La Plaine – Hirson railway line

La Plaine-Hirson
Memorial column above the tunnel de Vierzy.
Route number (SNCF) :	229,000
Course book route (SNCF) :	269/270
Route length:	193 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Dual track :	Yes
Legend 0.0 Paris north 53 m ~ 0.5 Boulevard de la Chapelle ( Metro Line 2 ) Chapelle international La Chapelle-Tramways-Nord-Ceinture 2.0 Chemin de Fer de Petite Ceinture Boulevard périphérique Paris / Seine-Saint-Denis border 2.6 La Chapelle-Saint-Denis junction La Plaine – Pantin railway line from Pantin Paris – Lille railway line 3.4 La Plaine – Ermont-Eaubonne railway line Depot de La Plaine N 1 4.1 La Plaine-Voyageurs 43 m 4.5 La Plaine-Stade-de-France 43 m 5.0 Canal Saint-Denis (28 m) 5.3 A 86 Aubervilliers-Rue-Saint-Denis 6.3 La Courneuve-Aubervilliers 38 m Pont-Blanc 9.2 Line de la grande ceinture de Paris Tram Express Nord (Ligne 11) 9.4 Le Bourget formerly Le Bourget-Drancy 44 m Junction to the Ligne de la grande ceinture de Paris Bourget Track Harp 11.5 Drancy (formerly Le Blanc-Mesnil-Drancy) 45 m 13.2 Le Blanc-Mesnil 46 m Plant connection PSA d'Aulnay-sous-Bois 13.4 A 3 14.4 Aulnay-sous-Bois 50 m Aulnay-sous-Bois – Verberie line to Senlis 17.5 Sevran-Livry 58 m Poudrerie nationale de Sevran-Livry 20.0 Le Vert-Galant (formerly Vaujours) 63 m Seine-Saint-Denis / Seine-et-Marne border Gl.-Conn. Building material manufacturer 22.8 Villeparisis-Mitry-le-Neuf (formerly Villeparisis) 61 m 24.3 A 104 ( Francilienne ) CDG Express to Aéroport CDG 2 TGV 24.8 LGV Interconnexion Est 26.7 Mitry-Claye 72 m Conn. Mitry Compans industrial area 29.1 Compans 78 m 29.7 Biberonne (46 m) 31.3 Thieux-Nantouillet 93 m 34.3 Dammartin-Juilly-Saint-Mard 111 m Seine-et-Marne / Oise border 42.1 Le Plessis-Belleville 112 m 44.5 Factory connection 48.4 Nanteuil-le-Haudouin 105 m Ormoy-Villers – Mareuil-sur-Ourcq railway from Mareuil-sur-Ourcq 55.6 Ormoy-Villers 95 m Railway line Chantilly-Gouvieux-Crépy-en-Valois from / n. Chantilly-G. Ormoy-Villers – Boves railway line from / n. Boves 60.7 Crépy-en-Valois 99 m End of electrification (from Paris-Nord) Oise / Aisne border 68.2 Vaumoise 110 m Aisne / Oise border (2 ×) 72.6 Boursonne Coyolles 114 m 76.5 Rethondes – La Ferté-Milon railway line from La Ferté-Milon 77.4 Villers-Cotterêts 133 m 78.4 Rethondes – La Ferté-Milon railway line to Rethondes 87.3 Corcy 81 m 87.4 Savière (6 m) 89.0 Longpont Tunnel (108 m) 89.6 Longpont 90 m 93.7 Vierzy 102 m 94.2 Tunnel de Vierzy (single track, 1401 m) 100.0 Berzy-le-Sec 72 m 104.0 Rochy-Condé – Soissons railway from Rochy-Condé 104.3 Soissons 55 m Railway Soissons – Givet to Givet 105.9 Viaduc de Villeneuve ( Aisne ) (65 m) 108.8 Crouy 56 m 114.3 Margival 82 m 116.3 Tunnel de Vauxaillon (single track, 645 m) 118.5 Vauxaillon 82 m 122.0 Anizy-Pinon – Chauny railway from Chauny 122.5 Anizy Pinon 61 m 123.3 Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne (47 m) 123.5 Ailette (7 m) 129.7 Chailvet-Urce 69 m 134.6 Clacy-Mons 68 m 138.0 La Neuville-sous-Laon 82 m 138.9 Amiens – Laon railway and Laon – Cateau railway from Amiens and Le Cateau former freight bypass railway Track harp Laon 140.0 Laon 84 m Reims – Laon railway line to Reims Railway line Laon – Liart to Liart 142.4 Port-Sec-Chambry 76 m Laon industrial area 145.6 A 26 147.7 Barenton Bugny 68 m 149.7 Verneuil-sur-Serre 67 m 152.5 Barenton Cohartille 73 m 152.9 Souche (12 m) 154.2 Serre (23 m) Versigny – Dercy-Mortiers railway line from Versigny 154.8 Dercy-Mortiers 68 m 156.2 Vilpion (14 m) 156.5 Dercy-Froidmont 68 m 159.8 Voyenne 72 m 162.1 Vilpion (13 m) 164.0 Marle-sur-Serre 78 m 164.2 Marle – Montcornet railway line to Montcornet 166.1 Vilpion (13 m) 168.3 Lugny 97 m 169.2 Vilpion (17 m) 172.0 Saint-Gobert-Rougeries 104 m 178.9 Vervins 147 m 186.4 La Bouteille 214 m 191.1 Origny-en-Thiérache 163 m 191.9 Viaduc d'Origny ( Thon ) (207 m) 193.9 Buire 183 m End of electrification (from Anor) 195.7 Hirson – Amagne-Lucquy railway and Busigny – Hirson railway from Amagne-Lucquy and Busigny 196.5 122.6 Hirson 192 m Charleville-Mézières – Hirson railway line from / n. Charleville-M. 121.5 Gland (91 m) 120.7 Hirson-Écoles 195 m 119.2 Viaduc de Blangy ( Oise ) (109 m) 115.8 Aisne / North border 114.4 204.7 Anor 239 m Fives – Hirson railway to Lille-Flandres 210.6 56.3 France / Belgium border 55.0 Momignies to Hermeton-sur-Meuse

The La Plaine – Hirson line is a predominantly double-track , partially electrified railway line between the French capital Paris and Hirson, 200 km to the northeast, near the Belgian border. It was the easternmost main line of the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Nord .

history

Ormoy-Villers, looking towards Paris.

On June 21, 1857 a contract was signed between the Northern Railway Company and the Ministry of Agriculture, Economy and Transport. He planned to build the first stage of this route within three years and at his own risk and expense. It also gives the opportunity to extend the route beyond Laon , Vervins and Hirson to the Belgian border.

The line was put into operation in individual sections between 1860 and 1870. The first stage reached was on February 2, 1862 Soissons . During this time, the name Paris – Soissons railway line was also used . At the same time, the Soissons train station was opened. Just two months later, the Soissons – Givet railway, which had been licensed for the Compagnie des Ardennes , went into operation from Soissons .

On September 22, 1857, the extension was declared public and completion within eight years was determined. There were no subsidies, but interest and amortization guarantees. The construction was relatively problem-free, as the majority of it led over a thinly populated limestone plateau on which sugar beet was grown. There were only two larger engineering structures in this section, the almost 50 m long bridge over the Aisne and the 650 m long Vauxaillon tunnel, which is still the culmination of the route today. This second, 34 km long section to Laon was opened on January 3, 1866. The journey time from Paris was four and a half hours. With income of 509,000 francs compared to 369,500 francs spent, this route was very profitable in the first year of operation.

Another stage was reached on May 28, 1868 between Anor and Chimay in Belgium . The citizens of this small textile and steelworks town were very interested in access to the French market. The connection to the cities of Saint-Quentin , Reims and Charleville-Mézières ( Charleville-Mézières – Hirson railway ) in October and November 1869 made these wishes come true. The missing section Laon – Anor was delayed because of extensive earthworks that were necessary to secure the unstable subsoil in front of Hirson . The last section only went into operation on August 30, 1870, but only for troop transports due to the Franco-German War . The population celebrated the opening on July 1, 1871. The travel time from Paris to Anor was six and a half hours.

At the turn of the century, the route was already at its load limit with 230 trains a day. In 1907 the government decided to expand it to four tracks and construction work began on July 26th of the same year. This increase in capacity was made from the route to Lille to Aulnay-sous-Bois , where the regional trains in the direction of Sevran branch off.

On June 16, 1972, the railway accident in the Vierzy tunnel in the Vierzy tunnel was a serious railway accident with over 100 fatalities, in which parts of the tunnel walls collapsed. Since then, this as well as the Tunnel de Vauxaillon have been reinforced and are only passable on a single track.

Individual evidence

1. ^ René-Charles Plancke: La ligne Paris-Soissons , in: Histoire du chemin de fer de Seine-et-Marne , Amatteis 1991, page 421
2. ^ François Palau, Maguy Palau: Le rail en France: 1858–1863 . Volume 2, self-published 2001, without ISBN, pages 154–155
3. ^ François Palau, Maguy Palau: Le rail en France, 1864–1870 Volume 3, self-published 2001, without ISBN, page 217