, but in summer 2001 the Society hope to extend by one stop, and in due course on to track owned by the White Pass & Yukon.  While the waterfront area is still being developed, overhead wiring is not possible, so the elderly trolley-car incongruously tows a diesel generator wagon.  Once the waterfront plan is settled, the Society hope to use overhead power.  The Society also run the 610mm-gauge Copper Belt Railway, essentially a theme-park line illustrating the mining history of the Whitehorse area.  With a figure-eight layout this line offers a 20-minute ride.  (Miles Canyon Historic Railway Society)

1326][US] San Francisco, CA: Bay Area Rapid Transit:  The 1676mm broad-gauge BART heavy metro's north-eastern line (Oakland - Concord - North Concord/Martinez - Pittsburg/Bay Point) was extended to North Concord/Martinez on 16 December 1995 and to its present terminus, Pittsburg/Bay Point on 7 December 1996.  In March 2001 Bay Area Rapid Transit District were reportedly studying a diesel-railcar passenger service from BART east over the ex-Southern Pacific, now Union Pacific, Mococo line to Tracy (North Concord/Martinez BART - Port Chicago - Brentwood - Tracy, CA).  

1327][US] Santa Clara County, CA: light rail: Trial running began in February 2001 on Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's Tasman East Phase I extension (Baypointe - I-880/Milpitas) whose target opening date is 17 May 2001.  Construction also began in early 2001 on Tasman East Phase II (I-880/Milpitas - Hostetter), to open in early 2004, and to be followed by the Capitol extension in eastern San Jose (Hostetter - Alum Rock).  The whole Baypointe - Alum Rock line will add 11 stations and some 13km to the VTA light-rail system, heading east on Tasman Drive from North First Street to Interstate freeway I-880, then south-east on elevated track for 2km along Great Mall Parkway and Capitol Avenue, returning to street-level and continuing south-east on Capitol Avenue to just south of Alum Rock Avenue.  

Ground-breaking ceremony was to take place in March 2001 at San Jose's Diridon main-line station (BLN 846.0160) for the Vasona extension Phase 1 (Children's Discovery Museum - San Fernando - San Jose Diridon - Downtown Campbell; eight new stations; 7.7km; R.1266).  Target opening date is late 2004.  Phase 2 (Downtown Campbell - Winchester; one new station; 0.8km) and Phase 3 (Winchester - Vasona Junction; two new stations; 2.5km) are to follow.  The line is to begin at a triangular junction in downtown San Jose just north of the existing light-rail station Children's Discovery Museum, heading north-west to San Fernando, entering a tunnel section under the north-south main-line railway to emerge facing south on the west side of Diridon station (interchange with Amtrak, Caltrain and Altamont Commuter Express), then heading south-west largely on existing Union Pacific right-of-way.  Website http://www.vta.org has maps of the extensions and of the existing system (Mountain View - Baypointe; opened 20 December 1999; R.0656; Baypointe - Children's Discovery Museum - Tamien - Ohlone/Chynoweth - Santa Teresa; and Ohlone/Chynoweth - Almaden; BLN 804.0298).

1328][US] Dallas, TX - South Irving - CenterPort for DFW Airport - Richland Hills (- Fort Worth, TX): (R.0651, 0902, 0924)  Resolution in mid-March 2001 of a local property dispute has cleared the way for extension of Trinity Railway Express commuter trains from Richland Hills to downtown Fort Worth by the target date of October 2001.  Fort Worth Transportation Authority (known as 'the T') plan also to move Amtrak's passenger, mail and package-express services from the Santa Fe Depot on Jones Street to the new Intermodal Transportation Center on the former Texas & Pacific Railroad site at Ninth and Jones Streets, where they will eventually bring together commuter and inter-city trains, Greyhound long-distance buses and local T buses.  (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

1329][US] (Wilmington, DE - Landenberg Jn -) Greenbank - Centreville - Mount Cuba - Hockessin, DE (- Southwood, DE - Landenberg, PA):  The Wilmington & Western Railroad opened 19 October 1872, and later became the Landenberg Branch of the big Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.  In the early 1940s the Southwood - Landenberg section closed, followed in the late 1950s by Hockessin - Southwood, leaving the present 16.3km branch from Landenberg Jn.  In the October 1957 Official Guide, it not only had no passenger service, but was not even shown in the B&O's listing.  In May 1966 tourist-train operations with steam traction began on the Greenbank - Mount Cuba section, the branch being initially leased from B&O but subsequently bought outright.  A washout on 16 September 1999 severely damaged the line so that only the 3km Greenbank - Centreville section remained usable, but after substantial and expensive works, including rebuilding of several bridges, the 5km Centreville - Mount Cuba section reopened on 25 November 2000, in time for pre-Christmas Santa Claus special trains, and Mount Cuba - Hockessin reopened 17 March 2001.  In the 2001 season Wilmington & Western steam and diesel trains run from April to December, mainly on Sundays and Tuesdays, and mainly from Greenbank to Mount Cuba, though Hockessin is also visited most months.  Information: http://www.wwrr.com.  (Wilmington & Western Railroad)  

1330][NL] Tilburg / 's-Hertogenbosch - Boxtel - Eindhoven: (BLN 824.0174, 844.091, 848.0205; Ball 4B1)  Fast trains did not use the platform roads at Boxtel's former single island, but by March 2001 the station had two islands with platform faces on all four tracks, so fast trains from both Tilburg and Den Bos can and do call.  The Tilburg and Den Bos lines now do not merge until the 1998 flying junction south-east of Boxtel station at km42.  Four tracks continued thence towards Eindhoven as far as km47.4, reverting temporarily to two tracks through Best, whose half-completed new station is underground.  South-east of Best four tracks resumed but these were still unused at km51 and wired only from km51.4.  After km53 all four lines were again in full use to Eindhoven.  Target date for completion of the quadruple-track project is 2002.  

Den Bos (= 'the wood') and Den Haag (= 'the hedge') are short versions of the more formal Dutch place-names 's-Hertogenbosch (= 'the Duke's wood') and 's-Gravenhage (= 'the Count's hedge').  (A British example of similar name-shortening is Kingston-upon-Hull).  NS stations use the short form at Den Haag but the long form at Den Bos.

1331][DE] Berlin: Zoologischer Garten - Charlottenburg - Westkreuz - Wannsee: (Ball 31B2)  Major renewal of this busy 15km of line is planned, and may involve a disruptive total closure of the Charlottenburg - Westkreuz section during 2003-04.  (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/2001)

1332][PL] Nasielsk - Pultusk:  During 2000 this 27km 750mm-gauge line continued in regular freight use, and a number of passenger specials also ran, the last being booked to do so on 20 October.  The line has been shortened to end at Pultusk coal-loading dock, some 500m short of the former passenger station, whose site is now occupied by new housing.  (Continental Railway Journal, #125, spring 2001)

1333][HR] Zagreb trams: (R.1038)  The metre-gauge tram system in the Croatian capital gained two extensions in October/November 2000.  Routes 1 and 4 now extend from Dubrava to Dubec in the north-east, and route 17 from Jarun to Precko in the south-west.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, April 2001, quoting Blickpunkt Strassenbahn)

1334][TR][IR] Istanbul Haydarpasa - Ankara - Tatvan - train-ferry - Van - Özalp - Kapiköy TCDD - Razi RAI - Tehran: (R.0233, 0258, 0803, 0874)  It seems that the pattern of operations described in some detail in the TCDD working timetable (and thus prematurely reported at R.0803) did actually begin with the Vangölü Ekspresi leaving Haydarpasa on Tuesday 13 March 2001.  In each direction the connecting train-ferry operates on Wednesdays only.  Passengers are conveyed by rail to Tatvan and walk on to the ship.  No passenger-coach works through, but the baggage-car is shunted on board and shunted off at Van to join a train for Tehran. 

1335][SY][TR][IR] Halab - Tatvan - train-ferry - Van - Tehran: (R.0804, 0899)  Syria's policy of opening up its borders to through rail services continues.  Officially inaugurated on 10 March 2001 was a weekly passenger service from the northern Syrian city of Halab (Aleppo) running via Turkey and the TCDD train-ferry across Lake Van through to the Iranian capital Tehran.  (Railway Gazette International, April 2001)

1336][CN] Shanghai metro:  The western orbital Pearl line (metro line 3) began revenue service on 26 December 2000.  (Railway Gazette International, February 2001; Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2001)

1337][KR] Seoul metro: (BLN 778.0203)  The final section of line 6 opened 15 December 2000. (Rly Gazette Int, Feb 2001)

1338][JP] Tokyo metro: (R.1259)  Yet another metro extension was to open on 26 March 2001, taking line 7 beyond the city into Saitama prefecture.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, April 2001)

1339][NZ] Napier - Gisborne:  This 212km freight-only branch of New Zealand's 1067mm-gauge system on the east coast of the North Island lost its passenger trains 8 March 1988 (BLN 795.078) and, with deteriorating track, has been threatened with complete closure (R.1062).  A report in February 2001 by consultants Booz-Allen & Hamilton for Hawke's Bay Regional Council says greatly increased logging from about 2005 should make the line viable, so government support might be justified for keeping it open till then.  Photographs of the Main Line Steam Trust excursion of 30 December 2000 showing a steam locomotive posed with a light aircraft confirm that trains still use the level-crossing over the airport runway at Gisborne.  Preservation group Gisborne City Vintage Railway run the occasional local trip, such as a Gisborne - Beach Loop excursion, 33km each way, on 24 February 2001, and plan further trips on 2 and 3 June 2001, a public holiday weekend.  The Main Line Steam Trust advertise a 16-day spring railtour on 10-24 October 2001 which includes the whole of the Napier - Gisborne line.  

1340][US][CA] Skagway, AK - White Pass Summit, BC - Fraser - Lake Bennett, BC (- Carcross, YT - Whitehorse): (BLN 823.0166, R.0880, 0901, 1035)  Built 1898-1900, the 914mm-gauge White Pass & Yukon Route connected Skagway, Alaska to the Yukon Territory in Canada.  It closed completely in 1982, but the southern end reopened 1988 for tourist trains, mainly carrying passengers from cruise-ships docked at Skagway.  Service was eventually extended to Lake Bennett, 65km inland, and the line is now one of Alaska's most popular visitor attractions, carrying more than 300,000 passengers during the 2000 summer season.  However, planned reopening in June 2001 of the 43km Lake Bennett - Carcross section has been postponed indefinitely.  Slowing of US economic activity plus the need for more work on both track and the WP&YR's steam locomotive are among the factors blamed.  (http://www.trains.com)

1341][US] Los Angeles, CA: Metrolink commuter rail:  Metrolink trains are operated by Amtrak for the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), a joint body formed by Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, Ventura County Transportation Commission, San Bernardino Associated Governments, Riverside County Transportation Commission, and Orange County Transportation Authority.  Metrolink services are intended essentially as an alternative to long-distance car-commuting, so stations may be remote from downtown areas and many have large car-parks.  Initially trains ran Mondays to Fridays only, but Saturday services were introduced on the San Bernardino Line from September 1995, the Antelope Valley Line from 1997 and the Riverside line from 24 June 2000, while the San Bernardino Line gained Sunday service from 25 June 2000.  San Bernardino Line weekend services extend over the Inland Empire Line to Riverside-Downtown.  No weekend services are operating or planned on the Ventura County Line or the Orange County Line, which are served by Amtrak Pacific Surfliner inter-city trains.  Ordinary tickets have timed validity.  Discounted fares apply to off-peak travel, but Metrolink offer no day ticket.  Services run at irregular intervals, frequency is limited and the middle-of-the-day pattern seems capricious, perhaps driven by crew-rostering and working the train-sets to the Taylor Yard maintenance-depot, south of Glendale on the Los Angeles - Burbank line.  It is not possible to travel the whole system in one day.  To interpret the complex rail geography of the greater Los Angeles area, Mike Walker's SPV Railroad Atlas of North America: California & Nevada (ISBN 1 874745 02 1) is recommended, and the Metrolink website map is also helpful (http://www.metrolinktrains.com/images/routemap.gif).  Some of the railroad abbreviations used in the ten items that follow are: ATSF = Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; BNSF = Burlington Northern Santa Fe; PE = Pacific Electric; SP = Southern Pacific; UP = Union Pacific. 

1342][US] Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal: (BLN 821.0112)  The hub of the Metrolink system, Los Angeles Union station, also known as Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT), at 800 North Alameda Street, is one of the world's more splendid stations, a triumphant civic project of 1939, California Mission Revival style in tile and stucco with a fine entrance and gardens to the west.  In October 2000 work was in progress on restoration of the ceiling of a further portion of the building. Metrolink have a staffed booking-window, unlike the rest of the system where the traveller is entirely dependent upon being able to work a vending-machine.  Unusually for a terminus, the station-offices and concourse are at right angles to, and west of, the tracks, not at the stop-blocks, so access to the trains is by a mid-platform pedestrian underpass.  Tracks 1 and 2 are not in use, reserved for the (light-rail, mainly surface) Metro Blue Line to Pasadena, not yet built (R.1345).  Metrolink trains use tracks 3 to 10 and Amtrak inter-city trains 11 and 12.  Underground, running east-west beneath the station, is the (heavy-rail) Metro Red Line of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), who have provided to the east of the surface tracks a rather extravagant new exit and bus-station plus a tower-block for their office-workers, no architectural match for LAUPT's west entrance, building and gardens.  Southern California Regional Rail Authority either own or dispatch the trackage on the approaches to LAUPT, including some sections that Metrolink trains do not traverse in service.  

North of LAUPT, towards Burbank, alternative routes run on either side of the Los Angeles River as far as Control Point Dayton (plus an out-of-use route via Bull Ring Yard to CP Capitol).  A LAUPT - Lancaster round-trip on the Antelope Valley line used only the West Bank line.  However, the East Bank line and the North East Connecting track (East Bank Jn - Taylor Jn) would carry the special Metrolink service from the Ventura County and Antelope Valley Lines to the California Speedway station (R.1346). 

South of LAUPT, near Amtrak's Santa Fe Avenue Yard maintenance-depot, is Redondo Jn, a triangle giving access to the BNSF line to the very busy port of Long Beach.  At the north vertex of the triangle, under the eye of Redondo Tower (= signal-box), a UP line crosses on the level to reach the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility.  Amtrak and Metrolink trains use the tight north-to-east curve and face a severe 24km/h speed restriction.  All in all, the layout at Redondo is a recipe for delay.  To avoid both the flat crossing and the sharp curve, an overbridge was under construction from just north of Redondo Jn crossing the UP and BNSF freight tracks and the Los Angeles River to rejoin the BNSF San Bernardino Subdivision near Hobart Tower, which oversees another flat crossing with UP, this time their San Pedro branch.  

1343][US] Los Angeles Metrolink: LAUPT - Burbank - Moorpark - Oxnard, CA:  This SP route already hosted Amtrak inter-city trains when SCRRA purchased it in 1992.  Metrolink Ventura County Line services began to run to Moorpark 26 October 1992 and were extended to Oxnard by 1994.

1344][US] Los Angeles Metrolink: LAUPT - Burbank - Santa Clarita - Palmdale - Lancaster, CA: With the opening in the 1960s of their Colton - Palmdale cut-off through the Cajon Pass, SP's Santa Clarita - Palmdale line through the Soledad Canyon had already become of less importance for freight.  Metrolink trains began running on the Burbank - Santa Clarita section 26 October 1992, but the extension of the Santa Clarita Line east and north to become the Antelope Valley Line was essentially unplanned, and began with the Northridge earthquake on 17 January 1994 which badly disrupted highway commuting.  From 24 January 1994 resourceful Metrolink staff began a basic train service which has since become established.  During the immediate post-earthquake start-up period Palmdale had a temporary passenger station on the SP line, but this later closed.  Though a physical junction at Palmdale remains, Metrolink trains do not now join the ex-SP, now UP, line there but run instead on a separate SCRRA-built parallel track north to a single-platform terminus at Lancaster, with a parallel stabling siding, a large car-park and a bus-station (where the office sells bus tickets but not train tickets, available only from a machine outside).  The whole Burbank - Santa Clarita - Palmdale - Lancaster line is now owned by SCRRA.

1345][US] Los Angeles - Pasadena - Arcadia - Pomona [Santa Fe] - Cambridge - San Bernardino, CA: (BLN 766.0496)  The route over the ATSF Pasadena Subdivision from Los Angeles (Broadway AT&SF Jn) via Pasadena to San Bernardino (West Yard) has not been used by passenger trains since Amtrak's Southwest Chief last ran this way on 14 January 1994.  Curiously, in its final few weeks via Pasadena, from 6 December 1993, the Chief was advertised to run non-stop between LAUPT and San Bernardino.  SCRRA in 1994 acquired the Pasadena right-of-way from ATSF for the Los Angeles - Pasadena light-rail Metro Blue Line (not Metrolink), but political and financial problems delayed progress (BLN 847.0192, R.1237).  In early March 2001 construction had at last begun, and was proceeding apace, with support piles in place and the formers for the concrete deck built for the curve out of LAUPT.  Above ground-level within the LAUPT station area, the Blue Line leaves the platform tracks, rises above the 'private-car' tracks and heads out to the north, swinging along the edge of Chinatown to join the ex-ATSF right-of-way at the bridge over the Los Angeles River.  Target opening date for the 22km 13-station light-rail line is July 2003.  Only the eastern end of the Pasadena Subdivision, the Arcadia - Pomona - Cambridge section, remains in freight use, and on this line Pomona's old Santa Fe depot still stands, easily visible from Metrolink San Bernardino Line trains passing through Pomona station on their parallel ex-SP track just to the south (R.1346).

1346][US] Los Angeles Metrolink: LAUPT - El Monte - Ramona - Bassett - Pomona [Metrolink] - Cambridge - Claremont - Rialto - San Bernardino, CA:  Metrolink San Bernardino Line trains to Pomona began 26 October 1992, and were extended to San Bernardino 17 May 1993, at that time sharing the Cambridge - San Bernardino section with Amtrak's Southwest Chief (R.1345, 1349).  The San Bernardino Line, single-track most of the way east to Cambridge, is largely on former PE, later SP, now SCRRA, right-of-way.  Just east of El Monte station at Control Point Ramona, Metrolink trains leave the PE (abandoned beyond) and swing south-east parallel to the ex-SP, now UP, West Line until they come to a SCRRA-built km-long flyover which takes them over and clear of it at Bassett.  After a double-track ex-SP section through Covina to the former San Dimas Jn, the ex-PE route is rejoined.  Some 2km east of Pomona Metrolink station, at CP Cambridge, the PE crossed the ATSF presumably on the level, and from here Metrolink trains join ex-ATSF, now SCRRA, track east to San Bernardino.  Most Metrolink stations are purpose-built, but at Claremont, c1km east of Cambridge, trains call at the old Santa Fe depot.  East of Rancho Cucamonga station are extensive sidings for the Kaiser Steel Fontana Mill, and the special California Speedway station.  During 2000 this had a special Metrolink service on Saturdays and Sundays during two weekend meetings (29-30 April and 28-29 October).  In addition to through platforms on the running line, it has 'terminal' platforms facing east, for trains from the San Bernardino direction, the tracks of which are otherwise used for freight shunting.  East of Rialto, San Bernardino Line trains join a new SCRRA flyover line (not shown in the SPV Atlas) that crosses over the BNSF at the west end of San Bernardino West Yard, this being their only route into San Bernardino Metrolink station on the south side of the main tracks.  This comprises no fewer than six west-facing dead-end bay platforms with a rather twee station building at the west end close to the car parking-lot, as if to emphasise Metrolink's disdain for the old-fashioned Santa Fe depot nearby.  The latter, a somewhat forbidding building of perhaps 1930s vintage, is now much too large for the few Amtrak 'guests' who still use its ticket-hall and waiting-lobby.  Any BNSF presence has presumably decamped long since to West Yard, and Metrolink's interest is limited to a ticket-machine outside.  The station's condition seems to be deteriorating, and one is greeted by an indefinable smell of decay and the suspicion that no-one can bring themselves either to restore the place or put it out of its misery. 

1347][US] Los Angeles - El Monte - Ramona - Bassett - Pomona [Amtrak] - Ontario - West Colton Yard (- Palm Springs, CA):  This is the route east for Amtrak's Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle.  After leaving the immediate environs of LAUPT, the inter-city train used to run on SP track via San Gabriel instead of ex-PE via El Monte, thus sharing only the very short Ramona - Bassett section with Metrolink, but it now uses the Metrolink route out to Bassett, thereafter taking the ex-SP, now UP, West Line parallel and to the north of the ex-UP, now SCRRA, Metrolink Riverside Line.  Pomona now has three passenger stations: Amtrak's is at 156 West Commercial Street, c.3km south of Metrolink's Pomona station on the San Bernardino Line and c.1.5km east of Metrolink's new Downtown Pomona station on the Riverside Line.  

1348][US] Los Angeles Metrolink: LAUPT - Industry - Downtown Pomona - East Ontario - Riverside-Downtown:  This UP route saw Metrolink Riverside Line trains begin 14 June 1993.  The newest station on the Metrolink system, Downtown Pomona, opened on 5 February 2001 (R.1236).  From SCRRA Jn, just short of West Riverside Jn where the UP route trails into the BNSF, an independent parallel track runs north on the west side of the main line, keeping the BNSF line clear of Metrolink traffic due to terminate at the island platform in the SCRRA station, Riverside-Downtown.  This station also has platforms on the main line for Metrolink trains continuing to San Bernardino, and access at the north end for stock movements between the main and the island-platform roads.  North of Riverside-Downtown the former Santa Fe Riverside station building is still standing on the west side of the track, at 10th Street.

1349][US] Los Angeles Metrolink: LAUPT - Fullerton - Atwood - West Corona - West Riverside Jn - Riverside-Downtown (- San Bernardino):  This ex-ATSF, now BNSF, route has hosted Amtrak's Southwest Chief since January 1994, and since October 1995 some Metrolink Riverside Line trains have offered a limited service this way as far as Riverside-Downtown.  Also in October 1995 Metrolink Inland Empire/Orange County Line trains began to use the route, running from San Juan Capistrano on the Orange County Line (R.1351), continuing north on the short ex-ATSF, now SCRRA, section Orange - Anaheim Canyon - Atwood, then turning east to Riverside Downtown and San Bernardino.  

1350][US] Los Angeles Metrolink: Riverside-Downtown - San Bernardino:  North of Riverside the south-to-north BNSF line is busy with both BNSF and UP traffic, for UP have running powers over BNSF from West Riverside Jn to San Bernardino and beyond to Barstow and Daggett, CA.  The west-to-east ex-SP, now UP, line from West Colton Yard to Palm Springs, CA is likewise a busy line.  The two intersect at Colton Santa Fe Interlocking, a right-angled flat crossing of two double-track main routes both with passenger trains, a relatively unusual feature.  At one time all four quadrants had connecting chords but only the south-to-west and east-to-north curves remain (the SPV atlas omits them all).  At Rana, approaching San Bernardino from the south, Metrolink trains must take what appears to have been the original main line alignment, reconstructed by SCRRA to give access to the Metrolink platforms at San Bernardino, while Amtrak's Southwest Chief presumably follows the freight route from Rana looping to the west past San Bernardino B and West Yards to run into the main platforms at San Bernardino.  Just west of these platforms is a double-slip crossover which would allow trains to or from BNSF's San Bernardino - Barstow line to use either of the new Metrolink approaches, but the link seemed little used.

1351][US] Los Angeles Metrolink: LAUPT - Fullerton - San Juan Capistrano - San Clemente - San Clemente Pier - Oceanside, CA:  This has long been the route of Amtrak's successful inter-city Los Angeles - San Diego San Diegans, relaunched in 2000 as the San Luis Obispo - Los Angeles - San Diego Pacific Surfliner route.  Orange County Transportation Authority's limited LAUPT - San Juan Capistrano commuter service joined the inter-city trains on the route in 1990.  SCRRA bought the line south of Fullerton from ATSF, and Metrolink Orange County Line trains took over the commuter service, extended to Oceanside, on 28 March 1994.  Metrolink's San Clemente station is to the north of the community, with a substantial parking-lot for commuters, and Amtrak trains used to call there.  However, Amtrak trains now serve San Clemente only during the summer months, calling instead at San Clemente Pier, a single platform without car-parking, adjacent to the pier and convenient for casual trippers.  

1352][EC] Quito - Cotopaxi - Riobamba - Alausí - Sibambe (- Huigra - Bucay - Durán): (BLN 694.014, 725.065, 840.0643, 843.078)  Notwithstanding R.0395, a September 2000 report quoted in Continental Railway Journal (#125, spring 2001) said that passenger service clung to life on the moribund 1067mm-gauge Guayaquil & Quito, comprising a Sundays-only Quito - Cotopaxi tourist train, a weekly Quito - Riobamba round-trip, and three weekly round-trips from Riobamba to Alausí and down the switchbacks of the Devil's Nose to Sibambe.  All used a diesel locomotive, not steam, nor autoferro.

1353][PE] Pachacayo - Chaucha:  The Ferrocarril Yauricocha, a 1435mm-gauge mineral branch owned by Cerro de Pasco/Centromin but reached over the tracks of the Ferrocarril Central del Perú, seemed in use when passed by an ADL charter train in November 1999 (R.0514), but was reported (Continental Railway Journal, #125, spring 2001) as having closed to traffic from July 2000.

1354][AR] Buenos Aires Once - Bragado - Olascoaga - Timote - Carlos Tejedor - Gonzales Moreno - Pico:  Successors to the nationalised Ferrocarriles Argentinos in running various lines in the province outside the capital, the Unidad Ejecutora del Programa Ferroviario Provincial del Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires fortunately have a snappier trading title, Ferrobaires, though much of their rolling-stock still carries the lettering UEPFP.  By March 2001 Ferrobaires had restored passenger trains (thrice-weekly) on the Bragado - Carlos Tejedor section of this ex-Sarmiento 1676mm-gauge line, and were shortly to reopen west to Pico.  From 3 April 2001 Ferrobaires also extended their daily 209km Once - Bragado passenger service four times a week the extra 103km north-west to Lincoln, reopening the Bragado - Lincoln section, whose passenger service had been suspended since December 1999 due to poor condition of the track.  The journey takes seven hours, though the fares are modest: ARP16 in Pullman, ARP12.60 in first and ARP10.90 in tourist class (ARP1=USD1=c.GBP0.70).  Ferrobaires passenger trains have been running to Pico since 1998 using a rather indirect route (Buenos Aires Once - Bragado - Pehuajo - Catriló - Pico).  Passengers and motor-cars are carried on the (Buenos Aires -) Catriló - Santa Rosa - Toay route further west into the province of La Pampa, to terminate 616km from the capital.  

1355][AR] Buenos Aires Plaza Constitución - Bahía Blanca - Viedma - Ingeniero Jacobacci - San Carlos de Bariloche: (BLN 731.0129, 793.028)  Ferrobaires passenger trains run Buenos Aires - Bahia Blanca (640km) daily and Sefepa (Servicios Ferroviarios Patagónicos) trains run Viedma - Bariloche (819km) twice a week, but the 282km UEPFP-owned Bahía Blanca - Viedma section of this former General Roca 1676mm-gauge line has been closed to passengers since September 1995.  In March 2001 it was being upgraded to passenger safety standards, and through Buenos Aires - Bariloche passenger service is to be restored.  

1356][UY] Tacuarembó - Rivera:  The chequered recent history of this passenger operation in the rural north of Uruguay was set out in R.0928.  Mechanical problems with the line's three elderly Brill railcars caused the nationalised Administración de Ferrocarriles del Estado to withdraw the service once more from 13 December 2000.  Private-sector interests have again proposed their Líneas Férreas Uruguayas project to take over the line and repair the rolling-stock.  

1357][BR] Brazil: passenger closures: (R.0550; BLN 1997 supplement at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/br_paulo.htm)  Railway privatisation in Brazil has been regarded as quite a success, particularly for freight, having led already to much investment in both trains and track, but operation and infrastructure are not in the hands of separate companies as in the British government's unimpressive model.  (Continental Railway Journal, #125, spring 2001)  The (metre and 1600mm-gauge) Paulista network owned by the province of São Paulo was taken over on 1 January 1999 by private-sector company Ferrovias Bandeirantes SA.  However from 15 March 2001 Ferroban are reported as having withdrawn all the passenger trains running over their system.  

1358][GB] Bleach Green Jn - Mossley West - Templepatrick - Antrim: (R.0083, 1118, 1119, 1296)  Northern Ireland Railways expect to reopen the Bleach Green - Antrim line to regular passenger services on Sunday 10 June 2001.  The devolved administration's regional-development minister, Gregory Campbell, announced in early April 2001 that he had agreed with NIR that they should continue to provide a Lisburn - Knockmore - Ballinderry - Glenavy - Crumlin - Antrim service, which would comprise three trains each way on weekdays, two trains northbound and three trains southbound on Saturdays and one train each way on Sundays.  He said 'this level of service will be maintained at least until autumn 2001 as the Assembly could not approve a closure motion before then even if they were so minded'.  However, he hoped to keep the service running till at least June 2002, to gauge the effect on passenger numbers of a new free-travel-for-the-elderly scheme.  On 25 April scheduled trains were again being diverted via Bleach Green - Antrim, running Belfast - Antrim - Ballymena only.  The diversion enabled NIR to speed up the service beyond Antrim, partially compensating for bus substitution on the Ballymena - Ballymoney section while security forces dealt with a potentially explosive device left on the track near Dunloy. 

1359][IE] Dublin Heuston - Inchicore - Sallins - Newbridge - Kildare:  Dublin's classic Heuston terminus is being redeveloped, with an eventual increase in the number of platforms from 5 to 10, and major work on the approaches to allow more trains, smoother operation and reduced delays.  Most of the main line out to Kildare is being quadrupled to provide increased capacity for Arrow commuter trains, and in connection with this work a new wider railway bridge over Sarsfield Road, carrying three tracks instead of two, was to be installed during the 4-7 May 2001 public-holiday weekend, involving closure of the Heuston - Inchicore section from 23:00 Friday to 12:00 on Monday, with buses ferrying passengers out to Sallins (for Ballina, Westport, Galway and Limerick), to Newbridge (for Tralee and Cork) and to Athy (for Waterford).  (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1360][IE] (Limerick Check - Ballingrane Jn -) Newcastle West - Listowel - Tralee: (BLN 749.081; Baker 90A1-89B1 not shown)  The former GS&W station at Listowel on the closed North Kerry line was in spring 2001 being restored and rebuilt as a museum which is to include a section of unusual track commemorating the famous (1888-1924) Listowel - Ballybunion railway (BLN 757.0289).  Some 500m of the former 1600mm-gauge formation towards Tralee had been cleared and reballasted in preparation for laying a stretch of A-frame-supported elevated monorail to the characteristic design of 19th-century French engineer Charles Lartigue.  (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1361][FR] Gardanne - Brignoles - Carnoules: (BLN 793.07, 798.0133, 843.056; Ball 75B3-76B2)  Special trains from Marseille via Gardanne and from Nice via Carnoules were planned for 5 May 2001, meeting up at Brignoles for a manifestation to press for passenger reopening of this freight-only line.  (La Vie du Rail, 4 April 2001)

1362][NL] Kesteren - Rhenen: (BLN 730.0106, 732.0136; Ball 4B2)  Kesteren station on the Geldermalsen - Tiel - Kesteren - Elst line is in the vee of the east-facing junction with the former Kesteren - Rhenen - Amersfoort line, and the platform of the latter was still being used in 2001 as a siding for storing freight vehicles.  Immediately beyond the station area, however, the course of the line, officially closed in 1946, is occupied by a road which uses the old rail embankment as far as the replacement bridge across the river Neder Rijn.  The only remains of the rail bridge damaged in World War II are two stone piers in a field to the south of the river, reused by the road bridge.  Possibly extensive reconstruction of earthworks and associated structures has taken place, for an underbridge on the approach to the river-crossing, although of traditional 19th-century appearance, bears a 1955 date stone.  At Rhenen, the continuation of this road occupies the western side of a cutting crossed by another road on a viaduct, whose eastern arch spans the car-park of the present Rhenen branch terminus lying immediately north of the viaduct.  The level of the station, and of the single-track Aansluiting De Haar - Rhenen branch approaching it, has at some time been raised, for the road-viaduct arch now offers insufficient clearance for trains beneath it.

1363][NL] Nijmegen Hunnerpark - Beek - Berg-en-Dal: (Ball 4B2 not shown)  To the east of Nijmegen is an area of upland reaching the dizzy elevation of 97m, dropping on its northern side as a steep escarpment to the flood-plain of the river Waal. About 5km from Nijmegen, the twin villages of Beek (= brook) and Berg-en-Dal (= hill and dale) sit at the bottom and top of this feature.  Steam tram routes from Nijmegen reached both villages around 1900, and were later electrified.  In 1912 the so-called Bergbaan (= mountain railway) was built to link the two villages directly, extending for 2km from the end of the tramway in Beek to the Berg-en-Daal hotel.  In true mountain-railway style the route included a full spiral around a spur known as Sterreberg, recrossing itself on a five-arch concrete viaduct 15m high and 85m long. According to a 1949 timetable poster, trams ran at 16-minute intervals from Hunnerpark, in the suburbs of Nijmegen, along mainly roadside track to Berg-en-Dal, but services ceased in the 1950s and apart from traces of the approach embankments to the viaduct little now remains. (Mooi Nederland (= beautiful Netherlands) Museum, Beek)

1364][NL][DE] Nijmegen - Groesbeek NS - Kranenburg DB - Kleve: (R.0304; Ball NL-4A2-5B2, DE-23A1)  From its last physical connection with the rest of the NS system opposite the stabling sidings south of Nijmegen station the out-of-use single-track Nijmegen - Kleve line, closed 2 June 1991, runs parallel to the double-track Nijmegen - Venlo line south for some 6km.  It has its own disused platform-face at Nijmegen-Heyendaal, on the east side of an island.  By the time they reach a level-crossing on the fringe of the city, the tracks of the Kleve and Venlo lines are beginning to diverge, and in March 2001 the metals of the Kleve line and its lifting-barriers were seen to have been removed where they crossed the road, to make the crossing easier for drivers.  Beyond, the Kleve line gradually starts to climb and swings eastward away from the Venlo line.  The site of Groesbeek station is marked only by the existence of 'Stationstraat'.  About 1km to the east a new road has been constructed across the line, and a track panel has been removed and placed to one side on top of the remaining track.  The road appears to have been designed so as to allow a proper level-crossing to be installed if ever required.  At the Dutch-German border, the crossed sleepers (Schwellenkreuz) that typically indicate closure in Germany are planted between the tracks.  What is presumed to be the actual NS/DB boundary, marked by a white-painted rail-length stuck vertically in the ground, and by a change from wooden to concrete sleepers, is in fact c.5m inside Dutch territory.  At this location, the national border follows a ditch which the railway crosses by a small culvert, and this arrangement would avoid splitting maintenance responsibility for the structure.  The DB section is perhaps even more overgrown than the NS section.  Kranenburg station building was being renovated, perhaps as some kind of community-centre.  A nameboard remains, of the 1960s type with rounded black-on-white upper-case lettering.  At the level-crossing over highway 9 between Kranenburg and Kleve, road traffic is still required to slow to 70km/h in case of non-existent approaching trains.

1365][DE] Bielefeld Hbf - Paderborn Hbf - Altenbeken - Holzminden - Kreiensen - Braunschweig Hbf: (Ball 25B1-26B1-27A2)  The two-hourly Bielefeld - Braunschweig Regional Bahn stopping trains are advertised at Paderborn Hbf as travelling only to and from Holzminden, where they stand for a tedious 31min eastbound and 30min westbound.  Despite the wearisome stop, many passengers continued through on the 09:50-10:21 eastbound service on 17 February 2001.  The train-number changes twice on the journey, at Paderborn Hbf, where reversal takes place, and at Holzminden, but the Class 628 unit does display its ultimate destination.  The more southerly Ottbergen - Northeim route (Ball 40A3-40B3) provides a rather faster and scenically more attractive route from Westfalen to the Harz area.

1366][DE] Oberhausen Hbf - Duisburg-Meiderich-Süd - Duisburg-Ruhrort: (BLN 733.0155-6, 742.0343, 743.0359, 790.0456; Ball 33A3)  On 3 March 2001 this DB Regio shuttle service was being worked by two Dürener Kreisbahn single-unit RegioSprinters with Rurtalbahn branding.  The Monday-Friday service runs every 20 minutes while the weekend service runs only every 30 minutes, though both require two units, a curious use of resources.  At Duisburg-Ruhrort trains terminate at a new single platform, typical of modern DB Haltepunkte, complete with a tall red colonnade to shelter the ticket-machines.  The previous station, in typical 1950s style with a terminal island platform and a small concourse, remains in a derelict condition immediately to the south.  The Ruhrort branch originally served a train-ferry across the river Rhein.  

1367][DE] Au (Sieg) - Breitscheidt - Altenkirchen - Westerburg - Limburg (Lahn): (Ball 38B1-49A3)  Au, a deeply rural junction in the valley of the river Sieg, seems a somewhat unlikely terminus for S-Bahn trains from Köln.  Between Au and Altenkirchen the local line south retains much of the atmosphere of a German country Nebenbahn, all its stops except Breitscheidt being single-platform halts with small pitched-roof shelters.  Kloster Marienthal (plain 'Marienthal' on the station signs) occupies a particularly photogenic location near a tunnel-mouth, and only a Ferkeltaxi railbus would be needed to complete the picture.  Breitscheidt has a loop, and its platforms have been rebuilt a little to the north, perhaps to make the original station building more saleable, for it is now in private occupation.  After the reversal at Altenkirchen, the Oberwesterwaldbahn south-east to Westerburg had a feeling of having known better days, but the 08:20 Au - Limburg Class 628 unit on 10 March 2001 carried a reasonable number of passengers for that hour on a Saturday morning.  Many made quite long journeys, Westerburg being a popular destination.  On the Westerburg - Limburg section the train was particularly well filled, with few vacant seats left when it arrived at its terminus..

1368][DE] (Koblenz -) Niederlahnstein - Bad Ems - Limburg (Lahn): (Ball 48B3)  The c.3km section between a point west of Bad Ems West station and the western throat of Bad Ems station was singled in the mid 1990s (BLN 760.0377, 763.0423) and has remained single, perhaps because of instability of the steep rocky slopes above, possibly not helped by road construction at a higher level.  As a result, one of the platforms remains out of use at Bad Ems West, reconstructed in 1995 and located close to the town-centre.  The 'main' Bad Ems station, though it seems not to merit formal recognition as the town's Hauptbahnhof, has a neat little arched overall roof, extending over about two coach lengths.

1369][DE] Herborn (Dillkreis) - Hartenrod (Kreis Biedenkopf): (R.0445, 1303; Ball 39A1-39B1; KBS624)  The closure threatened from June 2001 seems justified if patronage is as poor as it was on 20 January 2001, when the 13:40 Herborn - Hartenrod Class 628 railcar, last service of the weekend, set off with four passengers other than our reporter, three of them being a couple with a baby who all travelled straight back on the 14:43 return working!  A handful of passengers joined at intermediate stations, many of them teenagers, possibly because the likely absence of ticket-checks on driver-only Schaffnerlos branch services encourages local youth to use trains in preference to buses.  On the return leg the railcar carried about a dozen passengers, many of whom stayed on board when it reversed at Herborn to head north to Dillenburg.  There they would retrace part of their journey on a InterRegio train south via Herborn towards Frankfurt-am-Main.

1370][DE] (Marburg -) Cölbe - Bad Laasphe - Erndtebrück: (BLN 730.0113, 755.0247; Ball 39A1)  On 3 March 2001 the one-person-operated Class 628 unit forming the 12:25 Marburg (Lahn) - Erndtebrück left with some 20 passengers on board, but all except our reporter had alighted by Bad Laasphe.  At this station, the driver walked back to enquire as to his passenger's connectional requirements at Erndtebrück, though running up the Obere Lahntalbahn had been punctual and remained so over the rest of the journey, despite speed restrictions of 20 and even 10km/h in places.  The train did not call at Leimstruth or Schameder, although these stops are not identified as request-only in the DB Kursbuch.  At the latter station, only one set of footprints disturbed the snow on the platform, believed to have fallen as much as 36 hours previously!  The 14:01 Erndtebrück - Marburg return working had some six passengers on board, as observed from the 14:00 Siegen - Bad Berleburg train which made a simultaneous parallel departure.

1371][DE] (Bestwig -) Abzw Nuttlar - Bigge - Winterberg (- Hallenberg): (Ball 39A2-39B2)  Possibly loadings are better in winter, since Winterberg (Westfalen) has pretensions towards being a ski-resort - for which it has an appropriate name.  However, the branch seemed to our reporter quite run-down, and poorly used.  On 14 April 2001 he and a companion were the only two passengers on the 17:44 from Winterberg until a couple joined at Bigge, the first station on the branch, almost in sight of Olsberg station on the Schwerte - Bestwig - Warburg main line.  Beyond the present terminus at Winterberg, the platform road and two rusty sidings end in stop-blocks, and the trackbed enters a cutting, which ends abruptly just beyond a modern road bridge.  This must be at about the point where the former line to Hallenberg entered Winterberger Tunnel #1, whose entrance seems to have been blocked up about 1996 (BLN 783.0307, 807.0357).  

1372][DE] Scharzfeld - Bad Lauterberg: (BLN 764.0442, 765.0465; Ball 41A3)  Scharzfeld, the junction station for this somewhat threatened 4km branch in Niedersachsen, was in a poor state, semi-derelict and bedecked with neo-Nazi graffiti on 17 February 2001, but the 11:04 Braunschweig Hbf - Scharzfeld - Bad Lauterberg train and its 13:05 return working were reasonably well-used.  Numerous open level-crossings made the journey down the branch very slow.  By contrast to the junction, the wooden chalet-style station building at the terminus retained an attractive appearance, being in use as a do-it-yourself store.  Freight traffic at Bad Lauterberg seemed healthy, with both Swiss and Italian wagons in the sidings.  A number of passengers off the branch train changed at Scharzfeld for the Regional Express east to Nordhausen. 

1373][DE][CZ] Eibau - Seifhennersdorf DB - Varnsdorf CD - Großschönau (Sachsen) DB - Zittau: (Ball 44B2-44A2; KBS236)  In the 4km between Seifhennersdorf and Grossschönau (Sachsen), DB Korridorzüg local trains on this German loop line run non-stop through Varnsdorf station in the Czech Republic.  Due to poor condition of the track, all passenger trains on the Eibau - Varnsdorf section are likely to cease from the June 2001 timetable change (R.1243) and the Korridorzüge would be replaced by buses running entirely within Germany.  Czech trains would continue to run Varnsdorf CD - Zittau DB - Hradek nad Nisou CD - Liberec.  

1374][DE] (Bebra -) Hönebach - Bosserode - Gerstungen - Neustadt - Wommen - Herleshausen - Wartha (- Hörschel - Eisenach): (BLN 708.03, 717.09, 734.0164, 753.0190, 760.0376, Ball 40B1-41A1)  This line runs for some distance along the provincial boundary between Hessen and Thüringen, which after World War II became first the boundary between the US and Soviet military occupation zones and later the frontier between the two German states, the western Bundesrepublik Deutschland and the eastern Deutsche Demokratische Republik.  With five crossings of the ideological border in 22km, this made for anomalies in railway operation for Deutsche Bundesbahn and Deutsche Reichsbahn alike, after the DDR introduced border-controls in 1952, and even stricter controls after building the notorious Berlin Wall in 1961.  Despite extensive modernisation and electrification of the line in the 1990s, much of interest from Cold War days is still to be seen.  

The first two border-crossings, between Hönebach and Bosserode, led to a rare anomaly indeed, a kilometre or so of DB track on the soil of the DDR.  Though this is mostly in cutting and bordered on one side by thick woodland, sufficient remaining roadways and earthworks can be glimpsed in the adjoining countryside to give an impression of how this dangerous opportunity for citizens to flee the socialist republic must have been effectively sealed off from the rest of the DDR.  

The third border-crossing was west of Gerstungen and marked the DB/DR boundary.  Since reunification Gerstungen's original through passenger station is again used by all trains, but in DDR times from the early 1960s it served only as a terminus for DR local trains, through trains to the west using a separate so-called 'international station' on the northern edge of the station site.  This still stands, much vandalised.  Rusty track runs alongside the platforms, and one can wander through the corridors in which incoming and outgoing passengers were processed, and even visit a sinister windowless room with a padded door just by the exit check-point.  The area now forms a kind of unofficial adventure playground for the youth of families living in the former border-guards' barracks close by.  Between the two stations lie several customs-sheds and railway buildings, most of them seemingly dating from the early days of partition.  The obsession with preventing flight to the west led also to DR opening in 1963 the Gerstungen - Dietrichsberg - Förtha (- Eisenach) deviation line which avoided transit of the BRD via Herleshausen, and kept DR trains well away from the border area generally.  The trackless formation of this deviation can be seen diverging east of Gerstungen, its first underbridge having been removed.  The steeply-graded single line, resented by railwaymen as an imposition upon them by the DDR authorities, was lifted after reunification.  Continuing east on the main line, still in the former DDR, the closed station of Neustadt has its building decorated externally with various items of mechanical signalling equipment.  

The line then makes its fourth border-crossing, back into the BRD, passing through Wommen, an ex-DR station in the former West, now closed, though the buildings still stand.  Herleshausen, once also a DR station in the BRD, remains open.  Still bearing its old DR station sign, with the rather compressed upper-and-lower-case lettering, it retains something of the sleepy atmosphere that must have prevailed while it waited for the daily freight train to pass through, solemnly maintaining the eastern bloc's presence on the line after all other traffic had been diverted to the Gerstungen - Förtha deviation.  DR kept Herleshausen staffed in case the line should be required for a diversion, which did once occur due to an accident in 1973.  

At the fifth border-crossing the line entered the DDR for the final time at Wartha.  In about 1960 the station here was extensively rebuilt and expanded as a frontier check-point for both rail and road traffic, but shortly after opening this was made redundant by the DDR's stricter security following erection of the Berlin Wall, the building of the Gerstungen - Förtha deviation and the transfer of the border checks to Gerstungen.  Little now remains of the Wartha check-point installation, only one small building adjacent to the former station-house having the unmistakable stamp of DDR officialdom.  The site of the short-lived GÜST (Grenzübergangstelle = border-crossing point) is now occupied by a warehouse, apparently containing material unloaded from the hopper wagons in adjacent sidings.  Wartha station did not reopen to passengers after reunification, being only 2km west of Hörschel.

1375][DE] (Northeim - Scharzfeld -) Bad Sachsa - Walkenried - Ellrich (- Nordhausen): (BLN 734.0164; Ball 41A3)  Most of the short Bad Sachsa - Walkenried section remains single-track, as does the former border-crossing section, Walkenried - Ellrich.  Walkenried has extensive derelict sidings containing the usual equipment associated with railway frontier-stations.  However, by contrast with Gerstungen (R.1374), the DDR border-crossing installations at Ellrich have disappeared virtually without trace, save for a big concrete watch-tower in the middle of the sidings.  The Niedersachsen - Thüringen boundary which became the Innengrenze fell in an awkward position for railway operations, with the BRD taking a small bite out of the western throat of Ellrich station, the rest of which was in the DDR.  To resolve this problem, in the early post-World War II period British and Soviet military authorities agreed that the whole of Ellrich station should come under Soviet control, while in compensation, the border, which legally lay on the south side of the line as it came in from Walkenried, would be observed as if it were on the north side of the tracks, bringing an equal area of railway land into the British sector.  These practical arrangements received some official blessing long afterwards during the Ostpolitik discussions of the 1970s, but the legal border was never actually adjusted.  The DB/DR boundary was fixed at this revised de facto crossing from western to eastern jurisdiction, and led to small sections of DB and DR trackage being in the 'wrong' country.  Ironically, the points for the sand-drag at Ellrich, a track-feature installed specifically to prevent unauthorised westward movements at all DDR border stations, were located on West German soil! (Some of the historical background in R.1374-5 is from the BahnProfil article 'Schienen ohne Grenze' at http://www.eisenbahn.de/pdf/BP15_Grenze.pdf)

1376][DE] (Dresden Hbf -) Dresden-Klotzsche - Dresden-Flughafen: (Ball 45B1)  North of Klotzsche station a new flying junction takes trains on to what was the line to Dresden-Grenzstrasse, closed in May 1998 but extended and reopened to serve an underground station at Dresden airport.  According to Today's Railways for May 2001 the 3.5km branch was officially inaugurated 8 March, with revenue services beginning 25 March 2001, run by new Class 642 two-car diesel units pending electrification for S-Bahn operation in early 2003.  

1377][PT] Nazaré funicular: (Ball 17A1 not shown)  The Portuguese Atlantic coastal town of Nazaré, c.13km north-east of São Martinho do Porto on the (Lisboa -) Cacém - Figueira da Foz line, has a funicular which might not readily pass safety-inspection elsewhere.  In spring 2001 several of the doors on the car were missing where their supports had rusted through, and local passengers were taking advantage of this to jump off on to the sloping platforms before the vehicle had stopped!  Service is basically half-hourly, at a one-way fare of PTE115=EUR0.57=c.GBP0.36.  Return tickets are not issued.

1378][PT] Porto Trindade - Bifurcação da Boavista - Senhora da Hora (- Trofa / Póvoa de Varzim): (R.0280, 1220; Ball 7A1)  The 2.2km branch from the metre-gauge terminus Porto Trindade to the junction at Boavista opened 30 October 1938.  The 3.5km section from Bif da Boavista to Senhora da Hora (and the 24km onward to Póvoa de Varzim) opened 1 October 1875.  On Friday 27 April 2001 the last passenger train left Trindade platform 4 as #15238, the 22:45 to Senhora da Hora, after which the busy Porto Trindade - Senhora da Hora section closed, being disconnected over a weekend engineering possession when no trains ran on the metre-gauge system.  At Senhora da Hora, just north-east of the old station, the new one with four platform faces was readied to become, from Monday morning 30 April, the temporary inner terminus for CP trains out to Trofa and Póvoa de Varzim.  It will in due course become an interchange between the CP metre-gauge and the first line of the standard 1435mm-gauge Metro do Porto heading in on partly new alignment to a new city-centre underground station near Trindade.  In the longer term, once the Trofa and Póvoa de Varzim lines are regauged, realigned in places, and electrified, Senhora da Hora will become purely a junction station on the metro.  The former goods-shed and water-tower on the west side of Senhora da Hora old station building have been retained, marooned on an island surrounded by new roads. 

1379][PT] Tua - Mirandela (- Carvalhais - Bragança): (Ball 8A1-8B2)  The metre-gauge Linha do Tua had four trains a day in the CP timetable of 24 September 2000, but by March 2001 the 10:23 Mirandela - Tua and 14:10 Tua - Mirandela had been withdrawn.  On 14 March 2001, the 14:50 Mirandela - Tua comprised a diesel locomotive and a single coach with 42 passengers on board.  People alighted at all stations from Frechas to Brunheda, including Ribeirinha and Codeçais, shown as closed in the Ball atlas.  Three passengers picked up at Brunheda travelled to Tua, but the last passenger from Mirandela, other than our reporter, alighted at São Lourenço.  Most travellers are thus making very local trips, not surprising when the Porto - Mirandela journey by train takes about five hours compared with two and a half by bus.  Beyond the Mirandela - Carvalhais Mirandela Metro section (R.0338, 0450) the Linha do Tua is closed.  At the former terminus of Bragança, a 2m-high fence separates the disused trackbed from the main building.  A bus company has its office there, and both buffet and toilets are open.  

1380][PT] Torre das Vargens - Cunheira - Vale do Peso - Castelo de Vide - Marvão-Beirã CP (- Valencia de Alcántara RENFE): (R.103; Ball 27A3)  The west-to-east Ramal de Alcácer is very sinuous and scenic, and is traversed by two CP Torre das Vargens - Marvão-Beirã day trains each way, as well as the overnight international train that continues across the border.  None of the stations is now staffed, ticket-issuing at Torre das Vargens, Vale do Peso, Castelo de Vide and Marvão-Beirã having ceased from 1 January 1999.  The junction station, Torre das Vargens (km174.2 from Lisboa), has a spacious layout comprising the original through line (Entroncamento - Abrantes - Torre das Vargens - Elvas CP - Badajoz RENFE), plus three loops on the north side and one on the south side.  From the southernmost of the north loops the line to Marvão begins, heading east.  An island platform with no building lies between this north loop and the through line.  The main platform, with the two-storey station building, is to the south of the south loop.  On the western, Abrantes, side of the station, the south loop gives access to a trailing siding by the water-tower, and a former siding headed into a shed.  On the eastern side a siding leads to the goods-shed.  The ticket-and-baggage-office is closed, but a bar was still in operation in April 2001.  The main platform has several seats, painted white and giving greetings in several languages, the English one wishing the traveller a 'pleasant journey'.  Heading east from Torre das Vargens the two single lines run parallel for about a kilometre before separating.  Many telegraph-poles next to the Marvão line are crowned by storks' nests.  

At Cunheira (km186.4) the single platform on the south side has a single-storey station building and house.  The loop has been lifted, but the goods platform remains, with no goods-shed.  Vale do Peso A (km200.7) is a single platform with a simple shelter on the south side east of a level-crossing.  Vale do Peso (km203.4) by contrast has a single-storey building beautifully decorated with pictorial scenes made up of azulejos, the blue tiles found on many CP stations.  The building sits on the main platform on the north side, served by a loop which also gives access to a siding leading to the goods-shed west of the platforms.  Between the loop and the through line is an island platform, and at the east end of the loop a water-tower.  Castelo de Vide (km223.4) has two loops on the north side with a small island between the first loop and the through line serving the main platform on the south side.  The main sign on the single-storey building shows the station name as 'Castelo', but the traditional water-tower and the attractive azulejos on the side of the building both use the older spelling 'Castello'.  Close to the water-tower a siding trailing off the through line south-east of the platforms serves the goods-shed.  

Marvão-Beirã (km238.9), the Portuguese border station, again has quite an extensive layout, with four loops on the north side, and a small island between the first loop and the through line serving the main platform on the south side.  As well as the two-storey station building with tiled local scenes, Marvão-Beirã has a separate restaurant building west of it.  The water-tower is at the west end of the main platform, as is the former turntable, served by a now-lifted trailing siding.  East of the platform on the south side is a freight loop, with a siding off to serve the goods-shed.  The single line continues east to cross the frontier into Spain by a bridge, the Ponte do Sever, at km246.6 from Lisboa.

1381][CH] Aigle - Ollon - Monthey - Champéry:  Local notices warn that buses are to replace trains between Aigle and Monthey from 17 April to 19 June 2001, while engineering work takes place.  The work appears to include realignment of the AOMC line of Transports Publics du Chablais on to a new flyover between St.Triphon-Gare and Collombey.  The sizeable new TPC depot south-east of Aigle looked nearly complete on 14 April 2001.  It is to replace the depot in Monthey of the AOMC line (metre-gauge, adhesion / Strub rack, 850V dc) and perhaps later also the separate small depots in Aigle of TPC's Aigle - Leysin (metre-gauge, Abt rack, 1300V dc) and Aigle - Sépey - Diablerets (metre-gauge, adhesion, 1350V dc) lines.  

1382][CZ] (Stara Paka - Martinice -) Kuncice nad Labem - Klasterska Lhota (- Trutnov): (Ball 36A1)  North-east of Praha, in the Krkonoše mountains not far from the Polish border, a 1:100,000 road-map shows a 'freight cableway' (nakladni lanovka) from Cerny Dul (= 'black mine') heading south-west to intersect this section of the CD network.  It seems to be some 8.5km long, quite a substantial distance for cable haulage, whether it is an overhead ropeway with suspended cars or a series of rope-worked conventional-railway inclines like the coal-carrying Bowes Railway in north-east England.  Is the Cerny Dul cableway still in operation?  What mineral does it convey down to the main-line railway?

1383][RO] (Salva - Viseu de Jos -) Valea Viseului - Sighetu Marmatiei (- Câmpulung la Tisa): (Ball 44B1)  This section of the Caile Ferate Romane system in the Maramures region close to Romania's border with Ukraine has interlaced four-rail 1435mm and 1520mm-gauge track, and sees both CFR and Ukrzaliznitsa trains (BLN 816.0608).  Spring floods along the banks of the river Viseu caused substantial damage to the line but reconstruction work was under way in April 2001.  Trains were taking about an hour for c.25km, but seemed anyway to be slackly timed over the section, so were neither leaving early nor arriving significantly late.  Higher up the Viseu valley to the east, the standard-gauge Viseu de Jos - Viseu de Sus - Borsa branch, closed to passengers 6 March 1997 (BLN 809.0422), continues to see freight trains, a rake of empty open gondola wagons being passed on the way to Borsa.  In normal times the traffic may include some timber coming down the valley of the tributary river Vaser on the 760mm-gauge Viseu de Sus forestry railway, reportedly the last such line in Romania still used for its original purpose (R.0584).  However, widespread flooding has damaged the standard-gauge sidings at the Viseu de Sus sawmill as well as the forestry line itself.  The only operations seen on the ex-Caile Ferate Forestiere line were diesel-hauled trains on the c.4km section from Viseu de Sus up to beyond Valea Scradei, carrying stone to reinforce the river-banks.  A local guide said the whole line was not expected to reopen before June 2001.  The former CFF stock is now painted bright yellow with blue, red or green trimming, and lettered 'R G Holz Co, Viseu de Sus, Romania'.  

1384][RO][BG][TR] (Bucuresti CFR -) Ruse BDZ - Svilengrad BDZ (- Istanbul TCDD): (Ball 53A3-53B2)  Tunnel works in central Bulgaria lasting several months are causing the Bucuresti - Istanbul Bosfor Express to be diverted by a circuitous route across the country (Ruse - Samuil - Kaspichan - Shumen - Komunari - Karnobat - Zimnitsa - Nova Zagora - Simeonovgrad - Svilengrad).  From 10 April 2001 the northbound train was retimed to leave Istanbul over three hours earlier than usual.  (europeanrail@yahoogroups.com)

1385][AL] Budull - Fush Krujë:  From Budull station on the (Durrës -) Vorë - Laç (- Lezhë - Shkodër) line to northern Albania, a 9km freight-only branch serves the cement-factory near the town of Fush Krujë.  On 25 March 2001 unidentified persons used explosives to damage c.60m of track at the entrance to the cement-factory, derailing an engine and three goods-vans.  By 27 March HSH had restored the line.  (Albanian Telegraph Agency)

1386][LV][EE] Riga - Lugazi LDZ - Valga ER - Tallinn: (R.0178, 1085)  On the Russian-gauge (1520mm) railways of the Baltic states, Latvijas Dzelzceli continue to run two Riga - Lugazi trains a day, but the c.4km Lugazi - Valga border-crossing trains, also worked latterly by LDZ, disappeared from the Latvian timetable on 4 March 2001, presumably a victim of the reduction in the Varga - Tallinn service on the Estonian side to twice-weekly, on Fridays and Sundays (R.1282).  

1387][RU][LV][LT][BY] Sankt-Peterburg - Kaliningrad:  In order to avoid problems with Latvian visas, RZD through services to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad are reportedly to abandon their present route through Latvia and Lithuania (St.Peterburg - Pskov RZD - Rezekne LDZ - Daugavpils LDZ - Vilnius LG - Kaunas LG - Chernyakhovsk RZD - Kaliningrad).  The trains will still have to pass through Belarus and Lithuania, and will take longer by the new route, thought to be St.Peterburg - Novosokolniki RZD - Polotsk BCh - Molodechno BCh - Kena LG - Vilnius - Kaunas LG - Chernyakhovsk RZD - Kaliningrad.  

1388][RU] Moskva - Grozny: (BLN 784.0343, R.0742)  A long-distance passenger service is reported to have begun on 21 April 2001, and is thought to be running Moskva - Saratov - Astrakhan - Gudermes - Grozny, approaching the war-damaged Chechen capital from the east, rather than the traditional route from the west (Moskva - Rostov-na-Donu - Mineralnye Vody - Prokhladnaya - Grozny - Gudermes - Baku).  

1389][AZ] Baku trams:  Plans were announced in early April 2001 to abandon the tramways in the Azerbaijani capital.  

1390] Train-ferries to and from countries of the former Soviet Union: (BLN 849.0252, R.0389, 0394)  Eight operating train-ferry routes and one planned, all 1520mm broad-gauge and all freight-only, were shown in May 2001 on Dmitry Zinoviev's webpage http://parovoz.com/spravka/ferries-e.html. 

[DE]-[LT] Sassnitz (Mukran) - Klaipeda, Baltic Sea
[RO]-[GE] Constanta - Poti, Black Sea
[BG]-[UA] Varna - Ilichovsk, Black Sea
[UA]-[GE] Ilichovsk - Poti, Black Sea, opened 17 April 1999
[RU]-[TR] Novorossiisk - Samsun, Black Sea, under construction (not on the list at R.0394)
[RU]-[AZ]-[IR] Makhachkala - Baku - Noushahr, Caspian Sea, opened July 1997 (not on the list at R.0394)
[AZ]-[KZ] Baku - Aktau, Caspian Sea
[AZ]-[TM] Baku - Turkmenbashi, Caspian Sea
[RU]-[RU] Vanino - Kholmsk, to Sakhalin island

The Azerbaijani ferry terminal is in the capital city, Baku, not the secondary port of Alyat 60km to the south as shown in the list at R.0394, which was based on a 1999 report.  A local contact confirms that the train-ferries depart from Baku Torgovaya Pristan (= Baku commercial wharf) and from nowhere else.  Not shown on the parovoz.com website is the train-ferry link reported in 1995 (BLN 755.0261) from the port of Vyborg, on the Gulf of Finland north of Sankt-Peterburg, down the Baltic Sea to Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad.  It is possible that the Vyborg - Kaliningrad ferry was started in order to convey wagons containing defence items which Russia might not want to send across Lithuania by rail to Kaliningrad, a naval port, and the route may not have a regular service or it may have been withdrawn.  

1391][NZ] Napier - Beach Loop - Gisborne: (R.1339)  During Easter weekend, 14-15 April 2001, preserved Wa Class steam locomotive #165 made four Gisborne - Beach Loop round-trips, covering the 33km northern end of this threatened 212km freight-only branch.  Patronage was moderate on the Saturday and heavy on the Sunday.  Over the holiday weekend Gisborne freight yard held not a single wagon, though Dsc Class shunting locomotive #2556 was still based there.  The previous week's freight working had conveyed a mere four wagons.  Infrequency of service is a problem.  A local firm have reportedly ceased to use rail because they were unwilling to receive and unload twelve wagons in a day or overnight.  

1392][GT] Ciudad Tecún Umán - Santa María - Escuintla (- Ciudad Guatemala - Puerto Barrios): (BLN 721.013, 815.0587, 850.0290)  The whole 1435mm standard-gauge railroad system of the North American continent reaches its southernmost point south-east of Tapachula in Mexico.  Here at the small Guatemalan border town of Ciudad Tecún Umán it connects with the currently closed 914mm-gauge line of the former US-backed International Railways of Central America east to Escuintla.  New Guatemalan operators Ferrovías, also US-backed, plan to re-gauge to standard and to reopen Tecún Umán - Santa María - Escuintla, along with the Santa María - San José branch to Puerto Quetzal on the Pacific Ocean, thus linking Canada, the USA and Mexico by rail with south-western Guatemala.  Ferrovías in January 2000 (R.0696) reopened for freight the 914mm-gauge IRCA line from Ciudad Guatemala north-east to Puerto Barrios on the Caribbean/Atlantic coast.  (Latin Tracks On Line)

1393][PA] Ciudad Panama - Colon: (R.0549)  The 76km transcontinental line paralleling the canal from Panama City on the Pacific to Colon on the Caribbean coast has been regauged from 1524mm to standard 1435mm.  New operators Panama Canal Railway, a US consortium including Kansas City Southern, are to reintroduce a passenger service for locals and tourists, using ex-Pennsylvania, ex-Penn Central, ex-Amtrak vehicles and five ex-Amtrak EMD F40 diesel locomotives #1856-60, all shipped to Panama during April 2001.  The rebuilt passenger cars now have open-air viewing-platforms at the ends and larger panoramic windows cut in the sides.  PCRY may later add an ex-Southern Pacific vista-dome car.  (http://www.4rr.com/pcrr.htm)

1394][CL][AR] Palestina - Socompa FCAB - Socompa (Belgrano) - Salta - Güemes: (BLN 709.015, 758.0342, 820.088)  Privatised Chilean operators Ferronor have agreed with Argentine operators Belgrano Cargas SA that metre-gauge Ferronor freight trains are to work through over the Palestina - Socompa line of the separate private company Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia to the 3858m-high Andean frontier town of Socompa, then east over the former Ferrocarril General Belgrano for some 618km as far as Güemes.  (Continental Railway Journal, #125, spring 2001)

1395][FR] Saujon - Gémozac: (Ball 51A3-51A2)  In April 2001 this freight branch had signalling in place at Saujon, and lightly-rusted rails, suggesting occasional use.  Summer trains of the Chemin de Fer Touristique de la Seudre run on the 21.5km Saujon - Chaillevette - La Tremblade branch using their own platform near Saujon SNCF station, but the only off-season evidence here of the preservation operation (telephone and fax +33 5 4636 6459) seemed to be a burnt-out coach and three derelict wagons adjacent to the level-crossing.

1396][FR] Bordeaux-Benauge - Latresne (- Créon - Espiet): (Ball 59B3-60A3)  The 22.3km Latresne - Espiet section was formally abandoned in September 1992 (BLN 699.03) and the remaining short section was seen to be out of use in April 2001.

1397][FR] (Parentis-en-Born -) Ychoux - Liposthey: (Ball 59A2-59B2)  Both arms of this Voies Ferrées des Landes line intersecting with the SNCF Bordeaux - Hendaye main line at Ychoux closed in March 1989 (BLN 750.0113, 795.061), but in April 2001 the Ychoux - Liposthey section appeared to have seen recent use.  Further south on the main line at Labouheyre, track on VFL's Labouheyre - Sabres line was still in position but much overgrown, but their Labouheyre - Mimizan-Bel-Air branch, closed 29 May 1992 and formally abandoned (déclassée) 13 April 1994, had been lifted.  

1398][FR] Albi-Ville - St.Juéry: (Ball 62B1)  Shiny rails in April 2001 indicated regular use of this short freight branch.

1399][BE] (Brugge -) Y Dudzele - Zeebrugge: (BLN 828.0277, 830.0326, R.0666; Ball 7B3; NMBS 51A)  Weekday trains, all local workings and mainly used by commuters and students, will continue to serve the present passenger station (on the truncated former through line east to Knokke), but from the June 2001 timetable change, weekend trains will terminate instead at Zeebrugge-Strand, a new station being opened close to the beach, on the hitherto freight-only line heading north under the metre-gauge Oostende - Zeebrugge - Knokke coastal tram line and on towards the roll-on/roll-off port facilities used by P&O and North Sea Ferries.  (Trans-fer, #119, April 2001)  

1400][BE] Y Zaventem - Bruxelles-National-Aéroport/Brussel-Nationaal-Luchthaven: (BLN 831.0355, R.0412; Ball 10B2; NMBS 36C)  The 1998 airport station is at present a terminus served from the Brussel direction via the west-facing flying junction Y Zaventem off the Brussel - Leuven - Liège main line 36.  At Nossegem, one station to the east of Zaventem on line 36, provision of an east-to-north curve with flying junctions is under way, which will allow the airport also to be served by trains coming from the Leuven direction.  The following phase of development will see the underground airport terminus becoming a through station, with line 36C extended to the north-west to meet the Brussel - Antwerpen main line 25/27 in another triangle, not yet designed in detail.  The final layout, two high-speed triangles with only a short section between them, has been dubbed 'the diabolo', after the game using a double-cone spinning-top.  (Trans-fer, #119, April 2001)  

1401][BE][DE] (Liège -) Welkenraedt SNCB - Aachen DB (- Köln): (R.0528; Ball BE-10A2, DE-37A1)  SNCB envisage from 2002 diverting all their (Oostende - Brussel - Liège -) Welkenraedt - Köln IC line B trains to run Welkenraedt - Eupen, leaving this international main line to be served in the daytime by Thalys TGVs.  (Trans-fer, #119, April 2001)  

1402][LU] Pétange - Fond-de-Gras - Rodange (AMTF): (BLN 750.0117, 822.0120; Ball 17B1)  Part of the 1870s Prince Henri mineral railway became in 1973 the museum railway of the Association des Musée et Tourisme Ferroviaires in the Parc Ferroviaire et Industriel at Fond-de-Gras.  At the end of 2000 the preserved line, now 8km long, was reconnected physically to the Luxembourg network at Pétange CFL station, though not in such a way as to make through running the norm.  AMTF's Train 1900 runs Sunday afternoons 1 May - 30 September 2001 except 23 June.  (http://158.64.40.252/alacf/amtf.html)

1403][LU] Rumelange mining-museum railway: (Ball 18A1)  The iron-ore mining museum at Rumelange in the Walertberg area of southern Luxembourg close to the French frontier is to offer a 4.2km two-hour trip by rail, largely underground.  Two new locomotives, purpose-built in France and already being tested, will each haul two 17-passenger carriages.  The line should be carrying visitors by the end of 2001, with official opening following in spring 2002, and hourly trips in the peak season.  

1404][LU] (Luxembourg -) Kleinbettingen - Steinfort: (Ball 18A2)  In autumn 2000 CFL began to take delivery of six Class 2100 Alstom single-unit diesel railcars similar to SNCF Class X73500 or DB Class 641.  They are likely to appear on four short passenger branches (Bettembourg - Dudelange-Usines; Noertzange - Rumelange-Ottange; Ettelbruck - Dietrich; and Kautenbach - Wiltz), and on the Luxembourg - Kleinbettingen local service, running under the 3000V dc Belgian-standard wiring on the Luxembourg - Bruxelles main line where CFL's 25kV 50Hz electric units cannot venture.  Class 2100 units may perhaps be used to extend this passenger service over the short unelectrified freight branch to Steinfort.  (Trans-fer, April 2001)  

1405][DE][BE] Stolberg Hbf - Stolberg-Hammer - Walheim DB - Raeren SNCB: (Ball DE-37A1, BE-10A2)  In autumn 2000 DB Netz sold this line, the German section of the Vennbahn, to Stolberg-based Euregio Verkehrsschienennetz GmbH (R.0973).  EVS envisage passenger reopening of various lines in the area (R.1173, 1246) including the Vennbahn to the Belgian frontier, though to run beyond Stolberg-Hammer even as far as Walheim they would have to do substantial repairs to the bridge over the river Inde.  From the frontier to the Belgian junction of Raeren is less than 2km, but the SNCB-owned section is out of use, and indeed formally barred to trains since the sale to EVS caused the 1979 DB/SNCB international agreement regarding Walheim - Raeren traffic to lapse.  (Trans-fer, #119, April 2001)  

1406][DE] Calbe (Saale) Ost - Calbe (Saale) West - Bernburg-Waldau - Baalberge - Bebitz - Könnern: (R.1243; Ball 28A1-42A3; KBS341)  In mid-May 2001 the Ferkeltaxi to Könnern left from platform 1 at Calbe Ost, taking the tight south-to-southwest curve to join the high-level Wetzlarer Bahn at Abzw Tornitz.  Neither the short (Barby -) Abzw Werkleitz - Abzw Tornitz (- Calbe West) section nor the longer Calbe West - Güsten section of the former main line appeared to see any traffic, though track remained in place on both.  After Calbe West the railbus diverged to run more slowly south on a local line to its convergence with the Güsten - Bernburg-Waldau - Baalberge - Köthen line (KBS334).  At Bernburg Zementwerk a west-facing junction led into a modern plant, where sidings held bogie hopper-wagons and sliding-door box-vans to carry away both bulk and bagged cement, a traffic presumably likely to survive any local passenger closure.  On the threatened section from the next junction, Baalberge, south to Könnern, poor track slowed the train to an average of no more than 17km/h, and the two cyclists on board would have made just as rapid progress pedalling along the good-quality road running parallel to the line.  The Bebitz - Alsleben branch had been truncated to a 100m siding, the trackbed becoming a dirt road beyond.  

1407][DE] Northeim (Han) - Hardegsen - Bodenfelde: (R.1365; Ball 40B3)  At the beginning of the 21st century an unusual historical note is struck by Hardegsen station on this threatened east-west cross-country line.  Painted on the station building is a notice declaring that local time is 14 minutes different from Berlin time - as indeed it probably would be before the mid-19th century when standard time was imposed in order to simplify railway operation. 

1408][DE] Bleicherode Ost - Bleicherode Stadt - Grossbodungen: (BLN 730.0115, R.1243; Ball 41A3; KBS598)  On 10 May 2001 the 15:30 branch train, a well-patronised Ferkeltaxi, was held to connect with a 20min-late Kassel - Halle RE arrival due at 15:22, and gained three more passengers as a result.  Most people however alighted at Bleicherode Stadt (km2.8), and only three remained to Grossbodungen (km10.7).  With a quick turn-round there, the railbus was back at the junction ready to leave on time as the 16:08 Bleicherode Ost - Bleicherode Stadt.  Track condition was poor, giving passengers a very lively ride even at the relatively slow pace.  It did not seem surprising that the branch is to close, though local notices suggest that both this service and that on the nearby Leinefelde - Teistungen branch (R.1028, 1243; Ball 41A3; KBS599) are to continue beyond the timetable change on 10 June until 28 June 2001, the end of the school term.  

1409][DE] Zella-Mehlis - Schmalkalden - Wernshausen: (BLN 807.0358; Ball 41A1-52A3; KBS573)  This 30km secondary line through the Thüringer Wald was in May 2001 being operated by well-patronised Süd Thüringer Bahn single railcars, on which DB tickets were accepted.  At the junction, the track of the Schmalkalden - Kleinschmalkalden branch, closed November 1996 (BLN 789.0423; ex-KBS574) was still in place among the dandelions, and seemed in reasonable condition, though where the branch emerged from behind the signal-box, a length of rail had been cut out and tipped over.

1410][DE] Bad Salzungen - Dorndorf (Rhön) - Vacha (R.1195, 1243; Ball 41A1-40B1; KBS576)  An early afternoon trip on the Werratalbahn on 11 May again found the railbus and trailer well-filled, though passenger trains are to cease from the June 2001 timetable change.  Eisenach Eisenbahnfreunde were advertising locally a steam-hauled excursion in mid-June 2001 on this 16.3km branch and on the out-of-use 27.9km Feldabahn (Dorndorf - Kaltennordheim; Ball 40B1-52A3; exKBS577).  

1411][DE] (Plaue -) Ilmenau - Ilmenau Bad (- Stützerbach - Rennsteig - Schleusingen): (Ball 41B1; KBS566)  The passenger service, already cut back to Ilmenau Bad (BLN 821.098), is threatened with being cut back a further 1.3km to Ilmenau (R.1243), though in May 2001 track condition was good and the new DB Class 642 two-car diesel railcars seemed well used.  Ilmenau had been reduced to two platforms, the track behind its island platform having been severed at both ends.  The Ilmenau - Grossbreitenbach freight branch still bore away over the level-crossing and east out of sight.  Beyond Ilmenau Bad, a pleasant single-platform halt, track also continued up the slope toward Stützerbach and Rennsteig.  A local rail-enthusiast group were advertising steam-hauled trips on the Stützerbach - Rennsteig section in late May. 

1412][DE] Dresden-Neustadt - Dresden Hbf - Dresden-Reick - Pirna: (Ball 44A2)  Dresden-Neustadt station was being refurbished during May 2001, with platforms 5 and 6 closed and obstructed by scaffolding, apparently for roof repairs or reglazing.  Dresden-Reick carriage-sidings seemed disused, perhaps temporarily while the Reick - Pirna section is being quadrupled with extra tracks going in on the northern (river Elbe) side of the formation.  S-Bahn route S1 appeared to have a modified service, presumably to allow for single-line working from time to time during these works.  All trains calling at Pirna were using the south platform next the station buildings and away from the river.  A non-platform through road was available, but the island-platform was not yet back in use after total rebuilding.  

1413][DE] Pirna - Pirna-Copitz - Dürröhrsdorf - Neustadt (Sachsen): (Ball 44A2-44B2; KBS247)  Passenger trains on the Dürröhrsdorf - Neustadt section were threatened as long ago as 1997 (BLN 803.0255).  On 12 May 2001 our reporter was the only passenger on the railbus and trailer from Neustadt to Dürröhrsdorf, though a few people joined there for the journey down to the river Elbe at Pirna-Copitz and across the rebuilt road-and-rail bridge to join the main line at Pirna. 

1414][DE] Bayreuth Hbf - Weidenberg (- Warmensteinach): (Ball 53A2)  Track condition is poor and the (Monday-Friday) passenger trains on the branch may cease after Friday 8 June 2001.

1415][AT] Traun - Marchtrenk: (BLN 761.0389, 841.011, R.0947; Ball 73B3)  This single-track bypass line south of Linz opened to freight May 1994 and to passenger trains May 1995.  In spring 2001 it sees a two-hourly passenger service, but after the June 2001 timetable change it appears it is to have just one booked passenger train per week.  

1416][AT] Schwarzenau - Windigsteig - Kottschallings - Waidhofen an der Thaya (- Fratres): (R.0977; Ball 63B2)  This threatened rural branch initially parallels the main line for 2.1km before diverging north towards the Czech border.  The two intermediate stations, Windigsteig and Kottschallings, have well-maintained wooden shelters for passengers.  Just north of Windigsteig a siding to a timber-products factory remained in use in April 2001, but Kottschallings had no freight facilities. Both loops at Waidhofen station were well-used.  Of the quite extensive layout there, the southernmost sidings appeared not in regular use, though the northern ones showed evidence of recent timber traffic.  The rails of the freight-only section north towards Fratres were shiny as far as could be seen. 

1417][AT] Schwarzenau - Bernschlag - Zwettl - Zwettl Stadt (- Martinsberg-Gutenbrunn): (R.0820, 0891, 0977; Ball 63B1)  Apart from a small out-of-use siding, little more than a headshunt, at Bernschlag, none of the intermediate stations to Zwettl had any freight facilities, but in April 2001 Zwettl itself was handling both timber and timber products, and had recently gained some new petroleum-product traffic, evidenced by bogie tank-wagons present there.  About 1km further on, Zwettl Stadt comprised a passenger platform only, though the siding beyond that disappeared into a Lagerhaus may see some traffic. 

1418][AT] Wien - Ebenfurth - Wiener Neustadt Schleppbahn - Wiener Neustadt: (Ball 75B2)  From 10 June 2001 Wiener Neustadt Schleppbahn becomes Wiener Neustadt Civitas Nova, and Wiener Neustadt becomes Wiener Neustadt Hbf.  

1419][AT] Wien Mitte - Rennweg - Simmering-Aspangbahn - Klein Schwechat (- Gross Schwechat - Flughafen Wien-Schwechat - Wolfsthal): (BLN 747.059, R.0073, 0823, 0945, 0990; Ball 77B2)  The major works to realign and double the still largely single-track S-Bahn route S7 to Wien airport continue.  From 1 July 2001, according to information displayed onboard, S7 trains will be diverted to depart from the Ostbahn terminal platforms at Wien-Südbahnhof, running via Simmering-Ostbahn and a link in the area of the Zentralverschiebebahnhof (central marshalling-yard) to rejoin their own Pressburgerbahn route at Klein Schwechat.  The Rennweg - Simmering-Aspangbahn - Klein Schwechat section will then close, and will reopen in c.2003 on a substantially different horizontal and vertical alignment.  

1420][SE] Stockholm light rail: Ropsten - Gåshaga - Gåshaga brygga: (Ball 30A2)  This former tramway on the island of Lidingö, once the Stockholm-Södra Lidingöns Järnväg, later Södra Lidingöbanan, now simply Lidingöbanan, is operated by Connex Tunnelbana AB for Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, the Greater Stockholm passenger transport authority.  On 7 May 2001 it was extended at its outer end east from Gåshaga to Gåshaga brygga (brygga = landing-stage).  The extension serves a new residential and marina development, and from 17 June 2001 ferries of Waxholmsbolaget will also begin to call there.  A Connex leaflet talks of reducing the distance between train and boat from 1500m to 50m, but our reporter - who was the sole passenger on a mid-afternoon round-trip on 11 May - judged the route extension to be no more than 300m.  Perhaps the previous pedestrian route was more circuitous and/or the former landing-place was elsewhere. 

1421][SE] Stockholm orbital light rail: Gullmarsplan - Liljeholmen - Alvik:  Test-running with non-fare-paying passengers began 16 October 1999 on the eastern Gullmarsplan - Liljeholmen section, which opened for revenue service 8 January 2000 (R.0487), the north-western Liljeholmen - Alvik section following on 1 June 2000 (R.0859).  Rather than using its numerical identity as SL route #22, the orbital line is now advertised as Tvärbanan (= the cross-line; tvärgata = crossroad) linking as it does three radial Tunnelbana heavy-metro lines, enabling inter-suburb journeys avoiding the city-centre.  Appearing for part of its length to have taken over former heavy-rail right-of-way, the eastern section has no street-running and encounters road traffic only at level-crossings, but the north-western section has rails in the streets for some distance through Gröndal, so cars on the Tvärbana (unlike Connex Tunnelbana's other lines) have to run on the right.  The north-western section also includes a new tunnel and two major waterway bridges, and terminates at a pair of platforms punched out at right angles beneath the pre-existing Alvik metro station.  In spring 2001 work was well in hand on the next orbital section from Gullmarsplan east to Sickla on the Slussen - Saltsjöbaden Saltsjöbana, with a target opening date of 2003.

1422][ES] Huelva - Gibraleón - Lepe - Ayamonte: (Ball 34A2)  At Huelva the big timber ore-loading staithes once served by the British-owned 1067mm-gauge Rio Tinto mineral railway (BLN 728.079, 798.0145) are still accessible on foot, but they are deteriorating and anyone wishing to inspect them closely should do so without delay.  From Gibraleón on the river Odiel west to Ayamonte on the river Guadiana (whose estuary forms the southernmost point of Spain's frontier with Portugal) the former 1668mm-gauge RENFE trackbed can be seen from the N431 road in many places east of Lepe.  In the Lepe area itself, the formation has become a via verde long-distance footpath.

1423][IT] (Milano - Gallarate -) Laveno Mombello - Luino (- Pino Tronzano FS - Bellinzona FFS): (Ball 40A3)  This through FS line crosses above the (Milano - Saronno -) Varese Nord - Laveno Mombello Nord line of the Ferrovia Nord Milano about 1km east of its terminus.  The south-to-west curve linking Laveno Mombello to Laveno Mombello Nord is omitted from the Ball atlas but was shiny and apparently well used in spring 2001.

1424][IT] Brescia - Breno - Cedegolo - Edolo: (R.1311; Ball 42A1-42A2)  This Ferrovie Nord Milano line closed north of Cedegolo from 1 December 2000, according to local posters, and FNM buses were still replacing trains in spring 2001.  At least one large landslide could be seen from the road, though not any activity to restore the line.  Reopening did seem likely, however, for Edolo station had just been refurbished at some expense, with large timber canopies over both train and bus platforms.  Leaving from outside the bar next the station, the 13:15 Edolo - Aprica bus connecting at the same stop with the 14:15 Aprica - Tresenda-Aprica Teglio bus together offered a very scenic and inexpensive link to the (Milano -) Colico - Tresenda-Aprica Teglio - Tirano FS branch (Ball 41B2-42A2), with opportunities for journeying north into Switzerland or south-west to Milano.

1425][IT] Bologna - Verona: (Ball 47B2-47B3)  The existing line between these two substantial cities is still single, with passing-loops at stations, and therefore considerably congested.  In spring 2001 work on a new high-speed line had clearly begun, but seemed to be proceeding only slowly.  From Bologna north to San Giovanni in Persiceto, double track had been laid, and masts erected, on a new alignment mainly on concrete viaduct, but no wires were yet in evidence.  Occasional sections of concrete viaduct could be glimpsed at various other places alongside the present line, but with no obvious ongoing construction activity.  From Pellegrina north to what looked like a new burrowing junction west of Verona, the line is being doubled on its existing alignment and the trackbed was already prepared throughout, with some track laid.  

1426][CH] Bière - Apples - Morges and Apples - L'Isle-Mont-La-Ville: (BLN 810.0447; Ball 90B1)  A notice at L'Isle in April 2001 indicated that, due to declining patronage of the branch shuttle services, BAM minibuses would replace trains on more Apples - L'Isle journeys from the June 2001 timetable change. 

1427][CH] Neuchâtel funicular: (BLN 850.0283; Ball 91B3)  Friday 27 April 2001 was to see inauguration of the new funicular from the CFF station down towards the lake.  

1428][CZ] Ceské Budejovice - Velešin - Kaplice - Rybník - Horní Dvoríšté CD (- Summerau ÖBB - Linz): (BLN 812.0509, 836.0531; Ball 40B2; CD 196)  The 26km Ceské Budejovice - Velešin section was electrified at 25kV 50Hz from 20 October 2000, Velešin - Kaplice (6km) from 1 February 2001 and the final 24km section from Kaplice to the Czech border-station Horní Dvoríšté is to be electrified from 7 June 2001.  

1429][CZ] (Olomouc -) Jesenik - Ceska Ves - Mikulovice CD (- Glucholazy PKP - Krnov CD): (BLN 737.0243; Ball 37A1)  A new halt opened 24 March 2001 at Ceska Ves bazén (bazén = reservoir or swimming-pool).  

1430][CZ][AT] Jindrichuv Hradec - Obratan zastávka - Obratan and Jindrichuv Hradec - Nova Bystrice: (R.0055; Ball CZ-41A3-41A2, AT-63B2-63B1)  In January 2001 private-sector operators Jindrichohradecke mistni drahy opened Obratan zastávka (zastávka = halt), a new stop on the more northerly of their two 760mm-gauge lines.  On 5 May 2001 JHMD signed a formal cooperation agreement with Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnverein, the Austrian preservation group who run tourist trains on the nearby Alt Nagelberg - Heidenreichstein branch, and who also have an interest in bidding to run ÖBB's threatened Gmünd NÖ - Alt Nagelberg - Litschau line, both of these lines also being 760mm-gauge.  JHMD and WSV are to fine-tune their 2002 timetables and days of operation, to set up a joint English/German/Czech website, and to seek European Union finance.  With bold disregard for the apparent lack of local interest on the Austrian side in the tourist potential of the narrow-gauge lines (R.1309), JHMD and WSV envisage a special bus link as a precursor to construction of the 10km Nova Bystrice - Litschau cross-border railway proposed in 1902 but never built.  (partly from Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnverein)

1431][HU] Miskolc Kilián-Észak - Papírgyár - Lillafüred - Garadna and Papírgyár - Mahóca - Taksalápa - Farkasgödör-Örvénykö: (R.0459, 0740, 0831; Ball 43A1; Menetrend 331)  Saturday 12 May 2001 was the open day on the 760mm-gauge Lillafüredi vonal ex-forestry line.  A special train (restored Ganz steam locomotive #447.401 with four carriages) ran to Garadna, banked on some sections by diesel D02-506 (ex-Mk48-2010 from the former Sárospatak system).  D02-501 (ex-Mk48-2027 from the Nyíregyháza system) and D02-508 (no MÁV number) worked the regular trains on the Garadna line, while D02-510 (ex-Mk48-2011 from Sárospatak) worked two pairs of trains to Mahoca.  Some of the wooden carriages in service date from the 1930s.  Steam engine #447.401 is to run regularly to Garadna at weekends in the summer 2001 timetable from 28 May.  Beyond Mahoca the section to Taksalápa is overgrown, and between Taksalápa and Farkasgödör-Örvénykö the rails have been stolen, but the whole branch from Papírgyár, originally opened 1963, may eventually be rebuilt and reopened. 

1432][HU][SI] Zalalövö - Bajánsenye MÁV - Hodoš SZ - Puconci - Murska Sobota: (R.0017, 0252, 0431, 1034, 1159; Ball 46B3)  The new Hungary - Slovenia rail link was formally inaugurated on Wednesday 16 May 2001 at Hodoš, just inside Slovenia, the ceremony being attended by both prime ministers.  MÁV Bzmot railbuses began running across the border on 17 May, making five round-trips a day to Hodoš only.  From the timetable-change on 10 June 2001 two pairs of locomotive-hauled through international passenger trains are to operate, and Slovenian diesel units are to run three local round-trips a day on their side of the frontier.  

1433][SI][HR] Hrpelje-Kozina - Prešnica - Rakitovec SZ - Buzet HZ - Lupoglav - Pula: (Ball 45B1)  Hrpelje-Kozina - Buzet cross-border passenger traffic was suspended from 5 February 2001 (I Treni, March 2001), perhaps not surprisingly given the inefficiencies of operation introduced since the break-up of former Yugoslavia (R.0176).  Passenger trains continue on the Prešnica - Koper branch serving the important Slovenian seaport (R.0113), and may possibly continue to run Prešnica - Rakitovec, but the closure leaves the c.87km Buzet - Pula line in Croatia isolated from the European passenger network.

1434][RO] (Bucuresti - Pitesti -) Valcele - Rimnicu Vilcea (- Podu Olt - Sibiu): (Ball 53A3-49B1 part not shown)  From Valcele, 23km north of Pitesti on the existing Pitesti - Curtea de Arges branch (CFR 906), a new line extends c.25km north-west through the southern Carpathian mountains to Rimnicu Vilcea on the existing Piatra Olt - Podu Olt line (CFR 201).  The cut-off would shorten the Bucuresti - Sibiu route by some 100km, and was planned to open as early as 1992, but though it looks almost entirely complete, with large bridges over valleys and track in place, it has never in fact been used, and remains disconnected at the Valcele end.  

1435][IN][PK] (Delhi -) Amritsar - Atari - Lahore:  The sole cross-border passenger train between India and Pakistan originally ran as the Amritsar - Lahore Express, but concern over smuggling and cross-border infiltration of undesirable persons cut back its through running.  The Indian connection now departs from Delhi at night, running via Amritsar to terminate 26km beyond at Atari, the Indian border-station, at 10:00 the next day.  The island platform has a high wire-mesh fence down the centre.  Ticket-windows allow arriving passengers from either country to purchase tickets onward to major destinations on the other side of the frontier.  Passengers alighting from the Indian train put their luggage on airport-style luggage-trolleys and proceed via two or three openings in the fence past seated customs officials and airport-style luggage x-ray machines to the other side of the platform.  Here the Pakistan Railways Atari - Lahore train is waiting, quickly becoming crowded, for it has fewer coaches, generally elderly wooden-bodied stock with a PR Alco diesel locomotive.  After c.3km the train passes through the Zero line gate west into Pakistan.  On its eastbound working from the Zero line, the PR train entering India is picturesquely escorted on both sides by 25-30 customs and Border Security Force officers on horseback to make sure that no passenger escapes the frontier checks at Atari station.  The operating agreement was that each railway would in turn provide the locomotive and a rake of carriages for the weekly international train for a period of six months, but in practice Indian Railways have not done so since about 1995.  After talks held in September 2000, IR have again agreed to provide stock, and a proposal that the service should become twice-weekly, with each railway running one train-pair, is under official consideration.  

1436][AU] Perth - Fremantle: (R.1321)  Perth - Fremantle suburban trains, appearing in the 1977 timetable but recently withdrawn when a correspondent visited in May 1981, had nevertheless reappeared by the 1986 timetable, so seem to have been reinstated prior to electrification.  Clarification of actual closing and reopening dates would be welcome.  

Three of the stations beyond Fremantle to the south, The Esplanade, Success Harbour and South Beach, saw use during special events - and may possibly still do so.  The 1986 timetable shows a special passenger service of 1067mm-gauge diesel and steam trains operating that year in connection with the America's Cup sailing event, the trains being marketed as 'The Spinnaker Run'.  The next station south, Robb's Jetty, appears to have lost its passenger trains around 1950, when they were withdrawn from the Fremantle - Armadale line (Fremantle - The Esplanade - Success Harbour - South Beach - Robb's Jetty - Spearwood - Bibra Lake - Jandakot - Armadale) and from the Robb's Jetty - Coogee section of the (Fremantle -) Robb's Jetty - Coogee - Woodman's Point - Naval Base - Clarence - Kwinana - Wellard line, freight-only beyond Coogee.  Travellers may have continued to use Robb's Jetty thereafter, however, for a timetable as late as 1967 quotes various fares for passengers carried by Fremantle - Robb's Jetty - Spearwood and Fremantle - Robb's Jetty - Wellard 1067mm-gauge goods trains.  Though Robb's Jetty is spelled thus in old passenger timetables, when Western Australian Government Railways opened the panel signal-box there in 1966 it was referred to as Robb Jetty.  Until 1994 Robb Jetty box controlled an important marshalling-yard for both gauges, but both box and yard have now gone, replaced by an industrial area that retains the name. 

1437][AU] (Brisbane -) Eagle Jn - Brisbane Airport: (R.1285)  The 1067mm-gauge Airtrain branch to Brisbane Airport duly opened on 7 May 2001.  (http://people.enternet.com.au/~cbrnbill/maps/devel.htm)

1438][CA] Vancouver metro: (R.0118)  The existing route of the SkyTrain standard-gauge linear-induction-motored driverless elevated metro (Downtown/Waterfront - Broadway/Commercial - Metrotown - Edmonds - New Westminster - Columbia - King George) has been dubbed the Expo Line, and the new route (Vancouver Community College - Broadway/Commercial - Lougheed - Columbia) is to be the Millennium Line.  In spring 2001 construction of the guideway was complete all the way from Commercial via Lougheed to the junction at Columbia.  The last section, from Vancouver Community College to Commercial, is to share the Grandview Cut with the parallel BNSF main line.  Phased opening is planned during 2001-02.  At Lougheed station, the guideway includes provision for a junction with a proposed Lougheed - Port Moody - Coquitlam branch, but lack of political support may mean it is not built.  

1439][CA] North Vancouver, BC - Squamish Jn - Squamish (Loggers Lane): (R.0114, 1163)  In early 2001 Royal Hudson locomotive #2860 was awaiting overhaul, and steam-hauled excursions on BC Rail tracks were to be operated instead by 2-8-0 locomotive #3716.  Trains run daily except Mondays or Tuesdays from 9 May to 23 September 2001.  A Pacific Starlight dinner train also runs daily except Mondays or Tuesdays from 23 May to 30 September, with additional services on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only from 4 to 20 May and 5 to 21 October. 

1440][CA] Vancouver - Mission - Ashcroft, BC: (R.1286)  By spring 2001 West Coast Express Vancouver - Mission commuter trains had been extended from seven to eight coaches, making them too long for several station platforms, so the doors of the front car are kept locked and passengers have to use the doors of the second car.  Platforms at Port Moody are reportedly to be lengthened but WCE have said nothing about the other stops.  WCE trains are timed to take 73 minutes from Vancouver (CP station) over CP tracks to Mission WCE station, while VIA's transcontinental Canadian/Canadien is scheduled to take no less than 120 minutes from Vancouver (CN station) by its roundabout route over BNSF and CN tracks to Mission VIA station.  On the Mission - Ashcroft section, Mission (VIA), Agassiz and North Bend are all regular stops for the eastbound transcontinental, and only Katz is a flag-stop.  

1441][CA] (Kamloops Jn -) Vernon - Kelowna, BC: (R.1261)  The Vernon - Kelowna section of the (ex-CN) Kelowna Pacific Railway, a freight-only short line, is to see summer weekend tourist trains, marketed as the Okanagan Wine Train and comprising ex-Canadian National transcontinental coaching-stock, offering a 1h45min run each way on Friday and Saturday afternoons and Sunday morinings from 30 June to 30 September 2001.  (http://www.okanaganwinetrain.com)

1442][CA] Port Colborne - Welland - Merritton, ON: (BLN 799.0178, R.0879)  On Sundays from 13 May till October 2001, Trillium Rail are to run two Port Colborne - Merritton round-trips each lasting three hours, for an adult fare of CAD20, using stainless-steel passenger coaches topped and tailed by their MLW S13 diesel locomotives #108 and #110.  Information: Trillium Rail, Port Colborne, Ontario; telephone +1 905 835 2772 or +1 905 835 8943. 

1443][US] Portland, OR light-rail and city trams:  The city of Portland in Oregon already has its successful Tri-Met MAX standard-gauge light-rail system serving the suburbs with an existing west-to-east line (Hillsboro Government Center - downtown - Rose Quarter - Gateway - Gresham Cleveland Avenue), a northern branch (Gateway - PDX Airport) planned to open in late 2001, and a further branch in gestation (Rose Quarter - Portland Expo Center) running parallel to Interstate highway I-5 north towards the Columbia River and Vancouver, WA.  Planned to open on 20 July 2001 is the separate Portland Streetcar line, also standard-gauge, using new Czech-built Skoda trams running every 12 minutes.  To suit city streets rather than reserved track, the vehicles are shorter (20m rather than 28m), narrower (2.4m rather than 2.65m) and lighter than the Siemens-built MAX cars, but Tri-Met will provide the drivers, and heavy-repair facilities when necessary.  The streetcar line (Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital - downtown - Portland State University) intersects with MAX in the downtown area and takes the form of a very elongated 8km northwest-to-southeast loop with the outbound and inbound tracks on separate streets a block or two apart, but with a temporary stub terminus south-east of Portland State University.   Each car is to have a commercial sponsor, and a different colour-scheme on each side, so the reversal will display a different colour on the car's next pass through the streets.  Much of the new line is in Tri-Met's central-area 'Fareless Square' where transit is fare-free, but the city commissioner says residents of north-west Portland chose to be outside this, fearing their streets would become a park-and-ride area for suburban car-commuters catching a free streetcar downtown.  Much of the finance for the line came from a tax upon property within a 'local improvement district' extending two blocks from the rails, voted for by the property-owners.  The first extension is already being planned, at the south-east end, down Southwest Harrison Street east to River Place and the Marquam bridge over the Willamette River.  (The Oregonian, 2 and 7 April 2001)

1444][US] San Diego, CA: light rail:  As noted in R.1267, trolley cars on Orange Line workings (12th & Imperial - Seaport Village - America Plaza - City College - 12th & Imperial - La Mesa - El Cajon - Santee) follow a circular route round downtown San Diego.  They start at 12th & Imperial station from a west-facing platform but when they return there they call at one of the north-south-oriented platforms before swinging east towards La Mesa.  The station - which is next to the maintenance-depot - does have a north-to-west curve but this is not used by cars in normal service.

1445][US] Salt Lake City, UT light rail: (R.0391)  The 4km University branch due to open November 2001 east from the downtown area to the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium is not after all to be used to carry the expected 50,000 crowds to and from the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games on 8 and 24 February 2002.  The US Secret Service fear that explosives could be hidden on Trax cars entering crowded areas - but the experts from Washington fail to explain why terrorists would find it any more difficult to secrete bombs on the numerous buses that will be required instead to shuttle people from Courthouse station on the existing north-south Trax line to the stadium.  (Salt Lake Tribune, 1 May 2001)

1446][US] Chicago, IL - Glenview - Fox Lake, IL - Zenda, WI - Janesville, WI: (BLN 850.0289, R.0652)  Inaugurated 15 April 2000, this first new route of Amtrak's Network Growth Strategy unsurprisingly attracted very few passengers, but much more importantly it failed to secure the express parcels traffic from Janesville's General Motors plant which was expected to justify the train.  In summer 2000 a stop was added at Zenda, near the resort of Lake Geneva, but it seems passengers rarely exceeded a dozen a day.  From 24 March 2001 Amtrak reduced the 157km Chicago - Janesville Lake Country Limited to operating Saturdays only, and gave the statutory 180 days notice of complete withdrawal of the train after its last runs on Saturday 22 September 2001.  Till then, the train makes a 'deadhead' (non-passenger-carrying) move north from the Windy City early on Saturday morning to Janesville, takes up its passenger workings (#344 Janesville 06:35 - 09:05 Chicago; #343 Chicago 20:20 - 22:50 Janesville), then deadheads south late on Saturday night.  

Amtrak's Janesville station has a freshly-laid platform, tar-surfaced car-parking and turning-area, passenger-shelter and public-telephone, but no vestige of a timetable or any other indication that a train service might be on offer.  Its location (at 3136 East County Road O) is well south-east of the town-centre, in a greenfield area with virtually no other building in sight.  Van Galder's connecting bus into town, advertised in the Amtrak timetable, drops passengers at a bus-station scarcely more centrally located.  (Buying bus-tickets on the bus is cheaper than buying from Amtrak.)  The station is just west of Wisconsin & Southern's marker-board indicating it is inside WSOR 'yard-limits', but no pointwork or other track is visible nearby.  Amtrak crews are not passed to work west of their station, but when the Amtrak train (normally comprising one P32 diesel locomotive, one baggage-car, one Horizon coach, and one or more RoadRailer vans) was running daily, a WSOR crew would take it over on arrival at Janesville, shunt the express parcels vehicles as necessary, turn the whole consist on a wye in town, and re-berth the train at the station for the next morning's southbound departure, the Amtrak crew meanwhile taking a night's lodging.  

Since March 2001 the consist has included no parcels vehicles, and the shunting contract with WSOR has been terminated.  With no means of running-round, the Amtrak set now comprises locomotive plus coach plus locomotive, whatever can be provided at Chicago on the Friday evening.  A Milwaukee-based crew (two footplate staff, one conductor) leave their base by road van about midnight, and shortly after 02:00 Saturday collect the train from its overnight berth in the through road (platform 19) at Chicago Union station, and run it empty to Janesville.  They work the southbound passenger train to Chicago, and about breakfast-time leave it in platform 17 to take their rest-period in a hotel.  On Saturday evening the same crew go through the same movements in reverse, eventually getting back to Milwaukee some time in the small hours on Sunday.  Amtrak's resultant productivity figures are: revenue train-km 157 x 2 = 314; total train-km 157 x 4 = 628; locomotive-km 157 x 4 x 2 = 1256; traincrew-km by rail and road (157 x 4 x 3) + (138 x 2 x 3) = 2712.  And on 5 May 2001 our reporter and another British enthusiast comprised the entire passenger load of the southbound train....

1447][US] Phoenix, AZ heritage trams:  Short streetcar rides are offered at weekends from the trolley museum at 1218 North Central Avenue, using original Phoenix Street Railway car #116.  Information: http://www.phoenixtrolley.com; phoenixtrolley@hotmail.com; telephone +1 602 254 0307; fax +1 602 994 3303; PO Box 15506, Phoenix, AZ 85060.

1448][US] St.Louis light rail: STL airport - downtown St.Louis, MO - East St.Louis, IL - Belleville, IL:  The 28km East St.Louis - Belleville extension of the Bi-State Metrolink light-rail system in St.Clair County, Illinois, was inaugurated on Friday 4 May, with two days of free rides following before revenue service began Monday 7 May 2001.  

1449][US] Clinch River - Oak Ridge, TN:  The Southern Appalachia Railway Museum (http://www.techscribes.com/sarm) offer 90-minute weekend rides on part of this ex-Louisville & Nashville, now CSX, branch serving the East Tennessee Technology Park.  The tourist train travels first through the former Oak Ridge K-25 site where the US federal government undertook secret nuclear research during and after World War II, then in the countryside nearby. 

1450][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Camden - Trenton, NJ: (R.0022, 0695)  This 54km line, already under construction and mainly following old Camden & Amboy Railroad alignment, may be extended 2km from Trenton train station through the streets, running north on Clinton, then west on State Street to the State House, with three new stops.  Unusually, the light-rail cars are to be diesel powered.  

1451][US] Philadelphia, PA trams:  'Temporarily' converted to bus operation in summer 1992, the 24km 1581mm-gauge east-west Route 15 along Girard Avenue is to reopen, with 18 PCC streetcars refurbished and restored to service, according to South Eastern Pennsylvania Tranportation Authority plans.  (Philadelphia Daily News, 23 April 2001)

1452][US] Scranton, PA heritage trams: Steamtown - Roaring Brook: (R.1293)  The 2km electric trolley line at the Steamtown National Historical Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, opened 18 April 2001.  Its ex-Philadelphia Red Arrow car is to run Wednesdays to Sundays till November 2001.  Information: +1 570 963 6590

1453][FR] Cherbourg Maritime: (Ball 11A2)  Cherbourg Maritime station, near the quay where famous transatlantic liners once docked to embark and disembark their French passengers, closed in the early 1990s (BLN 699.01).  The track was lifted, though disused rails remain in many places in both the town and the docks area.  The shell of the station building was still intact on 25 May 2001, and is to be restored as an exhibition venue.  The station site is to open in 2002 as La Cité de la Mer, a giant aquarium that will incorporate the submarine Le Redoutable. 

1454][FR] Gardanne - Meyreuil - La Barque-Fuveau - Peynier-Rousset - Trets - Pourcieux - St.Maximin-La-Sainte-Baume - Tourves - Les Censiés - Brignoles - Besse - Carnoules: (R.1361; Ball 75B3-76B2)  Opened Gardanne - Trets 1877 and Trets - Carnoules 1880, this 79km secondary line closed to passengers as long ago as 18 April 1939.  Latterly its main traffics were locally-mined bauxite from Brignoles and Les Censiés to the large Pechiney alumina works at Gardanne, and trainload coal from the now almost defunct Houillères du bassin de Provence to the Electricité de France power-station at Meyreuil.  Both plants are still operating, the former now using bauxite ore imported through Sète and Marseille, and their sidings stretch most of the way alongside the Gardanne - La Barque section of the running line, which seems as a result to see freight traffic.  The local bauxite trains however ceased in 1981, and the Trets - St.Maximin section was taken out of use (neutralisée), closing the line as a through route from c.1983.  St.Maximin continued to receive Swedish timber via Carnoules until the end of 1986, and Brignoles and Besse handled sporadic freight thereafter, but in recent years the only rail movements east of La Barque have been inspection and weed-killing trains.  Now restricted to 30km/h throughout, the line beyond La Barque is retained on strategic grounds at the request of the French military, who pay the rail-infrastructure authority Réseau Ferré de France for its maintenance.  The aim is to preserve an alternative rail route from Marseille east to Nice and Ventimiglia in case the Marseille - Toulon main line were to become impassable through damage or terrorist attack to the viaduct on the coast at Bandol. 

With the construction of the La Barque - Fuveau - Valdonne-Peypin - Aubagne line (opened 1904, closed to passengers 18 April 1939) La Barque-Fuveau became plain 'La Barque', but reverted to its original hyphenated name when the La Barque - Valdonne-Peypin section closed completely in 1969.  At La Barque the Musée Provençal des Transports (open 10:00-18:00 Sundays and holidays) has an industrial steam locomotive, a tram and a longish 600mm-gauge line which appears to follow the trackbed of the former line towards Aubagne.  East of La Barque, usable sidings survive at Peynier-Rousset, and loops at La Barque, Trets, St.Maximin and Brignoles.  Otherwise the line is single throughout, with three small tunnels, two viaducts between Pourcieux and St.Maximin, and a ruling gradient of 1.5% (1 in 67).  

Local politicians including the transport authority, the Conseil Régional for Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, hope to see Gardanne - Brignoles - Carnoules reopened for passenger trains, hence the event on 5 May 2001, when two special trains ran.  The 07:04 Marseille - Gardanne - Brignoles (and return) and the 08:00 Nice - Carnoules - Brignoles (and return) each comprised two spotless Class X72500 two-car diesel units.  The tour-ticket, including lunch, festivities and a baseball-cap bearing the PACA region's logo, cost a modest FRF80=EUR12.20=c.GBP7.50.  For that sum our reporter was allowed by the organisers to arrive on the Marseille train and depart on the Nice one, thus covering the whole line.  SNCF were well organised, and the fifty-plus level-crossings along the line were very efficiently protected on the day by the local military, in teams who leapfrogged each other and the special train in their road vehicles.  

After Gardanne, the Marseille train stopped for 15-20 minutes at each of La Barque-Fuveau, Trets, St.Maximin and Tourves, arriving punctually at Brignoles at 11:55, concurrently with the Nice train.  The journey was enlivened by a jazz-band and ladies in Provençal costume serving free coffee and croissants at La Barque, where a radio interview was conducted; a brass-band at Trets, where most of the population (including a 96-year-old) turned out; a second brass-band and majorettes at St.Maximin; and yet another brass-band (playing, somewhat incongruously, 'Roll Out the Barrel') at Tourves!  East of St.Maximin the passage of the train caused some agitation among the inhabitants of a lineside ostrich-farm, who had probably never seen such a thing before.  At each of the stops, while passengers alighted to stretch their legs and listen to the band, groups of schoolchildren were shepherded into the train to inspect it, many of them never having been aboard one before.  Everything culminated in the event at Brignoles, where all sorts of local groups were on parade, the sun shone, speeches were made (our reporter meriting a mention, having come all the way from Londres, Angleterre) and lunch was served, with copious apéritifs and wines, to some 900-1000 people at trestle-tables under two long tents.  Local honey, wines and produce were on sale, and the winning entries of a recent railway-theme painting-competition at the local schools were auctioned to boost the funds of the association pressing for reopening the line.  As the Nice train prepared to depart, one of these works of art had reached FRF1200=EUR182.94=c.GBP110.  A good time was had by all, and the special trains and accompanying festivities achieved wide coverage in the local media.

1455][BE] (Boom -) Y Sauvegarde - Willebroek: (BLN 802.0225, 836.0490; Ball 8B3; NMBS 52/2)  This short north-to-south curve was electrified and resignalled along with the (Antwerpen -) Boom - Y Sauvegarde - Puurs line (reopened to passengers 25 May 1998; BLN 829.0305; NMBS 52).  Line 52/2 carried at least one test train, and was recorded as active from 27 April 1998 in Lignes ferrées de la SNCB, the list published by GTF in November 1998, but it seems to have no regular traffic.  Timing staff at NMBS headquarters booked a railtour to run that way on 18 May 2001, but, on the day, local staff prevented use of the line, saying the curve had never been commissioned and it was not possible to signal the train round it.

1456][BE] Brussel/Bruxelles: Y Harenheide - Y Diegem West: (Ball 10B2)  The Diegem end of this curve has a flying junction whose southern chord (normally used in the east-to-south direction) was seen on 18 May 2001 to have been disconnected for some time.  The two weekday passenger trains booked over the curve do not seem to have been suspended, so presumably both have been using the other (normally south-to-east) chord.  (See http://www.steane.com/egtre/be_route.htm)

1457][BE] Brussel/Bruxelles - Leuven (- Liège SNCB - Aachen DB): (BLN 831.0356, R.0299; Ball 8B2)  North-west of Leuven station, the high-speed line now under construction diverges south of the classic main line 36 at a flying junction near Herent, and is carried on viaduct above the Leuven - Dyle canal, then above the link from line 36 into Leuven bay-platforms A to C, before running through on either side of the island-platform whose faces are numbered 3 and 2.  The substantial viaducts were taking shape in May 2001.  Through tracks 2 and 1 were still out of use, and northwest-facing bay-platforms A to C, which had lain out of use, were being restored.  Southeast-facing bay-platform D had already been restored and since at least 28 January 2001 had been in use by most Leuven - Ottignies trains, although a few may still have been using the dive-under to and from Leuven's higher-numbered platforms.

1458][LU] Pétange CFL - Pétange-Train 1900 (AMTF) - Fuusbesch - Fond-de-Gras - Rodange (AMTF): (BLN 822.0120, R.1402; Ball 17B1)  The original link from the main CFL network at Pétange to the industrial Prince Henri system now lies beneath the Eucosider factory, so the new link completed in 2000 to its successor, the AMTF museum line, follows a different and indirect route.  From a track at the west end of Pétange CFL goods-yard not directly accessible from a Pétange CFL passenger platform, it first diverges as the Eucosider private siding.  This siding has now been extended east of the factory to make a junction, facing Fuusbesch, with new AMTF trackage at a point just short of the AMTF's new Pétange station, a dead-end single-track passenger-platform south-east of the factory, with a somewhat basic ticket-office comprising a contractor's van on road wheels, with portable steps for customers to reach the window cut in the side.  The AMTF timetable says this station ('Pétange-Train 1900') is provisoire, but this may well mean that the facilities are temporary rather than the site.  With the present layout it is not possible for regular AMTF trains to use Pétange CFL station, but special trains can run through (not calling at either Pétange CFL or Pétange AMTF).  One such train was to run on 10 June 2001, diesel-hauled by CFL #1604 from Luxembourg to Fuusbesch, and steam-hauled Fuusbesch - Fond-de-Gras.  

To reach the AMTF on foot, leave Pétange CFL, following the main line west towards Rodange as far as the first underbridge, actually two parallel bridges, one for the CFL main line and one for the former Prince Henri line, now the Eucosider siding.  A road (Rue Bellevue) runs south of the two bridges and parallel to the Eucosider private siding.  Walk west for 50m on this road to Pétange AMTF platform.  Total distance is c.300m.  

From Pétange AMTF, new trackage now runs for c.400m round the south side of the factory to reach the former end of AMTF track at 'Pétange-Triage' (described in BLN 750.0117).  This new section required substantial earthworks and expensive retaining-walls of steel piling, all paid for by the Luxembourg government.  

AMTF have revised their timetable for 2001, but trains still operate c.14:00-19:00 every Sunday and public-holiday afternoon from 1 May to 30 September (except 23 June, a Luxembourg national holiday each year).  Three railbus round-trips run Rodange - Fond-de-Gras - Pétange, and two steam round-trips Pétange - Fond-de-Gras - Rodange, all reversing at Fond-de-Gras.  With no run-round facility at Pétange, the steam trains arrive with the locomotive leading and then propel back to Fuusbesch to run round.  Though Fuusbesch (spelled thus on its nameboard) no longer appears in the timetable, its loop is still in use and the platform is still active, though unadvertised.  Passengers who prefer a shorter (and a railbus/steam) ride from Rodange or Fond-de-Gras can change from railbus to steam train here when they cross.  Train-crews report in by telephone here, too, so prospective passengers are unlikely to be left stranded.

1459][DE][BE] Stolberg Hbf - Stolberg-Hammer/Altstadt - Breinig - Walheim (- Raeren): (Ball DE-37A1, BE-10A2)   Most of the track on the Stolberg - Raeren section of the Vennbahn is in remarkably good condition, with welded rail laid in the early 1970s, though some steel sleepers from the 1930s need to be replaced.  Between Breinig and Walheim however lies a major problem, the Falkenbachbrücke, a viaduct c.120m long with seven arches.  Retreating SS forces at the end of World War II destroyed the easternmost two arches, which American army engineers shortly afterwards replaced by a temporary bridge.  Half a century later, this temporary bridge is in very poor condition and needs to be replaced before trains could use it again.  Nevertheless, reopening from Stolberg-Altstadt (formerly Stolberg-Hammer) to Raeren seems increasingly a possibility, and is the subject of negotiations involving the administration of the German-speaking region of Belgium (the Ostkantone or Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft), the local councils and the Stolberg-based company Euregio Verkehrsschienennetz GmbH who in autumn 2000 took over from DB Netz the infrastructure as far as the Belgian frontier (R.1405).  (EVS are not train-operators, and the local Euregiobahn trains are being operated by a DB Regio company, DB ZugBus Nordrhein GmbH.)

When SNCB began their present pattern of inter-city services, international expresses on the Köln - Aachen - Welkenraedt - Verviers - Liège - Bruxelles main line ceased to call at Welkenraedt, and from 1984 an Aachen - Welkenraedt railbus shuttle ran six times a day to make local connections, but this was withdrawn in 1987 due to lack of passengers.  Today the international main line is becoming more and more dedicated to long-distance traffic.  By 2003 Thalys TGVs on the Köln - Aachen - Liège - Bruxelles - Paris route will be running hourly, and SNCB will have diverted their (Oostende - Brussel -) Welkenraedt - Köln IC trains to run Welkenraedt - Eupen instead (R.1401).  Since the Thalys do not call at any station between Aachen and Liège, this will leave not only Welkenraedt but Verviers with no train from Germany - a gap which EVS hope may be filled by local trains using the Vennbahn, perhaps running hourly Aachen - Stolberg - Walheim - Raeren - Eupen to connect with SNCB IC trains.  EVS, who claim to have already won back several former DB freight customers in the Stolberg area, also hope to capture for their Vennbahn route some cross-border freight traffic from the Aachen West DB - Montzen SNCB line.  

As regards the Belgian section of the Vennbahn heading south along the frontier (Raeren - Roetgen - Lammersdorf - Konzen - Monschau - Kalterherberg - Sourbrodt - Weywertz) the first step may be securing the existing but hard-pressed tourist-train operation, and provision of a local freight service, and the second step restoration of passenger trains running through from and to Aachen.  The German town of Monschau with its medieval centre (and its station on the Belgian Vennbahn) has a particular interest in such regular services.  In the more distant future the closed Aachen-Rothe Erde - Philipswerke - Brand - Kornelimünster - ex-Abzw Hahn (- Walheim) line may reopen, though the Philipswerke - Kornelimünster section is now occupied by a popular and attractive cycle-path.  

1460][DE] Düren - Zülpich - Euskirchen: (R.0940, 1105; Ball 37B1).  The last passenger train ran on this former main line on 29 May 1983, but reintroduction of a passenger service has the political support of both Düren and Euskirchen county councils, and Nordrhein-Westfalen province are willing to finance the trains, so they should be running by 2005.  Track is mostly in excellent condition, with new UIC60 welded rail on concrete sleepers, and fettling up the 30km line as a passenger route should cost only some EUR15M.  Journey time would be 33 minutes compared to 55 minutes on the weekdays-only fast bus introduced in 1996, and to 80 minutes on slower buses.  Eleven intermediate stations are envisaged: Düren-Distelrath (km28); Binsfeld (km26); Rommelsheim (km23); Jakobwüllesheim (km20); Vettweiss (km17); Zülpich (km11); Nemmenich (km10); Ülpenich (km8); Dürscheven (km6); Elsig (km4); and Euskirchen West (km2).  Local operators Dürener Kreisbahn, whose depot is at Distelrath, must be well placed to win the contract to run the line.  

1461][DE] Herborn (Dillkreis) - Hartenrod (Kreis Biedenkopf): (Ball 39A1-39B1; KBS624)  Class 628 railcars latterly formed most trains on the Aar-Salzböde-Bahn, which was to be closed from 10 June 2001.  However, in contrast to the nearly empty working on 20 January (R.1369), the 13:40 from Herborn on 7 May 2001 was a Class 215 locomotive with four coaches.  The train started from the junction very full of school and college students but had virtually emptied by the end of the journey. 

1462][DE] Kaisersesch - Daun - Gerolstein: (R.0711, 1029; Ball 48A2-47B2)  The Eifelquerbahn west of Kaisersesch, now owned by Eisenbahngesellschaft im Bergisch-Märkischen Raum, was planned to reopen to passengers at the 2001 Whitsun holiday weekend, but this had to be cancelled since authorisation by the Eisenbahnbundesamt (= federal railway office) was not given in time.  Opening is expected on 16 June 2001, with trains then running every two hours on Saturdays and Sundays until 28 October, calling at all eleven intermediate stations on the 52km section, and making good connections with Andernach - Kaisersesch, Köln - Gerolstein and Trier - Gerolstein services.  Tickets will be sold on board EBM's three-car Class VT798 railbus units, and snacks, drinks, souvenirs and tourist literature will also be available.  For further information, including fares, telephone +49 6591 982 9250 or fax +49 6591 982 9251. 

1463][DE] Frankfurt (Main) Hbf - Abzw Gutleuthof - Abzw Mainzer Landstrasse - Frankfurt Höchst: (EGTRE DE01/516; Ball 50A3)  The Abzw Gutleuthof - Abzw Mainzer Landstrasse route, crossing the main lines out of Frankfurt Hbf by a bridge, is normally used by trains between Hbf (platforms 1 to 7) and Limburg (Lahn), but during spring 2001 the line was closed, with the bridge removed, presumably for reconstruction.  From 6 February till at least 20 May 2001, Frankfurt-am-Main - Limburg-an-der-Lahn trains were using Frankfurt Hbf platforms 15 to 24.

1464][DE] Bayreuth Hbf - Weidenberg (- Mengersreuth - Warmensteinach): (R.1414; Ball 53A2)  At one time six branches served Bavaria's mountainous Fichtelgebirge, now a popular ski-area, but in early June 2001 only one retained any passenger service.  DB have wanted to close the 22.9km Bayreuth - Warmensteinach branch since the early 1970s, and it has received little or no maintenance since the 1980s.  In 1993 it was cut back to a 14km stub to Weidenberg when a 1945-built temporary bridge beyond Mengersreuth needed replacement.  Passenger services survived only because of schools traffic, with some 150 children using the Monday-Friday morning train into Bayreuth and the midday train back.  Otherwise travellers have been few, 5-20 per train, and the service has been sparse, with no weekend workings.  By 2001 the track had become so bad that passenger closure at the June timetable-change became inevitable.  The Zapf prefabricated-concrete factory at Weidenberg remains quite an important DB Cargo customer, but the poor track condition must threaten this heavy-axle-load traffic.

1465][DE] (Ingolstadt Hbf -) Ingolstadt Nord - Ingolstadt Interpark:  On Saturday 26 May 2001 steam-hauled shuttle trains were running from Ingolstadt Hbf down the short branch to Interpark, the industrial estate at the location shown as Werkbahnhof Shell in the Ball atlas (60A1) and Industrieanschluss Terreno in the 2001 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (97C).  After calling at a temporary branch platform at Ingolstadt Nord, the train passed the junction for the disused 28km Ingolstadt Nord - Altmannstein line, which had had a track-panel removed.  Several short industrial branches or sidings then diverged.  One to the Esso refinery looked well-used, but another to a maltings had been lifted and a third to a power-station seemed intact though not recently used.  At Interpark itself a number of connections diverged to individual factory buildings, and extensive sidings remained from the site's previous industrial use.  A long temporary platform had been erected to detrain visitors to the steam-and-music festival being held there that day.  A replica of the very early steam locomotive Adler sat in the sidings, and had apparently been hauling a train offering short rides.  A miniature railway had been set up.  Raucous music was emerging from large tents but the train-guard said attendance had been disappointing.  

1466][PT] Porto heritage trams: (R.0681)  The restored section from Massarelos to Viriato near Carmo was inaugurated on Friday 2 February 2001, and a 30-minute revenue service began the following week, complementing the 15-minute Massarelos - Infante service.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2001)

1467][CH] Kreuzlingen - Tägerwilen-Dorf - Kreuzlingen-Bernrain (- Weinfelden): (Ball 89A3)  The flyover west of Kreuzlingen shown in Ball (and in the 2001 Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland) was demolished in 1998 (BLN 836.0519).  Since then Kreuzlingen - Weinfelden trains have diverged from the Kreuzlingen - Etzwilen route on its south side, taking the tight single-track curve through Tägerwilen-Dorf station (formerly Tägerwilen MThB; BLN 815.0583) to Kreuzlingen-Bernrain.  However, a new double-track curve has been built on a more westerly alignment through an entirely new Tägerwilen-Dorf station to rejoin the original alignment west of Bernrain.  The old single-track curve was still in use on 6 May, but it and Tägerwilen-Dorf old station were shortly to close, and part of the embankment of the old curve at the point of convergence west of Bernrain was to be removed to allow the new curve to be fully connected up in time for the timetable change on 10 June 2001.  A sketch-map in Today's Railways for June 2001 shows the old and new layouts.

1468][NO] Oslo trams:  Opened 30 May 1999, Rikshospitalet terminus was a dead-end, so trams, all single-ended, had to reverse empty to the previous stop, run round a loop, and reverse empty back to the terminus to pick up passengers (BLN 852.0339).  From 28 January 2001 Rikshospitalet has had a reversing triangle.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2001)

1469][PL] Warszawa metro: (BLN 748.073)  Line 1 opened April 1995 from its southern terminus, Kabaty, north to Politechnika (11.5 km, all underground) and on 26 May 1998 extended further to Centrum, just north of the west-to-east main-line railway tunnel and within a short walk of Warszawa Centralna, the city's main station.  On 11 May 2001 a further 1.7km extension opened from Centrum north to Swietokrzyska (interchange station for a future Line 2) and on to Ratusz, bringing the total length to 14.2km, with 14 stations.  (http://www.metropla.net/eu/war/warszawa.htm)

1470][CZ] Praha-Bechovice - Praha-Malesice - Praha-Vrsovice - Praha-Vysehrad: (Ball 35B2)  These sections of line in the Czech capital have been freight-only in recent years, but from the June 2001 timetable change they once more carry passenger trains.  In the westbound direction, some long-distance services from the east leave the Kolin - Praha line (CD 011) at Blatov, avoid Praha hlavní nádrazí (= main station), and join the Praha - Plzen line south-west (CD 171). 

1471][HU] Györ - Györszabadhegy - Papa - Celldömölk (- Szombathely): (R.1083; Ball 42A1-46B3; MÁV 10)  MÁV plan to electrify this route and run through Budapest - Szombathely inter-city trains this way. 

1472][SI][HR] (Divaca -) Hrpelje-Kozina - Prešnica - Rakitovec SZ - Buzet HZ - Lupoglav - Pula: (R.1433; Ball 45B1)  This Slovenia-Croatia border-crossing sees traffic in the summer 2001 timetable.  Two HZ Buzet - Pula local trains have connections from/to Divaca at Buzet, one of which runs Mondays-Fridays only.  In addition, a summer-only (10 June - 2 September 2001 and 9 June - 1 September 2002) through train, #1472/3 Istra, conveys through Zagreb - Pula carriages (from trains #264/5).  Timings are: Divaca 09:40 - 09:53 Hrpelje Kozina 10:03 - 10:29 Rakitovec 10:33 - 10:43 Buzet 10:53 - 12:15 Pula 15:35 - 17:25 Buzet 17:35 - 17:46 Rakitovec 17:51 - 18:15 Hrpelje Kozina 18:30 - 18:43 Divaca.

1473][AM][GE] Yerevan - Masis - Araks - Gyumri - Ayrum [AM] - Tbilisi [GE]: (BLN 843.075)  The international sleeper train between the capitals of Armenia and Georgia seems now to be timed to take a leisurely 26 hours for the 374km, as against Soviet Railways' journey-time of 11 hours in 1990.  Trains #172/1 depart on even dates and arrive on odd dates, and in summer convey a through coach via Tbilisi to and from the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi.  The Armenian electric locomotive usually works through to and from Tbilisi, but it seems that the Georgian power-supply has recently not been entirely reliable and the train has sometimes been stranded for several hours.  An international freight train runs 'semi-regularly' from Yerevan via Tbilisi to another Georgian Black Sea port, Poti, whence a train-ferry runs to Ilichovsk, near Odessa in Ukraine (R.1390).  

Armenia's other passenger trains are now few, though all are normally electrically-hauled on this all-electrified 1520mm-gauge system.  Two other lines seemed to be operating out of the capital in spring 2001: Yerevan - Masis - Yeraskh, south to the border with the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan, and Yerevan - Razdan - Sevan - Sotk, north then south-east along Lake Sevan, serving a tourist area daily in summer, every other day in winter.  Sotk, the terminus, is also known as Zod.  The Sotk train runs not from the main Sasunti David station, but from Arabkir, a station in Yerevan's northern suburbs.  The line between the two Yerevan stations, steeply-graded and allegedly difficult to work, seems to have no passenger traffic, but remains operational.  Diesel road-switcher Class ChME3 #6444 was seen there taking ten bogie oil tank-wagons uphill.  According to the summary timetable below it ought to be possible every other day to see four out of Armenia's five passenger trains at Sasunti David station between 07:00 and 09:02. 

#884/3 Yerevan Sasunti David 08:00 - ?12:30 Gyumri 17:15 - 21:48 Yerevan Sasunti David
#6512/1 Yerevan Sasunti David 16:30 - Yeraskh - 09:02 Yerevan Sasunti David
#6522/1 Yerevan Sasunti David 17:00 - Araks - 08:44 Yerevan Sasunti David
#172/1 Yerevan Sasunti David 19:00 (even days) - 21:00 (odd) Tbilisi ?05:00 (even) - 07:00 (odd) Yerevan Sasunti David
#??? Yerevan Arabkir - Sotk - Yerevan Arabkir
(LCGB Bulletin, #5, May 2001)

1474][NZ] Wellington - Auckland: (R.1232)  Tranz Rail, who have put their passenger operations up for sale, are again running mixed trains, with smaller passenger consists.  At 22:48 on 23 May 2001 the overnight southbound Auckland - Wellington Overlander passed through Te Rapa north of Hamilton comprising locomotive, two wagons with containers, brake-van and only two passenger carriages.  

1475][NZ] Christchurch - Greymouth: This scenic line, the only link to the west coast of the South Island, has reasonably buoyant passenger traffic (R.1064), but the rail connection into Greymouth port was short-sightedly removed in 1989 to make way for a 'floodwall', leaving road hauliers with the coal and timber traffic to the docks.  Exports of local coal from Greymouth are expected to boom in the period to 2005 and options for rail to handle some of this traffic are being considered.  Tranz Rail believe the floodwall is strong enough to restore the railway on top of it and reconnect the docks.  (The Press, 21 May 2001)

1476][CA] (Welland, ON -) Hewitt - CPR/CASO diamond (- Hagersville - Windsor, ON):  Part of the Canada Southern (CASO) line, jointly owned by Canadian Pacific and Canadian National, had been out of use, but in a further reorganisation of CPR traffic in the Niagara region (R.1263), from 9 May 2001 six CPR freight trains a week were due to return to its 12.9km eastern section.  The east-to-west CASO route crossed the north-to-south CPR Smithville, ON - CPR/CASO diamond - Dunnville - Port Maitland, ON CPR branch on the level, but the diamond was to be removed and replaced by an east-to-south 
curve, allowing CPR to continue to serve Dunnville and Port Maitland while discontinuing service on the lightly-used 15.4km northern part of the Smithville - Port Maitland line which requires expensive bridge repairs. (http://www.railpace.com/hotnews)

1477][US] Santa Clara County, CA: light rail: Baypointe - I-880/Milpitas: (R.1327)  The Tasman East Phase I extension of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's light-rail system duly opened 17 May 2001.  

1478][US] Tucson, AZ heritage trams:  Ordinary streetcar services in Tucson last ran 31 December 1930.  Construction of the Old Pueblo Trolley heritage line - which is not on a route of the predecessor system - began in 1987.  It starts at a car-barn (= depot) in 8th Street just north-east of, but 'on the wrong side of the tracks' from, the Amtrak station on the (ex-Southern Pacific, now Union Pacific) transcontinental main line.  The single-track tramway heads north up 4th Avenue, through what might be described as the 'alternative' shopping-district, for five blocks to a passing-loop at the intersection with what logically ought to be 3rd Street but is actually University Boulevard, along which the line turns east for a further five blocks to end at Tyndall Avenue, near the main gate to the campus of the University of Arizona.  Total length is 1.75km, with two tiny extensions planned to enable future use of a single-ended car.  On 30 March 2001 a wye (= triangle) was being laid at the 8th Street / 4th Avenue intersection, work having started only a week or so before, and this was to be matched by a circuit round the block at the north-eastern end of the line (Tyndall Avenue / 2nd Street / Euclid Avenue, then back along University Boulevard).  Cars, manned by volunteers, run only at weekends (Fridays 18:00-22:00 and Saturdays 12:00-23:59, one-way fare USD1, and Sundays 12:00-18:00, one-way fare USD0.25) with no specific timetable being advertised or followed.  Our reporter began his Friday-evening trip by waiting at the car-barn for start-time and boarding when the car appeared, giving him the benefit of the 50m extra ride along 8th Street, as cars normally pick up and set down just north of the 8th Street / 4th Avenue intersection.  Information : http://www.oldpueblotrolley.org.

1479][US] Colorado Springs, CO heritage trams:  Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation have since 1982 assembled a fleet of fourteen streetcars at their Roswell Trolley Barn (2333 Steel Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80907) and laid a short 150m section of test track.  They plan to revive the traditional 1900 title of Colorado Springs & Interurban Railway, and have city council approval in principle for their proposed initial route, to begin downtown just west of the former Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe railway line at the intersection of Pikes Peak Avenue and Colorado Avenue, running south-west then west along Colorado Avenue towards Manitou Springs.

1480][US] Hayward Jn - Springbrook - Trego Jn - Spooner, WI:  From Wisconsin Central's Fond du Lac - Hayward Jn - Superior, WI main line, the (ex-Chicago, Minneapolis, St.Paul & Omaha, latterly Union Pacific) line extending some 30km south-west to the town of Spooner is operated by Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad, originally a tourist-train company but now also hauling some freight.  Since 1997 WGN have run their tourist trains, mainly diesel-hauled, on the far end of the branch, and during their May-December season in 2000 they were offering leisurely round-trips, mainly at weekends but daily in high summer, from their base at Spooner over the 11km to Trego Jn or c.25km to Springbrook.  In 2001 WGN were planning longer trips on July weekends using a Pacific steam locomotive (Soo Line #2719), which would have run beyond Springbrook and indeed beyond their own line down more former CMStP&O trackage as far as Hayward, the current end-of-track on what is now WC's short Hayward Jn - Hayward branch.  However it now seems these extended runs may not be feasible, and the tourist trains in 2001, steam and diesel, will again be limited to the Spooner - Springbrook section, leaving unserved a few km of WGN freight-only track between the WCL main line and Springbrook.  Some of this information is from http://www.spoonerwi.com/rail_excursion.htm.  WGN's own site http://www.tachyoninter.net/wgnrr/ is not yet active. 

1481][US] (San Antonio, TX - St.Louis, MO - Alton, IL -) Springfield (KC Jn) - Clinton - Gibson City - Gilman (- Chicago, IL):  Amtrak publicity says that engineering work was to start on 1 May and continue through summer 2001 to raise the speed-limit for passenger trains on the (ex-Chicago & Alton, now Union Pacific) Springfield - Bloomington-Normal - Joliet route.  One Amtrak train, #22, the daily northbound Texas Eagle, is therefore being diverted 'most days' between its scheduled stops at Alton (depart 07:41) and Chicago Union station (due 12:40).  From 3 June, that train is renumbered #322 in Amtrak's booking computer, which may well denote that the diversion applies.  It is understood the train follows its usual route to the southern outskirts of Springfield, IL, whence the diversionary route is from KC Jn over normally freight-only trackage (ex-Illinois Central, now Canadian National) via Clinton and Gibson City to Gilman, where it joins the (ex-IC, now CN) Champaign-Urbana - Chicago main line already used by Amtrak trains #58/59 City of New Orleans and #391/392 Illini.  The southbound Eagle and other Amtrak trains on the Chicago - Springfield route appear to be unaffected. 

1482][US] (New York Penn - Newark Broad Street, NJ -) Montclair Bay Street - Upper Montclair (- Great Notch, NJ): (BLN 834.0449, R.1020)  New Jersey Transit are extending their (ex-Delaware, Lackawanna & Western) electrified commuter line beyond Montclair Bay Street north to join their nearby (ex-Erie / New York & Greenwood Lake) diesel-operated line to Upper Montclair and on to Great Notch.  By April 2001 some new overhead wiring was in place, and track and platform work north of Bay Street was under way. 

1483][US] Charlotte, NC heritage trams:  Operation of the Charlotte Trolley began in 1996, using restored Charlotte streetcar #85 towing a diesel generator to provide power.  The trolley has normally run half-hourly at weekends (Fridays to Sundays) from Stonewall Street south over 2km of city-owned railroad right-of-way past the car-barn at Atherton Mill to South Boulevard in the South End district.  However, work started in April 2001 on erecting overhead wiring and refurbishing the track (initially to be single with passing-loops, but ready for doubling) plus rebuilding of a missing bridge at Stonewall Street and extension from Stonewall Street north uptown to 9th Street.  The line is eventually to be used by both vintage trolleys and light rail.  During track reconstruction, service has been suspended over the Stonewall Street - South Boulevard section, and in May 2001 the trolley was temporarily running instead from South Boulevard south 2.4km to Scaleybark.  Trackwork on the original section is due to be completed by 1 August 2001, and by the end of 2002 the streetcar may be running seven days a week on its full 3km route (9th Street - downtown (Convention Center) - Stonewall Street - South Boulevard).  (mainly from http://www.charlottetrolley.com)

1484][KE][UG]  Nairobi - Equator - Malaba KR - Tororo UR - Jinja - Kampala:  (R.1181, 1185)  A Steam across the Equator trip is being planned for early September 2001, with a metre-gauge Kenya Railway Corporation 59th Class 4-8-2+2-8-4 Beyer-Garratt locomotive (ex-East African Railways #5918 or #5930) hauling a train the whole length of the scenic Nairobi - Kampala main line, which no longer has a regular passenger service.  Price of the seven-day package excluding air travel to Kenya is USD840=c.GBP595.  Further information: http://www.vibrantsafaris.com/Steam-Across-the-Equator.html

1485][FR] Bois de Saint-Eutrope: (Ball 82B3 not shown)  The 2.5km 600mm-gauge Chemin de Fer de St.Eutrope, a dumb-bell-shaped line in a park near the suburb of Evry, c.2km west of Orangis-Bois-de-l'Épine station on Paris RER line D, is not to be operating in summer 2001 until August, due to track problems, according to one of the volunteer workers.  In mid-May rails at the depot certainly appeared rusty, though a number of coaches and other vehicles could be seen.  Information: CF de St.Eutrope, 5 Square Montsouris, F-75014 Paris, telephone +33 1 4589 7649.

1486][FR] (Lyon - Givors-Canal - Tournon - St.Péray - La Voulte-sur-Rhône - Le Pouzin -) Le Teil - Avignon: (Ball 56B3-64B1)  The north-south freight line down the right bank of the river Rhône is frequently used for diversions of passenger trains (R.0621), including TGVs travelling at up to 140km/h, so its condition would be no obstacle to restoration of an ordinary passenger service on the Le Teil - Avignon section (withdrawn 1973).  A committee set up in September 2000 estimate that the stations could be modernised for EUR3M, and are pressing the Languedoc-Roussillon regional council to pay for reopening Le Teil - Avignon when they take over responsibility for regional transport on 1 January 2002.  (La Vie du Rail, 23 May 2001)

1487][BE] Court-Saint-Étienne - Genappes (- Baulers): (Ball 8B1)  SNCB freight line 141 sees regular traffic only during the sugar-beet season.  One of SNCB's new Spanish-built Class 41 diesel railcar units worked a Patrimoine Ferroviaire Touristique railtour on 2 June 2001, traversing slowly and with some difficulty the many level-crossings and the vegetation growing across and between the tracks, taking an hour longer than timetabled to reach Genappes, where the line now ends.  At Bousval, the train had to inch carefully past a lorry parked very close to the line.  At Genappes, ex-British Rail shunting locomotive 03081, apparently derelict, sat parked next to the factory.

1488][BE] Fleurus - Lambusart - Auvelais: (Ball 8B1)  After two abortive attempts on previous dates, a PFT railtour on 2 June 2001 visited SNCB line 147, disused from 1979 but now relaid as c.15km of single electrified track to enable future freight flows southbound from Antwerpen over the Athus-Meuse route to avoid the steep gradient at Mont-Saint-Guibert on the Bruxelles - Luxembourg main line (BLN 813.0521).  The Fleurus end follows a new alignment (R.0301).  The former station at Lambusart seems to have disappeared completely.  At the southern end the original northwest-to-west curve to Tamines has gone and the new northwest-to-east curve links line 147 to Charleroi - Namur line 130 at Auvelais.  Also lifted is the prolongation of line 147 beneath line 130 to connect with Tamines - Denée-Maredsous line 150 (R.0887).  

1489][BE] Ciney - Spontin - Spontin-Sources - Dorinne-Durnal (- Yvoir): (Ball 17A3-9A1)  SNCB line 128, retained for many years to be available for strategic military use, sees only Patrimoine Ferroviaire Touristique tourist trains, operating from Ciney as the Chemin de Fer du Bocq.  Though advertised to do so, it seems the CF du Bocq trains did not run to Dorinne-Durnal in summer 2000 (R.0815).  An SNCB Class 41 diesel railcar working a freight-lines railtour for PFT on 2 June 2001 was said to be the first passenger train since 1971 beyond Spontin-Sources, proceeding cautiously at c.5km/h and stopping just short of the entrance to Dorinne-Durnal station loop.  No buildings and indeed few traces of the station remain at this isolated spot deep in the woods.  Track is still in place beyond towards Yvoir, but is now in very poor condition.

1490][BE] Statte - Huy-St.Hilaire - Marchin (- Ciney): (BLN 711.05; Ball 9A1)  A PFT railtour on 2 June 2001 visited SNCB freight line 126, pausing in the well-preserved station at Huy-St.Hilaire before continuing to the sidings alongside the industrial plant at Marchin, where a shunting locomotive posed for photographs alongside the Class 41 diesel railcar.  The railcar did not however continue south as planned to the former Marchin passenger station, presumably the limit of the line.  The Marchin - Ciney section is said to be abandoned, but it did appear to be in freight use for at least a short distance north of the junction with the Namur - Arlon (- Luxembourg) line 162 at Ciney.  

1491][BE][DE] (Liège -) Chênée - Soumagne - Welkenraedt / Walhorn SNCB/NMBS - Aachen DB: (BLN 832.0372; Ball BE-9B1-10A2, DE-37A1)  By the beginning of June 2001 construction of the high-speed line east of Liège had begun.  Some substantial works can be seen at Chenée, where the new line diverges from the classic Chênée - Verviers - Welkenraedt line to enter a c.6km tunnel which will become the longest in Belgium, thereafter following autoroute E40 to Welkenraedt.  It seems that the Belgian government have still not decided the location of the eastern connection to the old line, west of Welkenraedt or just to the east at Walhorn.  Beyond, trains will for the foreseeable future use the classic line across the border to Aachen.  However the 693m Aachener Busch tunnel under the Aachener Stadtwald is not in good condition, and it is planned to build a new parallel single-track tunnel and then reconstruct and single-track the old tunnel.  At the same time, the point where trains change between left-hand and right-hand running would be moved from the present flyover inside Germany just west of the tunnel to Aachen Hbf.

1492][DE] (Rostock -) Stralsund-Grünhufe - Stralsund Hbf: (R.0816; Ball 13A2; KBS165/167)  The new Stralsund-Grünhufe station, c.3km west of Stralsund, opened 1 April 2001.

1493][DE] Monsheim - Harxheim-Zell - Marnheim - Langmeil (Pfalz): (Ball 49A1-56B3)  Berlin - Frankfurt-am-Main - Paris trains once traversed this line, but for many years during the Cold War it was retained only as an east-west route of possible strategic use to NATO (BLN 836.0491).  Though the 5.3km Monsheim - Harxheim-Zell section saw a few tourist trains in summer 1998 (BLN 832.0383), by 2000 the line was blocked out of use (R.0637).  On 26 May 2001, however, it reopened throughout, on summer Sundays only at this stage.  Normal DB rail tickets are reported to be valid on the service.

1494][DE] Lintorf (Bezirk Düsseldorf) - Rohdenhaus - Wülfrath (- Wuppertal-Vohwinkel): (Ball 33B1-34A1)  This freight-only branch north-east of Düsseldorf retains considerable traffic from the huge cement-works at Rohdenhaus, even on a public holiday, and the photographic excursion that ran on Monday 4 June 2001 had some of its stops curtailed by conflicting movements on the Lintorf - Rohdenhaus section.  By contrast, Rohdenhaus - Wülfrath was run-down, with track in poor condition, and was due to close at the 10 June 2001 timetable-change.  Climbing away to the south-east, the line gave views of the extensive internal system of the cement-works in the valley below.  Sidings at Wülfrath were already mostly out of use but held a few wagons of scrap waiting to leave.  The former passenger platforms remained, as did semaphore starting-signals for the lifted section beyond which once continued to join the Essen - Wuppertal line.  

Reversing at the signal-box short of Wülfrath station, the train joined the Wülfrath - Velbert - Heiligenhaus (- Kettwig-Stausee) line, on which DB Netz had agreed to allow it to proceed only as far as Anschluss Scholten, a factory-siding c.3.6km from the junction and well short of Velbert.  However, vegetation covered the track completely, and it was clear that nothing had run there for a long time.  The elderly diesel-railcar units had increasing difficulty with adhesion climbing the gradient in the damp conditions, and after about 1.5km they gave up, just past a level-crossing, and returned to Wülfrath, continuing this time to the station.  Nevertheless, a preservation group, with the support of the local authority, hope to run trains on this Wülfrath - Velbert - Heiligenhaus section.  The former Heiligenhaus - Kettwig-Stausee section is lifted.

1495][DE] Aachen area local trains: (R.0973, 1173, 1246, 1459; Ball 37A1-37B1)  Inaugural festivities took place on Thursday 7 June, and regular half-hourly services started on Saturday 9 June 2001 running from Aachen via Stolberg Hbf to Stolberg-Altstadt (formerly Stolberg-Hammer).  Every second train runs through from Heerlen, the south-eastern extremity of the Netherlands inter-city network (Heerlen - Landgraaf NS - Herzogenrath DB - Aachen Hbf - Stolberg Hbf - Stolberg-Altstadt).  An Aachen newspaper of 6 June 2001 confirmed some target opening dates for local passenger lines.  Stolberg Hbf - Eschweiler Tal - Weisweiler - Langerwehe is to open 15 December 2002.  Though most of this is existing freight track paralleling the (Aachen -) Stolberg Hbf - Nothberg - Langerwehe (- Düren - Köln) main line, the Weisweiler - Langerwehe section is to be new construction, so this target seems quite ambitious - and very specific!  Herzogenrath - Alsdorf-Begau is to reopen by December 2003.  Alsdorf-Begau - Merzbrück - Aachener Kreuz - Weiden - Würselen - Aachen Nord (Ludwigforum) - Aachen Bushof is to open by December 2005.  Alsdorf - Weiden is a reopening plus a new chord between Merzbrück and Aachener Kreuz; from Weiden to just before Aachen Nord is reconstruction of an old line, now lifted; while from Aachen Nord to Aachen Bushof is to be a newly-constructed street-running section.  

1496][DE] Düren - Jülich - Linnich (- Baal): (R.0939, 1147; Ball 37B1)  Dürener Kreisbahn now say they expect regular passenger trains to begin on the Jülich - Linnich section on 21 October 2001.  Re-laying the former section from Linnich north to Baal on the Mönchengladbach - Aachen line is in the early planning stage.

1497][DE] Karlsruhe trams on railways: (Karlsruhe -) Heilbronn Hbf - Harmonie: (BLN 849.0243; Ball 58A2 not shown)  The 1.4km extension of route S4 under 750V dc wiring from Heilbronn Hbf through the streets to the town-centre and Harmonie is to open on 21 July 2001.  (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, #3/2001)

1498][AT] St.Wolfgang - Schafbergspitze: (Ball 73A1)  The area east of Salzburg lies well away from any main-line railway, but ÖBB continue to run lake boats on the St.Wolfgangsee and a 6km steam-worked metre-gauge rack line, the Schafbergbahn.  Public-transport access is good.  From the bus-station at Salzburg Hbf, hourly postbuses (two-hourly on Sundays and holidays) run east via St.Gilgen and Strobl to Bad Ischl ÖBB station.  These connect into Strobl - St.Wolfgang local buses at the east end of the lake, but a more attractive route is from the west end by one of the St.Gilgen - St.Wolfgang boats, running half-hourly in high summer, hourly in summer, and every 90 minutes in the period 8-28 October 2001.  The Himmelfahrt public holiday on 24 May 2001 was warm and sunny, and a full load on the 10:15 bus from Salzburg helped to cause a ten-minute late arrival at St.Gilgen bus-station, and though the landing-stage is only five minutes walk downhill, the ten-minute connection into the 11:15 boat was missed.  Through ship/train tickets are issued at St.Gilgen together with the necessary train control-ticket for ascending the 1783m Schafberg.  Arriving at St.Wolfgang Schafbergbahn landing-stage, one has only a short walk to the railway.  Each service seen on that busy day was formed of two steam-worked two-coach trains travelling in convoy.  The spectacular climb to the summit station, Schafbergspitze, was well worth the fare even in the slightly hazy conditions.  The first train to arrive at the top unloaded at the uphill platform and moved almost immediately into the headshunt beyond, before reversing into the downhill platform, but the second train reversed at the downhill-end points, thus covering marginally less track.  A control-ticket for the descending train was obtained immediately upon arrival at the top.  Near the downhill end of Schafbergspitze station is a loading-bay at the bottom of a goods funicular, seen in use at 15:30, its single wagon making its way up to the cellar of the hotel c.30m above.  To serve the hotel, the Schafbergbahn runs one daily round-trip (09:00 uphill; 09:58 downhill; 5 May to 6 July and 10 September to 28 October 2001) or two in high summer (08:25 and 11:10 uphill; 09:58 and 13:28 downhill).  All other services run subject to the weather and a minimum load of ten passengers.  Peak loadings can clearly be a problem on trains and boats.  Some 50-60 people were on the Schafbergbahn landing-stage for the 16:23 St.Wolfgang - St.Gilgen boat, but for safety reasons only thirteen were counted off and on the full vessel.  A seven-minute late departure seemed to threaten the five-minute connection at St.Gilgen, but the 17:05 St.Gilgen - Salzburg bus was still there happily awaiting its boat passengers at 17:12. 

1499][AT] Wien Südbahnhof avoiding line: (BLN 804.0286, 808.0377; Ball 77A2)  From 10 June 2001 none of the through trains between Wien Westbahnhof and Hegyeshalom, the Hungarian border-station, is advertised to call at Wien-Meidling, and possibly no passenger service now runs on the direct curve between the Südbahn and the Ostbahn, avoiding Wien Südbahnhof. 

1500][AT] Gmünd NÖ - Gross Gerungs: (R.1309; Ball 63B2-63B1)  Though it was due to be closed completely from 10 June 2001 and has disappeared from the ÖBB summer 2001 timetable, this 760mm-gauge line had a last-minute reprieve.  Weekend tourist trains are to be guaranteed by the province of Niederösterreich until the end of 2002.  It seems that passenger trains continue also on the Siebenbrunn-Leopoldsdorf - Engelhartstetten branch (R.0988, 1219; Ball 76A3; 23km), though this is possibly the least obviously useful or interesting of the ÖBB lines that were due for closure from 10 June.  Also absent from the ÖBB summer 2001 timetable, and apparently now without their passenger trains, are Retz - Drosendorf (R.0983; Ball 64A2; 41km), Drösing - Zistersdorf Stadt (R.0984; Ball 65A1; 12km), Leoben Hbf - Vordernberg Markt (R.0909, 0985; Ball 74B1; 18km, electrified) and Freiland - Türnitz (R.0986; Ball 75A1).

1501][AT] Arnoldstein - Hermagor - Kötschach-Mauthen: (Ball 82A1-81A1)  This long branch runs west parallel to the Italian border.  On 22 May 2001 the 12:45 through train from Villach left with a Class 204 locomotive and three well-filled coaches, which gradually emptied by Hermagor (km31).  Schoolchildren then boarded to form a worthwhile load for the next few kilometres, but our reporter was the only person to alight at the terminus (km62).   From Kötschach-Mauthen an infrequent bus service runs over a mountain pass with many hairpin bends to Oberdrauburg on the Spittal - Lienz line.  Notwithstanding the recent closure threat (R.1147), the Kötschach-Mauthen branch has reappeared in the June 2001 timetable.

1502][AT] St.Veit an der Glan - Feldkirchen in Kärnten - Ossiach-Bodensdorf - Villach: (Ball 82B2-82A1)  The line was considered for closure, but has reappeared in the June 2001 timetable, with services much as before.  On 25 May 2001 the 15:55 Class 4030 three-car electric unit from Villach was well-used west of Ossiach, but east of Feldkirchen the countryside generated little traffic.  Long gaps between the trains seem inappropriate for the stations at the western end, along the Ossiachersee.  This fairly populous area, attractive to holidaymakers, might seem to justify an hourly Feldkirchen - Ossiach - Villach - Warmbad-Villach service operated by two sets. 

1503][AT] Klagenfurt Hbf - Weizelsdorf - Rosenbach: (R.0911; Ball 82B1-82A1)  At the end of the old timetable in June 2001, only two Monday-Friday round-trips remained on this 31km secondary line (05:35 and 06:30 from Rosenbach; 13:52 and 18:55 from Klagenfurt).  On 25 May the 13:52 Klagenfurt - Rosenbach, four coaches hauled by a Class 204 locomotive, started with a reasonable load but few passengers made the entire journey.  At Rosenbach the train shunted into a siding to await its return the following morning and the crew returned as passengers on the 15:12 Rosenbach - Villach.  From 11 June 2001 however one set can cover all the trains (06:30 and 14:30 Rosenbach - Klagenfurt; 13:52 and 16:35 Klagenfurt - Rosenbach).

1504][AT] Spielfeld Strass - Bad Radkersburg: (Ball 83B2-84A2)  At Spielfeld Strass, the Austrian border-station on the Wien - Graz - Spielfeld Strass ÖBB - Šentilj SZ - Maribor - Ljubljana main line, the wiring can be energised at either 15kV 16.7Hz or 3000V dc, and ÖBB locomotives and SZ ones can work over the same tracks, though not at the same time.  The station, a junction as well as a frontier point, has a pleasant Bahnhof buffet.  The afternoon branch service on 21 May 2001 was a locomotive-hauled through train from Graz, reversing at Spielfeld Strass and changing from electric to diesel traction for its onward journey to Bad Radkersburg.  This train, and the return working early in the morning, use the branch crossover at Spielfeld Strass, where Bad Radkersburg trains all use track 1 and Graz and Maribor trains use 2 and 3.  At Bad Radkersburg track extends beyond where the trains stop for a few hundred metres to a level-crossing that seems to mark the limit of present operations.  On the other side of the crossing an apparently abandoned van stands on overgrown track which ends in bushes shortly before the site of a second level-crossing.  Beyond this, a minor road has been built along the trackbed towards the frontier.  The line once continued south-east as a through route into Slovenia (Bad Radkersburg - Gornja Radgona SZ - Ljutomer; BLN 753.0205).  

1505][FI] Kouvola - Inkeroinen - Juurikorpi - Kotka - Kotkan satama: (Ball 17B1)  East of Kouvola passenger station and north of the double-track (Helsinki -) Kouvola - Luumäki (- Vainikkala VR - Sankt-Peterburg) main line lies the large freight-yard.  Its sorting sidings are at the western end, then comes a shunting-hump, still in use, then the reception sidings at the eastern end, at a higher level than the main line.  At the sorting-sidings end is the single-track west-to-south curve used by passenger trains on to the Kotka branch, but Kouvola has also two other curves to the south not shown in Ball.  A single-track east-to-south curve diverges from the main line at the same point as the eastern entry to the freight-yard, forming the third side of a triangle.  It has itself no access from the freight-yard but enables through block trains of Russian oil to run direct to the ports of Kotka and Hamina for export.  Another single-track curve runs west-to-south direct from Kouvola reception sidings making a half-circle over the main line on a bridge then through a tunnel to join the Kotka branch south of the triangle.  All the curves are electrified, and south of the triangle for some distance the branch is also double-track.  

Passenger trains are mainly Helsinki suburban electric units, working a Kouvola - Kotka shuttle plus through trains from and to the capital twice a day.  Kotka has a fine old station-building still containing the booking-hall, but trains continue a further 1km to Kotkan satama (= Kotka harbour) where two modern bus-shelters perched on the quayside mark the passenger terminus.  Unelectrified track beyond remains in use to serve one of several docks.  

The branch to Hamina is shown in Ball's 1993 atlas as diverging at Inkeroinen and being electrified but out of use.  A VR timetable map of 1983 shows it as diverging at Inkeroinen and having 'no passenger traffic', but also depicts another alignment diverging 12km south at Juurikorpi for Hamina as a 'railway under construction'.  A VR 1:1,000,000 official map of January 1986 shows only the present Juurikorpi - Hamina alignment, and several separate sidings at the port, which as noted receives oil export traffic.  

1506][FI] (Helsinki -) Vainikkala VR (- Luzhaika RZD - Sankt-Peterburg): (Ball 18A1)  VR's border-station of Vainikkala can be used by travellers only to and from Russia, not to and from other Finnish stations.  Three passenger trains run each way, two making round-trips by day (Sibelius with VR coaches Helsinki - St.Peterburg - Helsinki, and Repin with Russian coaches St.Peterburg - Helsinki - St.Peterburg) plus the overnight sleeper Tolstoy, running Helsinki - Moskva in each direction with Russian coaches.  Our reporter arrived by the Lappeenranta - Vainikkala bus, operated for travellers between eastern Finland and Russia, but since he had no ticket for the cross-frontier journey, the firm but friendly border-guards did not allow him on to the platforms until the Sibelius and the Tolstoy (which cross here in the morning) had both cleared the station.  Eastbound freight trains to Russia change locomotives at a set of sidings west of Vainikkala before running through the platform roads, while westbound freight trains change (and may be remarshalled) at a separate and extensive set of sidings adjacent to the passenger platforms.  Between the two sets of sidings the public highway to the station crosses the running line by a bridge just to the west of the platforms, and offers good views of Finnish 25kV 50Hz locomotives and Russian 25kV 50Hz/3000V dc locomotives exchanging trains, no problems being met with photography here, nor on the three new platforms of the station itself.  From the end of the platforms, using binoculars to look east along the single track, the actual frontier can be seen clearly. 

1507][FI] Helsinki - Leppävaara: (Ball 24B1)  Having been part of Russia as the railway era began, Finland followed the Russian 'cold-weather railway' tradition whereby passengers wait inside heated and insulated station-buildings till their train arrives, and platforms themselves offer little protection from the weather.  Platforms at Helsinki's terminus have long been unprotected.  In summer 2001 a new roof was almost complete but it is to reach only as far as the end of the main station buildings, leaving uncovered most of the length of main-line platforms 4-11.  Suburban platforms 1-3 on the east side and 12-19 to the west remain entirely out in the open.  Helsinki's new platforms 17-19, already in use, are part of a scheme to augment suburban electric services, involving an extra pair of 1524mm-gauge tracks, largely complete, west to Leppävaara station, being rebuilt as a rail/bus interchange to come into full operation in June 2002.  

1508][IT] Piacenza - Castelvetro: (Ball 46B3-47A3)  Electrification of this 25km section was completed by June 2001.  (Today's Railways, June 2001)

1509][IT] (Roma -) Rocca d'Evandro-San Vittore - Venafro (- Carpinone - Campobasso): (BLN 771.065; Ball 53B2)  This long-planned 15km cut-off was to open with the 10 June 2001 timetable-change.  (Today's Railways, June 2001)

1510][IT] Napoli metro: (Garibaldi/Stazione FS -) Dante - Museo/Cavour - Vanvitelli - Colli Aminei - Piscinola-Scampia (- Capodichino Aeroporto):  The Vanvitelli - Colli Aminei section of Napoli's Metropolitana line 1 opened in 1993 followed in 1995 by Colli Aminei - Piscinola-Scampia (formerly Piscinola-Secondigliano).  The 4km Museo - Vanvitelli section, partly in a steep (5.5%) sharply-curved tunnel, opened 5 April 2001, worked by a shuttle train, since Museo as a temporary terminus has no proper reversing facility.  The 0.5km Dante - Museo section is to open in July 2001.  Archaeological investigation and preparation for some technically challenging engineering are under way for the section from the main-line FS station at Piazza Garibaldi beneath the historic heart of the city to Dante.  (http://www.metropla.net; New Civil Engineer, 31 May 2001)

1511][HU] Budapest main-line stations: (Ball 44B2)  With the June 2001 timetable change several EuroCity trains diverted to use Budapest-Deli (= south) and Budapest-Nyugati (= west), and only the train-pairs EC40/41 and EC46/47 continue to use Budapest-Keleti (= east).  A number of formerly through workings including EC40/41 now run as far as Budapest only.  

1512][EE] Tallinn - Keila - Paldiski:  Passenger trains on this 48km 1520mm-gauge line are 3000V dc electric units, but all freight is diesel-hauled, Estonia having no electric locomotives.  The capital, Tallinn, has an attractive city-centre with many historic buildings, but the traditional wooden station at Paldiski is one of the few buildings in that town to have survived from before the Soviet era.  Though looking very dilapidated, it does house a small cafe.  Paldiski docks, until 1994 a Soviet and later a Russian naval-base, are now regarded as part of Tallinn commercial port.  In summer 2001 a new east-facing siding north of the main line was being laid and a terminal was under construction to handle oil arriving from Russia by rail for transfer to ships for export.  A west-facing siding descending quite steeply south of the main line served docks where the traditional Baltic timber traffic was much in evidence. 

1513][MY] Kuala Lumpur Sentral - KUL airport:  The old Kuala Lumpur station, a famous tourist attraction with its distinctive Islamic colonial architecture, designed by A R Hubback and opened in 1911, saw its last intercity train, the Senandung Malam, arrive at 22:30 on 15 April 2001.  KTM Komuter trains continue to stop at the old station, but from 16 April 2001 all Keretapi Tanah Melayu intercity services to the north, south and the east coast operate from the new Kuala Lumpur Sentral station located not far to the south in the Brickfields area, served also by the city's Putra light-rail system.  The Express Rail Link, a dedicated new line now being built from Sentral to Kuala Lumpur airport, is to open in summer 2002.  (http://www.kiat.net/malaysia/KL/klsentral-erl.html; Railway Gazette International, May 2001)

1514][AU] Sydney, NSW - Canberra, ACT:  The Australian TGV high-speed rail project (BLN 836.0539) has been abandoned - disappointing but perhaps not altogether surprising for a nation still unwilling to invest decisively in a common gauge for their main-line railways, well over a century after the UK and the USA did so and sorted out this problem!  Also shelved is the proposed Sydney CityRail 3km extension from Bondi Jn to Bondi Beach (BLN 804.0296).

1515][FR] Lille métro: (R.1123)  This city pioneered Matra's VAL (= véhicule automatique léger) driverless light metro system.  In 2000 metro line 2 was extended north in tunnel for 3.5km to terminate just short of the Belgian border at Centre Hospitalier Dron in Tourcoing.  Traffic on this section seems still disappointingly light for such an expensive investment. A late Saturday evening journey on 23 June 2001 saw only a handful of people using several northbound trains north of Tourcoing Centre, and no-one at all using one southbound working from Dron to Roubaix Eurotéléport.  Transpole's day ticket for metro, tram and bus remains good value at FRF22=EUR3.35=c.GBP2; it is valid for the calendar day, not 24 hours from time of issue.

1516][FR] Boulogne: Bifurcation d'Outreau - Boulogne-Maritime: (R.1128; Ball 6A2)  The short branch to Boulogne-Maritime station, once double but latterly singled, was seen to be out of use on 23 June 2001.  At the level-crossing near the bus-garage south of the station, the rail-grooves were silted-up, the rails were well rusted and the nearby signal C150 was unlit.  

1517][FR] (St.Omer - Arques -) Lumbres - Desvres (- Hesdigneul - Boulogne): (BLN 825.0197, 831.0351, 848.0195; Ball 6B2-6A1)  The Lumbres - Desvres section was formally abandoned (declassée) in 1991.  It looks unlikely to be restored.  At a former level-crossing north of Affringues on 23 June 2001 the track had long been lifted and the trackbed was well overgrown.

1518][FR] Froissy - Cappy - Dompierre: (Ball 15A2)  Remnant of a large 600mm-gauge system built for military purposes during World War I, the line was bought in 1927 by Sucrerie de Dompierre, who used it for transport between their beet-sugar factory and Cappy wharf on the Canal de la Somme, until 1972.  Since then the Chemin de Fer Touristique Froissy-Cappy-Dompierre has become a major tourist attraction, with a large modern museum at Froissy displaying a variety of narrow-gauge vehicles.  From the original terminus at Froissy-Pont to the museum platform now in use some 300m of track remains intact, but was not in regular passenger service during a visit on 24 June 2001.  Operating arrangements are quite complex.  Two trains maintain the hourly service.  A steam locomotive hauls the train from Froissy along the canal as far as Cappy-Port, where a diesel locotracteur waits in the loop, having been detached from a Dompierre - Cappy - Froissy train.  The diesel then takes over for the steep climb to the Santerre plateau, starting with a sharply-curved 300m tunnel, built in 1927 to reduce the gradient and replace the earlier street-running in the village of Cappy.  Shortly afterwards the train makes a zig-zag double-reversal to gain height, and three sections of running line lie almost parallel.  The final section closely follows the D164 road, which the train then traverses at an unprotected level-crossing to reach its terminus at the edge of Dompierre village.  The sugar-factory that the line once served is now closed. 

1519][FR] St.Quentin - Itancourt - Mézières-sur-Oise - Ribemont - Origny-Ste.Bénoîte (- Guise - Wassigny): (Ball 15B2)  This 22km standard-gauge freight branch branch diverges east from the north-to-south St.Quentin - Tergnier (- Paris) main line.  Nearby is the small modern shed of the preservation group Chemin de Fer Touristique du Vermandois, but some of their stock is stored also on sidings parallel to the main line south of the junction.  Itancourt has a rusty siding and an apparently intact passing-loop.  The line runs across undulating agricultural land as far as the valley of the river Oise at Mézières, where it crosses and then follows the Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise.  The intermediate stations of Mézières and Ribemont are shown in the timetable but the stations are in private ownership and it would be difficult to board or leave at either place.  As in 1993 (BLN 714.04) little or no evidence of freight traffic was seen except that from the terminus, where sidings serve the works of Sucrerie-Distillerie de l'Aisne and Ciments d'Origny.  Origny passenger station is intact but closed up, and the trackbed of the Origny - Guise section has become a signposted footpath.  Though the Guise - Wassigny section is shown in the Ball atlas, and in the Nouvelle Géographie Ferroviaire de la France, brief local exploration showed it to be completely abandoned, at least at the former station of Lesquielles-St.Germain, where no sign of rails remained at the level-crossing.  

Since 1993, opportunities to ride on the branch aboard a CFTV passenger train have become scarcer.  One of the occasional operating days was 24 June 2001.  The train left from the SNCF station at St.Quentin, where it was not shown on the departure indicators, though an announcement summoned passengers to the unnumbered platform farthest away from the station-building.  As is often the case in France, the marketing emphasis seemed to be on a gastronomic travel experience, with three out of the four coaches given over to on-board dining.  One of the coaches was an ex-Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits vehicle and some passengers had tried to dress appropriately for a Grand Express Européen, only their camera-bags revealing them as railway enthusiasts!  During the journey, no member of the CFTV staff visited the single non-dining coach (labelled third-class on the outside, second-class inside), so our reporter is slightly embarrassed to admit that he travelled free.  Presumably the gastronomic passengers repaid the attention lavished on them.  He did miss a minor track-exploration opportunity, however.  Arriving back at St.Quentin on time at 14:30, the train set down a few passengers, including our man, then continued, with most of its load, to the sidings beyond the road-bridge, this movement no doubt allowing more time to finish the coffee and liqueurs.  

1520][BE][DE] (Liège -) Chênée - Soumagne - Walhorn SNCB - Aachen DB: (R1491; Ball BE-9B1-10A2, DE-37A1)  The SNCB administrative council finally decided on 22 June 2001 that the new Ligne à Grande Vitesse east of Liège is to run to Walhorn, east of Welkenraedt and just west of the new Hammerbrücke (R.0528), where it will converge with the existing (Liège -) Chênée - Verviers - Welkenraedt - Walhorn - Aachen line 37.  The selected route is cheaper, disturbs fewer properties, and is marginally faster than the other option considered, a junction west of Welkenraedt.  Since SNCB have already decided to stop sending alternate Oostende - Welkenraedt IC trains to Aachen and to send them all to Eupen (R.1401), Chênée seems set to become the point where Belgian domestic traffic and international traffic split.  The short Welkenraedt - Walhorn section may possibly fall entirely out of use, for no freight normally runs this way.  Furthermore, if all cross-border traffic is going to arrive by the high-speed line it could become logical to rewire the Walhorn - Aachen section from 3000V dc so that the new line's 25kV 50Hz electrification extends across the frontier to meet the German 15kV 16.7Hz in Aachen Hbf.  

1521][LU] Pétange CFL - Pétange-Train 1900 (AMTF) - Fuusbesch - Fond-de-Gras - Rodange (AMTF): (R.1402, 1458; Ball 17B1)  The through train from Luxembourg to Fond-de-Gras due to run on 10 June was postponed to Sunday 22 July 2001.  CFL heritage diesel locomotive #1604 is to work to Fuusbesch, where an AMTF steam locomotive will take over.  Timings are Luxembourg 13:50 - Esch-sur-Alzette 14:12 - 14:40 Fuusbesch - Fond-de-Gras, returning to Luxembourg 19:50.  The fare (LUF480=EUR11.90) includes day travel over the whole CFL network and trips on Train 1900 and the mining railway at Lasauvage (BLN 822.0120).  This is to be the first train over the new link track, which diverges from the Pétange Eucosider siding at points facing Pétange CFL goods-yard, and joins the AMTF line south-east of the factory at points facing Fuusbesch, near the new Pétange AMTF station, a dead-end platform.  The special train can thus run through without reversal, though in doing so it cannot call at either Pétange CFL or Pétange AMTF.

1522][NL] Hoorn - Twisk - Medemblik: (Ball 1A1)  From Hoorn NS station, a footbridge across the tracks leads to the separate station of the Stoomtram Hoorn-Medemblik, a standard-gauge tourist line designed to reproduce as closely as possible the atmosphere of the year 1926.  Though it may legally remain a tramway, it has few tramway features today, so 'steam-tram' seems a slightly misleading term.  The SHM seemed to be the only tourist line in the Netherlands operating on Thursday 14 June 2001, but patronage of the train that day would have been low, possibly just our reporter and his two friends, had it not been for a sizeable party of German visitors.  The SHM route runs parallel to the NS Hoorn - Enkhuizen electrified line eastwards for a short distance before diverging north-west.  After leaving Hoorn the train runs across peaceful flat countryside with few engineering works but some abrupt changes of direction, making a short stop at the small country station of Twisk, carefully restored to include a siding occupied by a single goods-wagon.  From the line's Medemblik terminus it is a walk of some ten minutes to Medemblik quay, which offers an attractive alternative to returning by train to Hoorn.  Priced in summer 2001 at NLG32.50=EUR14.75=c.GBP9, the Hoorn - Medemblik - Enkhuizen - Hoorn triangular tour includes a 75-minute Medemblik - Enkhuizen boat-trip along the coast of the IJsselmeer, while an add-on to the tour-fare allows reduced-rate admission to the Zuiderzee Museum, where the boat calls shortly before arriving at Enkhuizen.  Enkhuizen landing-stage is close to the NS station, which has half-hourly trains back to Hoorn (and to Amsterdam).  Medemblik and Enkhuizen are both pleasant towns to visit.  Next to the latter is the long dyke striding off across the former Zuiderzee and carrying the bus service to Lelystad on the reclaimed polder of Flevoland.  

1523][NL] (Amsterdam Centraal -) Lage Zwaluwe - Breda NS (- Noorderkempen NMBS - Antwerpen - Brussel): (R.0669; Ball 3B1)  The work under way in June 2001 to provide another pair of tracks alongside this section of route is presumably for the Hogesnelheidslijn, the high-speed line which will allow acceleration and expansion of Amsterdam Centraal - Bruxelles-Midi - Paris-Nord Thalys TGV services.

1524][NL] Amsterdam Centraal - Amsterdam-Duivendrecht - Breukelen - Utrecht Centraal: (Ball 4A3)  Works to quadruple this line were under way in June 2001 at many places, especially between Amsterdam and Duivendrecht high-level (where the double-track metro already runs parallel to the double-track main line) and between Breukelen and Utrecht.  A west-to-south curve being built at Duivendrecht will facilitate through Schiphol - Utrecht trains, as will further quadrupling planned west of Duivendrecht low-level.  

1525][NL] Weesp - Almere - Lelystad: (Ball 4A3-2B1)  Under construction in June 2001 was a southeast-to-northeast curve from the Hilversum - Weesp line to the Weesp - Lelystad line, which will make the junction east of Weesp station a triangle.  

1526][NL] Amersfoort - Amersfoort Schothorst (- Zwolle): (Ball 4B3)  Bay platform 22 at the western end of Amersfoort's central island was abolished in May 1998 (BLN 827.0256), and trains from the Baarn direction that used to terminate there now continue beyond the flying junction (Amersfoort Aansluiting) forward to Amersfoort Schothorst, the first station north-east towards Zwolle.  Schothorst has three platforms, and trains terminating there normally use the centre road, serving the inner edge of an island platform, with connections at each end to both running lines. 

1527][DE] Bremerhaven-Speckenbüttel - Langen (Hannover) - Debstedt - Drangstedt - Bederkesa: (Ball 16B3)  This 17.6km branch opened 1 June 1896 and closed to passengers 26 May 1968.  Freight service was withdrawn 31 December 1993.  The June 2001 DB Kursbuch shows the line hosting tourist trains on ten Sundays in this first full summer of operation.  On 24 June 2001 the 09:00 special train from Bremerhaven Hbf was reasonably loaded as it took the Bremerhaven - Cuxhaven main line north.  Just beyond the disused platform at Bremerhaven-Speckenbüttel is a three-way junction.  One branch heads west to Bremerhaven docks (Speckenbüttel - Kaiserhafen/Nordhafen - Columbusbahnhof; R.1143; this looked well used, with shiny rails) while the Bederkesa branch heads east into the flat rural landscape, through some forested areas.  At the first station, Langen (Hannover), a large group of cyclists were waiting to board the train, but fewer passengers did so at Debstedt and Drangstedt.  The terminus, on the edge of the small town of Bad Bederkesa, is the headquarters of the Museumsbahn Bremerhaven - Bederkesa group who operate the line.  The well-restored station-building has a fine departure bell which was duly rung at the appropriate time.  No evidence was seen that the line ever went any further east.  

1528][DE] Bremerhaven-Wulsdorf - Fischereihafen: (Ball 16B3)  On its return from Bederkesa the Museumsbahn Bremerhaven - Bederkesa special train on 24 June 2001 ran beyond Bremerhaven Hbf to reverse in Wulsdorf yard and head north-west for c.1.5km to Schaufenster Fischereihafen halt, a new tarmac platform on a short single line that had once continued to serve the southern end of Bremerhaven port.  One nearby siding had shiny track, and CFL wagons laden with steel sat in other sidings, but the running line towards the docks had been lifted.  The group have only one available locomotive so the train had to be slowly propelled back to Wulsdorf yard to return to Bederkesa.  

1529][DE] (Hamburg Hbf -) Ohlsdorf - Flughafen Hamburg: (Ball 22A2)  In June 2001 construction work including much digging was under way to provide an S-Bahn branch due to open in 2005 from Ohlsdorf to Hamburg's Fuhlsbüttel airport.

1530][DE] (Coburg -) Creidlitz - Grossheirath (- Rossach): (Ball 52B2)  The remaining 6.4km freight-only section of the Itzgrundbahn is closing, and four farewell passenger-train round-trips to Grossheirath were to run on Sunday 8 July 2001.

1531][DE][CZ] Bad Bambrach DB - Plesná CD - Vojtanov - Frantiskovy Lazne - Cheb - Schirnding DB - Marktredwitz: (Ball DE-54A2, CZ-35A1)  In the summer 2001 timetable the Monday-Friday 08:06 Leipzig - Bad Bambrach RegionalExpress is a Class 612 diesel railcar, but on Saturdays it is a Class 219 diesel locomotive and four carriages.  At Bad Bambrach, the quiet German frontier-post, its station unstaffed and boarded-up, with no ticket-office, the DB train makes a 19-minute connection into the Vogtlandbahn train which runs across a corner of the Czech Republic back into Germany and through to Marktredwitz.  On 23 June 2001 the 11:13 Bad Bambrach - Marktredwitz Class 642 low-floor railcar carried six passengers including our reporter and a companion, plus three Czech customs-officers and one Czech ticket-collector.  This train ran via the Frantiskovy Lazne - Tršnice cut-off and reversed at Tršnice, being passed there by a CD freight train before taking the (Karlovy Vary -) Tršnice - Cheb line.  After a wait of 20 minutes in Cheb the railcar became very full for the short journey to Marktredwitz.  Customs, emigration and ticket checks were all done in the last few minutes before departure, and the Czech officials remained at Cheb, while German immigration joined at Schirnding.  

Another traveller did the journey in reverse on 14 May 2001.  The 17:12 departure from Marktredwitz was well filled, but all other passengers had alighted by Schirnding, the only people joining there being Czech officials.  The train was booked to stop at Cheb for 20 minutes, but the units exchange traincrew here and the southbound arrival was late, so the northbound left 15 minutes late, again running via Tršnice.  Plesna, isolated on a short section of Czech track between two German sections, saw 20 or so passengers alight, leaving only a handful to cross the fourth border of the journey near Bad Brambach.

The automatic ticket-machine on board the conductor-less Vogtlandbahn train accepted German coins or chip-equipped 'smart' credit-cards, but not banknotes.  Interestingly, for the single journey Bad Bambrach - Marktredwitz it was able to offer a better fare (DEM12.60, km-based) than DB ticket-offices (able only to issue a Bad Brambach DB - Cheb CD single plus a Cheb CD - Marktredwitz DB single, totalling DEM14.85).  Also on issue were a Vogtlandbahn-only day-ticket (DEM12=EUR6.14; valid 07:45-24:00 in the area Zwickau / Herlasgrün / Adorf / Zwotental - Kraslice - Sokolov) and a regional EgroNet ticket (DEM20=EUR10.23; valid on Vogtlandbahn, CD and Viamont trains in the area Bad Brambach / Marktredwitz / Kraslice / Sokolov / Johanngeorgenstadt, but not valid on DB trains or Vogtlandbahn ones working DB services).

1532][SE] (Sundsvall Central -) Härnösand - Nyland - Långsele: (R.0912; Ball 15A3-7A1)  Pathing difficulties on the busy east-coast line south of Sundsvall meant that the spare locomotive-hauled set that used to work north of Härnösand to Långsele and back with the single daily passenger train on this section of the Ådalsbana would have had to run northbound very late and set off southbound very early, so the local transport authority (Länstrafiken) decided to replace the train by a bus with effect from the timetable change on 17 June 2001.  The Nyland - Långsele section, which has no freight, is out of use.

1533][CH][FR] Genève: (Ball CH-97A3, FR-49B1)  From 1 July 2001 a new tariff union called Unireso includes most public transport in the canton of Genève and some neighbouring areas in both Switzerland and France, though Unireso network day-tickets (all zones CHF12, any two zones CHF6) are specifically not valid outwith Swiss territory.  Unireso covers: CFF trains on the 15kV 16.7Hz line (Genève-Aéroport - Genève - Céligny, including Mies, Tannay, Coppet and Founex stations in Vaud canton on the way north to Céligny, which is in a detached bit of Genève canton); both CFF Rhône Express Régional and SNCF trains on the 1500V dc line (Genève - La Plaine CFF - Pougny-Chancy SNCF - Bellegarde SNCF; R.0645); SNCF trains on the 25kV 50Hz line (Genève-Eaux-Vives - Ambilly SNCF - Annemasse SNCF; BLN 835.0469, R.0789); the Y-shaped city tramway system of Transports Publics Genevois (Gare Cornavin - Moillesulaz / Palettes; R.0165); plus city trolleybuses and various buses.  The 50m tramway branch off the Moillesulaz line to the forecourt of Eaux-Vives SNCF station is reported to be traversed again by two early-weekday-morning short workings from and to Bachet-de-Pesay, as well as by heritage tram tours on five summer Sundays in 2001 (R.0165).

1534][PL] Pleszew Waskotorowy - Pleszew Miasto: (BLN 798.0147; Ball 37A3; PKP 317)  On the Poznan - Katowice north-to-south electrified standard-gauge main line, Pleszew station is c.40 minutes walk from the town-centre, but it is close to Pleszew Waskotorowy (= narrow-gauge) station.  From Pleszew Wask. PKP were still at the beginning of June 2001 offering a service on their 3km branch to Pleszew Miasto (= town), though connections between main-line trains and the narrow-gauge diesel railbuses were not guaranteed in either direction, and timekeeping seemed erratic, with many branch departures leaving five minutes early.  The branch, remnant of a once much more extensive 750mm-gauge system, is unusual in that it is three-rail dual-gauge, with both gauges still in use, the narrow by passengers, the standard-gauge by freight.  The Quail map of Poland implies the junction at Pleszew faces south, but it actually faces north, so standard-gauge trains diverge from the main line by a north-to-east curve on to the branch.  At Pleszew Wask. none of the narrow-gauge loops or sidings is used, and the railbus just stops on the farthest line from the station-building, with no platform at all, presumably to avoid resetting any of the points used by standard-gauge movements.  Though the narrow-gauge track ends at Pleszew Miasto station, the standard-gauge continues beyond into an industrial area.  On the side of the PKP workshops at Pleszew Miasto, a map of the whole narrow-gauge line as it once was proclaimed its centenary in 2000.  Three railbuses were visible, plus a 750mm-gauge snow-plough.  Branch freight remains, and at 10:40 on 1 June six standard-gauge bogie tank-wagons arrived at Pleszew Miasto, hauled by a smart green diesel locomotive with a shunter either standing on the front or walking ahead with a red flag.  Some ten PKP staff were on duty at Miasto, and clearly had very little to do.  

1535][PL] Sroda Wielkopolska Miasto - Placzki - Zaniemysl: (R.0953; Ball 37A3; PKP 319)  Diesel railbuses now provide most services on this 750mm-gauge PKP line, but on Friday 1 June 2001 a six-coach steam-hauled special ran for schoolchildren, and all trains were very well loaded, each railbus seemingly being full of yet more children eating cheese-rolls.  The northbound steam train was able to cross a southbound railbus at Placzki, the only working loop on the line, but presumably the south end of this loop was unsafe to use, for the railbus reversed out of the north end before continuing.  Most of the track indeed is in very poor condition, frequently slowing trains to walking pace.  The railbus working the afternoon Zaniemysl - Sroda train was also in poor order, making strange noises, with doors that would not shut and a roof that had clearly leaked badly for years.  It eventually failed at the level-crossing over the main road to Poznan when the driver was unable to get it into gear.  The guard had no way of contacting the depot, so he and most of the passengers other than the children began the walk of several km to Sroda - or the nearest working public telephone.  However, after 15 minutes walking, those on the track looked round to see the railbus trundling along behind, but several people decided to continue on foot!

1536][PL][DE] Czerwiensk - Gubin PKP - Guben DB: (BLN 783.0319; Ball PL-36A3, DE-30B2)  The single line approaching the Polish-German border was very busy, its loops full of international freight trains waiting to go in each direction.  No locomotive-changing facility was seen on the Polish side so traction changes presumably occur in Germany.  The 2000-01 PKP timetable implied that Czerwiensk - Gubin passenger trains continued across the border to Guben, being allowed four minutes to do so, but this did not happen, at least on 2 June 2001.  The two-coach train terminated at Gubin PKP, and the five passengers for Germany had to board a bus waiting outside the station, thus arriving at Guben DB rather later than the timetable said.  Four passengers from Germany boarded the Polish train for its return working.  The line continues, through a flimsy gate across the tracks, on to the reconstructed bridge over the river Nysa/Neisse that marks the frontier.  

1537][NZ] New Zealand: passenger rail uncertainty:  (R.1060, 1232-3, 1474)  Tranz Rail have agreed to sell Tranz Scenic passenger services on three lines of the 1067mm-gauge system to passenger-train operators West Coast Railway from Victoria, Australia, a company associated with Connex, part of the Vivendi group (http://www.wcr.com.au).  In the North Island, West Coast Railway are to take over and develop the Auckland - Hamilton - Palmerston North - Wellington daytime Overlander and overnight Northerner, plus the Palmerston North - Wellington Capital Connection, a Tranz Metro long-distance commuter service; and in the South Island, the Picton - Christchurch TranzCoastal and the Christchurch - Rolleston - Greymouth TranzAlpine.  Sale of Auckland and Wellington Tranz Metro local services is being handled separately, and trains continue.  

However, it is understood no bookings after 31 August 2001 are being taken for the following Tranz Scenic passenger services, which may be withdrawn: the Auckland - Hamilton Waikato Connection; the Auckland - Hamilton - Morrinsville - Tauranga Kaimai Express; the Auckland - Hamilton - Morrinsville - Rotorua Geyserland (R.1061); the Wellington - Palmerston North - Napier Bay Express; and the Christchurch - Rolleston - Dunedin - Invercargill Southerner (R.1233).

1538][CA] Vancouver, BC: Marpole - Kitsilano: (BLN 811.0478)  CP were in summer 2001 to withdraw the daily freight working serving the last customers on this branch, the Molson brewery at the south end of Burrard Street Bridge.  The 10km former BC Electric interurban route, latterly known as CP's Marpole spur, or the Arbutus line (since its northern section follows Arbutus Street, making numerous grade-crossings as it intersects with the grid-pattern of city streets) has from time to time been thought of as a possible future light-rail alignment, but its prospects are now uncertain.

1539][CA] Toronto - North Bay - Cochrane, ON: (R.0461, 1262)  Ontario Northland Railway's Northlander was not withdrawn in June 2001 and continues for the moment.  Some federal money has been promised to maintain this passenger service, but the province would need to find a substantial sum also.  

1540][CA] Montréal Windsor - Delson, QC: (R.1113)  Montréal's commuter-rail Agence Métropolitaine de Transport are to run excursion trains every second Sunday from 15 July to 23 September 2001 from Gare Windsor (depart 10:00) directly into the Canadian Railway Museum's Barrington station at Delson, returning to Windsor at 16:45.  Adult fare of CAD25 (family CAD60) includes museum admission.  The Riverain tourist train run by AMT in 2000 (Montréal Windsor - Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC; R.0694) did not load well, and this working is not being repeated in 2001.

1541][US][MX] (San Diego - San Ysidro, CA -) Tijuana - Redondo - Tecate - Campo, CA - Miller Creek - Plaster City (- El Centro, CA): (BLN 816.0611, 850.0288)  RailAmerica, formerly RailTex, have hitherto had the concession to run freight trains over the San Diego Trolley line and other remaining workable sections of the former San Diego & Arizona Eastern on both sides of the US-Mexican border, carrying products such as propane gas from San Diego to Tijuana.  Much of the 260km line in both countries has lain out of use, and indeed the Tijuana - Tecate section was blocked in December 2000 by a fire in a tunnel, though this is being rebuilt.  The Mexican federal government own the c.70km of SD&AE track south of the border but after two failed attempts to sell off the line they handed it over to the state of Baja California, who in May 2001 granted US-based Carrizo Gorge Railway a concession to operate the Mexican track from July 2001 until 2026.  The US operators hope, as their corporate title suggests, also to restore out-of-use SD&AE track in the state of California, owned by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Board, extending from Campo east through the Carrizo Gorge.  Campo is home to the San Diego Railway Museum, who offer Campo - Tecate and Campo - Miller Creek tourist trains.  (San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2001)

1542][US] Springfield, IL - Bloomington-Normal - Mazonia (- Joliet - Chicago, IL):  No date has yet been set, but once Union Pacific have completed the summer 2001 track and signalling work that has occasioned diversion of the northbound Texas Eagle on weekdays (R.1481), Amtrak expect to increase train speed over sections of this route from 126km/h maximum to 176km/h.  This is a figure rarely attained by the generally leisurely passenger services that Amtrak run, mainly on freight-railroad tracks, across sparsely-populated America.  Only the largely Amtrak-owned and busy Washington, DC - New York, NY - Boston, MA Northeast Corridor (R.1065) sees passenger trains running at speeds common in Europe and Japan. 

1543][GB] London St.Pancras - Stratford - Ebbsfleet - Southfleet Jn (- Ashford International - Continental Jn):  Construction of the second stage of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link was formally launched at Stratford on 2 July 2001 by UK transport minister John Spellar.  CTRL1, the first stage, launched in 1998 (Fawkham Jn - Southfleet Jn - Ashford International - Continental Jn; R.0001) is to open in 2003.  CTRL2 involves some 20km of tunnel under east London, Essex and the Thames estuary to a junction at Southfleet with CTRL1.  The whole 109km high-speed line from central London to the Tunnel sous la Manche should open in 2007. (http://www.press.dtlr.gov.uk/0107/0305.htm)

1544][FR] Boulogne: Bifurcation d'Outreau - Boulogne-Maritime: (R.1128, 1516; Ball 6A2)  The last remaining train using the short branch to Boulogne-Maritime station was the Venice Simplon Orient Express, booked to make its final run of the 2000 season on 2 November.  Notwithstanding information given out by the train's operators in spring 2001, the VSOE no longer uses the port of Boulogne but has been running Paris - Longueau - Arras - Lens - Hazebrouck - Calais, an all-electrified route, apparently from the start of the 2001 season.  

1545][FR] (Lyon -) St.Marcel-lès-Valence - Avignon Triangle Les Angles - St.Louis-lès-Aygalades (- Marseille) and Avignon Triangle Les Angles - Redessan (- Nîmes): (R.0598)  The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Méditerranée duly opened for business with the summer 2001 timetable.  The inaugural north-coast-to-south-coast Calais-Fréthun - Marseille-St.Charles TGV received well-merited international publicity, though problems later marred the line's performance in the first few weeks.  

1546][FR] Grenoble trams: Palais de Justice - Europole-Cité Internationale: (R.0027)  This 600m extension of line B opened 2 May 2001.  (Today's Railways, July 2001) 

1547][FR] Arles - Fontvieille: (R.1138; Ball 75A3)  The Train des Alpilles tourist trips are running again in summer 2001, but on Wednesdays and Saturdays (until 1 September).  The 10km line, a remnant of the once-extensive Chemin de Fer Départemental des Bouches-du-Rhône still owned by the local Régie Départementale des Transports, remains linked to the national network (by a gated connection on to the main line behind the island platform at Arles SNCF station), and continues to serve the armament depot at Fontvieille (BLN 849.0240).  The starting-point, c.400m from Arles SNCF, is the RDT depot at 17bis Avenue de Hongrie, on the site of the original BDR terminus, with a small museum.  On 30 June 2001 the 1954-built Renault autorail X5845 working the 15:10 Arles - Fontvieille had seven passengers aboard as it left the yard full of gas-tank wagons, passing the BDR shed with several diesel locomotives sitting outside.  Sidings in the industrial suburbs of Arles seemed mainly out of use and only one factory had wagons inside.  The countryside comprises fields stretching into the distance, filled with the sunflowers painted by Van Gogh when he lived locally.  At about km5 a small halt serves the ruined Abbaye de Montmajour on a nearby hill.  At Fontvieille the train crossed a road to stop just beyond the old station-building.  The line curves round the village for at least another kilometre to the military depot, beyond which it closed as long ago as 1952.  The FRF50=EUR7.62 train-ticket is valid all day, allowing entry to the museum and break of journey to visit the abbey.

1548][FR] Marseille-St.Charles - La Joliette - Arenc - L'Estaque: (Ball 75B2)  The new 843m chord through the Tunnel de Lajout opened 7 June 2001, eliminating the need to reverse at La Joliette halt (BLN 838.0573, R.0408, 0600).  (Today's Railways, August 2001)  Do any trains still call at La Joliette, which was formerly only minimally and locally advertised?

1549][BE] Ciney - Hamois-en-Condroz - Les Awins-en-Condroz - Clavier - Modave - Marchin - Huy-St.Hilaire - Statte: (Ball 9A1)  The Ciney - Hamois section was in use until the late 1970s.  In 1998 when a correspondent walked the length of line 126, the concrete-works at Ciney may have been making use of the first few hundred metres of running line (as noted in R.1490), and were certainly storing long concrete poles on old bogie wagons in nearby sidings.  Beyond, most of the track was still in place, though in such an overgrown state that a machete would have been needed to follow it without occasional detours along parallel paths in forests and fields.  A short length of track had been lifted at Hamois to allow new road construction.  Station buildings survived at Hamois (as a private residence) and Les Awins (in use by the Scouts, quite a large building for such a deeply rural area, still carrying weathered signs like 'Waiting room 3rd Class' in French and Flemish, now unusual in Belgium outside officially-bilingual Bruxelles/Brussel).  The line followed the valley of the river Houyoux north through some pleasant landscape to Marchin.  The Marchin - Huy-St.Hilaire - Statte section, still in freight use, has the line's only tunnels, both built for double track, and the only other major engineering work, the large viaduct over the river Meuse into Statte, where one track remains and the formation of the other has become a footpath.  Reflecting its former status as the junction of Belgian State Railways' line 126 and line 127 (Statte - Moha - Landen) and the Nord-Belge company's line 125 along the Meuse (Namur - Statte - Huy - Liège), Statte still has quite impressive installations for a small hamlet, today really a suburb of Huy.  The station square has retained much of its character, including attractive bars where a couple of glasses of excellent Belgian beer were more than welcome after a 44km walk!

1550][NL] (Amsterdam Centraal -) Lage Zwaluwe - Breda NS (- Noorderkempen NMBS - Antwerpen - Brussel): (R.0669, 1523; Ball 3B1)  The work under way in summer 2001 is indeed in connection with the Hogesnelheidslijn, but the new tracks are not actually the high-speed line itself.  Ordinary traffic will be transferred from the existing line to the new tracks, and the high-speed line for Thalys TGVs will then be built on the trackbed of the existing line.

1551][DE] Rostock trams: Evershagen - Lütten Klein:  This extension was to open 7 July 2001.  (T&UT, August 2001)

1552][DE] Dessau Hbf - Wörlitz: (Ball 28B1; KBS257)  The Dessau-Wörlitzer Eisenbahn's railbuses have resumed in 2001, running not from their former Dessau Wörlitzer Bf, now out of use since November 1998 (BLN 835.0460), but from Dessau Hbf, using a new connection across the goods-yard.  Departures from Dessau Hbf are on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 30 June - 12 August 2001, at 08:10, 10:10, 12:10, 14:10 and 18:10 for the 95-minute round-trip.  (http://www.lok-report.de)

1553][DE] Potsdam trams:  An extension of route #90 serving the 2001 Bundesgartenschau (= national garden festival), and terminating one stop beyond at Bornstedt-Viereckremise, opened 7 April 2001.  (Today's Railways, July 2001)

1554][DE] Augsburg trams: Oberhausen - Stadtgrenze Gersthofen:  This 2.5km extension of route #4 opened 9 June 2001.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, July 2001)

1555][AT] Gmünd NÖ - Gross Gerungs: (R.1500; Ball 63B2-63B1)  The last regular ÖBB passenger train ran on this 760mm-gauge line on Saturday 9 June 2001, the empty stock arriving back at Gmünd platform 21 at 00:29 on Sunday. Niederösterreich province have however commissioned ÖBB Nostalgie to run summer weekend tourist trains on Saturdays and Sundays from 7 July until 26 October 2001, and from May to October 2002, with additional operating days subject to demand. (http://www.erlebnis-bahn-schiff.at/reisen_waldviertel.htm)  Some trains will be hauled by steam locomotive #399.04, some by Class 2095 diesel.  Meanwhile, the federal transport minister has ordered ÖBB's infrastructure-maintenance division to keep the line in running order until at least October 2001, this being seen as an interim measure until infrastructure-authority Schieneninfrastruktur-Finanzierungs-Gesellschaft mbH (SCHIG) evaluate the possibilities of another operator taking over.  Graz Köflacher Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH are thought to have expressed an interest in this line and also the Gmünd NÖ - Alt Nagelberg - Litschau section.  While Vivendi's subsidiary Connex did not themselves express an interest in either of the Waldviertel lines, they are said to be considering cooperation with GKE to run timetabled passenger services in Austria.

1556][AT] (Wien - Graz -) Spielfeld Strass ÖBB (- Šentilj SZ - Maribor - Ljubljana): (R.1504; Ball 83B2)  On all three platform tracks at Spielfeld Strass, and on the two other through tracks, a section of overhead about three coaches long at the centre of the station appears to be electrically isolated by gaps in the contact-wire and insulators in the catenary-wire.  The electrical gap is indicated by a German-style plate hung in one of the dropper-wires, of the kind that frequently marks the limit of electric movement on sidings.  On the face of it, the wiring installation does not look as though it is designed to be switchable between the Austrian 15kV 16.7Hz  to the north and the Slovenian 3000V dc to the south.  

However a visitor on 21 May 2001 observed a southbound passenger train change locomotives at Spielfeld Strass.  The ÖBB Class 1142 electric uncoupled and ran forward south of the station, under its own power, disappearing round a bend before returning.  An SZ electric, also under its own power, backed on to the train and then hauled it south.  This seems strong evidence that at least one of the platform roads can be switched.

Conversely, another visitor was present from 08:30 to 11:15 on 31 May 2001 while two southbound freights, one northbound freight and one northbound passenger train passed through the station, and their movements across the voltage frontier were all done by coasting or fly-shunting, not by switching the voltage in the wires.  Through northbound trains from Slovenia coasted in with the pantograph down and stopped under the ÖBB voltage.  The ÖBB locomotive which was to take over the train backed on, and drew the SZ locomotive north for some distance along the main line.  They uncoupled, and the points were changed.  The ÖBB locomotive propelled the SZ one vigorously towards its home voltage, stopping short of the points.  The SZ locomotive coasted through the station and across the neutral section before putting up its pantograph.  The ÖBB locomotive meanwhile coupled to the train for departure to Graz.  This procedure was mirrored for the southbound trains.  

Perhaps voltage-switching, though possible, is complicated, laborious or time-consuming, leading some staff to prefer fly-shunting.  More information would be welcome.

1557][DK] Høng - Gørlev (- Værslev): (Ball 7B2)  The line opened 1898 and closed to passengers in the mid-1960s, the Gørlev - Værslev section being open for freight until c.1970.  Høng - Gørlev was latterly retained as a short freight-only stub to serve a sugar-refinery at Gørlev, but from about 1995 traffic dwindled and the refinery closed in 2000.  On four Thursdays in July the preservation group D-maskinegruppen, who have a base at Høng, are running steam tourist trains on the branch, which now has no regular traffic, according to the guard of the 15:40 steam train on 5 July 2001.  From Høng the train headed north-west through cuttings and across rolling countryside, with several open level-crossings needing to be protected by one of the train-crew waving a flag.  Track was in poor condition, with vegetation covering the rails in places, though it seemed better near Gørlev.  Inside the refinery perimeter fence were two old carriages, possibly awaiting restoration.  The locomotive ran round in the old exchange-sidings, just short of the former station building, now a nursery-school.  A buffer-stop blocked the line just beyond the end of the platform, before reaching a road.  Beyond the former level-crossing, the old trackbed had become a footpath.  The train was well filled, but it is doubtful whether this operation can continue indefinitely.  

1558][DK][SE][NO] København - Malmö - Göteborg - Oslo: (Ball SE-25A1-13A1)  Long-distance international services on this route (and Stockholm - Karlstad - Oslo) are now operated by Linx, a new company jointly owned by Swedish SJ and Norwegian NSB.  Linx already run København - Malmö - Göteborg X2000 trains, and are in due course to replace Göteborg - Oslo locomotive-hauled trains with refurbished X2000 sets.  Linx do not however regard the Malmö - Oslo sleeper, remnant of the former København - Helsingør DSB - Helsingborg SJ - Göteborg - Oslo overnight service (R.0892), as profitable.  Faced with a general shortage of drivers in both Sweden and Norway, they have chosen to withdraw the comfortable sleeping-car train, during summer 2001 at least, replacing it with a downmarket long-distance overnight bus, though this is not shown in the printed version of Rikstidtabellen.  The Göteborg avoiding line would seem to be without a passenger service as a result.  

1559][IT] (Torino Porta Susa -) Torino Dora - Caselle - Ciriè - Germagnano (- Pessinetto - Ceres): (Ball 45B3-45A3)  Società per Azioni Trasporti Torinesi Intercomunali reopened Dora - Ciriè on 8 April 2001, including a new underground section past the airport at Caselle (R.0580), restoring through electric services to Germagnano.  Germagnano - Ceres, still closed after flooding in September 1993, awaits further work, including electrification.  (Today's Railways, August 2001)

1560][IT] Napoli: Casalnuovo - San Giorgio a Cremano: (Ball 55B3)  A 10km new section of the 950mm-gauge Ferrovia Circumvesuviana opened 12 February 2001.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 2001)

1561][IT] (Palermo -) Carini - Aeroporto di Punta Raisi: (Ball 59A3)  The new branch to Palermo's airport opened with the June 2001 timetable.  A diesel-railcar shuttle operates, pending completion of electrification.  (Today's Railways, August 2001)

1562][PL] Rzeszow - Jaslo: (Ball 43B3; PKP 126)  This line meets the west-to-east Stroze - Jaslo - Zagorz line 131 in a triangular junction.  On 25 June 2001 extensive bridge-rebuilding work was under way on the northeast-to-west side of the triangle, so train #827, the 15:47 Rzeszow - Jaslo, hauled by diesel locomotive SP42-187, took the sharply-curved northeast-to-southeast chord not generally traversed by passenger trains, halting at Snobiow signal-box.  Diesel shunter SM42-1032 was then attached to the rear of the train and dragged it into Jaslo station along the southeast-to-west side of the triangle.  This appeared to be the booked manoeuvre in the circumstances, since a later train was handled in the same way.  

1563][CZ] (Praha - Havlickuv Brod -) Pribyslav - Sazava u Zdaru (- Zdar nad Sazavou - Tišnov - Brno): (Ball 41B3)  Trains on the c.10km Pribyslav - Sazava u Zdaru tourist line (table 903 in the summer 2001 Jizdni Rad timetable) run on selected Saturdays and Sundays mainly in August.  They do not start from Pribyslav CD station but from a run-round loop c.150m away, reached by following the track through the wood-loading sidings on the down side.  The tourist trains never venture far from the CD main line, running beneath it three times and terminating south of it inside a gated area where a factory has been built across what clearly was once a continuing trackbed.  The gates do not prevent access to the nearby village, where beer and food are available a short walk away.  

This Pribyslav - Sazava u Zdaru alignment is part of the original Havlickuv Brod - Brno main line built in the 1880s, one of the sections replaced when the present main line (table 250) was built around 1953.  The rather curious track layout at Havlickuv Brod may also be a result of this rebuilding.  The side platforms used by most Havlickuv Brod - Zdarec u Skutce - Chrudim line trains (table 238) may be the original Brno line platforms, the line curving north-west then east to meet the present Brno alignment at the point where the Chrudim and Brno lines diverge.  A long crossover here is traversed by only a few Chrudim - Havlickuv Brod trains (see http://www.steane.com/egtre/cz_route.htm).  Pribyslav as noted has a connection linking the old and new routes, and other sections of the old line are visible on the way to Brno.  The most significant remaining sections are Zdar nad Sazavou - Bystrice nad Pernstejnem - Tišnov (passenger service in table 251) and Tišnov - Kurim (truncated at the eastern end, now a freight-only branch serving cement sidings; see Quail 3rd edition map).  The 1885 route into Brno, now removed, was also quite different, diverging south of the present route at Brno-Kralovo Pole and heading east then south rather more directly to rejoin the present line just north-east of Brno hlavni nadrazi.  

1564][HR][BA] Zagreb - Sunja - Volinja HZ - Dobrljin ZRS - Novi Grad - Prijedor - Banja Luka - Doboj - Ševarlije ZRS - Trbuk ZBH - Maglaj - Sarajevo: (R.0352; Ball 46A1-51B3)  Passenger trains B397 Zagreb 09:00 - 12:37 Prijedor - 18:39 Sarajevo and B396 Sarajevo 08:00 - Prijedor 13:49 - 17:15 Zagreb began running in June 2001, allowing a day-trip from the Croatian capital to Prijedor in the Republica Srpska part of Bosnia.  (europeanrail@yahoogroups.com)

1565][BA][HR][YU] Capljina - Hum - Dubrovnik - Zelenika and Hum - Nikšic:  This substantial 760mm-gauge system comprised lines from Capljina in Bosnia running 131km south-east to Dubrovnik on the Croatian coast; from Dubrovnik 54km south-east to Zelenika, also on the coast but just inside Montenegro; and from Hum in Bosnia the 141km east inland to the brewing town of Niksic, also in Montenegro.  Buses had replaced passenger trains on the Zelenika line by 1970, and the whole system had vanished from the JZ railway map by 1990, before the break-up of Yugoslavia.  Curiously, a Freytag & Berndt 1:100,000 map, 1998 edition, still shows the former narrow-gauge lines, and in late May 2001 some physical traces indeed also remained.  Dubrovnik's station building was standing, as were a goods-shed and the two-road locomotive-shed, while two bridges and a tunnel on the Zelenika line were seen when entering Montenegro, which is still part of federal Yugoslavia.  In Dubrovnik, outside the station embedded in the road were the tramway rails that once linked it to the old city.  Tram-rails were also to be seen in the bus-garage opposite the bus-station, and tramcar #10 was plinthed nearby outside a cash-and-carry store.  North-west of Dubrovnik, on Croatia's Peljesac peninsula at Ston, the salt-pans were still using an internal railway of c.600mm-gauge, although it was not actually working when seen on a Saturday.  Maps of Montenegro show another railway serving the salt-pans near Tivat airport, just east of Zelenika, but this was not visited.  (balkrail-l@yahoogroups.com)

1566][UA] Ukraine: narrow-gauge closures:  From the 1520mm-gauge Yaroshenka - Mikhaylovka - Derebchin branch south of Zhmerinka, the 68km 750mm-gauge Mikhaylovka - Gonorovka line heads further south towards the Moldovan border (Quail p.6).  It is understood that this narrow-gauge line was sold during June 2001 to another private company which sees no economic future for it and is dismantling it.  The c.50km 750mm-gauge Akhtyrka - Chupakhovka - Zenkov line west-north-west of Kharkov/Kharkiv (Quail p.8) is also reported to be out of use, due to the very bad condition of both the track and the locomotives.  Before the sugar-beet harvest begins in September 2001, the beet-factory at Zenkov will have to invest in some means of transport, but lorries may be favoured, and the line may close completely.  (5feet@yahoogroups.com)

1567][CA] (Halifax, NS - Windsor Jn -) Truro, NS - Port Hawkesbury - Sydney, NS:  Short-line operators RailAmerica (formerly RailTex), owners of the Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway, are said to be considering closure of the north-easternmost Port Hawkesbury - Sydney section.  This would mean withdrawal of VIA's summer passenger train, the weekly Halifax - Sydney Bras d'Or, introduced in 2000 to tap the tourist market (R.0510).  In spite of an alleged reluctance by RailAmerica to host passenger trains, and slow-running due to poor track, VIA are thought to regard the Bras d'Or as having been reasonably successful.  Meanwhile RailAmerica are said to be considering purchase of another Nova Scotia short-line, the Windsor & Hantsport Railway (Windsor Jn - Windsor - Hantsport - Wolfville - Gert Schmidt, NS).  This may not be good news for a summer Sunday passenger train of a different kind, the three-hour round-trip (29km each way) Windsor - Wolfville Evangeline Express, introduced in 1997 and worked by a push-pull set comprising a VIA coach and two open vehicles sandwiched between two elderly Alco RS23 diesel road-switchers.  (can-pass-rail@yahoogroups.com)

1568][CA] Québec, QC funicular: Petit Champlain - Dufferin Terrace:  The Funiculaire de Vieux Québec is more like a lift or elevator than a European funicular.  The wheels have broad treads like rollers riding on an inclined flat bed rather than on a recognisable rail, and the two cars do not balance each other, each being independently counter-weighted like a lift-cabin, though with a fine all-round view.  The line is in a prime tourist location.  The lower station is at Petit Champlain, in the Place Royale / Vieux Ville area, full of restaurants and other tourist-traps, though generally restored with French sensitivity and style.  The upper station is right at the doors of the famous Château Frontenac hotel, and convenient for another set of restaurants or for promenading on Dufferin Terrace itself.  Operating hours etc are at http://www.funiculaire-quebec.com.

1569][US] Issaquah, WA heritage trams:  Since 19 May 2001 an elderly trolley towing a diesel-generator trailer has run summer weekend tourist services on 1.6km of track from Issaquah's old station north to Gilman village.  (Tramways & Urban Transit, August 2001)

1570][US] Detroit, MI: elevated guideway:  Following the headlong flight of citizens and businesses to the suburbs over several decades, the authorities in the Motor City have made strenuous but ultimately less-than-successful attempts to breathe life back into their downtown area.  Along with big investment in the Renaissance Center and Cobo Hall came the  Detroit People Mover, a 1987 driverless elevated guideway system whose rubber-tyred cars offer a 15-minute anticlockwise-only circular trip around 13 downtown stations.  The People Mover is operated by the Detroit Transportation Corporation for Detroit Department of Transportation.  On the morning of Saturday 16 June 2001, with the service running every four minutes or less, passengers were few, despite large numbers of people in town for a sporting event.  Construction work in the area around Cadillac Center station has rendered it unreachable from the outside world, so that particular station is closed from 1 April 2000 to 31 December 2001.  (partly from http://www.metropla.net)

1571][US] Detroit, MI: heritage trams:  The Detroit Downtown Trolley (formerly the Detroit Citizen's Railway), the first purpose-built US 'vintage-trolley' system, opened its first 1.2km section in 1976 along a five-block stretch of Washington Boulevard converted to a pedestrian mall.  A 400m extension followed in 1980, paralleling the riverfront past Hart Plaza to reach the Renaissance Center.  Stops now total 14.  The line is single-track with passing-loops, 900mm-gauge to match the seven four-wheel tramcars imported from Lisboa, Portugal, six of them originally US-built.  Other cars are a Berlin-built one from Vevey and an open-top 1904 double-decker from Burton-on-Trent, both presumably regauged.  Operation, by the city's Department of Transportation, is lackadaisical, and ridership has fallen precipitously, from 75,000 in 1979 to 3,350 in 1998.  During a June 2001 visit no local publicity was to be seen, and the only information was a notice at a single one of the intermediate stops indicating the hours of operation (08:00-17:00 weekdays, 10:00-17:00 weekends).  Only one car seemed in service, running one round-trip an hour at times unrevealed - with an extra hour's gap at midday.  The crew said that operation was daily throughout the year 'subject to demand'.  An infrequent service with no times shown at the stops has however little chance of being used either by locals or tourists.  Unsurprisingly, our reporter and his companion were the only passengers.  (partly from http://www.railwaypreservation.com/vintagetrolley/detroit.htm and http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/ddot/trolley.htm)

1572][US] (Rutland, VT - Middlebury - Vergennes -) Charlotte - Shelburne - Burlington, VT: (R.0126)  The Vermont Railway's Charlotte - Burlington Champlain Flyer commuter trains, financed by the state of Vermont, began in December 2000 with two weekday round-trips (R.1086), but by July 2001 they had been stepped up to nine northbound and eight southbound trips on weekdays and five each way at weekends and holidays.  Plans are for commuter service to be expanded south to Vergennes, possibly during 2001, then to Middlebury and Rutland to connect with Amtrak's New York, NY - Rutland, VT Ethan Allen, as was done experimentally in summer 1999 (R.0207).  (http://www.champlainflyer.com)

1573][MX] Allende - Acuna:  Diverging from the (Ciudad Mexico - Saltillo -) Monclova - Allende - Piedras Negras (- Eagle Pass, TX) main line in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, the Acuna branch has been out of use since about 1990.  A special chartered by the US company High Iron Travel made a round-trip over it in 1995, at which time, in the wasteful old tradition of nationalised Latin American railways, some stations were still manned and some maintenance-of-way was being carried out, though the only regular train movements were those dispensing pay to the staff!  However, the city of Acuna are now keen to see rail service restored to take over some of the freight road-hauled through their streets, which has hugely increased since the advent of the North American Free Trade Area.  Flows of American President Lines shipping containers in particular are seen as a key potential rail traffic.  On 25 May 2001 officials of the state of Coahuila and of privatised railroad Ferromex inspected the hilly line, finding much of the track still in operating condition though the numerous trestles and other bridges could cause problems.  (mexlist@yahoogroups.com)

1574][IE] Dublin metro: By October 2001 a contract may be signed for the first line of the proposed 70km metro system, offering a 23-minute journey from the city-centre out to Dublin airport.  (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1575][IE] Clonsilla - Dunboyne - Navan: This former Midland Great Western line closed completely in 1963, but the Irish public-enterprise Minister, Mary O'Rourke, was reported in the Meath Chronicle for 14 July 2001 as saying in the Dail that the government envisage reopening of the Clonsilla - Dunboyne section in 2006 and the Dunboyne - Navan section in 2010.  (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1576][DE] Berlin Potsdamer Platz: (Ball 32A2)  The existing Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn station has new street-entrances which will eventually give access to the cross-city north-south main line, now under construction (BLN 837.0553).  The location of the new platforms and tunnels is already visible. 

1577][DE] Leipzig area: Neuwiederitzsch-Leipziger Messe - Flughafen Leipzig-Halle - Gröbers (- Halle): (Ball 46B3-46A3)  Some 20km of railway on a wholly new alignment are under construction to serve Leipzig airport, and appear for the first time on the DB timetable map with the 2001-02 Kursbuch.  In July 2001 the trackbed seemed nearly complete, erection of catenary masts had begun, and opening by December 2002 looked a possibility.  With other widening work west from Gröbers to Halle, the effect will be to provide four tracks all the way from Leipzig to Halle.  At Halle Hbf, works in progress include rebuilding of parts of the overall roof and reconstruction of underbridges beneath the northern throat of the station.

1578][DE] Leipzig-Connewitz - Leipzig Bayerischer Bahnhof: (R.1243; Ball 46B2-46B3)  Latterly used by some ten Regionalbahn trains a day each way, this short stub branch and its terminus south of the city-centre, Leipzig Bayer Bhf, closed with the June 2001 timetable change.  However Leipzig Hbf, the huge main station to the north, is also a terminus, and if a proposed S-Bahn line is ever built from the Hbf south in a tunnel beneath the city, this would emerge to join the closed branch.  

1579][DE] (Coburg -) Creidlitz - Siemau-Scherneck - Grossheirath (- Rossach): (Ball 52B2)  The Itzgrundbahn opened to Rossach (km8.1) on 4 December 1900 and, despite proposals, never went any further.  The branch lost its passenger service 1 June 1984 and closed beyond Grossheirath (km6.4) from 1 September 1995.  DB Netz had planned total closure from the timetable-change on 10 June 2001, but traffic continued until the beginning of July.  Four farewell passenger trips ran from Coburg on Sunday 8 July 2001 (R.1530).  The line ran through flat country with numerous level-crossings.  Buildings at the two branch stations remained to the end, and ceremonies at each marked the closure.  Grossheirath latterly retained sidings, including two for loading the products of a tile-works.

1580][DE] München S-Bahn: Mü-Giesing - Deisenhofen: (BLN 846.0143; Ball 66B2)  This 13km section of line S2 is single-track with passing-loops, but work to double it was well under way in July 2001, with considerable service disruption.

1581][AT] Wien-Südbahnhof - Simmering Ostbahn - Zentralverschiebebahnhof - Klein Schwechat (- Gross Schwechat - Flughafen Wien-Schwechat - Wolfsthal): (Ball 77B2)  While major works are under way on their own usual Aspangbahn route, now closed until 2003, S-Bahn S7 trains to the airport and beyond have been diverted from 1 July 2001 to start from the Ostbahn terminal platforms at Wien-Südbahnhof (R.1419).  It appears that their actual route may vary from train to train, perhaps being finally determined by the signalling-centre at the time.  The two basic options are (a) from Simmering Ostbahn via Zentralverschiebebahnhof Nord round the east side of the huge yard to Klein Schwechat; and (b) the slightly longer route from Simmering Ostbahn down the Ostbahn to Kledering Haltestelle, then round the south end of the yard to  Zentralverschiebebahnhof Ost and the curve thence to Klein Schwechat.  Schematic plans imply that the trains do not pass Kledering Haltestelle (and they are not booked to call there) so (a) may be the favoured route unless some specific conflict is foreseen.  The fact that the airport trains are taking up many extra paths on the Ostbahn into Südbahnhof may well be the reason that Wien-Westbahnhof - Hegyshalom through trains are running via the Speising - Inzersdorf Ost - Oberlaa - Kledering Wien Donauländebahn rather than the Südbahnhof avoiding line (BLN 804.0286, 808.0377, R.1499).  

1582][SE] (Malmö -) Arlöv - Lomma - Flädie - Furulund - Kävlinge: (R.0189, 1031; Ball 25A1-25A2)  During work on the main Malmö - Lund line from 13 July to 4 August 2001 most SJ passenger trains between Malmö and Göteborg and a few local Pågatåg services were diverted via this single-track electrified freight-only line, with its single passing-loop at Flädie and its original brick station buildings still surviving.  The many houses near the line, particularly at Lomma and Furulund, suggest that the proposed reinstatement of a regular passenger service might be justified, but more passing-loops would be needed, or double track for part of the way, to cope with extra traffic on top of existing Malmö - Göteborg freight.

1583][SE] Malmö heritage trams:  The city once had eight tram routes, but after Sweden's roads switched from left- to right-hand running in 1967, only one, route #4 to Limhamn, continued to run.  This line closed in 1973, and the only remaining tramway is a single-track museum line in Slottsparken (the castle park) with a triangle accessing a short branch to Tekniska Museet (the technical museum) at Banérskajen.  The tramcars of preservation group Malmö Stads Spårvägar Museiförening are stabled at the museum, and round-trips run from there, turning along Malmöhusvägen and Kung Oscars väg to Stadsbiblioteket (the city library), returning via Kung Oscars väg and Malmöhusvägen past Malmöhus slott (Malmö castle) to a turnback point called Bastionen, finally running back to the museum.  Operation in 2001 is from 3 June to 30 September, regularly on Sundays and also on Saturdays if volunteers are available.  A published timetable shows departures from the museum every 24 minutes from 12:00 to 16:24, but this seems not always strictly observed.  Information: http://www.swetramway.org/mss/e-mss.shtml.

1584][PT] Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Bifurcação de Xabregas - Bifurcação de Chelas - Entrecampos - Benfica - Cacém (- Leiria - Figueira da Foz): (R.0764; Ball 25B2-17A2)  The last through InterRegional train from Lisboa Santa Apolónia to Figueira da Foz ran on 30 June 2001, and no passenger traffic now seems to use the 1.3km Bif de Xabregas - Bif de Chelas curve in north-east Lisboa.  Passengers have to take a Lisboa - Sintra line train and change at Cacém for the Linha do Oeste to Figueira da Foz.  The mayor of Leiria is campaigning for reinstatement of a through service from and to Lisboa. 

1585][ES] Tarragona - Salou - L'Aldea-Amposta - Sagunt/Sagunto - Valencia Nord: (BLN 822.0128; Ball 24B3-30B1)  For some 30km south of Tarragona this Mediterranean coastal route is still only single-track with passing-loops, and a visitor spending a week in Salou in June 2001 thought timekeeping poor, perhaps not surprising given the line's now fairly heavy traffic of regional and long-distance passenger and freight trains.  South of the nuclear power-station sidings between L'Hospitalet de l'Infant and Vandellós, however, the line is double-track throughout, and much of it has been improved and realigned, the most significant rebuilding being in the vicinity of Tortosa.  In order to serve this important regional centre, a few km from the coast, the old main line made a sharply curved deviation inland between L'Aldea-Amposta and the now-closed station of Fregináls, but most of this alignment has been lifted, leaving only the northern part of it to serve Tortosa station, now the terminus of a branch.  The new main-line alignment parallel with the coast starts c.2km north of the relocated L'Aldea-Amposta station, initially running inland of the old trackbed, then crossing over it just south of this new station, at which point a junction gives access to the branch.  The L'Aldea-Amposta - Tortosa branch is served mainly by Barcelona - Tortosa semi-fasts, but a Barcelona - Tortosa - Valencia regional train visits the branch and provides a through Tortosa - Valencia service.  On the morning of 4 June 2001 this southbound train comprised two three-car electric units, the front one being detached at Tortosa.  (Our reporter would have been left behind in the stationary set had a RENFE carriage-cleaner not alerted him!)  

The new main line avoiding Tortosa includes a large viaduct above the delta of the river Ebro.  The line has also been significantly realigned inland between Benicarló and Santa Magdalena de Pulpis (BLN 707.05), and another deviation is under construction between Oropesa del Mar and Las Palmas.  In the latter case the existing line winds its way along a narrow strip of land between mountains and sea through the resort of Benicasím, but the new line is to run round the back of the town by what looks like a lengthy tunnel.  At Castelló de la Plana, the last important station before Valencia, the line now runs beneath the town in a recently constructed tunnel only just below the surface, and the train emerges into Castello's new station under an impressive overall roof.  The line again runs underground heading south in the vicinity of Valencia-Cabanyal to emerge heading west alongside the main Valencia freight yard before turning back north to Valencia Estació del Nord, a fine building with a large terminal train-shed.  Its name is rather confusing as it lies south of the city-centre, but it was once the station of the Norte railway, Nord in Valencian Spanish.  In the 1980s RENFE timetables more helpfully described it as Valencia Término.  

On his northbound journey our reporter used the Badajoz / Sevilla / Malaga - Barcelona long-distance (Largo Recorrido) service, the Garcia Lorca, booked to leave Valencia Nord at 16:45.  Probably the most complex multi-portioned domestic working in Europe, with poor timekeeping to match (R.1202), this train comprised 14 passenger coaches and two car-carrying wagons, hauled by a Class 252 electric.  It backed into Valencia Nord with the car wagons next the propelling locomotive, suggesting that it had used the single-track south-to-east station-avoiding curve before reversing.  

1586][CH] Chur - St.Peter-Molinis - Arosa: (R.0644; Ball 95B2)  Due to landslide damage to this metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn line, buses were again to replace trains between Chur and St.Peter-Molinis, from July until perhaps mid-September 2001.

1587][PL] Lipowa Tucholska - Szlachta: (R.0766; Ball 32A2-32B2)  This south-to-east curve from PKP line 440 to line 429 lost its passenger trains at the summer 2000 timetable change, but one train each way has been restored for summer 2001 (14 July to 30 September).  (http://www.steane.com/egtre/pl_route.htm)

1588][PL] Ozorków Waskotorowy - Leczyca Wask. - Krosniewice - Ostrowy Wask.: (BLN 781.0267; Ball 37B3; PKP 308)  The 38km Ozorków - Krosniewice section closed to passengers (and perhaps to all traffic) 1 May 1996, and the whole of the 750mm-gauge Kujawska Kolej Dojazdowa system centred on Krosniewice appears to have closed to ordinary passenger traffic from 10 June 2001, according to a note on Krosniewice booking-office window in early July.  The closure had not at that time been notified to the online European timetable database (new address http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en).  

Freed of the commitment to run local services no longer appropriate to public demand, the workforce have it seems begun to create a narrow-gauge tourist railway targeted on the inhabitants of the nearby city of Lodz.  Steam excursions are timed to connect with the Lodz - Ozorków - Leczyca - Kutno - Ostrowy line, waiting for a northbound standard-gauge train at Ozorków and connecting into a southbound one at Ostrowy.  Dates of operation include 21 July 2001 and various dates in August, and a leaflet seemed to our (German, non-Polish-speaking) reporter to hold out the hope of running every Saturday.  Timings are: Krosniewice 09:30 - 11:20 Leczyca - 12:00 Ozorków 13:35 - 14:35 Leczyca - 16:05 Krosniewice 17:00 - 17:25 Ostrowy (for a barbecue there).  Fares are Ozorków - Krosniewice one-way PLN10 and Krosniewice - Ostrowy one-way c.PLN5 (PLN = Polish new zloty).  Local telephone number for information is 718 2515, presumably a Krosniewice number.  

In use on the inaugural Krosniewice - Ozorków run on 7 July 2001 was PKP Class Px48 steam locomotive #1902, one traditional Class Bxpi coach, two tourist coaches converted from open freight wagons (one of them with a well-stocked bar), a 'new' railcar-trailer coach and a baggage-car.  The track certainly looked out of use for several years, and it had clearly not been closely inspected before the trip, with undisturbed bushes and tall grass on and along the line being forced out of the way.  Two level-crossings where the rails had been tarred over were reactivated by running across them several times till grooves were created for the wheel-flanges.  Only two derailments occurred, the first at the main-line bridge near Krzewie station where the last two cars (the railcar-trailer and the baggage-car) jumped the rails and were simply left standing where they were, presumably to be fetched later.  Another derailment due to track misalignment took place shortly before Leczyca.  The second coach jumped the rails at about 30km/h, but stayed upright.  As this happened right beside the Katowice - Gdansk main highway it aroused much interest.  A lorry-mounted crane was summoned, positioned on the hard shoulder, and put the vehicle back in place on the rails.  The train continued somewhat late but with all passengers intact, reaching Ozorków, where it was watered for its return north to Krosniewice.  A local radio crew reported on the southbound run and a TVP television crew, perhaps based at Lodz, covered the northbound run, which our own reporter left at Leczyca to catch a EuroCity at Kutno.

1589][PL][LT] Suwalki - Trakiszki PKP - Mockava LG - Šeštokai: (R.0351, 1033; Ball 34A2-34A3)  The Warszawa - Vilnius overnight train D28/27TJ runs eastbound on odd dates (except the 31st of a month) and westbound on even dates, its through sleeper and couchette vehicles adjusting their special SUW 2000 wheel-sets from Polish 1435mm standard-gauge to Lithuanian 1520mm broad-gauge rails at the Lithuanian border-station of Mockava (Mackowo in Polish), not a timetabled stop.  The equipment was installed by April 2000, east of the station building on a non-platform road, perhaps track #6.  It can handle wheel-sets of (it seems) three kinds, all probably based on design work done in the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, the former East Germany: Rafil wheel-sets made by Radsatzfabrik Ilsenburg, Germany; the SUW 2000 type made in Poland; and a similar Russian type.  The Mockava installation is similar to the one at Tornio, the Finnish border-station on the gauge-frontier with Sweden (R.0860), but is about twice as long.  At Mockava, first the wheel on one side of the axle is unlocked, slides in or out on the axle, and is locked again; then the other side is unlocked, slides to its new position and is locked.  At Tornio the unlocking, sliding and locking take place simultaneously on both sides.  A similar installation is at Zamosc Bortatycze, c.60km from the Polish - Ukrainian border but connected to the Ukrzaliznitsa network by PKP's Russian-gauge Linia Hutnicza-Siarkowa (the 'Steel-and-Sulphur line'; Dabrowa Górnicza Ciesle - Olkusz - Zamosc - Hrubieszów PKP - Ludin UZ).  Further installations are thought to exist at the Poland - Belarus gauge-frontier and at the Bulgarian train-ferry port of Varna.

Beyond the gate marking the frontier, carefully closed by the Lithuanian border-guards after each train, the LG track is mainly sand-ballasted.  Mockava - Šeštokai has gauntletted four-rail dual-gauge track, and daytime PKP trains run through on standard-gauge rails into Lithuania as far as Šeštokai, where passengers can change for the broad-gauge Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai train to Vilnius, typically three coaches hauled by a Class M62 diesel.  Cross-border freight traffic seems heavy, with flows of coal, wood and steel.  Some freight transfer across the break-of-gauge is done at Mockava, which has plant for pumping gas from broad-gauge tank-wagons into standard-gauge ones, and some at Šeštokai.  LG have at least one standard-gauge Class M62 locomotive, seen in green livery, still with its former Deutsche Reichsbahn number #120 205, hauling a westbound freight at Šeštokai in July 2001, and some 20 two-axle standard-gauge wagons, Type Gbs bought second-hand from Austria, seen at Mockava, though not in use.  (5feet@yahoogroups.com)

1590][NZ] Waiotira - Tangowahine - Dargaville: (Quail atlas 2A-1a)  Closed to passengers since before 1974, this 50km branch off the (Auckland -) Newmarket - Waitakere - Waiotira - Portland - Whangarei (- Otiria - Opua) North Auckland line in the far north of New Zealand has had mixed fortunes in recent years.  It was damaged by a derailment in 1998, then lost its main traffic when the milk-powder factory at Dargaville announced closure.  It fell out of use, though Tranz Rail said in July 1999 they expected within a few months to secure traffic that would warrant repairing the original damage and the ravages of subsequent flooding.  In May or June 2000 Tranz Rail did indeed begin to carry timber off the branch to a factory at Portland, though in October 2000 traffic was erratic, with three trains running one week, none the next.  However, the track seemed to have been repaired sufficiently well to allow passenger specials on 10 November 2000 (Kaipara District Council charter from Whangarei to run seven 15-minute shuttles from Dargaville for schoolchildren) and 11 November (08:00 excursion from Whangarei with return by bus, plus a 12:30 Dargaville - Waiotira round trip).  

From their base on the Glenbrook Vintage Railway (Glenbrook - Waiuku) the Railway Enthusiasts' Society plan a three-day trip by special train to Dargaville on Saturday 20 October 2001, returning from Dargaville, with a side trip to Whangarei, on Monday 22 October.  On the Sunday, a Dargaville - Whangarei round-trip is to operate for local passengers.  Steam locomotive Class Ja #1250 Diana is to provide haulage Glenbrook - Paerata - Newmarket - Waiotira - Whangarei in both directions, but a Tranz Rail diesel is to operate on the Dargaville branch.  Due to the condition of track, particularly on the 16km Tangowahine - Dargaville section, Tranz Rail warn that it may be necessary for passengers to transfer to buses at Tangowahine.  Indeed, TranzRail are specially permitting the branch to be traversed by a passenger train only in recognition of assistance given in 2000 by the Glenbrook Vintage Railway making their track-tamper and crew available, and thus enabling the Dargaville branch to reopen for freight.  It seems unlikely another passenger train will run on the branch until the track is significantly upgraded, which might mean in 2005, 2010 or never.  (partly from Railway Enthusiasts' Society)

1591][CA] Vancouver, BC: Davie Street - Kitsilano - Marpole - Richmond - Steveston: (BLN 811.0478, R.1538)  Opened by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1902, the line was soon afterwards leased to British Columbia Electric and relaunched as an electric interurban on 4 July 1905, with through services from BCE's Davie Street terminus in downtown Vancouver via the trestle bridge over False Creek and on southward paralleling Arbutus Street.  Vancouver - Marpole passenger service ceased 18 June 1952, although electric cars continued to pass over the line from the Marpole end to access BCE's Kitsilano Works until closure of the last section (Marpole - Steveston) of the interurban on 28 February 1958.  BCE and its successor BC Hydro continued freight service, although closure of the False Creek trestle (last train 21 October 1982) severed the link south from CPR at Vancouver Waterfront.  BC Hydro's lease ended and operation reverted to CPR from 1 January 1986.  In summer 2001 the remaining Marpole Spur closed from km0 (at Molsons Brewery, immediately south of the former False Creek trestle) south to km10 (the junction at Marpole) and the last empty freight cars were removed from Molsons on 1 June 2001.  Remaining open as a freight branch is CPR's New Westminster - Marpole - Richmond line, from km26 (the main-line junction on CPR's Westminster Subdivision) west c.16km to Marpole then south-west a further c.5km over the former Marpole - Steveston branch, truncated to Richmond (Brighouse).

Marpole is close to Vancouver's major Sea Island airport, and the City Council have voted unanimously that the Kitsilano - Marpole line should be protected as a possible rail transit corridor, but it passes through some of Vancouver's more upmarket areas, and CPR are keen to lift the track and redevelop the right-of-way as housing land.  Even with a sparse freight service, the line's 31 level-crossings caused road-traffic problems, and local NIMBY ('not in my back yard') interests do not want to see rail traffic restored.  The dispute is to go to the courts for resolution.  

1592][CA] Armstrong, BC - Vernon - Lumby Jn - Kelowna, BC: (R.1261, 1441)  The two main-line Canadian railways held rights to run trains over each other's tracks to reach Kelowna, but both have in recent years sold off sections to 'short line' railways.  The 18km Kamloops East Jn - Campbell Creek section was and remains part of the CP transcontinental main line but CN had trackage rights.  Sicamous - Armstrong - Vernon was a CP branch with CN trackage rights south of Armstrong to Vernon, but became the Okanagan Valley Railway 21 November 1998.  Campbell Creek - Armstrong, Vernon - Lumby Jn - Kelowna and Lumby Jn - Lumby were CN sections, with CP trackage rights south and east of Vernon, but became the Kelowna Pacific Railway 1 October 1999.  From 2 July 1999 the Armstrong - Kelowna section saw summer-weekend tourist trips run by Kelowna-based Okanagan Valley Wine Train, but during the 2000 and 2001 seasons these have used only the Vernon - Kelowna section.  (partly Canadian Rail Passenger Review, #3, July 2000; funtrain@telusplanet.net)

1593][IE] Dublin light rail: (R.1271)  In early July 2001 contractors Rilmount Ltd began diverting cables from the old trackbed out of Dublin Harcourt Street terminus at a point just north of Milltown, where the up platform is all that remains of the former station.  From the nine-arch viaduct at Milltown out to Dundrum and from Dundrum to Sandyford the trackbed to be used by Luas light-rail line B was cleared in early 2000, but with little change since.  Work however was well under way on the foundations for the new rail bridge over the Taney Road junction in Dundrum.  The first Luas tram has already been built and services should be running in 2003.  (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1594][IE] Manulla Jn - Ballina: (BLN 813.0516, 820.064, 821.091)  On a visit in summer 2001 Ballina's main yard was busy, with containers being loaded and unloaded.  The old goods-yard on Lord Edward Street (the surviving stub of the closed Ballina - Killala line), which had earlier appeared moribund, was also in active use, with palleted fertiliser and bulk oil being unloaded, and timber being loaded.  Three oil tank-wagons sat in the yard, though the rail leading up to them did not seem particularly shiny.  On the short Sligo - Sligo Quay branch (BLN 722.016, 776.0148) the container siding was busy, and timber was being loaded at the north end of the yard, with evidence of movement also on a short section of the quayside siding.  (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1595][IE] Limerick - Limerick Jn - Waterford (- Rosslare): (R.1040)  The summer-only morning Limerick - Waterford train seems still to use the 'Waterford bay' (platform 4) at the south end of Limerick Junction station, including the two-way trundle behind the station buildings and over the level-crossing.  Iarnród Éireann's summer 2001 printed timetable-leaflet shows a Limerick - Limerick Jn working at 15:25 followed by the afternoon all-year-round Limerick - Rosslare train at 15:40.  If this were accurate, the first train would already be occupying the 'Limerick bay' (platform 2) at the north end when the second train arrived at Limerick Junction, so the Limerick - Rosslare would probably need to use the Waterford bay.  However the IE website shows just the one train, the 15:25 Limerick - Rosslare, and no 15:40 at all, so reports that it uses platform 2 sound credible.  Further reports of actual workings would be welcome.

1596][DE] Dresden Hbf - D-Reick - D-Dobritz - Pirna: (R.1412; Ball 44A2)  Russian occupying forces in 1946 reduced the four tracks between Dresden and Pirna to two (possibly even one for a time) but quadruple track is belatedly being restored to allow improved S-Bahn service.  From Hbf to Dobritz work was still at an early stage in summer 2001, but between Dobritz and Pirna the new pair of tracks on the north-east side of the formation (which will eventually become dedicated S-Bahn tracks) were brought into use on 15 July 2001 and the old tracks on the south-west side were temporarily taken out of use.

1597][AT][HU] Wiener Neustadt - Loipersbach-Schattendorf ÖBB - Sopron-déli MÁV - Sopron GySEV - Harka MÁV - Szombathely - Szentgotthard MÁV (- Jennersdorf ÖBB - Graz): (R.0787-8; Ball AT-75B2-76A2, HU-41A2-46B3)  From 1 December 2001 the Austro-Hungarian railway company Györ-Sopron-Ebenfurti Vasút / Raab-Oedenburg-Ebenfurter Eisenbahn are to take over operation of the Sopron - Szombathely section from MÁV.  Until summer 2002 GySEV will work the passenger trains with Bzmot four-wheel railbuses leased from MÁV, and thereafter with surplus GySEV Class M44 diesel locomotives hauling two coaches, but they plan eventually to electrify the line.  At a later stage GySEV hope to take over running Wiener Neustadt - Sopron (already improved) and Szombathely - Szentgotthard (to be improved), offering some competition to ÖBB's tortuous and steeply-graded Wiener Neustadt - Semmering - Bruck an der Mur - Graz route.  

1598][CZ][DE] Karlovy Vary - Nova Role - Potucky CD - Johanngeorgenstadt DB: (R.1531; Ball CZ-35A1, DE-54A3)  The line from Karlovy Vary (then called Karlsbad, in Böhmen or Bohemia, a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) via Potucky (then Breitenbach) to Johanngeorgenstadt in Germany, opened 1899, was owned by Eisenbahn Karlsbad-Johanngeorgenstadt but operated by Kaiserlich-Königliche österreichische Staatsbahnen.  After World War I, the section in Bohemia passed to the new nation of Czechoslovakia.  The cross-border line closed to regular traffic in 1945, but seems to have seen occasional use thereafter, and reopened 29 June 1991.  Regular passenger trains had resumed by the 1992-93 timetable, operated initially by Ceskoslovenské Státni Dráhy and from 1 January 1993 by Ceské Dráhy, running through from Karlovy Vary to Johanngeorgenstadt.  On a visit in July 2001 the trains were worked by CD Class 714.2 centre-cab diesel locomotives hauling three four-wheel railcar-trailers.  The line is scenic and steep, with gradients of c.2.5% (1 in 40) over long stretches.  Apart from its overhead wiring, Karlovy Vary station would seem entirely familiar to the Emperor Franz Joseph.

1599][CZ][DE] Sokolov - Kraslice - Hranicna [CZ] - Klingenthal [DE]: (BLN 752.0166, 802.0237, 842.047, 848.0233; Ball CZ-35A1, DE-54A3 not shown)  From Sokolov (formerly Falkenau, in Bohemia; sokol = Falke = falcon) on the Ceské Dráhy Karlovy Vary - Cheb main line, a secondary line runs north via Kraslice (formerly Graslitz Oberer Bahnhof) to Klingenthal in Germany.  Opened 1886, it was operated by the Austrian company, Buschtehrader Eisenbahn, but after World War I the section in Bohemia was incorporated into the Czechoslovak national railways.  Cross-border trains ceased completely in 1945, and a bridge just inside Germany was removed, but CD continued to run Sokolov - Kraslice branch services.  From 2 January 1995 CD extended the passenger service 3.5km to Hranicna, just south of the border and within walking-distance of Klingenthal, though this extension by CD seems to have been short-lived.  On 24 May 1997 operation of the branch trains passed to the Czech private-sector company Viamont a.s., who reopened Kraslice - Hranicna.  Viamont have retained CD livery on their Class 810 four-wheel railbuses and diesel locomotives hauling four-wheel railcar-trailers.  After extensive civil-engineering works and restoration of the bridge, the German private company Vogtlandbahn GmbH reopened the defunct Hranicna - Klingenthal section in May 2000 (R.0713) and serve it hourly with a RegioSprinter diesel railcar running from Kraslice through to Zwickau Zentrum (R.0309).  The Vogtlandbahn train used by our reporter in July 2001 had a Viamont driver from Kraslice to Zwotental. 

1600][HU][UA] (Budapest - Debrecen -) Fenyeslitke - Komoro - Eperjeske-Rendezo MÁV - Solovka UZ - Batevo (- Chop - Uzhhorod/Uzhgorod - Lviv/Lvov - Kyiv/Kiev UZ - Moskva RZD):  Due to track repairs, Budapest - Moskva trains #15/16 Tisza-Express are diverted during the period 6-21 August 2001 via this freight-only route avoiding Záhony, taking the short Batevo - Chop section of the standard-gauge track that transits southern Ukraine from Romania to Slovakia.  Bogie-changing between Hungarian standard-gauge and Ukrainian broad-gauge is done at Chop, as usual.

1601][KZ] Astana - Karaganda - Moiynty - Berlik - Almaty:  A high-speed service from Kazakhstan's capital, Astana (till 1999 Akmola, and in Soviet times, Tselinograd) south and east to the former capital and major city, Almaty (formerly Alma-Ata) is to begin during 2002, using Talgo equipment leased from Spain.  (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/5feet)

1602][TR][SY][IQ] Mardin - Nusaybin TCDD - Al-Qamishli CFS - Rabia al-Yaroubiah IRR - Mosul - Baghdad: (BLN 852.0345, R.0899)  Turkey-Iraq rail services, suspended during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war, were restored on 6 May 2001 when TCDD sent their first freight train on the link across the north-east corner of Syria into Iraq.  The first Iraqi passenger train since about 1980 was to leave Baghdad on Friday 20 July 2001, running via Mosul in northern Iraq and on to Mardin in Turkey, according to the Iraqi government news agency.  An Iraqi Railways official was quoted as saying the service would initially be a weekly round-trip, with a one-way fare of c.USD20.  (Associated Press report)

1603][NZ] Wellington - Auckland:  Though the Overlander overnight train was seen conveying two vehicles with containers on 23 May (R.1474), it is reported that Tranz Rail have banned freight wagons from passenger trains since 8 June 2001.

1604][NZ] Wellington: private funiculars:  A runaway railborne passenger vehicle hurtling downhill for 50m in the Houghton Bay district on 27 July 2001 highlighted the fact that the hilly Wellington area may have several hundred, mostly privately-owned, 'cable-cars' whose safety goes unchecked.  An old by-law giving Wellington City Council jurisdiction over construction and operation of cable-cars was superseded by a Building Act of 1991 and no-one seems now to be responsible for approving installation and checking safety.  (Wellington Evening Post, 28 July 2001; http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nzht-rail)

1605][CA] Toronto - London, ON:  The old station building at London, Ontario was demolished as planned in February 2001 (R.1213), but the original tracks, platforms and platform-shelters remained in place and were in use by VIA trains on 19 June 2001 along with temporary station facilities.  The new building was still under construction.  

1606][CA] Mattawa, ON - Témiscaming, QC: (BLN 837.0566)  Poor financial results are threatening the continued operation of the Mattawa Témiscaming Excursion Company's Timber Train.  (North Bay Nugget, 2 August 2001; http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canadian-passenger-rail)

1607][CA] Sherbrooke, QC - East Angus - Thetford Mines - East Broughton - Tring-Jonction - Vallée-Jonction, QC:  A second tourist train may begin running on the Québec Central Railway (R.0878), made up of parts of six elderly Budd RDCs (rail diesel cars) acquired by a local preservation group from the Québec North Shore & Labrador Railway.  QNSL themselves (Sept Îles, QC - Ross Bay Jn, NF - Schefferville, QC and Ross Bay Jn - Labrador City, NF; BLN 799.0175) are now using locomotive-hauled passenger stock.  (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/budd-rdc-spv)

1608][US] (Chicago, IL - Indianapolis, IN -) Jeffersonville, IN - Louisville, KY (- Nashville, TN): (R.0392)  On 17 December 1999 Amtrak's Hoosier State was duly extended south across that state (= Indiana) and became the Kentucky Cardinal (named after the Bluegrass State's red song-bird rather than a prelate).  The train remained however on the north shore of the Ohio river and did not therefore actually reach Kentucky, terminating a taxi-ride away in Jeffersonville, IN.  Its sleeping-cars were withdrawn 11 August 2000.  In August 2001 track alterations and station refurbishment were to begin, with a view to restoring passenger service in October 2001 across the river to Louisville's downtown Union Station, a historic stone structure.  Amtrak hope to decide during 2001 whether to extend the Kentucky Cardinal yet further, from Louisville to Nashville, TN - which may see the train renamed again.  (http://www.railpace.com/hotnews)

1609][FR] Denain-Mines - Fosse d'Arenberg: (BLN 799.0160, 801.0211, 802.0224, 807.0349, 812.0484; Ball 7B1)  Until 1988, on Sundays in July and August, the Société des Carrières de St.Nabor, a quarry company with a 12km private mineral branch in Bas-Rhin (Rosheim - Ottrott - St.Nabor, BLN 812.0485, R.0849; Ball 30A2), ran the Train Folklorique de Rosheim-Ottrott, comprising a 1906-built Borsig 0-6-0T steam locomotive and three two-axle coaches.  Transferred north to Denain in spring 2001 for restoration, this stock is to run as a tourist train on the remaining 8km section of the private Chemin de Fer d'Anzin, comprising part of its original 1838 main line (Somain - Denain - Anzin - Condé-les-Eaux - Péruwelz SNCB) plus a branch north to Arenberg colliery (fosse = pit).  The Denain-Mines - Fosse d'Arenberg section has been out of use since the Train Touristique du Hainaut last ran in summer 1993.  (partly L'Écho du Rail, #223, July 2001)

1610][FR] (Montargis - Charny -) Villiers-St.Benoît - Toucy - St.Sauveur-en-Puisaye (- Étang de Moutiers - St.Fargeau - Gien): (BLN 819.046, 844.084, R.0089; Ball 36B3-37A2)  The 9km Villiers-St.Benoît - Toucy section was rehabilitated by volunteers for use by Le Transpoyaudin tourist trains, and the 20km Toucy - St.Sauveur section is following.  The repairs already done have allowed some special trips in connection with local events in summer 2001.  Information: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/aaty; telephone +33 3 8644 0558; fax +33 3 8645 5804; Association des Autorails Touristiques de l'Yonne, Avenue de la Gare, F-89130 Toucy.  (L'Écho du Rail, #224, August 2001)

1611][FR] Meyrargues - Pertuis (- Cheval Blanc): (BLN 825.0202, 849.0240; Ball 75B3)  A photograph in L'Écho du Rail, #223, July 2001, depicts work in hand at Pertuis preparatory to passenger reopening of the short Meyrargues - Pertuis section of this freight line.  The SNCF Sud-Est & Corse timetable shows three round-trip workings to Pertuis on Saturdays and Sundays, and four round-trips plus one unbalanced working on weekdays, starting 3 September 2001.  Most run from/to Marseille-St.Charles as extensions of existing Aix-en-Provence services.  

1612][BE] Belgium: Train+Tram+Bus day: (R.0968)  TTB day in 2001 is to be Saturday 29 September.

1613][NL][DE] Enschede - Glanerbrug NS - Gronau (Westfalen) DB: (R.0239, 0304, 0677; Ball NL-5B3, DE-24A2)  An NS source suggests Friday 21, a DB source Sunday 23 September 2001 for the passenger reopening of this cross-border line.

1614][DE] Wensickendorf - Schmachtenhagen (- Sachsenhausen (Nordburg) / Fichtengrund): (Ball 20B1)  On Saturdays and Sundays until 16 September 2001 this freight-only line sees passenger trains running on the 6km Wensickendorf - Schmachtenhagen section to bring visitors to Schmachtenhagen market.  The hourly 08:37-14:37 Berlin-Karow - Basdorf - Wensickendorf trains, comprising DB Class 219 diesel locomotive plus coaches, offer connections at Basdorf into a preserved Schienenbus of Berliner Eisenbahnfreunde working a shuttle service to Schmachtenhagen, arriving xx:18, returning at xx:22. 

1615][DE] Voldagsen - Eggersen - Duingen (- Delligsen): (Ball 26A2-26B1)  Dampfzug-Betriebs-Gemeinschaft eV did not run tourist trains on this line in summer 2001, but say they may possibly run on the Voldagsen - Eggersen section in 2002.

1616][DE] Dessau Hbf - Oranienbaum (Anhalt) - Wörlitz: (R.1552; Ball 28B1; KBS257)  Daily service ceased on 12 August 2001 and trains now run Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays until 11 November 2001, from Dessau at 08:10 and every two hours till 16:10, returning one hour later.  The operators Anhaltische Bahn Gesellschaft mbH clearly receive considerable local-authority support, though the line's cost-effectiveness must be questionable.  On 29 August 2001 the 08:10 Dessau - Wörlitz carried two passengers and its return working one.  Two railbuses were seen, one in Dürener Kreisbahn livery with Hochwaldbahn and Pfalzbahn markings, the other in DB maroon still with Tübingen markings, both vehicles over-labelled ABG.  At Dessau Hbf, the Wörlitz train leaves from Gleis 1a, a restored short section of a former platform adjacent to the station building, reached from the station forecourt, and served by what is otherwise a goods line.  The railbus sets off north paralleling the main line but does not use any track in common with DB passenger trains.  The new connection from the Hbf, laid during the period of closure from November 1998, cuts across the north end of the DB yard to join the original Dessau-Wörlitzer Eisenbahn alignment, leaving severed, but still in place, the short section of DWE track south into the old Dessau Wörlitzer Bf.  Out on the line, two significant steel bridges had been replaced, some track had been relaid and a couple of major roads had been fitted with new level-crossing controls, although more minor roads were still unprotected save by the mournful wail of the railbus.  The signal-box (Stellwerk Kr) at the intersection with the Gräfenhainichen - Oranienbaum - Vockerode colliery line remained, but all signals were out of use.  The newly-constructed south-to-east curve at Oranienbaum to give access from the Ferropolis Bergbaumuseum to Wörlitz appeared complete but not commissioned.  At Wörlitz the upper floor of the station seemed lived-in, but the ground-floor was becoming derelict.  The only information advertising the existence of the train service was on the platform side of the building rather than facing the road, and was out of date, having expired on 12 August 2001.  Tickets (but not the displayed timetables) give a contact address for ABG: Zur Grossen Halle 11+13, D-06844 Dessau.  The Dessau - Wörlitz return fare is DEM9, but a fares anomaly would seem to make it cheaper to buy tickets stage by stage.  The line has four intermediate request halts, and a return fare of DEM1.50 is quoted between any adjacent pair, giving the whole line for DEM7.50 (five stages at DEM1.50)!

1617][DE] (Berlin - Leipzig -) Jena-Saalbahnhof - Jena-Paradies (- Nürnberg): (R.0308; Ball 42A1)  Main-line trains formerly served Jena-Saalbahnhof, rather inconveniently sited north of the town-centre, while local trains called there and at Jena-Paradies, further south but more convenient.  Since 26 September 1999 only local trains have used Saalbahnhof, now unstaffed, and the main-line trains, now worked by ICE-T sets, call instead at Paradies, which comprises no more than temporary wooden platforms on a low embankment, plus a ticket-office in a portable building.  In summer 2001 no sign was visible of any building work to produce a more permanent solution. 

1618][AT] (Wien West - St.Pölten - Amstetten -) St.Peter-Seitenstetten - St.Valentin (- Linz - Salzburg): (R.0947; Ball 74A3)  A poster at St.Valentin station in late August indicated that this newly four-tracked section of the Westbahn was to open to traffic 31 August 2001, and would be commemorated by local celebrations and the issue of a special postage-stamp.

1619][DK] Esbjerg - Esbjerg Havn: (Ball 5B2)  On 24 August 2001, while waiting to board the DFDS Esbjerg - Harwich car-ferry, our reporter visited Esbjerg Havn station.  The tracks were well rusted, and blocked by a temporary fence at the town (north) end of the platform.  The station name-signs remained but the only other signage was for foot-passengers arriving at the adjacent ferry-terminal, and directed them towards buses.  The Esbjerg - Esbjerg Havn branch no longer features in the DSB timetable, so presumably its passenger services have ceased, temporarily or permanently.

1620][LV] Latvia:  On 4-5 August 2001 long-term refurbishment work closed the long-distance booking-hall in Riga's central Pasazieru Stacijas (R.1007) for the weekend, but on Monday 6 August it was again possible to buy tickets in the splendidly-restored main hall.  The electric suburban network has its own ticket-office in a separate circular building.  The name Riga does not appear in or on the station - except on a wall facing away from the trains.  Passenger trains seem still to run on the short north-to-south line avoiding Riga central station (Zemitani - Janavarti; R.1085), as evidenced by a substantial number of people seen waiting for one, but the train itself had not appeared before our reporter had to board another and move on.  The large RVR works at Riga Zasulauks (BLN 766.0493), once proud builders of electric units and tramcars for the whole Soviet Union, seemed derelict, with buildings closed up and track well rusted, though a diesel shunter stood in the yard.  The all-line timetable of Latvijas Dzelzceli was available at c.GBP0.30=EUR0.50, with the suburban station of Majori, for example, having a plentiful supply.

Riga's suburban Elektrovilcieni are six-car 3000V dc 1520mm-gauge electric units (occasionally four or five cars), still painted in Soviet Railways dark green.  They take advantage of their broad structure-gauge to have (wooden) seating for six across, plus the gangway, and as they are well patronised, the conductor to each carriage is kept busy.  Poor revenue-collection on the electric services, reported in R.0955, was certainly not in evidence.  Fares are cheap, at about GBP0.01=EUR0.02/km.  Line speeds remain very slow, and a trip of 25km takes 45 minutes, an average of only 33km/h.  Care is needed to identify where one is, for each station has its name displayed once only, on the front of the station-building - and perhaps not at all should the building have been demolished.  The electrified Riga - Sigulda line to the north-east of the capital has the most trains (10 a day).  Sigulda is an attractive little town at the highest point in Latvia (c.175m above sea-level) and is known locally as Little Switzerland, with a cable-car offering scenic views across a valley.  As noted in R.0955 the diesel regional trains (Dizelvilcieni) run less frequently and have more expensive fares, though these are still cheap by western European standards.  The ex-Soviet Railways three-car units seen carried plates in each carriage above the doors saying they were built in 1984, but their design and internal appearance suggested they might be older.  Some of their reclining seats had permanently reclined. 

1621][RU] Sankt-Peterburg Varshavskiy - Bronevaya:  Sankt-Peterburg Varshavskiy Vokzal, one-time terminus of the main line to the Polish capital, is in a poor state, with derelict buildings and only traces of its overall roof.  Nevertheless, the station appears to retain three passenger departures a day, starting from one of the two remaining tracks next to an unsheltered platform without other obvious facilities, then using the short link to Bronevaya station on the Baltic main line out of the city's nearby Baltiyskiy terminus.  Sankt-Peterburg Baltiyskiy Vokzal also looks somewhat dilapidated, though refurbishment has just begun.  It has retained its overall roof, which spans only the concourse, not the platforms.  On Russia's 'cold-weather' railways, passengers wait under cover till the train is ready for boarding before venturing out on to the open platforms.

Five long sidings on the Varshavskiy site have become the Museum of Russian Railroads, which opened on Sunday 5 August 2001 and was visited by our reporter on 11 August.  The museum is in one of the less salubrious parts of St.Peterburg, south-west of the city-centre, with no signposts to point the way to it, nor indeed any museum sign to confirm to the visitor that he has arrived there.  From the Baltiyskiy station, turn east as far as Varshavskiy station, which looks similar but more run-down, then turn south past the C19 tenements, roofless but tenanted, to a small yellow building with an iron fence.  Admission is RUR20 for Russians and RUR100=c.GBP3=c.EUR5 for foreigners.  Our reporter passed for a citizen and paid RUR20, but even at the higher price, the museum is well worthwhile.  The 77 main exhibits are in the open air (winter visitors will need to be hardy) and are quite well separated so that photography is possible, but if more items are acquired the museum may become crowded, for it has little room for growth.  Visitors are free to climb on or in the exhibits.  Probably the most impressive are a huge rail-mounted gun, and the Soviet Union's first electric locomotive, with no fewer than 28 wheels.  Some exhibits were formerly at the suburban station of Shushary on the 1836 St.Peterburg Vitebskiy - Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo) line, Russia's first railway.

1622][JP] Tokyo - Shin-Osaka - Hakata:  Japan's 25kV 1435mm-gauge shinkansen network offers opportunities for the world's longest day-trips possible by rail.  On 25 August 2001 our reporter (well used to 1250km Edinburgh - London business day-trips by GNER) left Tokyo at the civilised post-breakfast hour of 08:38 and, using only semi-fast services (his first-class Japan Rail Pass was not valid in the fast trains), arrived at 14:30 in time for a late lunch at Hakata, some 1180km away to the south-west.  Setting off at 15:53 and changing at Shin-Osaka on the way back to sample two different train-sets of the two operators JR West and JR Central, he returned to Tokyo at 22:03.  All three trains ran meticulously to time at all stations, as indeed they must do to maintain the three-tier (fast Nozomi, semi-fast Hikari and 'slow' Kodama) service on the double-track Tokaido (Tokyo - Shin-Osaka; JR Central) and Sanyo (Shin-Osaka - Hakata; JR West) main lines.  

Printed timetable sources offer a choice of 1174.9km, 1175.9km, 1179.3km and 1180.3km for the one-way distance (the two higher figures presumably being tariff-km), but 2360km is by no means the maximum possible distance which can be covered in a day.  Full shinkansen lines also run north and north-east of the capital (Tokyo - Omiya - Takasaki - Nagano; Tokyo - Omiya - Takasaki - Niigata; Tokyo - Omiya - Fukushima - Morioka) and services run from 06:00 to midnight, so someone who was less of a dilettante could rise early and using Nozomi fast trains could spend 18 hours or so riding at an average speed in excess of 200km/h.  For example, a 3420km shinkansen itinerary seems possible (Hakata 06:00 - 11:21 Tokyo 12:04 - 14:38 Morioka 15:02 - 17:36 Tokyo 18:52 - 23:53 Hakata), and indeed the timings are leisurely enough to allow for meal-breaks at Tokyo in each direction !

Within the constraints of the Railtrack network, the UK's Great North Eastern Railway are unable to match the shinkansen's swiftness, punctuality or distance covered, but they do operate units theoretically capable of equal or higher speeds (the 300km/h regional-Eurostar White Rose sets), and GNER's excellent dining-cars beat anything on offer in Japan, whose onboard catering even in the first-class 'Green Car' is essentially patrolling trolleys loaded with bento (cold lunch-boxes).  GNER offer a shinkansen connection at York, where first-generation 'bullet-train' car #22-141 was welcomed on 12 July 2001 and installed in the UK's National Railway Museum.  Free admission to the NRM should be available from October 2001.

1623][NZ] New Zealand: passenger rail closures: (R.1537)  Tranz Rail announced on 31 August 2001 that the Auckland - Hamilton Waikato Connection; the Auckland - Hamilton - Morrinsville - Tauranga Kaimai Express; the Auckland - Hamilton - Morrinsville - Rotorua Geyserland Express (R.1061); and the Wellington - Palmerston North - Napier Bay Express would cease running from Sunday 7 October 2001.  The future of the Christchurch - Rolleston - Dunedin - Invercargill Southerner was still under discussion with the government.  (http://www.tranzrail.co.nz)

1624][US] Hawaii:  Tracks of the Oahu Railway & Land Company once almost completely encircled the island of Oahu.  Passenger trains ceased at some time during the 1930s economic depression, were restored during World War II, and finally ceased 1947, the entire railroad being abandoned and mostly lifted.  However, the Hawaii Railway Museum at Ewa, west of Pearl Harbor, 32km from downtown Honolulu and 24km from the airport, use part of the right-of-way for a c.10km tourist line (Ewa - Kahe Point), and have bought steel for a bridge to be installed on a proposed 4km extension.  In June 2001 diesel-hauled trains comprising four or five flat-cars roofed to protect passengers from the summer sun were operating on Sundays only at 12:30 and 14:30.  The route passes Barbers Point Naval Air Station, now gradually being closed, and a new hotel/resort complex, ending at Kahe Point on the south-west coast of Oahu. 

On the west coast of the island of Maui, some 45km from the airport, an 11km 914mm-gauge tourist line, the Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific Railroad (Lahaina - Kaanapali - Puukolii; BLN 803.0267), opened in 1970, apparently on new alignment, although its rail reportedly came from the island's Kahului Railroad (1882-1966).  The frequent steam-hauled trains operate daily, starting at Lahaina and heading north, passing Kaanapali station without stopping and continuing north another km or two to run non-stop round a balloon-loop at Puukolii, where the workshop and engine-shed are located.  A stop is made at Kaanapali on the southbound journey, and passengers can board there, though anyone doing so might miss the northernmost section of track. 

1625][FR] Roumazières-Loubert - Manot - Confolens (Charente): (Ball 52B3-44B1)  The vélorail operation started in 1999 between the junction of Roumazières-Loubert (on the Angoulême - Limoges line) and Manot was extended in July 2000 to Confolens.  Planned track work on the 17km branch may in due course permit the passage not only of rail-cycles or draisines but also Picasso railcar X3959.  Information: Chemin de Fer Charente-Limousine, La Gare, F-16500 Manot; telephone +33 5 4571 1664, fax +33 5 4569 3092.  (L'Écho du Rail, March 2001)

1626][FR] Meyrargues - Pertuis: (R.1611; Ball 75B3)  The line duly reopened to passengers 3 September 2001, with our reporter on board the first train, the 05:33 from Marseille, due into Pertuis 06:38 but arriving six minutes late.  Only two other passengers accompanied him on the last leg of the outward journey, but a small crowd were on the platform at Pertuis, notably the president of the Conseil Regional de Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur who are paying for the trains - and who no doubt also picked up the bill for our man's celebratory coffee and croissant in the booking-hall.  A television crew recorded the event.  Numbers on the 06:59 return-working as far as Meyrargues swelled to a good half-dozen.  Monsieur le président shook hands with all the passengers, exchanged a few words and then went off to enjoy a cab-ride in the railcar over the west-to-south curve of the Meyrargues triangle, believed to have been reinstated for the new service.  (The west-to-east curve is used by freight trains from north of Cheval Blanc on their way to the Pechiney plant at St.Auban.)  There is talk of passenger reopening of the Pertuis - Cheval Blanc (- Cavaillon) section, but no date or costings have been quoted, and the Cannes - Grasse branch (BLN 843.057; Ball 77A3) may be a more likely candidate for PACA's next reopening.

1627][FR] Marseille-St.Charles - La Joliette - Arenc - L'Estaque: (Ball 75B2 not shown)  When L'Écho du Rail for January 2000 recorded the start of work on the 415m Tunnel de Lajout avoiding La Joliette (forming a large part of the 843m east-to-north chord opened 7 June 2001; R.1548), the report said that a library and archives building for the Département des Bouches-du-Rhône was to be built on railway land released at La Joliette.  This suggests that the locally-advertised Halte la Joliette, sited at the point where trains formerly had to reverse, was to be abandoned, but a local report would be welcome.

1628][BE] Antwerpen Centraal: (BLN 842.027; Ball 9B3)  The radical reconstruction of this magnificent station was about half-complete in summer 2001, the new tracks on the Zoo side being brought into use on 24 June.  The new tunnel which will carry north-south (Amsterdam - Antwerpen - Bruxelles) through trains beneath the hitherto terminal station is to be open to pedestrian visitore on 27 and 28 September 2001.

1629][NL][DE] Schin-op-Geul - Simpelveld - Kerkrade: (Ball NL-9B2-10A2, DE-37A1)  At Schin-op-Geul, trains of preservation group Zuid Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij normally use the island platform at whose other face Heerlen - Schin-op-Geul - Maastricht NS trains call, but the physical connection here with NS has long been severed (BLN 840.0613) and ZLSM have only a headshunt for run-round purposes west of the station.  Even in 2001 it remains obvious however that the ZLSM track used to be the main line.  At Simpelveld, ZLSM store rolling-stock in buildings on either side of the line near the junction where the Simpelveld - Bocholtz [NL] - Vetschau [DE] line, reopened 13 April 2000, diverges (R.1141).  Signs between Bocholtz and Vetschau indicate where the border is crossed.  Beyond ZLSM's Vetschau terminus, rails are still in place across the road, heading east to a point perhaps some 400m west (R.0329) of the long-removed former junction north of Aachen West.  ZLSM's sole main-line connection is at Kerkrade, where they make an end-on junction with NS.  ZLSM trains can and do run into either platform at Kerkrade Centrum NS station (R.1141).  

1630][DE] (Magdeburg -) Wolmirstedt - Zielitz Ort - Zielitz (- Stendal): (Ball 28A2 not shown; KBS309)  The new halt Zielitz Ort on Magdeburg S-Bahn line 1, advertised in the May 2000 timetable as opening 15 July 2000, was completed in spring 2001 and may open in September 2001.  (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 4/2001)

1631][DE] Wuppertal monorail: Vohwinkel - Oberbarmen: (R.0781, 0938; Ball 34A1 not shown)  The Schwebebahn is again to have an autumn closure for renewal work (1-28 October 2001).  (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 4/2001, July 2001)

1632][AT] Linz trams: (Ball 74A3 not shown)  The two 900mm-gauge tram routes operating are #1 Universität - Simonysstrasse - Auwiesen and #3 Hauptbahnhof - Urfahr, the latter linking the main ÖBB station across town to the lower terminus of the steep but adhesion-worked metre-gauge Pöstlingbergbahn and to ÖBB's Linz Urfahr - Rottenegg - Aigen-Schlägl Mühlkreisbahn (R.0908).  In late August 2001 the new Simonysstrasse - Ebelsberg extension, to become route #2 though effectively a restoration of part of long-closed route #5, which includes a length of interlaced track, appeared ready for use save for completion of minor work including paving in a few places.  A day-ticket costs ATS40=EUR2.91.  

1633][AT] (Ebelsberg -) Pichling See - St.Florian trams: (Ball 74A3)  Just east of Linz, the 9.6km Ebelsberg - St.Florian Florianerbahn opened 1913.  Though it shared its unusual 900mm-gauge and an Ebelsberg terminus with Linz town tramways, through services did not operate.  Closed in 1974, the line partly reopened in 1979-82 as a 4.6km museum tramway.  Its summer weekend operations were advertised on a recent poster displayed at the Linz-Urfahr terminus of the Pöstlingbergbahn, but a visit to St.Florian on Sunday 26 August 2001 found no sign of activity.  The overhead was down in the depot area and no trams seemed to have operated for some time.  The depot was locked, no staff were present and it was not possible to discover anything about possible resumption of service.  An undated notice said that service was suspended because of canal-bridge repairs, a message replicated on the website http://www.florianerbahn.at (whose musical homepage somewhat incongruously launches into a rendering of Chattanooga Choo-Choo!)

1634][AT] Mariazell - Erlaufsee trams: (R.0221, 0279; Ball 74B2 not shown)  Steam trams were operating on this 2.5km standard-gauge museum tramway on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from July to September 2001, except during inclement weather.  Departures were at 10:30, 11:30, 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30 from Mariazell, and 30 minutes later from Erlaufsee.  Fares were one-way ATS50, return ATS80 (=EUR5.81=c.GBP3.60).  About 150m of track at the Mariazell end had been equipped with overhead wiring, and a volunteer said that electric cars were being tested and that electric operation over the whole line might start by summer 2004.  The depot building, adjacent to Mariazell station but not currently open to the public, holds a number of standard-gauge horse, steam and electric trams in various states of preservation, mainly from St.Pölten, Wien and the Wien - Wolfsthal - Bratislava Pressburgerbahn (R.0945).  On Friday 24 August 2001 ex-Stammersdorf steam-tram engine #31 was seen being prepared for the following day's workings.  

1635][AT] Innsbruck light rail: (R.0420; Ball 79B1 not shown)  In summer 2001 the four metre-gauge routes operating were #1 Hungerburgbahn - Berg Isel; #3 Hauptbahnhof - Amras; #6 Hbf - Berg Isel - Igls; and the unnumbered Stubaitalbahn, Hbf - Fulpmes.  Route #1 does not serve the Hauptbahnhof, but the other three do, running on a one-way loop round the town-centre.  A day-ticket (price ATS44=EUR3.20) is valid on the Nostalgiebahn workings of preserved tramcars to Igls (12:00 and 14:00 from 7 July to 9 September 2001) but not on the Stubaitalbahn out beyond the depot.  A Hauptbahnhof - Fulpmes return ticket costs ATS98=EUR7.12.  Information: http://www.ivb.at

1636][PT] (Porto São Bento -) Ermesinde - Cête - Paredes - Penafiel - Caíde - Livracão - Marco de Canaveses - Régua - Pinhão - Tua - Pocinho - Coa - Barca de Alva CP (- Fregeneda RENFE - Salamanca): (R.0313; Ball 7A1-8B1-18B3)  In early September 2001 double track was being extended up the Linha do Douro from Cête (km30.2) east to Caide (km46.1).  At Paredes, Penafiel and Caíde station buildings were being rebuilt.  Paredes had lost all its sidings and passing-loop, but Penafiel and Caíde retained passing-loops.  To the east of Caíde a new double-track alignment was under construction north of the present single line.  Numerous speed restrictions were significantly lengthening journey-times, with, for example, the 17:30 IR Porto São Bento - Régua train seen arriving at Regua 40 minutes late.  Trains beyond Marco were advertised to run as far as Régua only, with any onward journey requiring a change, though at weekends the 07:55 IR from Porto São Bento was in fact running though to Pocinho, causing unwary travellers some confusion.  Pinhão's island platform to the south of the main platform had been replaced by a loop platform, giving two platform faces instead of three.  The out-of-use Pocinho - Barca section, including its bridges and two short tunnels, seemed intact save for a couple of short sections near Coa where the track had allegedly been stolen, and one or two places affected by landslips or overgrown by vegetation.  It is rumoured locally that, following archaeological finds of tourist interest near Coa, CP may possibly reopen the 9km Pocinho - Coa section.  Coa station building had been gutted by fire and had lost its roof, but the buildings at Castelo Melhor, Almendra and Barca were all standing and apparently intact, though Barca looked rather forlorn with nearly all its windows broken.  Goods-sheds remained at Almendra and at Barca.  Immediately east of Barca the abandoned track remained in place, crossing into Spain over the 200m Ponte do Agueda and vanishing into one of the RENFE's seven tunnels between Barca and Fregeneda.  

1637][ES] Mallorca: (Palma - Inca -) Empalme - Manacor (- Arta): (R.1279; Ball 38A1-38A2)  Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca announced that renovation of Manacor's old railway station, closed in 1977, was to start at the end of September 2001, with a view to Inca - Manacor trains running in spring 2003.  The station is to be the focus of a transport interchange with stances for 11 buses and 50 car-park spaces.  (Majorca Daily Bulletin)

1638][IT] Roma trams: Piramide - Stazione Trastevere:  A new link used by line #3 trams to run beyond Piramide to FS Stazione Trastevere, already served by line #8, opened 3 April 2001.  (Today's Railways, September 2001)

1639][IT] (Taranto - Sibari -) San Marco-Roggiano - Mongrassano-Cervicati (- Montalto-Rose - Cosenza / Paola): (BLN 842.043, R.0451; Ball 58A2-58A1)  The new cut-off south of San Marco-Roggiano opened 11 April 2001, completing the very protracted electrification of this route across the instep of Italy.  (Today's Railways, September 2001)

1640][CH] Beinwil am See - Reinach - Menziken - Beromünster: (BLN 840.0623, R.0385; Ball 87B1)  Closed to passengers 31 May 1992, this 8km SBB branch lost its last (Beinwil - Reinach) freight workings from the June 2001 timetable change, and is being dismantled.  Standard-gauge freight wagons are conveyed on Rollböcken using the alternative metre-gauge Wynental- und Suhrentalbahn route (Aarau - Suhr - Menziken Burg).  (Eisenbahn Amateur, 7/2001)

1641][CH] Rorschach - St.Margrethen - Buchs: (Ball 89B2-89B1)  Though Switzerland, Austria and Germany share the 15kV 16.7Hz electrification standard, Swiss overhead wiring is normally configured to accept a narrower design of pantograph than is used in the other two countries, inhibiting through electric working (BLN 841.016).  From the June 2001 timetable change, however, ÖBB electric traction units with broader pantographs have been allowed to run beyond the Swiss border station St.Margrethen as far west as Rorschach (platform 1 only) and as far south as Buchs.  (Eisenbahn Amateur, 7/2001)

1642][NO] Nelaug - Arendal: (R.0867; Ball 20A3-20A2)  Electrically operated since 26 January 1996 (BLN 768.0531), the branch closed to passengers September 2000, allegedly due to 'shortage of drivers', but reopened 24 June 2001.  (Today's Railways, September 2001)

1643][YU] Pristina - Kosovo Polje - Pec: (R.0434; Ball 52A2)  From 30 May 2001 a passenger service was restored from Kosovo's capital Pristina via the main junction Kosovo Polje west down the Pec branch.  (Today's Railways, September 2001)

1644][EE] Tallinn - Pääskula - Keila - Paldiski and (Tallinn -) Keila - Vasalemma - Riisipere: (R.1512)  For a capital city, especially one with so much fine architecture, Tallinn's main station is unimpressive, with no overall roof, no name-boards nor shelter on the high platforms.  However, some reconstruction work has begun.  In June 1990 the railway museum was a collection of small relics in the main station building, but in August 2001 no sign was seen indicating the museum's existence, though a steam locomotive did still stand in the nearby sidings.  Estonia's 3000V dc 1520mm-gauge electric lines, in effect the Tallinn suburban system, including the lines to Paldiski, Riisipere and Aegviidu and the depot at Pääskula, are run by Elektriraudtee AS, who started business as a separate train-operating company on 1 January 1999.  From Tallinn out to Pääskula (km11) the track is double but beyond it is single with only occasional passing-loops on both the Paldiski and Riisipere routes.  Elektriraudtee continue to use Soviet-era four-coach electric units, now repainted from SZD green to blue and white, some of them refurbished with very bright interiors and five-across plastic-covered seating which is only marginally more comfortable than the original wooden seats.  At least one electric unit in use on the Paldiski route however did have padded seats!  The elderly trains are painfully slow, with a journey-time of 80 minutes from Tallinn to either Paldiski (km48) or Riisipere (km51), giving an average speed of 36-38km/h.  On the very rough track between Vasalemma (km38) and Riisipere they sway along at little more than walking-pace.  Nevertheless, passenger usage still seems quite heavy all day, with many travellers apparently peasants or market-gardeners taking produce to or returning from market, probably a long-established traffic pattern but one which must be seriously under threat as the economy matures.  One cannot imagine more sophisticated consumers with increasing access to private transport continuing to use this kind of rail service.

As the electric unit arrived at Paldiski's traditional wooden passenger station, two newly-painted diesel locomotives waited to depart eastward with a freight working.  No other freight train was seen, but track continues, visibly still used, for c.1km west of Paldiski.  In addition, on the north side of the line just east of the station, the new tank-wagon terminal for rail-hauled Russian oil being exported by sea was still under construction, apparently using redundant track-panels from the former branch that the Quail map shows as running north at this point.  Paldiski, a former naval-base strategically sited at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland, was once home-port to part of the Soviet, later Russian, Baltic Fleet.  When the Russian forces finally left in 1995, they destroyed much of the military equipment, but left several thousand ethnic-Russian civilian dockyard-workers high and dry, unemployed, living in tower-blocks, many unable to speak Estonian and qualify for citizenship.  Numbers of them appeared to remain in this quiet and run-down, somewhat eerie, place, which seemed to have only the one shop, at the station - but which offers splendid unspoiled views out over the Baltic.

On the Riisipere line the freight branch shown on the Quail map running west from Vasalemma had been lifted, but a branch heading east for c.2km to a stone- or cement-works just north of Vasalemma was clearly very busy, and seemed to provide the Riisipere line with its only freight traffic, all diesel-worked.  The 62km unelectrified extension from Riisipere to Haapsalu remained closed to all traffic, its rails well rusted and overgrown with vegetation.  Anyone determined to visit Haapsalu, a small seaside resort with an attractive station building, can take the 10:00 train from Tallinn and connect into the 11:35 Riisipere - Haapsalu bus, though when our reporter did so not many others made this connection, the only one of the day.

1645][EE] Tallinn - Aegviidu - Tapa - Rakvere - Kohtla - Johvi - Narva (- Sankt Peterburg):  On the main line east towards Sankt-Peterburg, Elektriraudtee operate the Tallinn - Aegviidu electrified section, but east of Tapa, junction for Tartu (R.1282), the only public passenger trains are the international workings to Russia.  Seen from one such train, the Rakvere - Kunda branch serving a cement factory had shiny rails, but all the other freight branches that once ran northwards off the main line between Rakvere and Johvi had been lifted.  The lines heading south from Johvi and Kohtla were active and appeared to serve a potash mine.  The short branch between Soldina and Energia was in place but well rusted.  

1646][EE] Tallinn trams:  The city's 39km 1067mm-gauge tramway system (details from http://www.lrta.org) opened a new route #5 during 2000, which is therefore absent from the definitive reference-book, the Tramway Atlas of the Former Soviet Union, published by Blickpunkt Strassenbahn in 1996.  During the week 11-19 August 2001, routes #3, 4 and 5 were closed during construction work, though it seemed not to be work on the tramway track itself.  

1647][MY] Kuala Lumpur Sentral - KUL airport:  Asian financial turmoil in 1997 slowed work on the Malaysian capital's transport systems, including its huge Sentral station and the Express Rail Link which will connect it to the city's main airport 57km away.  Sentral opened 16 April 2001 (R.1513) and will eventually be served by the ERL, two light-rail lines and two monorails as well as KTM intercity and commuter trains.  The Express Rail Link saw its final rail laid in August 2001, more than two years late, but it is expected to open in April 2002.  (Reuters)

1648][US] Portland, OR light rail: Gateway - PDX airport: (R.1443)  This Tri-Met MAX light-rail branch opened 10 September 2001.  The service from downtown Portland via Gateway north to Portland International airport is now the Red Line, and the west-to-east Hillsboro - downtown - Gateway - Gresham service is the Blue Line.  An opening celebration planned for the weekend 15-16 September was cancelled after the events of 11 September.   (http://www.tri-met.org/)

1649][US] Newark International Airport, NJ:  New Jersey Transit are providing a new station between Newark Penn and North Elizabeth stations to serve Newark International Airport (code EWR) by the end of 2001.  The airport's free on-site monorail between the terminals and car-parks is being extended over 1km to the NJT station.  NJT AirTrain services will run every 20 or 30 minutes and the 20-minute trip to New York City's Penn station in Manhattan will cost USD11.15.  In future some Amtrak inter-city trains on the Northeast Corridor may also call.

1650][US] New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority: New York City subway:  In the immediate aftermath of the destruction of the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 it is not the best time to visit New York city, but some changes to subway workings during summer 2001 are worth recording.  The three subway routes that converge at the west end of the Manhattan Bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn have quite a complex history.  North to south the routes are: from Sixth Avenue through Grand Street station (the Chrystie Street line); from Canal Street station on the Broadway line (the Canal Street line); and from Chambers Street station on the J line (the Nassau Street Loop).  Before 1967 the Chrystie route did not exist; the Canal route connected to the northern pair of tracks on the bridge; and the Nassau route connected to the separate southern pair of tracks.  In November 1967 the Chrystie route opened and was connected to the northern tracks on the bridge; the Canal route was linked to the southern tracks on the bridge; and the Nassau Street loop closed as a through route.  In 1987 the northern bridge tracks closed and all trains used the Canal route.  In 1988 the northern bridge tracks reopened and the southern tracks closed.  For a few months in 1990 both sets of bridge tracks were in use, after which the Canal route and the southern tracks again closed.  Now, from 22 July 2001 till 2004, the northern tracks on the bridge are closed for engineering work.  All trains crossing the bridge use the Canal route and the south-side tracks, resulting in complex changes to services all over the subway system.  Grand Street on the Chrystie route is served only by a shuttle service from West 4th Street.

In the borough of Queens, the 63rd Street connector, a new short link from Queensbridge to 36th Street, is now available and has been used for weekend diversions of the E, F and R trains in summer 2001, with regular use expected to commence shortly.  

On 26 August 2001 a railtour took two 1927-built D-type three-car subway sets, topped and tailed by diesel locomotives of the MTA-operated South Brooklyn Railroad, along the remaining freight tracks of the New York Cross Harbor Railroad from 9th Avenue station to the 39th Street yard and 39th Street freight terminal, negotiating a number of open grade-crossings and running down the middle of 2nd Avenue in Brooklyn on NYCH track which appeared to be disused.  The previous passenger-carrying train here is believed to have been a similar special working in the mid-1970s.  

The excellent atlas Tracks of the New York City Subway by Peter Dougherty is recommended, containing detailed track-plans, historical notes, operating information and plans of projects not yet completed.  It is available from the author via his website http://www.nyctrackbook.com.  The New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn is closed for renovation, and is to reopen in 2003.  

1651][AR] Barranqueras - Resistencia - Cacuí - Puerto Tirol (- Sáenz Peña - Taco Pozo):  Operators Sefecha (Servicios Ferroviarios del Chaco) run suburban passenger trains on a section of the ex-Belgrano metre-gauge railway from Barranquera on the west bank of the broad river Paraná through the nearby northern Argentine town of Resistencia.  On 24 August 2001 this service was extended several km north-west from Cacuí to Puerto Tirol, the total distance covered now being 26km.  Sefecha also run two country services on branches to the south and south-west of Chaco province (Resistencia - La Sabana - Los Amores, c.150km; and Saenz Peña - Chorotis, c.200km).  Another country service is projected, on a branch to the north (Sáenz Peña - Castelli, c.100km).  However passenger trains do not run on the c.150km Puerto Tirol - Sáenz Peña section, and they are suspended on the c.310km Sáenz Peña - Taco Pozo section because of a dispute over track-access fees with freight-train operators Belgrano Cargas, who also use the infrastructure. 

1652][AR] Buenos Aires Retiro (Mitre) - Rosario - San Miguel de Tucumán:  From 3 September 2001 operators Trenes de Buenos Aires reduced their Retiro (Mitre) - Rosario service to running once a week (Friday to Rosario, Monday from Rosario), but Ferrocarriles NorOeste de Argentina plan to restore long-distance passenger trains from the capital over the ex-Mitre 1676mm-gauge route to Tucumán by the end of 2001.

1653][AR] Buenos Aires Once - Bragado - Olascoaga - Timote - Carlos Tejedor - Gonzales Moreno - General Pico: (R.1354)  The ex-Sarmiento 1676mm-gauge Olascoaga - Carlos Tejedor - Pico line closed March 1998, but after work on the track the Olascoaga - Carlos Tejedor section reopened 13 December 2000.  On 1 September 2001 Ferrobaires (also known as UEPFP) restored passenger service on the 125.8km Carlos Tejedor - Pico section, a much more direct route from the capital to Pico than via Catriló.  Visit http://www.reporterferroviario.com.ar/horario_ferrobaires2001.html for the new timetables.

1654][AR] Ingeniero Jacobacci - El Maitén - Esquel: (BLN 732.0151, 741.0335)  From Ingeniero Jacobacci, junction with the Viedma - Ingeniero Jacobacci - San Carlos de Bariloche ex-Roca 1676mm-gauge main line (R.1355), now operated by Sefepa (Servicios Ferroviarios Patagónicos), a 750mm-gauge steam-operated railway heads south to Esquel.  The northern section to El Maiten is mainly in Rio Negro province and services were suspended in 1995, leaving the southern El Maiten - Esquel section in Chubut province still with tourist trains.  Now the Argentine federal ministry of tourism, Rio Negro province, Ingeniero Jacobacci town and train-operators Sefepa have signed an agreement to restore Jacobacci - El Maitén trains, and also to open a railway museum at Jacobacci.  In late summer 2001 however a financial crisis in Argentina was putting all public spending under severe pressure, so it may be a little while before travellers can again ride on the northern part of La Trochita, the ultimate branch line in Paul Theroux's Old Patagonian Express.  

1655][BR] Pôrto Velho - Guajará-Mirim:  In the forests of Rondônia province in the far west of Brazil, close to the Bolivian border, a 366km metre-gauge railway was built during 1907-12, paralleling the rivers Madeira and Mamoré, tributaries of the Amazon.  The principal purpose of the Estrada de Ferro Madeira Mamoré was to transport rubber from this remote area, but by the time the line was completed, after many deaths from tropical diseases, cheaper natural rubber from plantations on the Malayan peninsula had made Brazilian forest production, originally a monopoly, much less competitive.  Operation continued till 1972.  A restoration campagn begun in 1980 failed, but the EFMM, which already has Brazilian national-heritage status, may yet be rescued in the context of a sustainable tourism and heritage business based on the line and the surrounding country.  An international seminar to this end is planned to take place from 28 to 30 November 2001 at the Rondônia Federal University in Porto Velho, a five-minute walk from the old EFMM station on the waterfront.  Delegates are to be offered a bus trip paralleling the line, with an overnight stay in Guajará-Mirim.  Information from martincooper_2000@yahoo.com.

1656][FR] La Rochelle-Ville - Piscine-Champ-de-Mars (- La Pallice): (Ball 43A1)  On Saturday 22 September 2001, locally declared a journée sans voiture with private-car use discouraged for the day, SNCF trains were again to be running to a halt at Piscine-Champ-de-Mars, north of the town-centre on the otherwise freight-only branch to La Pallice.  A similar service was reported in 1998 (BLN 837.0547).  Three workings each way, two inbound through from Rochefort and one outbound through to Saintes, are hardly more than a symbolic replacement for car-travel, but are perhaps the harbinger of the short tramway proposed for the town and supported by Alstom, who have a factory there (R.0320).  

1657][FR] Aix-en-Provence - Rognac: (BLN 760.0367, 843.056; Ball 75B3)  This freight-only line saw a passenger train on Sunday 23 September 2001.  Hauled by Toulouse-based steam locomotive 141 R 1126, in the area to take part in La Blancarde depot open-day, the special left from Marseille-Blancarde for Aix, stopping at the closed station of Roquefavour, and also beneath an impressive aqueduct now paralleled by the new viaduct of the Avignon - Marseille Ligne à Grande Vitesse.  It returned via Aix - Rognac to La Blancarde.  The train was first advertised only a couple of days in advance, and no doubt for this reason was rather empty.  On 22 September the train had made a Marseille - L'Estaque - Martigues return trip along the coast to the west.

1658][FR] Marseille-St.Charles - La Joliette - Arenc - L'Estaque: (R.1627; Ball 75B2 not shown)  The new Tunnel de Lajout and the east-to-north chord avoiding the reversal at la Joliette may have been brought into use some weeks before the June 2001 timetable change, possibly as early as 28-29 April.  That weekend the city's main station Marseille-St.Charles was entirely closed for some 24 hours and all trains were diverted to Marseille-Blancarde or cancelled, while a new (and initially problematical) signalling-system was brought into use.  The old alignments leading to Joliette may have been abandoned at that time.  Certainly by September 2001 all track to and from Halte la Joliette had been removed, though the ballast, platform, buffer-stop and newish SNCF sign remained, between the car-park and a building-site, and an illuminated sign in the nearby Métro station still pointed to 'Halte SNCF la Joliette'!  Between the new tunnel and Arenc a grain-silo now has direct rail access without reversal, and this has allowed construction of two alternative roads across the mouth of the Lajout tunnel and the abandoned siding beyond the grain-silo, and the removal of the level-crossing near Gare d'Arenc.  A site is said to have been reserved for a new halt in the Joliette/Arenc-area, but it is not known where and when this will appear.  If it were to be close to its predecessor, it would need to be underground.  Conversely, a site near the former level-crossing looks feasible, but this would then be at the very edge of the Euroméditerranée development area.  Since the June timetable-change our locally-based reporter has not seen any regular or diverted passenger trains passing via Arenc.  (TGVs cannot reach their new LGV this way.)  An empty-stock working comprising diesel locomotive plus three-coach TER set does however run daily at c.13:30 via Arenc towards l'Estaque.

1659][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (Ball 31A2)  The S-Bahn connection from Schönhauser Allee to the temporary platforms at Bornholmer Strasse closed 10 September 2001.  By 15 September the conductor-rail through these platforms had gone, and by 17 September track-lifting was well under way.  On 15 September S-Bahn trains inbound from Bernau and Buch were using the dive-under south of Pankow to terminate in the new centre platforms at Bornholmer Strasse.  Ceremonial reopening of the short Gesundbrunnen - Schönhauser Allee section of the Innenring was on 17 September 2001, though for part of this route S-Bahn trains are using a temporary alignment where the future long-distance tracks (Ferngleise) are to be.  S-Bahn services have been recast.  On 17 September S2 trains were running through on the Gesundbrunnen - Bornholmer Strasse - Pankow section, continuing north-east to serve Buch or Bernau; S4 trains via Schönhauser Allee were diverted west to terminate at Gesundbrunnen; and S8 trains appeared to be terminating at Schönhauser Allee.  

1660][DE] Falkenberg (Elster) - Herzberg (Elster) Stadt - Uckro-Süd - Luckau - Lübben-Süd - Lübben Haltepunkt - Gross Leuthen-Gröditsch - Beeskow: (R.0971; Ball 43B3-30B2)  Having been closed in stages by DB (BLN 755.0246), the rural Niederlausitzer Eisenbahn has been partially reopened by Deutsche Regionaleisenbahn GmbH.  The 2001-02 DB Kursbuch shows passenger trains running Falkenberg - Gross Leuthen till 1 September 2001, extended to Beeskow thereafter.  However DRE staff say the Gross Leuthen - Beeskow track is in poor condition and that this section is unlikely to open for some time, given the lack of subsidy.  DRE's own timetable, valid 8 September 2001 to 15 June 2002, shows trains to Gross Leuthen on Sundays and holidays, but it also indicates that the whole DRE route is to close for engineering work over the winter between 1 November and 28 March.  The line retains some freight (grain, fertiliser, timber and occasional military traffic).  The grain-silo siding north of Herzberg and sidings at Luckau, Lübben-Süd and Börnichen-Schlepzig showed signs of recent activity, but those at Herzberg Stadt, Rochauer Heide, Duben and Krugau seemed disused.

On 16 September 2001 the 09:52 Falkenberg - Gross Leuthen DRE railbus set off shortly after its booked time.  Of some twelve passengers, one alighted at Klein Rössen (km6.6), retrieving her bicycle from a nearby hedgerow, and several at Langengrassau (km46.3).  South of Uckro, both connections to DB were out of use.  The railbus had no on-board toilet, and made an informal toilet-stop at DRE's Uckro-Süd station (km49.4), which is next to DB's Luckau-Uckro station on the Berlin - Dresden main line.  (Transfer is possible in five minutes according to the Kursbuch.)  The remaining six passengers travelled through to Lübben Haltepunkt, 400m to the west of DB's Lübben station on the Berlin - Cottbus - main line, where three of them left for Sunday lunch together with the DRE ticket-seller.  After a 90.5km journey taking some 2h30min, the train drew into Gross Leuthen, stopping just short of the temporary marker planted in the track halfway along the platform.  The return working, booked to terminate at Lübben-Süd, carried two passengers, but the driver checked to see if either wanted to go beyond Lübben Haltepunkt and neither did, so he was able to terminate the train there and go to lunch.  

1661][AT] Wien-Südbahnhof - Simmering Ostbahn - Zentralverschiebebahnhof - Klein Schwechat (- Flughafen Wien-Schwechat - Wolfsthal): (R.1581; Ball 77B2)  Outbound trains start from the Ostbahn terminal platforms at Wien-Südbahnhof and are booked to run along the south-western edge of the huge Zentralverschiebebahnhof (= central marshalling-yard) non-stop through Kledering Haltestelle, to take the Grosse Ausfahrschleife (= big outbound loop) to Klein Schwechat before heading east to the airport and Wolfsthal.  Inbound trains are booked by the quite different route from Klein Schwechat along the north-eastern edge of the marshalling-yard, which offers views of operations there that could not be seen from a regular passenger train before July 2001.  Though the workings may be of some interest to enthusiasts, the Wolfsthal service timekeeping is reported to be poor.  This is not surprising, for many paths of other trains have to be crossed, especially on the inbound route.  Outbound air passengers should allow plenty of time to reach Wien airport, especially since the basic service to Wolfsthal is now only hourly, the short workings to the airport having been withdrawn.  

1662][AT][DE][CH] (Innsbruck -) Ötztal - Arlberg Tunnel - Bludenz (- Feldkirch): (Ball 79A3-78A3) On Saturday and Sunday 15-16 September 2001, the Arlberg main line was again subject to a planned blockade between Ötztal and Bludenz, cutting off Austria's rail access to the west.  Replacement buses on the near-motorway-standard Arlberg highway are now faster than the trains, usually causing little delay to the timetable, even with the extra time needed to tranship passengers.  As before, only two overnight passenger services (and some very few time-sensitive freight trains) were actually diverted.  EN246/247 West-Kurier ran from Wien via München, Kempten, Lindau and Bregenz to Feldkirch, and EN466/467 Wiener Walzer waltzed quite a long way round, from Wien via Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Basel to Zürich.  

Our reporter found himself by chance on the diverted EN246, though the long distances it travelled without a stop and without the many curves of its usual route within Austria meant that he slept particularly well, being aware of little more than one short service-stop at Kempten!  The train reversed at Lindau Hbf, waiting there 30 minutes for an Austrian locomotive to collect it.  It did not take the direct Lindau-Aeschach - Lindau-Reutin curve, probably because the car-carrying vehicles being conveyed would need to be facing in the right direction for unloading at Feldkirch.  In any case a shunter might have been unavailable on a Sunday morning at Lindau-Reutin marshalling-yard, which now looks very run-down, with many tracks overgrown by bushes.  Actual arrival at Bregenz was at 07:38, compared with a booked time of 07:50 for the diversion and 07:56 for the regular route!

1663][IT] Trento - Malè - Mezzana: (R.0684; Ball 42B1-42B2)  In summer 2001 trackwork was well advanced on the 10km extension of Trentino Trasporti's metre-gauge Ferrovia Ellettrica Trento-Malè beyond Malè to Mezzana, including a new long viaduct near Croviana.  Malè's new through station was close to completion.  (Eisenbahn Amateur, 8/2001)

1664][IT] Ortona - Casalbordino-Pollutri (- Foggia): (Ball 51B1-54A3)  The first track of a 27km deviation, largely in tunnel, was brought into service on 30 May 2001, replacing a sinuous single line along the Adriatic coast of Italy.  (Eisenbahn Amateur, 8/2001)

1665][CH] (Wohlen -) Bremgarten - Dietikon: (BLN 791.0476; Ball 87B1-87B2)  The 1902-built metre-gauge Bremgarten Dietikon Bahn reflects its origins as a light railway with a largely roadside route.  Threatened with closure in the 1960s, it is now treated as part of the Zürich S-Bahn system.  Several old halts closed as long ago as 1950 have recently reopened, and more are planned.  (partly Eisenbahn Amateur, 8/2001)

1666][CH] Aigle: (R.1381; Ball 98B3)  From the square outside the CFF standard-gauge station at Aigle, local trains on the three different metre-gauge lines of Transports Publics du Chablais (Aigle - Ollon - Monthey - Champéry; adhesion/Strub rack, 850V dc; Aigle - Leysin; Abt rack, 1300V dc; and Aigle - Sépey - Diablerets; adhesion, 1350V dc) depart in various directions.  The layout in the square is to be substantially remodelled in the period to 2005, with AOMC trains starting from a departure-point on the site of the goods-sheds and taking a new route south-east alongside the CFF (Lausanne -) Aigle - St.Triphon (- Brig) line as far as TPC's substantial new Aigle depot.  The latter facility was formally opened on 22 June 2001 and is replacing the old depot at Monthey.  (Eisenbahn Amateur, 8/2001)

1667][PL] Kujawska Kolej Dojazdowa: (Ball 37B3)  On 14-17 September 2001 a four-day sequence of tour trains chartered by Michael Kremmer of Oberwiesenthal successfully ran on various parts of this moribund 750mm-gauge system.  Unfortunately a freight derailment earlier in September had damaged and closed the Boniewo - Przystronie section, so it was not visited.  Allegedly, too, a fatal accident to a drunken passenger had led to the authorities closing down the recent tourist-train operation (R.1588), and the charter train on the 38km Krosniewice - Krzewie - Walew - Leczyca - Ozorków section was allowed to travel south only as far as Walew, about 13km, before returning to Krosniewice.  Standard-gauge wagons on narrow-gauge transporters were still operating at the northern end to a sugar-factory (Nieszawa - Dobre Aleksandrowskie cukrownia) and on two branches in the south (Kolo Wask. - Sompolno - Wierzbinek / Wilczyn).  Entries in station logbooks showed that trains had run on odd days in the week before the tour, but it was confirmed that redundancy notices had been issued to PKP staff to take effect from 30 September 2001.  At the junction with the Sompolno - Wilczyn line, small trees were growing through the now-impassable track that once headed west to Anastazewo, where tourist charters may continue to ply on the Gniezno Waskotorowe - Witkowo - Powidz - Anastazewo section (R.0053).

1668][HU][SI] Zalalövö - Bajánsenye MÁV - Hodoš SZ - Puconci - Murska Sobota: (Ball 46B3)  The new cross-border line opened in May 2001 (R.1432) has been rebuilt to a very high standard, giving the impression of being entirely new.  One certainly appreciates the condition of the new track after lurching over the old MÁV track east of Zalalövö.  On the Hungarian side of the border, Öriszentpéter has freight holding-loops.  At Hodoš, just on the Slovenian side, the station has a large new building (in an attractive traditional style with a pitched tiled roof), one platform line, four tracks for freight and a freight-loading facility.  The SZ summit tunnel between Gornji Petrovci and Mackovci is one of the many structures rebuilt.

1669][SI][HR] Ormoz SZ - Cakovec HZ: (Ball 46B2)  Since the June 2001 timetable change when through Ljubljana - Budapest trains were diverted via Hodoš, the Ormoz - Cakovec passenger service has been provided by a Slovenian diesel unit working four round-trips daily into Croatia.  SZ also work freight via Ormoz to Cakovec.  The only long-distance international train still running via Cakovec is a daily Zagreb - Budapest working.  Tickets for the shorter route via Koprivnica are not valid on this train, so through passengers have to pay more for a slower service, demonstrating the foolishness of sticking strictly to a kilometric tariff.  By June 2001 the Cakovec - Mursko Sredisce HZ - Lendava SZ branch passenger service (BLN 797.0120) had been cut back to run Cakovec - Mursko Sredisce, wholly within Croatia, though the line appeared to remain intact over the river Drava bridge into Slovenia.

1670][HR] Croatia:  In September 2001 Hrvatske Zeljeznice were visibly still recovering from the effects of the wars that raged through Croatia in the 1990s.  Rolling-stock is very mixed.  Hauled carriages still in service include elderly examples donated by Sweden and Switzerland, and classic JZ four-wheelers that would not look out of place in a German Traditionszug.  Swedish railbuses, mostly based at Varazdin, but with some in the far west at Pula, work alongside two-car diesel units of JZ origin.  Railbuses of German design still work from Vinkovci.  Most internal lines have reopened, and the level of service is not far below, or equal to, that formerly provided by JZ.  The condition of stations varies, depending largely on whether the area saw significant fighting.  Although Roman lettering was always normal in Croatia, some station name-boards in Slavonia used to show both forms, and the Cyrillic lettering has been painted out, often crudely.  Lines north of Zagreb were hardly affected by the war at all, though services over most of the branches there are slow, apparently due to poor track condition.  Possibly these lines had to be neglected while war damage was repaired elsewhere. 

1671][HR] Zabok - Krapina - Durmanec HZ (- Rogatec SZ): (R.0200; Ball 46A2)  This branch is in reasonable condition as far as the town of Krapina, but beyond to Durmanec speed is very slow and traffic slight.  The line continues intact from Durmanec towards Rogatec in Slovenia.  The (Zabok -) Hum Lug - Gjorna Stubica branch is also slow, but with more traffic than to Durmanec.  Gjorna Stubica has various factory sidings, but these do not appear to see significant, if any, use.  Varazdin - Golubovec trains (46B2-46A2) must have a precarious future, with few passengers other than school-children, taking 70 minutes to cover 34km on poor track through a string of villages to terminate in Golubovec, a tiny hamlet.  The railway offers a very indirect link with the capital, discouraging anything other than local travel (Zagreb - Golubovec is 138km by rail, but only 60km by road).  The small number of tickets issued to Zagreb is illustrated by an ordinary single sold in September 2001 still bearing the printed fare 315 dinars, the old Yugoslav currency!  On the approach to Golubovec the line passes through a series of quarries, with no sidings.  Ballast may possibly be loaded into wagons standing on the running-line, for the passenger service certainly has long enough gaps to permit this, the first train from Varazdin being at 03:42 and the next at 10:13.  The Savski Marof - Kumrovec line is entirely out of use, the trains having been replaced by buses, from 10 June 2001 it would seem.  The number of passengers changing from train to bus at Savski Marof suggests that a train would be viable and it may be that poor track condition has been the line's downfall.  This is a slightly surprising development, because Kumrovec, right on the border with Slovenia, is the birthplace of Josip Broz (later known as Marshal Tito, the strong man of post-World War II Yugoslavia) and the village, preserved much as it was when he was born, attracts many more visitors than the average Croatian rural area.  

1672][HR] Krizevci - Bjelovar - Klostar: (BLN 789.0444)  JZ used to operate a Krizevci - Bjelovar branch service, with some through working from and to Zagreb.  Most passenger trains from Krizevci now continue from Bjelovar to Klostar on the Koprivnica - Durdevac - Klostar - Pitomaca - Virovitica line, an extension not shown by Ball (46B2) nor on a 1990 JZ map.

1673][HR] (Zagreb -) Sisak - Sunja - Jasenovak - Novska: (R.0801; Ball 46B1)  JZ electrified this line and used it as an alternative route to the Zagreb - Banova Jaruga - Novska section of the Zagreb - Beograd main line.  Running through disputed territory close to Bosnia, the line was badly hit and seems to have been without a service for several years.  Many of the stations, and particularly Sunja and Jasenovak, were wrecked by artillery fire.  The railway bridge over the river Sava survived, but the nearby road bridge did not.  East of Sisak the catenary was destroyed, and the line is still largely de-electrified, with no signalling and track in dreadful condition.  It has a sparse service even by HZ standards, and for much of the way the railcar is restricted to 40km/h. Electric trains can however now run through from Zagreb via Sisak to Sunja and on the Sunja - Volinja line south to the Bosnian border at Volinja (R.1281).  The former southwest-to-southeast Sunja avoiding curve is heavily overgrown.  The Karlovac - Sisak-Caprag line remains closed.

1674][HR] (Suhopolje -) Pcelic - Pakrac - Lipik - Banova Jaruga: (Ball 47A1-46B1)  From a junction just east of Suhopolje, this line runs south-west through attractive hills and forests.  Former SJ railcars work the trains, and but for their run-down condition, one could imagine oneself travelling through central Sweden.  That illusion comes to an end at Pakrac, the scene of fighting in March 1991.  The station there is badly damaged and the wrecked building at Lipik is still cordoned off as unsafe.  Telephone wires along this section of the line have all been cut down.  It seems that the area has not been fully cleared of mines, and safe routes are marked through the forest for railway staff working on the track.  Slavonian branches typically have some very early trains, then long gaps in the service, perhaps with a cluster of trains in early afternoon.  The service over this line is one of the most extreme, with trains from Virovitica to Banova Jaruga at 02:35, 09:10, 14:05 and 18:40.

1675][HR] Nova Kapela-Batrina - Pleternica - Nasice and Pleternica - Pozega - Velika: (Ball 47A1)  Traffic seems buoyant on both these lines.  Timber is handled at Pozega, the main town on the Velika branch, but track condition is indifferent north of there to Velika, where a large concrete works generates traffic.  

1676][HR] Osijek area: (Ball 47B1)  Eastern Slavonia saw heavy fighting in late 1991.  On the opposite side of Osijek station forecourt, the now-closed Hotel Turist has numerous bullet-holes in the walls and chunks of masonry missing, indicating the kind of damage the station itself must have suffered, though the latter has been renovated and its stuccoed walls are freshly painted.  Osijek's tram system is fully operational and a number of new suburban rail halts have opened.  Most of the HZ lines in the area are in quite good condition.  Vinkovci - Osijek remains closed, though a short section is in use for freight at the Osijek end, and Vinkovci - Borovo - Dalj has poor track and is rather slow.  Generally services are less frequent than in the 1980s, though the Bizovac - Valopo - Belisce branch, freight-only in JZ days, now has a passenger service, with some trains running through from and to Osijek.  The only place of any size on the branch is Valopo, though Belisce has a large paper-mill and some workers' housing.  Freight traffic appears substantial, with the mill receiving timber and despatching paper.  The Borovo - Vukovar branch passenger service also ceased in JZ times, but has little prospect of being restored.  The siege of Vukovar in autumn 1991 saw the town almost destroyed, and the population left or were killed.  People have returned and some rebuilding has taken place, but most of the town is still in ruins.  A bus service from Osijek and Borovo meets transport needs.  The railway station had what must have been a large and handsome building, but it remains a roofless wreck and the tracks are black with rust.  However, at Borovo the rails on the branch are polished, and it appears that the traffic is to quays on the river Dunav (= Danube).  Factories and works line the river-bank, and were served by sidings off the branch, but they all show severe war damage and none of them seems to be back in use.  In complete contrast to this destruction and dereliction, the junction station at Borovo has been completely renovated.  The large station building has a new roof and freshly painted walls.  The Osijek - Dalj - Erdut HZ (- Bogojevo JZ) line (R.0801) is in use only as far as Erdut, the last station in Croatia.  The bridge over the Dunav, at the border with Yugoslavia (Serbia), was damaged during the war.  Nevertheless a new Republika Hrvatska border-sign has been erected at Erdut station, and it appears that track repairs have been taking place east of the stop-board there.  Perhaps the line is to reopen to international traffic?

1677][IR] Tehran metro: (R.0900)  Part of north-south line 1 (Jahan-e-Koodak - Imam Khomeini Square - Tehran RAI main station - Ali Abad) was to open during September 2001.  (Railway Gazette International, September 2001)

1678][KP][KR] (Pyongyang -) Kaesong [KP] - [KR] Munsan (- Seoul): (R.0767)  Following talks in Seoul, work is to resume on restoring the railway between the two Korean states, closed in the early 1950s.  (Guardian, 19 September 2001)

1679][AU] (Brisbane -) Eagle Jn - Brisbane Airport International - Brisbane Airport Domestic: (R.1285, 1437)  The branch has two stations serving different airport terminals.  The first day of regular operation (Monday 7 May 2001) was preceded by an open day when local people could sample the service.

1680][CA] Ottawa: Bayview - Carling - Carleton - Confederation - Greenboro: (R.0648)  Opening of OC Transpo's O-Train urban service using Bombardier Talent diesel railcars is expected by end-October 2001.  (http://www.octranspo.com)

1681][US] Portland, OR: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry - Oaks Amusement Park - Sellwood:  Tourist trains ran on summer weekends till end-September 2001 on c.6.5km of East Portland Traction Company track on the north bank of the Willamette River, but the operators, trading as Samtrak (samtrak@earthlink.net), are unwilling to continue and the trains may or may not run again at their present location. 

1682][US] Salt Lake City, UT light rail: (R.0391, 1445)  From Main Street on the existing north-south line the city's new light-rail U line will branch eastward to the University.  The plan is to finish the U line in November and open it to the public in December 2001, before the 2002 Olympic Games.  

1683][US] Dallas, TX - South Irving - CenterPort for DFW Airport - Richland Hills - Fort Worth, TX): (R.1328)  The 54km Trinity Railway Express commuter line mainly uses ex-Rock Island trackage purchased by the two cities, but the expensive and recently completed final 2.6km Richland Hills - Fort Worth section includes a double-track tunnel through the flank of one historic bu