Saint-Brieuc – Pontivy railway line

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Saint-Brieuc-Pontivy
Saint-Julien train station
Route number (SNCF) :	475,000
Route length:	72.3 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	15  ‰
Legend Kilometers from Paris-MP Paris – Brest railway line from Paris via Rennes 475,589 Saint-Brieuc – Légué railway line 474.142 Gouédic railway viaduct (126 m) 474,570 Saint-Brieuc ⊙ (99 m) Paris – Brest railway line to Brest 482.645 Saint-Julien (Côtes-d'Armor) ⊙ (161 m) 485.030 Plaintel (190 m) 492.810 Quintin ⊙ (165 m) 496.694 Le Pas ⊙ (207 m) 502.523 Plœuc - L'Hermitage ⊙ (237 m) 509.824 Uzel ⊙ (239 m) 517.776 La Motte ⊙ (238 m) ⊙ Route national 164 Carhaix – Loudéac ( RB -1m) by Carhaix 523,646 Loudéac ⊙ (170 m) Saint-Méen – Loudéac (RB) n. La Brohinière 525.690 ⊙ Track connection / beginning of line out of service 531.231 Hémonstoir - Saint-Gonnery (99 m) 537.128 Saint-Gérand ⊙ (133 m) 537.531 ⊙ End of route out of order Siding 540.2xx Canal de Nantes à Brest Siding 546.976 639.906 Pontivy ⊙ (58 m) Auray – Pontivy railway line

The Saint-Brieuc – Pontivy railway is a French railway in the Côtes-d'Armor and Morbihan departments . It connected the city of Pontivy via Loudéac with Saint-Brieuc and thus the Paris – Brest railway line . Together with the Auray – Pontivy railway line , it formed a north-south connection in central Brittany . Today, a section between Pontivy and Loudéac is out of service, the rest of the route is still used for freight traffic and special trips. It was and is single-track and not electrified.

history

In the early 1860s, both the Paris – Brest railway west of Rennes and the Savenay – Landerneau railway were under construction; the latter should have a branch to Pontivy (then: Napoleonville ). Pontivy was an important garrison town; originally there were also considerations to lead Paris – Brest via this city; however, it was decided to take a route along the north coast. Even before the completion of the line from Auray (1864), it was decided to connect Pontivy from the north as well. The railway line from Napoleonville to Saint-Brieuc was declared sensible and desirable by an imperial decree of June 14, 1861. The concession contract was signed on May 1, 1863 between representatives of the ministry and the Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest (Ouest) , which also owned Paris-Brest, and confirmed by decree on June 11 of the same year.

Loudéac station around 1900

In 1871 the section between Saint-Brieuc and Quintin was opened. It followed on July 1, 1872 Quintin – Loudéac, the middle piece. The extension to Pontivy was added on December 16, 1872.

The Ouest including this line was taken over by the Chemins de fer de l'État (France) (Etat) in 1909 , and the SNCF operated the connection from 1938 . Today (2015) the infrastructure belongs to SNCF Réseau .

La Motte stop in 2012

On September 27, 1987, passenger traffic between Loudéac and Pontivy ended. From Saint-Brieuc to Loudéac it lasted until August 31, 2006. Then the traffic was shifted to the road in order to build a railway bridge over Route nationale 164 instead of a level crossing , which was expanded to four lanes. This was officially only planned for about a year during construction; in fact, passenger traffic was not resumed even after the bridge was completed.

Current operation

Freight traffic between Saint-Brieuc and Loudéac was resumed in 2008. A few km north of Pontivy, sidings are also served from the south. The link from Saint-Gérand to Loudéac is out of order. The Chemins de fer du Center-Bretagne regularly offer special trips from Loudéac to Saint-Brieuc.

literature

Jean-Pierre Nennig, Le chemin de fer de Bretagne Nord, JPN, Guérande, 2010 ( ISBN 978-2-9519898-6-3 )

Web links

Commons : Saint-Brieuc – Pontivy railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Chemins de fer du Center Bretagne

Individual evidence

1. ↑ N ° 9329 - Décret impérial qui déclare d'utilité publique l'établissement d'un chemin de fer de Napoléonville à Saint-Brieuc: 14 June 1861 , Bulletin des lois de l'Empire Français, Paris, Imprimerie Impériale, série XI, vol. 18, no 953, 1861, p. 436 f.
2. ↑ «N ° 11551 - Décret impérial qui approuve la convention passée, le 1er may 1863, entre le ministre de l'Agriculture, du Commerce et des Travaux publics, et la Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest: 11 June 1863» , Bulletin des lois de l'Empire Français, Paris, Imprimerie Impériale, série XI, vol. 22, no 1141, 1863, pp. 147 - 151
3. ↑ Revue Rail Passion no 109 de November 2006, p. 25