Saint-Nazaire – Le Croisic railway line

Saint-Nazaire – Le Croisic
End of the route in Le Croisic
Route number (SNCF) :	516,000
Course book route (SNCF) :	380
Route length:	26.1 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Top speed:	90 km / h
Legend from Tours original route to the harbour 494.005 493.658 Saint-Nazaire (since 1955) 494.5 Saint-Nazaire (until 1955) 500.6 Saint-André-des-Eaux 506.1 Pornichet Realignment in 1927 508.3 La Baule-Les Pins 510.3 La Baule-Escoublac to Guérande Le Pouliguen creek 513.7 Le Pouliguen 517.2 Batz-sur-Mer 519.8 Le Croisic

The Saint-Nazaire – Le Croisic line is a French railway line in extension of the Tours – Saint-Nazaire line . It opens up the Atlantic coast west of the Loire estuary , in particular the seaside resort of La Baule and the port of Le Croisic , and connects them with Saint-Nazaire and further with Nantes and Paris .

history

The railroad reached Saint-Nazaire in 1857 when the Chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans (PO) opened the last section of the Tours – Saint-Nazaire line. In Le Croisic one recognized the opportunities for local products, especially fishery products and sea salt, offered this transport. The city submitted a request to extend the railway to her. The general council of the Loire-inférieure department also supported the request. In 1867, together with the interested municipalities, he offered to provide all areas required for a railway free of charge. On June 19, 1869, an imperial decree was issued that established public interest in this railway line.

This route was included in a "law for the execution of several railways", which was promulgated on July 18, 1868. It allowed the Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and Construction to participate in the construction with a subsidy of up to 50,000 francs.

On December 22, 1869, a public tender for the concession was announced. The most favorable offer at the opening of the offer on March 9, 1870 was from Messrs. J. Cohen, Monteaux and the Count of Villermont with 25,000 francs, with a decree of April 27th they were awarded the contract and they were asked to become a stock company establish. The concession was then awarded to the company “Compagnie du chemin de fer de Saint-Nazaire au Croisic” . In May 1870 the engineers of the new company asked permission to enter private properties for final planning. But planning was held up by the Franco-Prussian War ; the completed route could not be submitted to the ministry until April 18, 1871. It was approved on June 29 of the same year.

However, the company ran into difficulties, with a contract dated April 26, 1877, the line was bought by the state.

On May 11, 1879, the state railway administration opened the line, along with a branch line to Guérande .

Batz-sur-Mer station around 1900

Former applicant Saint-André-des-Eaux

TGV Atlantique in the salt marshes near Pouliguen

In 1883 the route was awarded to the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans .

Tourism along the coast revived. In 1927 the route was moved further inland for four kilometers at La Baule to make room for hotel projects. An additional stop was set up in La Baule-Les Pins and a new connection was laid for the branch line.

After the Second World War , as part of the reconstruction of Saint-Nazaire, the route in the urban area was changed. The old terminal station was given up in favor of a through station. The line was electrified in 1986 in preparation for the TGV Atlantique to Paris-Montparnasse . By eliminating the need to change locomotives, continuous trains were accelerated by 15 minutes. At the same time, the Saint-André-des-Eaux train station was closed; In 1988, continuously welded rails were laid and the platforms were adapted for the TGV. There have been no major changes since then; In 1990 the branch line to Guérande was finally closed.

Route description

course

The single-track line leaves Saint-Nazaire station to the north-west. After crossing under the D 213 expressway, which also leads to La Baule, it reaches the Brière . With several bends it goes around particularly boggy areas and then turns to the southwest, towards the coast. You pass the closed train station of Saint-André-des-Eaux . Still heading towards the coast, it again crosses under the expressway and then leaves the Brière and the urban area of ​​Saint-Nazaire.

Pornichet train station

La Baule-Escoublac station building

It continues to the southwest and then west, where it reaches the Pornichet train station . About 200 m from the coast, it turns northwest and to the La Baule-Les Pins stop , where it separates residential areas from a forest. At some distance it follows the beach and reaches the train station of La Baule-Escoublac . On a bridge she crosses the priel that flows through the salt marshes and salt marshes of Guérande ; this bridge is the only major engineering structure on the route. Pouliguen station follows . After a straight section and the Batz-sur-Mer train station, there is a right curve on a dam through the salt marshes. Then the final station Le Croisic is reached.

Pedestrian crossing in La Baule

The line has a total of 30 level crossings.

Signaling

The line is not equipped with the KVB ( Contrôle de vitesses par balises ) train control system. The route block BAPR ( Block automatique à permissivité restreinte ) is used, at the two terminal stations BAL ( Block automatique lumineux ).

traffic

Two TGVs meet at La Baule-Escoublac station

ZGC of the TER Pays de la Loire near Pouliguen

The route is now served by the TER Pays de la Loire public transport. The trains go through Saint-Nazaire to Nantes . There is no clock traffic. There are also individual TGVs from Paris Gare Montparnasse via LGV Atlantique and Nantes to Le Croisic. The number and timing of these trains strongly depend on the season and day of the week.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Un train nommé plaisirs , “Vivre Pornichet” magazine, issue 35, autumn 2004, p. 15 (fr)
2. ↑ Décret impérial , Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, réglements, et avis du Conseil d'Etat / JB Duvergier, pp. 330f .; A. Guyot et Scribe (Eds., Paris) 1868
3. ↑ Bulletin des lois de la République franc̜aise: no.1604-1674, Volume 11; Volume 32 , p. 104
4. ↑ Bulletin des lois de la République franc̜aise, Volume 35 , p. 648 - Decree on awarding the contract
5. ↑ Rapports et délibérations / Conseil général de Loire-Atlantique, 1871 - Report of the General Council 1871, p. LV f
6. ↑ Bulletin des lois de la République Française, XII, 16, 395 (1878), pp. 801 ff. - Law on the inclusion of various regional railways in a public utility-oriented network.
7. ↑ Rapports et délibérations 1881 p. 203 - Report of the General Council of 1881
8. ↑ Bulletin des lois de la République Française, XII, 28, 834 (1884), pp. 352–359 - Law confirming the conclusion of a contract
9. ↑ Timetable spring 2017  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 6, 2017  

literature

• Jean-Pierre Nennig, Le chemin de fer de Saint-Nazaire au Croisic et à Guérande - De 1865 à nos jours , JPN Editions, 2006, ISBN 978-2-9519898-4-9

• Un train nommé plaisir , Vivre Pornichet, 35 (2004), p. 15

Web links

Commons : Ligne de Saint-Nazaire au Croisic  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• SNCF, TER Pays de la Loire