Ligne de Cerdagne

The Ligne de Cerdagne, usually referred to as Le Petit Train Jaune (English: Little Yellow Train, Catalan: Tren Groc), is a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) gauge railway that runs from Villefranche-de-Conflent to Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg in the French Pyrenees. Construction started in 1903 and the section to Mont-Louis was completed in 1910, followed by an extension to Latour-de-Carol in 1927.[1][2]

Ligne de Cerdagne
The unusual rail suspension bridge at Pont Gisclard between Sauto and Planès
Overview
Other name(s)	Yellow Train
Status	operational
Locale	France
Stations	22
History
Opened	1910
Technical
Line length	63 km (39 mi)
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ^3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification	850 V DC third rail
Operating speed	55 km/h (34 mph)
Highest elevation	1,593 m (5,226 ft)
Route map Villefranche-de-Conflent TER Occitanie to Perpignan Villefranche-de-Conflent Access to Fort Libéria N116 Canal de Villefranche la Têt Correc de Vall-Llobera Serdinya D27E Ribera de Vallmarsana Rue du Moulin Joncet D27 la Têt Olette Canaveilles-les-Bains Rivière de Cabrils la Têt D57 Nyer Rivière de Mantet Thuès-les-Bains Torrent de Faget Rue d'Entre Valls Thuès-Carança la Carança la Têt Pont Séjourné N116 Torrent de Canals Fontpédrouse C1 Sauto Souterrain del Pallat N116 Souterrain Terra Blanca Pont Gisclard la Têt Planès Planes Rec de Molí el Jardó D10 Mont-Louis/La Cabanasse N116 D10 Bolquère-Eyne (1593m) Rec de Bolquera Ruisseau de Ricaut Font-Romeu/Odeillo/Via D29 Galerie de Vià l'Angust Coll Rigat (1493m) Galerie de St.Vincent Estavar Chemin d'Estavar el Segre D33 Saillagouse N116 Cami de Llivia Err D33B D33E D89 Sainte-Léocadie D33E D30A Rec de Rigat Osséja D30 Cami d'Aja Bourg-Madame N116 el Segre N116 N152 Ur/Les Escaldes Riu d'Angostrina Riu de Brangoli Rue d'Ansaneres Avenue de la Campory Rue de la Halte Béna/Fanès R3 to Barcelona Rue du Train Jaune Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg TER to Toulouse

It is 63 kilometres (39 mi) long and climbs to 1,593 metres (5,226 ft) at Bolquère-Eyne, the highest railway station in France. The line serves 22 stations, fourteen of which are "request stops" (i.e., the train only stops when specifically requested by passengers). There are 19 tunnels and two bridges, one of which is, unusual for a railway bridge, a suspension bridge. The line is single-track with passing loops at, for example, Mont-Louis and Fontpédrouse-Saint-Thomas-les-Bains.

The trains are powered by electricity at 850 volts DC, supplied by third rail. The power is supplied by hydro-electric generators on the River Têt. The maximum speed of the train is 55 km/h (34 mph). Two types of train are used; ones using modern, entirely closed two-car multiple units and others using old style trailer carriages and powered carriages - most are enclosed but when the weather allows, open carriages are also used. The open carriages allow dramatic views as the train traverses the twisting route and are popular with tourists. Line maintenance vehicles are stored at Villefranche-de-Conflent.

It is named after its yellow and red colours, derived from the Catalan flag. The line was constructed to provide an all-weather route from the high Cerdagne valley to the coast, but the adjacent N116 road has been progressively improved, there has been population loss in the Cerdagne and the rail link is now chiefly a tourist attraction whose long-term future is in doubt.

List of stations

Crossing a viaduct

km	Station	Altitude (m)[2]	Local attractions[2]
0	Villefranche-de-Conflent-Vernet-les-Bains-Fuilla (interchange with services to Perpignan)	427	walled town, Fort Liberia, Grottes Les Canalettes
4.990	Serdinya	526
6.229	Joncet	550
9.720	Olette-Canaveilles-les-Bains	608
11.613	Nyer (halt)	664	Nature reserve, exhibition of bats at the Maison de la réserve
13.860	Thuès-les-Bains	747
16.273	Thuès-Carança	789	access to the Gorges de la Carança
19.704	Fontpédrouse-Saint-Thomas-les-Bains	1051	Baths at St-Thomas-les-Bains
22.727	Sauto	1224
25.222	Planès	1373	11th-century church
27.871	Mont-Louis-la Cabanasse	1511	Citadelle de Mont-Louis; Mont-Louis Solar Furnace
30.214	Bolquère-Eyne	1593	summit of the line
34.925	Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via	1534
42.463	Estavar	1328
44.670	Saillagouse	1302
46.613	Err	1335	10th-century church of Our Lady of Err
48.389	Sainte-Léocadie	1281	Musée de Cerdagne
52.835	Osséja	1241
55.689	Bourg-Madame	1144	Espace d'Art Contemporain; border town
58.711	Ur-les-Escalde	1188	romanesque church
61.384	Béna Fanès
62.561	Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg (interchange with services to Toulouse and Barcelona)	1247	Enveitg castle and baroque chapel

Electrical discharges

In 1911, railway workers reported a fireball on the third rail between kilometres 28 and 40. A similar phenomenon occurred again when a train was hit by one of these fireballs during a thunderstorm. Lightning rods were installed where these events had occurred and the phenomenon has not been reported since installation.

References

1. Pourageaux G (2008), Les cent ans du Train Jaune, Editions La vie du rail. (in French)
2. "The yellow train". Pyrenees - Cerdagne. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

External links

• Train Jaune (Yellow Train) official SNCF page
• The Little Yellow Train of the Pyrenees route, sightseeing, practical information and photos
• Journeys on the Yellow Train and practicalities
• History of the Yellow Train