Chorges – Barcelonnette railway line

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chorges – Barcelonnette
Chanteloube Viaduct at low tide
Chanteloube Viaduct at low tide
Section of the Chorges – Barcelonnette railway line
Route number (SNCF) : 916,000
Route length: 43 km
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope : 25  ‰
Legend
Route - straight ahead
 Veynes – Briançon railway line
Station, station
 0.000 Chorges 857 m
   
 Routing from 1960
   
 Pralong Viaduct
   
 Routing until 1960
   
 Beginning of the flooded part 780 m
   
 5.1 Chanteloube Viaduct (300 m, partially flooded)
   
 6.0 Bonnet Viaduct
   
 6.1 Hyvans tunnel (255 m)
   
 6.8 Prégo Dieu Viaduct (680 m, 72 m high, demolished)
   
 7.4 Sauze tunnel (2030 m)
   
 9,927 Le Sauze 768 m
   
 10.2 Ambroise tunnel
   
 11.2 Broues Viaduct
   
 11.6 Bouas Viaduct
   
 12.0 Suspinon Viaduct
   
 12.8 Première Noyrée Viaduct
   
 13.5 Champinasson Viaduct
   
 14.140 Ubaye 758 m
   
 End of flooded part 780 m
   
 16.3 Roche tunnel (200 m, today road tunnel)
   
 16.8 Combas tunnel (199 m)
   
 17.4 Derbézi tunnel (442 m)
   
 18.2 Roche Rousse Tunnel (233 m)
   
 19.1 Saint-Martin-la-Blâche tunnel (1730 m)
   
 21.0 Ubaye Bridge (30 m)
   
 22,415 Le Lauzet 900 m
   
 23.6 Buissière Viaduct
   
 26.1 Bouille tunnel (735 m)
   
 End of the completed railway line
   
 27,566 Le Martinet 979 m
   
 27.7 Grand Riou Viaduct
   
 27.8 Ubaye Viaduct
   
 28.8 Chaudon Tunnel (108 m)
   
 29.7 Saint-Jacques tunnel (166 m)
   
 30.784 Revel-Méolans 1041 m
   
 35.890 Thuiles 1103 m
   
 41.689 Barcelonnette 1132 m
   
 41.913 End of the route

The Chorges – Barcelonnette railway (also called the Ubaye line ) is an unfinished project to connect the city of Barcelonnette with the Veynes – Briançon railway . Part of the railway line is now flooded by the Lac de Serre-Ponçon reservoir .

history

The plan adopted by the French Minister for Public Works Charles de Freycinet on July 17, 1879 stipulated that all prefectures and sub-prefectures should receive a rail connection. The town of Barcelonnette, seat of a sub-prefecture of the province of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence , in the Ubaye valley, was to be connected by rail lines from Savines (no. 128) and from Digne-les-Bains (no. 138).

In 1902 the Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM) received the concession for the route from Savines, which became final with the declaration of public utility in 1904. The construction of the route seemed to make sense due to the beginning tourism in the Alps, the economic boom in Barcelonnette and due to the military importance due to the close border with Italy.

The river valleys of the Durance and Ubaye in particular caused difficulties in planning . These rivers carry melt floods and a high proportion of debris, especially in spring. In addition, the Ubaye valley is very narrow in places. As a result, a route close to the river was not possible and required many engineering structures and tunnels. Most of the bridges were designed by Paul Séjourné .

At the time of planning, it was announced that a dam would be built in the Durance valley. The line layout therefore had to be changed again and was not finally approved until 1913.

Construction work began in 1909 and continued slowly during the First World War . During the war, German prisoners of war were used in the construction work. After the war, work accelerated again and in December 1934 the railway line to Le Martinet, around 15 kilometers from Barcelonnette, was largely completed. At the 70 m high Prégo Dieu viaduct over the Durance valley, three of the five pillars were completed. Since France stopped state support for the project, PLM was no longer in a position to complete the project, which was financially and structurally demanding and uneconomical in operation. The application to cease construction work was ministerially approved on December 9, 1936. On November 30, 1941, the project was officially discontinued.

After the Second World War, plans for a Durance dam began again. However, this was planned much larger than the original plans from the beginning of the 20th century. Construction began in 1955 and the barrier wall was completed in 1961. As a result, around ten kilometers of the completed route were flooded. In this context, several structures were blown up, including the pillars of the Prégo-Dieu viaduct.

When the water level in the reservoir is low, individual structures or remnants of the route are visible today. The Chanteloube Viaduct is then a popular sight and those interested can use the well-preserved bridge to cross the dam inflow.

Route description

The railway branches off to the south about four kilometers from Chorges train station . The section flooded by the Lac de Serre-Poncon begins at this point. The Torrent des Moulettes is crossed on the 300 m long and 61 m high Chanteloube viaduct. Shortly afterwards, the Hyvans tunnel in a left curve is crossed. The tunnel entrances are buried today.

The route then leads directly over the 70 m high Prégo-Dieu viaduct that crosses the Durance valley over a length of 680 meters. The next tunnel section begins on the opposite side. The Sauze Tunnel, which is over 2 kilometers long, leads directly to the south. The tunnel entrances are buried today. Now the valley of the Ubaye is reached and the railway line leads along the north side of the valley. The Ambroise tunnel was after Sauze station. The construction work that had started had to be canceled in January 1934 due to water ingress and unstable rock layers. Of the approximately 275 meters, a working shaft was completed over a length of 190 m. The construction site was backfilled. Several smaller bridges were built on the following 3.5-kilometer section, all of which were blown up when the dam was built.

The ascent begins at Ubaye station. Shortly before the Roche tunnel, the route leaves the reservoir. Today the tunnel is used as a single-lane road tunnel for the D 954. From this point on, the railway line has largely been preserved and is now used as a six-kilometer mountain bike route to Le Lauzet. After the Roche-Rousse tunnel is the Enduchet bridge. This was blown up in 1945 by German troops fleeing to Italy. In 2000, a steel structure was placed on the remains of the bridge for use as a cycle path. Then the unlit, around 1.7 kilometers long Saint-Martin-la-Blache tunnel begins. In the middle of the tunnel there is a cross gallery to the Ubaye Valley, which was used for tunneling and ventilation. For many years the tunnel was owned by a cheese dairy and was impassable.

After the tunnel, the Ubaye gorge is crossed. From now on the route runs on the south side of the valley. After the village of Le Lauzet (where the route led along the lake), the railway body from the D 900 departmental road is used until shortly after the village of Champanastais. The Bouille tunnel just before Le Martinet was also used by a cheese dairy for years. The completed railway line ends in the village of Le Martinet.

The project envisaged two bridges in this village, one over the Grand Riou brook and one over the Ubaye. Two more short tunnels were then planned on the north side of the river. Work on these structures was never started. From la Fresquière, the railway line would have largely followed the course of the D 900.

literature

  • Collective of authors: L'Etoile de Veynes . Presses & Editions Ferroviaries, 1999, ISBN 2-905447-12-5 .

Web links

Commons : Ligne de l'Ubaye  - Collection of images, videos and audio files