Clermont-Ferrand – Saint-Just-sur-Loire railway line

Clermont-Ferrand-Saint-Just-sur-Loire
SNCF X 73500 in Montbrison, TER Rhône-Alpes, May 2011
Route number (SNCF) :	784,000
Course book route (SNCF) :	93, 94 (1959)
Route length:	132 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	25  ‰
Legend Cevennes Railway from St.-Germain-des-Fossés Eygurande-Merlines – Clermont-Ferrand railway from Eygurande-Merlines 419.3 Clermont-Ferrand ~ 0.5 Av. Edouard Michelin (formerly N 89 ) 417.7 1.5 Cevennes Railway to Nîmes ~ 1.8 N 89 4.0 A 71 5.1 Aulnat-Aéroport 8.3 A 711 ~ 9.9 D 2089 (formerly N 89 ) 11.1 Pont-du-Château 11.5 Allier (141 m) 12.3 Pont-du-Château (adjacent rail) 14.9 D 997 (formerly N 497 ) 15.1 Vertaizon Railway line Vertaizon – Billom to Billom (private railway) 19.8 Seychalles Moissat 24.4 Lezoux 28.6 Saint-Jean-d'Heurs ~ 33.4 D 2089 (formerly N 89) 33.5 Saint-Germain-des-Fossés – Darsac railway from Arlanc 34.1 Pont-de-Dore 304 m 35.8 A 89 36.4 Dore (135 m) 36.9 Courty 296 m 36.6 Saint-Germain-des-Fossés – Darsac railway to Vichy ~ 41.2 D 906 (formerly N 106 ) 42.7 Tunnel des Graniers (204 m) 43.2 Tunnel de la Feuille (146 m) 44.1 D 400 (formerly N 106) 44.8 A 89 ~ 45.1 D 400 (formerly N 106) 45.9 Thiers 439 m 46.2 Tunnel de Thiers (606 m) 47.1 Tunnel de Tournaire (261 m) 47.6 Tunnel de Barbarin (331 m) 48.0 Viaduc du Grand-Tournant (82 m) 48.0 Tunnel de Croix-Rouge (153 m) 48.4 Granetias Tunnel (84 m) 48.6 Viaduc de Granetias (59 m) 49.0 Tunnel de Château-Gaillard (100 m) 49.6 Tunnel de Chêne-Rond (129 m) 49.9 Tunnel du Martinet (61 m) 50.8 Durolle (20 m) 51.2 La Monnerie-Saint-Rémy 51.6 Durolle (17 m) 52.8 Tunnel de Gorces (68 m) 53.9 Durolle (13 m) 54.3 Celles-sur-Durolle 54.7 Durolle (15 m) 57.4 A 89 57.6 Durolle (13 m) 59.0 Chabreloche 62.6 Puy-de-Dôme / Loire department 64.1 A 89 67.3 Tunnel de Noirétable (174 m) and D 1089 (formerly N 89 ) ~ 730 m 68.0 Noirétable 74.9 Saint-Julien-la-Vêtre 77.0 Tunnel des Ruins (78 m) 77.5 Tunnel du Bois des Ruines (54 m) 77.7 Tunnel de la Roue (160 m) 80.2 Saint-Thurin 81.9 Tunnel du Collet (362 m) 84.8 Tunnel de Colmy (77 m) 85.7 Buriches tunnel (46 m) 86.5 L'Hôpital-sous-Rochefort 90.4 Sail-sous-Couzan 90.7 Lignon du Forez (19 m) 94.0 Boën Chemins de fer départementaux de la Loire (CFDL) according to Roanne (1901–1938) 99.8 Marcilly-le-Pavé 106.5 Champdieu 111.2 Canal du Forez (33 m) 111.6 Montbrison Railway line Lyon-Saint-Paul à Montbrison to Lyon-Saint-Paul 118.1 Saint-Romain-le-Puy 111.2 Canal du Forez (33 m) ~ 123.4 Mare (? M) 123.7 Sury-le-Comtal Bonson – Sembadel railway from Sembadel 126.5 Bonson 128.7 Bonson (50 m) 128.8 Drainage ditch (50 m) 129.0 Loire (159 m) ~ 129.5 Port railway 129.6 Andrézieux ~ 131.5 Saint-Just-sur-Loire – Fraisses-Unieux railway line 131.5 Furan (25 m) 132.0 Saint-Just-sur-Loire (wedge station) ~ 510 m ~ 132.2 Moret-Veneux-les-Sablons – Lyon-Perrache railway from Moret to Lyon-Perrache

The Clermont-Ferrand – Saint-Just-sur-Loire railway is a single-track , 132 km long, non-electrified railway line in France that is only partially used today. Although this railway line is the shortest connection between the two most important cities in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, it is rarely used and is currently not continuously passable. In the central part of Thiers – Boën, major repair work took place in 2017 and 2018.

history

End of the line in Andrézieux before the construction of the bridge over the Loire, 1857.

Old Clermont-Ferrand station building, 1908

Clermont-Ferrand train station

The beginnings of the line go back to the granted concession on February 26, 1823, in which the construction of the railway line Saint-Étienne – Andrézieux is approved, the easternmost part of the line. It went into operation on June 30, 1827 and is the oldest railway line in mainland Europe. The concessionaire and operator was the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Saint-Étienne à la Loire . Since 1844, the horse traction that had been in use until then was replaced by steam locomotives. Some changes in company holdings led from 1853 to the management of the company by the Compagnie du chemin de fer du Grand Central , which was finally renamed the Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM) six months later .

With the establishment of the PLM, the urge to continue the route beyond the Loire increased . As early as April 11, 1857, a concession was granted for construction to Montbrison. On June 14, 1861, another application for a license was made for the further construction of the line between Montbrison and Clermont-Ferrand , which was approved and the construction of which was released on June 11, 1863.

In order to be able to continue the construction of the railway beyond Montbrison, it was decided that the route would be for the two valleys of Lignon du Forez and Durolle . The apex of both valleys lies in the Tunnel de Noirétable at around 750 meters above sea level, to reach both sides with gradients of up to 20 ‰.

For many decades, express and night trains from Paris via Lyon to Toulouse were also carried over the route . All regional trains on the destination Clermont-Ferrand-Saint-Just-sur-Loire always ran to Saint-Étienne. In 1951 there were two pairs of trains that ran the entire route and, at best, took 2:48 hours, until 1992 the travel time could be improved to 2:08. Until the beginning of the 2000s, the travel time could be further improved to 1:55 h by eliminating individual stations. Since then, the steady reduction in route maintenance has resulted in longer travel times of two and a half hours. The poor condition between Thiers and Montbrison forced the SNCF to cease traffic there on June 1, 2016.

Concession overview

• February 26, 1823: Andrézieux – Saint-Just-sur-Loire
• April 11, 1857: Montbrison – Andrézieux
• May 1, 1863: Clermont-Ferrand-Montbrison

Track openings

• June 30, 1827: Andrézieux-La Fouillouse (first line alignment)
• June 16, 1864: Andrézieux-Saint-Just-sur-Loire (second line alignment)
• July 12, 1866: Montbrison-Andrézieux
• May 10, 1869: Clermont-Ferrand-Pont-de-Dore
• May 15, 1872: Pont-de-Dore-Thiers
• May 15, 1872: Boën-Montbrison
• August 20, 1877: Thiers-Boën
• December 9, 2018: Boën-Montbrison (reopening of tourism)

Line closures

• June 16, 1864: Andrézieux – Saint-Just-sur-Loire (first line alignment)
• June 1, 2016: Thiers – Boën (total traffic) and Boën – Montbrison (tourist traffic)

Web links

Commons : Clermont-Ferrand – Saint-Just-sur-Loire line  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ SNCF Region du Sud-Est. Carnet de Profils et Schémas , 1959
2. ^ Ordonnance du Roi relative à l'établissement d'un Chemin de fer de la Loire au Pont de l'Ane sur la rivière de Furens, par le territoire houillier de Saint-Étienne, département de la Loire. In: Bulletin des lois de la République française Paris 1823, pages 193–197
3. ↑ Décret impérial qui approuve la convention passée, le 11 avril 1857, entre le ministre de l'Agriculture, du Commerce et des Travaux publics, et les Compagnies des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon, et de Lyon à la Méditerranée: 19 June 1857. In: Bulletin des lois de l'Empire Français , Paris 1857, Staatsdruckerei, Series XI, Volume 10, No. 522, Pages 275–327.
4. ↑ Décret impérial qui Declare dutilité publique létablissement dun chemin de fer de Clermont à Montbrison, passant par ou pres Thiers. In: Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, réglements, et avis du Conseil d'État , year 1861, page 437.
5. ^ Convention entre le ministre de l'agriculture du commerce et des travaux publics, d'une part; et la société anonyme établie à Paris sous la dénomination de Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditeraanées, d'autre part. In: Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, réglements, et avis du Conseil d'Etat , year 1863, page 676.
6. ^ Maurice Wolkowitsch: Le Massif Central est-il une région enclavée? Peut-il devenir un espace de transit? In: Annales de geographie , No. 574, year 1993, page 582