Panoramique des Dômes
| Panoramique des Dômes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Panoramique des Dômes rack railway
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| Route length: | 5.1 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power system : | 1500 V = | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 155 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rack system : | Strub | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Region (FR): | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of trains | four electric articulated railcars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Panoramique des Dômes is a rack railway in France with a length of 5.1 km. It allows you to reach the top of the Puy de Dôme . The client was the Conseil général du Puy-de-Dôme , who decided to build it in 2008.
The Canadian group SNC Lavalin built the railway and operates it through a subsidiary called TC Dôme for a public service contract for 35 years. Construction work began in August 2010 and commissioning took place on June 28, 2012. The vehicles were supplied by Stadler Rail . The drivers were initially provided by Transdev Auvergne, and since 2013 the management has been with Chemins de fer et transport automobile (CFTA).
The train, also known as the “ Chemin de fer à crémaillère du puy de Dôme ”, can transport 1200 people per hour. The construction cost a total of 86 million euros.
history
There was already a railway on the Puy de Dôme from 1907 to 1926. It was equipped with a central brake rail. The railway, built from 1906 onwards, led from Place Lamartine in Clermont-Ferrand (390 meters above sea level) to an artificial platform near the summit at an altitude of 1414 meters. The route length was 14.7 km. The operation was consistently in deficit. During the First World War , the mountain line was dismantled and the locomotives were requisitioned for the artillery . It was not until 1923 that the locomotives were returned and the route was set up again. This could not prevent the company from setting up a toll road on the railway line in 1926. The valley line continued to be operated as part of the tram network until 1933.
The new lift opened early on May 26, 2012, but was hit by a severe thunderstorm around 5:30 p.m. on the opening day and damaged by landslides and floods. Some tourists were blocked at the summit and on the route for a few hours before they could be evacuated. After the necessary repairs, operations were resumed on June 16, 2012.
On October 28, 2012 there was a derailment of an empty train composition on a switch in the area of the crossing point Croisement des Muletiers. The Conseil général du Puy-de-Dôme demanded the cessation of operations. An audit by the Swiss company Transports de Martigny et Régions showed that the accident was due to human error and that neither the vehicles nor the infrastructure were faulty.
As a result of the accident, the operator was replaced by CFTA, a subsidiary of Transdev that specializes in tourist railway operations . Operations resumed on May 2, 2016, but another train derailed on July 6, 2016.
The distance
The route crosses the municipalities of Orcines and Ceyssat. A total of 18 hectares of land had to be acquired, with a total expansion of the facility to 28 hectares. The access to the summit is made using the previous subgrade, which in turn ran along the former route of the first railway.
The vehicles
The Swiss company Stadler received an order for four articulated multiple units in November 2009. These correspond to the basic type GTW 2/6 , that is, they are three-part vehicles with two bogies at the ends and a two-axle drive unit in the middle, onto which the end cars are attached .
- Weight: 45 tons
- Length: 36.5 meters
- Capacity: 200 people (112 seats and 88 standing places)
These vehicles are of the same type as those used by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya for the Montserrat and Val Nuria rack railways .
Frequencies
In 2012, before the derailment, 277,000 passengers were carried. The annual target for 2012 was set at 300,000 people. The one millionth traveler was welcomed on February 12, 2015.
Visitor center
At the foot of the volcano there is a building with a restaurant, media rooms, ticket counter and departure station. The building is made of wood and volcanic rock. It is glazed and allows maximum use of natural light.
Entertainment center
The depot workshop is 406 meters long and is equipped for overhauls of the railcars. The administration is also located in the building. This is made of wood and zinc.
Mountain station
The mountain station at 1,406 meters above sea level is glazed, which gives the impression that you are under the ground. The station is covered with a sub-alpine lawn, which, together with the removal of the parking lots, allowed the summit to be renatured.
financing
- Conseil général du Puy-de-Dôme: € 30 million
- TC Dôme / SNC-Lavalin : € 27.6 million
- Auvergne region: € 6 million
- Clermont Communauté : € 6 million
- European Union ( FEDER ): € 12 million
- State (plan de Relance): € 5 million
literature
- Henri Tenoux, “Emergence de l'idée d'un nouveau chemin de fer à crémaillère”, Chemins de fer régionaux et tramways, vol. 2012-3 “Numéro spécial: Panoramique des Dômes”, no 351, May / June 2012, pp. 8–10, ISSN 1141-7447
- Henri Tenoux, “Le chantier de construction de la nouvelle crémaillère”, Chemins de fer régionaux et tramways, vol. 2012-3 “Numéro spécial: Panoramique des Dômes”, no 351, May / June 2012, pp. 11–14, ISSN 1141-7447
- Henri Tenoux, “Le tracé, la voie, les equipements techniques”, Chemins de fer régionaux et tramways, vol. 2012-3 “Numéro spécial: Panoramique des Dômes”, no 351, May / June 2012, pp. 19–22, ISSN 1141-7447
- Sébastien Jarne, “Le matériel roulant”, Chemins de fer régionaux et tramways, vol. 2012-3 “Numéro spécial: Panoramique des Dômes”, no 351, May / June 2012, pp. 23–28, ISSN 1141-7447
- Henri Tenoux, "L'exploitation", Chemins de fer régionaux et tramways, vol. 2012-3 “Numéro spécial: Panoramique des Dômes”, no 351, May / June 2012, p. 29, ISSN 1141-7447
- G. Péhelle, “Le panoramique des Dômes”, Connaissance du Rail, no 374-375, May / June 2012, pp. 32–39, ISSN 1141-7447
- Henri Domengie: Les petits trains de jadis, Sud-Est de la France. encyclopédie des chemins de fer en France, vol. 6, Les Editions du Cabri, Breil-sur-Roya (France) 1985, ISBN 2-903310-34-3 , pp. 90-92.
- Encyclopédie générale des Transports, Chemins de fer. Editions der l'Ormet, Valignat (France), Edition octobre 1993, ISBN 2-906575-15-1 .
