Béziers – Neussargues railway line

Béziers – Neussargues
Panorama of the Garabit Viaduct, summer 2011
Route number (SNCF) :	722 000
Course book route (SNCF) :	21, 48
Route length:	277 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	1.5 kV  =
Maximum slope :	34  ‰
Top speed:	105 km / h
Legend Bordeaux – Sète railway line from Bordeaux 431.6 Beziers 18  m 433 Railway line Bordeaux – Sète to Sète 438.4 La Capelière 70  m 441.3 Ribaute-lès-Lieuran 63  m 443.1 Libron (36 m) 443.4 Lieuran-Bassan 70  m 446.7 Espondeilhan 103  m 450.1 Magalas 116  m 456.6 Laurens 174  m 459.2 Combe Escure Tunnel (213 m) Faugères – Paulhan railway from Paulhan 462.9 Tunnel de Labonneau (101 m) 464 Faugères tunnel (138 m) 464.5 Faugères 259  m 465.2 Tunnel de Pétafy (1862 m) 467.6 La Caumette 262  m 467.8 Old route (until 1884) 467.5 Tunnel de La Caumette (623 m) 470.1 Tunnel de Saint-Raphaël (133 m) 471 Viaduc des Arénasses (162 m) 471.2 Tunnel de Coste-Calde (256 m) 472 Orb (111 m) 472.1 Tunnel de Vèbres (82 m) 472.5 Viaduc de Vèbres (172 m) 473.5 Tunnel de la Tourbelle (204 m) 473.9 Bédarieux (old train station) 224  m 474.1 Castres – Bédarieux railway from Mazamet 474.5 Bédarieux 196  m 474.6 Viaduc de l ' Orb (554 m) 475 476.7 Junction Viaduc de l ' Orb ( kilometer jump ) 476.9 Tunnel du Four-à-Chaux (358m) 477.6 La Tour-sur-Orb (old train station) 210  m Railway line La Tour-sur-Orb – Plaisance-Andabre to Plaisance-A. 478.6 La Tour-sur-Orb (new) 245  m 483.4 Viaduc de Cagaronne (63 m) 483.6 Le Bousquet-d'Orb 251  m 484.1 Orb (74 m) 486.6 Tunnel de Lunas (112 m) 486.8 Lunas 284  m 489.1 Viaduc du Béros (92 m) 489.9 Viaduc du Valat Heirne (43 m) 490.2 Joncels 373  m 490.5 Viaduc de Juin (ruisseau de Juin) (57 m) 492.6 Joncelets tunnel (ou de La Boissière) (203 m) 493 Viaduc de l'Usclade (ruisseau de Sauclet) (125 m) 493.3 Cabrils tunnel n ° 1 (1426 m) 494.7 Cabrils tunnel n ° 2 (160 m) 495.3 Les Cabrils 525  m 500.3 Ceilhes - Roqueredonde 462  m 500.7 Orb (24 m); Department of Hérault / Aveyron 504.7 Tunnel de Saint-Xist (1722 m) 508.1 Montpaon 481  m 509.1 Sorgues (29 m) 511.7 Tunnel de Saint-Beaulize (121 m) 512 Lauglanet-Saint-Beaulize 562  m 514.1 Lauglanet-Saint-Beaulize (old train station) 609  m 517.3 Tunnel du Puech-Loubié (26 m) 518.1 Saint-Jean-et-Saint-Paul 500  m 521.9 Tournemire-Roquefort-Saint-Affrique railway from Saint-Affrique 524.6 Tournemire - Roquefort 498  m to Le Vigan 529.9 Cernon (31 m) 531.7 Saint-Rome-de-Cernon 404  m 534.3 Cernon (33 m) 538.2 Saint-Georges-de-Luzençon 356  m 540.1 Cernon (127 m) 541.8 Peyre 347  m 543.7 Viaduc de Millau 547.5 Tunnel de Calès (91 m) 549.4 Millau 379  m 555.5 Aguessac 372  m 556.5 Viaduc d'Aguessac (239 m) 557.2 Viaduc des Terrals (214 m) 558.5 Tunnel de Pergassan (71 m) 559.9 La Cresse-Rivière 507  m 560.5 Tunnel de Rivière (101 m) 561.7 Viaduc de Lavade (45 m) 562.3 Tunnel de Sagnas (78 m) 564.8 Tunnel de Vézouillac (303 m) 565.4 Viaduc de Vézouillac (165 m) 568.6 Tunnel de la Souque (243 m) 569.6 Tunnel de Mialas (653 m) 570.5 Engayresque 839  m 571 Tunnel d'Engayresque (872 m) 574.6 Tunnel de Gaudolet (81 m) 574.8 Tunnel de la Grotte (77 m) 575.1 Tunnel de Sermels (117 m) 579 Aveyron (19 m) 579.6 Sévérac-le-Château 670  m 579.9 Railway line Sévérac-le-Château – Rodez to Rodez 585.8 Tunnel du Bez (723 m) 588.8 Tarnesque 772  m 590.2 Tarnesque Tunnel (327 m) 590.7 Viaduc de Tarnesque (112 m) 592.1 Tunnel de Séguy (297 m) 593.2 Campagnac-Saint-Geniez 660  m 593.5 Campagnac tunnel (1199 m) 596.1 Viaduc de Saint-Laurent-d'Olt (269 m) 597.7 Saint-Laurent-d'Olt 545  m 599.8 Aveyron / Lozère department 599.9 Lot , Viaduc de Miègerivière (100 m) 605.6 Banassac - La Canourgue 529  m 608.6 Lot , Viaduc de Jarnelle (88 m) 609.1 Tunnel de Salmon (223 m) 609.3 Auxillac-Montjézieu 590  m 610.6 D'Auxillac tunnel (202 m) 611.6 Tunnel de Célets (614 m) 612.4 Tunnel de Pontilhac (267 m) 612.8 Lot , Viaduc de Moriès (69 m) 612.9 Ajuston's tunnel (63 m) 613 Viaduc des Ajustons ( Colagne ) (45 m) 613.6 2 × Viaduc de Saint-Pierre and Bois-Rôti (35 m + 56 m) Monastier – La Bastide-Saint-Laurent-les-Bains railway from La Bastide-St-Laurent-les-Bains 614.1 Viaduc de la Bohémienne (Colagne) (45 m) 615.2 Le Monastier 611  m 617.4 Chirac 639  m 617.7 Viaduc de Chirac ( Viouriègre ) (65 m) 619.9 Viaduc du Piou (175 m) 620.3 Marvejols 680  m 622.3 Viaduc de Sénouard (228 m) 623.5 Viaduc de Maison Rouge (78 m) 624.6 Viaduc du Lignon (130 m) 624.9 Viaduc de Chanteperdrix (231 m) 626.2 Viaduc de Merdaric (80 m) 626.4 Tunnel de Sainte-Lucie (1104 m) 628.4 Tunnel de la Griffoulière (105 m) 628.8 Tunnel d'Estoura (213 m) 629.7 Crueize , Viaduc de l'Enfer (170 m) 632.5 Viaduc de Chapchiniès (56 m) 634.5 Tunnel du Born (511 m) 635.1 Saint-Sauveur-de-Peyre 1030  m 637.9 Viaduc du Triboulin (56 m) 641.1 D'Aumont tunnel (235 m) 641.9 Aumont-Aubrac 1041  m 646.1 Viaduc de la Rimeize (130 m) 646.6 A 75 (75 m) 652.9 Saint-Chély-d'Apcher 994  m 657 Tunnel d'Herbouze (343 m) 660.6 Arcomie 1054  m 663.5 Territory border Lozère - Cantal 665.2 A 75 668.1 Loubaresse 953  m 673.4 A75 675.3 Garabit 836  m 675.7 Truyère , Viaduc de Garabit (565 m) 677.5 A 75 679 Ruynes-en-Margeride 832  m 685.7 Viaduc de Varillettes (100 m) 686.4 A 75 689.6 Saint-Flour-Chaudes-Aigues 783  m 689.6 after Beaumont-Lauriat 690.9 Ander , Viaduc de Massalès (60 m) 693.7 Andelat 820  m 695.2 Ander , Viaduc du Blaud (80 m) 697.4 Viaduc de la Combe (30 m) 697.7 Babory, Viaduc du Saillant (30 m) 703 Talizat 943  m 703.6 Tunnel du col de Mallet (1454 m) Figeac – Arvant railway from Arvant 708.6 Neussargues 809  m Railway line Bort-les-Orgues – Neussargues to Bort-les-Orgues Railway line Figeac – Arvant to Aurillac

The Béziers – Neussargues railway line (also named Ligne des Causses in French after the mountain range of the same name) is a 277-kilometer single-track main line in southern France . It runs almost in a north-south direction and connects the city of Béziers in the south via Millau with the Neussargues-Moissac railway junction located almost 800 meters up in the Massif Central . Today regional, interregional and freight trains run. The most important and largest single structure is the Viaduc de Garabit by Gustave Eiffel .

history

Participating companies

The planning and construction of the line came from Béziers in the Hérault department . The aim was to transport the pits around Graissessac. The Compagnie des mines de Graissessac, founded in 1845, was in charge . The Compagnie du chemin de fer de Graissessac à Béziers was founded in February 1853 to build and operate the route . The concession for the route construction had been granted eleven months earlier. In 1858 the company went under a forced administration to the state, which in 1865 transferred it to the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi (CF du Midi). Half a year after the bankruptcy was opened, the first section to Bédarieux was opened on September 6, 1858 , initially only for freight traffic, and from September 1, 1859 also with passenger trains.

The mining company also went bankrupt due to financial difficulties in 1857, but was re-established in 1860 under the name Compagnie-Usquin-mines .

After the line went into operation, Béziers applied for a new concession to Millau. It was intended to be able to bring agricultural products, especially wine, cheaper to the greater Paris area. The shortest connection to Paris went from Neussargues on the now closed Neussargues – Bort-les-Orgues and Evaux-les-Bains railway . But the connection was also an important achievement for the Massif Central region. For their residents, the new access road was especially important for the sale of their dairy products and for the emerging tourism.

Since the nationalization of the French railway companies in 1938, the line has belonged to the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF).

Track construction

Station Saint-Flour , 1916

Station Saint-Chely-d'Apcher with museum railcar X 2403 , 2011

The new, financially much stronger track owner CF du Midi was able to ambitiously continue the construction to the north despite the very difficult terrain. After the license was again released, the six kilometers from the junction at La Tour-sur-Orb to Le Bousquet-d'Orb were completed by 1872, followed by almost 66 kilometers to Millau on October 18, 1874 including the two longest tunnels on the entire route from 1 , 7 and 1.4 kilometers respectively, on May 14th 1880 the 30 km long section to Sévérac-le-Château was opened. This section required four bridges with a total length of 663 m and ten tunnels with a total length of 2.6 km. The 26 km long section to Banassac-La Canourgue in the Lozère department was put into operation on August 14, 1883, the extension via Le Monastier to Marvejols with a length of 15 km six months later on May 3, 1884.

The completion of the following section to Saint-Chély-d'Apcher lasted until May 9, 1887, as numerous bridges and tunnels had to be built here as well. The 55 km long final section to Neussargues was opened to traffic a year and a half later on November 10, 1888, more than 30 years after the first section. This was next to Pointe de Grave on the Bordeaux-St-Louis-Pointe de Grave railway line, the northernmost point of the company's almost 4000 km long network.

In Neussargues there was already a connection in the direction of Brive-la-Gaillarde (west) and Clermont-Ferrand (north-east) with the Figeac – Arvant railway line since 1868 . The very steep profile of the route caused high costs in operation and maintenance and one should have hoped for competitive advantages over competing railway companies.

The electrification of the line began very early: in 1931/32 hardly any other railways had been converted to electrical operation. The CF du Midi founded the subsidiary Société Hydro-Électrique du Midi (SHEM) for this purpose . The electricity supply initially served the power station of the Pinet dam in the Tarn valley , which was built between 1926 and 1929, and later the power station of the Marèges dam , which went into operation in 1935. In addition, there was a pipeline via Toulouse to St. Victor near Tournemire from the various hydropower plants in the Pyrenees for the energy network.

traffic

At the beginning of the 20th century there was a Paris – Saint-Flour night train. This set later operated via Clermont-Ferrand to Béziers until 2003 and was discontinued in 2007. Today the route is of minor importance. In the Auvergne region there are no TER connections on this route and in the Hérault the TER connection is considered slow and inconvenient because the train stations are often far from the town centers and bus or car are more practical. After a train derailed in 2006, a speed limit of 40 km / h was imposed on the section between Neussargues and Loubaressee. After restoring the section for 7.5 million euros, it was possible to drive there again at 75 km / h. Overall, the route is underused to strive for a more thorough renovation.

There was talk of closing the line at the turn of the year 2015/16, but especially in the Saint-Chély region, there are fears that 100 additional trucks will cause truck collapse on the RN 106 every day .

In 2019, the future of the route was still not certain. Although a rail replacement section Millau Sévérac place in the summer for 3.9 million euros instead, which is also continued, but the tracks by the heavy traffic to the Arcelor Mittal plant in are Saint-Chely-d'Apcher tasked .

accident

On Saturday, February 26th, 2006 at around 2:45 p.m. Corail 5941 derailed from Paris to Béziers near Saint-Flour at a distance of 692.4 kilometers. Two travelers were injured. The locomotive and the first three cars were thrown from the tracks onto the rock next to it, and 100 meters of track became unusable. The reason was decrepit sleeper and track material.

Web links

Commons : Béziers – Neussargues railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Ligne des Causses on Structurae
• Massifcentralferroviaire of route 722 000 with an extensive archive of images and sources

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Timeline of the Ministère des Travaux Publics, Direction de l'exploitation, du contrôle financier et de la statistique des chemins de fer, Division du contrôle des comptes de compagnies et de la statistique. Supplément, Répertoire méthodique de la législation des chemins de fer français, imprimerie nationale, 1864, p. 131
2. ^ Laurent Wirth: Un équilibre perdu: évolution demographique, économique et sociale du monde paysan dans le Cantal au XIXe siècle. Presses Univ. Blaise Pascal 1996, ISBN 978-2-87741-073-1
3. ↑ ^{a b} Des combrailles au Cantal ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: José Banauco, Fabrice Lanoue: Sur les rails du Limousin , Editions de Borée, 2003, ISBN 978-2-84494-204-3  
4. ^ Alfred Durand: La vie rurale dans les massifs volcaniques des Dores, du Cézallier, du Cantal et de l'Aubrac. Editions Creer 1946, ISBN 978-2-84819-057-0 , p. 124
5. ↑ Christophe Bouneau: Le patrimoine de l'électricité, you fils blackjack. Le Patrimoine hydroélectrique de la Société Hydro-Électrique du Midi (SHEM). In: Collection Patrimoines , Université de Savoie, Chambéry 2009, ISBN 978-2-915797-59-6 , pp. 21–31
6. ↑ Luc Crespon-Lhérisson: Pour la défense de la ligne de l'Aubrac , Midi Libre , February 28, 2015
7. ^ Louis-Jean Artis: Faible visibilité pour Béziers-Neussargues. Rail Passion , August 18, 2019
8. ^ Investigation report of the Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Accidents de Transport Terrestre .