Souillac – Viescamp-sous-Jallès railway line

Souillac – Viescamp-sous-Jallès
Puybrun station degraded to a stop, February 2013
Route number (SNCF) :	719,000
Course book route (SNCF) :	141, 142 (1958)
Route length:	79.2 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	20  ‰
Minimum radius :	150 m
Legend Railway line Les Aubrais-Orléans-Montauban-Ville-Bourbon from Montauban-Ville-Bourbon 542.3 Siorac-en-Périgord – Cazoulès railway from Siorac-en-Périgord 541.8 Cazoulès 101 m 540.4 Tunnel du Pas-de-Raysse (280 m) 538.5 Viaduc des Marjaudes (225 m) 537.8 Viaduc de Presignac (150 m) 537.0 618.1 Souillac 126 m 618.6 Viaduc de la Borrèze (570 m) Borrèze 618.9 Railway line Les Aubrais-Orléans-Montauban-Ville-Bourbon to Aubrais 619.1 Start of declassification ~ 619.5 D 820 (formerly N 20 ) 620.6 Viaduc de Bramefond (322 m) and D 803 (formerly N 703 ) 621.0 Route A 20 ( Viaduc de Blazy ) 622.7 Tunnel du Pigeon (554 m) ~ 623.7 D 803 (formerly N 703) 624.2 Le Pigeon 222 m 626.1 Baladou 234 m 630.7 Martel ~ 631.4 D 840 (formerly N 681 ) 631.8 Tunnel de Meyrangle (270 m) 633.1 Tunnel de Mirandol (402 m) 633.8 Tunnel du Roc-Blanc (41 m) 633.9 Tunnel de Peinture (72 m) 634.4 Courtils Tunnel (117 m) 6350, Viaduc des Courtils (105 m) 636.6 End of declassification Brive-la-Gaillarde – Toulouse-Matabiau railway from Toulouse 637.2 Saint-Denis-près-Martel D 803 (formerly N 703) and the Brive-la-Gaillarde – Toulouse-Matabiau v. / N. Brive railway line 120 m Tourmente (11 m) 641.5 Vayrac 122 m 644.0 Taille 123 m ~ 645.1 D 803 (formerly N 703) ~ 647.3 Lot / Corrèze department ~ 647.8 Corrèze / Lot department 648.5 Puybrun 147 m 650.0 Dordogne ( Viaduc de Puybrun , 123 m) Bretenoux-Biars – Saint-Céré (TQE) railway from St-Céré 653.5 Bretenoux biars 141 m ~ 653.7 D 940 (formerly N 703 ) 656.8 Tunnel de Port-de-Gagnac (81 m) 657.6 Port-de-Gagnac 150 m 659.7 Rocher-Coulomb Tunnel (85 m) 663.2 Laval-de-Cère 171 m ~ 663.9 Lot / Corrèze department 668.7 Tunnel du Roc-de-Bastit (113 m) 669.2 Tunnel de Camps (237 m) 670.2 Roquelade Tunnel (48 m) 670.4 Tunnel des Ajustants (119 m) 671.3 Cère (35 m); Corrèze / Lot department 671.4 Tunnel de Vieyre (184 m) 671.9 Lamativie tunnel (253 m) 672.3 Lamativia 291 m 672.9 Tunnel de Laplade (94 m) 673.2 Cambou tunnel (474 m) Realignment in 1963 674.4 Viaduc de la Verrerie (240 m), former Tunnel de la Verrerie (165 m) 674.7 Cournil tunnel (324 m) ~ 675.5 Fouillet (35 m); Lot / Cantal department 676.0 Tunnel du Roc-des-Courpoux (138 m) 677.5 Tunnel de Thiel (135 m) 678.0 Tunnel du Roc-des-Corbeaux (172 m) 678.6 Lacoste tunnel (100 m) 679.3 Tunnel du Roc-de-l'Aigle (268 m) 680.2 Tunnel de Bousquen (355 m) 680.8 Tunnel de Sern (329 m) 681.3 Siran 391 m 681.8 Lasbrairies tunnel (244 m) 682.3 Tunnel de Bois-de-Carlat (103 m) 683.2 Tunnel de Lasbordes (573 m) 684.0 D'Aulhac tunnel (478 m) 684.7 Tunnel de Labro (195 m) 685.1 Salvanhac Tunnel (68 m) ~ 688.2 D 653 (formerly N 653 ) 688.3 Laroquebrou 454 m 689.3 Cère (96 m) 690.5 Tunnel de Puech-Miseri (196 m) 691.1 Auze (82 m) 693.2 Bourges – Miécaze railway from Bourges 693.4 Miécaze 534 m 697.8 Authre (80 m) Figeac – Arvant railway from Figeac 298.6 Viescamp-sous-Jallès 568 m Railway line Figeac – Arvant via Aurillac to Arvant

The Souillac – Viescamp-sous-Jallès railway is a single-track , non-electrified railway line in central France . In a west-east direction, it connects the north-south-directed Les Aubrais-Orléans-Montauban-Ville-Bourbon railway with the Figeac – Arvant railway line, which runs from southwest to northeast . Today only the eastern section between Saint-Denis and Viescamp-sous-Jallès is in operation. The middle section leads through the valley of the Cère , which is still very pristine and impassable and requires a corresponding number of artificial structures. In addition, a large difference in altitude of up to 20 ‰ has to be overcome along the route  . The Cère is also the border between the two regions of Occitania and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes . In addition, the route does not run north of the 45th parallel , so it belongs by definition to southern France .

history

The builder of the route was the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans (PO), commissioned chief engineer Joseph Lanteirès, who also built the Cahors – Capdenac section of the Brive-la-Gaillarde – Toulouse-Matabiau line and the Montauban – Brive section of the Les railway line Aubrais-Orléans-Montauban-Ville-Bourbon planned and built. 32 tunnels of at least 68 meters and 8 viaducts of at least 35 meters had to be built (see table). The total length of all tunnels was more than 7.5 km, that of the at least 35 meter long viaducts almost 1000 meters.

Souillac – Saint-Denis-près-Martel section

Number of tunnels and viaducts
in the KM 618.9 – Miécaze section

meter	tunnel	Viaducts
until 50	2	3
until 100	6th
up to 150	7th	3
up to 200	4th
up to 250	2	1
up to 300	3
up to 350	1	1
up to 400	1
up to 450	1
up to 500	3
up to 550	2
total	32	8th

This railway line took over 20 years to be completed from the first application for a license to the opening. The oldest part of Souillac - Saint-Denis-près-Martel, which lies in the far west, was opened to traffic on June 16, 1889 and closed again on May 11, 1989, three weeks before its 100th anniversary.

The building permit for the project was available in 1880. The work was awarded in the summer of 1883. Almost exactly six years later, on June 16, 1889, rail operations began. In 1917 the rails were taken from the line as a donation of material for iron production, and one year later they were replaced by rails made in America. These should still be installed. The last passenger train ran on the western section on May 31, 1980. The route was officially closed to all traffic on May 28, 1989. In addition, since the construction of the Autoroute A 20, it has cut the former route in such a way that it is impossible to restore the line route. However, an agreement would oblige the motorway operator to restore the continuity of the route by building a bridge if the decision to reopen the route is taken.

While all track material was removed west of Cazoulès to Sarlat after the line was closed, the local association Chemin de fer touristique du Haut Quercy , which is fighting for the preservation of this railway line, managed to prevent the total evacuation. As a result, this association, founded at the beginning of 1992, established itself and has since 2006 been able to carry out tourist trips with historical vehicles on a nearly 5 km long Martel – Viaduc des Courtils section of the disused section between Souillac and St. Denis.

Saint-Denis-près-Martel – Viescamp-sous-Jallès section

The opening for this section took place on May 11, 1891, after the license application had been drawn up in the summer of 1868 and work had started in 1883.

The future of this route section with a noticeably low station density is also very uncertain. In autumn 2016, the newspaper Le Dauphiné libéré reported that there were plans to completely cease all traffic on this route from 2021. Politicians from all parties represented in the Hautes-Alpes regional parliament opposed this plan. In the 2020 timetable there are four pairs of trains, each commuting between Brive-la-Gaillarde and Aurillac .

Web links

Commons : Souillac – Viescamp-sous-Jallès railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ SNCF Region du sud-ouest. Carnet de Profils et Schémas , 1958
2. ↑ Reinhard Douté: Les 400 profiles de lignes voyageurs du réseau ferré français. La Vie du Rail August 2011, ISBN 978-2-918758-44-0 , Volume 2, page 79
3. ↑ Joseph Lanteirès on VIAF
4. ↑ ARRETE N ° 2008-03-0172 on 19 March 2008 portant rétablissement et désenclavement de voies s uite à la construction de l'autoroute A20. In: Recueil des actes administratifs No. 4 of April 17, 2008, page 30
5. ↑ Le train touristique en Haut-Quercy . In: La semaine du Lot du 8 au 14 février 2001. http://www.randonnees-lotoises.net
6. ^ Lionel Arce-Menso: La ligne ferroviaire vers Grenoble menacée? on ledauphine.com, Le Dauphiné libéré , September 21, 2016
7. ↑ Online departure table for Halt ferroviaire Laval-de-Cère . TER Occitanie
8. ↑ Horaires Brive-la-Gaillarde – Aurillac du 15/12/2019 to 11/07/2020. (PDF) TER Occitanie, November 25, 2019, accessed on January 18, 2020 (French).