3506] European timetables on-line: The Enthusiast’s Guide to Travelling the Railways of Europe now has a new webpage (http://www.steane.com/egtre/timetables.htm) listing page-format timetables available on-line, including a few corrections and additions that have come to light since R.3480. EGTRE’s webmaster welcomes suggestions for changes or additions to the list.

3507][FR][ES] France and Spain: more Lignes à Grande Vitesse/Alta Velocidad: The French transport minister announced on 18 December 2003 the start of work on new lines: in 2006 on extending the Paris - Reims - Baudrecourt LGV Est, now under construction, east to Strasbourg on the German border; after 2006 on the cross-country Strasbourg - Lyon LGV Rhin-Rhône; and in 2008 on the Tours - Bordeaux section of the LGV Atlantique. (Le Monde) Meanwhile European Union plans for a high-speed standard-gauge line between the French and Spanish capitals call for completion of sections as follows: Paris - (existing) - Tours - (2018) - Bordeaux - (2020) - Dax - (2010) - Hendaye SNCF - Irun RENFE - (2010) - Vitoria - (2010) - Valladolid - (2007) - Madrid.

3508][FR] Villefranche-sur-Cher - Romorantin: (R.2452, 3256; Ball 35B1) An SNCF Centre Region source confirmed at end-2003 that this standard-gauge branch was not in regular use, but remained available if necessary to bring in new equipment to the Romorantin base of the metre-gauge CF du Blanc à Argent (Salbris - Romorantin - Gièvres - Luçay-le-Mâle).

3509][FR] St.Étienne-Châteaucreux - St.Étienne-Bellevue - Firminy (- Le Puy): (Ball 56A2) Track-authority Réseau Ferré de France plan to electrify at 1500V dc the section from St.Étienne 15km west to Firminy, refurbishing the double-track line and its mainly suburban stations. Target completion-date is autumn 2005. (Today’s Railways, #96, December 2003)

3510][FR] Bordeaux trams: Timetabled test-running began 24 November, revealing some problems with the pioneering surface-contact power-supply system (alimentation par le sol). Some 12km of the initial 21.3km tramway is thus equipped, the remainder having conventional overhead wires. Nevertheless, formal inauguration by French president Jacques Chirac went ahead on 21 December 2003, with the opening of the first sections of line A (Mériadeck - Lormon-Hôpital/Cenon-La Motlette). Sections of lines B (Quinconces - Saige) and C (Quinconces - Gare Saint-Jean) are planned to follow, perhaps on 28 February 2004. Target opening-date for the next phase, comprising sections of all three lines totalling a further 21.7km, is 2007. (http://www.lrta.org)

3511][FR] (Clermont Ferrand -) Alès - Nîmes: (Ball 64B1) Though L’Écho du Rail for February 2003 reported that the flood-damaged viaduct at Ners was repaired and the line was back in use for freight by December 2002 (R.2813), Today’s Railways for August 2003 said that it did not reopen completely to traffic until 19 May 2003.

3512][FR] Arles - Fontvieille: (R.3401; Ball 75A3) After river Rhône flooding on 3 December, shuttle trains ran from 5 December until mid-December 2003 to relieve and transport people in affected areas. (L’Écho du Rail, #253, January 2004)

3513][BE][DE] Eupen - Raeren - Roetgen - Lammersdorf - Konzen - Monschau - Kalterherberg - Sourbrodt - Weywertz: (http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/be_venn.htm; Ball BE-10A2, DE-37A1) Formerly part of the SNCB/NMBS network, running on a thin ribbon of Belgian territory through Germany, the Vennbahn has since 1990 been a tourist asset in the ownership of Belgium’s German-speaking community based in Eupen. Alas, it saw its last operating season as a heritage railway in 2001. Trains ran approximately fortnightly in spring and weekly during summer and early autumn, mostly as a single round-trip on Sundays only, with occasional Saturday workings. Since one needed to set off from Brussel/Bruxelles before 08:00 to be at Eupen before 10:00 for the tourist train, most Belgians seem to have found the timing too early for a day out. For a while local subsidy helped support what must have been a rather uneconomic operation, but financial problems caught up with the Vennbahn. Repairs needed to the Raeren - Monschau section alone were estimated at EUR1.2M. Summer 2002 saw no trains advertised, and in autumn 2002 the equipment was put up for sale (R.2562). Most of the goods wagons were scrapped but all the locomotives and carriages were sold to other tourist lines, and on 8 November 2003 ‘last trains’ left Raeren conveying historic rolling-stock. (http://www.vennbahn.de) If a reopened Vennbahn were to offer more frequent trains over a shorter section of route, it could maybe one day have a role in bringing Belgian and German visitors to the Naturpark countryside on both sides of the border, but the focus of the German local authorities currently considering public transport into their Eifel National Park is on Dürener Kreisbahn’s scenic Düren - Heimbach branch as a rail component (BLN 799.0166; Ball DE-37B1). Should the closed Vennbahn finally be dismantled, the trackbed could revert to being German territory.

3514][DE] Quedlinburg - Gernrode: (R.3427; Ball 27B1; KBS332) Closure was postponed from 14 December 2003 to 31 January 2003. In late December a basic hourly (but slow) service remained, worked by a Class 628 two-car unit, leaving Quedlinburg at 35min past the hour, returning from Gernrode on the hour. (European Rail yahoogroup) Land Sachsen-Anhalt have promised Harzer Schmalspurbahnen EUR6M to convert the line to metre-gauge, and reopen it, running HSB trains north through to Quedlinburg. Target-date for completion is early 2006. (Today’s Railways, #97, January 2004)

3515][DE] (Berlin - Belzig -) Wiesenburg - Güterglück oberer Bf - Barby - Calbe - Güsten: (Ball 28B2-28A1) The 1.4km (Barby -) Abzw Werkleitz - Abzw Seehof (- Gnadau - Magdeburg) northeast-to-northwest curve now appears to have no passenger service, but (notwithstanding R.3427) weekend trains RE38595/4 Berlin - Belzig - Barby - Aschersleben - Halberstadt - Wernigerode figure in KBS260.5 of DB’s December 2003 timetable, maintaining an all-year advertised passenger service on the Wiesenburg - Güterglück - Barby section and apparently restoring one to the Calbe - Güsten section (BLN 830.0344). In the previous timetable this train-pair ran only seasonally, with no advertised stop at Barby and timings consistent with their having been routed Wiesenburg - Dessau - Köthen - Güsten.

3516][DE] Berlin Ostkreuz: (Ball 32A2) A preface in the December 2003 DB timetable notes that Berlin-Lichtenberg - Berlin-Schöneweide services have been withdrawn, or diverted away, from the regional tracks through Ostkreuz station upper level, to enable work to begin on station rebuilding (R.3261). Services continue on the parallel S-Bahn tracks.

3517][DE] Berlin Wriezener Bahnhof: (Ball 32A2) Berlin’s much-renamed Ostbahnhof (Frankfurter Bf in 1842; Niederschlesische-Märkischer Bf by 1867; Schlesischer Bf in 1881; Ostbf in 1950; Hbf in 1987; now again Ostbf) became a through station on completion of the Stadtbahn across the city on viaduct to Charlottenburg in 1882. To accommodate growing traffic a single extra platform opened in 1896 just outside the main station, c.500m east of its fine train-shed, and was presumably used mainly by trains via Tiefensee to the small town of Wriezen 61.2km away. In Deutsche Reichsbahn’s official timetables between World Wars I and II this platform was sometimes called ‘Wriezener Bahnsteig’ (= Wriezen platform) rather than Wriezener Bahnhof. It did not reopen after World War II, and indeed since 1998 Wriezen has had no service from Berlin via Tiefensee (BLN 825.0205). At the beginning of 2004 however the Wriezener Bf remains in shadowy existence. When a westbound S-Bahn train leaving Warschauer Strasse is routed into the northernmost platform at Ostbf, one can look out north down the embankment and see a lonely platform covered with dirt and rubbish behind a wooden fence. The old station’s name is echoed by the nearby street Am Wriezener Bahnhof and by the freight sidings of the Wriezener Güterbahnhof.

3518][DE] Köln-Frankfurter Strasse - Köln/Bonn Flughafen - Porz-Wahn: (Ball 36A3-36B2) LOK-Report’s quoted date of Tuesday 8 June (R.3374) may be that of a formal inauguration ceremony, for several tables in DB’s December 2003 Kursbuch show Sunday 13 June 2004 as the opening date of the airport station for both S-Bahn and ICE services. The loop from the airport south towards Frankfurt will then have S-Bahn and RE8 Mönchengladbach - Köln - Flughafen - Troisdorf - Koblenz trains, but the Flughafen - Porz-Wahn section is to have no ICE services during the present timetable-book’s validity. From 13 June 2004 ICE trains from Berlin that split at Hamm into portions via Wuppertal to Köln and via Dortmund and Essen to Düsseldorf will see both their portions run to the Köln area, one to the Hbf, one to the airport. The former Düsseldorf portions are to be extended via Köln-Deutz Gleis 11-12 (Kursbuch table 43) to terminate at Köln/Bonn Flughafen.

3519][DE] Krefeld: Sankt Tönis - Krefeld Nord - Hüls - Hülser Berg: (Ball 37B2-37B3) Municipal company Städtische Werke Krefeld AG, through their subsidiary SWK Mobil GmbH, operate the T-shaped Krefelder Eisenbahn, the remains of a more extensive standard-gauge local system first opened 1870. From its present link with the DB network at Krefeld Süd, the non-passenger section of the KE heads west and north for c.2.4km to a triangular junction. The four-station passenger section St.Tönis (km0.0) - (junction; c.km2.7) - Krefeld Nord (km4.7) - Hüls (km9.6) - Hülser Berg (km13.6) has hosted seasonal steam trains since 1980 (Krefeld Nord north to Hülser Berg) and 1981 (St.Tönis east to Krefeld Nord). Tram line #041 from Krefeld Hbf west to St.Tönis-Wilhelmplatz provides a passenger rail connection to the heritage railway. Beyond the present northern terminus, the trackbed of the former KE Hülserberg - Niep - Moers section is now a cycleway. In 2003 SWK Mobil marketed the line as Crefelder Eisenbahn (sic) with the onomatopoetic nickname Schluff, advertising three St.Tönis - Hülser Berg round-trips on Sundays and holidays 1 May-12 October, fare EUR6.

3520][DE] (Altenbeken -) Neuenheerse - Willebadessen (- Warburg (Westfalen) - Kassel): (R.2304; Ball 39B3; KBS430) Notwithstanding R.2458 which cited a December 2002 planned opening-date, this 8km of new alignment through the 2880m Egge tunnel was inaugurated on Saturday 13 December 2003 and opened with the Sunday 14 December timetable-change. Willebadessen station reopened to passengers at the same time. The Altenbeken - Kassel main line is part of the Mittel Deutsche Verbindung (= central German link) used by heavy freight including Polish coal heading north to Ruhr power-stations, and the new alignment makes the gradients less onerous by tunnelling under the Eggegebirge. The old line over the previous summit to the east has been disconnected and the track is to be lifted and removed using road transport. (DB)

3521][DE] Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe Süd - Kassel-Nordshausen - Baunatal-Volkswagenwerke - Baunatal-Grossenritte - Bad Emstal - Naumburg (Bezirk Kassel): (BLN 756.0280; Ball 40A2) The Hessencourrier train to Naumburg on 3 January 2004 (OEIS 0323) may have been the last one, for track at the western end of the private Kassel-Naumburg Eisenbahn is in poor condition and the federal safety authority Eisenbahnbundesamt may not in future allow trains to proceed beyond Bad Emstal.

3522][DE] Heidenau - Glashütte (Sachsen) - Altenberg (Erzgebirge): (Ball 44A2-44A1) Its severe autumn 2002 flood-damage repaired, the Müglitztalbahn reopened throughout on 20 December 2003 as planned (R.3197), in time to take Dresden’s skiers to their popular winter-sports area round Altenberg. (DB)

3523][DE] Frankfurt-am-Main S-Bahn: Offenbach Ost - Offenbach-Bieber - Rödermark-Ober Roden and OF-Bieber - Dietzenbach Bahnhof: (Ball 49B2) Two new branches joined the Frankfurt S-Bahn system from 14 December 2003. The Offenbach Ost - Bieber - Ober Roden line (R.2049) has been electrified and doubled throughout. The Bieber - Dietzenbach branch (BLN 838.0576, R.0239) lost its passenger trains 18 June 1982 and became a freight-only single track, with the southernmost 1km out of use. It has been electrified and is now double track from Bieber south to the new Dietzenbach Mitte station (km12.7) and single track beyond to Dietzenbach (Hessen), now Dietzenbach Bahnhof (km13.8).

3524][DE] Frankfurt-am-Main trams: At the December 2003 timetable-change Stadtwerke Frankfurt-am-Main extended tram-route #17 from Messegelände west over new track to the business area of Rebstock. (http://www.lrta.org)

3525][DE] Darmstadt trams: At the December 2003 timetable-change local operators HEAG opened their new tram-route #5 north-east over new metre-gauge track to Darmstadt-Kranichstein Bahnhof. (http://www.lrta.org)

3526][DE] Jossa - Wildflecken: (Ball 51B2-51B3) Blocked at the junction by a red metal stop-board in May 2002 (R.2206), this branch is also shown as out of use in the 2002 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland. However Oberhessische Eisenbahnfreunde (Karlsbaderstrasse 1, D-35457 Lollar) are advertising a railtour from Giessen which apparently intends to traverse the branch on 17 July 2004.

3527][DE] (Ludwigshafen -) Limburgerhof - Böhl-Iggelheim (- Neustadt (Weinstrasse) - Kaiserslautern - Saarbrücken): (Ball 55A1-57A3) Notwithstanding R.3313, the chord avoiding the curvature of the existing 9km route via Schifferstadt opened for westbound traffic on 7 October and for eastbound trains on 30 October, with formal inauguration on 19 November 2003. The EUR140M chord, under construction since 1998, allows 160km/h running, with scope for higher speeds in future using ICE or TGV stock. DB would like to upgrade the whole Ludwigshafen - Saarbrücken route to 200km/h. Once the line is linked to the planned (Saarbrücken DB - Forbach SNCF -) St.Avold - Reims - Paris Est LGV Est, Mannheim - Paris journey-time could be slashed from 5h23min in 2004 to 2h52min by 2012. (DB)

3528][DE] Saarbrücken - Merchweiler - Wemmetsweiler - Illingen (Saar) - Lebach - Lebach-Jabach (- Primsweiler): (Ball 56A3; KBS681) The Wemmetsweiler - Lebach-Jabach section closed from 14 April 2003 to allow building of a new south-to-west curve to avoid reversal at Wemmetsweiler station. The December 2003 DB timetable says reopening (originally planned for 14 October 2003; R.2916) will be ‘from a date to be announced’.

3529][AT] St.Pölten - Ober Grafendorf - Kirchberg an der Pielach: (Ball 75A3-74B2) Niederösterreich province are reportedly proposing to convert this lower section of the electrified Mariazellerbahn from narrow to standard gauge. This would leave the rest of the 760mm-gauge system split in two, the southern Kirchberg - Mariazell section (R.0980), famously scenic and likely to survive in some form, and the threatened diesel-worked Ober Grafendorf - Mank section (R.0981), lightly used except by schoolchildren, and already cut back twice (Ruprechtshofen - Wieselburg an der Erlauf from 17 January 2000 and Mank - Ruprechtshofen from 9 June 2001). A similar proposal could see regauging to standard of the lower Ybbstalbahn (Waidhofen an der Ybbs - Gstadt - Ybbsitz; R.0979; Ball 74A2-74B2) leaving the upper section (Gstadt - Lunz am See) as 760mm-gauge with excursion traffic only, perhaps with status similar to that of the eastern section (Lunz am See - Kienberg-Gaming) with its 760mm-gauge summer tourist trains. (partly Today’s Railways, #97, January 2004)

3530][AT] (Leobersdorf -) Wittmannsdorf - Steinabrückl - Wöllersdorf: (R.1892; Ball 75B2) This c.10km section lost its passenger service (latterly minimal; BLN 749.094) from 1 June 1996 (BLN 779.0219), and sees only occasional freight use, but ÖBB are to electrify it and reintroduce passenger trains, running semi-fast from Wien through to Wöllersdorf and connecting there instead of Wiener Neustadt with Gutenstein branch diesel railcars (Wiener Neustadt - Bad Fischau-Brunn - Feuerwerksanstalt - Wöllersdorf - Gutenstein; BLN 840.0621). This will relieve the load on Wien - Wiener Neustadt fast trains, while offering a competitive journey-time. Target reopening-date is 2005. (Today’s Railways, #96, December 2003)

3531][AT] (Innsbruck - Arlberg tunnel -) Langen am Arlberg - Blisadona tunnel - Klosterle (- Braz - Bludenz - Feldkirch): (R.1662; Ball 78B3) Doubling of ÖBB’s important Arlberg route continues. At the western portal of the 10km Arlberg tunnel, Langen station has been rebuilt and the section west to Klosterle has been realigned through the new 2.4km double-track Blisadona tunnel, opened 3 October 2003. The old alignment is being lifted. Braz - Bludenz is the next section to be doubled. (Today’s Railways, #96, December 2003)

3532][SE] Stockholm light rail: Ropsten - Gåshaga brygga: (R.1420; Ball 30A2) The Lidingöbana on the island of Lidingö, part of the network of Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, the Greater Stockholm passenger transport authority, is reportedly threatened with closure ‘before the next general election in 2006’.

3533][ES] Guillarei avoiding line: (O Porriño -) Las Gándaras - Tui: (EGTRE ES04/8; Ball 7B2) The new curve became available in October 2003 (R.3387) but the December 2003 timetable shows no passenger train yet booked to use it. A PTG railtour on 1 February 2004 may be the first such train. Las Gándaras did not appear in the 1972 RENFE timetable, but had one train each way Mon-Fri in the May 1990 timetable. The halt appeared in the 1993 Ball atlas, but by the May 1994 timetable no trains were calling, and it has subsequently disappeared completely from the timetable

3534][IT] Modena FS - Modena ATCM: (R.2616; Ball 47B2) The c.5km new connection, largely underground, between the electrified standard-gauge lines of the national Ferrovie dello Stato and the local Azienda Trasporti Consorziale di Modena was at one time planned for opening in May 2002, but has been much delayed. Locally advertised as opening from the 14 December 2003 timetable-change, it did not do so, and buses were still linking the two lines on 30 December. Our reporter was told the connection would not open before the end of January 2004.

3535][GR] Athinai trams: (R.2400) Over 80% of the track had been laid by the end of 2003, and on 21 December 2003 a tram made the first test run from the main depot at Hellenikon along the coastal route to the Olympic Games sailing centre at Aghios Cosmas. Target opening-date for the 24km system is May 2004. (http://www.lrta.org)

3536][CZ] Praha trams: (R.1818) The 3.5km Hlubocepy - Barrandov extension was inaugurated on Friday 28 November, with full service from 29 November 2003. (http://www.lrta.org)

3537][CZ] (Zatec -) Brezno u Chomutova - Chomutov: (Ball 35B1) Planned for January 2004, the opening of the new single-track alignment near Brezno (R.3363) will make its lengthy (1758m) tunnel the longest in the Czech Republic. (Today’s Railways, #96, December 2003)

3538][SK][AT] (Bratislava hlavná stanica -) Zohor - Záhorská Ves: (R.3095; Ball 41B2) From 2 September 2003 Bratislavska Regionalna Kolajova Spolocnost began running 1949-vintage Class 830 diesel-electric railcars and trailers as regular passenger trains from the Slovakian capital Bratislava 26km north-west to Zohor and through on to the 14km Zohor - Zahorska Ves branch. The start of BRSK’s similar local service through on to the 24km Zohor - Rohoznik branch (R.3286) was delayed when their rivals, national train-operators Zeleznicna Spolocnost (ZSSK), raised the sale price of two further elderly railcars. From 1 January 2004 BRSK, set up by Bratislava district council with worldwide train-operators Connex as minority shareholders, were to lease both branches from track-authority ZSR. BRSK also propose Bratislava - Zohor - Malacky and Bratislava - Pezinok - Trnava passenger trains. (Today’s Railways, #96, Dec 2003)

On 18 December 2003 our reporter left Wien Südbahnhof (Ost) at 12:15 and made an interesting short circular afternoon-trip Wien - Marchegg ÖBB - Devinska Nova Ves ZSR - Zohor - Záhorská Ves ZSR - (ferry) - Angern ÖBB - Wien. At Devinska Nova Ves ZSSK booking-office no BRKS tickets were on sale. BRKS train Os 2308 Bratislava 13:02 - 13:32 Zohor - 13:54 Záhorská Ves was that day a hired ÖBB diesel-hydraulic locomotive #2143.020 and two ÖBB Schlieren second-class coaches, all labelled with BRKS stickers and with BRKS onboard staff (though no-one asked to see tickets). Attached to the rear, the train conveyed a BRKS Class 830 railcar for the Zohor - Rohoznik branch. From Zahorska Ves it was a short walk to the international ferry across the river Morava/March (Morava in Slovak, March in German). This is Austria’s only border-point reached by a river-ferry. West of the river it was a further gentle stroll to Angern on the Wien - Angern - Bernardsthal ÖBB (- Breclav CD) Nordbahn. From Zahorska Ves station to Angern station (BLN 789.0438) the walk plus the short ferry-trip took about 25min. After a beer in a bar near Angern station our man boarded the 15:12 hourly train south-west to Wien and was back home there, at Mitte station, by 16:00.

3539][CN] Shanghai magnetic-levitation guideway: Lo Yang Road - Pudong airport: (R.2697) The 30km 400km/h German-designed Transrapid magnetic-levitation line began regular service on Monday 29 December 2003, though trains were running for part of the day only. All-day service was to start in February 2004. (Erik’s Rail News)

3540][US] Willits - Northspur - Fort Bragg, CA: (R.2639, 3112) The bankrupt California Western Railroad ceased running their Fort Bragg - Northspur Skunk tourist-train operation at the end of the summer 2003 season, and their tracks have since lain out of use. In late December 2003 a federal court approved purchase of CWR by Sierra Railroad, another short line. SERA (Oakdale - Jamestown - Standard, CA) say they hope to have CWR running again by May 2004. (Trains newswire)

3541][US] Houston, TX light rail: (R.3442) The city’s first light-rail line (12km, 16 stops) was inaugurated on Thursday 1 January, with free rides until 4 January. Revenue service was to begin Monday 5 January 2004. (mainly http://www.lrta.org)

3542][US] Cincinnati, OH - Savannah, GA: private land-cruise train with Amtrak haulage: The private owners of four individual preserved classic long-haul passenger cars Chapel Hill, Vista Dome, Oliver Hazard Perry and Birch Grove are planning a lengthy and scenic trip from their base in Cincinnati, OH during the week 14-21 May 2004, and hope that other private-stock owners will sign up to make a 12-car consist to be hauled by nationalised Amtrak, who have operating rights over the US railroad network. Estimated price per car for the movement is USD7900. Individual owners would market beds on board their own car. From Cincinnati the train would take the ex-Southern Railway, now Norfolk Southern, Royal Palm route (less respectfully known as the ‘rat hole’, perhaps from the limited clearance in its tunnels which prevent the passage of double-stack container trains) south through Kentucky and Tennessee to Macon in Georgia, then continue east to the Atlantic coast at Savannah for a two- or three-day stopover. The returning train would head north-east up the coast, then turn inland north-west via Spartanburg, SC to take the scenic ex-Clinchfield, now CSXT, route north through South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky as far as Russell, near Ashland, KY. For the final stage back to Cincinnati, the consist would be coupled to Amtrak’s timetabled passenger train, the westbound Cardinal (Washington, DC - Ashland, KY - Cincinnati, OH - Chicago, IL). Interested individual passengers can call +1 513 422 9472 during US daytime hours.

3543][FR] Abbeville - Eu - Le Tréport-Mers-les-Bains: (Ball 14A3-13B3) Freight traffic, sporadic in 1996 (BLN 780.0234), subsequently petered out, but after several years with only passenger workings the line in January 2004 saw trains carrying stone for reconstruction of the sea-wall at Le Tréport. The stone, from quarries at Caffiers and Marquise-Rinxent on the Calais - Boulogne line, was taken forward in trains loading to 900t (400t tare) by two SNCF Class BB66000 diesel locomotives whose crew were specially outbased at Abbeville.

3544][FR] (Lyon -) St.Germain-des-Fossés (- Vichy - Riom - Clermont-Ferrand): (Ball 47A1) RFF in autumn 2003 obtained a declaration of public utility allowing them to build an east-to-west avoiding line enabling Lyon - Clermont-Ferrand cross-country trains to avoid reversal in St.Germain-des-Fossés station. (Today’s Railways, #97, January 2004)

3545][FR] Toulouse VAL metro: (Basso-Combo - Marengo-SNCF -) Jolimont - La Roseraie - Argoulets - Balma Gramont: Metro line A, which uses the driverless véhicule automatique léger equipment pioneered in Lille, opened 26 June 1993, its 10km being mostly underground. On 20 December 2003 it was extended beyond former terminus Jolimont a further 2200m north-east, with three new stations. Map and description are at http://www.urbanrail.net, the former MetroPlanet site.

3546][FR][BE] Mont-Saint-Martin Triage SNCF - Y Aubange SNCB: (Ball 17B1) The new southwest-to-northwest curve (R.2907) is to open from 31 March 2004, according to French sources. (Trans-fer, November 2003)

3547][BE] (Oostende - Torhout -) Kortemark - Westrozebeke (- Ieper): (BLN 800.0182; Ball 7A2) This remaining section of NMBS line 63, latterly a long siding serving a military site at Westrozebeke, closed to all traffic from 2 June 2003. (Trans-fer, November 2003)

3548][BE] Antwerpen Centraal: (R.1628, 2280, 3370; Ball 9B3) From the December 2003 timetable-change, the (original) upper level was restored to full use, now with six terminal tracks instead of the former ten. A long atrium or light-well has been created between the two groups of three tracks, allowing natural light through the fine old train-shed roof down to the new tracks still under construction, four terminal platforms at the lower (street) level and four through platforms at the deep (sub-surface) level, the latter due to come into service with the south-north tunnel at the end of 2006. (Trans-fer, December 2003)

3549][BE] Pepinster - Spa - Spa-Géronstère: (Ball 9B1; SNCB 44) Géronstère, terminus of this single-track electrified branch, was renamed Spa-Géronstère on 15 December 2002. Since it had long served the southern part of the town of Spa rather than a separate place, it is perhaps surprising that SNCB/NMBS did not rename it earlier. (Trans-fer, November 2003)

3550][LU][FR] Bettembourg - Dudelange-Usines - Volmerange-les-Mines: (Ball 18A1) CFL’s new terminus at Volmerange, inaugurated 12 December and opened for public services on 15 December 2003 (R.3489), is just inside France, next to a large car-park. With (Esch-sur-Alzette -) Audun-le-Tiche (reopened 27 September 1992; BLN 698.010) and (Thionville -) Hettange-Grande (- Bettembourg) (inaugurated 29 January 2000; R.0619) it becomes the third such station provided with a service to cater for French-resident commuters who work in Luxembourg, especially those travelling into congested Luxembourg city. (Trans-fer, December 2003)

3551][AT] Wien: (Nussdorf -) Donaukaibahnhof - Freudenau Hafen - Klein Schwechat (- Zentralverschiebebahnhof Kledering): (R.0312; Ball 77B2) Destroyed in 1945, a bridge over the river Donau is to be rebuilt, linking the Donaukaibahnhof - Freudenau Hafen freight branch on the north-east (right) bank to the Klein Schwechat - Albern Hafen freight branch on the south-west bank. The Donaukaibahnhof - Freudenau Hafen - Klein Schwechat section is to be electrified, restoring a useful through freight route from north and east of Wien via the Freudenau container-terminal and Klein Schwechat to the south end of the huge Wien-Kledering yard. (Today’s Railways, #97, January 2004)

3552][DK] Roskilde - Høje Taastrup - Glostrup - Hvidovre Fjern - Vigerslev - Kalvebod - Ørestad - Tårnby - Københavns Lufthavn Kastrup: (Ball 9A2) Due to pathing problems, direct Roskilde - Kastrup airport local trains (R.1078) are to be withdrawn from January 2005, and passengers will need to travel via København H. (Today’s Railways, #97, January 2004) This may leave the west-to-southeast Hvidovre Fjern - Vigerslev - Kalvebod curves without passenger services.

3553][PT] (Entroncamento - Abrantes - Castelo Branco -) Covilhã - Guarda: (Ball 18A2) Notwithstanding R.3160, this temporarily-closed section at the northern end of the Linha da Beira Baixa saw buses continuing to replace trains after 14 December 2003 and, indeed, ‘until further notice’.

3554][PT] (Porto São Bento - Porto Campanhã - Trofa - Lousado -) Santo Tirso - Guimarães: (R.3071; Ball 7B1) Latterly an isolated section of unelectrified metre-gauge, the Santo Tirso - Guimarães line closed 7 January 2002 (R.1896). The new electrified broad-gauge line that has replaced it follows a rather straighter alignment, with all level-crossings removed. Opened for revenue service at 14:00 on Monday 19 January 2004, it now has suburban trains from Porto São Bento terminus through to Guimarães, taking 1h10min (ten round-trips Mondays-Fridays, eight at weekends and holidays, plus a few short workings). The new timetable shows no timings for the former halts Cuca, Pereirinhas and Nespereira.

3555][ES] Metrotren Asturias: local trains in the Oviedo / Gijón area: (Ball 3A3) The Metrotren project in the province of Asturias integrates broad-gauge RENFE and metre-gauge FEVE suburban services around Oviedo and Gijón with a view to boosting their use, the Metrotren brand-name being used for interchange stations and for joint ticketing. A ten-trip Metrotren integrated ticket is a good buy. Both operators however continue to use the term Cercanías for their suburban trains locally.

Electrification and track-doubling have formed a major part of the project investment. All RENFE passenger lines were already electrified, and their (León -) Pola de Lena - Soto de Rey - Oviedo section was effectively double (R.3435, 3465). Oviedo - Villabona de Asturias - Gijón is conventional double track, with the left-hand running that is normal in north-west Spain. Villabona de Asturias - Nubledo - Avilés - San Juan de Nieva is double north to Nubledo and single beyond. Nubledo - Avilés is to be doubled. RENFE’s Soto de Rey - La Felguera - El Entrego branch (R.3406) remains single track.

On the FEVE metre-gauge network, electrification was completed in May 2003 of the ring (Oviedo - San Pedro de Nora - Trubia - Pravia - Avilés - Veriña - Gijón - Florida - El Berrón - Oviedo) plus four branches that it throws off, west along the Ferrol line (Pravia - Cudillero), north to the coast (Pravia - San Esteban de Pravia), east along the Santander line (El Berrón - La Carrera - Pola de Siero - Infiesto) and south (El Berrón - La Felguera - El Entrego - Pola de Laviana). In effect, all FEVE passenger routes in the area are now electrified except Trubia - Fuso de la Reina - Ablaña - Collanzo. Of the FEVE circle Florida - El Berrón and El Berrón - Oviedo are already double while Oviedo - San Pedro de Nora and Avilés - Veriña - Gijón are to be doubled. On the Santander line FEVE have extended double track from El Berrón east to just short of La Carrera station and plan to double another 2km east on a re-alignment to Pola de Siero. El Berrón - La Felguera is likewise double, but in December 2003 only one track was available while engineering work took place.

New stations include several on the Gijón - El Berrón - Laviana line since the 1991 FEVE map, and more are in service or in prospect in the Oviedo area. On FEVE’s El Berrón - Argüelles-Fuentespino - Meres - Colloto - Parque Principado - La Corredoria - Oviedo section, Argüelles-Fuentespino is a new halt, in use in January 2004 but not appearing in any official timetable or poster. Parque Principado is recently opened and advertised. La Corredoria is to open mid-2004, and is a joint station at the point where the double-track FEVE line converges with RENFE’s Gijón - Oviedo double-track. On the (Soto de Rey -) El Caleyo - La Manjoya - Llamaquique - Oviedo section of RENFE’s main line, building of La Manjoya station is to start during 2004 (replacing La Manjoya station on FEVE’s Oviedo - Fuso de la Reina line that closed in 1999; BLN 846.0148). Llamaquique is to be a subsurface urban station, opening by mid-2006.

New lines are planned, notably in Gijón, where both RENFE and FEVE lines are to be extended eastward by 2007, with five new joint RENFE-FEVE stations (Gijón-Jovellanos - El Humedal - Begoña - El Bibio - Gijón-Viesques). A new Jovellanos station will replace Jovellanos RENFE and the adjacent La Braña FEVE. El Humedal will replace the present joint terminus, Gijón-Cercanías RENFE/Gijón FEVE. The line will then enter a new 3538m tunnel east beneath the town, with two more stations, one named Begoña and one called El Bibio near the Plaza de Toros, before the new terminus at Viesques, east of the town. A separate project, also with a target-date of 2007, is a new 2.6km single-track metre-gauge branch off the (Gijón -) Avilés - Santiago del Monte (- Pravia) line from Santiago del Monte to Asturias Aeropuerto.

The upper Nalón valley is served by RENFE’s (Oviedo - Soto de Rey -) La Felguera - El Entrego line on one side of the river and FEVE’s (Gijón - El Berrón -) La Felguera - El Entrego (- Laviana) line on the other. A plan to rationalise these branches, recently announced but not yet agreed locally nor financed, would see a new joint La Felguera station at which RENFE trains would terminate. RENFE’s La Felguera - El Entrego section would close and FEVE’s La Felguera - El Entrego (- Laviana) section would be realigned underground, releasing land for redevelopment in a densely populated area with much decaying old industry.

3556][ES] Madrid - Castejón de Ebro - Pamplona / Logroño: Variable-gauge trains off the Madrid - Guadalajara-Yebes - Calatayud - Plasencia de Jalón (- Zaragoza) standard-gauge high-speed line (R.3389) can now use the gauge-changer at Plasencia de Jalón (Ball 12B1; R.3434) to join the Madrid - Torralba - Calatayud - Plasencia de Jalón (- Zaragoza) classic broad-gauge line just south of Grisén. Trains from the new or the old route can then continue by the south-to-west Grisén - Cabanas de Ebro broad-gauge curve avoiding Zaragoza, thus running through without reversal to Castejón de Ebro and beyond to Pamplona or to Logroño. Until January 2004 the twice-daily through Madrid - Pamplona broad-gauge trains via the classic route in fact used the Zaragoza avoiding curve while the once-daily Madrid - Logroño Intercity reversed at Zaragoza.

Inaugural runs through the Plasencia intercambiador were made by a Madrid - Pamplona through train on 15 January and a Madrid - Logroño train on 16 January, and full variable-gauge services to both provincial capitals began Monday 19 January 2004. Madrid - Pamplona trains worked by variable-gauge Altaria sets have gained 40min by taking the standard-gauge line, and the daily Madrid - Logroño Altaria is 1h20min faster than the Intercity it replaced, thanks to using both the standard-gauge line and the avoiding curve. An interesting new route to and from the French frontier (Madrid - Pamplona - Hendaye) is offered by a third pair of Altaria trains that now runs Madrid - Pamplona non-stop in just under 3h30min. The northbound mid-day Altaria arrives at Pamplona an hour before a Barcelona - Zaragoza - Pamplona - Hendaye Talgo, allowing a Madrid - Pamplona - Hendaye journey in 6h55min, comparable to the time via Burgos. Southbound, the connection is slacker, the Irún - Pamplona - Madrid journey taking 7h48min.

Three of the four new gauge-changers (at Plasencia de Jalón, Huesca and Lleida; R.3434) are therefore now in use by regular passenger trains. The fourth intercambiador just west of Zaragoza-Delicias passenger station (Ball 13A1) has been used to test new stock and may have seen an occasional diversion, but seems mainly intended for use by variable-gauge trains between Barcelona and the north-west of Spain - which are not expected to run until part at least of the Lleida - Barcelona standard-gauge high-speed line is ready.

3557][ES] Zaragoza - Tardienta - Huesca - Ayerbe - Jaca - Canfranc: (Ball 13A1-13A3) Zaragoza - Tardienta is new 25kV 50Hz standard-gauge alongside classic 3000V dc broad-gauge; Tardienta - Huesca is former broad-gauge, now 25kV 50Hz mixed-gauge with three running-rails (R.3336); and Huesca - Canfranc is unelectrified broad-gauge awaiting possible 25kV 50Hz electrification and conversion to standard-gauge (R.3498). All the line’s broad-gauge trains remain diesel-worked, including its Zaragoza - Huesca regional trains, continuing twice daily to Jaca and Canfranc.

The standard-gauge to Huesca saw both formal inauguration and start of revenue service on Tuesday 23 December 2003 as planned. RENFE’s present commercial offer of passenger trains on this line is rather odd. One variable-gauge Altaria electric set runs Madrid - Zaragoza - Huesca daily, all the way on the standard-gauge. This is clearly sub-optimal use of specialised rolling-stock but RENFE do not have enough standard-gauge AVE electric sets available. One variable-gauge Tren Regional Diesel runs Zaragoza - Huesca - Jaca daily, using the Brava gauge-changer at Huesca (R.3434), thus justifying both its diesel traction and its gauge-changing ability. As the Brava equipment is claimed to take only seconds to change the gauge of wheelsets (http://www.caf.es/20/innovacion_brava.asp), the 10-15min gained on the Zaragoza - Huesca section is not lost north of Huesca. However, most of the TRD workings are Zaragoza - Huesca, and since 7 January 2004 Calatayud - Zaragoza, in both cases entirely on standard-gauge track under the wires. The TRDs seem to perform rather well, Calatayud - Zaragoza taking only 40min by TRD compared to 34min by AVE and Altaria. (While TGVs have seen diesel haulage beyond the French electrified high-speed network, for example, on the La Roche-sur-Yon - Les Sables d’Olonne branch, the converse, a regular service of diesel trains on a dedicated high-speed electric line, does seem a wasteful novelty! However, until new sets on order are delivered, RENFE just do not own a moderately-high-speed standard-gauge electric train, abundant elsewhere in Europe.)

From mid-January to mid-April 2004 (exact dates not specified) major engineering works affect the line north of Huesca. Part of the job is being done at night, but Huesca - Jaca - Canfranc is closed Mondays to Thursdays, with buses replacing all trains. The Friday-morning Canfranc - Huesca and Sunday-afternoon Huesca - Canfranc services are also by bus, to avoid stabling a train-set for several days at Canfranc, or running it back and forth light. Given the many onerous speed restrictions on the line, buses can maintain the train timings easily. After completion Huesca - Canfranc times are to be reduced by one hour. The works are mainly on trackbed stabilisation, drainage and two false tunnels, aimed at preventing the heavy local rainfall from causing landslips undermining or blocking the track. Rails and sleepers in poor condition are reportedly being replaced by second-hand material from the abandoned FC Santander-Mediterráneo (R.3497). This is ominous, and would seem a false economy, but it is not known how the present works relate to the strategic project of conversion to standard-gauge (R.2141).

3558][ES] Madrid-Atocha - Sol-Gran Vía - Alonso Martínez - Nuevos Ministerios - Madrid-Chamartín: (Ball 21A2) To provide extra capacity, RENFE are to build a new south-to-north broad-gauge tunnel west of the existing very busy double-track broad-gauge tunnel under the centre of Madrid. The new tunnel will be for Cercanías local trains only, and will run from Madrid Atocha Cercanías, the subsurface platforms beneath Madrid Puerta de Atocha main station, with intermediate stations at Sol-Gran Vía (interchange with two metro lines), Alonso Martínez (metro interchange) and Nuevos Ministerios (with platforms alongside the present RENFE station in tunnel, plus metro interchange). The new line will not only relieve the present tracks, but by allowing more through services will also ease the pedestrian routes within Atocha station whose stairs are often choked with people changing trains. Target opening-date is 2007-08. (http://www.rafcercamadrid.com/RAF/index.aspx)

Later a third south-to-north Atocha - Chamartín tunnel is to be built, to standard-gauge, without intermediate stations, running beneath the Calle de Serrano slightly to the east of the existing tunnel. This tunnel will link the two existing high-speed standard-gauge lines out of Atocha (Madrid - Sevilla and Madrid - Zaragoza - Lleida) with the new line under construction out of Chamartín (Madrid - Segovia - Medina del Campo / Valladolid). Significant design work has not yet started.

3559][ES] Mallorca: Palma - Sóller: (Ball 38A1-38A2) The managing director of this 28km 1200V dc railway through the island’s northern mountains says a change from the present 914mm-gauge to metre-gauge is being considered. If the aim is for Transports de les Illes Balears to work it along with their own regauged Palma - Inca - Sa Pobla / Manacor lines (R.3081), perhaps the change may take effect when the Ferrocarril de Sóller company’s concession ends in 2011 (R.3501). Such a change could lead to scrapping of the existing heritage stock, possible de-electrification of the Soller line, and a more uncertain future for the 914mm-gauge Sóller - Port de Soller/Puerto de Sóller tramway extension.

3560][IR][PK] (Tehran - Bafq -) Kerman - Bam - Fahraj - Zahedan (- Mirjaveh RAI - Qila Saveh PR - Quetta): (R.0586, 2059) During 2003 the long-planned link between the railway networks of west and south Asia, enabling an all-rail journey from Istanbul to the Indian subcontinent, came a little closer. In February 2003 Rah Ahan Iran (= Iranian railways) said that track-laying was complete on the 224km Kerman - Bam section, filling part of the 547km gap between RAI’s standard-gauge system and Zahedan, the Iranian end of the broad-gauge (1676mm) line worked as part of Pakistan Railways. (http://www.msedv.com/rai/news.html) The destructive earthquake at Bam in December 2003 did not seriously damage the new section, for on 28 December the UK Department for International Development reported that the railway to Bam was again open. Given no new financial or other problems, RAI say they hope to complete the Bam - Zahedan link by March 2007, but pace of construction in recent years has been spasmodic, and Iranian efforts seem rather to be concentrated on the Mashhad - Bafq (- Bandar Abbas) line, of which c.250km have been built. In December 2003 Iran’s deputy transport minister said that this line should be completed ‘next year’ - presumably meaning by March 2005, since the Iranian year ends in March. This would significantly shorten the rail route from five land-locked countries of the former Soviet Union (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) south to an Iranian seaport. A map of Iran’s railways is at http://www.rajatrains.com.

3561][PK][IN] Lahore - Wagah PR - Atari IR (- Amritsar - Delhi): The only rail border-crossing between Pakistan and India that has operated in recent years (R.1435) closed 1 January 2002 at a time of political tension, but reopened 15 January 2004, with an international passenger service (Samjota/Samjhauta Express) twice-weekly on Mondays and Thursdays, and a daily freight train to start on 18 January. Timings for the c.30km cross-border journey on the Pakistan Railways diesel-hauled passenger train are Lahore 08:00 - 09:00 Wagah (lengthy stop for security checks before departure at 12:00) - 12:30 Atari (arriving platform 2, for Indian customs and immigration checks), leaving Atari (platform 3) at 13:30 for the run back to Wagah and Lahore. The connecting Indian train, overnight to and from Delhi, is #4001/2 Atari 20:05 - 03:45 Delhi 21:00 - 04:40 Atari. (The Nation; Dawn; Deccan Herald)

3562][CN] Beijing - Shanghai: high-speed fixed-link: On 29 December 2003 public services began on the short (30km) Shanghai Lo Yang Road - Pudong airport line (R.3539), the world’s first commercial use of German Transrapid magnetic-levitation technology, but on 16 January 2004 the Chinese government ruled out as too expensive the use of ‘maglev’ for the proposed fast surface link from the northern capital south-east across the country to its largest city, on the coast. A high-speed conventional railway, perhaps using Shinkansen or TGV technology, is likely to be built instead, with a target opening-date before the Olympic Games are held in Beijing in summer 2008. (China Daily, quoted in The Guardian, 17 January 2004)

3563][AU] (Adelaide -) Alice Springs - Darwin: (R.3342) The first freight train over the new Alice Springs - Darwin south-to-north transcontinental railway set off on 15 January 2004 as planned (R.3100) on its two-day journey from Adelaide. Operators Freightlink will run five trains a week to Darwin. Passenger operators Great Southern Railway will launch their weekly Adelaide - Alice Springs - Darwin Ghan on its inaugural 2979km journey on 1 February 2004.

3564][US] Cincinnati, OH - Chattanooga, TN: Financed and still owned by the city of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Southern line opened from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1873-1880, with a gauge of 1524mm (5ft), and was subsequently operated by a succession of lessees, latterly the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific, itself controlled from 1895 by Southern Railway, and from 1982 by Norfolk Southern. In 1886 the entire 540km (338mi) route was converted to standard 1435mm-gauge in a single thirteen-hour possession! Its ‘rat hole’ nickname (R.3542) derived from its 27 tunnels of restricted loading-gauge. By the 1950s the restrictions had become operationally intolerable, and by 1963 they had been sidelined by a variety of engineering works, including a number of deviations which can be traced in the SPV Railroad Atlas of North America: Appalachia & Piedmont. Three are in Kentucky, on the McKinney - King’s Mountain, Tateville - Greenwood, and Cumberland Falls - Flat Rock sections. One is in Tennessee on the Helenwood - Robbins section. (article on railroads of Cincinnati in Trains magazine, September 2002; former station-names are from reprinted 1910 Official Guide)

3565][US] Amtrak operating rights: When nationalised Amtrak (a US federal government creation more formally known as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) began operating passenger trains on 1 May 1971, they acquired the right to run over the tracks of railroad companies that had chosen to pay up and contract with Amtrak to buy themselves out of the increasingly unremunerative inter-city passenger business. Three significant companies decided against an Amtrak contract and therefore were obliged by federal law to continue running their own inter-city passenger trains, but Southern Railway eventually contracted with Amtrak in 1979, and Denver & Rio Grande Western in 1983. Rock Island left the passenger business by going into liquidation. Amtrak’s rights to run passenger trains were not restricted to the routes of the specific services running on 30 April 1971, and as the 1971 railroads have gradually merged, the running powers have become applicable to the systems of successor companies. However, Amtrak do not have universal rights over the whole US rail network (R.3542).

An important example is in northern New England. The last Boston & Maine passenger train from Portland, Maine, ran on 29 October 1960, and B&M had already been authorised to abandon all inter-city passenger service before May 1971, so they did not need to contract with Amtrak - who did not therefore acquire running powers over B&M or their present freight-railroad successors, Guilford Rail System and associated companies. Thus, when Amtrak, with state backing, sought in the 1990s to launch a new Boston, MA - Portland, ME service, they faced serious delay due to opposition from Guilford, who were resistant to hosting passenger trains on their tracks. Amtrak had to negotiate new rights to run the Downeaster, and though the service eventually began on 14 December 2001 (R.2445), legal difficulties continued, for example over maximum speeds for the passenger trains. Amtrak have throughout sought to run at 126km/h (=79mph), the usual speed allowed by the safety authority, the Federal Railroad Administration, for lines without signalling incorporating safety features similar to the British automatic warning system. Guilford however imposed a limit of 94km/h (=59mph), allegedly because this is the maximum their (newly upgraded) track will permit. Forcing the passenger traffic to trundle along at a similar speed to freight no doubt simplifies the job of dispatching trains and finding paths on single track, but it does nothing at all for the commercial attractiveness of Amtrak’s service. The federal Surface Transportation Board ruled in favour of Amtrak on 31 January 2003, but Guilford have challenged this by raising an action in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

3566][US] Miami, FL - Key West, FL: Florida East Coast Railway’s 251km Key West Extension was perhaps the railway with the highest proportion of bridges and viaducts per km ever built. In 2004 the unique but short-lived (1908-1935) line hopping from island to island along the Florida Keys can still be traced by its disused viaducts, now National Historical Monuments, paralleling US Highway 1. Some notes on this line are at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/us_key_w.htm.

3567][DE] Nordhausen trams on metre-gauge heritage railway: (R.2290; Ball 41B3) Trams on new route #10 are to begin operating on 1 May 2004, running from the northern tram-terminus at Krankenhaus (= hospital) south on the town’s electrified metre-gauge track to the main-line DB Hauptbahnhof; turning west to join the metre-gauge Harzer Schmalspurbahnen railway at their nearby Nordhausen Nord terminus; then heading north under auxiliary diesel power on unelectrified HSB track from Nordhausen Nord to Ilfeld (km10.7). (Tramways & Urban Transit, November 2003)

3568][DE] (Langenlonsheim -) Stromberg - Simmern - Büchenbeuren - Morbach (- Hermeskeil): (Ball 48B1-48A1) The (Langenlonsheim -) Stromberg - Simmern section of the Hunsrückbahn closed to passengers 1 June 1984 and Simmern - Morbach (- Hermeskeil) at the end of the 1976 summer timetable. Stromberg - Morbach closed to freight in 2001, but Langenlonsheim - Stromberg has (or had in 2002) freight worked by Bahngesellschaft Waldhof AG. According to the 2002 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland, infrastructure company RP Eisenbahn GmbH were then leasing Langenlonsheim - Morbach from DB, but the line was due to revert to DB Netz AG from 1 January 2003. RP Eisenbahn’s surrender of the lease suggests that Land Rheinland-Pfalz have abandoned their plan for restoration of passenger trains from Langenlonsheim to the Büchenbeuren - Hahn Flughafen branch (R.0634, 1250). Ryanair customers arriving at Hahn for Frankfurt will no doubt continue to enjoy their 100km bus journey.

DB Netz are now formally advertising the disused Stromberg - Simmern - Morbach infrastructure for take-over by another party, from the beginning of March 2004 (‘64km of single-track non-electrified secondary line currently closed due to trackwork deficiencies; no reliable commitment has been given regarding a rail connection to Hahn airport which would justify retention of the line as part of the national network’). If no-one comes forward to take over the line, DB Netz will no doubt seek its statutory abandonment. Just before the March date in the advertisement, on Saturday 28 February 2004, Eifelbahn Verkehrsgesellschaft are to run a railtour from Koblenz Hbf via Bingen Hbf, Langenlonsheim and Stromberg to Simmern, using a heritage Class 798/996 railbus set.

3569][DK] København Flintholm: (Ball 9A2) The city’s new Flintholm station opened 24 January 2004, at the point where DSB’s Hellerup - Ryparken - Bispebjerg - Nørrebro - Fuglebakken - Grøndal - Flintholm - KB Hallen - Ålholm - Danshøj - Vigerslev - Ny Ellebjerg north-south cross-city Ringbane (avoiding the main station København H) intersects with the new 6km Vanløse - Flintholm - Lindevang - Solbjerg - Frederiksberg metro section (converted from S-Tog line; BLN 833.0429; R.3266) and with the København H - Valby - Langgade - Peter Bangsvej - Flintholm (- Frederikssund) S-Tog line. Flintholm’s interchange role is expected to make it Denmark’s third busiest station by 2010. (partly Erik’s Rail News)

3570][SE] Göteborg trams: (R.2979) The 1.4km new section of line from Ullevi south along Skånegatan to Korsvägen opened 20 September 2003, with consequent route changes. (Tramways & Urban Transit, November 2003)

3571][PT] Porto São Bento - Porto Campanhã - Trofa - Lousado - Santo Tirso - Guimarães: (Ball 7B1) The Guimarães branch reopened throughout on 19 January 2004 (R.3554) after conversion from metre- to broad-gauge and electrification, but REFER’s large capital investment will not be swiftly recouped by CP, who charge a modest EUR1.75 for a Porto - Guimarães one-way journey. (Metro do Porto charge EUR1 for the much shorter two-zone trip currently possible on their new standard-gauge light-rail line A; R.2653) Though no timings are shown, former halts Cuca, Pereirinhas and Nespereira are named in the new Guimarães branch timetable-leaflet, so CP may possibly intend to reintroduce calls there once all signalling and station works are complete. On 4-5 February 2004 all the new passing-loops east of Lousado remained rusty and out of use; only two of the four new platforms at Guimarães were operational; and the branch was being run with only one moving train at a time. Some trains ‘crossed’ at the terminus: the 16:50 arrived at platform 2 as the 17:06 prepared to leave from platform 1, and the 09:50 arrival coupled up to a previous arrival sitting in platform 1, making an eight-coach 10:06 Guimarães - Porto departure.

The new electrified broad-gauge terminus at Guimarães has four parallel platforms, numbered 1-4 from north to south, all of full height and at least eight coaches long, connected by a walkway behind the buffer-stop line at the east end. An overall roof covering the eastern half of the platforms is supported on the eastern and southern sides by solid walls which effectively restrict access to passengers entering either via the new station building or out-of-hours by an adjacent wicket-gate. The new building - a stark concrete edifice with none of the beautiful blue-tile azulejo decoration traditional on Portuguese stations - lies north of, and at the eastern end of, platform 1, with road frontage to the north. Slightly to the west of it, a cafe remained open in the old station building, though this seemed shuttered up on the road side and accessible only from the new platform 1. Outside the station a bay serves country buses such as those to Fafe, but not town services. Passengers arriving by rail have little to tell them that the historic town-centre of Guimarães is only a short walk the ‘wrong way’ down a one-way street. East of the eastern wall of the new station, about a third of the former railway land has been regraded to become a station car-park at a level slightly lower than the former metre-gauge running-lines. On the southern edge of the car-park, farthest from the station approach-road, stands a traditional cylindrical water-tank, silver-painted, with the station-name Guimarães clearly highlighted in relief on a black band. Radical rebuilding has eliminated most other traces of the metre-gauge era, but east of the car-park the base remains of the far abutment of a now-vanished rail bridge over a track or lane, and beyond it the embankment, cut back and landscaped, that once carried the railway east towards its former terminus Fafe.

3572][PT][ES] (Lisboa - Entroncamento - Abrantes - Torre das Vargens -) Marvão-Beirã CP - Valencia de Alcántara RENFE (- Cáceres - Madrid): (R.1380; Ball 27A3) The only cross-border passenger train by this route, the Lisboa - Madrid overnight, is hauled by a CP electric locomotive to Entroncamento, a CP diesel to Valencia de Alcántara, then a RENFE diesel to Madrid. CP’s diesel returns with the westbound train, but RENFE need to roster two locomotives for the working, for the east- and westbound trains cross between Valencia de Alcántara and Cáceres. Apart from the Lisboa - Madrid overnight, trains on the Entroncamento - Abrantes section seem now to be electrically-worked, some by units. Even a Lisboa - Entroncamento - Abrantes - Covilhã regional train calling at most stations changed locomotives at Abrantes.

3573][PT] Lisboa: Roma/Areeiro - Entrecampos - Sete Rios: The station in the north of the city shown as Areeiro in the 1993 Ball atlas (25B1) had been renamed Roma/Areeiro by the time the January 2001 Quail map was published. In early February 2004 CP’s Entrecampos - Queluz-Massama local services that formerly started and terminated at Entrecampos Poente were running instead from tracks 1 and 2 at Roma/Areeiro, stabling in sidings east of the station. (A few such trains in peak hours run through from/to Lisboa Oriente.) From the first weekend of September 2003 private-sector operators Fertagus also extended their Entrecampos - Campolide - Fogueteiro cross-river services at the Lisboa end and these now run from tracks 3 and 4 at Roma/Areeiro. The Fertagus trains reverse in the platforms and the tracks east of the platforms leading to the storage sidings seemed not to be used. At Entrecampos the once-busy extra island platform called Entrecampos Poente (poente = west; R.0104) now sees little activity. Track 2p looked well rusted and out of use while track 3p handles only a single daily working (IR801/807 Figueira da Foz 08:05 - 11:31 Entrecampos Poente 13:34 - 17:14 Figueira da Foz).

3574][PT] (Lisboa -) Sete Rios - Campolide - Fogueteiro - Coina - Penalva - Pinhal Novo - Venda do Alcaide - Palmela - Setúbal: (R.0424; Ball 25B1-26A2) CP’s pair of long-distance Algarve trains IC580/4 Faro - Lisboa Oriente - Faro (R.3271) remain the only passenger working over the Fogueteiro - Pinhal Novo section, but once their whole route is wired Fertagus Roma/Areeiro - Fogueteiro local electric units will run east to Pinhal Novo, then south to terminate at Setubal. In January 2004 the two new intermediate stations on the Fogueteiro - Pinhal Novo section (R.3271) were still unnamed. At Pinhal Novo the classic Barreiro - Pinhal Novo main line trails in, and the Pinhal Novo - Venda do Alcaide - Palmela - Setúbal - Praias-Sado - Aguas de Moura - Pinheiro loop diverges south (R.3464, 3495). Pinhal Novo’s old platforms had been replaced, slightly to the east, by an island and a new main platform with the existing station building at its western end. The building was being redeveloped and the ticket-office was in a temporary portable cabin to the west of it. South of the signal-box, further new platforms seemed to be under construction. Rebuilding of Venda do Alcaide and Palmela stations looked nearly complete.

3575][PT] (Lisboa / Barreiro - Pinhal Novo - Poceirão - Pinheiro -) Ermidas-Sado - Torre Vã - Funcheira - Pereiras - Tunes: (R.3074; Ball 26A2-33A2) On the main Linha do Sul south to the Algarve, Ermidas-Sado - Funcheira doubling was in progress in January 2004, with heavy work concentrated near the closed Torre Vã station. All the open passenger stations on the Funcheira - Tunes section, with the exception of Pereiras, had been equipped with the new raised platforms.

3576][PT] Lagos - Tunes - Albufeira - Loulé - Almansil-Nexe - São João da Venda - Faro - Vila Real de Santo Antonio: (R.3496; Ball 33A2) Remodelling of the Linha do Algarve continues. At Lagos a local railway enthusiast said that the new signalling was ready from Friday 16 January 2004 and came into use over that weekend. The platforms of the new station seem to have come into use at the same time, though passengers were still having to use the ticket-office and other facilities of the old station. At Tunes a new footbridge was being erected in mid-January at the northern end, connecting the platform next to the station building with the island platform. Albufeira’s new footbridge was also nearly complete. At Loulé the line through the platform next to the station building had been reinstated. East of Almansil-Nexe some realignment seems to have been undertaken. Faro football stadium, well west of the town and not far from the existing station of São João da Venda, was being given its own new station with passing-loop. Faro station itself was a building site. The western end had new terminal bay platforms on the north side, with a run-round track between the longer two of the three platform roads. The two former through passenger platforms had been demolished and their tracks had gone. The third line through the station, formerly the goods line, was the only track available for trains east towards Vila Real, and part of the goods-shed platform was in use as a temporary passenger platform for such services.

3577][ES] Madrid: Villaverde Bajo - Vallecas - Vicálvaro - Hortaleza - Madrid-Chamartín: (EGTRE ES04/17; Ball 22A3-22A3) This circuitous route, giving access from western and southern Spain round the east side of the capital to Chamartín station, was used in January 2004 by overnight trains #335 Lisboa - Madrid-Chamartin and #347 Algeciras - Madrid-Chamartin, perhaps to avoid the busy Atocha - Chamartin tunnel (R.3558) during the morning peak. Timings suggest that the reverse workings #332 Madrid-Chamartin - Lisboa and #344 Madrid-Chamartin - Algeciras run via Atocha.

3578][IT] Modena RFI - Policlinico - Modena ATCM (- Sassuolo ATCM): (R.2616, 3534; Ball 47B2) The c.5km new section, largely underground, linking the 3000V dc standard-gauge lines of the national Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and the local Azienda Trasporti Consorziale di Modena finally opened on 26 January 2004. The single intermediate station serves the city’s main hospital. Initially only 13 pairs of trains daily were using the new link, all running through on the 16km ATCM line to Sassuolo, but more services were to be added later in 2004. In the first week patronage was low, but the through trains were not shown in timetables and even on Modena ATCM station no indication was given that they were running.

Modena - Sassuolo began as a steam tramway, but it was then narrow-gauge, and after it was converted to standard-gauge in 1932 it was always operated by electric railcars, so the inaugural working on 26 January 2004, classic 1930s stock hauled by a 1911-built steam locomotive, may well have been the first standard-gauge steam train ever to have run on the line!

3579][BG] Bulgaria: 760mm-gauge: The 104km Cherven Bryag - Oryakhovo line in northern Bulgaria closed 1 October 2002 (R.2486, 2511; Ball 52B3) and a later German report of its reopening to passengers (R.2591) seems to have been incorrect. An attempt to run a special train on 8 June 2003 was thwarted by thieves having stolen parts of the track. The same fate seems to have befallen the 16km Pazardzhik - Varvara section, closed at the same time. Only the 125km Septemvri - Varvara - Bansko - Dobrinishche line continued to offer narrow-gauge passenger services in 2003 (R.2893; Ball 52B2). (Continental Railway Journal, #136, winter 2003-04)

3580.1][IN] Madhya Pradesh / Maharashtra narrow-gauge: the system centred on Nainpur Jn: (R.2801.5; H8 on official Railway Map of India) At the end of 2003 the South Eastern Railway operated, in the provinces of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in central India, a system of 762mm-gauge (=2ft6in) lines still extending to some 700km, probably the largest such system in the world, taking a minimum of four days to traverse. As with other metre- and narrow-gauge railways, considerable lengths have already been converted to India’s 1676mm broad-gauge (=5ft6in). Further conversion is under way, and Indian Railways propose to convert the whole remaining system, perhaps by 2010. The main purpose of conversion is not so much to provide better service for local villagers as to open up more direct routes for through broad-gauge traffic, especially freight, on a national network that needs to make full use of capacity. The advantages to local users are however considerable: as an example, Jabalpur - Gondia by narrow-gauge took ten hours, but after regauging the journey should take only five.

3580.2] Interchange from the broad-gauge can now be made at five places: Jabalpur on the Mumbai - Jabalpur - Allahabad main line; at Chhindwara with the (formerly narrow, now broad) (Amla -) Khirsadoh - Chhindwara branch; at Nagbhir Jn with the (formerly narrow, now broad) Chandrapur - Nagbhir Jn - Gondia (- Balaghat Jn) secondary line; at Nagpur Jn with the Mumbai - Nagpur - Kolkata main line; and at Itwari Jn, 5km from Nagpur.

3580.3] Geographically right in the centre of India, Nainpur Jn can be regarded as the hub of this narrow-gauge system, and is perhaps the busiest 762mm-gauge junction in the world, with four routes radiating from its well-used station: north (Nainpur Jn - Jabalpur; 71km); south (Nainpur Jn - Balaghat Jn - Katangi; c.156km); east (Nainpur Jn - Mandla Fort; 30km); and south-west (Nainpur Jn - Chhindwara - Itwari Jn - Nagpur Jn; 290km). This last line continues south (Nagpur Jn - Itwari Jn - Naghbir Jn; 111km). Each of the lines has at least three departures and arrivals daily at Nainpur. Trains are timed to meet there, resulting in a frenzy of activity about three times a day, including some services running through during the small hours. Nainpur has no hotels but its First-Class Waiting-Room offers acceptable refuge from the cold night air for a few hours.

3580.4] Jabalpur - Nainpur Jn - Balaghat Jn - Katangi: The Jabalpur - Balaghat north-south route (187km) is the spine of the network, with packed trains loading to eight bogie coaches running four times daily, including an overnight working, taking 7-9 hours. Nainpur Jn - Katangi trains run twice a day, morning and evening, reversing at Balaghat. The Katangi service used to run Gondia - Balaghat - Katangi, but the 34km Balaghat - Gondia section has closed for conversion to broad-gauge, and in December 2003 only the trackbed remained as evidence of a line visited in December 2002. Local buses make the link for passengers. New bridges and earthworks are already well advanced along the c.40km Balaghat - Katangi section, which will be the next for closure and conversion, before reopening as a Gondia - Balaghat - Katangi broad-gauge branch.

3580.5] Nainpur Jn - Mandla Fort: On this 30km branch one of the three trains works through from Balaghat, with the locomotive running round at Nainpur, another runs through from Nagpur, with a nominal 1h layover at Nainpur, and the third originates at Nainpur. The branch trains, like those on the ‘main line’, comprise rakes of several coaches so at worst are only comfortably full. From the north-facing junction the line heads east through dry and almost treeless countryside, with camels to be seen by the lineside. The many level-crossings are a new handicap, for the line no longer employs crossing-keepers and traincrew operation of gates involves stopping twice. These delays, plus lack of co-operation from road-users, make the unchanged timetable unworkable and late arrivals inevitable, though turnround time at Mandla and layover time at Nainpur allow on-time departures, in theory at least. The station at Mandla Fort is on the outskirts of the town, surrounded by open scrubby desert, though some of the space was once clearly occupied by sidings and the like. Nothing like a fort was visible from the station.

3580.6] Nainpur Jn - Chhindwara - Itwari Jn - Nagpur Jn: The 290km journey, reversing at Chhindwara, is the longest continuous run on the narrow-gauge in India, involving some thirteen hours on an unpadded wooden seat! The line has three through services daily, one train in each direction running overnight. The train stops at about 35 stations, descending steadily from dry upland (noticeably colder, especially at night) through varied scenery including extensive eucalyptus forest. North of Chhindwara the train encountered track works and ploughed its way through some indiscriminately shovelled ballast, with much crunching, grinding and flying stones - and a tirade of abuse (needing no translation) from the driver to the leader of the track-gang. One of the coaches had badly broken springs that made it tilt at an alarming angle, but it survived its run of over 140km to Chhindwara, where it was finally removed with the usual drama associated with such procedures in India: staff arguing; driver of shunting locomotive getting conflicting instructions and consequently going off in wrong directions; and passengers looking on in a state of resigned, rather cheerful curiosity!

3580.7] Nagpur Jn - Itwari Jn - Naghbir Jn: This southernmost remaining section of the narrow-gauge system has three return services daily, with one pair shown in the public timetable as starting or terminating 5km south-east of Nagpur Jn at Itwari Jn, also an interchange station with the broad-gauge, which runs parallel on the Nagpur - Itwari section. In fact these ‘short workings’ run empty directly from or to Motigarh, a traction depot, carriage sidings and works accessed by a triangular junction on the Nagpur - Itwari narrow-gauge running line about 3km out of Nagpur. It proved possible to ride the empty stock from Itwari Jn to Motigarh, make a hurried visit to the works, chat to railway staff, and catch the next empty train around the third side of the triangle back into Nagpur, the last leg in the locomotive cab! The 111km run is through landscape that is naturally dry and scrubby but has patches of well-irrigated agriculture. The trains typically load to eight bogie coaches, well filled, though very close to Naghbir they become empty rather abruptly. It seems Naghbir Jn has few attractions in its own right or as an interchange station with the broad-gauge.

3581][IN] Delhi metro: (R.2409, 2695) A further 4.5km extension (Tis Hazari - Tri Nagar) opened 2 October 2003. (Tramways & Urban Transit, November 2003)

3582][KR] Seoul - Chonan - Taejon - Daegu - Kyongju - Busan: Korea’s first section of high-speed railway (Seoul - Daegu) is to open 1 April 2004. French-built 300km/h TGV clones will then run the 409km from the South Korean capital Seoul to the south-eastern port city of Busan in 2h40min against 4h10min with classic trains and track. When the second section of high-speed line (Daegu - Busan) opens in 2008, Seoul - Busan journey-time will drop to 2h10min. (Erik’s Rail News)

3583][AU] Adelaide - Alice Springs - Darwin: Great Southern Railway’s Ghan left Adelaide’s Keswick Rail Terminal at 12:10 on Sunday 1 February 2004 for its 2979km south-to-north transcontinental journey via the 1420km new Alice Springs - Darwin line (R.3563). The kilometre-long inaugural train comprised two locomotives and 43 coaches, making it the longest passenger train in Australian history, which had to be divided across three platforms to fit into the Keswick station. Train-crew numbered 40, including eight on-board chefs to prepare meals for the 330 passengers, many of them paying premium fares to ride on the first train. Arrival in Darwin was in the afternoon of Tuesday 3 February. The regular weekly service from Adelaide was to continue on 8 February, timetabled as in R.2516. (ABC News Online; http://www.gsr.com.au/ghan/index.htm)

3584][US] Anchorage - Anchorage Airport (ANC): Alaska Railroad’s 3km airport branch reopened as planned (R.2415) and was reported as back in use during summer 2003 shuttling cruise-ship passengers from and to their flights, with a Class GP40-2 diesel-electric locomotive on each end of the train. (Continental Railway Journal, #136, winter 2003-04)

3585][US] Tacoma, WA - Frederickson - Chehalis, WA and Frederickson - Morton, WA: The Chicago, Milwaukee, St.Paul & Pacific Railroad, sliding towards extinction, for years deferred track maintenance on their lines around Puget Sound, which closed in the late 1970s. For a period a subsidiary of timber group Weyerhaeuser operated part of this system in support of logging operations. However in the early 1990s Tacoma Rail, who were already providing local freight service to the city of Tacoma’s industrial Tideflats, bravely acquired 211km (=132mi) of the former Milwaukee Road, from Tacoma south-west to Chehalis and south to Morton. With some 275km of track, city-owned Tacoma Rail thus became one of the larger ‘short lines’ in America, their aim being not only to handle freight but in the longer term to develop the dilapidated or impassable track as a scenic tourist route between the city and stately Mount Rainier, in its National Park with 2M visitors a year. The Mountain Division of Tacoma Rail took over operations in November 1998. The city raised some USD6.3M in grants and donations while Tacoma Rail worked to restore the track. The whole system is now passable, but some sections remain limited to freight trains travelling no faster than 16km/h. Tacoma Rail’s nine freight customers include aerospace company Boeing, who bring in material for building aircraft wings at Frederickson, but in 2003 the largest customer, Spanaway Lumber, went bankrupt. Much remains to be done before tourist trains can run. To offer an acceptable two-hour journey, the tracks must be safe enough for 40km/h at least, and it takes time for the narrow margin of freight-revenue over operating-cost to pay for catching up with decades of neglected maintenance. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

3586][US][CA] Chicago, IL - Port Huron, MI - Sarnia, ON - Toronto, ON: The USA will have one fewer passenger service crossing its frontiers when, from 26 April 2004, Amtrak’s Chicago - Toronto #364/365 International ceases being international and is cut back to run Chicago - Port Huron only. Passenger trains will no longer run via Canadian National’s 1.87km tunnel beneath the St.Clair River, which forms the border at this point (BLN 767.0514). On the Canadian side it seems that VIA are to continue with a Sarnia - Toronto service. It would be of interest to know what lies behind the decision: perhaps CN preferring to sell paths through their busy tunnel to more remunerative freight trains; the US Department of Homeland Security having another bout of paranoia (R.1941, 1999); Amtrak and VIA failing to agree through timings; or continuing financial problems with state (R.2851) or federal subsidy. America will be left with three passenger services to Canada, (Seattle, WA - Vancouver, BC; New York, NY - Toronto, ON; New York, NY - Montréal, QC) and none to Mexico.

3587][TN] Tunisia: On the SNCFT standard-gauge system, the Tunis - Mateur - Bizerte line linking the capital to the port and former French naval-base had two branches from Mateur. The Mateur - Tamera (- Tabarka) line westward now runs only as far as Tamera, having been severed beyond there due to water-barrage works, perhaps in the 1990s, and the Mateur - Beja - Sidi m’Himech branch is completely closed. On the metre gauge system, the line across the town square at Sousse has been severed and is out of use. Tunis - Bir Bou Regba - Kalaa Kebira - Sousse - M’Saaken - Sfax (- Gabès / Metlaoui) trains that call at Sousse reverse in Sousse station and retrace their path to Kalaa Kebira before taking the Sousse avoiding line on a new alignment south to M’Saaken, where they rejoin the old Sousse - Sfax route south. The daily Tunis - Sousse - Monastir - Mahdia train does the same as far as M’Saaken, where it turns north on the old Sfax - Sousse route before taking another new curve to Sousse Zone Industrielle where it joins the Sousse - Monastir line. Sousse Sud now has only local services. Further south (Tunis -) Kalaa Khasba - Tabeditt - Metlaoui is reportedly still passable, but with a 45km/h limit. M’Saaken - Moknine and the Metlaoui - Tozeur branch are reportedly closed. (European Rail yahoogroup)

3588][IN] Nadiad Jn - Petlad Jn - Bochansan Jn - Bhadran: (RMI D8) Built at the behest of the Gaekwar (= ruler) of Baroda (= Vadodara), this 762mm-gauge line opened c.1920 from Nadiad in Gujarat province, on the Western Railway’s Ahmadabad - Nadiad - Vadodara (- Mumbai) broad-gauge main line, and makes flat crossings with two broad-gauge branches off the main line (Anand - Petlad - Khambhat and Vasad - Bochansan - Kathana) before reaching the sleepy settlement of Bhadran. Other narrow-gauge lines in the area were all converted to broad-gauge by the early 1990s. The four trains daily that once ran the full 59km length of the line have been reduced to a solitary Nadiad - Petlad - Bochansan - Bhadran working, taking c.3h each way (running daily except Sundays according to staff, not daily as shown in the Indian Bradshaw timetable). An additional Nadiad - Petlad round-trip runs daily (not Sundays only as shown in Bradshaw). Most of the traffic seems to be on this 38km section, and south of Petlad the train is not busy. Petlad shed staff take pride in the line’s two Class ZDM5 diesel locomotives (#537 and 538) and have never let them become simultaneous failures! A ramp at Petlad allows narrow-gauge stock to be run on and off broad-gauge wagons, and on 29 December 2003 a smart-looking coach was being delivered from works in this manner. A little to the south at Bochansan Jn signs still advise rather hopefully the connectional opportunities that are available once a day. At Bhadran the rather derelict station presents a sad sight where once - as it says on the walls - a proud station-master would have co-ordinated passengers, goods and packages.

3589.1][IN] The Gaekwar of Baroda’s narrow-gauge lines centred on Dabhoi Jn: (RMI D8) Also built at the behest of the Gaekwar of Baroda, and still in Gujarat but on the southern side of the river Mahi, this 762mm-gauge system’s first line, from Miyagam in 1862, initially used bullock traction. The Dabhoi Jn - Samlaya - Timba Road line to the north is now closed but four routes still radiate from Dabhoi: west (Dabhoi Jn - Pratapnagar - Vishvamitri Jn - Jambusar Jn; 80km; 2 trains a day); south-west (Dabhoi Jn - Miyagam Karjan Jn; 33km; 5 trains a day); south (Dabhoi Jn - Chandod; 17km; 2 trains a day); and east (Dabhoi Jn - Chhuchhapura Jn - Bodeli; 25km; 2 trains a day; and Dabhoi Jn - Chhuchhapura Jn - Tankhala; 53km; 2 trains a day). Both Vishvamitri, just south of the city of Vadodara, and Miyagam Karjan offer interchange with the Western Railway’s (Delhi -) Vadodara - Mumbai broad-gauge main line. Traction seems exclusively Class ZDM5 diesel locomotives, of which 12 were seen. Dabhoi Jn still has quite a British atmosphere - until you leave the station. Our reporter could identify nothing that looked like a hotel but he enjoyed free and exclusive use for a night of the Upper Class Waiting Room, with tap and toilet, much as a European traveller might have done in the days of the British Raj. Over the several days of his visit in December 2003 the staff on this system were very friendly, in particular a Senior Commercial Inspector who offered him breakfast, and the train-crews who allowed him more than one footplate ride, including driving experience!

3589.2] Dabhoi Jn - Pratapnagar - Vishvamitri Jn - Jambusar Jn: At Pratapnagar, 28km west of Dabhoi, is the works for the system, which was not visited, but from the passing train looked empty. At 31km from Dabhoi, the narrow-gauge line runs beneath the broad-gauge at Vishvamitri to enter its own station at right-angles to the main line. After long layovers at both Pratapnagar and Vishvamitri, the train continued (without our reporter) to Jambusar Jn on the Bharuch Jn - Samni - Jambusar Jn - Kavi 762mm-gauge line (which he had visited in 2001). These layovers, and the low line speeds, make the two daily trains slow even by narrow-gauge standards, taking 5h to cover 80km.

3589.3] Dabhoi Jn - Miyagam Karjan: Heading south-west across land that supports thriving agriculture where irrigated, but only scrubby vegetation otherwise, the 33km run into the broad-gauge station at Miyagam Karjan takes c.1h30min. Two more narrow-gauge branches from here to the south (Miyagam Karjan - Choranda Jn - Moti Koral; 28km, and Miyagam Karjan - Choranda Jn - Malsar; 38km) are difficult to visit, for each has only one round-trip a day starting at the branch terminus and running largely during hours of darkness.

3589.4] Dabhoi Jn - Chandod: The afternoon train, only comfortably loaded, ran around the rather fetid outskirts of Dabhoi past a magnificent carved gate that once formed part of a continuous but long-demolished town wall, and off into pleasant agricultural countryside seemingly dominated by tobacco production. The 17km run takes only 40min, possibly the shortest run on the Indian narrow-gauge. Intermediate stations are in poor condition, but the terminus at Chandod is well kept, and still has its station-master selling traditional Edmondson-pattern card tickets.

3589.5] Dabhoi Jn - Chhuchhapura Jn - Bodeli (- Chhota Udepur): This line used to run farther east, but the Bodeli - Chhota Udepur section closed in 1990. One of the two Dabhoi - Bodeli daily workings runs through from and to Pratapnagar. The Dabhoi - Bodeli run takes c.1h30min for the 25km. For no obvious reason the eastbound train had a locomotive on front and rear, and only the rear locomotive and coaches returned as the next westbound train. Chhuchhapura Jn (known even to local people as CCP!) is east-facing and the two through trains daily from Dabhoi reverse here for their 38km run south through dry and dusty desert landscape on the Chhuchhapura - Tankhala branch. The whole branch is subject to severe speed-restrictions, initially 25km/h falling to 15km/h for the last 24km - so the train-crew deemed it suitable to hand over to a novice driver for several hours! A fine feature on the line is a slender fenceless bridge over the waters of a broad canal bringing irrigation water south from Rajasthan. At the dusty terminus, Tankhala, the crew took our reporter to their rest room, shared their lunch and posed for more photographs, before letting him drive all the way back to Dabhoi.

3590][IN] Bilimora Jn - Waghai: (RMI D9) From the Western Railway’s (Delhi -) Vadodara - Vishvamitri - Miyagam Karjan - Bilimora - Mumbai broad-gauge main line, this 762mm-gauge line, another of the Gaekwar’s creations still benefiting Gujerat, runs 65km east up into the Satmala hills. The two trains a day work out and back from the terminus, but their timings allow an 8h round-trip from Bilimora with an hour at Waghai. The line is quite scenic except for the section that seems to bisect an aggregates quarry. Leaving tranquil pools and lakes flanked by lush vegetation, the line climbs at its eastern end into drier uplands where eucalyptus trees flourish. Substantial timber traffic was once carried, but - as virtually everywhere on the narrow-gauge - no freight trains now run. The station at Waghai is somewhat run-down. Traction is two Class ZDM5 diesel locomotives (#510 and 539), but rusting at the back of Bilimora’s small shed lies what remains of Class W 0-6-2T #585 Bilimora, built 1923 by WG Bagnall and condemned in 1999.

3591][IN] Pulgaon - Arvi: (official Railway Map of India G9) From Pulgaon on the Mumbai - Pulgaon - Nagpur - Kolkata broad-gauge main line, Central Provinces Railways in 1917 opened this 35km 762mm-gauge branch north to the town of Arvi. Central Railway now run two trains a day (except on Sundays, though this exception is not made clear in the Indian Bradshaw timetable), using two rebuilt Class ZDM4A diesel locomotives (#200 and 217) to haul rakes of four bogie coaches across dry scrubby semi-desert scenery. The round-trip takes a little over three hours, including 30min at the branch terminus, now an educational centre. The station-master at Arvi, kept busy with paperwork by his two trains a day, was proud of his British signals, though these are completely defunct, the line being worked by ticket. The run-round loop’s outer point is still worked by a century-old lever-frame, a solid piece of ironmongery bearing the inscription ‘Railway Signal Co Ltd, Liverpool, England 1895’. The Class ZP 4-6-2 steam locomotives that came from the Bangalore area and worked the line from 1976 until 1997 were in December 2003 still at Pulgaon, #2 and 3 (allegedly ‘preserved’) in the yard next to the broad-gauge station and #5 (allegedly ‘condemned’) at the back of the small locomotive shed a few hundred metres up the branch. All three seemed in a similar state of dereliction.

3592][IN] Raipur Jn - Abhanpur Jn - Dhamtari and Abhanpur Jn - Rajim: (official Railway Map of India H9) From Raipur on the Mumbai - Nagpur - Raipur - Kolkata broad-gauge main line, the South Eastern Railway’s Y-shaped system runs south to Abhanpur Jn (km27) and Dhamtari (km72), with a 17km branch to Rajim. The stock stables overnight at the solitary 762mm-gauge platform outside and to the south of the main station, while the Class ZDM4A locomotives, four or more of them, use a dive-under to run to and from the depot on the north side of the broad-gauge line. Three trains daily run from Raipur through to Dhamtari, offering branch connections, and a fourth runs through to Rajim. At termini and major junctions the line retains tall signal-boxes clad in corrugated-iron, but it has eliminated level-crossing keepers, leading to late-running of up to 1h30min on the nominal 1h Raipur - Abhanpur timing, trashing the whole timetable! Raipur was the only place on the 2003 visit to India where an officious guard asked our reporter not to take photographs, for no real reason. More normal were the reactions of other staff on the line, with a station-master asking for copies of pictures taken locally to be sent to his address, and a train-crew offering a ride in the cab on the promise of reprints of group photos of themselves and all their friends.

3593][IN] Ranchi Jn - Lohardaga: (RMI J8) This South Eastern Railway 762mm-gauge line was visited on 21 December 2003, ten days before it was to close on 31 December 2003 for conversion to a broad-gauge branch. Daily (except Tuesdays, an exception not mentioned in the Indian Bradshaw) the single mixed goods-and-passenger train left Ranchi at 06:30, taking a timetabled 4h15min to run 69km west to Lohardaga. Though Lohardaga is a sizeable town, and the surrounding area was able to feed the line with heavy bauxite traffic, the tribal population are poor by Indian standards, with low literacy. The train was well used, with local people cramming the coaches and riding on the roofs of coaches and vans. The eastbound Lohardaga - Ranchi run took over 5h30min, mainly because of lengthy calls at intermediate stations to load agricultural produce in enormous sacks into the box vans. Such traffic would of course be seasonal and difficult to allow for in the timetable. Though the line had no fewer than six Class ZDM4A diesel locomotives, these must all have been in poor condition, for the one selected to haul the train kept failing and required much tinkering to revive it. New earthworks and bridges were already evident along the line, as were big stockpiles of broad-gauge sleepers and other material, but local opinion was that trains would not be running again during 2004. When service resumes, SER are to offer two trains a day, with journey-times halved.

3594][IN] Rupsa Jn - Bangriposi: (RMI K9-K8) From the Kolkata - Chennai (= Calcutta - Madras) East Coast main line this South Eastern Railway 762mm-gauge line headed north-west inland for 83km. As the sun rose over Rupsa Jn on 23 December 2003 the timetable-board still bore the times of the day’s narrow-gauge trains, as did the current Indian Bradshaw, but the ticket-clerk said the line ceased to operate in about June 2003, and was being converted to a broad-gauge branch. Material stockpiles were evident but none of the track around Rupsa had been touched. The last narrow-gauge coach sat on its broad-gauge transporter wagon waiting to be piggy-backed into history.

3595][IN] Naupada Jn - Gunupur: (RMI J10-I10) Further south-east on the East Coast main line this South Eastern Railway 762mm-gauge line also runs north-west inland for 90km, climbing into the high land of the Eastern Ghats, whose tribes have their own local languages and agricultural lifestyles. The line, built at the behest of the prince of Parlakimidi and opened in 1900, is scenic. Dome-shaped mountains rear up from the fertile plains, which grow all manner of fruits, nuts and vegetables. Two round-trips a day operate, with a rake of four bogie coaches, only comfortably full. Timekeeping has been ruined by elimination of level-crossing keepers, for delays are cumulative: the 05:30 Naupada - Gunupur due at 08:15 arrives at 09:30; the 10:15 Gunupur - Naupada due back at 13:15 arrives at 14:30; the 13:45 Naupada - Gunupur leaves at 15:30; and the evening Gunupur - Naupada due at 21:30 arrives at c.24:00! Traction is two Class ZDM5 diesel locomotives (#523 and 532) which took over from steam on 23 April 1992, the date being affirmed by being painted on the shed wall. The narrow-gauge coaching-stock is unusual in being finished in the two-tone blue livery normally reserved for broad-gauge air-braked stock. The foreman said he sought special permission for this paint-scheme from his superiors, who obviously thought the likelihood of customer confusion too small to be of concern! It may seem odd that a relatively lightly-trafficked line should be a candidate for conversion to broad-gauge, but the converted branch may be extended north-west to join the Vizianagaram - Raipur broad-gauge line at or near Singapuram Road, providing an alternative cut-off route from the coast, saving time and reversal of freight trains. The narrow-gauge branch may have closed on 31 December 2003, but is likely to have been reprieved for a year.

3596][IN] Shantipur Jn - Krishnagar City Jn - Nabadwip Ghat: (RMI L8) Originally owned by the private company McLeod & Co, and transferred to the Eastern Railway in 1966, this 28km 762mm-gauge line lies on the eastern bank of the river Ganga (= Ganges) north of Kolkata. It shares its southern terminus with the terminus of the electrified broad-gauge Kolkata Sealdah - Shantipur branch, and its intermediate station at Krishnagar City Jn lies beside the electrified broad-gauge Kolkata Sealdah - Krishnagar City - Lalgola line, affording a second point of transfer. From Shantipur the train runs in an almost straight line north across perfectly flat country, mostly through the backyards of villagers living very close to the line, but this section has but one intermediate halt, and loadings are light. By contrast, at Krishnagar crowds crush on for the mercifully short run to Nabadwip Ghat, on the river Ganga. Loadings on the return journey are similar. The three round-trips a day take 1h40min one way. Single-ended diesel railcars (#7031 and 7041) towing matching trailer vehicles (#7038, 7040, 7042 and 7045) form two train sets, which require running round and turning on turntables. Similar units are found on the Bardhamman Jn - Katwa Jn lines (R.2801.4), but those also have other traction. The diminutive coaches, requiring a tall passenger to crouch when boarding, make an incongruous sight sitting in the same station as a twelve-car broad-gauge electric unit with vehicles the size of a barn! No obvious sign was seen of imminent broad-gauge conversion, but with flat terrain and a complete absence of major engineering works the conversion would be easy and would provide a useful alternative electrified loop - at the expense of losing a charming narrow-gauge railway.

3597][FR] Nérac - Mézin: (Ball 60B2-60B1) From Port-Sainte-Marie on the Bordeaux - Toulouse main line the freight-only Port-Sainte-Marie - Vianne - Nérac - Condom line heads south. The short Nérac - Mézin branch diverging south-west is to see a new tourist-train operation, the first in the département of Lot-et-Garonne. Two rail-inspection draisines withdrawn from SNCF stock at Brive-la-Gaillarde depot were conveyed by lorry to Nérac and unloaded by crane at a level-crossing on the sunny afternoon of 4 February 2004, road haulage being cheaper than SNCF’s quoted price for Brive - Nérac delivery by rail. Two flat wagons are to be fitted with benches to become open passenger vehicles for use in dry weather. Nérac - Mézin tourist trains may begin running in April 2004. If they are successful, the run may in future extend north of Nérac to Vianne.

3598][FR] Barbentane - Rognonas - Châteaurenard-de-Provence - Plan-d’Orgon: (Ball 65A1-75A3) The Association du Train Touristique du Centre Var, operators of a Picasso railcar on the Brignoles - Carnoules line (R.1454, 1722; Ball 75B3-76B2), were unable to obtain agreement to use steam traction there because of the high risk of forest fires, so an 0-6-0T steam locomotive #030TU46 and three coaches have transferred to the BdR line just south of Avignon. The Régie Départementale des Transports des Bouches-du-Rhône plan to run Châteaurenard - Barbentane tourist trains during 2004 (R.3486).

3599][MC][FR] Monaco-Monte Carlo - Monte-Carlo Country-Club (- Menton SNCF - Ventimiglia FS): (Ball 77B3-67B1) A structural problem leading to subsidence caused closure of this underground section of the Côte d’Azur main line beneath Monaco from 20 June 2003 (R.3051, 3327), and repairs took months longer than expected. The tunnel was to reopen on Saturday 21 February 2004 for Monaco - Ventimiglia local TER shuttle services, using one track only, and from Friday 27 February normal traffic was to resume on both tracks. (European Rail yahoogroup)

3600][DE] Germany: narrow-gauge freight: Freight traffic appears to remain on at least part of four narrow-gauge lines:

• Inselbahn Wangerooge (Westanleger - Saline - Wangerooge Bf / Westen; R.3058; Ball 16A3; 5.4km)
• Inselbahn Langeoog (Langeoog Hafen - Langeoog Bf; R.3059; Ball 15B3; 2.6km)
• Brohltalbahn (Brohl - Oberzissen - Brenk - Engeln; BLN 827.0266; Ball 48A3; 17.5km)
• Harzer Schmalspurbahnen (Steinbruch Unterberg - Eisfelder Talmühle - Nordhausen Nord; BLN 777.0170; Ball 41B3)

HSB carry ballast south in standard-gauge wagons on Rollböcke bogies. No freight runs on the other parts of the HSB system (Wernigerode - Drei Annen Hohne - Eisfelder Talmühle; Drei Annen Hohne - Brocken; Gernrode - Alexisbad - Stiege - Steinbruch Unterberg; Alexisbad - Harzgerode; Stiege - Hasselfelde). The Döllnitzbahn (Oschatz - Mügeln - Kemmlitz; BLN 790.0457; Ball 43B2-43A2) would be glad to offer a freight service but had no actual contracts in February 2004. The Wendelsteinbahn (Waching - Wendelstein Bergbahnhof; R.1757; Ball 71B1; 1500V dc) and the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn (Garmisch - Grainau - Zugspitzplatt / Schneefernhaus; R.0761; Ball 70B1-79A3; 1650V dc) both carry light freight in the form of supplies for mountain-top restaurants. Only the Inselbahn Wangerooge is run by a company in the DB group. All the others mentioned are Nichtbundeseigene (= non-federally-owned) railways, mostly companies in which local authorities have an interest. All are metre-gauge except the Döllnitzbahn which is Saxon 750mm-gauge.

3601][DE] Dannenberg Ost - Dannenberg West - Lüchow (- Wustrow - Salzwedel): (Ball 18B1) Deutsche Regionaleisenbahn GmbH took over the infrastructure on 29 September 2000, but though a contract to convey schoolchildren was talked about (R.0628, 1046, 2392) this 20km section of the Jeetzeltalbahn was still seeing no regular use as 2004 began. Special trains were however to run on 28-29 February 2004, in connection with DRE’s annual general meeting in Lüchow.

3602][DE] (Essen Hbf -) Essen-Steele - Überruhr - Kupferdreh - Langenberg (Rheinland) - Neviges - Wuppertal-Vohwinkel (- Wuppertal Hbf): (Ball 34A3-34A1) Shown in the 1998 Ball atlas as ‘under electrification’, the Prinz Wilhelm Eisenbahn (R.1750) is indeed being extensively upgraded, with continuous welded rail on concrete sleepers, overhead wires and new level-crossing equipment, to become part of the S-Bahn network. On 29 October 2003 diesel push-pull trains were working Essen - Langenberg, under new wiring all the way, but buses were replacing Langenberg - Vohwinkel trains. Track, overhead, signalling and level-crossing teams were all working on the closed section around Neviges. Target-date for completion was mid-December 2003, but was not attained.

3603][DE][NL] Mönchengladbach - Wegberg - Dalheim DB - Vlodrop NS - Roermond: (Ball DE-37A2) In October 2003 the formerly extensive layouts at Wegberg and Dalheim were seen to have been much reduced, with only a single platform at Dalheim for the lightweight railcar shuttling from Mönchengladbach. Westwards, the disused track to Vlodrop in the Netherlands appeared to be in reasonable condition, but had been left without maintenance for so long that young birch trees and well-established shrubs completely blocked an attempt to walk across the border by the railway route. Much vegetation-clearance and remedial work will need to have been done by September 2004 if Dalheim - Roermond trips (R.3492) are to run.

3604][DK] Randers - Randers Regnskov (- Randers Havn - Bombardier works) and Randers - Strømmen - Allingåbro (- Pindstrup - Ryomgård): (R.3145, 3146; Ball 2B2-3A2) Though the Danish railway museum’s main exhibition site is at Odense (R.3154; Ball 7A2), most of their working steam and diesel locomotives are based at Randers shed. Open days there over the weekend 22-23 May 2004 are to see several special trains, mostly running on regular passenger lines. Some non-passenger track will be traversed, however: shuttle trains are to run from Randers station a short distance to the shed and, on Sunday 23 May only, a train hauled by 4-4-0 steam locomotive K563 is to run from Regnskov platform on the north harbour line via Randers station 20km east to Allingåbro. Regnskov - Allingåbro runs with varying traction are also advertised for Wednesdays 2,9,16,23,30 June, 7,14,21,28 July, 4,11 August; and Sundays 5,12 December 2004. (http://www.museumstog.dk)

3605][PT] Viana do Castelo funicular: (Ball 7A2) From a lower station just above Viana do Castelo main-line platforms, a 632m-long metre-gauge funicular, the Elevador de Santa Luzia, ran to an upper station 180m above sea-level, near the Santuario de Santa Luzia. Opened in 1921, the line offered rather unreliable service in recent years - though its operators were, unusually, the national railways, CP. Out of use in January 1996, the funicular was back in operation by April 1996 (BLN 780.0243). Again out of use in April 1999 (BLN 850.0272), it reopened later in 1999 and during winter 1999-2000 was said to have been working at weekends, holidays and on the third Friday of the month (R.0533). It closed again in 2001. In early 2004 Viana do Castelo town council reportedly decided to repair the line and reopen it, with a target-date of summer 2005.

3606][PT] Porto funicular: Ribeira - Batalha: (Ball 7A1) Metro do Porto (http://www.metro-porto.pt/uk/) inaugurated their new Funicular dos Guindais on 18 February, and public service began 19 February 2004. From Ribeira station on the Avenida Gustavo Eiffel, near the lower deck of (famous French engineer) Eiffel’s Ponte Dom Luis I across the river Douro, the 281m-long line climbs to Batalha station, 61m above on the Rua Augusto Rosa in upper Porto. The lower half is steep (maximum gradient 33%) and offers spectacular views from the 25-person cars. When it reaches the ancient town walls, the line levels and the single track splits to form the passing-loop. Beyond, the line continues in tunnel, gaining hardly any more height. Service is every 10min 08:00-19:00 daily except Mondays, with journey-time of 2min. A ticket costs EUR0.80, valid for any number of trips within one hour. The line also forms part of zone Z2 of the city’s integrated Andante ticketing system. An earlier funicular, opened 4 June 1891, followed a similar though longer course (412m, gaining 114m height), but closed 5 June 1893.

3607][PT] Viseu funicular: (Ball 17B3) The medium-sized town of Viseu in northern Portugal has lost both its metre-gauge railway connections: the Santa Comba Dão - Viseu Linha do Dão closed 1988 and the Sernada do Vouga - Viseu Ramal de Viseu closed 1 January 1990 (BLN 697.08). Both were lifted in the 1990s (R.0450). Viseu is however to have a 400m-long funicular, under construction in early 2004 from Feira de San Mateus to Sé Catedral. Target opening-date is summer 2005.

3608][ES] Salamanca - Salamanca La Alamedilla (- Ciudad Rodrigo - Fuentes de Oñoro RENFE - Vilar Formoso CP): (R.1958; Ball 19B3) Most regional trains from Madrid and Valladolid now continue south-west beyond Salamanca’s five-platform main station to serve the single platform of Salamanca La Alamedilla, which had opened by May 2001. Some eastbound regional services start at La Alamedilla. Overnight trains #313/310 Hendaye/Irún - Lisboa Santa Apolónia, the only passenger workings on the line from La Alamedilla west towards Portugal, pass without calling.

3609][ES] Madrid: avoiding lines: (Ball 22A3) Westbound TrenHotel #332 Madrid-Chamartin - Lisboa Santa Apolónia, like eastbound #335, is booked by the circuitous route round the east of the city (Villaverde Bajo - Vallecas - Vicálvaro - Hortaleza - Chamartín; R.3577), not by the city-centre tunnel (Villaverde Bajo - Santa Catalina - Atocha - Chamartín; R.3558). A different route (Villaverde Bajo - Santa Catalina - Bifurcación Museo - Delicias - Príncipe Pío - Las Rozas - Pinar de las Rozas) is used by overnight trains #941/940 Málaga - Bilbao Abando, which make no calls in the Madrid area. They are the only passenger trains booked on the Santa Catalina - Bif Museo section. The line from Bif Museo north via Principe Pio, and all three sides of the Las Rozas triangle, have local Cercanías services (R.1960). This triangle’s complex arrangement of burrowing and flying junctions facilitates change from right-hand running (on the two routes converging from the city) to left-hand running (on the route north-west to Villalba de Guadarrama), the only place in Spain to have such a layout.

3610][ES] Válencia Fuente San Luís - Alfafar-Benitússer: (Ball 30B1) Much as in 1997 (BLN 822.0128), this single-track east-to-south curve is used by a pair of overnight trains (TrenHotel #947/944 Barcelona Sants - Cádiz) to avoid reversal at Valencia Nord terminus. The curve may also be used with an extra reversal before or after a call at Valencia Nord to allow a through train to keep special vehicles (for example car-carrying wagons) on the front or rear (R.1585). Overnight trains TrenHotel #997/994 Barcelona - Granada / Málaga reverse at Valencia Nord.

3611][ES] La Encina triangle: In connection with their 1997 realignment (BLN 814.0554) of the electrified broad-gauge (Madrid - Albacete -) La Encina - Moixent/Mogente (- Valencia) main line, RENFE built an electrified south-to-northeast curve (Caudete - Moixent/Mogente; Ball 32B2 not shown), completing a triangle at La Encina and allowing Alacant - Valencia running without reversal. All three sides have reasonably frequent passenger services. However Caudete halt, at the southern vertex, has a sparse (and not very useful) service in the 2004 timetable, seeing calls by one pair of local trains running on Fridays and Sundays only (#4400/4403 FSuO Albacete - La Encina - Caudete - Villena - Caudete - Moixent - Valencia). In each direction the train calls at Caudete on its way to reverse at Villena and passes Caudete without stopping on the way back.

3612][ES] Córdoba - Rabanales (- Linares-Baeza): (Ball 36A3) Rabanales station, in use by early 2000, serves a university campus a few km east of the city, its only service a broad-gauge RENFE regional Cordoba - Rabanales shuttle run under contract to the university, at times to suit classes there, with no weekend or holiday trains. Timings are published in a separate table, downloadable from RENFE’s website in Acrobat Portable Document Format. When exactly did Rabanales open?

3613][HR] (Rijeka -) Opatija - Ucka (- Lupoglav): (Ball 45B1) Partition of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s left Hrvatske Zeljeznice’s lines on the Istrian peninsula isolated from the main Croatian system and accessible by rail only via Slovenia. While a bus links Rijeka and Lupoglav through a 5km single-bore road-tunnel (R.0176, 1764), a new railway tunnelling under the Cicarija mountains would clearly be useful. Such a railway has been projected from time to time, and even begun more than once, but none of the routes has ever been completed. Various abortive railway works, and their traces left today, are described in an article and map in Continental Railway Journal, #136, winter 2003-04.

3614][US] Denver, CO - Moffat Tunnel - Winter Park - Orestod - Dotsero - Glenwood Springs - Grand Junction, CO - Provo, UT - Salt Lake City, UT: (R.2005) Named after a president of the Denver & Salt Lake Railroad, the 9.9km Moffat Tunnel, piercing the US Continental Divide at a height of 2817m c.80km west of Denver, opened 24 February 1928. In 1934 successor company Denver & Rio Grande Western opened their Orestod - Dotsero cut-off. Together these investments saved some 240km and at least four hours of travel time over the earlier circuitous Denver & Rio Grande route (Denver, CO - Pueblo - Royal Gorge - Tennessee Pass - Dotsero - Glenwood Springs, CO; BLN 829.0318). Soon the Moffat Tunnel route became that of the famous Chicago, IL - Oakland, CA San Francisco Zephyr, in whose operation D&RGW had a share.

When Western Pacific left the passenger business, the through Zephyr was withdrawn, from 22 March 1970 (R.2873). D&RGW replaced it between Denver and Salt Lake City by their own tri-weekly Rio Grande Zephyr, which at the birth of Amtrak in May 1971 was D&RGW’s sole passenger service. D&RGW decided not to enter a contract with Amtrak (R.3565) and continued to run the Rio Grande Zephyr themselves over their own scenic route. Amtrak’s new Chicago - Oakland train, initially unnamed, took up the historic San Francisco Zephyr name from 14 November 1971, but perforce took a much less scenic, though shorter, route through Wyoming on Union Pacific tracks (Denver, CO - Laramie, WY - Ogden, UT - Salt Lake City, UT). A dozen years elapsed before D&RGW signed up with Amtrak. From 23-24 April 1983 the Rio Grande Zephyr was to be withdrawn, and Amtrak’s Zephyr was to be re-routed via the Moffat Tunnel. Unfortunately, after the westbound Rio Grande Zephyr passed on 14 April 1983, a big landslide in the Wasatch Mountains temporarily blocked the Grand Jn - Provo section, and D&RGW Zephyrs had to be cut back to run Denver - Grand Jn only. However from 16 July 1983 Amtrak’s train, renamed (more accurately) California Zephyr, began to take the classic route through Colorado and Utah.

Today the Moffat Tunnel, now owned by UP as successors to D&RGW, hosts UP coal and general freight trains, Burlington Northern Santa Fe freights exercising trackage rights, a daily Chicago, IL - Emeryville, CA Zephyr - and the Denver - Winter Park Ski Train (owned by the city of Denver and running at winter weekends and on selected summer Saturdays 100km west to the resort of Winter Park, also city-owned).

For a month or more in summer 2004 (exact dates are not yet known) the Moffat Tunnel is to be closed for repairs, and the Zephyr is to revert temporarily to its pre-1983 Denver - Salt Lake City route, some 900km of ‘non-passenger’ track. During the Tunnel closure period, summer runs of the Ski Train will be cancelled. (Denver Post; Trains magazine; Passenger Train Journal, #194, February 1994; Amtrak: The First Decade, Alan Books, 1981; All Aboard Amtrak, Railpace Company, 1991)

3615][US] (Altoona, PA -) Holidaysburg - Roaring Spring, PA (- Martinsburg / Henrietta, PA): Always primarily a freight line, the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Morrison Cove secondary line south of Altoona did once have a passenger service, before 1941, essentially as a convenience for local residents and PRR workers. Roaring Spring PRR station has been restored by a local group. On Saturday 3 April 2004 an excursion train is to traverse the c.10km section in conjunction with a National Railway Historical Society event in Altoona, near the famous Horseshoe Curve (bookings to d63w@aol.com).

3616][PE] Lima metro: After more than a decade of delay, the Peruvian capital’s Tren Urbano opened for revenue service over a 10km six-station section on 18 January 2003 (R.2856) but in July 2003 service was suspended due to lack of finance to cover current costs. On 17 January 2004 the Ansaldo Breda six-car standard-gauge 1500V dc trains began running again - reportedly on Saturdays and Sundays only. (http://www.urbanrail.net)

3617][DZ] Méchéria - Béchar: Most of Algeria’s railways are standard-gauge, but the lengthy line that broadly parallels the Moroccan frontier south-westwards has the unusual gauge of 1055mm. In early 2004 French railways SNCF and Societé Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires Algériens signed contracts to build a 360km standard-gauge railway alongside the existing narrow-gauge line (which carries important mineral traffic) with a view to completion in 2008. SNCF are also to help in electrifying 300km of suburban lines around the capital Alger, also by 2008. (http://www.sncf.com/co/communiq/communiq265.htm)

3618][FR] (Argent - Salbris - Romorantin - Gièvres - Valençay - Luçay-le-Mâle -) La Foulquetière - Ecueillé - Heugnes (- Argy - Buzançais - Le Blanc): (Ball 35B1-45B3) L’Écho du Rail (#252, December 2003) quoted national holiday 14 July 2003 as the date that SABA reopened the 7km Luçay-le-Mâle - Ecueillé section of the metre-gauge CF du Blanc à Argent (R.3483). However Voie Étroite (#200, February/March 2004) reported preservation group SABA’s annual general meeting on 29 November 2003 as saying that only the section from SABA’s base at Ecueillé 6km north to ‘la base de loisirs et le plan d’eau de La Foulquetière’ was open during the short 2003 season, and only on seven days, a total of 818 passengers being carried. The first public train ran on Sunday 24 August and the last on Sunday 28 September, and two specials ran in October for FACS and COPEF (R.3306). The journey length was limited because of condition of track ‘and important works to be done’. The normal train was a Deutz locotracteur plus two carriages, with a flat wagon for the staff dealing with level-crossings. A contractor was to start on replacing sleepers on the 20km Ecueillé - Argy section in spring 2004 with a view to completion by 1 July 2004. In 2004 SABA plan to run public trains only on the 15km La Foulquetière - Ecueillé - Heugnes section, on Sundays 13 June to 26 September, and possibly also Wednesdays in July and August, with Saturdays available for charters. SABA hope to operate the whole 27km Luçay-le-Mâle - Ecueillé - Argy section in 2005, or 2006 at latest.

3619][FR] Feurs - Panissières monorail: (Ball 56A3) Born in Toulouse in 1834, French engineer Charles Lartigue pursued his career in Spain and Algeria before returning to France. His most famous work was the bizarre but modestly successful (1888-1924) Listowel - Ballybunion line in Ireland, since July 2003 the basis of a working museum ‘monorailway’ (R.3231). He also designed the similar but unsuccessful Feurs - Panissières line, built 1894-95 but never opened (R.2788). On 20 August 1895 a test train traversed this sinuous and steep 17km line, but it damaged the track on the way down to Feurs. On 22 August 1895 it made a round-trip without incident, proceeding cautiously and very slowly (12km/h maximum, 8km/h on curves). However, official approval to begin revenue operations was withheld because of concern about the train’s stability, and because associated works (including stations!) were incomplete. Another test in August 1896 ended when the twin-boilered locomotive failed at km9.8, lacking steam pressure to climb further. The département (= local authority) paid for a second locomotive in 1898, and a further test on 23 July 1898 was declared successful. However, by this time the département and the operating company (in which Lartigue’s involvement was barely disguised) were in dispute over finance. The company refused to start running the railway, and on 10 April 1899 the département retaliated by withdrawing their concession to operate. A proposal simply to lay a conventional narrow-gauge railway on the trackbed (which would have been quite practicable) never came to fruition. What remained of the monorail went for scrap and was sold in 1903. (Connaisance du Rail, #262/263)

3620][FR] Marseille trams: (Ball 75B2) The final public services on Marseille’s last tram route #68 (Noailles - Marseille-Blancarde SNCF - St.Pierre) ran on Thursday 8 January 2004, though the above-ground section saw farewell specials on the Friday morning. The tramway is to be reconstructed, extended and reopened (R.0298), with a target-date of 2007. The port city’s last trolleybus is to run in June 2004. (L’Écho du Rail, #254, February 2004)

3621][FR] Gardanne - Brignoles - Carnoules: (R.1454, 1722; Ball 75B3-76B2) Association Le Train Avenir du Centre Var (train-centre-var@wanadoo.fr) continue their campaign for passenger reopening by again running promotional trains from each end of the line to Brignoles on Sunday 16 May 2004. The promoters say it should be possible to travel from Nice, Toulon and Carnoules to Brignoles and depart to Gardanne and Marseille.

3622][MC][FR] Monaco-Monte Carlo - Monte-Carlo Country-Club (- Menton SNCF - Ventimiglia FS): (Ball 77B3-67B1) Modern Railways for March 2004 said that one track of the Côte d’Azur main line in tunnel beneath Monaco reopened Tuesday 17 February 2004 and that both were open on Saturday 21 February (a few days earlier than reported in R.3599).

3623][NL] (Groningen -) Groningen Noord - Sauwerd (- Delfzijl / Roodeschool / Eemshaven): (R.0135; Ball 2B3) Track-doubling (R.3131) was complete by October 2003, and the December 2003 timetable makes use of the improved capacity.

3624][NL] Rotterdam - Barendrecht - Dordrecht: (R.2284; Ball 3B2) Quadruple-tracking of the classic line near Barendrecht was completed by November 2003, and since the 14 December 2003 timetable-change all four tracks have been in use by passenger trains. (Today’s Railways, #99, March 2004)

3625][NL] Rotterdam trams: From Monday 1 March 2004 city tram line #23 was extended from its old terminus at Feijenoord Stadion over new track via Noorderhelling, Dwarsdijk and Groene Tuin to Groeninx van Zoelenlaan, continuing east and north over the former route of line #20 to terminate at Beverwaard. Line #20 has been cut back to terminate at Reyerdijk/Lombardijen, c.600m east of Lombardijen NS station. Line #2 has taken over the former route of line #20 from Lombardijen to Groeninx van Zoelenlaan and continues north for another 600m, using the new infrastructure of line #23, to terminate at Groene Tuin. Official inauguration of the new-track section was on Wednesday 3 March 2004. A map is at http://www.ret.rotterdam.nl/wijzigingen2004/BusnetIJsselmonde.pdf)

3626][NL] Barneveld aansluiting - Barneveld Noord - Barneveld Centrum - Lunteren - Ede Centrum - Ede-Wageningen: (Ball 4B3-4B2) This north-south link originally ran from Nijkerk on the Amersfoort - Zwolle line to Ede-Wageningen on the Utrecht - Arnhem main line, but in 1937 it was connected to the west-east Amersfoort - Apeldoorn line near Barneveld, and the northern Nijkerk - Barneveld section was abandoned. The double-track electrified Amersfoort - Apeldoorn main line carries four international trains (three to Berlin, one to Hannover) and Intercity trains from the western Netherlands to Deventer and Enschede, but has no stopping services, and at present no intermediate station. From Amersfoort local trains run 16km east to Barneveld junction, then turn south on 27km of single-track electrified line to Ede-Wageningen. In Barneveld and Lunteren the line and stations retain a classic rural railway character, but pass within 200m of shops. Central Ede has several level-crossings, and Ede Centrum’s single platform forms part of a square beside the main shopping street.

Population growth has changed the character of the three villages on the line, and the Amersfoort - Ede- Arnhem corridor now has about 500,000 inhabitants. Previous development proposals had included double-tracking, through Amersfoort - Barneveld - Ede - Arnhem services, faster trains with lighter rolling-stock, and even a branch extending south for c.8km to Wageningen Centrum, but in February 2004 Gelderland province adopted a different strategy. The existing simple halt at Barneveld Noord, in the Harselaar industrial estate just south of the junction, would be replaced by a park-and-ride station on the main line. Barneveld local council plan a hotel and conference-centre there to justify an extra stop by Intercity services from 2006, though NS as operators are not keen. At the south end, plans are less definite, but Ede-Wageningen junction station could be replaced by another ‘transferium’ (= ‘parkway’) station, on a main road in an industrial area, losing the Barneveld - Ede line its connection with Intercity and semi-fast trains on the Utrecht - Arnhem line. The proposals illustrate some negative aspects of Dutch rail planning: new stations aimed at motorists, located on the edge of urban areas for better highway access, and financed by property development. With an existing parallel bus service, a parallel motorway from mid-2004 (the A30 link), new investment concentrated in park-and-ride stations at each end, and poorer connections, the future of the Barneveld - Ede line seems less assured.

3627][DE] (Essen Hbf -) Essen-Steele - E-Kupferdreh - Velbert-Langenberg - Velbert-Neviges - Wuppertal-Vohwinkel (- Wuppertal Hbf): (Ball 34A3-34A1) Notwithstanding R.3602, the new overhead wiring over the whole length of the line was energised on 10 December, and from 14 December 2003 S-Bahn service S9 in the new timetable was offered. However, service quality has been poor, for the 6min layover allowed at Wuppertal Hbf has proved rather too short for recovery of delays on previous journeys, and trains from Essen have often had to turn back at Wuppertal-Vohwinkel. At the eastern end of Vohwinkel station, the whole junction has been completely remodelled. Previously the line from Essen made a flat junction with the northern pair of west-to-east tracks, the Fernbahn used by long-distance trains, but it now has a flyover connecting it with the parallel southern pair of west-to-east tracks used by S-Bahn service S8.

3628][PT] Portugal: passenger timetable: CP’s 2003 timetable was extended until 12 June 2004, so no new December 2003 timetable-book has been printed. From 13 June 2004 CP rolling-stock is to be re-diagrammed, cutting operational reserves and fleet downtime for maintenance etc to the minimum, possibly to increase service levels but maybe to allow older rolling-stock to be withdrawn.

3629][PT] (Porto - Lousado - Santo Tirso -) Canicos - Guimarães: (Ball 7B1) When the Guimarães branch reopened on 19 January 2004, three of the many halts did not immediately regain services (R.3571). All three - Cuca, Pereirinhas and Nespereira - reopened 1 March 2004, with five trains a day each way. The up and down trains, with slightly extended journey-times, are booked to cross at Canicos, one stop east of Santo Tirso.

3630][PT] Lisboa: (Roma/Areeiro - Entrecampos - Campolide -) Fogueteiro - Moita - Pinhal Novo (- Setúbal): (R.3574; Ball 25B1-26A2) Fertagus are reluctant to extend their services south of Fogueteiro, saying they expect poor loadings there on their (inflexibly large, four-coach, double-deck) electric units, and also claiming that all their stock is needed on the existing Roma/Areeiro - Fogueteiro section to cope with very unbalanced commuter loads, peak-hour trains being crammed full. As March 2004 began, the opening to local services of the Fogueteiro - Pinhal Novo section remained unclear.

3631][ES] Oviedo - La Corredoria - Parque Principado - Colloto - Castañera - Meres - Fonciello - El Berrón - La Carrera - Pola de Siero - Infiesto: (Ball 3A3-3B2) FEVE’s timetable from 1 March 2004 includes many more suburban trains on this electrified metre-gauge line, and three new halts: La Corredoria (to become a joint FEVE-RENFE station, but not yet shown in the broad-gauge timetable); Castañera (not mentioned in R.3555); and Fonciello (which seems to be the unadvertised halt already in use and identified as Argüelles-Fuentespino in R.3555). FEVE may be planning a Gijón - Florida - El Berrón - Infiesto through passenger service, for they are acquiring land near Berrón station to build a north-to-east curve, which would make the four-way junction here a ‘grand union’ allowing ‘everywhere-to-everywhere’ movements. Since Oviedo - Berrón was already double-track, the recent doubling east of Berrón may have been the factor that has permitted the more frequent Oviedo - Berrón - Infiesto service. Doubling and realigning from La Carrera east towards Pola de Siero continues.

3632][ES] Venta de Baños - Palencia / Magaz triangle: (ES04/9, 04/10) The Venta de Baños - Palencia side of the triangle (southwest-to-northwest) sees the most trains; Palencia - Magaz (northwest-to-northeast; not shown in Ball, 10A2-10B2) also has both long-distance (Largo Recorrido) and regional trains; Venta de Baños - Magaz (southwest-to-northeast) has several long-distance trains but no regional trains (Valladolid - Burgos regional workings run via Palencia and reverse). At the triangle, long-distance trains take the most direct route, with one exception: the Salamanca - Barcelona and Zamora - Barcelona portions of train #930 join up at Medina del Campo and run via Venta de Baños to Palencia where they reverse and are attached to the Gijon - Barcelona portion to head east via Magaz. Train #933 operates similarly in the opposite direction.

3633][ES] Madrid metro: Work under way on line #3 (Moncloa - Sol - Legazpi), extending all platforms from 60m to 90m to handle six-car trains and upgrading electrification from 600V dc to 1500V dc, has a target completion-date of summer 2006. Spring 2004 should see work start on extension of line #8 (Nuevos Ministerios - Aeropuerto - Barajas) to a new terminal at Madrid’s Barajas airport. Meanwhile the city council have ambitious plans to build new metro and light-rail lines and to extend existing lines. Technical specifications are being produced with a view to tendering from June 2004. Work on site could start by end-2004, with a target completion-date of end-2008. Madrid’s metro projects are summarised at http://www.urbanrail.net/.

3634][ES] (Madrid -) Fuenlabrada - Humanes (- Griñón - Talavera de la Reina): (Ball 22A2) After formal inauguration on Friday 27 February, this c.5km section, formerly single-track, unwired and used only by regional and long-distance trains, became on Saturday 28 February 2004 a double-track 3000V dc electrified extension of Madrid’s Cercanías suburban system. Humanes station opened (or reopened; the closed station of Humanes de Madrid is shown in the Ball atlas and on other maps).

3635][ES] (Madrid - Talavera de la Reina -) La Bazagona - Monfragüe: (Ball 19A1) Signs of significant realignment to ease reverse curves on this section can be seen, mainly to the north of the present track. However, the line still has the semi-circular curve to the south shown in the 1993 Ball atlas just west of La Bazagona. In the 1982-83 RENFE timetable Monfragüe junction station was named Palazuelo-Empalme.

3636][ES] Monfragüe - Plasencia / Mirabel triangle: Most passenger trains use the east-to-north (Monfragüe - Plasencia) and north-to-west (Plasencia - Mirabel) sides of this (all single-track) triangle, calling and reversing at Plasencia, but a few take the east-to-west (Monfragüe - Mirabel) line (EGTRE ES04/15). The Plasencia - Mirabel line that completed the triangle is not shown in the 1993 Ball atlas (19A1), but was in use by 1994 (BLN 728.078). The northern vertex of the triangle is a junction c.7km north-west of Monfragüe and 10km south of Plasencia. From this northern junction, Plasencia - Mirabel trains head south-west for 2.6km on ‘new’ formation, which joins end-on with 8.3km of the original alignment of the east-to-west Monfragüe - Mirabel line, together forming the 10.9km north-to-west side of the triangle. Monfragüe - Mirabel trains start off on their original alignment but soon take a new alignment which runs parallel to and slightly to the south of their old route before reaching the junction at the western vertex of the triangle (kilometre-post 263.4 from Madrid), just east of Mirabel station (km265.3). It is not clear why RENFE built this latter section of new alignment, for at the point where the present north-to-west and east-to-west lines first come within sight of each other their vertical separation is minimal and they could easily have been made to converge more economically at a western-vertex junction 8.3km east of the present one. Perhaps the new section of east-to-west line was built to ease gradients for freight trains, for it does differ significantly in vertical alignment in places - but the maximum trailing loads in Spain are low by world standards, typically only 1100-1200t, and neither RENFE Cargas (bulk and wagonload freight) nor Transporte Combinado (intermodal containers) are major operators.

3637][IT] Cuneo - Cuneo-Gesso - Mondovi: (Ball 45B2) This line closed to through traffic in 1996 (BLN 850.0281) while a weak brick viaduct over the river Gesso near Cuneo-Gesso station was replaced. From the timetable-change on 14 December 2003 passenger services were restored, though (as with some other secondary lines in Italy) buses replace trains at weekends and during the holiday month of August. (L’Écho du Rail, #254, February 2004)

3638][IT][SI] Gorizia Centrale FS - Nova Gorica SZ: (R.2725; Ball IT-44A1; SI-45A2) European wars and politics have much affected the railways in this borderland area since the Austro-Hungarian Südbahn first opened a station in Görz in 1860. Stage-by-stage development of the layout and nomenclature is illustrated by a series of nine diagrammatic maps, accompanied by text in Italian plus photographs, at http://www.ilmondodeitreni.it/Gorizia.html. On 1 May 2004 the political situation changes again, albeit less traumatically, when Slovenia joins Italy in the European Union.

3639][CH] (Luzern - Rösslimatt -) Kupferhammer - Kriens: (Ball 93A3) Improvement of the Kupferhammer - Kriens road starting on 5 April 2004 is to lead to disconnection of the disused outer section of the standard-gauge Kriens-Luzern Bahn (R.3206) and removal of the dual-gauge rails in Luzernstrasse (R.3019). A steam-hauled farewell trip to Kriens is to run on 4 April 2004. (http://www.steam-adventure-tours.ch/)

3640][CZ] Ostrava area industrial lines: In the east of the Czech Republic (Ball 42A3-42B3), CD’s direct Ostrava - Havirov - Chotebuz line and their more circuitous Ostrava - Bohumin - Detmarovice - Karvina - Chotebuz route enclose quite a number of industrial lines. On Saturday and Sunday 24-25 April 2004 a special passenger train comprising three Class 815 vintage railbuses (= German Class 796/798) is to visit all the coal lines of OKD Doprava and branches serving the steelworks of Vitkovice (VZ) and Ispat Nova Hut (NH). Information: Mr Zdenek Hudec (hudeczdenek@volny.cz)

3641][HU] Mátészalka - Tiborszallas - Ágerdömajor MÁV (- Carei CFR): (Ball 44A1; MÁV 115) From 1 February 2004 Ágerdömajor station closed and Tiborszallas (with its new building; R.3441) is now Hungary’s (and from May 2004, the European Union’s) border-station. The frontier-crossing is no longer restricted to local Hungarian and Romanian passport-holders (R.2183) but can be used by citizens of any country. (partly from IBSE Telegramm)

3642][CA] Vancouver, BC: After the arrival from Calgary on 30 December 2003, Rocky Mountaineer cruise trains ceased to use Vancouver’s former Canadian National, now VIA (and Amtrak) passenger station. A new Rocky Mountaineer station is being built 1.5km to the east, at Cottrell Street. The operators of Vancouver’s SkyTrain metro (R.2190, 2489) resolved their dispute with Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and BNSF freight tracks to Vancouver South Yard have been realigned, allowing construction to resume in spring 2004 on SkyTrain’s Millennium Line extension one stop west to a new elevated terminus at VCC (Broadway/Commercial - Vancouver Community College), with a target opening-date of May 2005.

3643][CA] North Vancouver, BC - Whistler - D’Arcy - Lillooet - Prince George - Minaret / Teck / MacKenzie / Dawson Creek / Fort Nelson, BC: Though the terms of CN’s 60-year lease of BC Rail (R.3471) were still to be finalised as March 2004 began, the BC provincial government were expected to include requirements to maintain the residual 56km D’Arcy - Seton - Lillooet railbus service (R.2634) and to allow track access for tourist-train operators (R.2707, 3106). Several bids are understood already to have been submitted for workings on the North Vancouver - Whistler - Prince George section.

3644][US] (Vancouver, BC -) Everett, WA - Edmonds - Seattle, WA (- Tacoma, WA): From Monday 22 December 2003 Amtrak’s daily Cascades international train heading south from Vancouver in Canada was joined on this 54km section of BNSF track by Sound Transit’s new commuter service using the same three stations. The single daily round-trip leaves Everett 06:55, calls intermediately at Edmonds and returns from Seattle King Street at 17:15. Plans are to increase the service to four trains a day by 2007. Sound Transit’s 64km Sounder Seattle - Tacoma commuter service (R.1036, 1114), launched in September 2000 with two round-trips a day, now has three.

3645][US] Detroit, MI elevated guideway: Opened 1987 as part of the Motor City’s ultimately less-than-successful campaign to breathe life back into its downtown area, the Detroit People Mover, a driverless elevated guideway system with rubber-tyred cars, offered a 15-minute anticlockwise-only circular trip around 13 stations (R.1570). However, the Millender Center - Bricktown arc of the circle has closed, and trains no longer serve the city’s Renaissance Center, into which much municipal investment was sunk. The remaining twelve stations now see trains in both directions, passing at Times Square and running 07:00-23:00 MTWThO, 07:00-23:59 FO, 09:00-23:59 SO, 12:00-20:00 SuO. (partly Railfan & Railroad, April 2004)

3646][US] Detroit, MI heritage trams: Opened 1976, the 1.6km 900mm-gauge ‘vintage-trolley’ line in downtown Detroit was in summer 2001 being operated by the city’s Department of Transportation in a frankly apathetic manner, and the infrequent service, with no times shown at the stops, stood little chance of being used by either locals or tourists (R.1571). Unsurprisingly, it has ceased running, apparently in late 2003, and seems unlikely to reopen. (Railfan & Railroad, April 2004)

3647][US] (Springfield, MO -) Springdale, AR - Van Buren - Fort Smith, AR: In recent years Arkansas Missouri Railroad have run a tourist train south on the 107km Springdale - Van Buren section of this ex-St.Louis & San Francisco line, and are planning a 117km run on summer Sundays 4 April - 29 August 2004. Starting in Springdale, the train is to call at Van Buren in each direction, and is to use the old Frisco depot at the Fort Smith National Historic Site. Travelling both ways by train would make for a long day out, so the operators may offer a bus to take passengers back north to Springdale after a stay of about three hours in Fort Smith. (http://www.arkansasmissouri-rr.com/)

3648][US] Aberdeen Jn - Kosciusko, MS: From April to October 2004 the Kosciusko & Southwestern Railway, a short line operating c.35km of ex-Illinois Central track in central Mississippi, offer, for a fare of USD20, weekend round-trips by ‘motorcar’ (= speeder, railcar, permanent-way trolley or draisine) from Kosciusko c.27km west to the Big Black River area, on the border between Attala and Holmes counties, 3km short of Aberdeen Jn. KSRY also advertise their line as being available at weekends to private owners who wish to bring their own railcar (R.3109, 3167, 3218). Fee is USD30 for a car with two riders plus USD10 for each additional rider. (http://www.ksry.com)

3649][US] New Orleans, LA heritage trams: Opening was postponed from December 2003 (R.3443), but the city now plan to open their 1587mm-gauge Canal Street streetcar route on 18 April 2004. (http://www.lrta.org)

3650][US] New York Penn, NY - Secaucus, NJ - Newark Penn (- Trenton, NJ): New Jersey Transit’s multi-level Secaucus transfer station, already in use from 4 August 2003 (R.3301), was inaugurated on 6 September 2003 and given the formal name ‘Frank R Lautenberg Station’, after the US senator who helped secure federal-taxpayer finance for this local project.

3651][US] Phillipsburg, PA - Carpentersville (- New Milford - Lambertsville, PA - Trenton, NJ): This ex-Pennsylvania ex-Conrail line ran south down the scenic east bank of the Delaware River. Most of the route (New Milford - Trenton) was abandoned but Belvidere & Delaware River Railway (BDRV) operate Phillipsburg - New Milford, and a c.22km section of their line is to see tourist trains in summer 2004. From 1 May till end-September (Labor Day holiday weekend) four trips a day are to run, worked on Thursdays and Fridays by the Bel-Del’s Delaware Turtle, a 1930-built Brill Model 55 petrol railcar, and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays by a train hauled by steam locomotive #142.

3652][US] By Amtrak from Chicago to the San Francisco Bay Area: The nomenclature and routes of long-distance passenger trains from Chicago to the Bay Area just before and during the Amtrak era make a more complex story than that given in R.3614. It is noteworthy that, notwithstanding the use from time to time of the San Francisco name, such trains have always terminated on the east side of the Bay (R.2874) and have never run round the Bay to the city of San Francisco itself.

The last run on 22 March 1970 of the BN/D&RGW/WP Chicago, IL - Denver, CO - Salt Lake City, UT - Oakland, CA California Zephyr saw the end of passenger services on the Western Pacific. After this the BN/D&RGW train lost the name and was in effect cut back and diverted at Salt Lake City to run the short distance (c.50km) north to Ogden, UT, where Nevada and California passengers - who had previously enjoyed through cars - were instead offered cross-platform interchange into competitor Southern Pacific’s City of San Francisco. The departure days from Chicago and Ogden were the same for the two tri-weekly services. Thus, in the month before the birth of nationalised Amtrak, the Official Guide for April 1971 showed the following three services, described for simplicity in the westbound direction only. In each case, the first train-number quoted is the westbound one, the second the corresponding eastbound one.

• (by the Burlington route, leaving Chicago Union Station, south end, at 16:45 daily)
  • BN #1/2 Denver Zephyr Chicago, IL - Omaha, NE - Denver, CO (but no onward connection at Denver by D&RGW westward)
• (by the Burlington route, leaving Chicago Union Station, south end, at 11:59 daily)
  • BN #11/12 (un-named) Chicago, IL - Omaha, NE, which conveyed a portion detached to become
  • BN #15/16 (un-named) Omaha, NE - Denver, CO (tri-weekly) thence running as
  • D&RGW #17/18 Rio Grande Zephyr Denver, CO - Salt Lake City, UT - Ogden, UT (tri-weekly)
• (by the Milwaukee Road route, leaving Chicago Union Station, north end, at 18:00 daily)
  • CMSt.P&P/UP #103/104 City of Los Angeles/The Challenger Chicago, IL - Omaha, NE - North Platte, NE - Green River, WY - Ogden, UT - Salt Lake City, UT - Los Angeles, CA, which (hence its jocular name ‘City of Everywhere’) conveyed three portions detached to become
  • UP #111/112 City of Denver North Platte, NE - Denver, CO
  • UP #105/106 City of Portland Green River, WY - Portland, OR and
  • SP #101/102 City of San Francisco Ogden, UT - Oakland, CA (tri-weekly)

From 1 May 1971 Amtrak’s plan had been in effect to combine the former BN #1/2, 11/12 and 15/16, plus the former D&RGW #17/18, but at short notice D&RGW decided themselves to continue running #17/18, and the first Amtrak through service to the Bay Area thus became:

• (by the Burlington route, leaving Chicago Union Station, south end, at 14:45 daily)
  • BN #1/2 Denver Zephyr Chicago, IL - Omaha, NE - Denver, CO, which conveyed a tri-weekly portion detached to become
  • UP/SP #101/102 (un-named) Denver, CO - Cheyenne, WY - Laramie, WY - Ogden, UT - Oakland, CA (not serving Salt Lake City but notionally - 07:15 to 07:30 - connecting at Denver into D&RGW’s #17, westbound only)

From 14 November 1971 Amtrak allocated their own train-numbers and the working became a (daily) #1/2 Denver Zephyr conveying a (tri-weekly) #5/6 City of San Francisco. From 12 June 1972 train #5/6 took up a new hybrid name invented by Amtrak, San Francisco Zephyr, and began running daily in summer. Train #5/6 remained tri-weekly in winter, and on the four days when the working terminated at Denver it still ran as #1/2 Denver Zephyr. From 9 June 1973 train #5/6 San Francisco Zephyr ran daily all-year and the Denver Zephyr name was dropped. From 24 April 1983 the train was renamed #5/6 California Zephyr. Once D&RGW had sorted out a 14 April 1983 track blockage at Thistle in the Wasatch Mountains, train #5/6 ceased to run Denver - Cheyenne - Laramie - Ogden, and from 16 July 1983 ran Denver - Salt Lake City - Ogden. From 30 October 1983 train #5/6 ceased to run Salt Lake City - Ogden and headed west over ex-Western Pacific, now UP, tracks on the more direct Salt Lake City, UT - Alazon, NV route of the original California Zephyr. For a period in the late 1990s train #5/6 ran only four days a week before being restored to daily operation. In the 1990s the western terminus changed twice: #5/6 was extended from SP’s Oakland 16th St station south to Oakland’s new Jack London Square station when it opened c.1995, but from 1997 #5/6 was cut back to terminate short at Emeryville, CA, c.8km north of Jack London Square (R.2872).

In summer 2004 (R.3614) works in the 10km Moffat Tunnel on the (ex-D&RGW, now UP) Denver - Salt Lake City route are to see Amtrak’s Chicago - Bay Area train diverted to revisit the Denver, CO - Laramie, WY - Ogden, UT route that it took from 1 May 1971 to 15 July 1983. Trains #5/6 originating 7-14 June, 22-29 June, 7-14 July and 22-29 July 2004 are to take the diversion the following day, running between Denver and Salt Lake City over some 900km of ‘non-passenger’ track across Wyoming and Utah without making a passenger stop.

3653][EC] Quito - El Boliche (-) Riobamba - Alausí - Sibambe (-) Huigra - Bucay (- Milagro - Durán): (R.2385) On Ecuador’s perennially-threatened and moribund, but magnificently scenic, 1067mm-gauge Guayaquil & Quito line, the c.60km ‘Avenue of the Volcanoes’ section from the capital Quito to El Boliche (for views of the volcano Cotopaxi) had weekend tourist trains in mid-2003. (http://www.fahrplancenter.com/AIFFLAEcuador03.html) El Boliche - Riobamba suffered a landslide in 2001, and in August 2003 remained closed, with engineers said to be debating whether reopening would require a simple 600m deviation or a USD3M tunnel! The G&Q was hosting mainly short runs by occasional tourist and charter trains, with the only regular working being a tri-weekly train from Riobamba and Alausí down the steep and spectacular switchback descent of El Nariz del Diablo (= Devil’s Nose) to Sibambe, diesel-hauled and nominally a mixto though not carrying much serious freight. (Trains magazine, November 2003) A slightly later report said that the Huigra - Bucay section again had regular autoferro (= railcar) service and that Ferrocarriles Ecuatorianos had been given a modest budget in 2004 for track repairs. (Leaflet in early 2004 advertising a G&Q trip in September 2004; http://www.railwaytouring.co.uk)

3654][BE] Bruxelles=Brussel - Zaventem - Nossegem - Herent - Leuven - Voroux - Ans - Liège-Guillemins: (Ball 8B2-9B2) Classic main line 36 is being extensively upgraded, and its Brussel - Leuven section is being quadrupled. From the outskirts of the capital at Schaarbeek=Schaerbeek east to Herent, last station before Leuven, the slow tracks (mainly new, but retaining the original line-number 36) are to be on the outside, flanking a pair of fast 200km/h tracks (refurbished and redesignated as line 36N, presumably for Nieuw=Nouvelle). East of Zaventem the platforms of the local stations lie between the fast and slow tracks with faces on the slow lines only (similar to the arrangement on Britain’s East Coast Main Line at Thirsk). In early 2004 trains on much of the route were using the new slow lines while the original tracks were being upgraded, work involving complete removal of track and catenary. Between Zaventem and Nossegem construction was visibly under way on a burrowing junction where the third (north-to-east) side of a future triangle is to trail in from the Brussel-Nationaal-Luchthaven/Bruxelles-National-Aéroport branch line 36C (R.3307). East of Herent another new burrowing junction takes fast line 36N diverging to the south on a new alignment into Leuven (R.1457). Opened 1 June 2003, this section of line 36N was in early 2004 carrying all the trains, and the original alignment of line 36 was temporarily out of use. Leuven station was still being rebuilt, with a fine new overall roof being assembled above the existing canopies. East of Leuven the new high-speed Leuven - Ans line 2 (opened 15 December 2002; R.2679) initially diverges to the south of line 36, though it later crosses line 36 and converges with it from the north in the vicinity of Voroux, but without any physical connection until the west end of Ans station. Little trace remains of the Ans - Ans-Est - Rocourt - Liers line 31, which was wired in the 1970s and had a short-lived electric passenger service but was de-electrified and lifted by March 1997 (BLN 711.07, 800.0184).

The Ans - Liège-Kinkempois freight line 36A diverges south-east to Kinkempois yard, offering an alternative route around the city of Liège (and into Liège-Guillemins station from the east). The 13km formation of line 36A including its several tunnels was created in the 1920s but in the economic depression of the 1930s the track was never laid. However, as war and another German invasion loomed, the Belgian army had placed mines beneath the bridge east of Liège-Guillemins station carrying the Liège - Aachen main line 37 over the river Meuse, and on 31 August 1939 the bridge was accidentally destroyed in an explosion, ironically some time before the feared invasion actually occurred. SNCB assembled resources from all over Belgium and in two hectic weeks laid double track and provided signalling for line 36A, allowing the alternative route to be commissioned on 15 September 1939. (Les lignes nouvelles de la SNCB 1926-96, published by GTF, 1996)

At Liège-Guillemins radical reconstruction continues. Line 34 (Liers - Milmort - Herstal - Liège-Palais - Liège-Guillemins) through the city-centre trails in via a remodelled connection at the north-west end. Some platforms have already been extended to the south-east but in March 2004 serious work had yet to begin on the new passenger building, to be on the north-east side of the line as before. When works are complete in 2006, the whole of Guillemins station will have been relocated c.200-300m to the south-east, closer to the river Meuse.

3655][FR] Nice trams: With c.12km of their 21.3km tramway built for aesthetic reasons without overhead wiring, Bordeaux opted for complex surface-contact power-supply (R.3510). In Nice the new tramway (line #1, 8.7km) is to leave unwired only two 450m sections in the city-centre, and the 20 double-ended five-section low-floor Alstom Citadis trams are to have nickel-hydride batteries to power them across the unwired gaps. Target opening-date is December 2006. (http://www.lrta.org)

3656][BE] Antwerpen Centraal: (Ball 9B3) The radically remodelled station has four levels, though only three with tracks (R.3548). Level +1, the original rail level, has the six terminal tracks now in use; level 0 is the street level, with no tracks but a new pedestrian concourse to open in April 2004; level -1, 7m below street-level, has four terminal tracks, to open autumn 2007; and level -2, 18m below street-level, has four through tracks, to open October 2006.

3657][DE] Berlin: Abzw Grünau - Berlin ILA-Bahnhof (- Flughafen Schönefeld-Süd): (R.2111; EGTRE; Ball 32B1 not shown) On 10-16 May 2004 Berlin-Schönefeld airport will again host the biennial International Aerospace Exhibition (Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung = ILA). As in 2002, diesel shuttle trains for air-show visitors are to use the ex-Neukölln Mittenwalder Eisenbahn non-electrified freight branch. (http://www.ila-berlin.de/ila2004/home/index_e.cfm)

3658][DE] Bingerbrück - Rüdesheim: two vanished Rhein crossings: (Ball 48B2) From a landing-place at Bingerbrück, near the junction station now named Bingen (Rhein) Hbf (R.2114), a rail ferry once carried wagons the short distance north across the swiftly-flowing river Rhein to Rüdesheim, linking the Koblenz - Mainz left-bank main line to the Koblenz - Wiesbaden right-bank line. The wagon-ferry was replaced by a huge railway girder-bridge built in 1915 for strategic military purposes, the Hindenburgbrücke, whose various approach lines later acquired ordinary passenger services (in 1925, 1930 and 1931), but the retreating Wehrmacht destroyed the bridge in 1945 and it has never been rebuilt (BLN 796.088). Unsurprisingly, little trace remains of the ferry (north of Kreuzbach Rangierbahnhof and signal-box Bkb), but even the bridge structure and its associated embankments and junctions have left relatively little to see in 2004. At Bingerbrück-Kreuzbach some freight tracks and a building for loading washed gravel remain, but the once-important complex of shunting sidings between the main line and the river is mostly out of use, and much of the land has been given over to garden-allotments. In 2003 a cycle-path was constructed through part of the site.

3659][PT] Lisboa guideway: Paço de Arcos/Navegantes - Tapada do Mocho - Oeiras Parque/Porto Salvo (- Lagoas Parque): (R.2475) A company 51% owned by Oeiras local council and 49% by construction firm Teixeira Duarte are building Sistema Automatico de Transporte Urbano de Oeiras, a driverless monorail. Teixeira Duarte are meeting the EUR20M initial cost of phase 1, which serves their development at Oeiras Parque. Work began in June 2002 from SATUO’s new Navegantes station (adjacent to Paço de Arcos station on CP’s Lisboa Cais do Sodré - Cascais line; Ball 25A1) via an intermediate stop at Tapada do Mocho to Porto Salvo station at the Oeiras Parque shopping-centre. The cars, carrying 71 standing and 8 seated passengers, are to have a maximum speed of 40km/h, giving a journey-time of 4min for 1.2km at a fare of EUR1. Test-running was to begin in December 2003, with a target-date for revenue service of April or May 2004. The line is to be extended to Lagoas Parque, perhaps in 2005.

3660][PT] (Lisboa / Barreiro - Pinhal Novo - Poceirão -) Ermidas-Sado - Alvalade - Torre Vã - Funcheira (- Tunes): (Ball 26A1-33A2) In September 2002 the main Linha do Sul south to the Algarve was upgraded and electrified as far as Ermidas-Sado (junction for the Ermidas-Sado - Sines freight branch, also wired at that time; R.2570). On 29 February 2004 the 20km Ermidas-Sado - Torre Vã section was taken into use as double track (R.3074, 3575). On 15 March 2004 testing began of some 50km of newly-installed 25kV 50Hz overhead wiring on the double-track Ermidas-Sado - Torre Vã section; on the single-track Torre Vã - Funcheira section; on the triangles at Ermidas-Sado (R.1900) and Funcheira (R.0449); and on the single-track Funcheira - Ourique section of the secondary Linha do Alentejo route. Funcheira - Ourique has presumably been wired to facilitate handling the mineral traffic off the Ourique - Neves-Corvo freight branch. (http://www.refer.pt)

3661][ES] Santander - Valdecilla - Torrelavega - Cabezón de la Sal and Valdecilla - Nueva Montaña - Maliaño - Astillero - Orejo - Liérganes: (Ball 5A2-4B2) On their Cantábria metre-gauge system FEVE run electric suburban services from Santander west to Cabezón de la Sal and south-east to Orejo and Liérganes. FEVE regional trains running beyond (Santander - Cabezón de la Sal - Oviedo and Santander - Orejo - Bilbao) are diesel-operated. Santander - Valdecilla has four tracks and Valdecilla - Torrelavega, Valdecilla - Nueva Montaña and Maliaño - Astillero have double track, but the 1.5km Nueva Montaña - Maliaño section is a single-track bottleneck where congestion is threatening to affect services. Track-doubling is being planned, with a target completion-date of 2007.

3662][ES] Valle de los Caídos funicular: Not far from El Escorial palace (north-west of the capital on the Madrid - Avila main line; Ball 20B2), the 1936-75 Franco regime built a monument to those who died during Spain’s 1936-39 civil war. It includes, carved 250m deep into the rocks, a basilica which is the mausoleum of Francisco Franco himself (1892-1975) and his fellow-nationalist José Antonio Primo de Rivera (1903-36), and which also houses the remains of 40,000 civil-war soldiers from both sides. Impressive is the word that best describes the place, known as the Valle de los Caídos (= Valley of the Fallen). To take visitors from the esplanade to the top of the monument, at the foot of its 150m-tall cross, a funicular opened in 1975. Little-known and not included in the comprehensive list at http://www.funiculars.net, the line eventually failed to comply with new safety legislation and closed in 1999. However Spain’s national heritage foundation, Patrimonio Nacional, provided over EUR2M for modernisation, and the funicular returned to operation on 27 January 2004. It is metre-gauge, single-track with passing-loop, 272.41m long, gaining 120.55m height. An entrance-fee to the monument must normally be paid, but inclusive tickets covering both El Escorial and Valle de los Caídos are available, and on Wednesdays access to the monument is free for European Union citizens. Additional fares payable for the funicular (even by EU nationals on Wednesdays!) are EUR1.50 one-way and EUR2.50 round-trip. Information: http://www.patrimonionacional.es/.

3663][ES] (Barcelona - Tarragona -) Oropesa del Mar - Benicàssim - Las Palmas (- Valencia): (Ball 23B1) Though the new alignment was brought into use on 16 November 2003 (R.3437), it was not officially inaugurated until 24 February 2004.

3664][ES] Sevilla: Santa Justa - Tamarguillo - Palacio de Congresos - Palmete-Padre Pío - Universidad Pablo de Olavide - new curve - Virgen del Rocío - San Bernardo - Santa Justa: RENFE hope during summer 2004 to introduce local passenger trains on the 11.2km north-to-south freight bypass that parallels the 11.4km line through Santa Justa, Sevilla’s impressive 1992 main station. In the clockwise direction from Santa Justa, the circular service would head north to Tamarguillo, the southernmost of the two triangles in the north of the city, where it would take the existing southwest-to-southeast curve (not shown in the Ball atlas at 35A2) on to present freight trackage. (The other, northern, triangle, shown in Ball, is where the Sevilla - Huelva and Sevilla - Córdoba lines diverge, near the gauge-changer at Majarabique.) Heading south through developing suburbs east of the city-centre, the trains would call at Palacio de Congresos, Palmete-Padre Pío and Universidad Pablo de Olavide, all new stations now under construction on the freight bypass, before taking a new northeast-to-northwest curve near La Salud. Rejoining the present passenger line, they would call at Virgen del Rocío and continue north in the tunnel beneath the city-centre via San Bernardo back to Santa Justa. A later phase may see four more stations on the circle.

3665][ES] Mallorca: Palma - Son Oliva - Inca - Enllaç - Petra - Manacor (- Arta): (Ball 38A1-38A2) Collapse of a retaining wall on to the track near Petra early on 14 March 2004 led to a train accident in which 13 people were injured. Local controversy followed about the quality of engineering work that may have been completed in haste to reopen the (Inca -) Enllaç - Manacor section in May 2003 (R.2982) before regional elections. The line may be closed for several months. (Majorca Daily Bulletin) At Manacor however the station building appears beautifully restored (R.3081) and on 3 March work was under way on restoration of a smaller building on the opposite side of the line. This bore the date 1920 and was presumably erected when the then-914mm-gauge line was being extended to reach Arta in 1921. Reopening of Manacor - Arta as metre-gauge remains in the plans of Transport de les Illes Balears, though election of a conservative Balearic government in 2003 may mean that some public-transport projects take longer.

3666][ES] Mallorca: projects: Diagrammatic maps on board TIB’s Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca diesel railcars working to Manacor (eg unit 61-18 on 3 March 2004) continue to show the proposed University branch (Palma - Son Oliva - Son Hugo - Son Pardo - Son Castello - Son Sardina - Universitat de les Illes Balears; R.3081). Diverging beyond Son Oliva, the first station out of Palma, to head north-west, the branch would need to cross the busy Palma - Soller and Palma - Valldemosa main roads to reach the UIB campus. The existing 914mm-gauge 1200V dc Palma - Sóller line already has a Son Sardina station and a 1997 platform (BLN 808.0388) regularly used by bus-parties to avoid tour-buses having to drive into, and park in, Palma.

In early 2004 the Balearic regional government and Palma city council reached agreement on financing their project to put underground the railway’s urban section. A new Palma station, near the present surface SFM station, would have five sub-surface platforms serving no fewer than 10 metre-gauge terminal tracks, and a bus-station above. The Palma - Son Oliva section would become quadruple-track, wholly or largely in tunnel, stated to be necessary in order to cope with rail traffic not only on the existing SFM lines out to Sa Pobla and Manacor but also on the proposed UIB branch and later on the Sóller line. Justification of the project thus seemingly requires replacement not only of the existing metre-gauge SFM double-track surface alignment in Palma, but also the 914mm-gauge Ferrocarril de Sóller’s adjacent terminus and street-level alignment running north out of town. Work on the new station and tunnel is to start by end-2004 or early 2005 with a view to completion in 2006 or 2007. It remains to be seen whether and when the Sóller line might eventually be regauged and/or de-electrified (R.3559).

3667][IT] Milano trams: Inauguration of new light-rail sections dubbed Metrotranvia Nord and Metrotranvia Sud (R.2615) on 8 December 2003 led to changes in the Azienda Trasporti Milanesi network: city trams #4 and #5 now extend north over new double track to terminate at Parco Nord, and the previously-isolated interurban tramway north out to Désio (R.2728) is extended a short distance southwards to Parco Nord to connect. In the south tram #15 is diverted via new track near Ticinese depot to rejoin its original route at Abbiategrasso. (LRTA)

3668][IT] Pisa Centrale: (Ball 49A2) In April 2004 a third track should become available from the south end of the Pisa San Rossore triangle (km99.69) south over the river Arno to Bivio Navicelli (km99.60) and into the west end of Pisa Centrale station (km98.76). The layout at Centrale is being modified to minimise conflict between groups of services. From 2005 the west-east through tracks and passenger platforms are to become specialised by destination as follows, from north to south:

• #1 plus the two bay platforms at each end: Pisa - Lucca (west end) and Pisa - Collesalvetti (east end)
• #2-3 Pisa - Livorno - Roma (via the ‘gooseneck’ line, heading east then curving to join the main line south)
• #4-5 Pisa - Genova (main line north)
• #6-7 Pisa - Firenze (main line east)
• #8-9 Pisa - Pisa Aeroporto (airport branch) and Firenze - Pisa - Livorno (heading west for the main line south)

Generally tracks for each destination will thus lie on either side of the same island platform. This will make life easier for passengers when a train needs to be re-routed from one track to the other at the last minute, but it will no longer allow cross-platform interchange between Torino - Pisa - Roma and Livorno - Pisa - Firenze trains.

The carriage-cleaning sidings east of the station have been removed and relocated to the south side of the locomotive depot. The land vacated will allow completion of a new underpass from the north to the south of the station layout, beneath the surface alignment used by Pisa - Firenze trains and movements to and from the locomotive depot. The underpass will be used by Pisa - Livorno - Roma trains taking the Via Collodoca (collo dell’oca = goose neck) to rejoin the main line south at Bivio Mortellini, and trains on the Pisa - Collesalvetti - Vada line (being electrified, likely to reopen 14 April 2004; R.3276). Trains through the underpass will face a gradient in each direction, but all will be passenger trains stopping in the station. Freight trains can keep to the surface lines as they run into the yard comprising tracks #10-14 south of the passenger station. The Via Collodoca is shown incorrectly in the Ball atlas as freight-only, for it is used to avoid reversal by through north-south passenger trains calling at Centrale, and by freight trains changing crew there. Conversely, since in the 2003-04 timetable all through passenger trains do call at Pisa Centrale, the short north-to-south side of the triangle west of that station is now freight-only (EGTRE).

3669][IT] Firenze: Santa Maria Novella - Rifredi - Posto Movimento Olmatello - Osmannoro: (R.2171, 2891; Ball 49A1 not shown) A fifth track between Firenze SMN and Rifredi (3km) was to open by the end of March 2004. On 22 March 2004 the first train ran on the third track between Rifredi and PM Olmatello, on its way to Osmannoro rolling-stock maintenance yard. Two pairs of such services now run as passenger trains between Firenze SMN and Rifredi and as empty moves beyond.

3670][PL] (Klodzko -) Krosnowice Klodzkie - Stronie Slaskie: (Ball 36B1; PKP 230) From Monday 15 March 2004 buses replaced the passenger trains on this 24km rural branch in Silesia, just north of the Czech border. The decision to close the line seems to have been made by cash-strapped PKP local management purely to save money. An official quoted the cost per km of hiring a bus with driver as PLZ3 (=c.GBP0.50), much cheaper than the diesel locomotive and coaches hitherto used. For the 31km journey through from Klodzko the trains took 60min with 9 stops, while the buses take 57min with 12 stops, so passengers seem unlikely to complain - but this kind of local decision-making may set an unfortunate precedent for the survival of other loss-making lines in Poland.

3671][SK][PL] Humenne - Medzilaborce Mesto - Palota ZSR - Lupkow PKP - Nowy Lupkow - Rzepedz - Zagorz: (R.0167, 1056, 2941; Ball 43B3) The easternmost line from Slovakia to Poland reopened to freight 2 June 1996 and passengers 27 June 1999 (BLN 804.0290, R.0167, 2941), but the passenger service at least has been unsuccessful. Notices pasted over the departure-boards at both Lupkow and Zagorz stations during March confirmed that PKP’s Lupkow - Zagorz trains were to cease after 31 March 2004. Lupkow is purely a border station serving no significant local settlement, and it has no sign of any onward bus service, so the ZSR (Humenne -) Medzilaborce Mesto - Lupkow cross-border trains that appear for the moment to remain in the timetable seem unlikely to last.

3672][AU] Melbourne Spencer Street: CountryLink’s InterCity 125 clones from New South Wales (the Sydney - Albury - Melbourne Daylight XPT and Overnight XPT) and Great Southern Railway’s sleeper from South Australia (the Adelaide - Ararat - Geelong North Shore - Melbourne The Overland) comprise the three standard-gauge passenger workings to reach the capital of broad-gauge Victoria. All were in November 2003 being handled at a single mixed-gauge terminal track alongside platform #1 at Spencer Street, a large and busy through station. A second mixed-gauge platform was unavailable during engineering work. The remaining 12 platforms are 1600mm-gauge, #3-8 handling most of Victoria’s ‘country’ services, worked by diesel traction (or steam! - Melbourne - Warrnambool on Saturdays) and #9-14 handling 1500V dc Melbourne suburban electric units. The single platform and the single running-line available to standard-gauge trains as far west as the loop between Dynon and West Footscray were causing delays, as when an eastbound Overland arrived an hour late, having had to await the departure of a northbound XPT to Sydney. The works at Spencer Street were substantial and ongoing, including remodelling of the track layout. The station certainly seemed in need of modernisation, with outdated passenger facilities and an exterior still styled for the 1960s, while the pedestrian subway and platforms appeared more or less unchanged for even longer. The other large city-centre station, Melbourne Flinders Street, with its 12 through broad-gauge platforms, has mainly suburban trains (BLN 803.0266) but it also handles country services to eastern Victoria (Melbourne - Pakenham - Sale).

3673][AU] Melbourne - Dandenong - Pakenham - Warragul - Traralgon (- Sale - Bairnsdale): Melbourne suburban electric trains terminate at Pakenham. Though the 1600mm broad-gauge Latrobe Valley route east into Gippsland also had 1500V dc wiring as far east as Traralgon (BLN 848.0239), electric units ceased working east of Pakenham on 6 December 1998 (BLN 845.0126) and passenger operators V/Line and freight operators National Rail now use only diesel traction. However the Latrobe Valley line is being improved as part of Victoria state’s Fast Rail programme, with 160km/h electric trains planned to enter service from mid-2005. From 21 February to end-April 2004 the c.70km Pakenham - Traralgon section is closed to passenger trains during engineering work including complete replacement of the westbound track. Freight trains will continue to use the eastbound track in both directions. After April 2004 a series of weekend closures once a month will allow installation and testing of new signalling and level-crossing safety equipment. (Victoria Minister for Transport)

3674][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Trenton - Bordentown - Camden Rand/Broadway - Camden Waterfront: (R.0022, 0695, 1450, 3118) On the north bank of the Delaware river the Trenton, NJ - Philadelphia, PA section of the (ex-Pennsylvania, now Amtrak) Northeast Corridor is busy with Amtrak intercity and SEPTA commuter trains as well as freight. Running closely parallel on the southern (left) bank is a section of the ex-Camden & Amboy Railroad, latterly Conrail’s Bordentown Secondary line, now shared between NJT’s Stadler-GTW diesel light-rail cars in the daytime and Conrail (joint CSX/NS) freight trains running in the small hours. About a year late, the River Line was inaugurated on Saturday 13 March and opened for public services on Sunday 14 March 2004. Frequency is 30min all day. The 54km line has 20 stations and 70 level-crossings. A USD1.10 ticket, once validated, is good for two hours of travel. The New York Times (13 March) was unimpressed, alleging that NJT had considered letting passengers ride free because ‘the fares would not cover the cost of collecting them’ and that ‘each of the expected 5,900 daily one-way trips will cost New Jersey taxpayers c.USD30 to cover operating costs and debt service’ of what it is likely to be ‘the light-rail line with the worst financial performance in the nation’.

For an intercity traveller with plenty of time, the new light-rail route may offer an interesting variation on the corresponding section of the Northeast Corridor. The River Line’s northern terminus is directly across Clinton Avenue from Trenton’s Amtrak/NJT station, so a 5min connection is (just) possible. The light-rail cars soon join the Conrail line and stay with it for c.51km as far as the intersection of Federal and Mickle Streets in Camden, where they diverge on new reserved and street-running right-of-way to the terminus at Waterfront Entertainment Center. The southern end of the line is in a safe, new, tourist-oriented area of Camden, but to connect with public transport to Philadelphia one needs to ride the River Line back north-east for 1.5km to the Walter Rand Transportation Center. One might not want to visit this interchange alone or at night, but it includes Broadway station, from which one can return west on the Delaware River Port Authority’s PATCO heavy-rail metro (Philadelphia 30th St - Camden Broadway - Lindenwold, NJ) to Amtrak’s Philadelphia 30th St station. Alternatively, in the summer a tourist ferry plies from a pier close to the River Line’s Camden terminus across the river to Philadelphia. Further in the future, it may be possible to include a trip on the Port Authority’s planned Philadelphia - Camden cableway (R.2193).

3675][KN] St.Kitts: Originally Saint Christopher, this Caribbean island is now officially known by its abbreviated name. Its 762mm-gauge railway opened 1912, and the c.50km full circuit round the coast was completed 1926. The government of the Federation of St.Kitts and Nevis lease the line to St.Kitts Sugar Manufacturing Company. Hunslet and other diesel locomotives plus a fleet of some 200 flatcars continue to handle the highly seasonal sugar-cane traffic for which the line was built. Tourist-train custom however is year-round, and on 28 January 2004 St.Kitts Scenic Railway (R.2421) successfully completed their first full year of revenue service, having taken some 15,000 passengers, mainly from cruise-ships, trundling in double-deck carriages across steel trestles and through tropical vegetation round the island’s dormant volcano. The USD89 fare is not cheap but includes free rum drinks and two seats, one a wicker chair in the air-conditioned cabin on the lower deck and the other a cushioned bench on the open-air observation deck. Trains leave from Needsmust station at the international airport near the capital, Basseterre, generally at 09:30, but departures can be tailored to fit cruise-ship times in port, and consequently may not always complete the full circuit of the island, now timed to take 4h15min. The cruise-ship short workings run between Needsmust and the balloon-loop at La Vallee, where buses meet the train and two sets of passengers change places, travelling one way by train, one way by bus. Trains on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays offer better opportunities to ride the entire line, which our reporter did on Mon 23 February 2004. His track diagrams are at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/kn_track.gif. A recent independent review by another reporter is at http://www.igougo.com. Check the train service and make bookings via the company site http://www.stkittsscenicrailway.com.

3676][IE] (Dublin - Athlone -) Ballinasloe - Woodlawn - Attymon - Athenry - Galway: (R.3125) With the Galway line’s ‘mini-CTC’ integrated into the main Centralised Traffic Control system from 30 November 2003, Dublin Connolly now controls all signals and points from Ballinasloe to Galway. In mid-December 2003 Connolly CTC took over closed-circuit-television monitoring of the level-crossings at Ballinasloe, Woodlawn and Athenry. (Irish Railway Record Society)

3677][IE] Limerick Jn - Tipperary - Cahir - Clonmel - Carrick-on-Suir - Waterford: The temporary line-closure following the derailment and viaduct-collapse at Cahir on 7 October 2003 (R.3350) offered the opportunity to refurbish Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir signal-cabins. Parts of redundant interlocking frames from the (Athlone -) Ballinasloe - Galway line were used, Athenry providing parts for Clonmel. (Irish Railway Record Society)

3678][IE][GB] Ireland: freight: (R.3448) All cross-border rail freight to Northern Ireland ceased with the last liner train conveying Guinness beer in kegs from Dublin to Belfast Adelaide yard on 27 February 2004. Though busy with containers until its last few months, Mallow yard has closed and lies empty. Sligo has likewise lost container and keg-beer freight, leaving only oil traffic for Esso and pulpwood for Coillte, Ireland’s forestry-development body. Coillte returned some timber traffic to rail in June 2003 and expect 130,000t of timber to be carried in 2004. IE began a long-planned Waterford - Ballina trainload-containers service for Norfolkline, with up to 3 trains a week. Work started on relaying and reconfiguring Dublin’s Dardanelles yard to replace IE’s temporary container-handling yard at Sheriff St Bridge (R.2738). (Irish Railway News, April 2004)

3679][IE] Dublin light rail: (R.3447) A ceremony on 2 February 2004 marked completion of track-laying (though not wiring) on the city’s two Luas routes. A spokesman for Ireland’s Railway Procurement Agency insisted that the public would be travelling on the southern line (St.Stephen’s Green - Sandyford; 9km) by 30 June 2004 and on the western line (Connolly Station - Tallaght; 14km) by 30 August 2004, and confirmed that on the latter line ‘trams will cross the Red Cow roundabout as planned [at ground-level] until the notoriously congested junction is upgraded under radical [flyover] plans being considered by [the] transport minister’. (Irish Independent, 2 February 2004, via Irish Railway News, April 2004)

3680][FR] Longuyon: (Ball 17B1) The west-to-north curve avoiding the station was seen on 27 March 2004 to be completely lifted. This confirms implementation of the 1995 plan reported in BLN 756.0272.

3681][FR] Audun-le-Roman - Serrouville - Tiercelet-Villers-la-Montagne (- Villerupt-Micheville): (BLN 762.0396; Ball 17B1-18A1) This line and the Longwy - Saulnes - Hussigny-Godbrange Villerupt line lost their passenger services 15 May 1939. The 5km section from Tiercelet to the terminus at Villerupt formally closed to freight 27 May 1989. In passenger days, through trains worked Conflans-Jarny - Briey - Audun - Villerupt and a second island platform existed at Audun for these services and for the Audun-le-Roman - Baroncourt line. Audun has two station buildings, the present 1960s-style one and an earlier building no longer in passenger use, further west. On 27 March 2004 Picasso railcar XABD3896 of the Association des Autorails du Réseau Est, on a COPEF charter, visited the Tiercelet branch, now accessible only via Audun yard. The building at Serrouville halt (km6) was derelict and overgrown by trees, but Tiercelet-Villers-la-Montagne (km15) proudly proclaimed the station’s full name high on the end walls of its passenger building, in good condition and in private occupation. Tiercelet has a SOCOTUB works making tubes and other metal products, but no wagons were in the yard or sidings - perhaps not a good omen for the future of the branch, though another siding diverged beyond the station. The abandoned running line towards Villerupt retained track as far as the eye could see, perhaps 500m.

3682][FR] Audun-le-Roman - Baroncourt: (Ball 17B1) This 22km line closed to passengers 15 May 1939 and seems officially to have closed completely from some date between 1980 and 1990. Nevertheless, at the Audun end a single track is still in place and a siding, perhaps the former second track, stores withdrawn vehicles from gas-turbine passenger units. On the approach from Fontoy westward to Audun, earthworks remain of what appears to have been a former east-to-west curve on to the Baroncourt line. At the Baroncourt end, overhead wiring remains above the single track heading towards Audun, and traces remain of the earthwork for the former flying-junction arm over to the west side of the Conflans-Jarny - Baroncourt - Longuyon main line.

3683][FR] Audun-le-Roman - Tucquenieux - Briey - Valleroy-Moineville: (Ball 18A1) Audun - Briey (17km) closed to passengers 15 May 1939 and Briey - Valleroy (6km) 6 August 1973. Tucquenieux - Valleroy (16km) closed completely from some date between 1980 and 1990, and track was lifted at the Valleroy end. At the northern end one of the two tracks remained on 27 March 2004, with access blocked by crossed sleepers a short distance south-east of Audun.

3684][FR] Fontoy - Audun-le-Tiche (- Esch-sur-Alzette CFL): (BLN 721.02, 749.086; Ball 18A1) At the closed junction station of Fontoy, the Bâtiment Voyageurs (= passenger building) was seen on 27 March 2004 to have been demolished and replaced by a location-board saying FONTOY ex-BV. The line towards Audun-le-Tiche was in place but clearly out of use.

3685][FR] (Hayange -) Knutange-Nilvange - Algrange: The 8km branch to Algrange (misspelled in the 1991 Ball atlas; 18A1) closed to passengers 6 May 1939; reopened for a period during World War II; and closed again to passengers post-1944, pre-1951. It closed completely at some date between 1980 and 1990, and was seen on 27 March 2004 to be lifted.

3686][FR] Conflans-Jarny - Batilly (- Amanvillers - Metz): (Ball 28B3) This line lost its passenger service 6 August 1973 (latterly two round-trips Mon-Sat) and appears to have closed completely east of Batilly at some time between 1980 and 1990. The COPEF railtour of 27 March 2004 reached Batilly run-round loop (km8), next to the station building now in private occupation. It was not clear what regular traffic remains but, beyond the level-crossing at the east end of the station, sidings curved off to the north, away from the trackbed continuing east to Amanvillers (km14) and Metz (km30). All trains now take the rather longer route Conflans-Jarny - Hagondange - Metz, as indeed the majority always did.

3687][FR] Toul - Chaudeney-sur-Moselle - Pierre-la-Treiche - Villey-le-Sec - Maron (- Chaligny-Neuves-Maisons - Pont-St.Vincent): (Ball 28B2) Abandoned Toul - Chaudeney 1 March 1989 and Chaudeney - Maron in 1964, this section was derelict by September 1996 (BLN 807.0353). Some work must have been done on the singled track, for the Association des Autorails du Réseau Est published a summer 2003 timetable showing tourist trains running from Maron westward to a temporary station short of the viaduct over the river Moselle at Toul. However, it seems much work remains to be done and the tourist operation is not to be repeated in summer 2004.

3688][BE] Bruxelles=Brussel - Diegem - Zaventem - Nossegem - Kortenberg - Erps-Kwerps - Veltem - Herent - Leuven (- Liège-Guillemins): (Ball 8B2-9B2) On the quadruple section west of Leuven the platforms of the intermediate stations are all to be islands with faces on both the fast (inner, line 36N) and the slow (outer, line 36) tracks, not just on the slow tracks (R.3654). The new platforms are already in place at Diegem, Zaventem and Herent. Progress is illustrated on the recently-updated website http://www.tgv.be.tf/lgv2/lgv2.html. A diagram there of the future layout shows, west of Herent, the twelve sets of points that will allow movement from any track to any other track in either direction and, east of Herent, the single-track link to be built between line 36 and line 35 (Leuven - Aarschot) which will allow a much faster Brussel - Aarschot journey.

3689][DE] Dortmund monorail: Eichlinghofen H-Bahn - Do-Universität S/Campus Süd - Technologiezentrum: Not shown in the Ball atlas (34B3) nor in the 2002 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland, the c.3km driverless suspended monorail on the campus of Dortmund University opened 2 May 1984 and operates Mon-Fri 06:30-21:00. H-Bahn Dortmund is a predecessor of the Skytrain people-mover opened in 2002 at Düsseldorf (DUS) airport using similar technology (R.2503, 3314, 3333) and, like Skytrain, is part of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr public-transport network. Timings to Eichlinghofen H-Bahn station are included in the Hafas journey-planner database. (http://www.h-bahn.info/en/index.php)

3690][DE][FR] Dillingen (Saar) - Niedaltdorf DB - Guerstling SNCF - Bouzonville: (R.2866; Ball DE-55B3, FR-18B1) Good Friday 9 April 2004 was to see four round-trips beyond Niedaltdorf via the 8.7km freight-only border-crossing section through to Bouzonville in France, in connection with the Easter market there, as in 2002 and 2003.

3691][DK] Aalborg - Østerådalen - Gug - Gistrup - Grønlandshavnen: (Ball 4A1) This 19km DSB freight branch circling round the southern suburbs of Aalborg to Grønlandshavnen (= the Greenland harbour) sees summer-Sunday heritage operations with steam traction, trading as Limfjordsbanen. (Today’s Railways, #100, April 2004)

3692][SE] Skara - Lundsbrunn: (Ball 21B2) A short section of the 891mm-gauge former Västergötland-Göteborgs Järnväg (R.2650) sees Skara-Lundsbrunns Järnvägar steam traction and vintage railbuses on Sundays in summer (27 Jun-5 Sep 2004) and on certain Tuesdays and Saturdays in high summer (1 Jul-12 Aug 2004). (Today’s Railways, #100, April 2004)

3693][PT] Lisboa metro: Campo Grande - Quinta das Conchas - Lumiar - Ameixoeira - Senhor Roubado - Odivelas: (R.0535, 2833) From 18:00 on Saturday 27 March 2004 Metropolitano de Lisboa extended their Yellow or Sunflower line (Linha Amarela, Linha Girassol) from Campo Grande east and north by 5 stations. The c.5km new section is in tunnel, except for the surface interchange station at Campo Grande and the viaduct eastward over the Green line, plus a bridge across the valley between Senhor Roubado and Odivelas. Odivelas is the first metro station to be outside the L (= Lisboa) tariff zone, so one-zone and two-zone tickets are now sold. The next metro extension is expected be the Blue line to Amadora on 15 May 2004. (http://www.metrolisboa.pt)

3694][ES] (Barcelona Plaça Espanya -) Quatre Camins - Pallejà - Martorell-Vila - Martorell-Enllaç: (Ball 16B2) Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the Catalonian provincial government railways, are upgrading this section of metre-gauge electric suburban line, doubling the remaining short single sections north of Quatre Camins; realigning with a new sub-surface station at Pallejà; realigning from Martorell-Vila north-west to a new rail/bus interchange on the site of the former Martorell Central FGC station next to Martorell RENFE; doubling the present freight-only Martorell Central - Martorell-Enllaç branch and rebuilding it for passenger traffic. RENFE’s Lleida - Barcelona high-speed standard-gauge line now under construction is to pass through Martorell partly in tunnel, and FGC’s realignment in the town will release land for a bridge taking the new line across the river Llobregat. FGC hope to have their new alignment partly in use during summer 2004. (Today’s Railways, #100, April 2004; FGC route-diagram at http://www.fgc.es/pdf/planoldetallat.pdf)

3695][ES] Barcelona trams: Francesc Macià - Sant Martí de l’Erm - Bon Viatge - Consell Comarcal: The first of the metropolitan area’s two standard-gauge tram systems, Trambaix, was to open on Saturday 3 April 2004. From Francesc Macià, its inner terminus on the broad avenue known as Diagonal (BLN 808.0387), two routes run north-west to serve the municipality of Sant Joan Despí. FGC’s April 2004 route-diagram shows the Trambaix lines, but not those of the unconnected Tram Besòs which is to serve the eastern suburbs near the river Besòs, and is planned to open in June 2004. (http://www.lrta.org)

3696][IT] (Torino -) Ceva - San Giuseppe di Cairo (- Savona): (Ball 45B2) Closed temporarily from 30 September 2003 to allow works on Belbo tunnel, this electrified line was to reopen 1 April 2004.

3697][IT] Pisa: Binari Mezzaluna: (R.3668; Ball 49A2) Known by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana as the Binari Mezzaluna (= half-moon tracks), the north-to-south curve avoiding Pisa Centrale station is officially booked in the 2003-04 timetable to be used by a single Autozug working from Germany to Livorno, but this train normally runs into Pisa Centrale to reverse so that it arrives at Livorno with its car-carrier vehicles in the correct position to ease shunting.

3698][IT] Pisa - Collesalvetti - Vada: (R.3668; Ball 49A3) Overhead wiring was energised from 22 March and official reopening date was 31 March, but the first train, a southbound empty freight, ran on the morning of 1 April 2004. Though refurbished and newly-electrified, the line remains single track with an 80km/h speed-limit, and the 30km south of Collesalvetti has no passing-loop. Initially, only one pair of freight trains is booked to travel this way, so capacity is not yet a limiting factor.

3699][IT] Firenze: Santa Maria Novella - Rifredi - Posto Movimento Olmatello: (R.3669; Ball 49A1) The fifth track between Firenze’s main station, Santa Maria Novella, and Rifredi duly opened 28 March 2004. The former Bivio Olmatello (a plain junction remotely controlled from Rifredi station) was upgraded in January 2004 to Posto Movimento Olmatello. Technically a station, but one offering no public service for either passenger or freight, a Posto Movimento is usually a signal-box controlling a wayside siding. For a PM, Olmatello is unusual in having no siding, but it now has a staffed signal-box controlling a junction where five lines converge, so it seems to deserve its new status.

3700][IT] Firenze - Cionfo - Salviati - Borgo San Lorenzo: (Ball 49A1) Firenze SMN - Borgo San Lorenzo trains take the rebuilt west-to-north chord (Bivio Pellegrino - San Marco Vecchio - Posto Movimento Cionfo; opened 29 January 2001; R.1155, 2170) passing San Marco Vecchio halt (platform #1), 300m south of PM Cionfo and near a school. Firenze Campo di Marte - Borgo San Lorenzo trains pass first Le Cure halt, 900m south of PM Cionfo, then San Marco Vecchio (platform #2) on their own line, still 300m south of Cionfo. The two single lines, parallel north of San Marco Vecchio, converge at Cionfo, which is not just a plain junction but has crossovers allowing trains to meet or to overtake there, qualifying it as a Posto Movimento rather than a Bivio. North-east of San Marco Vecchio (and therefore including the layout at Cionfo), the whole line (reopened to ordinary passenger trains 14 January 1999; R.0191, 0494) is remotely controlled from Borgo San Lorenzo station.

On the single track c.300m north of Cionfo junction, trains from both SMN and Campo di Marte pass Salviati halt. When Salviati opened in 2001, it had a small car-park, but this never drew much patronage and in 2002 RFI started work on a much larger parking-lot. During 2002 trains called at Salviati only on public holidays, and in 2003 not at all, but from 10 March 2004 two pairs of trains call. The large car-park is complete and should open at the end of April 2004, with train or bus season-ticket holders able to park their cars there for a nominal fee. Plans are for the terminus of bus line #1, at present 250m further north, to be moved inside the Salviati park-and-ride area, which will become a useful bus/train interchange. From the park-and-ride areas at four stations - Salviati, Castello (north of Rifredi), Rovezzano (east of Campo di Marte) and Piagge (west of Cascine; to open in June 2004) - city bus tickets to and from the city centre are valid on either buses or trains.

3701][SK] Slovakia: freight lines: Judging by their shiny rails at junctions along the Kozarovce - Zvolen - Lucenec - Plesivec - Roznava - Turna nad Bodvou - Moldava nad Bodvou - Kosice secondary route (Ball 42B1-43B2), six of the ZSR sections that closed to passengers in early 2003 (R.2755) seem to retain freight traffic in March 2004: Kozarovce - Zlate Moravce (ZSR 141); Zvolen - Sahy (ZSR 153); Lucenec - Kalonda (ZSR 161); Plesivec - Slavosovce (ZSR 166); Roznava - Dobsina (ZSR 167); and Moldava nad Bodvou - Medzev (ZSR 168). Slovakian freight may thus possibly still run on the Lucenec - Kalonda ZSR - Nogradszakal MÁV - Velky Krtis ZSR line through Hungary (R.0458). Curiously, at Turna nad Bodvou a connection was still in place from one of the loop tracks leading off towards the Hungarian border, though the Turna nad Bodvou ZSR - Tornanadaska MÁV line is supposed not to have carried traffic since the end of World War II. East of Kosice, the Trebisov - Vranov nad Toplou line (ZSR 192) was rusty and clearly out of use at the Trebisov end, but the rails were shiny at Vranov and a locomotive seen hauling one tank-wagon there may have just come off the line from Trebisov.

3702][BG] Septemvri - Varvara - Bansko - Dobrinishche: Completed 1944, this 125km 760mm-gauge line in south-western Bulgaria is the country’s only surviving narrow-gauge passenger railway (R.3579). The sparse and slow services have seen no significant recent investment, though the line serves a scenic mountain area where tourism and winter-sports are fast developing (R.2893). A local press report (Dnevnik, 31 March 2004) quoted the mayor of Septemvri as saying that while the hard-pressed Bulgarian state railways BDZ were planning closure on financial grounds, he hoped ownership could be transferred to a consortium of municipalities who would seek foreign investors to develop the line as a tourist attraction. He said that Deutsche Bahn had already shown interest in maintaining and operating the line. (Dow Jones Reuters Bulgarian News Digest)

3703][QA][BH][AE] Qatar - Bahrain; Dubai: Designs are almost complete for a 40km causeway from the Arabian Gulf peninsular state of Qatar to the island state of Bahrain, carrying a six-lane highway - and a railway. (Qatar promotional supplement in The Economist, 20 March 2004) Some 500km to the east, in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is planning a 70km light metro, for which tenders may be sought in May or June 2004. (Erik’s Rail News) If built, these lines would seem to be the first railway in each state (excluding possible existing short lengths of track for rail-mounted cranes in port areas etc).

3704][KR] Seoul - Cheonan - Daejeon - Daegu (- Busan): Korea’s first section of high-speed railway, dubbed Korean Train Express (KTX) but using French TGV technology, opened as planned on 1 April 2004 (R.3582). (Erik’s Rail News)

3705][NZ] (Auckland -) Newmarket - Boston Road - Mount Eden - Kingsland - Avondale - Waitakere: (R.2595) From 9 April 2004 to early 2005 work is to take place to lay c.2.2km of new track and realign parts of the existing route to create 7.5km of continuous double track from Boston Road loop west to Avondale, thus increasing capacity on the Western suburban line. The investment is an important vote of confidence in Auckland’s local railway. During stage 1 of the work, trains will continue to run before 08:30 and after 18:30. Later stages will see a new station and footbridge at Kingsland and various other new bridges. (http://www.arc.govt.nz/arc/transport/rail-project/double-tracking-of-the-western-line.cfm)

3706][NZ] Christchurch trams: (R.0693, 2028) Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand lost its old trams in 1954. The new standard-gauge heritage electric tramway opened 4 February 1995, its three restored trams and two trailers making a ten-stop 2.5km circle around the city-centre. To mark the centenary of the former Christchurch Tramway Board, the city circle line on Sunday 25 October 2003 saw steam traction in the shape of a Kitson tram locomotive and double-deck trailer borrowed from the city’s Ferrymead Heritage Park.

3707][US][MX] (San Diego - San Ysidro, CA -) [MX] Tijuana - Redondo - Tecate - Lindero [MX] - Campo, CA - Miller Creek - Carrizo Gorge - Plaster City (- El Centro, CA): (R.1541, 3224) The long-abandoned section of ex-San Diego & Arizona Eastern track in California’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, running through the gorge of Carrizo Creek and crossing the spectacular Goat Canyon trestle (55m tall, 183m long), has attracted many enthusiasts with improvised personal rail vehicles: modified bicycles, dune-buggies, even a bed-frame powered by a lawn-mower motor. But the free-for-all era of ‘bring your own railcar’ seems to have ended. Carrizo Gorge Railway, the new operators who have been refurbishing the line, were to begin running west-to-east freight trains during April 2004. (Los Angeles Times, 30 March 2004)

3708][US] (Alamosa, CO - Derrick -) South Fork - Wagon Wheel Gap - Creede, CO: To handle forest products and silver, zinc and gold ore a 914mm-gauge branch was laid from Alamosa 67km west up the Rio Grande to South Fork in 1881, being extended 22km to Wagon Wheel Gap in 1883 and 13km to the mines at Creede in 1891, reaching a height of 2712m. Dual-gauged in 1902 (914mm and standard; R.3225), the line was latterly standard-gauge only. Last ore shipment from Creede was in 1985, since when the branch has been out of use west of Derrick. In spring 2000 the Denver & Rio Grande Railway Historical Foundation bought the scenic South Fork - Creede section from DRGW successor Union Pacific with a view to establishing yet another tourist railroad in Colorado (not all of whose heritage railways have prospered). South Fork is not far from two ex-DRGW 914mm-gauge tourist lines (Antonito, CO - Chama, NM and Durango, CO - Silverton, CO; BLN 770.044; R.2898). In summer 2004 day trips from South Fork to Creede are on offer using a back-to-back pair of Fairmont speeders (= trolleys or draisines) carrying half-a-dozen passengers. The fare of USD155 per person for a 64km round-trip is not cheap. No privately-owned speeders or similar rail vehicles can be accommodated. Since 1985 the track has seen much exposure to severe mountain weather, with presumably little or no maintenance. Information: http://www.speedertours.com.

3709][US] Chicago, IL - St.Paul-Minneapolis, MN: Amtrak’s trains #7/8 Empire Builder normally run Chicago - Milwaukee, WI - Winona, MN - St.Paul-Minneapolis, but for three days in spring 2004 (departures from Chicago and St.Paul on 26, 27 and 28 April) they are to detour via the ex-Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, now Burlington Northern, route (Chicago - Burlington, IL - St.Paul-Minneapolis), most of which is normally non-passenger track.

3710][US][CA] Chicago, IL - Port Huron, MI - Sarnia, ON - Toronto, ON: (R.3586) Last eastbound run of Amtrak’s Chicago - Toronto #364 International is scheduled for Thursday 22 April, returning west as #365 on Friday 23 April 2004, closing the cross-border section to passengers two days earlier than previously advertised. While Amtrak and ViaRail trains to the border towns are to continue, no connecting bus or other service to bridge the gap of c.6km has been announced.

3711][US] New York light rail: Howard Beach / Jamaica - Federal Circle - Kennedy (JFK) Airport: (R.3444, 3504) Opened 17 December 2003, the Port Authority’s JFK AirTrain has twice given passengers the chance to traverse ‘rare track’. In separate incidents on 26 January and 12 February 2004, light-rail trains in service were accidentally diverted and briefly visited storage-yard sidings - where anyone unwise enough to try to detrain might have encountered a live rail.

3712][EC] Ecuador: (San Lorenzo -) Primerpaso - Ibarra (-) Quito - Urbina - Riobamba - Alausí - Sibambe (-) Huigra - Bucay (- Milagro -) Yaguachi - Durán: (R.2385, 3653) The isolated but scenic Primerpaso - Ibarra section remains open for railcars. On 11 September 2003 a railcar with a British-led party managed to traverse the G&Q’s 189km Quito - Urbina section, running northbound. Allegedly this section had not been used in its entirety since 1998, and previous attempts from either end had failed. Those on board had to remove part of a concrete wall, building materials, pipes, trees, cables, telephone wires, animals tethered to the track and much rubbish, but after ten hours triumphantly arrived in Quito. The party had earlier traversed the line between Urbina and Alausí and down the Devil’s Nose to Sibambe. Sibambe - Huigra remained closed by a landslide. Huigra - Bucay was allegedly traversable by railcar, but no working unit was available. Bucay shed was out of use, though three steam engines remained stored there. The section through the streets of Milagro remained blocked by the municipality. The 21km Yaguachi - Duran works section was traversed behind steam. The last 1.5km section has been lifted, and the line no longer runs into Duran passenger station, whence the ferry once crossed the (now bridged) estuary north to Guayaquil. (http://www.railwaytouring.co.uk)

3713][CU] Cuba: In recent years economic difficulties leading to fuel shortages and poor locomotive availability have forced Ferrocarriles de Cuba to cut back ordinary services on their 5000km standard-gauge national network. Meanwhile, hard-hit by low prices, the nationalised sugar industry has closed many mills, making the island less of a draw to tourists seeking to photograph elderly US-built steam locomotives on industrial lines of various gauges (R.2448). Though FCC themselves have not operated steam for decades, they do allow organisers of tourist trains on FCC lines to arrange to use suitable industrial steam locomotives on certain sections. One such tour ran in February and March 2004 for the Railway Touring Company, covering a lengthy route round the island, much of it on secondary lines (Habana - Cienfuegos - Santo Domingo - Santa Clara - San Diego - Encrucijada - Remedios - Ciego de Avila - Moron - Camaguey - Santiago - Palma Soriano - Bayamo - Holguin - Cardenas - Habana). Participants stayed in good hotels, and ordinary tourist activities were intermingled with visits to a number of remaining sugar-mill lines. The tour train was said to have been the first steam-hauled train in the city of Santiago since the 1950s, and the first to use the present Santiago station, built in 1991. (http://www.railwaytouring.co.uk)

3714][ER] Massawa - Asmara (- Agordat): (BLN 771.068, 835.0481) Begun in 1887 during the Italian colonial period (hence its gauge of 950mm, common in Italy), Eritrea’s railway from a harbour station at the Red Sea port of Massawa for 117km through mountainous terrain to the capital Asmara, 2350m above sea-level in the plains of the interior, has an average gradient of 1 in 50 with long stretches of 1 in 30, adhesion-worked throughout. Alas, by the 1970s the railway, well-engineered and offering some magnificent scenery, was out of use and becoming derelict. However, in spite of political conflict and the struggle for Eritrean independence, which flared up again in the pointless 1998 war with neighbouring Ethiopia, the Massawa - Asmara section has since the mid-1990s been resourcefully reconstructed without reliance on foreign aid, using local labour and recovered materials including original pre-World War II steam traction. A further 100km of the line west of the capital into the interior, part of an 189km extension which once reached Agordat (km306), may also reopen. In November 2003 Mallet steam locomotives seemed the mainstay of the line, sometimes working double-headed, and a Breda 0-4-0T steam shunter was working in Asmara. A classic 1930s Fiat diesel railcar and a converted lorry pulling a flat truck with an awning were also seen on the line. Trains were being operated for specific customers such as tourist groups, and scheduled operations for freight or passengers had yet to start. (http://www.railwaytouring.co.uk)

3715][FR] Conflans-Jarny - Batilly (- Amanvillers - Longeville-les-Metz - Metz): (R.3686; Ball 28B3) The 8km stub branch is retained to serve the large Renault-SOVAB plant at Batilly, which makes light commercial road vehicles, so the traffic may be steel or components inbound and/or new vans outbound, the latter being more likely. From time to time, as the European motor-vehicle industry reconfigures itself, schemes arise which would have a major impact on rail traffic to, from or between such points. One such scheme around 1995 proposed a daily trainload of components from Birmingham Washwood Heath via the Channel Tunnel to Batilly where a new design of ‘Eurovan’ would be assembled, but this came to nothing. The 16km section from Batilly east to Longeville-les-Metz closed at some time between 1980 and 1990 and was lifted by 1990, leaving the 6km Metz - Longeville-les-Metz section as another freight stub.

3716][FR] Bas-Evette - Giromagny: (Ball 40B2) Opened 30 June 1883 and closed to passengers 17 October 1938, this 7.2km branch has a west-facing junction where the Belfort - Bas-Evette - Giromagny local trains that provided most of its passenger traffic always had to reverse. Bas-Evette retains two platforms on the main line and two on the branch, one of the latter being (rather curiously) equipped with modern lighting. The old physical junction west of Bas-Evette station has been removed, and access from the Belfort direction to the branch is now by a trailing crossover from the westbound main line to the eastbound main line, then a trailing connection into the east end of the goods-yard east of the station, then a through siding to one of the branch platforms, with a final reversal there on to the branch proper. All movements are worked by ground-frames. The line carries stone in wagons whose home-station is marked as Thouars, and also some containerised waste for recycling or landfill. Giromagny station has reportedly been used by special shuttle services to events such as popular-music concerts held nearby - though on at least one occasion in the late 1990s the navettes seem to have been buses. Special trains might account for Bas-Evette’s branch-platform lighting, though our reporter did not notice such lighting at Giromagny on 3 April 2004 (when he visited on a Picasso railcar of Autorails de Bourgogne et de Franche-Comté, chartered to International Ferroviaire Club).

3717][FR] Belfort - Morvillars (- Delle SNCF - Boncourt CFF): (Ball 40B2) Also visited by the ABFC/IFC railcar on 3 April 2004, this branch remains open for freight as far as Morvillars, though a local group would like to see it reopened to Delle or through to Switzerland (R.2550). Morvillars’ first railway was the PLM’s Montbéliard - Audincourt - Morvillars - Delle line, opened 29 June 1868, and it was not until 13 August 1877 that the Est company opened the Belfort - Morvillars section to give them direct access from France to Switzerland, replacing their Mulhouse - Basel border-crossing, lost after the Franco-Prussian War when (French) Alsace became (German) Elsass in 1871. Before World War I the Delle - Boncourt border-crossing was passing some 70 trains a day of all categories, but activity fell again when France recovered the Mulhouse - Basel border-crossing in 1919. Belfort - Delle local passenger trains ceased 17 October 1938, and all passenger trains 27 September 1992. A vestigial remaining CFF cross-border passenger service from Delle to Boncourt ceased May 1995. Montbéliard - Morvillars lost its passenger trains 5 December 1938, and closed completely east of Audincourt at some date between 1980 and 1990. Thereafter Montbéliard - Audincourt - Valentigney remained as a branch to a Peugeot car-factory, but seen from the train on 3 April 2004 the branch junction at Montbéliard looked overgrown and out of use.

3718][FR] Voujeaucourt - Pont-de-Roide (- St.Hippolyte): (Ball 40B2) From an east-facing junction at Voujaucourt (the older spelling omitted the present ‘e’), the PLM branch to Pont-de-Roide (km16) and St.Hippolyte (km27) opened 19 September 1886, and lost its passenger service 5 December 1938. Pont-de-Roide passenger station has vanished, but an extensive yard remained to welcome the touring ABFC/IFC railcar on 3 April 2004. No wagons were to be seen, but evidence suggested timber traffic had recently been handled there. Beyond, the Pont-de-Roide - St.Hippolyte section closed completely 5 July 1971 and was lifted, following an incident when the track subsided beneath a train.

3719][FR] Saujon - Chaillevette - La Tremblade: (Ball 51A3) This 21.5km ex-SNCF line is now owned by the Charente-Maritime local authority, who have withdrawn the operating concession from the Chemin de Fer Touristique de la Seudre preservation group (R.1395, 1976) and awarded it to Connex Tradition (formerly CFTA, a subsidiary company of French utility-group Veolia), who are professional operators of lines such as the metre-gauge electric St.Georges-de-Commiers - La Mure (BLN 848.0202; Ball 57B1) and Col-de-St.Ignace - La Rhune (R.3369; Ball 68B2). (Voie Étroite, #201, April 2004)

3720][FR] Cahors - Cajarc - Capdenac: (R.3258; Ball 61B2-62A3) In spring 2004 heavy rains caused a landslip blocking an unspecified section at the eastern (Capdenac) end of this line, used in recent years only by summer tourist trains. Operators QuercyRail do not have the resources to clear the blocked section so it may not reopen. (Voie Étroite, #201, April 2004)

3721][LU][FR] (Bettembourg -) Dudelange-Usines - Volmerange-les-Mines: (Ball 18A1) Opened December 2003 (R.3550), CFL’s new passenger extension seems shorter than its 1.8km. A few metres south of Dudelange-Usines passenger station is the last physical connection to the internal system in Dudelange works, after which the passenger line runs south as a plain single track mostly parallel to the works system for a distance only slightly longer than the works site to reach Volmerange-les-Mines station, just inside France, a single platform constructed as an island but with no track on the west side. The line clearly once continued beyond into France but the formation has been partly occupied by the road approach to the station and further extension of the passenger branch looks unlikely. At 15:50 on 8 April 2004, the Thursday before Easter, some six passengers alighted at Volmerange, leaving our reporter as the only passenger when the train set off again northward, though it filled up significantly at Dudelange-Usines.

3722][LU] Kautenbach - Wiltz: (R.1404; Ball 18A3) This short unelectrified branch is completely closed from April until 12 September 2004, and buses are replacing passenger trains. (European Rail yahoogroup)

3723][NL] Den Haag - Pijnacker - Rotterdam: (R.2862; Ball 3B2) In April 2004 Den Haag tram-operators HTM ordered 50 RegioCitadis tram-trains with a view to their commencing commercial service in mid-2006 running through from Den Haag’s city tramway via the secondary Hofpleinlijn to link with Rotterdam’s city metro, as part of the Randstadrail plan (http://www.randstadrail.nl; http://www.lrta.org).

3724][DE][DK] Niebüll - Süderlügum [DE] - [DK] Tønder: (R.2977; Ball 5B1-9B3) On this international secondary line, single-track with numerous ungated crossings, single-unit railcars of Connex-subsidiary Nord Ostsee Bahn operate at modest speeds. Aboard the 16:32 Niebüll - Tønder on 26 March 2004 alarming bumps beneath were heard from time to time, so either the railcar or, more probably, the track could have done with better maintenance. The sole intermediate station, Süderlügum, showed evidence of agriculture-related freight traffic. Passenger patronage was low: northbound, five adults and two children travelled the full distance, and southbound, four adults were joined by another at Süderlügum. At Tønder, an Arriva diesel railcar formed a Tønder - Esbjerg onward connection.

3725][DE] (Bremen -) Buchholz (Nordheide) - Jesteburg - Maschen Rangierbahnhof (- Hamburg Hbf): (Ball 17B2) During re-laying work from 5 April until 11 December 2004 DB’s Bremen - Hamburg IC/ICE trains and MetroRail’s RE trains avoid their usual 17km Buchholz - Klecken - Hittfeld - Hamburg-Harburg route and are diverted via this 22km freight line. A special timetable is available from the DB website as a .pdf file. (European Rail yahoogroup)

3726][DE] Wittenberge - Geestgottberg - Arendsee - Salzwedel: (Ball 19A1-18B1) Reconstruction at Wittenberge (R.3311) continues. The 1846 station building remains in use, with subway access to new platforms on the Berlin - Wittenberge - Ludwigslust - Hamburg main line. The Magdeburg - Stendal - Wittenberge line has been diverted to the east of the old locomotive-depot to join the Berlin line just south of the station. The Wittenberge - Salzwedel service used the platform adjacent to the station buildings on the Berlin side, numbered as Gleis 1 and the only original platform still in use. In September 2002 the Sachsen-Anhalt government decided that leisure usage was sufficient to justify retaining weekend-and-holiday-only Wittenberge - Salzwedel trains (R.2502), and this pattern continues during the 2004 timetable. On 29 March 2004 the large steel bridge over the river Biese south-west of Geestgottberg looked in reasonable condition, but the track on the rest of the line was in a bad state, underlined by the schedule of 68 minutes for 43km and by the poor riding of the relatively new diesel railcar. Most of the intermediate halts were request-stops, but only one such call was made. The one intermediate station that seemed in good condition was Arendsee, where the Stendal - Klein Rossau - Arendsee Stendaler Kleinbahn once trailed in. Though long closed, its formation was visible, much overgrown.

3727][DE] (Eberswalde -) Britz - Joachimsthal - Götschendorf - Milmersdorf - Templin Stadt - Templin: (Ball 21A1-20B2) A concrete factory at Götschendorf and a timber siding at Milmersdorf generate freight traffic on this branch. At Templin Stadt the Prenzlau - Templin Stadt line (closed May 2000; R.0713) converges, well rusted and blocked by a stop-board. The Eberswalde - Templin Stadt - Templin service (KBS209.63) and the Berlin-Lichtenberg - Templin - Templin Stadt service (KBS 209.12) seem to be worked as two independent single lines, without using their only physical connection west of Templin. At both Templin Stadt and Templin, Eberswalde trains use the southernmost platform, Gleis 2, while Lichtenberg trains use Gleis 1. The Lichtenberg trains run empty east of Templin Stadt over the level-crossing to reverse, thus requiring two (apparently unnecessary) barrier closures.

3728][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (Ball 32A2) Temporarily closed 24 February 2003 for reconstruction work (R.2718), the Berlin-Zoologischer Garten - Charlottenburg cross-city Stadtbahn section reopened 19 April 2004. Berlin Ostkreuz north-to-west curve, which is to be removed as part of the extensive remodelling of the station and its layout (R.3261), may have seen its last passenger trains with the Panorama S-Bahn trips of 18 April 2004.

3729][DE] (Grimmenthal -) Eisfeld - Bachfeld - Rauenstein (Thüringen) - Sonneberg (Thüringen) Hbf - Steinach Süd - Steinach - Lauscha - Oberlauscha - Ernstthal (am Rennsteig) - Neuhaus-am-Rennweg: (R.2685, 2686; Ball 52A3-52B3) Reopened December 2002, the Eisfeld - Rauenstein - Sonneberg section is scenically impressive, with a long horseshoe curve making the descent from the valley side into Bachfeld. Trains reverse at Rauenstein, where a new basic station has been built with a scissors crossover connecting each of the two platforms to the two routes, which diverge immediately south of the crossover, downhill south-west to Eisfeld and uphill south-east to Sonneberg. Non-passenger track continues c.100m north past Rauenstein old station buildings and disappears beyond. The reopened Sonneberg - Neuhaus section also shows off the local scenery to advantage, while expensive engineering and station-renewal on both sections demonstrate Thüringen’s substantial commitment to public transport. With reopening a new station was provided at Steinach Süd, serving an industrial/commercial area of this valley town. Lauscha is in a very narrow valley and has always been a terminus, with the station building beyond the buffer-stops. After reversal there Süd-Thüringen-Bahn’s single-unit railcars face a long steep climb out of the valley through Lauschenstein tunnel and over a new concrete viaduct to Oberlauscha, close to Lauscha as the crow flies, but considerably higher. A final reversal is made at Ernstthal before the last 3km to Neuhaus. In April 2004 a siding at Neuhaus held a snow-plough unaccompanied by any traction-unit, leaving our reporter to wonder how a locomotive would get through serious snow conditions to the very end of the line to collect it and push it!

3730][DE] Ludwigshafen Hbf - Mannheim Hbf: (Ball 55A1) Placed in position as long ago as 1999 (R.0730), the new girder bridge to carry two additional tracks from Ludwigshafen Hbf over the river Rhein into Mannheim Hbf has had its complex approaches at each end connected up, and in spring 2004 it was seen to be in use by trains.

3731][DE] (Ludwigshafen -) Limburgerhof - Böhl-Iggelheim (- Neustadt - Kaiserslautern - Saarbrücken): (Ball 55A1-57A3) The 2003 chord bypassing Schifferstadt (R.3527) diverges at a flat physical junction (km99) just north of Limburgerhof station (km98.5). It has no platforms at Limburgerhof, but runs parallel to the original line south to km96.4 before swinging away to the west. It rejoins the old line at another flat junction (c.km91) east of Böhl-Iggelheim station (km89.7).

3732][DE] Saarbrücken - Merchweiler - Gennweiler - Illingen (Saar) - Lebach-Jabach: (Ball 56A3) The new south-to-west curve just north of Merchweiler tunnel, allowing Saarbrücken - Lebach-Jabach trains to avoid a Wemmetsweiler reversal, (R.3528) was inaugurated 6 February 2004. On 9 April 2004 it had bases for electrification masts but was not yet electrified. The new curve and the original east-to-west curve from Wemmetsweiler are both single, and they converge to a c.200m single-track section before becoming double track towards Gennweiler. Only the northern track (‘down’, towards Lebach) is electrified, but the southern one has electrification-mast bases. Gennweiler is a new station whose north-eastern platform, Gleis 40, is used by all down trains and by up electric trains to Wemmetsweiler and Homburg, the south-western platform, Gleis 50, being used by up diesel trains to Saarbrücken. This may change when electrification is completed, but for the present Saarbrücken - Wemmetsweiler travellers are offered a c.6min same-platform connection at Gennweiler. On Homburg - Illingen services, locomotive-hauled stock has been replaced by Class 426 electric units offering poor seating and poor riding quality.

3733][PT] Nine - Braga: (Ball 7B1) Closed 4 November 2002 for upgrading (R.2217, 2311, 2525, 3071), this 15km branch was re-inaugurated at 16:55 on Wednesday 21 April 2004. Formerly an unwired and rather sinuous single track, it has been straightened, doubled and electrified, in effect rebuilt rather than upgraded, with a completely new terminal station at Braga. Immediately after the formal inauguration regular trains began, in parallel with the substitution buses. The first full day of normal timetabled service was 22 April 2004. The branch is served by Porto São Bento - Braga suburban trains, plus one or two Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Porto Campanhã - Braga Intercidades workings, the latter no longer requiring a locomotive change. From June 2004 Lisboa - Braga trains are to be Alfa Pendular sets, possibly running through from Faro in the Algarve, thus offering a through passenger service from the far south to the far north of the country.

3734][PT] (Entroncamento - Abrantes - Castelo Branco -) Covilhã - Guarda: (Ball 18A2) Closed since 4 August 2003 for heavy overhaul (R.3160, R.3553), this section at the northern end of the Linha da Beira Baixa reopened Friday 16 April 2004. Modernised diesel railcars now run thrice daily, but journey-times remain at 74min.

3735][ES] (Leon - Monforte de Lemos -) Betanzos Infesta - Elviña-Universidade - A Coruña: (Ball 1B2) In the far north-west of RENFE’s broad-gauge network, 3km short of A Coruña, a new stop, Elviña-Universidade, opened 19 April 2004.

3736][ES] (Gijon / Oviedo -) Xubia - Piñeiros - Santa Icía - Ferrol: (R.3384; Ball 1B2) Tuesday 13 April 2004 saw the opening of the Variante de Narón between the halts of Piñeiros (km5.5) and Santa Icía (formerly Santa Cecilia; km3.0), including a new 400m bridge over a river valley and motorway. Single-track at present but ready for double track, the 0.9km new alignment replaces one of 1.8km, shortening FEVE’s metre-gauge north-coast line and forming part of a project to double the whole suburban section from Xubia (formerly Jubia) into the main station at Ferrol, its western terminus.

3737][ES] Huesca - Ayerbe - Jaca - Canfranc: (Ball 13A2-13A3) RENFE have finished the most disruptive part of their major engineering works on this line (R.3557), and from Thursday 8 April 2004 trains have again been running every day as timetabled. From Sunday 18 April 2004 journey-times were reduced significantly. Some 159 track-km have been stabilised and reballasted and c.32km of track have been renewed. Early summer 2004 will see works continuing alongside the track, but they should not interfere with train-running. The line is still unelectrified and broad-gauge, however, with no indication of progress with RENFE’s project to re-gauge it as a strategic link to France, bridging the gap between the new standard-gauge at Huesca and that at Oloron-Ste.Marie SNCF (R.2141, 3424).

3738][ES] Barcelona trams: Francesc Macià - Maria Cristina - Palau Reial - Can Rigal - Montesa - Cornellà Centre - Bon Viatge - Sant Martí de l’Erm - Consell Comarcal: (R.3695) On Saturday 3 April 2004 the Trambaix system entered service, connecting Barcelona to the Baix Llobregat, a collective name for the south-western suburbs in six municipalities lying between the city proper and the east bank of the lower river Llobregat. The 12km line is standard 1435mm-gauge, double-track with right-hand running, overhead-electrified at 750V dc, with 25 stops. All three tram-routes begin at Francesc Macià, the inner terminus on Avinguda Diagonal about 1300m from RENFE’s Barcelona Sants main-line station. Beyond the 14th stop, Montesa, the routes diverge: line T1 (effectively a short working on line T2) runs via Cornellà Centre to Bon Viatge (= bon voyage); line T2 takes a circuitous horseshoe route, making two right turns on its way via Cornellà Centre and Bon Viatge to San Martí de l’Erm Baixador (38min from FM); line T3 is from May 2004 to run directly from Montesa to San Martí de l’Erm Estació (25min from FM) and is to be extended from December 2004 to Consell Comarcal. San Martí de l’Erm Baixador (= halt) and Estació (= station) are not identical stops, though they are within walking-distance and are not distinguished on the FGC route-diagram. Official interchange points with other modes are Maria Cristina and Palau Reial (both with FGC metro L3) and Cornellà Centre (with FGC metro L5 and RENFE Cercanías C4 at Cornellà), while Can Rigal offers an unadvertised interchange (with FGC metro L5 at Pubilla Cases).

The cityscape has been improved by conversion of asphalt deserts to lengths of linear lawn where the tram tracks are laid in grass - but the creation of a new street-level tramway was not without controversy. Trams that wrested space from lanes hitherto enjoyed by cars, and that were given priority at road-junctions, were unpopular in a car-dominated society, and accidents during test-runs led to anti-tram voices calling the trams dangerous. The authorities acted by equipping black-spots with cameras and threatening to fine offenders (mostly those ignoring traffic-lights or turning left where prohibited) and the accidents involving trams soon ceased. During its first two days, with no fares charged, Trambaix carried 110,000 people, with 33,000 riders on Monday 5 April, first day of revenue service. Daily ridership is expected soon to reach 65,000.

Trambaix lies entirely within Barcelona’s integrated fare zone 1 and all integrated tickets are valid. Vending-machines also sell one-trip tram-tickets allowing tram-to-tram interchange but not interchange to rail, metro or bus. Trams run from 05:00 (06:00 Sat & Sun mornings) to 24:00 (02:00 Sat & Sun mornings), the same hours as the TMB metro. During the working day T1, T2 and T3 each run every 15min, giving a 5min frequency on the joint section. Outside working hours T2 and T3 each run every 20min, giving a 10min joint frequency. The Trammet consortium that built the line are now its operators.

Trammet (= Tramvia Metropolità SA) have a similar contract for the unconnected Tram Besòs system in the north-east of Barcelona, which may open on 9 May 2004 at the same time as the Fòrum de les Cultures festival whose site it serves. More information: http://www.trammet.com/; http://www.trambcn.com/; http://www.atm-transmet.es/ (the greater Barcelona transport authority); http://www.tramvia.org/ (unofficial Barcelona tramway site).

3739][IT] (La Spèzia -) San Stèfano di Magra - Villafranca-Bagnone - Berceto - Solignano (- Fornovo - Parma): (R.0490; Ball 47A1-47A2) Work is proceeding with the (Pisa -) Arcola - Fornovo (- Parma) Alta Velocità (= high-speed) railway. By April 2004 the new double-track Arcola - San Stèfano di Magra curve was in use, linking the Roma - Pisa - Sarzana - Arcola - La Spezia main line along the coast with the south end of San Stefano new goods-yard, and replacing the Sarzana - Ponzano Magra - San Stefano curve, now out of use. Another section, in effect a cut-off between San Stefano and Villafranca, east of the existing line and apparently mostly in tunnel, was under construction. Further north, part of the old Berceto - Solignano trackbed has become a cycle-path.

3740][IT] Fidenza - Salsomaggiore Terme: (Ball 47A2) From a bay platform at Fidenza an electric unit runs in and out, clear of the Milano - Fidenza - Parma - Bologna main line, to serve this 10km single-track branch. One round-trip runs through to and from Parma during the morning, but for the rest of the day the half-hourly shuttle service is unchallenging, given the 6min end-to-end journey-time. The evening service finishes quite early, and the last round-trip is by bus. On Sundays the service is hourly, so train and crew spend most of their time sitting at Fidenza. Built to welcome wealthy visitors arriving to sample the baths in this late 19th-century spa town, the branch terminus at Salsomaggiore Terme is far too grand for modern needs. No freight now uses the branch, and most of the former track there has been removed.

3741][IT] Parma - Guastalla - Suzzara - Poggio Rusco - Sermide - Bondeno - Vigarano - Ferrara - Dogato - Codigoro: (R.2936; Ball 47A2-48B2) In April 2004 Parma - Guastalla passenger service was being provided by buses, perhaps due to works where the Ferrovie Emilia Romagna line is crossed by the new Bologna - Milano high-speed line (R.3743). Contrary to some local publicity, however, FER trains were running Guastalla - Suzzara. FER trains were still diesel-worked from Poggio Rusco to Ferrara, though this section has been extensively upgraded and electrified, and now follows new alignments through Sermide (where a fine new station is in use), and from Bondeno to Vigarano. No sign was seen of the ambitious works proposed east of Ferrara, however, and FER Ferrara - Codigoro trains and FS Ferrara - Ravenna trains were continuing to use their own tracks. FER passenger trains are mainly diesel railcars, similar to those of FS but are rather less well-kept, and few of them are free of graffiti. Railcars keep mainly to the lines they were used on prior to the amalgamation of four operators to form FER. Former Ferrovia Bologna-Portomaggiore stock is however used on the new Bologna Centrale - Bazzano service, already marketed as Suburbana Bologna-Vignola, in anticipation (R.3316; Ball 47B2). Despite some through FER workings on FS lines, including at least one daily Ferrara - Portomaggiore - Ravenna - Rimini round-trip, ticketing and timetabling show little co-ordination (which is, alas, often the case with Italian ‘concessionary’ railways). FER tickets have to be bought from tobacconists and similar outlets, and are unavailable from FS machines or booking-offices. FER Bologna - Portomaggiore trains leave from a bay platform at the extreme east end of Bologna Centrale, c.200m from the main entrance. Connections at Portomaggiore are poor, and Bologna - Portomaggiore FER passengers are able to see Portomaggiore - Ravenna FS trains departing as they arrive. Passenger trains were not yet running on FER’s c.13km Portomaggiore - Dogato cut-off. It is quite usual in Italy for withdrawn rolling-stock to rust away in goods-yards for years, but along the Ferrara - Codigoro line a particularly fine collection was to be seen, as the former Ferrovie Padane seem never to have scrapped anything! All three of their Class LN372 diesel locomotives, built in 1940, were still mouldering away, rakes of former SBB carriages were stored at several stations and, curiously, at the far end of this non-electrified branch, Codigoro yard held a number of ex-Belgian Class AM56 3000V dc electric units.

3742][IT] Reggio Emilia - Guastalla: (Ball 47B2) Just north of Reggio Emilia this unelectrified standard-gauge line of Azienda Consorziale Trasporti di Reggio Emilia is crossed by the new Bologna - Milano high-speed line now under construction (R.3743). The Dec 2002-Dec 2003 edition of In Treno showed all the local line’s services as worked by buses, but in April 2004 the ACT line was seen to be back in use by passenger trains at Guastalla.

3743][IT] Bologna Centrale - Modena (- Milano): (Ball 48A2-47B2) In April 2004 extensive work under way on complex flying junctions west of Bologna Centrale had temporarily severed the connection that usually enables Bologna - Firenze or Bologna - Rimini trains to depart westwards from Bologna Centrale and join the avoiding line north of the station. Further west, alongside the present Bologna - Modena main line, the new Alta Velocità line was beginning to take shape.

3744][IT] (Carpi -) Modena - Policlinico - Modena Piazza Manzoni (- Sassuolo): (Ball 47B2) Modena - Sassuolo trains of the local Azienda Trasporti Consorziale di Modena are to be extended to run through from Carpi on the electrified Suzzara - Carpi - Modena line of the national Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. From 26 January 2004 (R.2616, 3534, 3578) they began to use the north side of Modena main station, departing eastward on ATCM’s new electrified single track that immediately diverges and climbs to cross the Bologna - Modena main line, thereafter heading on viaduct round the north-east side of the town before dropping into a tunnel with one underground station, Policlinico, and emerging immediately north of the former ATCM terminus, now a through station known as Piazza Manzoni.

3745][IT] Bologna - Tavernelle d’Emilia - San Giovanni in Persiceto - Poggio Rusco - Revere - Ostiglia - Roncanova di Gazzo Veronese - Nogara - Verona Ca di David - Verona: (Ball 47B2-47B3) Despite its importance as a main line from much of southern Italy to the Austrian border at Brennero, this route has remained largely single-track with passing-loops. Electrification of the (Bologna -) Modena - Mantova - Verona line has brought some relief, with most night trains working northbound via Poggio Rusco and southbound via Mantova. Just north of Bologna, two double-track lines, one from Bologna Centrale passenger station and one from the freight line avoiding the station, have hitherto converged to a single running line at Tavernelle, but double track is being provided on an entirely new alignment, mostly on viaduct, parallel to and west of the old line, as far as the next station north, San Giovanni in Persiceto. In April 2004 one of the two tracks on the new alignment was already in use, and track and electrification equipment had been removed from the old alignment. Between Revere (south bank) and Ostiglia (north bank) the present line crosses the broad river Po on a single-track truss-girder road-and-rail bridge. Downstream, long concrete approach-viaducts were in place for a new railway-bridge nearby, but nothing had been done to span the river itself or to construct approach lines. The concrete was quite weathered, suggesting that the viaducts were built some years ago. From Roncanova to Nogara the formation had been widened, but no new track had been laid, apparently awaiting rebuilding of a bridge over the line south of Nogara. The Nogara - Verona section had double track, perhaps laid relatively recently south of Verona Ca di David. Desultory excavation at a few locations elsewhere along the line suggested some further widening to come.

3746][IT] Padova - Venezia Mestre: (Ball 48A3-48B3) In April 2004 work was under way to widen this line, and a new rolling-stock depot was under construction west of Mestre.

3747][IT] San Giorgio di Nogaro - Palmanova: (Ball 44A1) This 12km cut-off, still with one train a day in 1996 (BLN 797.0114), but out of use by 1998 (BLN 842.040), had by April 2004 been lifted, at the San Giorgio end at least. Legnago - Cologna Veneta (Ball 48A3 not shown) was also lifted. At Fano the closed Fano - Fermignano - Urbino line (Ball 50B3) retained track, overgrown and blocked out of use with crossed sleepers.

3748][SI][IT] Sezana SZ - Villa Opicina FS - Trieste Centrale: (R.3502; Ball IT-44A3) Train EN240 Budapest - Graz - Trieste - Venezia may set a slowness record for western Europe on this short cross-frontier sector of its overnight journey. In April 2004 the booked arrival and departure times were 04:28-05:12 at Sezana, the Slovenian border-station, 05:20-06:00 at Villa Opicina, the Italian border-station, and 06:32-07:25 at nearby Trieste Centrale, so the train took some three hours from arrival at Sezana to departure from Trieste, a distance of c.10km as the crow flies.

3749][SK] Slovakia: passenger reopenings: (R.2755) Three passenger services are reportedly to be reinstated from 15 June 2004: Zvolen - Sahy (R.3701; Ball 42B2-42B1; ZSR 153); Spisska Nova Ves - Levoca (Ball 43A2; ZSR 186); Trebisov - Varanov nad Toplou (R.3701; Ball 43B2; ZSR 192). (Railway Gazette International, April 2004)

3750][SK][HU] Lucenec - Kalonda ZSR - Ipolytarnóc MÁV - Nógrádszakál MÁV - Bušince ZSR - Malé Straciny - Vel’ky Krtiš: (R.3701; Ball 43A1-42B1; ZSR 161) In late 1999 the Nogradszakal - Vel’ky Krtis branch seemed threatened with closure (R.0458), its remaining traffic being coal from Male Straciny crossing the Slovakia-Hungary border twice via Nogradszakal and Lucenec to the power-station at Zemianske Kostol’any, south of Prievidza. In spring 2004 the ZSR freight traffic seemed to have become less regular, but presumably it has continued flowing, for ZSR have kept lodging complaints with MÁV about poor track on the Hungarian section! Notwithstanding the track seen still in place at the Slovakian end, the Turna nad Bodvou ZSR - Tornanadaska MÁV line (Ball 43A2) is well overgrown and unusable at the Hungarian end.

3751][CH] Basel trams: From Monday 22 March till Thursday 8 April 2004 the Dreirosenbrücke over the river Rhein was closed for repairs, blocking the Voltastrasse - Dreirosenbrücke section of the city’s metre-gauge tramway and requiring line #1 and line #14 each to be diverted by an unusual curve to reach a terminus with a turning-circle. Instead of continuing round their joint west-east circular route over the closed bridge, tram-line #1 was diverted at Voltastrasse to run north via Hüningerstrasse to St.Louis-Grenze, while line #14 was diverted at Dreirosenbrücke to run north via Ciba to Wiesenplatz.

3752][CH] (Bern -) Burgdorf - Burgdorf Steinhof - Hasle-Rüegsau (- Ramsei - Huttwil / Langnau): (Ball 92B3) Trains from Bern for Huttwil and Langnau arrive by the SBB Bern - Burgdorf main line and take a connection into one of Burgdorf’s three terminal tracks before reversing to take the Regionalverkehr Mittelland line south to Hasle-Rüegsau. The three dead-end platforms for the RM line (#21 and 22; #23 seems not to be used) lie outside and in front of the main SBB station building. Between Burgdorf and Burgdorf Steinhof the line becomes double-track and continues thus as far as Hasle-Rüegsau. Trains between Solothurn and Hasle-Rüegsau also have to reverse at Burgdorf.

3753][CH] (Bern -) Konolfingen - Zäziwil (- Langnau - Luzern): (Ball 92B3) Doubling seemed to be under way on this section, as seen from a Burgdorf - Konolfingen - Thun train in April 2004.

3754][CH] (Bern -) Mattstetten Ost - Rothrist (- Olten - Zürich): (Ball 92B3-87A1) In mid-April 2004 the new Mattstetten - Rothrist high-speed line (R.1317) and the associated (Bern -) Rothrist - Zofingen (- Luzern) curve (R.2432) were visibly approaching completion, with all track, catenary and signalling apparently in place. The signalling beacons (repères) look similar to those on the French (and Belgian and British CTRL 1) Lignes à Grande Vitesse. The only vehicle seen on the new track was a road-rail crane with rubber tyres, but test-running of trains may begin shortly and SBB seem likely to have passenger services running by their target opening-date, the December 2004 timetable-change.

3755][CH] Luzern - Kupferhammer - Kriens: (BLN 847.0185, 852.0338, R.2938, 3019, 3206, 3639; Ball 93B3) Nothing remains in 2004 to indicate the exact location of the Kriens-Luzern Bahn’s 1886 ‘Obergrund’ city terminus, but other references to it as ‘Pilatusplatz’ suggest it was near the present Pilatusplatz, a city-centre square whence the Obergrundstrasse runs westwards to Eichhof. After the city took over the ailing KLB in 1899, the original inner section of standard-gauge KLB ‘main line’ (Obergrund=Pilatusplatz - Bireggstrasse - Eichhof - Kupferhammer) was entirely replaced by a section of 600V dc metre-gauge municipal passenger tramway which opened 1899-1900 and closed 1961.

What remains is the 1897 SBB/KLB freight connection (Luzern Güterbahnhof - Eichwald=Rösslimatt - Kupferhammer). From Luzern Gbf, its standard-gauge rails lie outside the metre-gauge ones of SBB’s Luzern - Brünig line for 2.2km before they diverge at a ‘junction’ which (according to the definitive reference-book Schienennetz Schweiz) SBB call Eichwald and KLB call Rösslimatt. (Rösslimattstrasse and Rösslimattweg lie just west of Luzern Gbf, but neither street is very close to the point where the KLB diverges.) At Eichwald=Rösslimatt, KLB trains leave the dual-gauge SBB section heading west and enter a headshunt before reversing east on standard-gauge-only KLB metals for 600m to an east-facing junction at Kupferhammer, where they join the original KLB ‘main line’. Active private sidings at both Kupferhammer and Eichhof underpin the KLB’s survival. KLB trains heading east to Eichhof brewery require no reversal, but those that once headed west to Kriens required a second reversal at Kupferhammer.

From Kupferhammer the KLB main line ran along the north (=westbound) side of Luzernerstrasse west to Kriens. From 1900 to 1961 metre-gauge municipal trams shared this 1200m section of three-rail mixed-gauge double track, and it retained its disused third rail to the end, more than four decades after the trams vanished on 11 November 1961. On 1 November 1997 Stadt Luzern sold the KLB to a consortium of freight users plus the town councils of Horw and Kriens, but lack of traffic led the new owners to close the Kupferhammer - Kriens section from 23 May 1998, except for special trains. In April 2004 road works began to remove the street-running section permanently. Just beyond it, at the junction of Luzernerstrasse and Güterstrasse, Kriens passenger station, brick-built with attached wooden goods-shed, was still standing, as was a separate wooden locomotive-shed c.100m north of the station, backing on to Gemeindehausstrasse. Though partly covered by gravel for car-parking, most of the trackwork in Kriens station area remained, including a run-round loop and the locomotive-shed access track, but only the single running-line remained usable, continuing c.300m beyond the station to the works of VA Tech Hydro, the only private siding remaining west of Kupferhammer at the 1998 closure. Within the works, track set in roadways still hosted an ex-SBB wagon-underbody, languishing now forever in isolation from the standard-gauge network.

The farewell trips on 4 April 2004 all ran with 0-6-0T steam locomotive #6 Tigerli facing Kriens, its chimney leading. From Luzern passenger station the train made no fewer than four reversals, first in the stock-sidings in the station-throat area, in the vee between the metre-gauge and main standard-gauge running-lines, secondly in the goods-station, thirdly at Eichwald headshunt and fourthly at Kupferhammer. The locomotive did not run round anywhere, and propelled its train of three vintage Sihltalbahn carriages and two vans back against the road traffic on Luzernerstrasse to Kupferhammer, and from Eichwald against rail traffic on the Brünig line as far as Luzern Gbf! Two Kriens - Luzern and two Kriens - Kupferhammer round-trips ran, plus a one-way Kupferhammer - Kriens trip at the start and a one-way Kriens - Luzern trip at the end of the day. Timing on the Brünig-line section was rather generous, but the three metre-gauge ordinary passenger trains per hour in each direction are fortunately scheduled to allow trips to and from the KLB. The special steam trains aroused considerable local interest and, despite tickets allegedly being sold for each journey only up to the capacity of the carriages, they were more than well loaded.

3756][AU] (Melbourne - Sunshine -) St.Albans - Watergardens - Sunbury - Kyneton - Ravenswood - Taradale - Castlemaine - Kangaroo Flat - Bendigo): (R.1820, 1871) The Victoria government’s Regional Fast Rail project now under way will see the Bendigo line remain single track from Kyneton north to Bendigo, but three new long sections of 1600mm-gauge double track at Ravenswood (9.5km), Taradale (7.7km) and Castlemaine (2.1km) plus a fourth existing section at Kangaroo Flat (6.6km) should allow trains to pass without stopping. Weekend works have commenced along the line in preparation for a major temporary shutdown later in 2004. (Minister of Transport, Victoria)

3757][AU] (Melbourne - Sunshine -) Ardeer - Deer Park - Rockbank - Melton - Bacchus Marsh - Ballan - Ballarat: As part of the Regional Fast Rail project, major works including 8km of 1600mm-gauge track on new alignment will see closures on the Ballarat line from 17 April until early July 2004. V/Line plan to restore Melbourne - Bacchus Marsh trains in early June, but Bacchus Marsh - Ballarat will be closed for the full period. Further works are expected to require disruption of Ballarat line services one weekend a month thereafter till mid-2005. (Minister of Transport, Victoria)

3758][AU] (Melbourne -) Ballarat - Ararat: Ararat has continued to be served four times weekly in each direction by the 1435mm standard-gauge Melbourne - Geelong North Shore - Ararat - Adelaide interstate train, The Overland, but part of the state government’s Connecting Victoria project has been to reopen the 1600mm-gauge Ballarat - Ararat section for through intrastate passenger trains from Melbourne, originally with a target-date of 2003 (R.2664). Near Ararat the standard-gauge through route runs generally south-to-north but Ararat station lies rather more east-to-west. The broad-gauge arrives from the south-east, and a flat crossing just east of the station allows it to terminate in a bay on the south side at a south-facing platform-edge while the standard-gauge uses the through platform with a north-facing edge. The crossing and most of the necessary track works were in place as long ago as July 2003, though they were not then commissioned (R.3179). It appears that the temporary closure till July 2004 of the broad-gauge line east of Ballarat (R.3757) will have postponed reopening of Ballarat - Ararat for a further number of months.

3759][US] New York Penn, NY - Secaucus, NJ - Newark Penn (- Princeton Jn - Trenton, NJ): New Jersey Transit’s Secaucus transfer station was designed to offer interchange between (upper-level) NJT electric trains on Amtrak’s ex-Pennsylvania Northeast Corridor out of New York Penn station and (lower-level) NJT’s ex-Erie diesel-worked commuter lines out of Hoboken (Hoboken, NJ - Secaucus - Passaic / Garfield - Ridgewood, NJ - Suffern, NY - Port Jervis, NY and Hoboken - Secaucus, NJ - Spring Valley, NY). Already in limited use by one service from 4 August 2003 (Bergen County trains from/to Hoboken via Garfield; R.3301), the new station appears to have offered multi-level interchange from its formal inauguration on Saturday 6 September 2003 (R.3650), but this was offered only at weekends until Monday 15 December 2003 when the full service of commuter-train stops on both levels began. Timing of full opening seems to have been at least partly due to NJT’s awaiting the reopening, on Sunday 23 November 2003, of the alternative PATH route from/to southern Manhattan (World Trade Center, NY - Exchange Place, NJ - Hoboken, NJ / Newark Penn, NJ; R.3418) so that the new transfer facilities at Secaucus were not completely swamped by weekday commuters. NJT publicity originally referred to the station as ‘Secaucus Transfer’, but this name was thought to have too strong an association with the hassle of changing trains, making the station sound less attractive to passengers. Users still have to change trains there, of course, but they now do so at a station that NJT refers to more blandly as ‘Secaucus Junction’! (partly Railfan & Railroad, May 2004)

3760][CL] Santiago metro: The Metro de Santiago de Chile is a clone of the rubber-tyred standard-gauge RATP lines in Paris. A new 2km two-station westward extension of line 5 (Santa Ana - Cumming - Quinta Normal) was inaugurated by Chile’s president on 31 March, and revenue service began 1 April 2004. Further extensions of the system are in prospect: line 2 northward in September 2004 (Puente Cal y Canto - La Recoleta - Cerro Blanco); line 2 southward in December 2004 (Lo Ovalle - El Parrón - La Cisterna); and a new tangential line 4, with a branch, to be completed in the south-east of the city in the second half of 2005. (http://www.urbanrail.net; http://www.metrosantiago.cl/)

3761][GB] Lisburn - Knockmore - Antrim: NIR try to keep this closed line available in an emergency (R.3045). A track-machine operated there during the autumn 2003 leaf-fall season. To maintain train-crew route-knowledge, some empty diesel trains are still booked to run this way, especially on Fridays (railcars #91+780+749 on Friday 23 April 2004, for example). (Irish Railway News MSN group)

3762][FR][BE][LU] (Longwy -) Mont-Saint-Martin Triage SNCF - Y Aubange SNCB: (R.2907; Ball 17B1) This (part-reinstated, part-new) southwest-to-northwest curve will allow freight trains from France to join the 25kV 50Hz Athus-Meuse line in Belgium without passing through Luxembourg. From a passing train on 23 April 2004 the curve appeared complete though not yet in use, and a notice at Longwy station warned that the curve’s electrification was now live. New pedestrian subways enable passengers to reach all the platforms at Longwy without crossing the tracks on the level, perhaps suggesting that the station may become a staging-point where through international freight trains will change locomotives or crews.

A CFL billet réseau (=day-rover ticket for Luxembourg, price EUR4.80) is valid on cross-border trains (and buses) to Longwy.

3763][NL] (Amsterdam - Uitgeest -) Castricum - Onze Lieve Vrouwe ter Nood - Heiloo (- Alkmaar): (Ball 1A1) Some 2km south of Heiloo station, in a horticultural area with heritage farmhouses, is a single earthen platform with a worn sign and a wooden gate in the railway fence, perhaps the least-used calling-point on the Netherlands network, with trains stopping once a month at most. Opened 1914, Onze Lieve Vrouwe ter Nood (= Our Dear Lady of Succour) halt serves a Roman Catholic pilgrimage chapel on the site of a mediaeval holy well near the line. Visiting the chapel became popular at the time of World War I, but the chapel still draws visitors on the first Saturday of each month, especially in May. The extra stop is not indicated in the timetable, but on 1 May 2004 one Amsterdam - Alkmaar all-stations train was scheduled to call in the morning and another in the afternoon. Only northbound trains call, so pilgrims returning home after their visit need to board the afternoon train to Heiloo and change trains there to head south. Near the chapel a new pedestrian tunnel has recently been built beneath the line, but this is not for pilgrims. Heiloo council propose to displace the horticulture and build 2000 houses in this desirable area, but their plans do not include upgrading the station. (http://stationsweb.brinkster.net/station.asp?station=olvternood)

3764][NL] Utrecht Centraal - Utrecht Leidsche Rijn - Utrecht Terwijde - Vleuten - Harmelen aansluiting (- Woerden): (Ball 4A3) The double-track main line via Woerden and Gouda to Rotterdam and Den Haag crosses the Amsterdam-Rijn canal c.2km west of Utrecht Centraal station. For many years the broad canal was a barrier to the westward expansion of Utrecht city, but the grasslands and orchards beyond are now being built upon in a 20-year project called Leidsche Rijn. In April 2004 some of the new houses (and a half-completed park) 5km west of Utrecht Centraal were being served by the half-hourly Utrecht - Woerden - Alphen - Leiden trains calling at a temporary station, Utrecht Terwijde, opened with the 14 December 2003 timetable-change (R.3491). Though many houses, flats and shops are proposed for the Terwijde area, the planners alas made the error of building the first dwellings well away from Terwijde station, and even though they then provided a shuttle minibus link, no-one seemed to be using it at 17:00 on a weekday. Trains in each direction saw relatively few passengers alighting at Terwijde compared with those using Vleuten, 7km west of Utrecht Centraal, which serves an existing village. Future plans are ambitious and expensive: Leidsche Rijn centre is to be served by a completely new station on a site 3km west of Utrecht Centraal; Terwijde is to have a more permanent station; Vleuten station is to be slightly relocated; the Utrecht - Woerden railway is to be quadrupled; and frequent Randstadspoor local trains are to serve the Utrecht urban region out to Woerden.

3765][NL] Netherlands: routes to the north: Until 1932 the Zuiderzee, a large salt-water arm of the North Sea, separated Amsterdam from the northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen. A local train-ferry (Enkhuizen - Stavoren; Ball 1B1-1B2) linked two rail branches, but the Amsterdam - Weesp - Amersfoort - Zwolle - Meppel - Leeuwarden / Groningen main-line railway was and is circuitous, running south-east to Amersfoort, then parallel to the Zuiderzee coast north-west to Zwolle, splitting at Meppel into one line to Leeuwarden and one to Assen and Groningen (Ball 4A3-1B3-2B3). The completion in 1932 of the Afsluitdijk (= enclosure dike; Ball 1A2), originally designed to carry a railway as well as the main road, opened up one option for a shorter rail route to the north, but this was not taken up. Later, the gradual reclamation of land to form polders created other options. By 1970 three large polders were complete, and the Weesp - Almere - Lelystad Flevolijn branch, serving two new towns on the Flevoland polder, opened 1987-88 (Ball 4A3-1B1). Extending the Flevolijn became the main option for a line to the north, with the primary purpose of regional development. The proposed Zuiderzeelijn was to run Lelystad - Emmeloord - Heerenveen - Drachten - Groningen, crossing the Zwolle - Leeuwarden line at Heerenveen, serving a new station at Drachten, and entering Groningen from the west. However, though its alignment was safeguarded, and a parallel motorway was built, no finance was forthcoming for the expensive Zuiderzeelijn. In the 1990s a much cheaper project was mooted, an extension of the Flevolijn 50km east to Zwolle as a high-speed through line. Detailed studies are now under way, finance is allocated in principle, and the Lelystad - Zwolle Hanzelijn (R.1921, 2864; Ball 1B1-2A1) has a target opening-date of 2013. A Hanzelijn-plus option would include later upgrading of the lines north of Zwolle.

Despite commitment to the Hanzelijn, and limited finance available for rail investment, the present Netherlands government appear to have approved a second high-speed line to the north. The new national spatial-planning policy, announced in April 2004, includes a Zuiderzeelijn as its only definitive rail project. Determined lobbying by three northern provinces with 1.5M inhabitants secured this commitment, while a high-speed line from Utrecht east to the Ruhr, serving well over 10M people, was deferred. An initial assessment briefly considered an Afsluitdijk route and an Enkhuizen - Friesland tunnel parallel to the old train-ferry, but these were quickly rejected on planning and cost grounds. While a conventional high-speed Zuiderzeelijn is still being assessed, and the government have not yet committed themselves to a Transrapid option, a leading contender is a magnetic-levitation Zuiderzeelijn bringing the north ‘within commuting distance’ of Amsterdam. In the 1990s this was only a suggestion, but with three German maglev projects cancelled (Berlin - Hamburg; Köln - Dortmund Metrorapid and München - München airport), the Shanghai - Pudong airport line reportedly failing to attract enough passengers and a Beijing - Shanghai line shelved on cost grounds (R.3135, 3562), the Transrapid consortium, desperate for a new project, have put together an influential lobby including Dutch sub-contractors and the northern provinces. A Transrapid maglev line would require separate and hugely expensive infrastructure all the way from Amsterdam (probably Amsterdam Zuid-WTC station) to Groningen, part of it parallel to the Flevolijn and Hanzelijn. Indeed, just north of Lelystad two competing new high-speed lines would run alongside each other. Information: http://www.hanzelijn.nl; http://www.zuiderzeelijn-info.nl.

3766][DE] Berlin: Priesterweg - Lichterfelde Ost - Lichterfelde Süd - Teltow - Grossbeeren - Birkengrund (- Ludwigsfelde - Jüterbog): (Ball 32A2) Between Lichterfelde Süd and Teltow stations the former main line south to Jüterbog crosses the city boundary of Berlin. In Cold War days this became the fortified frontier between West Berlin and the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, and the east German railway, Deutsche Reichsbahn, abandoned the Lichterfelde Süd - Teltow section entirely from 13 August 1961, while continuing to work Priesterweg - Lichterfelde Süd as a S-Bahn branch entirely within West Berlin, and Teltow - Birkengrund (- Ludwigsfelde) as a local branch entirely within the DDR. Later, West Berlin’s BVG took over the S-Bahn in their part of the city, and Priesterweg - Lichterfelde Süd closed from 9 January 1984.

Following German reunification, S-Bahn trains resumed running Priesterweg - Lichterfelde Ost from the May 1995 timetable change (BLN 760.0375) and Lichterfelde Ost - Lichterfelde Süd from 25 September 1998 (BLN 837.0553). Because Teltow old station was some distance from the centre of the suburb it purported to serve, an entirely new 2.5km S-Bahn extension south-west from Lichterfelde Süd to Teltow Stadt has been planned and is to open at the December 2004 timetable-change.

Since Lichterfelde Süd - Teltow has lain abandoned for a lengthy period (as has the long-distance Fernbahn trackbed parallel to the active S-Bahn north of Lichterfelde Süd), restoring a through route has been rather more complex, but plans were drawn up involving some realignment and a main-line station at Teltow resited c.20m further west and 5m higher (BLN 814.0545). In preparation for this, the Teltow end of the branch was dewired. Later, about 1998, Teltow old station closed and Teltow - Birkengrund (- Ludwigsfelde) passenger trains, latterly diesel railbuses, ceased. In April 2004 the Lichterfelde Süd - Teltow physical gap remains, with Lichterfelde Ost - Ludwigsfelde buses continuing to provide a link across it. Reopening is likely to take place with the rest of the (part-new, part-rebuilt) Fernbahn to the south (Berlin Hauptbahnhof-Lehrter Bahnhof - Tiergarten tunnel - Potsdamer Platz - Yorckstrasse - Priesterweg - Lichterfelde Süd - Teltow - Birkengrund), for which the target-date is late May 2006, just in time for the football World Cup in Germany.

Where the rebuilt north-south main line crosses the west-east Berliner Aussenring, a new north-to-east curve is to climb to Abzw Genshagener Heide Ost, allowing long-distance trains from the new Berlin Hbf and the Nord-Süd-Fernbahn tunnel to be routed via Teltow on to the Aussenring east to Blankenfelde and thence south to Dresden. The Priesterweg - Blankenfelde direct route, now S-Bahn only, may at a later date have its Fernbahn tracks restored, but this is not envisaged before 2010.

3767][DE][CZ] (Chemnitz -) Flöha - Wilischtal - Wolkenstein - Cranzahl - Königswalde oberer Bahnhof - Bärenstein DB - Vejprty CD (- Chomutov): (Ball DE-43B1-54B3) The Zschopautalbahn, running south up an attractive wooded valley and over the border into the Czech Republic, had a history of poor track and speed restrictions (BLN 851.0306). Wolkenstein - Vejprty passenger trains were to cease at the May 2000 timetable-change (R.0713), and the line is shown in the 2002 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland as out of use south of Wilischtal. In April 2004 blocked minor roads and missing bridges remained as evidence of damage to the valley by autumn 2002 floods. Nevertheless the line has reopened and DB Class 642 diesel railcars, bearing the insignia of Land Sachsen and of the Czech local authority, work a basically two-hourly service between Chemnitz and Vejprty.

3768][DE] Radebeul Ost - Moritzburg - Radeburg: (Ball 44A2) Notwithstanding DB Group’s use of a subsidiary company to save labour costs (R.2683), operation of the 750mm-gauge steam-worked Lössnitztalbahn passed on 1 April 2004 from DB to BVO Bahn GmbH, the local bus-company offshoot who were already operators of the 750mm-gauge steam Cranzahl - Kurort Oberwiesenthal Fichtelbergbahn (BLN 818.032; Ball 54B3). In mid-April BVO were still running to the DB timetable and using DB ticket-stock. Essentially the 16.6km line sees a single train working, starting very early: the 04:50 Mon-Fri out from Radebeul Ost returns south with schoolchildren. On Friday 16 April, the week after Easter, the 12:50 Radebeul Ost - Moritzburg (km8.6) and its return saw light loadings, comprising mainly tourists and a few local people.

3769][DE] Dresden-Neustadt - Dresden Mitte - Dresden-Friedrichstadt Haltepunkt - Dresden Hbf: (Ball 44A2) In spring 2004 Dresden Hauptbahnhof was being extensively rebuilt, with a new through platform on the south side, renewal of the central bay platforms, refurbishment of passenger facilities, and construction of a shopping-complex beneath the station. From Thursday 15 to early on Monday 19 April 2004 major engineering works in the area saw only one track available between Neustadt and Hbf. To begin with, only an hourly Flughafen - Neustadt - Hbf train and an hourly Meissen - Neustadt - Hbf - Schöna S1 train ran through, all reversing at Friedrichstadt Hp. Other trains started or terminated at Neustadt or Hbf. Buses supplemented the through trains. By Sunday evening a few more trains were running through, and the work seemed complete by Monday. Our reporter’s northbound IC train on the Monday, non-stop from Dresden Hbf to Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld, was routed from Hbf via Neustadt and Radebeul Ost to Neucoswig, rather than the route via Friedrichstadt Hp and Radebeul-Naundorf which is now more usual for fast trains (R.1752).

3770][DE][CZ] Eibau - Seifhennersdorf DB - Varnsdorf CD - Großschönau (Sachsen) DB - Zittau: (Ball 44B2-44A2) For 4km between Seifhennersdorf and Grossschönau, German local trains on this loop line run through the Czech Republic. Poor track threatened passenger closure of the Eibau - Varnsdorf section in summer 2001 (R.1373), but services survive on the whole loop, worked since December 2002 by elderly four-wheel railbuses of Ostsächsische Eisenbahn GmbH. With Czech accession to the European Union, the German trains need no longer run non-stop through Varnsdorf station as Korridorzüge.

3771][DE] Zittau Hbf - Bertsdorf - Kurort Jonsdorf / Kurort Oybin: (BLN 790.0458; Ball 44A2-45A1) In April 2004 operators Sächsisch-Oberlausitzer Eisenbahngesellschaft were running a two-train timetable clearly not aimed at workers or schoolchildren, with the first ‘up’ arrival at Zittau c.10:30 and the last ‘down’ departure 15:12. Few tourists were around on Sunday 18 April, when the 14:12 departed Zittau Hbf with two passengers, though loadings did just reach double figures on arrival at Kurort Jonsdorf. Most passengers seemed to be local people, perhaps because the local bus services, quite good during the week, are sparse or non-existent on a Sunday. The fare structure is unusual: no day-ticket is on offer and the cheapest way to cover the 16km Y-shaped system seems to be to buy a EUR13.40 seven-day Wochenkarte, more economical than the one-way fares. Each of the trains has a carriage with a wheelchair-lift, and one set has a buffet-car. Sipping coffee and munching Bockwurst mit Brot und Senf as the train trundled north to Zittau, our reporter reflected that being able to patronise such a facility on a steam-hauled service train in 2004 was rather a privilege!

3772][IT] La Spèzia Centrale - La Spèzia Migliarina - Cà dei Boschetti - Vezzano Ligure - Santo Stéfano Magra (- Parma): (R.3739; Ball 47A1-47A2) Works on realigning and doubling from the La Spezia area north towards Parma are not to create a high-speed route for passenger trains but to increase capacity for freight. In March 2004 a third track opened from Migliarina (junction for the La Spezia Migliarina - La Spezia Marittima branch) to Cà dei Boschetti, so three tracks are now available from both of Spezia’s freight stations east to Vezzano, where the new track merges into the northbound track of the double line onward to San Stefano. At both Migliarina and Cà dei Boschetti a new platform has been built on the third track so that it can be used by local passenger trains. The Arcola - Santo Stéfano Magra curve has been in use since April 2003.

3773][IT] Fidenza - Salsomaggiore Terme: (R.3740; Ball 47A2) The track layout has been much simplified, so Trenitalia for operating purposes regard all branch trains as running from Fidenza to Fidenza with an ‘intermediate stop’ at Salsomaggiore, actually a terminus. The through service to the main line is a ‘Fidenza - Fidenza - Parma’ train, calling at Salsomaggiore.

3774][IT] Parma - Guastalla - Suzzara - Poggio Rusco - Ferrara - Codigoro: (R.3741; Ball 47A2-48B2) The buses temporarily replacing Ferrovie Emilia Romagna trains on the Parma - Guastalla section in April 2004 were indeed due to works where the FER line is crossed by the new Bologna - Milano high-speed line (R.3743). However, Guastalla - Suzzara bus journey-times were found to be unacceptably long, so FER had to restore trains on that section. Works on a bridge north-east of Guastalla could see this service temporarily reduced later in summer 2004. The ex-Belgian Class AM56 electric units temporarily stored at Codigoro yard may be, or may include, two such units which are to augment the stock on the Bologna Centrale - Bazzano (- Vignola) branch when it opens throughout (R.3316; Ball 47B2).

3775][IT] (Modena -) Modena Piazza Manzoni (- Sassuolo): (Ball 47B2) Modena Ferrovie Provinciali, nicknamed Modena Piccola (= Modena little station), and now officially Modena Piazza Manzoni, was a through station until the closure in 1967 of ATCM’s Modena - Finale section heading north-east, so it was a terminus (R.3744) only from 1967 until 2004.

3776][IT] Bologna: (Ball 48A2-47B2) While it was possible for Bologna - Firenze or Bologna - Rimini passenger trains to depart westwards from Bologna Centrale and curve round through Bologna Arcoveggio to join the freight avoiding line north of Centrale (R.3743), such a movement was in practice very unusual. The connection via Arcoveggio was temporarily severed in March 2004 to facilitate construction of Bologna’s new subsurface station on the Alta Velocità line close to Bologna Centrale. Bologna Arcoveggio, 700m north of Centrale, is not used as a station for ordinary passenger trains, but has four tracks with platforms. If works on the Alta Velocità line (Firenze - Bologna - Milano) prove to be too disruptive to time-keeping, Arcoveggio may be brought into temporary use as a relief station for Bologna Centrale.

3777][IT] Venezia - Trieste Centrale - Villa Opicina FS (- Sezana SZ): (Ball 44A3) Trains EN240/1 Budapest - Graz - Ljubljana - Trieste - Venezia also convey a Bucuresti - Timisoara - Budapest - Venezia portion, now the longest-distance passenger service working to and from Italy, taking c.32h end-to-end. Despite its already well-padded schedule further east, late arrival of westbound EN240 in Trieste was causing problems there by conflicting with a Trieste - Roma departure, so it was retimed to make its present lengthy 53min stop in Trieste Centrale (R.3748). The train is planned for further retiming in the December 2004 timetable to depart later from Budapest. From December 2004 a new Venezia - Villa Opicina - Ljubljana - Zagreb train-pair is to run, eastbound in the morning, westbound in the afternoon, using the west-to-east Trieste avoiding curve at the Bivio d’Aurisina triangle (R.3502). FS may rename Villa Opicina station as Trieste Opicina.

3778][CH] Genève Cornavin / Bifurcation Furet - Lancy-Pont-Rouge - La Praille: (R.3208; Ball 97A3) As it crosses the red-painted Pont Rouge bridge across the river Rhône, the short La Praille branch comprises two parallel single tracks, the eastern one from Cornavin main station (with standard Swiss 15kV 16.7Hz electrification, passenger trains to Lancy and freight trains to La Praille), and the western one from Furet (with French 1500V dc electrification, freight-only to La Praille). The two branch tracks make no physical junction north of Lancy-Pont-Rouge CFF station, a single-platform halt on the east side of the formation just to the south of the Jonction tunnel, and they do not connect until they enter La Praille freight yard itself.

3779][CH] Genève trams: Plainpalais - Acacias - Praille - Pont-Rouge - Lancy - Palettes: (R.2482) In mid-April 2004 work was well advanced on the 2.1km Plainpalais - Pont-Rouge section, including a tram turning-circle gouged out of the embankment on the north side of the ‘French’ track alongside Lancy-Pont-Rouge CFF station, but (seen from a #4 bus which follows the proposed tram-route) works seemed not yet to have started on the 1.5km Pont Rouge - Palettes section.

3780][MN] Mongolia: The north-south main line of Mongolin Tomor Zam traversing the country from Russia to China (Naushki RZD - Suhbaatar MTZ - Ulaanbaatar - Zamyn Uud MTZ - Erlian) carries a through Moskva - Beijing passenger service, whose through carriages exchange their bogies from Russia’s and Mongolia’s 1520mm-gauge to standard 1435mm on arrival at the Chinese border-station of Erlian (= Erenhot in Mongolian). The 1998 Quail atlas showed MTZ to have some seven branches off this main line. In addition however MTZ have an entirely separate 1520mm-gauge railway in the east of the country, in effect a long branch off the alternative Moskva - Beijing passenger route (Chita - Borzya - Zabaikalsk RZD - Manzhouli - Harbin) which heads south across the Russian border (Borzya - Solovyevsk RZD - Ereentsav MTZ - Choibalsan=Bayantumen). International travellers on the sole mixed train by this route were few, so to minimise the expense of frontier-controls at Solovyevsk, Russia and Mongolia agreed during 2003 to close the rail border-crossing to passengers. The already-low loadings fell by about half, so late in 2003 MTZ simply suspended all Ereentsav - Choibalsan passenger traffic. Freight traffic too is very low, and the line’s future seems doubtful. (Fahrplancenter, via World-Rail-Gen yahoogroup)

3781][AU] Melbourne - Dandenong - Pakenham - Warragul - Traralgon (- Sale - Bairnsdale): Phase 1 works for the Latrobe Valley Regional Fast Rail upgrade were completed on time and the Pakenham - Traralgon section, temporarily closed to passenger services (R.3673), reopened Monday 26 April 2004. (Victoria Minister for Transport)

3782][US] Portland, OR light rail: Rose Quarter - Portland Expo Center: (R.1648) On Saturday 1 May 2004 Tri-Met inaugurated another branch of their MAX light-rail system, the 9km Interstate branch heading north parallel to Interstate highway I-5 towards the Columbia River. Services from downtown Portland operate as the Yellow Line. Free travel was on offer over the weekend with revenue service beginning on Monday 3 May 2004. (http://www.tri-met.org/)

3783][US] Minneapolis, MN light rail: Downtown Minneapolis - Fort Snelling (- Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport - Bloomington Mall of America): Opening of this first section of the new Hiawatha light-rail line was rescheduled from 3 April to 26 June 2004 (due to a labour dispute, now settled). Target-date for opening south to MSP airport and Bloomington remains December 2004.

3784][SV] El Salvador: (BLN 721.014, 765.0479) Of the US-built 914mm-gauge system once known as the International Railways of Central America (IRCA) the part that later became Ferrocarriles Nacionales de El Salvador (FENADESAL) seems to have ceased to carry traffic, passenger or freight, early in 2004. During 2003 a well-used mixed train still made four round-trips daily on the middle section of the (Sitio del Niño -) Armenia - Sonsonate (- Acajutla) branch to the coast. The last scheduled mixed train, running five times a week and also well-used, ran on the middle section of the (San Salvador - Sitio del Niño - Santa Ana -) Texis Junction - La Toma (- San Jerónimo FENADESAL - Anguiatú FEGUA) international line from the capital city, San Salvador, north to Guatemala. The trains on these sections linked small towns and villages with poor or non-existent road connections. Attempts to privatise FENADESAL in whole or part - including a suburban service around San Salvador - seem to have been defeated by government irresolution in the face of homeless squatters taking over railway property in San Salvador and Santa Ana, and dismantling track. Revival of the railway seems unlikely, since infrastructure is worn out and most rolling-stock needs heavy repairs or replacement. (Fahrplancenter, via World-Rail-Gen yahoogroup)

3785][FR] Paris Grande Ceinture Ouest: (Achères -) St.Germain-en-Laye - Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche-Forêt-de-Marly - Noisy-le-Roi (- Versailles-Matelots): (Ball 25A3-25A2; 81B1-82A1) Freight trains avoiding Paris to the west run via the electrified Epône-Mézières - Plaisir-Grignon - St.Cyr route (and associated curves at each end). By contrast, the classic outer bypass of Paris, the unwired Grande Ceinture Ouest, is no longer a through route. Since 30 September 1990 the St.Germain-en-Laye - Noisy-le-Roi section has been completely out of use (‘closed temporarily, for at least five years’, said the 1990 Quail map) and in 2000 its southbound (‘inner circle’) track was seen to be severed near rural St.Nom-la-Bretèche. It is not clear whether, or for how long, the Achères - St.Germain and Noisy-le-Roi - Versailles sections retained traffic. Reopening to passengers of the St.Germain - Noisy-le-Roi section is however planned, which would seem to involve restoration of the long-closed line from the branch terminus of RER line A1 (Nanterre - St.Germain-en-Laye) west to the closed St.Germain GC station north of the Viaduc du Val St.Leger. Another short link, removed as long ago as 1932, was in fact restored on 6 February 2004, for the use of engineering trains, from the electrified St.Cloud - Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche-Forêt-de-Marly suburban branch to Bifurcation du Jouet d’eau, a restored north-facing junction with the Grande Ceinture Ouest just north of the existing passenger terminus and of the closed St.Nom-la-Bretèche GC station. An east-to-south curve once existed but has not been reinstated. (partly L’Écho du Rail, #256, April 2004)

3786][FR] St.Bonnet-en-Bresse: (R.0701, 2106; Ball 49A3) St.Bonnet at various times had north-to-west, west-to-south and south-to-east chords linking the Dijon - Bourg-en-Bresse (high-level, north-south) and Chalon-sur-Saône - Dole (low-level, west-east) lines. Only the north-to-west curve is still in place, down to a stub branch serving a refuse-recycling plant c.1km west of St.Bonnet, beyond which the low-level line west towards Verdun-sur-le-Doubs is broken. The north-to-west chord also gives access, by reversal, to St.Bonnet low-level station, still extant, with its tracks extending to a stop-block just east of the high-level line bridge. These tracks, said to be retained for shunting and wagon storage, were empty on 17 April 2004.

3787][FR] Fort-l’Écluse-Collonges - Péron-Farges - St.Jean-de-Gonville - Thoiry - Sergy-St.Genix - Chevry (- Gex - Divonne-les-Bains): (Ball 49B1-50A2) This French branch close to the Swiss border north of Genève lost its passenger service 1 June 1980. From Gex (pronounced ‘Jecks’) north-east to Divonne it was officially closed completely (neutralisée) from 27 May 1989. Since then the Chevry - Gex section too has gone out of freight use. The line was visited on 17 April 2004 by a Picasso railcar of ABFC. At some stage since 1935 the branch acquired a number of very short ground-level passenger platforms, apparently the better to serve settlements where original stations were located midway between adjacent villages and were thus convenient for neither. Though several of these platforms remained, none had a nameboard or shelter. At Péron-Farges station the running loop had been removed, but a disused goods loop siding remained and the passenger building still stood. At St.Jean-de-Gonville the track ran past the platform with the station building, but the loop had been lifted, leaving the other platform with a shelter but no track. At Thoiry both platforms had been removed, the disused loop had been shortened at the eastern end, and the sidings had been disconnected, but the passenger building remained, in private use and in good condition. At Sergy-St.Genix (sometimes rendered as St.Genis), the station building, unlike the others in being on the east side of the line, was occupied. The loop and sidings had been removed but the other platform retained its shelter. The principal traffic on the branch is trainload sand and gravel, prepared at a plant with a loop and siding on the west side of the line between Sergy-St.Genix and Chevry. Beyond this point the track was well rusted though occasional freight passes. Chevry station building remained, but the running loop had been removed. Locomotives may perhaps have been able to run round in the goods loop that remained through sidings serving merchants of building materials, agricultural goods and fertilisers. A train’s length beyond Chevry, to enable setting back into a north-facing siding at the station, the line was blocked by crossed sleepers, though track was said to be in place all the way to Divonne. Though nothing seems to have come of the tourist-train operation proposed in 1994 (La Vie du Rail #2462; BLN 745.011), another suggestion has been made for reopening to passengers. This proposal is for an interchange at Sergy-St.Genix where the heavy-rail standard-gauge RFF branch would feed commuters from the villages to the south (Péron-Farges, Thoiry) and north (Divonne, Gex) into a northern cross-border extension of the metre-gauge city tramway of Genève (R.3503).

3788][FR] Virieu-le-Grand - Belley - Brens-Virignin (- Brégnier-Cordon - St.Didier-d’Aoste - Aoste - Pressins): (Ball 57B3) Belley - Pressins (- St.André-le-Gaz) passenger trains ceased from 15 May 1939 followed by Virieu-le-Grand - Belley passenger trains from 20 May 1940. The river Rhône bridge between Brégnier-Cordon and St.Didier d’Aoste was destroyed 19 June 1940, forever breaking the line as a through route. The St.Didier-d’Aoste - Pressins (or perhaps Aoste - Pressins) section was abandoned c.1954, and Brens-Virignin - Brégnier-Cordon c.1987. Traversed on 18 April 2004 by a Picasso railcar of Autorails de Bourgogne et de Franche-Comté, the section that remains is retained only for occasional seasonal grain traffic, subject to a very low speed-limit. Most but not all of the automatic level-crossing installations were operational, however, and the passing-loop at Belley (15km from Virieu) had been reinstated, though no evidence was seen of any intermediate traffic. Belley station building was in non-railway use. The present branch terminus is Brens-Virignin (19.8km from Virieu, not as far south as shown in the Ball atlas). Brens likewise showed no sign of recent traffic, and though track continued beyond the station, perhaps to a siding, no time was available to explore.

3789][FR] Bordeaux trams: Following line A (inaugurated 21 December 2003; R.3510), a section of line C (Quinconces - Gare Saint-Jean) opened 24 April 2004 and a section of line B (Quinconces - Saint-Nicolas) 15 May 2004.

3790][FR][CH] Évian-les-Bains SNCF - St.Gingolph (Suisse): (Ball FR-50B2, CH-98B3) Notwithstanding the reported optimism (R.3189) about reopening during 2004, in April 2004 the Ligne de Tonkin was still blocked beyond Évian station limits, just east of the bridge over the funicular, not only by crossed sleepers but also by a lifted rail. The disused line was becoming much overgrown.

3791][LU] Kautenbach - Merkholtz - Paradiso - Wiltz: (Ball 18A3) The 9.1km single-track passenger-only branch, temporarily closed for works from 3 April until 12 September 2004, is electrified (R.3722) and has been since 20 April 1991.

3792][NL] Amsterdam trams: (R.3425) Opened 3 May 2004, 2.2km of new tracks (Alexanderplein - Sarphatistraat - Czaar Peterstraat - Rietlandpark - Verbindingsdam - Azartplein) are now served by trams of line #10, which no longer make a clockwise loop through eastern Amsterdam. The counter-clockwise loop of line #7 has also been discontinued, its bidirectional route now being ’s-Gravesandestraat - Oosterpark - Wijttenbachstraat - Insulindeweg - Flevopark. Line #14 no longer serves Muiderpoort NS station but is rerouted Tropenmuseum - Mauritskade - Zeeburgerdijk - Borneostraat - Javaplein - Molukkenstraat - Insulindeweg - Flevopark. Thus all routes remain served, though some sections have fewer services, and some curves are now out of use. Line #10 and line #7 trams used to change from ‘outward’ to ‘inward’ at the intermediate stop Javaplein, which has no passing or return loops, but it is no longer a notional ‘terminus’.

Though the line to Azartplein is newly built, parts of it do have a tramway or railway history. Trams ran along Czaar Peterstraat until 1938. Azartplein is in the middle of an artificial island called Java-eiland at the western end and KNSM-eiland at the eastern end, connected to the mainland by the Verbindingsdam. Together with the Rietlanden, this was until the 1980s an industrial and commercial area with an extensive freight rail network, but it has since been redeveloped for housing and offices in a manner comparable to London Docklands. More new tramways open soon. City transport operators GVB hope to extend line #51 to Westwijk on 13 September 2004, and to open their IJburgtram line #26 by end-2004, offering interchange with line #10 near Rietlandpark. Proposed but not yet finally decided is the restoration of line #6 to Amstelveenseweg by mid-December 2004, the northern section of Amstelveenseweg not being served at present.

3793][AT] Austria: closures?: Three little-used sections are threatened with closure to ordinary passenger trains from the December 2004 timetable-change: Bad Pirawarth - Gaweinstal Brünnerstrasse (Ball 65A1); (Leobersdorf -) Weissenbach-Neuhaus - Kaumberg - Hainfeld (- Traisen) (Ball 75B2-75A2); and (Krems an der Donau -) Spitz an der Donau - St.Nikola-Struden (- St.Valentin) (Ball 74B3-75A3). The first is a short stub of the former Stammersdorfer Lokalbahn north-east of Wien, and the other two are central sections of through secondary lines. The third route, along the north-bank of the river Donau, may continue during 2005 to see summer-weekend Wien - Krems - St.Valentin trains for cyclists. (Today’s Railways, #101, May 2004)

ÖBB’s timetable (including the on-line electronic timetable and printed station-departure posters) continues to show the (Wels Hbf -) Haiding - Eferding - Aschach an der Donau section (R.0786; Ball 73B3; ÖBB 152) with all services by bus except one weekday train-pair (#3230/6 Wels Hbf 05:30 - Aschach 06:26 - Wels Hbf). On 3 May 2004 however this early-morning working had also been taken over by a bus (perhaps until 28 June 2004, according to IBSE). Wels Hbf station staff however said that the passenger closure was permanent, though they added that the branch was still used by freight. The branch track at Haiding was indeed shiny.

3794][DK][SE][NO] København - Malmö - Göteborg - Halden - Oslo and Oslo - Karlstad - Stockholm: Swedish state railways SJ retained the profitable Stockholm - Malmö - København passenger traffic, but in 2001 farmed out to the joint SJ-NSB company Linx the fast trains on the other two sides of the triangle of lines connecting three Nordic capitals. However, with Linx travel times of 3h25min København - Göteborg, 4h Göteborg - Oslo, 4h50min Oslo - Stockholm and 2h15min Karlstad - Stockholm, low-fare airlines have proved too competitive, the trains have made big losses and the Linx company is to be wound up. NSB are to extend three regional Oslo - Halden trains across the border to Göteborg. SJ are to extend a Karlstad - Stockholm service through to Stockholm Arlanda airport in January 2005. (Erik’s Rail News)

3795][SE] (Eskilstuna -) Folkesta - Nybybruk (- Mälarbadens hamn): (Ball 22B3) This branch began life as the western end of the Norra Södermanlands Järnväg (NrSlJ or NSJ) from Södertälje. From 1 January 1933 it lost its passenger trains, and the end section from Nybybruk (km8 from Eskilstuna) to Mälarbadens hamn (km12), on the lake, closed completely. The branch may formerly have been a separate unelectrified track all the way from Eskilstuna (as shown in the Ball atlas) but it now diverges at Folkesta, c.3km west of Eskilstuna, from the northernmost track of the recently-doubled Eskilstuna - Rekarne electric main line of the former TGOJ (R.2212). On 25 April 2004 a heritage railcar of Svenska Motorvagnsklubben visited the branch, now used to access various factories, including a works at Nybybruk handling steel traffic.

3796][SE] Åby - Bråviken: (Ball 22B2 not shown) The Stockholm - Katrineholm - Norrköping and Stockholm - Nyköping - Norrköping lines converge at Åby, north of Norrköping. Just to the south of the main-line junction is the former station building, and c.1km south of that is a fully-signalled south-facing junction leading to a c.5km industrial branch heading east to serve the Holmen Paper mill at Bråviken. Beyond the signals controlling its junction, the branch seems to be owned by the paper company rather than Swedish track-authority Banverket, as is also suggested by its omission from the 1993 Ball atlas and from Järnvägsdata 1999. Though the branch seems to have opened in 1977, the SMoK heritage railcar that visited on 24 April 2004 may have been its first passenger train. The branch is busy with raw materials in and paper products out, though the mill has its own quay on Bråviken, the arm of the sea on which Norrköping hamn also stands (R.3797).

3797][SE] Norrköping hamn: (Ball 22B2 not shown) Besökskartan Norrköping, the free town-plan for visitors, depicts generally accurately the extensive dock and trading-estate railways owned by Norrköping council on both sides of the harbour and on the inshore island of Händelö. Though probably less busy than they once were, the quayside lines remain in use and are well supported by traffic to and from factories on the dock estate. Fortuitously, the industries still making active use of the railway are located at the outer ends of the layout. The SMoK heritage railcar made a comprehensive tour of the Händelö and Norra hamn (= north harbour) lines on 24 April, and the Södra hamn (= south harbour) lines on 25 April 2005.

3798][SE] Norrköping trams: In April 2004 two routes were operating, #2 and #3. The former route #1 was an in-town circle till one sector closed, but route-number 1 is now allocated for a heritage tram service perhaps to be operated in summer 2004. The tram-stops are in place, and negotiations are under way with the system’s operators, who trade as busslink. A town-plan for visitors, Besökskartan Norrköping, shows the tram routes but not the chords at junctions nor the service track to the depot at Vikboplan.

3799][SE] Norrköping: former narrow-gauge: The linked systems of Norrköping-Söderköping-Vikbolandets Järnväg (NSVJ or VB) and Nörra Östergötlands Järnväg (NÖJ), all now closed, once totalled c.238km of 891mm-gauge track (891mm = 3 old Swedish feet), reaching east, south and north-west, the furthest point having been Örebro (Ball 22A2). A freight branch to Norrköping Södra hamn offered transhipment to the standard-gauge lines there (R.3797). On the last line to close (on 25 September 1966) were Norrköping Östra (= east) station, now used as offices by the Swedish airports authority, alongside the town’s tram depot at Vikboplan, and Norrköping Västra (= west) station, attractively preserved and offering bed-and-breakfast accommodation, alongside tram route #3 at the corner of Oskarsgatan and Odenegatan.

3800][SE] (Stockholm -) Södertälje (- Eskilstuna): (Ball 23B1) The ‘third track’ from Södertälje Hamn south, running behind the eastbound platform at Södertälje Syd low-level station to join the 1997 Svealandsbana west to Eskilstuna, was out of use in May 2002 (R.2213), but later returned to use for some freight and engineering trains. It is maintained to passenger standards, for a SMoK railtour traversed it on 25 April 2004, running Nörrköping - Eskilstuna - Södertälje Hamn - Stockholm.

3801][SE] Stockholms östra - Djursholms Ösby - Roslags Näsby - Lindholmen - Frösunda - Kårsta; Djursholms Osby - Lahäll - Näsbypark; and Roslags Näsby - Österskär: (Ball 29B2-23A3) Stockholm’s three 891mm-gauge Roslagsbana commuter lines are a sizeable 65km remnant of the much larger Stockholm-Roslagens Järnvägar whose northern branches, centred on Rimbo, have closed. Passenger services ceased Rimbo - Hallstavik 25 September 1966, Rimbo - Faringe - Uppsala Östra 1 January 1967, Rimbo - Norrtälje 28 September 1969 and Kårsta - Rimbo 12 January 1981. Freight traffic east and south of Rimbo ceased 1969 and the last freight trains (Uppsala - Rimbo - Hallstavik) ran in 1977. Part of the Uppsala branch has become the preserved Uppsala östra - Marielund - Länna - Almunge - Faringe line (BLN 836.0513).

The present passenger-only Roslagsbana is entirely electrified at 1500V dc, owned by greater-Stockholm transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, and run since 7 January 2003 by Roslagståg AB, a consortium of Swedish private-sector operators Tågkompaniet and DSB, the Danish state railway (R.2524). The most recently built section is Lahäll - Näsbypark, opened 25 May 1937, and the most recently electrified section is Frösunda - Kårsta, energised June 1946. Plans to close Lindholmen - Kårsta from 1988 were not implemented. A very full timetable is operated, with eight departures and arrivals an hour off-peak at Stockholms östra, and slick working is required on the single-line sections.

The ‘city’ end of the layout is admirably represented in the 2002 Quail plan. The junction layout at Djursholms Ösby is such that a ‘down’ train to the Näsbypark branch can be held between the ‘up main’ and ‘down main’ lines, to avoid delaying a following ‘down main’ train if an ‘up main’ has to cross in front of the branch train. On the Näsbypark branch fine wooden shelters with a stylised SRJ logo (the J merged between the S and the R) adorn Vendevägen and Östberga stations - and a similar shelter, presumably moved from elsewhere, sits on a golf-course between Altorp and Lahäll! Näsbypark terminus, adjacent to a modern development, may or may not be on the original 1937 site. At Österskär, the easternmost of the two former non-platform loops is disconnected at both ends (so does not appear on the Quail plan); the other has been dead-ended and is now out of use; and the platform road is also now a plain-track dead-end. This causes no operating problem, for the electric units have no need to run round and do not stable here. Österskär’s timber station is now partly in non-railway use.

3802][SE] Stockholm: Slussen - Stadsgården - Igelboda - Saltsjöbaden (- Dalaröbryggan) and Igelboda - Solsidan: (Ball 29B2-30B1) The lines to the east of the Swedish capital (originally Stockholm-Saltsjöns järnvägar = SSnJ) were once properly linked to the national standard-gauge network, but today’s commuter Saltsjöbana (electrified at 900V dc; local-authority-owned since 1968; part of AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafiks järnvägar since 1 January 1980; at present operated by Connex) has become operationally - and perhaps physically - isolated.

An active freight connection was once provided by the SJ harbour branch to Mälarstrand, but this was lifted in 1954. From 1939 another (very circuitous) connection was made by Stockholm city’s harbour line following the south, then the north, shore of Södermalm island and leading into Saltsjöbanan’s Tegelviken spur (shown on the 2002 Quail track-plan near Slussen). Freight traffic on Saltsjöbanan seems to have ceased in the early 1990s, and the link line (Stockholm södra - Eriksdals tunnel - Norra Hammarbyhamnen - Tegelviken) thereafter saw only the occasional transfer of passenger rolling-stock. The last such movement was reportedly in mid-2000. The junction at Stockholm södra seems to have been removed for a time, but was later restored. On 24 August 2002 a Svenska Motorvagnsklubben railtour (R.2397) tried to visit the link, but was able to reach only as far as the western gate to Eriksdals tunnel. SMoK planned to make another attempt on 9 May 2004 to reach Tegelviken and Saltsjöbanan but were advised on the morning of travel that the points at Stockholm södra were locked.

On Saltsjöbanan itself, the passenger track was on 22 December 1936 extended west by some 500m from the original SSnJ terminus at Stadsgården to the present city terminus, at first called Stockholm Saltsjöbanan but from 1 January 1992 renamed Slussen (without a ‘Stockholm’ prefix). The original SSnJ eastern terminus was at Dalaröbryggan but the line was cut back by some 500m to a new terminus at Saltsjöbaden, from 7 December 1947 for passengers and from some time in the 1960s for freight. The present layout is admirably rendered on the 2002 Quail plan. Not perhaps obvious from this plan, nor from the public timetable alone, is the impressive slickness of the regular operation at the branch junction, Igelboda, an island platform with one face designated platform 1 and the other platform 2B at its west end and 2A at its east end. The ‘down’ Slussen - Saltsjöbaden train arrives at platform 2B. One minute later the incoming Solsidan - Igelboda branch shuttle train arrives in front of it, at platform 2A. One minute later the Igelboda - Solsidan shuttle departs platform 2A, and one minute later the Slussen - Saltsjöbaden train follows, running through platform 2A. Meanwhile, the ‘up’ Saltsjöbaden - Slussen train comes and goes through platform 1. At certain times a ‘down’ or ‘up’ Slussen - Solsidan through train runs, and since it needs to use platform 2A or 2B, it is timed to cross the ‘up’ or ‘down’ Saltsjöbaden - Slussen train in platform 1. (Most of the historical data in R.3795-3802 are from Järnvägsdata 1999, published by Svenska Järnvägsklubben)

3803][CZ] Rybnik - Lipno nad Vltavou: (Ball 40B2; CD 195) On 1 May 2004 the first and last services each day were diesel railcars, and all other services were being worked by buses, until further notice. Engineering work was under way on the 22km branch, presumably the work planned for 2004 (R.3212) to replace non-standard 1500V dc electrification with 25kV 50Hz.

3804][PT] Lisboa metro: Pontinha - Alfornelos - Amadora Este: (R.3693) From noon on Saturday 15 May 2004 Metropolitano de Lisboa extended their Blue or Seagull line (Linha Azul, Linha Gaivota) from Pontinha c.2km west. The two new stations are both outside the L (= Lisboa) tariff zone. Amadora Este is sometimes also referred to as Falagueira. During the inauguration ceremony, it was announced that work is to start in early 2005 on a further extension of the Metro Blue line to Reboleira CP station on the Lisboa - Reboleira - Amadora - Cacém - Sintra line. (http://www.metrolisboa.pt) The SATUO driverless monorail (Paço de Arcos - Oeiras Parque; R.3659) was also to be inaugurated on 15 May but this event was postponed to 7 June 2004 so that the Portuguese prime minister could be present.

3805][ES] Barcelona: (Cerdanyola del Valles -) Cerdanyola Universitat - Castellbisbal: (Ball 16B2-16A2) Construction work near Castellbisbal for the (Madrid -) Lleida - Barcelona high-speed standard-gauge railway has temporarily obstructed one of the connections from RENFE’s broad-gauge freight-only line avoiding Barcelona to their Barcelona - Castellbisbal - Martorell - Sant Vincenç de Calders line. Freight flows may not be affected, but the extension of Cercanías/Rodalies R4 trains from Cerdanyola Universitat west over the freight line towards Martorell (R.3499) is being delayed, and the planned new R7 suburban service may not start until the period December 2004 - May 2005.

3806][ES] Barcelona trams: (Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica - Marina -) Glòries - Selva de Mar - El Maresme/Fòrum - Sant Adrià de Besòs: On Saturday 8 May 2004 the first phase of the Trambesòs system (route T4, 4.8km with 10 stops) came into use, linking Barcelona to the north-eastern municipality of Sant Adrià de Besòs. Technical and operating details are as for Trambaix (R.3738): 1435mm-gauge; right-hand running; 750V dc overhead electrification; low-floor trams with level access, able to handle wheelchairs and bicycles; operators Trammet; whole system within zone 1 of the Barcelona integrated tariff area). At the city end the temporary starting-point is near Glòries station on TMB metro L1, at Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes on the Avinguda Diagonal, some 4km east on the same (very long) avenue from the Trambaix terminus Francesc Macià, hence a local joke about ‘Tramvia Interruptus’. Trambesòs follows Avinguda Diagonal east to the city boundary, then takes over part of the trackbed of a former broad-gauge line heading north-east from RENFE’s Estació de França (formerly Barcelona Término), finally running alongside RENFE suburban line C1 to Sant Adrià de Besòs station. Initially tramway T4 has intermediate interchange points at Selva de Mar and Maresme/Fòrum (both on TMB metro L4), but it is soon be extended southwards at the city end to start at Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica (on TMB L4) calling at Marina (on TMB L1), making it 6.5km long with 14 stops. Tramway T5 is to be a branch to Badalona, with a target opening-date of 2005.

Embarrassingly, however, Trammet had to suspend all services on Trambaix lines T1/T2/T3 (R.3738) on 8 May and on Trambesòs line T4 on 9 May. A slight increase in the ambient temperature had melted faulty sealant insulating the rails and intensive repairs were needed before services could be resumed: T4 on 16 May, T1/T2/T3 as far as Bon Viatge on 17 May, and T2 to Sant Martí de l’Erm Baixador on 18 May 2004 (http://www.tramvia.org).

Trambaix line T3 has been terminating at Montesa, but its extension to Sant Martí de l’Erm Estació was still expected to open by end-May 2004. The metro lines L3 and L5 that interchange with Trambaix are operated by TMB, not FGC (R.3738).

3807][ES] Mallorca: (Palma - Inca -) Enllaç - Sineu - Manacor: (Ball 38A1-38A2) Following the accident of 14 March 2004 (R.3665), repairs and improvements to the infrastructure have been under way. Target dates for reopening are Enllaç - Sineu 30 June 2004 and Sineu - Manacor 15 September 2004.

3808][CH][FR] Genève Cornavin / Bifurcation Furet - Lancy-Pont-Rouge - La Praille - Genève-Eaux-Vives - Ambilly SNCF - Annemasse: (Ball CH-97A3-97B3) The long-planned Cornavin - Eaux-Vives - Annemasse (CEVA) line, requiring a new railway from La Praille freight yard across the city to Eaux-Vives passenger terminus, has been the victim of budget cuts likely to delay opening beyond 2008 (R.2586). Operation of the CEVA line may be quite complex electrically, for Bellegarde SNCF - La Plaine CFF - Bif Furet - La Praille is at present wired at 1500V dc, Cornavin - La Praille at 15kV 16.7Hz, and Eaux-Vives - Annemasse at 25kV 50Hz (R.3208-9, 3778). SNCF’s electric units deployed in the area can use either 1500V dc or 25kV 50Hz, but CFF’s units are 15kV 16.7Hz only, except for their Rhône Express Régional light-rail vehicles for the Cornavin - Bif Furet - La Plaine CFF - Bellegarde SNCF line which are 1500V dc only, with auxiliary diesel power. If CFF trains are to run from the northern lakeshore cantons of Vaud and Genève via Cornavin and Annemasse through to the French Haute-Savoie towns of Évian-les-Bains, St.Gervais-les-Bains and Annecy, new rolling-stock will be needed.

3809][YU] Pozega east-to-south curve: (Ball 52A3, curve not shown) Due to engineering work on the electrified Beograd - Pozega (- Bar) main line no trains were to run directly between Beograd and Pozega from 15 April to 5 June 2004. Most trains were partly replaced by buses, but car-carrying Autovoz #9611 Beograd - Bar was diverted to run Beograd - Velika Plana - Lapovo (attach diesel locomotive) - Kragujevac - Kraljevo - Cacak (detach diesel) - Pozega east-to-south curve - Uzice - Bar. This much longer route required a one-hour-earlier departure and a one-hour-later final arrival - but avoided reversing the consist. Northbound train #9610, similarly diverted, was taken on 14-15 May 2004. Though Lapovo was not a booked calling-point, no objection was raised to our reporter leaving the train there, while the diesel locomotive was detached.

3810][RU] Kaliningrad: In 1945 a triangular part of East Prussia around the German city and naval-base of Königsberg was annexed by the Soviet Union under dictator Joseph Stalin, who renamed the city Kaliningrad after a prominent Bolshevik, and repopulated with Russians the whole Kaliningrad Oblast (oblast = region), bounded to the north-west by the Baltic Sea, to the north-east by Lithuania and to the south by Poland. With the demise of the Soviet Union, Lithuania became independent, but Kaliningrad Oblast stayed part of the Russian Federation, so it is now an exclave separated by at least two other countries from the rest of Russia. Since 1 May 2004 all overland access by rail or road to Kaliningrad has been via European Union countries.

From Thursday 29 April to Monday 3 May 2004 the Polish-based Pomeranian Railfans group innovatively organised the first charter to explore Kaliningrad’s 1520mm-gauge railways, using a modern and comfortable Russian PA1 diesel railbus (a broad-gauge version of the design recently delivered as Class 6341 to Hungary’s MÁV), which enabled participants to traverse all but one of the lines with passenger trains, plus four freight branches. The tour began by taking the 12km broad-gauge Braniewo PKP - Mamonovo RZD single track into Russia, a track which has no ordinary passenger service. (PKP’s daily Gdynia - Braniewo - Mamonovo - Kaliningrad passenger train, conveying on some days through carriages from Berlin, runs throughout on the standard-gauge, but the standard-gauge track, running parallel across the border and into Kaliningrad, was not traversed during the tour. The other passenger line omitted was the Nesterov RZD - Kibartai LG cross-border section of the long-distance broad-gauge route worked by Russian Railways from Kaliningrad east to and through Lithuania).

Russian Railways (RZD) also run passenger trains on seven local routes, some of them with very sparse services. Only the lines forming a triangle serving two Baltic coastal resorts to the north are electrified, at 3000V dc (Kaliningrad - Zelenogradsk - Pionerskiy - Svetlogorsk and Kaliningrad - Pionerskiy - Svetlogorsk direct). The 54km Chernyakhovsk - Sovetsk line (the one route not serving Kaliningrad city) has a single train-pair a week, northbound on Fridays, southbound on Saturdays. The 117km Kaliningrad - Sovetsk line has a daily train-pair, and the 36km Kaliningrad - Bagrationovsk line just three pairs. On the 45km Kaliningrad - Primorsk - Baltiysk line, the train arrived (with the required group permit) at the control-point for entry to the closed military area round the Russian Navy’s port of Baltiysk, but no security staff were present to meet the special, so it simply continued to the end of the branch. Here and at all border stations, photography was initially refused but eventually permitted. The 18km Primorsk - Yantarniy section had been refused as having no traffic, but the station-master at Primorsk junction said it still saw a monthly inspection train. Visiting Bagrationovsk revealed that the Bagrationovsk - Dolgorukovo branch, refused ‘due to condition of track’, was in fact closed and lifted. The requested route for the charter had been based on available maps of the region that showed several triangles, but the railtour timetable did not include any, which turned out to be because all but one had been simplified by closure and removal of one of the three sides. The exception was at Zelenogradsk, where the south-to-west curve avoiding the station still had a sparse seasonal passenger service, duly traversed by taking a taxi to join a scheduled train. Freight lines visited included the 38km Nesterov - Krasnolesye line, which thus saw its first passenger train since withdrawal of services in 1967. A 1996 paper on Kaliningrad’s railways, including a brief line-by-line description, is archived at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/ru_kalin.htm. Current passenger-train information is at http://www.klgzhd.narod.ru/timetable.html.

3811][TR] Istanbul: Yenikapi - Sirkeci - (tunnel under the Bosphorus strait) - Üsküdar - Sögütlüçesme: (R.0353, 3247) On 9 May 2004 the Turkish prime minister inaugurated work on the 13.3km rail tunnel linking TCDD’s European and Asian systems. Target-date for opening of the link-line is now 2009. (BBC; The Guardian)

3812][AU] (Sydney -) Casino - Murwillumbah, NSW: This 130km branch off the Sydney - Brisbane main line to Murwillumbah on Australia’s holiday Gold Coast, just south of the Queensland border, had already lost its freight traffic, but retained a daily CountryLink train from Sydney, worked by an (HST-clone) XPT diesel set (R.3177). This train was to be withdrawn from Monday 17 May 2004, after which maintenance of the branch was to cease, effectively closing the line. (Railway Digest, May 2004)

3813][AU] Victoria: Melbourne area passenger franchises: In December 2002 National Express walked away from what had become deeply unprofitable contracts (R.2664), and the hard-nosed Victoria state government found themselves forced to take back their Melbourne suburban franchises (M>Trains and M>Trams) and the ‘country’ franchise (V/Line Passenger). From 18 April 2004 some contracts were re-awarded: Connex now operate all the Melbourne suburban trains and Yarra Trams all the trams. Bus company Hoy’s Roadlines are likewise not seeking renewal of their sole rail contract, for the Melbourne - Shepparton ‘country’ service, which expires on 30 June 2004. Presumably V/Line Passenger, now again in state-government hands, will operate this service thereafter. (Railway Digest, May 2004)

3814][AU] Belgrave - Emerald - Lakeside - Gembrook: Since the last upper-quadrant semaphore signals on Victoria’s broad-gauge main-line railways were taken down on the Melbourne - South Yarra - Sandringham line during February 2004, the preserved 762mm-gauge ‘Puffing Billy’ line, probably Australia’s best-known heritage railway, retains the only working examples in the state. (Railway Digest, May 2004) When the Puffing Billy Railway reopened to Gembrook on 18 October 1998, it extended beyond its previous terminus on c.200m of plain dead-end single track to a new Gembrook passenger station on the site of the former engine-shed, close to the main road (BLN 841.022). To run round, trains propel back to the loop next to the former terminus. Gembrook’s heritage station may be original, or in whole or in part a replica building, but it is an attractive feature of the railway that it has been possible to keep the old station uncompromised and separate from the tourist station (with its higher-profile roadside site and its inevitably greater emphasis on catering and souvenir sales).

3815][NZ] New Zealand: In late 2003 an Australian group of port and logistics companies, the Toll Group, bought a controlling 84% of the company operating New Zealand’s national railways, and in May 2004 formally changed the NZ company’s name from Tranz Rail to Toll. The NZ government have agreed to buy back the railway infrastructure for NZD50M and spend NZD200M more on upgrading work, while Toll are to invest NZD100M in locomotives and rolling-stock.

3816][US] Montague - Yreka, CA: Surveying the route of what later became Southern Pacific’s south-to-north Siskiyou line (Dunsmuir, CA - Black Butte Jn - Montague, CA - Siskiyou Summit, OR - Medford - Springfield Jn - Eugene, OR; now operated by Central Oregon & Pacific; R.2952), the then Central Pacific Railroad decided in 1886 to bypass the small town of Yreka - so the townspeople built their own 11.7km branch, completed 19 December 1888 and opened to passengers 9 January 1889. Though beset by economic problems and changes of ownership over the years, the Yreka Western Railroad survives, and until 2002 ran steam-hauled Yreka - Montague passenger excursions, underpinned by earnings from modest freight traffic, mainly forest products forwarded via CORP north into Oregon. In summer 2003 YW’s 1915-built ex-McCloud River Railroad steam locomotive #19 lay out of service awaiting boiler re-certification, but diesel tourist trains ran. However in November 2003 a 945m wood-frame tunnel near Siskiyou Summit caught fire and partially collapsed. The CORP route that carried YW’s outward freight is thus blocked until repairs can be completed in June 2004. With the loss of c.60% of their freight revenue, YW have said they are unable to run either steam or diesel Blue Goose passenger excursions in summer 2004, but they hope do so again from May 2005. (http://www.yrekawesternrr.com)

3817][US] Willits - Fort Bragg, CA: Having bought the bankrupt 77km California Western Railroad in December 2003 (R.3540), Sierra Railroad, the Oakdale-based short line (Oakdale - Jamestown - Standard, CA) were to begin tourist-train trips through the California redwoods from the (coastal) Fort Bragg end on 1 May 2004 and from (inland) Willits in June 2004. Information: http://www.skunktrain.com; http://www.sierrarailroad.com. (Modesto Bee, via Train Rides yahoogroup)

3818][US] Stockton, CA: Southern Pacific’s 1930 Stockton depot closed with the advent of Amtrak in 1971. On 19 October 1998 San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission began San Jose - Stockton Altamont Commuter Express services (BLN 836.0540), running to a dead-end siding on the SP site in Stockton, accessed from the south with a single platform on its west side, north of the Weber Avenue level-crossing (R.2873). From 18 March 2002 Amtrak’s Sacramento - Stockton (- Bakersfield) San Joaquin trains also began to use the SP route and make a Stockton stop nearby, though not at the ACE platform (R.2870). For their experimental new service ACE at first wanted only the most basic facilities, so they made no use of SP’s solid brick building, which stood derelict for more three decades. However as part of their fifth-anniversary celebrations, ACE on 24 October 2003 reopened the SP building for passenger use. It is not clear whether Amtrak make any use of the new passenger facility. (partly from Trains, January 2004)

3819][US] Georgetown, CO: Devil’s Gate - Silver Plume: Colorado Historical Society own the 5km 914mm-gauge Georgetown Loop museum line, reconstructed 1975-84 and including a serpentine loop and Devil’s Gate Viaduct, a spectacular 90m-long curved trestle 29m above a creek (R.1013). Locomotives and stock however are owned by Georgetown Loop Railroad, whose 30-year operating contract expires at the end of the 2004 summer season. In spring 2004 the parties had not yet been able to agree terms of a new contract, and Georgetown Loop Railroad were reportedly looking at dual-gauging the Cañon City - Royal Gorge - Parkdale, CO section leased from Union Pacific and operated by their associate company Cañon City & Royal Gorge Railroad (R.1015). (Railfan & Railroad, June 2004) This may be more a negotiating ploy than a serious investment proposal, but steam-hauled narrow-gauge trains puffing through the spectacular Royal Gorge (at one point 800m deep and only 10m wide) would certainly be an addition to the area’s tourist attractions.

3820][US] New Orleans, LA heritage trams: (R.1292, 3649) The rebuilt Canal Street route opened Sunday 18 April 2004. Canal Street streetcars take the existing (1587mm-gauge) Riverfront Line from Esplanade south to Canal Street Ferry, then turn right, away from the Mississippi riverfront, to run north-west in central reservation along Canal Street to Cemeteries terminus. Just short of this terminus a branch diverges north-east on North Carrollton Avenue to City Park/Beauregard Circle.

3821][US] Philadelphia, PA - Wilmington, DE - Newark - Porter - Dover - Harrington, DE: Saturday 24 July 2004 sees the annual excursion from Philadelphia to the Delaware State Fair at Harrington. Passengers need not actually visit the State Fair, and can stay aboard as the train continues southward to fill in time till its return run. This year the train’s turn-back point is Frankford on the Harrington - Frankford, DE - Snow Hill, MD freight branch rather than Laurel on the Harrington - Laurel, DE - Pocomoke, MD - Cape Charles, VA freight branch, as in 1999 (R.0470). Timings and other information: http://www.dartfirststate.com/events/rail/

3822][US] Scranton - Mount Pocono - Delaware Water Gap, PA: Predictably, following the derailment of 25 October 2003 (R.3395), the National Park Service’s Steamtown museum have found it more difficult to get insurance cover for their steam-hauled excursion trains on this line (R.3124). These trips were to have begun on the Memorial Day holiday weekend in May, but may not now operate in summer 2004. (Pocono Record, via Train Rides yahoo group)

3823][PR] San Juan metro: Bayamón Centro - Sagrado Corazón: (R.2961) Opening of the 18km third-rail Tren Urbano line appears to have been yet further delayed, perhaps until the end of 2004.

3824][ZW] Zimbabwe: commuter trains: (R.1769, 1919) Shortages of diesel fuel have seen a limited return to steam haulage on Bulawayo - Luveve / Umganwini and Harare - Marimba / Dzivaresekwa / Ruwa commuter trains since 16 March 2004, though on some days a diesel locomotive has been used. (World-Rail-Gen yahoogroup)

3825][FR] (Paris Nord -) Bifurcation de Liesse - Bif d’Épluches (- Auvers-sur-Oise): (Ball 81A1) From 2 May to 11 July 2004 a summer-Sunday train offers a day out in Auvers-sur-Oise, ‘a village famous for its association with painters, especially Van Gogh’. (Today's Railways, #102, June 2004) The direct train, taking 28min from Paris Nord, must run via this southeast-to-north curve, which does not have an ordinary passenger service (though see also R.3396, EGTRE FR04/20).

3826][FR] Marseille - Gardanne - Aix-en-Provence - Meyrargues - Pertuis: (Ball 75B2-75B3) From a Marseille - Pertuis train in May 2004, the Gardanne - Meyreuil - Brignoles - Carnoules line looked well-used at its western end, presumably by freight for the Pechiney alumina works near Gardanne and the power-station at Meyreuil (R.1454). Near the junction at Gardanne, a ‘Carnoules’ signboard indicated the line’s ultimate destination. The Aix-en-Provence - Rognac line also appeared well-used. It has no intermediate source of traffic but is retained for freight from Miramas yard reversing at or near Rognac and heading east to Aix for Gardanne and Meyreuil. (The alternative Miramas - Rognac - Marseille - Gardanne route would involve passing through the busy Marseille-St.Charles station area, and tackling moderately steep gradients on the Marseille - Gardanne section.) North of Meyrargues clean new ballast suggested recent track work. At one time the physical junction appears to have been at or near Meyrargues station, with the Meyrargues - Pertuis - Cheval Blanc line and the Meyrargues - Chateau-Arnoux-St Auban line then crossing the river on separate parallel bridges, but the eastern bridge is now out of use and the single track over the western bridge forks just to the north of the river at a new junction, c.3km north of Meyrargues. Here the layout is slightly more complex than the simple triangle shown in the Ball atlas. All three sides of the triangle are in use but the western vertex has no physical junction and the east-to-west and south-to-west curves continue west as two parallel single lines to Pertuis station. The east-to-west curve and the section onwards from Pertuis west to Cheval-Blanc are well used by freight, notably block trains of salt from Salin-de-Giraud, west of Fos (R.0599), to the Pechiney chemical works at Chateau-Arnoux-St.Auban, and chemical product traffic outwards. By contrast, Marseille - Pertuis passenger trains are clearly the only users of the south-to-west curve and its continuation to Pertuis, the new or restored track totalling c.4km. At Pertuis the physical connection from the ‘passenger’ track westwards appears to see little use. The Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur regional authority had high hopes for the reopening to Pertuis, and a plaque on the station building lists the dignitaries at the ceremony (on 3 September 2001, attended by a reporter of ours; R.1626). The sizeable bus-station outside is clearly new. However, rail patronage seems not to have met expectations, as evidenced by the doleful paper notice announcing that the station-to-town-centre navette (= shuttle bus) ceased 15 March 2004. The 11:35 Marseille - Pertuis train on 15 May 2004, rather surprisingly worked by a Class BB67400 diesel locomotive in push-pull mode, rather than by a more economical railcar, saw only two ordinary passengers alight. Seven joined the 13:30 southbound working. All were met or arrived by car.

3827][FR][BE] (Longwy -) Mont-Saint-Martin Triage SNCF - Y Aubange SNCB: (R.3762; Ball 17B1) Completion of the (part-reinstated, part-new) southwest-to-northwest freight curve has been delayed and it is not expected to come into use before the December 2004 timetable-change.

3828][BE] Antwerpen Berchem - Antwerpen Haven: (OEIS; Ball 8B3) While major works are undertaken on the Antwerpen ring-road, a service of trains for railway and port staff is being augmented and made available to the public. The trains will traverse trackage not normally visited by ordinary passenger services and will terminate at Antwerpen Haven station, in the Antwerpen Noord freight complex serving this major port. Trains run Monday-Friday 14 June - 10 December 2004, with journey-times varying from 17min to 28min, so the actual routes used may also vary. The trains leaving Berchem at 05:28, 13:28 and 21:28 arrive at Haven 1min before departing at 05:46, 13:46 and 21:46. Other departures from Berchem are at 06:59 and 07:27, and other departures from Haven are at 14:25, 15:59, 16:13 and 22:27.

3829][DE] Lauterbach Mole - Putbus - Serams - Binz - Sellin - Göhren: (Ball 13B2; KBS199) On the Baltic island of Rügen, the 750mm-gauge Rügensche Kleinbahn line with its Rasende Roland steam-hauled tourist trains has been local-authority-owned since 1 January 1996 (R.0529). On 10 March 2004 a new concessionaire bought out the previous one and took over operation, but problems seem to have begun soon after, with staff being made redundant and rolling-stock being transferred away from the line. Then a landslip at Serams damaged the track, and trains ceased on 27 April 2004. After legal action, the previous concessionaire resumed control, and operations restarted 24 May 2004. (http://www.inselbahn.de)

3830][DE] (Bremen -) Buchholz (Nordheide) - Jesteburg - Maschen Rangierbahnhof (- Hamburg Hbf): (Ball 17B2; KBS120) For the period of the diversions (5 April until 11 December 2004; R.3725), Buchholz has been equipped with two temporary platforms on its freight tracks, reached by a pedestrian overbridge. (IBSE) In the 1970s Buchholz - Jesteburg was doubled and electrified to match the new Jesteburg - Maschen section, opened 23 May 1977 as a freight-only line to access the eastern end of the then-new Maschen yard. Buchholz - Jesteburg (- Lüneburg) had passenger trains until 26 September 1981, but Jesteburg - Maschen has never had a scheduled local passenger service. (Abschied von der Schiene 1980-90, Transpress)

3831][DE] Berlin-Karow - Basdorf - Gross Schönebeck and Basdorf - Wensickendorf - Schmachtenhagen: (R.2767; Ball 32A3-20B1; KBS 209.27) DB are to cease operating these lines, and infrastructure-owners Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn Aktiengesellschaft are to take over in December 2005. NEB have local-authority shareholders, but they are mainly owned by Industriebahn-Gesellschaft Berlin (IGB), who in turn are mainly owned by Connex. (IBSE)

3832][DE] Berlin Hbf - Tiergarten tunnel - Potsdamer Platz - Yorckstrasse - Papestrasse - Priesterweg - Südende - Lichterfelde Ost - Lichterfelde Süd - Teltow: (Ball 32A2) From the capital city’s new central station on the old Lehrter Bahnhof site, the future main line to the south is gradually taking shape (R.3766). In late May 2004 track was being laid from the middle of the new low-level platforms in Berlin Hbf south through the four-track 3122m Nord-Süd-Tunnel under the Tiergarten and through new underground platforms at Potsdamer Platz station (future interchange from Fernbahn to S-Bahn and U-Bahn). From the southern portal of the tunnel near Yorckstrasse to just north of Papestrasse (future interchange with S-Bahn), track was partly laid and in some places already ballasted. Just south of Papestrasse a connection to the Tempelhof Rangierbahnhof - Attilastrasse freight line was in use by engineering trains. Parallel to the S-Bahn from Papestrasse south to Lichterfelde Ost, the embankment for the long-distance Fernbahn tracks was in varying stages of preparation. The steel-girder bridge which is to carry the Fernbahn tracks over the Teltowkanal south of Südende S-Bahnhof was to have been completed in April 2004, but a lorry carrying a quarter-section of the bridge shed its load just south of Berlin. Main road B101 was blocked for many hours, and the unlucky bridge-section was cut up on the spot. Parallel to the S-Bahn from Lichterfelde Ost to Lichterfelde Süd, and as far as can be seen south towards Teltow, the long-distance tracks had been laid but not ballasted.

3833][DE] Bayreuth Hbf - Weidenberg (- Warmensteinach): (R.1464; Ball 53A2; KBS862) Track deterioration was expected eventually to force closure of this remaining 14km freight-only stub from end-May or early June 2004, reportedly ‘for a year’, but it must be doubtful if the branch will ever reopen. (IBSE)

3834][PT] Lisboa Oriente - Entrecampos - Fogueteiro - Pinhal Novo - Poceirão - Funcheira - Tunes - Almansil-Nexe - Parque das Cidades - São João da Venda - Faro: (R.3271, 3574-6; Ball 25B2-26A2-33A2) The timetable-change on 6 June 2004 is to see CP services across the 25 de Abril road-and-rail suspension-bridge increase to four daily Oriente - Faro inter-city round-trips plus Lisboa Oriente - Poceirão - Vendas Novas - Casa Branca - Beja through trains to the Linha do Alentejo, two southbound, one northbound. CP are also to run two new Pinhal Novo - Tunes - Faro regional electric-unit workings to serve the intermediate stations on the Linha do Sul, but it is not clear if reluctant Fertagus (R.3630) have been persuaded to run any of their local trains forward from Fogueteiro to Pinhal Novo to connect. The long-disused north-to-west Concordância de Tunes avoiding Tunes station (R.1987) is lifted. South of Tunes, on the Linha do Algarve, trains were on 5 June to make their last calls at Almansil-Nexe and São João da Venda, these stops being replaced by the new station serving Faro’s stadium, Parque das Cidades, which was to open on Sunday 6 June 2004, in time for this summer’s Euro 2004 football competition (R.3576). Also from 6 June Penedo Gordo, Santa Vitória-Ervidel and Panõias on the Beja - Funcheira section of the Linha do Alentejo were to lose their passenger trains and thus close completely. (partly from Today’s Railways, #102, June 2004)

3835][PT] Barreiro - Pinhal Novo - Setúbal - Praias-Sado - Mourisca-Sado - Aguas de Moura (- Pinheiro): (Ball 25A2-26A2) Barreiro, CP’s traditional terminus on the south bank of the Tejo estuary, served by ferry from Lisboa (R.0737), has lost all long- and medium-distance passenger trains, and from Sunday 6 June 2004 sees only Barreiro - Pinhal Novo - Setubal - Praias-Sado diesel-worked suburban trains. (Pinhal Novo - Setubal is being electrified but wiring was still far from complete in April 2004, and through electric-unit running from Lisboa via the 25 de Abril bridge to the Setubal branch by 6 June looked unlikely.) Some services out of Barreiro ran via Setubal, Praias-Sado, Aguas de Moura and the triangular junction on to the main Linha do Sul, so their withdrawal means the Praias-Sado - Mourisca-Sado - Triangulo Aguas de Moura section is now without passenger trains, though it continues in use for freight to Setubal port and Praias-Sado yard. Aguas de Moura and Pinheiro halts closed at the December 2003 timetable-change (R.3495), but Mourisca-Sado remained open till 5 June 2004.

3836][ES][FR] Huesca - Ayerbe - Sabiñánigo - Jaca - Canfranc (- Somport tunnel - Bedous - Oloron Ste.Marie): (Ball ES-13A2-13A3, FR-69B1) RENFE’s recent track refurbishment (R.3737) would seem to have been long overdue judging by the piles of disintegrating wooden sleepers left along the Huesca - Canfranc lineside in mid-May 2004. Stations long unstaffed retain Jefe Estación (= Station Master) signs on locked or boarded-up doors. Ayerbe station has seen some restoration, and at Sabiñánigo the part of the passenger building remaining in RENFE use has been recently modernised to match the part used as the local bus-station. The siding to the Alcoa laminates plant at Sabiñánigo appears still to have occasional (broad-gauge) freight traffic, so this may be an obstacle to the plan to convert Huesca - Canfranc to standard-gauge (R.2141, 3424).

RENFE passenger trains terminate on their unwired 1668mm-gauge tracks next to Canfranc’s huge frontier station-building - which slumbers in splendour, a minor tourist attraction in itself, where visitors peer in wonderment through dusty panes into the vast vestibule and customs-hall. Small-scale industrial activity occupies part of the northern end of the site, but most of the rest seems just to have been abandoned. Derelict 1435mm-gauge exchange sidings and some SNCF overhead wiring remain in the station area, and immediately beyond is the southern portal of the 7874m Somport tunnel beneath the frontier, but for 34 years no trains have run from Canfranc north on the 1928 Transpyrénéen Occidental route into France. An SNCF ‘rail-replacement’ bus does ply north to Oloron-Ste.Marie, but its timetable is poorly coordinated with RENFE’s trains, neither state operator appearing to care much about connections at Canfranc, nor apparently offering through booking.

On 27 March 1970 a runaway SNCF freight train demolished a bridge at L’Estanguet, and the steep and sinuous Canfranc - Bedous section has lain out of use (neutralisée) ever since, gradually becoming spectacularly derelict, though for international political reasons the line has never been formally closed (désaffectée) nor legally abandoned (déclassée). On 1 June 1980 the next section to the north, Bedous - Oloron-Ste.Marie, closed to passengers and by autumn 1988 its freight too had been withdrawn, in two stages (BLN 793.06). Seen from the SNCF bus in mid-May 2004, the track seems largely in place, though visibly very overgrown with bushes and sizeable trees. Overhead wiring has gone completely. The line appears severed in a number of places where the road has been improved, but at most of these locations it looks as if it could be fairly readily restored. However, the wrecked viaduct at L’Estanguet is unrepaired and another significant bridge remains where it collapsed into the river Aspe during winter 1992-93 (BLN 787.0381). Conversely, a recently-built bridge below Ossau carries the road over the line, preserving the continuity of the infrastructure. Nowhere from Canfranc to Oloron however is any sign to be seen of activity to restore the derelict railway. Even the first stage, passenger reopening of Bedous - Oloron, once planned for end-2003, has yet to happen, and the target-date of 2006 for reopening through Somport rail tunnel looks more and more unrealistic (R.2678). A future for the Transpyrénéen Occidental as a link with Spain’s growing standard-gauge network remains a vision.

3837][GR] Athinai - Acharne - Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH) airport: (R.1315, 2799; Ball 66B2) Both the national railway Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados and the local Attiko Metro are to run trains on the new double-track standard-gauge branch out to Spata, 27km east of the city-centre, site of the Greek capital’s airport inaugurated on 28 March 2001. In late May 2004 test-running from Acharne by an OSE diesel railcar was followed by test-runs of Attiko Metro’s electric units on the extension east of their line 3 that converges to join the airport branch (Syntagma - Ethniki Amyna - Doukissis Plakentias - ATH). Though electrification was sufficiently complete to allow these runs under power, work remained to be done on signalling and stations. On Saturday 29 May 2004 OSE felt confident enough to run a trip to the airport with three Class 560 (Stadler GTW 2/6) diesel railcars carrying government ministers, senior railway officials and journalists. Target-date for opening of the airport branch to the public is mid-July 2004. Service seems likely to be two OSE fast trains per hour, worked by Desiro electric units and taking 30min from Athinai Larissa main station, plus two Attiko Metro electric stopping trains per hour from Syntagma. (European Rail yahoogroup)

3838][GR] Athinai trams: (R.2400, 3535) The new tramway, eventually to extend to 24km, is also expected to open in time for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, but during the Games trams are not to be working on two sections totalling c.3km: from Syntagma Square in the city-centre south to Neos Kosmos Metro Station, and at the southern end of the line from Glyfada Square to Glyfada terminus. (European Rail yahoogroup)

3839][YU] (Nis -) Doljevac - Prokuplje - Kursumlija (- Kosanicka Raca - Merdare - Podujevo - Prishtina - Kosovo Polje): (Ball 52A2; JZ 85) The timetable of Zeleznice Srbije (ZS, formerly JZ) advertised in summer 2004 four train-pairs south-west to Prokuplje, with a single working running forward to Kosanicka Raca. A German traveller said that this train ran reasonably to time on 8 May 2004. The JZ line formerly continued across what is now the border of the UNMIK-administered province of Kosovo to the provincial capital Prishtina and the hub junction of Kosovo Polje. Though apparently intact the track was out of use and overgrown from Kosanicka Raca as far as a small oil terminal a few km north of Prishtina. From that point to Kosovo Polje the track was rust-free, presumably in use by trains of UNMIK Rail (R.3097).

On 16 May 2004 our own intrepid reporter travelled north from Prishtina, arranging for a private car to take him and a companion to the Kosovo/Serbia border at Merdare, then walking and taking a bus the 9km to Kosanicka Raca, only to be told by a railwayman at the station there that the Serbian train north had ceased running from 14 May 2004 ‘until further notice, due to condition of track’. The implication was that reopening was unlikely. Hitch-hiking was thus called for to catch the northbound train at Kursumlija, 19km away. Kursumlija is not a through station as suggested by the Ball atlas, but a terminal station with an avoiding line forming a triangular junction. The train, comprising a JZ Class 641 locomotive with a single carriage and four freight wagons, left 2min early, then lost 30min on the 120min journey to Doljevac.

3840][AU] Cairns - Edge Hill - Kuranda - Mount Surprise - Einasleigh - Forsayth: (R.2629) From 4 March 2004 the Queensland government handed over to tourist-train operators Cairns-Kuranda Steam the working of QR’s scheduled weekly Savannahlander diesel railcar, at that time still running from Cairns only as far west as Mount Surprise (short of Einasleigh, its temporary terminus in 2002). Just beyond Einasleigh, the Copperfield River bridge, flood-damaged in 2002, was however under repair, and reopening through to Forsayth (km424) was expected from 1 July 2004. By May 2004 CKS had started running a WFSuO steam-hauled tourist train from Edge Hill station in suburban Cairns to Kuranda, but QR were still operating a Cairns - Kuranda Kuranda Scenic daily diesel train. CKS are the first private-sector operators to run regular revenue passenger trains on QR’s 1067mm-gauge system. (Railway Digest, May 2004; QR)

3841][NZ] New Zealand: Though quoted as saying in 2003 that they were primarily interested in freight, Toll NZ, new owners of the former Tranz Rail (R.3815), have in 2004 told Wellington Regional Council they are committed to ownership and operation of Wellington’s Tranz Metro commuter services. Toll NZ have also bought out the 50% share in the Tranz Scenic long-distance passenger operation which Tranz Rail sold to Australia’s West Coast Railway in 2001 (R.1537). Tranz Scenic run the Auckland - Palmerston North - Wellington Northerner and Overlander; the Palmerston North - Wellington Capital Connection; the Picton - Christchurch Tranz Coastal; and the Christchurch - Greymouth Tranz Alpine.

3842][US] San Francisco Bay Area, CA: Richmond - Berkeley - Emeryville - Oakland 17th & Wood - Oakland 16th St - Oakland 1st St & Broadway=Jack London Square (1) - Oakland Jack London Square (2) - Oakland Coliseum/OAK Airport: Amtrak’s San Joaquin and Capitol Corridor intrastate trains (but no longer their long-distance #5/6 California Zephyr and #11/14 Coast Starlight) call at Richmond station, which offers cross-platform interchange into the Bay Area Rapid Transit metro which serves many parts of the Bay Area including the city of San Francisco itself (R.2871).

Emeryville station was built on the site of a former tank farm, as a joint project of Amtrak, the city of Emeryville and private-sector developers. It opened 13 July 1993 (Passenger Train Journal, #190, Oct 1993), but initially only intrastate trains called, pending completion of ‘passing sidings’ (presumably a loop) to allow the long-distance trains ‘dwell time’ in the station without blocking Southern Pacific’s double track main line (now Union Pacific’s Martinez Subdivision). SP made slow progress, taking another year to build the loop, and the Zephyr and the Starlight did not begin calling at Emeryville until 5 August 1994.

Southern Pacific’s traditional and dignified 1917-built Oakland 16th St station building was damaged at 17:04 local time on 17 October 1989 by the Loma Prieta earthquake, and was declared structurally unsafe. By the next day Amtrak were accommodated a little to the north ‘in an SP office building adjacent to the depot’ (PTJ, #202, Oct 1994), while trains continued to use the existing 16th St platforms. Amtrak called their temporary facility ‘1701 Wood Street’ or ‘17th & Wood’. The 1989 earthquake also wrecked the Cypress Freeway, and plans for a quake-proof replacement viaduct called for use of the SP station site. By 1993 the SP station was described in a local report as being ‘in the toughest part of Oakland’s crack [cocaine]-infested West Side’. All parties therefore were keen to see the passenger station relocated. A target-date of January 1994 was missed, as was one of 18 July. Though the Zephyr and the Starlight began calling at Emeryville on 5 August 1994, Amtrak had a ‘period of provisional stops’ [at the 17th St/16th St platforms] and did not cease operations on the site there until 21 August 1994. (PTJ, #202, Oct 1994) Trains continue to run through the site.

Turning sharply east and passing the Amtrak yard and what is now UP’s Desert Yard, the former SP line becomes UP’s double track Niles Subdivision, running for nearly 1km down the middle of Embarcadero (formerly First Street). In contrast to their impressive building at 16th St, SP’s 1st St & Broadway station seems to have been a simple platform in the roadway. Prior to the advent of Amtrak on 1 May 1971 no regular passenger trains had run through between 16th St and 1st St & Broadway. SP trains arriving in Oakland from the north called at 16th St and those arriving from the south called at 1st & Broadway, in each case then continuing to Oakland Pier to connect with ferries for San Francisco. SP through carriages from the Pacific Northwest worked via Sacramento and Stockton to southern California, not across Oakland as Amtrak’s Starlight now does. At some date between 1951 and 1957, 1st & Broadway station was renamed Jack London Square, but it was not on the same site as the present Jack London Square station, which is some four streets to the east. Not until 1958 did SP give up Oakland - San Francisco ferries in favour of buses on the Bay Bridge (which had opened in 1936). In (or by) 1958 the line from the south and 1st & Broadway station closed to passengers, leaving 16th St as SP’s only Oakland passenger station, where trains terminated instead of running through.

The present Oakland Jack London Square station is at Webster Street crossing, milepost 6.83. It is owned by the Port of Oakland, along with the whole of Jack London Square itself, part of the former docklands now redeveloped for leisure and entertainment. Demolition of warehouses started 20 January 1993, but no contract for the station was let until 1 February 1994. The new building was ceremonially dedicated 12 May 1995, with train services starting 22 May 1995, thus restoring a passenger station in the city of Oakland (PTJ, #211, July 1995; these dates correct the April 1995 date displayed at the station itself, quoted in R.2872). The double-track line has a loop through the station, whose platforms serve only the loop and the more northerly running-line, the other running-line being for freight only. The building, on the north side, is dedicated to Cottrell Lawrence Dellums (1900-1989; co-founder in 1937 of the Brotherhood of Sleeping-Car Porters). At first a pair of trains from/to Sacramento still turned at Emeryville, but in 2004 all intrastate Amtrak workings serve all four of Richmond, Berkeley, Emeryville and Jack London Square, the San Joaquins terminating at Jack London Square and the Capitol Corridor trains continuing south to San Jose. Planned but not yet built is a new Amtrak Capitol Corridor station in Oakland next to BART’s Coliseum/Airport station (R.2155).

Circumstances thus seem to have forced some of Amtrak’s changes in the California Zephyr’s Bay Area terminus (R.3652). Amtrak were keen to move to the new Jack London Sq station when it was being planned in 1993, but completion was delayed and the Zephyr had to continue using the unattractive 17th & Wood until, with the new loop available, it was able to use Emeryville in August 1994. However, in the spring (April) 1995 timetable, the Zephyr was booked to run forward to Jack London Square as soon as it opened, and it continued terminating at Jack London Square in the spring/summer (reissued June) 1995 timetable and in each timetable thereafter to spring/summer 1997. Since the fall/winter 1997-98 timetable the California Zephyr has again terminated at Emeryville, which allows the empty stock to run directly to and from Amtrak’s Oakland yard without a back-up movement. Emeryville has also been regarded as having better road access than Jack London Square to various parts of the Bay Area, and was latterly chosen as the interchange point where passengers from the California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight board Amtrak’s dedicated Thruway buses to San Francisco.

Western Pacific was the other pre-Amtrak passenger railroad working long-distance trains west to the Bay Area. At some time during the depression years of the 1930s they ceased to use their own Western Pacific Mole at Oakland, and their own ferries to San Francisco, and began using rival SP’s pier and ferries (R.2874). WP however retained their own town depot at Oakland 3rd Street, where long-distance trains simply stopped to set down passengers in the roadway opposite WP’s passenger building, whose frontage did not project beyond the building line of other structures facing the street. After World War II, WP’s California Zephyr streamliner (routed via Stockton and the Altamont Pass to Oakland) started 20 March 1949. It called first at 3rd St then at Oakland SP Pier. When the SP ferries ceased in 1958, WP’s Zephyr was cut back to terminate at 3rd St, with bus connections to San Francisco, until WP ceased all passenger operations in 1970. The WP building (opened 22 August 1910, closed 22 March 1970) became a restaurant in 1975 and (in 2002 at least) was still standing at 468-480 Third Street, on the north side, between Broadway and Washington. Two tarred strips in the middle of the roadway marked where the WP rails once ran. (Much of the above historical material is from various issues, some specifically mentioned, of the much-lamented Passenger Train Journal, which ceased publication with its 228th issue in December 1996)

3843][US] Hoboken, NJ - Port Jervis, NY - Binghamton, NY: A 650km round-trip is planned from Hoboken Terminal via New Jersey Transit’s commuter route to Port Jervis, then on former Erie Railroad trackage, now freight-only, north along the Pennsylvania/New York state line up the Delaware River and on west to Binghamton. Last passenger train on this route may have been as long ago as 27 November 1966. Concorde Spirit Tours hope to use Amtrak haulage with Amfleet coaches plus the vintage private car New York Central 3 on their Erie Limited fall-foliage excursion on Saturday 25 September 2004. Information: http://www.ticketweb.com

3844][AR] Buenos Aires Once de Septiembre - Bragado - Carlos Casares - Lincoln: On the 1676mm-gauge ex-Sarmiento line out of Buenos Aires Once terminus, Ferrobaires passenger trains to Lincoln (R.1354, 1971) ceased in August 2001 because of flooding and track damage, and latterly ran to Carlos Casares only (R.3347). A regular service to Lincoln was however to be restored from 28 May 2004. (World-Rail-Gen yahoogroup)

3845][CI][BF] Abidjan - Dimbokro - Bobo Dioulasso [CI] - Ouagadougou [BF]: Closed by political unrest and violence in 2002, Sitarail’s French-built metre-gauge railway tentatively reopened in late 2003, including the section north across the frontier to the capital of Burkina Faso. Though the whole line has been declared open to freight, from September 2003 to April 2004 only nine cross-border freight train movements were recorded and only some 20 within Côte d’Ivoire. Abidjan - Dimbokro passenger services run three times a week, and in early May 2004 Sitarail confirmed reinstatement of an Abidjan - Bobo Dioulasso passenger train at least once weekly, departing Abidjan 09:00 Thursday, arriving Bobo Dioulasso 07:00 Friday, returning south on Saturday. Only first- and second-class seats are available. Unfortunately, since February 2004 Sitarail have been unable to pay the railway’s employees in Burkina Faso, so they have understandably been on indefinite strike, and the passenger train could not be extended from Bobo Dioulasso to Ouagadougou. The political situation in Côte d’Ivoire remains tense, with rebel or criminal gangs making some parts of the interior unsafe, and trains are escorted by numbers of armed soldiers. At the end of April 2004 police stopped a Dimbokro - Abidjan passenger train in a fruitless search for armed gangsters supposed to be on board, delaying it by 6h. (Fahrplancenter, via World-Rail-Gen yahoogroup)

3846][BE] (Antwerpen -) Lier - Wolfstee - Herentals - Mol - Zolder - Hasselt: (Ball 8B3-9A3) To serve the industrial area 1km south-west of Herentals (R.0670), NMBS on 13 June 2004 opened a new Wolfstee halt, presumably near to (or perhaps on the same site as) the Herentals-Kanaal halt which closed 26 September 1993 (along with some thirty other lightly-used stops across Belgium; BLN 716.06). Zolder, also closed 26 September 1993, likewise reopened 13 June 2004.

3847][DE] Klinkum - Wegberg-Wildenrath: (Ball 37A2 not shown) Diverging due south from the Mönchengladbach - Wegberg - Klinkum - Arsbeck - Dalheim line, this non-passenger branch serves Prüfzentrum Wildenrath, Siemens’ rolling-stock test-centre on the site of the former British Royal Air Force Wildenrath airfield (R.3492). On Saturday 3 July 2004 two half-day excursions from Mönchengladbach Hbf are planned, each including a circuit of the main oval test-track. The stock to be used is DGEG’s preserved Schi-Stra rail-and-road bus (Schienenbus-Strassenbus) in rail mode. (OEIS)

3848][DE] Radebeul Ost - Moritzburg - Radeburg: (Ball 44A2) Though transfer of employment contracts from DB subsidiary Bahnreinigungsgesellschaft (BRG) to the local company BVO Bahn GmbH was planned for 1 April 2004, and at least one train-crew member who spoke to our reporter on 16 April thought that he already had a new employer (R.2683, 3768), in practice the formal transfer took much longer, being delayed at least twice and not being completed until midnight on 10 June 2004! At that hour DB Netz also handed over the track and fixed assets, and DB Regio the rolling-stock, to BVO Bahn, ending the interest of the DB Group in the 750mm-gauge Lössnitztalbahn or Lössnitzgrundbahn. DB have it in mind also to transfer to BVO Bahn the flood-damaged 750mm-gauge Weisseritztalbahn (Freital-Hainsberg - Kurort Kipsdorf; R.2366) but this was not included in the June package.

3849][DE][AT] Kiefersfelden - Wachtl am Thiersee: (Ball 71B1 not shown) Heidelberger Zement’s overhead-wired 5km 900mm-gauge Wachtlbahn that brought limestone from quarries at Wachtl in Austria over the border to Kiefersfelden in Bavaria was to see farewell passenger trips in May 2003 before complete closure of the line (R.2794). Nonetheless, summer 2004 round-trips from Kierfersfelden are advertised on 26,27 Jun, 10,11,24,25 Jul, 21,22 Aug, 4,5,18,19 Sep and 2,3 Oct, leaving at 12:20SuO, 14:30 and 16:30. An 18:20SO trip is also to run, subject to demand. (OEIS)

3850][AT] Linz trams: (Simonysstrasse -) Hillerstrasse - Bahnhof Ebelsberg - solarCity Zentrum: (R.1632) Work began on this 2.3km extension of the city’s 900mm-gauge line #2 on 9 June 2004, with a target opening-date of end-2005. (LRTA)

3851][CZ] Chocen - Vysoke Myto - Vysoke Myto mesto - Cerekvike nad Loucnou - Litomysl: (Ball 36B1-41B3) This branch may be threatened with closure. On a Saturday afternoon in late May 2004, the single-unit railcar waited connections at Chocen and left 15min late, with over 20 passengers. A siding into a works just north of Vysoke Myto station (km8) was still in use, and a freight locomotive was in the station sidings. The ‘town’ station, Vysoke Myto mesto (km9), was busy, with around a dozen passengers alighting and a similar number boarding. To the south the line runs on central reservation down the middle of a street. Many passengers alighted at Cerekvike nad Loucnou (km16), but around a dozen travelled through to the terminus Litomysl (km24). Most of the lost time was recovered, and the railcar was only a couple of minutes late departing on the return journey, well-filled with day-trippers, most of whom travelled through to Chocen.

3852][CZ] Mikulovice - Zlate Hory: (Ball 37A1) This 9km branch runs along the southern bank of a river forming the Czech-Polish border. Notwithstanding both countries’ long-awaited accession to the European Union, in late May 2004 most of the road bridges over the river seemed to be in a state of disrepair, and others had barriers on them allowing pedestrians but not vehicles to cross. At the branch terminus, Zlate Hory, freight sidings were still in place but had not been used recently. The unstaffed station is sited well away from the town of Zlate Hory (= golden hills), perhaps accounting for poor patronage of the railcar in each direction on a Monday-afternoon round-trip.

3853][CZ] Tremesna ve Slezsku - Slezske Rudoltice - Osoblaha: (Ball 37A1) Reminiscent of the 13km 760mm-gauge Welshpool & Llanfair heritage railway in Wales, this 20km 760mm-gauge line meanders through pleasantly rolling but sparsely-populated countryside to terminate on the outskirts of a village close to the Polish border. In May 2004 this railway had the only narrow-gauge passenger trains still run by state operators Ceske Drahy. The 18:12 eastbound departure from Tremesna comprised a Class 705 diesel locomotive and a single coach carrying eight passengers, all of whom made the connection off main-line trains. Most alighted at the one settlement of any significance, Slezske Rudoltice (km8). Osoblaha station retains a substantial locomotive-shed alongside the platform. Our reporter took a short walk from the village end of the station approach-road for c.100m along a path heading east towards Poland, but saw no obvious sign of the border. Returning to the station, he was initially the only passenger on the last ‘up’ train of the day, though two more joined before Tremesna.

3854][CZ] Sumperk - Petrov nad Desnou - Velke Losiny - Kouty nad Desnou and Petrov nad Desnou - Sobotin: (Ball 41B3-37A1) Privatised in 1997-98 (BLN 822.0130, 836.0532), these two branches are now operated by Connex, who have significantly recast the timings from those in the 2004 CD timetable book, though they appear correctly on CD’s website. CD rover tickets are not valid, but Connex tickets can be bought at Sumperk, at other staffed stations or on the trains, and the total cost of travelling on both branches in mid-May 2004, 44km in all, came to less than GBP2 or EUR3. Both lines run up well-populated valleys, and the ex-CD railbuses and trailers, repainted and internally refurbished, seemed busy. Beyond the junction at Petrov nad Desnou (km6) the longer branch climbs quite steeply, passing ski-lifts to terminate in the narrow upper valley of the river Desna at Kouty (km19). At Sobotin (9km from Sumperk) the line runs c.200m beyond the station to a timber-loading siding. Very restricted opening-hours at the stations that are staffed and train-crew operation of the points at Velke Losiny passing-loop (km10) show how Connex have tried hard to contain running costs.

3855][CZ] Bruntal - Rudna pod Pradedem zastavka - Mala Moravka: (Ball 42A3-37A1) In summer 2004 this line retained a limited service of five round-trips on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. On an unseasonably cold Sunday in late May, the morning railcar carried only three other passengers, two of them remaining on board to the terminus. The line runs through remote uplands before dropping steeply from the penultimate stop, Rudna pod Pradedem zastavka (km14) to Mala Moravka station (km17), in a deep valley some way from the town. Apart from a siding in use to serve a factory close to the main-line junction, no freight traffic was in evidence, and track quality was poor with low speed on most of the branch. To avoid a 90min wait for the return working our reporter decided to walk c.11km south to Rymarov, terminus of the Valsov - Rymarov branch. However, this turned out to be more of an adventure than expected. After exposure to heavy snow-showers on the road, he welcomed the offer of a lift the last 3km to the home-brew inn in Rymarov.

3856][CZ] Breclav - Postorna - Lednice: (Ball 41B2) This 12km branch has a restricted summer-only service (in 2004 four round-trips on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from mid-April to end-September, plus two round-trips on Tuesdays to Fridays from 11 May to 18 June). CD advertise the line as operated by heritage stock, which on a Tuesday in mid-May 2004 turned out to be an elderly Class 830 railbus pulling a slightly more modern trailer. Six people boarded the outward train, all countryside-walkers apart from our reporter and one other, who were the only two passengers on the return working. At the unstaffed branch terminus, the driver was unconcerned by our reporter remaining aboard the railcar while it ran round its trailer. No-one boarded or alighted at any of the intermediate stations. A factory siding just east of Postorna station was the only evidence of freight possibly remaining on the branch.

3857][PT] Porto metro: Estádio do Dragão - Campanhã - Heroísmo - 24 de Agosto - Bolhão - Trindade (- Senhora da Hora - Senhor de Matosinhos): (Ball 7A1) On Saturday 5 June Portugal’s prime minister formally inaugurated this 3.5km extension of Metro do Porto’s standard-gauge light-rail system, and public service started 6 June 2004, with the Linha Azul (= Blue line; also known as line A) now extending to some 16km. The new eastern terminus Estádio do Dragaõ was originally to have been called Antas (the name of the neighbourhood), and the Blue line east of the interchange at Porto Campanhã CP station was to have been part of a much later phase of construction (Gondomar - Antas - Campanhã; not mentioned in R.2653). However, with Dragão stadium hosting several ties in the Euro 2004 football competition beginning on 12 June, finance was found to bring forward the 1.2km one-station surface section of the Metro to open just in time for the first match. From Campanhã the 2.3km section west to Trindade, with three intermediate stations, is entirely in tunnel beneath the city.

Work on the three other Metro lines is also proceeding. On the Linha Vermelho (= Red line; line B), Eurotrams from Campanhã and Trindade should be running north to Pedras Rubras by summer 2004, to Mindelo by end-2004, and to Póvoa de Varzim by late 2005, along former CP metre-gauge alignment (Senhora da Hora - Fonte do Cuco - Pedras Rubras - Mindelo - Póvoa de Varzim). An entirely new branch of the Red line to serve Aeroporto Internacional Francisco Sá Carneiro (OPO airport) near Pedras Rubras has secured European Union financing and could also open by late 2005. Government approval has been given to double track for the whole Red line, and for the Fonte do Cuco - Castelo da Maia section of the Linha Verde (= Green line; line C) which is to open by September 2005. The Castelo da Maia - Trofa section of the Green line, also using former CP metre-gauge alignment, awaits further approval. The north-south Linha Amarela (= Yellow line; line D) is an entirely new alignment intersecting with the other routes at Trindade, crossing the river Douro on the upper level of the Luis I bridge, and running on the surface through the municipality of Gaia (Hospital de São João - Trindade - Câmara Municipal de Gaia - Santo Ovídio). Target opening-dates are São João - Câmara de Gaia in spring 2005 and Câmara de Gaia - Santo Ovídio by end-2005. (http://www.metro-porto.pt; http://www.urbanrail.net)

3858][PT] Sintra heritage trams: (Sintra Vila - Estacão CP -) Vila Alda - Ribeira de Sintra depot - Colares - Banzão - Praia das Maçâs: (Ball 25A1 not shown) The metre-gauge Sintra-Atlântico electric tramway opened from Sintra Vila down the Rio Colares valley to Colares on 31 March 1904 and from Colares to the Atlantic coast at Praia das Maçãs (= ‘apple beach’) on 10 July 1904, but the line later closed and reopened more than once. (A Praia das Maçâs - Azenhas do Mar extension north along the coast, opened 31 January 1930, closed permanently 31 October 1954.) When Stagecoach Portugal’s operating concession expired on 31 December 1999 (R.0488), the remaining Ribeira - Praia das Maçâs public tourist services ceased, but charters ran during 2000 (R.0503). Since the last closure, the line’s present owners Câmara Municipal de Sintra have spent over EUR3M on rebuilding work (R.3072). Re-inauguration (and centennial) festivities took place on Friday 4 June, and a restored public service began on Saturday 5 June 2004. Long queues formed to board the tiny cars, and over 3000 passengers travelled during the first two weekends. From Friday to Sunday public trips are on offer, at a bargain one-way fare of EUR1 (rather cheaper than under the Stagecoach regime!; R.0075). From Tuesday to Thursday the trams are reservable by groups. The tramway now runs from a Sintra town terminus in front of Vila Alda (close to the Museu de Arte Moderna in the Estefânea district) mostly along the roadside for c.12km to Praia das Maçãs, but Sintra council hope to re-extend it to start from Sintra CP station (R.0154), with a target-date of 2005.

3859][PT] Lisboa Oriente - Roma/Areeiro - Entrecampos - Sete Rios - Campolide - Lisboa Rossio: (R.3573; Ball 25B1) On Sundays 13 June, 20 June and 4 July 2004, during the Euro 2004 football competition, CP were running trains every 30min from 15:20 to 23:50 on this route round the north of the city. Though every part of the route is served by ordinary timetabled trains, Lisboa’s Rossio terminus does not normally see direct running from the northern ring line.

3860][PT] Lisboa guideway: Paço de Arcos CP - Tapada do Mocho - Oeiras Parque (- Lagoas Parque - Tagus Parque - Cacém CP): Portugal’s prime minister inaugurated the driverless Sistema Automático de Transporte Urbano de Oeiras on Monday 7 June 2004 (R.3659, 3804). Public service began 8 June 2004. The initial 1150m line runs 07:00-23:00 daily, from SATUO’s own Estação dos Navegantes (adjacent to Paço de Arcos station on CP’s Lisboa Cais do Sodré - Cascais line; Ball 25A1) via an intermediate stop at Tapada do Mocho to Oeiras Parque shopping-centre. Fares are EUR1 one-way, EUR1.50 round-trip, EUR2.50 day-ticket. Inspired by a visit to the monorail in Sydney, Australia, the automated people-mover system was originally designed (and is still sometimes described) as a monorail, but the original design was found to be incompatible with a gradient of up to 12% and with the desired noise-levels, and the guideway as built has no single running-rail. Nor is the line a true funicular, though the cars are cable-hauled. SATUO somewhat resembles the 1989 POMA line that climbs from the SNCF station to the cathedral and the town-centre in Laon, France, and the ‘Tram’ cable-hauled air-cushion people-mover that winds up the hillside north-west of downtown Los Angeles, CA to the 1997 Getty art museum (BLN 821.0111). Plans are for SATUO to be extended to Lagoas Parque in 2006 and to Tagus Parque in 2008, while Oeiras council are also discussing with neighbouring local authorities a possible further extension north to Cacém station on CP’s Lisboa - Sintra line.

3861][PT][ES] Entroncamento - Abrantes - Torre das Vargens - Portalegre - Elvas CP (- Badajoz RENFE) and Torre das Vargens - Marvão-Beirã CP (- Valencia de Alcántara RENFE): (R.0568, 1380, 1961, 3075; Ball 26B3-27A3-27B2) CP’s 6 June 2004 timetable shows two Entroncamento - Torre das Vargens - Elvas workings daily, with connecting Torre das Vargens - Marvão-Beirã trains, all terminating short of the border with Spain. Neither cross-border route now has a day service, and the Elvas - Badajoz section has closed to passengers. Long-distance TrenHotel #335/332 Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Madrid-Chamartín continues, running overnight via Marvão-Beirã - Valencia de Alcántara (R.3572).

3862][PT] Lagos - Odeáxere - Tunes - Almansil-Nexe - Parque das Cidades - Faro: (Ball 33A2-33B2) CP’s 6 June 2004 timetable shows passenger trains no longer serving Odeáxere halt 6km east of Lagos on the Linha do Algarve. Conversely, notwithstanding R.3834, trains continue to call at Almansil-Nexe 8.8km west of Faro, though this halt is very close to the new station at Faro’s stadium, Parque das Cidades. Also modifying R.3834, two Lisboa Oriente - Beja through trains run each way.

3863][ES] Lleida-Pirineus=Lerida-Pirineos - La Pobla de Segur: (R.3409; Ball 14A1-14A3) The Catalonian authorities fear that Spain’s national government are inattentive to the need for upgrading this uneconomic RENFE branch (89km, single-track, unelectrified), so they have agreed in principle that the provincial railways Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya should take over the line. In the foreseeable future, as well as rack, funicular and cable-car operations, FGC will thus be running trains on tracks of three gauges: metre, standard 1435mm and broad 1668mm.

3864][ES] Barcelona trams: Trambaix line T3 was duly extended from Montesa to Sant Martí de l’Erm Estació on 29 May 2004 (R.3738, 3806). Montesa junction is a triangle whose west-to-north curve has no public service. All three sides are double-track, but north of the triangle the line becomes single track, continuing with no intermediate stop for c.1km north to the (temporary) T3 terminus at Sant Martí de l’Erm Estació, which has a passing-loop. Just before Sant Martí de l’Erm Estació, a single-track south-to-west curve diverges to join line T2 end-on at its nearby Sant Martí de l’Erm Baixador terminus. This curve has no public service and it is not possible to run directly between the two termini. The outer end of line T2 (Bon Viatge - Sant Martí de l’Erm Baixador) is also single-track, with passing-loops at all stations. Target opening-dates are July 2004 for the extension of Trambesòs line T4 south (Glòries - Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica), and December 2004 for Trambaix line T3 north (Sant Martí de l’Erm Estació - Consell Comarcal).

3865][ES] Madrid suburban: New RENFE suburban stations are Alcalá-La Garena, opened 22 May 2004 on the (Madrid -) Torrejón de Ardoz - Alcalá-La Garena - Alcalá de Henares (- Guadalajara) line (Ball 21A2) and Parque Polvoranca, opened 8 June 2004 on the (Madrid -) Leganés - Parque Polvoranca - La Serna (- Cáceres) line (Ball 22A2).

3866][ES] Mallorca: (Palma - Inca -) Enllaç - Sineu - Manacor: (Ball 38A1-38A2) After infrastructure repairs (R.3665, 3807), Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca restored passenger trains on the (Inca -) Enllaç - Sineu section on 18 June 2004. Target-date for reopening Sineu - Manacor remains 15 September 2004.

3867][IT] (Bologna -) Casalecchio-Garibaldi - Bazzano - Vignola: (Ball 49A1-47B2) The line closed to ordinary passenger trains in 1976, but until 1995 a vintage electric unit of Azienda Trasporti Consorziale di Modena ran annually to Vignola for visitors to the local fair. Sunday 30 May 2004 saw this tradition revived by the first passenger-carrying train back to Vignola, worked by a Class ALn 668 diesel unit (as used daily on the section to Bazzano, re-inaugurated 13 September, reopened 15 September 2003; R.3316). Regular Bologna - Bazzano - Vignola service is to begin Monday 13 September 2004, initially with the diesel railcars, for the planned electric units (R.3741, 3774) are not expected to be available for use by then.

3868][ID] Jakarta monorail: Work was to begin in mid-June 2004 on a monorail for the Indonesian capital, with target opening-dates of (Green line; 14.8km) December 2006 and (Blue line; 12.2km) early 2007. (Jakarta Post)

3869][US] Memphis, TN: heritage trams: The city opened its first heritage streetcar line in 1993. A c.3km extension to Medical Center opened spring 2004.

3870][US][CA] (New York, NY -) Albany-Rensselaer - Schenectady - Saratoga Springs - Rouses Point, NY - Cantic, QC - Montréal, QC: New York state have reportedly told Amtrak that after 30 September 2004 they are not going to subsidise the Adirondack for its run on the section from Albany north to the border and on to Montreal. This could just be part of political negotiations about finance, but it is possible the Adirondack could share the fate of Amtrak’s International (Chicago, IL - Toronto, ON), withdrawn in April 2004 (R.3586, 3710). Amtrak’s Ethan Allen (New York, NY - Albany-Rensselaer - Schenectady - Saratoga Springs, NY - Rutland, VT), running on part of the same route, is subsidised by Vermont state.

3871][US] Pittsburgh, PA: light rail: Maintenance problems in 1993 closed Port Authority of Allegheny County’s classic 8km Overbrook line, but after major reconstruction it reopened 2 June 2004, with eight high-platform stations. (LRTA)

3872][PE] Lima - Huancayo Central: Reintroduced in 2003 (R.2785), the timetabled tourist trains on this 335km section of the Ferrocarril Central del Perú, the world’s highest standard-gauge railway, have so far been poorly supported and some trips have been cancelled. The railway administration are not convinced of the value of scheduled passenger trains on the line and it is possible that in future only relatively expensive upmarket charter trains may run, restricting for the individual traveller the possibility of an affordable trip on this magnificent railway. However, locally-based travel company Incas del Peru, seeing an opportunity to promote tourism on the line, have bought 100 tickets for the next departure (out from Lima on 28 July and back from Huancayo on 31 July 2004) and are selling these at the normal fare of USD30 (=c.GBP17 =c.EUR26) per round-trip. If their initiative is a success, Incas del Peru may themselves charter the train and run more regular trips. European ticket-agents are Fahrplancenter of Switzerland (http://www.fahrplancenter.com).

3873][AR] Buenos Aires suburban: Plaza Constitución - La Plata: (BLN 849.0261) On Sunday 30 May 2004 a serious fire, possibly started deliberately, destroyed the relay-room installed in 1982-84 by Japanese contractors Marubeni during 25kV 50Hz electrification of the 1676mm-gauge General Roca line out of Plaza Constitución, putting out of action all controlled signals and points for up to 2km from the buffer-stops. This large 14-platform capital-city terminus was forced to revert to hand-operation of points. Provincial operators Ferrobaires were able to use platforms 13 and 14 for their relatively infrequent longer-distance trains, but commuter-train franchisees Metropolitano were initially restricted to just four platforms, two for local electric units and two for diesels. Forced to reduce frequencies, Metropolitano lengthened some electric trains (Plaza Constitución - Avellaneda - Temperley - Ezeiza / Glew - Alejandro Korn) to nine carriages. Diesel trains, some augmented to seven carriages, ran a stopping service Plaza Constitución - Avellaneda - Quilmes - Berazategui - Villa Eliza - La Plata, with no fast trains to La Plata. To minimise traffic at Plaza Constitución, Metropolitano at first offered connections at Quilmes for Temperley, but by mid-June unused electric equipment had been borrowed from signal-cabins at Longchamps and Monte Grande, and Metropolitano were able to use eight platforms at Plaza Constitución, offering diesel locomotive-hauled trains every 15min, alternately to La Plata and via the usual Circuito route to Temperley (Plaza Constitución - Quilmes - Berazategui - Bosques - Temperley). Metropolitano’s performance has come under some criticism locally, and the company’s franchise may be threatened. (mainly World-Rail-Gen yahoogroup)

3874][BE] (Gent -) Wondelgem - Zelzate NMBS (- Sas-van-Gent NS - Sluiskil - Boerengat / Terneuzen): (R.2973; Ball 8A3) The new 10km alignment of NMBS line 55 from Ringvaart in Wondelgem to Avrijevaart in Rieme was to see its first freight trains on Monday 28 June 2004.

3875][BE] Antwerpen Berchem - Antwerpen Haven: (Ball 8B3) The area available for buses and minibuses to wait near Haven station in Antwerpen’s busy docklands constrains the use of this station as the interchange for public transport planned to relieve highway congestion during the June-December 2004 works on the city’s ring-road. NMBS say their Berchem - Haven trains are limited to a maximum of a dozen round-trips a day (R.3828), and they are promoting Antwerpen-Noorderdokken station on the Antwerpen - Rotterdam main line as the principal interchange for public buses and for transport arranged by private firms. All normal ticketing arrangements apply, and fares charged reflect the fact that both Haven and Noorderdokken (= northern docks) lie outside the Antwerpen city tariff zone. Timings and full information (in .pdf format) can be downloaded from http://www.b-rail.be/. Click Dienstregeling, then Brochures dienstregeling, then Aanbod grote steden, then Minder Hinder Antwerpen. (minder hinder = less inconvenience)

3876][AT] Linz Urfahr - Ottensheim - Rottenegg - Rohrbach-Berg - Aigen-Schlägl: (Ball 73B3-62B1) Ottensheim has timber traffic, but to the north ÖBB’s Mühlkreisbahn appears to be passenger-only. The inner section of the line, through the suburbs of Linz to Rottenegg, carries quite heavy commuter traffic, but the outer section from Rottenegg north to Aigen-Schlägl has poorer passenger loadings, and the flood-damage of August 2002 (R.2523) seriously threatened its survival. However, the affected track has since seen improved drainage and deep-ballasting, so the line may now have a more secure future. On the first round-trip of the day from Linz out to Aigen-Schlägl on 3 May 2004, the inbound train at 09:23 from Aigen-Schlägl carried a sizeable passenger load. Most services are worked by Class 5047 railcars, singly or in multiple, but at least one semi-fast Eilzug train-pair (E3110/1 06:33 Linz Urfahr - Rottenegg 07:08 - Linz Urfahr) is worked by a locomotive and coaches. Steam tank locomotive #494.62 is plinthed at Rohrbach-Berg.

3877][ES] Zaragoza - Muel - Cariñena - Caminreal - Villafranca del Campo - Cella - Teruel (- Sagunt): (Ball 13A1-12B1-22B2) From 21 June to 14 October 2004 buses replace trains on the 50km Zaragoza-Delicias - Cariñena section, allowing RENFE to speed up works on the line from Zaragoza 173km south-east to the provincial capital Teruel, in particular on two new viaducts being built to replace the present alignment north of Muel. For two unspecified weeks in summer 2004 RENFE plan also to close two other sections further south, Caminreal - Villafranca del Campo and Villafranca del Campo - Cella. On reopening, works are to continue on all three sections, without impeding trains, until October 2005. In June 2004 a further contract, for Muel - Cariñena, was about to be let, and was expected to last for 18 months. Each section is to be fitted with ASFA and ERTMS train-control, allowing high-speed running (up to 200km/h) where curvature and gradients permit. For the present, however, the line is to remain single-track, unelectrified - and broad-gauge (R.2141). The four sections being upgraded total 81km of the 173km, and completion of work on them will allow Zaragoza - Teruel journey-times to be reduced by 30min, or by 40min using a Tren Regional Diesel. Further work on the Zaragoza - Teruel line is at the design stage, but Teruel - Sagunt upgrading still looks some way off.

3878][ES] (Barcelona -) Torelló - Ripoll (- Ribas de Freser - Puigcerdà RENFE - La Tour de Carol SNCF): (Ball 15A2) Opened to Puigcerda in 1922 (R.2930) and through to La Tour de Carol in France in 1929 (R.3409), this international route celebrates its 75th anniversary on 21 July 2004. Between 6 August and 2 December 2004, however, buses are to replace trains during closure of the Torelló - Ripoll section for upgrading work, mainly to ease the many 20-30km/h speed restrictions.

3879][ES] (Madrid-Chamartín -) Fuencarral - El Goloso (- Colmenar Viejo - Aranda de Duero - Burgos): (R.3076, 3436; EGTRE ES04/16; Ball 22A3) The only through train on RENFE’s threatened Directo de Burgos route, the daily Madrid - Aranda de Duero - Burgos - Bilbao / Hendaye diesel TALGO working normally takes the direct line between Fuencarral and El Goloso, leaving the slightly longer loop via Cantoblanco Universidad to Cercanías suburban electric units terminating at Colmenar Viejo. However, works on the direct line on 22 June 2004 caused the TALGOs to run via Cantoblanco Universidad.

3880][ES] Madrid metro: On 19 June 2004 Metro de Madrid (http://www.metromadrid.es) began major works which closed line #2 partly (Cuatro Caminos - Sol closed; Sol - Ventas remains open) and line #3 completely (Moncloa - Legazpi). Line #2 tunnels are to be reinforced. Line #3 is to be equipped with rigid overhead rail supplying the 1500V dc current, and is to have platforms extended for six-coach trains. Target-date for reopening both sections is late September 2004.

3881][IT] Parma - Torrile (- Piadena - Brescia): (Ball 47A2) Works in connection with the Bologna - Milano high-speed line (R.3743) have temporarily closed this section, as well as the Parma - Sorbolo (- Guastalla - Suzzara) section (R.3774).

3882][IT] Padova rail-guided trolleybuses: Padova’s Metrobus system is to comprise three lines: (north-south Blue line #1) Pontevigodarzere - Stazione FS - Guizza; (east-west Red line #2) Rubano - Stazione FS - Viganza; and (centre-southeast Yellow line #3) Stazione FS - Ospedale - Voltabarozzo. The trolleybuses run on rubber-tyred wheels and draw electric power from overhead wiring, but are guided mechanically by pairs of small diagonally-mounted wheels pressing on a single tram-rail recessed into the roadway. The Translohr technology has been developed by the Alsace-based French company Lohr, so although similar it is not identical to Bombardier’s problematic Transport sur Voie Réservée technology as used in Nancy (R.2127) and Caen (R.2548). On Wednesday 2 June 2004, a public holiday, test-running was under way in the city-centre. When a ‘tram’ laden with civic dignitaries stopped it was boarded by our reporter, and his curiosity was rewarded with a simple press pack describing the system.

3883][SY][JO] (Damas=Damascus Kanawat -) Cadem - Dera’a - Amman: The strategic Hedjaz Railway, with its curious gauge of 1050mm, was built by the Turkish Ottoman Empire of the early 20th century. Though its historic northern terminus, Damascus Kanawat, has been taken out of use (R.3368) and all the tracks there are lifted, including the running line through the city to Cadem, international passenger service continues to link the capital cities of Syria and Jordan. The Syrian train was seen arriving at Damascus Cadem on 17 May 2004, comprising a diesel locomotive followed by an adapter-wagon (to match incompatible couplings) then an elderly passenger coach marshalled in front of a rake of freight wagons. Passengers have to change at Dera’a, the Syrian border-station, for only the freight wagons work through, the locomotives and coaches returning to their respective capitals. The Syrian locomotive plus adapter-wagon and coach with passengers aboard reverses on the wye at Dera’a that was once the triangular junction for the long-gone line to the port of Haifa, now in Israel. Hedjaz Jordan Railway’s twice-weekly Dera’a - Amman mixed train is Jordan’s only scheduled passenger service. On 17 May 2004 the HJR train from Amman comprised a US-built General Electric diesel locomotive hauling two passenger coaches with benches along the sides, clearly dating from the early days of the railway, plus through boxcars for Syria. HJR seem to be planning to continue the service, for also in Amman were two modernised passenger coaches, not yet ready for use. (IBSE Telegramm)

3884][AU] Melbourne - Geelong - Warrnambool: The section of this 1600mm-gauge ‘country’ line from the city of Geelong west to Warrnambool was threatened in the early 1990s, but since at least 1997 (BLN 803.0266) Melbourne - Geelong - Warrnambool passenger trains have been franchised to the private-sector West Coast Railway, partly Connex-owned, and notable until recently for running seasonal Saturday steam-hauled trains, including some focusing on offshore whale-watching! The WCR franchise was due to expire July 2004 (R.2664), but in the meantime the Victorian state government’s policy on railways has shifted. WCR are to continue to run the line until 31 August, but from 1 September 2004 state operators V/Line are to take over, initially keeping to the same timetables, including at least one Melbourne - Warrnambool round-trip by rail. (Warrnambool Standard, 9 June 2004, via World Rail Gen yahoogroup)

3885][US] Portland, ME - Freeport - Brunswick - Rockland, ME: Since Amtrak’s Boston, MA - Portland, ME Downeaster began running in December 2001 (to a ‘temporary’ passenger station at Thompson’s Point; R.2445), Maine Department of Transportation have wanted to extend passenger service from Portland north-east via Freeport (home of mail-order firm L L Bean and dozens of factory-outlet stores) to Brunswick. However, freight-railroad Guilford, notorious in the USA for being resistant to a passenger train sharing any of their track (R.3565), refused to allow Amtrak on to the CPF196-CP195-CP194-CPF185 (Mountain Jn - former Union Station - Deering Jn - Royal Jn) section of their Freight Main Line, saying that they particularly feared congestion along the 4km CP195-CP194 section in the Woodford district of urban Portland, with a dozen street-crossings and a gradient against southbound trains. Double-track when Maine Central passenger trains ceased in 1960, this section of the Freight Main Line is now 48km/h single-track.

To bypass the Woodford bottleneck, Maine DoT had therefore been planning an expensive new connecting railway that would leave the Freight Main Line near CP195 (site of the former Portland Union Station, removed 1961) and follow Guilford-Portland Terminal’s abandoned Union Branch eastwards around the north side of downtown Portland, crossing Back Cove northwards on a new fixed bridge to reach the end of (ex-Grand Trunk, now St.Lawrence & Atlantic) track at East Deering yard. Amtrak trains using this new line could then call at a more permanent station close to downtown Portland, continuing via East Deering and the SLR to Yarmouth Jn, where they would join Guilford’s Brunswick Branch to Freeport and Brunswick.

It was therefore something of a surprise when the governor of Maine and the president of Guilford Transportation Industries agreed that in summer 2004 several excursions would run from Portland via Freeport and Brunswick to festivals and special events in Rockland, on a ‘pilot’ basis. (Portland Press-Herald, 3 June 2004) It is not yet clear when these trains will run, nor where in Portland they will start. If the specials were to start from Portland’s present passenger station, they would need to back south-east on (passenger) track for c.1km to Portland CPF196 (Mountain Jn). Thereafter their route would be for 18km on Guilford’s Freight Main Line north past CP195 (former Union Station) and CP194 (Deering Jn) to CPF185 (Royal Jn); north-east for 26km on Guilford’s Brunswick Branch via CPL2 (Yarmouth Jn) to Brunswick (Rock Jn); and east for 91km on the (ex-Maine Central) state-owned Rock Jn - Rockland branch.

From 1991 freight-train operators Maine Coast had the contract to run the Rockland Branch and latterly also the 2.4km Rockland - Rockland Wharf branch (abandoned in the 1980s, reopened in the late 1990s). Both lines saw occasional passenger specials during this contract, which ended in 2000. Interim operators Safe Handling Rail ran no excursions but supervised major track-rebuilding at state expense, reportedly bringing the Rockland Branch up to 64km/h track speed. In 2004 the state’s contract is with short-line operators Maine Eastern (affiliated to New Jersey-based Morristown & Erie). Maine Eastern are to provide a four-car passenger train for the excursions from Portland. (adapted from Callboy, publication of Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts)

3886][IE] Dublin light rail: The electric trams that first served the city in 1896 ceased to run in July 1949. Building the new two-line Luas light-rail system with its standard-gauge Alstom trams has taken some three years longer than expected, but the southern line (St.Stephen’s Green - Sandyford; 9km; Green line) was eventually inaugurated on Wednesday 30 June (as announced in early 2004; R.3679). Several days of fare-free travel followed before revenue service began on Monday 5 July 2004. The western line (Connolly Station - Tallaght; 14km) is to open by 30 August 2004. Connex have a five-year contract to run both lines.

3887][IE] Limerick Jn - Tipperary - Cahir - Clonmel - Carrick-on-Suir - Waterford: (R.3677) On 7 October 2003 a bulk-cement train derailed on the viaduct just west of Cahir station, and the centre section collapsed into the river Suir (R.3350). Repair work has been taking rather longer than expected but an unofficial Iarnród Éireann source says the line may reopen throughout in early September 2004.

3888][FR] Auray - Baud - St.Nicolas-des-Eaux - Pontivy (- Loudéac - St.Brieuc): (Ball 31A3-20B1) SNCF ceased their ordinary passenger services from 2 October 1949, but the c.55km (ex-Paris-Orléans) Auray - Pontivy section north through the Breton countryside has remained open for freight (R.0025). Following the success of passenger charters in September 2003 (R.3325), SNCF agreed on 1 July 2004 that the line should host a Train Touristique Blavet-Océan on all nine Sundays in August and September 2004. Each train will run if at least 70% of the places are booked. Reservations can be made through the tourist offices in Auray (+33 2 9724 0975) or Pontivy (+33 2 9725 0410).

3889][FR] (Coutras -) Guîtres - Halte PN Moulin de Charlot (- Marcenais - Cavignac): (Ball 51B1) This heritage railway is operationally isolated at both ends from the RFF network. At Guîtres passenger working is not permitted for any significant distance east of the station towards the main-line junction and Coutras. Trains now seem to operate from Guîtres only as far as a halt at passage à niveau (= level-crossing) Moulin de Charlot, c.1km short of their previous western terminus at Marcenais. West of Marcenais the line seems to be lifted, and it is certainly severed at the former main-line junction at Cavignac. In summer 2004 trains run on Sundays and public holidays 1 May-31 Oct (with steam traction) and Wednesdays and Saturdays 15 Jul-31 Aug (with diesel traction). The single scheduled working is in the late afternoon: Guîtres 15:30 - 16:15 Moulin de Charlot 17:30 - 18:15 Guîtres. A detailed plan of the line is at http://cf-guitres.rail-france.org/Images/ligne.carte.gif.

3890][FR] Cahors - Cajarc - Capdenac: (Ball 61B2-62A3) Used in recent years only by summer tourist trains (R.3258), this line suffered a landslip in spring 2004 blocking it at the eastern (Capdenac) end (R.3720). A subsequent RFF/SNCF inspection of the track has also revealed many unsafe sleepers along its length, so the embargo on train-running now extends to the whole line. No QuercyRail tourist autorails are operating in 2004 from either end. With no resources to repair it, the line may have closed permanently. A separate report (Today’s Railways, #103, July 2004) says that Capdenac-based steam locomotive #141R568 and four coaches, approved for main-line running, have been put up for sale by owners CITEV.

3891][NL] Amsterdam trams: Already open to road traffic, the recent Piet Hein tunnel running approximately west-east beneath a harbour basin and the Amsterdam-Rijn Kanaal incorporates a separate parallel tunnel, not yet open, for the planned IJburgtram line #26. It has been decided to install an extra safety system in the tram-tunnel, and the opening of line #26 (Amsterdam Centraal - IJburg; 8.5km; R.3792) has been postponed. Target opening-date is now 30 May 2005.

3892][DE] Bad Oldesloe - Bad Segeberg - Neumünster Süd - Neumünster: (Ball 18A3-11A1-10B1) Since Bad Segeberg - Neumünster Süd reopened 15 December 2002 (R.3062), two-car articulated low-floor diesel units of Nordbahn, a company associated with Altona-Kaltenkirchen-Neumünster Eisenbahn, work through from Bad Oldesloe on this DB Netz line. Track is unsurprisingly now in good condition, and a midday service in May 2004 was quite busy. South of Neumünster Süd the DB line converges with AKN’s Hamburg-Eidelstedt - Ulzburg - Kaltenkirchen - Neumünster line and they are linked by a connection trailing in from the AKN line to the DB one. However, the final physical junction is north of the station.

3893][DE] (Saalfeld -) Hockeroda - Wurzbach - Heinersdorf - Unterlemnitz - Lobenstein - Harra - Blankenstein (Saale): (Ball 53A3) Speeds are quite low on this 39km passenger and freight branch from Hockeroda and trains have an intermediate reversal at Wurzbach (km19.4) in the course of their long climb to the 606m summit at Heinersdorf (km24). Unterlemnitz station (km28.3) sits in the vee of two converging lines. The original line was the one trailing in from Triptis on the north side. Still shiny at the junction in May 2004, it is now the 4.3km Unterlemnitz - Ebersdorf-Friesau (- Triptis) freight branch, according to the 2002 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland. A viaduct between Lobenstein (km30.9) and Harra (km36.5) is either new or has been substantially repaired. For c.1km before the terminus at Blankenstein a large paper mill dominates the view and provides traffic which must help sustain the line. Caustic-soda tank-wagons were present in the sidings, and it is possible timber for pulping may arrive, and paper product may depart, by rail.

3894][DE] (Augsburg Hbf -) Gessertshausen - Fischach - Langenneufnach - Mittelneufnach - Markt Wald (- Ettringen - Türkheim): (Ball 70B3-70B2) The Staudenbahn, a 27km section of former through route, runs south through the pleasant countryside of the Naturpark Augsburg Westliche Wälder (Stauden = shrubs, bushes; Wälder = woods). A community-based holding-company have taken over the branch infrastructure from DB Netz and a separate company, Bahnbetriebsgesellschaft Stauden mbH, run seasonal passenger trains. Through Augsburg Hbf - Markt Wald services are advertised to run thrice-daily on 23 days in summer 2004 (1,2,16,20,30 May; 6,10,19,20,26,27 Jun; 4,18,25 Jul; 1,15,22 Aug; 5,19,26 Sep; 2,3,10 Oct) with Augsburg Hbf - Fischach Nikolausfahrt Santa trains in December and occasional special trains starting from Markt Wald for off-line destinations. The Staudenbahn brochure, featuring local attractions and cycle- and walking-tour routes, depicts railcar BBG 05, hauled stock and - somewhat curiously - ÖBB diesel loco #2143 006-1. Information: http://www.staudenbahn.de

From Markt Wald south-east to Ettringen the track is lifted. However BBG Stauden also operate the separate section beyond the gap, now the c.10km freight-only Türkheim - Ettringen - Ostettringen branch. In recent years this has had an extension - not shown in the 2002 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland - diverging from the original route just north of Ettringen station and heading east for c.1.8km over the river Wertach to the new paper factory near Ostettringen which provides most of the traffic on the branch. An IBSE railtour visited Ostettringen on 29 May 2004.

3895][AT] Gmünd NÖ - Altnagelberg - Litschau; Altnagelberg - Heidenreichstein and Gmünd NÖ - Gross Gerungs: (R.1555, 1854; Ball 63B2-63B1) The three 760mm-gauge lines based on Gmünd NÖ continue to offer seasonal tourist trains of varying frequencies. (http://www.waldviertlerbahn.at) They have for long been a valuable asset in attracting visitors, a view now reportedly shared by the president of Niederösterreich province. Alas, his personal enthusiasm for tourism seems not to be shared by the local populace. Weekend visitors might surely have been expected, and welcomed, on the Sunday preceding Monday 3 May 2004, a public holiday. However, shops, cafes and most restaurants in the area remained firmly closed.

3896][AT] Lambach - Stadl-Paura - Vorchdorf-Eggenberg: (BLN 839.0600; Ball 73B2) In summer 2004 private operators Stern und Hafferl were still running this line with elderly Class ET20 electric railcars, built 1955-56. For c.2km south StH’s railcars share track with ÖBB’s Lambach - Stadl-Paura - Engelhof - Gmunden-Seebahnhof diesel-worked freight-only standard-gauge branch, but at Stadl-Paura they diverge east and then south running under 800V dc tramway-type overhead wiring on their standard-gauge single track to Vorchdorf-Eggenberg. Here passengers have to change, for StH’s Vorchdorf-Eggenberg - Engelhof - Gmunden-Seebahnhof line continuing south is metre-gauge, electrified at 800V dc with tramway-type overhead. A medley of rolling-stock of both gauges is normally visible at Vorchdorf depot. StH work the metre-gauge line with Class ET23 single units dating from 1954. Just south of StH’s Engelhof Lokalbahnhof (and of ÖBB’s now-vanished Engelhof standard-gauge station), the StH metre-gauge converges with the ÖBB standard-gauge, continuing as a mixed-gauge single track to the terminus at Gmunden Seebahnhof. ÖBB retain considerable regular freight on their branch, but this traffic now ceases just north of the junction at Engelhof, and the Engelhof - Gmunden Seebahnhof standard-gauge rail was clearly disused - though it appeared usable should it be required for, say, an ÖBB excursion train to the lakeside. On late-afternoon northbound services on 3 May 2004, passengers aboard each of the StH railcars never exceeded five. Most of the StH halts consist of nothing more than a compacted-earth platform, a rough nameboard and a timetable-board. Despite the close spacing of the stops, a schoolboy persuaded the driver to drop him off close to his house, rather than at the halt 200m or so away.

3897][AT] Wels Hbf - Wels Lokalbahn - Oberhart - Pettenbach - Grünau im Almtal: (Ball 73B2) Threatened in the middle 1990s (BLN 765.0470), ÖBB’s Grünau branch appears now to be passenger-only, worked by Class 5047 railcars, singly or in pairs. From 3 to 10 May 2004 engineering work restricted access to branch-platform #11 at Wels Hbf, and trains south to Grünau started and terminated at Wels Lokalbahnhof, with a bus link. The well-loaded afternoon train on 3 May inevitably left the Lokalbahnhof late, slightly delaying its crossing with a northbound train at Pettenbach, but it arrived on time at Grünau. A private siding at Oberhart lay out of use, and no evidence was seen of freight traffic nor facilities to handle it.

3898][CZ][DE] Rumburk CD - Jiríkov CD / Ebersbach (Sachsen) DB: (Ball CZ-36A2, DE-44B2) The (Praha -) Decin - Dolni Zleb CD - Schöna DB - Bad Schandau - Dresden main line down the valley of the river Labe=Elbe was seriously damaged by flooding in 2002 (R.2461), and permanent repairs are in progress during the period to the timetable-change in December 2004. Meanwhile, significant freight traffic is being diverted by this quiet secondary border-crossing, which is currently seeing some 11 freight trains a day each way as well as its sparse passenger service (R.3034). Images on the website http://www.lok-report.de in mid-July 2004 clearly indicate that the single line, previously a rather careworn ‘through-siding’ connection from Czech metals near Jirikov to the DB at Ebersbach, has been relaid for its present role.

3899][CZ] Ceské Budejovice - Cerný Kríz - Nové Údolí and Cerný Kríz - Volary: (BLN 802.0243; Ball 40B2; CD 194) Level-crossings with no signals or traffic-lights, protected only by a ‘whistle’ signboard and a St.Andrew’s cross, are widespread across the former Austro-Hungarian empire. In Austria trains whistle but rarely brake, but in the Czech Republic the rule (perhaps the result of adverse experience?) seems to be for trains to approach crossings cautiously and to pass at little more than walking pace. On lines like these, with many crossings, end-to-end journey-times can be surprisingly prolonged.

3900][CZ] (Cheb -) Frantiskovy Lazne - Frantiskovy Lazne-Seniky - As - As mesto - Hranice v Chechach: (R.1531; Ball CZ-35A1; DE-54A2) The physical junction where the Hranice branch diverges from the Frantiskovy Lazne - Vojtanov CD (- Plesna CD - Bad Brambach DB) cross-border line seems now to be at km67.3, immediately north of Frantiskovy Lazne station. The two tracks running parallel north of there are both wired as far as Frantiskovy Lazne-Seniky station, but at the point just to the north of that station where the wires end on the line turning west towards Hranice, the former crossover has been disconnected. Each track from Frantiskovy Lazne thus operates as a single line, with electric traction able to run only on the easternmost line, and as far as Vojtanov. West of Seniky the Hranice branch is typical of northern Bohemia, with steep gradients, constant severe curvature and pleasant scenery. Significant timber traffic is handled at As, at a yard on the alignment of the former As/Asch - Selb-Plössberg line, below the level of the present running-line to Hranice. On Easter Sunday, 11 April 2004, the mid-afternoon train saw most of its business done at As mesto, the ‘town’ station, but some six passengers travelled through to Hranice. Two passengers boarded at Hranice for the return journey and 13 more joined at As mesto.

3901][HU][RO] (Budapest -) Lökösháza MÁV - Curtici CFR (- Bucuresti): (Ball 48B2) Now a border-post on the eastern frontier of the European Union, Lökösháza station is being rebuilt for its present role (one hopes the expenditure is not lavish, for Romania too may be joining the EU, in or after 2007...). The international main line here is electrified at 25kV 50Hz but is still single-track, and preparation for doubling to Curtici is reportedly to cause its temporary closure to all traffic from 1 August to 1 November 2004, with passenger trains diverted via the unelectrified Biharkeresztes MÁV - Episcopia Bihor CFR and Kötegyán MÁV - Salonta CFR frontier-crossings (R.1792). (European Rail yahoogroup)

3902][ES] Oviedo La Corredoria: (Ball 3A3) La Corredoria station just east of Oviedo was formally inaugurated on 29 June and came into use from 30 June 2004, with calls by RENFE Cercanías local trains on the electrified broad-gauge lines north to the coast (C1 Oviedo - Villabona de Asturias - Gijón and C3 Oviedo - Villabona de Asturias - Avilés), as well as FEVE trains on the electrified metre-gauge line to the east (F6 Oviedo - Colloto - Berrón and beyond). Though FEVE’s 1 March 2004 timetable shows stopping-times at La Corredoria (R.3631), their website (http://www.feve.es/05/noticia74.html) says that FEVE trains actually made their first regular calls on 30 June, the same date as the RENFE opening. Not just a simple halt, La Corredoria has three platforms, escalators, lifts, ticket-office, cafeteria, shops and ten staff - and is planned to become one of the busiest stations on the developing Metrotren integrated network in the northern Spanish province of Asturias (R.3555).

3903][ES] Guillarei avoiding line: (O Porriño -) Las Gándaras - Tui: (EGTRE ES04/8; Ball 7B2) The short north-to-west curve avoiding Guillarei station officially became available on 24 October 2003, but no passenger train was then booked to use it (R.3387). The PTG special train on 1 February 2004 (R.3533) travelled both ways via the new curve, despite the organisers asking to traverse the other two sides of the triangle in one direction! From the start of RENFE’s 2004 summer timetable on 13 June 2004, Vigo - Porto international trains are booked to run via the north-to-west curve instead of calling at Guillarei and reversing there. Presumably the original Guillarei - Tui section, now the east-to-west curve of the triangle, no longer sees use by passenger trains. (partly http://www.ptg.co.uk)

3904][ES] Cercedilla - Siete Picos - Puerto Navacerrada - Los Cotos: (BLN 805.0314; Ball 20B3) RENFE’s only metre-gauge line is treated as route C9 of the Madrid Cercanías network, an 18km branch with connections out of C8b broad-gauge commuter trains on the Madrid - Segovia line, but the traffic it carries is more of a recreational and tourist nature. The metre-gauge electric units depart from Cercedilla’s bay platforms 01-03, adjacent to broad-gauge platform 1, climbing steeply (but by adhesion throughout) amid fine scenery to their isolated terminus in the Sierra Guadarrama mountains. Trains normally cross at Puerto Navacerrada, the only loop now in regular use. From 1 July to an unspecified date in September 2004 the Siete Picos - Cotos section is closed for engineering work, but the line should be open again for the important winter-sports season.

3905][ES] Sevilla: Santa Justa - Tamarguillo - Palacio de Congresos - Padre Pío-Palmete - Universidad Pablo de Olavide - new curve - Virgen del Rocío - San Bernardo - Santa Justa: (Ball 35A2) Sevilla’s ring line (R.3664) was inaugurated on Wednesday 7 July, with public service starting on Thursday 8 July 2004. Two new stations opened, Palacio de Congresos and Padre Pío-Palmete. A third planned station, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, is to be constructed as soon as agreement is reached on its exact location, for it is also to be a stop on Sevilla’s future metro line #1. The new RENFE service, numbered C4, is slightly unusual in being entirely urban (Cercanías lines are usually suburban). Trains each way run every 30min off-peak (15min in peak hours). For a journey between Santa Justa and Padre Pío-Palmete on the far side of the ring, passengers can go either way, and thus are offered an effective 15min frequency all day.

3906][GR] Diakopto - Kalavrita: (Ball 66A2-65B2) This scenic 23km 750mm-gauge rack-and-adhesion line up to Kalavrita closed 15 May 2003 for track renewal (R.3016). It has reopened in summer 2004, still with its unusual electric locomotives and diesel-generator tenders. New Stadler rolling-stock is promised in 2006 or 2007. (European Rail yahoogroup)

3907][CH] Lausanne - Lausanne Sébeillon - Renens VD: Lying just north of the main line (CFF line 150, 4.31km), this freight line (CFF line 205, 4.6km, not shown separately in the Ball atlas at 91A1) runs from Lausanne main station 1.6km west to Lausanne Sébeillon goods-yard and continues 3.0km to the major marshalling-yard at Renens in canton Vaud. A garden show, Lausanne Jardins 2004, is being held nearby from 19 June to 17 October, and on Saturdays and Sundays certain passenger trains are to take the freight line and serve a temporary Sébeillon halt 2.1km west of Lausanne main station. Timings are generally from Lausanne hourly at xx:35 and Renens at xx:21. Short workings also shuttle between Sébeillon and Renens only. (European Rail yahoogroup; IBSE Telegramm)

3908][CH] Meiringen - Innertkirchen: (BLN 812.0502; Ball 93B2) Built in 1926 by, and still owned by, the local hydro-electric power company (now describing itself as WKO), the 4.7km metre-gauge Meiringen-Innertkirchen Bahn was originally steam-worked but was electrified at 1200V dc in 1977. It continues to operate from its own rather basic Meiringen station, a 5min walk from the SBB station on the 15kV 16.7Hz Interlaken - Meiringen - Luzern Brünigbahn. A freight-only connection, wired with a dead section in the middle, links the two lines. Not all MIB’s stations, their names inset into the laminated tables aboard the modern single-unit railcar, appear in the Swiss timetable, some being advertised only locally. One such is Aareschlucht Ost: inside the 1502m Kirchettunnel and invisible with its lights out, it is at times used to detrain visitors taking an underground walk to see something of the engineering required to produce hydro-electricity. Just after the line emerges from the eastern portal of the tunnel (and therefore less wet than it sounds) is Unterwasser (= underwater), in practice a barely-discernible stopping-place. Innertkirchen Hof, the village station, also houses the local post-office, but the train runs a short distance beyond to terminate at Innertkirchen MIB, in effect WKO’s works-yard, where the passenger can choose between stepping up on to the freight loading-dock or down on to the ground. Plinthed here is an old electric unit, flanked by what are presumably the mining locomotives that helped construct the hydro-electric tunnels. A leaflet obtained from the WKO visitor-centre depicts also a basic funicular railway within their site.

3909][CH] Engelberg: Hotel Terrace funicular: Emerging from the southern terminus of the metre-gauge Luzern - Stans - Engelberg line (BLN 758.0336; Ball 93B2) and turning left, one comes upon a funicular. A private line not included in the Swiss timetable, it serves the nearby Best Western Hotel Terrace, and is available free of charge from 07:00 to 23:00 daily. It is visibly not of modern construction, but it does run automatically. One presses a button and boards the car, whereupon lights flash and sirens sound to herald one’s ascent or descent. The ascending and descending cars pass midway in the usual fashion.

3910][CH] Lugano: San Salvatore funicular: Some 5min walk from Lugano Paradiso FFS station is the lower station of this metre-gauge funicular line, opened 27 March 1890. A continuous cable powers both the 814m-long lower section (Paradiso - Pazzallo, climbing from 282m up to 494m) and the steeper 815m upper section (Pazzallo - Monte San Salavatore, continuing to the summit at 883m). Each section has a single car on a single track, and the intermediate station has no passing-loop. The lower car arrives at one platform and passengers change into the upper car standing at an adjacent, slightly offset, platform. At the summit a display-cabinet houses a model explaining the mechanical arrangement of cable and pulleys. In 2004 the line was operating half-hourly 09:00-23:00 from late March to early October. (partly http://www.funiculars.net)

3911][CH] Capolago Lago - Capolago Riva San Vitale - Generoso Vetta: (Ball 101B1) Most trains on the 800mm-gauge electrified Monte Generoso railway run from Capolago Riva San Vitale (next to the FFS station on the Lugano - Capolago - Chiasso main line) to the summit, Generoso Vetta, very close to the Italian border, with fine views over Lake Lugano. However one morning train starts back from the lakeside platform Capolago Lago and picks up passengers from the 10:00 Lugano - Capolago boat before departure at 11:05. Conversely, an afternoon downhill train runs through to Capolago Lago, arriving 16:20 to connect with the 16.35 Capolago - Lugano boat. Possibly the shortest boat-train workings in the world, these trains are timed to take 10min to and from Riva San Vitale, but in practice take c.2min for their c.300m journey at walking pace past the MG line’s traction-depot and the rail-served warehouse storing wine, beer etc for the sales-outlets at the summit.

3912][IN] Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus: (BLN 772.081) Designed by British architect F W Stevens, the huge and ornate Bombay Victoria Terminus, an eclectic mix of Indian and Gothic architectural styles built in the most confident period of the Raj, was named after Queen Empress Victoria when it opened in 1887. Renamed in January 1996 (along with the city itself) it remains a very busy working station as well as an outstanding piece of railway architecture. In July 2004 it has deservedly been included on the United Nations list of World Heritage sites.

3913][TH] Bangkok Thonburi - Taling Chan Jn - Nong Pladuk - Kanchanaburi - River Kwai Bridge (- Nam Tok): Continental Railway Journal (#123, autumn 2000) reported that Bangkok Thonburi passenger terminus on the west bank of the river had closed and that all trains were using ‘Bangkok Noi’ station adjacent to the locomotive shed (R.0958). In mid-2004 the old Thonburi terminus was still standing and its site at the junction of the canal Klong Bangkok Noi and the Chao Praya river had not (yet?) been redeveloped, but the station was indeed closed, and c.400m west of the river a wall blocked the former trackbed. Immediately west of the wall, permanent-looking buffer-stops protected the metre-gauge former running-lines, now headshunt tracks for the new terminus c.500m west of the river and alongside the locomotive-servicing depot. This terminus has taken over the name Thonburi. On 10 June 2004 our reporter made an all-day trip to visit the famous ‘bridge on the river Kwai’ built by prisoners-of-war near Kanchanaburi (BLN 837.0564). The out-and-back working from Bangkok (#257/258 Thonburi 07:45 - 10:45 Kanchanaburi - Nam Tok 13:00 - Kanchanaburi 14:51 - c.18:00 Thonburi) featured haulage by Alsthom CoCo diesel locomotive #4204; offered only third-class accomodation with wooden seats; charged the modest round-trip fare of THB25 (=c.GBP0.30); and was lightly loaded in each direction. A few km beyond Kanchanaburi’s ‘town’ station, the train called also at a platform next to the bridge. Alighting here, he found it was possible to walk across the bridge when it is not being used by trains. After his visit he chartered a river boat for THB300 (=c.GBP3.50) and returned to Kanchanaburi main station. Plinthed at the bridge station are a 4-6-2 steam locomotive (North British Queen’s Park works 1918, #22509), a 2-6-0 #719 (apparently Japanese), and a Japanese military diesel railcar, and at Kanchanaburi main station a Henschel-built 2-8-8-2 Garratt. (mainly World-Rail-Gen yahoogroup)

3914][TH] Bangkok metro: Trial trains had been running since April 2004 on the city’s Hualamphong - Bang Su metro line, but at a ceremony on Saturday 2 July 2004 at Bangkok Hualamphong main railway station, a terminus in the classic European manner, Thailand’s king inaugurated the new metro Blue line, which opened to the public later that day. The underground Blue line (18 stations; 20km; public-sector) complements the elevated SkyTrain or Green line (23.5km; 1435mm-gauge; third-rail 750V dc; private-sector) that opened 5 December 1999 (R.2095). (partly Associated Press; http://www.urbanrail.net)

3915][TH] Bangkok Wongwian Yai - Samut Songkharm - Maha Chai: South-west of the city-centre, west of the Chao Praya river and south of Thonburi station (R.3913), Wongwian Yai with its single-platform is the least-known of Bangkok’s three main-line termini. (From Wongwian Yai traffic circle, walk through the open-air clothes market on the south-west corner to find the railway.) The Maha Chai line offers an interesting short trip to Samut Songkharm, a fishing and boat-building town on the Gulf of Thailand at the mouth of the river Kwai.

3916][NZ] New Zealand: When New Zealand’s railways were privatised in 1993, the govenment retained ownership only of the land beneath the track, but from 1 July 2004 they again own the railway infrastructure of track, signalling and stations. Australian logistics group Toll, through their 84%-owned NZ subsidiary, retain the locomotives and rolling-stock and operate all New Zealand rail services, passenger and freight - with one exception. Commuter services around the northern city of Auckland are contracted to Connex from 1 July 2004 until 2008, with the possibility of further extension, perhaps to 2011.

3917][US] Las Vegas, NV monorail: (R.2157) After six months’ delay while operating problems were rectified, the city’s monorail was to be inaugurated 15 July 2004. Bombardier built the cars for the non-profit Las Vegas Monorail Company, who have contracted private-sector Transit Systems Management to run the line. The 6.25km seven-station Z-shaped route runs close to large hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, taking 14min end-to-end, with a one-way flat fare of USD3. Later phases are to extend inward to the downtown area and out to the airport. (Associated Press)

3918][US] Nashville (Riverfront), TN - Lebanon, TN: The Regional Transportation Authority for the area round Tennessee’s state capital are to open the first of five proposed commuter rail routes, possibly by late summer 2005. The Nashville East Corridor Commuter Rail Project is to see trains running from Riverfront Station in downtown Nashville east on 51km of (ex-Tennessee Central, now Nashville & Eastern) single track, calling at four intermediate stations and terminating at Lebanon, with an end-to-end time of 52min. Two F40 locomotives have been bought from Amtrak and 11 double-deck gallery cars (four of them cab cars) are being bought second-hand from METRA in Chicago. RTA plan a Mon-Fri train service of three morning and three evening trips, with a bus service shadowing the route during the day to allow flexibility for riders.

3919][US] Portland, ME - Freeport - Brunswick - Bath - Rockland, ME: Guilford Rail System belatedly agreed to work with Maine Department of Transportation to develop a passenger rail pilot project along their Freight Main Line north-east of Portland (R.3885), and special trains carrying Maine’s governor and invited guests are expected to run on 24 July 2004 to demonstrate the feasibility of extending passenger service to Freeport and Brunswick, and on to Rockland. Amtrak are likely to operate a Portland - Brunswick train, and Maine Eastern a Brunswick - Rockland connecting train.

Also part of the passenger rail pilot project (and sponsored by Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, who provide the subsidy from the two states to Amtrak’s existing Boston, MA - Portland, ME Downeaster) is the Maine Lobster Festival Train. The Rockland branch saw its last regular passenger train on 4 April 1959, but freight continued to run as far as Park Street roundhouse in Rockland, and in early 1995 the spur from the roundhouse alongside Mechanic Street to the South End waterfront was reactivated to allow rail haulage of cement from Dragon Products’ Thomaston plant to their barge pier at Atlantic Point. For four days in summer 2004 (Thu-Sun 5-8 Aug) Maine Eastern are to run a daily excursion train from a temporary station on Cedar Street in Brunswick, calling at Bath and terminating in Rockland, 80km east. The spur to the barge pier is being extended by c.50m to the MBNA dock to allow passengers to detrain at a 30m timber platform on the waterfront close to the Maine Lobster Festival grounds. This is a temporary arrangement, however, and should regular trains return to Rockland, Maine DoT hope to use the former Maine Central passenger station on Union and Pleasant Streets, whose building remains in state ownership.

3920][US] (New York Grand Central -) Beacon, NY - Fishkill - Hopewell Jn, NY - Danbury, CT: (R.0772) On Sunday 12 September 2004 Metro-North, New York state’s commuter railroad, are to run a special train on two sections of ex-New Haven, latterly Housatonic Railroad, non-passenger track linking three commuter lines. The Beacon Branch heads east from Beacon (on the New York - Poughkeepsie - Albany main line up the Hudson River) to Hopewell Jn (just north of Brewster on the New York - Brewster - Dover Plains - Wassaic commuter line; R.0841) and the Maybrook Line continues from Hopewell Jn east to Danbury (on the New York - South Norwalk - Danbury commuter line; BLN 834.0447). After a stop at the Danbury railway museum the train is to return direct via South Norwalk and the New Haven main line to Grand Central Terminal. Fare for the 320km trip is USD75. Information: groupsales@mnr.org

3921][US] Tyrone - Bellefonte, PA: From Tyrone, a flag-stop for Amtrak trains on the (Philadelphia -) Harrisburg - Altoona (- Pittsburgh, PA) main line, the Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad heads north-east to Bellefonte. The ex-Pennsylvania Railroad short line runs occasional tourist trains, trading as the Bellefonte Historical Railroad. On Saturday 28 August 2004 a special train is to leave Bellefonte at 14:00 for the 53km run to Tyrone. After a dinner-stop at Tyrone it is to return to Bellefonte by c.21:00. Fare including dinner is USD55. Information: http://www.bellefontetrain.com

3922][US] (Pittsburgh, PA -) Carnegie - Arden (- Washington, PA): Most of Pennsylvania Railroad’s Washington branch (later Penn Central, then Conrail trackage, and latterly RailTex’s Pittsburgh Industrial Railroad) is to see round-trips on 8, 14 and 15 August 2004, including a visit to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (at Arden c.5km north of Washington, PA) and a trolley ride on a line partly laid on trackbed of a long-abandoned PRR coal-mine spur. Information: http://pa-trolley.org/

3923][AR] Buenos Aires suburban: Retiro (San Martín) - Palermo - Dr.Domingo Cabrero: (BLN 849.0255-262) Running from the northernmost, and least grand, of the city’s three side-by-side termini at Retiro is the unelectrified broad-gauge (1676mm) main line best known by the name given to it during the period of nationalised operation, the Ferrocarril General San Martín. At privatisation, this line’s diesel-hauled commuter trains were franchised to Transportes Metropolitano General San Martín SA, part of the Metropolitano group who also have the 1676mm-gauge Ferrocarril General Roca contract (R.3873). Dissatisfaction with Metropolitano’s performance however has led the government in July 2004 to terminate the San Martín contract. The other Buenos Aires urban/suburban operators (Trenes Buenos Aires on the broad-gauge Sarmiento and Mitre lines), Ferrovías (metre-gauge Belgrano Norte line) and Metrovías (standard-gauge Urquiza line plus the Buenos Aires Subte = metro) have formed a temporary Unidad de Gestión Operativa (= operating administration unit) to run the San Martín local trains until the government can organise a new franchisee. Meanwhile, the government are to pay the UGO’s operating costs, net of fares revenue. Under the Argentine privatisation model the government retained ownership of both infrastructure and rolling-stock, hiring out these resources to the operating companies. Much of the San Martín line’s original rolling-stock, including a batch of elderly Alco locomotives, is now lying out of service, and latterly Metropolitano had brought in locomotives and carriages from the Roca line to run the San Martín line. (based on World-Rail-Gen yahoogroup)

3924][TN] Tunisia: (R.3587) Smallest country on the coast of north Africa, Tunisia has charter-flights from all parts of the UK, and reasonably-priced accommodation in resorts well used to European tourists. Its third-largest city, Sousse, is a good base for day-trips to explore the railways of Societé Nationale des Chemins de Fer Tunisiens. SNCFT’s standard-gauge lines run from the city of Tunis to the north and west, while most other parts of the country are served by the much more extensive metre-gauge system, a significant proportion of which is freight-only. The passenger lines are very cheap to explore, a seven-day rover being priced between GBP10 and GBP15 (=c.EUR15 to EUR23) depending upon class of travel. SNCFT offer three classes of passenger accommodation: second, first and confort. Most local trains are second-class-only, but the prestige expresses on the Tunis - Sfax - Gabes line offer first- and confort-class only, with the fare including complimentary drinks and newspapers. All air-conditioned trains require a reservation to be purchased in advance of travel and without this, admission to the departure platform at larger stations may be refused, even to a passenger with a valid rover ticket. Although this reservation gives a specific seat allocation, in practice seats seem to be taken on a first-come-first-served basis and it seems to be common at busy times for a first-class passenger to have to stand. There is little to choose between first and confort, though confort seats are a little bigger, and on one very full train passengers in first-class were being ejected from their seats to make way for those with confort-class tickets. SNCFT seem no longer to publish an all-line timetable, but main stations offer leaflets for specific routes. Timetables and information: http://www.fahrplancenter.com/Tunesische_Railways.html.

3925][TN] Tunis Ville - Jedeida - Mateur - Tinja - Bizerte: Tunis Ville, a terminus, has separate standard- and metre-gauge platforms. The standard-gauge main line runs westward, passing extensive remains of a Roman aqueduct before reaching Jedeida and continuing west to Ghardimaou and the Algerian border. Jedeida is a triangular junction, and the west-to-north curve avoiding the station was seen to be still in use for freight in spring 2004. The Bizerte branch train called at Jedeida station and took the east-to-north curve to run through fertile hilly country towards the north coast. At Mateur, the Mateur - Tamera freight-only line (R.3587) trailed in from the west, showing signs of recent use. Continuing alongside the large salt-water lake and nature reserve, Lac Ichkeul, the line reaches Tinja. The short Tinja - Menzel Bourguiba branch diverging east no longer has a passenger service but seemed still in use for freight. An east-to-north curve lay out of use. At its Bizerte terminus the branch train, comprising a diesel locomotive hauling a dead diesel railcar set, stopped short of a set of points, some way out from the buffer-stop. The locomotive then ran round before propelling its coaches to the buffer-stop, by which time many passengers for the return trip had already boarded. An unidentifiable but rather British-looking SNCFT saddle-tank steam locomotive was parked at the inner end of one of the platform roads. The port and former French naval-base of Bizerte retains extensive sidings with considerable freight traffic.

3926][TN] Tunis Ville - Lycée Rades - Borj Cedria - Bir Bue Regba - Kalaa Kebira - Kalaa Seghira - Sousse - El Jem (- Sfax): This premier route has a line-speed of 120km/h on some sections, reputedly the fastest allowed on the metre-gauge anywhere in the world. The ride at top speed is surprisingly good aboard the SNCFT expresses, typically four or five ageing but comfortable coaches hauled by a modern General Motors single-cab diesel locomotive. Just south of Tunis Ville, a standard-gauge freight line that avoids the station crosses the passenger lines on the level, joins a metre-gauge goods line and continues as mixed-gauge south alongside the main line until a point just north of Lycée Rades station, where it curves away east towards Tunis docks and a large industrial area. SNCFT run a suburban service of diesel push-pull trains out as far as Borj Cedria. Just south of Borj Cedria a short freight branch diverges south east. Just north of Bir Bue Regba, the main line has been rebuilt to the west of the original alignment for c.1km, and a bridge can be seen still be seen where the old trackbed crosses a road. Line upgrading and station renewal are particularly in evidence from Bir Bue Regba south to Kalaa Seghira. The most significant recent investment, construction of the new Kalaa Seghira - M’Saaken line avoiding Sousse (R.3587) has allowed the closure of a short section of track that ran across the busy road junction on Place Farhat Hached in the very centre of Sousse. The new section has triangular junctions at each end, the (northern) Kalaa Seghira one with all three sides used by passenger trains, the (southern) M’Saaken one without a passenger service on the south-to-northeast curve. The fastest expresses now avoid Sousse, stopping instead at Kalaa Seghira. Only three through trains, two of them overnight, continue to reverse at Sousse. The line proceeds south through increasingly dry and infertile country, not scenic, but with many olive-trees and the occasional camel, to El Jem, a small town dominated by Roman remains but otherwise undistinguished. Its Roman colosseum is slightly smaller but better preserved than the one back home at the centre of empire. Visitors by rail from the north are obliged to spend 5h here before their return train, but fortunately the hotel outside the station serves cool beer in a pleasant shaded courtyard, and acceptable food (but avoid the tough lamb kebab!).

3927][TN] Bir Bue Regba - Hammamet - Nabeul: On the day in spring 2004 when our reporter travelled on this 17km metre-gauge branch, service was provided by a small diesel locomotive pulling two very disreputable coaches, reportedly deputising for the usual diesel railcar. The train was busy in both directions but carried very few tourists, though the line runs east through the outskirts of Hammamet, a major holiday destination, at one point running along the back of some of the resort hotels. Just short of Nabeul a freight depot was passed.

3928][TN] Sousse Bab-el-Jedid - Sousse Mohammed V - Sousse Sud - Sousse Zone Industrielle - L’Aéroport - La Faculté - Monastir - Mahdia: The only electrified line in Tunisia is operated by rather run-down Hungarian-built Ganz metre-gauge electric units from Sousse Bab-el-Jedid station, c.1500m south of Sousse main station. The section of the old through route from Sousse south to Bab-el-Jedid which once crossed the busy town square, Place Farhat Hached, has been severed and Bab-el-Jedid is now a terminus with local services only (R.3587). The Sousse Sud - M’Saaken section of the old through route remains in use, but not all of it now sees passenger trains. The daily Tunis - Sousse - Monastir - Mahdia train now reverses at Sousse, retraces its path to take the west-to-east curve at Kalaa Seghira, heads south on the ‘new’ line, avoids M’Saaken station by the new northwest-to-northeast curve, heads north on the ‘old’ line, and takes another new south-to-east curve to join the electrified line just west of Sousse Zone Industrielle station. Our reporter travelled aboard this through train on a Saturday, and it stopped additionally at an unnamed platform on the outskirts of Monastir (between L’Aéroport and La Faculté stations) to detrain a big party of mainly young men into a fleet of buses, overseen by a large number of police. Presumably these were football fans travelling to a match at Monastir. Monastir main station is a terminus, and the through train reversed here before continuing to Mahdia. The local electric services are timetabled to do likewise, so the Monastir avoiding curve seems to be freight-only.

3929] European timetables on-line: (R.3480) A list of websites offering European railway passenger timetables in tabular form (similar to paper timetables, as opposed to on-line journey-planners) is at http://www.steane.com/egtre/timetables.htm.

3930][FR] Cahors - Cajarc - Capdenac: (R.3890; Ball 61B2-62A3) Following a press campaign, it seems that the national, regional and local authorities have promised finance to replace the ‘1000 unsafe sleepers’ and reopen the line for Quercyrail tourist trains - which may be running again in summer 2005. (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/quercyrail/sommaire.htm)

3931][BE][FR] Mariembourg - Chimay - Momignies SNCB - Anor SNCF: (Ball 16B3-16A3; SNCB 156) The section used until c.1997 by occasional CFV3V tourist trains is out of use, with at least six level-crossings between Mariembourg and Chimay no longer operational. Traffic from the Carrière de Wallers, a quarry near Momignies in Belgium, is still worked on to the SNCF via Anor (BLN 723.027), so this section remains active as a short cross-border industrial line.

3932][NL] Amsterdam Lelylaan - Zaandam: (R.3491; Ball 4A3) Opened 14 December 2003, the south-to-north Hemboog curve avoiding Sloterdijk has been built as double track, almost entirely on parallel single-track viaducts. Though travellers from Amsterdam’s Schiphol (AMS) airport to north Holland are saved having to change trains at Sloterdijk, the heavy capital expenditure on the new line seems scarcely justified for the present hourly through service, which was lightly loaded in the off-peak in July 2004.

3933][NL] Naarden-Bussum - Almere: (R.3491; Ball 4A3) Opened 14 December 2003, the southeast-to-northeast Gooiboog curve avoiding Weesp is also double-track, but the two tracks are laterally separated by c.50m. The eastern track, used by trains towards Almere, is at ground-level or very slightly raised, while the one used by trains from Almere is almost entirely in cutting, enabling it to dive under the other two sides of the triangle, each of the three sides being a little over 2km long. Off-peak service on the Gooiboog is hourly each way, with the two trains passing each other on the new chords.

3934][NL] (Weesp -) Almere Strand (- Almere Musiekwijk - Almere Centrum): (Ball 4A3) North-east of the Gooiboog triangle, at Muiderzand on the Almere side of the bridge carrying the Flevolijn over the Gooimeer, is a temporary-looking halt with full-length platforms of scaffolding and wood, but no nameboards. This is Almere Strand, a bijzondere stopplaats voor evenementen (= special halt for events), one of five appearing in the NS public timetable. Almere Strand (after the artificial sandy beach created nearby) each year sees typically one or two meetings or festivals or other activities, some lasting several days. Special tickets are issued to include access to the relevant activities, and ordinary train tickets are not valid. Strangely enough, NS do not open this halt for public service on sunny summer days, when there would probably be a demand for it.

3935][NL] Utrecht light rail: (Ball 4A2) The Utrecht - Nieuwegein / IJsselstein sneltram (= express tram) system was extended 2.5km south from Achterveld to IJsselstein-Zuid from 2 July 2000 (R.0854). At Achterveld, the original terminus had an island platform, but a little north of what appears to be its site the double-track alignment now curves to the east to pass through the present side-platform station. Just north of the present terminus at IJsselstein-Zuid are both-way crossovers, so the trams can use either of the two dead-end tracks flanking the stub platform. Normal practice however is to use the eastern track only, presumably to avoid conflict with the foot-crossing over the western track that gives pedestrian access to the ramp end of the platform and supplements the main access at the stop-block end. Solid supports for the overhead-line equipment behind the stop-blocks suggest no immediate plans for further extension of the branch.

3936][DE] (Bremerhaven Hbf -) Bremerhaven-Speckenbüttel - Langen - Debstedt - Knüpelholz - Drangstedt - Bad Bederkesa: (R.1527; Ball 16B3; KBS12128) The infrastructure was acquired from DB, and Museumsbahn Bremerhaven-Bederkesa eV, founded in 1990, began operations on this 17.6km branch during 2000. They seem to have financial backing from the province (Land) and the local authority (Kreis) as well as the local savings-bank. In 2004 tourist trains were to run on two Sundays in each of the five months May to September, and in mid-July seemed well supported by pre-booked parties. An individual traveller may find the best chance of a seat on the first trip from Bremerhaven Hbf. Of the former DB halts, Knüpelholz has left no obvious trace of its existence. Information: http://www.museumsbahn-bremerhaven-bederkesa.de/

3937][DE] (Bremerhaven Hbf -) Bremerhaven-Wulsdorf - Schaufenster Fischereihafen: (R.1528) This short freight branch is shown in the 1998 Ball atlas (16B3) as terminating at ‘Bremerhaven Geestemünde’, and in the 2002 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland at ‘Bremerhaven Fischereihafen (km2.1)’ No active sidings remain on the (formerly fully electrified) branch, which comprises a single running-line terminating, without a run-round loop, at a stop-block just beyond an unwired passenger platform bearing the nameboard ‘Schaufenster Fischereihafen’. The only traffic may be the seasonal operation of Museumsbahn Bremerhaven-Bederkesa, whose heritage diesel locomotive hauls their tourist train through from Bad Bederkesa via Bhv-Speckenbüttel and Bremerhaven Hbf, takes the goods lines south, runs round at Bhv-Wulsdorf goods-yard (rather than at Bhv-Wulsdorf passenger station) and visits Schaufenster Fischereihafen, before perforce propelling slowly back to Bhv-Wulsdorf yard on the return journey.

3938][DE] Bremerhaven Hbf - Bremerhaven-Wulsdorf - Bremervörde - Hesedorf - Harsefeld - Buxtehude - Hamburg-Neugraben: (R.0817, 3372; Ball 16B2-17B2; KBS121) Through trains of Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser GmbH have hitherto left the former DB passenger station at Harsefeld heading south-east, then turning north-east on a bridge over the Harsefeld - Hollenstedt (- Buchholz) freight line before joining the track of the Buxtehude Harsefelder Eisenbahn, a former local Kleinbahn, to continue east towards Hamburg. EVB have however been building a c.750m new connection at Harsefeld, and the line was blocked 10-16 July 2004, with buses replacing passenger trains. From Harsefeld ex-DB station the new line remains north of the Hollenstedt line and links directly to the former BHE, thus removing the need for the bridge.

3939][DE] Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (- Leipzig Bayerischer Bahnhof - Dreieck Leipzig-Marienbrunn): (Ball 46B3-46B2) In June 2004 the throat to the north of the city’s huge main station, Leipzig Hbf, a terminus, had many of its points and crossings rusted out of use, with some clearly disconnected and some locked for a single route. Resignalling work was under way, with replacement masts and colour-light signal-heads next to the older ones still in use. All three classic signal-boxes, B1, B2 and B3, appeared to be operating, but rationalisation looked likely soon. It is not clear how this resignalling might relate to the planned extension of the S-Bahn from Hbf south in tunnel beneath the city to emerge at the former Leipzig Bayer Bhf, continuing via the branch, closed to passengers June 2001, to rejoin the main line at the triangle near Leipzig-Marienbrunn, then heading south via Leipzig-Connewitz (R.1578).

3940][LT] Vilnius - Paneriai - Vaidotai - Valciunai (- Stasylos): Some layouts shown on the 1994 Quail map have changed. From the small freight yard at Paneriai an east-to-south flyover line runs towards Vaidotai, the main marshalling-yard for the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. The passenger service did not use this in either direction so it appears to be for freight only. Paneriai also has a new south-to-west curve allowing freight trains to run from Vaidotai north to Paneriai then directly west to Lentvaris. In the timetable valid from 30 May 2004 three passenger trains a day each way (two at weekends) run Vilnius - Paneriai - Vaidotai - Valciunai, and one train-pair using this indirect route continues on south to/from Stasylos. The services, provided by diesel railcar units, are primarily for the use of railway staff, but are also available to the public. Although the timetable shows a single stop at Vaidotai, each train actually stops at the yard three times, and since the outward service runs south along the south-west side of the yard and the inward service north along the north-east side, Vaidotai yard has six separate single platforms. From Vilnius the first stop is at Vaidotai Kik (closest to the motive-power depot on the south-west side), the next stop is Vaidotai MRC (next to the large control-centre for the yard), and the final stop is Vaidotai AIK (serving the arrival sidings where Belarus locomotives are detached from incoming trains). Valciunai is a triangular junction, where a west-to-north curve avoiding the station allows freight to run directly from Vaidotai yard to Kiviskes on the Vilnius - Kiviskes - Kena line and onwards east to Minsk in Belarus. Freight for Belarus also runs south via Stasylos over the border to Lida. Stasylos has two passenger trains a day via the more direct Vilnius - Kirtimai - Valciunai - Stasylos route, avoiding Vaidotai yard, and one of these remains overnight to return early the next day.

3941][PT] Torre das Vargens - Marvão-Beirã CP (- Valencia de Alcántara RENFE): On this unelectrified line heading east towards the Spanish border (R.3861; Ball 26B3-27A3; 65km) the regional services are worked by diesel railcars built by Nohab in 1948. At 56 years of age, they are unreliable and overdue for retirement, but CP have no money for replacements. Closer to Lisboa, the Setil - Vendas Novas line (R.0765; Ball 26A3-26A2; 69km) is a key strategic electrified link for freight between the north and the south of the country, but on this line too the regional services rarely carry more than ten passengers. Decline of agriculture; migration of young people from the countryside and ageing of those who remain; inconvenient rural stations; old rolling-stock; sparse services and poor connections all seem to be factors. CP are therefore seeking bids from bus operators to replace regional trains on both lines. Since the buses would offer the same pattern of service (two round-trips most days) at the same fares, and since they would stop in the heart of the villages rather than at stations out in open country, the local councils have raised no protest. The contracts would initially be for a period of two years, probably starting at the mid-December 2004 timetable-change, but if the buses run nearly empty the contracts would not be renewed. Both lines would remain to carry freight, and long-distance passenger trains not calling at intermediate stations. Torre das Vargens - Marvão-Beirã sees the daily Lisboa - Madrid hotel-train Lusitania, and Setil - Vendas Novas the once-weekly (thrice-weekly in high summer) Porto - Faro Comboio Azul - though the Comboio Azul could in theory be re-routed with electric haulage the long way round via the 25 de Abril bridge (Setil - Lisboa Entrecampos - Campolide - Fogueteiro - Pinhal Novo - Vendas Novas). (partly from Público, 12 July 2004)

3942][ES] Barcelona trams: Glòries - Auditori/Teatre Nacional - Marina - Wellington - Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica: (R.3806, 3864) On Wednesday 14 July 2004 Trambesòs line T4 was duly extended by 1800m and four new stops, from its temporary inner terminus at Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes (Glòries), via Avinguda Mediriana and Carrer Wellington (carrer in Catalan = calle in Castilian Spanish = street). The intermediate stop at Marina is on TMB metro line L1 and the new terminus Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica on TMB metro line L4. The Trambesòs part of the Barcelona system now totals 6.5km, with 14 stops. Work continues on new line T5 (Glòries - Badalona), partly sharing the T4 tracks, but it is not expected to be complete before end-2005, and indeed some sections of the T5 route are still being disputed.

3943][GR] Athinai trams: (R.3838) Two routes (T1 N Faliro - P Faliro - Glyfada and T2 Syntagma - P Faliro) opened Monday 19 July 2004, and now run 24h/day. The ordinary fare is EUR0.60, but a reduced fare of EUR0.40 is charged for a short journey (5 stops =c.2.5km) or for a passenger boarding with a valid bus or metro ticket. (European Rail yahoogroup)

3944][GR] Athinai Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH) airport: (Ball 66B2) From Saturday 31 July 2004 the station at the Greek capital’s 2001 airport was to be served by trains of both the national railway OSE (running Athinai - Acharne - Doukissis Plakentias - ATH) and the local Attiko Metro (running Syntagma - Ethniki Amyna - Doukissis Plakentias - ATH), sharing the double-track standard-gauge branch forming the final section (R.3837). The OSE fares are zonal, with a one-way fare of EUR8 from the city-centre out to the airport in the 4th zone. The Metro one-way fare is also EUR8, but is discounted to EUR12 for 2 persons or EUR16 for 3 persons travelling together. The Metro also offers a round-trip within 48h for EUR12. (European Rail yahoogroup)

3945][CH] Rüti ZH: (Ball 88B1) North-east of the SBB station is a short steep non-electrified industrial branch serving a Sulzer factory. It is a private siding worked by rack rather than by adhesion traction, which is unusual and may even be unique.

3946][CH] Luzern: Gütsch funicular: Reproduced on a modern postcard available in Luzern is an 1890 poster depicting the Gütschbahn, a 173m-long funicular opened 22 August 1884, climbing 81m to the Hôtel Château Gütsch in Kanonenstrasse. (http://www.funiculars.net/) As a private line, it is not mentioned in the Swiss timetable. In mid-2004 websites were continuing to recommend the funicular (‘Take the ride up to the 4-star Hotel Chateau Gutsch for a spectacular view of the town’) and indeed to offer rooms in the hotel itself. However, the hotel seems recently to have closed, perhaps temporarily for refurbishment, so the funicular may not be operating. News of the line’s future would be welcome.

3947][UA] Kiev - Simferopol - Inkerman - Sevastopol: Linking Ukraine’s capital to the Crimean port that is the southernmost point on the Ukrzaliznitsa system, the overnight train (Kiev 20:15 - c.18:00 Sevastopol) leaving on Monday 14 June 2004 comprised 21 well-loaded coaches, evidence that rail continues (for the present at least) to dominate internal air travel in the low-wage economy of the largest country in Europe. The stock was of standard broad-gauge Russian design, mostly Kupelny four-berth sleeper compartments, each coach with an attendant who distributes bedding, locks the track-discharge toilets while the train passes through a town, and supervises the heating-stove and the samovar providing hot water for tea and coffee. Ukraine’s countryside is mostly flat, though to the south the line climbs to pass through mountains in the Crimean peninsula. Low usage of agricultural chemicals lets wild flowers flourish by the trackside, and poppies abound in Crimea’s fields and vineyards. On the outskirts of Sevastopol the station of Inkerman may recall for Britons the battle fought there in the 1854-55 Crimean War, but Inkerman is today the best-known wine-label in the region. Like many Ukrainian stations, Sevastopol’s white-painted terminus is splendidly maintained, the name on its main building crowned by the red star of Soviet days. A large statue of Lenin still supervises the harbour, formerly the base of the Soviet Navy’s Black Sea Fleet. Until 1996 Sevastopol was closed to foreigners (and most Ukrainians), but today tourists are free to admire and photograph the fine 19th-century architecture - and indeed the many naval ships that remain. Among Sevastopol’s numerous monuments commemorating both the Crimean War (when the town was besieged by Anglo-French forces) and the Great Patriotic War (= World War II) is one plinthed outside the station: a steam locomotive with a large rail-mounted gun, in black, adorned with Soviet hammer-and-sickle and red-star motifs, and the slogan ‘Death to Fascism’ in Cyrillic script.

3948][AU] Melbourne - Dandenong - Pakenham - Warragul - Traralgon - Sale - Bairnsdale: V/Line passenger services beyond Sale to Bairnsdale were withdrawn in mid-1993 (either July or August; both are quoted in the article). On Sunday 2 May 2004 an inaugural special train was followed by a free shuttle service for the public between Sale and Bairnsdale. Revenue services through from Melbourne began on Monday 3 May 2004. (Railway Digest, June 2004)

3949][AU] Melbourne trams: A contract has been let for the 3km extension of tram route #75 (East Burwood - Vermont South shopping centre) which should open mid-2005. (Railway Digest, June 2004)

3950][NZ] New Zealand: The railway infrastructure of track, signalling and stations that had been in the ownership of Tranz Rail and became the property of Toll Rail was transferred back to the New Zealand government on 1 July 2004 (R.3916). However, over the years since the ill-starred privatisatisation of 1993 a small number of stations had been sold to various local public and private bodies, and ownership and operation of these has not been affected by the July deal. Meanwhile, operating staff due to be transferred from Toll Rail to Connex disputed their employment terms, causing postponement of the Connex take-over of Auckland suburban services from 1 July to 22 August 2004. As noted (R.3412) commuter trains, buses and ferries there are to operate under the MAXX brand-name.

3951][US] Atlanta, GA: Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad: Some 30km east of downtown Atlanta in the state of Georgia is what is claimed to be the world’s largest exposed mass of granite, Stone Mountain, now the focus of Stone Mountain park. Round it runs this 8km circular standard-gauge tourist railway, with two stations. At the western end of the circuit the line has a triangular junction with a link from the nearby CSX Atlanta - Augusta main line. Both the curves leading from this link-line looked rusty, but probably see occasional use for wyeing stock. In May 2004 the tourist train comprised open-sided coaches hauled by a main-line diesel locomotive, reportedly because no steam locomotive was currently operational. The main station, in the central area of the park, is said to be a replica of a downtown depot in 19th-century Atlanta, and the other station is a convenient starting-point for the walking-trail to the top of the 250m mountain. A modern Swiss-built cable-car, dubbed the Skylift, also offers a (less energetic) route to the summit. A one-day all-attractions pass to the park includes both the railway and the cable-car, and costs USD19 (plus local sales-tax). Bringing a car into the park costs an additional USD7.

3952][NL] Netherlands: special-event stations: Mention has recently been made of two NS special-event stations, OLV ter Nood and Almere Strand. In the 1997-98 Spoorboekje (= public timetable) six special-event stations were listed: Doetinchem Stadion, Liempde, Heerenveen IJsstadion, Rotterdam Stadion, Amsterdam Arena and Eindhoven Stadion (BLN 822.0121, 827.0254). By 2004 two of the 1997-98 ones had vanished. Doetinchem Stadion (5A2 not shown, between Doetinchem and Terborg) seems to have disappeared from the Spoorboekje around the year 2000. Liempde halt (4B1, between Boxtel and Best) was used in connection with an annual agricultural event at Liempde, but the event may have been discontinued, or maybe the halt disappeared as a consequence of the 2002 Boxtel - Eindhoven main-line quadrupling (R.2820).

In the 2004 Spoorboekje five special-event halts are listed. Almere Strand (R.3934; Ball 4A3 not shown), Heerenveen IJsstadion (2A2), Rotterdam Stadion (3B2), Amsterdam Arena (4A3), and Eindhoven Stadion (4B1 not shown, between Eindhoven and Eindhoven Beukenlaan). All except Amsterdam Arena are served by normal trains making an additional stop, though extra trains may also run. Amsterdam Arena, on an otherwise non-passenger curve (Diemen Zuid - Venserpolder Aansluiting - Arena - Duivendrecht Aansluiting - Bijlmer), sees special trains only (EGTRE, BLN 827.0254).

Not listed in the Spoorboekje in either year are three similar halts: Onze Lieve Vrouwe ter Nood (R.3763; Ball 1A1), Jorwerd (1B3) and Lisse (3B3). At the site of the long-closed station of Jorwerd between Leeuwarden and Mantgum, it has been the tradition since 1996 to have trains call at a temporary platform (Jorwerd in Dutch, Jorwert in Frisian) during a local festival over some four weeks in late summer. The platform is erected prior to the Iepenloftspul (= open-air play, in Frisian) and removed afterwards. Noordnet trains now serve the Leeuwarden - Jorwerd (- Stavoren) branch. At the otherwise-closed station of Lisse, a temporary Lisse-Keukenhof platform existed from 1989 to 2001. It was last served by timetabled trains of the ill-fated private-sector Lovers Rail in the spring-flower season of 1998 (BLN 827.0252), but in spring 1999 the Keukenhof flower-exhibition relocated its entrance away from the station, and Lovers Rail withdrew their Keukenhof-expres. Apart from the seasonal Lovers Rail trains, Lisse-Keukenhof platform was mainly served by charter trains from outside the Netherlands.

3953][NL] Rotterdam trams: (R.3625) Budget cuts caused various sections of the city tramway network to close from 23 August 2004. Line #3 has been completely withdrawn, line #4 was cut back to Heemraadsplein, and line #7 and #8 now run via Jonker Fransstraat and Linker Rottekade, in order to compensate as much as possible for the withdrawal of line #3. The following sections are now tram-less:

• all the semicircle north of Centraal station and west of Schiekade/Schieweg (ex-line #3)
• all Kleiweg (ex-line #3)
• Benthuizerstraat (short section ex-line #3)
• Boezemweg between Goudsesingel and Goudse Rijweg (ex-line #7 and #8)
• Nieuwe Binnenweg/Schiedamseweg, between Heemraadsplein and Spanjaardsstraat (ex line #4).

On the plus side, line #25 to Barendrecht is to be introduced later in 2004.

Not recorded previously was the closure of the Blijdorp (Zoo) - Bergselaan section of line #3 on 24 May 2004, due to construction work for the Randstadrail project (R.3723).

3954][DE] (Greifswald -) Abzw Schönwalde - Seebad Lubmin - Lubmin ZBE - Lubmin Werkbahnhof: (Ball 13B1) On the (Berlin -) Pasewalk - Greifswald (- Stralsund) main line, 5.3km south-east of Greifswald, is Schönwalde, a junction with no passenger station (BLN 746.035). Diverging east is the single-track unelectrified 25.4km Lubmin branch, opened as recently as 1969 for freight and 1970 for passengers. The DDR’s state railway Deutsche Reichsbahn built it to the higher standards of a Hauptbahn (= main line, in contrast to a Nebenbahn = local line) in order to support the construction of the huge Bruno Leuschner nuclear-power complex at Lubmin. However, only five of the planned eight Soviet-designed reactors were ever commissioned, and after the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990, amid doubts over nuclear safety, the last reactor was shut down on 18 December 1990. Passenger services ceased at the May 1999 timetable-change (BLN 846.0136).

From 1 January 2001 DB Netz transferred ownership to the power company Energiewerke Nord GmbH, and the branch has been formally downgraded to an Anschlussbahn (= industrial siding), apparently retained to help remove contaminated material from the site. When visited by a railtour in summer 2004 the line had no regular traffic, only a monthly works train to keep it open. The present nameboards of the line’s three closed Lubmin stations do not precisely agree with the nomenclature in past DR and DB timetables, nor in the 2002 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland. Lubmin Mitte (which never appeared in public timetables) was also known as Lubmin ZBE, and the terminus Lubmin Personenbahnhof (which was advertised) was also known as Lubmin Werkbahnhof (BLN 717.06). Mitte=ZBE has a trailing connection on the north side from the nuclear plant, which is still being painstakingly dismantled. Personenbahnhof=Werkbahnhof has a platform and a run-round loop, which any freight train would presumably need to use. The extent of the remaining structures on the site, and the number of workers’ cars outside the main gate, suggest that demolition will continue for many years yet. An estimate of the total spoil to be removed is 1.8M tonnes, of which 0.6Mt may be radioactive! Possibly this material has begun to be removed by sea, but perhaps one day the railway will see regular if temporary use. Once the site is cleared, the line is likely to be abandoned, since - unsurprisingly - not many people live nearby.

3955][DE] Karow (Mecklenburg) - Waren (Müritz): (Ball 19B3-20A3) Since December 2002 Östdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH (ODEG) have worked this section of the national network as part of their cross-country passenger service KBS172 (Hagenow - Hagenow Land - Ludwigslust - Parchim - Karow - Waren - Neustrelitz), but in summer 2004 DB Netz are advertising the Karow - Waren infrastructure for sale, so the future of the lightly-used train service (R.0270) is unclear.

3956][DE] Neustadt (Dosse) - Pritzwalk: (Ball 19B1-19B2) Economical local operators Prignitzer Eisenbahn GmbH run the lightly-used passenger trains (R.0501) on this DB line in Brandenburg, but DB Netz are advertising the infrastructure for sale, casting a shadow over the train service.

3957][AT] Linz Hauptbahnhof: (Ball 73B3) In summer 2004 a new station building was under construction c.80m to the north-east of the old one. The redevelopment is to include new local-authority offices, retail space, and diversion of the 800V dc Linzer Lokalbahn (LiLo) into the 15kV 16.7Hz ÖBB Hbf, with closure of the Lokalbahn terminus in Volksgartenstrasse. LiLo’s more recent electric units are, or are being, fitted for dual-voltage operation into the Hbf. Outside the Hbf a notice announced that the new development should be completed in 2004.

3958][AT] Linz Volksgartenstrasse - Leonding - Eferding - Niederspaching - Neumarkt Kallham / Peuerbach: (Ball 73B3-73A3) At LiLo’s ‘temporary’ (c.1914) Lokalbahn terminus in Volksgartenstrasse, a siding holds two elderly 800V dc electric locomotives, the oldest electrics ‘still working’ in Austria, though they are now rarely used. Heading west out of Volksgartenstrasse the 800V dc Linzer Lokalbahn runs behind the main post office and then alongside the ÖBB postal and carriage sidings, with a (non-through-running) connection via these sidings. LiLo and ÖBB then diverge for c.1km before converging for c.500m. This would seem the obvious point for a running connection from Hbf (R.3957) though no link seemed yet to have been installed in July 2004. Leonding, 4km from Linz, has separate LiLo and ÖBB stations, not far apart, after which LiLo and ÖBB routes finally diverge. Operators Stern & Hafferl still have some freight at the western end of the LiLo system, but this traffic, mainly sugar beet, is worked by a diesel, since it seems S+H could not find anyone who would build a modern 800V dc electric locomotive at an economic price. Most passenger workings west of Eferding run to the branch terminus Peuerbach, with connections from Niederspaching to Neumarkt Kallham on ÖBB’s Linz - Wels - Passau DB main line. According to fare-tables at Linz, LiLo do not sell return tickets, but offer singles, day-rover tickets at twice the single fare, and the usual range of season-tickets.

3959][AT] Linz trams: Goethekreuzung - Hbf - Herz-Jesu-Kirche - Bulgariplatz: (R.1632, 3850) Planned since the 1970s, the short diversion of the city’s main north-south tram axis to serve Linz Hbf is nearing completion. The new section descends from Goethekreuzung south into a curving tunnel passing through underground stations at Hbf and Unionkreuzung and a sub-surface but open-air station at Herz-Jesu-Kirche before regaining the present route at Bulgariplatz. In July 2004 work seemed well advanced, with track and wiring completed at both northern and southern ends. Where old and new formations join, the 900mm-gauge track is already positioned for the new route, with a temporary arrangement allowing trams on lines #1 and 2 to use their old above-ground route. It seems likely that this section of the old route, and the present short stub of line #3 to its above-ground Hbf terminus, will close. Meanwhile the area around the present Hbf entrance is an unattractive area of portable cabins, temporary wooden huts - and idling persons of dubious appearance. During the day, trams on line #3 were seen to wait at the Hbf terminus, but late in the evening tram-drivers preferred to wait 3, 4 or even 5min at Goethekreuzung before heading to the station, thus limiting dwell-time there to the minimum.

3960][AT] Circular tour via Lunz am See: (Ball 74B3-74B2-74A2) Diverging south from the Wien - Linz Westbahn main line, ÖBB’s Pöchlarn - Kienberg-Gaming line (KBS160) appears to retain significant timber traffic, though no actual freight activity was visible on a Sunday trip in July 2004. The standard-gauge branch becomes quite scenic nearing its southern terminus. Here it connects with the 760mm-gauge Kienberg-Gaming - Lunz am See Ybbstalbahn Bergstrecke, closed by ÖBB in 1988 and now a heritage railway open only at summer weekends and holidays. Its steam-hauled tourist trains offer an even more scenic journey, with two impressive viaducts and steep climbs and descents. Lunz am See is an end-on junction with the longer but lower section of the 760mm-gauge Ybbstalbahn, still owned and operated by ÖBB (Lunz am See - Gstadt - Waidhofen an der Ybbs). At Waidhofen one can change a third time and board a northbound standard-gauge train on ÖBB’s Selzthal - Hieflau - Kleinreifling - Amstetten secondary main line, to rejoin the Westbahn and complete an interesting circle.

3961][PT] Barreiro - Pinhal Novo (- Setúbal): (R.3835; Ball 25A2-26A2) Barreiro, CP’s classic terminus opposite Lisboa on the south shore of the Tejo estuary, is to remain open. Infrastructure providers REFER have decided that Barreiro - Pinhal Novo should be electrified ‘in the mid-term’, allowing all-electric running Barreiro - Pinhal Novo - Setúbal. The same EUR40M project would also fence off the tracks to prevent illegal crossing. However, no completion date has yet been set.

3962][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo trams: Atxuri - Abando - Guggenheim - San Mamés - Basurto: (R.3163; Ball 5B3-5A3) The city’s EuskoTran metre-gauge light-rail line A saw the inauguration on 22 July 2004 of the final 550m one-stop extension from San Mames to Basurto. The temporary terminus at San Mames was relocated by c.50m and rebuilt as an ordinary intermediate stop. Though the line is regarded as complete for the present, the new terminus at Basurto (the 12th stop, c.5km from Atxuri EuskoTren station) is built in such a way as to enable a possible extension to Rekaldeberri. (http://www.euskotran.es)

3963][ES] Cercedilla - Siete Picos - Puerto Navacerrada - Los Cotos: (R.3904; Ball 20B3) Engineering work was completed and RENFE’s metre-gauge line reopened 1 September 2004.

3964][ES] València metro: (R.2932; Ball 30B1) During August 2004 the MetroValencia division of the metre-gauge Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana suspended services on the southern branch of line #5 (Colón - Torrent). Only the Colón - Jesús section of line #5 was actually closed, for line #1 continued to serve the (Àngel Guimerà -) Jesús - Torrent section, and passengers could still reach any station on the network, possibly with one extra change at Angel Guimera. The temporary closure was to facilitate work on a new metro station beneath the street called Bailén, which runs along the western side of RENFE’s Estació del Nord. Though the short Colón - Jesús metro section lies directly underneath this street, it was originally built as a non-passenger connection linking the two lines, and since passenger services were not then envisaged, no intermediate stop was constructed near the main-line station. The new Bailén station is to remedy this, and is intended to serve not only the existing Valencia Nord terminus but also the planned Valencia Central through station (R.3965). Colón - Jesús reopened 1 September 2004.

3965][ES] València Central: Valencia Estació del Nord is a fine building with a large terminal train-shed. Its name is slightly confusing, for it lies south of the city-centre, but it was once the station of the Norte railway, Nord in Valencian Spanish. In the 1980s RENFE timetables more helpfully described it as Valencia Termino (R.1585), as does the 1993 Ball atlas (30B1). Looking to the future, however, RENFE see reversal of long-distance trains at Nord (or use of the avoiding line; R.3610) as undesirable, and a new through main-line station is planned for the city, to be sited just to the south of Valencia Nord. The concept is similar to Antwerpen Centraal - and promises to be similarly expensive. High-speed tracks from the south and the west would reach the station in much the same way as the present ones, but would then continue north-east beneath the old town to rejoin the main line to Barcelona, thus eliminating the need for reversal at Nord and the wide detour round the coast via Font Sant Luís/Fuente San Luís and Cabanyal.

3966][ES] Mallorca: (Palma - Inca -) Sineu - Manacor: (R.3866; Ball 38A1-38A2) After a special train ran on 9 September, Sineu - Manacor passenger service was restored from Friday 10 September 2004. (Majorca Daily Bulletin)

3967][CH] Lausanne - Lausanne Sébeillon - Renens VD: (R.3907; Ball 91A1) Lack of demand for the special passenger workings taking the freight line to serve the temporary Sébeillon halt at the garden-show Lausanne Jardins 2004 caused them to be withdrawn early, after Sunday 1 August 2004. (European Rail yahoogroup)

3968][US][CA] (New York, NY -) Albany-Rensselaer - Schenectady - Saratoga Springs - Rouses Point, NY - Cantic, QC - Montréal, QC: (R.3870) Another angle on the Adirondack withdrawal story was in Railfan & Railroad for September 2004. Nationalised Amtrak threatened to discontinue the loss-making train if New York state did not pay USD4.4M in subsidies owed since early 2003. In July 2004 the state provided Amtrak with a letter of intent to pay the debt (not hard cash, however), and on this promise the Adirondack is, it seems, to continue.

3969][IE] Dublin light rail: (R.3886) The second of the two unconnected lines comprising the city’s standard-gauge Luas light-rail system (Connolly Station - Tallaght; 14km; the Red line) is to be officially opened on Tuesday 28 September 2004. From the Tuesday afternoon Luas will offer six days of free travel on the new line. (http://www.luas.ie/)

3970][FR] Rennes metro: La Poterie - La Blosne - Gares - Pont Chaillou - J F Kennedy: (Ball 21B1) Presumably opened as planned on 15 March 2002 (R.2067), the city’s sole metro line forms part of the municipal public transport system, which trades as STAR. The line is labelled Metro A (with a lower-case ‘a’ in a circle), suggesting plans exist for a further line or lines. The 8.5km VAL (véhicule automatique léger) driverless light metro uses technology pioneered in Lille, with narrow-bodied two-car trains, each car having two horizontal axles with rubber-tyred driving-and-carrying wheels, plus vertical axles with rubber-tyred guidance wheels. The platforms match the two-car train length, so the units cannot run in service in multiple, though they do have sophisticated (Scharfenberg or similar) couplers at the outer ends. From La Poterie south-east of the city-centre to J F Kennedy in the north-west the line has, including the termini, 15 stations, each labelled with the architect’s name. (British architect Norman Foster designed La Poterie, it seems.) The trip is unexciting, all being in tunnel apart from the one-station section from La Poterie to La Blosne and the section through Pont Chaillou, the last but two station before J F Kennedy. (Not shown in the 1991 Ball atlas, but open by 1999-2000, is SNCF’s La Poterie station, the first stop on their Rennes - Châteaubriant line, but this is not adjacent to La Poterie metro station and the two are not advertised as an interchange.) La Poterie metro station is on viaduct, with the line’s zero-point midway along the platform. The running-lines extend back (presumably measured as minus kilometres!) through two turnback sidings to what, from a distance, appeared to be a fence-enclosed embankment for vehicle storage, though not a depot as such. Gares, the city-centre metro stop serving the main SNCF and bus stations, is at 4375m. J F Kennedy terminus, at 8570m, is a single-platform station in tunnel, and the train turns back in the platform, stopping no longer than at any of the intermediate stations before shooting off backwards. Track may exist beyond, possibly to a depot, but this was not obvious. The JFK area is one of those grey 1960s edge-of-town high-rise housing-schemes typical of France, eastern Germany and central Scotland.

3971][FR] La Brohinière - Mauron - Loyat - Ploërmel and Questembert - Ploërmel - Porcaro - Guer - Messac-Guipry: (BLN 768.0517, 844.082; Ball 21A1-32A3) These two sections were respectively ex-État and ex-Paris-Orléans lines, meeting at Ploërmel. The 42km La Brohinière - Ploërmel section closed to passengers 6 March 1972. La Brohinière - Mauron closed completely by May 1998, Mauron - Loyat by 1990, and Loyat - Ploërmel by April 1995. The Questembert - Ploërmel - Messac lines closed to passengers as long ago as 6 March 1939. The 33km Questembert - Ploërmel section closed completely post-1990, but in summer 2004 some track was still in place at the Questembert end - and even apparently electrified for a short distance. Ploërmel - Porcaro closed completely from 1 July 1964 and Porcaro - Guer was out of regular freight use by 18 May 1952 but was not formally closed until 1 July 1964. Though Guer - Messac was shown as open for freight in the 1991 Ball atlas, the whole line is now lifted from Ploërmel to the Messac end. In summer 2004 Ploërmel station was extant and in non-railway use. One flat wagon sat forlornly on an isolated section of rail, but the remainder of the track in the station area had been lifted. From Ploërmel south towards Questembert the trackbed had become a cycle-way.

3972][FR] St.Dizier - Humbécourt - Eclaron - Wassy - Brousseval - Dommartin-le-France - Doulevant-le-Château: (BLN 750.0108, 831.0353, R.3400; Ball 27B2-27B1) This line is owned and operated by Chemin de Fer de Blaise-et-Der, which has significant local-authority support or ownership. The twice-weekly (sometimes more frequent) freight trains continue, CFBD’s BB63000 locomotive pushing its way through the encroaching boscage, bringing raw materials to a works making cast-iron street-furniture at Brousseval (R.3400 was in error in referring to a steel foundry at Wassy). The area in fact saw the earliest iron-making in France (in 1157), and a canal link to St.Dizier pre-dated the railway. Curiously, Wassy - which until 1926 was a sous-préfecture - appears to have no public transport, other than the tourist trains and school buses.

The tourist trains, departing Wassy at 15:00 on summer Sundays, are operated for Autorails Touristiques de Wassy by the same diesel locomotive, pulling or propelling de-motored Picasso railcar X5830. In 1995 trips ran every Sunday from end-June to early September to either Eclaron or to Doulevant-le-Château (but never both on the same day). However, they have become more restricted, in 2004 operating only on six Sundays: three in July and three in September, and only between Wassy and Dommartin-le-France. Autorails Touristiques de Wassy (Gare de Wassy, F-52130 Wassy; Monsieur Chapron, telephone +33 6 0750 5572) say that in 2005 they may run only on Sundays in July.

The St.Dizier - Wassy line opened 10 December 1868, being extended to Doulevant-le-Château 25 August 1881. As already recorded in R.3400, projected extensions were stillborn. The original Wassy station (on the road to Brienne-le-Château where it is survived by a crossing cottage) was relocated, being replaced by the present rather more significant building when the Doulevant line was crossed south of Wassy station by the (Troyes - Brienne-le Château -) Montier-en-Der - Wassy - Joinville - Gondrecourt-le-Château (- Sorcy - Nancy / Verdun) route, opened 1 June 1892. Built mainly for strategic rather than commercial reasons, the latter line has not survived. Montier-en-Der - Wassy - Gondrecourt closed to passengers 1 July 1938 and to freight 17 May 1953, apart from a short stub at Joinville. However, the new line was responsible for the four-platform layout at Wassy, allowing parallel non-conflicting operation. Alas, in summer 2004 Wassy’s big station-yard was doing little more than providing a home for metallic detritus - and for snakes. Preserved railways seem to attract the former, which they optimistically describe as rolling-stock for restoration, including in this case another derelict railcar. The station area is fenced and gated, with no mention of the tourist operation, not even a sign-board nor a blank poster-board, so when the tourist train is not actually present, the casual passer-by might reasonably assume that it had ceased operating.

The Wassy line was to be visited by an ADL charter train at the beginning of August 2004, and the Nancy-based Autorails de l’Est brought their Picasso X3886 for a visit on 29 August. The section from St.Dizier through the forest to Humbécourt, 3km short of Eclaron, was once double track, so only one side needed to have the encroaching trees cut back. However, to avoid the vegetation beyond stripping the varnish off preserved X3886, passengers changed at Humbécourt into the CFBD locomotive-propelled Picasso for the remainder of the journey to Wassy.

3973][FR] Paris: St.Germain-en-Laye (Grande Ceinture) - St.Germain-Bel-Air-Forqueux - Mareil-Marly - Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche-Forêt-de-Marly - Noisy-le-Roi: (R.3785; Ball 25A3-25A2; 81B1-82A1) SNCF’s Transilien schematic map of railways in the Île de France (= greater Paris area), issue date June 2004, shows this unelectrified section of the Grande Ceinture Ouest as reopening to passengers ‘fin 2004’, presumably at the 12 December 2004 timetable-change. The map implies that a separate diesel shuttle service will operate, with interchange at Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche-Forêt-de-Marly with through Paris-St.Lazare - St.Cloud - Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche-Forêt-de-Marly electric trains. The plan appears not to include restoration of the long-closed link from the branch terminus of RER line A1 (Nanterre - St.Germain-en-Laye) west to St.Germain GC.

3974][FR] Lorraine colliery railway: (R.2808, 3255; Ball 29B3) The last pits of colliery-operators Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine, the last in France, ceased raising coal 8 April and formally closed 25 April 2004. SNCF subsidiary Voies Ferrées Locales et Industrielles continue to work HBL’s standard-gauge industrial railway (c.210km of trackage), serving the important chemical complex of Carling, the coking-plant retained by the Rogesa group, the Emile Huchet power-station and various railway-related activities such as wagon-repair. By summer 2004 other elements of the HBL system, however, had gone, such as the yard at the Freyming coal-washing plant, and demolition of the bâtiments du siège (= administration buildings) at Merlebach, closed September 2003, had begun. Various narrow-gauge (metre and 570mm) mine-railway equipment was being stacked for disposal, and some items had already gone to the Carreau Wendel mining museum at Petite Rosselle (R.3328). (Voie Etroite, #203)

3975][FR] Nérac - Mézin (- Mont-de-Marsan): Passenger trains ceased 2 October 1938, but this section was still open to freight in 1990 and appears in the 1991 Ball atlas (60B1). (The Port Sainte Marie - Nérac - Condom - Mouchan - Eauze - Manciet - Nogaro - Riscle line linking Nérac to the outside world also lost its passenger service early, on 27 June 1940, but sections of it too survived a further half-century to appear as freight branches in the 1991 atlas.) Since May 2004 the Chemin de Fer Touristique du Pays d’Albret in the département of Lot-et-Garonne have been running on the otherwise-disused 15km Nérac - Mézin SNCF section, which includes a 1237m tunnel. The train comprised two draisines and a carriage constructed on a wagon chassis, running Tue-Sun during Jul-Aug, and Sat and Sun in Sep 2004. (partly L’Écho du Rail, # 260, August 2004)

3976][FR][BE] (Charleville-Mézières -) Givet SNCF - Heer-Agimont SNCB - Hastière - Dinant: (Ball 16B2-17A3) Passenger reopening of this international line, reportedly planned for summer 2002, with through Reims - Namur TER regional trains, worked by SNCF X73500 single diesel railcars (R.1130, 2786), has not happened. Has this reopening been abandoned?

3977][BE][LU] Belgium: Train+Tram+Bus day: After the gap in 2003 (R.3130), Belgium again had a TTB day in 2004. From 1-18 September a day-rover ticket for Sunday 19 September was on sale at EUR10 (valid on public transport in Belgium) or EUR13.50 (valid on public transport in Belgium and Luxembourg). Buying the ticket on the day cost an extra EUR2. TTB tickets were not valid on Eurostar, TGV, Thalys or ICE trains, but on other cross-border workings were valid to or from the last station in Belgium/Luxembourg, whether the train stopped there or not.

3978][LU][FR] (Bettembourg -) Dudelange-Usines - Volmerange-les-Mines: (R.3489, 3550, 3721) Dudelange-Usines is at 5.226km from Bettembourg, and the stop-block at Volmerange-les-Mines, opened December 2003, is at 7.062km. Dudelange-Usines, previously the terminus, with a single platform, now has a temporary-looking second platform of wood and steel slats installed alongside the loop, and the Mon-Sat half-hourly trains cross there, thus spending 24min at CFL’s new Volmerange terminus, a perhaps less-than-exciting prospect, but offering adequate time for one to check which country one is in! The signage is all CFL-standard, but Lorraine regional council stickers on the Volmerange name-signs confirm that the station lies just inside France. At the No Man’s Land café/bar and the few houses nearby, the mail-boxes, telephones etc are French. Some 400m back towards Dudelange the border can be identified on the road paralleling the line by signs in both directions and by a change in the road surface, but on the railway itself nothing at all obvious indicates the border.

3979][NL] Gouda - Alphen-aan-den-Rijn - Leiden - Leiden A44: (R.2912; Ball 3B2) National and regional authorities in summer 2004 reached agreement on the financing of the first phase of the RijnGouweLijn, making construction virtually certain. The light-rail line will run Gouda - Alphen aan de Rijn - Leiden, mainly sharing NS track, but with new street-running track through the centre of Leiden to a western terminus on the A44 motorway west of the town. Extension to the coastal resorts of Katwijk and Noordwijk, where NZH trams once ran, is not part of the present deal, but might be part of a later phase.

3980][NL] Amsterdam trams: (R.3792) On 13 September 2004 GVB extended Sneltram route #51 by c.1300m and three new stops (Poortwachter - Spinnerij - Sacharovlaan - Westwijk). The relevant city-district (stadsdeel) authorities have agreed to finance deficits, if any, for two years, so GVB have agreed to reinstatement, from the mid-December 2004 timetable-change, of tram line #6 (Overtoom - Amstelveenseweg - Stadionplein - VU Medisch Centrum). VU Medisch Centrum, terminus of line #16, will also be terminus of line #6.

3981][DE] Bad Krozingen - Staufen - Untermünstertal: (BLN 763.0427; Ball 67B2) Südwestdeutsche Verkehrs AG, formerly Südwestdeutsche Eisenbahn Gesellschaft and still known as SWEG, operate this pleasant branch serving a prosperous rural area on the fringes of the Schwarzwald with residences for upwardly-mobile Freiburgers. Some trains work through from Freiburg (Breisgau) Hbf, taking the southbound (Karlsruhe -) Freiburg - Bad Krozingen (- Basel) main line, crossing the whole layout at the north end of Bad Krozingen goods-loops to traverse the length of the northbound goods loop the ‘wrong way’ before diverging to call at the north-end bay platform at Bad Krozingen station and reverse there to gain access to the branch. At Staufen traces are visible of the closed Staufen - Grunern - Sulzburg branch, now lifted, with services provided by SWEG bus. Shown as Untermünstertal in the 1998 Ball atlas, the branch terminus seems also to be known as Münstertal (Schwarzwald) and is shown as Münstertal in the 2002 Schweers+Wall Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland.

3982][DE] Weil (Rhein) - Lörrach-Stetten - Lörrach: (R.2561, 2610; Ball 67B1) From 13 June 2003 SBB/CFF electric units took over from DB the operation of passenger trains on this short 6km west-to-east ‘Switzerland avoiding line’ just north of Basel (KBS734). Though entirely in Germany the line became part of the Basel S-Bahn system. At Weil am Rhein all trains use platform 1, which is on a separate pair of tracks from those used by Freiburg - Weil - Basel services on the main line. SBB units also run S-Bahn trains on the Basel Badische Bhf - Riehen (bei Basel) - Lörrach-Stetten - Lörrach - Zell DB branch. Although the formation between Lörrach-Stetten and Lörrach is shared, the lines are (or were; R.0072) two parallel single tracks with no physical junction until Lörrach.

3983][DE][CH] Koblenz SBB - Waldshut DB: (Ball 68A1, 87B3) A 3km single-track passenger-only line runs from Koblenz in Switzerland north across the river Rhein to Waldshut in Germany, on DB’s Singen - Schaffhausen - Waldshut - Basel line. Formerly worked by a DB diesel railcar shuttle (BLN 735.0186), the cross-border line has since electrification in May 1999 (BLN 847.0181) been worked by SBB Winterthur - Zurzach - Koblenz - Waldshut electric units, terminating in Waldshut platform 5, the wired eastern portion of former through platform 1. A short length of track has been removed and a gap, protected by buffer-stops, now separates platforms 1 and 5. The only physical link from the wired ‘Swiss’ platform is a crossover to the eastbound Waldshut - Schaffhausen track. To leave or to board the Swiss trains, passengers are required to walk through a small customs-hall, and a fence across the platform enforces this. On our reporter’s journey in late August 2004 from Waldshut to Koblenz and back, German border officials were manning the customs-hall, and as soon as the southbound train was on the Rhein bridge Swiss border officials came round to inspect passports.

The map issued to another of our reporters with a ‘Swiss Pass’ rover-ticket showed Koblenz - Waldshut included for ‘reduced-rate’ but not for ‘free’ travel, so he conscientiously asked at Winterthur ticket-desk for a reduced-rate ticket for this (3km!) bit of the trip. After some time typing on his keyboard, followed by a phone call to his superior, the booking-clerk said that ‘the computer was unable to issue a ticket for such a journey at a Swiss Pass reduced rate’. Our reporter proceeded to travel on the line with Swiss Pass only, but encountered no controller on the train to surcharge him as he crossed into Germany. SBB’s revenue loss cannot have been large!

3984][DE] Hüfingen - Bräunlingen Industriegebiet - Bräunlingen: (Ball 68B2) This short remaining section of the Bregtalbahn reopened to passengers from end-August 2003 (R.3459) with Hohenzollerische Landesbahn as operators (KBS742). On the early afternoon of Thursday 26 August 2004, the single Adtranz railcar working the line made no call in either direction at the Braünlingen Industriegebiet request-stop. Though the branch is only 2.8km in length, and likely to remain railcar-operated, a short rounding-loop has been provided east of Braünlingen’s new short single platform, which ends at a buffer-stop immediately east of a former level-crossing. Beyond the crossing the line used to serve a factory.

3985][AT][LI][CH] Feldkirch - Altenstadt - Gisingen - Tisis [AT] - Schaanwald [LI] - Nendeln - Forst Hilti - Schaan-Vaduz [LI] - Buchs SG [CH]: (R.2338, 2369, 2830; Ball 89B1) ÖBB’s international route from Feldkirch west includes 18.5km and four stations in the tiny independent country of Fürstentum Liechtenstein before arriving at Buchs in the Swiss canton of St.Gallen. The single-track electrified line carries a variety of traffic including EC and EN trains from Wien, Graz and Salzburg to Zürich and Basel, but retains the character of a rural branch. The lightly-patronised ÖBB electric unit working a midday stopping service in late August 2004 ambled along picking up and dropping off the occasional passenger (including our reporter - who stepped out of the train briefly at Forst Hilti so that he could say he had set foot in Liechtenstein!). Schaan-Vaduz ÖBB station is in the small town of Schaan, with Liechtenstein’s national capital, Vaduz, some 4km away. A private freight siding just north of Tisis seemed in active use and Nendeln was handling timber traffic.

3986][ES] Madrid metro: The engineering work begun in June (R.3880) is complete, and the closed sections of Metro de Madrid lines #2 and #3 reopened on Monday 13 September 2004.

3987][ES] Madrid Puerta de Atocha - Toledo-La Sagra - Ciudad Real - Don Quijote - Puertollano - Córdoba - Sevilla / Málaga: The new national government elected in mid-March 2004 have been reviewing high-speed standard-gauge rail projects, with some consequent adjustment to completion dates. The 20.5km (Madrid -) Toledo-La Sagra - Toledo-Santa Barbara branch (R.3166, 3388; Ball 21A2-20A1) should still be ready by end-2004, with public services starting soon after, in early 2005. On the 1992 Alta Velocidad Española main line, a new station between Ciudad Real and Puertollano (Ball 29B2) is to serve the Don Quijote airport now under construction next to the railway. Madrid - Don Quijote trains may or may not be operated by RENFE. Target-date for opening of the (Córdoba -) Almodóvar del Rio - Bobadilla - Málaga line through to Malaga is 2007, the planned phase-one opening to Bobadilla in 2005 (Ball 35B3-36A1; R.3275) having been dropped.

3988][ES] Madrid Puerta de Atocha - Guadalajara-Yebes - Calatayud - Zaragoza-Delicias - Lleida-Pirineus - Camp de Tarragona - Roda de Barà (- Barcelona): (Ball 21A2-13A1-14A1) On the high-speed standard-gauge line to the north-east, RENFE are to activate the first phase of the ERTMS signalling system on or soon after the mid-December 2004 timetable change, leading to higher allowable speeds between Madrid and Lleida. The first part of the Lleida - Barcelona section is nearly ready, but three of its tunnels encountered subterranean watercourses, requiring the tunnel-lining to be strengthened. Contracts were recently awarded, and the extra work is expected to take until late 2005. By early 2006 high-speed standard-gauge trains could be reaching a new station in the countryside c.20km north of Tarragona. Known provisionally at earlier stages as Perafort or La Secuita, after nearby villages, this station will probably now be called Camp de Tarragona (= Tarragona Field). From a junction near here the new line will in future have a link south to the Barcelona - Sant Vincenç de Calders - Tarragona - València coastal line, upgraded and realigned for high-speed running but still 1668mm broad-gauge (R.3663). North-east of Camp de Tarragona, an intercambiador near Roda de Barà will allow gauge-changing trains to continue north-east over the coastal line via Sant Vincenç de Calders into Barcelona. The government have recently promised that the standard-gauge line itself will reach Barcelona in 2007, and this does seem to be realistic as far as the outskirts of the city. Beyond, however, the route is still disputed, the main issue now being how to serve Barcelona’s El Prat airport, south- of the city and rather painfully off-route in any variant! In the city-centre, work to enlarge Barcelona Sants main-line station to handle high-speed standard-gauge trains is to start during 2004.

3989][ES] (Madrid -) Barcelona - Girona RENFE - Perpignan SNCF: (Ball 15, new alignment not shown) The government have reached an agreement with Girona city council to put both the classic 1668mm-gauge Barcelona - Port Bou line and the new standard-gauge route underground through Girona. The current elevated structure across the town would disappear. Target-date for completion of the Barcelona - Perpignan high-speed line, finally linking Spain’s standard-gauge to the network in the rest of Europe, is reconfirmed as 2009.

3990][ES] Madrid Chamartín - Segovia - Medina del Campo / Valladolid: (BLN 844.0102, R.2141; Ball 20A2-10A1, new alignment not shown) On the Noroeste high-speed standard-gauge line, tunnelling work on the Madrid - Segovia section through the Guadarrama mountain range proceeds apace, and it appears that the easier Segovia - Valladolid section north of the mountains will be ready in 2007 as planned. However, target-date for completion of the whole Madrid - Valladolid north-west line is now late 2008. It is possible that, as an interim measure, gauge-changing trains may use the sinuous and crowded classic Madrid - Segovia 1668mm-gauge line to join the new Segovia - Valladolid standard-gauge section, since this would still be shorter and faster than the current Madrid - Avila - Valladolid route.

3991][ES] Manresa Alta - L’Agulla - Santpedor - Sallent: The metre-gauge freight branch of Catalonian provincial government railways (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya) from Manresa Alta north to the potash mines at Sallent (R.0339; not shown in the Ball atlas at 16A3) saw a limited passenger service on Sunday 29 August 2004 during a local fiesta in Manresa. From 16:00 to 22:00 special trains every 30min ran from Manresa Baixador to Manresa Alta and on to the freight branch to a special-event stop at L’Agulla, c.1.5km north of Manresa. No ticket was required, and the short journey was free. FGC were to offer a somewhat more extended public passenger service on the branch on Sunday 26 September 2004, running every 60min from 10:00 to 21:00 Manresa Baixador - Manresa Alta - Santpedor - Sallent, a 22min ride, apparently aimed at local rail enthusiasts. A fare was to be charged.

3992][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo elevators: (Ball 5B2) Monday 13 September 2004 saw a new addition to the city transport system, a pair of inclined elevators from an upper stop in Calle Barandiarán-Ayerbe (100m from the Calle Zabalbide entrance of Santutxu metro station) to a lower stop on Calle Begoñazpi, near Calle Prim. The Ascensores de Prim are intended as an add-on to the metro to serve the otherwise difficult-to-access Prim area. One of the two lift-cabins normally moves up as the other moves down, but each cabin has its own independent running-line, and the system is not a funicular. Other details are: track-length 36m; difference in levels 20.7m; inclination 35°; journey-time 45sec; single-cabin capacity 13 passengers; design by British architect Norman Foster, architect of Bilbao’s metro stations.

3993][AU] Sydney - Werris Creek - Moree / Armidale: The standard-gauge New South Wales government railway’s long-distance passenger operation, trading as CountryLink, had been running this Northern Tablelands service with a pair of Xplorer two-car diesel units, splitting at Werris Creek to serve Moree as well as Armidale. However, a fatal collision at a level-crossing on the Werris Creek - Moree section on 4 May 2004 made one of the Xplorer units unavailable, and the service reverted to running Sydney - Armidale only. The Sydney - Armidale train is also under threat, on the grounds of the size of its subsidy. Following recent loss of superphosphate traffic to road, the so-called Great Northern section (Werris Creek - Tamworth - Nemingha - Armidale) is now without regular freight service north of Nemingha, just north of Tamworth, itself c.40km north of Werris Creek. (Railway Digest, August 2004)

3994][AU] (Melbourne -) Ballarat - Ararat: (R.3757-8) The line was recommissioned 28 June 2004 as one single-track 1600mm-gauge Ballarat - Ararat section with train-staff working throughout. Signalling at the broad/standard flat crossing completed 4 April 2004 just outside Ararat station requires co-operation between the Australian Rail Track Commission (ARTC), who are responsible for ‘safe-working’ (including signalling) of the standard-gauge, and Freight Australia who control safe-working of the broad-gauge (though this particular section is at present passenger-only). V/Line ran a special train for invited guests on Saturday 10 July, and offered three short round-trips from Ararat for local people. Public passenger services - two Ararat - Ballarat - Melbourne round-trips a day - began on Sunday 11 July 2004, the same day that new V/Line timetables were introduced across the state. (Railway Digest, May, August 2004)

3995][AR] Buenos Aires Retiro Mitre - Rosario Norte - Tucumán and (Rosario -) Villa Maria - Córdoba: In the huge country of Argentina, outside the Buenos Aires suburban area, long-distance passenger trains continue to be hit by uncertainty. On the ex-Mitre 1676mm-gauge lines (R.3347), the Villa Maria - Córdoba train run by the cooperative Femed ceased running in January 2004, but Ferrocentral, a new private-sector consortium formed by freight operators NCA and passenger operators Ferrovías began in mid-August 2004 running Fridays and Sundays Córdoba - Villa María, Saturdays and Mondays Villa María - Córdoba. In the near future the twice-weekly frequency is to be improved, and the company hope to start running through from Buenos Aires to Córdoba by the end of 2004. Conversely, on 5 September 2004 the Tucuman provincial goverment suspended operation of the Buenos Aires - Tucumán intercity passenger service and ended the concession to its operators NOA Ferrocarriles. It is expected the service will be running again soon, in charge of another operator. (partly World-Rail-Gen yahoogroup)

3996][IE] Limerick Jn - Tipperary - Cahir - Clonmel - Carrick-on-Suir - Waterford: Closed 7 October 2003 when a bulk-cement train derailed and caused major structural damage to the Cahir viaduct over the river Suir (R.3887), the line was rebuilt by Iarnród Éireann, formally reinaugurated by the Irish transport minister on Thursday 23 September, and restored to public service on Friday 24 September 2004. Previous year-round passenger service on the through route was one locomotive-hauled train each way daily, but this has been improved to three Limerick - Waterford railcar services each way daily Mon-Sat, with connections into other InterCity trains. A promotional EUR10 Limerick - Waterford day-return is on offer in either direction, as is a EUR5 day-return between any pair of stations on the Tipperary - Waterford section. Critically, too, the viaduct has been rebuilt in time for the sugar-beet season commencing end-September, which should see up to 160,000t of beet shipped by rail along the route. (Iarnród Éireann media release) During the c.two-month season in previous years, up to eight beet trains a day have run from Wellingt