Pau – Canfranc railway line

Pau-Canfranc
Canfranc station, side of the French railroad tracks
Route number (SNCF) :	664,000
Course book route (SNCF) :	415
Route length:	93 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	previously 1.5 kV  =
Maximum slope :	43  ‰
Minimum radius :	200 m
Legend from Toulouse 215.735 Pau 178  m to Bayonne 216.146 (Gave de Pau; 219 m) 216.985 La-Croix-du-Prince 223.244 Gan 226,390 Pont de Magendie (112 m) 227.478 Viaduc de Les Hiès (313 m) 231.165 Haut-de-Gan 233,412 Tunnel de Bélair (570 m) 235.274 Buzy-en-Bearn 376  m after Laruns 240.015 Ogeu-les-Bains 315  m 243,904 Escou 250.559 Oloron-Sainte-Marie 211  m 251.259 Tunnel d'Oloron (303 m) 252,300 Bidos 255.266 Gurmençon 259,484 Saint-Christau-Lurbe 265,838 Escot 266.207 ( Gave d'Aspe ; 100 m) 266.669 Fontaines d'Escot tunnel (291 m) 268.780 Sarrance 269.747 Tunnel du Mail-du-Couret (244 m) 273,040 Tunnel du Salet (124 m) 273.888 Tunnel de l'Araou (276 m) 275.260 Bedous 400  m 277,542 Accous 279.003 Tunnel d'Esquit (457 m) 279.668 Tunnel de Farrol (124 m) 280.173 Tunnel du Canal-de-Farrol (113 m) 280.643 Pont de l'Estanguet (50 m; destroyed by a derailment) 282,039 Lescun - Cette-Eygun 283,310 Tunnel de Broca (662 m) 285.234 Tunnel de Sens (384 m) 285.812 Tunnel d'Etsaut (209 m) 286,383 Etsaut 288.517 Tunnel de Poutou (180 m) 289.007 Portalet tunnel (940 m) 290,404 Urdos 291,563 Tunnel de Lagaube (165 m) 292,588 Tunnel de Larry (294 m) 294,408 Tunnel hélocoïdal de Sayerce ( spiral tunnel ; 1792 m) 297.501 Tunnel de Penne d'Arrêt (354 m) 299,047 Tunnel de Peilhou (335 m) 299.718 Les Forges d'Abel 1068  m 300.119 Somport tunnel (7874 m) 303.285 ( France - Spain border ) 308.499 Canfranc 1195  msnm to Zaragoza

The Pau – Canfranc railway is one of four railway connections that have been built between France and Spain . It leads from the French city of Pau through the Pyrenees to the Canfranc border station in Spain . This is where the Spanish railway line Zaragoza – Canfranc joins. Most of the Pau – Canfranc railway runs through the Aspetal. The lowest point in the route is in Pau at 178 meters, the highest point in the Somport tunnel at 1212 meters. The railway line has been partially dismantled today and is no longer passable.

history

construction

Plans for the construction of the line go back to 1853. Originally it was intended as part of a rail link between Paris and Madrid . The Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi was commissioned with the construction . The construction time of the entire line (including the Spanish part) lasted from 1902 to 1927. Cross-border traffic was regulated by a treaty between France and Spain in 1904 (supplemented in 1907). The construction was heavily subsidized by the state on both sides of the border . In 1908 the construction of the eight kilometer long border tunnel between France and Spain, the Somport tunnel, began. The breakthrough took place in 1912 and was completed in 1918. Because there was not enough space on the north side of the tunnel for the Canfranc border station , it was built on the Aragonese side , contrary to the original plan . The French line was electrified from the start with 1500 volts direct current , as electricity from the hydroelectric power plants built in the Pyrenees was much cheaper than the coal for steam locomotives , which had to be imported.

On the Spanish side, the access route was completed in 1922. The work at the border station lasted until 1927.

business

On July 11, 1928, the route was in the presence of the Spanish King Alfonso XIII. and the French President, Gaston Doumergue . From July 18, 1928, there was continuous traffic between Pau and Saragossa , but had to change because of the lane change . In 1929, a route shortening to bypass the arch to Huesca between Zuera and Ayerbe (Turuñana) went into operation.

The operation was not a success. Due to the need to change trains in Canfranc and the cumbersome border controls , the journey over the 311 kilometers from Pau to Saragossa was a day trip. The volume of goods traffic was also disappointing. In 1929, in the first full year of operation, only 50,000 tons of goods were transported across the border. This was also due to the fact that, in contrast to the border crossings in Irun and Port Bou , there was hardly any industry on the Spanish side. With the global economic crisis , the volume also fell.

On July 20, 1936, troops of General Francisco Franco occupied Canfranc in the course of the Spanish Civil War . There were clashes with the French railway and border officials. The French government then closed the border crossing. In return, the Spanish side walled up the border tunnel on their side.

The crossing was not reopened until March 15, 1940; after the German occupation of France in World War II, it was initially an important escape route and soon also had extensive freight traffic. Up until the liberation of France in 1944 , essential raw materials were delivered to the German Reich via the route from Spain , in particular iron ore from Teruel and tungsten ore from Galicia . In the other direction, shipments of so-called looted gold ran over the route, 86.6 tons of gold bullion. In the summer of 1944, the route was destroyed several times by French resistance fighters and the Spanish side walled up the border tunnel again.

The End

Level crossing at Lurbe-Saint-Christau. 1988

Traffic was not resumed until 1948 and was minimal. Up until the 1960s, only two mixed trains and one railcar ran here every day . The line maintenance suffered and the power supply for the overhead line was inadequate after the failure of the substation in Urdos .

Somport tunnel, as an auxiliary road tunnel, catenary masts

On March 21, 1970, a train loaded with 320 tons of maize derailed on the bridge at l'Estanguet after it had rolled down the mountain in an uncontrolled manner due to a brake defect, and caused the bridge to collapse. Since then, the line between Canfranc and Bedous has been closed and partially dismantled. In 1980 the Bedous –Oloron section followed, so that on the French side only the Pau – Oloron line was served by local trains.

On February 7, 2003, a two-lane road tunnel was opened parallel to the railway tunnel to relieve the Col du Somport , for which the former railway tunnel serves as a rescue tunnel .

Structural features

Canfranc train station, street side

The route has a gradient of up to 43 per thousand. The eight kilometer long Somport tunnel, border tunnel between France and Spain, has a gradient of 34 per thousand.

The French part of the line was made in standard gauge and was electrified . The Spanish side was built in the usual gauge of 1668 millimeters ( Iberian broad gauge ) and is not electrified. Former border and lane change station was Canfranc station. Today, with its 27 tracks, it is significantly oversized. The huge reception building is largely empty.

business

Spanish regional trains in Canfranc station

The Pau - Oloron section was reopened for renovation on January 24, 2011 after being closed for one year. The overhead line was removed during the renovation . Since the beginning of July 2016, after the line was renovated for 100 million euros, operations have been back to Bedous . Used diesel railcars of the series X 73,500th

At Bedous train station there is a connection to a bus line through the Aspetal several times a day, which runs across the Spanish-French border alternately on the Col du Somport or in the tunnel to Canfranc train station. Two regional trains run there daily on the Spanish side.

future

Commissioning work up to Bedous (2008)

There was always talk of putting the line back into operation. In the meantime, the Aquitaine Regional Council has provided funding to reactivate the route between Oloron and Bedous. Work on this had been going on since the beginning of 2008 and was originally supposed to be completed in 2010, but this deadline could not be kept. The reason given was that the reopening of the level crossings on the line in their previous form is no longer permitted due to new regulations. The aim is now to reopen it continuously by 2020. Afterwards, diesel locomotives are to be used again, and there are no plans to re-electrify. The French government is “open-minded” about putting the remaining stretch to Canfranc into operation. The line between Bedous and Canfranc is to be reactivated by 2025.

On June 26, 2016, the resumption started with three pairs of trains daily between Oloron and Bedous. The official restart between Oloron and Bedous took place on July 3, 2016.

Worth knowing

The Canfranc station, which is now completely oversized, is the terminus for local trains from Saragossa.

literature

• Dieter Hamblock: Tristesse in the Pyrenees . In: Eisenbahngeschichte 40 (2010), pp. 60–67.

Web links

Commons : Pau – Canfranc railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• A photo project with pictures of the train station in Canfranc
• Diploma thesis at the University of Bern on reactivating the route (PDF file; 7.80 MB)
• Collection of images from Canfranc station

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} where: Trains to Bedous again . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 8–9 / 2016, p. 415.
2. ↑ Message on "La République des Pyrenées" (French)
3. ↑ rm: KBS 415 Pau-Oloron Sainte Marie (-Canfranc) . In IBSE telegram 245 (April 2011), p. 5.
4. ^ LOK Report - France / Spain: Good news for Teruel - Zaragossa and Bedous - Canfranc. Lok Report, August 7, 2019, accessed August 7, 2019 . 
5. ^ France: Pyrenees connection Oloron – Bedous before reactivation. Eurailpress, June 2, 2016, accessed June 2, 2016 . 
6. ↑ Pyrénées line reopens. Railway Gazette International, July 5, 2016, accessed March 12, 2020 .