Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway

Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway
Z 850 EMU in Chamonix
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	SNCF
Locale	Haute-Savoie, France
Termini	Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet Vallorcine (Swiss border)
History
Opened	1901–1908
Technical
Rack system	None
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification	850 V DC third rail, top contact
Highest elevation	1,365 m (4,478 ft)
Maximum incline	9%
Route map Legend SNCF [fr] to La Roche-sur-Foron 0.000 km 0 mi Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet (581 m) Mont Blanc Tramway to Nid d'Aigle 0.121 km 0.075 mi Bon-Nant [fr] (28 m) 0.532 km 0.331 mi A40 Standard gauge ends 0.635 km 0.395 mi Abbaye substation 25 kV 50Hz and 800V DC 0.693 km 0.431 mi Arve (37 m) Dual gauge section Former E.P. metallurgical plant 2.676 km 1.663 mi Chedde (599 m) 4.040 km 2.51 mi Arve (47 m) 4.100 km 2.548 mi Égratz tunnel (78 m) 5.884 km 3.656 mi Châtelard tunnel (127 m) 6.762 km 4.202 mi Servoz (813 m) 8.930 km 5.549 mi Vaudagne (928 m) 9.911 km 6.158 mi Cascade tunnel (84 m) 10.619 km 6.598 mi Viaduc-Sainte-Marie (964 m) 10.731 km 6.668 mi Sainte-Marie Viaduct (Arve) (172 m) 11.667 km 7.25 mi Les Houches (980 m) 13.763 km 8.552 mi Arve (25 m) 14.354 km 8.919 mi Taconnaz Glacier [fr] (60 m) 14.360 km 8.923 mi Taconnaz (1003 m) 15.486 km 9.623 mi Bossons Glacier (10 m) 15.672 km 9.738 mi Les Bossons (1012 m) 16.129 km 10.022 mi Arve (41 m) 16.603 km 10.317 mi Les Pélerins (1016 m) 17.624 km 10.951 mi Les Moussoux (1027 m) 18.344 km 11.398 mi Chamonix-Aiguille-du-Midi (1031 m) 18.562 km 11.534 mi Arve (32 m) 19.029 km 11.824 mi Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (1 038 m) Chemin de fer du Montenvers to Mer de Glace 20.977 km 13.035 mi Arveyron (13 m) 21.494 km 13.356 mi Les Praz-de-Chamonix (1 065 m) 22.985 km 14.282 mi Les Tines (1 082 m) 23.575 km 14.649 mi Arve (19 m) 23.791 km 14.783 mi Éboulis tunnel (227 m) 25.000 km 15.534 mi La Joux (1 223 m)) 27.297 km 16.962 mi Argentière (1 244 m) Arve (26 m) 29.389 km 18.261 mi Arve (83 m) 29.497 km 18.329 mi Montroc-Le Planet (1 365 m) 29.649 km 18.423 mi Montets Tunnel [fr] (1863 m) 31.512 km 19.581 mi 32.340 km 20.095 mi Le Buet (1 342 m) 34.115 km 21.198 mi Vallorcine (1 261 m) 36.364 km 22.596 mi Bellecombe Tunnel (136 m) 36.615 km 22.752 mi France Switzerland (Eau Noire) 18,8xx Le Châtelard-Frontière (1 116 m) Martigny–Châtelard line to Martigny Source: Swiss railway atlas[1]

The Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway (French: Ligne de Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet à Vallorcine), also known as the Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine Line, is a single-track 36.5 km (22.7 mi) long metre gauge railway in France connecting the SNCF's Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet station with Vallorcine station and the border with Switzerland (Le Châtelard) through Chamonix.^[2] Opened in stages between 1901 and 1908 by the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM), it is part of the main SNCF network as far as Vallorcine. To Le Châtelard (3 km or 1.86 mi) is run by the Swiss company Transports de Martigny et Régions (TMR), which also operates the Martigny–Châtelard Railway.

• 1886: Granting of the concession for the Cluses–Chamonix line to the PLM (first concession for a general interest electric line in France)
• 3 July 1893: Authorisation for the PLM to build the Saint-Gervais to Chamonix section as metre gauge
• June 1899: Start of works on the first section
• 25 July 1901: Opening to Chamonix, 19 km or 11.81 mi (official opening on 12 July)
• 25 July 1906: Extension to Argentière
• 1 November 1907: Boring of the Col des Montets tunnel
• 1 July 1908: Junction with the Martigny–Châtelard Railway
• 1958: Introduction of Z 600 EMUs
• 1997: Introduction of Z 800 EMUs
• 2006: Introduction of Z 850 EMUs; frequency increase between Argentière and Vallorcine
• 17 July 2009: Official opening of Chamonix-Aiguille-du-Midi station

• Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet
• Chedde
• Servoz
• Vaudagne (request stop)
• Viaduc Sainte Marie (request stop)
• Les Houches
• Taconnaz (request stop)
• Les Bossons
• Les Pélerins
• Les Moussoux (request stop)
• Aiguille du Midi
• Chamonix Mont-Blanc
• Les Praz
• Les Tines
• La Joux (request stop)
• Argentière
• Montroc-le Planet
• Le Buet
• Vallorcine
• Le Châtelard-Frontière

• At Saint-Gervais-les-Bains Le Fayet, with the standard gauge SNCF line from Aix-les-Bains via Annecy and La Roche-sur-Foron (including TGVs from Paris in the winter); and the Mont Blanc tramway (TMB) rack railway.
• At Chamonix, with the Montenvers Railway, a rack railway.
• In Switzerland, at Le Châtelard, with the Martigny-Châtelard rack railway, which continues to Martigny where it connects with the Lausanne–Brig line of the CFF.

• Track gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in).
• Profile: uphill from the Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet (altitude: 580.95 m or 1,906 ft 1⁄16 in) to the col des Montets tunnel (altitude 1,365 m or 4,478 ft 4+3⁄16 in) then downhill to the border (altitude 1,100 m or 3,608 ft 11+1⁄16 in). The steepest grade, between Servoz and les Houches is 9% over 2,000 m (6,561 ft 8+3⁄16 in), a record for an adhesion railway. On the steepest sections (4% and more), it had a central rail for braking (and keeping trains immobile in case of electric black-outs), through jaws gripping the rail; it was removed around 1980.
• Electrification through top-contact third rail at 850 V (580 V originally) direct current.
• Main structures:
  • Three viaducts, including the Sainte-Marie viaduct in the Houches over the Arve
  • Several anti-avalanche galleries
  • Col des Montets tunnel, 1,883 m (6,177 ft 9+7⁄8 in) long.
• Control: A command post, named PC Éclair (ECLAIR, or “lightning”, standing for Exploitation Centralisée des Lignes Assistée par Informatique et Radio, which translates to Centralised Control of the Lines Assisted by Computers and Radio), installed in 1991 at Saint-Gervais station, allows centralised control with the help of radio and computers.

• Three Z 850 electric multiple units (EMUs) made by Stadler. Three additional trainsets were slated to arrive before 2008.
• Five Z 800 105-seat EMUs, delivered in 1997 by ADTranz and Vevey Technologies in a joint purchase with the Martigny-Châtelard. This 1000 kW stock, composed of two motor cars, can run at 70 km/h (43.5 mph); it is rack and pinion equipped, and has pantographs in addition to 3rd rail equipment, so that it run to Martigny.
• Eight Z 600 EMUs and four additional trailers (some out of service), used in busy periods.
• Snowploughs:
  • Z 691 (electric)
  • Beilhack CN4 (diesel)
• The original Z 200 motor cars have been retired.
• Service wagons: Flats (U 20201 - U 20203) and ballast-carrying (U 20204 and U 20205 (?)).

This line carries about 500,000 passengers per year, with wide variation: from 500 people per day in the least busy periods up to 10,000 per day in summer and 2500 per day in winter for the ski season. The customer base is quite diverse, from international travellers connecting with the TGVs, to local transportation, most notably for schoolchildren. It is a tourist line and a public service at the same time.

Through trains between Saint-Gervais and Martigny run under the “Mont-Blanc Express” brand.

Since 2005 travel has been free between Servoz and Vallorcine for those with a Chamonix residency card and for valley inhabitants.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint-Gervais-Vallorcine Line.

• Train du Mont-Blanc, dedicated to the line (in French)
• Photos-trains (in French) has pictures of rolling stock