Rinbad 2002
Contents of this file are the archived text of Rinbad 2002,
a newsletter about the world's railway geography and infrastructure,
for the year 2002.
______

1827][IE] (Limerick Check -) Foynes Jn - Ballingrane - Askeaton - Foynes: (R.0405, 1774) The 42km Limerick and Foynes Railway opened to Rathkeale (now Ballingrane) 12 July 1856, to Askeaton 12 May 1857 and to Foynes 28 April 1858. Passenger trains ceased 4 April 1963. General freight services were withdrawn from all stations except Foynes in 1974. The last known revenue train ran 30 October 2000. During 2001 the line seems to have seen three movements: the annual weed-spraying train on 29 May and later some scrap wagons for storage at Foynes followed by the last known movement on the branch, a visit by an inspection car on 8 November. Iarnród Éireann's weekly circular valid from 17 December 2001 reveals that the line is now effectively closed to traffic. The Limerick permanent-way inspector holds the manual staff authorising access to it, and will conduct any engineering trains over it if necessary. (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

1828][IE] Dublin Connolly - Newcomen Jn - Glasnevin Jn: The Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society (#146, October 2001) recorded the last movement over the line as a ballast train in December 1997, though the same journal (#137, October 1998; BLN 839.0589) said the line closed 18 May 1998, perhaps the official date. After problems in 1999-2000 (BLN 846.0129, R.0697) the lifting-bridge over the Royal Canal just south of Newcomen Jn has it seems been fully restored, and on 15 May 2001 it was raised for perhaps the first time since the 1960s for canal-traffic reasons, allowing seven vessels to pass through from the canal to the Liffey estuary's tidal water. The first train on the line since closure ran on 30 July 2001 when a spoil train assisted with excavation work to install new drains beneath a lifted section of track between Croke Park and Binns Bridge. Though Iarnród Éireann found the line useful (R.0357), they have managed without it for four years and are now contemplating rather fewer freight trains (R.1774, 1825), so it is not clear that restoration is a priority. Perhaps IE have it in mind to increase commuter-train frequency on the Dublin - Maynooth route (not calling at Drumcondra) while minimising conflict with DART trains on the suburban lines just north of Connolly.

1829][FR] Bois de Saint-Eutrope: (R.1485; Ball 82B3 not shown) It seems the 2.5km 600mm-gauge CF de St.Eutrope in the park at Evry did not in fact run during the 2001 season. (Voie Étroite, October-November 2001)

1830][FR][DE] Lorraine colliery railway: Reumaux [FR] - Merlebach Nord [DE]: (R.1134; EGTRE FR01/110, DE02/453; Ball FR-29B3 not shown) From 7 November 2001 SNCF subsidiary Voies Ferrées Locales et Industrielles took over the 210km standard-gauge industrial system of colliery company Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine. (Today's Railways, January 2002) Unadvertised passenger trains carrying miners may still work between nearby pitheads in France and Germany via the HBL tunnel under the frontier near Merlebach, but further information would be welcome.

1831][FR] Strasbourg trams: (Ball 30A2 not shown) Adjacent to SNCF's (Strasbourg -) Bischheim - La Wantzenau (- Lauterbourg) line, but with no extant station, is Hoenheim Gare, northern terminus of tram-route B, opened September 2000 (R.0933). It comprises a vast tram-bus park-and-ride interchange, over which a flat roof provides some shelter from vertical precipitation but none at all from wind. On 10 September 2001, only a year after opening, the unfortunate structure was being held up by scaffolding where one of its supports had been either poorly built or injudiciously placed and hit by a road-vehicle.

1832][FR] Besançon funicular: (Ball 39B1 not shown) Owned by the local council and linking the town to the Monts de Brégille, the 423m-long metre-gauge funiculaire de Brégille (or funiculaire de Beauregard-Brégille) opened 29 June 1913 but has lain out of use since 27 May 1987, the two cars having been removed to avoid vandalism. The single track with passing-loop was however still in place on 6 September 2001. The lower station, apparently complete despite 14 years of disuse, is close to the east side of the level-crossing at the north end of Besançon-Mouillière station - and can thus be readily glimpsed from passing trains on the Besançon-Viotte - Besançon-Mouillière (- Morteau SNCF - Le Locle-Col-des-Roches CFF) line. The funicular is illustrated, with its former connecting trams, in the reference work Funiculaires et crémaillères de France by Jean Gennesseaux, published by La Vie du Rail, 1992.

1833][FR] La Rochelle trams: Aytré - Europe: (R.0320, 1656; Ball 43A1 not shown) The new 1.6km line is to be used only for testing Citadis trams built by Alstom's Aytré factory, which are not to carry passengers. (Alstom press notice, 22 Sep 2001)

1834][FR] Laqueuille - St.Sauves - La Bourboule - Le Mont-Dore: (Ball 54B2) The volcanic hot springs (40-44°C) of Le Mont-Dore in the Auvergne were known to the ancient Gauls and rediscovered in the 17th century, but significant development of the small town, and of nearby La Bourboule for the holiday trade, did not occur until about 1890. The Chemin de Fer Paris-Orléans opened their steep 13km branch line 1 June 1899. It survives, but must be seriously unremunerative, having only a couple of local workings plus a through train to and from the capital daily in summer, and apparently no freight. Moreover, the sparse train service is unbalanced, even by the standards of SNCF, never known to make much effort to save taxpayers money by tight diagramming of stock or staff. Laqueuille station, though 3km from the eponymous town, has its own little settlement including two hotels. The Ball atlas incorrectly shows a short tunnel between the station and the branch junction but in fact the junction is at the station, though the two lines do run parallel for nearly a km in the open before diverging. St.Sauves halt is closed, and the buses which flesh out the rail service serve the village, c.1.5km away. The only intermediate stop is now La Bourboule, whose station is right at the top of the spa town. At Le Mont Dore, the station is at the bottom of the town, and is staffed, even for the arrival of the rail-replacement bus at 21:00 (which becomes a train on Fridays). 

1835][FR] Le Mont-Dore funicular: (Ball 54B2 not shown) At the opposite end of town from SNCF is the Funiculaire du Capucin, opened as a chemin de fer d'intérêt local à traction funiculaire 1 July 1898, a year before the main line arrived. In recent years it has seen major overhauls in 1979 and May 1996. Metre-gauge, 480m long, it climbs 175m to its top station at 1245m - alas, still some way below the summit of 1468m. The line is notably steep, with a maximum gradient of 561mm/m, about 1 in 1.75. It is open May to September, 10:00-12:10 and 14:00-18:40, with departures every 20min and journey time 8min. Two cars work the line, with the usual passing-loop midway. Operators are the town council. Anyone wishing to ride the funicular before catching the first SNCF train out has to walk to the top of the funicular for the first departure at 10:10, arriving 10:18 at the bottom, and then trot down through the town for 10:38 at the SNCF station, since it cannot be done by taking the first uphill funicular. 

1836][FR] Arles - Fontvieille: (R.1138, 1547; Ball 75A3) No shortcut is available between the adjacent SNCF and Bouches-du-Rhône stations, so interchanging passengers should allow enough time to head down the SNCF station-approach road, and double back under the railway bridges to the RDT depot at 17bis Avenue de Hongrie, which is the original BDR terminus. Only the Saturday Train des Alpilles is seasonal, and RDT run the Wednesday one all year. No local people seemed to be using it on 12 September 2001, however, so it does not appear to perform any 'market-day' transport function, perhaps because the five or six ungated level-crossings in town, across which the train has to be flagged by a crew-member, plus the speed-limit appropriate to a light railway, make for rather a slow (though interesting) run. 

1837][FR] Rivesaltes - Cases-de-Pènes - Estagel - St.Paul-de-Fenouillet - Lapradelle-Puilaurens (- Axat - St.Martin-Lys - Quillan): (BLN 841.02, 844.089; Ball 73A1-72B1) Passenger trains on the 70km ex-Midi line from Rivesaltes west to Quillan ceased 18 April 1939, and when the 9km St.Martin-Lys - Quillan section saw its last regular freight movements in September 1956, it ceased to be a through route. St.Martin-Lys - Quillan was shown as 'open' in SNCF's 1980 freight atlas, but had gone by the August 1990 edition of their map Le réseau SNCF. The 10km Lapradelle - St.Martin-Lys section closed to freight 31 September 1998, but the remaining 51km Rivesaltes - Lapradelle section is thought to remain available for limited use under SNCF's TR (voie unique à trafic restreint) arrangements. On Sundays 16, 23 and 30 September 2001, railcar X3944, carrying the name Le papillon (= butterfly) and the initials TPCF, ran shuttle trips for the Association Train du Pays Cathare et Fenouillèdes from St.Paul-de-Fenouillet (Pyrénées Orientales) west 17km to Lapradelle-Puilaurens (Aude). After the last trip, the railcar ran from St.Paul 27km east to Cases-de-Pènes. Well-covered by the media, these trips presage a future tourist-train operation amid the picturesque scenery of the Corbières coiffées and châteaux Cathares. (L'Écho du Rail, #227)

1838][NL] Amsterdam trams: Tram-line 1 extension to De Aker was to open 8 December 2001. (Tramways & Urban Transit, December 2001)

1839][DE][NL] Leer - Weener DB - Nieuweschans NS (- Groningen): (R.0627, 0713, 1142; Ball DE-15B2-15A2, NL-2A2) A local report says the cross-border rail passenger service is to be restored 1 February 2002, with three daily local trains.

1840][DE] Ulzburg Süd - Henstedt-Ulzburg - Kaltenkirchen: (BLN 826.0229; Ball 17B3) Ulzburg Süd station, the hub of the AKN system, comprises two island platforms with outer faces (served by Gleis 1 to the east and Gleis 3 to the west) and a single middle track between them (Gleis 2), accessible from both islands. Every twenty minutes the station sees an interchange between trains from three routes, and every hour trains from all four routes meet, to the following basic pattern. First, a southbound Elmshorn - Henstedt-Ulzburg - Ulzburg Süd train terminates in Gleis 2, and draws forward south into a short siding. Secondly, a northbound Norderstedt Mitte - Ulzburg Süd train terminates in Gleis 2. Thirdly, Eidelstedt - Ulzburg Süd - Henstedt-Ulzburg - Kaltenkirchen trains in each direction arrive and depart, using Gleis 1 northbound and Gleis 3 southbound. Fourthly, the Norderstedt train picks up passengers and returns whence it came. Finally, the Elmshorn train returns from its siding to Gleis 2, picks up and departs. The basic cycle takes a mere 13 minutes from the hourly Elmshorn train's arrival to its return departure. Clearly the AKN operating performance has to be (and is) impressively accurate to avoid the whole service collapsing. (Different patterns operate at times of stock change-over, when for example the Elmshorn-bound train may come into Gleis 3 attached to the rear of the Kaltenkirchen - Eidelstedt working, uncouple and depart northwards from Gleis 3.) North of Ulzburg Süd (km27 as measured from the closed terminus at Garstedt), the new AKN alignments which came into use 28 August 2000 (IBSE Telegramm 2.01) comprise some 5km of double track, mainly running west of the former alignment and below ground through the southern part of Ulzburg. The new Henstedt-Ulzburg station is in a cutting, more or less on the site of the former Ulzburg station at ground level. From the platform end, a sharp curve to the west rises steeply to take the Henstedt-Ulzburg - Elmshorn line very quickly to its previous alignment, but the Henstedt-Ulzburg - Kaltenkirchen line takes longer to get back to its original route at about km32.4, just south of Kaltenkirchen Süd.

1841][DE] Hamburg: Ohlsdorf - Ochsenzoll: (BLN 818.025; Ball 22A2) Alongside this section of Hamburger Hochbahn AG's U-Bahn line U1 much of DB's former single freight track can still be seen rotting away in the undergrowth. However, between late 1997 and late 2001 the junction points at Ohlsdorf were removed and the long goods-yard at Ochsenzoll lifted, with the land nearest the former buffer-stops now given over to non-railway commercial activity.

1842][DE][NL] Gronau (Westfalen) DB - Glanerbrug NS - De Eschmarke - Enschede: (R.1724; Ball DE-24A2, NL-5B3) This cross-border line duly officially opened on Sunday 18 November 2001. 

1843][DE] Vorwohle - Eschershausen - Bodenwerder-Linse - Emmerthal: (BLN 742.0344; Ball 26B1-26A1) The private Vorwohle-Emmerthaler Eisenbahn south of Hameln lost its regular passenger trains from 25 September 1966, but the 31.8km line, now run by Vorwohle-Emmerthaler Verkehrsbetriebe, based at Bodenwerder-Linse, retained junctions with DB at both ends. Through freight trains have not run since 1986, but DB locomotives have worked wagons in at each end (Vorwohle - Eschershausen and Emmerthal - Bodenwerder-Linse). VEV's only locomotive undertakes track work and shunting. Preservation group Dampfzug-Betriebs-Gemeinschaft eV ran seasonal excursions the full length of the line until the 1998 season (eight dates). In 1999, due to poor track, only the 26.1km Emmerthal - Eschershausen section was available for excursions: DBG ran these on four dates and another preservation group Dampfeisenbahn Weserbergland eV on seven dates. In 2000 only the latter group ran, again from Emmerthal to Eschershausen, on eight dates. For the 2001 season, trains were further cut back to run Emmerthal - Bodenwerder-Linse (14.6km) on six dates. A final train over as much of the line as possible towards Vorwohle is proposed for 26 January 2002. It is understood that at least part of the southern Vorwohle - Eschershausen - Bodenwerder-Linse section is to be given over to tourist rail-cycle use in the 2002 summer season, though the northern section may remain in use for freight and for steam excursions. 

1844][DE] Müncheberg (Mark) - Buckow (Märkische Schweiz): (BLN 822.0123; Ball 30A3) Preservation group Buckower Kleinbahn Museum plan to run tourist trains on the 5km branch during May-October 2002. (http://www.bf-buckow.de)

1845][DE] Berlin: Ostkreuz - Frankfurter Allee - Greifswalder Strasse - Bornholmer Strasse - Pankow - Karower Kreuz: (Ball 32A2-32A3) The Containerbahnhof at Frankfurter Allee has closed, but a cement terminal at Greifswalder Strasse remains. The extensive marshalling-yards at Pankow are entirely disused. The Fernbahn tracks paralleling the S-Bahn were in December 2001 fairly rusty though not entirely out of use. They are used by locomotives running light to and from Pankow depot, but since the rails were rather shinier from Pankow to Karower Kreuz and round the southwest-to-southeast curve to Abzw Karow Ost this suggests that most locomotive moves in practice use that route. 

1846][DE] Berlin: Lehrter Bahnhof - Westhafen / Gesundbrunnen: (R1659; Ball 32A2) In December 2001 earthworks were still under way in the vicinity of Westhafen and Gesundbrunnen, but new main-line track had been laid west from Westhafen to Jungfernheide. At Gesundbrunnen the S-Bahn track layout now in use appears to be the final version. S-Bahn trains use the eventual Ferngleis formation for a short distance west of Schönhauser Allee, passing under the flyover carrying the goods lines to Pankow and Schönholz, then regaining the S-Bahn formation to pass through the diveunder below the northbound S-Bahn tracks (to Bornholmer Strasse). The September 2001 S-Bahn timetable shows S8 trains running to and from Gesundbrunnen early morning and late evening, but otherwise terminating and starting at Schönhauser Allee. They do so in the westbound (outer rail) platform, requiring S4 trains to use the eastbound (inner rail) platform in both directions.

1847][DE] Berlin: Lehrter Bahnhof - Potsdamer Platz - Yorckstrasse - Papestrasse - Lichterfelde Süd (- Teltow Stadt): (BLN 814.0545, 837.0553; Ball 32A2) Good progress on the cross-town north-to-south main line was evident in the city centre by early December 2001. Underground platforms at Lehrter Bhf new main-line station could be glimpsed from trains on the Stadtbahn above. Tracklaying had started on the new realigned Stadtbahn viaduct. Redevelopment has already provided extensive galleries and subsurface pedestrian walkways from which it is possible to look down at the platforms of Potsdamer Platz new main-line station, still without track (R.1576). By contrast, little sign was seen of Fernbahn reinstatement parallel to the Papestrasse - Lichterfelde Süd S-Bahn. Work had not started on replacing any of its underline bridges. Quite a significant span will be required over the Teltowkanal.

1848][DE] Berlin Innenring: Charlottenburg - Halensee - Wilmersdorf - Papestrasse - Tempelhof - Neukölln - Treptow Güterbahnhof: (Ball 32A2) In December 2001 the latterly single-track bridge carrying the Ringbahn Ferngleis over the Anhalterbahn at Papestrasse had been entirely removed, so with negligible freight traffic at Halensee and Wilmersdorf, the long-distance tracks were virtually out of use from Charlottenburg Güterbahnhof south-east round the inner ring to Tempelhof. (Innenring S-Bahn trains use a different bridge and are unaffected.) It appears that a new bridge is to be built, presumably as part of the work on the new north-to-south main line through the middle of Berlin (R.1847). The bridge work at Papestrasse had also put the Tempelhof Rangierbahnhof - Anhalter Güterbahnhof freight branch temporarily out of use. A short section of its track at Papestrasse had its sleepers tarred over and was in use as a haul-road for lorries taking away soil and rubble. By contrast, the Ringbahn's south-east quadrant retains quite extensive freight traffic centred on Neukölln, from which a truncated short section of the Ringbahn Ferngleis heads north to serve the busy container terminal at Treptow Güterbahnhof. The Treptow container trains and the Kraftwerk Rudow coal trains (R.1849) appear to work to and from Neukölln via Baumschulenweg, but the Teltowkanal rubbish trains work mainly west on the Ringbahn, heading south via the Tempelhof (Ringbahn) - Tempelhof Rangierbahnhof - Attilastrasse connection, a single freight-only track winding its way through scrub and silver birches, where the remains of the former Tempelhof Rangierbahnhof sidings can be found in the undergrowth. South of Attilastrasse they head out of the city to landfill tips in former brown-coal workings.

1849][DE] Berlin: Neukölln - Teltowkanal - Rudow Nord - Kraftwerk Rudow: (R.0759; Ball 32A2) Local private operators Neukölln Mittenwalder Eisenbahn take over at Neukölln inbound coal trains to Kraftwerk Rudow and haul outbound containerised rubbish from the Teltowkanal terminal of Berliner Stadtreinigung (= city cleansing) as far as Neukölln. The NME line south-east of Neukölln follows its original route save for a minor deviation just north-west of Rudow Nord, built to avoid a short transit of the former Soviet Zone of Germany outside the city boundary, and then runs on a reservation down the centre of Zwickauer Damm and Stubenrauch Strasse to the power-station. The separate NME Neukölln - Flughafen Tempelhof branch that crosses the Ringbahn to the west of Neukölln was in December 2001 heavily rusted and overgrown.

1850][DE] Essen trams and light rail: (BLN 824.0175; Ball 34A3) From 24 May 1998 Essener Verkehrs-AG extended their standard-gauge Stadtbahn line U11 from Universität to an underground station adjacent to DB's Altenessen Bf; withdrew their tram-route #101; cut back tram #106 to its present turning-circle on the surface outside Altenessen Bf; and removed the metre-gauge tram-tracks north of Altenessen Bf. From 30 September 2001 Stadtbahn lines U11 and U17 were extended again to run underground north to Altenessen-Karlsplatz, with U17 continuing north above ground, following the former tram #101 alignment regauged to standard, finally just crossing the Essen municipal boundary to terminate at Gelsenkirchen-Fischerstrasse. The Stadtbahn terminus is some 200m south of the former physical junction between Essen tram-route #101 and route #301 of the metre-gauge Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Strassenbahnen AG (BOGESTRA), and thus perhaps 400m south of the former EVAG turn-back point at Gelsenkirchen Schloss Horst. Final adjustments were still being made to the Stadtbahn's new train-running displays when our reporter visited on Monday 1 October 2001.

1851][DE] Saarbrücken trams: Siedlerheim - Riegelsburg Süd: (Ball 56A2; R.1145, 1218) This Saarbahn extension opened 23 September 2001. (Tramways & Urban Transit, December 2001)

1852][DE] (Karlsruhe -) Rastatt - Baden Baden - Sinsheim - Steinbach - Bühl - Achern - Renchen - Appenweier - Offenburg (- Basel): (R.0731; Ball 57A1-68A3) Quadrupling of this important main line by the addition of a pair of fast tracks was continuing to make (relatively leisurely) progress in autumn 2001. From Rastatt to Baden Baden and again between Sinsheim and Steinbach the earthworks, on the west side, were largely complete. Track had been laid from km115.2 (Bühl) to km117.6 (Ottersweier), and from there southwards four tracks were in use all the way to Offenburg, mostly contiguous with the original alignment on its west side. The section to Appenweier came into use 21 May 2000 and that beyond in 1999. The fast tracks have no platforms at Achern (where for c.1km the whole railway was moved westward from 30 June 1996; BLN 834.0440), at Renchen or at Appenweier. The single-track north-to-west chord to the Appenweier - Kehl DB (- Strasbourg SNCF) line now diverges from the fast tracks with no connection from Appenweier station, so it is no longer possible (R.0100) for a Rastatt - Kehl train to serve any platform at Appenweier without reversing. South of Offenburg, no work had begun, because of local resistance to the quadrupling of the line through a residential area. 

1853][DE] Trossingen Bahnhof - Trossingen Stadt: (Ball 68B2) Planned to become part of Baden-Württemberg's ambitious Ringzug regional rail scheme (R.0486), the little 4.3km 600V dc light-rail standard-gauge Trossinger Eisenbahn was still operating in municipal ownership when visited in September 2001, running Mondays-Fridays only. The substantial shed at Trossingen Stadt, the branch terminus, appeared still to hold various elderly items of rolling-stock used on the line over the years. With the demise of the Deutschmark in favour of the Euro, the end of 2001 was to see the end of cardboard tickets of the traditional British Edmondson type issued at Trossingen Stadt, possibly the last German booking-office to sell such tickets other than for heritage or tourist trains. 

1854][AT] Gmünd NÖ - Altnagelberg - Litschau: (R.1555; Ball 63B2-63B1) ÖBB on behalf of Niederösterreich province are to run special trains (Class 2095 diesel locomotive and four-wheeled 760mm-gauge stock) on the otherwise-closed Gmünd - Litschau section on 28 May, 8, 22 June, 3, 17, 31 August, 14, 28 September 2002. Altnagelberg - Heidenreichstein trains of preservation group Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnverein are to connect. An option will be to use the return portion of the ÖBB ticket on a postbus to allow both the Litschau and Heidenreichstein lines to be visited. (wsv-diskussion@yahoogroups.co.uk)

1855][AT] Timelkam - Ampflwang: (Ball 73A2) Opened in 1921 by Wolfsegg-Traunthaler-Kohlenwerke AG to serve new coal workings in the Ampflwang area, the 11.5km line was originally 600mm-gauge, but when a power station was constructed at Timelkam demand soon required the railway's conversion to a standard-gauge branch, in 1924-25. Up to six passenger round-trips a day ran between 1943 and 30 September 1966. Steam traction lasted until 1973. Coal production diminished in the 1980s and seems to have finished about 1995. In the early 1990s preservation group Österreichische Gesellschaft für Eisenbahngeschichte (already involved in running heritage lines in Austria) moved into a site at Ampflwang for storage of their extensive collection of locomotives and stock, both restored and under restoration. In 1995 and 1996 ÖGEG ran two excursions a year on the branch (the first was probably on 30 July 1995). In 1996 they took the line over, and from 6 July 1997 they opened for business as Museumsbahn Ampflwang - Timelkam. In 2001 ÖGEG ran three round-trips from their Ampflwang base on some 17 operating days, including every Sunday from July to mid-September and three Nikolausfahrten in December. Leaving from the exchange sidings on the north side of the Westbahn main line at Timelkam, ÖGEG trains head up a valley that is pleasantly rural until Ampflwang, when a large concrete bunker once used for loading coal comes into view. This is now the ÖGEG museum, with serried ranks of rolling-stock, some of it in covered accommodation that would make British preservation groups envious. At the level-crossing beyond the museum is Ampflwang terminus, comprising no more than a signboard and a seat, beyond which the line continues to dead-end sidings. 

1856][AT] Ampflwang - Buchleiten: narrow-gauge industrial lines: (Ball 73A2 not shown) It seems that the bunker for loading coal into standard-gauge wagons did not have its own winding-gear but was served by at least two overhead-bucket cableways, one from Lukasberg mine to the west and one from a long shed standing on the hillside c.500m to the north with its flank at right angles to the contours. Within this shed, 600mm-gauge mine-wagons discharged coal into cableway buckets beneath. Above the shed, where some old 600mm-gauge wagons were still slumbering in the undergrowth, the line formerly did a right-angled turn to the west. At this point the old 600mm-gauge track had been supplanted by a new 760mm-gauge line beginning with a run-round loop and extending for c.2km along the original trackbed. Pedestrian access was easy, taking the Ampflwang - Buchleiten minor road and turning uphill on a side-road called Buchleitenfeld to join the railway at the first level-crossing. The line followed the contour behind the houses of the hamlet of Buchleiten and across a girder-bridge above a road to arrive at its depot, where a modern shed stood empty and run-round loops lay disused. A local ÖGEG volunteer said the regauging took place c.1995, as a commercial venture, but the 760mm-gauge scheme ran out of finance and never opened. Just before the 760mm-gauge depot, where the original line dropped to one side, a rake of wagons remained in place on 600mm-gauge rails leading round to what was once a gathering site for full wagons from two collieries. A tunnel-mouth with the date 1949 above it showed where the track had once headed north to one of these mines, and a large wooden building incorporated a shed in which mine locomotives were stored. A short rake of man-riding mine-cars sitting on the 600mm-gauge line behind this building had clearly been used to give rides on a circuit of track around it, but the site seemed derelict and forlorn when visited on 2 September 2001. ÖGEG's leaflet mentions http://www.tiscover.com./ampflwang, the local tourist-office website, but not the line's own former website http://members.magnet.at/dz/museumsb.htm which seems now to be inaccessible.

1857][SE] Åmål - Finntorp - Hanefors - Kroppan - Svanskog (- Årjäng): (Ball 21B2) The Åmål - Årjängs Järnväg opened provisionally for freight between Åmål Östra and Svanskog 22 November 1927 and opened throughout to Årjäng for all traffic including passengers 2 December 1928. From 20 April 1933 passenger trains diverted to use what is now Åmål SJ station, although the old Östra (= east) station building still stands nearby. The northern 45km Svanskog - Årjäng section closed completely 10 April 1954 and was lifted in 1955. The remaining southern 24km Åmål - Svanskog section lost its passenger trains 25 September 1966. After 1971 the only traffic was from the Swanboard AB paper-mill but this ceased from 1 January 1992, though the factory remains, with isolated track within its site. The 1km Åmål - Åmål djuphamn (= deep-water harbour) branch opened for freight 22 December 1930. The ÅmÅJ line is linked by siding to, but runs independently of, the present SJ main line, crossing it by overbridge. From Åmål harbour through to Svanskog the line is all still extant and was traversed by a SMoK railcar special which carried our reporter on 24 August 2001. 

The preservation group Järnvägssällskapet Åmål - Årjängs Järnväg seem to have started in summer 1997 running occasional public excursions between Åmål harbour and Hanefors, with draisines thence to Svanskog, a facility that no longer seems to be offered. JÅÅJ now run trains through to Svanskog, on a rather limited frequency. In 2001 the operating days were 22 June (from Åmål Östra at 13:30 by railbus), 7, 21, 28 July, 4, 11 August (from Åmål djuphamn at 18:00 by dining-car train). On Wednesdays from May to August Svanskog station was open as a museum, and railbus charters were available. On 6 May and 18 August Svanskog station was open and Svanskog - Kroppan public trips on a vintage railbus were on offer. The locomotive depot at Åmål houses an impressive collection of stock and was open 13:00-16:00 from 25 June to 12 August 2001. Details for 2002 may appear in the Swedish tourist-railway brochure Tågsommar (http://www.sjk.se). A useful map is on the JÅÅJ website at http://home.bip.net/jaaj/banan/index.html

1858][FI] Turku - Tampere; Tampere- Helsinki; and Helsinki - Turku: (Ball 16B1-17A2-24B3) The lines joining Finland's three major cities form an approximate equilateral triangle, travelled on by our reporter on Wednesday 12 December 2001. Turku, the country's oldest city and its former capital under the Swedish crown, is now a major ferry-port for sailings to Stockholm. Turku passenger station, constructed in 1939, is a striking Functionalist building resembling an oblong concrete block. To the west of it are extensive freight lines as well as a 3km single-track extension to Turku Satama (satama = harbour), which handles twice-daily boat-trains to and from both Helsinki and Tampere. Of the three lines, Turku - Tampere has the least frequent service, departures being irregular with a large morning gap. The 12:45 service offered a two-hour 168km journey in comfortable old locomotive-hauled coaches across a flat, bleak, snowy landscape. Tampere station, well located at the end of the main street, was also built in the 1930s, in a similar Functionalist style, the design being dominated by a cubiform central station-hall, with a huge square window in front. Southbound on its long trip from near the Arctic Circle, the (Rovaniemi 06:30 -) Tampere 15:00 - 17:00 Helsinki train comprised a sizeable rake of hauled vehicles including a play-area for children and a carriage showing videos. After an 187km journey to Helsinki's magnificent terminus, time was available for Christmas shopping and a meal in the capital before catching Pendolino #7106 the 200km back to Turku just after 20:00. VR's Italian-designed Pendolino tilting trainsets reduce the normal two-hour journey time to around 105min, and from 2002 are to reduce it further to 90min. All three trains ran to time, tickets were inspected immediately after departure and a trolley-service provided refreshments. Equipped with a student pass thanks to an exchange programme at the University of Turku, our reporter paid FIM194=EUR32.63, or just under GBP20 for 555km.

1859][PT] Porto Trindade - Bifurcação da Boavista - Senhora da Hora - Póvoa de Varzim / Trofa: (Ball 7A1) The Porto - Senhora da Hora section, closed from 28 April 2001 (R.1378), was in early December 2001 served by a frequent STCP-operated bus service, which took a shortcut through Francos STCP bus-depot and for part of its route used a presumably-temporary bus-only road laid on the trackbed of the former metre-gauge line. CP had set up temporary booking-offices in portable buildings at the bus-terminus in Praça Republica, quite a distance (c.1km) from Porto Trindade former metre-gauge terminus, and at one of the two bus-stops replacing Avenida de França halt in the Boavista area. No new standard-gauge track could yet be seen on any part of the old metre-gauge route from Trindade outward, but Metro construction was much in evidence north of Senhora da Hora, including track laid for the street-running section west to Vasco da Gama, and tramway-type traffic-lights already working. At Senhora da Hora, the booking-office remained in the old station buildings, flanking the now-trackless platforms, but the temporary four-platform metre-gauge terminus occupied a new site just to the north-east. The metre-gauge route was multi-tracked for the first km or so to the junction where the Senhora da Hora - Trofa line diverges, but thereafter became single-track north through the eastern platform at Custoias station. Standard-gauge metro track began to the north of Custoias station, occupying the western half of the trackbed. The Porto-facing ramp down into Guifões depot had its westerly track newly regauged and equipped with overhead wiring for metro operation, while the easterly one remained metre-gauge. The Senhora da Hora - Povoa / Trofa metre-gauge lines are to close completely during January 2002 and replacement buses will run while regauging and conversion to Metro standards takes place. The diesel railcar sets used on the doomed trains, latterly CP-operated on behalf of Porto Metro, were in a very poor state, anarchic graffiti having replaced the livery on virtually every car. Most of the stations however remained fully staffed and were generally in better order, except Araujo, first station north on the Senhora da Hora - Trofa line, where the once-attractive tiled building appeared to have fallen down. Looking to the future, Porto Metro demonstrated to the media the first Eurotram car to run there under power, at Guifões on 3 December 2001. 

1860][PT] (Porto - Trofa - Lousado -) Santo Tirso - Guimarães: (R.0565; Ball 7A1-7B1) Worked by three two-car metre-gauge railcars based at a temporary depot at Guimarães, the latterly-isolated and mainly single-track Santo Tirso - Guimarães section is to close in January 2002 for regauging to broad-gauge. Replacement buses with main-line connections are to run Lousado - Santo Tirso - Guimarães, suggesting that the Trofa - Lousado - Santo Tirso broad-gauge shuttle trains may be withdrawn until regauging of the whole branch is complete.

1861][PT] Porto Campanhã - São Romão - Senhora das Dores - Trofa - Lousado - Famalicão (- Nine - Valença do Minho): (R.0564; Ball 7B1) In December 2001 double track on the Linha do Minho extended as far north as Senhora das Dores station, rebuilt south of its previous site, with single track beyond north to Trofa. The Trofa - Lousado section, formerly single track with three rails for metre- and broad-gauge trains, was double and broad-gauge only, following its original alignment to just south of the relocated four-platform junction station at Lousado. The main line was double on the c.2km deviation from Lousado north, reverting to single where it rejoined the old alignment. At Famalicão, empty trackbed indicated the location of the metre-gauge Famalicão - Póvoa de Varzim line, lifted during 1999 (R.0450), but at Póvoa station its track was still in place. 

1862][PT] Portugal: closed lines: Portugal's rail infrastructure authority REFER (Rede Ferroviária Nacional) have declared the Beja - Moura Ramal de Moura (Ball 26B1-27A1) and the Estremoz - Vila Viçosa Ramal de Vila Viçosa (27B2) closed to all traffic. The Castro Verde-Almodôvar - Aljustrel Ramal de Aljustrel (Ball 33B3 not shown), washed out during 2000, is to be retained since a Canadian firm may take over the closed mine it served and may restart rail traffic. (Portuguese Traction Group newsletter, December 2001

1863][ES] Salamanca - Guijuelo y Campillo - Plasencia: (R.0606; Ball 19B3-19A1) Closed to passengers in 1985, the line from Salamanca south latterly saw only ballast trains, and only on the northern section as far as Guijuelo. RENFE say a few of these trains ran earlier in 2001, but had ceased by December due to the state of the track and the level-crossings. The line to the north (Salamanca - Valdunciel - Zamora; Ball 19B3-9B1) last saw regular passenger trains in 1995 when Talgo workings used it as a diversionary route. RENFE say the southern end as far as Valdunciel is still officially open, though without traffic, and that reopening as a through route remains a long-term possibility. 

1864][CH] Neuchâtel funicular: Gare CFF - Université: (Ball 91B3) Opened in April 2001 (R.1427), the line is called Fun'ambule (funambule = tightrope-walker). The upper station is concealed beneath the CFF booking-hall, and is invisible from the street outside. The 330m-long 1600mm-gauge line descends 46m entirely in tunnel to Université, beneath the east end of Jardin Anglais, short of the present lake-shore. The lower station has an interesting display-case showing it to be built on the site of a c.3500BC lake-village-on-stilts, the ground-level here having been rather lower in Neolithic times. The cars, controlled from the lower station, comprise four articulated compartments which remain horizontal while the gradient varies (from 0-34%). Operators are Transports Publics du Littoral Neuchâtelois, who also run the local tramway, trolleybuses and buses. Journey time is two minutes, at a fare of CHF1 one-way, also valid for a round-trip within 30 minutes. In early September 2001 the line was operating 05:33-20:15SuX, 06:33-20:15SuO, every 6min between xx:15 and xx:45 and every 3min between xx:45 and xx:15. The service quoted in CFF table 2010 is every 6min, with the note cadence accélérée aux heures de fort traffic ferroviaire, which may account for this curious interval pattern each hour. The funicular was built to help serve Expo.02, an exhibition open from 15 May to 20 October 2002. (partly from http://www.funimag.com)

1865][CH] Chur - Arosa: (R.1586; Ball 95B2) After repair of landslide damage, this metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn line reopened throughout from 16 November 2001. (Today's Railways, January 2001)

1866][CH] Bex - Bévieux - Gryon - Villars - Bouquetins - Col-de-Bretaye: (R.1815; Ball 98B3) The CF Bex - Gryon - Villars opened their metre-gauge rack-and-adhesion line Bex - (10 September 1898) - Bévieux - (4 June 1900) - Gryon - (10 June 1901) - Villars. The BGV extended the line a further 1.3km to Chesières 12 August 1906, becoming the BGVC, but the Villars - Chesières section closed 30 November 1963. The CF Villars - Bretaye opened to Bretaye-Bouquetins 18 December 1913, and extended to the present terminus at Col-de-Bretaye 15 December 1937. BGVC and VB merged to form BVB on 1 January 1943. Through running occurs, but the different sections operate rather different kinds of service, especially since Villars is the railhead for the popular Col-de-Bretaye ski area, not served by road. While Bex - Villars has hourly local trains for the general public, Villars - Col-de-Bretaye carries a limited number of tourists in the summer, runs only every two hours in spring and autumn, has very frequent trains for skiers in good snow conditions in winter, and can see the whole timetable cancelled in bad weather. Villars station, remodelled in 1968, was equipped with sturdy queuing-barriers to control the many passengers for Col-de-Bretaye handled there during the winter-sports season, these arrangements being geared to trains leaving from the straight platforms, not the tightly-curved platform 5. (partly from Schmalspurparadies Schweiz, Band 1, Schweers+Wall, 1986, and Schienennetz Schweiz - Ein technisch-historischer Atlas / Réseau ferré suisse - Atlas technique et historique, AS Verlag & Buchkonzept AG, 1999)

1867][CZ][PL] (Tanvald -) Harrachov CD - Nowy Swiat PKP - Jakuszyce - Szklarska Poreba Górna (- Jelenia Góra): (BLN 838.0586; Ball 36A1) Notwithstanding the CD timetable supplement dated 15 November 1998 which promised a new scheduled service from a date to be announced, no regular traffic used this very steep cross-border route during 2001. Occasional specials operate, and full reopening is still planned. A Czech railcar braved the dilapidated track to run a Harrachov - Szklarska Poreba Górna excursion to a sports event on 21 September 2001. (Today's Railways, January 2001)

1868][EE] Tallinn - Keila - Klooga - Paldiski and Klooga - Klooga-Rand: (R.1644, 1819) Tickets for Elektriraudtee's local electric trains are on sale in Tallinn station building from the information office, which also supplies free local timetables. Every carriage has a validating machine, and the passenger has to validate his ticket by inserting it the right way round in the machine. One of our reporters had to be shown how to do this by the conductor, causing good-humoured hilarity among nearby passengers and staff, including one of the four inspectors on the four-coach train. In summer 2001 trains were running hourly during the day to Klooga-Rand.

1869][UZ][AF] Termez/Termiz [UZ] - Kheyrabad [AF]: (R.1734) The Friendship Bridge from Termez in Uzbekistan was built by the Soviet Union during their 1979-1989 invasion to transport military supplies south across the broad river Amu Darya to a railhead at Kheyrabad in Afghanistan. When Taliban forces later became dominant in Afghanistan, the Uzbeks, seeking to improve the security of their southern frontier, closed and blocked off the 1km-long bridge, so that no rail traffic passed after 1996 or 1997 (reports vary). Reassured by recent events, Uzbekistan agreed to reopen the bridge, and on 9 December 2001 an Uzbek 1520mm-gauge diesel locomotive hauled over it a fifteen-wagon train of grain and flour as food aid 'from the Uzbek people to the Afghan people'. Media pictures showed the train leaving the girder bridge, which appears to have a single line of rails set tramway-style into a roadway. The name of the railhead within Afghanistan was variously reported as 'Kharitom' and 'Hairaton'. (Financial Times, Independent, Guardian, 10 December 2001)

1870][AU] Sydney - Wollongong City - Coniston - Unanderra - Dapto - Kiama (- Nowra): With completion of Dapto - Kiama wiring, electric services through to Kiama began 18 November 2001. On the same date all passenger services that formerly operated via the west-to-east Unanderra - Lysaghts curve to join the Coniston - Lysaghts - Port Kembla branch were diverted to run north to Wollongong, leaving the Unanderra - Lysaghts curve without passenger trains. (http://www.railpage.org.au/railmaps/devel.htm)

1871][AU] Melbourne - St.Albans - Keilor Plains - Watergardens (- Bendigo): (R.1820) The 1500V dc electric suburban trains beyond St Albans starting on 27 January 2002 are to serve two new stations, but the names of these have changed. The new intermediate station is now Keilor Plains and the terminating station (a few hundred metres south of the existing Sydenham station, to be closed) is now Watergardens, after a local shopping-centre. (http://www.railpage.org.au/railmaps/devel.htm)

1872][NZ] Aramoho Jn - Wanganui - Castlecliff: The original layout necessitated a reversal at Wanganui, but the dead-end station there closed some time after 1983 and was replaced by a direct northwest-to-southwest chord via Wanganui goods-yard, a significant installation in NZ terms, supplemented by private sidings. When visited by road on 30 October 2000 the branch was definitely still in use, with evidence of recent - but far from regular - rail movement down to the harbour at Castlecliff. However, from 3 December 2001 Tranz Rail have apparently 'mothballed' the line, together with the Hawkens Jn - Awakeri - Taneatua freight branch, out of use since June 2001. Occasional freight trains or passenger excursions may be allowed to run under special arrangements. 

1873][NZ] (Hamilton - Morrinsville - Waharoa -) Putaruru - Rotorua: This section closed completely with the cessation of the Geyserland Express from 7 October 2001 (R.1623), though Tranz Rail are reported to run a maintenance rail vehicle over the line about once a week to check on its safety. A special train for the Rotorua Enthusiasts Society is booked to run on 23 February 2002. (Rotorua Review, 28 December 2001)

1874][NZ] Christchurch - Rolleston - Dunedin - Invercargill: (R.1703, 1735) A government-backed study has found that the loss-making Southerner makes little economic contribution to the South Island, so it is planned that it will not run after 10 February 2002. Christchurch - Rolleston will retain the successful Christchurch - Rolleston - Greymouth TranzAlpine passsenger train, and Rolleston - Dunedin - Invercargill will still have freight trains. Taieri Gorge tourist trains from Dunedin (Dunedin - Wingatui Jn - Taieri - Pukerangi - Middlemarch; R.0546) should also continue during summer 2002.

1875][CA] Calgary light rail: Anderson - Canyon Meadows - Fish Creek-Lacombe: This southward extension opened 9 October 2001, adding Calgary's 21st and 22nd C-Train stations. (http://www.calgarytransit.com)

1876][CA] Halifax, NS - Windsor Jn - Truro - Port Hawkesbury - Sydney, NS: (R.0510, 1567) VIA say their tourist train Bras d'Or is expected to run again in summer 2002 (4 June-16 October, north on Tuesdays, south on Wednesdays; Halifax 07:30 - 18:30 Sydney 07:30 - 18:15 Halifax)

1877][US] (Stockton, CA -) Pittsburg - Nichols - Port Chicago (- Mococo - Martinez - Oakland, CA): (R.0837, 1326) Amtrak's Bakersfield - Stockton - Oakland San Joaquin trains are, it seems, to leave their present Burlington Northern Santa Fe route at Pittsburg and use the parallel ex-Southern Pacific, now Union Pacific, Mococo line for c.16km along the Sacramento River estuary to Port Chicago, California. West of Port Chicago they already use the Mococo line to the junction with the ex-SP, now UP, transcontinental main line at Martinez. The new route would avoid the speed-restriction on the BNSF flyover across the UP at Nichols as well as BNSF freight congestion around Port Chicago. UP have been rebuilding the BNSF/UP link line in Pittsburg to allow a facing connection for the Amtrak trains, and working on the relevant part of the Mococo line, replacing switches and switch-stands (= points and ground-frames) in the ex-SP Pittsburg yard, replacing lineside poles and wires, trimming bushes and clearing out culverts. 

1878][US] Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal - Pasadena, CA: light rail: (BLN 821.0112, R.1237, 1342, 1345) Originally envisaged as a northern prolongation of the Metro's 35km south-to-north Long Beach - Los Angeles light-rail Blue line, the 22km light-rail route now under construction to Pasadena was on 29 November 2001 renamed the Gold line, since it is not now planned to run directly through from the existing Blue line. (Transnet newsletter) Interchange will be available at LAUPT with the Metro's heavy-rail Red line, which in turn connects with the Blue line. 

1879][US] Los Angeles, CA: Redondo Junction: (R.1741) The new flyover saw Amtrak and Metrolink passenger trains from 8 July though its formal inauguration by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority was not until 21 August 2001.

1880][US] Salt Lake City, UT light rail: The junction at Main & 400 South is triangular. Most Trax services for the University branch, opened 15 December 2001 (R.1802), are from the downtown area and use the north-to-east curve, but one peak-hour trip runs from Sandy via the south-to-east curve to the University in the morning and back in the afternoon. (Transnet newsletter)

1881][US] Buffalo, NY - Erie, PA - Cleveland, OH: Railway Magazine for July 2001 had an article on railways running along public highways, but one not included was the ex-New York, Chicago & St.Louis ('Nickel Plate'), later Norfolk & Western, now Norfolk Southern, main line along the south shore of Lake Erie. The 1882-built single track ran for 2km straight down the middle of 19th Street in the town of Erie, carrying passenger trains until the late 1960s and freight, including heavy coal trains, until 2001. After the last ordinary train (#526 Shire Oaks, PA - Binghamton, NY coal) had passed on 27 September 2001, NS diverted their c.15 freights a day to an 8km new route alongside the former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, later New York Central, now CSX, main line on elevated right-of-way with bridges over the town's streets. The old Nickel Plate street track was to be removed completely in 2002. 

1882][US] Washington, DC - Point of Rocks, MD - Monocacy/Frederick Jn - Frederick, MD: (R.0593, 0884) Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) trains were to begin their much-delayed revenue service beyond Point of Rocks to Frederick on 17 December 2001. They leave the Washington - Brunswick line using the tight southeast-to-northeast avoiding curve at Point of Rocks and do not call at the attractive historic station there. They then take the B&O's 1832 Old Main Line, part of the 'first long-haul railroad in the United States', now owned by CSX, for 16km north-east to Frederick Jn. Near Frederick Jn is a new passenger station, Monocacy, adjacent to the river and the 1864 Civil-War battlefield of that name, and provided with free parking for 800 cars. Now owned by Maryland Transit Administration, the 5.6km Frederick Jn - Frederick branch leads to Frederick station, downtown at B&O Avenue and East Street, with no parking. Journey-time is c.85min for the three evening outbound workings (15:55, 17:10 and 18:25 from Washington Union Station) and three early-morning inbound ones (05:17, 06:10 and 07:15 from Frederick). To encourage usage the Washington - Frederick fare is to be the same as the Washington - Point of Rocks fare until 30 June 2002. (http://www.mtamaryland.com)

1883][US] New York, NY: World Trade Center - Exchange Place, NJ (- Hoboken, NJ / Newark, NJ): (R.1744) The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in mid-December 2001 authorised finance to build a temporary PATH station beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center by December 2003 and to begin planning of a new permanent Port Authority Trans-Hudson terminal in Lower Manhattan with more and better connections to city subways, buses and ferries. (New York Times)

1884][US] New York, NY subway: Queensbridge - 36th Street: (R.1650) The new short '63rd Street connector' line was to open for full-time service on Sunday 16 December 2001. (Transnet newsletter)

1885][EC] (Quito - Cotopaxi -) Riobamba - Alausí - Sibambe (- Huigra - Bucay - Durán): (BLN 843.078, R.1352) In early November 2001 passenger service was still clinging to life on the moribund 1067mm-gauge Guayaquil & Quito railway. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays a timetabled train (Riobamba 07:00 - Alausí - Sibambe - 13:00 Alausí - Riobamba) was running down and up the famous switchbacks on El Nariz del Diablo (= the Devil's Nose). On this section autoferro railbuses were still operating as charters, for one derailed and held up our reporter's train for an hour, and another new or rebuilt autoferro reportedly yet to enter service was also seen. Station staff at Quito, which has no regular passenger or freight traffic, said the next train from the capital would be in December 2001, presumably a charter, and train-crew said a Quito - Cotopaxi run was planned. On the Quito - Ibarra - Lita - San Lorenzo section, an autoferro was said to be running only from Ibarra to Lita (about halfway between Ibarra and San Lorenzo), with no fixed schedule or set days of operation. 

1886][AR] Buenos Aires Retiro (Mitre) - Rosario - San Miguel de Tucumán: (R.1652) From 5 January 2002 Noroeste Argentino Ferrocarril are to restore a long-distance passenger train, El Tucumáno, running twice a week from the capital over the ex-Mitre 1676mm-gauge route to the northern city of Tucuman. (El Clarin, Buenos Aires, 26 December 2001)

1887][BR] Brasilia metro: Rodoviária - Águas Claras - Taguatinga / Samambaia: Delayed from 1999, official inauguration of Brasilia's metro was on 31 March 2001, and full revenue service on the first 32km, the Green line (linha verde) to Taguatinga and the Orange line (linha laranja) to Samambaia, was yet further delayed to 24 September 2001. (Tramways & Urban Transit, November 2001; http://www.metropla.net)

1888][FR] (Kehl DB -) Strasbourg Neudorf Poste 1 - Bifurcation Graffenstaden: (BLN 837.0544; EGTRE FR01/117; Ball 30A2) In summer 2001 the Raccordement du Gliesberg, the east-to-south Strasbourg avoiding line, had one booked passenger-carrying train in one direction only, the March-October Wednesdays-only AZ13562 (SNCF train #19020) München Ost 15:22 - Kornwestheim 19:47 - Kehl 22:05 [unadvertised stop] - Narbonne. This overnight AutoZug (for travellers accompanying a car) is scheduled to be the only booked passenger train again in summer 2002. The northbound working returns by a different route.

1889][FR] Tournemire-Roquefort - Lapanouse-de-Cernon - Ste.Eulalie-de-Cernon - Le Rouquet - L'Hospitalet-du-Larzac (- Le Vigan): (Ball 63A1-64A1 not shown) This ex-Midi cross-country link closed to passengers 15 May 1939 and commercial freight ceased in the mid-1950s (BLN 775.0132). By 1964 the 20km Tournemire - L'Hospitalet western section had been transferred to the French military to serve the large Camp du Larzac, and the 42km L'Hospitalet - Le Vigan section had been abandoned. The military line became disused and, together with the nearby Tournemire - St.Affrique line, was in the early 1990s proposed to become the Chemin de Fer Touristique Causée et Rougier. Special passenger trains ran on 5 and 6 August 1995, but no established tourist operation seems to have begun. The military line was deleted from 1966 and 1974 editions of 1:200,000 Michelin maps, but by the September 1995 edition it had reappeared, terminating at Le Rouquet, c.1km west of L'Hospitalet. Track has remained and since July 2001 rail-cycles have been available for hire by prior reservation all year round from Ste.Eulalie c.5km east to Le Rouquet level-crossing. Later it is intended to allow the vélorails on the section from Ste.Eulalie 4km west to Lapanouse. Information: Vélo-Rail du Larzac +33 5 6558 7210.

1890][NL] (Bilthoven -) Blauwkapel Oost aansluiting - Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum - Utrecht Lunetten: (BLN 833.0415; Ball 4A3-4A2) Passenger-carrying special trains may operate on this freight-only line as part of an event over the weekend 30 August-1 September 2002 run by the Netherlands national railway museum at the former Utrecht Maliebaan station. Preserved rolling-stock is to be moved to storage elsewhere before the museum closes for rebuilding from early September 2002 until 2004. 

1891][DE] Regis-Breitingen - Haselbach - Wintersdorf - Schnaudertal-Auholz - Meuselwitz: (Ball 42B2) The 900mm-gauge Kammerforstbahn opened in 1942, taking brown-coal from Tagebau Waltersdorf (later also Gröba) to briquette-factories at Haselbach and Regis. Originally steam-worked, the line was electrified in the 1960s, but the wires were later removed, leaving only occasional evidence of their presence, such as supports under a road overbridge. Evidence of former loops and branches or sidings can also still be seen. Tourist trains started in summer 2000 run by preservation group Verein Kohlebahnen eV, and the present 14.5km line is marketed as Kohlebahn Haselbach.

From the southbound DB platform at Regis-Breitingen on the Leipzig - Zwickau main line, a walk of c.150m down a footpath leads past allotments to the Kohlebahn station, a simple platform and shelter with no run-round loop. Narrow-gauge track extends north from the platform over a substantial road bridge into a factory alongside the main line to the north of the DB station. From a DB train various narrow-gauge locomotives and wagons can be seen, all apparently used for moving structural steelwork around within the plant, owned by STAMAG (Stahl- und Anlagenbahn AG). However, the Kohlebahn train does not proceed north of its platform, nor is it stabled within the STAMAG site. On 16 September 2001 the stock to form the first tourist train of the day (Regis departure 12:45) arrived empty from the south, with a locomotive at each end like all Kohlebahn trains. The main depot is at Haselbach, the first 'station' south of Regis, which has a passing-loop, a yard containing a significant collection of rolling-stock, and the beginnings of a 'wild-west village' for the Westerntag held on three weekends in August each year. Kammerforst is shown as a station on the line's publicity-leaflet but no such facility yet exists. Wintersdorf, shown as Wintersdorf Wasserturm on the website (http://www.schnaudertal.de/kohlebahn), has a loop and is south of its village. A road overbridge beyond is apparently the only one on the line. Schnaudertal-Auholz (or Auholz-Schnaudertal; both versions are used) has a platform beyond the loop. 

The tourist trains in 2000 seem to have run to a point just short of the narrow-gauge bridge under the trackbed of the former Meuselwitz - Gaschwitz - Lucka - Groitzsch DB line, now lifted, but from the 2001 season a new curve has enabled trains to climb up to the standard-gauge trackbed, upon which 900mm-gauge track has been laid right through to the branch platform at Meuselwitz DB station. The narrow-gauge track west of the new curve is no longer accessible. (The 2000 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland is therefore inaccurate in this regard.) Publicity shows the new Kohlebahn alignment with a halt, Meuselwitz Breitscheidstrasse, but no sign of platform or nameboard was seen nor was any stop made on this 1.9km section, laid by contractors with financial support from the province of Thüringen. At Meuselwitz Bf the Kohlebahn part of the station had been smartened up, but the DB part remained a classic ex-Reichsbahn facility in decay, with rain pouring through the platform canopy. Interchange with the DB railbus was however easy.

1892][AT] (Wien -) Sollenau Lokalbahnhof - Steinabrückl - Feuerwerksanstalt - Bad Fischau - Brunn an der Schneebergbahn (- Puchberg an Schneeberg): (BLN 840.0621; Ball 75B2) Traces remain of three closed parts of this original Eisenbahn Wien-Aspang route from Wien to Puchberg (R.1810). From Sollenau Lokalbf, an Aspangbahn station now closed, north of the present Sollenau station, the vanished route was westwards to Steinabrückl. From a special excursion on 15 April 2001 over the now-freight-only Wittmansdorf - Steinabrückl - Wöllersdorf line the former Sollenau Lokalbf - Steinabrückl trackbed could clearly be seen trailing in. The former north-to-south Steinabrückl - Feuerwerksanstalt chord, avoiding Wöllersdorf, had had its southern-end points removed many years before so was no longer a through running-line, but much of it remained as part of an ÖBB track-maintenance depot. The course of the short north-to-west Bad Fischau - Brunn an der Schneebergbahn chord, avoiding Bad Fischau Brunn station, was not easy to identify from the train, but since it formed the north-western boundary of a small industrial yard it could be clearly followed on foot.

1893][DK] Århus - Langå - Struer - Thisted; Århus - Skanderborg - Herning - Struer; and Herning - Skjern - Esbjerg - Tønder: (Ball 2B1-1B3; 2B1-1B2; 5B3-5B1) Not noted for their success in running franchised local passenger trains in northern England during 2001, UK transport group Arriva have been awarded franchises to run passenger trains in northern Jutland during 2003-10. (partly from Erik's Rail News)

1894][FI][RU] Kontiomäki - Vartius VR - Kostomuksha RZD - Ledmozero - Kochkoma: (R.0915; Ball 10A2-10B3). Built in the 1970s, the cross-border 1520mm-gauge line from Vartius to Kostomuksha carries iron-ore from Russia to Finnish plants at Kokkola (Ball 8B2) and Raahe (9A3), as well as some timber traffic. On 29 December 2001, Russia's October Railway (OktZhD) opened their new link from the existing junction of Ledmozero east to Kochkoma on the Sankt-Peterburg - Murmansk main line, providing a new west-to-east freight route from Finland to the northern cities of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. A map is at http://parovoz.com/maps/supermap/B2.html. On the Kemijärvi - Kelloselkä VR - Alakurti RZD - Ruchi-Karelskie cross-border line further north (R.0917, 1000; Ball 4B2), the Finnish rail infrastructure authority decided during 2001 to dismantle the track between Kemijärvi and the frontier as it was in poor condition and no longer needed for local traffic. On the Russian side the line is in some places already dismantled. (5feet@yahoogroups.com)

1895][FI][RU] Joensuu - Onkamo - Niirala VR - Vyartsilya/Värtsilä RZD - Matkaselkya - Petrozavodsk: (R.0337; Ball 18B3) Due to start in August 1999, the new passenger service on this currently freight-only route from Finland into (formerly-Finnish, now Russian) Karelia has been much delayed. VR announced in late 2001 that a night train using Russian October Railway stock is to run twice-weekly from 2003. Cross-border passenger traffic has been buoyant in winter 2001-02, with Russian passenger vehicles to be seen in various parts of Finland on OktZhD-operated charter trains for Russian holidaymakers, especially those celebrating New Year and the Orthodox Christmas on 6 January 2002. (5feet@yahoogroups.com)

1896][PT] (Porto -) Lousado - Santo Tirso - Guimarães: (R.1860; Ball 7A1-7B1) The Santo Tirso - Guimarães isolated metre-gauge section closed 7 January 2002 for conversion to broad-gauge. The whole Lousado - Guimarães branch is to be electrified, with upgraded stations and through Porto - Guimarães trains, with new stock and reduced journey-times. Plans are to complete the works by autumn 2003. (http://www.ptg.co.uk)

1897][PT] Aveiro - Agueda - Sernada do Vouga: (Ball 17A3) In the first weeks of 2002 as in autumn 2000 (R.1148), Aveiro - Sernada had two trains a day each way plus remaining workings running Aveiro - Agueda only. Faced however with the need to repair a bridge near Sernada, CP plan to close the whole Aveiro - Sernada metre-gauge section from 15 January 2002, with buses replacing the trains. It is not clear whether this closure, previously threatened, is to be permanent. (http://www.cp.pt)

1898][PT] Lisboa monorail: Paço de Arcos - Oeiras Parque: Starting from Paço de Arcos station on CP's Lisboa Cais do Sodré - Cascais line (Ball 25A1), the first phase of the Oeiras monorail is planned to open December 2002. 

1899][PT] Entroncamento - Abrantes - Mouriscas-A - Castelo Branco - Guarda: (BLN 819.060, R.1222; Ball 26A3-18A2) Portugal's rail infrastructure authority REFER (Rede Ferroviária Nacional) plan to extend electrification of the Linha da Beira Baixa beyond Mouriscas-A (junction for the wired Ramal do Pego power-station branch) a further 79km to Castelo Branco. In early January 2002 some work had begun to consolidate retaining walls along the scenic Tejo river valley, but no significant realignment is planned. Work is expected to be completed by the end of 2003. (http://www.ptg.co.uk)

1900][PT] Ermidas-Sado - Sines (R.0537; Ball 26A1) A new c.1km south-to-east curve avoiding Ermidas-Sado station opened for freight 10 December 2001, linking the main Linha do Sul (Poceirão - Ermidas-Sado - Funcheira - Tunes) with the Linha de Sines branch. It is used not only by Sines - Loulé coal trains heading south, but some coal trains from Sines for the north are running via the new curve, heading south on the Linha do Sul, then via the north-to-east Funcheira avoiding line (R.0449) and northward on the Linha do Alentejo (Funcheira - Beja - Vendas Novas). CP have found it useful thus to divert traffic off the main line from the capital south to the Algarve while it is being upgraded and electrified for high-speed tilting passenger trains. (http://www.ptg.co.uk)

1901][ES] Puente Poncebos - Bulnes: underground funicular: (R.0576; Ball 4A1 not shown) The tiny village of Bulnes in northern Spain's spectacular Picos de Europa national park has no road access, only a steep mule-path, so the underground Funicular de Bulnes was built to reach it. When the somewhat-delayed line saw limited opening in summer 2001, local inhabitants made great use of it to ferry up building materials that previously had to be transported by a mule or a helicopter. Fearful that Bulnes would swiftly expand into a tourist resort, authorities soon closed the line, and later it seems set stricter rules for its use. The line opened fully on 17 September 2001. It is 2227m long, climbing 400m, with a journey-time of 7min, and fares of EUR12 one-way, EUR15 round-trip. 

1902][ES] Zaragoza - Tardienta - Huesca (- Canfranc): (BLN 831.0362; Ball 13A2) RENFE are adapting this existing broad-gauge (1668mm) branch with three-rail track to allow standard-gauge trains to use it once the Madrid - Zaragoza - Lleida section of the new high-speed standard-gauge line is complete. Target-date for both projects is said to be 15 December 2002, the next international timetable-change date, though 2003 is quoted for the main-line opening on the website http://euroweb.es/avefuturo/dif.html. 

1903][ES] Barcelona metro: (R.0683) On 21 September 2001 standard-gauge metro line L3 was extended 2.4km north, serving three new stations (Montbau - Mundet - Valldaura - Canyelles). The city plans to extend L3 further from Canyelles to Trinitat Nova on line L4, which will be the interchange also for the future standard-gauge Trinitat Nova - Can Cuiàs metro lleuger (= light metro), begun in spring 2001 to serve the hilly area of Ciutat Meridiana. (http://www.metropla.net)

1904][ES] Alacant/Alicante - Albufereta - Condomina/Lucentum - Discotecas - El Campello - Vila-Joiosa - Creueta - Benidorm - Denia: (Ball 32A1-32B2) Trams work local services from Alacant on the wired southern end of this metre-gauge line of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Válenciana, otherwise worked by diesel railcars. In March 2000 the trams ran as far north as Lucentum but electrification seemed to be under way beyond to Discotecas (R.0577). From 3 December 2001 until 22 March 2002 the line is closed between El Campello and Creueta with buses replacing trains on that section during trabajos de renovación y electrificación, so presumably further wiring and northward extension of the tramway operation is in prospect. Heavier rail (54kg/m instead of 45kg/m) is also being laid, and some easing of curvature is being undertaken. 

1905][ES] (Sevilla - Utrera - Jerez de la Frontera -) Cádiz Cortadura - Cádiz Término: (R.1203; Ball 34B1) On 25 June 2000 Cádiz Término passenger station closed temporarily so that its access line could be relocated in a new tunnel, and a new station Cádiz Cortadura (= 'cutting') opened to serve the city. The Cortadura - Término section is to reopen 4 February 2002. 

1906][SI][IT] (Jesenice -) Kreplje SZ - Villa Opicina FS (- Trieste): (Ball SI-45B2-45A1; IT-44A3) Though recent SZ working timetables show one freight-train path on this cross-border section of the original Austrian main line (R.1762), in January 2002 it remained out of use by any traffic, and the Slovenian end of the running line was still being used for storage of surplus ex-JZ goods-vans, as in 1998 (BLN 842.044). 

1907][AL][YU] Shkodër - Bajzé HSH - Hani i Hotit - Tuzi JZ - Podgorica: (R.1765; Ball 52) Closed in 1990, Albania's only rail link (via Montenegro, Yugoslavia) with the European network reopened for freight on Friday 28 December 2001. 

1908][AF] Afghanistan: minor railways: (R.1734, 1869) During the reign of king Amanullah of Afghanistan (1919-29) a roadside tramway was built from Kabul south-west for c.4km to Darulaman, and operated by two Henschel steam locomotives. The line was short-lived, closing when the king was exiled, but the locomotives survived, being reported stored indoors at Darulaman in 1974 and later still outdoors. In 1951 three 600mm-gauge Henschel diesel-hydraulic locomotives were delivered to Afghanistan for power-plant construction, variously reported as being at Saabrie or Saarbic, an unidentified location. In 1979 Bedia Maschinenfabrik of Bonn supplied five 600mm-gauge diesel-hydraulic locomotives to an unspecified customer in Afghanistan. Any information about these lines would be of interest. (world-diesel-loco@yahoogroups.com)

1909][AU] (Bunbury -) Brunswick Jn - Collie - Premier Mine - Bowelling - Darkan - Narrogin: Once an important cross-state line of 1067mm-gauge Western Australian Government Railways, most of this route closed 1 June 1986. However a new balloon-loop was installed at Premier in 1998 and the (Bunbury -) Brunswick Jn - Premier Mine section remains open. In late 2001 it was announced that the trackbed from Premier east to Darkan is to become a 63.5km cycleway.

1910][CA] Victoria - Esquimalt - Malahat - Nanaimo - Parksville - Courtenay, BC: (R.1821) RailAmerica are withdrawing freight trains on the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway, the isolated 225km standard-gauge line on Vancouver Island, sold to them by Canadian Pacific in January 1999 (R.0497). The VIA passenger trains on the line (#198/199 Malahat Victoria - Courtenay) seem likely to run for the last time on 10 March 2002. 

1911][CA] Vancouver metro: (R.1438) After preview operation on Saturday and Sunday 5-6 January, the first short section of the city's SkyTrain Millennium Line opened for revenue service on Monday 7 January 2002 from Columbia station in New Westminster north via Sapperton to Braid. The main part of the Millennium line from Broadway/Commercial via Lougheed to Braid is to open by mid-2002, but the western terminus Vancouver Community College will open later. Like the original Expo line (Waterfront - Broadway/Commercial - New Westminster - Columbia - King George) the Millennium line (Vancouver Community College - Broadway/Commercial - Lougheed - Braid - Columbia) has standard-gauge linear-induction-motored driverless cars. (Transnet newsletter; http://www.metropla.net)

1912][CA] Montréal Windsor - Montréal West - Lasalle - Saint-Catherine - Saint-Constant - Delson, QC: (R.1113, 1540) Montréal's Agence Métropolitaine de Transport opened their fifth commuter-rail line on 4 September 2001. AMT operate other diesel-hauled services on the Montréal Windsor - Dorion - Rigaud (R.0694); Montréal Windsor - Blainville (R.1264); and Montréal Centrale - St.Hilaire (R.0649) routes, plus Montréal Centrale - Mont-Royal - Deux Montagnes electric trains (R.0122, 1264). (Transnet newsletter)

1913][US] Denver light rail: (R.0839) The branch from Platte Valley Jn to Denver Union Station is to open in April 2002. (Transnet newsletter)

1914][US] (Chicago, IL - Indianapolis, IN - Jeffersonville, IN -) Louisville, KY - Nashville, TN): Since its 13km extension from Jeffersonville into Louisville's Union Station on 4 December 2001 (R.1805), Amtrak's Kentucky Cardinal train-set sits idle at Louisville for more than 12 hours, which would be sufficient time for it to make a revenue-earning run the 290km to Nashville, Tennessee, and back (R.1608). On 20 December 2001 a test train for a possible extension of the service was to run over CSX's ex-Louisville & Nashville main line. (http://www.ptweekly.8k.com)

1915][US] Boston, MA - Portland, ME: (R.1018, 1743) Inaugural run of Amtrak's Downeaster was on Friday 14 December, with revenue service from Saturday 15 December 2001. Freight railroad Guilford, the track owners, are still resisting higher speeds over their ex-Boston & Maine route, so the Downeaster is restricted to 94km/h rather than 126km/h, and the 182km run therefore takes 165min instead of 140min. On one end the trains have a Class P42 diesel locomotive and on the other a 'cabbage-car' (= non-powered cab+baggage car, converted from an F40PH locomotive). (http://www.ptweekly.8k.com)

1916][US] Syracuse, NY: (Regional Transit Center/Amtrak station -) Carousel Mall - Armory Square/Downtown - University - Colvin Street: (EGTRE US19) Since reports in 1997-98 (BLN 801.0220, 804.0297, 820.085) the 11km shuttle service worked by vintage (ex-Metro North) Budd rail diesel cars of the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway has been branded OnTrack City Express, and extended from Syracuse University one stop south to Colvin St. Unusually, the Colvin St extension operates only on request, and customers have to telephone for the northbound RDC to come and pick them up. In January 2002 trains were advertised to run hourly from 11:15 to 18:30 Wednesday to Sunday (not Monday, not Tuesday). Details and a route-plan were at http://www.syracuseontrack.com. NYS&W have begun construction of a further OnTrack extension from Carousel Mall north-east across Park Street on a bridge and beneath Interstate highway I-81 to terminate at Syracuse Regional Transit Center. (http://www.nyswths.org/news.htm) The new NYS&W track is to parallel the curving west-to-east alignment north of downtown used by Amtrak's Buffalo - Syracuse - New York, NY trains. From 16 November 1998 these Amtrak trains ceased to call at the former East Syracuse station and now call at the Regional Transit Center. 

On NYS&W's (Oswego -) Syracuse - Cortland - Marathon - Binghamton, NY main line, normally freight-only south of Colvin St, a special passenger service for the Central New York Maple Festival appears to have become established, so should run for the 2002 event over the weekend 6-7 April (http://www.maplefest.org). The pattern in earlier years has been one excursion train from Syracuse Armory Square 80km south to Marathon, plus a Cortland - Marathon shuttle service. Train details are at http://www.nyswths.org/marathon.htm.

1917][GP] Guadeloupe: Beauport - Gaschet - Payen - Petit-Canal: This Caribbean island group, an overseas département of France, should see the Chemin de Fer Touristique du Pays de la Canne running in June 2002. On the course of an old 1200mm-gauge railway on the north coast of the island of Grande-Terre, metre-gauge track is being relaid from a sugar-industry visitor-centre at the former Beauport sugar-factory for 7km through the cane-fields and across the Ravine de Gaschet, with two intermediate stations. Extension of the line is envisaged in later years. A standard-gauge draisine-set acquired from the Guîtres - Marcenais heritage line in France (Ball FR-51B1) is being regauged, and a locotracteur and passenger stock have been ordered from Socofer of Tours. Information: Conseil Général de la Guadeloupe, Morne Miquel, 97110 Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe; fax +590 93 78 01. (http://www.trains-fr.org)

1918][EG] Cairo/Al-Qahira - Ismailiya - El Ferdan - El Qantara - El Arish - Rafah - Gaza: (BLN 784.0345, 797.0121, 802.0246) Five railway bridges have spanned the Suez Canal at El Ferdan or El Firdân, just north-east of Ismailiya, a strategic location much visited by the destruction of successive wars. The first (1920-43) bridge was 146m long. The second (1943-52), built by the British during World War II, was 151m long. The third (1952) bridge, 210m long, was put of action in 1956 during attacks on Egypt by British, French and Israeli forces. The fourth bridge, built 1962-63 and 218m long, was destroyed during the Arab-Israeli war of June 1967. (http://www.sis.gov.eg) No train crossed the Qanât El Suweis thereafter for 34 years. 

Since the 1960s, the Suez Canal has been significantly widened to take very large ships, and the main navigational channel at El Ferdan is now no less than 320m across. An innovative 640m-long design with twin swing-spans, at 320m the longest in the world, pivoting on piers in the canal 320m apart, was required for the fifth and present El Ferdan bridge, built by a consortium including the British firm Halcrow and the German firm Thyssen Krupp. After the first test train on 12 September 2001, the Egyptian transport minister crossed the bridge by train on 13 September, travelling north to El Qantara to see the new stayed-girder high-level road-bridge over the canal at that point. (http://www.halcrow.com; http://www.krupphannover.de) On 14 November 2001 President Mubarak of Egypt officially opened the El Ferdan bridge, restoring a rail link to the east bank of the canal and the Sinai peninsula. Egyptian National Railways now aim to improve, restore and extend their Sinai lines to the north (El Ferdan - El Qantara along the canal, then east to El Arish and onward to Rafah on the border with the Gaza strip of Palestinian territory) and south (El Ferdan - El Shatt along the canal, and later a new El Shatt - Sharm-el-Sheikh line south-east down the Gulf of Suez coast). (International Railway Journal, January 2002)

1919][ZW] Zimbabwe: commuter trains: National Railways of Zimbabwe said on 9 January 2002 that their five experimental suburban commuter services introduced from October 2001 (R.1769) were still running, and should continue. The three now operating in the Harare area (routes unspecified) are fully loaded. In the Bulawayo area, the Luveve train (Bulawayo - Luveve - Victoria Falls line) loads to eight or nine coaches, and is fuller than the Umganin one (Bulawayo - Umganin - Plumtree line) one, which has seven or eight. The trains simply pick up passengers from the ground at stopping-places, like a bus. NRZ are not planning to build stations or other infrastructure for the new services nor do they have the spare stock to run more trains. A few Bulawayo commuter trains may run with steam as part of the August 2002 Zimfest. (zimfest@yahoogroups.com)

1920][RE] Réunion: This island in the Indian Ocean, an overseas département of France, once had 127km of metre-gauge railway (St.Benoît - St.André - St.Denis - St.Paul - St.Pierre anti-clockwise round the coast from the north-east to the south-west). From the station at La Grande Chaloupe on the west coast, preservation group Ti Train Lontan (= petit train d'antan = little train of yesteryear) organise 6km trips by railcar over the remaining section of line to La Possession. For more than 4km, the track runs along beneath the cliffs, tunnelling through a honeycomb of caves filled with bats. Beyond the useable section, as far as the military camp at St.Denis, the island's préfecture, track was being lifted during 2001. The preserved stock comprises two Billard railcars, a trailer, a draisine, several wagons and an 1878-built Schneider 0-6-0T steam locomotive #8, cosmetically restored and now a historical monument. The railcar runs on demand all year, and for the public on local holidays. Telephone +262 45 60 87, or Mr Gérard Chotard +262 44 73 85. For the future, a 70km St.Benoît - St.Denis - St.Paul coastal tramway (transport en commun en site propre) is proposed, but its route is still being studied. The Grande Chaloupe cliff section might use either the existing tunnel or a new tunnel wide enough for double track. The tramway would not open until maybe 2010-2012.

1921][NL] (Hilversum -) Naarden-Bussum - Almere Muziekwijk (- Lelystad): (Ball 4A3 not shown) Many passengers for the Flevolijn to Almere and Lelystad have at present to change trains at Weesp, where the layout does not permit the reversal that would be necessary to provide through trains from directions other than Amsterdam. However, the Gooiboog, a southeast-to-northeast curve avoiding Weesp, was under construction in January 2002 (R.1525) and should in 2003 allow through and faster journeys from Utrecht or Amersfoort via Hilversum to the Flevolijn. Later, perhaps by 2009, Netherlands track-authority Railinfrabeheer hope to extend the Flevolijn branch for some 50km as the through Hanzelijn from Lelystad to Zwolle (BLN 773.091; Ball 1B1-2A1), not only connecting these two towns but also improving rail links between Amsterdam and the northern Netherlands, bypassing busy Amersfoort. (http://www.rib.nl)

1922][NL] (Amsterdam Centraal -) Amsterdam Duivendrecht - Amsterdam Bijlmer - Abcoude - Breukelen - Maarssen - Utrecht: (R.1524; Ball 4A3) At the bi-level Duivendrecht station, the north-south Amsterdam - Utrecht main line, opened in 1843 and one of the earliest railways in the Netherlands, crosses above the much newer west-east (Leiden - Schiphol -) Amsterdam RAI - Diemen Zuid (- Weesp) Zuidtak (= south branch), and a normally freight-only double-track east-to-south link avoiding Duivendrecht is already in place (BLN 822.0121, 827.0254). Under construction nearby is the Utrechtboog (= Utrecht curve), a west-to-south double-track link enabling through-running of Schiphol - RAI - Bijlmer - Utrecht trains. The southbound track is to be 1.3km long, the westbound track 1.9km, both mainly on viaducts or bridges across roads and other railways, including the Amsterdam Metro. Earthworks and some bridges seemed to be nearing completion in January 2002. 

In association with investment in the Utrechtboog, the double-track main line from Duivendrecht south for some 30km to Utrecht is being quadrupled, involving major reconstruction at Bijlmer, Abcoude, Breukelen and Maarssen. At Bijlmer, the cross-platform interchange station with the Metro is to become a stop for inter-city trains, and construction had begun of new facilities. South of Bijlmer to Breukelen, only preliminary work had started, including cable re-routing and demolition of houses. Abcoude's old station remained, but major work is in prospect, for a movable bridge is to be replaced by a tunnel taking the four tracks beneath the small river Gein, and the station is to be relocated. At Breukelen, the old station had been demolished. Here a new flying junction is to minimise conflicting movements with trains for the Breukelen - Harmelen aansluiting - Woerden line. Between Breukelen and Utrecht earthworks were mostly complete. Maarssen's old station remained, largely hidden by enormous piles of sand, but it is to be demolished and replaced. Some 2km north of Utrecht, massive steelwork on the bank of the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal presaged a second bridge (the Demka bridge) which is to parallel the existing one and take the quadrupled line over this major waterway. Completion of the whole project is expected in 2006. 

1923][NL] Rotterdam - Zevenaar: (Ball 3B2-5A2) Construction was well under way in January 2002 of the politically controversial Betuwelijn, a dedicated freight-only railway from the huge port of Rotterdam on c.160km of mostly new alignment due east across the Netherlands to a junction at Zevenaar with the existing (Arnhem -) Zevenaar NS - Emmerich DB cross-border line. From near Barendrecht past Kijfhoek marshalling-yard for several km towards Dordrecht, Betuwelijn trains will parallel the existing Rotterdam - Dordrecht main line. (http://www.betuweroute.nl)

1924][DE][NL] Leer - Weener DB - Nieuweschans NS (- Groningen): (Ball DE-15B2-15A2, NL-2A2) Restoration of the cross-border rail passenger service seems to have slipped beyond 1 February 2002 (R.1839). It is reported that German operators DB Regio and Nordwestbahn showed no interest in running trains on this section, while NoordNed, Dutch operators of the Groningen - Nieuweschans section, have no suitable rolling-stock fitted with German Indusi signalling equipment.

1925][DE][NL] Gronau (Westfalen) DB - Glanerbrug NS - De Eschmarke - Enschede: (R.1724; Ball DE-24A2, NL-5B3) Both Gronau and Enschede sport European Union blue plaques with gold stars saying that this cross-border line 'officially' opened on Friday 16 November 2001, the date the inauguration ceremonies took place. Posters still on display at Gronau in January 2002 confirm that a free Gronau - Enschede shuttle service ran on the Saturday. DB Regio trains began revenue service on Sunday 18 November 2001, the date quoted in R.1842. 

Enschede station comprises bay platforms 1-3 at the west end, with the station building on platform 4, one of the two former through platforms. NS Inter-City electric trains terminate twice hourly (with lengthy xx:02-xx:28 and xx:32-xx:58 lay-overs) at platform 4. At its east end a level-crossing is the sole means of passenger access to what presumably used to be platform 5, now replaced by a brand-new unnumbered platform served by the DB trains. East of the crossing, track #4 simply peters out, while the track used by the DB trains has been slued to take up the alignment of the single running-line down the middle of the formation towards the frontier. At the west end of the 'DB' platform, a casual glance might suggest that continuous track has been blocked by two back-to-back sets of buffer-stops to prevent through running from the DB system to the NS, but in fact the rails have a gap a little longer than could be bridged by fishplates, so the 'DB' platform has no physical connection to the Dutch network. Despite the 'European unity' message of the blue plaques, the cross-border service was not obviously mentioned on Enschede's NS departure posters, and indeed no sign was to be seen saying that trains to Germany were available, or indicating whence they departed. Passengers for the DB trains were in evidence, however, though the only information about the service was a timetable displayed on the unnumbered platform. The ticket-machine there (as also at the two NS halts De Eschmarke and Glanerbrug) issues tickets only for journeys east of Enschede. Neverthless, an NS pass was accepted on the DB train for an Enschede - Glanerbrug journey. Despite physical separation from the rest of the NS, all the restored infrastructure on Netherlands soil, including signals, is of Dutch pattern, while that in Germany is DB standard. The Gronau - Enschede line is a single 'one-train-working' section, so the signalling presumably relates to the level-crossings rather than to block-working. 

1926][DE] (Magdeburg -) Wolmirstedt - Zielitz Ort - Zielitz (- Stendal): (R.1630; Ball 28A2; KBS309) New halt Zielitz Ort on Magdeburg S-Bahn line 1 eventually opened on 21 September 2001. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 6/2001)

1927][DE] Erfurt trams: Domplatz - Benaryplatz: (Ball 41B1 not shown) This 1.2km reopened section was inaugurated Friday 23 November and route #4 revenue service began on Saturday 24 November 2001. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn)

1928][DE] Görlitz trams: (Ball 45A2 not shown) The short north-eastern branch extension to Königshufen/Am Marktkauf was to open on 18 January 2002, served by tram-route #3. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn)

1929][DE] Stuttgart S-Bahn: Flughafen - Filderstadt-Bernhausen: (Ball 58A1) This 4km extension to line S2 opened 29 September 2001. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn)

1930][DE] Trossingen Bahnhof - Trossingen Stadt: (R.0486, 1853; Ball 68B2) Municipally-owned Trossinger Eisenbahn's 600V dc light-rail service on this 4.3km standard-gauge branch is to end on Friday 13 December and be replaced on Saturday 14 December 2002 by Hohenzollerische Landesbahn diesel RegioShuttle workings. (Tramways & Urban Transit, Jan. 2002)

1931][IT] Torino trams: (Ball 45A2 not shown) Tram-route #4 was extended from Piazza Caio Maia south to Mirafiori Sud on 5 November 2001. (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2002)

1932][HU] Balatonfenyves - Somogyszentpál / Táska / Csiszta: (BLN 777.0177; Ball 47A2) Track on this 760mm-gauge system is very poor, and while MÁV have been prevented from closing it on 1 February 2002, it may close later in 2002.

1933][HR][BA] Ploce - Metkovic HZ (- Gabela ZBH - Capljina - Mostar - Sarajevo): (R.0352, 0920; Ball 51B2) A short walk from the ferry-terminal at the Croatian port of Ploce is the Hrvatske Zeleznice station, with plinthed narrow-gauge 0-8-0 steam locomotive #83.106. It is adjacent to the bus-station, whence buses run every 60-90 minutes to Dubrovnik, a 90-120-minute journey. Ploce's rail-served harbour lines, not electrified, were in December 2001 being shunted by a Bo-Bo diesel locomotive, and the locomotive-shed c.1km away, with an unadvertised staff-halt, held two more Bo-Bo diesels and a few electric locomotives. The daily international train inland to Bosnia comprised three bogie coaches, electrically hauled, while HZ's shuttle trains over the c.20km Ploce - Metkovic section within Croatia comprised two four-wheel coaches and a substantially heavier electric locomotive. Both Ploce and Metkovic stations were fully staffed and issued HZ Edmondson-style card tickets, duly inspected and punched on the train.

1934][HR] (Capljina - Hum -) Dubrovnik (- Zelenika): (R.1565; Ball 51B2 not shown) On this closed (1901-1975) 760mm-gauge line, Dubrovnik's modest station building still stood in December 2001, in mixed residential and office use some distance north-west of the town-centre, adjacent to disused quayside transit-sheds alongside Gruz harbour. The substantial stone retaining-walls that protected the line as it climbed out of Dubrovnik can still be seen from across the coastal inlet in Mokosica (bus-route #1) or in the distance inland from Fort Srd on the hill above the town. The trackbed does not appear to be used as a farm-road or a footpath, perhaps because of the locally-alleged risk of land-mines. Fighting in 1991-92 destroyed the Dubrovnik - Fort Srd cableway. The reinforced-concrete upper station at Fort Srd (also known as Fort Imperial) was shelled and is in ruins, and one of the cable-cars lies wrecked a short distance below on the hillside.

1935][HR] Ston salt-pans railway: (R.1565) North-west of Dubrovnik, on Croatia's Peljesac peninsula, the part-walled small town of Ston is at the head of an inlet where sea-water evaporates naturally in a series of salt-pans. Salt deposits are removed and taken to a main building for storage and processing by a light industrial railway of c.600mm-gauge, using a small number of wooden-bodied wagons with sloping floors to facilitate gravity discharge, and a single four-wheel diesel locomotive. Although salt collection is presumably restricted to the summer months, crushing and packing goes on all year. In December 2001 rails running parallel to the salt-pans for c.400m to a separate store at their far end were only lightly rusted, indicating use within the previous week, though the whole operation looked very run-down. A second diesel locomotive lay derelict.

1936][AU] Rockhampton - Townsville - Cairns: At the end of 2001 through trains from the Rockhampton direction on the south-to-north coastal main line of 1067mm-gauge Queensland Rail were still taking a sinuous and slow (15-25km/h) route through the city of Townsville. From Boundary Street, south of the city centre, they traversed a bridge north over Ross Creek to arrive at the west end of the handsome old passenger station, circled round to cross Ross Creek again at the east end of the station, crossed the inbound line on the level at right-angles to join the Northyard bypass line heading west through Reid Park, and finally crossed Ross Creek for a third time to head west over Charters Towers Road level-crossing before turning north on the main line to Cairns or continuing west inland on the Townsville - Charters Towers - Mount Isa line. The Northyard bypass was built in 1992 to give a direct run to the north or the west from the Jetty branch serving Townsville's developing port, but its Ross Creek bridge has exacerbated local flooding problems. A new line is therefore being built leading direct from Boundary Street north-west across Reid Park on a new alignment to yet another railway bridge over Ross Creek and on westward to Charters Towers Road to rejoin the old alignment. A new Townsville passenger station is to be built, partly on this new bridge, partly to the north of it. The old station on its circular loop will be cut out, although a west-facing curve will be built from Charters Towers Road through the former Northyard site into the old station for special trains. The present layout should be replaced and the new station opened early in 2003. (Railway Digest, November 2001)

1937][CA] Vancouver metro: (R.1438, 1911) Revenue service on the short Columbia - Braid section of the SkyTrain Millennium Line, with a train every six minutes from 7 January 2002, followed test running that began 26 November 2001 and from 3 December was extended from Braid through Lougheed Town Centre station to a point west of Production Way-University station. 

1938][CA] Victoria - Esquimalt - Malahat - Stockett - Nanaimo - Parksville - Courtenay, BC: (R.1910) On 8 January 1999 Canadian Pacific Railway, owners of the isolated 225km standard-gauge Esquimalt & Nanaimo line on Vancouver Island, leased to RailAmerica the sections from Victoria to Stockett (just south of Nanaimo) and from Parksville to Courtenay, and sold to them outright the Stockett - Parksville section, plus the freight-only Parksville - Port Alberni branch, closed to passengers in 1953. However freight traffic failed to match expectations, and on 29 November 2001 E&N employees were given 30 days notice of the island system's closure to freight. RailAmerica also gave 90 days notice to VIA Rail either to give up their running rights for the single daily passenger train (#198/199 Malahat Victoria - Courtenay), or else face a very steep increase in track-access charges as the only remaining users of the line. VIA argue that CPR have a continuing responsibility to ensure the line stays open, but unsurprisingly CPR dispute this, and the Malahat may run for the last time on 10 March 2002. Ironically, VIA's Budd 1950s rail diesel cars that work the service are being refurbished, car #6133 having arrived back on the E&N only in mid-December 2001, releasing car #6148 to go to Moncton, NB, on the far side of the Dominion, for overhaul by mid-February 2002 (R.1821). In late January, with a final decision on the passenger trains still pending, a small amount of freight was said still to be moving between Victoria and Parksville. A mainland casualty of the E&N closure will be CPR's transfer traffic from Coquitlam Yard via New Westminster over the BNSF/CN line to the Tilbury Barge Slip of Washington Marine Group on the Fraser River in Delta, BC, whence ferries have taken freight cars for the island to Wellcox near Nanaimo.

1939][CA] North Vancouver - Squamish - Lillooet - Exeter - Williams Lake - Prince George: (BLN 776.0165, R.0114, 1163, 1439) After operating since 1975, albeit in 2001 hauled by ex-CPR 'F-unit' diesel #4069 when no steam locomotive was available, the Royal Hudson North Vancouver - Squamish summer tourist train is not to run in 2002. In January 2002 elderly Budd rail diesel cars were maintaining the classic timetable of BCR's Cariboo Prospector (daily North Vancouver - Lillooet, running forward to Prince George Monday, Thursday, Saturday, returning south from Prince George Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; http://www.bcrail.com/cariboo), but BC Rail are again considering cutting back or ending their ordinary passenger service, and will also be reviewing their weekly Whistler Northwind North Vancouver - Prince George locomotive-hauled tourist train (http://www.whistlernorthwind.com) after its 2002 summer season (19 May-2 October). BC Rail are also said to be considering total abandonment of their main line between Squamish and Exeter (100 Mile House), leaving CN to work the Exeter - Prince George section as a branch.

1940][CA] Prince George - Odell - Wakely - Kennedy - Chetwynd - Fort St.John - Fort Nelson; and four branches Odell - Fort St.James - Chipmunk; Wakely - Teck - Tumbler Ridge - Quintette; Kennedy - MacKenzie; and Chetwynd - Dawson Creek: BC Rail's normally freight-only lines north of Prince George are to see railtours on 20-28 April and 7-15 September 2002. The April tour (http://www.mp1.com/events/event17.htm) may be the last opportunity to go from Fort St.John north to Fort Nelson, since the September tour (http://www.wcra.org/tours/inland.htm) is booked not to visit this section, allegedly because of unsuitable track. The April route is Vancouver (ex-CN, now VIA, station) - (CN freight-only line) - North Vancouver - Prince George - Tumbler Ridge (reverse) - Wakely (reverse) - MacKenzie (reverse) - Kennedy (reverse) - Fort Nelson (reverse) - Odell (reverse) - Fort St.James (reverse) - Prince George - Terrace (reverse) - (CN freight-only branch) - Kitimat (reverse) - Prince Rupert (reverse) - Prince George - Jasper (reverse) - Kamloops - Vancouver. The September route is North Vancouver - Prince George - Tumbler Ridge (reverse) - Wakely (reverse) - Dawson Creek (reverse) - Chetwynd (reverse) - Fort St.John (reverse) - Odell (reverse) - Fort St.James (reverse) - Prince George - North Vancouver. As in previous years, neither tour will run north-west of Fort St.James to Chipmunk (on the never-fully-opened branch to Dease Lake, thought still to be seeing only limited use; BLN 776.0165), nor east of Tumbler Ridge (on the 50kV 60Hz electrified coalfield line, the last section of which is thought to have been out of use since the closure of the Quintette mine in 2000; BLN 809.0427, R.0720).

1941][US][CA] (Toronto, ON -) Sarnia, ON - Port Huron, MI (- Chicago, IL): In January 2002, four months after the attacks on New York and Washington, the US federal government and their nationalised railway were regrettably still preventing westbound travellers from using this rail border-crossing to enter the USA. Passengers on the supposedly-through Toronto - Chicago International trains (#7085/365 on weekdays and #7685/367 Sundays) have been compulsorily detrained with all their baggage at Sarnia in Canada, taken by bus across the border, put through customs and immigration inspections at the highway crossing-point, and reboarded at Amtrak's Port Huron station. Thanks to the usual slack built into the schedules of America's third-world passenger railway, this rigmarole, highly inconvenient for passengers, does not normally delay the train! It seems demoralised Amtrak have no plans to address the problem with their country's government, so it continues until further notice. Canada's authorities are less prone to panic, and passengers remain aboard the eastbound International #364/7088 for the entire journey as advertised, including the border-crossing, over track owned by Canadian National on both sides of the frontier. Anyone wanting to travel this track needs to do so eastbound, therefore - though a better idea might be to deny the USA the benefits of one's tourist spending until the authorities improve customer care on their railway!

1942][US] Chicago metro: Howard - Dempster: The Chicago Transit Authority's Yellow line, better known as the Skokie Swift, runs from Howard station on the Red and Purple lines near the Lake Michigan shore inland to the west for some 8km non-stop to Dempster station in the suburb of Skokie. Part of the route uses CTA's standard 600V dc third rail, but part is still equipped with overhead catenary, some of it supported by masts erected in 1925 by the former North Shore interurban. The 3200 Series heavy-rail cars are similar to others elsewhere on the CTA system but are able to operate on both types of supply, the change-over taking place without the train stopping. Between summer 2002 and the end of 2003 CTA plan to replace this last section of catenary with third rail, enabling the use of standard cars and facilitating eventually a proposed extension of the line from Dempster north to Old Orchard Shopping Center. (Chicago Sun-Times, 15 January 2002) 

1943][MX] México: passenger trains: Passenger trains have declined dramatically since 1987, when several other state-owned railways were merged into Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (National Railways of Mexico, as they had styled themselves in English-language advertising material). The time-honoured abbreviation NdeM gave way to FNM, accompanied by a new livery. Though at about the same time FNM were purchasing cast-off North American passenger-cars and new Japanese-designed stock, this was all too little, too late, for speeds were not commercially competitive, and losses mounted, with the inevitable consequences: downgrading of service by withdrawal of sleepers and dining-cars (BLN 696.013), then wholesale withdrawal of trains, the latter mainly following privatisation in the late 1990s. FNM ceased to run trains in November 1999, although on paper they remained an operating railway until 5 June 2001. At the turn of 1999-2000 (one report says November 1999, at the effective demise of FNM, another implies it was after the Christmas 1999 / New Year 2000 holiday), the majority of Mexico's passenger train services simply came to an abrupt halt. 

The Mexican federal government had during 1999 provided special finance to the individual states for construction of roads to most rural communities previously linked only by rail, and would not intervene to provide passenger trains in areas where alternative means of transport were available. Two states responded by financing some passenger trains: Zacatecas supported a Felipe Pescador - Torreón - Chihuahua service on part of the Ciudad Mexico - Ciudad Juarez main line, and Coahuila a Sierra Mojada - Ciudad Frontera service. By spring 2000 Mexico City's huge Buenavista station (BLN 822.0134) saw a mere three trains weekly, running Ciudad Mexico - Apizaco. (http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/dt/dttrainsout.html) Some trains reportedly still ran in the states of Oaxaca, Campeche, Chiapas and Tabasco, but were expected to cease when new roads were built. Surviving passenger workings were generally basic, comprising one or two carriages, usually attached to freight trains, operated essentially at the behest of state governments as subsidised social services for specific local communities, outside which information remains difficult to obtain. In 1987 some 140 of these mixed trains (mixtos) augmented the extensive full-service passenger network but by 2001 services were believed to run only on the following routes. No centrally-published timetable seems to exist, and three sources (http://www.mexlist.com/pass.htm; http://www.ferrolatino.ch/FLBEng.htm and the November 2001 Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable) show some disagreement, so the maximum likely extent is shown below: Chihuahua - Los Mochis (R.1944); Guadalajara - Tequila (R.1944); Mérida - Izamal (Saturday and Sunday, seemingly another tourist operation); Ciudad Mexico - Apizaco (thrice-weekly); Tehuacán - Oaxaca (thrice weekly); Coatzacoalcos - Tenosique - Campeche (thrice weekly); Coatzacoalcos - Medias Aguas - Ixtepec - Tapachula (thrice weekly); Felipe Pescador - Torreón (weekly; this two-coach train was observed, northbound, on a Friday in April 2001, and was stated to continue to Chihuahua); and Matamoros - Reynosa (irregular). The Sierra Mojada - Cuatro Cienegas (- Ciudad Frontera) service seems to have been truncated. Indeed, any of these services could have been altered or discontinued, so up-to-date information would be welcome. 

1944][MX] Chihuahua - La Junta - Minaca - Creel - Divisadero - Temoris - El Fuerte - Los Mochis - Topolobampo: By spring 2001, apart from urban metro operations, only one route in Mexico had proper passenger trains with modern equipment. The route of the Ferrocarril de Chihuahua al Pacifico (ChP or Chepe, a phonetic rendering of the initials) uses the tracks of an earlier ChP (later Ferrocarril Nor-Oeste de México) for the first 193.5km from Chihuahua to Minaca, opened 31 March 1900. The 102.7km Minaca - Creel section, completed 1907, started life as part of the grandly-titled Kansas City, Mexico & Orient, but in March 1912, while Mexico was deep in revolution, the KCMO went into receivership. The Santa Fe bought the KCMO on 24 September 1928, but they sold on the Mexican lines to United Sugar of Los Mochis. The latter in turn sold out in 1940 to the Mexican federal government, which in 1952 acquired the FC Nor-Oeste and merged the two in 1955 to form the ChP. Meanwhile, at the other end of the line, the 102.1km section from the port of Topolobampo eastward via Los Mochis to El Fuerte had opened by mid-1903, leaving a long gap still to be bridged, over difficult terrain. By 1951 the line had extended c.24km eastwards from El Fuerte, but the section completing the line was not officially opened until 23 November 1961, with regular services the next day. The 274.8km Creel - El Fuerte section includes two horseshoe spirals near Temoris, a 2460m summit, no fewer than 86 tunnels (of which the longest is 1818m; four additional false tunnels for rock-slide protection were later added), and 37 major bridges (the longest is 500m, over the Rio Fuerte). At Divisadero, the scenic Copper Canyon can be viewed, though the train does not actually pass through or over the canyon. The Chihuahua - Los Mochis train El Chihuahua Pacifico, precursor of the present Chepe, began running 30 July 1987, using new Japanese-designed cars on a twelve-hour schedule, but passenger services from Los Mochis (whose station is inconveniently sited several km from the downtown area) to Topolobampo (20.3km) ceased 10 November 1987, and the railcars (autovias) which formerly supplemented the through locomotive-hauled trains over other parts of the route no longer run. 

In February 1998 Grupo Ferroviario Méxicano, a private-sector joint-venture between two Mexican firms and US railroad Union Pacific, took over the routes of the former ChP, plus the Ferrocarril del Pacifico (FCP, the former Southern Pacific of Mexico, which the Mexican government had purchased from SP on 21 December 1951 and had merged into FNM in 1987) and other FNM main lines across a whole swathe of country north of Ciudad Mexico, though excluding the main lines from Ciudad Mexico to Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros and Tampico (BLN 822.0135). GFM trade as Ferrocarril Méxicano or Ferromex. In 2001 Ferromex were running two Chihuahua - Los Mochis trains daily: the first-class-only Chepe aimed at the foreign tourist market (inaugurated 20 July 1999, and also marketed as Tren Express del Cobre), and, running one hour behind, the economy-class Tarahumara, still assured of state support because of its rugged route and the dearth of alternative roads. Various cruise trains serving leisure rather than transport markets continue to run to and over the ChP. Ferromex also run twice-weekly weekend Tequila Express tourist trains on the Guadalajara - Tequila route. (http://www.ferromex.com.mx/gfm2000.html). 

1945][AR] Buenos Aires Retiro (Mitre) - Rosario - San Miguel de Tucumán: (R.1886) The long-distance train restored from 5 January 2002 on the 1676mm-gauge Mitre route was launched as El Jardín de la República rather than El Tucumáno. 

1946][AR] Buenos Aires: Puente Alsina - Aldo Bonzi (- Marinos del Cruzero): (BLN 767.0515, 793.028) The Tren Metropolitano Belgrano service on the metre-gauge line from the minor (and not very centrally-situated) city terminus of Puente Alsina out to the inner suburban junction of Aldo Bonzi in the Tapiales area has been 'suspended indefinitely' according to a locally displayed notice dated 21 December 2001, and no trains were running in January 2002. Since Buenos Aires General Belgrano station offers an alternative metre-gauge city terminus, and trains can change routes by a curve near Aldo Bonzi to reach outer suburban stations on the Belgrano Sur line to Marinos del Cruzero (63km out), it seems unlikely that Puente Alsina will again see a passenger service.

1947][AR] (Viedma - Ingeniero Jacobacci -) Perito Moreno - San Carlos de Bariloche: (R.1654) This 30km section of ex-Roca 1676mm-gauge main line, already traversed by Servicios Ferroviarios Patagónicos Viedma - Bariloche trains (R.1355), has since 13 July 2001 seen a steam-hauled tourist train about twice a week, usually Wednesday and Friday, with approximate timings Bariloche 14:00 - Perito Moreno - 19:00 Bariloche. Information: El Histórico Tren a Vapor +54 2944 423858. 

1948][NL] (Rotterdam -) Barendrecht - Zwijndrecht (- Dordrecht): (Ball 3B2) Construction work continues, probably associated with the Betuwelijn project (R.1923). Of the four tracks at Barendrecht (BLN 827.0251) the two passenger tracks formerly serving platforms 1 and 2 have been removed, and four new tracks are being laid on a parallel alignment to the east, incorporating a brand-new station, though in January 2002 only two of these tracks were in use. For some 200-300m, including but not restricted to the station area, all four new tracks had been covered over by a concrete 'tunnel' whose walls rise above the present ground level, but whose purpose was not yet clear. Meanwhile, on the west side of the 'tunnel' and not covered by it, the two old freight tracks remained in use, passing the remains of Barendrecht's 'temporary' wooden platform 3, now rotting and unusable. On 26-27 January and 2-3 February 2002 weekend southbound non-stop trains were booked to use the freight track from Rotterdam Zuid to just beyond the flyover north of Zwijndrecht. This track and its northbound equivalent both run as a pair on the east side of the big Kijfhoek freight yard, but are separated by a watercourse from the now quadruple main line. 

1949][NL] Amsterdam Centraal - Westerdoksdijk: (Ball 4A3) At the north-west end of Amsterdam Centraal station, a swing-bridge gave access to Westerdoksdijk carriage-sidings, which were at the same level above ground as the huge station itself. The sidings have been out of use since around 1998, but in January 2002 the access tracks remained in place as far as the swing-bridge, itself still in place though swung closed for rail traffic. Beyond the far abutment of the bridge, however, the area had been cleared down to the original ground level and awaited redevelopment,.

1950][NL] Amsterdam Centraal - Amsterdam Muiderpoort: (Ball 4A3) Our 1998 report (BLN 828.0282) explained the usage of the three pairs of running-lines from Amsterdam Centraal (then known as Amsterdam CS) east to Muiderpoort, and noted that the most northerly pair ran at ground level. By January 2002 these two tracks had been raised, enabling at least one under-rail bridge to replace a former level-crossing, and they now follow a new alignment closer to, but still slightly lower than, the other tracks. The disused Dijksgracht carriage-sidings remain between the middle and southern pair of running-lines. At Muiderpoort station the Weesp lines serve platforms 2 and 3, the Amstel lines serve platforms 8 and 9, while tracks 1 and 4-7, all on the Weesp alignment, are without platform faces.

1951][DE] Vorwohle - Eschershausen - Bodenwerder-Linse - Grohnde - Emmerthal: (R.1843; Ball 26B1-26A1) The layouts at Vorwohle and Emmerthal are very similar: double-track main line; station building on a single-faced platform next to one track; island platform alongside the second track; outer face of the island, Gleis 3, accommodating branch trains and doubling as a bi-directional overtaking loop; and a further loop allowing branch trains to run round. As long as no train is being overtaken, branch trains can thus come and go without fouling the main lines. However Vorwohle station is closed to passengers, with its building in residential use, and its single signal-box switched out most of the time, while Emmerthal is still open and has a Stellwerk at each end of the layout to control level-crossings. DB own the main-line tracks at Vorwohle, but though Vorwohle-Emmerthaler Verkehrsbetriebe in 2000 acquired the redundant loop and sidings, VEV do not have an operating permit for them from Niedersachsen's state railway authority, and VEV train movements are restricted to the branch Hauptsignal (= home-signal).

Uerdingen railbus VT224 of local preservation group Interessengemeinschaft Schienenbus Seelze, its 59 seats well filled, worked a special train over the full length of the VEV line on 26 January 2002. It left Emmerthal at 11:15 at a fine speed, along well-maintained track for the first 2.5km to Grohnde, track on which DB Cargo occasionally carry nuclear material. To the south-east, by contrast, the line condition and speed confirmed that the VEV is indeed a disused secondary railway, with all but one of its level-crossing light signals now inoperative. No sign was seen of recent freight traffic, and not a single freight wagon was in any of the sidings, which looked generally unusable. VEV, like other secondary lines, used to store surplus hire-fleet tank-wagons, but this too had ceased. The only item of stock seen outside was an ex-DB shunting locomotive minus its cab, at Bodenwerder-Linse, though the shed there may shelter items other than the ISS railbus. After reversing at Vorwohle 13:05-13:20, the returning railbus diverged at the east-facing junction at Linse, venturing down the 300m siding to Bodenwerder hafen on the east bank of the river Weser opposite Bodenwerder-Kemnade, and also at the east-facing junction to take the short branch to Grohnde nuclear power-station, 1km to the security-gate. Return to Emmerthal was at 15:45. An earlier trip on 8 December 2001 had covered the whole VEV line including the Grohnde branch but not Bodenwerder hafen. In the meantime, charter specials continue, not especially aimed at the rail-enthusiast market, with the ISS railbus running several trips during February and March 2002 on the section from Emmerthal to Buchhagen, near Bodenwerder. 

The future of the line looks to be as follows: Vorwohle - Eschershausen (out of use, abandonment possible); Eschershausen - Bodenwerder-Linse (VEV board resolved to close, but yet to submit a formal request to Land Niedersachsen); Bodenwerder-Linse - Grohnde - Emmerthal (trains to continue as required). It is not clear how railway and rail-cycle operations will in future be segregated at Bodenwerder-Linse, where the station area has been handed over to a firm hiring pedal-driven draisines, who are now assembling their rolling-stock in the old workshop and renovating the station building with a view to opening for business in summer 2002. Draisines based in Linse will be able to run to a point east of Eschershausen. 

1952][DE] Düren - Jülich - Linnich (- Baal): (Ball 37B1) Land Nordrhein-Westfalen delayed granting the necessary finance, so reopening of the Dürener Kreisbahn Jülich - Linnich section, planned for 21 October 2001 (R.1496), had to be postponed till 26 May 2002. Trains are to run hourly, at up to 80km/h, with a journey time of 14 minutes.


1953][DE] Grünstadt - Eisenberg (Pfalz) - Ramsen - Eiswoog (- Enkenbach): (R.1756; Ball 57A3) The timber platform opened 10 June 2001 on an embankment in the middle of a wood is not the original Eiswoog station, which lies a short distance to the west beyond a dilapidated viaduct still unsafe for trains to cross. Neither the old nor the new station was really intended to serve local residents, but rather to facilitate access to the countryside. Our reporter, visiting on 9 September 2001, was astounded at the money spent on extending the branch to Eiswoog for a limited-purpose summer-Sundays-only service. 

1954][DE] Böblingen - Sindelfingen - Renningen: (Ball 57B1) Some peak-hour Mon-Fri passenger trains run from Böblingen 2.3km north to the run-down three-platform station at Sindelfingen, for workers at the nearby DaimlerChrysler car-factory. Freight may cover the infrastructure costs of the electrified line but the train used by our reporter in December 2001 was not well loaded. The service might be thought 'at risk', though in 1999 (R.0239) Land Baden-Württemberg were said to have longer-term plans to reopen the rest of the 14.3km line as a passenger route through to Renningen, maybe in 2006.

1955][DE] Stuttgart S-Bahn: Flughafen - Filderstadt: (R.1929; Ball 58A1) The S2 extension (opened 29 September 2001) beyond the airport lies entirely in tunnel for the 4km to its new terminus, whose name has been shortened to Filderstadt.

1956][AT][CZ] Summerau ÖBB - Horní Dvoríšté CD: (R.1428; Ball AT-63A1, CZ-40B2) The final 4km cross-border section of wiring linking Austrian 15kV 16.7Hz and Czech 25kV 50Hz electrification came into use from 10 December 2001. (Today's Railways, #74, February 2002)

1957][PT] Lisboa: Alcântara Terra - Alcântara Mar: (R.0569; Ball 25B1, electrification not correctly shown) This short still-unelectrified freight-only link between the 25kV 50Hz Campolide - Alcântara Terra single-track branch and the 1500V dc Lisboa Cais do Sodré - Alcântara Mar - Cascais double-track passenger line was traversed on 26 January 2002 by a Portuguese Traction Group railtour. The tour train, at that point comprising a diesel locomotive and a single coach, then reversed from the Cascais line south across the main road into the port area, heading east on one of the three holding tracks into the Lisboa container depot for a photographic stop. Later that day the augmented tour train visited the Soporcel and Celbi industrial branches at Louriçal (R.0764) on the (Lisboa -) Cacém - Figueira da Foz Linha do Oeste.

1958][ES] Medina del Campo - Salamanca - Salamanca La Alamadilla - Fuente de San Esteban - Ciudad Rodrigo - Fuentes d'Oñoro RENFE (- Vilar Formoso CP): (Ball 10A1-19B3-18B2) Once a five-way junction, Medina retains its fine but rusting overall roof, its huge station buildings, and quite a complex layout with a classic signal-box at the southern (Madrid) end. The Segovia - Medina del Campo line, closed to passengers 26 September 1993 (BLN 725.061) is out of use but remains connected with catenary in place, awaiting its possible role in the Variante de Guadarrama high-speed line project (BLN 844.0102). Westward to Portugal, the provincial authority, Junta de Castilla y Leon, heavily supported by the European Union Cohesion Fund, are financing realignment, and in January 2002 the Medina del Campo - Salamanca section had some middle-of-the-day local trains substituted by buses during engineering work. At Salamanca the five-platform main station now includes a new shopping-mall. South-west of the main station, on the north-west side of the line, a single platform without a nameboard had recently been constructed. According to the local timetable obtained at Salamanca, this platform, Salamanca La Alamadilla, has a single departure, the 14:40 Regional to Avila, but six arrivals, one ordinary Regional from Avila and five Tren Regional Diesel workings through from Madrid. To the south, the Salamanca - Guijuelo y Campillo - Plasencia line was still physically connected and though well-rusted showed slight signs of use, consistent with the report (R.1863) that the section to Guijuelo had been used in the earlier part of 2001 by ballast traffic. Local traffic is light, as in most of rural Spain. Nevertheless, at Fuente de San Esteban, the former junction for Barca de Alva, the main building on the northernmost of the three passenger platforms still had a station-master in his office, and the whole place was clean and tidy. A goods-shed and several sidings lay south of the platforms. Ciudad Rodrigo station, with two passenger trains a day, still had three platforms, as well as a goods-shed and a couple of sidings. The section from Fuente de San Esteban west to Fuentes d'Oñoro, gateway to Portugal, has seen very substantial recent realignment, amounting to giving RENFE virtually a new line, and in places the route now in use cuts across the old formation at a significant angle. At Fuentes d'Oñoro, the main single-storey station building looked in good repair.

1959][ES] Fuente de San Esteban - Fregeneda RENFE (- Barca de Alva CP): (Ball 19A3-18B3 not shown) This long-disused cross-border route was in January 2002 still physically connected to the RENFE network, with the junction points locked. The line may have been retained to serve a Spanish army training-ground, and may also see an occasional weed-killing train, but the track was well rusted and had clearly seen no recent use. A 2001 report in the London Times on Salamanca, European City of Culture 2002, mentioned guided walks along 'a former railway line' in the vicinity of the Portuguese border. The track is thought to be in place and in a reasonable state all the way to the 200m-long international bridge, the Ponte do Agueda, also in good condition (R.1636). 

1960][ES] Madrid suburban: (BLN 785.0358; Ball 20B2-21A2-22) RENFE's Cercanías (= suburban) route C7 starting in the east (Alcalá de Henares - Atocha - Chamartín - El Tejar - Las Rozas - Príncipe Pío - Delicias - Atocha - Chamartín - Tres Cantos) is unusual in making both a complete circuit out to the west of the city and two passes north through the city-centre main-line stations, Atocha and Chamartín, before terminating to the north. C7 trains are the only ones to use the east-to-south curve of the El Tejar/Las Rozas/Pinar de las Rozas triangle north-west of Madrid. This has quite a complex layout of burrowing and flying junctions at each vertex, not only to minimise conflict and allow frequent trains, but because right-hand running applies on the lines close to the city, while left-hand running applies to main-line and suburban trains out north-west to Villalba de Guadarrama. 

1961][ES] Puertollano - Almorchón - Villanueva de la Serena - Mérida - Badajoz RENFE (- Elvas CP): (Ball 29B2-27B2) At Puertollano the Madrid - Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Córdoba - Sevilla standard-gauge Alta Velocidad Española line, opened for Sevilla's Expo in April 1992, lies to the east of the classic 1668mm-gauge tracks. A broad-gauge track serves the west face of the island platform used by northbound AVE trains. Westbound trains for Badajoz dive under the AVE line to emerge on the south-east side, where the Puertollano - Calvo Sotelo freight branch diverges eastward. West of La Nava de Puertollano the unelectrified broad-gauge line crosses back over the top of the (now east-west oriented) AVE line to run on its north side as far as Brazatortas, where the AVE finally diverges to head south. At Almorchon, the rails were shiny on the Almorchón - Obejo (- Córdoba) line, now freight-only and severed as a through route to Córdoba in 1991 when the AVE was under construction (R.0607; Ball 28B2-36A3). At Villanueva de la Serena the trackbed of the former Villanueva de la Serena - Talavera de la Reina cross-country line can be seen diverging north (Ball 28A2-20A1 not shown). The border-crossing at Badajoz is one of two with a daytime train from Spain to Portugal, CP train R5506 leaving at 15:25 Spanish time. Though RENFE regional train #07850 Puertollano - Badajoz is booked to arrive at Badajoz 15:15, passengers are not encouraged to regard this as a connection, since CP say their train is not held if the RENFE one runs late. On 24 January 2002 train #07850 was indeed delayed, by crossing a late-running Badajoz - Barcelona train at La Nava de Puertollano, but even with a 15:23 arrival at Badajoz our reporter made the international connection successfully. On the rare occasions that #07850 is late, the Spanish taxis at the station stand ready to take prospective passengers over the border to Elvas for CP's later departure westward at 17:00. The line across the border is not in good condition. The CP train encountered a lengthy 30km/h speed-restriction, just on the Spanish side, at a point where the track had clearly been repaired after a bad derailment, evidenced by a number of severely-damaged ballast wagons on their sides on the ground.

1962][IT] Messina - Villafranca Tirrena (- Palermo): (BLN 820.075; Ball 60B3) The major realignment using the new much longer (12.8km) double-track Peloritana tunnel opened 25 November 2001. (Today's Railways, #74, February 2002)

1963][PL] Sroda - Zaniemysl: (R.1535; Ball 37A3) This 750mm-gauge line closed to all traffic from 11 June 2001.

1964][AU] Western Australia: charter trains: Ownership of all connected 1067mm-gauge and standard-gauge tracks west of Kalgoorlie remains with Western Australian Government Railways, as does operation of intra-state passenger services, including the 1067mm-gauge Transperth suburban system (Perth - Fremantle; Perth - Currambine; Perth - Claisebrook - East Perth - Midland; and Perth - Claisebrook - Armadale; R.1321). However, freight-train operation has been privatised and the whole WAGR network outside the Perth suburban area is leased by WestNet Rail, who run the former Westrail freight services, trading as Australian Western Railroads. Significant track-access fees are now chargeable, as in Great Britain. The preservation group Hotham Valley Railway have in recent years operated special trains over the WAGR system, including freight-only lines, but consumer resistance to fares reflecting much higher costs, especially for track-access on an occasional basis, threatened to confine HVR in 2002 to their own short 1067mm-gauge (Pinjarra -) Dwellingup - Etmilyn line, running the Dwellingup Tramway and the Etmilyn Forest Diner. In March 2001 the Western Australia state government lent HVR AUD70,000 and offered to waive repayments for up to five years to allow new sources of finance to be secured. (partly from Railway Digest, December 2001) HVR's website http://www.hothamvalleyrailway.com.au/events.html, updated 18 January 2002, shows a full-year programme of tours, suggesting that financial problems have been resolved at least for the moment. 

1965][CA] Montréal, QC: Gare Windsor becomes Lucien-L'Allier: (R.1912) The Canadian Pacific's distinguished city terminus stood on what was Windsor Street, and kept the name Windsor even when that section of street was renamed Peel. Gare Windsor ceased to host transcontinental trains from 29 October 1978, when the Canadian/Canadien began to use Montréal's Canadian National station, Gare Centrale. VIA's last trains at Windsor were the Montréal - Québec north-shore rail diesel cars, which moved to Centrale 29 April 1984. The last non-commuter train was Amtrak's New York - Montreal Adirondack, which moved to Centrale 12 January 1986. Commuter trains last ran from the CP Gare Windsor on 11 October 1993. CP still have offices in the building, but the tracks were removed from the old Windsor station proper, and the Molson Centre ice-hockey rink was built immediately west of it, with a new 'Terminus Windsor' commuter-train station constructed next to the rink complex on Rue de la Montagne, where the tracks now end. At the beginning of 2002 Montréal's commuter-rail Agence Métropolitaine de Transport renamed this terminus Lucien-L'Allier, the same name as the nearby Métro station, one block further west, which itself commemorates the distinguished railway engineer responsible for constructing the city's first metro lines in the 1960s. For the moment, AMT's website refers to the station as Lucien-L'Allier (Windsor). Three AMT commuter services use it, all with diesel traction: Montréal Lucien-L'Allier - Delson, QC (R.1912); Montréal Lucien-L'Allier - Dorion - Rigaud, QC (R.0694); and Montréal Lucien-L'Allier - Blainville, QC (R.1264). Meanwhile, too, with the merger of several smaller municipalities into the city on 1 January 2002, the operators of the Métro are now simply Société de transport de Montréal (STM) rather than Sociéte de transport de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal (STCUM). (canadian-passenger-rail@yahoogroups.com)

1966][US] Yuma, AZ - Wellton - Maricopa - Picacho - Tucson, AZ: In 1996 Southern Pacific were proposing to abandon their Wellton - Phoenix - Picacho 'Phoenix line' west of the major city of Phoenix, Arizona, and Amtrak did not want to pay for being its sole user. Thus from 3 June 1996 Amtrak trains ceased to serve Phoenix and were diverted over SP's alternative 'Gila line', with the promise of a new alternative stop between Yuma and Tucson at Maricopa, formerly Phoenix Jn, some 50km south of downtown Phoenix. By the timetable of 25 October 1998 the Maricopa stop was still hopefully shown as 'to commence on a date to be announced', but in fact it took five years for Amtrak trains #1/2/421/422 Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle 'departing their origin-points from Sunday 28 October 2001' to begin calling at Maricopa. Amtrak's Tucson - Phoenix connecting contract buses were withdrawn, and Amtrak passengers now require to make their own way from Maricopa's 'basic waiting facilities comprising two old railway-cars turned into a station' northwards to Phoenix. 

1967][US] (Los Angeles, CA - Barstow, CA -) Daggett, CA - Las Vegas, NV (- Salt Lake City, UT): Amtrak withdrew the Los Angeles - Las Vegas - Salt Lake City Desert Wind 11 May 1997 (BLN 792.0529) and their plans in 2000 to restore an experimental Los Angeles - Las Vegas train using a leased Talgo set (R.0548) seemed to have stalled. However, four public excursion trains are to run in April-May 2002, sponsored by tourist firm Key Holidays in conjunction with Amtrak, restoring a vestigial passenger service to the Union Pacific's Daggett - Las Vegas line. Enquiries to Key Holidays, Walnut Creek, CA. 

1968][US] (Chicago, IL -) Dallas, TX - Fort Worth, TX (- Temple, TX - Los Angeles, CA): (R.1822) Amtrak's south-and-westbound Texas Eagle runs from Dallas Union station via the ex-Texas & Pacific, now Union Pacific, line to Fort Worth Tower 55, takes the east-to-south curve at this 'grand junction' (flat diamond crossing with chords in each quadrant) and reverses north over the diamond into the (ex-Santa Fe) Fort Worth Union Depot at 1501 Jones Street, a dead-end station now used only by Amtrak. After its Fort Worth call, the Eagle heads south over the diamond to continue on the ex-Santa Fe, now BNSF, line to Temple, TX. The east-and-northbound Eagle performs this manoeuvre in reverse. Amtrak have been negotiating for the Eagle in future to run from Dallas sharing with Trinity Railway Express commuter trains the ex-Rock Island route to the north of the T&P route, calling at the city's new Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center at 1001 Jones Street (a through station fully opened for TRE trains, and long-distance buses, on 12 January 2002), bypassing the present Amtrak station and proceeding without reversal on the BNSF line to Temple. TRE trains continue from the ITC west a short distance to terminate at Fort Worth's 1931 art-déco Texas & Pacific Railway Terminal at 221 West Lancaster Avenue. 

1969][US] Boston (North Station), MA - Wilmington - Lowell, MA (- Nashua, NH - Concord, NH): Lowell - Concord passenger trains ceased 1981, but Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority now have financial arrangements in place for extension of their existing Boston - Lowell commuter service some 22km north over ex-Boston & Maine, now Guilford (Springfield Terminal), track to Nashua. (Railpace Newsmagazine, October 2001) MBTA's Boston - Wilmington - Lowell line is more-or-less paralleled by their Boston North - North Wilmington - Wilmington Jn - Ballardvale, MA - Haverhill, NH line, with a few semi-fast Haverhill trains taking the first route and transferring to the second via the 5km Wildcat Branch (EGTRE US21) from Wilmington to Wilmington Jn, the latter location also now known, somewhat cryptically, as CPW WJ (CP = Control Point). Accordingly, when Amtrak's Downeaster trains began in mid-December 2001 (Boston North - Wilmington - Wilmington Jn - Ballardvale - Haverhill, NH - Portland, ME; R.1915), only the Haverhill - Portland section reopened to passengers. Portland's former Union Station did not however reopen for passenger traffic, and the Downeaster terminates at a new Amtrak station at Thompson's Point on the ex-Maine Central main line to Montréal and Québec, now Guilford's short Mountain Branch from Portland to Cumberland Mills, ME.

1970][US] New York, NY subway: (R.1745, 1767) IND E trains resumed calling at their Chambers Street/World Trade Center station from the first service on 28 January 2002. Local media suggested that the closed Cortlandt Street station (BMT N and R trains) would reopen by November 2002. The IRT line's Cortlandt St, Rector St and South Ferry stations, and PATH's World Trade Center and Exchange Place stations remain closed until further notice. 

1971][AR] Buenos Aires province: longer-distance services: Argentina's financial crisis has led to cutbacks in some 1676mm-gauge rail passenger services run by UEPFP, the provincially-owned operators outside the Buenos Aires suburban area. Unidad Ejecutora del Programa Ferroviario Provincial del Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, who trade as Ferrobaires, issued a new timetable poster in December 2001 showing services on the following routes: 

•Buenos Aires Retiro - Junin twice daily (ex-San Martin line) •Buenos Aires Once - Bragado daily, extended to Lincoln twice weekly (ex-Sarmiento line) •Buenos Aires Once - Carlos Tejedor / General Pico / Toay twice weekly (ex-Sarmiento line) •Buenos Aires Plaza Constitución - Mar del Plata four daily, one extended to Miramar, plus weekend extras (ex-Roca line) •Buenos Aires Plaza Constitución - 25 de Mayo Mon-Fri (ex-Roca line) •Buenos Aires Plaza Constitución - Quequen twice weekly (ex-Roca line) •Buenos Aires Plaza Constitución - Pinamar twice weekly (ex-Roca line) •Buenos Aires Plaza Constitución - Tandil out Fri, back Sun (ex-Roca line) •Buenos Aires Plaza Constitución - Lamadrid - Bahia Blanca twice weekly (ex-Roca line) •Buenos Aires Plaza Constitución - Pringles - Bahia Blanca weekly (ex-Roca line)

This appears to have resulted in closure to passengers of at least the Junin - Iriate and 25 de Mayo - Bolivar sections. 

1972][GB] Lisburn - Knockmore - Ballinderry - Glenavy - Crumlin - Antrim: (R.1747) In April 2001 this passenger service was temporarily reprieved by the Northern Ireland regional-development minister. On 20 February 2002 his successor said that withdrawal should nevertheless go ahead. This decision is subject to the agreement of the devolved legislative assembly, and no closure date was set. The track is to be left in place with a view to reusing it as part of a future Belfast - Lisburn - Antrim - Belfast circle line. The rest of the Northern Ireland network had better news on 19 February 2002 when the regional-development minister announced that NIR are to buy from CAF in Spain 23 new three-car train-sets, to be running by 2004. These are to have diesel-mechanical propulsion but are said to be otherwise similar to Heathrow Express electric units. 

1973][IE] Dublin Connolly - Glasnevin Jn - Cabra - Dublin Heuston - Islandbridge Jn: (R.1716) Railway land at Cabra, redundant since the end of bulk-cement traffic on 9 December 1999 (R.0843), is for sale, but Iarnród Éireann are retaining sufficient space for a possible passenger station including car-park and bus-interchange. The prospect of better public-transport access from the south and west of the city should add significant 'hope value' to the land, which may fetch EUR7M. (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

Iarnród Éireann announced in February 2002 a major EUR117M reconstruction of their Heuston terminus, increasing capacity by replacing 1930s signalling and by lengthening and increasing the number of platforms. New platforms 6, 7 and 8 are to be terminal platforms to the north-west of the original Kingsbridge trainshed. New platform 9 will be at least partly on a bidirectional loop off the through Dublin Connolly - Islandbridge Jn line, quite a distance from Heuston's main concourse. During the engineering work, planned to last till June 2003, platform 9 is to be extensively used by trains. A shuttle bus will serve it directly and ferry passengers to the main terminal or on into the city. A track plan of the new Heuston is at http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/general_news.asp.

1974][IE] Dublin light rail: Tallaght - Red Cow depot (- Middle Abbey Street - Connolly Station): (R.1773) Luas said on 11 February that by 31 March 2002 the 3.5km westernmost section of line A from Tallaght to the tram-depot at the Red Cow roundabout should be in use for testing the 1435mm-gauge Alstom trams and training drivers.

1975][FR] French leave: (BLN 829.0301) The SNCF's timetabled trains de permissionnaires taking military personnel to and from leave were latterly much reduced, and the timetable ending 9 June 2001 seems to have seen only one such train-pair traversing track not used by any other passenger service: the Friday-afternoon Nancy - Lille via the Cambrai Ville avoiding line (Cambrai Poste 1 - Cambrai Poste 2), and its Sunday-evening return working. Either on 10 June or 2 December 2001 or some date in between, all the leave-trains with their characteristic #38xxx-series numbers appear to have been withdrawn, for they do not appear in SNCF's winter 2001-02 timetable database.

1976][FR] Saujon - Chaillevette - La Tremblade: (Ball 51A3) No longer part of the RFF national network, this line is being purchased by the département of Charente-Maritime, who have sought from the preservation group Chemin de Fer Touristique de la Seudre a long and complex dossier technique, perhaps equivalent to the 'safety case' required of GB rail operators. Faced with the possibility that they would not receive the necessary authorisation in time, CFTS decided at their annual general meeting on 15 December 2001 to suspend train-operation temporarily during summer 2002. (http://cftseudre.ifrance.com)

1977][FR] Marseille-St.Charles - La Joliette - Arenc - L'Estaque: (Ball 75B2) Though R.1658 speculated about the old layout at La Joliette having been abandoned with Marseille-area resignalling over the weekend 28-29 April 2001, passenger trains were still running via the reversal at La Joliette halt on 10 May 2001. The replacement curve looked already in place. 

1978][DE][PL] Züssow - Wolgast Hafen - Zinnowitz - Seebad Heringsdorf - Ahlbeck Grenze - Swinoujscie: (R.1749; Ball 13B1-14A1) From November 2002 Usedomer Bäderbahn trains should be running on the 1.6km extension into Poland, terminating at Swinoujscie (Dworzec Centrum) approximately on the site of the former Deutsche Reichsbahn station of Swinemünde Bad. Extending in the opposite direction, some UBB diesel units are from autumn 2002 to run through from Züssow under the wires to Stralsund. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/2001)

1979][DE] Hamburg S-Bahn: Hbf - Bergedorf - Reinbek - Wohltorf - Aumühle - Büchen: (R.0033; Ball 22B2-22B3-18A2) Extension of third-rail 1200V dc S-Bahn trains out to Aumühle, planned for March 2002, is still awaited. From 6 January 2002 Reinbek - Wohltorf - Aumühle was to be served only by buses. Reinbek - Büchen regional trains were to be extended to run Bergedorf - Büchen but without calling at Aumühle. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/2002)

1980][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (R.1659; Ball 31A2) From 16 June 2002 the Westhafen - Wedding - Gesundbrunnen section is to reopen to passengers, thus restoring the complete Innenring. Also from 16 June 2002 the Humboldthain - Berlin-Friedrichstrasse - Papestrasse section, including Nord-Süd-Bahn stations from Nordbahnhof to Yorckstrasse, is to close temporarily for urgent tunnel repairs. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/2002)

1981][DE] Wuppertal monorail: Vohwinkel - Oberbarmen: (R.1631; Ball 34A1 not shown) In 2002 the unique Schwebebahn is again to see extensive closures for renewal work. It is not to run most weekends, nor from 19 June to 26 August, nor from 4 October to 4 November. The line is to be running at weekends 30-31 March, 11-12 May, 18-19 May, 29-30 June, 28-29 September and during Advent. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/2002)

1982][DE] Pirmasens Nord - Pirmasens Hbf: (Ball 56B3-56B2) The 6.8km Biebermühle - Pirmasens branch opened 25 November 1875. At some time before 1939 Biebermühle was renamed Pirmasens Nord and Pirmasens became Pirmasens Hauptbahnhof. The second track from Nord up to Hbf (R.1248) was laid for military purposes c.1941-42 and has a steeper gradient than the original alignment, being used until 1960 by descending trains only. In 1991 it was temporarily reopened to allow renovation of the tunnel on the original line, but removed thereafter. (Eisenbahn-Reviere-Pfalz, by Klaus D Holzborn)

1983][DE] Karlsruhe trams on railways: Rastatt - Forbach-Gausbach (- Freudenstadt Hbf): (R.0150; Ball 57A1) From 16 June 2002 Karlsruhe S-Bahn light-rail vehicles are to begin running on this upgraded and electrified northern section of the Murgtalbahn as far south as Forbach-Gausbach. (Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, 1/2002)

1984][DE][FR] Wörth (Rhein) DB - Lauterbourg SNCF: (R.1781; Ball 57A2) The cross-border trains, summer-Sundays-only in 2001, are planned to become an hourly seven-days-a-week service from December 2002. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/2001)



1985][DE] Lindau Hbf - Lindau-Aeschau / Lindau-Reutin: (R.1662; Ball 69B1) Lindau main station is a terminus on an 'island' site in the Bodensee, at the end of a short electrified branch from a triangular junction. The east-to-south curve (to Austria via Lindau-Reutin) is electrified but the other two sides are not. Plans to close Hbf and transfer traffic to the through station Lindau-Reutin on the 'mainland' are not being supported by the Lindau town-council. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/2001)

1986][SE] Daglösen - Filipstad - Persberg: (Ball 22A3) The railways in the Filipstad area have seen mixed fortunes. The Daglösen - Filipstad section was a standard-gauge branch off the Bergslagernas Järnvägar main line (Göteborg - Kil - Daglösen - Hornkullen - Herrhult - Ställdalen - Ludvika - Borlange - Falun) and the present Filipstad station is on the site of the transhipment point between the standard-gauge BJ and the narrow-gauge NKlJ. Old NKlJ buildings still stand to the north-west of the BJ platforms. The 891mm-gauge Nordmark Klarälvens Järnväg (Filipstad NKlJ - Finnshyttan - Hagfors - Skoghall), at one time electrified, closed throughout to passengers 10 June 1950, and to freight (Filipstad - Finnshyttan) 18 May 1951 and (Finnshyttan - Skoghall) 1 August 1974. The area was also served by the standard-gauge Mora-Vänerns Järnväg, also known as södra Inlandsbanan (Kristinehamn - Nykroppa - Herrhult - Nyhyttan - Persberg - Lesjöfors - Vansbro - Mora), which had a branch passing through Filipstad (Nyhyttan - Filipstad Östra - Finnshyttan), closed to passengers between Filipstad Östra and Finnshyttan 1 September 1954 and Nyhyttan - Filipstad Östra to all traffic 31 May 1964. From Filipstad Östra (a wooden structure still in use as a residence and antique-shop at #21 Östra vägen), a section of the old MVJ branch alignment also abandoned 31 May 1964 could still in 2001 be followed northwards on foot (with some slight lateral and vertical deviations) till it reached the active Filipstad - Persberg railway on its 1964 alignment. From this point a short section of the MVJ, given a connection from the new 1964 line, was retained from 31 May 1964 until 1 June 1975 to allow standard-gauge freight to reach Finnshyttan. Heading off north-westwards into the forest, the MVJ branch was still in 2001 a clearly visible trackbed in use as a footpath, paralleled to the west by the old NKlJ formation hidden in the boscage. The two closed lines ran parallel to an MVJ/NKlJ interchange depot on the shore of lake Hemtjärn at Finnshyttan, where at least one former, perhaps joint, station still stood, alongside a broad expanse of former break-of-gauge transhipment sidings. 

The present Filipstad - Persberg standard-gauge line opened 31 May 1964, using the old NKlJ formation from the ex-BJ/NKlJ Filipstad station for the first km or so north to the spot where both the NKlJ and the MVJ branch turned westward towards Finnshyttan. From this point, the 1964 line followed a completely new alignment north-east to Persberg, rejoining just south of there the MVJ's original main-line route. From 31 May 1964 the ex-MVJ Nykroppa - Herrhult - Nyhyttan - Persberg section was abandoned, as part of the infrastructure changes in the area (BLN 811.0473). The 1964 developments were however relatively short-lived, for SJ closed the freight-only 2km link to Finnshyttan 1 June 1975, and closed Filipstad - Persberg MVJ - Lesjöfors to passengers 2 September 1985 and to freight 1 October 1989. 

On 1 February 1994 freight operations in the area transferred from SJ to privately-owned local firm Tågab, who have shown more entrepreneurial spirit in seeking new traffic. On 6 November 1995 Tågab reopened the 8km Filipstad - Persberg section, and on 28 January 1998 the 1km branch from Persberg MVJ to Persbergs gruva (gruva = mine), closed to passengers 1917 and to freight 1 October 1922. The Persbergs gruva branch serves a new loading-facility for tanks carrying lime-related traffic for Svenska Mineral AB. Tågab hope also to reopen for freight from Persberg MVJ c.25km north to Lesjöfors. However, the Wasabröd crispbread factory at Filipstad continues to supply the line's core business (BLN 811.0473). In 2000 and 2001 the Filipstad - Persberg section also saw passenger trains, though only during Sweden's short summers (R.0734, 1079). Persberg MVJ station still stands, in private residential use, but Persberg's summer station is a specially-built halt in the village, on the Persbergs gruva branch. Svenska Motorvagnsklubben railtours reached Persberg MVJ on 9 August 1997 and reached Persberg gruva loading siding 25 August 2001. 

The short south-to-east Nykroppa MVJ - Herrhult BJ chord, closed 31 May 1964 on opening of the south-to-west Nykroppa - Hornkullen curve, may reopen in 2002, allowing direct running from Karlstad via Kristinehamn to Ludvika, avoiding reversal at Kil, and possibly eventually allowing abandonment of the (long) Kil - Daglösen and (short) Hornkullen - Herrhult sections. (historical material partly from Järnvägsdata 1999, published by Svenska Järnvägsklubben)

1987][PT] Lagos - Estombar-Lagoa - Silves - Poço Barreto - Alcantarilha - Algoz - Tunes - Albufeira - Boliqueime - Faro (- Vila Real de Santo Antonio): (R.0013; Ball 33A2-33B2) Most intermediate stations on the Linha do Algarve were unstaffed by early 2002, with tickets issued on the train. At Estombar-Lagoa the platforms were extended at the Lagos end during 2001, and the water-tower was demolished. The main platform-awning and the goods-shed remained, and the station bar was open, though the other buildings were locked up. At Silves, the former loop serving the third platform had been cut back to a dead-end siding accessed from the Tunes end. The goods-shed remained, as did the staffed ticket-office, now equipped with a hand-held machine replacing the Edmondson ticket-equipment still in use in summer 1999. At Poço Barreto the station building was in use as a restaurant and an open bus-type shelter was provided on the platform. At Alcantarilha the passing-loop and both platforms were extended at the Lagos end in c.2000-01, but no trains were booked to cross here during 2001 and the loop platform and associated track seemed to show neglect. Old pointwork remained in the running line. The main platform-awning survived, on the locked-up station building, and the goods-shed was still standing. At Algoz the platform-awning remained but the station clock had gone. The goods-shed too had vanished but the station building seemed inhabited at the Lagos end, though doors and windows were bricked-up and whitewashed over on the side facing the road. The Concordância de Tunes, a west-to-north curve for through running from Lagos towards Barreiro avoiding Tunes station, was still in place with the points clipped at each end, but was heavily overgrown and in places invisible. Tunes station café remained busy. Albufeira retained its ticket-office and station café, but the station clock with its two faces was no longer working. The back platform line on the loop was rusty, and old freight wagons were parked on the siding leading to the goods-shed. Bolequeime retained its passing-loop, but no trains had crossed here for some time and both the loop and the platform it served were being taken over by vegetation. A siding behind the main platform at the Faro end led to the goods-shed, still standing, but all points to the loop and siding were clipped out of use. The station building was locked up. 

Nearby, on the main (Barreiro -) Funcheira - Tunes Linha do Sul, Messines-Alte station building was locked up, except for a waiting-room. The goods-shed remained, but the sidings on both sides of the running line and the loop through the main station platform were well rusted. No trains had crossed there for some time. At the north end the water-tower and staff dormitory both looked neglected.

1988][PT] Évora - Reguengos de Monsaraz: (R.0449, 1862; Ball 26B2-27A3) Following flood damage in October 2001, the Ramal de Reguengos is officially closed to all traffic. (Portuguese Traction Group newsletter)

1989][ES] Madrid-Chamartín - Segovia - Medina del Campo / Valladolid: (BLN 844.0102; Ball 21A2-20B3-10A1) Both the Madrid - Sevilla (existing) and Madrid - Barcelona (under construction) Alta Velocidad Española 1435mm-gauge lines use Atocha, the distinguished 1895 main-line terminus of the Madrid, Zaragoza y Alicante railway, to the south of the city-centre, while the planned 350km/h standard-gauge Noroeste line, otherwise known as the Variante de Guadarrama, is to use the modern Chamartín station, in the north of the city. Though RENFE's plans for a later phase include a standard-gauge Atocha - Chamartín link parallel to the present broad-gauge tracks in tunnel, the Noroeste is initially to be an isolated standard-gauge line relying on gauge-changing equipment at Chamartín, Medina del Campo and Valladolid to permit through TALGO train workings from the south to the north-west and north-east of Spain. North of Madrid, the new line is to traverse a lengthy 25km tunnel beneath the Sierra de Guadarrama to a stop serving Segovia before splitting into a western branch entering Medina del Campo from the north (R.1958), and a northern branch to Valladolid. For the present the Madrid - Colmenar Viejo - Aranda de Duero - Burgos direct line, opened in 1968, continues to have one daytime TALGO working each way, but when the Noroeste line opens, the Directo de Burgos must surely again come under serious threat (BLN 851.0313; Ball 21A2-11A3). 

1990][CH] Zürich HB - Zürich-Wipkingen (- Zürich-Oerlikon): (Ball 97A2) From October 2001 trains from and to Zürich's main station on the Wipkingen route used a temporary bridge while a life-expired 19th-century structure was demolished and replaced. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/2001)

1991][CH] Money: SBB/CFF/FFS ticket-offices accept Euro banknotes, giving change in Swiss francs. (Eisenbahn Amateur, 12/2001)

1992][SG] Singapore metro: Tana Merah - Expo - Changi Airport: (R.1210) Tana Merah - Expo, the first section of the 6km MRT (= Mass Rapid Transit) branch to Changi (SIN) airport opened 18 December 2001, and 8 February 2002 saw the opening of the final 4.6km section, running in twin 5.2m-diameter tunnels to terminate at Changi Airport station, between Terminal Two and the site of the proposed Terminal Three. All Singapore MRT underground stations have island platforms with platform-edge doors to conserve air-conditioning, but the airport platform is twice as wide, giving the circulating area an air of spaciousness. Passengers with luggage will appreciate the broad ticket-gates, with a 900mm opening rather than the standard 500mm. All MRT stations are to be retrofitted with at least one of these wider gates. One train in four on the west-to-east Green line now runs through from Boon Lay in the west of the island to the airport, giving an average twelve-minute frequency, with a journey-time of 27 minutes from the city-centre. The airport service uses dedicated trains, with some seats removed and luggage-racks fitted. The first day of operation was not the first time the public had a chance to use the airport branch, for on Saturday 8 September 2001 some 7,100 people took part in a charity fund-raising walk through the down tunnel.

1993][AU] Victoria: regauging and new passenger services: In mid-2001 the state government of Victoria announced the conversion of many regional freight lines from broad 1600mm-gauge to standard 1435mm-gauge, starting with the line to Mildura in the far north-west. Work on the Mildura corridor is expected to begin in May 2002 and be completed in late 2002. Tenders are being sought for various country passenger services, including Melbourne - Seymour - Shepparton to the north-east (Hoys' existing franchise, using V/Line trains, expires July 2002) and Melbourne - Geelong - Warrnambool in the west (West Coast Railway's franchise expires July 2004). National Express, existing operators of V/Line Passenger, have been invited to extend their Melbourne - Sale service out to Bairnsdale in the south-east, and to extend their Melbourne - Ballarat service to Ararat (not served by broad-gauge passenger trains since Melbourne - North Shore for Geelong - Ararat - Adelaide was regauged to standard as a through inter-state route). Tenders are also sought for restoration as passenger routes by 2004 of Melbourne - Dandenong - Leongatha in the south of the state and Melbourne - Mildura, though it is not clear whether the Mildura service would use the route via Ballarat or via Castlemaine, which would need to have been regauged. (partly from Railway Digest, October 2001)

1994][AU] Springhurst - Black Dog Creek - Lilliput - Rutherglen - Wahgunyah: This 1676mm-gauge line in north-east Victoria opened 29 January 1879, at the time an important link from the Melbourne - Springhurst - Wodonga (- Albury - Sydney) main line at Springs (now Springhurst) junction north to the border at Carlyle (now Wahgunyah) and into southern New South Wales. The 22.5km rural branch closed to freight 21 February 1996, but June 2000 saw it reopen as the Stringybark Express 'community and tourist railway' with a scheduled service from 26 December 2001. A four-wheel ganger's trolley with a four-seat cabin operates a traditional Postal Motor mail service of the kind seen till the 1960s on Australian country branches with no passenger trains. Towing a six-seat trailer and sometimes also a goods trailer, Lil Red plies daily between Wahgunyah and Rutherglen with some runs to Black Dog Creek and occasional ventures south to Springhurst. Pre-booking is advised. Charter trips include runs to Springhurst, though not the connection on to the main line! Information: http://greentrail.homestead.com/; telephone +61 2 6033 3937; Green TRail Associates Group, PO Box 27 Wahgunyah 3687.

1995][AU] New South Wales: (Broadmeadow -) Woodville Jn - Islington Jn - Hamilton Jn - Hamilton - Wickham - Civic - Newcastle; and (Waratah -) Islington Jn - Hamilton Jn: A triangular junction, whose vertices are Woodville Jn to the south, Islington Jn to the west and Hamilton Jn to the east, leads to the 4.7km double-track electrified standard-gauge branch serving three intermediate stations and the passenger terminus in the city of Newcastle, NSW. An AUD80M transport interchange is proposed 'at Woodville Jn, adjacent to Hamilton station', with closure of 'the Hamilton - Newcastle line'. Though inconsistent, this description probably means that two sides of the triangle and the whole branch are threatened. The project, said to be supported by the mayor, would convert the branch to a busway, with buses operating 'every three minutes'. (Railway Digest, January 2002) The complex freight layout serving the nearby major port facilities would be unaffected. 

1996][CA] (Odell -) Fort St.James, BC - Lovell - Minaret (- Chipmunk - Dease Lake, BC): (BLN 776.0165, R.1940) Timber trains running through from Prince George and changing crew at Fort St.James were in 2001 the only traffic on BC Rail's Takla Subdivision from Fort St.James north-west to Lovell Cove, known to the railway simply as Lovell, where most of the logs are loaded. From Lovell (milepost 197; km315) a separate 'Minaret turn' from time to time collects 20 to 30 wagons of logs from the most distant point on the Subdivision now in use, Minaret (milepost 274.3 from Odell; km439). A passenger train of a sort also runs north-west through the road-less forest, consisting of a modified track-maintenance car or 'utility transport vehicle', making a Lovell - Minaret round-trip most days of the week for the use of First Nation (politically-correct term for Red Indian) residents of Bear Lake (milepost 251; km402) and the loggers at Minaret. An illustrated description of a 1999 journey is at http://www.photosbystevenjbrown.com/bcrail/northwoods/utv.html. 

1997][CA][US] Montréal, QC - Sainte-Rosalie - Sherbrooke - Lennoxville, QC - Greenville, ME - Brownville Jn - Vanceboro, ME - Saint John, NB: The last scheduled passenger train on Canadian Pacific's international route across northern Maine, VIA's Atlantic/Atlantique, ran 15 December 1994 (BLN 795.079), but a new tourist train is planned (R.1265). A Canadian source on 14 February 2002 said that track-access and haulage contracts remained to be finalised with the host railways, and on-board staff had yet to be hired. Nevertheless Acadian Railway, a DRCC associate company (R.2005) have stepped up advertising (http://www.acadianrailway.com). From 9 June 2002 a weekly round-trip is to depart Sundays from Montréal via CN to Ste.Rosalie; via ex-CN, now St.Lawrence & Atlantic, to Lennoxville; via ex-CP, now Canadian American, to Greenville, with a two-night stopover there before continuing east on Tuesdays via ex-CP, now Canadian American (Iron Road) to Brownville Jn; via ex-CP, now Eastern Maine, to Vanceboro; and via ex-CP, now New Brunswick Southern, to Saint John. The return journey, departing Wednesdays, will also have the two-night stopover in Greenville, returning to Montréal Fridays, with the last arrival there on 13 September. In future years the train may extend over CN track to Moncton, NB.

1998][CA][US] Montréal, QC - Sainte-Rosalie - Sherbrooke - Lennoxville - Coaticook, QC - Norton, VT - Portland, ME: From mid-September until late October 2002, the Acadian Railway turns to running twice-weekly Autumn Leaf Tours (autumn, not fall!), south on Thursdays and Sundays, north on Tuesdays and Fridays. The Lennoxville - Portland line, now part of St.Lawrence & Atlantic, was once used by CN and their US associate Grand Trunk as a shorter way to an Atlantic port than the all-Canadian CN route to Halifax, NS. After earlier withdrawal and restoration, passenger trains on the (Sherbrooke -) Lennoxville - Coaticook, QC section, latterly weekly, finally ceased in winter 1977-78, being in the 30 October 1977 timetable, but absent from the 30 April 1978 edition. On the cross-border and US section, daily passenger services reduced to summer weekends from 1960 and finally ceased after the 1967 season. At the southern end, Acadian Railway have not specified their terminal arrangements but it seems unlikely that the train will use the ex-Maine Central, now Guilford (Springfield Terminal), route into Portland, or share Amtrak's new station there (R.1969). Nevertheless, various connections are to be offered with regular Amtrak and VIA trains, and some by bus.

1999][CA][US] (Toronto, ON -) Sarnia, ON - Port Huron, MI (- Chicago, IL): (R.1941) From Tuesday 19 February 2002 US immigration and customs officials are again allowing through passengers on Toronto - Chicago International trains (#7085/365 on weekdays and #7685/367 Sundays) to remain on board and cross the US border by rail.

2000][US] Amtrak charter trains: US federal government-owned passenger-rail operators Amtrak, as well as running the scheduled inter-city services that have appeared in their own national timetables since 1971, also operate a number of regional commuter services (such as San Diego's Coasters and Boston's MBTA trains) under contract to individual states and local public-transport bodies. It is however perhaps less well-known that Amtrak also run some long-distance charters under contract to the private sector. A recent example was the American Orient Express Transcontinental, a 15-car 'cruise train' booked to run 20 February - 1 March 2002, eastbound over the route Los Angeles, CA - Kingman, CA - Williams, AZ - Grand Canyon, AZ - Williams, AZ - Albuquerque, NM - El Paso, TX - San Antonio, TX - Houston, TX - New Orleans, LA - Birmingham, AL - Columbus, GA - Macon, GA - Savannah, GA - Charleston, SC - Richmond, VA - Washington, DC, using a pair of Amtrak locomotives hauling private-sector heritage rolling-stock. As with sea cruises, passengers are taken on various daytime excursions, so they may not travel over all the track actually traversed by their train. (http://www.americanorientexpress.com)

2001][US] Dallas, TX light rail: White Rock - LBJ/Skillman: (R.1711) Test trains were running during February, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit are to open this further 5.6km Blue Line extension on 6 May 2002. (Transnet newsletter #96)

2002][US] Boston (South Station), MA - Worcester (Union Station), MA: (BLN 782.0287) The restored city-owned Worcester Union Station reopened 19 June 2000 for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's terminating commuter trains, but Amtrak's Boston - Worcester - Springfield, MA - Albany-Rensselaer, NY - Chicago, IL Lake Shore Limited continued to call at the previous station (45 Shrewsbury Street) for a further year before transferring west to the Union station (2 Washington Square) from 30 May 2001. (partly from Railpace Newsmagazine, August 2001)

2003][US] Bound Brook, NJ - West Trenton, NJ: This ex-Reading, now CSX, line, which once gave Baltimore & Ohio trains access to New York, is proposed for passenger reopening by New Jersey Transit, linking two existing commuter routes. Bound Brook is on the ex-Central of New Jersey, now NJT-operated, Raritan Valley line (Newark Penn Station - Bound Brook - Raritan - High Bridge, NJ; BLN 834.0449) and West Trenton is served by Philadelphia, PA - West Trenton, NJ trains of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. If reopened, the line would become part of another NJT/SEPTA passenger route from New York via Newark to Philadelphia, parallel to and north-west of Amtrak's (ex-Pennsylvania) high-speed Northeast Corridor. (partly from Railpace Newsmagazine, October 2001)

2004][US] Niles, CA - Brightside - Sunol (- Pleasanton, CA): (R.1235) The Pacific Locomotive Association who run the Niles Canyon Railroad on ex-Southern Pacific track through Niles Canyon are interested in extending their heritage operation of an excursion train over the Alameda County-owned former Southern Pacific right-of-way that runs through downtown Pleasanton. The town has alternative plans for the land including car-parking, and the project is arousing local controversy. 

2005][US] Denver, CO - Moffat Tunnel - Winter Park - Dotsero - Glenwood Springs - Carbondale (- Woody Creek - Aspen, CO): The first tourist-train venture of Mr John Randolph Parten and his Denver Railway Car Company (R.1265, 1997, 2010) seems to have been a 1987 project for an upmarket service from Denver's Stapleton International Airport (since replaced) via the scenic Denver & Rio Grande Western to the winter-sports resort of Aspen, Colorado. This ambitious project, the Roaring Fork Railroad, would have required a new rail link from Stapleton airport to the nearby Union Pacific Kansas City, MO - Denver, CO main line, and serving Aspen was to be achieved by re-laying the truncated D&RGW Glenwood Springs - Aspen branch from Carbondale as far south as practicable to Woody Creek, still some 13km short of the original Aspen station. For a couple of months in winter 1987-88, DRCC vehicles were hauled each weekend on the back of Amtrak Denver - Salt Lake City, UT trains, with a Glenwood Springs - Aspen bus connection, but it proved impossible to strike a more permanent deal, and the Roaring Fork Railroad project was aborted. 

2006][US] (Hoboken, NJ -) Port Morris Jn, NJ - Portland, PA - Water Gap - East Stroudsburg - Mount Pocono - Moscow - Scranton, PA: In the 1930s the Delaware Lackawanna & Western Railroad undertook significant re-engineering of their main line to Buffalo, NY, and built a major new cut-off from Port Morris Jn (just west of Lake Hopatcong station on New Jersey Transit's present Hoboken - Denville, NJ - Lake Hopatcong, NJ - Hackettstown, PA commuter routes) to Portland, PA. However, in the 1970s freight railroad Conrail (created with US federal-government backing to succeed the failed Penn Central) set about eliminating the duplicate routes they had inherited, deliberately selling sections to property developers in the hope that trackbed would be built upon, preventing any competitor reopening the line. In this way, Conrail abandoned most of the DLW as a through route from Port Morris Jn to Scranton. However, Portland - East Stroudsburg (or perhaps Gravel Place or Analomink, just to the north) remained as a Conrail freight branch, passing to Norfolk Southern when Conrail was broken up on 1 June 1999. On 14 September 2001 a group of local authorities took over Portland - East Stroudsburg - Mount Pocono and reopened East Stroudsburg - Mount Pocono for freight, having earlier bought Mount Pocono - Scranton not only for freight but for passenger excursions from the Steamtown National Historic Site at Scranton (R.0771, 1293, 1452), which normally run south as far as Moscow, PA. The outcome is that 80km of the former DLW from Portland through the Delaware Water Gap to Scranton is now under local-authority control with freight activity contracted to new short-line operators Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad. The first Portland - East Stroudsburg - Mount Pocono freight ran on 17 September 2001 and normally operates thrice-weekly. The local-authority acquisition reflects at least in part a long-term aspiration to reopen the 1930s Port Morris Jn - Portland cut-off, still lying completely out of use, and to restore regular passenger service from New York to Scranton. (Railpace Newsmagazine, November 2001)

2007][US] White Plains, MD (Indian Head Jn) - Indian Head Naval Warfare Station, MD: (R.0471, 0883, 1090) Introduced in July 2000, the ill-fated dinner trains of Northern Central Railroad, trading as Indian Head Central Railway, were suspended by mid-November 2000 and never resumed. The US Navy as track-owners terminated the lease on the c.20km branch, otherwise disused since 1991 and suffering from lack of maintenance. NCRR suffered a further negative experience in the fickle market for dinner trains. The Baltimore, MD - New Freedom, PA - York, PA line, built 1838 and latterly owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad, was abandoned after storm damage in 1972 and though rebuilt in 1985 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania failed to find a user. In 1996 NCRR leased the section to the north of their base at New Freedom and started running a dinner train, but business was stunted when the train was later denied access to York. The dinner train ran for the last time on 2 September 2001, after which NCRR ceased trading. (Railpace Newsmagazine, October 2001)

2008][US] Richmond, VA: Amtrak trains serving the one-time Confederate capital Richmond, Virginia, call at a station on the ex-Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac, now CSX, line well to the north of the city at 7519 Staples Mill Road. Long-distance services from the Northeast Corridor to the Carolinas and Florida then take an avoiding line west of the city from Acca AY Jn to Centralia which is ex-RF&P trackage north of the James River and ex-Atlantic Coast Line to the south, now all CSX. However, in downtown Richmond at 17th and Main Streets the fine historic building of the former joint Chesapeake & Ohio/Seaboard Air Line station still stands, and plans are to restore it as a transport interchange in three phases. One Amtrak service, the Twilight Shoreliner (Boston, MA - New York, NY - Washington, DC - Fredericksburg, VA - Richmond, VA - Newport News, VA) which has for long passed Main Street station on its east flank without stopping, is to call at a new platform there, initially (spring 2002) in the northbound direction only. In 2003 the southbound Shoreliner will also stop, and longer-distance Amtrak services will be diverted through the city, reopening to passengers the ex-SAL, now CSX, route past the west flank of Richmond Main Street station and on south to Centralia, where ACL and SAL were connected after they merged as Seaboard Coast Line. Presumably this diversion will mean passenger closure of the Acca AY Jn - Centralia bypass line, and possibly Amtrak's out-of-town Staples Mill station. The third phase is to see Main Street station developed as an interchange for inter-city, regional and local buses, and perhaps for extended Washington, DC - Fredericksburg, VA Virginia Railway Express commuter trains. (partly from Railfan & Railroad, July 2001)

2009][MX] México: passenger trains: (R.1943-4) Ferromex trains continue to run Chihuahua - Los Mochis twice daily and Guadalajara - Tequila twice weekly. A tourist cruise train of six restored vintage cars, El Expreso de la Independencia, makes two circuits most weeks (Querétaro - San Luis Potosí - Zacatecas - Guanajuato - San Miguel Allende - Querétaro and Querétaro - Guanajuato - San Miguel Allende - Querétaro). The Mérida - Izamal and Ciudad Mexico - Apizaco services are confirmed as discontinued, leaving the capital with no passenger trains other than the city metro. The Tehuacán - Tomellín - Oaxaca train has been cut back to run Tomellín - Oaxaca, thrice weekly. Coatzacoalcos - Tenosique; Coatzacoalcos - Tapachula; and Matamoros - Reynosa appear still to have trains thrice weekly. Felipe Pescador - San Isidro - Torreón has a weekly train north on Friday, south on Sunday, with an additional Wednesday round-trip on the Felipe Pescador - San Isidro section entirely within Zacatecas state. (http://www.mexlist.com/pass.htm, 13 February 2002)

2010][MX] Chihuahua - Creel - Divisadero - El Fuerte - Los Mochis - Topolobampo: (R.1944) Mr John Randolph Parten's Denver Railway Car Company (R.1265, 1997, 2005), trading as the Mexican American Railway, set up an operation in Chihuahua for maintenance of his substantial fleet of heritage US passenger cars, and about 1993 began running the South Orient Express over Mexico's scenic ex-Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacifico Copper Canyon route, latterly at least operating as a five-day/four-night inclusive tour in an upmarket tourist train of up to eight cars, about weekly, between Los Mochis (or El Fuerte) and Divisadero, with a Divisadero - Chihuahua road option for one-way passengers. Sufficient stock was available to run three South Orient Express trains at a time. 

SOE stock was also used for charter trains, such as the circular charter by established California-based railtour firm Trains Unlimited Tours on 1-8 April 2001 entirely over Ferromex trackage: Los Mochis - Sufragio (reverse) - Mazatlan (overnight stop) - Guadalajara (overnight stop) - Manzanillo (reverse; overnight stop) - Guadalajara (reverse; overnight stop) - Irapuato (reverse) - Aguascalientes (overnight stop) - Torreón (overnight journey) - Chihuahua (reverse at ex-FNM station and over connecting curve to ChP) - Divisadero - Los Mochis (overnight stop) - Topolobampo (via port balloon loop) - Los Mochis. Rolling-stock was four Budd-built cars with stainless-steel exteriors, externally lettered Roaring Fork or Texas Limited: two 1948 Minneapolis & St.Louis parlour-cars, a 1948 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy California Zephyr dome-car and a 1947 New York Central coach-car. This particular trip had not operated before, and it does not appear in TUT's 2002 tour programme, which shows two runs using SOE stock, one Chihuahua - Los Mochis, one a Chihuahua - Los Mochis - Guadalajara round-trip. (http://www.trainsunltdtours.com)

In 2001 Ferromex, owners of the track and motive-power, perhaps keen to capture more business for their own Chepe, imposed a significant increase in SOE's haulage charges. The 7 April 2001 SOE departure was announced as the last, but subsequently SOE advertised a much reduced 2002 programme of Chihuahua - Los Mochis trains, running on only three occasions during the winter months (http://www.southorientexpress.com). SOE also offer so-called independent tours, but these are merely bookings on the scheduled Chepe. Despite the reduction in Mexican operating activities, SOE retain their Chihuahua works, perhaps because car-maintenance is cheaper there than in the USA, though some SOE cars have in the past been refurbished at Denver, CO and San Antonio, TX.

Inclusive-tour trains of differing degrees of luxury and price are also offered to the Copper Canyon area by three other US operators: Rail Passenger Services (operating since 1986 their Sierra Madre Express through from Magdalena or Nogales; http://www.sierramadreexpress.com); Tauck (chartering on an exclusive basis the Sierra Madre Express through from Magdalena; http://www.tauck.com/docs/mc_f.htm) and Bananafish Tours (http://sd.znet.com/~banafish/). All three usually limit their run on the ChP route to all or part of the Creel - Divisadero - El Fuerte - Los Mochis section. 

2011][MX] (Coatzacoalcos -) Palenque - Tenosique - Campeche - Mérida: A new tourist train, the Expreso Maya, is planned to begin running in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula from 18 March 2002. Of the main tour offered in either direction between Villahermosa and Cancún, only part of the journey is by train: Palenque - Campeche (8 hours, northbound Thursday, southbound Tuesday) and Campeche - Mérida (6 hours, northbound Friday, southbound Monday). The Expreso Maya is to use ex-Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México rolling-stock rather than the Denver Railway Car Company stock originally intended (R.1265, 1997, 2005, 2010), though the vehicles were refurbished in Chihuahua and the venture does seem still to be marketed by DRCC's associate The Train Collection in Houston, TX. (partly from http://railsnw.com/tours/expreso/expreso01.htm). 

2012][IE] Listowel - Ballybunion: (BLN 757.0289, R.1360) According to the Irish Times of 26 February 2002 'a curious locomotive and two carriages' were to be paraded through Listowel on 20 March 2002 to mark the opening of the Lartigue Railway Museum, commemorating the famous (1888-1924) Listowel - Ballybunion railway designed by French engineer Charles Lartigue. Its twin-boilered steam locomotives and twin-bodied rolling-stock hung like saddle-bags on either side of a single central rail, supported a metre above ground on A-frames and requiring little or no earthworks. At Listowel's ex-Great Southern & Western station on the closed North Kerry line (Limerick - Newcastle West - Listowel - Tralee) some 500m of monorail track has been placed on the former 1600mm-gauge formation towards Tralee. (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

2013][IE] Dublin light rail: Tallaght - Connolly Station and St.Stephen's Green - Sandyford: Connex have won the contract to run the city's Luas light-rail lines, due to open in 2003. (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

2014][IE] (Waterford Gratton Quay - Bilberry -) Mount Congreve Nurseries - Kilmeadan: (R.1826) The 914mm-gauge Waterford & Suir Valley Railway is laid on part of the trackbed of the closed 1600mm-gauge Waterford - Ballinacourty (- Mallow) line. Public opening of the first 4km section of the new tourist railway has been postponed from Easter until June 2002 while Kilmeadan station is provided with a car-park and access to it by means of an ex-Great Southern Railway footbridge. Meanwhile tracklaying continues east of the temporary terminus at the Nurseries, and another 2.2km towards Bilberry should be available by July 2002. (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

2015][FR] (Brebières-Sud /) Corbehem - Quiéry-la-Motte (- Beaumont - Méricourt-sous-Lens - Lens): (Ball 7A1) From Brebières-Sud the west-to-northwest curve of the former triangle saw part of its embankment removed during 2001 to make way for housing, but from Corbehem some 3km of line remained in use to serve the nearby Renault factory, with around five return freight trains a day in early 2002. Beyond the point of divergence of the siding east into the factory, a stub of the through route, sometimes used to stable car-carrier wagons, remains as far as Quiéry-la-Motte, short of autoroute A1 and the Paris - Triangle de Fretin (- Lille) LGV Nord. Most of the formation from Beaumont to Méricourt has been taken over by a road. 

2016][FR] La Ciotat Gare - La Ciotat Ville: (R.1139; Ball 76A2) The town council changed during 2001, and the new council abandoned the diesel light-rail project.

2017][BE] Belgium: Train+Tram+Bus day: (R.1612) TTB day in 2002 is to be Saturday 28 September. (SNCB/NMBS)

2018][DE] Dortmund light rail: The Strassenbahn (tramway) section north to the terminus at Brambauer, having been adapted to Stadtbahn (light-rail) standard with 900mm-high platforms, reopened 6 January 2002. (http://www.metropla.net)

2019][SE] Göteborg trams: The 600m Korsvägan - Chalmers tunnel and the Sahlgrenska - Linnéplatsen bridge both opened to passengers 10 February 2002. The tunnel is used by diverted routes #6 and 8, and the bridge by route #2 which interworks with route #6 at Sahlgrenska. A new Angered - Guldheden route #10 now covers the Vasaplatsen section formerly used by trams #6 and 8. Existing routes connect at Brunnsparken in the city-centre, but the tunnel and bridge will form part of a future ring line offering faster suburb-to-suburb journey times. (http://www.lrta.org; 2001 track-map is at http://trackmap.net/se/g-t)

2020][SE] Filipstad - Finnshyttan - Hagfors - Deje - Karlstad - Skoghall: (Ball 22A3-21B3 not shown) The third sentence of R.1986 should have said: The 891mm-gauge Nordmark Klarälvens Järnväg, at one time electrified, closed 10 June 1950 (Filipstad - Hagfors; passengers), 18 May 1951 (Filipstad - Finnshyttan, 2km; freight) and 1 August 1974 (Finnshyttan - Hagfors, 55km; freight). For the record, the western side of the horseshoe-shaped NKlJ system, from its northern point near Hagfors south to Skoghall on Lake Vänern, saw passenger closures 1 November 1964 (Hagfors - Karlstad, 94km) and 10 June 1954 (Karlstad - Skoghall, 10km). (Järnvägsdata 1999, published by Svenska Järnvägsklubben)

2021][FI] (Helsinki - Tikkurila - Kerava -) Järvenpää - Haarajoki - Mäntsälä - Hakosilta (- Lahti): (Ball 24B3-17B1) Work on this long-planned cut-off has begun with soil-testing and some marking out of the route, and construction proper is to commence in autumn 2002, with a view to completion in 2006. The 63km double-track electrified line is to run parallel to the Helsinki - Lahti motorway for c.50km, with two new stations, 76 bridges and no level-crossings, saving 23km or 40min on the existing Helsinki - Järvenpää - Riihimäki - Hakosilta - Lahti route. The four tracks of the Helsinki - Tikkurila section are also to be extended north to Kerava. (Skandiapilen, #32; http://www.rhk.fi/english/index.html)

2022][FI][RU] Imatra - Imatrankoski VR - Svetogorsk RZD - Kamennogorsk: (Ball 18A2-18A1) This cross-border line is normally freight-only, carrying mainly Russian timber bound for Finnish pulp-mills, though summer excursions by this route to Russia have been advertised locally in Imatra in recent years, restricted to Finnish passport-holders. However, growing numbers of Russian tourists visiting Finland require additional scheduled passenger trains (R.1895) and since the (Helsinki -) Vainikkala VR - Luzhaika RZD (- Sankt-Peterburg) main-line border-crossing is already busy, some passenger workings may in future run via Imatrankoski. (Skandiapilen, #34; Today's Railways, March 2002)

2023][IT] Napoli - Torregaveta: (BLN 832.0393, R.1280; Ball 55A3) From Napoli Montesanto FS station an unsignposted walk of some 100m through a narrow and insalubrious side-street brings one to a four-platform station partly in tunnel, the Montesanto terminus of Società per l'Esercizio di Pubblici Servizi who operate two distinct standard-gauge rail routes thence to Torregaveta, on the coast west of Napoli, using electric units whose livery is in effect overall graffiti. Both lines are in tunnel for several kilometres from Montesanto. The direct southerly route, the 20km Ferrovia Cumana (Napoli Montesanto SEPSA - Napoli Bagnoli - Pozzuoli - Pozzuoli Arco Felice - Torregaveta), opened with steam traction 1889-90, was electrified at 1500V dc in 1927 and converted to the standard Italian 3000V dc in 1960. Originally nearly all single-track, it is gradually being doubled, a major task in view of the numerous tunnels. In early 2002 the double track in use was almost entirely west of Arco Felice, involving a completely new alignment through Bacoli Baia. Trains run every 20 minutes to Torregaveta, journey-time 39 minutes, and extra Montesanto - Bagnoli short workings run Mon-Sat. A link between the SEPSA and FS systems at Bagnoli does not appear to see regular use. The more northerly c.25km Ferrovia Circumflegrea (Napoli Montesanto SEPSA - Napoli Soccavo - Pozzuoli Quarto - Pozzuoli Quarto Officine - Pozzuoli Licola - Marina di Licola - Torregaveta) opened in 1962-68 as a 3000V dc single track from Montesanto west to Marina di Licola on the coast, and in early 2002 was being doubled from Montesanto to Quarto, just short of SEPSA's works at Quarto Officine. The north-to-south Marina di Licola - Torregaveta section through the coastal sand-dunes did not see completion till after 1980. Montesanto - Licola trains run every 20 minutes, journey-time 34 minutes. Only six workings a day each way cover the Licola - Torregaveta section, some through from Montesanto, others requiring a change of train at Licola, journey-time 47 minutes. According to diagrams on display at Montesanto, a new SEPSA branch is to be built from Napoli Soccavo south-west to Cinthia. 

Potential visitors to Napoli are warned that violent street-crime, as distinct from pickpocketing or opportunist theft, seems now to be common in the city. Several railtour participants in early 2002 were assaulted as well as robbed.

2024][IT] Messina Centrale - Villafranca Tirrena - San Filippo - Milazzo - Barcellona - Terme Vigliatore - Patti - Castelbuono - Cefalù - Fiumetorto - Palermo Centrale: (Ball 60B3-59A3) Realignment continues along the north Sicilian coast. The new longer Messina - Villafranca tunnel opened 25 November 2001 (R.1962). In late 2001 the new Villafranca - San Filippo section was under way but seemed unlikely to make its estimated opening date of February 2002. The present San Filippo - Terme Vigliatore alignment with new intermediate stations opened 2 June 1992 (BLN 820.075) and the old trackbed through Milazzo and Barcellona is now difficult to distinguish except where bridges remain. A Patti avoiding line is to open in 2004, and a new Castelbuono - Cefalù - Fiumetorto alignment in 2009, according to a display at Aeroporto Punta Raisi.

2025][IT] Palermo Centrale - Vespro - Orleans - Palermo Notarbartolo - Francia - Piraineto - Aeroporto Punta Raisi: (BLN 841.013; Ball 59A3) A supplement amending the 10 June 2001 timetable shows a full service from 6 October 2001 on the new branch west to Palermo's airport (PMO) at Punta Raisi. Hourly electric trains run during much of the day, with some additional workings. Most call at Vespro, Orleans (a new underground station with a passing-loop), Notarbartolo and Francia, then run fast to Piraineto, where the airport branch diverges from the Palermo - Trapani line. As part of the works the existing line was realigned on to a viaduct, replacing the curve inland via Carini. Piraineto is a new three-platform junction station in cutting, at a lower level than the original alignment. The branch beyond becomes double-track, mostly in tunnel, to the airport terminus, which has two long platforms and a short bay. A commemorative plaque says it opened 5 October 2001. 

With the airport trains using much of the capacity on the single-track sections, the diesel Metropolitana trains on the short electrified Palermo Notarbartolo - Giachery branch no longer run through from and to Palermo Centrale (except for two morning workings) and instead make cross-platform interchange at Notarbartolo with electric services. Though diagrams on all the local stations suggest passenger services on the Palermo Brancaccio - Vespro curve avoiding Centrale, no such workings could be confirmed in the timetable amendment supplement, nor on local arrival/departure sheets.

2026][IT] Catania Porto - Catania Centrale - Catania Borgo - Biancavilla - Adrano - Randazzo - Solicchiata - Giarre - Riposto: (Ball 60B2) Ferrovia Circumetnea's 950mm-gauge line once ran on the surface from the port north via Catania Centrale FS station, then westwards partly in the street via Corso Italia and Catania Borgo. Plans were made to replace the urban surface section by an underground alignment, to regauge the whole Catania - Randazzo line to standard and to electrify it. As a first stage the narrow-gauge FC was cut back to start at Catania Corso Italia (BLN 820.076). Later it was further cut back to start at Catania Borgo, and buffer-stops now block the disused track south to Corso Italia. The old line in town has been replaced by a new short Catania Porto - Centrale - Borgo standard-gauge section, worked by single FC electric railcars heavily disfigured with graffiti, running underground from a point north-west of Centrale to Borgo. This Metropolitana section is not obviously connected to the FS, though an FS diesel shunter at Catania Porto station in October 2001 suggests that it is indeed linked. As in 1998, no progress was to be seen west of Borgo with regauging or electrification, but works were under way on minor cuttings to straighten the alignment, on tunnels near Biancavilla and Adrano, on two lengthy embankments near Randazzo and on a new two-platform station near Solicchiata. 

2027][IT] (Catania -) Targia - Siracusa: (Ball 60B1) The circuitous old route round the coast and through the town-centre over a level-crossing into the east end of Siracusa station was replaced in May 1998 by a double-track new alignment, mainly in tunnel (BLN 845.0119). By October 2001 the old route had been severed at the Targia end and the wires had been removed, but track and catenary supports remained. Work was in progress at Siracusa station to complete conversion of two former through platforms into west-facing bays. 

2028][NZ] Christchurch tramway race: (R.0693) New Zealand's reputation for devising innovative sports was upheld when the world's first 'jiggernaut-racing' event took place in the city-centre on 18 March 2001. Streets from Cathedral Square to the Arts Centre were closed to traffic while twelve teams raced against time, with crews of four using hand power only to propel lightweight racing 'jiggers' at speeds of up to 50km/h along the track of the 1995 standard-gauge heritage tramway. The event was repeated on Sunday 10 March 2002. With increasing numbers of cities able to offer suitable stretches of light rail, perhaps this may one day be an Olympic sport....

2029][CA] Victoria - Esquimalt - Malahat - Nanaimo - Parksville - Courtenay, BC: (R.1938) Via Rail Canada's #198/199 Malahat Victoria - Courtenay, due to cease after 10 March, was granted a month's reprieve, but unless further finance can be found, the single daily passenger train on Vancouver Island will run for the last time on 15 April 2002. 

2030][CA] (Prince George -) Fort St.John - Fort Nelson: (R.1940) The railtour of 20-28 April 2002 over BC Rail's northern freight lines, thought possibly to be a final opportunity to go from Fort St.John north to Fort Nelson, was cancelled.

2031][US] San Francisco, CA: BART metro: Colma - South San Francisco - San Bruno - SFO Airport / Millbrae, CA: (R.0655) Bay Area Rapid Transit have said their 14km broad-gauge (1676mm) extension south to Millbrae BART/Caltrain interchange, with a short elevated branch to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), is to open 'sometime during fall 2002', but they quote no specific date. One suggested operating plan has trains from San Francisco terminating at SFO with a cross-platform transfer to a BART shuttle train to Millbrae. Within the airport, a 10km Bombardier AirTrain elevated guideway system is to serve nine stops including the BART station, air terminals and car-parks, using 38 driverless rubber-tyred vehicles running as two-car trains with minimum 3.5min frequency. (Transnet newsletter #97)

2032][US] Fort Worth, TX light rail: In 1963 the short Leonards Subway was built to link the then Leonards department store to car-parking near the Trinity River, with a shuttle service run by rebuilt tramcars of the classic 1930s Presidents' Conference Committee design. When Leonards store gave way to the Charles D Tandy Center, the PCC cars kept running, though weekend operation later ceased as shopping patterns changed. However the owners are to begin constructing a new 'corporate campus' and announced in February that the Tandy Center subway would close later in 2002. (http://www.lrta.org)

2033][US] El Dorado, AR - Lillie, LA: The Arkansas Railroad Club are planning for 27 April 2002 a caboose trip on this 40km freight-only short-line, once part of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, now the Ouachita Railroad. Freight lines in America often have very severe speed restrictions due to condition of track, and OUCH are no exception: with line-speed limited to 15-25km/h the round-trip if it reaches Lillie is likely to take a couple of hours each way. Some OUCH information is at http://www.trainweather.com/ouch.html.

2034][US] Syracuse, NY: (Regional Transit Center/Amtrak station -) Carousel Mall - Armory Square/Downtown - University - Colvin Street - Jamesville Beach: (R.1916; EGTRE US19) Around mid-May 1999 when the parallel Interstate highway I-81 was to be closed for a few months for bridge repair, OnTrack started a Monday-Friday Commuter Express service from their Armory Square station in downtown Syracuse, via the University and a new intermediate station at Colvin St, to Jamesville Beach, just south of the village of Jamesville. However commuters, wedded to their cars, preferred to make a 15km detour rather than ride the train, even though it was subsidised and no fares were charged. Fewer people than expected used the service, and Colvin St station saw an average of two to three passengers a day. Since the Commuter Express service ceased, Colvin St has been used to pick up passengers for trips to Jamesville Beach for an annual balloon-festival weekend. The OnTrack City Express service normally runs south only as far as Syracuse University station, but if a passenger at Colvin Street, 1.2km to the south, wants to be picked up, he can call the Armory Square station and ask for the train to come and collect him. A local train-conductor said in February 2002 that this was extremely rare. 

2035][GB] (Portrush -) Bushmills - Giant's Causeway: (R.0617, 0748, 0961, 1771) The 914mm-gauge Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway was to open to the public on Saturday 16 March 2002. (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com, from Belfast Telegraph, 14 March 2002)

2036][IE] Drogheda - Platin - Navan - Tara Jn (- Kingscourt): (R.1772, 1774) Since the last train from Tara Mines on 23 November 2001, the line west of Platin has seen only the occasional permanent-way train and some light-engine workings to retain drivers' route-knowledge, but Finnish metals company Outokumpu announced in March that their Tara Mines would reopen for production in June 2002, and zinc-ore trains are expected to resume soon after. (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

2037][IE] (Dublin Connolly -) East Wall Jn - Clontarf Road (- Drogheda - Belfast): DART and main-line trains north out of Connolly station cross both East Wall Road and the river Tolka by the East Wall bridge, which offers headroom of only 4.57m above the highway. The bridge has been hit by road vehicles no fewer than 104 times since 1985, with 53 strikes since 1998, as lorries to and from Dublin Port have become more numerous, and taller. Iarnród Éireann are to replace their most accident-prone structure by a new bridge carrying three running lines instead of two, giving extra flexibility in operation. To keep the railway running during the week, this will require complete closure of the northern approach to Connolly for twelve weekends, with work starting on Good Friday 29 March and being completed by September 2002. During the closures buses will replace DART and suburban trains between Dublin Connolly and Clontarf Road, and main-line Enterprise trains between Dublin Connolly and Drogheda. (Irish Times; Irish Independent, 21-22 March 2002, via irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

2038][DE] Niebüll DB - Niebüll NVAG - Dagebüll Mole: (BLN 762.0406; Ball 9B3) This 14km ex-metre-gauge branch operated by Nordfriesische Verkehrsbetriebe AG links the DB main line at Niebüll with Dagebüll Mole, where the train runs on to the quay alongside the ferries for the North Frisian islands of Föhr and Amrum. On the journey back up the branch the conductor announced all the Niebüll connections before arrival at Niebüll NVAG, which led one passenger to leave the train there and walk across to Niebüll DB, but the train did run north into the headshunt and reverse into the DB station, as booked. DB's local Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket was not welcome on NVAG, even on those services where it is not shown as excluded.

2039][DE] Neumünster - Heide (Holstein) - Büsum: (Ball 10B1-9B1) DB's Neumünster - Heide line and their Heide - Büsum branch were in March 2002 both being operated by Altona-Kaltenkirchen-Neumünster Eisenbahn stock, though the timetable does not show any through workings. Both AKN services use what is in effect a separate station at Heide, to the east of the platforms on the main Hamburg - Heide - Niebüll line. To the north of Heide, where the main line and the Büsum branch run parallel, the crossover linking them appears used but seems to have no passenger service.

2040][DE] Rheine - Salzbergen - Meppen - Lathen - Dörpen - Leer - Emden - Abelitz - Norden - Norddeich - Norddeich Mole: (Ball 24B2-15A3) At Lathen the Lathen - Werlte branch appeared very little used. Lathen station had a narrow-gauge 0-4-0T steam locomotive plinthed outside. Between Lathen and Dörpen DB passengers can glimpse to the east the elevated experimental track of the Transrapid high-speed intercity monorail, but it is too far away to make out any significant detail. From the platform end at Norddeich it is only some 100m to the single plain-track platform at the very basic terminus, Norddeich Mole, an unwelcoming place on a cold day, but conveniently adjacent to berths for ferries to the German Frisian islands of Juist and Norderney (R.0032). On 9 March 2002 a DB Class 212 diesel locomotive with three coaches was operating the 3km Emden Hbf - Emden Aussenhafen branch. Intermediate private sidings seemed disused, but Aussenhafen had much freight activity. The spring 2002 edition of TPO, the journal of the TPO & Seapost Society, records the Aussenhafen branch as one of the shortest lines in the world to have a Travelling Post Office with its own postmark, in use 1898-1911. 

2041][DE] Delmenhorst - Vechta - Hesepe - Bramsche - Osnabrück: (Ball 16B1-25A2) At Vechta, the truncated Vechta - Schneiderkrug (- Ahlhorn) line had been lifted by early 2002. From Delmenhorst the track is single south to Hesepe, where the Oldenburg - Osnabrück line converges, thereafter double. An oil siding south of Hesepe appears well used. Passenger services are now worked by NordWestBahn with modern low-floor diesel railcars.

2042][DE] Lüneburg - Dannenberg Ost: (Ball 18A2-18B1) Most Hamburg - Lüneburg Regionalbahn local trains use the separate Westseite platforms at Lüneburg (BLN 782.0275), so despite the 2000 Schweers & Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland showing it as non-passenger, the connection with the main line can readily be traversed. Dannenberg branch trains also use the Westseite, formerly regarded as a separate station. The once-threatened service (R.1046) remains sparse, but seems to be attracting traffic. The 21:48 arrival at Dannenberg Ost on 11 March had only a half dozen passengers, but the 09:10 departure on 12 March 2002 was quite busy, and the cars already in the car-park suggested commuter traffic on the 06:10 departure. 

2043][DE] Potsdam Pirschheide: (R.0010; Ball 31A1) Pirschheide station, in DDR days dubbed Potsdam Hauptbahnhof, but poorly-sited and since the late 1990s unstaffed, has seen yet further decline. In March 2002 the low-level station remained in use, but the stairs up to the former high-level platforms on the Aussenring had been blocked off. At the high-level the platform loops had been disconnected, and only the through non-platform lines remained in use. Their electrification equipment had been renewed, and sections of track along the inner faces of both island platforms had been lifted to make room for new masts.

2044][DE] Berlin Lehrter Bahnhof: (R.1025, 1847; Ball 32A2) At Berlin's future multi-level main station, the overall roof above the high-level west-to-east platforms on the new Stadtbahn viaduct (to the south of, and at a higher level than, the existing S-Bahn station) was under construction in early March 2002, with much scaffolding in place. Diverting the Stadtbahn tracks to their new alignment is planned for summer 2002. 

2045][DE] Berlin: (Ostkreuz Nord -) Abzw Gab - Rummelsburg: (Ball 32A2 not shown) A short non-passenger link left the Ostkreuz Nord - Berlin-Lichtenberg line to fly over first the Ostkreuz - Nöldnerplatz (- Lichtenberg) S-Bahn, then the (Ostkreuz Ost -) Rummelsburg - Betriebsbahnhof Rummelsburg S-Bahn and the parallel Fernbahn tracks before descending into Rummelsburg yard and carriage sidings. In early March 2002 this line was seen to be out of use.

2046][DE] Berlin: Tempelhof Rangierbahnhof - Anhalter Güterbahnhof: (Ball 32A2) Following its blockage during bridge-works at Papestrasse (R.1848) the freight branch to Anhalter Gbf was back in use in early March 2002, though it showed no sign of regular traffic. The single track makes its way through derelict open land that was once the complex and busy approach to the main-line passenger station, Berlin Anhalter Bahnhof, severely damaged in World War II and demolished in 1960. At the northern end is the former Bahnbetriebswerk now housing the Deutsches Technik Museum. The railway exhibits occupy the pair of part-roundhouses, and a striking modern building houses the maritime and air galleries. 

2047][DE] Königs Wusterhausen - Hafen: (Ball 32B1) North-east of the Berlin S-Bahn's southernmost terminus, Königs Wusterhausen, is an inland port at the waterway junction where the Nottekanal heading east from Zossen meets the river Dahme. For many years this port has been rail-served by sidings off the Königs Wusterhausen - Niederlehme (- Beeskow) line running close to the south bank of the Nottekanal, but in recent years a branch has been built via a new bridge over the canal to the quay on the north side. The main traffics are building materials and coal bound for Berlin, but the new branch is used also to move withdrawn Berlin S-Bahn cars to a scrapyard by the quay.

2048][DE] (Bad Vilbel -) Friedrichsdorf (Taunus) - Usingen - Grävenwiesbach - Hasselborn - Brandoberndorf: (Ball 49B2-49A3) In March 2002 most trains seemed to run through from Bad Vilbel to Brandoberndorf. Usingen is the signalling and control centre and the crew-point for the whole line, single-track with passing-loops at most stations. Stabling sidings at Usingen and Grävenwiesbach seemed well-used, but the appearance of the rails suggested that the two at Brandoberndorf are not often in use. Hasselborn, north of a tunnel at c.km34, is the only intermediate station on the section reopened to passengers 15 November 1999 (R.0333). Brandoberndorf new station is at c.km36.8, just short of the site of the old one. 

2049][DE] Frankfurt S-Bahn: (Offenbach Hbf -) OF-Ost - OF-Bieber - Rödermark-Ober Roden (- Dieburg): (BLN 838.0576; Ball 49B2) The S-Bahn network is to be extended and in March 2002 this single-track section was being electrified, including sidings just beyond Rödermark-Ober Roden station at the Dieburg end. Underpasses were replacing level-crossings at various points and preparations were being made for extra passing-loops or double-track sections. 

2050][DE] (Mannheim -) Heidelberg - Handschuhsheim (- Weinheim - Mannheim): light rail: (Ball 55B1) North of the river Neckar in the Heidelberg suburb of Bergheim, Brückenstrasse is blocked from 2 April until mid-November 2002, preventing both Oberrheinische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft and town trams from operating on their normal metre-gauge route between Heidelberg Bismarckplatz and Handschuhsheim OEG-Bhf. A diversion is in operation. From Heidelberg Hbf OEG cars run east along Kurfürstenanlage on their normal route as far as Adenauerplatz, the stop before Bismarckplatz. Here they avoid Bismarckplatz by taking a single-track south-to-west curve, not normally used either by OEG or Heidelberg trams, to join town-tram route #2 west along Bergheimer Strasse, continuing by a recently-built double-track east-to-north curve on to the Ernst-Walz-Brücke over the river and north to Handschuhsheim, where they resume their normal route to Weinheim. OEG cars southbound from Handschuhsheim take the diversion in the opposite direction as far as Bergheimer Strasse but they do not use the single-track 'non-passenger' curve, proceeding to Bismarckplatz to reverse before continuing on their normal route west via Heidelberg Hbf to Mannheim. In each direction c.10min is added to journey-time. During the works, town tram #3 Leimen - Handschuhsheim runs Leimen - Bismarckplatz only, with buses covering the Bismarckplatz - Handschuhsheim section.

2051][PT] Porto Trindade - Senhora da Hora - Trofa / Póvoa de Varzim: (R.1859; Ball 7A1) The last metre-gauge passenger trains ran on Saturday 23 February 2002 and temporary rail-replacement bus services began Sunday 24 February to both Trofa and Póvoa. At the former terminus Porto Trindade the ticket-office building with its steps up from the road and part of the former waiting room were still standing in mid-March 2002, but everything else had been demolished. Between the platforms a very deep hole was evidence of tunnelling work on the future 1435mm-gauge metro. At Senhora da Hora the original station building still stood but all metre-gauge track had been lifted in the station and north past the former junction. On the Trofa line track had been lifted a little way past the first couple of level-crossings but beyond it remained in place all the way to Trofa. On the Povoa line it had been lifted further north past Custoias station. Some of the new concrete-sleepered standard-gauge track had already replaced the metre-gauge near Senhora da Hora station, at Custoias and into Guifões works. North of there, metre-gauge track was still in place all the way into Povoa. Most station buildings on both lines had been fenced off to discourage vandalism. Station cafes were still in operation at Mindelo and Povoa. 

2052][ES] Mallorca: (Palma - Inca -) Empalme - Sineu - Petra - Manacor (- Arta): (R.1279, 1637; Ball 38A1-38A2) As with their previous reopening project (the Inca - Empalme - Sa Pobla line, reopened 6 January 2001), Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca are replacing level-crossings by substantial and expensive concrete bridges. By March 2002 some of the old 914mm-gauge rails and sleepers had been removed from Empalme (= junction) to the outskirts of Sineu, but much work clearly remained to be done, and indeed the citizens of Petra were still arguing whether the reopened line should follow the old alignment through their town or take a completely new route bypassing it. All in all, the reopening date to Manacor of 2003 quoted by some sources seemed unlikely to be met. At Manacor, the old station building had been gutted and had its tiles removed, and a short section of trackbed had been ballasted, perhaps with a view to displaying proposed rolling-stock. However SFM have no stock to spare, with a fifth of their fleet out of service following a serious accident on 12 February 2002. A three-car unit working an early-morning train from Palma in foggy conditions ran into the massive concrete stop-block at Sa Pobla at such a speed as to destroy the leading power-car. Services have been cut back till repairs can be made to the other cars and a replacement power-car can be delivered to the island, perhaps in May. 

2053][IT] (Napoli Centrale FS -) Cancello FS - Benevento Appia - Benevento FS: (BLN 842.042, 847.0178; Ball 53B1-54A1) Opened with steam traction in 1910 and electrified at the Italian standard 3000V dc in 1959, the 48km single-track Ferrovia Cancello-Benevento, later Ferrovia Benevento-Napoli, is now part of Ferrovia Alifana e Benevento Napoli (http://www.alifana.it). FBN trains operate from Napoli Centrale over the FS to Cancello, then from Cancello FS over the FBN to Benevento Centrale FS. FBN's depot and works are on their own line at Benevento Appia, one station south of Benevento Centrale. The FBN route is also used by one FS train-pair running Napoli - Cancello - Benevento - Campobasso. 

2054][IT] (Napoli Centrale FS -) San Maria Capua Vetere FS - Piedimonte Matese: (Ball 53B1-53B2) The Ferrovia Alifana began as a 950mm-gauge 11kV 25Hz electric railway opened in 1913 by Compagnia delle Ferrovie del Mezzogiorno d'Italia from their own Napoli terminus (Napoli Piazza Carlo III - San Maria Capua Vetere Biforcazione - Capua). A 1913-14 branch (San Maria Capua Vetere Biforcazione - Piedimonte d'Alife) may never have been electrified, and closed 1944 because of war damage. San Maria Capua Vetere - Capua, the short outer section, paralleled by an FS line, also closed 1944. In the 1950s the remaining Alifana line seems to have been slightly cut back at the Napoli end to a terminus at Scalo Merci. Narrow-gauge operations ceased in 1976. 

In 1963 the long-closed 42km branch to Piedimonte d'Alife, now Piedimonte Matese, was diverted at the junction end, regauged to standard, and reopened with diesel traction. Alifana trains now run from Napoli Centrale over FS to San Maria Capua Vetere FS station, then take the 1963 diversion on to their own single-track branch to terminate at Piedimonte Matese, next the Alifana depot and works. Though the line is being electrified, progress since the late 1990s has been slow (R.1280). A 3000V dc electric set purchased for the Alifana line is temporarily housed, unused, at Benevento Appia FBN depot (R.2053). 

2055][IT] Napoli - Baiano / Sarno / Sorrento: (Ball 55B1-55B2) Trains of the 132km 950mm-gauge Circumvesuviana system serving the area east and south of Mount Vesuvius run from their own terminus, called Napoli Stazione Terminale on the station signboards, but simply Napoli in timetables. With 13 platforms, this may be the biggest narrow-gauge terminus in Europe. All trains pass through Napoli Collegamento FS (collegamento = connection, for interchange can be made here with FS trains at Napoli Centrale). Most of the Circumvesuviana was built 1884-1904 as single track with steam traction, and electrified 1905-36, the voltage being eventually standardised at 1500V dc. The electrified Torre Annunziata - Sorrento branch opened 1936-48. The short, mostly underground, Pomigliano d'Arco - Alfa Lancia 2 - Alfa Lancia 4 branch opened 1977, with stations close to gates #2 and 4 into the formerly Alfa Sud, now Alfa Lancia, car-factory. Circumvesuviana publicity says this branch is to be extended to the town of Acerra, but in February 2002 no sign of construction could be seen at the present terminus beneath an Alfa Lancia workforce car-park. With intensive peak commuter traffic the efficient Circumvesuviana is Italy's busiest narrow-gauge railway and deploys 118 three-car articulated electric units, as well as 206 buses. The company also run the summer-only Castellammare di Stabia - Monte Faito funivia (= aerial cable-car). 

The original Circumvesuviana alignments are beset with level-crossings, and the system is being extensively upgraded. In February 2002 the Napoli - Casalnuovo - Pomigliano d'Arco - Scisciano - Saviano - Nola - Baiano line had ambitious works under way, including a completely new alignment from Napoli north-east to Casalnuovo, running to the south rather than the north of the FS Napoli - Cancello main line. Beyond Casalnuovo 15km of route had already been upgraded, running almost entirely on continuous concrete viaduct to Pratola. Double track was shortly to be available all the way from Napoli to a point between Scisciano and Saviano. The Napoli - Barra - San Giorgio a Cremano - Ercolano - Torre Annunziata Oplonti - Pompei Villa del Misteri - Sorrento line had double track all the way out to Pompei Villa del Misteri. The Napoli - Barra - Ponticelli - Cercola - Poggiomarino - Sarno line has double-track out to Cercola. 

In recent years the Circumvesuviana have opened a Casalnuovo - Volla - San Giorgio a Cremano chord, largely in tunnel and not shown in the 1993 Ball atlas, linking their Baiano line to the Sorrento one, with both junctions facing away from Napoli. The intermediate stations on the new line are mostly underground, but Volla, the first station south of Casalnuovo, is on the surface, and the not-yet-opened Napoli - Casalnuovo double-track alignment can be seen here diverging towards Napoli. Circumvesuviana publicity suggests a triangle is planned near Volla, eventually offering an alternative route for trains from Napoli to San Giorgio and on to Torre Annunziata Oplonti and Sorrento. In early 2002 the service on the temporarily single-track line was mainly provided by a single train-set shuttling back and forth, advertised only at the stations served, and not shown either in the national timetables or on the normal Circumvesuviana wall-posters. (http://www.vesuviana.it)

2056][IT] Napoli metro: (Garibaldi/Stazione Centrale FS -) Dante - Museo/Cavour - Vanvitelli - Colli Aminei - Piscinola-Scampia (- NAP Capodichino Aeroporto - Garibaldi/Stazione Centrale FS): (R.1510) Dante station and the 0.5km Dante - Museo section of Line 1 were to open 27 March 2002. The pedestrian tunnel connecting Museo station on Line 1 (the city's Metropolitana Collinare) with Cavour station on Line 2 (the Metropolitana FS) is to open in early May 2002. (http://web.tiscalinet.it/defalco_ivanoe/trasporti/net/index.html) Line 1 is to be extended eventually to form a ring line serving both the main-line station and the airport. (http://www.metropla.net)

2057][PL] Stargard Szczecinski (Wask.) - Stara Dabrowa - Dobra Nowogardzkie: (R.0166; Ball 31A2; PKP378) From PKP's standard-gauge station at Stargard a U-shaped freight branch provided a link to the metre-gauge system c.1km to the north-east, then according to local maps turned south to serve various industrial sidings. On 1 March 2002 this standard-gauge branch, running to the west side of Stargard's Waskotorowy (= narrow-gauge) station building, looked considerably more out of use than the narrow-gauge tracks on the east side. However, no sign was seen of any metre-gauge rolling-stock, nor any evidence of freight, though this might perhaps have been handled further down the line from the passenger station. The large building was in residential use. The combined station-office-and-block-post, a traditional German-style lean-to addition on the front of the building, bore in its front window a small typescript 'warning' notice, from which the date 10 June 2001 could be gleaned, probably the withdrawal date of the last two scheduled passenger round-trips, from Dobra Nowogardzkie 44km away. At the narrow-gauge stop-blocks, another forlorn notice advertised Ciuchcia Retro Ekspres Zaprasza, apparently an invitation to charter a 'choo-choo retro express', all that remains of the service in the PKP timetable. At 17:20 on a Friday in March the PKP stationmaster was still at his post, with his Mercedes car parked close by, so perhaps he was waiting for a charter to arrive. Or perhaps his presence just reflected PKP's resolve to carry on losing money on their narrow-gauge, even after closure.

2058][KZ][UZ][TM][IR] Almaty - Tashkent - Turkmenabat/Chardzhou - Sarakhs - Mashhad - Tehran: (R.1320) On 14 March 2002 the first train #19/20 departed Almaty, Kazakhstan's biggest city and former capital, via Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent and across Turkmenistan to the capital of Iran. The Almaty - Tehran fare quoted in Kazakh tenge seems a bargain at KZT11,363 (= c.GBP53 or c.EUR86 or c.USD75) for a 3300km 68h journey. At the last station in broad-gauge Turkmenistan before entering standard-gauge Iran by the Sarakhs border-crossing (inaugurated 13 May 1996; BLN 779.0231), the restaurant-car would be detached, and 1520mm-gauge bogies on the through vehicles, three sleeping-cars and a baggage-car, would be replaced by 1435mm-gauge ones. Should Turkey ever build the proposed line around the north of Lake Van, the train might one day be extended beyond Tehran to Istanbul Haydarpasa. (5feet@yahoogroups.com)

2059][IR][PK] (Tehran - Bafq -) Kerman - Bam - Zahedan (- Mirjaveh RAI - Qila Saveh PR - Quetta): (R.0586) An Iranian government minister said on 21 December 2001 that the Kerman - Bam section is to be operational by the end of June 2002. (http://www.nourlaw.com/economic/archive114.html) When completed to Zahedan, the new standard-gauge line will meet the Iranian end of the broad-gauge (1676mm) line worked as part of Pakistan Railways, and will bridge the gap between the railway networks of west and south Asia, enabling an all-rail journey from Istanbul to the Indian subcontinent. 

2060][IN] Mettupalaiyam - Coonoor - Ootacamund: The completion in the 1870s of the broad-gauge (1676mm) Podanur - Mettupalaiyam branch fed the demand for a railway to climb high into the Nilgiri hills to the cooler levels favoured by the ruling British during the hot season. The 28km Mettupalaiyam - Coonoor section was built 1891-98 and the line was extended 18km to Ootacamund in September 1908. It is metre-gauge, with Abt rack on the steepest sections, reaching a summit of c.2225m between Lovedale and the 147m tunnel under Fern Hill, Ootacamund. The first 16km out of Mettupalaiyam are heavily engineered, with 19 significant viaducts, and the 46km line counts as 116 tariff-km for ticket-pricing. Trains, still all worked by the seven operational steam locomotives, are leisurely, with an uphill journey-time of some 4h20min, downhill 3h30min. Conversion to oil firing has so far not been entirely successful, as a converted engine can take an extra hour to climb the hill compared with a coal-fired one. The line was breached on 24 December 2001, and still closed with repairs in progress in mid-February 2002. A steam-hauled works-train was operating on weekdays from Mettupalaiyam to the breach. The foreman at Coonoor expected the line to reopen on 1 April 2002. 

2061][LK] Colombo - Homagama - Avissawella: (BLN 701.03, 706.011, 817.018) Originally 762mm-gauge, the 60km of the Kelani Valley line from Sri Lanka's capital out to Avissawella was converted to carry 1676mm-gauge trains in August 1997, though at that time the 26km suburban Colombo - Homagama section retained a few narrow-gauge passenger workings on dual-gauge track. By 2002 some of the rails had been removed from the dual section, so narrow-gauge running was no longer feasible, and all trains were broad-gauge.

2062][US] Los Angeles, CA metro: The city's Metro system comprises the heavy-rail Red line subway (R.0838) and two successful light-rail lines (the north-south Los Angeles - Long Beach Blue line and the east-west Norwalk - Redondo Beach Green line; BLN 821.0112) with a third light-rail line (the Union Station - Pasadena Gold line; R.1878) under construction. In March 2002 Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to build a fourth light-rail line to Eastside (Union Station - Little Tokyo - Boyle Heights - Eastside). Some 1.6km of the 9.6km is to be underground. Construction may begin in 2003 and be completed by 2005. (http://www.lrta.org)

2063][US] (New York Penn - Newark Broad Street, NJ -) Montclair Bay St - Montclair Walnut St (- Great Notch, NJ): (R.1020, 1482, 1804) New Jersey Transit are 'rescheduling formal opening of the Montclair Connection from spring to fall 2002'. Inauguration of the project will see the start of limited Midtown Direct Service through from New York Penn station; diversion of Boonton Line commuter trains to use the electrified Montclair Branch to Bay Street, then a short new single-track link to the Boonton Line at Walnut Street; 8km of new electrification out as far as Great Notch; and closure to passengers of the present Boonton Line section through North Newark and its three stations: (Hoboken -) Arlington/Kearny - Rowe Street/Bloomfield - Benson Street/Glen Ridge (- Montclair Walnut St). (Transnet newsletter #99)

2064][US] Jacksonville, FL: Jacksonville's former Union Station is closed and no longer on a passenger route, though if Amtrak were to obtain agreement to run one of their three New York - Florida Silver Service trains by the Florida East Coast Railway (Jacksonville - West Palm Beach - Fort Lauderdale - Miami; R.1294) this would pass the Union Station site. Jacksonville's present passenger station, out on the north side of town beyond Moncrief Yard at 3570 Clifford Lane, is the point of convergence of three Amtrak long-distance routes, all of them now CSX trackage. The Silver trains arrive on the ex-Atlantic Coast Line from the north via Dinsmore, and are scheduled to depart either taking the ex-Seaboard Air Line west to Duval, turning south at Baldwin to make calls at Ocala and Tampa (the Silver Palm) or staying on the ACL south via Edgewood to call at Palatka and Orlando (the Silver Star and Silver Meteor). Amtrak's transcontinental Los Angeles, CA - Jacksonville, FL - Orlando, FL Sunset Limited, however, has two potential ways to make its Jacksonville call. Arriving from Tallahassee across the Florida panhandle by the SAL through Baldwin, the eastbound Sunset is normally routed the same way as the northbound Palm from Duval east past West Jacksonville Yard to the junction at Beaver Street, where it takes the tight curve on to the ACL to head north-west for c.5km to Grand Junction. Here, just short of the Amtrak station, the Sunset is 'wyed' and propels north into the station ready for its southward run via Edgewood to Orlando. However, in the event of congestion at Grand Jn, the eastbound Sunset turns due north at Duval Connection, past Pritchard Yard, and joins the ACL main at Dinsmore Connection, north of the Amtrak station, facing south, thus obviating the need to wye at Grand Jn. The westbound Sunset can similarly take either route in reverse. The SPV Atlas shows the 11km Duval - Dinsmore line as being built by Seaboard System (not SAL), so it is presumably a product of the ACL/SAL merger. 

2065][US] Suisun-Fairfield - Napa Jn - Lombard - Schellville, CA: Suisun-Fairfield is an Amtrak Capitol Corridor stop on the ex-Southern Pacific, now Union Pacific, Sacramento - Oakland, CA transcontinental main line. Just south of the station a secondary freight line (ex-SP, now UP, but leased to California Northern Railroad) heads west through Jamieson Canyon for 21km to Napa Jn and Lombard before continuing westward for some 17km to Schellville, giving access to the isolated and hard-pressed Northwestern Pacific (R.1288). 

At Napa Jn (milepost mileages quoted as 61.4 and 61.8, suggesting a triangular junction) the ex-SP, now UP, CFNR-leased 10km Vallejo Subdivision, Napa Jn - Flosden - Vallejo, heads south, serving an ex-SFN&C branch from Flosden to the US Navy installation at Mare Island and a General Mills plant in Vallejo, near the San Francisco - Vallejo ferry-terminal. 

From Lombard (mileposts 61.6 and 62.0, perhaps another triangular junction) the Napa Subdivision, Lombard - Napa - St.Helena - Krug (- Calistoga, CA), heads north for 43km. The first 9.4km section (as far as milepost 67.5) is also ex-SP, now UP, leased to CFNR, but north of there the line was bought outright from SP in 1991 by investors in the Napa Wine Train tourist operation (http://www.winetrain.com). Passenger trains offering scheduled food-and-wine excursions ply the 28.5km between Napa (milepost 69.8) and St.Helena (milepost 87.6). The branch is open for freight a further 1.8km to Krug (milepost 88.7), but the northernmost c.9km section to Calistoga has been abandoned.

In 1900 two daily SP workings connected with the San Francisco - Vallejo ferry, running Vallejo - Calistoga - Vallejo and Vallejo - Shellville (as it was then spelled) - Santa Rosa - Vallejo, with Suisun - Napa Jn connections. In 1922 the SP's daily workings were Napa - Vallejo - Calistoga - Vallejo - Napa and Vallejo - Santa Rosa - Vallejo, with no advertised Suisun - Napa Jn service. By 1922 the steam-worked SP line was facing competition, for the closely parallel electrified interurban, the San Francisco, Napa & Calistoga Railway, self-styled as the 'Napa Valley Route', had sprung up, running some six round-trips daily over the full length of their line (Mare Island - Napa - Calistoga) with further short workings. However, by 1951 all passenger activity on the north shore out of both Vallejo SP and Mare Island SFN&C had ceased. The SFN&C, by 1951 the San Francisco & Napa Valley Railroad, were reduced to operating USN Mare Island - Napa Jn freight, and by 1957 they had disappeared completely. 

In early 2002 the transport authorities in both Napa and Solano Counties began studying the possibility of new passenger services: on the Suisun-Fairfield - Napa Jn - Vallejo route (connecting out of Amtrak trains); on the Vallejo - Napa Jn - Napa - Calistoga route (connecting out of commuter ferries from San Francisco); and weekend excursions connecting out of Amtrak trains for both the Napa Valley and the Northwestern Pacific at Schellville. The study is also examining opportunities to enhance rail freight, identifying capacity constraints, and suggesting where resignalling or double-tracking might be needed.

2066][FR] Lille: Santes - Délivrance - Lompret: (BLN 829.0300; Ball 7A1-10B3) At about 12:20 on Wednesday 27 March 2002 it was announced at Lens that the Béthune - Hazebrouck line was obstructed following a suicide at Lillers. Train #46431, the 12:32 Lens - Béthune - Hazebrouck semi-fast, a four-car double-deck electric unit, arrived and was announced as terminating at Béthune. Ten minutes later, train #44933, the 12:44 Lens - Béthune - Hazebrouck - Dunkerque slow, arrived from the south-east with Fret-liveried diesel BB67530 propelling a push-pull TER set, and was announced as running non-stop to Hazebrouck. After discussion between station-master and driver, train #44933 set off about 10 minutes late, with the locomotive now leading. The diversionary route was Lens - Don-Sainghin - Santes - Lille-Délivrance yard - Bifurcation Lambersart - (south-to-west curve) - Bifurcation des Quatre Maisons - Armentières - Hazebrouck. With a fast run along the main line to Hazebrouck, arrival there was only 10 minutes late, so a non-stop journey without a booked path over unusual freight track had taken the same time as the scheduled journey via Béthune - and had demonstrated commendable flexibility on the part of SNCF's controller and train-crew in seeking to minimise disruption for passengers.

2067][FR] Rennes metro: The city's 8.5km VAL (véhicule automatique léger) driverless light metro line, planned since the early 1990s (BLN 699.04), was to open on 15 March 2002. (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2002)

2068][FR] (Neussargues - Lugarde-Marchastel -) Riom-ès-Montagnes - Bort-les-Orgues: (BLN 815.0565; Ball 54A2-55A1) The first 'passenger train' for some years reached Bort-les-Orgues on 24 March 2002 in the shape of a draisine of Riom-based tourist-train operators Chemin de Fer de la Haute Auvergne, running in conjunction with a visit from Paris-based International Ferroviaire Club. A lifted section of track at Riom had not been replaced, hence the use of the small trolley rather than one of CFHA's railcars. The draisine, its capacity limited to 12 persons, called at several intermediate stations to exchange passengers with a following IFC-chartered bus.

2069][FR] Dunières-Gare SNCF - Dunières-Ville (- Montfaucon-en-Velay - Tence - Le Chambon-sur-Lignon - St.Agrève): (R.1272, 1720; OEIS 0213; Ball 56A1) Since ordinary passenger services ceased, changes in the local road layout have made loading and unloading metre-gauge tourist trains at the former SNCF/Vivarais interchange station, Dunières-Gare, potentially hazardous, so the Dunières-Gare - Dunières-Ville section has not officially reopened to passengers (R.1137). Nevertheless, those not afraid to try their French have been accommodated on locomotive-hauled empty-stock movements, which go from Ville to Gare to run round. SNCF's standard-gauge Firminy - St.Pal-St.Romain - Dunières-Gare branch closed to passengers 7 July 1991, and though technically open for freight is virtually out of use beyond St.Pal-St.Romain. The large quantities of timber handled at Dunières-Gare are despatched by road. (partly from Voie Étroite, #180, Oct-Nov 2000)

2070][BE] Antwerpen trams: The 4.3km extension of line 3 from Linkeroever to Zwijndrecht was inaugurated on 15 February 2002. (Today's Railways, April 2002)

2071][DE] Berlin - Wolfsburg: (BLN 805.0307; Ball 29B3-27B3) Distances at locations along the new high-speed Schnellfahrstrecke appear to be shown as the actual distance from Berlin plus 100km, probably in order to avoid confusion with nearby locations on the parallel original line, the Stammstrecke. 

2072][DE] Berlin-Karow - Basdorf - Zühlsdorf - Wensickendorf - Schmachtenhagen (- Sachsenhausen (Nordbahn) / Fichtengrund): (Ball 32A3-20B1) Though DB at present provide the trains and staff, the Berlin-Karow - Basdorf - Wensickendorf / Gross Schönebeck branches are part of the Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn, whose signage was reappearing on stations in March 2002. Basdorf has been attractively rebuilt, but the track beyond is in poor condition and both Zühlsdorf and Wensickendorf stations seem inconveniently sited for traffic. The NBE's Wensickendorf - Liebenwalde branch was red-plated out of use, with small trees growing between the rails. As in summer 2001 (R.1614) weekend passenger trains are again running on the otherwise freight-only 6km Wensickendorf - Schmachtenhagen section, the 10:40-15:40 hourly departures from Berlin-Karow and their return workings being extended beyond Wensickendorf on Saturdays and Sundays for the whole of 2002, to take visitors to Schmachtenhagen market. 

2073][DE] (Emmelshausen -) Boppard - Boppard Süd: (Ball 48B2) Less than 1km south of Boppard station, effectively at the far end of its branch-platform headshunt, on a dead-end track parallel to the Koblenz - Boppard - Bingen main line, lies Boppard Süd, a new station. Beside it is a small cluster of newish buildings, including a multi-storey car-park. Passenger service in 2002 is four Mon-Fri Emmelshausen - Boppard trains running forward to Boppard Süd, plus their return workings. 

2074][DE][FR] Dillingen (Saar) - Niedaltdorf DB - Guerstling SNCF - Bouzonville: (BLN 848.0213; Ball DE-55B3, FR-18B1) The 8.7km border-crossing section is normally freight-only, but on 29 March 2002 special trains were again to run beyond Niedaltdorf through to Bouzonville in France, presumably in connection with the Easter market there. Timetables and tickets were available at local stations or on the trains, and round-trip fare was EUR6. (DB via http://www.lok-report.de)

2075][DE] Augsburg trams: The 2.3km extension of route 2 to Klinikum/P+R Augsburg West opened 29 November 2001. (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2002)

2076][AT] Villach Süd Grossverschiebebahnhof: (Ball 82A1; track-layout circulated as OEIS 9448) On the north side of the Villach - Arnoldstein (-Thörl-Maglern ÖBB - Tarvisio FS) main line, sandwiched between it and the river Gail, is the extensive Villach Süd Gvbf (= marshalling-yard). A triangle, normally for inbound trains, lies at its western end between Fürnitz and Neuhaus, and a 'grand junction' at the east end allows through running of outbound trains to Villach (for the rest of Austria); Arnoldstein (for Italy); and Rosenbach (for Slovenia). A German-sponsored railtour on 22 March 2002 made three passes through the yard to cover all the routes in and out. Between the inward sidings (Einfahrgruppe) at the west end and the outward sidings (Ausfahrgruppe) at the east end stands the hump (Hauptabrollberg). The yard is normally worked in a clockwise direction, but is reversibly signalled. RoLa (= Rollende Landstrasse = 'rolling highway') lorry-carrying trains from any direction can thus access their separate group of east-facing sidings near Fürnitz halt by backing in. Built by 1982, the yard is relatively modern, if anything to do with sorting individual wagons can be regarded as modern. The outward sidings have not only retarders (to slow down a wagon rolling too fast) but also impulsers (to 'kick' a wagon rolling too slowly, avoiding the need for a shunting locomotive to come round the hump to close up wagons into a coupled rake). Around the north side of the yard runs a perimeter route with three staff halts. Only the westerly one, alongside the inward sidings, still has a nameboard, Haltestelle Betriebsgebaüde 1, and the Fahrdienstleiter at Villach Westbahnhof, in charge of train-working for the whole yard area, confirmed that staff trains no longer run. Any staff travelling by rail now arrive by ordinary passenger train at Fürnitz, and are picked up by the yard minibus, and no doubt regular shift-workers prefer to drive their own cars direct to the yard rather than to Villach Hbf or Westbf. 

2077][AT] Weizelsdorf - Ferlach: (R.0911, 0993; Ball 82B1) Preservation group Nostalgiebahnen in Kärnten began in 1991 running tourist trains on this line, leasing it from ÖBB on an annual basis until they were able to purchase it in September 2001. NBiK opened a new intermediate halt for the 2001 season. Alas, an ÖBB rail journey to reach the NBiK operation (on Saturdays and Sundays from July to the second weekend in September) is no longer possible, for Klagenfurt Hbf - Weizelsdorf - Rosenbach trains now run Mon-Fri only, and weekend services to Weizelsdorf are by bus. On 22 March 2002 a German-sponsored railbus tour traversed the whole tourist line, running to the stopblocks beyond the station at Ferlach and over the c.500m museum branch there. This U-shaped branch on the south side of the running line, with its junction facing Ferlach station, was originally a siding serving several factories, and a former covered loading-dock at the far end is now a shed for NBiK rolling-stock. NBiK's usual summer weekend trains are advertised to be steam-worked, with connections from Ferlach station to the Historama technical and transport museum by vintage bus. From time to time the NBiK railbus may work the last train of the day instead of a steam locomotive, but it seems that it is only on special occasions when the railbus works the main weekend service that it also runs the connecting shuttle on the museum branch, though it was advertised to do this regularly in about 1997-98. 

2078][PT] Aveiro - Agueda - Sernada do Vouga: (Ball 17A3) After four weeks of engineering works (R.1897), this section of metre-gauge line rather surprisingly reopened on 12 February 2002, and the advertised timetable has been resumed. 

2079][ES] Madrid suburban: (Atocha -) Pinto - San Martín de la Vega: (Ball 22A2 not shown) Branching off the Madrid - Aranjuez line near Pinto, the new 13.4km Cercanías branch serving Warner park and San Martín de la Vega opened to passengers on 6 April 2002. Journey-time for the c.30km from Madrid to San Martin is about 30 minutes. 

2080][ES] Barcelona metro: (R.0683, 1903) At the start of summer 2002 the north-eastern end of horseshoe-shaped Line 4 (Trinitat Nova - Passeig de Grácia - La Pau - Pep Ventura) is to be truncated at La Pau, and in autumn 2002 the La Pau - Pep Ventura section will reopen as an extension of Line 2 (Paral-lel - Passeig de Grácia - La Pau). Line 4 will later be extended from La Pau west to serve the future Barcelona Sagrera AVE station for high-speed standard-gauge trains. 

2081][ES] (Alacant/Alicante -) El Campello - Vila-Joiosa/Villajoyosa (- Benidorm - Denia): (R.1904; Ball 32A1-32B2) After nearly four months' closure due to engineering work, this section of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Válenciana metre-gauge line along the Costa Blanca reopened on 23 March 2002. The normal Alacant - Denia timetable was resumed, though some of the intermediate stations were not yet ready for passengers, and buses temporarily continued to serve these stations. 

2082][ES] (Sevilla - Utrera - Jerez de la Frontera -) Cádiz Cortadura - Cádiz Término: (R.1203; Ball 34B1) Though all the major engineering was finished by 4 February as planned (R.1905), minor works took another month to complete, and the Cortadura - Término section officially reopened on Friday 8 March 2002., with free trains that weekend to let the public try out the new subterranean alignment. RENFE have augmented services, extending the Barcelona - Sevilla Talgo Trenhotel Antonio Machado to Cadiz, and providing new Cádiz Cortadura - Término Cercanías trains.

2083][IT] Roma Piazzale Flaminio - Prima Porta - Viterbo Nord: (BLN 832.0391; Ball 52A1-52B3-50A1) This standard-gauge electrified line, once run by Società Romana per le Ferrovie del Nord and now by Consortile Trasporti del Lazio (COTRAL, the Lazio regional transport authority), retains its servizio urbano from the city out as far as Prima Porta, but the sparse and very slow servizio extraurbano of 1930s electric units beyond to Viterbo Nord appeared in April 2002 to have been withdrawn, temporarily or permanently. (http://www.atac.roma.it) The alternative FS local line to Viterbo (Roma San Pietro - Capranica-Sutri - Viterbo Porta Fiorentina) was electrified in 1998 (BLN 832.0392).

2084][IT] Roma Termini / Roma Tiburtina - Roma Prenestina (- Tivoli - Pescara): (Ball 52A1) The FS timetable valid 27 January - 15 June 2002 shows no trains between Roma Termini and Roma Prenestina, all Roma - Pescara main-line trains having been diverted to run from and to Roma Tiburtina using the curve already traversed by Roma Tiburtina - Roma Prenestina - Tivoli local services. Perhaps the diversion has been caused by capacity problems at Roma Termini due to the introduction of new signalling there. More information would be welcome, including start and end dates for the diversion.

2085][IT] Napoli area: FS north-south main lines: (Ball 53B1-54A1-55A3-55B3) When Ferrovie dello Stato were formed in 1905, they took over from predecessor companies quite a simple system in the Napoli area, essentially comprising the Roma - Cassino - Napoli and Napoli - Portici - Ercolano - Torre Annunziata - Salerno main lines, both serving what is today Napoli Centrale terminus. The Portici - Ercolano section included Italy's first railway, opened by the King of Naples in 1839. The new FS soon began building a more direct route from the capital (Roma - Latina - Formia - Villa Literno - Aversa - Napoli Centrale), completed in 1927 and originally steam-operated, though electrified at the Italian standard 3000V dc from 1935. At the Napoli end, this line forks at Villa Literno, the main route running round the north of the city while the other fork via Pozzuoli Solfatara (R.2086) takes a more southerly route. 

In early 2002 yet another Roma - Napoli route, the Alta Velocità high-speed line, was in the later stages of construction. Not shown in the 1993 Ball atlas but partly in place by 1995 (BLN 771.063) is some 20km of double-track electrified line, at present freight-only, starting from San Maria Capua Vetere and running south of Caserta to a triangular junction west of Cancello. Part of this line will become part of the Alta Velocità curving towards Napoli Centrale. Another arm of the Alta Velocità, heading for the south, ends at a new junction, Bivio Sarno, already in place on the (Napoli -) Sarno - Nocera (- Salerno) line, itself realigned c.1992 (and not shown in Ball). Just east of Nocera Superiore station, this new Sarno - Nocera alignment feeds directly into the line through the 10.2km Santa Lucia tunnel, opened in 1977 to bypass the steeply-graded Nocera Inferiore - Nocera Superiore - Vietri sul Mare-Amalfi - Salerno section, still served by local trains. 

2086][IT] Napoli: Villa Literno - Pozzuoli Solfatara - Napoli Piazza Amadeo - Montesanto - Piazza Cavour - Napoli Piazza Garibaldi - Napoli Gianturco (Ball 55A3-55B3) From Pozzuoli Solfatara via the four-platform through station beneath Napoli Centrale, separately entitled Napoli Piazza Garibaldi, to terminal bay-platforms at Napoli Gianturco, much of this FS line, now known as Metropolitana Linea 2, is in tunnel. Since its opening in 1925-27 it has always had a frequent local service, worked electrically, 750V dc third-rail originally, 3000V dc overhead since 1935. The platforms at the Napoli intermediate stations of Piazza Amadeo, Montesanto and Piazza Cavour are all at deep level, and approached by long escalators. Services are worked by a batch of four-car Class ALe724 electric units with half the usual number of seats but extra standing-room. Some main-line FS trains also work through from Villa Literno by this route, thus avoiding reversal at Centrale, but pathing between Metropolitana trains and restricted platform lengths clearly impose limitations, notably at Piazza Garibaldi.

2087][IT] Napoli light metro: Municipio - Mergellina - Mostra-Campei Flagrei: In early 2002 this 5.8km 'ghost' line, to be known as Metropolitana Linea 6, was still far from ready to operate, though the Fuorigrotta - Mergellina section seems to have been completed as long ago as 1990-92 as part of a scheme for a Linea Tranviaria Rapida, subsequently aborted. At least some of the 18 light-rail cars were delivered by AnsaldoBreda c.1992 and are stored in the unfinished tunnels. Some details can be found in English on the rolling-stock manufacturers' website http://www.ansaldobreda.it. 

2088][IT] Napoli trams and trolleybuses: Azienda Napolitana Mobilità's city tram system, reduced in December 2000 to three routes, was still operating these in early 2002: #1 Piazza Vittoria - Poggioreale; #4 Piazza Vittoria - Sperone; and #29 Poggioreale - Sperone. The cars are pre-World War II vehicles, twice rebodied, but new low-floor cars (and minor route-extensions) are said to be planned. ANM also run one of the city's two separate filobus (= trolleybus) systems, whose couple of routes were re-equipped in 2000 with new AnsaldoBreda bi-modal (= electro-diesel) rigid-wheelbase vehicles, and in 2001 with higher-voltage 750V dc power-supply. Consorzio Trasporti Pubblici run the second trolleybus system, a modest interurban operation which since recent restructuring has had but a single route, worked Monday-Saturday only, using five elderly Alfa Romeo vehicles plus three new AnsaldoBreda electro-diesel buses. CTP's route M13 starts at Napoli Piazza San Francesco with diesel operation, and the wires commence at Napoli Piazza Carlo III, running through the suburbs to Aversa, then on a recent extension to Teverola. With an end-to-end journey-time of over an hour, M13 is claimed to be the longest trolleybus route in western Europe. (partly from Blickpunkt Strassenbahn)

2089][PL][BY] Chelm - Wlodawa PKP - Vlodava BCh - Brest: (Ball 39B2-39B3) Before World War II this was a standard-gauge double-track through route in Poland, but in 1939 bombing destroyed the railway bridge at Wlodawa over the river Bug, and it was never replaced. A standard-gauge singled branch in Poland (PKP 552) thus remains separated by the river, now the frontier, from one converted to 1520mm Russian gauge in what is now Belarus. In early 2002 the two countries were considering restoration of the bridge, some of whose piers remain, and dual-gauging the track from the bridge to Brest, allowing PKP to run through Przemysl - Chelm - Wlodawa - Brest - Czeremcha - Bialystok trains linking Poland's eastern cities across a corner of Belarus. (kolejelist@yahoogroups.com; http://www.belrw.com)

2090][CZ][DE] Rumburk CD - Jiríkov CD / Ebersbach (Sachsen) DB: (Ball CZ-36A2, DE-44B2) In late March 2002 the infrastructure remained much as in summer 1997 (BLN 812. 0507), but presumably CD's plans to withdraw their international passenger service in September 1998 (BLN 821.0105) were aborted, for three round-trips are on offer every Saturday and Sunday, at 07:35, 12:57 and 15:00 from Rumburk, and 09:05, 14:42 and 16:42 from Ebersbach. The 16:42 Ebersbach - Rumburk train was seen, worked unsurprisingly by a single CD four-wheel railbus, #810 333.

2091][HU][SI] Zalalövö - Bajánsenye MÁV - Hodoš SZ - Puconci - Murska Sobota: (R.1432, 1668; Ball 46B3) The new Zalalövö station appears to have been resited some distance to the west, and its building, like the similarly-new facilities at Öriszentpéter and Hodoš, seems inappropriately large for likely traffic. A cross-border journey in March 2002 saw officials checking the train at Hodoš far outnumbering the passengers. The new line opened in May 2001 follows a different alignment from the old closed route in a number of places. Earthworks on the Hungarian side are for single track, but SZ have provided for future double track on the Slovenian side, including the double-width summit tunnel. 

2092][HU] Hungary: closures?: Local sources say the 760mm-gauge Balatonfenyves - Központi fömajor - Somogyszentpál / Táska / Csiszta system (R.1932; Ball 47A2; MÁV 39, 39b) is to close in May 2002, though the 5km from Balatonfenyves south to Központi fömajor may be retained. MÁV have yet to confirm the extent or date of this closure. Trains may be replaced by buses on part of the Siófok - Kaposvár line (47A3-47A2; MÁV 35). As in 1998 (BLN 822.0131) very poor track requiring serious speed restrictions remained in March 2002 on the (Barcs -) Középrigoc - Sellye - Villány line (47A2; MÁV 62) and on the Bátaszék - Palotabozsok eastern section of the formerly through line to Pécs (47A2-47B2; MÁV 64), whose middle Palotabozsok - Pécsvárad section has long been served by buses and seems unlikely to reopen. 

2093][HU] Budapest - Gödöllö - Újszász - Szolnok: (Ball 47B3-42B1-43A1-48A3) Due to track reconstruction work in early 2002 on both the Budapest - Cegléd - Szolnok (MÁV 100a) and Budapest - Nagykáta - Újszász - Szolnok (MÁV 120a) lines, some Budapest - Szolnok intercity trains have been using this much more circuitous route via the Hatvan avoiding line (MÁV 80a, 82, 120a) adding half an hour to journey time. 

2094][BG] Sofia - Pernik - Dupnitsa - General Todorov - Kulata BDZ (- Promachon OSE - Strimon): (Ball 52B2) In early 2002 this line had its electrification extended beyond Dupnitsa (formerly Stanke Dimitrov) south along the river Struma/Strimon to the junction at General Todorov, only some 13km short of Kulata, the last Bulgarian station before the Greek border. (europeanrail@yahoogroups.com)

2095][TH] Bangkok metro: Officially opened on 5 December 1999 (R.0018), the 23.5km SkyTrain metro line runs on elevated right-of-way some 12m above the Thai capital's legendary road-traffic gridlock. The Siemens-built three-car trains run to a five-minute frequency with an average speed of 35km/h. They are air-conditioned and computer-controlled, with the 'drivers' normally only opening and closing the doors, as on the London Docklands system. Stations are clean and orderly, and well sited for hotels, shops and offices. SkyTrain is said to be Asia's only mass-transit system owned by a private firm but Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company said in March 2002 that so far it has been disappointingly unprofitable. Fares are regarded locally as high (the maximum fare is THB45 = c.GBP0.72 = c.EUR1.17 = c.USD1) The tracks run mainly in the congested centre and do not reach out far enough into Bangkok's residential areas, though three suburban extensions are planned, if the company can persuade the government to pay for the viaducts and stations. Meanwhile a public-sector Bangkok subway system is being built and the 20km Blue line (Bang Su - Hua Lampong) is due to open in summer 2003, complementing the private-sector SkyTrain. (Associated Press, 22 March 2002; Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2002)

2096][CA] Edmonton, AB light rail: (R.0547) Edmonton City Council voted in March 2002 to extend their northeast-to-southwest light-rail line (Clareview - Belvedere - Churchill - Corona - Grandin - University) from its sub-surface station at University up to ground-level and for a few city blocks to Health Sciences Centre-Jubilee Auditorium station. Plans not yet agreed are to extend further to Southgate (mall and bus interchange) and Heritage (planned park-and-ride and bus interchange). (Transnet newsletter #100)

2097][CA] Montréal métro: (R.0125) In spring 2002 Société de transport de Montréal began construction of an extension of their Orange line #2 from Henri-Bourassa north-west for 5km, with three new stations. (Transnet newsletter #100)

2098][US] San Diego, CA: light rail: (R.1267, 1444) The Mission Valley East extension (Mission San Diego - Grantville - San Diego State University - Alvarado Hospital - 70th Street - Grossmont Center) is to open in early 2005, with four intermediate stops on the new link between the existing stations at Mission San Diego and Grossmont Center. The modified service pattern proposed is: Blue Line: San Ysidro - 12th & Imperial - City College - America Plaza - Santa Fe Depot - Old Town (no longer serving the Old Town - Mission San Diego section); Orange Line: 12th & Imperial - Seaport Village - America Plaza - City College - 12th & Imperial - Spring Street (La Mesa) - Grossmont Center - El Cajon Transit Center (no longer serving the El Cajon - Santee section); and Green Line: Old Town - Mission San Diego - Grossmont Center - El Cajon Transit Center - Santee (not serving the City College - America Plaza downtown section). (San Diego Trolley via amtrakandtransit@yahoogroups.com)

2099][US] Denver, CO light rail: Union Station - Platte Valley Jn (- 10th & Osage): (R.1913) The new 3km four-stop section of route starting at Denver Union Station was formally inaugurated on Friday 5 April 2002 (and is now known as the C line). It joins the existing route from downtown Denver (which has become the D line) at Platte Valley Jn, not itself a stop but not far north of the existing stop at 10th & Osage. (http://www.lrta.org)

2100][US] Dallas, TX light rail: New Dallas Area Rapid Transit light-rail routes north-east 18km to Garland (Blue line) and north 19km to Plano (Red line) are well under way. The next Blue line section (White Rock - LBJ/Skillman; R.2001) is to open 6 May 2002, and service to Garland should start 18 November 2002. DART Red line trains to Plano should begin 9 December 2002, six months ahead of schedule. (Transnet newsletter #100)

2101][US] (Chicago, IL -) Kansas City, MO - Trinidad, CO - Raton, NM - Albuquerque, NM (- Los Angeles, CA): It seems freight railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe may want Amtrak's Chicago - Los Angeles South West Chief rerouted away from the difficult-to-work Raton Pass line, possibly as a prelude to sale or abandonment of some of the trackage. BNSF's Kansas City, MO - Amarillo, TX - Belen, NM (- Albuquerque, NM) freight main line may be an alternative route, and in late March 2002 Amtrak and BNSF staff were out inspecting its possible passenger-station sites and other facilities. It seems unlikely however that the investment necessary for such a significant change in route would be forthcoming until the United States Congress resolve Amtrak's 2002 financial and political crisis, and confirm the future operation of the South West Chief, one of Amtrak's long-distance trains dependent upon sizeable federal subsidy. 

2102][US] Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern coal line: Major new-railway projects are not confined to developing countries. The US federal Surface Transportation Board in January 2002 gave Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad approval to lay a substantial 450km of controversial new line to carry huge quantities of coal from the Powder River Basin in north-east Wyoming through Thunder Basin National Grassland in Wyoming and Buffalo Gap National Grassland and the Black Hills in South Dakota. The USD1400 million project is also to include rebuilding nearly 1000km of dilapidated track from South Dakota across southern Minnesota to the Mississippi River. (http://www.railpace.com/hotnews)

2103][US] Harrisburg, PA - Overbrook - North Philadelphia - Frankford Jn, PA - Haddonfield, NJ - Lindenwold - Atlantic City, NJ: (EGTRE US22) In pre-Amtrak days several passenger trains a day traversed the short west-to-northeast curve at Zoo Tower (tower = signal-box) and called at North Philadelphia, avoiding the main Philadelphia 30th St station. A track and signalling plan of the layout at Zoo Interlocking is at http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Prr/Maps/Itlk/Zoo.gif. The curve's extremities are 44th Street points (at the Overbrook end) and Girard Avenue points (at the North Philadelphia end), and it has the descriptive official title 'New York-Pittsburgh Subway', suffixed 'subway' because it burrows under a yard. The last timetabled Amtrak train to use the curve was the Chicago, IL - Pittsburgh, PA - Harrisburg, PA - New York, NY Broadway Limited, until a reversal at Philadelphia 30th St was added to its schedule in 1982. Since then the 'subway' has been relegated to wyeing (= turning) locomotives. North Philadelphia station remains open, but the area is no longer regarded as sufficiently salubrious to host a major Amtrak train. 

Timetabled Amtrak trains through to Atlantic City ceased from 1 April 1995 (BLN 745.022), since when railborne gamblers have had to alight from their Amtrak train at Philadelphia 30th St and transfer to one of New Jersey Transit's local services to the famous coastal casino resort (BLN 834.0451). In November 2001, February and March 2002, however, charter excursions using Amtrak equipment were run from the inland town of Harrisburg through to Atlantic City, and these were due to continue monthly (eastbound Sunday morning, westbound Tuesday afternoon), restoring both passenger use of the 'New York-Pittsburgh Subway' curve and through working to Atlantic City. The package includes two nights' accommodation at the Tropicana Casino & Resort and is bookable through American Automobile Association (AAA) travel offices. (partly Railpace Magazine, January 2002)

2104][FR] Chalon-sur-Saône - St.Marcel-lès-Chalon (- Ouroux-sur-Saône - St.Germain-du-Plain - Louhans - Lons-le-Saunier): (Ball 48B3) This former through route east to Lons-le-Saunier opened 30 April 1871, and its western section, Chalon - St.Germain-du-Plain, closed to passengers 15 May 1939 when Chalon - Bourg-en-Bresse trains were withdrawn. The section beyond St.Marcel to Ouroux closed completely 22 October 1956. On 24 March 2002 a preserved Picasso railcar of Autorails Bourgogne Franche-Comté set off from Poste 2 at the south end of Chalon station to traverse the remaining 5km stump, now a freight-only branch serving various factory connections. The track is lifted beyond a stop-block just west of the level-crossing leading into St.Marcel station, whose building remains in good condition, with a large goods-shed standing nearby. Alongside, to the north, still bearing its blue-and-white enamel nameboard high on the end wall, is the St.Marcel station building of another railway, the Chemin de Fer de Saône et Loire, which in 1901 opened a short-lived metre-gauge line from Chalon to Mervans on the Dijon - Bourg main line. Their mixed trains ceased 1941 and the line closed to freight 1945.

2105][FR] Chalon-sur-Saône - PN65 - Allerey - Verdun-sur-le-Doubs (- St.Bonnet-en-Bresse): (Ball 48B3) On 24 March 2002 the ABFC Picasso railcar passed Poste 1 at the north end of Chalon station to visit this truncated section of the formerly double-track route to St.Bonnet and Dole (R.0701, 2106). About 2km to the north-east, near level-crossing PN65 (PN = passage à niveau), a double reversal gave access to the short PN65 - Chalon Port Fluvial branch. Apparently built since 1945, this c.1km industrial branch curves east then south then west in a U-shape parallel to the Canal du Centre to serve various factories and the river quay, but all sidings are now disused except one, just short of the quay itself, still in use by a metal stockholder. At the quay, a large rail-mounted grab crane, presumably once employed transferring coal between river barges and rail wagons, appears no longer in regular use for this or any other purpose. The track ends just short of the ring-road bridge over the river Saône on the east side of town. 

Some 16km north-east of Chalon, Allerey, with its sizeable building and the remains of four platforms, was once a junction with the west-to-east Chagny - Allerey - Seurre (- Auxonne) line, closed to passengers 1 July 1938 and completely 1 July 1951. Just beyond Allerey, the remaining single track crosses the Saône. The railway was once double track carried on two parallel spans, but the north-easterly span was given over to a roadway following the collapse, at some time between 1945 and 1966, of the road suspension-bridge whose north-side support pillars can still be seen standing on the river bank c.500m upstream. Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, at the confluence of the rivers Doubs and Saône, hosts a large grain-silo complex, and rail traffic is seasonal. The line reaches a rather flimsy stop-block just short of level-crossing PN21 with road D970, at about km28, beyond the station, but the track is not broken and continues east, out of use though apparently intact, towards St.Bonnet-en-Bresse.

2106][FR] (Chalon-sur-Saône -) Verdun-sur-le-Doubs - St.Bonnet-en-Bresse (- Dole): a strategic route?: (R.0701; Ball 48B3-49A3) Opened 2 October 1871, the Chalon - St.Bonnet - Dole cross-country line closed to passengers 23 May 1954 (from Chalon, not just 'east of Allerey' as reported in R.0701) and to freight 5 July 1971 (an official SNCF date quoted in R.0701). Nevertheless, the Encyclopédie Générale des Transports: Chemins de fer: Tome 11 (Editions de l'Ormet) says that all regular traffic on the Verdun - St.Bonnet section ceased with the passenger service in 1954, and that it was only the section east of St.Bonnet that was retained until the 1971 date. Whatever the actual date of the last Verdun - St.Bonnet freight train, the track received thorough inspections in 1937 and again in 1973, as evidenced by dates on nails hammered into the sleepers. If the line had no regular traffic after 1954, or possibly 1971, a full inspection in 1973, with some sleeper replacement, suggests that the Verdun - St.Bonnet (north junction) track was at that time being retained for a strategic purpose, according to one source as part of a diversionary route from the south of France to Alsace, Lorraine and Germany, avoiding the busy junction of Dijon. Even in 2002, the readily-removable stop-block at Verdun (R.2105) and the still surprisingly good condition of the track beyond it to the east made one speculate that it might be possible to pass trains of military supplies at quite short notice if driven by need in time of war. Still, the likelihood is that whatever plans the French military made for the line during the Cold War have now been shelved and forgotten.

2107][FR] Chalon-sur-Saône - Châtenoy-le-Royal (- Givry - Cormatin - Massilly - Cluny - Mâcon): (Ball 48B3-48B1) Opened 20 October 1888, this lengthy rural secondary route closed to passengers 1 November 1968. Freight was cut back to Chalon - Massilly some time between 1980 and 1991, and by 2002 had been severely further cut back to a 3.5km stump. On 24 March 2002 the ABFC Picasso railcar passed Poste 2 at the south end of Chalon station and headed west to traverse the track still in use to a point near km112, the running line here acting as a headshunt to access a west-facing siding next to the D304 road in Châtenoy-le-Royal, a suburb of Chalon. Track remained beyond towards Givry, but looked in poor condition.

2108][BE][DE] Montzen - Viaduc de Moresnet SNCB/NMBS - Tunnel de Botzelaer - Aachen West DB: (BLN 852.0330; Ball 9B2-10A2; SNCB/NMBS 24) Part of the Militär Eisenbahn Direktion Brüssel built by the Germans during World War I (http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/be_montz.htm), this double-track non-passenger route carries most of the rail freight between Belgium and Germany. Over the period January 2002 to January 2005 SNCB/NMBS are rebuilding the 1120m-long 58m-tall Moresnet viaduct. During eleven weekends when sections of the bridge-decking are being replaced, the route will be closed, and the more important freight trains will be diverted by Montzen - Welkenraedt (line 39) and the Welkenraedt SNCB/NMBS - Aachen Hbf main passenger line (line 37). Once the viaduct has been rebuilt, SNCB/NMBS plan at last to electrify the c.7km gap from the end of the Belgian 3000V dc wires at Montzen yard to the start of the German 15kV 16.7Hz wiring at the eastern portal of the Botzelaer or Gemmenich tunnel under the frontier. (Trans-fer, #123, April 2002)

2109][DE] Lalendorf Ost - Plaaz: (BLN 732.0138; Ball 12B1-19B3) From 1 to 15 April 2002 inclusive, InterRegioExpress route #5 trains were diverted over this normally freight-only section directly to Rostock, omitting their normal stop at Güstrow, which was served by a Plaaz - Güstrow rail shuttle. Other trains north of Güstrow were replaced by buses during this period. 

2110][DE] Müncheberg (Mark) - Buckow (Märkische Schweiz): (R.1844; Ball 30A3) Preservation group Buckower Kleinbahn's tourist trains on the 5km branch are now to begin 15 June 2002. (http://www.buckower-kleinbahn.de)

2111][DE] Berlin: Abzw Grünau - Berlin ILA-Bahnhof (- Flughafen Schönefeld-Süd): (OEIS 0215; Ball 32B1 not shown) On 6-12 May 2002 the biennial International Aerospace Exhibition (Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung = ILA) again takes place at Berlin-Schönefeld, perhaps surprisingly since Schönefeld is now a busy commercial airport serving Germany's capital, and one finds it difficult to imagine Britain's Farnborough air-show being held at London Heathrow or Gatwick. As in earlier years (BLN 732.0142, 836.0499) a special train service is to take show-visitors to the ILA-Bahnhof near Diepensee on the otherwise non-passenger branch of Neukölln Mittenwalder Eisenbahn along the southern edge of the airport, once the connection to the Heinkel aircraft-works. Trains will make round-trips from Berlin-Lichtenberg (hourly 09:09-18:09 Mon-Wed 6-8 May; half-hourly 08:38-18:38 Thu-Sun 9-12 May) calling at Berlin-Schöneweide. (http://www.ila2002.de)

2112][DE] Köln - Siegburg - Montabaur - Frankfurt-am-Main: (R.0856; Ball 38A1-49A2) A Köln - Frankfurt high-speed shuttle service over the new Schnellfahrstrecke is to run from Sunday 11 August 2002, with the full timetable of through trains beginning on Sunday 15 December 2002. (DB announcement)

2113][DE] Koblenz Hbf - Niederlahnstein - Wiesbaden-Biebrich - Wiesbaden-Ost - Mainz-Nord - Mainz Hbf: (Ball 48B3-50B1) Minor repair work on lineside rock-faces near St.Goar on Easter Sunday 31 March 2002 seemed to be the reason for diversion south of Koblenz of IC715 Allgäu (and perhaps other, but not all, southbound Inter-City trains). The southbound Allgäu did not cross north of Koblenz Hbf into one of the higher-numbered western platforms normally used by trains bound for Niederlahnstein but called at Koblenz Hbf platform 4 as usual, then used the through line to the east of the carriage lines to climb on to the bridge over the river Rhein, joining the east-bank Rechte Rheinstrecke, and using the curve avoiding Wiesbaden Hbf to resume its normal route at Mainz. No stations were omitted from the scheduled route, so the diversion was not announced until after departure from Koblenz, and then just as a reason for the likely delay of 20 minutes at future calling-points. Although the Wiesbaden Hbf avoiding line is usually described as being from Wiesbaden-Biebrich to Wiesbaden-Ost, trains using it are well to the south-west of the platforms at Wiesbaden-Ost and are unable to call there for passenger purposes. 

2114][DE] Bingen (Rhein) Hbf: (Ball 48B2) Bingen Hbf, formerly Bingerbrück, lies in the vee of a northwest-facing junction. The electrified Koblenz - Bingen - Mainz main line comprises north-westbound tracks 103 and 102, on either side of an island platform near the river Rhein, and south-eastbound track 101, serving the north-east face of the main platform with the station buildings, accessed by the station approach road at its south-eastern end. The Bingen (Rhein) Hbf - Bad Kreuznach route comprises track 201, serving the south-west face of the main platform, and further platform tracks with 20x numbers. Points north-west of the station allow trains from the Koblenz direction to call at any of the 20x platforms. South-east of the station a long curve with a level-crossing over the station approach road enables through running from the branch platform 201 back to join the main-line track 101. 

Most trains on the unelectrified line to Bad Kreuznach start and terminate at Bingen Hbf, but a weekly Koblenz - Karlsruhe return working does run through between the main line and the branch. (This train also uses the Enkenbach - Frankenstein curve avoiding Hochspeyer; Ball 56B3). North-westbound on the main line, platforms 103 and 102 allow slow trains to be passed by fast ones, although many such passing movements are in fact scheduled at Bingen (Rhein) Stadt, formerly Bingen (Rhein), one station to the south-east. South-eastbound on the main line, a number of hourly RegionalExpress or RegionalBahn slow trains are scheduled to be passed at Bingen Hbf. This is done by putting the slow train into branch platform 201 while the fast train passes on track 101. On departure the RE or RB train takes the long curve over the level-crossing back on to the main line. Some south-eastbound main-line trains commencing at Bingen Hbf also use this route. 

2115][DE] Vaihingen-Nord - Vaihingen (Enz) WEG - Vaihingen-Schlossberg - Vaihingen-Stadt - Enzweihingen: (R.1782; Ball 57B2; KBS773) The sparse passenger service was reprieved and WEG's much-rebuilt 1920s railcar was working the line in late March 2002. Their small depot at Enzweihingen contained two more modern railcars, at least one of them from WEG's Gaildorf West - Untergröningen line (R.0783; Ball 58B2). Freight also remains. At Vaihingen-Stadt a number of wagons carrying sheeted-over skips appeared to be on their way to or from an industrial estate on the north-west side of town, served by a short siding off the passenger line north of Vaihingen-Schlossberg.

2116][DE] Stuttgart-Untertürkheim - Kornwestheim Pbf: (Ball 58A1) This 12km suburban route avoiding Stuttgart Hbf and running north of the city has Mon-Fri peak-hour trains only, with two round-trip workings in the morning and two in late afternoon. On an April 2002 journey the intermediate stations were seen to be in good repair, and each provided a few passengers. For an urban area, the line offers some fine views, particularly where it crosses the river Neckar valley on a substantial viaduct. 

2117][DE] Stuttgart-Feuerbach - S-Zuffenhausen - S-Neuwirtshaus - Korntal - Weissach: (Ball 58A1) The through peak-hour services to and from the 22km Korntal - Weissach Strohgäubahn (KBS790.7) use a bay platform at Stuttgart-Feuerbach and a separate track on a parallel alignment as far as S-Zuffenhausen.

2118][AT] Haiding - Eferding - Aschach an der Donau: (R.0786; Ball 73B3) ÖBB are replacing the junction at Haiding, and from 3 April till 24 June 2002 the only passenger train of the day on this threatened 22km branch is replaced by a bus. Curiously, in April 2002 a north-facing bay platform appeared to be under construction at Haiding, which would not seem to be of much use if the branch were to close permanently to passengers. 

2119][AT] Siebenbrunn-Leopoldsdorf - Engelhartstetten: (R.0988, 1219, 1500; Ball 76A3) ÖBB reprieved the passenger trains on this unremunerative 23km branch in summer 2001. A view from one insider in Wien is that ÖBB did so to prevent another operator like Graz Köflacher Eisenbahn from taking over the service and establishing an operating-base very near to the capital! Local posters announce that the timetable valid till the end of March 2002 has been extended to 14 December 2002. Track remains in poor condition. A mid-afternoon train in April 2002 seemed quite well used

2120][ES] Madrid metro: (Ball 22A3-22B3) Metro line 8 reached Madrid's Barajas airport on 14 June 1999 (R.0105). The in-town section of line 8, Nuevos Ministerios - Colombia - Mar de Cristal (- Campo de las Naciones - Aeropuerto - Barajas), was to open on 2 May 2002. (partly Today's Railways, May 2002)

2121][LT] Vilnius - Siauliai - Klaipeda: The main station in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, is externally attractive, though curiously what should be the main entrance in the middle of the station frontage has been painted over. Of the two smart booking-halls, the western one deals with international and the eastern with domestic trains. Lurking in a very dark basement is the left-luggage office, a useful facility since the nearby bus-station does not have one. Access to trains follows the Soviet tradition, with a conductress at each carriage-door checking tickets. On 3 April 2002 train #19, the 17:00 Vilnius - Klaipeda, comprising five elderly but clean side-corridor compartment coaches hauled by diesel locomotive TEP 60-0287, ran to time, arriving just after 22:00. No on-train ticket-inspection took place, but onboard staff offered tea or coffee to the relatively few travellers. Average speed of passenger trains on the broad-gauge (1520mm) tracks of the ex-Soviet Baltic states is c.50km/h, so bus travel is often faster, even with comfort stops, and buses have now taken the larger share of the interurban market. 

At Klaipeda what may be the original 19th-century Prussian station remains, next to the spacious booking-hall of the present, apparently Soviet-era, building, whose functional box architecture is similar to that of a number of Finnish stations. A separate newish block houses toilets of exceptional smelliness. Until 1919 Klaipeda was the German city of Memel, and between World Wars I and II the region had a somewhat ambiguous legal status. It came under Lithuanian administration in 1924. In March 1939, standing on a local-theatre balcony still to be seen in the Old Town, Adolf Hitler announced to cheering Baltic Germans that the Reich was reannexing the Memel region. Nevertheless, with the rest of the territory of the Baltic states, it was soon to become part of the Soviet Union. In 2002 Klaipeda is Lithuania's main port and third-largest city, but it does not appear prosperous, and its station lists only eight departing trains a day. 

Lisco operate good ferry services to Germany on two routes, Klaipeda - Kiel and Klaipeda - Sassnitz Fährhafen (otherwise known as Mukran). The ferries are not the luxurious leviathans found elsewhere on the Baltic, their main traffic being long-distance lorries, but they do have some 100 passenger-cabins, a small bar and a tiny duty-free shop. The food in the restaurant, open only at fixed meal-times, is hearty trucker's fare. Blessed with good weather, our reporter enjoyed the 30-hour sailing in each direction, paying EUR180 for his round-trip including breakfasts.

2122][MD][RO][UA] Moldova: (Ball 50B1) The broad river Prut, a north-south tributary of the river Dunarea (= Danube) forms the frontier between Moldova and Romania. Three railways cross the Prut, the main frontier-crossing being Ungheni CFM - Iasi CFR (BLN 739.0296), which has facilities at Ungheni for changing bogies from the Russian 1520mm broad-gauge used in the ex-Soviet republic of Moldova to the 1435mm standard-gauge used in Romania. 

Further south, from Prut station #2, a junction to the west of the main station Prut #1 on CFM's Basarabeasca/Bessarabka - Prut - Cahul/Kagul branch, another standard-gauge line crosses the frontier into Romania. In early April 2002 two travellers boarded the midday Prut 2 CFM - Falciu CFR train, a single coach hauled by a Czech-designed Class ChME3 diesel locomotive. After the gate across the tracks near the river-bridge was unlocked, the train drew forward and halted for frontier formalities. Border officials, polite but clearly surprised to find Britons aboard, removed them, insisting that the daily train was available only to local passport-holders, in spite of being shown an e-mail from Moldova's tourist ministry confirming that a UK visitor was allowed to use this train to leave the country. A journey on foot, by bus and taxi ensued to reach Romania. 

The third cross-border railway is broad-gauge, crossing the Prut just above its confluence with the Dunarea, at a point where Romania, Moldova and Ukraine meet. This CFM line, Basarabeasca/Bessarabka [MD] - Bolgrad [UA] - Vulcanesti [MD] - Reni [UA] - Galata CFR [RO], runs in and out of Ukraine more than once before reaching Romania. 

2123][MY] Kuala Lumpur Sentral - KUL airport: (R.1647) The Express Rail Link from Sentral station (opened 16 April 2001; R.1513) to the city's international airport 57km away was inaugurated on Sunday 14 April 2002. Operating hours are 05:00-01:00, frequency 15min, journey-time 28min, one-way fare MYR35 = c.GBP6.45 = c.EUR10.50 = c.USD9.25.

2124][AU] Alice Springs - Katherine - Darwin: Planning began in 1878 and work nominally began in 2000 (R.0836, 1212), but it was in April 2002 that the 1400km standard-gauge line from Alice Springs north across the bush and desert of Australia's Northern Territory to the city and port of Darwin saw the ceremonial laying of the first sleeper at Katherine. Opening is now planned for early 2004. (Daily Telegraph, 10 April 2002)

2125][US] Los Angeles, CA: heritage tramway: From 15 March 2002 a 375m single-track standard-gauge tramway, unwired and worked by one battery-powered open-top double-deck car, was to be operating, linking the original 1934 Farmers Market site at Third Street and Fairfax Avenue with The Grove, a new shopping-centre. (http://www.lrta.org)

2126][IE] Dublin North Wall: As recently as 1997-98 the former British Rail container-depot on the north bank of the Liffey estuary saw sizeable investment by European Union taxpayers to serve the needs of Coastal Container Line. Included was a 600m extension of the Alexandra Road Tramway (R.0401) on which regular traffic began 21 April 1998. By late 2001 however the depot was completely out of use, with a fence erected across the expensive new railway. Coastal Containers have reportedly expanded their business through Dublin Port and moved to a larger but not rail-connected depot on the south side of the river, whence containers have to be road-hauled to North Wall for onward transport by rail.

The pattern was for IE's North Wall shunting-engine to take a loaded Coastal Containers train east down the Alexandra Road Tramway at 11:30 and to leave the wagons, returning light. In the evening the light engine went down at 18:30 to collect the reloaded train and bring it back to North Wall (Midland) Yard. Seaborne container traffic was thus fed from and to the Dublin North Wall - Cork overnight liner train. The times of the trip-workings are approximate as up to three trains ran on some days and none on others. The speed on the Tramway was 5mph (= 8km/h) to allow the shunters to walk in front, as required in the tramway rule-book. With the closure of the Coastal Containers depot no such trains now run, though it is thought that the depot may perhaps find a new use handling a daily Dublin Port - Ballina container flow for another firm.

The Tara Mines - Dublin Port zinc-ore trains (R.2036) used Class 071 locomotives on the Tramway with paths at 06:00 (08:20 return), 13:00 (15:30 return) and 16:00 (18:30 return), but have not run since 23 November 2001. With the mines reopening in June 2002 after temporary closure, these trains may yet resume. Part of the Tramway continues to see oil trains, hauled by a Dublin Port road-tractor in rakes of up to ten wagons, and operating 'as required' without timed paths. The traffic includes not only imported diesel fuel for IE, trip-worked locally to Dublin's Inchicore depot, but also Dublin - Sligo traffic for Esso. (partly from http://www.irrs.ie)

2127][FR][BE] Nancy rail-guided trolleybuses: Essey - Brabois: Public service began 11 February 2001, but accidents in March 2001 led to closure after a few weeks (R.1166, 1273). Though test-running resumed in August 2001, only on 13 March 2002 did the trolleybuses return to service, initially with twelve vehicles operating, supplemented by conventional buses. The Bombardier TVR (Transport sur Voie Réservée) trolleybuses have rubber-tyred wheels and draw electric power from overhead wiring, but they can be guided mechanically by a double-flanged wheel engaging a single tram-rail recessed into the roadway.

2128][FR] (Montargis - Charny -) Villiers-St.Benoît - Toucy - St.Sauveur-en-Puisaye (- Étang de Moutiers - St.Fargeau - Gien): (Ball 36B3-37A2) The Association des Autorails Touristiques de l'Yonne began running Chemin de Fer Touristique du Puisaye trains in 1987 but their history in the middle 1990s is somewhat uncertain (BLN 819.046). AATY's Toucy-based Picasso railcar X3814 began running Le Transpoyaudin tourist trains on the 9km Villiers-St.Benoît - Toucy section again on 8 August 1998, operating on Saturdays and Sundays to end-September (BLN 844.084). Since 1999 the AATY operation has been marketed as Train Touristique du Pays de Puisaye-Forterre. An AATY special on 19 September 1999 was reportedly the first Toucy - St.Sauveur tourist train since 1992 (Voie Etroite, #176, Feb-Mar 2000). However, though further specials ran (R.1610), no regular tourist operation on the 20km Toucy - St.Sauveur section seems to have followed in either 2000 or 2001, though AATY have ambitions to run as far as Charny to the north and St.Fargeau to the south (R.0089). The 2002 timetable on the website http://perso.wanadoo.fr/aaty/pageuk.htm shows trains running Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 27 April to 29 September 2002, with round-trips from Toucy-Ville to Villiers-St.Benoît at 14:30 and 16:30 during May. The Villiers-St.Benoît - Toucy - St.Sauveur section is no longer owned by SNCF, but by a special-purpose local-authority body, a Syndicat Intercommunal à Vocation Unique.

2129][FR] Valence - Livron - Bollène-La-Croisière - Orange - Avignon: (Ball 56B1-65A1) When the classic Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée main line on the east bank of the river Rhône is blocked between Livron and Bollène-La-Croisière, most trains are diverted to the normally freight-only west-bank line (Triangle La-Voulte-sur-Rhône - Villeneuve-lès-Avignon; EGTRE FR02/157). However some TGVs which normally use the PLM line south via Valence-Ville are diverted to run via Valence-TGV and the Ligne à Grande Vitesse Méditerranée, leaving it south of Lapalud LGV (at km578.4) by the Raccordement Est de Bollène-Lamotte-du-Rhône and rejoining the old PLM route (at km693.5) north of Bollène-La-Croisière station. Using this chord (EGTRE FR02/159) enables these TGVs to call at Orange, at Avignon-Centre (the town's traditional station) and/or to access the Avignon - Cavaillon line. On 8 April 2002 TGV6193 used this diversionary route as booked. An equivalent Raccordement Ouest allows TGVs running via Valence-Ville and the PLM line to join the LGV and run through Avignon-TGV, the new station, but this chord (EGTRE FR02/158) has no booked passenger use during the 2001-02 winter-timetable period. Before the LGV Méditerranée opened, these two chords were referred to (R.0527, 0598) as the Raccordements de Lapalud, but this nomenclature seems to have been provisional and is not used in train-crews' operating documents. 

2130][FR][MC] Antibes - Villeneuve-Loubet-Plage - Hippodrome-Côte-d'Azur - Cagnes-sur-Mer - Nice-Ville - Monaco-Monte-Carlo - Monte-Carlo Country-Club - Cap-Martin-Roquebrune - Menton: (Ball 77B3-67B1) SNCF's scenic coastal line along the Côte-d'Azur has two sporadically-used halts. Hippodrome-Côte-d'Azur, shown as a closed station in the Ball atlas, merits a footnote in the 2002 local timetable #03 to say that Trains Express Régionaux stop there on days of special events ('enquire locally'). Monte-Carlo Country-Club halt, which in spite of its name is in France, just east of the SNCF's tunnel under the tiny state of Monaco, is not shown in Ball and is a rather less significant construction, being a simple platform on the westbound line with no nameboard (at least when not in use). Trains were booked to call there during the period 13-21 April 2002, presumably as in previous years for the April Monte-Carlo tennis tournament (BLN 736.0200, 824.0172). 

2131][DE][NL] Leer - Weener DB - Nieuweschans NS (- Groningen): (R.1924; Ball DE-15B2-15A2, NL-2A2) According to a Land Niedersachsen official announcement on 29 April 2002, restoration of cross-border trains, initially with three Leer - Nieuweschans workings daily, is planned for 1 June 2002, though the normal timetable-change is on 16 June 2002. Through Leer - Groningen trains may start in August, or by 15 December 2002, using Indusi-fitted German stock and NoordNed staff.

2132][DE][PL] (Berlin -) Angermünde - Tantow DB - Szczecin Gumience PKP - Szczecin Glowny: (BLN 787.0387; Ball DE-21A1-21B3, PL-31A2; KBS209.66) This line once carried through trains from Berlin to the German cities of Stettin, Danzig and Königsberg, though the Ostbahn via Küstrin (R.2135) was the main route to the latter two. Today Szczecin and Gdansk are in Poland and Kaliningrad in Russia, and the sole through working from the German capital to Gdansk is an overnight sleeper routed Berlin - Frankfurt-an-der-Oder DB - Kunowice PKP - Rzepin - Poznan - Gdansk (Ball PL-36A3-37A3-32B3). In 2002 Angermünde sees one daily Berlin-Lichtenberg - Szczecin Glowny through working, the rest of the cross-border service being Angermünde - Szczecin shuttles using one DB and one PKP rake of three carriages, in each case with a DB diesel locomotive, usually a DB Regio Class 219, sometimes a DB Cargo Class 232. DB have proposed to electrify the line at 15kV 16.7Hz not only across the border to Gumience but beyond to Szczecin Glowny, the city's main station, but the Poles are said to be resisting and instead want electric trains to change to the PKP standard 3000V dc at Gumience for the last 5km east to Glowny. 

2133][DE][PL] Hamburg - Potsdam - Berlin - Cottbus - Forst (Lausitz) DB - Zasieki PKP - Tuplice - Zagan - Rokitki - Goliszow - Milkowice - Legnica - Wroclaw - Katowice - Krakow: (Ball DE-17B3-31A1-30B1, PL-36A3-37A2-38A1) Since 10 June 2001 the established Berlin - Krakow daytime express EC42/43 Wawel has been extended from and to Hamburg-Altona, taking a Hamburg - Berlin route not used by any other main-line service. Running via Lüneburg, Uelzen, Salzwedel and Stendal to the western side of the Berlin Aussenring, from Wustermark it follows local-train route (Spandau -) Wustermark - Griebnitzsee (KBS209.21) south to Golm, then east calling at Potsdam Hbf, Wannsee, Zoo and Berlin Ostbahnhof. Although the train comprises German IC stock, catering is provided throughout by the Polish dining-car company WARS, and early-morning Hamburg - Berlin business-travellers find their DB train offering a Polish breakfast-menu priced in zloty as well as euro. For those with plenty of stamina and an affection for long-haul daytime trains, the full Hamburg-Altona - Krakow Glowny journey takes 13h13min. 

From the same date the Wawel was also radically rerouted between Berlin and Wroclaw. No longer does it head east out of the German capital to the nearby Polish border at Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, then via Rzepin and Zielona Gora. Instead it leaves Berlin to the south, travelling via Cottbus and Forst, then non-stop from Zagan to Legnica. The longer route adds 67 minutes to journey-time, and traction changes at Cottbus, Forst, and Legnica contrive to ensure that the Wawel is hauled by four different locomotives in as many hours. The Wawel's overnight counterpart, the Berlin - Krakow sleeper D448/449, takes the same route as EC42/43 into and through Poland, and it too has been extended at the Berlin end, now starting at Potsdam Hbf. 

These international expresses augment significantly the passenger service on both the single-track non-electrified Forst - Zasieki cross-border line and the 14km Rokitki - Goliszow - Milkowice direct line. Previously the former saw only a twice-daily Tuplice - Forst PKP shuttle, while the latter (EGTRE PL02/28) saw trains #76100/67101 Bóbr 05:37 Zary - Wroclaw and 14:03 return, with most PKP workings now taking the 17km Rokitki - Zamienice - Chojnow - Milkowice route. 

2134][DE] Berlin: Ostkreuz - Greifswalder Strasse - Bornholmer Strasse - Pankow - Pankow Gbf - Karower Kreuz: (Ball 32A2-32A3) From S-Bahn trains on this route in April 2002, the parallel main-line Fernbahn tracks appeared still in use, with rails reasonably shiny for the whole distance from Ostkreuz / Lichtenberg to Pankow. However, a short section between Pankow Personenbahnhof and Pankow Güterbahnhof had had its electrification wires removed, so any through movement would now need to be diesel-hauled. No traffic was actually seen, and Pankow Gbf was devoid of any wagons or activity. Notwithstanding R.1845, from Pankow Gbf to the three-way junction at Karower Kreuz the rails indicated no recent traffic.

2135][DE][PL] Berlin-Lichtenberg - Küstrin-Kietz DB - Kostrzyn PKP: (R.1047; Ball 32A2-30B3) Once Germany's longest main line, with an unbroken series of kilometre-posts stretching from Berlin for 742km east across the Reich to the Russian border (BLN 728.077), the Ostbahn now sees an hourly RegionalBahn passenger service from Lichtenberg that terminates a mere 88km away, just inside Poland at Kostrzyn. As if slightly ashamed of the line's humbled status, the German Kursbuch treats it as a local route only (KBS209.26) and makes no mention of connecting trains at its eastern terminus. PKP's timetable by contrast highlights the useful connections that can be made at Kostrzyn between Berlin and points in Poland.

2136][DE] Frankenberg (Eder) - Korbach Süd: (Ball 39B2) In early April 2002 track on this latterly freight-only line, disused since at least 1994 (BLN 732.0145), appeared still in place throughout, though obstructed at one point by portable cabins associated with nearby civil-engineering works. A rail-replacement bus runs between Frankenberg and Korbach stations, largely on the parallel main road, deviating to serve the rather inconveniently-located intermediate stations, but doing little trade there. On a northbound journey only two rail passengers were carried, both going through beyond Korbach on the Korbach Süd - Korbach - Volkmarsen - Kassel line (R.0708). The bus runs to the main Korbach station, more conveniently sited for the town, and despite a clear previous request to stop at Korbach Süd, the bus went past and the driver had to be persuaded to let our reporter off at the next traffic-lights. Those keen to join the train at its Korbach Süd terminus should alight at the bus-stop marked 'Süd' and walk back southwards for 100m or so, then turn left into Am Südbahnhof. The station-entrance is by the footbridge, itself a useful landmark since it can be seen from the bus. 

2137][DE][PL] (Görlitz -) Hagenwerder DB - Krzewina Zgorzelecka PKP - Hirschfelde DB (- Zittau): (R.0602; Ball DE-45A2, PL-36A2; KBS231) The frontier between Germany and Poland was radically redrawn after World War II, and the river Neisse/Nysa thus forms part of the eastern boundary of the European Union in 2002. Originally entirely within Germany, the Görlitz - Zittau railway following the river valley now crosses and recrosses the frontier. Between Hagenwerder and Hirschfelde, a distance of 16km, Deutsche Bahn local trains enter Poland twice, so travellers cross four international frontiers in about 20 minutes. One of those forays into Poland has no station stop, but the other has one station, Krzewina Zgorzelecka, owned and managed by Polskie Koleje Panstwowe (PKP = Polish State Railways) though now served only by DB trains. In the Polish passenger timetable valid to 14 December 2002, PKP no longer make any reference to their isolated outpost in the south-west. The station, on the east bank of the Nysa, is used mainly by inhabitants of the German village of Ostritz, who use a footbridge over the river to reach their homes a short walk away on the west bank. Passengers are few but officials abound, and Polish customs and passport officials appear to attend each train's arrival. While Poland remains outside the EU, some Germans from east Saxon towns like Görlitz and Zittau find the Krzewina Zgorzelecka stop a welcome opportunity to buy cheaper cigarettes, from the Polish traders who have set up small stands around the station. A recent innovation, in the online but not the printed DB timetable valid to 15 June 2002, is a twice-daily (06:47 and 17:47) RegionalExpress through from Berlin Ostbahnhof via the Neissetalbahn calling at Krzewina Zgorzelecka on its way to Zittau.

2138][SE] (Halmstad -) Eldsberga - Laholm - Båstad - Ängelholm: (BLN 833.0430; Ball 25A3-25A1) Located at or near the site of the closed Trönninge station, but not itself a station, Eldsberga is the junction at the northern end of the new section of main line opened 8 January 1996. From this date the Veinge - Skottorp section further inland was abandoned. The present Laholm station on the 1996 line is a park-and-ride station west of the town. At the southern end of the 1996 line, at or near the closed Skottorp, is the new Båstad station, also a greenfield park-and-ride station, still to be completed and opened. It is north-east of its town, north of the present Båstad station, and just north of the mouth of the problematic 8km Hallandsås Tunnel on the next section of new line, likewise still to be opened. 

2139][SE] (Halmstad -) Eldsberga - Veinge - Markaryd - Hässleholm: (Ball 25A2-25B2) Regular passenger trains ceased 5 January 1998, but on 19-22 and 27-28 April 2002 inter-city trains worked by X2000 sets were diverted non-stop over this electrified freight-only line (and the Hässleholm - Lund section of main line) due to a blockage between Laholm and Ängelholm on their usual Göteborg - Halmstad - Eldsberga - Laholm - Ängelholm - Helsingborg - Teckomatorp - Kävlinge - Lund - Malmö route. Buses substituted for Öresundtåg slow trains over the affected section. 

2140][SE] Värnamo - Ljungby - Traryd - Strömnäsbruk - Markaryd - Skånes Fagerhult - Kärreberga (- Åstorp): (Ball 25B3-25A2) Passenger trains on this former through line ceased, and the Ljungby - Traryd section went out of use for freight, on 12 May 1968. Traryd - Strömnäsbruk likewise went out of use 1 October 1989. Skånes Fagerhult - Kärreberga ceased to be a through route for freight from 17 June 1974 and was completely closed and lifted before 1993. On 21 April 2002, seen from a diverted X2000 (R.2139), the Markaryd - Skånes Fagerhult section, closed to freight 26 September 1994, was blocked near the junction but track remained as far as could be seen. Markaryd - Strömnäsbruk remains open for freight. The Strömnäsbruk-based Skånes-Smålands Jernvägsmuseiförening railway-museum society plan to run Markaryd - Strömnäsbruk - Traryd passenger trains on 24 August, 14 September and 1 December 2002, and this line is also be traversed by a German-organised railtour on 12 July 2002. 

2141][FR][ES] Oloron-Ste.Marie SNCF - Canfranc RENFE - Huesca - Tardienta - Zaragoza - Caminreal - Teruel - Sagunt (- Valencia): (Ball ES-13A3-12B1-22B2-23B1) RENFE have an ambitious strategic plan to provide a new standard-gauge electrified route for through international traffic from France all the way across the country south to Valencia on the Mediterranean coast. Preliminary work started in early 2002 to restore the abandoned SNCF line from Oloron south to the Somport tunnel whose Spanish portal is at Canfranc (R.1299). (L'Écho du Rail, #232, April 2002) Canfranc - Huesca is to be regauged to 1435mm only, while Huesca - Tardienta is to be three-rail 1435mm/1668mm mixed-gauge, relaid for 220km/h running (BLN 831.0362, R.1902). In spring 2002 work had already begun on new formation for a 1435mm-gauge track alongside the section from Tardienta to Miraflores near Zaragoza, and on substantially realigning and rebuilding the Zaragoza - Teruel section for faster running. Teruel - Sagunt is likely to be relaid with little realignment, since major realigning could lead to unacceptable gradients on this section, somewhat constrained by the terrain.

Mixed-gauge fastenings for high-speed track were in early 2002 being tested on a rebuilt section of the disused Segovia - Medina del Campo line (R.1958) to the north-west of Olmedo.

2142][ES] Calatayud - Soria: (Ball 12B1-11B2 not shown) The Spanish government intend that by 2010 every provincial capital should be within four hours of Madrid by rail, so that for example a journey from Barcelona to A Coruña or to Huelva should take no more than eight hours. To achieve this, 'branches' from the growing standard-gauge Alta Velocidad Española network will be needed, aligned for 200-220km/h running. As construction progresses on the Madrid - Calatayud - Zaragoza - Barcelona high-speed line, RENFE are considering restoration and upgrading of the out-of-use Calatayud - Soria section of the FC Santander-Mediterraneo (BLN 814.0551). This would be expensive but not technically difficult, since it runs through a sparsely-populated area. The broad-gauge Torralba - Coscurita - Almazán - Soria line (BLN 812.0500, 814.0552, 851.0313) seems likely to remain for the present, as it still carries freight to intermediate points, and also serves a few km near Almazán of the otherwise disused Ariza - Coscurita - Aranda de Duero - Valladolid line (BLN 780.0246). 

2143][ES] Madrid - Tres Cantos - Colmenar Viejo - Aranda de Duero - Burgos: (BLN 851.0313; Ball 21A2-11A3) This scenic 282km line, completed only in 1968 but with an uncertain future as a through route, seems in fact to have temporarily closed to through traffic during summer 2001, with the loss for a short period of its single daily each-way Madrid - Bilbao / Hendaye train, allegedly because of low availability of the special Class 352 single-ended diesel locomotives needed for the elderly Talgo sets, and fire-risk during an exceptionally dry spell. Moreover, when our reporter boarded this Talgo northbound from Madrid in January 2002 he found himself involuntarily diverted non-stop round via Valladolid, possibly as a result of work in connection with double-tracking and electrification of the direct line's suburban section north to Colmenar Viejo. 

However, the Directo de Burgos seems likely to remain officially open at least until the Madrid - Segovia - Valladolid Noroeste high-speed standard-gauge line is completed, perhaps in 2007 (R.1989). Though single-track and unelectrified, the direct line remains of use as a diversionary route whenever the (much longer but double-track and electrified) main line, Madrid - Avila - Medina del Campo - Valladolid - Venta de Baños - Burgos, is blocked either by engineering work or (as in summer 2000) by landslips. Further in the future, with the imminent extension of electric Cercanías trains from Tres Cantos out to Colmenar Viejo, one can speculate that the wealthy of Madrid may look to buying property on the undeveloped southern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama beyond Colmenar, leading eventually to extension of the catenary and the commuter services further north. Moreover, as Valladolid and Burgos join the RENFE's high-speed network, the thriving industrial town of Aranda de Duero may press for investment in a new feeder rail service. 

2144][PL] Stare Bojanowo Waskotorowe - Niatazkowo Szkola - Smigiel - Wilkowo Polskie - Sniaty - Wielichowo: (BLN 789.0437, 808.0392; Ball 36B3; line 353) This 750mm-gauge line has reopened with local-authority assistance, though no freight seemed to be operating, and most of the eight or so daily passenger workings in the timetable dated 4 March 2002 were running only as far as Smigiel (km5) with a few out to Sniaty (km17). The new operators, Smigielska Kolej Dojazdowa or SKPL, hope to restore passenger service to Wielichowo (km23) in 2003 and to resume carrying coal there. From Stare Bojanowo Wask., on the west side of PKP's main-line station, the narrow-gauge running-line makes a curving descent before being joined by a branch, also steep and curved, ducking beneath the standard-gauge tracks from the disused exchange-sidings on the east side where a dozen transporter-wagons slumbered in the grass. The narrow-gauge line heads north-west, with roadside running a pleasant feature long absent from the UK. Some 500m south-east of Smiegel, at Niatazkowo Szkola, a new station, its 'platform' simply a mound of ballast surrounded by timber, now serves the local school, and daily passengers on the school train are said to number about a hundred. At Smiegel diesel railcars and trailers were to be seen, and more were stabled in the shed. A steam locomotive (Px48-1765) was plinthed at the station but is understood to have been sold. 

In PKP times staff on the line numbered 36, but are now reduced to eight, showing much enterprise. The new operators allow customers to try their hand at driving, and for the modest charge of PLZ150 (=c.GBP26=c.EUR42=c.USD38) our reporter took charge of railcar Mbxd2-228 on Good Friday afternoon, 29 March 2002, working two Smiegel - Stare Bojanowo round-trips with service trains. Though a translator was in the cab, being able to count up to ten in Polish would be a distinct advantage in mastering the railcar's eight forward speeds, four gear-ratios and brake-settings in a range from 1 to 3 bar. Driving can be organised from Britain by Howard Jones of the Wolsztyn Experience (telephone +44 1628 524 876).

2145][PL] Gniezno Waskotorowe - Witkowo - Powidz - Przybrodzin - Anastazewo: (R.0053, 1667; Ball 37A3; line 391) The 38km 750mm-gauge Gnieznienska Kolej Waskotorowa continues to develop as a tourist railway. Its main 2002 season is 5 May - 5 October, but special trips run from time to time through the year, and a steam week is to be held from 31 August to 6 September. Train-hire can be arranged through Krzysztof Chrzanem (mobile telephone +48 605 913 033). Our reporter and others hired a train for PLZ1200 (=c.GBP205=c.EUR332=c.USD300) and took turns driving steam locomotive Px48.1785 on the Gniezno - Witkowo section on Saturday 30 March 2002. No wagons were to be seen that day at Witkowo although freight traffic seems still to be flowing. PKP had caused a problem by charging demurrage from the day standard-gauge wagons were handed over to the narrow-gauge line, but had later agreed to charge from the day after the narrow-gauge line delivered the wagon to the customer. A locomotive was shortly to traverse the disused 45km Anastazewo - Sompolno section to collect a rake of transporter wagons for further use at Gniezno, as freight traffic at Sompolno has ceased. It was also planned for elderly railcar Mbxd1-204 at Krosniewice to move by rail to Gniezno during summer 2002. This challenging trip over 150km of largely disused track (Krosniewice - Boniewo - Izbica Kujawska - Przystronie - Sompolno - Cegielnia - Jablonka Slupecka - Anastazewo - Gniezno; lines 306, 302, 303) was to be advertised to passengers, though perhaps only locally, and could be the last east-to-west movement across the breadth of the once-extensive Kujawska narrow-gauge network.

2146][UA][HU] Chop UZ - Záhony MÁV - Tuzsér - Komoró (- Nyíregyháza) and Záhony MÁV - Eperjeske-Rendezö - Mándok - Tornyospálca (- Mátészalka): (Ball 44A2-44A1) Ukrainian 1520mm broad-gauge track extends a short distance south into standard-gauge Hungary, splitting south of Záhony and following MÁV's Nyíregyháza main line as far as Komoró and their secondary route via Eperjeske-Rendezö as far as Tornyospálca. The broad-gauge track to Tornyospálca is not known to have regular trains, but in the last week of April 2002 the rails were again shiny and must have seen significant recent traffic.

2147][LV] Gulbene - Aluksne: (BLN 827.0272, R.1006) This 33km passenger-only line, the last remaining 750mm-gauge section of the 1903 Stockmannshof/Stukmani/Plavinas - Walk/Valka/Valga railway, did not close in 2001 (R.1699). Regarded as a 'cultural monument of national significance', in summer 2002 it continues to run through pleasant rural scenery in north-east Latvia, and is becoming a tourist attraction, with a website in English http://www.banitis.lv/english/banitis.htm. 

2148][IN] Neral - Matheran: From the junction of Neral on the Central Railway's Mumbai - Pune (formerly Bombay - Poona) 1676mm-gauge main line, this 610mm-gauge railway opened in 1907, running parallel to the broad-gauge line for a short distance before turning sharply east to head up to Matheran. This picturesque 'hill-station' 86km from Mumbai was once much favoured by Bombay-based British administrators of the Raj and their families during the 'hot weather' season, and is now a popular tourist destination. Operated with diesel traction since the early 1980s, the line has in spring 2002 again begun to see steam as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Indian Railways. India's railways minister flagged away the first run of a Neral - Matheran two-coach heritage train hauled by an 1889-design B-class tank-engine (DHR #794) brought in from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (New Jalpaiguri - Siliguri Jn - Tindharia - Kurseong - Ghoom - Darjeeling).

2149][KP][KR] (Dandong [CN] - Sinuiju [KP] - Pyongyang -) Kaesong [KP] - [KR] Munsan (- Seoul): As part of the political process of rapprochement if not yet reunification, the two Korean states agreed in July 2000 to reconnect the Kaesong - Munsan cross-border section of the Kyongui line, thus linking the North's capital Pyongyang with the South's Seoul (R.0767, 1678). By April 2002 the Democratic People's Republic of Korea seemed to have done little to restore their railway from the town of Kaesong 12km south to the 1953 armistice-line north of Changdan, and the Republic of Korea had yet to deal with their 1.8km south of the armistice-line and still inside the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), but the remaining 10.2km in the South had been prepared for trains. It is hoped a defence agreement essential to allow work within the DMZ may be ratified shortly. The North Koreans have been asking the South for the loan of equipment to clear land-mines inside the DMZ, and reportedly said they would be able to complete the link-up during 2002. The South sees opportunities not only for trade between the Koreas but eventually for through working of rail-freight from Europe via the broad-gauge Trans-Siberian route across Russia and the standard-gauge system of China Rail to Dandong, entering North Korea at Sinuiju and South Korea at Munsan. (Korea Times, Seoul, 22 April 2002)

2150][AU] Bethania - Beaudesert: This branch off Queensland Rail's 1067mm-gauge line to Australia's Gold Coast (Brisbane - Bethania - Beenleigh - Robina) has spent many years out of use, but September 2002 should see part or all of it reopened. With federal government finance, a tourist-railway operator has leased the line, repaired the track, and obtained and refurbished a steam locomotive and passenger rolling-stock. 

2151][NZ] Waitakere Regional Park: Jacobson's Depot - Upper Nihotupu Dam: In the early 1900s bush tramways were built to carry materials for dams in the water-catchment area west of Auckland and south of Waitakere township, and some of the 610mm-gauge track is used by Watercare Services Ltd for maintenance of a water-supply pipeline. Since 1998 a weekend tourist train, the Rain Forest Express, has run through remote parts of the scenic Waitakere Ranges from Jacobson's Depot, 5km from Titirangi, to the Upper Nihotupu Dam, a journey of about 2h30min at a maximum speed of 13km/h. On 4 May 2002 a four-year-old boy fell from the front carriage in a 560m tunnel.and was hit by the train, but survived. Watercare have ceased running the train while the accident is investigated. (New Zealand Herald, 6-7 May 2002; http://www.watercare.co.nz) 

2152][NZ] Auckland new station: New Zealand's largest city is to have a new passenger station, due to open in July 2003 as part of a development at Britomart Place near the Waitemata ferry-terminal, close to the site of Auckland's second (1885) railway station. The original alignment having been lost to later road developments, about 1km of new 1067mm-gauge line will head east to the site of the present (third) station, where a sharply-curved west-to-south chord will face Newmarket and a west-to-east chord, following approximately the course of former freight track from the docks, will face Orakei. The existing station's platforms and the south-to-east running line through it are to be removed. The dignified 1930 building is already in non-railway use. Suburban and long-distance trains from the new Britomart station will be able to run directly to either the Auckland - Newmarket - Penrose - Westfield or the Auckland - Orakei - Tamaki - Westfield route, but any through running into the city by one route and out by the other will in future require reversal.

2153][CA] Victoria - Esquimalt - Malahat - Nanaimo - Parksville - Courtenay, BC: (R.1910, 1938, 2029) The Canadian Transportation Agency ruled in April 2002 that they had discharged their federal-government responsibilities with regard to route-abandonment in January 1999 when CP leased and sold the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway to RailAmerica. Since RailAmerica now operate the E&N under provincial rules, any concerns that freight customers, or VIA Rail Canada as passenger operators, may have about the E&N closure are for the province of British Columbia to deal with. On 18 April VIA confirmed that Victoria - Courtenay train #198/199 Malahat would run till 15 May 2002. (http://www.railpace.com/hotnews)

2154][CA] (Sherbrooke, QC -) East Angus - Beaulac - Thetford Mines, QC: (R.0878, 1607, 1707) A c.160km day out for CAD49.95, entirely on non-passenger track of the Québec Central Railway, is offered on 14 October 2002. The excursion by the Train de Haut-St.François, a vintage Budd Rail Diesel Car, is to start at the vieille gare du papier in East Angus at 08:30 and return at 18:30. See http://www.mrchsf.com or telephone +1 819 832 2221. 

2155][US] Sacramento - Oakland - Oakland Coliseum, CA: South-east of Oakland's existing station at Jack London Square a new inter-city station for Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains is to be built next to the Coliseum station of Bay Area Rapid Transit, itself close to a sports and concert arena and a bus-interchange with AirBART buses to Metropolitan Oakland International (OAK) airport. (Berkeley Daily Planet, 15 March 2002)

2156][US] Los Angeles, CA: Redondo Junction - Port of Los Angeles / Long Beach: (R.1741, 1879) On 12 April 2002 the first freight train ran on the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority's c.30km new double-track freight route, from the UP and BNSF transcontinental railway yards near downtown Los Angeles west, then south largely in cutting through the busy metropolitan area to the side-by-side seaports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which handle a large proportion of US Pacific trade. Consolidating freight on the Alameda Corridor will allow elimination of more than 200 level-crossings on superseded trackage, and double the average speed of trains. (http://eriksrailnews.com; http://www.acta.org)

2157][US] Las Vegas, NV monorail: In this growing city of 1.5 million citizens - and 35 million tourists a year - America's largest monorail project is now under way and should see the first 6km of line opening in 2004, financed with private-sector money raised via tax-free bonds. Eight casinos are investing in monorail stations on their own properties. A second phase, to be publicly financed, should add another 5km to the line, and it may later extend to the airport and to the suburbs. Trains will be automatic, running at up to 80km/h on a sinuous elevated track some 15m above roadways, calling at wholly enclosed platforms. (Washington Post, 23 April 2002)

2158][US] (Boston South -) Quincy Center - Greenbush: (BLN 782.0287, 813.0535) Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in April 2002 let a contract to reopen this third branch of the ex-Old Colony Railroad, ex-New Haven Railroad, as a 28km commuter line to Greenbush. Construction work is to start in 2003 and the line may open in late 2005. (http://www.railpace.com/hotnews)

2159][US] New York light rail: Howard Beach / Jamaica - Kennedy (JFK) Airport: (BLN 821.0114) The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey plan during 2002 to open the first phases of their Airtrain light-rail system which will include lines from two heavy-rail stations (Howard Beach served by New York City subway A trains, and Jamaica served by the Long Island Rail Road and the subway's E and J trains) to a loop serving the airport's terminals. (Transnet newsletter, #102)

2160][IE] (Dublin Connolly - Glasnevin Jn -) Dublin Heuston (- Islandbridge Jn): In early May 2002 the Fridays-only 13:35 Heuston - Tralee and 15:55 Heuston - Ballina services were starting from the new platform 10. This is a bay with a buffer-stop at its northern end, though it seems also able to be used as a through platform, via a connection from the closely-parallel down running-line from Glasnevin Jn. Platform 10 is a 5-minute walk from the main station entrance, far enough away to justify a shuttle bus link (R.1973). Work was under way on new terminal platforms 6-9, on the site of sidings that once lay parallel to the main lines into Heuston on the arrival side. The all-important Guinness sidings survive, however. 

2161][IE] (Limerick -) Limerick Jn (- Waterford - Rosslare): (R.1595) In early May 2002 Limerick - Rosslare trains were regularly using the 'Limerick bay' (platform 2) at the north end of Limerick Jn station. South of the connection with the north-bay run-round loop, the rails behind the station buildings and over the level-crossing looked well rusted, so it seems that these trains have abandoned their each-way trundle to use the 'Waterford bay' (platform 4) at the south end. This was confirmed by a member of the operating staff, who said the traditional move had been 'too much hassle'. Track immediately south of the level-crossing remained shiny, however, suggesting its continued use for shunting movements. 

2162][IE] (Limerick Check -) Foynes Jn - Foynes: (R.0405, 1774, 1827) The future remains unclear. Seaborne fertiliser traffic landed at Foynes is being road-hauled to depots at Athenry and Farranfore stations. IE are said to be planning in June 2002 to redeploy to other jobs all remaining track-workers on the branch, and they have taken no action to repair the train-shed at Foynes. This building is considered unsafe, and locomotives are not normally allowed to pass through it to run round, making it difficult to operate regular freight to and from the west-coast port. However, the branch saw its first working since the inspection-saloon on 8 November 2001 when the weed-spraying train visited on 7 May 2002, and locomotive #154 ran round under the station roof, supervised by engineering staff. Both Iarnród Éireann and the Irish public-enterprise minister have publicly said that the branch to the port will be open again for rail traffic in June 2002. (irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

2163][FR] Orange - Carpentras (- Pernes-les-Fontaines - L'Isle-Fontaine-de-Vaucluse - Cavaillon): (BLN 843.055; Ball 65A1) Seen on 8 April 2002 from a main-line train, this single-track former through route remained connected via the freight yard at Orange and then ran south-east alongside the PLM main line for c.3km without further pointwork or crossover till it reached a stop-block at the location where the main line turned south towards Avignon. Beyond the stop-block disused and overgrown track appeared still in place.

2164][FR] Les-Mazes-le-Crès - Vendargues (- Sommières): (Ball 74A3) This line lost its passenger trains to Sommières 18 January 1970 and ceased to be a through route 5 July 1971. In April 2002 its track remained but appeared little used.

2165][DE] (Braunschweig Hbf - Salzgitter-Thiede -) Salzgitter-Drütte - Salzgitter-Immendorf - Salzgitter-Watenstedt - Salzgitter-Lebenstedt (- Derneburg): (Ball 27A2; KBS354) Formerly a through route, partly quadruple-tracked to serve Salzgitter's extensive local steel industry (BLN 712.03), this 9km single-track branch retains its passenger service and has a recent siding to serve a large Ikea warehouse just south of SZ-Immendorf as well as several connections near SZ-Watenstedt to the classic industrial system of Verkehrsbetriebe Peine-Salzgitter. The branch now terminates at SZ-Lebenstedt, a single plain-line platform with a large and unattractive housing development on one side and a pleasant public park on the other.

2166][DE] Schlüchtern - Elm Bbf: (R.0560; EGTRE DE02/506; Ball 51A3-51B3) From 10:00 Saturday 18 to 12:30 Monday 20 May 2002, Hanau - Würzburg InterCity trains were diverted via this freight-only chord, also using another normally non-passenger line, the short northwest-to-southeast Burgsinn - Burgsinn Bbf connection from the original (Fulda - Flieden -) Elm - Gemünden line to the Fulda - Würzburg high-speed line. Later in the year, Sunday 8 September 2002 will again see the cycling event Kinzigtal total, with roads along the river Kinzig valley closed to motor traffic, and DB running some special passenger trains on the Schlüchtern - Elm section. For the longer term DB have been considering diverting Fulda - Flieden - Elm - Gemünden local trains to run Schlüchtern - Elm - Gemünden, making connections at Schlüchtern not only from Fulda but from Frankfurt-am-Main. This proposal would see the Flieden - Elm section become freight-only. Agreement has been delayed because two different Länder are responsible for local transport: Fulda and Schlüchtern are in Hessen while Gemünden is in Bayern. The change is unlikely to be made before December 2003. DB are also planning to abandon the famously tight horseshoe-curve south-east of Elm station and replace it by a new straighter and shorter alignment, single-track only and largely in tunnel. Construction had not yet begun in May 2002.

2167][DE] Berlin: Lehrter Bahnhof to become Hauptbahnhof after all?: (Ball 32A2) Opened 2 February 1871, the Lehrter Bahn took its name from the small town of Lehrte, just east of Hannover, where it joined the then-existing railway system, offering a more direct route from Berlin to the west. More or less on the site of the Lehrter Bahn's original 19th-century terminus, Berlin's 21st-century through main-line station is taking shape, north-south on the lower-level, east-west on the Stadtbahn above, and the project has hitherto kept the historic name Lehrter Bahnhof, change having been rejected in 1997 (BLN 819.052). However, DB seem finally to have realised that this appellation, though traditional, might not be the most helpful name for the capital's future main station. Options being (re)considered in mid-2002 included Berlin-City, Berlin-Mitte, Berlin Zentralbahnhof and, of course, Berlin Hauptbahnhof. 

2168][DE][SE] Berlin - Sassnitz Fährhafen - (train-ferry) - Trelleborg - Malmö: (R.1691) Though no doubt collecting substantial access-charges for track and stations, and earning commission on ticket-sales, nationalised DB are making no effort at all on behalf of the operators who revived the overnight EN110/1 Berlin Night Express. No advertising material or literature is readily to be seen on DB stations. On 17 April 2002 DB's Cottbus travel-centre were even unable to tell which Berlin terminal the train actually departed from, their journey-planner computer saying Lichtenberg, their reservations computer printing out a ticket from Berlin-Zoo, and their desk-clerk shamefacedly saying 'check when you get to Berlin'! The train was in fact banished from Zoo to Lichtenberg from 3 November 2001 (R.1808), but DB's platform departure-posters had still not been revised to take account of this, though some display-frames did contain a separate notice advising the change.

Somewhat after the scheduled departure-time of 22:40, an electric locomotive of Altenbeken-based Westfälische Almetalbahn GmbH hauled the three couchettes and one sleeper (hired SJ stock, staffed by DB's Mitropa) from Berlin-Lichtenberg east then south via the Aussenring to Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld, where a number of couchette passengers boarded and the locomotive ran round. The train departed on time, retracing its path north by the Aussenring to take the short Biesdorfer Kreuz Süd - Biesdorfer Kreuz Nord section (which has no other booked passenger service; R.1808; EGTRE DE02/256A; Ball 32A2) before collecting a few more travellers at its final pick-up point, Berlin-Hohenschönhausen, the last traffic stop before Malmö. In the northbound direction only, the Berlin Night Express has a pathing stop at Oranienburg, but is then booked non-stop to Sassnitz-Fährhafen, formerly Mukran. Here the southbound train comes off the ferry and crosses the northbound train waiting to board. Though the train arrived at the ferry-port on time, the Scandlines ferry Sassnitz caused some 60 minutes delay, which was not recovered, despite an opportunity to do so by shortening the crew-change stop in the platform at Trelleborg. The couchettes were quite busy with school or college groups, presumably on discounted fares, but the sleeper had only some six patrons. Even with a hefty sleeper supplement of EUR95 for sharing a two-berth cabin-with-shower, the train seems unlikely to be making much money for its promoters, and may be at risk of again being withdrawn.

2169][IT] Bologna Centrale - Bologna San Vitale - Bologna Rimesse: (R.0049; Ball 49A1) Rebuilding in cut-and-cover tunnel of the city section of the Ferrovia Bologna-Portomaggiore was still not complete in September 2001 but the trains had again begun running through by December 2001.

2170][IT] Firenze: Bivio Pellegrino - Posto Movimento Cionfo: (R.0494; Ball 49A1) Described in R.1155 as Bivio Pellegrino - Bivio San Marco Vecchio, this rebuilt west-to-north chord is more accurately titled Bivio Pellegrino - PM Cionfo since the physical junction was moved 400m north. Available for traffic from 5 November 2000, it opened to regular passenger services 29 January 2001. (http://freedom.dicea.unifi.it/~leo/toscana/en/cionfo2000.html)

2171][IT] Firenze: Bivio Olmatello - Osmannoro: (Ball 49A1 not shown) South of Firenze Castello station a junction and a viaduct are being readied for a new line to a rolling-stock maintenance facility at Osmannoro. This is required by mid-2003 to replace the existing installation, whose site will in turn be occupied by Firenze's new through station for Alta Velocità trains. (http://freedom.dicea.unifi.it/~leo/toscana/a02/20020130fir.jpg)

2172][IT] (Firenze -) Signa - Montelupo (- Pisa): (Ball 49B3) To avoid this sinuous section, an extra pair of tracks is under construction, involving two tunnels totalling 6km and a new station, Lastra a Signa, on the opposite bank of the river to the existing Signa station. Target date for opening is December 2003, though this seems optimistic.

2173][IT] Roma Termini / Roma Tiburtina - Roma Prenestina (- Tivoli - Pescara): (R.2084; Ball 52A1) Works for the Roma - Napoli Alta Velocità high-speed line have temporarily required some track outside Termini to be removed, hence the diversion of Roma - Pescara main-line trains to run from and to Roma Tiburtina, perhaps until December 2002. 

2174][PL] Stare Bojanowo Waskotorowe - Smigiel - Sniaty - Wielichowo: (R.2144; Ball 36B3; line 353) Built 1900-1910 as the German metre-gauge Schmiegieler Kreisbahn, this railway reached a maximum extent of 61km, was nationalised as part of PKP in 1949, converted to its present 750mm-gauge in 1958, and transferred to local operators SKPL in 2001. At the line's headquarters and traction-depot, Smigiel (km5), prominent notices in Polish, English and German now indicate that photographic permits are necessary, to be purchased at the office, and when cameras were deployed, SKPL staff approached their owners, resourcefully seeking to levy a fee of PLZ20 (=c.GBP3.50 =c.EUR5.70), nearly six times the line's maximum one-way fare! No attempt was made to extract money for photography anywhere else on the line, however. At least two units are required to work the timetable. The only trains allowing a round-trip from the junction, Stare Bojanowo on PKP's Poznan - Wroclaw main line, to Sniaty (km17), the current branch terminus, are Stare Bojanowo 13:45 - 14:01 Smigiel 14:02 - 14:40 Sniaty 14:42 - 15:21 Smigiel 15:40 - 15:54 Stare Bojanowo. On Friday 26 April 2002 the 13:45 Stare Bojanowo - Sniaty was allowing passengers to alight more or less wherever they wanted along the line. By Sniaty the three left on the ex-PKP railbus were all railway enthusiasts. Tickets are one-way, and available only on board, the fare for the 17km being PLZ3.50 (=c.GBP0.62 =c.EUR1). The 14.42 return from Sniaty was shown as a through working to the junction, but in practice the first railbus went out of service on its arrival back at Smiegel and passengers had to change, continuing, on time, aboard a second railbus, but incurring the extra expense of PLZ0.30 by having to buy two separate tickets! As the crew had changed at Smigiel on the outward journey, and the original conductor was by now in the second railbus, one could deduce that in two pairs of short workings, 49 tickets had been sold. No freight was seen, but a German website said in early April 2002 that one wagon a week was still being conveyed by transporter beyond Sniaty to Wielichowo (km23). 

2175][PL] Luban Slaski - Mikulowa - Zgorzelec / Zgorzelec Miasto: (Ball 36A2; PKP 255, 260) When Silesia was German, the line west from Luban Slaski (Sla,sk = Schlesien = Silesia) was double-track and electrified, but only a single de-electrified track now serves the far-south-west borderlands of Poland close to the German and Czech frontiers. At the triangle just west of Mikulowa station, the east-to-south curve is out of use, but the west-to-south curve remains to give access to the Mikulowa - Sulikow - Zawidow PKP - Cernousy CD line into the Czech Republic (BLN 737.0240, 773.0100), as well as the freight-only links from Sulikow to Krzewina Zgorzelecka (R.2137) and Trzciniec Zgorzelecki - Bogatynia, serving pockets of Polish industry. Further west near Zgorzelec is another triangle. Of the three daily trains from Luban Slaski in spring 2002, one takes the east-to-west chord to terminate at Zgorzelec, last station in Poland before the line continues across the river Nysa/Neisse to Görlitz in Germany, while the other two take the east-to-north curve to serve Zgorzelec Miasto (miasto = town) and continue north-east on the Dresden - Görlitz DB - Zgorzelec PKP - Zgorzelec Miasto - Wegliniec - Wroclaw main line as far as Wegliniec. In the PKP timetable these three train-pairs have now been annotated 'G', meaning they run 'until further notice', and certainly the evidence of train-loadings on Tuesday 30 April 2002 suggests they may not survive long. The last westbound train of the day, the 15:27 Luban Slaski - Wegliniec, two coaches hauled by a Class SP42 diesel locomotive, never carried more than ten passengers on its 27km journey to Zgorzelec Miasto (though it then filled almost to capacity). PKP could perhaps rationalise the sparse timetable to economise on the use of rolling-stock, for an eastbound set, two coaches hauled by a Class SU46 main-line diesel, was passed, equally poorly loaded. 

2176][CZ] Milotice nad Opavou - Vrbno pod Pradedem: (BLN 818.042, 822.0130; Ball 37A1; CD 313) Private company OKD Doprava, originally coal-train operators, run the passenger service on this 20km branch using a railcar bought or leased from CD. Unsurprisingly, InterRail tickets are not accepted, but the 40km round-trip fare was only CZK 32 (= c.GBP0.65). Milotice comprises little more than the junction station, two signal-boxes and some railway staff accommodation. At Vrbno, a freight siding diverges at the east end of the layout, bypasses the station and the dead-end of the running-line where the locomotive-shed is located, and extends some 300m to a factory. During the layover (10:13-11:02) between trains #13510 and #13511 on 15 April 2002, the railcar traversed this siding in both directions. Since it was seen coming off the siding with no wagons in tow, it may have earlier shunted a wagon out to the factory (although a couple of locomotives on shed were available to do this) or it may have gone there to refuel (perhaps more likely, for the shed seemed to have no fuelling facility).

2177][CZ][PL] Lichkov CD - Miedzylesie PKP: (Ball 36B1; CD 831; PKP 230) Signal-box #1, at the east end of Lichkov station, is the western vertex of a former triangle spanning the Czech-Polish frontier. The west-to-north chord of the triangle, with thrice-daily international passenger trains, runs parallel with CD's Lichkov - Dolni Lipka line for some distance before diverging north into Poland. The east-to-north chord (Dolni Lipka CD - Miedzylesie PKP) has been abandoned and lifted. The layout therefore now differs from that shown in the Quail maps of the Czech Republic (1996) and Poland (1993). 

2178][CZ] Lipová Lázne - Velká Kras - Bernartice - Javornik ve Slesku and Velká Kras - Vidnava: (Ball 37A1; CD 295, 296) Although the pattern of working reflected by the present CD timetable has Javornik as the main destination of this pair of rural Czech branches, the kilometre-posts tell a different story, the 'main line' from Lipová Lázne (km0) having originally headed north from Bernartice (km25.7) across the present frontier to Otmuchow in Poland. Trackbed of the abandoned 14.6km Bernartice CD - Otmuchow PKP section can be seen from the CD railcar as it turns west on to what was once the 5.3km Bernartice - Javornik branch. From Velká Kras a separate branch runs 4.4km east to Vidnava, whose substantial station building is now largely disused and disfigured by graffiti, though it does offer some shelter to waiting passengers, and may have some function for train-crew. Vidnava no longer has freight traffic. North-east of the station, disused track continues over a level-crossing to disappear in a weedgrown mound c.150m beyond, in the general direction of the town of Nysa across the Polish border. Most trains shuttle from and to Velká Kras with no crew other than the driver, their 'no-conductor' status being identified in the timing columns of the timetable by a white-S-in-black-circle symbol.

A Deutsche Reichsbahn timetable for 1944, when this part of Silesia was under German control, shows the 'main line' as Nieder Lindewiese [Lipová Lázne] - Haugsdorf [Velká Kras] - Barzdorf [Bernartice] - Ottmachau [Otmuchow]. Barzdorf - Jauernig [Javornik] and Haugsdorf - Weidenau [Vidnava] were also operated by DR, but the now-vanished Weidenau - Neisse [Nysa] section was run by private operators Lenz & Co of Breslau [now Wroclaw]. 

2179][CZ] Opava vychod - Kylesovice - Odbocka Moravice - Hradec nad Moravici: (Ball 42A3; CD 315) Trains for this 8km branch (and for the Jakartovice line; R.2180) start from the north-side bay platforms at Opava vychod, a terminus. Their route diverges northwards from the Opava vychod - Opava zapad - Krnov line (vychod = east, zapad = west), and turns southward beneath it (not as shown on the Quail map). Both Hradec and Jakartovice trains then serve a suburban halt, Kylesovice, before diverging perhaps a km beyond at a junction signal-box in open country, Odbocka Moravice, which also controls level-crossings of both branches over the busy Opava - Hradec road. The Hradec branch has a virtually hourly service (first train from Opava vychod at 04:24), with summer weekend trains advertised to be worked by historic railcars. 

2180][CZ] Opava vychod - Kylesovice - Odbocka Moravice - Jakartovice - Svobodné Hermanice (- Horni Benesov): (Ball 42A3; CD 314) The 21km Opava - Jakartovice branch has eight round trips a day, which seem reasonably patronised, though our reporter did not actually check the loading of the first train from Opava vychod at 03:45. A curiosity is train #23414, the 17:09 Opava vychod - Jakartovice which, on Fridays and Sundays only from Easter weekend to the end of September (with one-day adjustments at what are presumably public-holiday weekends), takes a 13-minute break at Jakartovice, then runs forward a further 4km to the isolated station of Svobodné Hermanice. These two weekend workings, retained for no obvious reason when the service was cut back in 1997 (BLN 818.042), are the only booked trains on this section. On Sunday 14 April 2002, the train duly paused at Jakartovice, the driver opened up the unstaffed station-office, probably to obtain telephone permision to enter the block, while the conductress tried to be helpful to our uncomprehending reporter, saying something that was probably 'do you really want to go any further?'. The train then continued to its scheduled five-minute layover at Svobodné Hermanice, which comprised a substantial brick station building in residential use, a yard with freight traffic (two modern bulk-cement wagons were present) and little else, the village being a couple of km away, out of sight. The line once continued a further 5km to Horni Benesov. In a 1944 timetable, all the station-names were German (Troppau ost [Opava vychod] - Eckersdorf [Jakartovice] - Freihermersdorf [Svobodné Hermanice] - Bennisch [Horni Benesov]), and the line was run by Deutsche Reichsbahn, Direktion Oppeln [now Opole, in Poland] with some five or six round-trips plus some curious short workings which suggest inter-operation with freights.

2181][SK] Bánovce nad Ondavou - Vel'ké Kapušany - Mat'ovce: (Ball 43B2-44A2; ZSR195) At Bánovce nad Ondavou in May 2002 the handwritten official arrival/departure sheets customary on ZSR advertised four trains as working beyond Vel'ké Kapušany the 2.7km east to the standard/broad-gauge interchange yards at Mat'ovce, though this extension of the passenger service does not appear in the ZSR printed timetable. 

•Michal'any - Banovce 06:04 - Velke Kapusany - Matovce - Velke Kapusany 07:13 - Banovce - Michal'any •Banovce 07:55 SSuX - Velke Kapusany - Matovce - Velke Kapusany 09:07 SSuX - Banovce •Banovce 10:33 - Velke Kapusany - Matovce - Velke Kapusany 12:10 - Banovce •Banovce 13:42 - Velke Kapusany - Matovce - Velke Kapusany 14:57 - Banovce 

As on a colleague's September 1999 visit (R.0286), the ZSR conductor was clearly surprised to find a Briton still on board when his eastbound train left Vel'ké Kapušany, but he raised no objection, though indicating that our reporter should return with the same train. While the train stood at (still platform-less) Mat'ovce for nearly an hour's layover, exploration of the yard area on foot seemed unwise. With the Ukrainian frontier very close, Slovak police or border officials were much in evidence. The layout at Mat'ovce comprises many interlaced fingers of standard- and broad-gauge track to assist transhipment using cranes. Some facilities are provided for gravity-discharge of ore or coal wagons. It is in practice very difficult to distinguish 1435mm and 1520mm-gauge track, especially when Ukrainian wagons can have standard-gauge bogies fitted.

2182][SK][HU] Lenartovce ZSR - Bánréve MÁV: (Ball 43A1) As in 1998 (BLN 836.0533), the thrice-daily ZSR diesel railcars using this border-crossing are normally available only to Slovakian and Hungarian nationals, the frontier formalities taking place at Bánréve in Hungary. Old maps show that Jesenske - Plesivec trains once had to reverse at Bánréve, and in April 2002 traces remained at Bánréve of the east-to-north Bánréve - Abovce curve, though at the Slovakian end it had been ploughed up and returned to farmland. Lenartovce, an isolated rural junction station, and the present west-to-north Lenartovce - Abovce (- Plesivec) alignment, which curves quite sharply to avoid leaving Slovakia, appear to result from the fixing of the present frontier, perhaps when Czechoslovakia was born after World War I.

2183][HU][RO] Mátészalka - Ágerdömajor MÁV - Carei CFR: (Ball 44A1) The twice-daily cross-border service operated by MÁV diesel railcars may be available only to local Hungarian and Romanian passport-holders, since in April 2002 two non-local Hungarians appeared to require special permission from officials to use this frontier-crossing. Such restrictions seriously hurt the economic viability of cross-border trains.

2184][AL][YU] Shkodër - Bajzé HSH - Hani i Hotit - Tuzi JZ - Podgorica: (R.1765, 1907; Ball 52A2) Officially reopened on 28 December 2001, Albania's 1985 freight-only rail link with the European standard-gauge network saw its first commercial traffic, some 150t of liquefied gas, arrive from Podgorica at Bajzé on 13 April 2002. It seems however that within Albania the 10km Shkodër - Grizha (- Bajzé) section has still not reopened after theft of track during political riots in 1997, but it may do so in late 2002. Albanian and Montenegrin officials meeting in December 2001 reaffirmed their intention to start cross-border passenger trains 'soon'. (Albanian Telegraph Agency) 

2185][NZ] Auckland new station: (R.2152) The old Chief Post Office at 12 Queen Street, a 1912 historic building occupying part of the site of Auckland's first railway station, is being refurbished and will provide rail ticket-sales and other customer facilities as well as escalators down to the buffer-stop end of the 2003 Britomart station, a terminus with five sub-surface platforms stretching from Queen Elizabeth II Square east to Britomart Place. The new 1067mm-gauge running line will head east in tunnel parallel to and south of Quay Street, surfacing north of the existing 1930 Auckland station and continuing east to join the existing line to Orakei. From a junction at the mouth of the tunnel the west-to-south chord will curve very sharply round to join the existing line to Newmarket at about the site of the present platforms. 

2186][CA] Victoria - Esquimalt - Malahat - Duncan - Nanaimo - Parksville - Courtenay, BC: (R.2153) VIA's Victoria - Courtenay train #198/199 Malahat has had another reprieve, until 15 July 2002. Ironically, due to people taking a last trip before the supposed final run on 15 May, passenger numbers in April and May 2002 were high, with both Rail Diesel Cars, #6133 and #6135, in use most days. Reliability of the elderly RDCs was also good, with only one service cancellation during 2002. Since closure of the Parksville - Port Alberni freight branch on 16 January 2002, RailAmerica have reduced their locomotives on the E&N to three, but in early May 2002 they were continuing to operate a residual freight service on Vancouver Island, from the ferry-slip near Nanaimo north to Parksville (for FMC) and south to Duncan (for Top Shelf Feeds).

2187][CA] North Vancouver - Squamish - Lillooet - Prince George, BC: (R.1939, 1940) BC Rail have announced withdrawal of their North Vancouver - Prince George passenger trains after 31 October 2002, but are inviting offers from other operators willing to provide a service. Several communities on the northern part of the 740km line still have no road access. The company's remaining Budd Rail Diesel Cars are deteriorating, and in early 2002 end-to-end journey-times were increased by 40 minutes. BCR freight is also in decline, hitting the lines north of Prince George. The northernmost 400km section (Fort St.John - Fort Nelson, BC) has been put up for sale. The Tumbler subdivision (Wakely - Quintette, BC), until October 2000 electrified at 50kV 60Hz but latterly diesel-worked, is to close in June 2002 when coal production ceases. 

The steam locomotive that traditionally hauled the tourist trains, Royal Hudson #2860, has been put on display at Squamish, pending overhaul, and its reserve, N2b locomotive #3716, also appears to be indisposed. However, notwithstanding R.1939, it seems that North Vancouver - Squamish tourist trains are to run in summer 2002, with classic diesel traction as in 2001. 

2188][CA] (Vancouver Waterfront -) Coquitlam - Mission, BC: (R.1286, 1440) On 4 May 2002 a special train of West Coast Express commuter coaches hauled by CPR steam locomotive #2816 ran a Port Coquitlam - Mission round-trip, for a fare of CAD10 only. Both tracks of this CP route are reversibly signalled, and rather unusually the train used the south track in each direction. WCE services normally use the north track. At Mission the special took the west-to-south curve on to the Fraser River bridge, then set back over the south-to-east curve, to be facing the right way for the return. 

2189][CA] Vancouver, BC: New Westminster - Edmonds (- Royal Oak - Central Park): Running parallel to and beneath the elevated SkyTrain Expo Line is a ground-level freight-only line, the Central Park Spur, owned by the Southern Railway of British Columbia. In early 2002 new road construction severed the track at Edmonds. Since no traffic had been passing west of Edmonds to the present end of the line at Royal Oak, the closure will doubtless become permanent. 

2190][CA] Vancouver metro: (R.1438, 1911, 1937) On the SkyTrain Millennium Line (Vancouver Community College - Broadway/Commercial - Lougheed - Braid - Columbia) track had by May 2002 been completed and electrified all the way from Commercial east to the temporary terminus at Braid of the section opened on 7 January 2002 to Columbia (R.1937). Target opening date for Commercial - Braid is 3 September 2002. The interchange at Commercial with Broadway station on the original Expo Line (Waterfront - Broadway/Commercial - New Westminster - Columbia - King George) was well under way, and all the new stations were nearing completion, except for Lake City, a late addition to the project, where only the platform bases had appeared. Loughheed is a three-platform station, intended to be the junction for a Loughheed - Port Moody branch before this was cancelled by the incoming Liberal government. The final section of the Millennium Line, Vancouver Community College - Commercial, is only partially complete due to a dispute with BNSF over location of the terminal station, which was intended to span their tracks. 

2191][US] Los Angeles, CA - Barstow - Daggett, CA - Las Vegas, NV: The first three of the four Los Angeles - Las Vegas excursions planned by Key Holidays and Amtrak for spring 2002 (R.1967) were cancelled due to lack of sales. One round-trip charter train appears to have run from Los Angeles on 7 May, returning on 9 May, and Key say they plan more trips in 2003 (http://www.keyholidays.com/lasvegas.htm), but the initially disappointing results of this venture do not bode well for reactivation of a regular Amtrak service on this leisure route.

2192][US] Dallas, TX light rail: (R.2001, 2100) The next DART extension, Park Lane - Galatyn Park on the Red line to Plano, should open 1 July 2002. 

2193][US] Philadelphia, PA - Camden, NJ cableway: The Delaware River Port Authority are to build an 'aerial tramway' connecting a development at Philadelphia Penn's Landing across the Delaware River to Camden attractions including an aquarium and the museum battleship USS New Jersey. Target opening date is 2004-05. DRPA are a bi-state public body who already own the Port Authority Transit Corporation, operators of the 23km PATCO heavy-rail metro line (Philadelphia, PA - Lindenwold, NJ).

2194][FR] Nord-Pas-de-Calais Région rail investment: Projects in Nord-Pas-de-Calais Région's contrat de plan 2000-06 with rail-infrastructure authority Réseau Ferré de France include modernisation and electrification of Calais - Dunkerque (Ball 6A2-6B2) and Boulogne-sur-Mer - Rang-du-Fliers-Verton-Berck (- Amiens) (Ball 6A2-6A1; Rang-du-Fliers is the boundary station of the Région), plus laying or restoring double track on the Béthune - Don Sainghin section (Ball 7A1). Being 'studied' for future passenger services are an entirely new short spur from Lille to Aéroport Lille-Lesquin (LIL); the Armentières - Merville freight branch (BLN 775.0128, 778.0180; Ball 7A1) and two partially-closed cross-border lines to Belgium, Dunkerque - Leffrinckoucke - Bray-Dunes SNCF - De Panne NMBS (R.0658; Ball 6B3-7A3) and Valenciennes - Blanc-Misseron SNCF - Quiévrain SNCB (R.1776; Ball 7B1). RFF are also to reinstate a north-to-east chord at St.Laurent-Blangy, north-east of Arras (Ball 15A3), so that some freight traffic can be routed Lens - Vimy - St.Laurent-Blangy - Biache-St.Vaast - Somain, thus avoiding congestion, expected to increase in the period to 2010, on the Lens - Ostricourt - Douai - Somain route. (Rail et Transports, 22 May 2002)

2195][FR] (Bueil -) Breuilpont - Pacy-sur-Eure - Cocherel (- Chambray - Autheuil - La-Croix-St.Leufroy): (Ball 24B3) The first section (Breuilpont - Pacy) of the 26.5km Bueil - La-Croix-St.Leufroy line opened 18 May 1873. The branch lost its passenger trains in 1951 and its freight traffic in 1989. Electrification and rationalisation of the Paris - Bueil - Caen - Cherbourg main line severed its connection with the national network and led to its formal abandonment and transfer to the local authority, the Département de l'Eure. Preservation group Chemin de Fer de la Vallée de l'Eure now run tourist trains from their base at Pacy-sur-Eure south to Breuilpont and north to Cocherel, thus covering c.14km of the former branch. According to the guard on the 15:15 Pacy - Cocherel train on Sunday 26 May 2002, trains have on occasion run beyond Cocherel to Chambray, but CFVE have work to do before reaching Autheuil, perhaps in 2003. A long-term goal is to extend to La-Croix-St.Leufroy, which has a museum of Renault cars. (partly from http://www.trains-fr.org/unecto/cfve/index.html)

2196][FR] (Paris -) Le Creusot-Montchanin TGV - Mâcon-Loché TGV (- Lyon): (Ball 48A3-48B2) Several kilometres south of Le Creusot-Montchanin TGV station, two quite slender disused viaducts are clearly visible on either side of the Ligne à Grande Vitesse. Some earthworks also survive but the viaducts are perhaps the most obvious remains of the Montchanin - Étiveau line, opened 15 June 1889, closed to passengers 1 July 1938, and to freight in stages from 1941 to 1969. 

2197][FR] Chalon-sur-Saône - Cluny - Mâcon-Ville: (R.2107; Ball 48B3-48B1) This line in fact comprised late-surviving sections of two other through lines which had closed 30 years earlier. The Paray-le-Monial - Charolles - Clermain - Cluny - Mâcon line opened 22 August 1870, running more or less due east, though on a tortuous alignment. Chalon-sur-Saône - Étiveau - St.Gengoux - Cluny opened 20 October 1888. Just before World War II a wave of closures spread across France. Passenger trains ceased on the Pouilly-sous-Charlieu - Charlieu - Clermain line 2 October 1938, and on Paray-le-Monial - Charolles - Clermain - Cluny 15 May 1939, but short stubs of both lines remained in freight use long enough to appear in the 1991 Ball atlas. 

From 1939 to 1968 the remaining Chalon - Cluny - Mâcon line survived as a long loop, with freight and a relatively good passenger service. The 1964 Indicateur Chaix shows, southwards from Chalon, stations at Givry (8km), St.Désert (unstaffed, 12km), Buxy (17km), Jully-lès-Buxy (unstaffed, 20km), St.Boil (23km), Étiveau (unstaffed, 26km), St.Gengoux (29km), Malay (unstaffed, 34km), Cormatin (37km), Taizé (unstaffed, 40km), Massilly (42km), Cluny (50km), La Croix-Blanche (unstaffed, 58km), La Roche-Vineuse (61km), Prissé (65km), Charnay (68km) to Mâcon (73km). In each direction four daily autorails ran end-to-end, with a short Chalon - Cluny working and a less-than-daily St.Gengoux - Mâcon one. However, on 1 November 1968 Chalon - Cluny - Mâcon passenger trains were replaced by buses, and the more steeply-graded Cluny - Mâcon section closed completely, part of it later being obliterated by the Paris - Lyon Ligne à Grande Vitesse which opened 27 September 1981. The Chalon - Cluny line may have been used to convey materials for the new LGV, which crosses above it on embankment just north of Cluny station, but the lines, at different levels, seem never to have been physically connected, even temporarily. Freight trains, probably running 'as required', continued to serve Cluny until the mid- or late 1980s, for several years after TGV services began, but by the early 1990s travellers on passing TGVs could see the Cluny line had been lifted. 

While driving on the Chalon - Cluny road in spring 1997, one of our reporters was surprised to note the station-building at Taizé in excellent external condition with full SNCF signage - and with apparently newly-ballasted track through the platform. The village of Taizé hosts a religious retreat and conference-centre, and is not far from Cluny's huge ruined abbey, so he wondered if restoration of passenger traffic, perhaps for special trains, were being planned. This does not seem to be the case, and perhaps Taizé station's track and signs were just a private citizen's nostalgia project, but they remain a minor mystery. 

2198][NL] Rotterdam Noord - Schiedam Centrum: (Ball 3B2) Amsterdam - Hoek van Holland Haven boat-trains reverse in Rotterdam Centraal station, but boat-trains from other originating points used to avoid Rotterdam CS, taking a north-to-west curve to call instead at Schiedam-Rotterdam West. When long-distance trains ceased to use it as their Rotterdam stop, Schiedam-Rotterdam West was renamed Schiedam Centrum in 1998 (BLN 826.0226). The north-to-west curve remained in freight use, but on 20 May 2002 it was seen to have been lifted, with some of the track-panels stacked on site and the overhead line-equipment removed. 

2199][NL] (Rotterdam -) Barendrecht - Zwijndrecht (- Dordrecht): (R.1948; Ball 3B2) By late May 2002 Barendrecht new station had two platforms open for business and two on which work was still in progress. Though not actually underground, the station is in a long concrete 'tunnel' spanning all four through tracks, but its approach lines on either side are in two 'tunnels' each containing a pair of tracks. 

2200][NL] Zuidbroek - Veendam - Wildervank - Stadskanaal - Musselkanaal (- Ter Apel): (R.0626; Ball 2B3) This branch was originally the Noord-Ooster Locaal Spoorweg (NOLS) as far as Stadskanaal and the Groningsch-Drenthsche Spoorwegmaatschappij 'Stadskanaal - Ter Apel - Rijkgrens' (STAR) beyond. The latter company seem to have had unfulfilled aspirations to extend from Ter Apel across the nearby frontier (= rijkgrens) into Germany. Stadskanaal - Ter Apel passenger trains ceased 1935, and Zuidbroek - Veendam - Stadskanaal ones in 1955. Freight beyond Veendam ceased 1990. Zuidbroek - Veendam (BLN 845.01) remains in freight use, serving a sizeable container-transhipment terminal intermediately as well as a depot at Veendam, apparently for recycling-related traffic. Veendam was the historic centre of the Veenkolonien, scattered agricultural communities (veen = peat), and many elegant buildings remain along the canalside, though the town is much expanded. East of the town-centre, Veendam's large single-platform passenger station and the shed at the south end of the layout are now in heritage-railway use.

The preservation organisation Stichting Stadskanaal Rail was formed in 1991 (according to their 1999 leaflet) or 1992 (current leaflet), and trains first ran in 1994 (current leaflet) or 1995 (plaque on the exterior of Veendam station building). The first advertised season seems to have begun 5 May 1995. The line trades as Museumspoorlijn S·T·A·R (usually printed as S·T·A·R or S.T.A.R. with dots between the letters, perhaps to distinguish the present operators from their corporate predecessors). Timetables of the Veendam - Stadskanaal - Musselkanaal summer tourist trains are at http://www.stadskanaal.nl. 

S·T·A·R do not normally operate over the Zuidbroek - Veendam section, and indeed say they do not expect to do so other than very occasionally, but on Monday 20 May 2002, a public holiday, they ran three Zuidbroek - Veendam round-trips to celebrate their '10th year'. At Zuidbroek, the branch platform remains as one side of an island whose other face is used by eastbound NoordNed trains, and the regular Groningen - Zuidbroek - Nieuweschans services are booked to cross here, at the western end of the single-track section to Nieuweschans. At 11:45, 13:45 and 15:45 the normally unstaffed and rather neglected-looking Zuidbroek station thus had three passenger trains present, with accompanying milling crowds. Inside the building an exhibition set out plans for another heritage group, Stichting Noord-Nederlands Trein & Tram Museum, to make Zuidbroek the centre of their activities. On 20 May, a second steam train was running Veendam - Stadskanaal, and a diesel-hauled set shuttled Veendam - Wildervank, but no Stadskanaal - Musselkanaal trains were on offer. Stadskanaal station, north of the town-centre, is well preserved with a large cafe occupying much of the ground floor. Nothing remains of the station building at Musselkanaal, which has only a small concrete shelter and a loop beyond the platform allowing a locomotive to run round. A visit on 19 May did not allow enough time to inspect the track beyond the loop towards Ter Apel. An alternative route from Stadskanaal back to Veendam is offered by Emmen - Groningen bus #73 which stops c.100m away from Stadskanaal station on the other side of the canal, and makes a guaranteed connection en route with Assen - Winschoten bus #10 for Veendam. 

2201][NL] Erica: industrial narrow-gauge museum: (Ball 2B2 not shown) Contrary to information on the ISM website http://www.winius.nl/ismhome.html, the Industrieel Smalspoor Museum (Griendtsveenstraat 150, NL-7887 TK Erica, Drenthe) is no longer within the Emmen Treintaxi zone, so public-transport access is by infrequent buses on route #44 (Emmen - Schoonebeek), then a 1500m walk along the arrow-straight Dommerskanaal to the museum entrance. The entrance fee of EUR3 includes one train ride. Peat-extraction activity at this site ended in 1983, making redundant 18km of 900mm-gauge track, including a connection across the German border, perhaps to the Torfwerke shown in the 2000 Schweers + Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland. Within the museum, tracks both derelict and in use seem to run everywhere, and researching them all would involve much effort, though the website does offer a very general map of the layout. Train trips for the public take 20-30 minutes and run at regular intervals from the canalside factory (open to museum visitors) via the 'station' outside the cafe and exhibition-room, then in a wide loop through woods around the Veenmeer, a lake created by peat extraction. In addition to the 'main-line' 900mm-gauge tracks, 700mm-gauge lines run within the plant. The two gauges cross at right angles in numerous places, and a short distance into the public train ride a locomotive and wagons have been placed to illustrate one of these crossings. On a short stretch of 700mm-gauge track parallel to the canal visitors may try driving a small diesel locomotive under supervision. Opposite the cafe, a children's toy railway, apparently a monorail, runs in a circuit.

2202][DE] (Magdeburg -) Biederitz - Loburg (- Altengrabow): (BLN 729.089; Ball 28B2; KBS259) The Loburg branch has a basic two-hourly service, with a few additional trains giving an hourly frequency during the morning and evening peak. On 10 May 2002 a Class 628 two-car diesel unit was working the basic service, with a (now relatively rare) ex-DR Ferkeltaxi railbus and trailer covering the additional trains. Track condition seemed poor, and a 50km/h overall speed-limit was in force, but the line had no stretches with any more burdensome restrictions. At the present branch terminus, no activity was seen of the preservation group based there (Dampfzug-Betriebsgemeinschaft eV, Arbeitskreis Loburg), who offer occasional specials on the 12km Loburg - Altengrabow section (last regular passenger train 15 January 1999; BLN 845.0116). 

2203][DE] (Mannheim -) Heidelberg - Handschuhsheim (- Weinheim - Mannheim): light rail: (Ball 55B1) The OEG diversion using two unusual curves and Bergheimer Strasse in Heidelberg (R.2050) continues until November 2002, but only from start-of-service Mon-Fri, from 07:10 Saturdays and from 12:10 Sundays until 19:10 at weekends and until 20:45 Mon-Fri. Before and after those times the OEG cars are still diverted, but run via Hbf on tracks used by Heidelberg town tram route #1.

2204][DE] Koblenz-Lützel - Koblenz-Metternich - Ochtendung: (Ball 48B3) On 19 May 2002, the connection from the main line on to this freight-only branch was well rusted but it was not blocked by a stop-board to indicate it was out of use.

2205][DE] Koblenz - Mainz: diversion: (R.2113; EGTRE DE02/519; Ball 48B3-50B1) DB expect the partial blockage of the main west-bank Linke Rheinstrecke (Koblenz - Boppard - Hirzenach - St.Goar - Bingen - Mainz) to continue daily until end-July 2002. The work comprises clearance of lineside debris, trees and vegetation, and the provision of strong steel netting to minimise the risk of rockfalls at several locations where the track is close to cliffs. On Sunday 19 May 2002 engineers' wagons were occupying the western track in several places, and single-line working was in force for the two sections between crossovers south of Boppard (c.km111), south of Hirzenach (km121.5; with a loop facility for trains to pass here) and south of St.Goar (c.km128), the principal works being on the more southerly section. From 08:45 to 22:00 trains in both directions on InterCity route IC2 and northbound-only on route IC1 are advertised to incur delays of about 25min, being diverted via the east-bank Rechte Rheinstrecke and Wiesbaden-Ost (Koblenz - Niederlahnstein - Wiesbaden-Biebrich - Wiesbaden-Ost - Mainz-Nord - Mainz Hbf). The list of diverted trains is displayed at Koblenz Hbf, and doubtless also at Mainz Hbf. Other trains are running via their normal route with delays of up to 10min, but a few local trains are replaced by buses.

2206][DE] Jossa - Wildflecken: (Ball 51B2-51B3) From a passing train on 19 May 2002, this branch was noted as blocked at the junction by a red metal stop-board and well rusted beyond.

2207][DE] Eisfeld - Rauenstein (Thüringen) - Sonneberg (Thüringen) Hbf - Lauscha - Ernstthal (am Rennsteig) - Neuhaus am Rennweg: (BLN 795.067, 838.0577; Ball 52B3) Land Thüringen are planning that Thüringer Eisenbahn GmbH should lease from DB Netz the closed sections on either side of Sonneberg and reopen them to passengers. From December 2002 hourly Eisenach - Eisfeld trains would run forward every second hour to Sonneberg (KBS569), while Sonneberg - Ernstthal - Neuhaus trains (KBS564) would run hourly Monday-Friday and two-hourly at weekends. (LOK Report, 4/02)

2208][DE] Böblingen - Böblingen-Zimmerschlag - Holzgerlingen Nord - Dettenhausen: (Ball 57B1-58A1; KBS790.9) Württembergische Staatseisenbahnen opened this steeply-graded and sharply-curved 17km branch, the Schönbuchbahn, in two stages in 1910-11. South-east of Böblingen-Zimmerschlag (km4) was a now closed junction station at km4.5 from which ran the short-lived 3.4km Schöneicher First - Schöneich branch, opened 1922 and closed 1954. Böblingen - Dettenhausen passenger services appear not to have exceeded eight train-pairs a day and ceased after 31 December 1966. DB withdrew freight service in 1988. However the Zweckverband Schönbuchbahn (ZVS), a local-authority body specially set up to take over the line, bought it from DB for a nominal DEM1 (plus tax!), secured finance from Land Baden-Württemberg and contracted with Württembergische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft, now a Connex company, to run passenger trains. Regular services began with the winter timetable on Monday 2 December 1996 (BLN 799.0168). ZVS and WEG were soon embarrassed by the scale of patronage. Platforms had to be lengthened to take three-car trains in the peak, and extra rolling-stock obtained. The line, which is within the VVS Stuttgart zonal tariff system, has ten modern intermediate halts, with a passing-loop at Holzgerlingen Nord (km8). Trains run half-hourly Mon-Fri and on Saturdays till early afternoon to cater for shoppers, and hourly at other times, seven days a week, making good connections at Böblingen with Stuttgart S-Bahn services. WEG run the line mainly with single RegioShuttle diesel units, based in a modern depot at the Dettenhausen terminus. Mid-morning patronage on a weekday in May 2002 was good. (partly from Rückkehr zur Schiene 1980-2001, Transpress, 2002)

2209][DE] München - Augsburg: (Ball 71A2-70B3) The generally excellent Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland published by Schweers + Wall in 2000 shows a continuous multiple-track main line from München Hbf to Augsburg Hbf, but this is still aspiration rather than reality. The line between the two cities (not between the present Hbf stations) opened 1839-40. At its electrification in 1927 it was essentially double-track from München-Pasing to Augsburg, but additional S-Bahn tracks were progressively added: two from M-Pasing west to Maisach in stages from 1972 to 1980, and a single extra track from Maisach to Nannhofen in 1988. From Nannhofen only two tracks run through the minor intermediate stations of Haspelmoor and Althegnenberg and the junction station of Mering until a point midway between Mering and Kissing. From this point all the way to Augsburg Hbf quadrupling works were under way in spring 2002, making the line one long construction site. Kissing station has been resited nearer München. A new bridge will carry the two extra tracks over the river Lech, and a major reconstruction is taking place of the eastern station throat at Augsburg Hbf.

2210][DE] Mühldorf (Oberbayern) - Tüssling - Altötting - Kastl - Burgkirchen - Pirach - Burghausen (Oberbayern): (Ball 72A3-72B3; KBS942) Opened by the königliche bayerische Staatsbahnen (= royal Bavarian state railways) in two stages in 1897, the line is a quite steeply graded Lokalbahn. In 1908, the branch was diverted intermediately to make a junction with the new Tüssling - Garching - Freilassing line (KBS943), and it now runs south rather than north of the village of Tüssling. From the beginning, Altötting (km14) had substantial pilgrim traffic. At Kastl (km19), a rubbish-incinerator and a chemical works, formerly the Anorgana munitions factory, generate significant freight flows. From a junction at Pirach (km25.4), a separate 8km freight branch was built in 1916, running north of the original branch to reach a chemical works to the north-west of Burghausen town at what is now Wackerwerk (shown in the Ball atlas as Burghausen Dmp). The original terminal station at Burghausen was close to the river Salzach, which forms the border with Austria, but in 1940 a landslip severed the 5km Pirach - Burghausen section which was then abandoned. Some 60 years later the former junction at Pirach is difficult to spot. Later in 1940 a 'temporary' passenger station was opened on the freight branch to serve Burghausen, and this lasted until about the 1990s before being replaced by DB's present staffed Burghausen station (km32.2), a substantial concrete structure next to the bus-station at the north end of the modern town-centre. The line continues, for freight only, c.1.3km to the chemical plants at Wackerwerk. Passenger trains are hourly, and worked by DB Regio Class 628 two-car diesel units. With the stiff gradients and heavy loads, the numerous freight trains are worked by pairs of Class 217 diesel locomotives, often with other classes to assist. (partly from Hauptbahn München-Simbach und ihre Zweigbahnen, Bufe, 1996)

2211][DE][SE] Berlin - Sassnitz Fährhafen - (train-ferry) - Trelleborg - Malmö: The Berlin - Malmö overnight train EN110/1 Berlin Night Express may be more viable than our report (R.2168) suggested. According to Ostsee-Zeitung, in summer 2001 the train sometimes had an occupancy-rate of 100% (some 200 passengers) and required to be strengthened with extra vehicles. Over the winter 2001-02 it averaged a 70% loading. Its operators, Frankfurt-am-Main travel firm GVG and the Swedish state railway Statens Järnvägar, are said to be considering reintroduction of a daytime train on the route also. 

2212][SE] Oxelösund - Nyköping - Flen - Eskilstuna - Rekarne - Valskog - Frövi - Ställdalen - Grängesberg - Ludvika: (Ball 22B1-14B1) On 12 May 2002 our reporter travelled from Oxelösund to Grängesberg, traversing most of the former Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg-Oxelösund Järnvägar main line, including the non-passenger sections. His twelve-paragraph description of the TGOJ line is too long for inclusion here, but can be seen at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/se_tgoj.htm.

2213][SE] Stockholm - Södertälje Syd - Eskilstuna: (Ball 23B1-22B3) Stockholm - Eskilstuna passenger trains use two recent main lines, first the (Stockholm -) Flemingsberg - Södertälje Syd (- Järna) Grödingebana (opened to freight 24 November 1994, and to regular passenger trains 9 January 1995, with royal inauguration ceremony that day; BLN 775.0141) as far as Södertälje Syd high-level station, then the Svealandsbana (Södertälje Syd - Läggesta - Strängnäs - Eskilstuna; opened 9 June 1997; BLN 811.0472) west to Eskilstuna. 

The classic Stockholm - Tumba - Södertälje route used by freight trains normally has its own access to the Svealandsbana. From the freight yard at Södertälje Hamn (hamn = harbour), a third track heads southwards (parallel to the original Södertälje - Järna main line used by Connex-operated SL Pendeltåg Södertälje - Järna - Gnesta shuttle trains) and runs through Södertälje Syd low-level station behind the eastbound platform. Presumably trains called at a platform there until 1994. About 1km beyond Södertälje Syd this single track curves west to join the Svealandsbana. On 13 May 2002 however it was seen to be out of use, with the overhead wiring removed on the affected section, the blockage being for major and lengthy repair works to a road overbridge close to the station. 

2214][SE] Södertälje - Taxinge-Näsby - Läggesta - Åkers styckebruk - Ärla - Eskilstuna: (Ball 23B1-22B3) West of Södertälje, the old main line to Eskilstuna closed to passengers 9 January 1994 and to all traffic 1 May 1995. A 7km section from Taxinge-Näsby to Läggesta old station was retained for use by preservation group OSLJ (R.2215). West of Läggesta the old main line towards Åkers styckebruk seems to have disappeared completely under new road alignments. The original Åkers styckebruk - Strängnäs branch closed to passengers 3 October 1983, and to all traffic 15 August 1991. While the present Svealandsbana mostly follows an entirely new alignment, it does use part of the branch trackbed north to Strängnäs. Reportedly part of the now isolated Åkers styckebruk - Eskilstuna section is proposed for yet another preservation scheme. On the eastern edge of Eskilstuna the old alignment converges with the Svealandsbana, and in May 2002 track remained in place, though it was fenced off and had no junction points.

2215][SE] Läggesta - Marielund - Hjorthagen - Mariefred - Mariefreds Ångbåtsstation: (BLN 811.0472; R.2213-14; Ball 22B2) Originally a branch of the Norra Södermanlands Järnväg (NrSlJ or NSJ) diverging at the east end of Läggesta station to head north-east to Mariefred, this standard-gauge line closed 27 September 1964. Preservation group Östra Södermanlands Järnväg (ÖSlJ or OSLJ), who were then using a short industrial line elsewhere, took over the disused trackbed from 24 November 1965 and laid a 3km 600mm-gauge line, which began operations in July 1966 (according to Järnvägsdata 1999) and saw 'ceremonial inauguration' in 1968 (according to Continental Railway Journal, #25). The OSLJ line initially began at Läggesta östra (östra = eastern), a narrow-gauge terminus on the north side of the main line at the site of the former branch junction, but this proved not entirely satisfactory, and in 1973 OSLJ built an extension of almost 1km, crossing the main line on a bridge east of Läggesta SJ station to serve a narrow-gauge terminus, Läggesta södra (södra = southern), on the south-west side of the then SJ station. However, during the building of the 1997 Svealandsbana, which runs through Banverket's present Läggesta station on a high-level alignment south-west of the old line, the whole area was redeveloped, and it appears that Läggesta södra was closed and the 1973 narrow-gauge overbridge route abandoned. In 2002 OSLJ operate from the old Läggesta NSJ/SJ station, now renamed Läggesta nedre (nedre = lower). The original standard-gauge platform alignment serves 600mm-gauge Läggesta - Mariefred trains, and a short bay platform built south-west of it serves the Class Y7 railbus used on the 7km Läggesta - Hedlandet - Taxinge-Näsby standard-gauge section. (http://www.algonet.se/~fura/oslj/ramindexeng.html) 

2216][SE] Sävsjö - Vetlanda - Kvillsfors - Järnforsen (- Gårdveda - Målilla): (Ball 26A3) The cross-country 891mm-gauge line of Vetlanda Järnvägar closed to passengers 1 September 1961. Sävsjö - Vetlanda was lifted by 1979. Järnforsen - Gårdveda - Målilla had closed to freight by 1978, but narrow-gauge track remained east of Järnforsen until 1991. During 1985-87 Vetlanda - Kvillsfors - Järnforsen was converted to standard-gauge, and a new 7km Kvillsfors - Pauliström branch was built, mainly to serve a paper-mill at Pauliström. Vetlanda - Kvillsfors - Pauliström opened 7 January 1987 and Kvillsfors - Järnforsen 15 May 1987. Despite regauging Järnforsen saw little or no regular freight traffic and seems to have closed formally on 12 June 1995. Traffic in 2002 consisted of semi-finished products moving between mills at Kvillsfors and Pauliström. On Sunday 21 April 2002 both Pauliström and Järnforsen were visited by a railtour, the first since perhaps the early 1990s, organised by Svenska Motorvagnsklubben (SMoK) in conjunction with their annual general meeting at Vetlanda.

2217][PT] Nine - Braga: (Ball 7B1) This 15km branch off the Linha do Minho (Porto - Trofa - Lousado - Famalicão - Nine - Viana do Castelo - Valença do Minho) is expected to close at the 16 June 2002 timetable-change for upgrading and electrification (BLN 798.0141).

2218][PT] Livração - Amarante - Arco de Baúlhe: (R.0450; Ball 7B1) The metre-gauge Linha do Tâmega, completed 1949, saw its northern 39km section, Amarante - Arco de Baúlhe, closed to passengers and freight 1 January 1990. North of Amarante, nothing has yet come of plans to reopen for tourist trains (BLN 727.073). In May 2002 track seemed still in place all the way to Arco, though it was covered over in several places, especially at level-crossings. At Gatão, the single-storey station building was badly vandalised and the goods-shed was roofless, though the single platform and track were still visible. Just north of the station, near the local cafe and church, the track had been covered over for use as a car-park. At Chapa both platforms were still visible, a water-column remained at the south end, and the last station-master was still living in the station house. At Codecoso and Lourido the single-storey station buildings had been vandalised, with doors open and windows broken, but both goods-sheds seemed in good repair. At Celerico de Basto, the station area remained tidy with the loops and siding appearing in good order, and a water-tower stood on the main platform. The two-storey station building was locked up but many of its windows were broken. The wooden single-road engine- or carriage-shed behind the island platform still stood but was starting to rot. 

2219][PT] Porto Trindade - Senhora da Hora - Trofa / Póvoa de Varzim: (R.2051; Ball 7A1-7B1) By early May 2002 all the former metre-gauge running lines had been lifted. Castelo de Maia station ticket-office remained open, selling bus-tickets and giving out bus information. Mindelo and Povoa station cafes were open and the latter was busy, but Povoa station building had been bricked up. On the latterly-isolated Santo Tirso - Guimarães section (R.1896), metre-gauge track had also been lifted throughout. At Santo Tirso, the old station building was still extant as were the goods-shed and the main platform, but the island platform had been partly demolished in connection with the regauging work. Realignment was under way west and east of Vila das Aves-Negrelos, whose station building and main platform survived although the other passenger platform and the old water-tower had been largely demolished. Covas and Guimarães stations remained as yet untouched, and Guimarães station cafe was still open and doing good business. Guimarães temporary traction-depot was still standing, with an old water-tower behind, and the former turntable-pit and staff quarters on the Fafe side of the layout were still evident. On the former Póvoa de Varzim - Famalicão line, trackless since 1999 (R.0450), Amorim in May 2002 retained its station building in residential use and its goods-shed; Rates station building had been renovated by a new owner; Fontainhas still had its main platform and badly vandalised station building, but its little island platform had apparently disappeared; Gondifelos station building stood vandalised and roofless; Cavalões halt had lost its little building; but Outiz station building remained. 

2220][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo metro: San Inazio - Urbinaga (- Kabiezes): The first section of metre-gauge Metro de Bilbao's line 2 opened 13 April 2002, diverging at San Inazio from the original east-bank line 1 (Bolueta - San Inazio - Plentzia) and running underground for 5.9km north down the west bank of the river Nervión to an interim terminus on the surface at Urbinaga, a future interchange station with RENFE's Bilbao Abando - Desertu-Barakaldo - Urbinaga - Santurtzi / Muskiz broad-gauge suburban (Cercanías / Aldirikoak) services. (http://www.metropla.net)

2221][ES] Madrid - Aranda de Duero - Burgos: (Ball 21A2-11A3) Most trains in the Madrid area are electric, so an unofficial strike by RENFE drivers which persisted over several weeks in the period January-March 2002 led to a shortage of available crew for the few diesel locomotive-hauled services. RENFE were able to run some Madrid - Burgos - Bilbao / Hendaye trains only by diverting them via Valladolid using electric traction. This may have been the reason for the January 2002 diversion reported (R.2143), rather than engineering work on the Directo de Burgos route via Aranda.

2222][ES] Madrid - Zaragoza - Pina de Ebro - Lleida (- Barcelona): (Ball 21A2-13A1-14A1 not shown) Trial runs with a Talgo set were to begin in June 2002 on the c.100km Pina de Ebro - Lleida section of the new Alta Velocidad Española high-speed standard-gauge line. Target-date for Madrid - Lleida opening is 15 December 2002 (R.1902), and for Lleida - Barcelona the end of 2004. New AVE trains will not be ready before 2004, and Madrid - Lleida will initially be served by Talgo trains with a maximum speed of 220km/h. 

2223][ES] Lleida - La Pobla de Segur: (BLN 772.074; Ball 14A1-14A3) An interim timetable-change on 22 April 2002 reduced journey-times from 2h33min to 2h05min, but work on upgrading the 89km branch was continuing in early May.

2224][ES] Madrid metro: Nuevos Ministerios - Colombia - Mar de Cristal (- Aeropuerto - Barajas): (R.0105, 2120; Ball 22A3-22B3) The Spanish prime minister inaugurated the capital's high-speed rail-air link on Tuesday 21 May, with regular services beginning 22 May 2002. The city-centre RENFE/Metro interchange station Nuevos Ministerios has 34 check-in desks which issue boarding-cards and check in ordinary luggage (not oversize items) between 24 and 2 hours before a flight with Iberia, Spanair or Air Europa. Trains run every 5min, reaching 110km/h and taking only 12min on Metro line 8 north-east to Barajas airport. Colombia, the sole intermediate station on the new 5.7km section, offers interchange with Metro line 9.

2225][ES] Zafra - Fregenal de la Sierra - Jabugo-Galaroza - Huelva: (BLN 727.074, 851.0313; Ball 27B1-34A2) The sparse and once-threatened passenger service on the northern section of this 185km line through deeply rural south-western Spain has reportedly been replaced by buses between Zafra and either Fregenal de la Sierra or Jabugo (sources differ). Closure was because of a risk of landslips, and the closed section should reopen during summer 2002.

2226][PL] Krosniewice - Boniewo - Izbica Kujawska - Przystronie - Sompolno - Cegielnia - Jablonka Slupecka - Anastazewo - Gniezno: (R.2145; Ball 37A3; lines 306, 302, 303, 391) PKP charges for conveying a narrow-gauge vehicle by a standard-gauge route would have been high, so much gardening, even forestry, work took place on some disused stretches of 750mm-gauge track before elderly railcar Mbxd1-204 duly made the 'challenging' move from Krosniewice the 150km to Gniezno on 20 April 2002. Demand from local enthusiasts required the railcar to tow a 3Aw-type trailer, also a historic vehicle.

2227][CZ][PL] Frydlant v Cechach - Cernousy CD - Zawidow PKP: (BLN 737.0240, R.2175; Ball 36A2 not shown) Just to the north of Cernousy station is the freight-only border-crossing into Poland. For two passenger workings terminating at Cernousy (at 06:59 and 18:36), the Czech working-timetable shows the stock running forward to Zawidow in Poland, 5min away, apparently for the CD Class 810 railbus to run round its non-driving trailer. International passengers are not allowed, and it seems the practice is for border-police to remove anyone lingering on the train before it moves off across the frontier.

2228][HU] Lenti - Csömödér - Törösznek - Kistolmács: (R.0800; Ball 46B2) On this 760mm-gauge forestry system a steam-hauled Lenti - Csomoder - Torosznek working began on 4 May 2002 and is to run every two weeks. Dates and times are on the Hungarian kisvasút (= 'little railway') website at http://www.kisvasut.hu/menetrend/csomoder.html.

2229][HR] Vinkocvi - Drenovci - Gunja HZ (- Brcko ZRS): (BLN 837.0563, R.0204; Ball 47B1-51B3) Until some time in 2001 or early 2002 the Budapest - Sarajevo through train ran via Gunja into Bosnia, but in April 2002 the Vinkovci - Gunja line was served only by a local railbus, starting from the bay platform at the east end of Vinkovci's quite imposing station. By contrast Gunja, 50km to the south, is simply a small building and a level-crossing on the single track, which is noticeably less used beyond into Bosnia's Republika Srpska. A large taxi met the train at Gunja, perhaps for cross-border passengers. The railbus swiftly reversed and ran back to Drenovci, a station with a loop and other facilities, where it paused for some time before returning to Vinkovci. Vinkovci - Zupanja branch trains, also railbuses, run from a bay platform at the west end of Vinkovci station. By April 2002 the Budapest - Sarajevo through train was routed via Strizivojna Vrpolje - Slavonski Šamac HZ (- Bosanski Šamac ZRS), sharing this once-electrified route with sparse Osijek - Slavonski Šamac local trains. The overhead wires are missing over a substantial section, presumably because of war damage. 

2230][HR] Osijek trams: (R.1676) Osijek's small tramway system comprises one long east-west route (Zeleno Polje - Višnjevac) running through the town-centre parallel to the river Drava, plus a single-track loop connecting the town-centre and the railway station, operated by one car about every 20 minutes in an anticlockwise direction only. Traces remain of a further route connecting with the station loop and running under the railway to the south. The depot is tucked away near the east-west route east of the bridge carrying the Osijek - Beli Manastir HZ - Magyarbóly MÁV - Pecs railway north to Hungary. Tickets, valid for 45min on trams and buses, are available from drivers and kiosks. Little or no information is available at stops. Trams on the east-west route display destinations with various numbers, perhaps running numbers rather than route numbers. The cars, elderly and crowded Tatra vehicles without trailers, also display extravagantly high fleet numbers.

2231][BY][LT][LV][EE] Minsk - Vilnius - Riga - Tallinn: From the June 2002 timetable-change a 1520mm-gauge passenger train is to run twice-weekly Minsk 11:23MFO - 14:55 Vilnius 15:15 - 21:59 Riga 22:20 - 06:13TSO Tallinn 10:18TSO - 17:55 Riga 18:20 - Vilnius - 05:05WSuO Minsk. This Belarus Railway international service will offer summer daylight runs from Vilnius to Riga northbound and Tallinn to Riga southbound. It will also reopen to passengers the (Riga -) Lugazi LDZ - Valga ER (- Tallinn) border-crossing (R.1386). (5feet@yahoogroups.com)

2232][LT] Panevezys - Anyksciai - Rubikiai: (R.1700) Lithuania's last 750mm-gauge line saw ordinary traffic suspended 25 March 2001, but its new operators from January 2002 are again offering Panevezys - Anyksciai charter tourist trains, which from June 2002 will also run on the pleasant 14km Anyksciai - Rubikiai section. A Class TU2 diesel locomotive and one carriage can be hired for LTL500/day (500 Lithuanian litas = c.GBP92 = c.EUR145 = c.USD134) The new operators, 'Aukstaitija narrow-gauge' (Aukstaitija is the name of the area, and a national park), are a joint venture of central and local government. Some history of the line and details of the efforts to preserve it are at http://www.ngr.lt.

2233][IR] Tehran metro: (R.0900, 1677) The Iranian capital's 750V dc third-rail standard-gauge west-to-east metro Line 2 (Tehran Sadeghieh suburban-line terminus - Imam Khomeini Square; 9.3km) opened 21 February 2000. South-to-north Line 1 opened 28 August 2001 (Ali Abad - Tehran RAI main station - Imam Khomeini Square - Darvazeh Dowlat; 10km) and was extended 18 March 2002 (Darvazeh Dowlat - Mirdamad; 7km). (http://www.metropla.net)

2234][CA] North Vancouver - Prince George - Fort St.John, BC, etc: Though an April tour was cancelled (R.2030), the tour on 7-15 September 2002 is still on, running from North Vancouver over threatened passenger track to Prince George (R.2187) and remote and threatened freight lines north thereof (R.1940; http://www.wcra.org/tours/inland.htm). 

2235][CA][US] (Montréal Lucien-L'Allier, QC -) Delson, QC - Lennoxville, QC - Greenville, ME - Saint John, NB: (R.1997) The Acadian Railway tourist train, due to run for the first time on 9 June 2002 (http://www.acadianrailway.com), is to depart not from Montréal but from the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, some 20km south-east of the city. However, intending passengers could cover the CP main line east from Montréal by using the AMT Montréal - Delson commuter service (R.1912, 1965) instead of the connecting bus included as part of the Acadian package. 

In mid-September 2002, when the Acadian's tourist train is to change to its autumn-leaves route and run south (Delson, QC - Lennoxville - Coaticook, QC - Norton, VT - North Stratford, NH - Bethel, ME - Portland (East Deering), ME; R.1998), it is to terminate not at Amtrak's new Portland passenger station at Thompson's Point (R.1969), but to the north of the city at the East Deering freight yard of the former Grand Trunk, now St.Lawrence & Atlantic (owned by Genesee & Wyoming). East Deering last saw a passenger service in the mid- or late 1990s when a winter train for skiers ran from there north on the ex-Grand Trunk line to a station at Bethel in the Sunday River area. 

2236][CA] Canadian connections: VIA's transcontinental train #1/2 Canadian/Canadien (Toronto, ON - Sudbury, ON - Capreol, ON - Vancouver, BC) serves Sudbury but uses CN trackage and calls at out-of-town Sudbury Junction, the ex-Canadian Northern, later Canadian National, station, which has no shuttle or city bus service. In April 2002 it was a CAD20+ 10km taxi-ride to downtown Sudbury, or to Sudbury CP station whence #185/186 Lake Superior/Lac Supérieur (Sudbury, ON - Franz, ON - White River, ON) sets out on its 484km run west, a significant remnant of passenger service on Canadian Pacific's transcontinental main line. Not only do VIA seem to have made connection at Sudbury as physically difficult as possible, but the evening arrival by the thrice-weekly westbound Canadian does not allow next-day morning departure on the thrice-weekly westbound Lake Superior. Ironically, VIA's Budd RDCs are serviced by NRE-Alco Locomotive at Capreol on the CN route so the unit or units run empty Capreol - Sudbury Jn (through the CN station used by the Canadian) - Sudbury (CP/CN interchange) - Sudbury (CP) before and after every Sudbury - White River revenue trip. No doubt crewing these deadhead moves over two different companies' tracks is expensive for VIA. 

Some 405km to the west, at Franz, ON, the CP transcontinental line intersects the south-north Algoma Central Railway (Sault-Ste.Marie, ON - Franz- Hearst, ON; BLN 766.0495). Both have thrice-weekly passenger services, and the VIA timetable advertises passenger connections. However in April 2002 Franz remained just a point in the woods where two lines happen to meet, with no station, no dwellings and a single building, perhaps a tool-shed, south-west of the CP-ACR diamond-crossing, plus a few boxcars on a freight-interchange track. Only the most self-sufficient person should think of changing trains there. 

2237][US] Indianapolis, IN guideway: A 2.4km elevated People Mover line, privately financed by Clarian Health to link their three major hospitals, is under construction from Methodist Hospital, at 16th Street and Senate Avenue, south to 11th Street, then west to University Boulevard, continuing west on Walnut Street to a station serving Indiana University Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children. From spring 2003 automated driverless cars, with standing-room but no seats, will offer free travel to the general public at up to 45km/h above downtown streets. (Indianapolis Star, 23 May 2002; http://www.clarian.org)

2238][MA] Marrakech - Benguérir - Sidi-el-Aidi - Casablanca - Rabat - Kénitra - Sidi Kacem - Fès: Morocco's French-style standard-gauge system is run by the Office National des Chemins de Fer. This main line is electrified at 3000V dc, as are the branches Benguérir - Safi (with one hauled passenger working a day), Sidi-el-Aidi - Oued Zem (now with two round-trips, allowing a daytime return journey) and Casablanca - Aéroport Mohammed V (with three-car electric sets equivalent to Belgian 'Break' units). However the important Sidi Kacem - Tanger branch, until 1976 part of the independent Tanger - Fès railway, remained unelectrified in November 2001, and through Marrakech / Casablanca - Tanger workings reversed at Sidi Kacem, changing from or to electric traction, while Tanger - Fès passenger trains ran with diesel locomotives under the wires for part of the way (BLN 809.0429). The single-track Fès - Oujda extension of the main line east towards the Algerian border is also unelectrified. The website http://www.oncf.org.ma holds downloadable timetables for the main lines though not for every branch. Two sparsely-served sections had different timings from those then shown in the Thomas Cook International timetable:

•Oued Zem 07:25 - 10:10 Casablanca Voyageurs 10:45 - 13:30 Oued Zem •Oued Zem 14:10 - 17:03 Casablanca Voyageurs 19:15 - 21:45 Oued Zem •Benguerir 19:00 - 21:00 Safi 07:30 - 09:30 Benguerir 

2239][ZA] (Cape Town -) De Aar - Kimberley (- Johannesburg - Pretoria): electrification: The 1065mm-gauge main line connecting South Africa's legislative, commercial and administrative capitals has had 230 route-km of unelectrified double track replaced by 314 track-km of single track with passing-loops, electrified at 25kV 50Hz. This closed the 'electrification gap' not only for the Cape Town - Johannesburg route, but also for the Port Elizabeth - De Aar - Kimberley - Johannesburg route. Inauguration was on 10 October 2001. (http://www.spoornet.co.za).

2240][IE] (Limerick -) Ennis - Athenry - Tuam - Claremorris: Ennis - Athenry last saw revenue traffic in late 2001, and the northern Athenry - Tuam - Claremorris section has had none since early 1999. Neglected track and level-crossings may not now be usable without repairs (R.0405, 1774). It appears that, presumably to simplify extension of the 'mini-CTC' system of Centralised Traffic Control on the Dublin - Athenry - Galway line, Iarnród Éireann plan during 2002 to install at Athenry back-to-back catch-points on the line from Ennis and to remove the physical junction on to the line to Claremorris, putting in place a stop-block just to the north. IE are inhibited by politics from actually removing the track, but could hardly make clearer their intention of abandoning the 'Western Freight Corridor'. (partly from irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

2241][BE] Antwerpen Haven - Lier: (Ball 8B3 not shown) To avoid bottlenecks at Antwerpen and Berchem, NMBS resolved as long ago as 1992 to build a new freight-only line from the major port of Antwerpen south-east to Lier, and plan to start work by the end of 2002, with a view to completion in 2012. The route now chosen parallels the E313 motorway and dives under the Albert Kanaal in tunnel. (International Railway Journal, June 2002)

2242][NL] (Zuidbroek -) Veendam - Stadskanaal - Musselkanaal: (Ball 2B3) The 'well-preserved' station building at Stadskanaal (R.2200) is a recent replica, smaller than the original building, but built in the same style. A plaque on its street frontage records its financing and construction.

2243][DE] Wittenberge: (Ball 19A1) Wittenberge station is in the angle between the two major routes that converge here, the Berlin - Wittenberge (- Ludwigslust - Hamburg) (KBS204) main line and the south-to-north Magdeburg - Stendal - Wittenberge (- Ludwigslust - Schwerin - Rostock) (KBS305) line, both electrified. For a fairly important junction, also serving Salzwedel - Geestgottberg - Wittenberge (KBS303) and Wittenberge - Pritzwalk (KBS206) regional trains, the station has surprisingly poor facilities, its unrefurbished building having no buffet and only a kiosk selling drinks and sweets. Perhaps improvements are awaiting the completion of planned track rearrangements which are to link the Magdeburg route to the Berlin side of the station. In summer 2002 some preliminary earthworks were visible, but change did not look imminent.

2244][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (R.1980; Ball 31B2-32A2) After 41 years, the S-Bahn Innenring reopened throughout on Saturday 15 June 2002, when services recommenced on the Westhafen - Wedding - Gesundbrunnen section. Buses replaced trains between Beusselstrasse and Westhafen from 10:00, in preparation for an early-afternoon ceremony at Westhafen attended by Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit and DB's chairman Hartmut Mehdorn. Two four-coach trains arrived at Westhafen from opposite directions and coupled in the station, to symbolise completion of the Ring. The first public services were advertised to be 14:37 from Westhafen and 14:46 from Gesundbrunnen, after which trains ran every ten minutes. Until 19:30 one diagram was covered by the S-Bahn Traditionszug set, which also worked two special trips round the Ring on Sunday. The Panorama S-Bahn set operated excursions on both days. All weekend a Bahnhofsfest was held in a public square close to Wedding station. Elsewhere on the Ring, Westend hosted a historical exhibition and concerts were held on the platform at Schöneberg. 

The special timetable on Saturday saw trains timed to take 70 minutes for a complete circuit, including long stops for several minutes at Westhafen, Wedding and Gesundbrunnen. The regular timetable, operating from Sunday 16 June, allows 63 minutes for a circuit. This is inconvenient for running trains at ten-minute intervals, but after further works, particularly elimination of the deviation west of Schönhauser Allee, a timing of exactly one hour round the Ring should be possible. Meanwhile, rather than introduce pauses into the schedule (as at Edgware Road on London's Circle Line), Ring trains inter-work with other services to and from Königs Wusterhausen, Zeuthen, Grunau and Spindlersfeld (via Plänterwald or Köllnische Heide). The new Ring services are S41 clockwise and S42 anticlockwise. The designation S4 is not now used. One inconvenient feature of the new timetable is that through services no longer run between the Südring and Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld. Ring trains are also temporarily working through to and from Buch and Bernau in the north-east, while through Nord-Süd-Bahn services across the city-centre are withdrawn during repairs (R.1980). Nordbahnhof - Friedrichstrasse - Potsdamer Platz is closed from 16 June to 13 October and Potsdamer Platz - Yorckstrasse (both stations) from 16 June to 18 August. 

2245][DE] Berlin Stadtbahn: Zoologischer Garten - Tiergarten - Bellevue - Lehrter Bahnhof - Friedrichstrasse: (R.1025, 2044; Ball 32A2) With the construction on the Lehrter Bahnhof site of Berlin's new main central station (its title still undecided; R.2167), the cross-city Stadtbahn route was in summer 2002 being realigned to the south to pass through new west-to-east high-level platforms above the north-to-south low-level platforms. On the Zoo - Friedrichstrasse section the long-distance Ferngleise were blocked from 04:00 16 June to 04:00 21 June, and the S-Bahn tracks from 04:00 21 June to 04:00 to 4 July, but sufficient track was left in use east of Zoo and west of Friedrichstrasse for locomotives to be able to run round.

On Sunday afternoon 16 June a large crane was hoisting construction equipment from the street on to the line at the west end of Lehrter Stadtbf. The old main-line tracks had lost all their overhead electrification equipment save the masts, and east towards Friedrichstrasse the track itself had been lifted. Work was under way completing the roof-glazing above the new station's high-level platforms. It seemed that during the blockage the opportunity was being taken to replace track components, possibly the rail fastenings, on the Ferngleise between Tiergarten and Lehrter Stadtbf. Crates of materials had been deposited along the lineside and staff were working on the track. Two rail-grinding trains were also in the area. The new Fernbahn route seemed likely to be in use as planned by Friday 21 June, but much work looked to be in prospect before the new Lehrter Bahnhof high-level platforms would be ready for S-Bahn trains to call from Thursday 4 July 2002. 

2246][DE] Berlin Innenring: Charlottenburg Gbf - Halensee - Hohenzollerndamm - Wilmersdorf - Papestrasse - Tempelhof: (R.1848; Ball 32A2) In mid-June 2002 track and ballast had been entirely removed from the Ferngleis on the Grunewald - Halensee - Hohenzollerndamm section linking the Wannsee line and the Innenring. Work was progressing on the new Ferngleis bridge at Papestrasse and the Tempelhof Rbf - Anhalter Gbf line (R.2046) was again out of use. The Ringbahn Ferngleise were thus in practice unusable from Charlottenburg Gbf via Wilmersdorf Gbf to Tempelhof, though the positioning of Schutzhalt stop-boards implied that the line at Wilmersdorf was not included in the engineering possession, perhaps to avoid debiting to the refurbishment project the costs of protecting the signalbox there while it is not needed and of recommissioning the line and goods-yard afterward.

2247][DE] Düren - Jülich - Linnich (- Baal): (R.1952; Ball 37B1) To avoid competing with a fair in Linnich on the weekend of 26 May, the official opening of the Dürener Kreisbahn Jülich - Linnich section was again postponed, to 8 June, with regular hourly trains starting Sunday 9 June 2002 (c.06:00SuX / 07:00SuO - 22:00). The Jülich - Linnich journey takes 11 minutes.

2248][DE] Siegen Ost - Siegen-Weidenau: (Ball 39A1) Trains IR2410 Frankfurt (Main) Hbf 08:34 - 15:41 Norddeich Mole and IR2411 Norddeich Mole 12:33 - 19:22 Frankfurt (Main) Hbf are to run for the last time on Saturday 14 December 2002, leaving the Siegen avoiding line to freight trains only.

2249][DE] Schlüchtern - Elm Bbf: (EGTRE DE02/506; Ball 51A3-51B3) Over the weekend 18-20 May 2002 (R.2166) IC/ICE trains were duly diverted by this freight-only curve. At its western end, the junction is some way north of Schlüchtern station, and was formerly known as Abzweigstelle Ziegenberg (= 'Goats' Hill Jn') though it is now regarded as part of the station layout. The formation appears intended for double track, though the curve is now single, perhaps singled at the time of electrification to avoid raising overbridges. Elm's big station building (R.0560) has gone, and only its signal-box remains.

2250][DE] (Immendingen -) Hintschingen - Leipferdingen - Zollhaus-Blumberg - Weizen - Stuhlingen - Lauchringen: (Ball 68B2-68A1) The northern and southern extremities of the Wutachtalbahn both see occasional passenger trains to special events on the spectacular Zollhaus-Blumberg - Weizen central section, operated as a tourist line and known as the Sauschwänzlebahn, since it traces a route like a pig's curly tail (BLN 798.0138). Passenger reopening is planned for the northern end (R.0486), now local-authority-owned according to the 2000 Schweers + Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland. Freight traffic remains on the southern Stuhlingen - Lauchringen section, which looked reasonably well used in June 2002. 

2251][DK] Herning - Borris - Skjern: (Ball 1B1) Borris is reportedly the last station in Denmark with traditional semaphore signals, which are to be removed at the end of September 2002.

2252][DK] Bramming - Grindsted: (BLN 835.0465; Ball 5B2-5B3) This freight-only line, little used since operators Privatbanen Sønderjylland went bankrupt in March 2001, has passenger trips on 4, 11, 18, 25 July and 1 August 2002.

2253][SE] Gävle: (Ball 15A1) A new siding was completed in June 2002 to accommodate passenger trains visiting Sweden's national railway museum at Gävle. It is equipped with 15kV 16.7Hz catenary, but only for part of its length, so trains with electric locomotives must be at least six coaches long and must propel in. The first visit with electric traction seems to have taken place on Monday 17 June 2002 when the Polar Express cruise train arrived, with our reporter in the leading vehicle as it reversed slowly in. The museum 'platform' comprised wooden pallets placed neatly in line with the carriage doors of the heritage stock, owned by Swedish private operators Tågkompaniet (http://www.scantours.com).

2254][FI][RU] Imatra - Imatrankoski VR - Svetogorsk RZD - Kamennogorsk: (Ball 18A2-18A1) A leaflet in Finnish, illustrated with a historical timetable for the cross-border line via Svetogorsk, describes this summer's rail excursions from Imatra, restricted to Finnish passport-holders only (R.2022). These trips run at weekends from 15 June to 20 July 2002 (except 22 June), departing early on Saturday morning, arriving at their destination about lunchtime and returning overnight. Destinations are Vyborg and Teriyoki; Sortavala and the island of Valaam; Kekisalmi and Konevitsa. Not all of these places can easily be traced on a small-scale map, but several of them lie on the Vyborg - Kamennogorsk - Khiitola - Elisenvaara - Sortavala - Matkaselkya - Vyartsilya line paralleling the border, within Russian Karelia. 

2255][FI][RU] Joensuu - Onkamo - Niirala VR - Vyartsilya/Värtsilä RZD - Matkaselkya - Petrozavodsk: (Ball 18B3) Passenger service from Joensuu, main city of Finland's North Karelia province, to Petrozavodsk, capital of Russian Karelia, was planned for August 1999 (R.0337, 1895) but is now expected to start in June 2003. Initially the twice-weekly train is to comprise one 18-berth first-class and two 38-berth second-class sleeping-cars of Russia's October Railway (OktZhD), but it would be strengthened with extra vehicles as needed, especially at holiday times. Locomotives would be changed at Niirala, as with the present cross-border traffic of several daily freight trains and an occasional passenger charter using VR or OktZhD stock). The c.450km 1520mm-gauge line is not all electrified, but VR's short unwired Onkamo - Niirala section is planned for electrification by 2005 to handle the quite heavy freight traffic. On the Finnish side Niirala's relatively new border-crossing point has enough capacity to handle all rail and road travellers, but Vyartsilya station requires some reconstruction before international passenger trains begin. Some 900,000 people crossed the border here in 2001, but this flow is not an estimate of the market available to rail. Most were simply filling up their cars with cheaper fuel, or visiting Russian shops close to the border to take advantage of purchases being tax-free provided the buyer stays out of Finland for at least 20 hours.

2256][RU][FI] Moskva - Sankt-Peterburg - Vyborg - Luzhaika - Buslovskaya RZD -Vainikkala VR - Helsinki: (Ball FI-18B1-18A1) Russia-Finland international trains can be used for domestic trips within Russia, for example the Moskva - Helsinki through service can be used from Moskva to Vyborg - or even, using a ticket to Vyborg, to alight at Sankt-Peterburg, where the train makes a technical stop at Ruchi station in the northern suburbs. Through passengers from Moskva or Sankt-Peterburg undergo the appropriate border checks on board their train, but not enough time is available for these formalities between Vyborg and the Finnish frontier. Since early 2002 therefore passengers boarding at Vyborg pass through passport and customs control at the station as if at an airport. Westbound travellers are advised to be at Vyborg station an hour before departure, perhaps more at summer weekends when many Finns get high-spirited in Russia before setting off home. On the Russian-owned cross-border trains, travellers can buy alcohol without paying huge Finnish taxes, so the Finns do not permit domestic passengers on these trains within Finland. Indeed, such domestic trips are barred even on the Finnish-owned Sibelius cross-border set, which charges the same sky-high drink prices as other Finnish trains. (5feet@yahoogroups.com)

2257][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo: (Ball 5B3-5A3) The city (Bilbao in Castilian Spanish; Bilbo in Basque) has four main stations, Abando, Concordia, Casco Viejo and Atxuri, and four rail operators, RENFE (Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles; broad 1668mm-gauge), FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Via Estrecha; metre-gauge), EuskoTren (Basque railways; metre-gauge) and Metro Bilbao (city metro; metre-gauge). EuskoTren in 1999 began a new light-rail line (EuskoTran), planned to open in 2002. 

At RENFE's Estación de Abando, platforms #1-5 serve C-1 and C-2 suburban electric trains every ten minutes north towards the coast (Bilbao Abando - Olabeaga - Desertu-Barakaldo - Santurtzi / Muskiz) and half-hourly C-3 ones south on the main line to Madrid (Bilbao Abando - Orduña), while platforms #6-8 serve long-distance trains, including Talgo services to the capital. Though it closed 4 March 1999 (BLN 848.0223), RENFE's separate low-level suburban terminus on the left bank of the river Nervión, Bilbao La Naja, can still be seen from the opposite bank. From La Naja the former trackbed is partially in use as a walkway north to Parke, close to the city's famous Guggenheim art museum. The once-extensive riverside sidings here have been lifted to allow redevelopment. Bilbao Parke is a single-platform staffed station whence a RENFE electric unit operates a shuttle service C-4 on the short section beyond, a two-minute journey (Bilbao-Parke-Guggenheim - Olabeaga; BLN 851.0312; http://www.renfe.es/empresa/cercanias/cercanias_bilbao.html). RENFE are likely to withdraw this shuttle service once the light-rail EuskoTran is running.

FEVE's Estación Concordia, or Estación de Santander, is adjacent to Abando and more or less above La Naja, near the Puente del Arenal. The concourse has a cafe, several shops and a ticket-office. Stairs lead up to the two platforms, quite dark and reminiscent of steam days, but now serving hourly Bilbao Concordia - Aranguren - Balmaseda suburban electric units (half-hourly at peak times) and thrice-daily Bilbao Concordia - Aranguren - Santander diesel railcars.

EuskoTren's horseshoe-shaped San Ignacio - Deustu - Bilbao Casco Viejo - Sondika - Lezama line runs through the two-platform Casco Viejo station, in cutting between two tunnels above the east bank of the Nervión. This route is an amalgamation of two former lines, Plentzia - San Ignacio - Bilbao San Nikolás and Bilbao Calzadas - Sondika - Lezama. The city metro took over the Plentzia - San Ignacio/San Inazio section in 1995. Calzadas terminus and its immediate approach were closed, and San Nikolás terminus, also variously known in the past as Estación Las Arenas and Bilbao Aduana (BLN 791.0475) became the new Casco Viejo through station. Service in 2002 was half-hourly with a few Deustu - Casco Viejo school extras and a two-hourly Casco Viejo - Lezama service throughout Saturday night/Sunday morning. 

EuskoTren's other station, Atxuri, is a terminus, also east of the river, but to the south of the present city-centre in an older part of town. The concourse has a shop, information office and ticket-machines. Separate departure and arrival stairs lead to and from the three platforms. Departures are hourly for the main line east (Bilbao Atxuri - Bolueta - Lemoa - Amorebieta-Echano - Zumaia - Donostia/San Sebastian), and slightly more frequent for the single-track Bermeo branch (Bilbao Atxuri - Bolueta - Lemoa - Amorebieta-Geralekua - Gernika - Bermeo). Both lines also have short workings. Atxuri station and the Atxuri - Bolueta section of line are temporarily closed from 8 June to 8 September 2002 for alterations and remodelling in connection with the new EuskoTran tramway. Passengers can change to the metro at Bolueta for central Bilbao.

The 34km Metro Bilbao, now comprising two lines (Bolueta - Casco Viejo - Abando - San Mames - San Inazio - Plentzia / Urbinaga; R.2220), is due to be complemented during 2002 by the first section of the EuskoTran light-rail line which when completed (Atxuri - Abando - Guggenheim - San Mames - Basurto) will offer connections with all four rail operators.

2258][IT] Sassari light rail: (BLN 832.0389; Ball 39A3) By 24 June 2002 a single 950mm-gauge street track had been laid from a simple off-street two-platform in-town terminus at Emicicio Giuseppe Garibaldi via Viale Italia, Cliniche Universitarie (which has the sole passing loop) and Viale San Pietro, terminating in Via delle Conce. Overhead catenary wiring had been erected over most of the c.2km U-shaped route, but tensioning and final adjustment had not started and no work appeared to be in progress. Nor was any evidence seen of track to link the in-town section of route at Via delle Conce with the main-line station some 500m beyond, so the line already built remained isolated and without depot access. The notice at Garibaldi saying that the light-rail project was due for completion on 17 July 2002 seemed premature. 

However, at the station, which the 950mm-gauge Ferrovie della Sardegna (FdS) share with the 1435mm-gauge Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), track had been lifted from the most northerly FdS terminal platform and the trackbed had been excavated, presumably prior to laying new track giving level access to low-floor light rail vehicles. A very short stretch of catenary had been erected between the station and the existing FdS depot, where new traction poles were visible, but no other sign was seen of electrification or of new rolling-stock. On the FdS Sassari - Rodda Quadda - Crabulazzi - Funtana Niedda - Sorso line, proposed for conversion to light-rail operation, newly-laid double track extended for c.2km north of the point of divergence from the FS Sassari - Portotorres line (R.1728), and new platforms were in place at Rodda Quadda and Crabulazzi, though these were not in use by the existing diesel service. 

2259][CH] Oensingen - Balsthal: (BLN 847.0180; Ball 86B1) Since June 2001 fewer trains have run on this very short (2.4km) standard-gauge railway, and most services are by bus (R.1257). However in summer 2002 trains were timetabled from Oensingen at 07:05, 08:05, 10:34M, 14:27M, 16:24M, 17:05 and 18:05, and from Balsthal at 06:45, 07:23, 16:45 and 17:45, all Mon-Fri only. Services suffixed M are 'goods trains without regard for connections or adherence to the timetable', but any wagonload traffic on offer has to be hauled by an OeBB electric railcar, so second-class passenger accommodation is available. On 14 June 2002 single motor-coach #651 collected one van from Oensingen SBB exchange sidings and ran as the 16:24M to Balsthal. Apart from a small group of young people and their teacher (who seemed to know that the train would run), our reporter was the only passenger. On arrival at Balsthal #651 ran round and propelled the van into a siding beyond the station. OeBB's 1946-built two-car electric unit #244 then departed as the 16:45 Balsthal - Oensingen, carrying no passengers, returning as the 17:05 Oensingen - Balsthal with a handful of people, some of whom transferred to the three waiting postbuses. All had departed for different destinations within two minutes of the train's arrival. 

2260][CH] Realp DFB - Tiefenbach - Furka - Gletsch - Oberwald: (Ball 94A1-93B1) The summer-only Furka Oberalp metre-gauge main line over the Furka pass closed 11 October 1981, and the new all-year-round route, nearly all of it in the 15.4km Furka-Basistunnel, opened 25 June 1982. Since 1992 Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke have been reopening the disused route in stages for steam tourist trains (R.0827, 0862). At one location on the Gletsch - Oberwald section the line was originally borne along the mountainside on a number of stone arches, but frequent avalanches destroyed these, and they were replaced by a bridge, steel girders being laid across the remaining pillars. Thereafter, when a winter avalanche knocked the girders off the pillars, the railway had to put them back in position and restore the track before reopening in the spring. The FO were no doubt glad to abandon this expensive procedure when their new line opened. 

In 2000 however the road over Furka Pass was improved and widened, and huge volumes of rock and soil were excavated along its route. By agreement with the highway administration this material was dumped on the site of the former FO rail bridge, thus replacing it by a new embankment, completed in 2001. Track was laid across this, and after twenty years the 4km Gletsch - Oberwald section again saw trains in mid-June 2002, albeit only DFB work trains at this stage. Reconstruction has begun, cutting away vegetation, clearing drains, and repairing rock-slide damage, but before the line can reopen for passenger trains engineering work will be needed on several bridges and in the spiral tunnel. Half the length of the old track will also have to be renewed. Track is actually in place down to a point at Oberwald close to the western mouth of the Furka-Basistunnel, where the old rail route is interrupted by a new alignment of the Oberwald - Brig road. To restore a connection here with the FO, the DFB will also need a new alignment, amounting to a new station layout at Oberwald, an ambitious project. Nevertheless, reopening of the Gletsch - Oberwald section is envisaged in 2006. (http://www.furka-bergstrecke.ch)

2261][CZ] Rakovník - Cistá - Kralovice u Rakovnika - Mladotice: (BLN 800.0204, 818.043; Ball 35B1; CD 162) The western 21km of this 39km line closed 1 January 1997 due to poor track, and the train service was truncated at Cistá (km18). In summer 2002, and perhaps since 27 January, passenger trains were running a further 9km west to Kralovice u Rakovnika, replacing the Rakovnik - Kralovice bus service. The Cista - Kralovice trackbed had been thoroughly rehabilitated and new track laid, with only one 20km/h speed restriction remaining over a significant viaduct. The line beyond Kralovice station appeared to remain in place, but was very overgrown, and buses were still operating between Kralovice and Mladotice.

2262][CZ] Praha: (R.1817; Ball 35A2-35B2) Only trains from platforms 1-3 in Praha hlavní nádrazí (= main station) can access the steeply-graded route down to the eastern end of the Praha-Masarykovo station-layout, and the site of the former Praha-Hrabovka station, before heading east. A second Praha hl n - Praha-Liben route, likewise single-track and reversibly-signalled, but accessible from all the platforms, runs through a tunnel and via the former Praha-Vítkov station to rejoin the first route near Liben. However, much of the Vitkov route is shared with the lines to Praha-Holešovice and Praha-Vysocany, imposing pathing constraints, so normally most trains to Liben and beyond run via Hrabovka, and very few via Vitkov (EGTRE CZ02/01). In June 2002, however, apparently because of works on the city metro system beneath, much of the layout at the north-eastern end of Praha hl n was unusable, the north-western part in particular being completely removed. Three tracks spanning streets were being supported by temporary bridges. All traffic heading east was thus obliged to run via Vitkov. 

The north-to-east curve avoiding Praha-Masarykovo (Praha-Bubny - Praha-Hrabovka; CZ02/9) is normally used by a pair of late-night trains which run in and out of the main station via a reversal at Hrabovka. During the engineering work, train #2523 (Rakovnik - Hostivice - Praha-Dejvice -) Praha-Bubny 23:11 - Praha hl n was unable to reverse up the slope from Hrabovka to the main station and instead reversed just west of Liben, crossing the whole layout there to gain the Vitkov route. Train #2523 appeared to have low priority in making this move, for on the night our reporter travelled it was held for 40 minutes in the loop near Vitkov, while a series of long-distance trains passed. 

Another unusual route (Praha-Bechovice - Praha-Dolni-Pocernice - Praha-Malešice - Praha-Vršovice; CZ02/2) was also in use by certain long-distance trains, diverted to avoid Praha hl n altogether. On two mornings in June 2002 our reporter was on train R374 (Bucuresti - Budapest - Bratislava -) Kolin 04:47 - 05:40 Praha-Vrsovice when it passed to the south of Dolni-Pocernice station platforms, turned south through Malesice, then west to pass the empty landscape of lifted yards before its stop at Praha-Vrsovice. Westbound trains R424, R208, R222 and R276 departing Kolin 06:01, 06:34, 08:03 and 16:34 may also have been diverted this way, for the timetable showed all of these with a Kolin - Vrsovice journey-time of c.58min instead of c.45min, and no call at Liben. 

2263][CZ] Litovel predmesti - Mladec: (EGTRE CZ02/16; Ball 41B3; CD 274) This 6km branch serving a cement-terminal near Mladec station has had no booked passenger service since May 1998 (BLN 827.0271), but it continues to offer the unusual opportunity to hire a passenger train at modest cost, the equivalent of fifty CZK10 return tickets (CZK500 =c.GBP11 =c.EUR17). This arises because several Cervenka - Litovel predmesti workings (CD 273) have a Litovel layover long enough to enable the Class 810 railbus to take up a conditional path and run to Mladec and back. Our reporter hired the train one Sunday morning in June 2002. His request occasioned initial disbelief from the train-crew, followed by a little difficulty in paying the fare to the ticket-office at Litovel. The railway staff were unable at that time of day to change a CZK1000 banknote, since this was more money than they had in the till and between them. However, the money was found, the station-master wrote out a special traffic notice, the driver and guard reboarded, and the cleaner with her mop detrained, leaving the floor still wet. In an impressive display of disciplined operation, the crew stopped the railbus at both intermediate stations in both directions, even though they saw their sole passenger was not about to alight and no-one else could possibly have expected the train to be running! At Mladec they waited patiently for their booked return path, even though they were no doubt keen to return to Litovel, and they could see the charterer had finished his photography. At the penultimate station, Mladec jeskyne, the cave (= jeskyne) appears to be a visitor attraction, and Mladec itself could be the railhead for a country walk. A party of hikers could doubtless request their hired train to come back later to pick them up at the end of their day out.

2264][RO] (Timisoara Nord -) Periam - Lovrin - Nerau: (EGTRE; Ball 48B2-48A2; CFR 217, 219) The 16km Periam - Lovrin section closed 10 June 2001 but reopened 14 December 2001. In summer 2002 two through Timisoara - Nerau diesel-hauled trains were using this circuitous route, augmenting the railcar shuttle on the Lovrin - Nerau branch. 

2265][BA][HR][YU] Sarajevo ZBH - Doboj - Bosanski Šamac ZRS - Slavonski Šamac HZ - Strizivojna Vrpolje - Vinkovci - Tovarnik HZ - Šid JZ - Beograd: (R.2229; Ball 51B3-47B1-52A3) Perhaps a sign of more normal relations between parts of the fractured former Yugoslavia is the Sarajevo - Šamac - Beograd through service, linking the Bosnian and Serbian capitals via Croatia, that began running on 18 June 2002, together with a Banja Luka ZRS - Šamac - Beograd working.

2266][EE] (Tallinn -) Riisipere - Haapsalu: (R.1512, 1644) Haapsalu on Estonia's Baltic coast was a popular mud spa visited by Nikolai II, Tsar of all the Russias, and in 1905 the branch terminus there acquired an impressively grand station building. Its sole platform was given a 216m-long awning with timber supports, claimed to be the longest such structure in Europe. In May 2002 both were still standing, though the 62km line from Riisipere west to Haapsalu is closed to all traffic, its single unelectrified track well rusted and overgrown. Haapsalu's booking-office remains busy issuing tickets, but now only for the buses which terminate outside. One room of the partially-restored station offices is said to house the national collection of small railway relics, relocated from Tallinn main station, and outside can be seen the museum's rolling-stock. One of the four sidings beside the station holds seven relatively recent ex-Soviet main-line coaches, two steam locomotives (one of them a German 2-10-0 Kriegslok), two diesels, three vintage coaches (one a heavily-rebuilt 1920s Reichsbahn main-line side-corridor vehicle), a breakdown-crane, and two wagons. On an additional siding, separated from the rest by a road, stands a brightly painted 2-6-2 steam locomotive of Russian or Estonian origin. Most of the collection is in varying stages of restoration and not in exhibition condition. The museum does not invite visitors to board the vehicles, which have no information displayed, nor even an indication that they are exhibits. There is however no restriction on wandering around, and indeed a well-used footpath from a nearby housing estate crosses through the line of exhibits.

2267][LB][SY] (Beirut -) Riyaq/Rayak [LB] - Serghaya [SY] (- Damas): The 144km rack-and-adhesion Beirut - Damascus railway linking the Lebanese and Syrian capitals was built in 1895, with the unusual gauge of 1050mm, later adopted by the famous Hedjaz railway (Damas - Dera'a - Amman - Medina) opened 1901-08 south to Arabia. Civil warfare in the 1980s effectively destroyed what remained of Lebanon's railways, narrow- and standard-gauge. In early 2002 however a ceremony marked the start of work, supervised by the Syrian Hedjaz Railway, on rehabilitating the cross-border section linking Riyaq in Lebanon with Serghaya in Syria, and thus via the Hedjaz line with Jordan. (International Railway Journal, June 2002)

2268][IN] Achalpur - Murtazapur - Yavatmal: This 189km line, in effect two long 762mm-gauge branches from the broad-gauge station of Murtazapur in the state of Maharashtra, is shown as government-owned on the official railway map of India (8th and 10th editions, 1976 and 1979) but though operated by Indian Railways, it was once a private railway in which a British firm reportedly may still have an interest under a 1903 contract which expires in 2003. Steam traction was replaced in 1995, and 1921-built steam locomotive #724F from the line is plinthed outside Pune station. The locomotive is named Shakuntala after a female deity in an Indian legend. The line is also known locally as the Shakuntala railway. A single diesel-hauled mixed train plies the route daily, comprising two or three elderly passenger coaches and a couple of goods wagons, but its future is threatened. A preservation group are seeking support to take over the line (or presumably a section of it, given its length). Partly based in Britain and as yet informal, the group have set up a website at http://www.shakuntala.8m.com.

2269][CN] (Neijiang -) Hengjiang - Zhaotong - Dongchuan (- Kunming): This new through standard-gauge route into Yunnan province in south-west China opened May 2002. Construction started in 1998 and comprised 514km of upgraded track and 358km of new line, including 149km in tunnel. (International Railway Journal, June 2002)

2270][MY] Kuala Lumpur metro: Though described as 'light rail transit', the Malaysian capital's metro tracks are on their own formation throughout, largely elevated. The network comprises three technically-disparate lines run by different companies: the driver-operated STAR (Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan) first opened in 1996 (BLN 797.0125); the driverless automated PUTRA (Projek Usahasama Transit Ringan Automatik) which began running in 1998; and from summer 2002, a Japanese-style elevated monorail. For a trial period from 18 July 2002 free rides are available to the public from some of the new monorail stations which are sufficiently complete. All 11 stations on the first 8.6km section (Kuala Lumpur Sentral - Tun Sambanthan - Maharajalela - Hang Tuah - Imbi - Bukit Bintang - Raja Chulan - Bukit Nanas - Medan Tuanku - Chow Kit - Titiwangsa) officially open in October 2002 and will then offer interchange with STAR, PUTRA, KTM-Komuter and intercity trains of the national railway Keretapi Tanah Melayu, plus the Express Rail Link to the airport (R.1513, 1647, 2123). More metro information and a map are at http://metropla.net. 

2271][CA][US] (Montréal -) Delson, QC - St.Jean - Lennoxville, QC (- Saint John, NB / Portland, ME): (R.2235) Though CN trackage via Ste.Rosalie was mentioned in the earlier proposals (R.1997-98), the Acadian Railway's cruise trains that began on 9 June 2002 run from Delson over the Canadian Pacific to St.Jean, then over the ex-CP, now Québec Southern, to Lennoxville, thus using more of the route of the Atlantic/Atlantique scheduled train withdrawn in 1994. The Acadian trains are reported to be loading lightly in their first summer, so anyone interested in travelling the lines across northern Maine may wish to support the company's venture this season lest the trains be withdrawn. (http://www.acadianrailway.com)

2272][CA] Halifax, NS - Windsor Jn - Truro - Port Hawkesbury - Sydney, NS: (R.0510, 1567, 1876) RailAmerica, owners of the (ex-CN) Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway, say the Port Hawkesbury - Sydney section is likely to be abandoned in October 2002 after VIA have run their last Bras d'Or tourist train of the season.

2273][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Newark City Subway: (Newark Broad Street Station -) Newark Penn Station - Branch Brook Park - Belleville Silver Lake - Bloomfield Grove Street: (R.0467, 1089, 1214) The former Heller Parkway and Franklin Avenue stations were consolidated to form the new Branch Brook Park station, with appropriate additional entrances, and the extension beyond Branch Brook Park to new stations at Silver Lake in Belleville and Grove Street in Bloomfield opened on Saturday 22 June 2002. (http://www.njtransit.com)

2274][US] Norfolk, VA guideway: An elevated guideway with three stations and a magnetic-levitation people-mover car is to open in late 2002 at Old Dominion University. (Transnet newsletter)

2275][AO] Lobito - Benguela - Huamba - Luau (- Dilolo [CD] - Lubumbashi [CD] - Ndola [ZM]): Built almost entirely with British capital on a 99-year lease from the Portuguese colonial authorities, the 1345km 1067mm-gauge Caminho de Ferro de Benguela across Angola was begun in 1902 and completed in 1928. Its primary purpose was to carry copper and cobalt from landlocked Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and the (former Belgian) Congo west to the Atlantic coast for export. An unusual feature of the route was the eucalyptus forests specially planted to provide fuel for the line's steam locomotives, which burned wood rather than coal. The line's strategic mineral carryings made it prosperous for decades in the colonial period, but with the ending of Portuguese rule came disaster. International traffic was effectively ended by civil war in Angola from 1975, not helped by endemic disorder and anarchy in the nearby Democratic Republic of Congo (for a time known as Zaire). Long sections of the railway were destroyed during the conflict. Only in 2002 did Angola see an apparent end to war. Following the expiry of the original company lease, the Angolan government have nationalised the Benguela Railway and hope to reopen it. Much of the rolling-stock including vintage locomotives is reported to be stored intact. (The Times, 19 June 2002)

2275A][FR] Évian-les-Bains - Neuvecelle funicular: (Ball 50A2 not shown) Built in two phases in 1907 and 1914, this metre-gauge funicular, 749m long and rising 121m, was unusual in having six stations, two of them underground. Services were suspended 10 September 1969, but the machinery was left in place, which has enabled the line to be classified as a historic monument. Restoration began in 1998, retaining the original appearance of stations and vehicles. Tests commenced 26 March and official inauguration was to be on 20 July 2002. The line is to be open to the public, free, from May to September. 

2276][FR] Miécaze - Saint-Étienne-Cantalès - Drignac-Ally - Mauriac - Bort-les-Orgues: (Ball 54A1) Miécaze - Bort-les-Orgues freight trains ceased 1992 and passenger trains from 3 July 1994, closing the 84km line. The 1.5km Miécaze - Saint-Étienne-Cantalès section reopened for freight in 2000 (R.0664). In early 2002 undergrowth was cleared from the 14km Drignac - Mauriac section, and from 8 June 2002 Draisines du Cantal (La Gare, Mauriac; +33 4 71 68 06 09) began hiring out 25 rail-cycles, daily in July and August, and at weekends in June, September and October. (http://www.draisines15.com)

2277][FR] (Lyon-St.Paul - Ste.Foy-L'Argentière -) Bellegarde-en-Forez - Montrond-les-Bains - (- Montbrison): (BLN 730.0104; Ball 56A2) Work was to start in February and finish in summer 2002 to reconstruct and reopen this short section of former cross-country route to serve a quarry at Bellegarde producing stone suitable for ballasting Lignes à Grande Vitesse. (L'Écho du Rail, #231, March 2002))

2278][BE] Han-sur-Lesse Église - Entrée des Grottes de Han: (R.0853; Ball 17A3 not shown) From the church at Han-sur-Lesse, then on the Rochefort - Han - Wellin metre-gauge Vicinal line, this tramway to the famous Grotte de Han originally ran for 3.7km to terminate on the summit of the hill above the caves at Faule. Inaugurated on 1 June 1906, the line was dismantled in 1916 during World War I, but reopened to tourist traffic in 1920. It was originally part of the Vicinal system, but in 1955, after closure of the other lines in SNCV's Wellin group, the unelectrified line was leased to the Societé anonyme pour l'exploitation du chemin de fer de la Grotte de Han as operators. On 29 March 1968, following the construction of 1.7km of new track, the upper section was diverted, and rather than climbing, it thereafter skirted a game-park in a broad curve to terminate at the entrance to the caves, the new length being quoted as 3.282km in A Guide to Narrow Gauge Railways on the Continent (VR Belot 1986, translated into English 1987). From 9 July 1989, to simplify operation and improve the service, the metre-gauge line was modified at the lower end to run off-street in a balloon-loop round a park in the centre of the village. The length now may be slightly greater than in 1968 but is less than the 5.3km quoted in R.0853. 

From Jemelle station on the Namur - Arlon (- Luxembourg) line, a connecting bus runs to Han-sur-Lesse, and an SNCB excursion ticket is available, covering return main-line rail travel, bus, tramway and entry to the caves. From Han a tourist visit to the caves costs EUR10.30, the ticket including a one-way tram trip. From the turning-circle in the village up to three separate trains, each comprising a diesel autorail-tracteur with enclosed seating towing three open-sided vehicles, set off in convoy and climb through the woods at impressive speed to the cave-entrance. Cave visitors are then guided along an underground walking route of some 3km, part of a total system of some 14km, and eventually board electrically-powered boats that emerge some 500m from the starting-point of the tram-trip. The visit is full of surprises and is highly recommended. (http://www.grotte-de-han.be/fr/han/tram2.html)

2279][NL] Den Haag trams: Opened on 2 January 2002 (with official inauguration following on 12 January) was new tram-route #15 (Den Haag Centraal Station - Den Haag HS - Ypenburg - Nootdorp Centrum) with an unusual diveunder at the junction where it diverges from tram-route #1 south to Delft.

2280][NL][BE] (Amsterdam - Schiphol -) Hoofddorp - Rotterdam - Barendrecht - Kijfhoek - Dordrecht - Lage Zwaluwe - Breda NS - Noorderkempen NMBS - Antwerpen Centraal (- Brussel): (R.0669, 1523, 1550; Ball 3B3-3B1-8B3) In June 2002 works for the 25kV 50Hz electrified Hogesnelheidslijn (= high-speed line) could be seen south of Hoofddorp where the new route diverges, near Rotterdam Centraal where it again converges (R.2281), and near Barendrecht and Kijfhoek (R.2284). South of Dordrecht the HSL emerges from under the A16 motorway and the formation was visible as far as the new bridge over the Hollands Diep, where the pillars of the bridge were being sunk into the waterway. The new line then follows the motorway and the existing railway as far as the Prinsenbeek area of Breda. The works could again be seen running parallel with the existing line near Luchtbal, north of Antwerpen. The site of the closed depot at Antwerpen Dam was being cleared, and the HSL will descend here into the tunnel beneath the city to serve the deep-level through platforms at Antwerpen Centraal.

2281][NL] Rotterdam Noord - Schiedam Centrum: (R.2198; Ball 3B2) A steam-hauled excursion from Den Haag on 2 February 2002 may have been the last passenger train on the Rotterdam Centraal avoiding curve, whose remaining single track closed from 2 May 2002. Track and catenary were removed to facilitate construction of the 25kV 50Hz HSL (R.2280), which is to link up with the classic 1500V dc network near here. When the HSL work is finished, the curve is to be restored.

2282][NL] Rotterdam Metro: The extension of the Calandlijn as the Beneluxlijn from Marconiplein west to Schiedam then south beneath the Nieuwe Maas estuary to join the Erasmuslijn at Tussenwater is to open 4 November 2002 (Marconiplein - Schiedam Centrum - Tussenwater - Spijkenisse Centrum).

2283][NL] Rotterdam Hofplein - Rotterdam Bergweg - Rotterdam Kleiweg - Pijnacker - Voorburg - Den Haag: (Ball 3B2) Two curves (west-to-north Schiebroek Aansluiting - Rotterdam Kleiweg and east-to-north Rotterdam Noord - Rotterdam Kleiweg) link this line to the rest of the NS system at the Rotterdam end. In late 2002 one or probably both of the curves will close to allow work on the extension of Rotterdam Metro north from Centraal Station. In 2005 Hofplein NS terminus and the route just north of it are to close, with the Metro then taking over the Pijnacker line from NS. Both this line and the Den Haag - Voorburg - Zoetermeer Stadslijn, which makes a double loop through Zoetermeer new town, are to become light-rail operations. 

2284][NL] Rotterdam - Barendrecht - Dordrecht: (R.1948, 2199; Ball 3B2) The long concrete 'tunnel' at Barendrecht is eventually to span, from east to west, not only the four tracks of the ordinary Rotterdam - Barendrecht - Dordrecht line as at present, but also the three tracks of the Betuwelijn and the two tracks of the HSL. In summer 2002 the 25kV 50Hz electrified dedicated freight-only Rotterdam - Zevenaar NS (- Emmerich DB) Betuwelijn (R.1923), like the passenger HSL (R.2280), was still a major construction project some way from completion.

2285][NL] Elst - Nijmegen-Lent - Nijmegen: (Ball 4B2) A new halt, Nijmegen-Lent, was to open on 15 July 2002.

2286][NL] Boxtel - Best - Eindhoven: (R.1330; Ball 4B1) Quadrupling of the line through Best was nearly complete in June 2002, with only some work at Eindhoven station platforms still to be done. (items 2285 and 2286 from Op de Rails)

2287][DE][NL] Leer - Weener DB - Nieuweschans NS (- Groningen): (R.1924, 2131; Ball DE-15B2-15A2, NL-2A2; DB KBS397) Since the timetable-change on 16 June 2002 cross-border trains have again been running, thrice daily from Leer at 08:51, 12:51, 18:51 and from Nieuweschans 09:23, 13:23, 19:23, making good connections with the hourly NoordNed Nieuweschans - Groningen service. On Sunday 30 June 2002 our reporter travelled from Weener to Nieuweschans on the midday train. Weener's original station building and platform are on the north side of the double-track line, but the disused northern track was occupied by two or three old carriages, and the single through track in use serves a basic new platform, with no staff, no ticket-machine and no shelter from the weather. No-one alighted from the DB Class 634 diesel railcar, and no-one else boarded - except a NoordNed railwayman, for the current safety rules require the German driver to be 'assisted' by a Dutch driver while traversing the c.500m of track within the Netherlands. The NoordNed man drives to Weener in his own car, joins the train, and returns to pick up his car 28 minutes later, an easy work-shift. Overmanned in the cab, the unit carried no conductor or ticket-inspector, so with no opportunity to buy a ticket, our reporter travelled free. From Weener (km-marker 8.0) to the abandoned station at Bunde (c.km13) the single track is in good condition, and the train maintained c.100km/h except at an 80km/h slow sign near Bunde. From Bunde to Nieuweschans the line-speed is lower, with a 40km/h restriction near km14. The border is crossed near km17, but its exact location is unclear, even to a Dutch traveller. Over the last kilometre to Nieuweschans German and Dutch signs and signals are intermingled, with for example a Dutch colour-light signal between two German kilometre-markers. Nieuweschans' two platforms seemed recently renovated. The DB railcar arrived at the southern platform, and four people alighted. The NoordNed Nieuweschans - Groningen train departed from the northern platform. Twelve people, many with backpacks, so presumably long-distance rather than local passengers, boarded the capacious railcar for its trip back to Germany. 

2288][DE] Sachsen-Anhalt: passenger closures?: (BLN 841.04) The provincial government of Sachsen-Anhalt decided on 9 July 2002 to cease paying for a number of lightly-used DB Regio services, threatening passenger closure from October 2002 of twelve sections of line amounting to over 250 route-km. Though elections to the Bundestag (= federal parliament) are due on 22 September 2002, the threat to obscure provincial railways may not feature strongly in the campaigning.

•(Wittenberge -) Geestgottberg - Salzwedel (R.2243; Ball 19A1-18B1; 43km; KBS303) •Salzwedel - Oebisfelde (Ball 18B1-27B3; 60km; KBS301) •Heudeber-Danstedt - Osterwieck West (R.1024; Ball 27B1; 15km; KBS327) •Blankenburg (Harz) - Elbingerode (Harz) (R.0890; Ball 27B1; 18km; KBS328) •Blumenberg - Eilsleben (BLN 841.04; Ball 28A1-27B2; 25km; KBS316; proposed for development in 1999) •Stassfurt - Egeln (Ball 28A1; 20km; KBS317) •(Belzig -) Wiesenburg - Güterglück oberer Bf - Barby - Abzw Seehof (- Magdeburg) (BLN 830.0344, 836.0494; Ball 28B1; 47km; KBS258) •Bad Schmiedeberg - Bad Düben (Mulde) (Ball 29A1-43A3; 16km; KBS218; the section of this line in Land Sachsen has hitherto been paid for by Sachsen-Anhalt) •Hettstedt - Gerbstedt (R.1074; Ball 42A3; 8km; KBS336) •Röblingen - Querfurt (Ball 42A3; 15km; KBS587) •Bitterfeld - Stumsdorf (Ball 42B3; 20km; KBS252) •Halle-Nietleben - Halle-Dölau (BLN 832.0381; Ball 42B3; 4km; KBS591)

2289][DE] (Bad Oldesloe -) Bad Segeberg - Neumünster Süd (- Neumünster): (R.0239, 0780; Ball 18A3-11A1-10B1) The delayed reopening to passengers is now planned for 15 December 2002.

2290][DE] Nordhausen: (Ball 41B3) Track is now in place physically linking Nordhausen's metre-gauge town tramway and the Harzquerbahn (Nordhausen Nord - Wernigerode). Harzer Schmalspurbahnen's diesel railcars have since the end of April 2002 been using the tramway stop in front of the HSB Nordhausen Nord terminus. (Op de Rails)

2291][DE] (Niesky/Niska -) Abzw Särichen - Horka: (R.1307; Ball 45A3) In June 2002 the high-level west-to-east line at Horka remained in place, carried on a temporary bridge comprising beams just wide enough for the track, resting at their midpoint on a pile of steel supports of the sort often used during rebuilding works. However, the steel was well rusted, the structure looked as if it had been in place for some time, and no sign was seen of construction work actually taking place. 

2292][DE] Cottbus - Horka - Görlitz DB - Krzewina Zgorzelecka PKP - Zittau DB: (R.2137; Ball 30B1-45B2) The north-to-south route through Horka operated by DB Regio seems likely from mid-December 2002 to be run by Connex, trading as the Lausitzbahn, under contract to special-purpose transport-authority ZVON (Zweckverband Verkehrsverbund Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien). (LOK-Report)

2293][DE] Aschaffenburg: Abzw Steinerts - Abzw Mainaschaff: (Ball 51A2) Over two weekends track works blocking the Hanau Hbf - Hainstadt (- Babenhausen) line are to cause some Frankfurt-am-Main - Eberbach / Stuttgart RegionalExpress trains to be diverted via the short north-to-west curve avoiding Aschaffenburg Hbf, not normally a passenger route. Trains diverted are RE15200/01/03/04/05/07/18 (Sat-Sun 10-11, 17-18 Aug 2002); RE15206 (Sats 10, 17 Aug) and RE15212 (Sun 11, 18 Aug).

2294][DE] Lahr (Schwarzwald) - Lahr West; Lahr (Schwarzwald) - Lahr Stadt and Staufen - Grunern: (BLN 763.0427) In summer 2002 none of these three short branches (shown in the 1998 Ball atlas at 67B3, 67B2) remained.

2295][AT] Austria: track maps: ÖBB track plans are to be found on website http://193.81.167.162/N-Operator/STRB/.

2296][IT] Milano: Ferrovie dello Stato lines: (Ball 40-41) Romans may regard Milano as Italy's second city but the Milanese know theirs is the country's largest in population terms. The conurbation is served by the national railway system Ferrovie dello Stato and by the 'private' Ferrovie Nord Milano. As train-operators FS are now known by the name Trenitalia but still make much use of the FS initials. Almost all routes in the area, FS and FNM, are electrified at the Italian standard 3000V dc. The main FS station, dating from the Mussolini era of the 1930s, is the magnificent Milano Centrale (which is not in fact especially central). It has some 20 terminal platforms, and can be accessed by trains from every direction. Nearby to the west is Milano Porta Garibaldi, a more modern and rather less appealing station with twelve terminal platforms facing west and six through platforms reached from the north and east through a tunnel more or less parallel with the Centrale approach tracks. 

Both stations are bypassed to the north by a direct line, Milano Certosa - Milano Lambrate, which makes various connections with tracks to both Porta Garibaldi and Centrale, including a north-to-east curve just east of Certosa, which is used by some trains to arrive at Porta Garibaldi in the opposite direction from the tunnel route. Some long-distance trains, particularly at night, use this avoiding line, calling if necessary at Lambrate, a through station on the north-eastern edge of the central area. North-west of Lambrate lines converge to form an eight-track route, four curving north from Centrale, two coming north out of the tunnel from Porta Garibaldi to join the line from Certosa and the northernmost two being a curve from Milano Greco Pirelli on the main line north, Milano - Monza - Como. This Milano Greco Pirelli - Milano Lambrate curve carries an irregular passenger service, mostly weekdays only. South of Lambrate a complex triangle with various grade-separated junctions leads to the main line east, Milano - Brescia - Verona - Venezia. Further south much work was going on in summer 2002, partly for the planned high-speed Milano - Bologna line and partly for the extension of the Passante (= loop) cross-city line beneath the centre (to be described). A triangular junction once served the branch to Milano Porta Vittoria, a former car-carrier terminal, but two sides of this triangle are now lifted. 

Further south is another triangular junction where the north-to-south chord is the main route, splitting at Milano Rogoredo to become the Milano - Pavia - Genova and Milano - Piacenza - Bologna main lines. South of Rogoredo station and the original junction, a new line (not shown in the Ball atlas) seems to join the Pavia line to the Piacenza line on its east side. The north-to-west chord of the triangle leads to Milano Porta Romana station, which has a very limited service of passenger trains inbound in the morning and outbound in the evening, one on the Piacenza line and one on the Pavia line, which take the west-to-south curve of the triangular junction to Milano Rogoredo. Beyond Porta Romana the only passenger services on the link line west around the southern edge of the city are car-carrier trains to and from the terminal at Milano San Cristoforo. Just before San Cristoforo a short branch trails in from Milano Porta Genova, an FS terminus on the south-western edge of the city-centre. It has four through platforms with headshunts beyond to the north (presumably originally for locomotives to run round, although most trains now appear to be push-pull) and two terminal platforms south of the small station building. Porta Genova's appearance is not so much of a city station but of a branch terminus serving a medium-sized town. Trains on the Milano Porta Genova - Mortara - Alessandria line run at approximately hourly intervals. 

2297][IT] Milano: Ferrovie Nord Milano lines: FNM track, signalling, electrification equipment and signage are similar to those of the FS. The system is more than a suburban railway, serving five lines in northern Lombardia extending some distance from Milano Nord Cadorna, an impressive terminal station with some eight platforms on the north-western edge of the city-centre. The Milano Nord Cadorna - Milano Nord Bovisa - Saronno - Busto Arsizio Nord - Novara line heads north-west then west. For a short distance outside Cadorna station the track is quadruple and in May 2002 work was under way apparently to extend this widening. Between Bovisa and Saronno is another four-track section. Saronno has another impressive station, apparently recently rebuilt, a junction with six platforms including two south-facing bays. East of Busto Arsizio Nord doubling appears to have begun but in summer 2002 was far from complete. West of Busto Arsizio Nord the line to Novara forms a flying junction with the new airport branch, although only the southern track seemed to be in use. A double-track curve which would permit trains to run from the airport to Novara seemed complete and electrified but not yet in use. The FNM Novara line ends at what the timetable calls Novara Nord, although station nameboards read simply 'Novara'. The FNM station is a rather unimpressive establishment with a terminal island platform hiding just beyond the road overbridge at the west end of Novara FS station. A single-track connection links the two systems through a gate, and looks as if it is used occasionally. 

The FNM Busto Arsizio Nord - Malpensa Aeroporto branch, opened 30 May 1999, leads to an airport station which is underground and very convenient to the main terminal. It has four platforms with headshunts beyond, though perhaps not all four are in use. Malpensa, which has replaced Linate as Milano's main airport, is served by dedicated double-deck electric units calling only at Bovisa and Saronno, running half-hourly and charging only first-class fares (EUR9 one-way for the 46km from Milano to Malpensa) on a train difficult to distinguish internally from very similar second-class FS stock. 

In clockwise sequence the next FNM line is (Milano -) Saronno - Cittiglio - Laveno-Mombello Nord. On 13 May 2002 it was closed for some unspecified engineering works 'until further notice' beyond the penultimate station, Cittiglio. An FNM-owned bus was running to train timings along a parallel road. Laveno-Mombello Nord station had rusty rails and no stock present. It lies close to the pier on Lago Maggiore and a short curve rises sharply from the level-crossing to the east to run into the north end of Laveno-Mombello FS station. This FNM-FS connection also seemed to see some use. 

The (Milano -) Saronno - Como Lago Nord line terminates at Como close to the eponymous lake, on a slightly cramped site with a short overall roof at the terminal end, but the station has rather more character than Novara Nord. No FNM-FS connection exists at Como. The freight-only Saronno - Seregno branch diverges from sidings south of Saronno station and west of the main line to fly over it running east to Seregno FS. Shown as unelectrified in the 1993 Ball atlas it appears to have had overhead wires removed, but is clearly in use at both ends. The final FNM line is (Milano -) Milano Nord Bovisa - Seveso - Canzo - Canzo Asso. North of Seveso station a short curve, apparently little-used, runs north-west to join the FS (Milano -) Monza - Como main line at Lamnago-Lentate. The terminus is named 'Canzo Asso', not as shown in Ball. 

Hourly services run to Novara, Como, Laveno-Mombello and Canzo Asso throughout the day, with many short workings. Trains are a splendid mixture of modern double-deck electric units, single-deck electric units (both similar to FS stock), electric motor-cars of various ages (some looking and sounding very antique) with rakes of three coaches, the end one fitted with a driving cab, and electric locomotives (mostly modern Skoda ones of similar style to those on CD and ZSR) also with push-pull stock. Unfortunately like most Italian private railways (and to some extent also FS) the FNM suffers from graffiti, disfiguring the otherwise rather smart green-liveried stock.

2298][IT][CH] (Milano - Monza - Seregno - Cucciago -) Bivio Rosales FS - Chiasso FFS: (Ball IT-40B3) A relatively recent cut-off line diverges from the main route north of Cucciago at Bivio Rosales and avoids the Italian town of Como, running almost entirely in tunnel to just south of the platforms at Chiasso, the Swiss frontier-station. The line could be regarded as a cross-border route, although the physical junction at Chiasso may be just inside Italy. It carries mainly freight traffic, but also a few passenger trains, distinguishable in the timetable by the lack of a Como San Giovanni stop. Most are night trains but one runs during daylight hours, the compulsory-reservation Cisalpino CIS152 Milano Centrale 17:45 - Zürich HB. On 13 May 2002 this was an FS nine-car tilting electric ETR470 set, quite lightly loaded, which proceeded in fits and starts for some distance beyond Monza to Seregno, possibly following a freight train. It made a technical stop at Chiasso, but at Lugano, the first booked stop available for passengers, it was about ten minutes late on arrival.

2299][CH] Liestal - Altmarkt - Niederdorf - Oberdorf - Waldenburg: (Ball 86B2) From Gleis 4 in Liestal station on SBB's Basel - Olten main line, the Waldenburgbahn, Switzerland's only 750mm-gauge railway, runs a frequent service south for 13km partly on roadside reservation, with some street-running in Oberdorf. On 14 June 2002 the 17:45 Waldenburg - Liestal comprised 1993-built motor-coach #15 and driving-trailer #115, crossing at Niederdorf and Altmarkt busy four-car sets carrying returning commuters. Tramways & Urban Transit for July 2002 says that future possibilities include extension of metre-gauge Basel tram-route #14 from Pratteln out to Liestal, and then over the Waldenburgbahn, suitably regauged. 

2300][US] New York, NY - Newark, NJ: At weekends from Saturday 3 August 2002 for at least a year, major works are to take place on the North River tunnels from New York Penn station west under the Hudson River to Newark. One tunnel will be out of service entirely, and the other will handle Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains in both directions, opening westbound for 25 minutes, closing for five minutes to clear traffic, opening eastbound for 25 minutes, and closing again for five minutes. A number of Amtrak trains are being retimed to avoid waiting for a tunnel path, in some cases departing earlier. Passengers should check before travelling.

2301][FR] Tournon - Lamastre: (BLN 757.0297; Ball 56B1) For the first km or two north of Tournon station, through a tunnel under the town and over a bridge across the river Doux, the metre-gauge steam trains and historic railcars of the Chemin de Fer du Vivarais share mixed-gauge track with SNCF electric-hauled freights - and from time to time, diverted TGVs - on the west bank of the river Rhône. As successors to the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranée company, Réseau Ferré de France levy a track-access charge upon the heritage railway for this shared section. However RFF have decided the elderly bridge over the Doux requires replacement, and in 2002 have reportedly been seeking from the operators of the Vivarais line a contribution of no less than EUR1 million - which seems rather more than the marginal cost of re-laying the third rail and of extra wear on the bridge caused by a few light tourist trains on top of SNCF's all-year round-the-clock heavy freight. Since a huge RFF levy could put the heritage line out of business, with a deleterious effect on tourism in the area, the issue has become locally controversial. 

2302][BE] Anderlues - Lobbes - Thuin heritage trams: (R.1099, 1777; Ball 8B1 not shown) Metre-gauge track continues to give access from Charleroi's tram system at Anderlues to the museum at Thuin of preservation group Association pour la Sauvegarde du Vicinal. By 22 June 2002 this section had had its overhead equipment overhauled, with numerous masts being replaced and modern insulators fitted instead of old ones. (ASVi)

2303][DE] Köln - Siegburg - Montabaur - Frankfurt-am-Main: (R. 2112; Ball 38A1-49A2) The new high-speed line was formally inaugurated on 25 July 2002. From 1 August Köln - Frankfurt shuttle ICE trains run this way every two hours from 06:00 to 20:00. From the timetable change on 15 December 2002 the pattern of north-south services will be recast, and many through trains to destinations beyond Köln and Frankfurt will use the new line. Some of these trains will call at the intermediate station of Montabaur (R.0856), not a major traffic centre, but located in Rheinland-Pfalz, a Land traversed by the expensive new line but not otherwise served (Köln is in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Frankfurt in Hessen). Travellers may have mixed feelings about the new line. The DB website indicates that the Köln - Frankfurt single fare for 76 minutes viewing the insides of tunnels and 'environmental' walls on the Schnellfahrstrecke through the Westerwald is EUR51 against EUR35 for 134 minutes on the classic route via the incomparable Rhein gorge, perhaps the finest scenery on any main line in Europe.

2304][DE] (Altenbeken -) Neuenheerse - Willebadessen (- Warburg (Westfalen) - Kassel) (Ball 39B3; KBS430) This section is being realigned as part of works upgrading the line for operation by Class 411 ICE-T tilting trains.

2305][DE] Germany: passenger closures?: (R.2288) Three more services are said to be threatened from 14 December 2002:

•Löbau - Grossschweidnitz - Ebersbach (Sachsen) (R.2090; Ball 45A2-44B2; KBS236) •Leipzig-Plagwitz - Markkleeberg-Grossstädteln (- Gaschwitz) (Ball 46A3-46B2; KBS501.2) •Wölfersheim-Södel - Hungen: (R.0445, 0482; Ball 49B3; KBS632) 

2306][DE] (Ludwigshafen -) Limburgerhof - Böhl-Iggelheim (- Neustadt (Weinstrasse) - Kaiserslautern): (Ball 55A1-57A3; KBS670) The new chord (R.0730) avoiding the curvature of the existing route via Schifferstadt appeared to be nearing completion in July 2002.

2307][DE] Stuttgart - Wendlingen (Neckar) - Ulm: (Ball 58A1-69B3) A DB Projekte Süd information-sheet available in Stuttgart Hbf in summer 2002 gives details of three linked planned developments. The first of these, the Stuttgart 21 scheme, involves replacing the present terminal tracks of Stuttgart Hbf by through platforms at right angles to them and just below ground-level, immediately to the rear of the present station buildings (which would be retained, as would the existing through S-Bahn platforms). From S-Feuerbach and S-Bad Cannstatt new Hbf-approach lines would diverge into tunnels, leading to a new subsurface line curving to head south-east and pass through the eight new Hbf platforms. The line would continue in tunnel, splitting in two, with the northern branch turning east in tunnel to emerge at another triangular junction on the surface between S-Untertürkheim and S-Obertürkheim. The southern branch would emerge near Plieningen before heading south through a new Filderbahnhof Flughafen station serving Stuttgart airport, before turning east to make a junction with the Plochingen - Wendlingen - Tübingen line just south of Wendlingen. The scheme, planned for completion in 2013, would largely be financed by the release for redevelopment of 100 hectares of railway-owned land in central Stuttgart. Replacement siding space would be provided at S-Untertürkheim. The second scheme, also for completion in 2013, is for a Neubaustrecke Wendlingen - Ulm, a continuation of the Stuttgart 21 new line starting immediately north of Wendlingen. Partly following the A8 motorway but with a long tunnel beneath the Schwäbische Alb hills, the new line would head without intermediate stations to the north end of Ulm Hbf, where extra platform tracks would be built. The third scheme, Neu-Ulm 21, for completion in 2008, would relocate tracks in Neu-Ulm at a lower level on the existing alignment, releasing DB land for redevelopment.

2308][DE][PL][CZ] EuroCity branding: The Hamburg - Berlin - Krakow Wawel trains (R.2133), though international, are IC42/43, not EC42/43, presumably because they do not meet the agreed requirements of the EuroCity brand in terms of speed or onboard facilities. Likewise Nürnberg - Marktredwitz DB - Cheb CD - Praha trains are IC50/51 and IC58/59. 

2309][FI] Oulu - Kemi - Laurila - Rovaniemi - Kemijärvi - Kelloselkä VR (- Alakurti RZD): (R.0916-7; Ball 9A3-4A2-4B2) In summer 2002 the Oulu - Laurila and Laurila - Rovaniemi sections were being upgraded, electrified and resignalled, with minor deviations at new bridges. Passing-loop points and signals hitherto locally-controlled are to be remotely operated from a new traffic-control centre being built at Oulu. 

Laurila - Rovaniemi opened in 1909, but when the line was extended to Kemijärvi in 1934, it took a new alignment through Rovaniemi, via the town's second (1934-1945) station, continuing on the Ounaskosken bridge and the Suutarinkorvan bridge, both over the river Kemijoki. One or both of these bridges was destroyed in 1944. The 1909 station reopened 1945-51, with through platforms and track extended to reach the Kemijärvi line via a long temporary timber trestle bridge over the river Ounasjoki. The 1934 bridge(s) were repaired but the alignment through Rovaniemi restored in 1951 is slightly south of, and at a lower level than, that of 1934. The town's third station was short-lived (1951-1954), and near the site of the fourth (1954) station, which continues to serve Rovaniemi in 2002. 

The Tk3 steam locomotive plinthed halfway up an embankment at the rear of Rovaniemi station car-park must be on or near the 1909 alignment. The 1909 station itself still stands, disused, on the street named Poromiehentie opposite its junction with Ruokasenkatu, overlooking the E4 motorway, which at this point runs in a cutting excavated along the 1909 alignment. On the other side of Poromiehentie the stationmaster's house, with a steam-locomotive sign, remains in use as a nursery. The 1934 station has been replaced by the Lappia Hall. The Ounaskosken bridge is now double-deck with rail on top and road below, perhaps thus converted for the 1951 reopening. Until the mid-1990s road vehicles also shared the Suutarinkorvan bridge, road access to the rail-deck being controlled by barriers and lights at each end, but a parallel bridge now carries the road. 

East of Rovaniemi the line has a single passenger working, the daily Helsinki - Rovaniemi - Kemijärvi sleeper-train, the Santa Claus Express, which detaches and attaches some of its sleepers and car-carrying wagons at Rovaniemi. At Kemijärvi, the station and associated sidings are just north of a triangular junction, not as shown in the Ball atlas (R.0916). Trains from Rovaniemi use the west-to-north curve, and a west-to-east chord, well rusted and possibly out of use, once allowed through trains to avoid the station. All junction points are still wire-operated from a signal-box at the north junction, but the signals controlling access to the station from the west and east junctions, which were among the last semaphores in Finland, had in summer 2002 recently been replaced by colour-light signals. Immediately north of the station, track continues to a busy timber-yard and a part-roundhouse now in non-railway use. The north-to-east curve still sees plenty of use, traffic being trip-worked via the station sidings to and from a pulp-mill on the outskirts of Kemijärvi, served by a short branch off the line to Kelloselkä. Beyond the branch junction the rest of the Kemijärvi - Kelloselkä line, opened 1942 and closed to passengers 28 May 1967 (R.0917), is closed and being lifted (R 1894). (partly from Resiina 4/2001)

2310][PT] Porto metro: (R.1859; Ball 7A1) The standard-gauge light-rail metro ligeiro, partly using former CP metre-gauge alignment, began carrying passengers on 18 June 2002. Until September 2002 rides are free of charge on the test workings of the Strasbourg-style Eurotrams over the surface section from Viso, north-west of Porto city-centre, via Senhora da Hora west to Câmara Municipal Matosinhos. (partly from http://www.metropla.net)

2311][PT] Nine - Braga: (R.2217; Ball 7B1) Closure of this 15km broad-gauge CP branch for upgrading and electrification was postponed from the June 2002 timetable-change, perhaps till September 2002. (Portuguese Traction Group newsletter)

2312][PT] Aveiro - Agueda - Sernada do Vouga: (Ball 17A3) Having already been temporarily closed for four weeks during engineering works in early 2002 (R.1897, 2078), this section is again closed from 30 July 2002 for an indefinite period, during works on a bridge over the river Vouga, presumably the stone rail-and-road viaduct west of Sernada. This marks a low point for metre-gauge activity in Portugal, with the Porto Trindade - Senhora da Hora - Trofa / Póvoa de Varzim and Santo Tirso - Guimarães tracks having been lifted during 2002 (R.2219). (http://www.cp.pt).

2313][PT] Lisboa light rail: Contracts were to be let in July 2002 for the Metropolitano Ligeiro da Margem Sul do Tejo, a 13.5km double-track T-shaped light-rail system in the municipalities of Almada and Seixal, opposite the Portuguese capital on the south bank of the river Tejo (= Tagus). Target opening-date is 2005. The MST is to link at Pragal and Corroios with the Fertagus line (Lisboa Entrecampos - Sete Rios - Campolide - Pragal - Corroios - Foros de Amora - Fogueteiro; R.0570). 

2314][ES] Canfranc funicular: The Spanish Pyrenean border town is to have a 3km funicular climbing from a height of 1190m to 2099m. Target opening-date is 2004. (http://www.cuerpo8.es/STOL/STOLpor.html)

2315][ES] Pontevedra - Marin: (Ball 7B3) Officially opened 10 July 2002, this short freight branch runs from the (Vigo -) Redondela - Pontevedra - Santiago de Compostela line down to the port of Marin. The 1668mm-gauge branch (5421m long with two tunnels, one of 1050m, the other 250m) partly reuses the trackbed of a former narrow-gauge steam tramway, replaced 15 December 1943 by a trolleybus route which was itself withdrawn in 1989.

2316][ES] Barcelona metro: The Selva de Mar - La Pau - Pep Ventura section of line 4 closed 29 June 2002 (R.2080). Reopening of Selva de Mar - La Pau (as line 4) and La Pau - Pep Ventura (as line 2) is planned for 1 October 2002.

2317][ES] (Madrid -) Tres Cantos - Colmenar Viejo (- Aranda de Duero - Burgos): (R.2143; Ball 21A2-20B2) This extension of RENFE's electrified Madrid suburban network 15km north on the Directo de Burgos line was officially inaugurated on 24 July, and C-7 and C-10 Cercanías trains began ordinary service on 25 July 2002. (http://www.renfe.es)

2318][ES] Zafra - Fregenal de la Sierra - Huelva: (R.2225; Ball 27B1-34A2) Normal operations resumed 9 May 2002.

2319][IT] Milano trams: Azienda Trasporti Municipali Milanese operate the city's extensive urban tramway network (and the limited trolleybus system). Recent years have seen some route closures, but also some new extensions. Numerous elderly trams in the orange livery common in Italy run on good track under simple (non-catenary) overhead along streets between tall tenement buildings, the scene reminding our reporter of Glasgow in the late 1950s, though Milano's cars are single-deck. ATM's 200-plus Peter Witt single-ended bogie trams date from 1925-1935 and still have longitudinal wooden seats but have been partly modernised with single-arm pantographs and air-brakes. (Similar cars also still run in Roma.) In striking contrast to the old cars are some recently-delivered multi-section trams of futuristic design, like a single-ended version of Strasbourg's Eurotrams. Tram route #9 linking Milano Centrale station via the east side of the city to Milano Porta Genova station provides a good introduction to the system and to the Peter Witt cars, though not to the tourist area around the Duomo.

2320][CH] Switzerland: maps: The website http://www.swissgeo.ch offers not only topographical maps at scales from 1:1,000,000 to 1:25,000 (and 1:10,000 street-plans in built-up areas), but also aerial photographs of some urban and semi-rural locations at a 1:5,000 scale, which have sufficient resolution to study station track-layouts and building arrangements.

2321][CH] Beatenbucht TBB - Birchi - Beatenberg: (Ball 92B2 not shown; KBS2355) The 1889-built 1600m-long metre-gauge Thunersee Beatenberg Bahn is a funicular climbing 556m from the Thunersee lakeshore. Its advertised service pattern, apparently largely dictated by connections at Beatenbucht with Thun - Interlaken buses, does not provide for simultaneous departures from both termini, which means that many of the (literally!) balancing workings appear to run empty, which seems rather wasteful. Of the two intermediate stations, the one below the halfway passing-loop is unnamed, does not appear in the timetable and is not marked as a halt on the 1:25,000 map. It has a level concrete platform with a rudimentary shelter on the forest track that serves as access. The less anonymous Birchi is a request-stop about 1200m from Beatenbucht, with access by footpath from nearby houses. It has a similar platform, a seat made from a stone slab and . . . a garden gnome, but no name-sign. The two intermediate stations do not appear to be sited symmetrically above and below the passing-loop, as often with funiculars. On 30 April 2002 neither the 09:30 up from Beatenbucht nor the 18:20 down from Beatenberg called at either intermediate station. However, the morning train stopped in the passing-loop to allow the crew of the two cars to exchange pleasantries. Traffic on these services was sparse, two fellow-passengers uphill and one downhill, but the cars were clearly designed for crush-loading if necessary. The line is community-subsidised and, somewhat unusually for Swiss funiculars, general passes and discount tickets are honoured. (some details from http://www.funimag.com)

2322][CH][FR] Genève-Eaux-Vives SNCF - Chêne-Bourg - Ambilly - Annemasse: (Ball CH-97A3, FR-49B1) From 16 June 2002 service frequency was improved and the line now has something like a clock-face timetable, though with the usual SNCF mid-morning hiatus. The additional trains are mainly Eaux-Vives - Annemasse - La Roche-sur-Foron shuttles. Sleepy Eaux-Vives still feels like the end of a rustic branch rather than a terminus in one of the world's major cities. Only the platform adjoining the modest station building is in use and electrified (at 25kV 50Hz), though a two-track island remains, with a rusty loop road on one face. The goods-yard retains timber sheds but its heavily rusted tracks are overgrown with weeds. In theory, passengers going to or from the trains at Eaux-Vives should pass through frontier controls, but the small customs-hall (with facilities for both Swiss and French officials) seems abandoned, and no-one stops travellers passing directly through a gate between the street and the platform. Moreover, in several journeys on the line our reporter failed to encounter any other immigration or customs checks. This is in contrast to the international platforms at Genève-Cornavin CFF station, where controls are enforced, in both directions. 

An error on the original June 2001 map of the Unireso network (R.1533) led to the long-closed Chêne-Bourg station (in Switzerland) being shown as the intermediate stop between Genève-Eaux-Vives and Annemasse, rather than the more recently opened Ambilly (in France). This was corrected in the edition of January 2002, issued to reflect bus-route changes. At Chêne-Bourg the station building is now a second-hand shop, and the former passing-loop next to it has been lifted. On the other platform, next to the running line, the shelter is vandalised and rubbish-strewn and, together with the abandoned sidings to the south, the site presents a very un-Swiss scene of railway dereliction. Outside Chêne-Bourg SNCF station, the metre-gauge tramway loop and wiring of Transports Publics Genevois remain in place, though without public services, and the connection a couple of blocks away with the active tram-route to Moillesulaz appears usable.

2323][CH] Genève Cornavin - Versoix - Pont-Céard - Coppet (- Lausanne): (R.1533; Ball 97A3-97B3) In July 2002 earthmoving was almost complete to allow widening from two to three tracks and thus an improved local service over this section of the intensively-used Genève - Lausanne main line. The new track will be on the north side of the existing ones. On the short stretch between Versoix and Pont-Céard, where the line runs in a cutting through a built-up area, work appeared to be lagging, perhaps because the formation here may need to be widened by replacing the earth banks with retaining walls.

2324][CH] St.Maurice - Monthey - Evouettes - Bouveret - St.Gingolph (Suisse) (- Évian-les-Bains SNCF): (R.0078; Ball 98B3) CFF's St.Gingolph branch has a sparse service by Swiss standards. On 26 April 2002 the 16:33 from Monthey was well filled, mainly by schoolchildren and college-students, but all had alighted by Bouveret and only a few passengers travelled on to St.Gingolph. The intermediate halt at Les Evouettes has no name-sign, unusually for a CFF station. At Bouveret, though a distance of 350m is quoted in the CFF timetable, the ferry-pier of the Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman is just across the line from the west end of the station platform. The railway then climbs to St.Gingolph, a single platform on plain track with a small modern station-building doubling as a tourist information office. Just beyond, the overhead wire ends immediately on the Swiss side of the viaduct crossing the stream forming the border with France, indicated by a lineside Frontière sign. St.Gingolph station is well above Lac Léman, and a zigzag descent on foot through the village streets is needed to reach the (shelterless) CGN landing-stage. 

2325][CH] Lausanne - Martigny - Salgesch - Leuk - Raron - Visp - Brig: (Ball 99B3) Extensive works were in progress in summer 2002 to realign and double the last remaining single-track section of this main line. Meanwhile single-line operation was temporarily extended to begin well to the west of Salgesch station. From c.1km east of Salgesch the new double track is to run in tunnel north of the present surface alignment, and in mid-April 2002 the new western approach to this tunnel was brought into service, though only the southerly track was in use as a running line, slewed to join the old route at a slightly higher level just before the tunnel mouth. The northerly track was being used by works trains to access the tunnel portal. The tunnel was pierced through in June 2002, and notices predicted completion in autumn 2004. Passengers will then lose their panoramic views of the unusual Pfynwald wilderness, which occupies the valley floor in this area. Just after emerging from the tunnel, trains will cross a new bridge over the river Rotten (= Rhône) at Leuk, where the station is to be relocated (R.1789).

Further east, at Raron, work was under way on another new bridge over the Rotten. At some time between December 2001 and March 2002 the Raron - Visp tracks were realigned slightly to the south past the site of the flying junction where the future line from the Lötschberg Basistunnel will converge. The flyover under construction here is to carry northbound Brig - Spiez trains. Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon news-sheets say that tunnelling work on the base-tunnel is now over 50% complete, with final completion of the scheme due in 2007.

InterRegio trains from Genève beyond Brig to Milano are well used by international passengers, who have no need to reserve in advance and pay a supplement as they do on Cisalpino services, but the practice of through working causes endemic delays on the Italian FS system to be exported on to the Swiss network. Making some dozen trips on the late-afternoon Milano Centrale - Genève Aéroport Vallese, our reporter only once enjoyed right-time running west of Brig. Lateness of up to 30 minutes is not uncommon, leading to termination of the train at Lausanne. Through running from Italy is therefore unpopular with passengers in Valais canton, who hope it will be curtailed with the major timetable changes due in December 2002. 

2326][HU] (Budapest -) Almásfüzitö (- Komarom - Györ - Hegyeshalom): (Ball 42A1) Almásfüzitö passenger station is on a loop separated from the main line by a yard, itself fenced off from the main line. The route taken by stopping trains is therefore distinct from that used by expresses.

2327][BY][LT][LV][EE] Minsk - Vilnius - Riga - Tallinn: Introduced in June 2002 (R.2231), the twice-weekly Minsk - Tallinn through passenger working from Belarus through the eastern Baltic states may be withdrawn from 1 September 2002. Seen arriving in Tallinn in July 2002, the 1520mm-gauge train comprised six cars including second- and third-class sleepers and a reclining-seat coach, hauled by a Latvian TEP70 diesel locomotive. Some 100 people alighted.

2328][IN] Mumbai - Khandala - Pune: The century-old but now-disused reversing station of Bhore Ghat near Khandala, a heritage structure where the pioneering broad-gauge Great Indian Peninsula Railway from Bombay to Poona once zig-zagged to gain height, was in summer 2002 being demolished to make way for a highway. (rail_india@yahoo.com)

2329][US] Los Angeles, CA: Union Station run-through project: The city's fine Union Station (R.1342) is a terminus, used by 126 Amtrak (inter-city) and Metrolink (commuter) trains daily. Its terminal layout causes scheduling problems, and idling trains awaiting reversal at platforms contribute to the city's air-quality concerns. Accordingly a proposal is being studied to extend two of the platform tracks southward in an S-curve on an elevated structure to link into the BNSF main line on the west side of the Los Angeles River near the First Street Bridge. This would allow some of the trains using the station to avoid reversal there. (http://www.runthroughtracks.org/project.htm) 

2330][US] (Chicago, IL -) Texarkana, AR/TX - Marshall - Longview - Big Sandy, TX (- Mineola - Dallas - Fort Worth - San Antonio, TX): (R.1240) During Union Pacific track-renewal works on the Texarkana - Longview section on 24-27 July, 1-11, 16-24 August, and 1-5 September 2002, the southbound Texas Eagle, Amtrak train #21/421, is to be diverted over the Pine Bluff Subdivision (Texarkana - Mount Pleasant - Big Sandy), the ex-St.Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) route formerly used by the Eagle southbound-only during the May 2000 - March 2001 period of asymmetric running. (Amtrak)

2331][UY] Montevideo Central - Lorenzo Carnelli - Sayago - Progreso - 25 de Agosto: (R.0928) Suburban services from the Uruguayan capital's fine 1871 terminus, also known as Estación General Artigas, are now the only passenger trains regularly running in the country. From 1 July 2002 Administración de Ferrocarriles del Estado modified their timetable, on Mondays to Fridays adding five trains on the 26km Montevideo - Progreso section, and reducing from five to three the workings beyond to 25 de Agosto. Two Saturday Montevideo - Progreso - 25 de Agosto trains remain, but are retimed. On Fridays an additional late evening train runs from Progreso to Montevideo. AFE say the timetable may be further modified in the light of the response by customers. The Monday-Friday Lorenzo Carnelli - Sayago - Peñarol workers' train, which had not run since early 2002, was formally withdrawn, again closing the short Sayago - Peñarol section to passenger traffic.

2332][BE] Pont d'Erezée - Blier - Amonines - Forge-à-l'Aplez - Dochamps ( - Lamorménil): (BLN 762.0404; Ball 9B1 not shown) South of Liège, a 9km section of the former Comblain-la-Tour - Erezée - Dochamps - Manhay line of Belgium's once-extensive metre-gauge Vicinal system became the Tramway Touristique de l'Aisne. The preservation group were founded in 1964 and a tourist operation began 3 July 1966. Pont d'Erezée is the TTA's main station, with a log-cabin-style office and a car-park. Tickets are sold on the train. Fare for the 50min round-trip from Pont d'Erezée to Forge-à-l'Aplez is EUR6. The line's maintenance facilities are at Blier, a short distance to the south. The line has great charm and runs through a wooded valley with a significant gradient up from Pont d'Erezée. The intermediate stop at Amonines has a level-crossing. Forge-à-l'Aplez (shown as Forges-à-l'Aplé in the 1935 Vicinal timetable) is no more than a simple wooden shelter in the middle of the two tracks that form the run-round loop in a deeply rural setting. The section beyond Forge-à-l'Aplez to Dochamps is not always traversed, trains being shown in the timetable as likely to be suspended in case of rain or impossibilité technique. The ideal weather for a run to Dochamps seems to be a dry but dull day. On Sunday 28 July 2002, a fine day with a temperature of 30°C or more, the 14:00 train was a diesel autorail with enclosed seating, towing an open-sided baladeuse, and it appears that Dochamps has no loop to run round a trailer. The stock to form this working arrived at Pont d'Erezée as a three-coach train. The power-car ran round and the last vehicle was left behind as an advertisement with the TTA's full name displayed prominently to motorists on the road junction close to the end of the line. The 14:00 and 15:00 workings each carried about 15 passengers, but according to the train-conductor, TTA finances remain tight and do not allow the frequent steam operation that might draw larger crowds to their isolated line. The line runs on Sundays and public holidays from Easter to 13 October 2002, and also Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 14 July to 24 August. TTA's website says extension to Lamorménil is planned. Information: http://www.tta.be; TTA, Dépôt de Blier, B-6997 Erezée; telephone +32 8647 7269.

2333][DE] Blankenburg (Harz) - Elbingerode (Harz) - Königshütte: (Ball 27B1) Unique in Germany in being electrified at 25kV 50Hz, the standard in much of the rest of the world, the Rübelandbahn is to be de-electrified during 2002, and all its electric locomotives are to be withdrawn. The branch had its passenger trains truncated at Elbingerode in May 1999 (R.0890). 

2334][DE] Halle-Nietleben - Halle-Dölau: (BLN 832.0381; Ball 42B3; 4km; KBS591) This section of the Halle S-Bahn closed from 2 August 2002. Withdrawal of other threatened services in Sachsen-Anhalt (R.2288, 2305) may take place at similarly short notice.

2335][SE] Bollnäs - Edsbyn - Voxna - Göringen - Furudal - Orsa: (BLN 811.0474; Ball 14B2-14A2) A 24 August 2002 round-trip (Bollnäs 09:00 - 15:10 Orsa 16:30 - 21:15 Bollnäs) was to mark the centenary of this now lightly-used freight line. 

2336][IT] Milano: (R.2296-2298; Ball 40-41) More or less on the site of the city's very first station opened in 1840, Milano Porta Garibaldi has been in continuous use since 1850, though its present building is indeed more recent than the magnificent Milano Centrale of the 1930s. In summer 2002 the Milano Porta Romana - Milano San Cristoforo line round the south of the city-centre is closed while some overbridges are replaced, so car-carrier trains south run Milano San Cristoforo - Mortara - Alessandria - Genova. Though now a terminus, Milano Porta Genova was originally a through station on a line continuing to a former central station in Piazza della Repubblica. The nine Class ETR470 tilting train-sets are not owned by FS, but by Cisalpino, a company jointly owned by FS and the two Swiss operators, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen and Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon. The regional government of Lombardia are the majority shareholder in 'private' operators Ferrovie Nord Milano. FNM's electric units charging premium first-class fares on the Milano - Malpensa airport line differ from similar FS second-class stock only in having slightly larger luggage-racks! As well as their vintage electric units, FNM use two of their five Class E600 electric locomotives of 1928 in normal service, and they have steam locomotives of 1883 and 1909 stored but available to work special trains. The other Italian city still operating elderly Peter Witt-type tramcars is Torino, not Roma. In 1999 Milano sold 13 of its Peter Witt cars to the Municipal Railway in San Francisco, California, where they may be seen with other heritage streetcars working on Muni's F Market Street surface line (R.0654, 1740). 

2337][IT] Milano: Certosa - Villapizzone / Nord Bovisa - Lancetti - Porto Garibaldi - Piazza Repubblica - Porta Venezia - Dateo (- Porta Vittoria): (Ball 41A3-41B3) Begun in 1983, the Passante (= loop) line beneath the city-centre is to be a through west-to-east link for both Trenitalia and FNM trains, but its eastern end is not yet complete. The intermediate station of Villapizzone opened 30 June 2002, on or near the site of the former Milano Bovisa FS, just to the west of the junction where the Passante tracks diverge underground from the original FS surface route from Certosa into Porto Garibaldi. Just before Lancetti, the next intermediate station, the two FS Passante tracks are joined by two sets of FNM Passante tracks trailing in from Milano Nord Bovisa. The double-track Passante then runs through three more intermediate stations, all underground (Porta Garibaldi, with platforms beneath the main FS station; Piazza Repubblica, and Porta Venezia, offering interchange to lines 2, 3 and 1 respectively of Milano's city metro). Venezia was the temporary eastern terminus until the 1km section south to Dateo opened, also on 30 June 2002. The Passante is owned by the national infrastructure company Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. Azienda Trasporti Municipali metro tickets are valid. Trains are operated both by Trenitalia and FNM, and most run through from Varese or Gallarate on RFI tracks or from Varese Nord via the FNM route.

2338][AT][LI][CH] Feldkirch - Altenstadt - Gisingen - Tisis [AT] - Schaanwald [LI] - Nendeln - Forst Hilti - Schaan-Vaduz [LI] - Buchs SG [CH]: (BLN 729.0102; Ball 89B1) Along with Uzbekistan, Liechtenstein is one of only two doubly-landlocked countries in the world. The tiny Principality, a sovereign state since 1806, has a customs and monetary union with the Swiss though, unlike Switzerland, Fürstentum Liechtenstein is a member of the European Economic Area. Before World War I Liechtenstein was politically closer to Austria and its 18.5km electrified railway is still run by ÖBB, whose local services from Feldkirch call at the four passenger stations within Liechtenstein on their way to Buchs in the Swiss canton of St.Gallen. Glimpsed from a Vaduz - Buchs bus on 8 July 2002, Schaan-Vaduz ÖBB presented a rather sleepy and neglected appearance for a station purporting to serve a European national capital. By contrast, the town of Schaan, where the railway station is actually located, and the capital Vaduz, 4km away, both have modern bus-stations. Liechtenstein's buses are effectively part of the Swiss domestic tariff network, from which the ÖBB trains are excluded, perhaps discouraging their use. 

2339][CH] Romont - Bulle: (Ball 91B2) The Gruyère-Fribourg-Morat standard-gauge line to the thriving town of Bulle remains a backwater (R.0107). Access is usually quicker from Lausanne via Palézieux using GFM's metre-gauge system (Palézieux - Bulle - Montbovon), and from Fribourg using GFM's express bus on the motorway. All bus services and non-CFF lines in Fribourg canton are operated on behalf of Transports Publics Fribourgeoises, the cantonal transport authority. On 8 May 2002, however, the 08:04 Romont - Bulle train comprised a GFM locomotive and a single driving-trailer in the livery of Transports Régionaux Neuchâtelois. Fellow-passengers were mainly schoolchildren and students. Later in the day the more usual GFM two-car electric unit was seen working the service. On GFM's metre-gauge Bulle - Broc-Fabrique branch (BLN 758.0334) their 16:11 single car left Broc-Fabrique station with some five workers from the eponymous Nestlé chocolate-factory for the 12-minute 5km journey to Bulle. It is hard to imagine a rural shuttle like this surviving in any other country.

2340][CH] Bex - Bévieux - Gryon - Villars - Col-de-Soud - Bouquetins - Col-de-Bretaye: (R.1815, 1866; Ball 98B3) The metre-gauge track of the CF Bex-Villars-Bretaye through the winding streets of the old town of Bex is one of the most atmospheric sections of street-running in Switzerland, and just above the station at Gryon is another such picturesque street section. However, much of the roadside part of the route is separated from the carriageway proper. Between Villars and Col-de-Bretaye the BVB has four intermediate stations - Roches Grises, Col-de-Soud, Plan-du-Four and Bouquetins - though only the second and fourth of these appear in the national timetable. (Roches Grises may perhaps be Rochesgrises, for the station has no nameboard and both forms are to be seen on road-signs.) On 29 July 2002 an elderly single car worked the day's final Villars - Col-de-Bretaye round-trip, stopping for passengers to alight at Roches Grises on the way up but making no other intermediate calls. On the double-track Villars - Roches Grises section the southerly track was used in both directions. A flat wagon was coupled at the uphill end of the unit, and this was loaded with milk-churns at Col-de-Bretaye for the downward trip. After passengers had disembarked at Villars, the unit shunted the wagon into the sidings forming the stub of the former Villars - Chesières route closed 30 November 1963. At Villars, the train arrived and departed from platform 3, the most convenient one for connections with Bex services. A locked gate prevented movement on the direct Bex - Col-de-Bretaye (platform 5) curve. The sign on platform 5 indicated that it was for trains to 'Bretaye', so it may be used to facilitate simultaneous loading and unloading during the winter-sports peak. Unlike platform 4 it can be accessed easily even when another train is in platform 3.

2341][CH][IT] Brig SBB - Simplon tunnel - Iselle di Trasquera FS - Varzo - Preglia - Domodossola: (R.0452; Ball CH-100A3-100B2, IT-41A2) With engineering work progressing well on the Italian approach to the Simplon tunnel south of Iselle, both tracks seem back in use, allowing SBB/FFS (who provide the local service on this 15kV 16.7Hz-wired section of the FS) to offer an increased local service, one of the few significant changes in the June 2002 Swiss timetable. For passengers from western Switzerland to the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, the Brig - Domodossola section and the Domodossola - Locarno Centovalli line (R.2342) together provide a convenient route which is treated as part of the domestic Swiss network for ticketing purposes. The Swiss Pass ticket for example is valid throughout.

2342][CH][IT] Locarno - Camedo FART - Ribellasca SSIF - Olgia-2 - Re - Domodossola: (Ball CH-101A2-100B2, IT-41A2) The Swiss and Italian sections of the electrified metre-gauge Centovalli line (http://www.centovalli.ch), built 1913-23, have separate operating companies, respectively Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi and Società Subalpina di Imprese Ferroviarie, but working is seamless. Both companies use identical rolling-stock with a similar blue-and-white livery, distinguishable only by the initials on the side and the Swiss or Italian flag-emblem on the front. Through trains run mostly as semi-fasts, and an hourly Locarno - Camedo local service operates on the Swiss side. Our reporter has experienced no Swiss frontier checks at Camedo, but Italian checks at Ribellasca are quite thorough in both directions. Local trains on the Italian side are much sparser, especially between Camedo and Re. A newish-looking station, Olgia-2, does not appear in the timetable. 

2343][CH] (Bellinzona -) Castione-Arbedo - Cama (- Mesocco): (BLN 783.0317; Ball 101B2-101B3) The Ferrovia Mesolcinese (= Misoxerbahn in German) is an isolated section of the metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn in Italian-speaking south-eastern Switzerland, which lost its passenger service in 1972 and was cut back to a freight-only operation between Castione and Cama, using electric passenger railcars as haulage. Occasional tourist trips are operated using a vintage electric car and a string of trailers, the days of operation in 2002 being 19 May, 21 July, 4 and 11 August, 8 and 22 September, 6 and 13 October. Three round-trips are offered on each date, taking 34 minutes each way. Standard-gauge passenger trains no longer call at Castione-Arbedo, but the station there is only a five-minute bus-journey from Bellinzona. The timetable, including bus connections, is at http://www.rhb.ch/old/Infos/mesolcinese_orario_02.pdf.

2344][SI][IT] (Jesenice -) Bled Jezero - Bohinjska Bistrica - Podbrdo - Most na Soci - Nova Gorica SZ - Gorizia Centrale FS / Trieste FS: (Ball 45B2-45A2) Inaugurated 19 July 1906, the Transalpina line completed the Austro-Hungarian Empire's rail link from Wien and central Europe to the port of Trieste and the Adriatic coast (R.1762). Construction required much ambitious engineering, including the 6327m (some sources say 6339m) Podbrdo summit-tunnel under the Julian Alps and the Solkan bridge, which still has the world's longest-spanning masonry arch (85m). Wars and frontier-adjustments in the 20th century cost the line its major strategic and commercial role, but as a secondary line it is seeing a revival as a scenic tourist route connecting Austria, Slovenia and Italy. On Wed 1 May and Sundays 12 May, 2 June, 7 and 21 July, 4 and 18 August, 1 September 2002, excursion trains run between Gorizia Centrale in Italy and Bled Jezero in Slovenia, hauled in each direction by ex-JZ steam locomotive #33037 from Ljubljana railway museum. The rail trip crosses the frontier from Italy on the short and normally freight-only Gorizia Centrale FS - Nova Gorica SZ section before heading north along the rivers Soca and Sava through fine mountain scenery. At Bled a bus-ride to the castle and lunch are included in the EUR65 fare. The trains are organised by Club Turisticna Agencija, club.ta@siol.net, telephone +386 5 3813050, Postaja 11, 5216 Most na Soci, Slovenia. Timings are at http://www.railtouritalia.com/t02/transalp02.htm.

2345][HR] Zagreb - Karlovac - Ostarije - Ogulin - Josipdol - Knin - Perkovic - Split-Predgrade - Split: (R.0201; Ball 46A1-51A3) In April 2002 the daytime and overnight trains from Croatia's inland capital Zagreb to its second city, Split on the Adriatic coast, were continuing to run via this indirect route, with reversal and a change from electric to diesel traction at Ogulin. The east-to-south Ostarije - Josipdol curve avoiding Ogulin had shiny rails, so is presumably used by freight. The Ogulin - Knin section is a never-electrified single track through desolate mountainous country. Though Knin station area appeared still electrified with Italian-style 25kV 50Hz overhead, the wires were presumably not energised, since they went no further in any direction. Supporting structures without wiring were still standing on the Bihac - Ripac ZBH - Martin Brod HZ - Knin section where it trailed in south from Bosnia, the rails apparently lightly used but without the passenger service once planned for restoration in summer 2001 (R.1281). Neither the Knin - Perkovic - Split main line south nor either of its two branches, Knin - Zadar and Perkovic - Šibenik, showed obvious evidence of their pre-conflict electrification. The lengthy Knin - Zadar branch had four passenger trains each way, worked by ex-Swedish railcars, an improvement on the single working in 1999-2000. Like the through trains from Zagreb, the limited Knin - Split local services and the Perkovic - Šibenik passenger workings were diesel-locomotive-hauled. Freight activity was seen at Zadar and at the port of Šibenik. Approaching its terminus the main line runs through Split-Predgrade, which has freight facilities, before tunnelling under part of the town to emerge in Split main station, at sea-level close to the port, with several passenger platforms but no sidings. Immediately after arrival locomotives and stock seem to retire to Split-Predgrade. 

2346][EE] Tallinn - Rapla - Lelle - Pärnu; (Tallinn - Rapla -) Lelle - Türi - Viljandi; and Tallinn - Tapa - Tartu - Elva - Valga; Tartu - Pölva - Orava; (Tallinn -) Tapa - Narva: (R.1698) International trains to Latvia and Russia are locomotive-hauled, and Elektriraudtee operate 3000V dc electric units around Tallinn (R.1644, 1819, 1868), but in July 2002 Estonia's remaining passenger services, run by private-sector train-operators Edelaraudtee (http://www.edel.ee), seemed all to be sets with a diesel power-car at each end and between one and seven intermediate trailers. None carry any form of buffet or food-trolley. Train-crew have portable battery-operated machines to issue tickets. Tallinn station has a restaurant and a bar but the booking-office is not open continuously during the day. Pärnu station is an out-of-town unstaffed halt whose only facilities are a nearby public telephone and a stop for local buses to the town-centre 3km away. Tartu station is a big wooden structure with a substantial platform-canopy, but it is unstaffed, with buffet and toilets closed. The only train-information is displayed in a waiting-room that is kept locked, being opened only close to departures, perhaps by someone from the nearby loco-depot. Other stations served by Edelaraudtee are unstaffed and generally without facilities, many having no passenger accommodation, and some no shelter from the Baltic climate, their former buildings now in private ownership or disused. By contrast Estonia has a good bus network with bus-stations even in small towns, and buses usefully link the railways in the south of the country, for example Pärnu - Viljandi - Tartu. The website http://www.bussireisid.ee gives a useful indication of frequencies and journey-times, though in early July 2002 many specific times were incorrect. The Pärnu - Moisakula section remains on the map in the Edelaraudtee summary timetable-leaflet valid from 6 June 2002, but no train-times are shown. From a Pärnu - Viljandi bus, this line was seen to be overgrown with grass and weeds. The 1520mm-gauge rails were in place and not quite black with rust, so perhaps a permanent-way vehicle had passed in the previous month, but Pärnu - Moisakula ER - Ipiki LDZ - Rujiena did not look like a current route for Estonia - Latvia freight. Freight trains (and the threatened Tallinn - Tartu - Valga - Riga - Vilnius - Minsk passenger train; R.2327) use the Valga ER - Lugazi LDZ border-crossing. 

2347][IE] (Dublin Connolly - Glasnevin Jn -) Dublin Heuston - Islandbridge Jn - Inchicore: (R.2160) Heuston's platform 10 saw its first scheduled trains (13:35 FO Heuston - Tralee and 15:55 FO Heuston - Ballina) on Friday 19 April 2002. Regular Monday-Saturday use was to begin from 22 July 2002. The loop track serving platform 10 is now officially the Down Branch, while the track in fact normally used by all through Down trains from the Connolly direction is the Middle Road. South of Phoenix Park Tunnel a trailing crossover links the Up Branch only with the Middle Road, not the Down Branch, so trains cannot be signalled to leave Heuston platform 10 in the Up direction towards Connolly. 

Temporary signalling arrangements were still in force in July 2002. The Up Branch, Down Branch and Middle Road converged just south-west of platform 10 into a single-track Up & Down Branch (shown in the Quail track atlas under its former designation of Up Goods Loop) running from the site of the (temporarily removed) Islandbridge Jn west to a junction at Inchicore. This trackage, including the sidings behind platform 10 and the junction at Inchicore, was at that time controlled by a Heuston Emergency Control Panel located in the relay-room building on platform 10, interfacing northwards with Connolly's Suburban CTC, west of Inchicore with main-line CTC and east of Inchicore with the existing Heuston signal-box. 

Opened 9 October 1938, Heuston Cabin had an unusual miniature lever frame and interlocking, built in-house by the Great Southern Railway, but over its 64-year life it had become beyond economic maintenance. Latterly reduced to controlling only the lines from the terminal platforms and the carriage-valetting plant, it was to close at 23:30 on Friday 30 August 2002 when, during a weekend closure of the whole station, its points and signals and those of Heuston Emergency Control Panel were transferred to the control of Connolly CTC. Inchicore signal-box had been decommissioned shortly after 23:00 on 15 March 2002 but its distinctive brick building was still standing in July, perhaps for removal and reconstruction elsewhere.

At Islandbridge Jn new double crossovers were already partially installed in July but lacked point-blades. Once the physical junction there had been restored, and work was complete, the three-track section to Inchicore was to be redesignated. The Up & Down Branch (the northernmost track) was to become the Up line; the Up line (middle track) was to become the Down line, and the Down line (southernmost track) was to become the Relief line.

At Heuston terminus itself, existing platforms 1-5 are in effect being shortened at the buffer-stop end and all except platform 2 are being extended at the country end. In the final layout, platforms 1, 2 and 3 are to be accessible only by the existing double-track line south of the valetting plant; platforms 4 and 5 are to be accessible from either side of the valetting plant, while the new platforms 6, 7 and 8 that came into use when the station reopened at 16:00 on Sunday 1 September 2002 are to be accessible only by the new Up line north of the valetting plant. (partly from irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com and http://www.irishrail.ie/projects/heuston_development.asp) 

2348][IE] Limerick Jn: (R.1595, 2161) Limerick Jn North and South Cabins work the two ends of the layout, with train movements controlled between the two cabins by slotted signals, with direction-levers for platform 1 and the Up main line. Platform 1 can handle any passenger train, in any direction, but it is the only option for a calling southbound passenger train on the Dublin - Limerick Jn - Cork main line and also for a freight train running between the Limerick - Limerick Jn - Waterford line and the main line south, so such movements have priority. A northbound main-line train will call at (reversible) platform 1 as first preference, but will call at platform 3 (available northbound-only) to avoid conflict with a calling southbound main-line passenger train. Whenever possible, trains use platform 1 and the 'Limerick bay' platform 2 at the northern end because this simplifies passenger transfer between connecting services. It also avoids the shunter having to open the level-crossing gates on the 'back road', the official designation for the access line to the 'Waterford bay' platform 4. Generally platform 3 and platform 4 at the southern end are used only when platforms 1 and 2 are already occupied. 

Until June 2000 platform 4 was used all year by the 15:45 SuX Limerick - Limerick Jn - Waterford - Rosslare train while a Limerick - Limerick Jn shuttle working occupied platform 2 from 15:39 to 16:25 or 16:28. From the 18 June 2000 timetable change the shuttle train was retimed earlier, so the afternoon train to Rosslare was able to use platform 2. However, platform 4 and the back road continued to be used on summer mornings when the 09:35 SuX Limerick - Limerick Jn - Waterford and the 07:05 SuX Rosslare - Waterford - Limerick Jn - Limerick both had to be accommodated at a time when platform 1 was also occupied. Similar workings operate in 2002 until 7 September, so the 09:35 (not 10:10 as shown in IE's InterCity timetable) SuX Limerick - Waterford is to be found at platform 4 from 10:04 to 10:35. 

2349][IE] Waterford - Abbey Jn - Belview - Barrow Bridge - Kilmokea - Wellingtonbridge - Rosslare Strand: Waterford Central Cabin stands on supports above the tracks, controlling its traditional area in and around Waterford Plunkett passenger station by a classic lever-frame and block-instruments to West Cabin. A 'visual-display-unit workstation' (= a personal computer) in Central Cabin covers the area to the east, electronically controlled since May 1995 when Abbey Jn signal-box was demoted to a ground frame and gate-box (BLN 765.0458). Waterford 'station limits' extend beyond the swing-bridge over the river Barrow east to about the site of the former Kilmokea station. Trains can work between Waterford and Belview sidings without holding the single-line token, and without requiring the bridge to be closed. Trains going east of the bridge do need a token, and the signaller at Central Cabin lowers it on a rope to the train-crew. 

The 650m-long Barrow Bridge comprises fifteen spans, numbered from the Waterford end. Spans #1 and 2 are fixed, #3 and 4 are the swinging section, pivoting on the pier between them that also supports the bridge-control cabin above, and #5-15 are fixed spans leading towards the County Wexford shore. By summer 2002 Iarnród Éireann had given spans #1 to 7 a thorough overhaul of the cross-standards, at considerable expense, but major refurbishment work had then been suspended till more finance became available, and only minor maintenance was continuing. The bridge cabin, staffed 24 hours a day, has no role in controlling train movements, but is equipped like a signal-box with a lever-frame, following railway colour-conventions including bridge-locking levers painted blue like facing-point-lock levers. Swinging the bridge requires levers and circuit-breakers to be thrown in a set pattern - and a lanyard pulled to raise a white ball as a signal to river traffic. Altogether no fewer than 61 distinct actions are required to open and then re-close the swinging section. 

The line's economics must be fairly dire. Main users of the two (Sundays-excepted) passenger round-trips appear to be commuters from Wellingtonbridge into Waterford. The only traditional boat-train passengers now seem to be InterRail ticket-holders, for others go by the more convenient and faster bus - or use low-fare airlines rather than the ferry. The unevenly-spread workings require the rostering of three train-crews. A Rosslare crew take the 07:05 Rosslare - Waterford and return by bus. A Waterford crew take the (15:25 Limerick -) Waterford - Rosslare, and return as passengers on the 19:25 Rosslare - Waterford (- Limerick). A second Waterford crew take the 17:05 Waterford - Rosslare and return in charge of the 19:25 from Rosslare. Freight is in decline. A weekly half-train of bagged cement runs east to Wexford (the other half of the train is left at Waterford) and for a couple of months a year up to eight trains a day of beet run from Wellingtonbridge west to the sugar-factory at Mallow. Furthermore, the future for bagged-cement by rail is bleak, and the beet wagons are well on their way to life-expiry. 

2350][IE] Waterford (Abbey Jn) - New Ross: (R.0407, 1041) The New Ross branch has been out of use since 1995. Though shown in the 1995 Quail track atlas and still planned in 1999, the 1165m siding near Abbey Jn leading directly to the timber-processing plant was not in fact constructed. It seems that Iarnród Éireann have abandoned this and other timber traffic. At the level-crossing over the N25 road just short of New Ross station, the road surface has been raised. Because closure of any railway, even a long-disused branch, causes them political difficulties, IE refused to allow the crossing to be removed. The Irish result is that the rails over the crossing are now at a higher level than those on either side of it, so resumption of train working would require vertical realignment of the branch at New Ross.

2351][IE] (Waterford - Bilberry -) Carriganore - Kilmeadan: (R.1826, 2014) The 914mm-gauge Waterford & Suir Valley Railway eventually opened to the public on Saturday 3 August 2002, an Irish public-holiday weekend, and each Saturday and Sunday afternoon until 1 September 2002 were offering four 45min round-trips at an adult fare of EUR5, from Kilmeadan station over a 6km section to Carriganore, where no station has yet been provided and no alighting was possible. The W&SVR business-development manager said that obtaining liability insurance had been a problem, but that the tourist line hoped to obtain finance from a government employment-scheme to operate at weekends from February 2003 and daily during summer 2003. They also hoped to extend the further 4km into Waterford city by 2005. (partly from irishrailwaynews@hotmail.com)

2352][FR] France: slowing of Lignes à Grande Vitesse?: Under pressure from the European Union to balance their budget by 2004, the new centre-right French government are in summer 2002 reviewing various rail, road and canal projects. The first 320km section of the Paris - Strasbourg TGV Est line, already under construction and due to open in 2007, is to continue, but the review may lead to abandonment, or more probably delay, of Marseille - Nice; Perpignan - Figueras (- Barcelona) and Dijon - Mulhouse (- Basel) TGV lines; the new base-tunnel under the Alps promised for 2012 to carry Lyon - Torino TGVs as well as shuttle-trains for cars and lorries (a politically-sensitive scheme following road-tunnel fires); and longer-term plans to extend the Paris - Bif Courtalain - Vendôme / Le Mans TGV Atlantique lines to Bordeaux and Brittany. (Financial Times)

2353][FR] Tournon - St.Jean-de-Muzols - Lamastre: (R.2301; Ball 56B1) The metre-gauge Chemin de Fer du Vivarais line closed to ordinary passenger services from 1 November 1968, and when it reopened as a summer-only heritage tourist railway on 14 June 1969, all trains ran out and back from the Lamastre end and terminated one station short of Tournon, at St.Jean-de-Muzols, north of the point of divergence from the standard-gauge tracks, close to the river Doux bridge. Not until the following season did metre-gauge trains again begin using Tournon station and the dual-gauge section, on 18 April 1970.

2354][DE] Hamburg S-Bahn: (Hbf - Bergedorf -) Reinbek - Wohltorf - Aumühle: (R.1979; Ball 22B3) Third-rail 1200V dc S-Bahn services were eventually extended from Reinbek to Aumühle from 26 May 2002. 

2355][DE] Dessau trams: (R.1302) The 3km extension to Zoberberg opened 5 July 2002.

2356][DE] (Cottbus -) Cottbus-Willmersdorf - Teichland - Peitz Ost (- Guben): (Ball 30B1; KBS201) The new electrified alignment (R.1779) was to go into service on 13 August 2002, initially in the Guben - Cottbus direction only. The second track is to become available from 7 October 2002. New halts are to open at Cottbus-Merzdorf and Cottbus-Willmersdorf Nord (replacing former halts of the same name) and at Teichland (replacing Neuendorf). Though the new c.12km alignment is 2km longer than the old route, the raising of the speed-limit from 120 to 140km/h will allow slightly shorter journey-times. The old route is likely to see some trains until the end of 2002, but its trackbed is to be taken over for extension of the Cottbus-Nord brown-coal opencast workings of Lausitzer Braunkohle AG (LAUBAG).

2357][DE] Düsseldorf light rail: Hauptbahnhof - Oberbilker Markt/Warschauer Strasse - Ellerstrasse - Oberbilk S/Philipshalle - Kaiserslauternerstrasse: This new section of Stadtbahn was inaugurated Saturday 15 June with services beginning 16 June 2002, replacing a former surface line that had to share its tracks with road traffic. The new line has a 1.2km section underground, with three new underground stations, and its own right-of-way on the surface.

2358][DE] Stolberg Hbf - Eschweiler Tal - Weisweiler - Langerwehe: (R.1495; Ball 37A1-37B1) Rail-infrastructure owners Euregio Verkehrsschiennetz GmbH were in summer 2002 given permission to go ahead with construction, but opening the Stolberg - Weisweiler freight route to passengers and building an entirely new Weisweiler - Langerwehe section is likely to take until 2004. 

2359][DE] Köln trams and light rail: Two Köln tram extensions opened 15 June 2002 (line 3 north-west from Bocklemünd to Mengenich Ollenhauerring and line 1 west from Junkersdorf to Weiden), but from 31 August 2002 the lightly-used Chlodwigplatz - Bonntor - Marienburg Südpark section of tram line 6 was replaced by buses, and Bonntor - Marienburg tracks and overhead wiring are being removed. The new Ollenhauerring terminus is to be temporary, for major work is under way on the underground extension from Ollenhauerring to Mengenich Görlinger Zentrum, the eventual terminus, which has a target opening-date of 2005. Beyond Weiden too a further tram extension is planned north from Weiden to Bonnstrasse, terminating at a proposed new Bonnstrasse station on the Köln - Düren S-Bahn, which will also have a gigantic P+R car-park. A target opening-date of 2008 has been set for a completely new EUR500M Nord-Süd U-Bahn light-rail line, running sub-surface from Köln Hbf/Breslauer Platz to Chlodwigplatz, continuing on existing track Chlodwigplatz - Bonntor then branching south Bonntor - Arnoldshöhe, and east Bonntor - Schönhauser Strasse (- Wesseling - Bonn). The latter branch is to run parallel to the DB Köln Süd - Köln-Kalk / Köln-Gremberg freight line for a short distance.

2360][DE] Kassel trams on railways: (Ball 40A2-40B2) The Kaufungen-Papierfabrik - Helsa extension east on the Lossetalbahn opened 8 June 2001. 

2361][DE] Gotha trams: The short 650m extension from Sundhausen to Sundhausen Kreiskrankenhaus (= district hospital) opened on 23 March 2002. 

2362][DE] Sachsen-Anhalt: passenger closures?: Sunday 29 September 2002, one week after the German federal elections, appears the likely withdrawal date for most of the dozen passenger services listed in R.2288, plus Zeitz - Altenburg Hbf (Ball 42B2-43B2). Halle-Nietleben - Halle-Dölau has already closed, from 2 August 2002 (R.2334). Blankenburg (Harz) - Elbingerode (Harz) (R.0890, 2333) may be reprieved, at least until December 2002.

2363][DE] (Emmelshausen -) Boppard - Boppard Süd: (R.2073; Ball 48B2) The dead-end platform at Boppard Süd serves a large nearby school, and has been in use since the 1970s by certain trains off the Emmelshausen branch which for many years ran unadvertised from Boppard to Boppard Süd. Before the introduction of the hourly timetable in 1996, branch trains were often stabled in the Boppard Süd platform-track during timetable gaps to avoid blocking the through platform 3 at Boppard. Inauguration of the advertised service between Boppard and Boppard Süd was on 30 May 1999. 

2364][DE] Karlsruhe trams on railways: Rastatt - Forbach (Schwarzwald) - Raumünzach - Freudenstadt Hbf: (Ball 57A1-68B3) Karlsruhe Stadtbahn services south-east of Rastatt on the newly electrified northern section of the Murgtalbahn were inaugurated on Saturday 15 June 2002. Light-rail vehicles run beyond the initially-proposed interim terminus of Forbach-Gausbach (R.1983), now known as Forbach (Schwarzwald), one stop further to Raumünzach, a station closed by Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1980 but now reopened. Electrification and Stadtbahn operation are to extend to the Raumünzach - Freudenstadt Hbf section in 2004. Land Baden-Württemberg also hope to include the Freudenstadt Hbf - Hochdorf (bei Horb) - Eutingen im Gäu line in the Stadtbahn network.

2365][DE] Germany: August 2002 flooding: As the excess water made its way down to the North Sea, media reports began to indicate the implications for the railway infrastructure. Bridges over the river Elbe at Barby on the already-threatened (Wiesenburg -) Güterglück - Barby - Calbe line (R.2288; Ball 28A1) and over the river Mulde on the Dessau - Wörlitz line (28B1) are damaged, and could cause either or both of these lines to close permanently. The Mulde bridge at Eilenburg (43A3) on the Leipzig - Eilenburg - Falkenberg (- Cottbus) line is damaged. Two minor concrete bridges at Riesa (43B3) have been washed away by the Elbe, so both the Berlin - Riesa - Chemnitz and Leipzig - Riesa - Dresden routes lost direct rail services. Some trains were diverted via the north-to-east Röderau - Glaubitz curve avoiding Riesa. According to reports from the towns it serves, the Leipzig - Grossbothen - Döbeln - Nossen - Meissen - Dresden route (43A3-43B2) appears quite badly affected in several places, but since track-upgrading had been in prospect before the floods, the line has a good chance of restoration. Conversely, permanent abandonment could result from damage to the Grossbothen - Rochlitz - Wechselburg - Penig - Glauchau Muldentalbahn (43A2-43A1). This line had already had its services replaced 'temporarily' by Grossbothen - Glauchau buses, plus Class 771 railcars running every four hours on the Wechselburg - Glauchau section only, to slower timings than the buses. At its peak on 16 August 2002 the river Elbe was running 9m above normal level at Dresden, making the city's road-bridges impassable, but Dresden Hbf was beginning to dry out, and restoration work had begun, with the S-Bahn apparently running on the short Dresden - Pirna section as well as Dresden-Neustadt - Meissen. The Heidenau - Geising - Altenberg (Erzgebirge) Müglitztalbahn (44A2-44A1) was long a candidate for abandonment, but was rebuilt and reopened in early 2002. Now parts of the lower Heidenau - Geising section have virtually ceased to exist. Financing a second rebuilding within only two years must be doubtful. 

2366][DE] Freital-Potschappel - Freital-Hainsberg - Freital-Cossmannsdorf - Spechtritz - Malter - Dippoldiswalde - Ulberndorf - Schmiedeberg - Kurort Kipsdorf: (BLN 833.0418; Ball 44A2-44A1) In mid-August 2002 the Osterzgebirge mountains saw 400mm of rain in only two days, causing the Malter dam to overflow. The 750mm-gauge Weisseritztalbahn was severely damaged by flooding both below and above the dam. Freital-Hainsberg - Freital-Cossmannsdorf has sections of track undermined. The river bridge at km3.196 has had its central pier washed away, but the concrete deck has not collapsed. From km3.3 to Spechtritz sections of embankment have been washed away, but the bridges are intact. Malter - Dippoldiswalde has sections of track undermined. Dippoldiswalde - Ulberndorf has over 1km of embankment requiring repair. Above Schmiedeberg the embankment is damaged in several places and is entirely washed away on the approach to Kurort Kipsdorf. Locomotive #99.1747 and its passenger train are stranded at Dippoldiswalde, but other rolling-stock is undamaged at Freital-Hainsberg. Though the line is a National Historic Landmark important for tourism in this low-income area, rebuilding it may be a hard decision. Despite this crisis, however, special trains are to operate on 8 September 2002 over the 3.3km Freital-Hainsberg - Freital-Potschappel mixed-gauge section, which normally sees no narrow-gauge passenger trains.

2367][AT] Wien U-Bahn: (R.1254; Ball 77 not shown) Local publicity describes two new extensions, both ending north-east of the river Donau. Kagran - Kagraner Platz - Rennbahnweg - Aderklaaer Strasse - Grossfeldsiedlung - Leopoldau is a 4.6km extension of line U1, offering S-Bahn and Regionalbahn interchange at Leopoldau. Target opening-date is 2006. Schottenring - Taborstrasse - Praterstern - Messe - Trabrennstrasse - Stadion - Donaustadtbrücke - Seestern - Stadlau - Hardeggasse - Donauspital - Aspernstrasse is a 9km extension of line U2, with S-Bahn and Regionalbahn interchange at Praterstern (also with line U1) and at Stadlau. Upgrading of the existing line U2, including platform-lengthening, was in progress in summer 2002. Work is to start on Schottenring - Stadion in late 2002, with completion in late 2007, and on Stadion - Aspernstrasse in late 2004, with completion in late 2008. Completion of these metro extensions may threaten existing tram-route #25, much of which is directly paralleled by one or other of them. A U-Bahn map is at http://www.metropla.net.

2368][AT] Innsbruck light rail: (R.1635; Ball 79B1 not shown) Information at tram-stops said that from 22 July 2002 trams ceased serving the loop via Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof, and are not to do so again until autumn 2004. Till then, the four metre-gauge routes operating are #1 Hungerburgbahn - Berg Isel; #3 Maria Theresienstrasse - Amras; #6 Maria Theresienstrasse - Berg Isel - Igls; and the unnumbered Stubaitalbahn, Maria Theresienstrasse - Fulpmes.

2369][AT][LI][CH] Feldkirch - Schaan-Vaduz - Buchs SG: (Ball 89B1) This ÖBB line (including Liechtenstein's entire national railway; R.2338) is closed for engineering work from 2 to 15 September 2002. Buses replace most trains, but daytime trains EC162/3 and overnight trains EN466/7 are diverted to run Feldkirch - Lustenau Markt ÖBB - St.Margrethen SBB - Zürich. To avoid reversals they seem likely to use the south-to-west curve avoiding Riedenburg (89B2) and the southeast-to-southwest curve avoiding Romanshorn (89A2), neither of which normally carries passenger services.

2370][DK] Nykøbing (Falster) - Gedser: (BLN 811.0468; Ball 12A3) A traveller in August 2002 reported that since perhaps mid-July the single passenger round-trip remaining on this branch comprises trains #1229/1220 SSuX København H 08:44 - Nykøbing (Falster) 10:18 - 10:40 Gedser 10:48 - Nykøbing (Falster) 11:19 - København H - 13:04 Østerport. These timings differ from the ones in the most recent printed DSB Køreplan, those in the DSB timetable leaflet valid 16 June 2002 to 14 December 2002, and those given by the Hafas on-line European timetable website in mid-August.

2371][SE] Stockholm orbital light rail: Alvik - Liljeholmen - Globen - Gullmarsplan - Mårtensdal - Luma - Sickla kaj - Sickla udde: (R.1421; Ball 29B2-30A2 not shown) Structural problems with two bridges forced withdrawal of services on the Alvik - Liljeholmen - Gullmarsplan section of the Tvärbana on 29 January 2002, but on 1 February trams were again running Liljeholmen - Gullmarsplan, using old Class A30 vehicles narrow enough to be towed from the Alvik depot to Gullmarsplan over the tracks of the T-Bana (= Tunnelbana, the city's heavy-rail metro). After temporary strengthening of the two bridges, the Alvik - Liljeholmen section reopened 14 March, but in August 2002 single-line working continued over the Alvik bridge. The permanent strengthening of the bridges will start with the smaller of the two, Gröndalsbron. When rebuilding starts, this bridge too will see single-line working, and trams will almost always pass each other at Stora Essingen between the bridges.

At the other end of the Tvärbana, the section from Gullmarsplan to the new eastern terminus of Sickla udde (udde = spit of land jutting into water) opened at very short notice, at 11:52 on 14 August 2002. This was the day before the opening of BoStad 02, a large public event designed to 'sell' the residential developments now rapidly growing in the former industrial area served by the new line. At Gullmarsplan the Tvärbana island platform is tacked on to the west side of the T-Bana station. The new section, all double-track, swings west before curving east to drop beneath the T-Bana line north to the city-centre; it then descends a ramp and takes up a reservation down the middle of the street Hammarbyvägen. This alignment is the trackbed of the (perhaps municipally-owned) freight branch that formerly served various factories on its way to Södra Hammarbyhamnen. The branch is shown in the 1993 Ball atlas, and a short section of a former siding can still be seen from the tram. The new tram route has two stations - Mårtensdal and Luma - on this section, but just before the end of the old freight alignment, the track curves north-east on a totally new alignment along Lugnets allé (which includes a new station at Sickla kaj and a crossing of the Sickla canal) to reach its current terminus at Sickla udde, in Båtbyggargatan. This station has two platforms, each of which has two slightly different levels, one part being used by buses. Two reversing spurs extend beyond the station, and the intention seems to be to continue the line to meet the Slussen - Saltsjöbaden Saltsjöbana, though the route is not yet defined. A 10-minute frequency is the norm. A diagram of the T-Bana and Tvärbana lines is at http://www.metropla.net.

2372][CH][FR] Genève - La Plaine CFF - Chancy-Pougny SNCF - Bellegarde: (Ball CH-97A3, FR-49B1) At Genève Cornavin, the main station, the north-westernmost island platform is the 'international' one equipped with border-control facilities, and, like the double-track running-line the short distance west to the French frontier, platform roads 7 and 8 supply the SNCF voltage of 1500V dc to the TGVs for Paris and the locomotive-hauled passenger trains that run, mainly overnight, via Bellegarde. 'Domestic' platform 5, a short bay at the south-western end of the island formed by platforms 4 and 6, similarly supplies 1500V dc to the Rhône Express Régional local trains worked by CFF's small batch of Class 550 light railcars. The 'domestic' through platforms (side-platform 1, and islands 2-3 and 4-6) supply Swiss-standard 15kV 16.7Hz to electric trains heading north-east towards Lausanne or north-west to Genève-Aéroport. 

On 30 April 2002 the 06:30 Genève - La Plaine was too long for platform 5 and started from platform 6, being worked not by a Class 550 railcar but by an SNCF electric unit - which though able to use 1500V dc or 25kV 50Hz would be unable to draw power at 15kV 16.7Hz. Similarly, on 14 August 2002 the 06:05 Genève - Bellegarde was seen leaving from platform 6, worked by the usual Class 550 railcar - which likewise cannot use Swiss electrification, though it has a low-power auxiliary diesel engine. The CFF website confirms that both of these trains, and the 12:30 and 16:05 to La Plaine, are booked from platform 6. Conversely, at c.22:30 on 17 August 2002 a CFF 15kV 16.7Hz locomotive hauled apparently-empty CFF carriages from the sidings west of the Lausanne - Genève main line into international platform 7. On the indicator the next departure from platform 7 was shown as the 23:30 Genève - Bellegarde - Barcelona, which would require 1500V dc haulage into France. It seems that the overhead, at least at platforms 6 and 7, is switchable between French 1500V dc and Swiss 15kV 16.7Hz. 

Originally the Rhône Express Régional local trains ran only to La Plaine but since 3 September 2001 certain peak-hour services have crossed the border to Bellegarde (R.1732). Because they depart from domestic platforms at Genève and call at intermediate stations in Switzerland, the CFF Class 550 railcars now display interior notices warning that cross-frontier passengers must carry valid documents and must not carry any goods needing to be declared to customs. Bellegarde however seems not yet to have been fully brought into Genève canton's Unireso tariff-area (R.1533).

2373][CZ][DE] Rumburk CD - Jiríkov CD / Ebersbach (Sachsen) DB: (BLN 812.0507, 821.0105, R.2090; Ball CZ-36A2, DE-44B2) The once-threatened Rumburk - Ebersbach trains continue, three round-trips at weekends only, presumably to keep alive some international through-running agreement rather than to be useful to present customers. In mid-August 2002, our reporter was the only traveller on the CD railbus for the 9min journey to Ebersbach, returning with five fellow-passengers. A fairly frequent CD service runs seven days a week from Rumburk to Jirikov station in the Czech Republic which lies on the same road in the same town only some 500m from Ebersbach station in Germany. Furthermore, access across the border at this point is unrestricted, and a market operates only a few metres inside the Czech Republic offering bargains to German customers. It would seem logical if, perhaps once the Czechs join the European Union, planned for 2004, CD were to consider abandoning their Jirikov terminus, possibly replacing it with a new through Jirikov halt nearby, realigning the sinuous and rusty crossover at the border, and running the whole service from Rumburk into Ebersbach to connect with DB trains.

2374][CZ] Czech Republic: August 2002 flooding: Along the river Berounka, flowing into the Vltava parallel to the Plzen - Beroun - Praha line (Ball 40B3-35A2), the waters had by 15 August 2002 subsided somewhat, leaving a fearsome swathe of devastation to be seen from the train, with bridges washed away, homes demolished, and cars and other large objects strewn everywhere. In Praha itself, much of the metro system had filled with flood-water, and only the higher peripheral sections were running (Namesti Miru - Skalka on line A and Zlicin - Nove Butovice and Hloubetin - Cerny most on line B). Replacement trams and buses were running on parallel surface routes, and emergency maps of these were being issued to the public. The metro will doubtless need substantial repairs. See also R.2375.

2375][CZ] (Praha -) Ústí nad Labem (- Decin - Dresden): (Ball 36A1-35B2) Running north parallel to the river Labe (= Elbe), this main line suffered significant flood damage. All through the night of 15 August 2002 Ceske Drahy were running shuttle trains at Ústí nad Labem simply to carry people from one side of the town to the other. Our reporter reckoned it his most surreal railway experience ever. Instead of passing through a town the four-car electric unit made its way across what might have been a lake, though the waters were in motion, in fact the river running 10m above its banks. The ends of the road bridges were submerged; the poles supporting the trolleybus wires were just showing above the surface in places; and only the first or second storeys of buildings were visible. At Ústí nad Labem hlavní nádrazí, the main station, a stalwart railwayman remained to signal the train past, but the station was an island, cut off and in darkness, with the stairs from the platforms leading down not to subway exits but to deep water. All around, the flood could be seen streaming over and past any fixed object, anything movable having long been swept away. CD staff are to be commended for their resourcefulness in running these relief trains in circumstances which would certainly have seen today's British train operators give up in panic.

2376][CZ] Mladejov na Morave - Veksl - Nova Ves - Hrebec: (Ball 41B3 not shown) Well away from the flooded areas, the 11km 600mm-gauge Museum Prumyslovych Zeleznic line was running normally in mid-August 2002. This tourist line was once used by an extractive industry, now defunct, and is based at a similarly defunct works in Mladejov. From Mladejov na Morave CD station on the Trebovice - Chornice line, the site is a rather indirect 10min walk, but CD trains make useful connections into the MPZ round-trips leaving at 12:00 and 15:00. MPZ timings, mainly on August Saturdays, are in the CD timetable and at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/cz_minor.htm. Traction includes a 1920-built Orenstein & Koppel steam locomotive and a vintage 1930 diesel, steam being used for the first 6km to Veksl, then diesel to Hrebec. On a sunny day the scenery of fields then forest could readily be appreciated from the loose-coupled open wagons and coaches making up the train. The discipline of Czech railway people (R.2263, 2375) was again exemplified when, only a few hundred metres from Hrebec, the train-crew descended and laboriously cleared about 100m of flange-ways of muddy silt washed down the hillside by the recent heavy rain. The train carried numerous bicycles, and shortly after leaving Hrebec on the return journey a number of riders alighted at a level-crossing with a forest track to pedal back to Mladejov, many of them beating the train. 

2377][HU] Miskolc Kilián-Észak - Papírgyár - Lillafüred - Garadna and Papírgyár - Mahóca (- Taksalápa - Farkasgödör-Örvénykö): (R.1431; Ball 43A1) From the MÁV station at Miskolc, tram-route #1 (fare HUF115) serves the out-of-town station of Miskolc Kilian-Eszak from which runs the 760mm-gauge Lillafüredi vonal ex-ÁEV forestry line, a Y-shaped system, splitting into two branches at Papírgyár, 4km out from Kilian-Eszak. Fairly frequent trains run to Garadna, especially at weekends, fare each way HUF170 =GBP0.45 =EUR0.70. Opened to passengers 3 May 1924, and now linking various tourist attractions, the Garadna line is quite an attractive route including a tunnel, but perhaps more interesting is the 12km Papirgyar - Mahoca branch with trains twice a day morning and afternoon at weekends and holidays only, taking an hour for the one-way journey of 16km. Mahóca is just a clearing in the woods where the train stands for some time and people go to walk in the national forest park. Opened 1963, the branch once ran a further 7km to Farkasgödör-Örvénykö, but beyond Mahóca loop the track is now well overgrown, with small trees having fallen across it. Information: http://www.kisvasut.hu 

2378][RO] Viseu de Sus - Novât - Izvorul Boulei: (R.1383) The forestry company RG Holz (telephone +40 62 353 100) were to be starting steam tourist trains on this ex-Caile Ferate Forestiere 760mm-gauge system in June 2002. The weekend before, locomotives #764.436 and 764.408 were in steam, and Viseu de Sus station building was being restored, with signs in Romanian, German and English announcing tickets and trains, and a new floor of still-wet cement. Boarding at the company's offices rather than the station, a reporter hitched a lift up the line on a railcar towing some empty timber wagons and setting down forestry workers along the way ... until it developed a hot axlebox, and had to limp slowly back to Viseu de Sus. The line seemed busy, especially for a Saturday, with various passing-loops containing another railcar in blue livery, a draisine apparently converted from a 1950s lorry, a smaller green-painted draisine, and an 0-6-0 diesel locomotive with more timber wagons. (http://www.steam.demon.co.uk/trains/roman07.htm)

2379][RO] Covasna - Comandau: (R.0432, 0584) The former Caile Ferate Forestiere 760mm-gauge line was famous for its horse-haulage and its steep gravity-worked self-acting inclined plane, now an industrial monument. The Siclau preservation group have begun restoration work on the line and are seeking help. Their Covasna-based steam locomotive