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All across the Great Western territory => The Wider Picture Overseas => Topic started by: Jamsdad on July 14, 2020, 17:18:55



Title: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Jamsdad on July 14, 2020, 17:18:55
Interviewed today, French President Macron has announced a massive development in rail freight, a reintroduction of overnight sleeper services and redevelopment of services on minor lines. Badly needed after the last decade of "nothing but TGV"!


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: stuving on July 14, 2020, 18:22:04
There's not a lot of detail on this, as it's going to be part of the EU relaunch package and that's not due to be announced until September. A global figure of at least €100Bn is being given, but that has to be shared by a lot of other green stuff - insulating schools, care home, and houses included.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Lee on July 27, 2020, 01:11:22
I fancy the idea of retiring to a cottage in the countryside - to an old station that's perhaps disused but has trains passing by occasionally, or is open and used by a smattering of passengers.

- A rail enthusiast property developer is currently redeveloping the historic station building at Pontivy (https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Pontivy), which still sees fairly regular freight trains, and you could view these at your leisure from one of the 4 duplex apartments being built on the upper levels. He is doing this in conjunction with the local authorities, who are building one of your favourite things in the whole wide world - a bus/rail interchange! This will include a new waiting hall, ticket office and retail space on the ground floor, the idea being to integrate regional bus, local bus, cycle routes etc with the revived tourist passenger trains that were due to start this summer but, thanks to Covid-19, are more likely now in 2021 as a first step to full passenger rail reopening - thus creating grahame heaven in the process.

Here is a translated article from Reporterre (https://reporterre.net/En-Bretagne-ils-veulent-relancer-une-ligne-de-train-fermee-depuis-30-ans) on hopes for the renovation and restoration of passenger trains on the Saint Brieuc-Pontivy-Auray line as part of the Macron initiative:

Quote from: Reporterre
Closed for thirty years, the TER railway line which crosses Brittany from north to south could resume service. At the initiative of this possible renaissance, a collective of railway workers and a train enthusiast who campaign for the return of rail to rural areas.

The ballet of TER coaches makes the windows of buildings vibrate around the Pontivy bus station (Morbihan). Travelers protect themselves from the July sun under the only bus shelter, planted at the corner of the car park. Since the station closed in 2014, it's the only place to wait. But not for long. In a few months, the renovated building will reopen its doors to the public, thanks to Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem . This entrepreneur, passionate about trains, has invested 1 million euros to buy and renovate the station of this sub-prefecture of 15,000 inhabitants, abandoned since the collapse of part of its ceiling.

The work is progressing well. That morning, the workers carefully install the new clock on the pediment. “  A clock is the heart of a station,  ” smiles the new owner. In a few months, an SNCF counter will be installed there. And Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem does not intend to stop there. “  The reopening of the station is the first step. The ultimate goal is the return of the passenger train  !  "

It has been thirty years since Pontivy has not welcomed a single one. The railway line going from Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) to Auray via the city only sees a few freight wagons circulating. It is therefore by bus that the inhabitants go to the neighboring department, for a carbon footprint nearly twice as high. “  We have to bring trains back here. Buying the station is a militant act  , ” says Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem, a construction helmet adorned with the inscription “  station master  ” on the head.

And he is not alone. At his side, around fifty elected officials, activists and citizens are united in the collective “  Center-Bretagne en train  ”, founded two years ago to revive the rail link between the north and the south of Brittany. . The challenge is twofold: to increase freight and, above all, to get passengers back on track. The key is to open up the area and reduce road traffic.

“  When you look at the map of the region's rail network, there's a big hole in the middle. It is the center of Brittany  ”, describes Simon Brunet, railway worker member of the CGT and founder of the collective. “  It is a territory which is suffering, which is even declining. Equal treatment between citizens also involves mobility, and bus connections are not a solution for the future.  " 140,000 people live along the line. So many potential passengers.

The idea of ​​relaunching this train link is not new, but the climate emergency has accelerated the thinking. "  The ecological context was the trigger for setting up the collective,  " says the railway worker. A public meeting organized in Pontivy in November 2019 attracted around sixty people. On July 14, Emmanuel Macron announced that he wanted to develop small train lines, freight and night trains. At the same time, citizen initiatives aiming to defend or promote the train are multiplying. The Railcoop cooperative , with which the Breton collective is in contact, thus wants to relaunch the Bordeaux-Lyon train line, abandoned by the SNCF . " We feel that we have an openness, that the context is favorable to the debate  ", rejoices Simon Brunet, "  and we are going to seize it  " .

From his station under construction, Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem also feels this enthusiasm. “  It is not a question of starting trains with three travelers, it would take a market study, suitable schedules… But the community of communes [Pontivy community] has 45,000 inhabitants, that's still quite a crowd  !  " The collective hopes of reopening the Breton online travelers within five years.

It would not be a first, moreover. In 2016, a section of the TER line between Oloron-Sainte-Marie and Bedous, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, was put back into operation after fifty years of closure. The cost of 102 million euros was fully covered by the former Aquitaine region. In Brittany, the Auray-Saint-Brieuc project is supported by many local elected officials from north to south of the line. In Saint-Brieuc, the new municipal team of the ecological left is in favor, as is that of Pontivy.

"  But it is those who hold the purse string that must be convinced,  " recalls Simon Brunet. The collective estimates the cost of modernizing and operating the train link at 100 million euros. A sum that would be shared by SNCF Réseau, owner of the rail infrastructure, and the Brittany region, responsible for organizing transport.

The latter does not plan to reopen the line for the moment. "  At this stage, the Brittany region has not taken part in any discussion on the subject,  " said the vice-president for transport, Gérard Lahellec. He recalls that the community has "  agreed to co-finance infrastructure work to allow freight trains to continue to serve businesses in central Brittany  " since 2007. The Brittany region has also invested heavily in the TER , spending 160 million euros to renovate several lines.

“  We understand this position,” says Simon Brunet. As this line is of national importance for freight, the State must also assume its responsibilities.  " The group intends to take advantage of regional elections in March 2021 to highlight the subject of renovation and the creation of small lines. "  We do not want the issue of the train to be confined to speeding up connections with Paris, " said the unionist. Living in the country is a right. To ensure equality between the territories, there must be solidarity between profitable lines and those which are not. The “next world” also goes through this.  "

Pontivy station will reopen its doors in a year. Cap, whistle and SNCF badge , the outfit of station master Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem is already ready. He is convinced: the train will whistle again three times in central Brittany.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Hal on July 27, 2020, 15:22:16
About the revived sleeper trains, French press reports quote transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari as saying the first would be on the Paris-Nice line, and the second would link Paris with the Pyreneen city of Tarbes.

Until 2017, Paris and Tarbes were linked by the night train known as La Palombe Bleue (the Blue Woodpigeon).

In its previous incarnation the Woodpigeon was extended from Tarbes to Hendaye in the Basque Country on France’s Atlantic coast. Trains left Paris-Austerlitz at 21.52 and arrived in Hendaye at 09.24.

I recently read somewhere about Austrian railways reintroducing night trains, but I can’t recall the details. Perhaps some Coffee Shop reader has the facts?


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Hal on July 27, 2020, 16:34:30
The French press also reports today that prime minister Jean Castex has outlined plans for increased freight traffic on specialist routes, as well as reduced freight tariffs.

Notably, he intends to revive the Perpignan-Rungis route which, until halted last year, used refrigerated wagons to bring fresh fruit and vegetables from the south of France to Paris’s wholesale market at Rungis. Castex also said the line could be extended at both ends — to Barcelona in the south and Antwerp in the north.

The fresh produce train was controversially discontinued last year, and fruit/veg from Spain, Morocco and southern France is now hauled by lorry.

Castex also announced two new freight routes - from Bayonne near the Spanish border to Cherbourg on the English Channel, and from Sète on the Mediterranean to Calais. Not clear what he envisages these trains will carry.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Lee on July 27, 2020, 18:24:49
I recently read somewhere about Austrian railways reintroducing night trains, but I can’t recall the details. Perhaps some Coffee Shop reader has the facts?

They resume as follows:

Vienna - Milan   1 August
Milan - Vienna   4 August
Munich - Milan   3 August
Milan - Munich   2 August

See here (https://www.nightjet.com/en) for more details.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: rogerpatenall on July 28, 2020, 10:18:13

Castex also announced two new freight routes - from Bayonne near the Spanish border to Cherbourg on the English Channel, and from Sète on the Mediterranean to Calais. Not clear what he envisages these trains will carry.

The Cherbourg link is being planned in association with Brittany Ferries. Unaccompanied trailers will be taken to the ports in Ireland (principally), but also in England. Transhipped by the shipping company to train at Cherbourg, and then the trailers picked up by local drivers in Bayonne (and vv). Freight will, as I understand it, be exclusively complete trailer units, minus tractors.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Lee on October 02, 2020, 15:01:14
I fancy the idea of retiring to a cottage in the countryside - to an old station that's perhaps disused but has trains passing by occasionally, or is open and used by a smattering of passengers.

- A rail enthusiast property developer is currently redeveloping the historic station building at Pontivy (https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Pontivy), which still sees fairly regular freight trains, and you could view these at your leisure from one of the 4 duplex apartments being built on the upper levels. He is doing this in conjunction with the local authorities, who are building one of your favourite things in the whole wide world - a bus/rail interchange! This will include a new waiting hall, ticket office and retail space on the ground floor, the idea being to integrate regional bus, local bus, cycle routes etc with the revived tourist passenger trains that were due to start this summer but, thanks to Covid-19, are more likely now in 2021 as a first step to full passenger rail reopening - thus creating grahame heaven in the process.

Here is a translated article from Reporterre (https://reporterre.net/En-Bretagne-ils-veulent-relancer-une-ligne-de-train-fermee-depuis-30-ans) on hopes for the renovation and restoration of passenger trains on the Saint Brieuc-Pontivy-Auray line as part of the Macron initiative:

Quote from: Reporterre
Closed for thirty years, the TER railway line which crosses Brittany from north to south could resume service. At the initiative of this possible renaissance, a collective of railway workers and a train enthusiast who campaign for the return of rail to rural areas.

The ballet of TER coaches makes the windows of buildings vibrate around the Pontivy bus station (Morbihan). Travelers protect themselves from the July sun under the only bus shelter, planted at the corner of the car park. Since the station closed in 2014, it's the only place to wait. But not for long. In a few months, the renovated building will reopen its doors to the public, thanks to Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem . This entrepreneur, passionate about trains, has invested 1 million euros to buy and renovate the station of this sub-prefecture of 15,000 inhabitants, abandoned since the collapse of part of its ceiling.

The work is progressing well. That morning, the workers carefully install the new clock on the pediment. “  A clock is the heart of a station,  ” smiles the new owner. In a few months, an SNCF counter will be installed there. And Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem does not intend to stop there. “  The reopening of the station is the first step. The ultimate goal is the return of the passenger train  !  "

It has been thirty years since Pontivy has not welcomed a single one. The railway line going from Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) to Auray via the city only sees a few freight wagons circulating. It is therefore by bus that the inhabitants go to the neighboring department, for a carbon footprint nearly twice as high. “  We have to bring trains back here. Buying the station is a militant act  , ” says Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem, a construction helmet adorned with the inscription “  station master  ” on the head.

And he is not alone. At his side, around fifty elected officials, activists and citizens are united in the collective “  Center-Bretagne en train  ”, founded two years ago to revive the rail link between the north and the south of Brittany. . The challenge is twofold: to increase freight and, above all, to get passengers back on track. The key is to open up the area and reduce road traffic.

“  When you look at the map of the region's rail network, there's a big hole in the middle. It is the center of Brittany  ”, describes Simon Brunet, railway worker member of the CGT and founder of the collective. “  It is a territory which is suffering, which is even declining. Equal treatment between citizens also involves mobility, and bus connections are not a solution for the future.  " 140,000 people live along the line. So many potential passengers.

The idea of ​​relaunching this train link is not new, but the climate emergency has accelerated the thinking. "  The ecological context was the trigger for setting up the collective,  " says the railway worker. A public meeting organized in Pontivy in November 2019 attracted around sixty people. On July 14, Emmanuel Macron announced that he wanted to develop small train lines, freight and night trains. At the same time, citizen initiatives aiming to defend or promote the train are multiplying. The Railcoop cooperative , with which the Breton collective is in contact, thus wants to relaunch the Bordeaux-Lyon train line, abandoned by the SNCF . " We feel that we have an openness, that the context is favorable to the debate  ", rejoices Simon Brunet, "  and we are going to seize it  " .

From his station under construction, Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem also feels this enthusiasm. “  It is not a question of starting trains with three travelers, it would take a market study, suitable schedules… But the community of communes [Pontivy community] has 45,000 inhabitants, that's still quite a crowd  !  " The collective hopes of reopening the Breton online travelers within five years.

It would not be a first, moreover. In 2016, a section of the TER line between Oloron-Sainte-Marie and Bedous, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, was put back into operation after fifty years of closure. The cost of 102 million euros was fully covered by the former Aquitaine region. In Brittany, the Auray-Saint-Brieuc project is supported by many local elected officials from north to south of the line. In Saint-Brieuc, the new municipal team of the ecological left is in favor, as is that of Pontivy.

"  But it is those who hold the purse string that must be convinced,  " recalls Simon Brunet. The collective estimates the cost of modernizing and operating the train link at 100 million euros. A sum that would be shared by SNCF Réseau, owner of the rail infrastructure, and the Brittany region, responsible for organizing transport.

The latter does not plan to reopen the line for the moment. "  At this stage, the Brittany region has not taken part in any discussion on the subject,  " said the vice-president for transport, Gérard Lahellec. He recalls that the community has "  agreed to co-finance infrastructure work to allow freight trains to continue to serve businesses in central Brittany  " since 2007. The Brittany region has also invested heavily in the TER , spending 160 million euros to renovate several lines.

“  We understand this position,” says Simon Brunet. As this line is of national importance for freight, the State must also assume its responsibilities.  " The group intends to take advantage of regional elections in March 2021 to highlight the subject of renovation and the creation of small lines. "  We do not want the issue of the train to be confined to speeding up connections with Paris, " said the unionist. Living in the country is a right. To ensure equality between the territories, there must be solidarity between profitable lines and those which are not. The “next world” also goes through this.  "

Pontivy station will reopen its doors in a year. Cap, whistle and SNCF badge , the outfit of station master Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem is already ready. He is convinced: the train will whiste le again three times in central Brittany.

I visited Pontivy station last Friday (25 September 2020), and things are progressing very well. The renovation of the station building is almost complete, with just a couple of window panes, and the interior fittings and exterior signs to be completed. Similarly, the bus/rail interchange only really needs to be marked out to be ready.

I had access trackside, where work to bring the platforms up to modern standards has begun, and as luck would have it, a freight train happened to be in while I was there.

As an aside, a Covid-19 testing tent is also available in the station area.

Photos of all of the above, and of the rail route through the town taken at various vantage points, can be found here. (https://marleywarleysboutique.com/pages/pontivy-interchange-25-september-2020)


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: TonyK on October 02, 2020, 18:04:39

As an aside, a Covid-19 testing tent is also available in the station area.


It's good to know that there is one closer than that offered to me by the Covid 19 app.  ???

The photos do look good. The building resembles a lot of the small French stations I remember from the 1970s, other than being in a lot better condition.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Hal on October 05, 2020, 15:11:37
Further details announced today of the French government?s investment in railways.

Prime Minister Jean Castex visited the central city of Clermont-Ferrand and said 280 million euros are to be invested over the next two years in upgrading the link between Clermont and Paris, as well as in maintaining the small local lines in the Auvergne region and ?consolidating? the goods lines (whatever that means).

The Paris-Clermont journey will be shortened to 3 hours 15 minutes, and one extra train per day will be added. New rolling stock will arrive in 2023-24.

People in the Auvergne frequently complain about the unreliability of the rail service to Paris. And indeed, on the very day of Castex?s statement, one train from Paris arrived in Clermont more than 5 hours late ? a broken-down goods train and problems with a catenary were cited as the reasons for the delay, according to the local newspaper La Montagne.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Lee on October 11, 2020, 15:33:52
I fancy the idea of retiring to a cottage in the countryside - to an old station that's perhaps disused but has trains passing by occasionally, or is open and used by a smattering of passengers.

- A rail enthusiast property developer is currently redeveloping the historic station building at Pontivy (https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Pontivy), which still sees fairly regular freight trains, and you could view these at your leisure from one of the 4 duplex apartments being built on the upper levels. He is doing this in conjunction with the local authorities, who are building one of your favourite things in the whole wide world - a bus/rail interchange! This will include a new waiting hall, ticket office and retail space on the ground floor, the idea being to integrate regional bus, local bus, cycle routes etc with the revived tourist passenger trains that were due to start this summer but, thanks to Covid-19, are more likely now in 2021 as a first step to full passenger rail reopening - thus creating grahame heaven in the process.

Here is a translated article from Reporterre (https://reporterre.net/En-Bretagne-ils-veulent-relancer-une-ligne-de-train-fermee-depuis-30-ans) on hopes for the renovation and restoration of passenger trains on the Saint Brieuc-Pontivy-Auray line as part of the Macron initiative:

Quote from: Reporterre
Closed for thirty years, the TER railway line which crosses Brittany from north to south could resume service. At the initiative of this possible renaissance, a collective of railway workers and a train enthusiast who campaign for the return of rail to rural areas.

The ballet of TER coaches makes the windows of buildings vibrate around the Pontivy bus station (Morbihan). Travelers protect themselves from the July sun under the only bus shelter, planted at the corner of the car park. Since the station closed in 2014, it's the only place to wait. But not for long. In a few months, the renovated building will reopen its doors to the public, thanks to Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem . This entrepreneur, passionate about trains, has invested 1 million euros to buy and renovate the station of this sub-prefecture of 15,000 inhabitants, abandoned since the collapse of part of its ceiling.

The work is progressing well. That morning, the workers carefully install the new clock on the pediment. “  A clock is the heart of a station,  ” smiles the new owner. In a few months, an SNCF counter will be installed there. And Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem does not intend to stop there. “  The reopening of the station is the first step. The ultimate goal is the return of the passenger train  !  "

It has been thirty years since Pontivy has not welcomed a single one. The railway line going from Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) to Auray via the city only sees a few freight wagons circulating. It is therefore by bus that the inhabitants go to the neighboring department, for a carbon footprint nearly twice as high. “  We have to bring trains back here. Buying the station is a militant act  , ” says Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem, a construction helmet adorned with the inscription “  station master  ” on the head.

And he is not alone. At his side, around fifty elected officials, activists and citizens are united in the collective “  Center-Bretagne en train  ”, founded two years ago to revive the rail link between the north and the south of Brittany. . The challenge is twofold: to increase freight and, above all, to get passengers back on track. The key is to open up the area and reduce road traffic.

“  When you look at the map of the region's rail network, there's a big hole in the middle. It is the center of Brittany  ”, describes Simon Brunet, railway worker member of the CGT and founder of the collective. “  It is a territory which is suffering, which is even declining. Equal treatment between citizens also involves mobility, and bus connections are not a solution for the future.  " 140,000 people live along the line. So many potential passengers.

The idea of ​​relaunching this train link is not new, but the climate emergency has accelerated the thinking. "  The ecological context was the trigger for setting up the collective,  " says the railway worker. A public meeting organized in Pontivy in November 2019 attracted around sixty people. On July 14, Emmanuel Macron announced that he wanted to develop small train lines, freight and night trains. At the same time, citizen initiatives aiming to defend or promote the train are multiplying. The Railcoop cooperative , with which the Breton collective is in contact, thus wants to relaunch the Bordeaux-Lyon train line, abandoned by the SNCF . " We feel that we have an openness, that the context is favorable to the debate  ", rejoices Simon Brunet, "  and we are going to seize it  " .

From his station under construction, Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem also feels this enthusiasm. “  It is not a question of starting trains with three travelers, it would take a market study, suitable schedules… But the community of communes [Pontivy community] has 45,000 inhabitants, that's still quite a crowd  !  " The collective hopes of reopening the Breton online travelers within five years.

It would not be a first, moreover. In 2016, a section of the TER line between Oloron-Sainte-Marie and Bedous, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, was put back into operation after fifty years of closure. The cost of 102 million euros was fully covered by the former Aquitaine region. In Brittany, the Auray-Saint-Brieuc project is supported by many local elected officials from north to south of the line. In Saint-Brieuc, the new municipal team of the ecological left is in favor, as is that of Pontivy.

"  But it is those who hold the purse string that must be convinced,  " recalls Simon Brunet. The collective estimates the cost of modernizing and operating the train link at 100 million euros. A sum that would be shared by SNCF Réseau, owner of the rail infrastructure, and the Brittany region, responsible for organizing transport.

The latter does not plan to reopen the line for the moment. "  At this stage, the Brittany region has not taken part in any discussion on the subject,  " said the vice-president for transport, Gérard Lahellec. He recalls that the community has "  agreed to co-finance infrastructure work to allow freight trains to continue to serve businesses in central Brittany  " since 2007. The Brittany region has also invested heavily in the TER , spending 160 million euros to renovate several lines.

“  We understand this position,” says Simon Brunet. As this line is of national importance for freight, the State must also assume its responsibilities.  " The group intends to take advantage of regional elections in March 2021 to highlight the subject of renovation and the creation of small lines. "  We do not want the issue of the train to be confined to speeding up connections with Paris, " said the unionist. Living in the country is a right. To ensure equality between the territories, there must be solidarity between profitable lines and those which are not. The “next world” also goes through this.  "

Pontivy station will reopen its doors in a year. Cap, whistle and SNCF badge , the outfit of station master Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem is already ready. He is convinced: the train will whiste le again three times in central Brittany.

I visited Pontivy station last Friday (25 September 2020), and things are progressing very well. The renovation of the station building is almost complete, with just a couple of window panes, and the interior fittings and exterior signs to be completed. Similarly, the bus/rail interchange only really needs to be marked out to be ready.

I had access trackside, where work to bring the platforms up to modern standards has begun, and as luck would have it, a freight train happened to be in while I was there.

As an aside, a Covid-19 testing tent is also available in the station area.

Photos of all of the above, and of the rail route through the town taken at various vantage points, can be found here. (https://marleywarleysboutique.com/pages/pontivy-interchange-25-september-2020)

More good news - Association Chemins de fer de Center-Bretagne (CFCB) have concluded an operating and circulation agreement with SNCF Reseau to run tourist trains from Pontivy southwards to Lambel Camors from next summer. These will initially run on Wednesdays and Sundays, which are the 2 days per week that no freight paths are scheduled.

If this is successful, then a joint passenger/freight operating agreement will be sought to expand the number of operating days, and extend towards the junction with the main line at Auray, which is served by TGVs to Rennes and Paris, and local trains to Quimper, Lorient and Vannes. The ultimate aim is to have a 7 days a week "national rail" SNCF service from Pontivy-Auray providing all of the above connections, coexisting with freight trains, and with tourist trains that would continue to run in the summer months.

Could something similar work in the UK? Now,  there's an idea... (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=17237.msg293536#msg293536)


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: stuving on May 21, 2021, 12:45:33
About the revived sleeper trains, French press reports quote transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari as saying the first would be on the Paris-Nice line, and the second would link Paris with the Pyreneen city of Tarbes.

The new (or resumed) Paris-Nice night train did start with its first run last night. The only English report I can find is pre-reporting from yesterday, but it did happen as described - complete with Castex making the PA welcome announcement. What the fares will settle down at, and how much subsidy that will involve, is hard to say.
From RFI (https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20210520-french-pm-to-inaugurate-newly-resumed-paris-nice-night-train-service-jean-castex-environment-transport-investment):
Quote
French PM to inaugurate newly resumed Paris-Nice night train service
Issued on: 20/05/2021 - 17:00

Planned for 16 April and then postponed due to the Covid-19 health crisis, the Paris-Nice night train leaves this evening for the first time in three years, with French Prime Minister Jean Castex as an honorary passenger. The resumption of the service is part of a government push for 'greener' transport options.


The French Prime Minister Jean Castex is due to inaugurate the night-time Intercités train at the Austerlitz station before sleeping in a first class carriage: departure at 8.52pm, arrival at 09.11am on Friday on the French Riviera. The journey will take a twelve hours, compared to less than six hours by TGV.

This launch "highlights a virtuous mode of transport that contributes to the opening up of the regions. Nice is ultra-connected for the upper classes but less so for students and others," the Prime Minister's entourage told French news agency AFP.

Tickets start at 19 euros for a reclining seat, 29 euros for a second class sleeper and 39 euros for a first class sleeper.

Massive investment in the rail sector

The Paris-Nice Intercités, which stopped its operation in December 2017 due to a lack of profitability, will connect Paris-Austerlitz and Nice-Ville every day in both directions, with six stops including Marseille, Toulon and Cannes.

With this long route in his agenda, Castex wants to highlight a "rapid concretisation of the government's recovery plan", which has earmarked 5.3 billion euros for the rail sector, including 100 million euros for night trains.

It provides 50 million for the refurbishment of 51 night carriages and another 50 million for the reception of passengers and the adaptation of workshops.
...


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Lee on June 28, 2021, 17:37:33
More good news - Association Chemins de fer de Center-Bretagne (CFCB) have concluded an operating and circulation agreement with SNCF Reseau to run tourist trains from Pontivy southwards to Lambel Camors from next summer. These will initially run on Wednesdays and Sundays, which are the 2 days per week that no freight paths are scheduled.

If this is successful, then a joint passenger/freight operating agreement will be sought to expand the number of operating days, and extend towards the junction with the main line at Auray, which is served by TGVs to Rennes and Paris, and local trains to Quimper, Lorient and Vannes. The ultimate aim is to have a 7 days a week "national rail" SNCF service from Pontivy-Auray providing all of the above connections, coexisting with freight trains, and with tourist trains that would continue to run in the summer months.

Could something similar work in the UK? Now,  there's an idea... (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=17237.msg293536#msg293536)

The big day has arrived - Today Pontivy Interchange has opened, and the first tourist train has run:

(https://www.letelegramme.fr/ar/imgproxy.php/images/2020/10/10/longtemps-dans-les-cartons-le-train-touristique-devient_5344979.jpg?article=12634784&aaaammjj=12634784)


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Richard Fairhurst on June 30, 2021, 09:52:47
Nicely timed to coincide with the Tour de France's visit to Pontivy, too!


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Lee on June 30, 2021, 10:12:36
Nicely timed to coincide with the Tour de France's visit to Pontivy, too!

Indeed - We had half-price rail singles and a €1 flat fare bus ticket offer for the duration of the Tour de France being in Brittany as well.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Lee on September 25, 2021, 16:13:22
More good news - Association Chemins de fer de Center-Bretagne (CFCB) have concluded an operating and circulation agreement with SNCF Reseau to run tourist trains from Pontivy southwards to Lambel Camors from next summer. These will initially run on Wednesdays and Sundays, which are the 2 days per week that no freight paths are scheduled.

If this is successful, then a joint passenger/freight operating agreement will be sought to expand the number of operating days, and extend towards the junction with the main line at Auray, which is served by TGVs to Rennes and Paris, and local trains to Quimper, Lorient and Vannes. The ultimate aim is to have a 7 days a week "national rail" SNCF service from Pontivy-Auray providing all of the above connections, coexisting with freight trains, and with tourist trains that would continue to run in the summer months.

Could something similar work in the UK? Now,  there's an idea... (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=17237.msg293536#msg293536)

The big day has arrived - Today Pontivy Interchange has opened, and the first tourist train has run:

(https://www.letelegramme.fr/ar/imgproxy.php/images/2020/10/10/longtemps-dans-les-cartons-le-train-touristique-devient_5344979.jpg?article=12634784&aaaammjj=12634784)

I visited Pontivy Interchange last Wednesday (22 September 2021) and travelled on the tourist train. Report and pictures can be found here. (https://marleywarleysboutique.com/pages/pontivy-tourist-train-22-september-2021)

The summer operating season is now over, and the tourist trains have been more successful than anyone dare hoped, selling out every single service since the beginning of August. They are now taking a short break before resuming Winter/Santa specials in November, which I am sure will prove just as popular.

Although you obviously cant read everything into the performance of tourist trains, one cannot help but be encouraged as we continue to prepare for eventual full "national rail" reopening between Pontivy-Auray, for which - as I have mentioned on the forum before - the ball is now very much in our court:

Whilst in the UK, the idea of mixing national rail and heritage operations is viewed as radical and controversial, over here in Brittany it is far more commonplace. The Guingamp-Paimpol line has a national rail service during the winter months, and this is mixed with a steam service timetable over part of the route between Pontrieux-Paimpol during the summer months.

Similarly, once the final phase of the Pontivy Reopening Project is complete, there will be a national rail service between Auray-Pontivy during the winter months, mixed with a heritage tourist train operation during the summer months.

What we are waiting for with Pontivy is the completion of the development, construction and deployment of our own battery trains, which will also provide additional services on non-electrified routes such as Guingamp-Carhaix, Guingamp-Paimpol and Saint Brieuc-Dinan-Dol. These additional services cant be provided at present because a) we dont have sufficient spare DMU rolling stock and b) even if we did, our budget wouldnt stretch to the level of subsidy that, at least initially, would be required to operate those additional services with them.

Our experts tell us that once operational, our battery trains operating costs would be low enough to break even with just a handful of passengers on board per service, and as broadgage suggests for the WSR, we see them as the way forward for such services to be both economically and environmentally viable into the future.

I had my work hat very much on throughout my visit, and gained a lot of very useful insights. I will in the next few days post in "How Stuff Works" an overview of how our reopening business cases are progressing, and the processes we are going through.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: stuving on May 25, 2022, 23:12:32
About the revived sleeper trains, French press reports quote transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari as saying the first would be on the Paris-Nice line, and the second would link Paris with the Pyreneen city of Tarbes.

Here's an update on how business is doing on French overnight trains, from IRJ (https://www.railjournal.com/passenger/main-line/paris-nice-overnight-train-reaches-80-occupancy/):
Quote
Paris - Nice overnight train reaches 80% occupancy
More than 100,000 passengers carried in one year.


May 25, 2022                     Written by David Haydock

FRENCH National Railways’ (SNCF) overnight service between Paris and Nice has carried over 100,000 passengers since it was relaunched on May 20 2021, with funding from a €100m government programme to develop overnight services.

Paris - Nice has the best occupancy rate of SNCF overnight services, rising to above 80% at weekends and during the holidays. One in four overnight passengers choose the Mediterranean as their destination.

SNCF says train occupancy was very good in summer 2021. This trend was confirmed during the autumn and winter, and is now continuing this summer on all SNCF overnight trains.

A programme to upgrade the overnight rolling stock and adapt fleet maintenance facilities for the Paris - Nice route is due to be completed by the end of 2022.

The Nice service route was added to SNCF’s existing network of overnight services from Paris to Toulouse, Rodez/Albi, La Tour-de-Carol/Cerbère and Briançon.

A Paris - Lourdes service was launched at the end of 2021 with government funding. It will be extended to Hendaye to serve the Basque Coast in July and August.

These domestic services were joined with the timetable change on December 12 2021 by a Paris - Vienna Nightjet service operated three nights a week by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) in partnership with SNCF.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: stuving on December 12, 2023, 19:50:10
Two more night train services from Paris started at the weekend - to Aurillac on Sunday and from Berlin (with Nightjet) yesterday. Like other night trains they offer seats, couchettes, and cabins, (also typically) neither runs every night. The news report I saw of the Aurillac ones - reintroduced after a gap of 20 years - was convinced these trains would be going de-dum de-dum (which sounds very similar in French).


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Mark A on December 12, 2023, 20:45:40
This Aurillac? Attempting to work out the route...

Mark


https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9280482,2.4003895,10973m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e2?entry=ttu (https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9280482,2.4003895,10973m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e2?entry=ttu)


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Mark A on December 12, 2023, 21:00:38
*Finds the route* OK, the Aurillac train will use infrastructure such as this. (The overbridge at the tunnel portal is the same road that crosses the line, hairpin-bend-climbing the valley side...)

Mark

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9799216,2.0284642,3a,75y,272.68h,83.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sdE9boWfjTG6DhC7nvsZ4wQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e2?entry=ttu (https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9799216,2.0284642,3a,75y,272.68h,83.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sdE9boWfjTG6DhC7nvsZ4wQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e2?entry=ttu)


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: stuving on December 12, 2023, 22:39:02
*Finds the route* OK, the Aurillac train will use infrastructure such as this. (The overbridge at the tunnel portal is the same road that crosses the line, hairpin-bend-climbing the valley side...)

Yes, a bit rustic, isn't it? Of course the minimalist railway line still leads to a proper-sized station in Aurillac.

And the train fits that rustic image - three carriages tacked on the end of the existing night train to Rodez (and Albi on Fridays), where it stays for five hours before its final trundle up to Aurillac. It calls at the major metropolises of Laroquebrou, Bretenoux-Biars and Saint-Denis près Martel.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Mark A on December 13, 2023, 09:30:48
Now wondering if a: accompanied bikes would be ok and b: if they are, whether there'd be the same shenanigans imposed as at Edinburgh, where passengers with cycles, when the train is divided, are required to be up and about to transfer them between portions.

Mark


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: stuving on December 13, 2023, 12:55:06
Now wondering if a: accompanied bikes would be ok and b: if they are, whether there'd be the same shenanigans imposed as at Edinburgh, where passengers with cycles, when the train is divided, are required to be up and about to transfer them between portions.

Mark

Somewhere I saw, in a description of the new generation of sleeper stock, that they include space for bicycles. The French services are still using 70s Corail coaches, albeit done up. I imagine the new ones they are ordering are likely to be the same as in Austria etc.


Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: Mark A on December 13, 2023, 14:02:23
*Finds the route* OK, the Aurillac train will use infrastructure such as this. (The overbridge at the tunnel portal is the same road that crosses the line, hairpin-bend-climbing the valley side...)

Yes, a bit rustic, isn't it? Of course the minimalist railway line still leads to a proper-sized station in Aurillac.

And the train fits that rustic image - three carriages tacked on the end of the existing night train to Rodez (and Albi on Fridays), where it stays for five hours before its final trundle up to Aurillac. It calls at the major metropolises of Laroquebrou, Bretenoux-Biars and Saint-Denis près Martel.

Ah, Saint-Denis près Martel. Looks like that's now the lower end of the preserved railway the 'Chemin-de-fer touristique du Haute Quercy', which may still offer, as well as travel over an ambitious piece of railway engineering, the experience of being in an open sided carriage behind a small steam loco doing its best in a curved single track tunnel on a steep climb, the loco exhaust somehow being very well behaved and confining itself to the roof of the tunnel. Mostly.

Mark

https://trainduhautquercy.info/the-journey-railway/?lang=en (https://trainduhautquercy.info/the-journey-railway/?lang=en)



Title: Re: Macron announces big investment in French railways
Post by: stuving on December 13, 2023, 15:34:36
Ah, Saint-Denis près Martel. Looks like that's now the lower end of the preserved railway the 'Chemin-de-fer touristique du Haute Quercy', which may still offer, as well as travel over an ambitious piece of railway engineering, the experience of being in an open sided carriage behind a small steam loco doing its best in a curved single track tunnel on a steep climb, the loco exhaust somehow being very well behaved and confining itself to the roof of the tunnel. Mostly.

The publicity for the train touristique says it goes to Saint-Denis lès Martel, but only so as to come back again. Historically the commune was Saint-Denis lès Martel, but the station half a mile away was named Saint-Denis près Martel - presumably on the grounds that lès was Occitan not French. So it's hard to say where the train reverses.

This is the upper valley of the Dordogne, and that river has had its turn to flood this week (there's been an awful lot of it about in France for well over a month). I've not heard this area mentioned, but the stream next to Saint-Denis is ominously named la Tourmente.



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