Rinbad 2003 Contents of this file are the archived text of Rinbad 2003, a newsletter about the world's railway geography and infrastructure, for the period January to December 2003. This file was updated on 24 December 2003. 2670][IE][GB] Dublin North Wall - Dundalk - Belfast Adelaide: Notwithstanding recent reports (R.2605, 2643), the first morning liner train out of Dublin continued to run beyond Friday 3 January, carrying container-loads of Guinness and cement to Belfast Adelaide freight yard, which remained open on Monday 13 January 2003. Iarnród Éireann’s train engine does any necessary shunting. No other freight traffic runs north of Dundalk across the border into the UK. (Irish Railway News) 2671][FR] Longueville (Seine-et-Marne) - Provins - Villiers-St.Georges (- Esternay): (BLN 752.0144, 764.0439; Ball 26A2) On 22 September 2002 three steam-hauled workings ran from the AJECTA railway museum at Longueville north-east on the 7km passenger branch to Provins, and across the level-crossing beyond on to the 16km freight-only extension to Villiers-St.Georges - where passengers enjoyed cider and apple-juice while the engine ran round. Freight, still worked by CFTA, now part of the Vivendi-owned Connex group, may include grain from the silos seen on the Provins - Villiers section, and timber wagons lay in the sidings at Villiers-St.Georges. Villiers-St.Georges - Esternay closed completely 3 November 1969. 2672][FR] Abreschviller - Grand Soldat: (Ball 29B2) Built when French Alsace-Lorraine was still German Elsass-Lothringen, this 6km remnant of a large system of forestry railways has the track-gauge of 700mm, which was also used by the German military but which is unique in France. (Tourist Railways of France, by Richard Howarth) Now a tourist operation, the Chemin de Fer Forestier d’Abreschviller was operating on 21 September 2002, with two return workings, the latter well filled by a German group who arrived by bus. The intermediate stations shown in the 1991 Ball atlas no longer appeared in the timetable, and trains did not stop at them. Guided tours were offered of the depot with its collection of German-built locomotives, and of the sawmill near the Grand Soldat terminus. The road journey to the tourist line revealed that much if not all of the former SNCF (Sarrebourg -) La Forge - Abreschviller freight branch had been lifted, and some 5km of the trackbed at the Abreschviller end is now a cycle-path. Abreschviller SNCF station building is a private house in good condition, with the original station signs, on the edge of a large timber-yard. 2673][FR] Dole - Tavaux: (39A1-49A3) Once part of cross-country through routes Dole - Tavaux - Chaussin - St.Bonnet-en-Bresse - Verdun-sur-le-Doubs - Chalon-sur-Saône (R.0701, 2105-6) and Dole - Tavaux - Chaussin - Bletterans - Lons-le-Saunier (BLN 756.0276), this short branch carries regular and heavy freight traffic for a Solvay factory at Tavaux. It was visited on 13 October 2002 by a railcar of Autorails de Bourgogne et de Franche-Comté that reached a point just short of the RFF boundary on the link line into the factory. 2674][FR] Dole - Parcey - Souvans (- Mont-sous-Vaudrey - Poligny): (BLN 849.0240; Ball 39A1-49B3) Opened in 1884, the Dole - Poligny secondary line ran through Mont-sous-Vaudrey, where a former (1879-1887) president of France, Jules Grevy, once had a siding built to his home for trains to and from Paris. The line closed to passengers 5 May 1938. In October 2002 regular freight trains continued to serve a factory just south of Dole-la-Bedugue. Beyond, the track condition was poor, timber traffic was said to be intermittent, and the track ended just beyond the rounding-loop at Souvans. 2675][FR] Besançon-Viotte - Miserey - Devecey (- Loulans-les-Forges - Lure): (Ball 39B1) Closed to passengers 11 May 1959, this freight-only stub of a former through line was visited by an ABFC railcar excursion on 13 October 2002. At Miserey the former station remained, as did the junction points. A few metres beyond, vegetation completely blocked the trackbed of the Miserey - Marnay branch, and an announcement on the train described it as formally abandoned (declassée). Devecey station building remained intact and near the rounding-loop scrap-metal lay awaiting collection. Though the line beyond is truncated at the former level-crossing over the N57 road, it was said that the closed section may reopen to connect with the proposed LGV Rhin-Rhône - if that high-speed line is ever built. 2676][FR] Chalon-sur-Saône - Châtenoy-le-Royal - Givry (- St.Gengoux - Taizé - Cluny): (Ball 48B3-48B2) In autumn 2002 track remained in place beyond the siding at Châtenoy-le-Royal (R.2107) to the west as far as about 500m before Givry station, 8km from Chalon. To the south some 40km of trackbed, formally abandoned (declassée) in 1994, had become a long-distance path for cyclists and walkers, which had clearly seen significant expenditure on restoring former stations, including Taizé (R.2197). St.Gengoux, now a rest-point with toilets, retained its platforms and, curiously, an SNCF ticket-office in the station-building (though a notice said this was to close shortly). At Cluny, too, the station-building remained. 2677][FR] Andelot - Champagnole - Morez - St.Claude - Oyonnax - La Cluse - Bourg-en-Bresse: (R.0964; Ball 49B3-49A1) From 2 September 2002 five trains a day call at a new halt near Champagnole, Paul-Émile-Victor, to convey schoolchildren to and from the local lycée. (L’Écho du Rail, # 240, December 2002) Publicity for an ABFC railtour on 9 February 2003 notes that it will be an opportunity to travel on the (Oyonnax -) La Cluse - Bourg-en-Bresse section before it closes from 2004 to 2006 for construction work on the proposed Bourg-en-Bresse - La Cluse - Bellegarde (- Genève) cut-off. While unlikely itself to be a Ligne à Grande Vitesse through such hilly terrain, this cut-off would give Paris - Genève TGV services a considerably more direct route. 2678][FR] (Pau -) Oloron Ste.Marie - Bedous SNCF (- Canfranc RENFE): (R.1299, 2141; Ball 69B1) Aquitaine regional council have announced that the Oloron Ste.Marie - Bedous section, which lost its passenger trains from 1 June 1980, is to reopen to passengers at the end of 2003, as a prelude to the future reconstruction and reopening of the whole Transpyrénéen Occidental railway from Pau via Bedous and through Somport tunnel to Canfranc in Spain. (L’Écho du Rail, # 240, December 2002) Target-date for reopening the route through Somport rail tunnel is 2006. (The Economist, 21 December 2002) 2679][BE] (Bruxelles=Brussel -) Leuven - Ans (- Liège): (R.0007; Ball 9A2-9B2) The high-speed 25kV 50Hz Leuven - Ans Ligne 2 opened for passenger services from the 15 December 2002 timetable change. (Trans-fer, #126, December 2002) 2680][BE][LU][FR] Dinant - Bertrix - Virton - Athus SNCB / Rodange CFL / Mont-Saint-Martin SNCF: (R.0378; Ball 17A3-17B1) After 11 years’ modernisation work, 19 November 2002 finally saw inauguration of 25kV 50Hz electrification on the Athus-Meuse axis, intended to relieve the 3000V dc Namur - Libramont - Arlon - Autelbas - Sterpenich SNCB - Kleinbettingen CFL - Luxembourg main line of heavy freight flows, mostly from the port of Antwerpen. Class 41 diesel railcars continue to work Dinant - Bertrix and Libramont - Bertrix - Virton passenger trains. (Trans-fer, #126, December 2002) 2681][LU] Schieren - Bissen: (Ball 18A2) This short freight-only branch is to see two passenger workings on 26 January 2003, running Luxembourg 12:35 - Diekirch 14:13 - Bissen - 15:47 Diekirch 16:13 - Bissen - 17:47 - 19:22 Luxembourg, with a EUR9 day ticket available on the train, and a Diekirch - Bissen round-trip ticket at EUR4.50. 2682][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (R.2244; Ball 32A2) The on-train announcements and internal displays describe the new Hauptbahnhof-Lehrter Bahnhof S-Bahn station (R.2647) as ‘Hauptbahnhof Lehrter Strasse’. The site of the old Lehrter Stadtbahnhof could no longer be readily discerned (R.2501). As the New Year began, work was proceeding on the high-level long-distance platforms, which looked as though they might be ready by April 2003. Completion of the lower levels still seemed some way in the future, perhaps 2004 or 2005. The present S-Bahn station is a somewhat bleak elevated structure with a double curved roof. Egress appeared to require a significant walk on a pathway towards the western end of the station, then a descent into the bowels of the earth. Usage of the station seemed rather light, though our reporter was there over the holiday period rather than a normal working day. On 30, 31 December and 2, 3 January the S-Bahn ran to what was in effect a Saturday timetable. Special services ran through the night of 31 December, departing from central Berlin until about 04:30 on 1 January. A public-holiday service ran on 1 January 2003, with about half the normal frequency until 10:00. The Zehlendorf - Mexikoplatz - Schlachtsee - Nikolassee (- Wannsee) section was temporarily closed till mid-February 2003 for engineering work. S1 trains terminated at Zehlendorf to be met by replacement buses, route A running express to Wannsee and route B serving the intermediate stations. The classic S-Bahn sets of Class 477/877 were seen mainly on S3 Charlottenburg - Erkner trains, including S3 Ostbahnhof - Friedrichshagen short workings. 2683][DE] Dresden area: 750mm-gauge lines: (Ball 44A2-44A1) Both the Lössnitzgrundbahn (Radebeul Ost - Radeburg; BLN 833.0418) and the Weisseritztalbahn (Freital Hainsberg - Kurort Kipsdorf; R.2366) remain DB lines, albeit with a special fares tariff. Three DB companies are involved. Infrastructure company DB Netz own the tracks and employ the signalling staff. Train-operating company DB Regio, federally-approved as Eisenbahnverkehrsunternehmen (= railway transport operators), hold the contract with the local transport authority to provide and market the passenger services. However, a service company within the DB group, DB Bahnreinigungsgesellschaft (BRG), previously responsible only for cleaning the trains, now supply the staff to operate them. This came about because DB Regio, politically unable to close two very labour-intensive and very uneconomic steam-worked narrow-gauge lines, came under pressure to contain costs. Unlike former staff of the western Deutsche Bundesbahn who were Beamte (= established civil servants), former personnel of the eastern Deutsche Reichsbahn had no ‘job-for-life’ employment contracts with the new merged Deutsche Bahn group, and DB Regio were therefore able, towards the end of 2000, to give the affected train staff an unpalatable choice: transfer to employment at lower pay with DB subsidiary BRG or leave the railway altogether. Thus the privatisation threatened in 1997-98 (and implemented for other DB narrow-gauge lines in Sachsen and elsewhere) never happened, and ownership and operation of the Lössnitztalbahn and Weisseritztalbahn remain wholly with subsidiaries of the government-owned DB group. 2684][DE] Gotha - Emleben - Georgenthal (Thüringen) - Ohrdruf - Luisenthal - Crawinkel - Gräfenroda: (BLN 764.0446; Ball 41A1-41B1) The 11km Crawinkel - Gräfenroda section closed temporarily for engineering work 29 June 1998, and was planned to reopen 1 October 2002, but reopening was deferred to the timetable-change on 15 December 2002. Single-track throughout with passing-loops at Emleben, Georgenthal, Ohrdruf and Crawinkel, the Ohratalbahn is worked by DB Class 641 modern single-unit railcars. Semaphore signalling remains, however, and the line-speed remains leisurely, the 35.7km taking 57 minutes. Trains run hourly between Gotha and Crawinkel and are extended to Gräfenroda every second hour. In December 2002 freight sidings at Emleben, Georgenthal, Ohrdruf, Luisenthal and Crawinkel seemed available for use, though only Ohrdruf had wagons present, loaded with timber from a nearby sawmill. At the south end of Georgenthal station the latterly freight-only 6.2km Georgenthal - Tambach-Dietharz branch, the Hirzbergbahn, was blocked by a buffer-stop just south of the junction but appeared intact beneath the vegetation beyond. According to the Schweers+Wall atlas, a Museumbahn operation is planned here. 2685][DE] Grimmenthal - Themar - Eisfeld - Rauenstein (Thüringen) - Mengersgereuth-Hämmern - Sonneberg (Thüringen) Hbf: (R.2207; Ball 52A3-52B3) Closed abruptly during 22 January 1997 because of poor track (BLN 795.067), the 32.9km Eisfeld - Sonneberg section reopened to passengers 15 December 2002. Branching off east of Themar, the disused Themar - Schleusingen - Suhl / Ilmenau line seemed intact but well overgrown. On the more scenic reopened section from Eisfeld to Sonneberg, all stations had been rebuilt with new platforms and bus-stop-style shelters, but no freight sidings were in use. Trains all reverse at Rauenstein and can cross there, or at a passing-loop at Mengersgereuth-Hämmern. Südthüringenbahn’s single-unit railcars run hourly Eisenach - Grimmenthal - Eisfeld, running forward every second hour to Sonneberg, with Sonneberg - Neuhaus-am-Rennweg connections (R.2686). 2686][DE] Sonneberg (Thüringen) Hbf - Blechhammer - Lauscha - Ernstthal (am Rennsteig) (- Probstzella): (R.2207; Ball 52B3) The 3km Ernstthal (am Rennsteig) - Neuhaus-am-Rennweg branch was already freight-only when the through line Sonneberg - Lauscha - Ernstthal - Probstzella closed to passengers in a hurry during 22 January 1997 (BLN 795.067). The Sonneberg - Lauscha section was recorded as having reopened for special passenger trains from 26 September 1998, the Ernstthal - Probstzella section remaining closed without reopening plans (BLN 838.0577). From 15 December 2002, hourly Sonneberg - Lauscha - Ernstthal - Neuhaus passenger services recommenced. Südthüringenbahn’s single-unit railcars on this 28.5km of single track reverse at both Lauscha and Ernsttal and can cross there or at a passing-loop at Blechhammer. Not all the platforms have been replaced, and at the end of December 2002 much landscaping and several platforms were still incomplete. Neuhaus-am-Rennweg has a new station building. A #503 bus runs from Neuhaus north to Cursdorf, so with the reopening, also on 15 December 2002 (R.2519), of Rottenbach - Obstfelderschmiede - Katzhütte, a circular trip is possible via the Obstfelderschmiede - Lichtenhain Oberweissbacher Bergbahn funicular and the Lichtenhain - Cursdorf branch. 2687][DE] Bad Schussenried - Bad Schussenried Kloster (- Torfwerk Steinhauser Ried): (R.2607; Ball 69B2 not shown) This line opened 13 October 1896 as the 750mm-gauge Schussenried Bf - Buchau section of the Württembergische Staatseisenbahn, later extended north from Buchau to Riedlingen (km29.2) on the (Ulm -) Schelklingen - Herbertingen line. Schussenried Bf - Buchau closed to passengers 31 May 1965 and to freight in 1969. Stations/halts were Schussenried Ort (km1.9, presumably the location to be served in summer 2003 as Bad Schussenried Kloster), Sattenbeuren (c.km5; this seems to have closed by the 1930s), Torfwerk (km5.7) and Buchau (km9.4). After 1969, Bad Schussenried Bf - Torfwerk was converted to a standard-gauge freight branch serving the siding of Kieswerkes Rieger, visited by an IBSE railtour 4 May 1996. 2688][AT] Austria: 1106mm-gauge track, horse-haulage and a very early passenger station: Begun in 1827, the Budweis - Linz - Lambach - Gmunden railway eventually extended to 196km of track with the unusual gauge of 1106mm, on which haulage was originally all by horses (R.1727). More details are in Die Pferdeeisenbahn: Pferde- und Dampfbetrieb und Projekte auf 1106mm Spurweite by Johan Brunner, a 30pp German-language booklet published 1999, available from Freunde der Pferdeeisenbahn, Museum & Gasthaus, Kerschbaum 61, A-4261 Rainbach im Mühlkreis. The Lambach - Gmunden section seems to have been converted to standard-gauge quite late, in 1903, but today the Kerschbaum Pferdeeisenbahn, a restored 500m section of the original railway offering seasonal horse-hauled rides (7.5km from Summerau; Ball 63A1, not shown), may be the only user of the 1106mm gauge. A building erected at Engelhof in 1835 for the 1106mm-gauge line, and flanked by stables for the motive-power, was at one time claimed to be the world’s oldest railway building remaining in continuous service as a passenger station virtually unaltered (Journal of the Railway & Canal Historical Society, #153, March 1993). However, ÖBB had withdrawn Lambach - Engelhof - Gmunden-Traundorf passenger trains from 29 May 1988 (BLN 839.0600; Ball 73B2), so by the time this claim was published the standard-gauge line was alas already freight-only. It would nevertheless be interesting to know whether Engelhof’s 167-year-old passenger station survives into 2003, and whether it is still in some kind of railway use. 2689][ES] Mallorca: Empalme - Sineu - Petra - Manacor (- Arta): (R.2508; Ball 38A1-38A2) A Twelfth Night special passenger train conveying los Reyes Magos de Oriente (the three Magi kings of the East) arrived at Sineu at 18:30 on 5 January 2003 to be welcomed by government and railway officials. This was not the official inauguration of the line, but good progress is being made with the works for reopening as metre-gauge to Manacor, and target opening-date for public services on this branch is April or May 2003. (http://www.aafb.net) 2690][SK] Zohor - Lozorno - Jablonove - Pernek pri Zohore - Kuchyna - Rohoznik - Solosnica - Plavecke Podhradie - Plavecky Mikulas: (Ball 41B1-42A2; ZSR112) Several of the lines threatened with closure to passengers from 1 or 2 February 2003 were visited during December 2002. ZSR Class 810 four-wheel railbus forming train #2209 Zohor 15:15 - Plavecky Mikulas had c.50 passengers on departure, many of them changing from a Bratislava - Zohor train. Initially the 35km branch passes through purely arable land but north-east of Kuchyna the landscape is a mix of arable, woodland and wetlands. Track was in very good condition as far as Rohuznik but noticeably poorer beyond. Lozorno serves a fair-sized town, where 10 passengers alighted and 2 joined. Six bogie wagons in timber-traffic use were present, and new sleepers were stacked as though ready for track-renewal. A small cement-works appeared to generate traffic. Jablonove is a large village where 6 passengers left. At Pernek pri Zohore, only a few houses were visible and the train did no business. Kuchyna serves another large village, where 7 left. The passing-loop was available for use., and a new building, perhaps a warehouse, was being built adjacent to a siding. A military airfield nearby may generate traffic. Rohoznik, a sizeable town with a number of six- or seven-storey apartment-blocks, saw 20 passengers alight. The extensive layout held numerous bogie timber wagons, coal hoppers and vans. Two separate branches serve the large Baumit cement-works, with c.100 wagons present, and two industrial shunters in use, similar to Classes 703 and 742. Solosnica station had no freight, but 4 passengers alighted for the large village here. Plavecke Podhradie had scrap-metal and perhaps grain traffic, and 3 people left the train. The terminal station Plavecky Mikulas had recently been repainted, and sidings to handle timber traffic, but the only passenger other than our reporter was a Czech railway enthusiast. The return train #2214 Plavecky Mikulas 16:10 - Zohor saw a few people joining or leaving at most stations, arriving in Zohor with 8 on board. It seems surprising that the whole branch may be closed to passengers as other railcars seen on the branch were reasonably loaded, some also towing a well-filled trailer. A cutback to Rohoznik (km24) might have been more understandable. 2691][SK] Zohor - Vysoka pri Morave - Záhorská Ves: (BLN 789.0438; Ball 41B2; ZSR113) This 14km branch diverges from the Bratislava - Zohor - Kúty ZSR - Breclav CD main line west towards the Austrian frontier. On a December day trains #2316/9 Zohor 17:25 - Zahorska Ves 17:45 - Zohor both ran after darkness had fallen. Outward the Class 810 railbus was filled to capacity, mostly with commuters from Bratislava, and several passengers had to stand. Track was in good condition. The train was not booked to call at either of the request-stops, but c.45 passengers alighted at Vysoka pri Morave with the remaining 20 or so going through to Zahorska Ves. On the return journey 3 joined at Zahorska Ves and another 3 at Vysoka pri Morave. Again it seems surprising that such a line should be threatened with closure. 2692][SK] Ul’any nad Zitavou - Mana - Vráble - Tesárske Mlynany - Zlaté Moravce: (Ball 42A1; ZSR151) This threatened 35km cross-country line diverges north from the electrified Nové Zámky - Šurany - Ul’any nad Zitavou - Levice - Zvolen line. The junction station Ul’any nad Zitavou has four tracks, and a small permanent-way depot. Train #5809 (Nove Zamky 10:34 -) Ul’any nad Zitavou - Zlate Moravce on 10 December 2002 was a Class 810 railbus plus one trailer, leaving Ul’any with c.35 passengers. Overall, the track was in good condition, traversing an agricultural landscape. All the intermediate stops were unstaffed halts except Mana, Vrable and Tesarske Mlynany, and the only sign of freight was at Vrable. Mala Mana loop showed signs of recent use, and nearby lay a large permanent-way depot, possibly closed. Linear urban development paralleled the line for a km or so to Mana zastavka (zastavka = halt), perhaps opened since 1993. At the next stop, Mana station, two of the four tracks were in use, and 5 passengers alighted for the village some distance away. Kmetovo (5 alighted, 1 boarded) and Michal nad Zitavou (7 alighted) are small towns but the next three halts to the north serve villages: Martinova (1 alighted), Lucnica nad Zitavou (1 boarded) and Dycka (1 alighted). Vrable, a sizeable town with industry and a number of small tower-blocks, has a station with four tracks and a siding diverging into a fenced-off industrial compound, with evidence of timber and other freight traffic. One passenger left and one joined the train, while the crew delivered and collected parcels, and a southbound train passed, also comprising a Class 810 railbus and trailer, together carrying c.20 passengers. Nova Ves nad Zitavou (2 alighted) and Slepcany (no business) are small villages, but Tesarske Mlynany (2 boarded) is larger, with three tracks in the station, though only one was in use. Zlate Moravce, the junction at the northern end, is a large station with eight tracks, timber traffic in sidings and a three-road locomotive-shed, turntable and fuelling-point. In mid-January 2003 a report said passenger trains would continue on this line after the beginning of February 2003. 2693][SK] (Kozarovce -) Zlate Moravce - Jelenec - Zirany - Luzianky: (Ball 42A1; ZSR 141) On 10 December 2002 train #5158 Zlate Moravce 12:05 - Luzianky was a Class 810 railbus, carrying a notice which appeared to confirm the threatened imminent closure of this cross-country section. Leaving Zlate Moravce westward past several vineyards, the train’s five passengers comprised our reporter, three railway staff and one other, and the maximum number of passengers joining or leaving at any point was two. The track was in good condition. All the intermediate stops were unstaffed halts except Jelenec and Zirany, and the only intermediate sign of freight was at Jelenec. Slazany, though apparently unstaffed, had four tracks, all of which had seen recent use. Jelenec had four tracks, of which three were in use, and, set back from the running line line, a small yard apparently for timber traffic, with four bogie wagons present. Zirany likewise had four tracks, with two in use. Of the four tracks at Podhorany pri Luziankach only one was in use. Near Drazovce an overbridge carrying a new road had been constructed fairly recently, and several other bridges on the line looked to have been recently renewed. The western-end junction, Luzianky, had eight tracks, all in use, with evidence of recent timber traffic, and Class 742 locomotives present on pickup freights. A report in mid-January 2003 said passenger trains would continue beyond the beginning of February 2003 on the whole Kozarovce - Zlate Moravce - Luzianky line. 2694][SK] Zbehy - Cab-Sila - Nove Sady - Velke Ripnany - Radošina: (Ball 42A2; ZSR142) Another threatened branch was travelled on 10 December 2002, a 20km single track in good condition running through an arable landscape devoid of industry except at Cab-Sila, and with evidence of freight only at Cab-Sila, Nove Sady and Velke Ripnany. Intermediate stops were unstaffed except Nove Sady and Velke Ripnany. A single Class 810 railbus formed trains #5306/5311 Zbehy 13:20 - Radosina 15:05 - Zbehy. Zbehy is a rural junction with only a few houses nearby, and three of four tracks in use. Cab-Sila, though unstaffed and generating no passenger business for the northbound train, had several sidings to factories, at least one of which was in use, with a smart Class T212 shunter present. Another siding held a rather unkempt Class T334 shunter. Apparently better located for the village is Cab-Sila zastavka, where 2 passengers alighted and 1 boarded. At the small town of Nove Sady three tracks were all in use. Five passengers left and 14 joined, mostly local schoolchildren who boarded both our reporter’s northbound train and a southbound one it crossed. Eleven people left at the next village, Male Zaluzie. Kapince had two of its four tracks in use, and Male Ripnany one of its three. The small town of Velke Ripnany had two of three tracks in use, and handled timber and sugar-beet. Nine passengers alighted and 9 joined. At the passenger terminus, Radosina, the line continues over an open level-crossing for a few metres before disappearing beneath vegetation. Radosina is a small town which appears to have good bus connections, and its station is shown as staffed in the ZSR timetable. Nevertheless, in spite of the opening-times posted there, the ticket-window in the waiting-room was closed. Local passengers seemed surprised. Still, on the southbound run some of them were able to travel free since the conductor was unable to issue tickets quickly enough to charge everyone! A report in mid-January 2003 said passenger trains would continue after the beginning of February 2003. 2695][IN] Delhi metro: (R.2409) After being inaugurated by the Indian prime minister on 24 December, the first section (Shahdara - Tis Hazari; 8.3km, six stops) was swamped by public demand on 25 December 2002. (http://news.bbc.co.uk) 2696][RU] (Moskva -) Khabarovsk - Ussuriysk (- Vladivostok): (BLN 782.0283, 840.0635) Full electrification of the 9267km Trans-Siberian railway was completed on 25 December 2002. (http://eriksrailnews.com) 2697][CN] Shanghai magnetic-levitation guideway: This 30km 400km/h German-designed Transrapid magnetic-levitation line begun in March 2001 (R.1283) on 31 December 2002 saw the Chinese prime minister and the German chancellor take an inaugural ride from Loyang Road station in the city out to Shanghai’s new international airport at Pudong. Public service is to begin during 2003. (The Times, 1 January 2003) 2698][CN]/[HK] Hong Kong - Kowloon - Tsing Yi - Chek Lap Kok airport: (BLN 840.0637). Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway are operators of both the premium-fare Airport Line (opened 6 July 1998) and the Tung Chung line out to a separate local terminus in a new town also on Lantau island (Hong Kong - Kowloon - Olympic - Lai King - Tsing Yi - Tung Chung; opened 22 June 1998). The trains share c.30km of the 34km route, but the Airport trains charge much higher fares so call at separate platforms at common stations, while Tung Chung trains call at two additional intermediate stations. The bridge linking the mainland to the small island of Tsing Yi is interesting if somewhat over-engineered. It has two decks, the top deck carrying two separate tracks for westbound trains to the Airport and to Tung Chung. Hong Kong-bound trains run on lines slung under the upper deck, again segregated. Just west of the bridge is Tsing Yi station, and west of that the lines go into tunnel (two single bores and a double bore). Further west is the more famous Tsing Ma bridge to Lantau island, which has the world’s longest suspension span carrying both road and railway, but the trains run in a box beneath the road deck, so passengers see little. Airport and Tung Chung trains share the lines through the Tsing Ma bridge and across Lantau island as far as the junction where they diverge about 4km short of the airport. Both Airport and Tung Chung services run at 10min intervals, the Airport trains taking 23min with intermediate stops at Kowloon and Tsing Yi. The seven-car trains are similar, mainly blue for the Airport, mainly silver for Tung Chung, but one vehicle of the Airport trains has blank windows and is presumably a baggage van. Airline baggage check-in is available at Hong Kong station. The usual rip-off of air passengers applies (cf. Heathrow Express, Arlanda Express), the Hong Kong - Airport single fare being HKD100 (=c.GBP8 =c.EUR12.50) compared with HKD26 for the similar distance to Tung Chung. A future Disney theme-park and nearby residential developments are to be served by a new station, Yam O, on the Tung Chung line between Tsing Yi and Tung Chung. Construction of Yam O station is to begin in 2003 with a target opening-date of 2005. A system map is at http://www.metropla.net. 2699][CN]/[HK] Hong Kong: Eastern Harbour lines: The Mass Transit Railway’s Eastern Harbour Crossing (Kwun Tong - Lam Tin - Quarry Bay) opened 5 August 1989 as an extension of the Kwun Tong line south to Hong Kong island, and was so successful that from 27 September 2001 it was extended at the island end (Quarry Bay - North Point) to relieve pressure on the Quarry Bay interchange station. Next, a new six-station extension was built from Lam Tin via Yau Tong east to Po Lam. The interchange station of Yau Tong opened 4 August 2002 and from 18 August 2002 the network was reoriented. Kwun Tong line trains no longer use the Eastern Harbour Crossing but turn east, running (Yau Me Tei -) Kwun Tong - Lam Tin - Yau Tong - Tiu Keng Leng. Trains on the new Tseung Kwan O line use the Eastern Harbour Crossing to connect with them, running North Point - Quarry Bay - Yau Tong - Tiu Keng Leng - Tseung Kwan O - Hang Hau - Po Lam. A further short branch (Tseung Kwan O - Tseung Kwan O South) is to open by 2004. (http://www.metropla.net) 2700][CN]/[HK] Hong Kong: Kowloon - Tuen Mun: (BLN 836.0538) Kowloon-Canton Railway’s future 30.5km double-track electrified West Rail line to the north-west New Territories shows impressive infrastructure investment, with only 5.6km on the surface, 13.4km on viaduct and the rest in tunnel. In late 2002 viaduct sections could easily be seen from KCRC’s existing Tuen Mun light-rail system, with which the new commuter line will connect. Target opening-date is autumn 2003. 2701][SG][MY] Singapura - Bukit Timah - Woodlands [SG] - [MY] Johor Bahru (- Gemas - Kuala Lumpur): (R.1209) The section on Singaporean soil of this 1923-built line, including the land beneath the metre-gauge track, remains in the ownership of the Malaysian state railway Keretapi Tanah Melayu, and is not due to pass to Singapore for ‘a large number of years’, presumably when a long lease ends. Bukit Timah remains as a block-post to split the Singapura - Woodlands single-line section, though the signalling can be switched out, with long-section token working applying instead. In 2002 the closed Bukit Timah station retained its building, nameboard, single platform, passing-loop, parallel siding off the loop - and a pair of classic British-style token instruments. The Bukit Timah - Jurong freight branch built in 1966 was it seems closed in 1995 and lifted. (Corris Railway Society magazine Corris-Pondent, #142, winter 2002) 2702][AU] Tasmania: (Hobart - Derwent Park -) Bridgewater Jn - New Norfolk - Hayes - Westerway - National Park (- Maydena - Florentine - Kallista): This 1067mm-gauge branch had lost its regular passenger service when in 1987 the Tasmanian Locomotive Company commenced tourist trains from Derwent Park (on Tasrail’s Hobart - Launceston main line near Hobart) the 75km to Mount Field National Park. Later the Derwent Valley Railway Preservation Society took over and moved the base of operations west to New Norfolk (18.3km down the branch from Bridgewater Jn). Trains ceased during track and bridge rehabilitation from 3 September 1995 (when the last passenger excursion ran New Norfolk - Maydena) until about September 2000. In late 2002 the Derwent Valley Railway were running a tourist train from New Norfolk west 30.7km to Westerway on the second Sunday of each month, and c.4km New Norfolk - Hayes shuttle trains hourly 10:00-15:00 on the first and third Saturday of each month, as well as charters and main-line excursions. Opening of their 6.6km Westerway - National Park extension had been delayed due to problems with sleepers supporting the existing track, and at the end of December 2002 no revenue trains had worked through. From National Park station it will be only a short walk amid huge trees to the main reception building of the Mount Field National Park close to the famous Russell Falls, so the train trip is expected to attract a number of tourists. The DVR plan to restore the line 12.2km south-west to Maydena, with the possibility of timber traffic there. Timber was formerly loaded 3km beyond at Florentine, the latter-day terminus (2 February 1950-23 April 1993), but extension on what is now private land seems unlikely. Before 2 February 1950 the line had extended a further 2km to Kallista. On Australia Day, 26 January 2003, a main-line excursion is planned from New Norfolk east to Bridgewater Jn then north on the Hobart - Launceston line as far as Ross. 2703][AU] Tasmania: (Hobart - Devonport -) Don Jn - Ulverstone - Penguin - Burnie - Wynyard: On every Friday in January 2003 (plus Monday 13 January) the Don River Railway are to run a Don - Wynyard day trip (Don 09:45 - 12:10 Wynyard 15:00 - Don). The c.68km route includes their own 3km heritage branch line (Don Jn - Don; R.2440, 2488), the c.30km Ulverstone - Burnie section of Tasrail’s main line traversed by Burnie Rail (R.2665), and the far western end of the route of the Hobart - Devonport - Wynyard Tasman Limited, withdrawn 28 July 1978. 2704][AU] Tasmania: Queenstown - Lynchford - Halls Creek - Rinadeena - Strahan Regatta Point: (R.1324, 2441, 2630) Tasmania’s state government bought the 34km 1067mm-gauge line in October 2001. Since 1 August 2002 operation has been contracted to Federal Hotels & Resorts Tasmania. The line was renamed West Coast Wilderness Railway on or about 13 September 2002. The first work train ran Rinadeena to Strahan Regatta Point on 26 December 2001, and this section opened to passengers a year later on 27 December 2002. (http://www.transport.tas.gov.au/about/transport_tas/rail_map.html; http://www.users.bigpond.com/Rhol/page18.html; http://www.federalresorts.com.au/west-coast-wilderness-railway.php) 2705][NZ] Christchurch - Lyttelton: (EGTRE ROTW NZ6) From the west-facing junction at Addington, close to the present Christchurch station (BLN 784.0344), what is now a 12km freight branch runs east through the city and a 2.6km tunnel to the port of Lyttelton. This sees occasional seasonal passenger trains conveying cruise-ship passengers to and/or from scenic Arthur’s Pass on the Christchurch - Rolleston Jn - Arthur’s Pass (- Greymouth) Midland line. In the autumn quarter from January to March 2003 some 23 workings are planned, carrying passengers from vessels such as Amsterdam, Clipper Odyssey, Crystal Symphony, Delphin, Europa, Legend of the Seas, Oriana, Prinsendam and Regal Princess. 2706][CA] Victoria - Esquimalt - Malahat - Stockett - Nanaimo - Parksville - Courtenay, BC and Parksville - Port Alberni, BC: (R.1938, 2153, 2186, 2382) In 1999 short-line operators RailAmerica took over the whole 225km standard-gauge Esquimalt & Nanaimo line on Vancouver Island, leasing from Canadian Pacific the sections from Victoria to Stockett (just south of Nanaimo) and from Parksville to Courtenay, and buying Stockett - Parksville - Port Alberni outright. However, at the end of 2001 they declared that the E&N system was uneconomic and would close. Presumably new business arrangements were put in place in late 2002, since it is reported that Canadian Pacific plan to sell the remaining E&N trackage they own to RailAmerica. Meanwhile, in September 2002 VIA’s Victoria - Courtenay passenger train #198/199 Malahat was reprieved yet again at short notice, and in January 2003 continues to operate with no specific closure date forecast. Refurbished Budd Rail Diesel Cars #6133 and 6148 have been running the service while sister car #6135 has been sent all the way coast-to-coast across the Dominion to Moncton, NB for similar refurbishment (R.1938). 2707][CA] North Vancouver - Squamish - Whistler (- Lillooet - Prince George, BC): BC Rail’s ordinary passenger service ceased from 1 November 2002 (R.2634), but in connection with Canada’s bid to hold the 2010 Winter Olympic Games at Whistler, a winter-sports resort on the line, a Vancouver - Whistler test run is reportedly to be made in February 2003, using passenger stock of the Vancouver Waterfront - Mission, BC West Coast Express (R.2188). 2708][US] Oakland - Sacramento - Bakersfield - Tehachapi - Mojave - Los Angeles, CA: (R.0837) Amtrak’s Oakland - Sacramento - Bakersfield San Joaquin trains link the Bay Area via the state capital to the San Joaquin Valley, but no regular passenger train has run from Bakersfield south on the scenic section over the Tehachapi Mountains to Los Angeles since the birth of Amtrak on 1 May 1971. Santa Fe’s trains #1/2 San Francisco Chief Chicago, IL - Barstow, CA - Richmond, CA and Southern Pacific’s trains #51/52 San Joaquin Daylight Los Angeles - Oakland, CA were withdrawn when Amtrak took over America’s inter-city rail services. Amtrak provide only a connecting Bakersfield - Los Angeles Thruway bus. In late 2002 California’s Department of Transportation (Caltrans), who subsidise a number of Amtrak services within the state, including the San Joaquins, asked freight railroad Union Pacific to study the possibility of running a single Amtrak train nightly via Tehachapi, and to report on what track improvements the state might need to finance, such as new passing-loops. UP have refused to consider the idea, pointing out that the joint UP/BNSF Bakersfield - Los Angeles route is single-track, steeply-graded, sharply-curved and busy, hosting daily some 38 long freight trains for both UP and rival Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and that a passenger train is not needed, given the time it would take compared with the road journey. Ultimately nationalised Amtrak can under federal law require access to private-sector freight railroads’ tracks for passenger trains, but neither Amtrak nor Caltrans are forcing the issue. (Bakersfield Californian, 3 January 2003) During 2002 Union Pacific have made themselves unpopular also with the Southern California Regional Rail Authority and with Los Angeles commuters because of poor timekeeping of Metrolink trains using UP lines. 2709][US] Owosso - Mount Pleasant - Clare - Cadillac - Walton Jn - Traverse City / Boyne Falls, MI: Lake Central Rail Tours are offering three trips on freight-only Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway trackage in Michigan: 31 May 2003, Pere Marquette Limited, steam-hauled excursion with locomotive #1225 (Owosso 09:00 - 12:00 Mount Pleasant 12:30 - Clare - 15:00 Mount Pleasant 15:30 - 19:30 Owosso); 12 July 2003, diesel-hauled excursion to a cherry festival (Mount Pleasant 09:00 - Cadillac 11:00 - 13:00 Traverse City 16:00 - Cadillac 18:00 - 20:00 Mount Pleasant); and 2 August 2003, diesel excursion to a Polish festival (Mount Pleasant 08:00 - Cadillac 10:00 - 13:00 Boyne 16:00 - Cadillac 19:00 - 21:00 Mount Pleasant). Information: http://www.lakecentralrailtours.com; telephone +1 810 638 7248; PO Box 221, Corunna MI 48817. 2710][US] Knoxville, TN: Coster Yard - Marbledale - Forks of the River Industrial Park: (SPV atlas, Appalachia & Piedmont, 33D1-33F2) The 25km Knoxville & Holston River line to be traversed by the railtour on 4 May 2003 (R.2668) is all ex-Southern freight trackage, never in regular passenger service. From the north end of Norfolk Southern’s Coster Yard, the line heads south through the steel mill at Third Creek, passing beneath first the ex-Louisville & Nashville Knoxville, TN - Corbin, KY line, then the ex-Southern Knoxville - Chattanooga, TN line, before curving south-east around CSXT’s ex-L&N West Knoxville Yard. Heading north-east along the north bank of the Tennesssee River it passes beneath first the ex-L&N bridge carrying CSXT’s Knoxville, TN - Atlanta, GA main line across the river, then the bridge carrying the ex-Southern NS Knoxville - Alcoa, TN line. Passing the University of Tennessee campus it continues east along the river bank over the mouth of the Holston River past the marble quarry just west of Marbledale. A reversal at Marbledale is then necessary to reach Forks of the River Industrial Park. The 50km tour is to begin at the UT campus, running to the main-line connection at Coster, then to Forks of the River before returning to the UT campus. Also in connection with the annual meeting of the Southern Railway Historical Association, the tourist train (R.1449) on the nearby ex-L&N, now CSXT, Clinch River - Oak Ridge, TN branch serving the East Tennessee Technology Park is to be running on 3 May 2003. Information: bjennin1@utk.edu. 2711][US][CA] (New York, NY - Springfield, MA -) St.Albans, VT - Montréal, QC: When the Montrealer ceased to run north of St.Albans, and from 2 April 1995 became the Vermonter, Amtrak put on one of their Thruway connecting buses to make the 110km St.Albans - Montréal link across the border (BLN 755.0262). Declining ridership was not helped when Amtrak retimed the southbound bus to depart Montréal at 04:05. Amtrak plan to withdraw the bus altogether from 5 February 2003. New York - Schenectady - Rouses Point, NY - Cantic, QC - St.Jean - Montréal Adirondack trains continue. 2712][FR][BE] (Maubeuge -) Sous-le-Bois - Feignies (Bifurcation de Douzies Sud) SNCF (- Quévy SNCB - Mons): (R.0596, 0808; EGTRE FR02/130; Ball 16A3) The east-to-north curve avoiding Hautmont, the Raccordement de Sous-le-Bois, lost its regular passenger trains 6 August 1973, though a short-lived all-year SNCB Mons - Maubeuge passenger service started 2 June 1996, became weekend-only from 28 September 1997 and was withdrawn from the May 2000 timetable change. In recent years the curve saw seasonal passenger use, but the SNCB Maubeuge - Quévy - Mons - Blankenberge seaside trains last ran on Sunday 2 September 2001, and the curve was not used by passenger services in 2002. 2713][FR] Chartres - Beaulieu-Le-Coudray - Voves - Fains-la-Folie - Orgères-en-Beauce - Patay - Orléans: (R.1070; Ball 24B1-36A3) Following an explosion in a grain silo at Blaye near Bordeaux in 1999, safety modifications need to be made to the many silos beside this line before passenger trains can run. The project cost has risen from EUR64M to EUR107M, and Région Centre have deferred passenger reopening till 2006 at the earliest. (Rail et Transports, #264, 8 January 2003) 2714][FR] (Sarreguemines -) Bitche - Niederbronn (- Haguenau): (Ball 29B3-30A3) This 24km section which closed to passengers 4 November 1996 is being studied with a view to reopening as a tourist line. (L’Écho du Rail, # 240, Dec 2002) 2715][FR] Tours - Gièvres - Vierzon - Marmagne - Bourges - Saincaize: (Ball 35A1-47A3) The 32km Vierzon - Bourges electrification of 1997 (BLN 799.0156, 804.0274) was thought likely to be the last significant extension in France of 1500V dc catenary, but the pro-rail Région Centre plan to electrify at 1500V dc the c.110km Tours - Vierzon section of this west-to-east cross-country line, and have a longer-term aspiration to string either ac or dc overhead across the gap from Bourges 58km eastward to meet the north-south (Paris -) Nevers - Clermont-Ferrand line at Saincaize, which already has 25kV 50Hz wires. (Rail et Transports, #264, 8 January 2003) 2716][FR] Salbris - Romorantin - Pruniers - Gièvres - Luçay-le-Mâle: (BLN 847.0166, R.2452; Ball 36A1-35B1) The once-threatened remnant of the metre-gauge Chemin de Fer du Blanc à Argent appears to have a more secure future. Région Centre have introduced five new CFD-built two-car articulated diesel units, numbered in the X74500 series. (Rail et Transports, #264, 8 January 2003) 2717][BE][NL] Neerpelt - Hamont NMBS - Budel NS - Weert: (R.0969, 2453; Ball 9B3) The numbers of travellers using Belgium’s special cheap day-rover tickets on Train+Tram+Bus day have been falling in recent years, and the 2002 event on 28 September was less successful than some. Nevertheless local public-transport support group Werkgroep Openbaar Vervoer Kempen hope to be able to run a Neerpelt - Weert cross-border Teuten-Express 15 in autumn 2003. Teuten is a name for local small-time smugglers, according to Trans-fer, #126, December 2002. 2718][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: Berlin Zoo - Charlottenburg - Westkreuz: (R.2682; Ball 32A2) S-Bahn traffic is to cease on the Berlin Zoo - Charlottenburg section from Monday 24 February 2003 until early 2004 while extensive reconstruction work takes place on the Stadtbahn, which is largely on viaduct. Regional trains will continue, and S-Bahn services by other routes will be amended. Later the Charlottenburg - Westkreuz section will be tackled, with a target-date for completion before the football World Cup in 2006. (S-Bahn Berlin press release, 23 January 2002) 2719][DE] Essen and Gelsenkirchen trams: Essener Verkehrs-AG (EVAG) and Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Strassenbahnen AG (BOGESTRA) metre-gauge tramways remain physically linked, by EVAG route #127 running into the underground tram-station at Gelsenkirchen Bahnhof. However extension of EVAG’s standard-gauge Stadtbahn led to the abolition of the metre-gauge physical connection at Gelsenkirchen-Horst. Until 24 May 1998 EVAG metre-gauge route #106 ran north to Gelsenkirchen-Horst, Schloss Horst, and until 14 January 2002 BOGESTRA metre-gauge route #301 ran north from Gelsenkirchen-Horst, Essener Strasse. An overlapping common double-track section linked the two operators’ turn-back points. On 30 September 2001 EVAG extended their standard-gauge Stadtbahn from its previous terminus at Altenessen Bf north underground to Altenessen-Karlsplatz, then on the surface over the regauged alignment of tram-route #106 to a high-level island platform in the centre of the roadway at Gelsenkirchen-Fischerstrasse. North of here disused and dewired metre-gauge tracks begin and continue north for c.200m to pass the junction for the former BOGESTRA Essener Strasse turn-back point, then for another 200m to pass the junction for the former EVAG Schloss Horst turn-back point. Track in use begins at Gelsenkirchen Kärntner Ring, the present terminus of BOGESTRA route #301, which has a single reversing siding in the centre of the roadway, and double-track running line beyond. 2720][DE] Saarbrücken - Wemmetsweiler - Lebach - Lebach-Jabach (- Primsweiler): (Ball 56A3) The Lebach - Primsweiler section was reported in 1994 as lifted (BLN 754.0229, 783.0310) and the 2001 Schweers+Wall atlas shows it as out of use. However, by autumn 2002 DB had extended their (mostly hourly) regional trains one stop west to a new single platform at Lebach-Jabach, beyond which well-polished track continued west towards Primsweiler. 2721][DE] (Leipzig Hbf -) Neuwiederitzsch-Leipziger Messe - Flughafen Leipzig-Halle (- Grosskugel - Halle Hbf): (R.2608; Ball 46B3-42B3; KBS504) A half-hourly Leipzig Hbf - Flughafen shuttle service began with the 15 December 2002 timetable change, worked by DB Class 642 diesel railcars. From Leipzig the trains first use the normal track for fast services to Halle, until the Halle tracks swing off to the east and cross back above the main line to head west. The airport trains continue straight ahead on a separate pair of tracks northwards to the eastern island platform at Neuwiederitzsch-Leipziger Messe. Only the new service calls at this platform, whose northbound face is already (somewhat prematurely, in January 2003) signed ‘Trains to Halle, Erfurt and the Airport’. Immediately after the platform-end the double track rises steeply and curves to the west, crossing the Leipzig - Bitterfeld main line on a graceful bridge, and coming alongside the southern edge of Autobahn A14, which it follows all the way to the airport. Track, signalling and overhead equipment all seemed complete from Neuwiederitzsch to the airport, though the wires might not yet have been energised. A sketch-map of the layout north of Leipzig is at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/de_lmess.gif. The new airport station is on the surface, and looks similar to Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof except that it is to have two through lines without platforms. The two flank platforms are each to be served by long loops, the northern platform, signed as #2, being for trains westbound to Halle, the southern platform 1 for trains eastbound to Leipzig. In January 2003 however the trains used the only part of the station ready for use, a very small section of platform 2 equipped with up and down escalators and a lift for the disabled leading to an opening on to an overbridge where a shuttle bus waited to carry passengers to the airport terminal. Trains returning towards Leipzig use a crossover at the east end of the station layout which will not see regular service when through-running to Halle begins. Much work remained to be done both at the airport station and on the track west to rejoin the existing line near Grosskugel, and the target opening-date of summer 2003 for the Leipzig - Flughafen - Halle service seemed quite challenging. 2722][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo trams: Atxuri - Abando - Guggenheim - San Mames (- Basurto): (R.2257) The city’s EuskoTran metre-gauge light-rail line opened 18 December 2002. The first 4.5km section, some of it single-track, runs from Atxuri EuskoTren terminus north alongside the river Nervion and its estuary the Ria de Bilbao, via Plaza Circular (close to Abando, the main RENFE station) and the Guggenheim museum, to terminate temporarily at San Mames, close to the main bus-station. Though it serves much the same corridor as the city metro, the tramway gives the visitor a better view of the town. 2723][ES] Alacant/Alicante Puerta del Mar - Alacant La Marina - El Campello - Benidorm - Denia: (R.2478; Ball 32A1-32B2) In early December 2002 Valencia tram #3806 was operating the short Puerta del Mar - La Marina section but buses were providing the service from La Marina to Campello. At Campello the ex-FEVE two-car metre-gauge diesel units of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Válenciana were using two terminal tracks flanked by temporary wooden platforms a little to the north-east of the previous station. The new partly realigned, doubled and electrified track out to Campello appeared far from complete, but FGV were able to restore through Alacant - Denia trains from 27 December 2002, only four days later than planned. Target-date for introduction of Alacant - Campello tramway service is April 2003. Electrification works were evident for some distance north-east along the coast towards Benidorm and Denia. 2724][ES] Madrid suburban: (Atocha -) Pinto - Parque de Ocio - San Martín de la Vega: (Ball 22A2 not shown) Opened to passengers 6 April 2002 (R.2079), the Pinto - San Martín de la Vega branch in January 2003 saw most or all of its trains starting from a south bay platform at the junction on the Madrid - Aranjuez line, with connections into and out of other Cercanías (= suburban) services in both directions. Outside the weekday commuting period branch trains were basically hourly, with a journey-time of 13min, worked by a RENFE Class 440 electric unit. This ran parallel to the main line from km0.2, just beyond the end of the platform, to km0.9 where a crossover from the main line allowed single-track access to the branch via the down side of a flying junction whose up side was not yet in use. At the converging point of the flying junction a further crossover allowed right-line working on the double-track branch. The only intermediate station, Parque de Ocio (c.km11.7), appeared complete but was not yet open and trains did not stop. This station is far from any habitation, but will serve the huge Warner theme-park nearby, still under construction. Given the investment in the rail facility and in an extensive car-park, large numbers of visitors are expected. At the branch terminus, San Martín de la Vega (km15.2), a double crossover allowed access to any of the three platforms, though platform 3 was not being used. The new and imposing station is some distance from the town, and has a sizeable car-park. This however held only three cars, and only four passengers shared the trains used by our reporter, so patronage for the line appears to depend on the success of the theme-park. When this opens, along with the station at Parque de Ocio, it seems likely that the service will be recast to run through from and to Madrid using the main-line platforms at Pinto and both sides of the flying junction. 2725][IT][SI] Gorizia Centrale FS - Nova Gorica SZ - Bled Jezero (- Jesenice): (Ball IT-44A1; SI-45B2-45A2) Gorizia Centrale has a notice indicating the platforms for trains to Udine, Trieste and Slovenia, although ordinary passenger trains no longer run across the border to Nova Gorica. However on Sunday 1 September 2002 one of the planned excursions starting in Gorizia Centrale (R.2344) traversed the 8km cross-border connection, hauled by SZ 2-6-2T steam locomotive #17006, before running north to Bled Jezero, a scenic area south of Jesenice. Unable to wait for the excursion’s return working, our reporter came south aboard a diesel railcar forming an ordinary service train to Nova Gorica SZ. Close to this station is a border-crossing point for pedestrians, but it is normally barred to those other than Italian and Slovenian citizens. Fortunately it was unstaffed on Sundays, or he would have had a much more circuitous walk than the c.5km direct to Gorizia Centrale. A former tram-depot was noted near the FS station. 2726][IT] (Torino Porta Susa -) Torino Dora - Caselle - Ciriè - Germagnano (- Pessinetto - Ceres): (Ball 45B3-45A3) Though the original inner terminus of this line, Torino Ponte Mosca, is now a railway museum, the track heading north from Ponte Mosca looked well used when seen from Torino Dora station in late 2002. Services, operated by Società per Azioni Trasporti Torinesi Intercomunali, mostly start from Torino Dora, with a few SATTI trains running through on FS track from Torino Porta Susa, though the In Treno timetable is not very clear about these workings. On the Dora - Ciriè section, reopened 8 April 2001, the new station serving Torino Caselle international airport is on the surface, not underground as suggested by earlier reports (R.0580, 1559). The line is electrified only as far as Germagnano, the present terminus, and a red banner across the track indicates that the still unwired Germagnano - Ceres section, closed after flood damage in 1993, remains out of use. 2727][IT] (Torino Porta Susa - Torino Dora -) Settimo - Rivarolo - Cuorgnè (- Pont Canavese): (Ball 45B3-40B1) Trains originating to the south-east of Torino on the short Trofarello - Chieri FS branch traverse the city, avoiding its main FS terminus Torino Porta Nuova and heading north through Dora on the FS Torino - Settimo - Novara - Milano main line, diverging at Settimo on to this SATTI-operated branch. The branch is electrified as far as Rivarolo Canavese, where a reversal is necessary to reach the present terminus at Cuorgnè. A red banner across the track there showed the short Cuorgnè - Pont Canavese section to be out of use. SATTI run the services largely with ex-Belgian 3000V dc electric units, and diesel railcars of a familiar Italian pattern for trains running beyond Rivarolo. 2728][IT] Milano interurban trams: As well as planning new Metrotranvia lines (R.2615), Azienda Trasporti Milanesi operate two remaining classic interurban tram routes north of the city. Until about 2000 these lines were linked to the city tram network and shared a common city terminus at Via Valtellina, just north and west of Milano Porto Garibaldi FS station, but both have been cut back at the inner end. Operation of the two lines would appear to be rather uneconomic, with a depot each and no connection to any other rail route nor to each other. On each of the lines the vehicles are elderly 1950s-built permanently-coupled three-car sets (two motors with a trailer between) operating every 45min with a journey-time of c.45min. The trams carry a driver and a conductor, who will sell tickets, though our reporter travelled on a Biglietto Grande, allowing unrestricted travel for a day in a not-very-clearly-defined part of the greater Milano area. New Metrotranvia double-track under construction nearer the city-centre may later re-create a link to the Niguarda - Désio line, but in late 2002 the trackbed south of Niguarda was bare and the tramway began very close to the city boundary, at a buffer-stop alongside the Via Vittorio Veneto main road, heading northwards as a single track with passing-loops for c.10km mostly alongside the road to Désio. Désio depot comprised a large enclosed area with sidings in the open and a fairly large shed. To the west, at Affori, inner terminus of the Affori - Limbiate Ospedale line, disused track still extended a short distance south to end abruptly in the middle of a road junction, with wires still in position beyond, south towards the city-centre. The surviving line began at a mostly-disused three-track layout in Via Vincenzo, turning north for a short distance on its own right-of-way alongside a restricted-access fast road before resuming conventional roadside operation. The route is likewise c.10km of single track with passing-loops. The depot is in the centre of Limbiate, on a rather restricted site. Bus-route #83 (Stazione Centrale - Bresso) passes both Zara metro station and the tram-terminus at Niguarda. Bus-route #40 can be used from Niguarda to Affori tram-terminus, which is also only a short walk from Affori FNM station on the Milano - Seveso - Canzo Asso line. 2729][IT] Bologna Centrale - Bologna San Vitale - Bologna Rimesse - Portomaggiore: (Ball 49A1-48A2) To release land for redevelopment, the Bologna city section of the Ferrovia Bologna-Portomaggiore was rebuilt in a cut-and-cover tunnel completed during autumn 2001 (R.2169). FBP’s diesel railcars of a standard Italian pattern start from a bay platform at the eastern end of Bologna Centrale FS, running through to Portamaggiore FS. No FBP ticket-office could be found at Centrale, and as usual the FS office will not sell tickets for non-FS routes, though they will sell you a ticket for the FS journey the long way round via Ferrara! 2730][AL][YU] Shkodër - Bajzé HSH - Hani i Hotit - Tuzi JZ - Podgorica: (R.1765, 1907, 2184; Ball 52A2) International freight traffic to and from the European standard-gauge network via Podgorica in Montenegro had been restricted to the Albanian border-station of Bajzé because of track damage to the south, but in mid-January 2003 HSH said that restoration of the Shkodër - Bajzé section was complete and they hoped that through traffic to and from the rest of the Albanian system would commence during March 2003. Notwithstanding the declaration of intent in December 2001, no cross-border passenger service is planned at present. The HSH contact also said that passenger trains have ceased on the Fier - Ballsh branch in the south of the country (R.1229; Ball 52A1), though it remains open for freight. 2731][US] Portland - Astoria, OR: To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis & Clark Expedition in summer 2003 the state of Oregon are to support passenger trains from Portland Union station to Astoria’s former Spokane, Portland & Seattle/Burlington Northern depot. The 160km water-level route along the Columbia River was part of the SPS’s Portland Subdivision, also known as the A-Line, and is now Portland & Western’s Astoria District. By 1951 ordinary passenger services had ceased. Start-date in May for the new service, to be worked by three elderly ex-BC Rail Budd Rail Diesel Cars (R.2490), is not yet fixed, but the timetable is likely to be Portland 07:30 - 11:30 Astoria 16:30 - 20:30 Portland, daily till 30 September. 2732][US] (Elmer - Altus -) Lugert - Lone Wolf, OK (- Clinton - Thomas, OK): The Quartz Mountain Park resort at Lugert, 29km north of Altus, are sponsoring excursions on a c.11km section of this ex-Kansas City, Mexico & Orient, later Santa Fe, now Farmrail, rural line, with the first train to run on Saturday 18 January 2003. Boarding is from the trackside at the route 44/44A road junction, with departures at 10:00 and 13:30 for a 90min USD12 round-trip to Lone Wolf. Tickets can be picked up on the day at the resort’s golf-course pro-shop (+1 580 563 3011). The resort hope to run on one Saturday a month with two departures till April 2003, and thereafter every Saturday with one departure, though this pattern may not continue during the mid-May-mid-July grain season. Two Farmrail locomotives will top-and-tail two ex-VIA refurbished passenger cars. Trackage is owned by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, and leased to Farmrail as operators. 2733][US] Utica - Remsen - Boonville, NY: Utica’s fine Union station is served by Amtrak’s east-west New York - Albany-Rensselaer - Schenectady - Utica - Syracuse - Buffalo, NY trains. However on 14-15 February 2003 it is to see trains north on ex-New York Central, now Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern (MHWA), freight trackage via Remsen to Boonville. Operators Adirondack Scenic Railroad from time to time run summer and fall excursions on various sections of the Utica - Remsen - Thendara - Lake Placid, NY line (R.1017), but the Remsen - Boonville section is rarely visited by a passenger train. Adirondack Scenic will use passenger cars from the failed Timber Train operation in Canada (R.1606) with MHWA diesel traction. An evening round-trip is to run on the Friday (St.Valentine’s Day) followed by an all-day round-trip on the Saturday, with a short Boonville - Remsen working on the Saturday afternoon. Information: http://www.adirondackrr.com. 2734][MA] Morocco: (R.2238) French is widely spoken and many signs and notices in Morocco are in French as well as Arabic. The railway, a standard-gauge system run by the Office National des Chemins de Fer, also looks very French. S-boards telling the driver to siffler (= whistle), colour-light signals marked ‘Nf’ (non-franchissable = not to be passed), mechanical red-and-white carré signals, purple shunting signals, lever-frames and signal-boxes with circular-section point-rodding: all will be familiar to anyone acquainted with the SNCF. Only the overhead electrification equipment is different, looking perhaps more like that of neighbouring Spain, which also uses 3000V dc. Passenger stock is largely UIC-standard air-conditioned coaches, with comfortable compartment accommodation, although first-class seats seem to be spaced rather close to the ones opposite. Some electric locomotives are Alsthom-built and French-styled. The Marrakech - Benguérir - Sidi-el-Aidi - Nousseur - Casablanca Voyageurs - Ain Sebaa - Rabat - Kénitra - Sidi Kacem - Fès main line is electrified, as are the branches Benguerir - Sidi-Azzouz / Safi and Sidi-el-Adi - Oued Zem / Ben Idir, largely for the heavy freight traffic from the phosphate mines to the docks. A minimal passenger service operates on both the Safi and Oued Zem branches (R.2238). The triangular junction for the electrified Nousseur - El-Jadida - Jorf Lasfar branch is noteworthy for having grade-separated connections at each vertex. Part of the branch has a passenger service of electric units, running El-Jadida - Nousseur - Casablanca Voyageurs - Casablanca Port. Beyond Jorf Lasfar an unelectrified semicircular extension serves a power-station and the port. Also diverging from the main line at Nousseur, at yet another flying junction, is the electrified branch opened in 1992 to Casablanca’s international airport south of the city (Nousseur - Aéroport Mohammed V). It has an hourly Aéroport - Nousseur - Casablanca Voyageurs - Ain Sebaa service, worked by Belgian-built electric units, connecting at Ain Sebaa with Casablanca Port - Ain Sebaa - Rabat trains. Casablanca Gare des Voyageurs is the city’s main passenger station, with four through platforms on the main line, but to the east, between Voyageurs and Ain Sebaa, is a triangular junction for the somewhat circuitous electrified branch to Casablanca Port, a five-platform terminus with a large locomotive depot and lines into the docks area. Casablanca Gare du Port is nearer the city-centre but the road distance from Voyageurs (c.4km) is such that the fare in a petit taxi into town is less than the rail fare down the branch. This made the purchase of a railway ticket difficult since the clerk seemed anxious that a prospective passenger should not spend more money than he needed to! Further north, an electrified triangle west of Sidi Kacem leads to the Sidi Kacem - Tanger branch, which remains unelectrified except for a very short section just beyond the triangle. The north-to-west side of the triangle, allowing through running Casablanca - Tanger without reversal at Sidi Kacem, appears little used, and no longer seems to have any passenger working. In 2002 trains for Tanger were terminating at Moghogha station, well to the south of the city-centre and the port. North of the level-crossing at Moghogha were sidings and a small locomotive-depot, but beyond these the line was temporarily out of use. A new Tanger station was under construction nearer the centre, but the line seemed permanently cut at that point, well short of the former Tanger Ville and Tanger Port stations, the latter once offering a convenient transfer to the ferry for Algeciras. The Fès - Oujda extension of the main line remains unelectrified, as does the now freight-only Beri-Oukil - Oued-el-Heimer - Bou Arfa branch. From Beri-Oukil junction this long branch stretches 304km into the desert south of Oujda to serve a zinc- or lead-smelting works at Oued-el-Heimer and a barium mine about 1km beyond the former passenger station at Bou Arfa. All other connections from this line are severed, including a line from a point north of Bou Arfa that once headed south into Algeria. Just outside the ONCF’s eastern terminus at Oujda is a triangular junction leading to what was the main link with the Algerian system before Morocco’s border with Algeria was closed in 1995. The points at the west end of the curve avoiding Oujda station have been removed (or were perhaps never installed) but the international line from the station east towards the frontier is in place but visibly disused. A parallel single line heads off apparently to serve a private siding north of the town. 2735][ST] São Tomé & Principe: On the island of São Tomé, off the west coast of central Africa and now part of a tiny independent state, the thriving cocoa and coffee plantations in Portuguese colonial days had their own 600mm-gauge railways to carry produce internally and down to ports such as Agua Ize and Agostinho Meto (formerly Rio de Oro). A U-shaped rail was popular, set in cobblestones in the roadway, and among plantation buildings and processing areas a number of permanent-way items remain, including an interesting three-way point at Agua Ize. Perhaps more unusual is the wooden tramway on the short pier at Ilheu das Rolas (ilheu = islander) where a tourist resort is being created just off the main island. The c.600mm-gauge track is entirely wooden, the lengths being dovetailed together. No buffer-stops protect the dead-straight line at either end so an over-enthusiastic shove could send wagons into the sea. Two flat trucks on typical narrow-gauge underframes with steel wheels are used to ferry heavy or bulky goods, such as trays of seedlings, from the open ferry-boat. The wheel-bearings were well overdue for greasing when the line was visited in November 2002! 2736][GA] Libreville (Owendo) - N’djole - Lope (- Booué - Lastoursville - Moanda - Franceville): (R.1094) The standard-gauge (1437mm) Chemin de Fer Transgabonais across the francophone central African state of Gabon began commercial operation in January 1978, and the section from Owendo (station for the capital, Libreville) 185km east to N’djole opened December 1978. Extended inland 162km across the Equator to Booué in 1983 and a further 330km to Franceville in the 1980s, the railway hauls timber from the dense virgin forest as well as minerals from the Franceville area. Freight traffic is indeed heavy and varied, comprising boxcars, tank-wagons, timber wagons and flatcars carrying well-guarded road vehicles, including some big articulated trucks, all hauled by Co-Co diesel locomotives of American appearance. The line also has a passenger service, advertised in the (year old) in-flight magazine offered by Gabon Air as being a daytime run, though in practice our reporter’s train on Sunday 17 November 2002 was timed to leave Owendo at 21:30 and run overnight. The 1986-built Alsthom locomotive hauled clean but tired-looking second-hand French rolling-stock of the 1960s or 70s. The train was well-filled, at least as far as Lope (km295), a tourist-centre in the forest where it arrived very late at 05:00. Time-keeping on the line appears relaxed, with delays of up to 12h not unknown. First-class one-way fare Owendo - Lope was equivalent to c.GBP16 =c.EUR24. 2737][IE] Claremorris - Tuam - Athenry: The junction at Athenry was severed on 13 November 2002 (R.2547). On 22 January 2003 an inspection car made a round-trip on what is now a long siding from Claremorris. (Irish Railway News) 2738][IE] Dublin North Wall: (R.2605, 2643, 2670) Due to close on 3 January, the ex-Midland freight yard at North Wall finally closed to all traffic from 13 January 2003 to allow redevelopment as part of the Spencer Dock project. Freight is now handled in the smaller yard nearby at Sheriff Street Bridge. (Irish Railway News) 2739][IE] Limerick (Check Cabin) - Ennis (- Athenry): (R.1775, 2547) From 1 February until about the end of April 2003, the Limerick - Ennis line is to be closed to all traffic to facilitate work on two bridges in Limerick. The Canal bridge is to be completely refurbished and the Shannon bridge is to be repainted. (Irish Railway News) 2740][FR] Lille: Lompret / Lambersart - Délivrance - Santes / Haubourdin: (BLN 829.0300, R.0723, 2066; EGTRE; Ball 7A1-10B3) Timetabled passenger diversions via Lille Délivrance freight yard are relatively rare. However, from evening 20 April until mid-morning 21 April 2003, RFF plan to replace pointwork at Champ-de-Mars, the southern exit from Lille-Flandres, and also a bridge at Nomain, obstructing access from Lille-Flandres to both the Lille - Douai and Lille - Nomain - Valenciennes lines. Various stopping trains are to be replaced by buses and through trains seem to be diverted. On those days only, various trains run Lille - Douai non-stop, taking longer than usual, probably via Délivrance (Lambersart - Bifurcation de St.André - (east-to-south curve) - Bif Lambersart - Délivrance yard - Santes - Don-Sainghin - Pont-de-Sallaumines). Some Lille - Lens and Lille - Béthune trains seem also likely to run via Délivrance. Trains timetabled only on 20 or 21 April to run Lille - Valenciennes non-stop may not go via Délivrance. If progress with the Champ-de-Mars work permits, they may be routed Lille - Douai - Somain - Valenciennes, still avoiding the bridge at Nomain. During the morning of 1 June 2003 some Lille - Dunkerque and Lille - Boulogne trains are routed Haubourdin - Délivrance - Bif Lambersart - (south-to-west curve) - Bif des Quatre Maisons - Lompret - Hazebrouck. 2741][FR] Salbris - Romorantin - Pruniers - Gièvres - Luçay-le-Mâle: (R.2452, 2716; Ball 36A1-35B1) The timetable current in early 2003 allows a one-day round-trip from Paris over the whole remaining section of the metre-gauge Chemin de Fer du Blanc à Argent, which has not been possible in recent years. 2742][FR] (Orange - Jonquières -) Sarrians - Aubignan-Loriol - Carpentras: (R.2163; Ball 65A1) Ventoux Rail Nostalgie are planning a museum including a miniature railway at Aubignan-Loriol station (km17.4), with rail-cycle draisines on the Sarrians-Monmirail (km13.3) - Carpentras (km21.9) section. (http://www.ventoux-rail-nostalgie.com/fr/la_ligne.html) A twelve-page illustrated Guide du Vélo-Rail listing 20 rail-cycle operations is available free in return for a stamped envelope (or IRC) from Éditions Atelier 21, 4J Chemin de Palente, FR-25000 Bésançon. (L’Écho du Rail, #241, January 2003) 2743][DE] Germany: open access: Access for the train of one company to track owned by another is becoming a requirement in the European Union. Following a complaint by operators Rhein-Sieg Eisenbahn that infrastructure company Frankfurt-Königsteiner Eisenbahn had refused them access for a passenger charter over the Lollar - Mainzlar (- Londorf) branch (BLN 838.0575; Ball 49B3-39B1) Germany’s Eisenbahnbundesamt (= federal railway authority) ruled that federal railway legislation did not differentiate between access for freight and for passenger trains. If a line is open for traffic as part of the public railway network, it is open to a licensed operator to run a passenger train (subject to the usual rules about safe operation, and subject to a path being negotiated among the existing traffic). (IBSE) 2744][DE] Germany: engineering works: A useful website for checking current and imminent engineering work on DB Netz tracks is http://www.bahn.de/pv/uebersicht/die_bahn_fahrplanaenderungen.shtml. 2745][DE] Angermünde - Schwedt Mitte - Schwedt (Oder): In January 2003 electrically-hauled RE3 trains were working through from Dessau via Berlin to Angermünde, but the line beyond was unelectrified (not as shown in the 1998 Ball atlas 21A1-21A2). At Angermünde a diesel locomotive hauled the electric locomotive and its carriages forward the 23km to Schwedt, where it ran round the whole train. Schwedt Mitte belies its name, and seems to exist mainly to serve the nearby Oder shopping-mall rather than the town-centre. Nor is Schwedt (Oder) station particularly convenient for the town. The branch continues beyond the passenger terminus turning north for c.2km to serve an industrial area near the river Oder. 2746][DE] Wriezen - Abzw Alt Bliesdorf - Neutrebbin - Werbig - Boossen - Frankfurt (Oder): (BLN 848.0208, R.1047; Ball 21A1-30B3) The Abzw Alt Bliesdorf - Thöringswerder Zuckerfabrik branch, formally closed 29 December 1998, had been lifted by January 2003. The north-to-east curve at Werbig, connecting with the Berlin - Strausberg - Werbig - Küstrin-Kietz DB (- Kostrzyn PKP) line, showed signs of at least occasional use. The Küstrin - Boossen freight line converging from the north, and the freight curve diverging south-east just south of Boossen, were both out of use. 2747][DE] Brandenburg - Belzig: (Ball 29A3-29A2) At both Brandenburg and Belzig the trains over the former Brandenburger Städtebahn have their own dedicated platforms away from the main line, reflecting the line’s origin as a separate local company (BLN 736.0208). Of the two such terminal platforms at Brandenburg Hbf, the northern one is for Belzig (south of Brandenburg) and the southern one for Rathenow (to the north). The line for Belzig first heads north-west but curves south and climbs above both the Berlin - Brandenburg - Magdeburg and Brandenburg - Rathenow lines. The north-to-south link avoiding Brandenburg station that once allowed through Rathenow - Belzig running appeared disused. The Städtebahn, running at right-angles to the main lines out of Berlin, is not profitable, and DB rather neglected its maintenance and closed this section from 1 December 2000 (R.1243). However they were later obliged to restore the passenger trains. Patronage of the modern articulated Class 646 diesel unit on a Saturday evening in January 2003 was nevertheless very poor. Only five passengers alighted from the train at Belzig at 16:55 and only our reporter boarded for the journey north at 17:01, though a handful of people joined at the intermediate calling-points, seven in number, all but one of them request-stops. The northbound journey was enlivened by a sudden and involuntary stop, but the driver was able to restart the engine and, after peering inside various panels, was able to continue, making up the lost time easily enough. The track appeared still in poor condition, for the ride was rough and the timing very slow at 54min for 35km, so the line may find itself threatened once more. 2748][DE] Strausberg - Hegermühle - Strausberg Stadt - Strausberg Nord: (R.1047; Ball 30A3) Some 30km east of Berlin, on what was once Germany’s longest main line, the Ostbahn, lies Strausberg, served by the Berlin S-Bahn as well as by DB regional trains running to the Polish border c.50km away (Berlin-Lichtenberg - Strausberg - Werbig - Küstrin-Kietz DB - Kostrzyn PKP). S-Bahn trains use their own segregated tracks on the north side of the Ostbahn as far as an island just west of the platform used by the RegionalBahn services. S5 trains terminating at Strausberg use the north face of the island, which is in effect a bay ending in a buffer-stop, but others use the south face of the island, taking a crossover on to the main line and passing the RegionalBahn platform without stopping, before diverging north on the 9km Strausberg Nord S-Bahn branch. 2749][DE] Strausberg StE - Hegermühle StE - Strausberg Lustgarten: (BLN 852.0329; Ball 30A3) On the north side of the road across from Strausberg DB and S-Bahn station, and still physically linked to the S-Bahn track by an apparently disused connection, is the station of Strausberger Eisenbahn GmbH, a former steam railway now an 800V dc standard-gauge tramway (line #89). For the first few km of the semi-rural route the line resembles a single-track heavy-rail branch, running parallel to an unmade road, with barrier-protected crossings where tarred roads intersect it, and a few disused freight sidings. Beyond a passing-loop at Hegermühle the line runs beside a main road, Vicinal-style, with a section of street-running before the terminus at Lustgarten in the town-centre. More information is at http://www.strausberg.de/verkehr/ste/. 2750][DE] Leipzig electrification: (R.2608, 2721; Ball 46B3-42B3; KBS504) The Neuwiederitzsch-Leipziger Messe - Flughafen Leipzig-Halle overhead wires were energised on 13 November 2002, according to a DB local press release, though Leipzig’s airport trains introduced on 15 December 2002 remain Class 642 diesel units. 2751][DE] Dresden electrification: (Ball 45B1-44A2-43B2) The Dresden Neustadt - Dresden-Klotzsche - Dresden Flughafen wires were energised on 14 December 2002, but Dresden’s airport trains introduced in March 2001 (R.1376) remain Class 642 diesel units. Future plans are to run through half-hourly electric S-Bahn services Heidenau - Dresden Hbf - Dresden Neustadt - Dresden-Klotzsche - Dresden Flughafen and Schöna - Heidenau - Dresden Hbf - Dresden Neustadt - Meissen Triebischtal, timed to provide Heidenau - Dresden Hbf - Dresden Neustadt with a 15min frequency. Electrification of the Dresden-Klotzsche - Görlitz main line is still distant. 2752][DE] Saarbrücken - Wemmetsweiler - Lebach - Lebach-Jabach (- Primsweiler): (R.2720; Ball 56A3) Friday 27 February 1998 was the inauguration date for the passenger service from Lebach (km17.4) one stop west to Lebach-Jabach halt (km18.7), which serves a sizeable school. In early 2003 freight traffic appeared to continue beyond Jabach a short distance to the west to serve an industrial site. Conversely, when a special train ran in 2001 on the Dillingen (Saar) - Dillingen Fordwerke - Primsweiler - Limbach (Kreis Saarlouis) branch, the track of the Jabach - Primsweiler section was certainly out of use and much overgrown at the Primsweiler end, and it may have been lifted, as reported in 1994. (IBSE) 2753][ES] Madrid - Calatayud - Zaragoza - Lleida (- Barcelona): (Ball 21A2-13A1-14A1; new alignment not shown) RENFE’s second high-speed standard-gauge line was not fully ready for its official ‘inauguration’ on 20 December 2002 (R.2476), mainly because the sophisticated ERTMS signalling and train-control system was still under test. Without ERTMS the planned speeds of 300-350km/h cannot be attained. However, with local elections upcoming, the government are keen not to incur unpopularity by appearing to delay the promised services, and it is expected that standard-gauge trains will begin operating in mid-February 2003 using temporary signalling arrangements that will restrict speeds to 200-220km/h. Two Alsthom-built TGV-clone AVE sets borrowed from the standard-gauge Madrid - Cordoba - Sevilla line are to run four Madrid - Lleida services daily each way, taking 1h45min Madrid - Zaragoza and 55min Zaragoza - Lleida. Seventh-generation Talgo Altaria sets are to offer eight Madrid - Barcelona trips daily each way, running over the classic broad-gauge line east of Lleida. Also opening in early 2003 is a short standard-gauge link diverging west of Zaragoza, provided with a gauge-changer allowing direct TALGO running to the Zaragoza - Castejón de Ebro - Pamplona / Logroño lines. The three-rail mixed-gauge Zaragoza - Tardienta - Huesca line is expected to become available in summer 2003 along with ERTMS. Target opening-date for the standard-gauge Lleida - Barcelona line extension (and for delivery of new high-speed train-sets) is the end of 2004. (partly from RENFE and Ministerio de Fomento press releases) 2754][ES] Zafra - Fregenal de la Sierra - Jabugo-Galaroza - Valdelamusa - Huelva: (Ball 27B1-34A2) Temporarily closed because of risk of landslips in early 2002 (R.2225, 2318), the northern section of this 185km line through rural south-western Spain has again seen its sparse passenger trains partly replaced by buses, this time over the long section between Zafra and Valdelamusa, due to ‘adverse weather conditions’, according to a notice at Huelva Termino on 4 February 2003. 2755][SK] Slovakia: passenger closures: A communication from Slovakia’s Railway Company (Zeleznicna Spolocnost = ZSSK) says that, as planned, they closed 25 local lines to passengers from Sunday 2 February 2003. This triggered a three-day rail strike from Friday night 31 January to Monday evening 3 February, but on 4 February trains were again running to the new curtailed timetable. Only three of the withdrawn services have been replaced by buses. It is possible that trains may be reintroduced on some lines if local authorities decide to support them, but this may depend upon new legislation and on reorganisation of the local authorities themselves. 112 - Zohor - Plavecky Mikulas (R.2690; Ball 41B1-42A2) 113 - Zohor - Zahorska Ves (R.2691; Ball 41B2) 117 - Jablonica - Brezova pod Bradlom (Ball 42A2) 124 - Nemsova - Lednicke Rovne (Ball 42A2) 126 - Zilina - Rajec (Ball 42B2)) 129 - Cadca - Skalite (- Zwardon PKP) (R.2625; Ball 42B3; trains to and from Poland apparently continue) 134 - Sala - Neded (Ball 42A1) 136 - Komarno - Kolarovo (Ball 42A1) 141 - Kozarovce - Luzianky (R.2693; Ball 42B1-42A1) 142 - Zbehy - Radosina (R.2694; Ball 42A2) 143 - Trencin - Chynorany (Ball 42A2; replacement buses are timetabled) 144 - Prievidza - Nitrianske Pravno (Ball 42B2) 151 - Zlate Moravce - Ulany nad Zitavou (R.2693; Ball 42A1) 152 - Levice - Sturovo (Ball 42B1; replacement buses are timetabled) 154 - Hronska Dubrava - Banska Stiavnica (Ball 42B2) 153 - Zvolen - Sahy - Cata (Ball 42B2-42B1; replacement buses are timetabled) 161 - Lucenec - Kalonda (Ball 43A1) 163 - Breznicka - Katarinska Huta (Ball 43A2) 165 - Plesivec - Muran (Ball 43A2) 166 - Plesivec - Slavosovce (Ball 43A2) 167 - Roznava - Dobsina (Ball 43A2) 168 - Moldava nad Bodvou - Medzev (Ball 43A2) 186 - Spisska Nova Ves - Levoca (Ball 43A2) 192 - Trebisov - Varanov nad Toplou (Ball 43B2) 195 - Banovce nad Ondavou - Velke Kapusany (R.2181; Ball 43B2-44A2) 2756][US] Amtrak passenger closures?: President Bush’s Department of Transportation budget proposals for fiscal year 2004 include elimination of ‘underused and inefficient long-distance train routes’ while providing USD900M targeted support for Amtrak plus encouragement to the individual states ‘to contribute to those routes they believe are critical to their transportation needs’. The budget highlights Amtrak’s routes with the largest losses per passenger in 2001: Sunset Limited Orlando, FL - Los Angeles, CA (loss of USD347 per passenger); Pennsylvanian Philadelphia, PA - Chicago, IL (USD292; this route has already been cut back on 28 January 2003; R.2669); Texas Eagle Chicago, IL - San Antonio, TX (USD258); Three Rivers New York, NY - Chicago, IL (USD245); Southwest Chief Chicago, IL - Los Angeles, CA (USD237); Kentucky Cardinal Chicago, IL - Louisville, KY (USD212; perhaps to cease summer 2003). For several trains it would be cheaper for Amtrak to buy each passenger a free air-ticket. For example, a round-trip ticket for direct flights San Antonio - Chicago over the Texas Eagle route can be purchased for as little as USD216. (http://w3.access.gpo.gov/usbudget/fy2004/maindown.html) 2757][US] (Vancouver, BC - Seattle, WA - Tacoma, WA -) Portland, OR - Eugene, OR (- Los Angeles, CA): (BLN 826.0243, R.1036) Cascade trains on Amtrak’s Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor have generally been regarded as successful, and saw new TALGO stock introduced in the late 1990s. However the service is partly supported by the state of Oregon, and with voters’ rejection of a state tax increase in a referendum on 28 January 2003, daily trains #502, 504, 507 and 509 may vanish from the Portland - Eugene section in mid-April 2003. This section would still be traversed by Amtrak’s Coast Starlight (Seattle - Tacoma - Portland - Eugene - Los Angeles). 2758][US] (Rutland, VT - Middlebury - Vergennes -) Charlotte - Shelburne - Burlington, VT: The Vermont Railway’s Charlotte - Burlington Champlain Flyer commuter trains began in December 2000, financed by the state of Vermont with a view to easing highway congestion on Route 7 where major construction was to start (R.1572). However the road-works were delayed and the trains have been running nearly empty over their 21km route. State finance is to end from about 1 March 2003, and the trains will cease. Ironically the work on Route 7 is due to start in summer 2003. (http://www.railpace.com/hotnews) 2759][IE] Dublin Heuston: (R.2388) Saturday 22 February 2003 was to see Dublin’s Heuston terminus temporarily close for completion of its EUR117M redevelopment programme. On reopening after the weekend, the new computerised signalling was to be fully commissioned, replacing the remaining mechanical signals, and the newly-extended main concourse and resurfaced and lengthened platforms 1-4 were to be available for passenger use in addition to the already refurbished platforms 5-9 in the main station. (Irish Railway News) 2760][IE] Claremorris - Collooney Jn: (R.2644) The clearance of vegetation from this line (closed in 1975) may presage the laying of a pipeline beneath the trackbed. Reopening as a railway does not seem likely in the light of IE’s recent withdrawals from the freight market (R.2424, 2738) and their pessimism about other rural lines in Ireland’s small network (R.2495, 2547). 2761][FR] Armentières - Estaires - Lestrem - Merville (- Berguette-Isbergues): (BLN 775.0128, 778.0180; Ball 7A1) The truncated Armentières - Berguette line, now a single-track branch, continues to carry very heavy grain traffic (up to 5000t a day) to the Roquette starch and glucose plant at Lestrem, which lies on a loop leaving the running line at Estaires and rejoining it near Lestrem station, though the section of the loop from the plant to Lestrem is no longer used. Trains of up to 3600t are cut into smaller rakes at Armentières and shuttled to the factory by Class BB66000 locomotives. The c.13:30 trip-working from Armentières collects wagonload traffic which in late 2002 was mainly containers to the Roche plant at Dalry, Scotland. Beyond Lestrem, whose station remains, the line to Merville looked out of use, though a Class BB63000 locomotive, formerly of Houillères du Bassin de Nord-Pas-de-Calais, sat in a factory siding at Merville. Beyond Merville the line is lifted. On the nearby but shorter Armentières - Bois-Grenier (- Ennetières-en-Weppes) branch, a trip-working was seen at c.09:00, a Class Y8000 shunter hauling a single bogie tank-wagon of wine from Bordeaux for bottling at Bois-Grenier Zone Industrielle. On the Somain - Aniche (- Azincourt) branch (Ball 7B1) another Class Y8000 worked a trip at c.15:00 hauling covered hopper wagons with chemicals for glassmaking at Aniche. The disused Orchies - Marchiennes line makes a pleasant walk through Marchiennes forest. Track is still in place, but the line is blocked by various activities including pheasant-breeding. 2762][FR] Troyes area freight lines: (R.0932) In 2003 the Association Chemins de fer Touristiques Aubois based at Troyes plan to run their Picasso railcar X3897 west on the Troyes - Estissac (- Sens) line (R.0061; Ball 27A1-26B1) to a local-products festival at Estissac on 10 August, and south-east on the Troyes - Gyé-sur-Seine - Mussy-sur-Seine - Châtillon-sur-Seine line (Ball 27A1-38B3) four times, on 29 June to an unspecified destination, on 19 July to Gyé-sur-Seine, and on 6 and 12 December to Mussy-sur-Seine. 2763][FR] Givors-Canal - Chasse-sur-Rhône: (BLN 716.02; EGTRE; Ball 56B2) This short southwest-to-southeast curve south of Lyon linking the west-bank and east-bank lines across the river Rhône continued in 2003 to see its sparse timetabled passenger service of two round-trips a year by overnight winter-sports trains: #4858/9 Brest - Briançon and #4860/1 Quimper - Briançon run east on 21 February, returning as #4900/1 Briançon - Quimper and 4896/7 Briançon - Brest on 1 March. 2764][BE] St.Ghislain - Tertre: In connection with the open day at St.Ghislain railway museum on 13 September 2003 preservation group Patrimoine Ferroviaire Touristique may offer, as in previous years, shuttle trains on the short freight-only branch north to Tertre (R.1100; Ball 7A1; line 100). On 27 and 28 September 2003 PFT plan to run shuttle trains on the Leuze - Frasnes-lez-Anvaing freight-only stub of line 86 north to Ronse/Renaix (BLN 800.0182; Ball 7B1). 2765][BE][NL] (Gent -) Wondelgem - Zelzate NMBS - Sas-van-Gent NS - Sluiskil - Boerengat / Terneuzen: (BLN 704.03, 800.0187; Ball 8A3) The small part of the Dutch province of Zeeland lying south of the river Schelde estuary west of Antwerpen contains a short isolated freight-only section of Nederlandse Spoorwegen that can be reached only over a freight branch of the Belgian network heading north from Gent. A map appeared in Today’s Railways, #42. The distance from Gent Zeehaven to Terneuzen is only about 30km and one might think that NS would contract for the various Dutch industrial sidings to be served by NMBS trip-workings running through from Gent. Instead, both Zelzate and Sas retain small exchange yards of four or five sidings, each making extra work for railway staff, and Terneuzen has an NS locomotive-depot equipped with elderly Class 2200 diesels which are about to be replaced by recently-delivered (ex-DR, ex-DB) Class 204. On 12 February 2003 NS #2203 worked trains of tank wagons from the Dow Chemicals factory at Boerengat and empty grain hoppers from the Cerestar plant to Sas, and loaded grain wagons back to Cerestar just north of Sas, while #2278 and 2212 were both active on movements in the Terneuzen area. NMBS locomotives appeared at Sas around 14:00 to take the Dutch traffic south to Gent. 2766][DE] Münster (Westfalen): Sudmühle - Mecklenbeck / Hiltrup (Abzw Lechtenberg): (EGTRE DE02/350; Ball 24B1) Over the weekend 5-6 April 2003 fast trains that usually run non-stop via Münster are to be diverted over the normally freight-only avoiding line. Metropolitan services run via Mecklenbeck and others via Hiltrup. 2767][DE] Berlin-Karow - Basdorf - Gross Schönebeck and Basdorf - Wensickendorf - Schmachtenhagen: (R.2072; Ball 32A3-20B1) Connecting passengers for these two Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn branches need to arrive by S-Bahn, for Karow has lost its main-line platforms and retains only an island platform serving through local tracks 3 and 4. DB still provide and crew the half-hourly trains down the branches, Class 646 diesel units which use platform 3, the north-eastbound S-Bahn line, and retire to a turn-back siding just to the west of the station for their layover. NEB’s headquarters are at Basdorf, whose sidings on 26 January 2003 held two rakes of hopper-wagons which bore NEB markings but were also labelled Rail Cargo Berlin Gmbh. NEB’s smart royal-blue livery appears on stations to Gross Schönebeck, where the line has a run-round loop and a water-crane before the buffer-stops. On the other NEB branch Saturday and Sunday daytime services run beyond the rather run-down station at Wensickendorf, the weekday terminus, to Schmachtenhagen to serve the weekend Oberhavel Bayernmarkt held nearby. Schmachtenhagen station is a single platform with no buildings, on plain line ending at a stop-board and buffer-stop before the nearby disused level-crossing. Beyond, the closed Schmachtenhagen - Fichtengrund / Sachsenhausen (Nordbahn) - Oranienburg line has track still in place. 2768][DE] Germany: Rheinland-Pfalz passenger cutbacks: (OEIS) Hitherto known for their positive attitude to passenger reopenings (R.1250), Land Rheinland-Pfalz are unlikely to be pursuing any more reopenings in the immediate future. Indeed, in early 2003 the province’s transport secretary, a member of the minority coalition-partner Freie Demokratische Partei (= Liberals), proposed to save EUR25M by cancelling contracts for all rail passenger services on nine local lines: Bingen (Rhein) Stadt - Gensingen-Horrweiler - Armsheim (Ball 49A1; KBS662); Monsheim - Grünstadt (BLN 832.0383; Ball 49A1-57A3; KBS667); Grünstadt - Ramsen - Eiswoog (R.1953; Ball 57A3; KBS666); Lauterecken-Grumbach - Kaiserslautern Hbf (R.1247; Ball 56B3-48B1; KBS673); (Landau -) Annweiler - Pirmasens Nord (R.1248; Ball 57A2-56B3; KBS675); Pirmasens Nord - Zweibrücken Hbf (R.1248; Ball 56B3-56A3; KBS674); Winden (Pfalz) - Bad Bergzabern (BLN 769.013; Ball 57A2; KBS678); Winden (Pfalz) - Schweighofen DB - Wissembourg SNCF (R.0274; Ball 57A2; KBS679); and Wörth (Rhein) - Berg (Pfalz) DB - Lauterbourg SNCF (R.2558; Ball 57A2; KBS677.1) These proposals caused a public outcry, and politicians in the Landtag (= state parliament), especially Social Democrats, the majority party in the coalition, blocked them for the time being, so no passenger closures are immediately threatened. Instead Rheinland-Pfalz hope to agree reduced annual subsidy levels by giving DB Regio new longer-term contracts for eleven years (2004-2014) rather than for eight years. However, the transport secretary plans to cancel lightly-used trains, so poorer local services in Rheinland-Pfalz are likely, and not only on the nine lines listed. Some lines may lose much of their train service. Bingen - Armsheim and Monsheim - Grünstadt are particularly lightly used, with fewer than 500 passengers per weekday. 2769][ES] Málaga trams: Velez Malaga - Torre del Mar: On 15 January 2003, the regional government of Andalucia decided to go ahead with a new tramway running from the former railway station in Velez Malaga for c.4km south to the square next to San Andres church in the heart of Torre del Mar. Work is to start around April 2003 and take 20 months, with a target opening-date of end-2004. Two light-rail sets are to offer an 18min-interval service. 2770][IT][SI] (Venezia Santa Lucia -) Bivio d’Aurisina (- Trieste Centrale): (Ball 44A3) On 1 March 2003 a day-excursion train from Slovenia (round-trip fare SIT8000=EUR35) was planned to run Maribor 05:00 - Ljubljana 06:55 - Sezana SZ - Villa Opicina FS - 11:04 Venezia Santa Lucia 20:30 - 00:33 Ljubljana - 02:30 Maribor. This seemed likely to travel in each direction via the west-to-east curve at the Bivio d’Aurisina triangle, otherwise little used by passenger trains. 2771][IT] Salerno light rail: The first 7.7km eight-stop phase of the city’s light metro system is planned to open by mid-2004 (Centro Storico Alto/Via Monti - Via Vernieri - Stazione FS/Centro moderno - Via del Pezzo/Torrione - Via Rocco Cocchia/Pastena - Parco del Mercatello/Mariconda - Arbostella/Camera di Commercio - Stadio Arechi). The line is later to be extended from Stadio Arechi 8.9km eastward via a further four stations to Pontecagnano Aeroporto. (http://web.tiscalinet.it/defalco_ivanoe/trasporti/salerno/indexesa.html) 2772][PL] Chabówka - Rabka Zdroj - Limanowa - Marcinkowice - Nowy Sacz: (R.1058; Ball 43A3) The line is electrified from Chabówka one station east to Rabka Zdroj, and some through electric services from Krakow run east of Chabowka out and back to Rabka Zdroj on their way to Sucha and Zakopane. The 1993 Quail map also shows the line wired at the eastern end for c.10km from Marcinkowice to Nowy Sacz, presumably for some freight flow now abandoned. The section east of Rabka was closed after landslip damage during 2002, and though it was repaired through Chabówka - Nowy Sacz passenger services ceased at the end of 2002. However, in January 2003 PKP said the full 78km route should be available for a British tour-operator’s proposed steam-locomotive driving courses in summer 2003 (http://www.easteuroperailtours.com), and that the railway hoped with some support from the local authorities to restore a limited passenger service, perhaps a single diesel railcar running Chabowka - Limanowa and a railbus Nowy Sacz - Limanowa. 2773][SK] Zohor - Záhorská Ves: (R.2691, 2755; Ball 41B2; ZSR113) This branch survived the closures of 2 February 2003, albeit with a reduced timetable. Local authorities were subsidising five train-pairs at least until 5 March 2003. An amended arrival & departures sheet at Filakovo showed Zilina - Rajec (R.2755; Ball 42B2; ZSR126) open until 30 April 2003. 2774][HR][BA] Sunja - Volinja HZ - Dobrljin ZRS - Novi Grad: (R.1281; Ball 46B1) By February 2003 the whole line was again electrified except for the border bridge over the river Una. The Zagreb - Sunja - Novi Grad - Banja Luka - Doboj - Ploce through train was hauled by an HZ electric locomotive to Volinja, an HZ diesel to Dobrljin, then a ZRS electric beyond. 2775][HR][BA] (Novi Grad - Blatna ZRS - Bosanska Otoka ZBH - Bihac - Ripac ZBH -) Martin Brod HZ - Knin: (R.1281; Ball 51A3) Though newly advertised in the current Croatian timetable, Martin Brod - Knin passenger service had not been restored by mid-February 2003. 2776][BA][HR][YU] Bosnia & Herzegovina: Though a through train from Zeleznice Republike Srpske (the railway of the Bosnian Serb Republic) to the Serbian capital Beograd appeared in the 2001-02 timetable (R.1160), the Banja Luka - Grapska - Doboj - Petrovo ZRS - Miricina ZFBH - Lukavac - Bosanska Poljana - Tuzla - Zivinice - Kalesija ZFBH - Osmaci ZRS - Zvornik Grad ZRS - Zvornik JZ - Šabac - Ruma - Beograd working (Ball 51B3-52A3) was it seems never introduced because of the many SFOR military trains using the Tuzla - Zvornik section in Bosnia and poor track on the Zvornik - Ruma section in Serbia. However a Banja Luka - Grapska - Bosanski Šamac ZRS - Slavonski Šamac HZ - Strizivojna Vrpolje - Vinkovci - Tovarnik HZ - Šid JZ - Beograd through working via Croatia began on 18 June 2002 (R.2265). ZBH (the railway of the Bosnian Muslim-Croat Federation) has become ZFBH (Zeljeznice Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine). 2777][YU] Kosovo Polje - Pec: (R.0434, 1643; Ball 52A2) Passenger trains on this route in (Albanian-speaking, UN-administered) western Kosova/Kosovo are operated by HeK (Hekhurude e Kosoves = Kosova railways). 2778][KR] Daegu metro: The metro hit by an arson attack that destroyed two trains on 18 February 2003 is one of the world’s newer systems, opened 26 November 1997, and extended (Jincheon - Daegok) 10 May 2002. (http://www.metropla.net) 2779][NZ] Auckland: new Britomart station: (R.2152, 2185) The city’s 1885 terminal station at the north end of Queen Street, and the tracks from it, closed 1 November 1930 when the present Auckland through station (R.2780) opened some 600m to the east. The 1885 station site, lying just to the east of the 1912 Chief Post Office, was from 1937 occupied by an art-déco postal sorting-office, but in March 2001 demolition of the 1937 building began. The dignified old Post Office building has been preserved, with what the project’s designers call ‘a three-storey glasshouse’ attached behind its rear façade to allow natural light to reach the new five-platform rail terminus taking shape two storeys below ground - more or less on the original station site, but some 11m beneath it, extending from behind the old Post Office east to Britomart Place. The 1898 Northern Steamship building being preserved in nearby Quay Street housed in late 2002 a public display of the whole Britomart redevelopment project. From the new station a cut-and-cover trench, begun in August 1999, had by March 2000 become a concrete-lined tunnel emerging into the daylight 506m to the east, awaiting its double 1067mm-gauge track. Just beyond the tunnel-mouth is the site of Quay Park Junction, where the new lines will diverge as the Auckland - Quay Park Jn - Orakei - Tamaki - Westfield North Island Main Trunk heading east and the (Auckland -) Quay Park Jn - Newmarket - Penrose - Westfield route curving sharply south. Over the weekend of 20-23 June 2003, the new Britomart station is to be connected to both routes. Linking up will begin after the last timetabled train on Friday 20 June and should be complete in time for the first train on Monday 23 June. No trains will serve the present Auckland rail station between these times. All Tranz Metro suburban diesel units will in future use Britomart, whose city-centre location is convenient for commuters, but though plans designate one platform there for longer-distance services it seems it has not yet been decided whether Tranz Scenic’s Auckland - Wellington trains will use it (R.2780). 2780][NZ] Auckland: 1930 station to become Strand: (Quail atlas 3) To the east of the city’s central business district, at the east end of Te Taou Crescent, the present Auckland station opened 1 November 1930, its through passenger platforms running southwest-to-east, flanked to the north by the original station building, still a city landmark with its powerful brick façade. Though no longer in railway use since the late 1990s, the building remains an important part of New Zealand’s architectural heritage, recognised by its registration as #1 with the NZ Historic Places Trust. The University of Auckland have refurbished it to become The Railway Campus, providing apartment accommodation, principally for visiting academics, short-course participants and the like. The impressive interior public areas, with marble corinthian columns, vaulted ceilings and terrazzo flooring, have been tastefully restored, retaining the distinct feel of a major station. Even a look inside the main entrance-lobby is worth the detour. The side wings parallel to the passenger tracks have been converted to various types of apartment (studio, two-bedroom, three-bedroom). Particularly during university vacation times, The Railway Campus offers its facilities to those without even a tenuous connection with the education industry, and will continue to do so despite the railway infrastructure changes around it. In November 2000, our reporter found it rather more comfortable than other stations he has been obliged to sleep in from time to time, and warmly recommends it to those eligible. (See http://www.auckland.ac.nz/accommodation). By contrast, in 2000 and 2002 access on foot to the active station was poorly signposted, and long-distance passengers had to check in at Tranz Rail’s decidedly modest portable building, inconveniently sited at the opposite end of the platforms from the pedestrian underpass. Suburban passengers were offered no booking facilities, tickets being sold on board the trains. Controlled locally by Auckland ‘A’ signal-box, the station’s four through platforms, previously 4 to 7, had been renumbered 1 to 4, possibly with the removal in May 1994 of the east-end bay, the former #3. When the city’s main passenger station returns to its pre-1930 location as part of the Britomart project (R.2779) most of this layout is to be removed, including platforms 1-3. The sharply curving new west-to-south alignment from Britomart and Quay Park Jn is to run behind the old station building, through the site of a former goods-yard. Notwithstanding R.2152, the completed works will create a triangular junction. A single track and a single platform will remain on the site of the present platform #4, which will be renamed ‘Strand’ or ‘Auckland Strand’ station, after The Strand, a parallel street to the south-east. No platform is to be built on the new west-to-south or west-to-east sides of the triangle, so trains will be able to serve Britomart or Strand but not both. Strand is to be available for locomotive-hauled trains such as the occasional specials run by the Main Line Steam Trust, which would be unwelcome at sub-surface dead-end Britomart, but it seems possible it may also be used by Tranz Scenic’s daytime and overnight Auckland - Westfield - Hamilton - Palmerston North - Wellington services (R.1232, 2779). These diesel locomotive-hauled trains #200-203 at present arrive from Westfield by one route and leave by the other, without reversal of the consist, which normally has an observation saloon at the rear. A quite limited lay-over at Auckland (90min in the morning, 65min in the evening) has to allow for any late running of the inbound train plus maintenance, cleaning and re-stocking before the set forms the outbound train. Tranz Scenic may view working in and out of Britomart as adding complication and delay to their operations, and perhaps incurring extra track-access charges, without offering much advantage to their customers. Long-distance passengers could perhaps interchange with suburban trains at Newmarket or Westfield rather than Britomart. Car-drivers awaiting arriving train-travellers may find parking space more readily available at Strand than downtown Britomart. 2781][NZ] Christchurch - Rolleston - Cass - Arthur’s Pass - Greymouth: (R.2705) From 1 April 2003 Tranz Scenic’s successful TranzAlpine passenger train across the South Island is retimed earlier, the better to allow a round-trip from Christchurch in daylight hours with a short lunch-break in Greymouth. The new timetable for trains TS0803/4 is Christchurch 08:15 - 12:45 Greymouth 13:45 - 18:05 Christchurch. Intermediate stops at Sheffield, Mount White Bridge, Bealey Bridge and Inchbonnie are discontinued, closing these stations to passengers, but Cass station is reopened. 2782][US] Butte - Garrison - Helena - Logan - Whitehall, MT: Trips are planned over freight-only ex-Northern Pacific trackage (Butte - Garrison is now Montana Western, the rest of the route Montana Rail Link), outward on 11 October, returning 12 October 2003, at an each-way fare of USD119. (http://www.montanarailtours.com/excursions.html) 2783][US] New York, NY: Grand Central - Mott Haven Jn - Spuyten Duyvil (- Croton-Harmon - Poughkeepsie - Albany-Rensselaer, NY): From 7 April 1991 Amtrak trains to and from Albany joined the rest of Amtrak’s services at New York Penn station and began to use the restored Penn - Riverside Park Tunnel - Spuyten Duyvil section, leaving New York Grand Central station to Metro North commuter trains (BLN 834.0446). On Friday 7 February 2003 however a barge carrying stone collided with the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge, and Amtrak trains were diverted to use Grand Central until the bridge was repaired the following Tuesday, 11 February. 2784][US] Orlando, FL - Tavares - Mount Dora, FL: (R.0903, 0925) Tourist-train operators Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis Railroad started in 1998, and in December 2001 became the Orlando & Mount Dora Railway. However, after two farewell excursions on 15 and 22 February 2003 they ceased their regular passenger operations, which latterly ran over two sections of the Florida Central Railroad, the c.53km of former Seaboard Air Line from Orlando north to Tavares, and c.8km of the former Atlantic Coast Line from Tavares east to Mount Dora. (http://www.mtdoratrain.com/) 2785][PE] Lima - Ticlio - Galera - La Oroya - Tambo - Huancayo Central: (R.0512-4) From 17 April 2003 timetabled passenger service of a sort returns to 335km of the 1435mm-gauge Ferrocarril Central del Perú, the world’s highest railway, reaching 4784m in the Galera summit-tunnel in the Andes. A Lima - Huancayo train, essentially for tourists, is to run six times during the April-October dry season. (The Observer, 12 January 2003) 2786] Information wanted: Have the following selected passenger opening or reopening projects been achieved, progressed, delayed or abandoned? (More such questions are at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/opening1.htm.) [FR] Sembadel - Estivareilles (tourist trains; the approximate target-date once quoted was June 2000; BLN 815.0563) [FR] Niort - Benet - Fontenay-le-Comte (December 2000; R.0131) [FR] (Dunières -) Tence - St.Agrève (tourist trains; June 2002; R.1720) [FR] Denain-Mines - Fosse d’Arenberg (CF d’Anzin; tourist trains; June 2002; R.1717) [FR][BE] (Charleville-Mézières -) Givet SNCF - Heer-Agimont SNCB - Hastière - Dinant (June 2002; R.1130) [LU] Rumelange mining-museum (4.2km tourist line; December 2001; R.1403) [NL] Haarlem - Zandvoort light rail (December 2002; delayed or abandoned?) [DE] Dannenberg Ost - Lüchow (has the proposed DRE schools contract now been abandoned?; May 2000; R.2392) [DE] Wiehl - Waldbröl (tourist trains & freight; December 2001; R.0097) [GR] Krionerion - Messologion - Agrinion (isolated metre-gauge line; September 2002; abandoned?; R.1314) 2787][FR] St.Amand-les-Eaux: L’Anguille - Pont SNCF (- Pont Métallique): (Ball 7B1 not shown) The 600mm-gauge line of the Train Touristique de la Vallée de la Scarpe is being extended from the depot at L’Anguille north along the towpath of the canalised river Scarpe into St.Amand town, and the preservation group hope to arrive at the ‘Pont Métallique’ by about 2004. In early 2003 the line had reached the SNCF bridge over the waterway just south-east of St.Amand SNCF station on the Lille - Valenciennes line, but lineside fencing prevented the use of this bridge to cross on foot from the SNCF station on the north bank to the TTVS line on the towpath on the south bank, and it was quite a long walk to reach an approved public crossing-point! The TTVS ‘Pont SNCF’ terminus is temporary so it has no run-round loop, and it seems trains in 2003 will be push-pull worked, normally steam-hauled from the depot at L’Anguille north to Pont SNCF, with diesel haulage back south. On advertised operating days (4,18 May, 1,8,9,29 June, 13,14,27 July, 10,24,31 August, 7,14,21,28 September) the first train is to run at 14:30, but therafter until c.18:30 trains will run ‘on demand’ from L’Anguille so an intending passenger at the Pont SNCF end may have a long wait! 2788][FR] Feurs - Panissières monorail: A monorail designed by French engineer Charles Lartigue, similar to his famous (1888-1924) Listowel - Ballybunion railway in Ireland, was built in 1894-95 from Feurs on SNCF’s (Roanne -) Le Coteau - St.Just-sur-Loire (- St.Étienne) line (347m above sea-level; Ball 56A3) north-east up to the small town of Panissières (583m). The sinuous and steep 17km railway seems to have been too lightly constructed for the terrain, and the locomotive was underpowered, so although the actual line was completed, test runs were unsuccessful and it never opened for public service. In 1899 the operating company failed, and in 1902 track and vehicles were scrapped. (http://panissieres.free.fr/fr/monorail2.php) Local-authority highway engineers have often inherited buildings of former départemental railways in France, and in the 1970s the ponts et chaussées unit in Feurs still occupied a shed with big double front-doors, each with a cut-out at ground-level where the two doors came together, forming an inverted-V shape filled by later timbering, indicating where the monorail track on its supporting A-frames had once entered the shed. The road out of town towards Panissières had three lines of trees, one on each side of the carriageway, and a further line offset slightly to one side, flanking a roadside trackbed where no doubt the monorail once ran. Voie Étroite (#188, February-March 2003) records that the municipality of Panissières have commissioned from a local school a full-scale model of the monorail locomotive, already displayed on a short piece of track in a square locally, and this is to be accompanied by two carriages. 2789][FR] Avignon-TGV - Avignon-Ville: (Ball 65A1) The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Méditerranée opened with the summer 2001 timetable, but in early 2003 construction was still under way on the associated link between Avignon’s stations. In 2005 this is to see Trains Express Régionaux shuttling between Avignon-TGV and the town’s station on the classic PLM main line. Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur regional council also propose Avignon-TGV - Ville - Cavaillon / Orange TER services. 2790][FR] Cannes - Ranguin - Grasse: (R.1626; Ball 77A3) A local-authority-financed passenger service last ran on the Cannes - Ranguin section on 23 November 1995 (BLN 773.088). The Ranguin - Grasse section closed to passengers 2 October 1938 and has been out of regular use since 28 January 1991. Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur regional council have confirmed their plan (BLN 843.057) to electrify and provide new stock for hourly Cannes - Grasse passenger trains from early 2004. 2791][BE] Antwerpen trams: The 1.5km Merksem - Keizershoek line 3 extension opened October 2002. (Verkeerskunde) 2792][NL] Alphen-aan-den-Rijn - Moordrecht aansluiting (- Gouda): (BLN 714.09; Ball 3B2) This line saw Stockholm-type light-rail cars begin trial running without passengers on 3 March 2003. 2793][NL] Boxtel - Eindhoven: (R.2286; Ball 4B1) Quadrupling was complete by the December 2002 timetable-change. 2794][DE][AT] Kiefersfelden - Wachtl am Thiersee: (BLN 843.061, 844.097; Ball 71B1 not shown) Heidelberger Zement’s plant at Kiefersfelden in Bavaria closed at the end of 2002, and with it mineral traffic ceased on the company’s overhead-wired 5km 900mm-gauge railway that brought limestone from quarries over the border at Wachtl am Thiersee in Austria. The line’s summer tourist trains are likewise to cease, though farewell trips on the Wachtlbahn are to run on 10 and 11 May 2003. 2795][AT] Siebenbrunn-Leopoldsdorf - Engelhartstetten: (R.2119; Ball 76A3) ÖBB withdrew this long-threatened branch passenger service from 1 January 2003. (Today’s Railways, #87, March 2003) 2796][PT] Portugal: station closures: No longer shown in the passenger timetable valid from 15 December 2002 (with amendments from February 2003) are Torre da Gadanha (on the Vendas Novas - Casa Branca section; former junction for the closed and lifted Torre da Gadanha - Montemor-o-Novo Ramal de Montemor; R.1152; Ball 26B2); Tojal and Monte das Flores (the two intermediate stations on the Casa Branca - Evora section; Ball 26B2); and Viana (on the Casa Branca - Beja section; Ball 26B1). 2797][PT] Funcheira - Tunes - Albufeira - Boliqueime - Loulé - Faro: (R.1987; Ball 33A2) Linha do Sul trains to and from Barreiro and Linha do Algarve regional trains along the coast were on 28 February 2003 being heavily delayed by the ongoing Lisboa - Faro upgrading and electrification. Two new platforms had been built on either side of a loop just to the north of Messines-Alte old station, whose building was being renovated. The old water-tower was still standing. Electrification masts were already in place south to Tunes station level-crossing. Tunes itself was still almost untouched by the work but the loops east of the station were full of engineers’ wagons and equipment, and station staff expected change very soon. Albufeira’s loops and island platform had all been removed, with the through line, main platform, station building, goods-shed and goods-shed siding the only infrastructure remaining. Rebuilding was in progress, eventually to provide two platforms flanking a loop. Boliqueime station remained unchanged, its loop still nominally timetabled to allow one train-crossing in the evening, though in practice it was said rarely to be used. Loulé retained its through line, main platform and station building on the north side. A small island between the running line and the loop was due to be removed, and a second loop also to the south of the island had already gone. Rebuilding is to provide a new loop and a new south platform, the eventual layout after electrification being similar to that at Albufeira. 2798][PT] Tunes - Estombar-Lagoa - Mexilhoeira-Grande - Lagos: (R.1987; Ball 33A2) On the western section of the Linha do Algarve, intermediate stations Estombar-Lagoa and Mexilhoeira-Grande had both had their platforms extended on either sides of the loops, though on 23 February 2003 neither loop appeared to have seen trains passing in a long time. Disused goods-sheds were still standing. The station buildings, unstaffed since 1999 (R.0013) had begun to deteriorate, but Estombar station café remained open. At Lagos a temporary connection controlled by hand-operated points some way east of the station layout led from the present running line into two lines leading to the new three-platform terminus, not yet in use. Two of these platforms already had track, with a run-round connection close to the buffer-stops, while the third platform lay adjacent to a partly-lifted line leading to former freight sidings. The goods-shed remained but another railway building to the west of it was being redeveloped, presumably in connection with the new station. The existing station at Lagos still retained all its track. 2799][GR] Athinai - ATH Eleftherios Venizelos airport: (R.1315; Ball 66B2) The Greek capital’s new Eleftherios Venizelos airport was inaugurated 28 March 2001 at Spata 27km north-east of the city, and replaced the now-closed Hellenikon airport to the south-east, taking over the airport-code ATH. Between the carriageways of the toll-motorway out to the new airport is space for a standard-gauge double-track branch, but in March 2003 this still resembled over most of its length a linear sand-pit rather than a construction site. In one or two places close to overbridges were what appeared to be access arrangements for stations, and stacks of sleepers and rail plus a few hundred metres of ballasted trackbed could be seen near the airport itself. However, so much work remained to be done that it looked quite doubtful if any kind of railway would open to the airport in time for the 2004 summer Olympic Games. No sign of any electrification work was visible. 2800][YU] Serbia: The country that was (the rump of) Yugoslavia is now officially titled Serbia & Montenegro, though it seems the United Nations International Standards Organisation have still to promulgate a new ISO3166 two-letter code to replace [YU]. Ex-Yugoslav rolling-stock still bears JZ markings, but the Serbian railway, at present provisionally ZTP Beograd, is expected formally to become ZS (Zeleznice Srbije) in April or May 2003. Serbia hopes to obtain European Union finance to complete a planned Zvornik - Valjevo link railway (Ball 52A3 not shown). However, it took from 1914 to 1992 to finish the western Zivinice - Zvornik section (R.1160), so the reported target-date of 2006 is perhaps optimistic. 2801][IN] India: narrow-gauge lines: (RMI references are to the official Railway Map of India, 1979 edition.) The main railways in India are broad-gauge (1676mm=5ft6in), but important parts of the network were built to metre-gauge, and many metre-gauge lines remain. Narrow-gauge means gauges less than metre, generally 762mm (2ft6in) or 610mm (2ft). Tourist or ‘toy train’ lines to former ‘hill-stations’ such as Kalka - Shimla (R.0587; 762mm-gauge; RMI F4); New Jalpaiguri - Siliguri Jn - Darjeeling (R.0588, 2410; 610mm-gauge; RMI L6) and Neral - Matheran (R.2148, 2801.8; 610mm-gauge; RMI D10) appear reasonably secure in this format, but other lines face possible gauge-conversion or closure. Some have already been converted to broad-gauge, and conversion work continues on others. Freight traffic is no longer important, and often non-existent. The irony of many narrow-gauge lines is that their trains can and do run packed with people, inside and clinging to carriage sides and roofs, but ticketless travel is so rife that passenger traffic and takings seem small when viewed from Indian Railways headquarters, Rail Bhavan in Delhi, especially compared with the costs of the traditional and widespread overmanning. Lines may provide useful benefits to the local economy, both to passengers and in providing jobs for railway staff, yet be at risk of closure. In these circumstances, investment has been limited, and with some exceptions, the narrow-gauge lines tend to be run-down, with track barely fit for purpose, speeds averaging 20km/h with a 50km/h maximum, passenger stock decrepit and dirty, and locomotives indifferently maintained. What they do provide is insight into the life of India, during journeys that may be day-long odysseys to areas that rarely see a European face, where the traveller is a source of curiosity but not hostility. 2801.1][IN] Pathankot Jn - Baijnath - Joginder Nagar: (RMI E3-F4) From Pathankot on the Northern Railway 107km north-east of Amritsar in Punjab province, this 176km 762mm-gauge line lies for most of its length in Himachal Pradesh. Longer yet much less well-known than the 762mm-gauge Kalka - Shimla (R.0587; RMI F4) line in that province, it is similarly well-kept and has an almost main-line ambience. No fewer than six trains a day run east to Baijnath (c.km150) and two of these workings cover the full length, taking c.9h. A round-trip takes two days. Narrow-gauge trains formerly left Pathankot from bays on the northern side of the (Delhi -) Jullundur - Pathankot broad-gauge line, but the layout was altered in December 2002, just before our reporter visited. Leaving from a spacious single-track terminal platform under a new canopy on the southern side, the narrow-gauge now swings across the end of the broad-gauge platforms to head through the town. In the insanitary streets of Pathankot our reporter’s train hit a cow on the head, killing it stone dead, though this did not hold up progress. East of the town the train, packed with people but orderly, entered Himachal Pradesh and began to climb in the clear air of the Kangra valley, the mountains just appearing from the clouds many km away. With so many services, trains cross fairly frequently, affording opportunities for taking tea and photographs. The line has some considerable structures, at one point crossing the second-highest bridge in the province, twisting and turning over deep gorges, diving into tunnels, unusual on the narrow-gauge, and climbing to over 1000m. Here the evening air becomes cold to freezing, and in winter swept by blizzards. The scenery becomes increasingly treeless but not barren, characterised by rough pastures and terraced fields with the Kangra Range rising above. At Baijnath is a small sub-shed with long inspection-pits for whole trains. The final c.25km up to Joginder Nagar is very tortuous, through sparsely populated country where even the terminus seems to provide thin traffic. Good accommodation was found at the Hotel Uhl there. The line is worked by no fewer than 14 Class ZDM3 diesel locomotives, and Pathankot shed also held an apparently serviceable 2-6-2 tender locomotive #21366. 2801.2][IN] Dhaulpur Jn - Bari - Mohari Jn - Tantpur / Sirmuttra: (RMI F6) Dhaulpur is south of Agra on the Delhi - Mumbai broad-gauge main line. The Maharajah of Dhaulpur financed this Y-shaped 89km 762mm-gauge system, completed between 1908 and 1917. It later formed part of the Gwalior Light Railways and is now part of the Central Railway in the province of Rajasthan. Heading west from Dhaulpur, Bari (km32) is the system’s main intermediate traffic centre and of greater importance than the physical junction at Mohari (km41), a remote spot, where the tracks diverge to Tantpur (km59) and Sirmuttra (km71). The countryside is mostly verdant agricultural land becoming a bit more rugged towards the two termini. The area is littered with a kind of red stone for which Sirmuttra is famed and which is used all over the world in paving and cladding. Stone traffic used to provide substantial freight for the railway, but now justifies ‘emergency’ specials only when the local roads get washed out during the monsoon. The passenger service comprises one early-morning trip (Dhaulpur 04:00 - Sirmuttra - c.10:15 Dhaulpur) followed by a more complex working (Dhaulpur - Tantpur - Bari - Sirmuttra - c.19:30 Dhaulpur). One consequence of this service pattern is that the incoming morning train gets diverted to a very obscure platform at the end of the carriage-sidings well away from the main station, whose only narrow-gauge platform is occupied by the second train awaiting departure. Despite the line’s modest allocation of two Class ZDM5 diesel locomotives, Dhaulpur shed boasts 25 staff. It also holds two 1954-built Kawasaki Class ZEZ552E 2-8-2 steam locomotives #47/55, rusting where their last fire was dropped. Though the service is thin, the system is run down and the staff talk of closure, the trains remain well-used. 2801.3][IN] Gwalior Jn - Sabalgarh - Sheopur Kalan: (RMI G6-F7) As with other light railways in the former princely state of Gwalior (now part of the Central Railway in Madhya Pradesh) this 200km 610mm-gauge line was originally sponsored by the Maharaja of Gwalior, reaching Sheopur Kalan in 1909. It is not clear why this particular line was built to a gauge as narrow as 610mm, for it has few major engineering works. (The nearby 84km Gwalior Jn - Bhind line was converted to broad-gauge in 2001.) Gwalior is a significant town on the Delhi - Mumbai broad-gauge main line, and after threading its fetid streets the narrow-gauge track runs west across an increasingly arid landscape that ends as a stony desert with thorn-bushes and camels. The area has been afflicted by drought for some 50 years and even substantial irrigation projects have been of limited value due to the water-table having fallen. (One of these schemes, including a viaduct bearing pipes forming a giant siphon is depicted on INR100 banknotes.) A daily through train runs the length of the line, starting after 06:00 from each end, crossing at Sabalgarh (km93) and arriving around 16:30. Short workings also run to Sabalgarh from each end but do not allow a through run, so a round-trip takes two days. Sheopur is a very Indian town, with no signs in western script, so a hotel had to be pointed out to our reporter. (His accommodation cost him INR100 =c.GBP1.30 = c.EUR2, and was of a standard appropriate to that price!) The line has ten Class NDM5 diesels, almost the whole of this Class. At Gwalior the well-tucked away motive-power depot held some unusual single-ended locos numbered 1001 and 1003 and a single diesel inspection railcar 798. 2801.4][IN] Barddhaman Jn - Katwa Jn - Ahmadpur Jn: (RMI K8-L8) From Barddhaman (or Burdwan) on the Kolkata - Delhi electrified broad-gauge main line, 95km north of Kolkata=Calcutta’s Howrah station, the Eastern Railway’s 762mm-gauge line heads north-east for 53km to its base at Katwa (or Katoya) and on for 52km north-west to Ahmadpur, linking another two broad-gauge routes running out of Howrah northwards. At Barddhaman the narrow-gauge trains depart from the north side of the large broad-gauge layout straddling the main line, but in December 2002 the platform area was undergoing restoration so trains started from the run-round loop. The service is quite lavish, five daily trains taking just under 3h to reach Katwa, apparently all worked by single-ended diesel power-cars, half cab and half passenger-seating, hauling three or four small coaches. These coaches are decrepit even by Indian narrow-gauge standards, being little more than metal-clad wooden boxes on wheels, with gaps rather than doors and windows, a few wooden benches and the lighting ripped out. The line runs through pleasant agricultural countryside, often following a low embankment among rice fields, serving tidy villages. The train provides not only free rides but a free distribution service. Villagers clambered on with all manner of agricultural produce and sacks of coal which they delivered to more isolated settlements by occasionally kicking items off the train as it rambled along. Presumably passers-by learn to look out for and dodge such deliveries. On the train people filled every space and then clung to the sides. The train left whether or not people were safely aboard, often leading to frenzied scenes. Our reporter craned one screaming infant hanging on by a door pole into the train where its mother had become trapped inside in the crush. 2801.5][IN] Gondia Jn - Balaghat Jn - Nainpur - Jabalpur Jn: (RMI H9-G8) Spine of the South Eastern Railway’s 762mm-gauge system, easily the largest narrow-gauge network in India, this 226km line leaves Gondia northwards climbing over the South Eastern’s Raipur - Nagpur electrified broad-gauge line. The 40km section north to Balaghat Jn, c.1.5h away, is being converted to broad-gauge, with parallel works like viaducts already well advanced in December 2002, though completion is not due till c.2006. North of Balaghat the line traverses some very empty terrain, with few stations and beautiful dense eucalyptus forest, to the all narrow-gauge junction of Nainpur, bustling with activity. At Jabalpur the train creeps almost apologetically into the solitary narrow-gauge platform on the edge of the Central Railway’s large station on their Mumbai - Allahabad electrified broad-gauge main line. Three through Gondia - Jabalpur services run daily, plus other short workings, the whole trip taking some 10h. Nothing more luxurious than a wooden bench is available on either the daytime or overnight workings. 2801.6][IN] Achalpur - Murtajapur Jn - Yavatmal: (R.2268; RMI F9-G9) Unusually this 189km 762mm-gauge line is still owned by a London-based company, though run by the Central Railway, a 1903 lease having recently been extended from 2003 to 2006. From Murtajapur (or Murtazapur) on the Mumbai - Kolkata (= Bombay - Calcutta) electrified broad-gauge main line, the narrow-gauge, known locally as the Shakuntala railway, is operated as two separate branches north 76km to Achalpur and south-east 113km to Yavatmal. In December 2002 Murtajapur shed had three Class ZDM5 diesel locomotives, plus a diesel railcar apparently undergoing trials on the run to Achalpur. Few passengers seem to buy tickets, and even by Indian standards the line is lavishly staffed with train-crew, station-masters and crossing-keepers to run a daily train to each extremity. Trains leave any time after 07:00, the crew stopping for breakfast soon after leaving for the trundle out to Achalpur, returning up to an hour later. Arrival back at Murtajapur might be about 15:00 from Achalpur or 17:00 from Yavatmal, but the timetable is not strictly observed. The line to the north does not seem to serve any significant settlement and the Achalpur terminus is little more than a village, though a throng of passengers seemed to enjoy their free trip. The line to Yavatmal climbs on a long curving embankment to pass over the broad-gauge line on a bridge before heading off through eucalyptus trees and sand, serving some quite large settlements, where passengers boarded with huge bundles of firewood. Stacked shoulder high and extending not only the entire width of the train, but up to a metre on either side, the wood from time to time snagged lineside objects and threatened any unwary bystander the rest of the way. Yavatmal is a significant town, its station occupying a wasteland of now-abandoned goods-yard. 2801.7][IN] Miraj Jn - Pandharpur - Kurduvadi Jn - Barsi Town - Latur: (RMI E11-F10) Owned until 1954 by the London-based Barsi Light Railway Company, and now part of the South Central Railway, this 762mm-gauge line ran 325km across the flattish dry landscape of the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Around 1998 its middle 52km Pandharpur - Kurduvadi section was converted to broad-gauge to carry heavy twice-yearly pilgrimage traffic to Pandharpur. In December 2002 the 137km Miraj - Pandharpur section remained narrow-gauge but stocks of sleepers and ballast were already on site, with gauge-conversion expected over the period to 2005. The 136km section from Kurduvadi to the sizable town of Latur is likewise to be converted, and some bigger structures like bridges and cut-off embankments have already been built and await the broad-gauge track, perhaps by 2006. From Kurduvadi the line north-east runs beside a main road where lorries often weave in and out of the train’s path, before it threads the narrow congested streets through Barsi Town. The Miraj - Pandharpur section has one daytime and one overnight train each way, and Kurduvadi - Latur two daytime trains, in each case taking about 5h, hauled by Class ZDM4A diesel-hydraulic locomotives. 2801.8][IN] Neral - Matheran: (R.2148; RMI D10) From the junction of Neral on the Central Railway’s Mumbai - Pune (formerly Bombay - Poona) broad-gauge main line, this 610mm-gauge line opened in 1907, taking an extremely tortuous and steep route (126 tariff-km, 21 actual rail km, 6km as the parrot flies, journey-time 2h!) to Matheran. This picturesque ‘hill-station’ 86km from Mumbai was once much favoured by Bombay-based British administrators of the Raj and their families during the ‘hot weather’ season, and is now a popular tourist destination served by the ‘toy train’. The line is well-kept and terminates in a balloon loop at Matheran. A tax of INR20 is charged to leave Matheran station, past people touting horses etc for hire, allowing the visitor to enter the forested traffic-free park, by Indian standards very tidy and a cool relief from the plains, especially in summer. After being established for many years, the service pattern changed from 15 November 2002. Neral departures are at 06.50SSuMO, 08:30, 10:00, 12:40SSuO, 15:30SSuO, 17:00 and Matheran departures at 06:20, 09:10SSuMO, 12:10SSuO, 13:20, 16:10, 17:50SSuO. The Mumbai 10:30 - Neral Konya Express therefore no longer provides a convenient connection for a trip to Matheran except at weekends, which seems a retrograde step. Neral shed has two refurbished Class NDM1 centre-cab articulated diesels and four Class NDM6, plus the ex-Darjeeling B-Class 0-4-0T steam locomotive #794 introduced in 2002 during the 150th anniversary celebrations of Indian Railways. 2802][NZ] Auckland - Westfield: In railway terms, Auckland has since 1930 been at the northern extremity of a large balloon-loop circling the east of the city. With the June 2003 extension of services to the city-centre Britomart station the short south-to-east section through the platform of the 1930 Auckland station, renamed Auckland Strand (R.2779-80), becomes single-track, but otherwise both double-track routes round the loop retain suburban passenger services (R.0743). The newer eastern, coastal, side of the loop, opened 16 November 1930 and to be extended to Britomart in June 2003 (Auckland Britomart - Quay Park Jn - Orakei - Tamaki - Westfield) is officially the North Island Main Trunk, though locally referred to as ‘the shore line’. The western, inland, side of the loop (Quay Park Jn - Newmarket - Penrose - Westfield) was the original 1873 North Island Main Trunk but its northern section is now designated the Auckland - Newmarket line while Newmarket - Westfield is designated part of the North Auckland line. This nomenclature updates that in the 1993 Quail atlas. 2803][US] San Francisco, CA: BART metro: Colma - South San Francisco - San Bruno - SFO Airport / Millbrae, CA: Bay Area Rapid Transit’s target-dates for opening this 14km broad-gauge (1676mm) extension were ‘fall 2002’ (R.2031), then end-2002, but both were missed. At end-February 2003 BART would say only that their SFO station was ‘99% complete’. BART services had therefore still not begun when SFO airport’s own 10km Bombardier AirTrain elevated-guideway ‘people-mover’ opened for round-the-clock business on 3 March 2003. The airport people-mover connects the SFO BART station and various car-parks to the terminals but does not serve Caltrain’s nearby Millbrae station on the San Francisco - Millbrae - San Jose - Gilroy commuter line. SFO Airport - Millbrae BART trains will in due course provide this connection, but air-to-Caltrain passengers will still have to change twice, as with the present SFO Airport - Millbrae Samtrans shuttle buses. 2804][US] Santa Clara County, CA: light rail: The three existing Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority standard-gauge light-rail routes are both named and colour-coded. The Tasman route which follows Tasman Drive is depicted in green and runs Downtown Mountain View - Whisman - Old Ironsides - Baypointe - I-880/Milpitas. The western end from Mountain View (interchange with the San Francisco - Mountain View - San Jose Diridon - Tamien - Gilroy Caltrain commuter line) to Whisman, the third stop, is single-track. The 12.2km Tasman West extension (Mountain View - Old Ironsides; BLN 852.0346, R.0656) was inaugurated 17 December 1999, but commercial operation was delayed from 20 December to mid-February 2000 by late delivery of ticket-machines. With its construction a triangular junction was formed with a view to through west-to-east running on to the later Tasman East Phase I extension (Baypointe - I-880/Milpitas; opened 17 May 2001; R.1477) and a new stop, Baypointe, at the eastern vertex became in December 1999 the interchange station between the Tasman and Guadelupe lines. Tasman trams now run through between Mountain View and I-880/Milpitas on Baypointe’s outer tracks, while Guadelupe trams use the middle turn-back track. The tight west-to-south curve used by cars from Old Ironsides on to the Guadelupe line went out of regular use but remains usable. The Guadalupe or blue route runs Baypointe - Children’s Discovery Museum - Downtown San Jose - Tamien - Ohlone/Chynoweth - Santa Teresa. Through downtown San Jose the south- and northbound single tracks are in adjacent streets (BLN 804.0298). Curves at the south end enable a vintage car to operate at weekends from April to early October between Baypointe and the depot at Younger St between the Gish and Civic Center stops. Tamien offers Caltrain interchange. The Almaden shuttle, depicted in reddish-brown, runs Ohlone/Chynoweth - Almaden, a single-track route whose outer section is on the trackbed of the ex-Southern Pacific Lick Jn - Alamitos branch. Almaden cars shuttle into and out of the southbound track at Ohlone/Chynoweth, and connections are not very good, hence perhaps the lower traffic on this branch. Work is under way on the next phases of two extensions (R.1327): I-880/Milpitas - Hostetter - Alum Rock to the south-east and Children’s Discovery Museum - San Fernando - San Jose Diridon - Downtown Campbell - Winchester - Vasona Junction to the west. Work in July 2002 to replace worn rails on the sharp curve at Children’s Discovery Museum also included laying in the junction for the Vasona line, and around San Jose Diridon main-line station (which will offer interchange with Amtrak, Caltrain and Altamont Commuter Express; BLN 846.0160) considerable excavation work was noted for the underpass bringing the new light-rail tracks to the west of the railway line. 2805][UY] Montevideo - Progreso - 25 de Agosto: (R.0928, 2331) At 19:18 on Friday 28 February 2003 the last scheduled passenger train departed from the Uruguayan capital’s magnificent 19th-century terminus, Montevideo Central, also known as Estación General Artigas, the last inbound train arriving at 21:25 and the last empty movement leaving at 21:40. From 1 March 2003 the country’s remaining suburban passenger services were cut back to a new platform an inconvenient 500m to the north of the city-centre. (http://lfu1.tripod.com/index-8.html) 2806][ZA] (Cape Town - Worcester -) De Doorns - Hexpas - Tunnel - Matroosberg (- Touwsrivier - Johannesburg): The Hex River Pass route originally chosen in 1874 for this section of South African Railways’ 1067mm-gauge Cape Town - Johannesburg main line through the mountains of the Karoo was steep, sharply-curved and scenic. On 27 November 1989 the present alignment through the new Hex River tunnel opened, cutting 8km of length and 112m of height off the old route, and substantially reducing curvature. With the opening of the new line, the old alignment closed and its electrification masts and wires were removed. On the closed section, once traversed by the luxury Blue Train/Bloutrein, tour operators Hexpas Ecotrek now offer trips on a train comprising two light vehicles, seating 6 and 18 adults, hauled at 20km/h by a vintage Fordson tractor. The round-trip from Hexpas to the old Tunnel station takes three to four hours. Remains of British fortifications dating from the 1899-1902 Boer War still guard the hand-hewn cutting near the old tunnel. (http://www.worcester.org.za/hexpaseco/ 2807][FR] Hénin-Beaumont - Drocourt: (Ball 7A1) The now-defunct colliery-operators Houillères du Bassin de Nord-Pas de Calais once had a sizeable mineral railway system, which included a line from Hénin-Beaumont SNCF to the south-west that latterly served the large Drocourt coke-plant (R.2450). The Cokerie de Drocourt closed 19 March 2002 or 20 June 2002 (sources differ) but part of this line was transferred on 1 July 2002 to private operators Socorail, who now run it to serve the Drocourt factory of chemical company Cray-Valley. (L'Écho du Rail, #242, February 2003) 2808][FR] Lorraine colliery railway: (Ball 29B3) Colliery-operators Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine expect to cease coal-raising in June 2004. The Carling coke-plant is to close in 2005. SNCF subsidiary Voies Ferrées Locales et Industrielles, who took over running HBL's industrial railway from 7 November 2001 (R.1134, 1830, 2451), hope to find other work for some of the 210km standard-gauge system. (L'Écho du Rail, #242, February 2003) 2809][FR] (Orléans -) Les Aubrais - Fleury-les-Aubrais - Boigny-sur-Bionne - Vennecy - Vitry-aux-Loges - Boiscommun-Nibelle - Bellegarde-Quiers - Ladon - Montargis: (R.0061, 0264; 26A1-37A3) This cross-country line closed to passengers 4 November 1969 (R.0061), and freight traffic was cut back in stages, closure as a through route coming when Boiscommun-Nibelle - Bellegarde-Quiers was taken out of use between 1969 and 1980, possibly at the same time as the passenger service. Vennecy - Boiscommun-Nibelle and Bellegarde-Quiers - Ladon then closed between 1980 and 1990, and Fleury-les-Aubrais - Vennecy between 1990 and 2002. At the west end a mere 1km remained from the junction at Les Aubrais to Fleury zone industrielle and at the east end Montargis - Ladon appears likewise to remain. From 28 October 2002 an 8km section from Fleury to Boigny-sur-Bionne reopened to serve an animal-feedstuffs firm, Stock Alliance, and some 60,000t of traffic are expected during 2003, according to L'Écho du Rail (#242, February 2003). In 1999 Région Centre were considering Orléans - Montargis passenger reopening, but nothing has yet come of this (R.0264). 2810][FR] (Montargis - Charny -) Villiers-St.Benoît - Chapelle-Ste.Reine - Dracy-sur-Ouanne - Toucy-Ville - Toucy-Moulins - Lalande - Fontenoy - Saints-Moulin-Vanneau - St.Sauveur-Gare - St.Sauveur-Ville - Moutiers-La-Batisse (- Étang de Moutiers - St.Fargeau - Gien): (R.2128; Ball 36B3-37A2) The eleven stops listed on the website (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/aaty/) of the Toucy-based Association des Autorails Touristiques de l'Yonne suggest they are in summer 2003 to run Le Transpoyaudin tourist trains on a slightly longer section of this (now local-authority-owned) line. 2811][FR] Bollwiller SNCF - Bollwiller (Musée) - Rodolphe: (Ball 41A3) From 1980 various historic buildings were relocated to an empty 20-hectare site at Bollwiller to create the Écomusée d'Alsace, a theme-park/museum. Among them was an original 1844 building removed in 1986 from Bollwiller station on the Colmar - Mulhouse main line and rebuilt within the Écomusée in 2000. Also within the museum area stands Rodolphe potash-mine, open 1911-76, latterly operated by Mines de Potasse d'Alsace (MDPA) but acquired by the Écomusée in 1986. The local group Florirail were formed in 1991 to preserve c.7km of SNCF's Bollwiller - Guebwiller (- Heissenstein - Lautenbach) branch, closed in 1992 and now proposed as part of a future Mulhouse tram-train system (BLN 762.0400, R.0851). With the cooperation of Florirail and with the loan of some rolling-stock by the French national railway museum in Mulhouse, the Écomusée in 2001 began running standard-gauge tourist trains from Bollwiller old station in its new location for 1.2km to the Rodolphe mine. This operation, initially from 3 to 31 August 2001, comprised a single train at 17:15, limited to the first 100 passengers. Voie Étroite (#186, October 2001) reported a project for a new railway using MDPA track to link Bollwiller SNCF/RFF station to Bollwiller Musée station, which would replace the shuttle buses that convey weekend visitors to the museum (http://www.ecomusee-alsace.com). 2812][FR] Dunières-Gare SNCF - Dunières-Ville - Montfaucon-en-Velay - Tence - St.Agrève: (R.1720, 2069, 2786; Ball 56A1) The Voies Ferrées du Velay heritage line is somewhat isolated and not as easy to reach as the nearby Tournon - Lamastre line that once formed part of the same metre-gauge Réseau du Vivarais. On 28-29 September 2002 a celebration weekend saw trains again operating over the full length from St.Agrève, including what seems to have been the first public through train for some years. On the Saturday, vintage railcar #222, conveying preservation society members only, preceded the 15:00 St.Agrève - Dunières train carrying members of the public including a British tour group, worked by Mallet 0-4-4-0T steam locomotive #403 hired in from the Tournon - Lamastre line. Three hours were allowed for the leisurely c.37km run, which included lengthy stops at several intermediate stations where food and drink were served. Village fêtes were in progress, and local people had turned out at each stop to welcome the train. Some standard-gauge wagons were in Dunières yard, so SNCF seemed still to be handling freight by rail over their Firminy - Dunières branch. 2813][FR] (Clermont Ferrand -) Alès - Nîmes: (R.2551; Ball 64B1) Floods on 8-9 September 2002 caused temporary closure of this line. Its damaged bridge at Ners (Gard) was repaired and 'inaugurated' in the presence of the French prime minister on 9 December, but freight trains did not resume running until 15 December 2002, and passenger trains seem to have taken longer still to be restored. (L'Écho du Rail, #242, February 2003) 2814][FR] Avignon-TGV - Avignon-Ville: (Ball 65A1) In March 2003 the necessary finance had been committed for this 4km single-track 1500V dc curve ('la virgule' = 'the comma') off the Lyon - Avignon - Marseille / Nîmes LGV Méditerranée but (notwithstanding R.2789) significant construction work had yet to begin. (partly from Today's Railways, #88) 2815][FR] Le Cailar - St.Gilles - Arles-Trinquetaille (- Arles): (BLN 849.0240; Ball 74B3-75A3) The line lost its passenger service 5 December 1938, and ceased to be a through route when the bridge over the river Rhône at Arles was destroyed in 1944 and never replaced. In early 2003 the truncated branch was still being worked by a Y8000 shunter trundling across the Camargue marshes, but with the closure of a distillery at St.Gilles and a paper-mill at Trinquetaille it looks as though the railway too will close. (L'Écho du Rail, #242, February 2003) 2816][BE][FR] (St.Ghislain -) Quiévrain SNCB - Blanc-Misseron SNCF (- Valenciennes): (Ball 7B1) Freight traffic having ceased by the end of 1988, this cross-border section officially closed in May 1989 (BLN 721.05), and was physically severed with the remodelling of Quiévrain station prior to electrification of SNCB's passenger-only St.Ghislain - Quiévrain branch (line 97) in summer 1995 (BLN 736.0202). Visited on 5 March 2003, Quiévrain had three passenger platforms, all electrified at 3000V dc, with the three tracks coming together as a headshunt ending in a buffer-stop near the Rue du Joncquois at the western end of the station. Diverging a few metres east of the present station and avoiding it to the north was a track that was once the running line to France. Now an unelectrified siding, it too ended in a buffer-stop, with a trackless gap of some 10m beyond to the former level-crossing over the Rue du Joncquois. Track remained in the surface of this road and continued west to the Belgian/French frontier. Out of use for some 15 years, this track had acquired significant vegetation including small trees growing between the rails, but otherwise seemed in good order, with no rails missing. At or near the frontier, the track became double and continued thus till the two tracks converged just east of a level-crossing over the Rue des Déports (D954) at the east end of Blanc-Misseron SNCF station. No buffer-stop was in place on the SNCF side so, provided a French train could penetrate the undergrowth, it could in theory run as far as the Rue du Joncquois at Quiévrain. Over the years since closure, various suggestions seem to have been made for reopening (including extension of Paris - Valenciennes TGVs via St.Ghislain to Mons) and studies have been commissioned (BLN 768.0524, 844.081, R.1776, 2194), but to no effect as yet. 2817][LU] Rumelange mining-museum railway: (R.1403, 2786; Ball 18A1) The new narrow-gauge tourist railway at Rumelange iron-ore mining museum has opened, and was in operation during the summer 2002 season. 2818][NL] Haarlem - Overveen - Zandvoort-aan-Zee light rail: (R.2786; Ball 3B3) This project was never envisaged as involving significant new infrastructure, at least for the first phase. The idea was to test light-rail vehicles, borrowed from Amsterdam municipal public-transport operators GVB, serving the present stations on the existing NS heavy-rail line under 1500V dc electrification. However in spring 2003 GVB had no vehicles to spare, and concerns remained about the safety of light-rail mingling with heavy-rail traffic on this line, so the project seemed to have been shelved (though it had not been totally abandoned, according to an official of the province of Noord-Holland). 2819][NL] Den Haag trams: From 18 January 2003 HTM routes #2 and 16 have used a short new tram subway beneath Noordelijke Randweg in the eastern suburb of Voorburg. (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2003) 2820][NL] Boxtel - Eindhoven: (R.2286, 2793; Ball 4B1) Work on the quadruple-track project was not quite complete by the official opening-date of 16 June 2002, and it was not until 17 July 2002 that all four tracks effectively came into use, and not until the December 2002 timetable-change that train-services took modest advantage of the new layout. A closely-related project is to abolish ten level-crossings in the municipality of Boxtel, some of them accident black-spots, but in March 2003 the local authority had not yet decided on the location of replacement overbridges or underpasses, so work had still to be started. 2821][DE] Bremen trams: The 3.5km Horn-Lehe - Borgfeld extension of route #4 opened 6 December 2002. (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2003) 2822][DE] Hannover trams: The Ostlandstrasse - Königsberger Ring - Anderten extension opened 15 December 2002. (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2003) 2823][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (R.2224; Ball 32A2) After prolonged repairs, Nordbahnhof - Friedrichstrasse - Potsdamer Platz service was restored from 13 December 2002. (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2003) 2824][DE] Müncheberg (Mark) - Buckow (Märkische Schweiz): (R.2110; Ball 30A3) Preservation group Buckower Kleinbahn ran public tourist trains from 14 September to 20 October 2002. Their 2003 season should start at Easter weekend, 18-20 April. (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2003) 2825][DE] Köln-Mülheim - Köln-Deutz - Porz (Rhein) and Köln-Süd - Südbrücke - Porz (Rhein): (OEIS; Ball 36A3) Following the inauguration of the high-speed (Köln -) Porz (Rhein) - Frankfurt (Main) Schnellfahrstrecke in July 2002 and the timetable-change of December 2002, both the low-level line at Köln-Deutz and the Südbrücke route across the river Rhein have been used by many regular passenger trains. Trains stopping at Köln-Deutz low-level are indicated in KBS472 and the relevant long-distance tables as calling at Gleis 11 or 12. Most Amsterdam - Koln - Frankfurt ICE trains run via the Südbrücke. 2826][DE] Halle trams: The Eselsmühle/Weststrasse - Soltauer Strasse extension of route #2 opened 20 December 2002. (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2003) 2827][DE] (Chemnitz Hbf -) Altchemnitz - Stollberg (Sachsen): (R.0416; Ball 46B1-43A1) From 15 December 2002 Chemnitz tram-route #6 was extended from its old terminus at Altchemnitz south over the formerly DB-operated 23km line to Stollberg, newly-electrified at 750V dc. (Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2003) 2828][AT] (Wien Mitte -) Rennweg - St.Marx - Geiselbergstrasse - Zentralfriedhof - Kaiserebersdorf (- Schwechat - Mannswörth - Flughafen Wien - Wolfsthal): (Ball 77B2) The Wien airport S-Bahn line S7 reopened as planned with the timetable-change on 15 December 2002 (R.2564). The double track commences at a burrowing junction south of Rennweg where the Rennweg - Meidling line climbs to the surface; runs south-east underground to the new St.Marx station (km2.6; side platforms); surfaces with a loop and connections (km3.5) to the Siemens factory on the east side before Geiselbergstrasse station (km4; island platform, above street-level); drops into cutting and a short tunnel (km4.6-4.8) before passing under the Wien Süd - Stadlau line (km5.0) and through another short tunnel (km5.5); emerges (km6) from cutting to reach Zentralfriedhof station (km6.8; island platform); runs east of the huge Wien-Zentralverschiebebahnhof (=central marshalling-yard) to a burrowing junction beneath the Wien Albern Hafen freight branch to the docks before rising into Kaiserebersdorf station (formerly Klein Schwechat) and heading east on its original route to the airport and beyond. The km distances are approximate. 2829][AT][SI] St.Paul - Lavamünd (- Rabenstein an der Drau ÖBB - Dravograd SZ): (BLN 734.0169, 736.0221, 750.0124; Ball 83A2-83A1) After the building in 1963-64 of the St.Paul - Bleiburg chord line avoiding Slovenia, the St.Paul - Lavamünd (- Dravograd) line was truncated and became an unimportant 20km domestic branch which ÖBB closed to passengers in the mid-1990s and to freight in 2000. However, freight operations are being resumed, by Lavamünd Bahn- und Betriebsgesellschaft (partly owned by Graz-Köflacher-Eisenbahn). Re-laying and reopening the lifted section from Lavamünd across the border to Dravograd in Slovenia has also been discussed. (IBSE Telegramm) 2830][AT][LI][CH] Feldkirch - Schaan-Vaduz - Buchs SG: (Ball 89B3-89A2) The ÖBB line from Austria across Liechtenstein into Switzerland was to be closed for engineering work from Saturday 29 March until 16:00 Tuesday 8 April. The last time this occurred (2-13 September 2002; R.2369, 2471) buses replaced all trains except EC162/3 and EN466/7. As before westbound day train EC163 Wien Westbf - Basel SBB is expected to reverse with ÖBB-to-SBB traction change at Bregenz, and run via the non-passenger southeast-to-southwest Romanshorn avoiding line, while eastbound EC162 is booked to reverse with SBB-to-ÖBB traction change at St.Margrethen, and proceed via the non-passenger west-to-south Hard-Fussach - Wolfurt curve avoiding Riedenburg and Bregenz. EN466/7 Zürich HB - Budapest keleti pu are scheduled to use both the Romanshorn avoiding line and the Bregenz avoiding line. 2831][SE] Hultsfred - Verkebäck - Jenny - Västervik: (R.0605; Ball 26A3-22B1) In October 2002 infrastructure authority Banverket restored the points at Jenny, physically reconnecting the 891mm-gauge Smålandsbana to the 4km of mixed-gauge track into the town of Västervik. (Today's Railways, #87, March 2003) Arrangements are being made for sharing this section of track with (Linköping -) Jenny - Västervik standard-gauge services, and narrow-gauge tourist trains should be running to and from Västervik in summer 2003 (daily 28 June to 3 August and weekends 9 August to 14 September). 2832][FI][RU] Joensuu - Onkamo - Niirala VR - Vyartsilya/Värtsilä RZD - Matkaselkya - Petrozavodsk: (R.2255; Ball 18B3) The proposals for Joensuu - Petrozavodsk passenger service have been abandoned for the present due to unfavourable traffic forecasts. Weekend charter trains for Finnish citizens from Imatra via the Imatra - Imatrankoski VR - Svetogorsk RZD frontier-crossing are not to operate in summer 2003. (5feet@yahoogroups.com) 2833][PT] Lisboa metro: (Cais do Sodré - Rossio - Alameda -) Campo Grande - Telheiras: (R.0535) On 2 November 2002 Metropolitano de Lisboa extended their Green (Caravela) line from Campo Grande 1.5km west (without an intermediate stop) to Telheiras. (Today's Railways, #84) 2834][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo trams: Atxuri - Abando - Uribitarte (- Guggenheim - San Mames - Basurto): Notwithstanding R.2722, only the Atxuri - Uribitarte section of the EuskoTran metre-gauge light-rail line was inaugurated on 18 December 2002. Extension of the tramway to the Guggenheim museum is envisaged in spring 2003, to San Mames later in 2003 and to Basurto in 2004. (Today's Railways, #86; http://www.euskotren.es/euskotran/html/english/index.html). 2835][ES] (Zaragoza - Tardienta -) Huesca - Canfranc RENFE (- Oloron-Ste.Marie SNCF): (Ball 13A2-13A3) This section of line is proposed for regauging from 1668mm to 1435mm to become an international standard-gauge freight route (R.2141), but its trackbed, embankments and cuttings have been allowed to deteriorate, and with every substantial Pyrenean rainfall have come disruptive landslips or pieces of rock falling upon the track. After three incidents, Huesca - Canfranc closed to all traffic on 21 February 2003, with passenger trains replaced by buses. Repair works began in the first week of March, and RENFE hoped to reopen the line, still broad-gauge, by mid-March 2003. Further east in the Pyrenees, landslip damage and rocks on the track also closed the (Barcelona -) Sant Quirze de Besora - Ripoll - Ribas de Freser - Puigcerda RENFE - La Tour de Carol SNCF section (Ball 15A2-15A3) from 28 February to 3 March 2003. 2836][ES] Zaragoza avoiding line: (Ball 13A1 not shown) RENFE's many broad-gauge freight trains on the Madrid - Barcelona main line are to be diverted away from their original route through the centre of Zaragoza on to the new 29km Ronda Sur freight line curving around the south of the city. Opened on 7 February 2003, it runs from the Centro de Intercambios de Mercancias (freight interchange centre) west of Zaragoza as double track east for 18km to a junction with the north-south Zaragoza - Teruel line, then as single track for 11km east to La Cartuja station east of Zaragoza. However, on 1 March 2003 the newly-opened avoiding line was damaged by flooding just west of Zaragoza where it runs parallel to the new high-speed line (which was affected more seriously; R.2837). Heavy rainfall destabilised the subsoil beneath the track, opening up cavities which need to be filled with concrete. 2837][ES] Madrid - Calatayud - Zaragoza - Lleida (- Barcelona): (R.2753; Ball 21A2-13A1-14A1; new alignment not shown) The first passenger-carrying trains over this standard-gauge high-speed line ran on 24 February 2003, when 'pre-opening' trips began for journalists, politicians, railway professionals and the like. Alas, the promotional trips were haunted by delays and electrical failures, and the media made much of the incidents. The government minister responsible decided after a few days to cancel the runs, to dismiss a top manager and to transfer operations from infrastructure-management company Gestor de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias to train-operators RENFE, both state-owned bodies. These political moves may in practice cause further delay in actually opening the line. Catenary, signalling and junction-control seem to be giving RENFE the most serious problems. Another difficulty is said to be subsoil instability, both at the western edge of Zaragoza and over the 22km Pina de Ebro - La Almolda section between Zaragoza and Lleida. No start date for regular services has been announced, but estimates vary from May 2003 (the minister) to autumn 2003 or even 2004 (RENFE engineers). Website http://www.gif.es holds details of the line. 2838][ES] Alacant/Alicante Puerta del Mar - Alacant La Marina - El Campello - Benidorm - Altea - Denia: (R.2723; Ball 32A1-32B2) From Puerta del Mar north-east to Campello the new electrification is 750V dc and the line can be worked by standard trams, but the Campello - Benidorm - Altea section is being electrified at 1500V dc, and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Válenciana have invited tenders for dual-voltage light-rail vehicles. (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2003) 2839][ES] Mallorca: Palma - Inca - Enllaç - Sineu - Petra - Manacor (- Arta): (Ball 38A1-38A2) The closed station at Enllaç (= Junction; formerly known in Castilian Spanish as Empalme; R.1279) is being reopened. During March 2003 works were under way to build a passenger subway linking its two platforms and to install two sets of automatic points for the Enllaç - Manacor line reopening (R.2508, 2689). Inca - Enllaç - Sa Pobla train service was suspended for part of a weekend. 2840][IT] Firenze Cascine - Firenze Porta al Prato: (Ball 49A3) This short branch, closed to passengers in the 1880s, may again see regular passenger services in 2004 or 2005, to relieve Firenze's overcrowded main station, Santa Maria Novella. 2841][GR] Piraeus - Athinai - Acharne - Elefsis - Megara - Korinthos: (R.1315; Ball 66B2-66A2) The port of Piraeus and the capital Athinai are linked by three existing rail routes, the standard-gauge main line, the metre-gauge Peloponnese line and the standard-gauge electric ISAP metro. According to a local source, when the current Piraeus - Athinai - Korinthos rebuilding project is complete, the present Piraeus standard-gauge passenger station is to close and be replaced by a regauged station on the (more centrally located) site of the present metre-gauge terminus. Presumably the existing standard-gauge line into Piraeus port would remain open for freight. To the north and west of Athinai, considerable progress was being made in early 2003 with the rebuilding of the single-track metre-gauge route (already paralleled for part of its length to Elefsis by single-track standard-gauge) to become a double-track standard-gauge route. Significantly realigned sections were already in use in some locations, temporarily relaid with a metre-gauge track to allow through running, and major civil-engineering activity had created new tunnels and embankments, especially in the Megara area where the existing scenic section along the cliffs is to be abandoned. 2842][GR] (Pirgos -) Alfios - Olimpia: (Ball 65B2) After closure for replacement of worn-out track (R.1785) this 14km metre-gauge branch on the Peloponnese peninsula has reopened, seemingly from the timetable-change of 18 January 2003, though with fewer trains than before. Two through services run Piraeus - Athinai - Korinthos - Patrai - Pirgos - Olimpia, worked by MAN-design three-car intercity diesel units, contrasting with the local Ganz diesel railcars. 2843][CH] (Langenthal -) St.Urban Ziegelei - Melchnau: (R.0688; Ball 87A1 partly shown) The 5.16km section of Aare-Seeland Mobil's metre-gauge line from the current passenger terminus of St.Urban Ziegelei south to its original terminus Melchnau lost its passenger services 22 May 1982 and regular freight 27 May 1989, but was retained for occasional passenger and freight trains. Restaurant railcar BRe4/4 116 operates summer-weekend specials for groups. The line was to see trips to Melchnau on 22 March (organised by Schweizerischer Eisenbahn-Amateur-Klub of Zürich) and on 27 April 2003 (by Freunde Schweizer Schmalspurbahnen; http://www.trittbrett.ch/fss/ausstellung.html). 2844][CH] (Bern -) Fraubrunnen - Solothurn: (Ball 92B3-86B1) Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn have announced that from December 2003 they will no longer convey freight in standard-gauge wagons on transporters over this 15km section of their metre-gauge system. The Aarberg sugar-works may instead receive beet using new Cargo-Domino intermodal containers transhipped from rail to road at SBB stations. 2845][PL][BY] Bialystok - Czeremcha PKP - Vysoko-Litovsk BCh - Brest: (PKP542) Until the PKP timetable-change of 15 December 2002 standard-gauge trains ran daily from Bialystok in Poland south through to the city of Brest in Belarus. Now two train-pairs run just across the frontier to Vysoko-Litovsk, where through passengers require to change to a local train of Belaruskaya Chugunka taking the parallel broad-gauge track and serving several small stations to Brest. It seems the previous through train was much used by smugglers, who employed the time that the rolling-stock waited in Brest to stow contraband items of all kinds in hiding-places inside the carriages (R.0715). The new timetable provides for quick turn-rounds at Vysoko-Litovsk, making the smugglers' task more difficult! (IBSE Telegramm) 2846][AL][YU] Shkodër - Bajzé HSH (- Hani i Hotit - Tuzi JZ - Podgorica): (R.2730; Ball 52A2) The Shkodër - Bajzë section within Albania ceremonially reopened on 6 March 2003, completing the restoration of the 1985 rail freight link between the Albanian and Montenegrin railway systems. (Albanian Telegraph Agency) 2847][CN] Beijing metro: A new line #13, sometimes described as 'light rail' but with heavy metro stock, third-rail electrification and high platforms, was inaugurated in October 2002. (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2003) 2848][AU] Melbourne trams: La Trobe Street - Docklands Esplanade - Flinders Street: The Docklands Loop was inaugurated 23 January and opened 26 January 2003. (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2003) 2849][NZ] Charleston - Soft Rock: Opened 4 March 2003, the 2km 610mm-gauge Nile River tramway on New Zealand's North Island wends its way from Charleston through rainforest and past spectacular limestone bluffs at the gateway to Paparoa National Park, delivering tourists and cavers to within a short walk of the Metro limestone-cave system - allegedly named after the Paris Métro! Rafting trips through the caves are also offered by the line's operators, Norwest Adventures. The Nile River train of five open-sided carriages runs several times a day, hauled by a (former battery-electric, now automobile-engined) locomotive once used on the 610mm-gauge lines in Wellington City Council's water and sewage tunnels. 2850][CA] (Halifax, NS - Windsor Jn - Truro - Port Hawkesbury -) Tupper - Sydney, NS: (R.2383) This northern section of the Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway was due to be abandoned from 3 May 2003, but it appears that the Nova Scotia provincial government agreed in early March 2003 with RailAmerica, owners of CBNS, that it should remain open. This clears the way for Via Rail's Bras d'Or Halifax - Sydney summer-only passenger train again to operate in 2003. 2851][US] Amtrak changes: On 6 January 2003 Amtrak gave the statutory 180 days notice of withdrawal of the Kentucky Cardinal (Chicago, IL - Indianapolis, IN - Louisville, KY; R.1805, 1914, 2669). Last train south to Louisville is to leave on 5 July, north from Louisville 6 July 2003. Amtrak did not obtain Norfolk Southern agreement to retiming the Pennsylvanian over NS tracks between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh in time for 28 January (R.2669, 2756) so the curtailment of the Pennsylvanian route (now New York, NY - Philadelphia, PA - Harrisburg - Pittsburgh, PA) was deferred to 10 February 2003. Amtrak run two passenger services partly subsidised by the state of Michigan, but in mid-March no agreement had been reached on renewal of the subsidy contract expiring on 31 March 2003. Chicago, IL - Detroit, MI - Pontiac, MI trains receive no Michigan subsidy and are not affected, but both the Chicago, IL - Port Huron, MI - Sarnia, ON - Toronto, ON International and the Chicago, IL - Grand Rapids, MI Pere Marquette are threatened. Amtrak have offered to keep both services running till 15 May 2003 to allow Michigan more time to renew the subsidy. (partly Railfan & Railroad, April 2003) 2852][US] Portland - Astoria, OR: Oregon state officials say track repairs and upgrades are almost completed. Start-date for Oregon's Lewis & Clark Explorer trains (running to the times quoted in R.2731) is to be 23 May 2003. The service may operate for three summers, 2003 to 2005. 2853][US] Klamath Falls, OR - Marysville, CA (- Roseville - Sacramento, CA): Amtrak's daily Seattle, WA - Los Angeles, CA Coast Starlight passenger trains #11/14 normally run Klamath Falls, OR - Dunsmuir, CA - Redding - Chico - Marysville, CA, but for some 40 working days in spring 2003 a gang were to be laying 72,000 new concrete ties (= sleepers) from Dunsmuir (milepost 322.0) south to Lakehead (milepost 285.7) on the ex-Southern Pacific, now Union Pacific, Valley Subdivision to Marysville (Binney Jn), and Amtrak made plans for an interesting diversion of Starlight trains due to originate on the following dates: 15-24 March, 31 March-9 April, 15-22 April and 26 April-7 May 2003. The diversion however adds some 3h30min to the end-to-end journey, and the diverted Starlight's usual connections into other trains could not be guaranteed. By 20 March southbound Starlight #11 was escaping diversion, and northbound #14 was being diverted only if it was already very late - and even then some trains were being replaced by buses. The diversionary route (Klamath Falls, OR - Stronghold, CA - Bieber - Keddie - Oroville - Marysville, CA) is via the Burlington Northern Santa Fe 'Inside Gateway' line (former Great Northern to Bieber and former Western Pacific thence to Keddie) which has never had an ordinary passenger service, and has seen passenger trains only in an occasional emergency (for example, in September 1998; BLN 835.0480). South-west of Keddie, the diversion includes the scenic Feather River Canyon. 2854][US] League City, TX - Galveston, TX: The main road south-east over a causeway into the Texan coastal city of Galveston becomes very congested at times, so the city council secured federal finance for a 2002-2004 passenger rail demonstration project whereby trains chartered from Amtrak run at certain holiday weekends and other peak periods, with a view to building support for a future regular passenger service from the mainland to Galveston Island. On Mardi Gras weekend, Saturday-Sunday 1-2 March 2003, Texas GulfLiner trains were to run League City 09:30 - 11:00 Galveston 15:00 - 16:30 League City 17:00 - 18:30 Galveston 19:00SuO/22:00SO - 20:30SuO/23:30SO League City. The downtown terminus was Galveston Railroad Museum, 123 25th Street at Harborside Drive. (http://www.texasgulfliner.com) 2855][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Camden - Trenton, NJ: (R.0022, 0695, 1450) Empty test-running of the Stadler-GTW diesel light-rail vehicles began 19 November 2002. Target opening-date for the 54km 20-station line is June 2003. It uses mainly existing (ex-Camden & Amboy Railroad, latterly Conrail) freight trackage along the Delaware river, though a street-running extension in downtown Trenton is also planned. 2856][PE] Lima metro: (Ciudad -) Atocongo - El Salvador: As long ago as 1990 the city's Tren Urbano offered trial runs to the media. In November 2002 the outer 10km section of the 24km line was at last opened to the public for free trips, and entered revenue service on 18 January 2003, with an express bus link from the city. (Tramways & Urban Transit, March 2003) 2857][GB] Belfast: (Adelaide -) Central Jn - City Jn (- City Hospital - Botanic - Belfast Central): In March 2003 Northern Ireland Railways’ regauged ex-Gatwick Express locomotive-hauled coaches were in use on two Mon-Fri peak-hour return workings. Running empty from York Road depot they first formed the Portadown 06:38 - Newry 07:20 - Belfast Great Victoria Street trains. After the locomotive had run round, the stock lay all day in platform 3 before forming Belfast GVS 17:12 - Newry (southbound platform) 18:34 - Belfast. The 18:34 is shown in the January 2003 timetable as calling at all stations to Great Victoria Street, but on 20 March the northbound train into the city (with three passengers from Newry, confined to the first two coaches) made its Adelaide stop, then took the south-to-east curve used normally only by Dublin - Belfast expresses, called at City Hospital and Botanic, terminated at Belfast Central and ran empty north to York Road depot. The train-crew confirmed that this is normal practice to avoid a time-consuming run-round movement at Great Victoria Street. 2858][GB] (Belfast Central -) Bleach Green Jn - Greenisland - Carrickfergus (- Whitehead - Larne): In March 2003 track works were under way on this section, which may presage the promised relaying of Bleach Green Jn - Whitehead with continuously-welded rail (R.2542). 2859][GB] Coleraine - Portrush: Following the success of the integrated rail-and-bus stations at Belfast Great Victoria Street and Bangor, the feasibility of integration at Portrush is to be studied, according to an NIR customer leaflet. In March 2003 Portrush railway station had a bus stabling-point next to the signal-box, but the town’s bus-station was a 5min walk away down side-streets. An integrated station may see the end of the unmodernised but now lavish and little-used track layout at Portrush, and of the remaining somersault-pattern semaphore signalling on the 10km branch (R.0747, 2543). 2860][FR] Sembadel - Estivareilles: (BLN 815.0563, R.0443, 2786; Ball 55B1-56A2) A special train ran in summer 2002 but this was not available to the public. Target-date for seasonal tourist trains to run to Estivareilles is now summer 2004. 2861][FR] Dunières - Tence - St.Agrève: (Ball 56A1) This metre-gauge line on 29 June 2002 saw special trains for local dignitaries officially re-inaugurating the upper section to St.Agrève, and it seems a wedding group also took advantage of the return working! Notwithstanding R.2812, regular tourist trains to St.Agrève began on 14 July 2002, the national holiday. Resources of Voies Ferrées du Velay are limited, so fewer trains now run on the lower Dunières - Tence section. (partly from Chemins de Fer Régionaux et Urbains, February 2003) 2862][NL] Rotterdam: (R.2283; Ball 3B2) The 15 December 2002 timetable-change saw closure as planned of the two curves (west-to-north Schiebroek Aansluiting - Rotterdam Kleiweg and east-to-north Rotterdam Noord - Rotterdam Kleiweg) that had linked the Hofpleinlijn (Rotterdam Hofplein - Rotterdam Kleiweg - Pijnacker - Den Haag Centraal) to the rest of the NS system at the Rotterdam end. The west-to-north curve is particularly missed for two reasons. It formerly allowed some late-evening trains to run from Centraal instead of from Hofplein, an unstaffed terminus unwelcoming to passengers at night when frequented by drug-dealers and other low-life. It also allowed NS to use the Hofpleinlijn as a diversionary route when the Rotterdam - Delft - Den Haag main line was blocked by engineering work or accidents. The closures however have permitted construction work to begin on linking Rotterdam city metro’s Erasmuslijn (Spijkenisse - Rotterdam Centraal) via a new Rotterdam Centraal - Kleiweg tunnel to the Hofpleinlijn as part of the Randstadrail plan to convert some NS services to light rail (http://www.randstadrail.nl). Future proposals include extension of light-rail services into the city-centre of Den Haag over tram tracks (instead of using the NS line into Den Haag Centraal terminus), and a new (Rotterdam -) Berkel-en-Rodenrijs - Zoetermeer line. Public transport from Rotterdam to Zoetermeer, an extensive new town with 100,000 inhabitants, is at present provided only by slow local buses, so this new direct rail link would be much the most innovative and useful part of the Randstadrail plan - though because of its expense it may be the least likely to happen. 2863][NL] Alphen-aan-den-Rijn - Gouda: (Ball 3B2) In 1993 trains on this route shared main-line tracks from Moordrecht Aansluiting east into Gouda (BLN 714.09), but by January 2003 they again had their own dedicated track, using part of the old river bridge. At Gouda station trains from Alphen used to terminate in a dead-end bay at the west end of the northern island platform, but this and the other such bay at the west end of the southern island were being removed, and a new dedicated track #11 with a lateral platform was under construction on the north side of the station. The new layout would appear to minimise the need for light-rail vehicles operating Alphen - Gouda services to share track with heavy-rail stock (R.2818). After the empty-running phase (R.2792), the experiment continued with the LRVs first carrying passengers on Sunday 30 March 2003. 2864][NL] Netherlands: new lines and stations: The Hemboog (an Amsterdam Lelylaan - Zaandam curve avoiding Sloterdijk; Ball 4A3) and the Gooiboog (a southeast-to-northeast curve avoiding Weesp and allowing access to the Flevolijn from the Hilversum direction; R.1921; Ball 4A3), are on course to open at the December 2003 timetable-change. Planning continues for the 50km Lelystad - Zwolle extension of the Flevolijn branch to become the through Hanzelijn (R.1921; Ball 1B1-2A1), but government have not yet allocated the necessary finance, no construction has begun, and opening may be delayed from 2009 to 2014. Planned to open in the near future, perhaps at the next timetable-change, are three new stations, all serving recently-developed suburbs: Almere Oostvaarders (on the Almere Buiten - Lelystad Centrum section of the Flevolijn; Ball 4A3-1B1); Utrecht Leidse Rijn (on the Utrecht Centraal - Vleuten section; Ball 4A3); and Tilburg Reeshof (on the Tilburg West - Gilze-Rijen section; Ball 4A1). A provisional station at Utrecht Leidse Rijn was indeed already complete by March 2003, and actual opening awaited finance. Passenger-train operators NS Reizigers are said to be reluctant to include new stations in the current timetable for various reasons, practical, financial and political. 2865][NL] Amsterdam metro and trams: new lines: By March 2003 work had begun at Damrak near Centraal station on tunnelling for the Noordzuidlijn (the 6km north-south metro line #52; Buikslotermeerplein - Amsterdam Centraal - Zuid-WTC), though it is still possible that the city will abandon this controversial and expensive project, whose target-date for completion is March 2011. Work had also begun on tram line #26 (Amsterdam Centraal - IJburg; 8.5km) and on diversion of tram line #10 from its present eastern terminus Javaplein and its extension to Azartplein on KNSM island, a redeveloped former dockland and industrial area. Tram line #16 and/or 24 may be extended from Stadionplein to VU Ziekenhuis (= the Free University medical-centre). Along the Amstelveenseweg, beneath the A10 motorway, a c.500m section of this track has already been laid, though it remains without overhead wire. 2866][DE][FR] Dillingen (Saar) - Niedaltdorf DB - Guerstling SNCF - Bouzonville: (R.2074; EGTRE; Ball DE-55B3, FR-18B1) On Good Friday 18 April 2003 special trains are again to run beyond Niedaltdorf via the 8.7km freight-only border-crossing section through to Bouzonville in France, in connection with the Easter market there, as in 2002. 2867][ES] Mallorca: (Palma - Inca -) Enllaç - Sineu - Petra - Manacor: (R.2839; Ball 38A1-38A2) Following a Petra - Inca train-trip by Balearic government ministers at the end of March, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported that 3km of track remained to be laid, but that the 30.6km section to Manacor was on course to reopen to passengers in early May 2003 as planned. Most of the new metre-gauge route takes up the trackbed of the original 914mm-gauge railway closed east of Inca in 1981, but some is on new alignment, notably near Petra. 2868][US] Sacramento, CA - Baths (- Hood - Walnut Grove - Isleton): California’s state capital, Sacramento, grew up on the east bank of the Sacramento River just south of its confluence with the American River, but as rivers lost significance for trade, the city’s centre of gravity moved east. The area lying between the river and the I-5 interstate highway degenerated but, since the land had little development value, few old buildings were demolished, and in the mid-1960s work started on restoration as Old Sacramento, an 11-hectare site worth a visit. Within it is the excellent California State Railroad Museum. The Sacramento Southern Railroad opened an initial 4km along the city’s riverfront quays in 1908, extending south to Hood (26km) and Walnut Grove (40km) in March 1912 and to Isleton in 1929. The line closed to passengers as early as 1932. Largely on low ground close to the river, it suffered over the years from flooding, including major damage at Isleton in 1971. Southern Pacific, who latterly owned the SSR, abandoned it beyond Hood in 1977, their last movement being to collect stored wagons on 10 October 1978. California State Railroad Museum then acquired the SSR and in 1984 started trips from their base at the former Central Pacific/California Central station on the riverbank over the 5km section to Baths, where the line leaves the river, short of the end-of-track shown in the SPV Atlas. The 40min round-trips operate April-September, Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00-17:00. The line can be connected to the national system by a flat crossing of the (ex-SP, now UP) main line, immediately east of the latter’s crossing of the Sacramento River. The flat crossing’s sleepers are in place but the rails are normally absent, though they can be reinstated for a significant stock movement. Hopes have been expressed of restoring track south to Hood but the state government seem unlikely to authorise finance for this in the near future. 2869][US] Sacramento, CA light rail: Opened 1987, Sacramento Regional Transit’s 750V dc light-rail system serves the state capital with expensive and well-maintained stations, many with gardens. Platforms are at ground-level and access to the high-floor cars is by steps, ramps or lifts. A day-ticket is offered, from the (coins-only) ticket-machines and some shops. The station names currently in use do not match those shown in the 1994 SPV Atlas. The RT system forms a horseshoe on its side, with a northern and a southern arm. From the outer terminus of the north arm in a parking-lot at Watt/I-80 the line heads south-west through two more park-and-ride stations as single track (but with right-of-way wide enough to install a second track), then a double-track fast stretch alongside the (ex-SP, now UP) Reno, NV - Sacramento, CA main line, then with further single-track sections and some sharp right-angled bends (near Royal Oaks; much like those on London’s Docklands Light Railway). North of and through the downtown area at the western end of the horseshoe the line runs in the street. The southern arm is on or alongside the alignment of the California Central Railroad (CCRR; later SP, then UP-owned). West of the section now used by RT, the now abandoned CCRR once continued to a junction with the Sacramento Southern at Clunie (which can be seen from SSR tourist trains; R.2868) and thence to the Central Pacific/CCRR station that now houses the California State Railroad Museum. East of the bridge where the RT line crosses over the (ex-SP, now UP) Sacramento - Stockton, CA line, near UP’s Brighton Jn, UP still use the CCRR for freight and the track was in October 2002 being realigned still further to the south of the RT to enable the latter to be doubled between Power Inn and Watt/Manlove stations. This doubling is part of a project for an extension out from the present terminus, Mather Field/Mills, 17.4km east to Folsom. The first 4.5km of this extension was planned to open in summer 2002 but had not done so. Also part of this project was a downtown extension to serve Sacramento’s Union station (ex-SP, now Amtrak, but looking somewhat shabby). In September 2002 agreement was reached whereby the city would acquire from UP both the Union station building and enough land to expand it as a transport hub including light rail. As part of the deal UP would be allowed to redevelop part of the large but redundant and mostly lifted ex-SP freight yard nearby. The final layout may involve moving the existing Amtrak platforms north, though they would still be linked to the existing depot building. A further extension of the light-rail system was in October 2002 shortly to begin test-running ‘for almost a year’. Diverging from the southern arm at 16th Street station by a grade-separated junction, the 10.5km new line first runs alongside the (ex-WP, now UP) Sacramento - Stockton, CA line before continuing to Meadowview Road. 2870][US] Sacramento, CA - Lodi - Stockton, CA: Sacramento - Stockton passenger trains over the Southern Pacific route via Lodi ceased with the birth of Amtrak on 1 May 1971. When Amtrak’s Sacramento - Stockton - Bakersfield San Joaquin trains began on 21 February 1999 they had no station stop between Sacramento and Stockton, so could run by either of two north-south Union Pacific routes, though they were booked to use the ex-SP route rather than the ex-Western Pacific. From August 1999, to enable track renewal on the SP route, the WP became the norm (R.0234), even though this required leaving Sacramento (ex-SP, Union) Amtrak station and just to the east making a back-up move round Haggin east-to-north curve to the site of Sacramento’s former WP station before heading south on the WP line. (Haggin also has a west-to-north curve not shown in the SPV Atlas.) However, from 18 March 2002 an intermediate stop was introduced at Lodi, and the service reverted to the SP route. Trains from Sacramento by either north-south route could not readily use either Stockton’s ex-Santa Fe Amtrak station on the east-west BNSF line, nor Stockton ACE station, a platform on a dead-end siding accessible only from the south (R.2873). Instead, they stop close to the ACE platform, loading and unloading their passengers (through one door only) directly to the roadway at Weber Avenue level-crossing. This locale is not the most salubrious and has no station facilities, so Amtrak provide a bus to and from Stockton ex-Santa Fe station, the bus serving as a waiting-room until the train arrives. 2871][US] Martinez, CA - Richmond - Berkeley - Emeryville, CA: Amtrak passenger routes serving the San Francisco Bay Area are all on the east side of the Bay, running roughly north to south. East of the level-crossing at Martinez the former passenger station still stands, but at some date between October 2001 and April 2002 Amtrak relocated to a new Martinez station just west of the crossing. Richmond offers cross-platform interchange between Amtrak and Bay Area Rapid Transit metro trains into San Francisco. In use by 1995, Amtrak’s Emeryville station - in a relatively upmarket area north-east of the city-centre of rather down-at-heel Oakland - is now the western terminus of the long-distance California Zephyr from Chicago, and is the interchange-point between trains from the north and east and buses to the Bay Area, including Amtrak Thruway buses to San Francisco. 2872][US] Emeryville, CA - Oakland - North Elmhurst - Hayward - Niles - Fremont-Centerville - Santa Clara-Great America - San Jose, CA: The California Zephyr (R.2871) did for a period run forward the 8km from Emeryville to Oakland Jack London Square, but terminating at Emeryville enables its empty stock to run direct without reversal to and from the Amtrak yard in Oakland. From Emeryville, Amtrak’s other trains (Starlight, San Joaquins, Capitols) continue south to pass the site of Southern Pacific’s once-important Oakland 16th Street station, now almost vanished apart from its tower (= signal-box), in a distinctly run-down area of the city beneath the I-980 highway overbridge. Turning sharply east and passing the Amtrak yard, the double-track line then runs for nearly 1km down the middle of Embarcadero (formerly First Street) to reach Oakland Jack London Square station, at Webster Street crossing, milepost 6.83. The station is owned by the Port of Oakland, along with the whole of Jack London Square, part of the former docklands now redeveloped for leisure and entertainment. The line has a loop through the station, whose platforms serve only the loop and the more northerly running-line, the other running-line being for freight only. The station building, on the north side, opened April 1995, and is dedicated to Cottrell Lawrence Dellums (1900-1989; co-founder in 1937 of the Brotherhood of Sleeping-Car Porters). San Joaquin trains terminate here. At some time between 1965 and the birth of Amtrak on 1 May 1971 Oakland - San Jose lost all passenger services, but in 2003 Amtrak trains operate over two variants of the route. The Coast Starlight runs direct from North Elmhurst via the ex-SP, now Union Pacific, Coast line, while Capitol trains take a more circuitous route on ex-SP and UP trackage to call at Hayward and Fremont-Centerville. The station building at Fremont-Centerville was completed in 1910 to SP’s standard design for a ‘One-story (sic) Combination Depot No.23’. More than 60 such depots were built between 1893 and 1916, though in 2003 fewer than a dozen survive, and only Centerville is in rail passenger service. Closed to passengers from 29 March 1940 it ceased to be used by SP in 1961. After a variety of other commercial uses, by 1991 the building was vacant and becoming derelict when local agitation for its preservation began. Capitols passenger service began 4 June 1993, Altamont Commuter Express service (R.2873) began 19 October 1998, and restoration work was completed 1999. (partly from http://centervilledepot.railfan.net) A photograph of Centerville depot adorned the Auburn - Sacramento - Oakland - San Jose Capitols timetable leaflet dated 29 April 2002. The Centerville line rejoins the Coast line at Newark to run south through Amtrak’s Santa Clara-Great America station. Confusingly, this station is known simply as Great America in the Altamont Commuter Express timetable, and its light-rail stop is called Lick Mill, Great America being the next stop to the west on Santa Clara Valley’s Tasman line (R.2804). To the south the Caltrain commuter line trails in from San Francisco and the west side of the Bay at Caltrain’s Santa Clara station, where ACE trains also call, though Amtrak trains do not. San Jose’s Diridon station (BLN 846.0160) serves all three heavy-rail operators, Amtrak, ACE and Caltrain, and is soon to have a light-rail stop (R.2804). 2873][US] San Jose, CA - Santa Clara - Great America - Fremont-Centerville - Niles - Pleasanton - Livermore - Tracy - Lathrop-Manteca - Stockton, CA: The Niles - Stockton section lost its scheduled passenger service with the last run of Western Pacific’s California Zephyr on 22 March 1970 (BLN 829.0317), but San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission began Altamont Commuter Express San Jose - Stockton services on 19 October 1998 (BLN 836.0540). In October 2002 they comprised three Mon-Fri trains each way, all southbound in the morning, northbound in the evening, with eleven bus shuttle services connecting ACE stations with workplaces in ‘Silicon Valley’. The trains are berthed during the day at San Jose yard between San Jose Diridon station and Santa Clara, but all crews are based at the northern (Stockton) end. The afternoon crews travel to San Jose yard by road, leaving their vehicle there overnight for the morning crews to drive home. Thus, in the North American tradition of profligate use of resources, three round-trips require six crews. No tickets are sold on board, nor at Diridon station’s Amtrak or Caltrain booking-offices, so tickets for single northbound trips have to be purchased ‘at trainside’ when the empty stock arrives. From San Jose via Fremont-Centerville the route is common with Amtrak’s Capitols (R.2872) as far as Niles, where ACE trains take a direct chord to the (ex-WP, now UP) line east through Niles canyon. The ex-WP ACE route is paralleled by an ex-SP line (R.1235). In October 2002 the ex-SP triangular junction at Niles off their north-south Hayward line had both chords severed but track was still in place leading to the ex-SP line through the canyon, part of which is now the Niles Canyon Railway, hosting Pacific Locomotive Association tourist trains (R.2004). The SP line was being relaid on the section north of Sunol and track was in place as far as the former bridge carrying the WP over the SP, near Control Point F039. To the north-east, the ex-SP line was lifted apart from a c.3km section between Pleasanton and Livermore linked to the ex-WP at each end to form a long loop that was being used to store intermodal wagons. For c.5km east of Altamont, the track in use was the more northerly one, so either the SPV Atlas depicts the two former railways incorrectly transposed or at some stage UP have abandoned a section of ex-WP and resuscitated a short stretch of the ex-SP. To the north of Wyche loop lies Lathrop-Manteca ACE station, and just to the north of that ACE trains leave the ex-WP at Hicks to turn sharply west on to the ex-SP Fresno line which immediately swings north through Stockton. Stockton ACE station, a dead-end siding accessed from the south with a single platform on its west side, north of the Weber Avenue level-crossing, is on the site of the old SP station whose brick building is empty, awaiting restoration or redevelopment. From Hicks the ex-WP line continues north, more or less parallel to the ex-SP, to just south of the former Stockton Tower where the flat crossing of the WP over the ex-Santa Fe, now BNSF, has been replaced by south-to-east and south-to-west chords. North of Stockton Tower the WP ran directly parallel with and virtually adjacent to the SP, but has been lifted as far the former El Pinal flat crossing, where a chord now leads from the ex-SP to the ex-WP, heading north. In October 2002 Stockton’s old WP station building was still standing, in non-railway use, on the south side of Weber Avenue road crossing not far from the ACE and old SP stations on the north side of that street. 2874][US] Oakland, CA - Fremont - Niles (- Stockton, CA): Much is still to be seen of this former Western Pacific route. Traditionally, passengers from San Francisco were brought by ferry across the Bay to Oakland’s Western Pacific Mole to join WP trains, though latterly services were diverted to use the Southern Pacific ferry-dock to the north. In October 2002 two tarred strips in the middle of Third Street still marked where WP rails once carried trains from the WP Mole east to the company’s town depot. Opened 22 August 1910, Oakland Western Pacific depot closed when WP passenger service ceased 22 March 1970. The building became a restaurant in 1975, and still stands at 468-480 Third Street, on the north side, between Broadway and Washington. Eastward, WP track has been lifted as far as a newish connection with the SP at a point called Melrose (at 47th Avenue, Fruitvale, c.5km east of the previous WP/SP link at 5th/7th Streets shown in the 1997 SPV Atlas). For most of the way from Oakland south-east, the Fremont branch of the Bay Area Rapid Transit metro system (Oakland 12th St - Lake Merritt - Fruitvale - Coliseum/Airport - San Leandro - Bay Fair - Hayward - Union City - Fremont) follows the WP alignment, but with no connection, for BART is broad 1676mm-gauge, not standard. From the Melrose WP/SP connection near Fruitvale, WP track appeared in use by successor railroad Union Pacific to access local siding(s). From the Melrose area near Coliseum/Airport BART station the section to the loop at Hayward seemed available, but out of use. The c.3km section from Hayward to a point close to BART’s Alameda yard and workshops (the SPV atlas calls this ‘Hayward yard’) was occupied by stored intermodal wagons, but the line beyond was in more active use, a moving freight train being observed on the Fremont - Niles section. At Fremont (UP Control Point F029) the WP turns north-east to Niles, while the BART line continues south-east for c.2km on its own alignment to its Fremont terminus. Until its closure, on 8 January 1986, Niles Tower controlled the WP/SP flat crossing. The remodelled layout there, all now owned by UP, is different from that portrayed in the 1997 SPV atlas. The ex-WP is the active route east through Niles Canyon, and north-to-east and south-to-east curves trail into it from the ex-SP Oakland - Hayward - Niles - Milpitas - San Jose main line. A direct west-to-east lead from the ex-SP Centerville - Niles line, used by Altamont Commuter Express passenger trains (R.2873), makes another flat crossing, over the ex-SP Hayward - Niles - Milpitas line, to trail in also. Just to the east at the ex-WP Niles Jn triangle the west-to-south curve is out of use and the east-to-south curve to the ex-WP Niles - Milpitas - West San Jose branch seemed little used. This line appears in the SPV atlas making a wide sweep to the east, south then west of San Jose, but south of San Jose at least part of it seemed to have been lifted, and houses had been built on the site of the WP’s West San Jose yard. 2875][US] San Francisco, CA light rail: Muni Metro: (BLN 846.0160, R.0654, 1740) Dates of some past changes may be worth recording. After a few special and charter workings over the new trackage, Municipal Railway of San Francisco began their temporary shuttle route E from Embarcadero sub-surface station, formerly a terminus, via four new surface stations to terminate at the Caltrain commuter-rail station (4th & King Streets) on 10 January 1998, with formal inauguration following on 12 January 1998. Route E was replaced by extension of Muni Metro route N (Judah) from Embarcadero over the same track from 22 August 1998. The former downtown turnback circle for surface route F along Market Street, the Transbay Terminal loop, closed on the night of 3-4 March 2000 and was disconnected after a farewell trip on 18 August 2000. Route F (Market) was diverted and extended north-west to Fisherman’s Wharf and Aquatic Park from 4 March 2000, with formal inauguration following on 21 March 2000 (not as quoted in R.0654). A new route E (Embarcadero) from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Caltrain station, augmenting services on routes F and N, will need additional renovated cars and is not expected before 2004. 2876][CA][US] Montreal, Maine & Atlantic: (R.2443) New owners (including Ed Burkhardt, formerly of Wisconsin Central) have acquired the bankrupt Iron Road Industries rail network. Now trading as the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, with headquarters at Bangor, ME, they began operations on 9 January 2003, only to face immediate retrenchment when an expected major traffic source (a company with two paper-mills in Millinocket and East Millinocket) declared bankruptcy the same day. MM&A’s principal routes are the Bangor & Aroostook (Searsport, ME - Bangor (Northern Maine Jn) - Brownville Jn - Millinocket - Aroostook Jn - Van Buren, ME; Aroostook Jn - Limestone, ME; plus a short branch over the ME/NB border to CN at Cyr Jn); and the former Canadian Pacific line across Maine (comprising Iron Road’s Canadian American section Brownville Jn, ME - Lennoxville, QC; Quebec Southern sections Lennoxville, QC - Sherbrooke - Brookport - St.Jean, QC and Brookport, QC - QC/VT border near Richford, VT; and Northern Vermont section QC/VT border near Richford, VT - Newport, VT). MM&A follow Canadian American in operating Brownville Jn, ME - McAdam, NB, although the track is actually owned by Eastern Maine Railway in Maine and New Brunswick Railway in New Brunswick. The ex-Boston & Maine Newport, VT - Wells River - White River Jn, VT section, though formerly operated by Northern Vermont, was not part of the deal but was acquired by the state of Vermont and is now operated by Washington County Railroad, part of the Vermont Rail System group. (partly from Railfan & Railroad, April 2003) In summer 2003 High Iron Travel are to offer an interesting opportunity to cover nearly all the trackage in northern Maine on one nine-day USD4450 trip. On 16 August private cars Caritas, Cimarron River and Pine Tree State are to be attached to Amtrak’s scheduled northbound New York, NY - Montréal, QC Adirondack as far as White River Jn. Thereafter their 1573km advertised route as a special train over WCRR and MM&A metals is White River Jn - Newport - Farnham - Ste.Hyacinthe - Farnham - Bedford - Farnham - Sherbrooke - Jackman - Brownville Jn - Brownville - Bangor (Northern Maine Jn) - Searsport - Northern Maine Jn - Millinocket - East Millinocket - Millinocket - Oakfield - Houlton - Oakfield - Squa Pan (renamed as Aroostook Jn in 2000) - Presque Isle - Caribou - Limestone - Caribou - Presque Isle - Phair/Easton (end of track) - Squa Pan - Ashland - Fort Kent - Van Buren. At Van Buren, the stock is to be pushed to the middle of the bridge and picked up by CN to be conveyed via Edmundston and St.André Jn to Québec City. The private cars are to be attached to VIA’s scheduled midday Québec City - Montréal, QC train and then to Amtrak’s southbound Adirondack to arrive back in New York city on 24 August 2003 after completing some 3185km. (http://www.highirontravel.com) 2877][GB] Lisburn - Knockmore - Ballinderry - Glenavy - Crumlin - Antrim: (R.2544) UK government approval was given on 9 April 2003 to close this line to passengers ‘effective from June 2003’. Only some 70 passengers a day use the trains. For one year the line is to be maintained to a standard enabling its use at slow speed for emergency diversions. In the longer term passenger services may possibly be reinstated as part of a future Belfast - Lisburn - Antrim - Bleach Green - Belfast circle line. (http://www.northernireland.gov.uk) 2878][FR] Port-Bail - Carteret: (Ball 11A1) Despite fears that this tourist line might close at the end of the 2002 season (R.1718), the operators of the Train Touristique du Cotentin are advertising their summer 2003 timetable. (http://www.trains-fr.org/unecto/ttc/ttc.htm#horaires) 2879][FR] (Paris-Est - La Ferté-Gaucher -) Neuvy - Esternay - Sézanne (- Oiry): (Ball 26A2-26B2) Esternay is the base not only of the Chemin de Fer Touristique de la Traconne who operate a Picasso railcar on the section east to Sézanne (shared with SNCF freight in 1999; R.0369), but of the associated Cyclo-draisines du Grand Morin who hire rail-cycles on 4.25km of otherwise out-of-use RFF track west to Neuvy. (http://www.traconne.org) 2880][FR] (Paris -) La Ferté-Hauterive - Riom (- Clermont Ferrand): (Ball 47A2-55A3) The original main line of 1853-5 was routed La Ferté-Hauterive - St.Germain-des-Fossés - Gannat - Riom, and though the St.Germain-des-Fossés - Vichy branch from 15 May 1862 connected up the town of Vichy, it was not until 1 July 1931 that the Vichy - Riom section of the present main line opened, striding across the river Allier on a tall viaduct. The secondary route La Ferté-Hauterive - Bayet - Gannat opened 25 August 1932. 2881][FR] Vichy - Cusset - Les Malavaux (- Le-Mayet-de-Montagne): (Ball 47B1) On 10 July 1910 the Chemin de Fer du Centre opened a metre-gauge line from Cusset (now a suburb of Vichy) east to a junction at Le-Mayet-de-Montagne, whence it continued round the Monts de la Madeleine via St.Just-en-Chevalet ultimately to Roanne. On 1 July 1912 the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranée railway opened a short 4km section of mixed gauge, connecting their main line at Vichy with a joint station in Cusset, and allowing metre-gauge trains to work through to and from Vichy. Prior to 15 March 1930, the metre-gauge trains ran to their own Vichy station, at the point where the branch and the PLM main line converged, but thereafter they ran through to the PLM station. Indeed, it seems that Cusset’s passenger traffic was always carried in metre-gauge trains, later worked by the Économiques company. From 1 July 1949 metre-gauge operation was abandoned and with it the line east of Cusset, except for about 1km from Cusset to the quarries at Les Malavaux which continued in operation until converted to standard-gauge in 1963. The 5km branch continues to handle petroleum traffic at Cusset and mineral traffic at Les Malavaux. On 29 March 2003 a railcar of Les Autorails de Bourgogne et de Franche-Comté visited Cusset, where it was claimed to be the first standard-gauge passenger train. ABFC seem to have greater ability to run tours over RFF freight lines than other operators, and have a programme continuing throughout 2003. They use their own Picasso railcar X4309 - and pay appropriate Gallic attention to matters gastronomic. 2882][FR] Vichy - St.Yorre - Puy-Guillaume (- Courty): (Ball 55B3) Once part of a direct railway from Vichy to Le Puy, this line south along the river Allier opened 10 November 1881 to Courty on the Pont-de-Dore - Thiers line. Passenger services ceased 26 September 1971, and Puy-Guillaume - Courty was abandoned at some date between 1980 and 1990. Retained to handle freight for the local paper industry, Puy-Guillaume was visited by an ABFC railtour on 29 March 2003. 2883][FR] Sembadel - Craponne-sur-Arzon - Usson-en-Forez - Estivareilles (- Bonson): (R.2860; Ball 55B1-56A2) On 29-30 March 2003 an ABFC railtour visited the 94km Pont-de-Dore - Courpière - Ambert - Sembadel line, since 1986 the preserve of tourist trains run by AGRIVAP (Association des Amis de la Machine Agricole et à Vapeur; BLN 750.0112). The long-disused Sembadel - Darsac section was seen to be heavily overgrown (as in 1997; BLN 799.0158), but the Sembadel - Craponne line was clear and had seen a special train in August 2002 to celebrate the centenary of that section, opened 15 September 1902. The section targeted for summer 2004 reopening (R.2860), as a Haut-Forez tourist-train operation separate from AGRIVAP, may be Sembadel - Craponne rather than Sembadel - Estivareilles, at least initially. 2884][FR] Ambérieu - Lagnieu (- Villebois - Montalieu-Vercieu): (Ball 57A3) This PLM line closed to passengers 1 June 1937. The French military destroyed the bridge over the river Rhône on 19 June 1940, leaving Villebois the southern terminus. Later (apparently at some date between 1986 and 1990) the line was cut back to Lagnieu, where it remains to serve glass factories. On 9 March 2003 it was visited by an ABFC railtour. 2885][FR] Ambérieu - St.Vulbas - Centrale nucléaire de Bugey: (Ball 57A3) The Embranchement PIPA (= Parc Industriel de la Plaine de l’Ain) is a modern freight branch off the Ambérieu - Lyon line. From the junction c.1km west of Ambérieu it runs on the same alignment as the main line west to the former Leyment halt before turning south. A couple of private sidings diverge before the branch reaches the Parc Industriel, where extensive sidings serve various factories near St.Vulbas. The line continues to Bugey nuclear power-station on the river Rhône some 15km from Leyment. On 9 March 2003 an ABFC railtour ran as far as the triangle immediately south of the D84 road, some 13km from Leyment. Thus far the track is certainly under SNCF signalling control and worked by SNCF locomotives and crews, but beyond perhaps it is private to Electricité de France rather than being part of the RFF public network. The branch does not appear on Michelin map sheet #74 of 1965, nor on an SNCF internal plan of 1983, nor in SNCF’s publicly available 1990 freight atlas, but it does feature on an SNCF internal plan of 1991 (as a ‘private’ line) and appears on IGN map sheet #44 of 1994. This might suggest it was built in the late 1980s. 2886][DE][DK] Niebüll - Tønder: (R.0030, 0239, 0713; EGTRE DE03/01; Ball 5B1-9B3) Nord Ostsee Bahn (formerly Nordfriesische Verkehrsbetriebe AG) reintroduced a cross-border passenger service to Denmark on 6 April 2003. Departures from Niebüll are at 06:05SO, 06:22SSuX and every two hours 08:05-20:05; and from Tønder at 07:00SuX, every two hours 09:00-17:00, then 18:40 and 20:40. Journey-time is 26min. The launch-date chosen seemed a bit inopportune, since the line was to be closed for bridge repairs from 28 April until about 19 May. (http://www.nord-ostsee-bahn.de/fahrplan/index.htm) 2887][DE] Münster (Westfalen): Sudmühle - Mecklenbeck / Hiltrup (Abzw Lechtenberg): (EGTRE; Ball 24B1) During the weekend 5-6 April 2003, while the bridge carrying the Osnabrück - Münster line over the Dortmund-Ems Kanal was being renewed, trains were diverted as planned via the Münster avoiding line (R.2766). The avoiding line has no connection on to the route south to Lünen, so IC trains that normally run Osnabrück - Münster - Lünen instead ran non-stop Osnabrück - Hamm, making a special call at Hamm. Local Osnabrück - Münster Hbf trains reversed at Hiltrup. The few weekend Hamburg - Köln Metropolitan expresses were the only trains to use the western section of the avoiding line to/from Mecklenbeck. On the Saturday afternoon Münster Kanal saw a long line of photographers waiting to capture train MET1033 on its unusual route. The avoiding line offers extra capacity through the Münster area essentially only in the northbound direction, since its flat junctions at both ends require southbound trains to cross northbound track twice to use it. No longer much used by freight trains, it is in normal circumstances operated as a single line, and its future may be uncertain. During the diversions however the avoiding line had its second track, where not already lifted, brought back into use. 2888][DE][PL] Warszawa - Köln: Since the December 2002 timetable-change, apparently due to ongoing engineering work on the Frankfurt (Oder) - Berlin section, overnight trains D248/9 Warszawa - Köln take a much more circuitous route in each direction, running Frankfurt (Oder) - Cottbus - Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld - Golm - Rathenow - Wolfsburg. Further west, due to congestion on the main line through the Ruhr conurbation, on Monday to Friday mornings from 7 April 2003 until further notice, westbound D248 was taking another unusual route, omitting stops at the major Ruhr cities and using lengthy sections of otherwise freight-only track (Hamm - Lünen Süd - Recklinghausen Ost - Gelsenkirchen-Buer Nord; Ball 38B3-38A3; then Bottrop - Essen-Dellwig - Oberhausen; Ball 33B3). Officially, D248 can be boarded only in Poland, and the train stops in Germany only to set down passengers, or at unadvertised points for operating purposes. (partly from LOK-Report) 2889][ES] Madrid metro: (Ball 22A2 not shown) On 11 April 2003 line #10 (R.2573) was extended another three stations south (Colonia Jardín - Cuatro Vientos - Joaquin Vilumbrales - Puerta del Sur) to connect with MetroSur line #12, opened the same day. The new 41km MetroSur is a complete ring linking no fewer than 28 stations in five municipalities to the south of the city and offering interchange also with RENFE’s Cercanías suburban lines at six points (Puerta del Sur - Alcorcón - Móstoles - Fuenlabrada - Getafe - El Casar - Leganés - Puerta del Sur). Separate ticketing arrangements apply. Fares are the same as those on the main Metro network, but for travel between other Metro lines and MetroSur two tickets must be purchased. (partly from http://www.metropla.net) 2890][IT] Messina trams: Viale Annunziata - Stazione FS - Zona Industriale Regionale Sud: (Ball 60B3 not shown) Messina in north-eastern Sicily is said to be the first Italian city to reintroduce trams, which last ran there in the 1950s. After some delay (R.2620, 2657), the 15 Alstom Ferroviaria five-section low-floor trams began public services on their new 7.7km route #28 at 09:30 on 3 April 2003. Passengers are to travel free until June. (partly from http://www.lrta.org) 2891][IT] Firenze: Rifredi - Bivio Olmatello - Osmannoro: (R.2171; Ball 49A1 not shown) Demolition of Firenze Rifredi west signal-box to make space for a seventh track at the station may go ahead before other layout alterations are commissioned. At the beginning of April 2003 the new third line from Rifredi north-west to the junction at Olmatello was still missing 300m of track, and some 200m of catenary at Olmatello had yet to be erected, but the line diverging just south of Firenze Castello station across a viaduct to Osmannoro was nearing completion and expected to become available in summer 2003. Initially it is to be a non-passenger line to a new rolling-stock maintenance facility, required to be in service by the 13 December 2003 timetable-change, but it is planned that passenger trains should use it as a route to the airport, perhaps from 2005. 2892][CZ] (Teplice -) Bohosudov - Chabarovice (- Trmice - Usti nad Labem): (Ball 35B1; CD130) A short section of the former direct Teplice - Usti nad Labem main-line closed in 1972 to allow expansion of opencast mining. Special trains are to run on c.3km of the old route on Saturday and Sunday 10-11 May 2003, when an M131 railcar is to shuttle half-hourly starting 09:30 from Bohosudov to the Bohemia-Saxony Transport Heritage Park at Zaluzany, close to the site of the now-demolished Chabarovice old main-line station. More regular trips over the route are hoped for in 2004. 2893][BG] Septemvri - Varvara - Bansko - Dobrinishche: (R.2535; Ball 52B2; BDZ116) Bansko in south-western Bulgaria (119km and 5h by rail from Septemvri, 222km from the capital, Sofia) is a developing winter-sports resort with considerable potential. Sparse (three a day) and slow (24km/h) stopping services on the 125km 760mm-gauge branch serving the town may not be competitive with chartered buses in bringing in numbers of visitors, but increasing prosperity in the area could help local traffic on what may be Bulgaria’s last passenger narrow-gauge line (R.2486, 2591). In early April 2003 our reporter took time out from her snowboarding to visit Bansko station and found it open, in good order, staffed and with a handwritten departure-sheet for the passenger service. Conversation with the ticket-clerk was hampered by having no language in common, but the timetable did appear to be current (and is on the DB HAFAS website). No passenger train was seen, but a maroon-painted diesel locomotive made a light-engine movement. Two green-painted steam tank locomotives of different classes, apparently intact but probably non-operational, were photographed in a siding beyond the three platform roads. 2894][LV] Gulbene - Aluksne: (R.1006, 2147) The weekend 6-7 September 2003 is to see a special event to celebrate the centenary of Latvia’s narrow-gauge railways, based on this 33km 750mm-gauge passenger-only line. (http://www.banitis.lv) 2895][IQ] Iraq: Railways do not play a dominant rôle in the Asian countries of the Middle East, and in the case of Iraq the 1980-1988 war with Iran and the 1991 Gulf War and its aftermath must have done much to undermine the economic stability a railway needs to prosper. In 1986 Iraqi Republic Railways were recorded as having 1906km of standard-gauge route and 533km of metre-gauge. (This compared with, on the standard-gauge, Turkey 8169km, Iran 4473km, Syria 1686km, Saudi Arabia 893km, Israel 573km, Lebanon 222km - out of use or moribund - and, on the Hejaz 1050mm-gauge, Jordan 618km and Syria 246km. The source, Railway Directory & Yearbook for 1986, recorded no railways at all in Kuwait, Bahrein, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman or Yemen, though some track may possibly exist, at docks for example.) In January 1987 the Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable showed passenger trains on the IRR lines Baghdad - Mosul (412km) and Baghdad - Basra (539km). Cross-border services to Syria and via Syria to Turkey were reported as recommencing in 2000 (Baghdad - Al-Qa’im - Husaiba IRR - Abu Kamal CFS - Dayr-az-Zawr - Halab (=Aleppo); BLN 852.0345, R.0899) and 2001 (Baghdad - Mosul - Rabia al-Yaroubiah IRR - Al-Qamishli CFS - Nusaybin TCDD - Mardin; R.1602), but these may well have been suspended either before or after US and British forces began their invasion of Iraq on 20-21 March 2003. The line linking the Iraqi Gulf port of Umm Qasr to the cities of Basra and Baghdad may become of logistical significance during stabilisation and post-war economic reconstruction. More information on the present state of Iraq’s railways would be welcome. 2896][CA] Montréal, QC - Halifax, NS: In July 2003 VIA Rail begin phasing out classic stainless-steel observation-dome cars and traditional sleeping-berths on this route, replacing them entirely by the end of 2003 with new stock. Built in the mid-1990s with narrow bodies for the ill-fated Nightstar services from Great Britain through the Channel Tunnel, but poorly designed and never used, the 139 new vehicles were eventually bought by VIA for a fraction of their original cost, and rebranded in Canada as Renaissance stock, equipped as sleeping-cars (with private bedrooms, en-suite washrooms, showers and hair-dryers), seating-coaches and lounge-cars. (Halifax Daily News) 2897][US] Salt Lake City, UT light rail: Contractors are making good progress extending the Trax system’s west-to-east University line (opened 15 December 2001; R.1880), and the 2.4km three-station Rice-Eccles Stadium - Medical Center section, penetrating deeper into the busy campus, may open by end September 2003 instead of late 2004. (Transnet #113) 2898][US] (Alamosa, CO -) Antonito, CO - Chama, NM (- Durango, CO - Silverton, CO): (R.2442) The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a spectacular 100km section of ex-Denver & Rio Grande 914mm-gauge track from Antonito to Chama, is owned jointly by the states of Colorado and New Mexico as a tourism asset. Due to serious financial problems Colorado say they cannot support the line in 2003 but surprisingly New Mexico have agreed to come up with sufficient finance to allow steam-hauled tourist-trains to operate on the whole Antonito - Chama line during its 14 June-19 October 2003 season. 2899][US] Waterbury, CT - Thomaston - Torrington, CT: On Sunday 18 May 2003 an excursion train is to operate from Thomaston north and south over the entire Naugatuck Railroad, ex-New Haven trackage now owned by the state of Connecticut. The trip will include running into the north end of the passenger station at Waterbury, terminus of Metro North’s Bridgeport, CT - Stratford - Waterbury, CT commuter service (BLN 834.0447). (http://www.massbayrre.org) 2900][US] New York, NY: World Trade Center - Exchange Place, NJ (- Hoboken, NJ / Newark, NJ): (R.1714, 1744) The destruction of 11 September 2001 closed not only the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s World Trade Center station in lower Manhattan, but the adjacent Port Authority Trans-Hudson tunnels and Exchange Place PATH station in Jersey City just to the west of the New Jersey shore. A replacement PATH station on the World Trade Center site is expected to open in December 2003 (R.1883). Meanwhile the former through station Exchange Place is to become a temporary terminus from Sunday 29 June 2003. New crossovers in tunnel west of the station will allow turn-back moves, and PATH trains are to shuttle every 5min between Exchange Place and both Hoboken and Newark. Passengers from Manhattan can use New York Waterways ferries to Exchange Place and transfer there to PATH. (Transnet newsletter #113) 2901][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Bayonne, NJ - Exchange Place - Newport - Hoboken (- Weehawken, NJ): (R.2420) A southern extension of the Hudson-Bergen light-rail line, from East 34th St to East 22nd St, closer to the centre of Bayonne, is to open in autumn 2003. At the north end, track construction on ex-Conrail, latterly Norfolk Southern, right-of-way is also making progress, and the next extension should open in spring 2004 to the Port Imperial Ferry Terminal in Weehawken. From the present Newport station wye, the route proceeds west then north at the base of the Palisades, then east to the river and north to the Weehawken ferry-terminal, whence New York Waterways offer ferries to 39th St in Manhattan. In 2005 the line is to be extended further north from Weehawken via the former West Shore Railroad tunnel to Tonnelle Avenue, with a deep station in the tunnel at Bergenline Avenue to serve the surface business and residential area and connecting bus-lines in Union City. New Jersey Transit in November 2002 approved a further study to extend the light-rail system north in Bergen County. (Transnet newsletter #113) 2902][US] New Jersey Transit: Secaucus Transfer: (BLN 834.0449) In April 2003 escalators, elevators, signage, departure-boards and other passenger facilities were being installed at NJT’s new multi-level Secaucus Transfer station, which may open at weekends in autumn 2003, providing a limited interchange facility, though full weekday service awaits the delivery of additional stock to provide adequate commuter capacity. The new station is strategically located at the point where Amtrak and NJT electric Northeast Corridor trains (New York Penn, NY - Secaucus, NJ - Newark Penn - Princeton Jn - Trenton) cross above NJT diesel-worked commuter lines (Hoboken, NJ - Secaucus - Passaic / Garfield - Ridgewood, NJ - Suffern, NY - Port Jervis, NY and Hoboken - Secaucus, NJ - Spring Valley, NY). (Transnet newsletter #113) 2903][IE] Dublin light rail: (R.1974, 2013) Test-running of the Alstom Citadis trams has begun, but the 2003 target opening dates will not be met. Public service on the city’s 1435mm-gauge two-line Luas system is expected to begin June 2004 (St.Stephen’s Green - Sandyford) and August 2004 (Connolly Station - Tallaght). (Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2003) 2904][GB][FR] London - Bordeaux: Over the English late-May public-holiday weekend, Eurostar are to run a through train across France to Bordeaux. Though the destination of this trip is innovative, no non-passenger track appears to be traversed on the outward journey (Friday 23 May 2003 train #9076 London Waterloo 07:53 - Ashford 08:53 - 15:32 Bordeaux St.Jean). However, on the return journey (Monday 26 May 2003 #9071 Bordeaux St.Jean 14:40 - 19:56 Paris Nord; #9061 Paris Nord 20:43 - 21:41 Ashford - 22:56 London Waterloo) passengers require to change trains at Paris Nord in order to pass through British immigration and security control there before returning via the Channel Tunnel to the UK. Train #9071 would appear to use the south-to-west curve at the Triangle de Vémars to reach Paris Nord. This curve (Aéroport Charles de Gaulle TGV - Villiers-le-Bel-Gonesse; BLN 799.0151; EGTRE FR03/9; Ball 81A3) sees few passenger trains. 2905][FR] Paris: street-running on the Champs-Elysées: To celebrate 150 years of French railways, SNCF are holding an exhibition of locomotives and rolling-stock on the Champs-Elysées from 17 May to 15 June 2003. On Sunday 1 June visitors will be able to take a train on temporary track along part of the famous avenue (Place de la Concorde - Avenue George V). (Le Monde) 2906][FR][BE] Aulnoye - Hautmont - Feignies SNCF - Quévy SNCB - Mons: (R.0808; Ball 16A3) From 15 June 2003 cross-border freight trains will change locomotives at either Aulnoye or Mons, not at Quévy, where a section of overhead wire in the station and adjacent freight sidings is at present manually switchable between French 25kV 50Hz and Belgian 3000V dc. Trains are to be worked through by SNCF Class 36000 electric or SNCF Class 67400 diesel locomotives, and the old electrical switchgear at Quévy is to be replaced by equipment enabling the Class 36000s to change pantographs and voltages automatically. SNCB will close Quévy yard and redeploy staff. The Class 36000s are already active on trains from France to Zeebrugge and Bruxelles-Schaerbeek in Belgium. (http://www.iryc.net) 2907][FR][BE][LU] Mont-Saint-Martin Triage SNCF - Y Aubange SNCB / Athus SNCB / Rodange CFL: (Ball 17B1) The rail layout at the point where France, Belgium and Luxembourg meet has already seen significant remodelling as part of the long-awaited Athus-Meuse project for a 25kV 50Hz electrified Belgium - Luxembourg freight corridor, finally inaugurated 19 November 2002 (R.2680). Three of the original curves remain: Y Aubange - Athus (northwest-to-northeast; freight-only), Athus SNCB - Rodange CFL (northeast-to-southeast, with CFL passenger trains; now SNCB line 171) and Rodange CFL - Mont-Saint-Martin Triage SNCF (southeast-to-southwest; with SNCF passenger trains). However, the Mont-Saint-Martin Triage SNCF - Athus SNCB freight line (southwest-to-northeast; BLN 718.09) closed from 26 September 1993 to facilitate the opening on 25 September 1994 of a new Y Aubange SNCB - Rodange CFL freight line (northwest-to-southeast; BLN 741.0325). The new railway, now regarded as a prolongation of SNCB line 167, has usefully enabled through-running of freight from Virton in Belgium to Rodange in Luxembourg without reversal at Athus station. The 1990s decision to close the old line, bitterly opposed locally, left the layout without any direct link for freight from Mont-St.Martin yard in France to Belgium, but by spring 2003 this decision had been reversed and a new mainly double-track curve was under construction from Mont-St.Martin towards Belgium. Though this follows some of the old alignment, an Athus-Meuse track diagram in Trans-fer (#126, December 2002) indicates that the result is to be a Mont-Saint-Martin Triage SNCF - Y Aubange SNCB curve (southwest-to-northwest). Photographs of the works can be seen at http://www.rail.lu/ligneathusmontstmartin.html and http://www.rail.lu/lignerodangefrance.html. 2908][BE][NL] Neerpelt - Hamont NMBS - Budel NS - Weert: (R.2717; Ball 9B3) NMBS mineral trains from Antwerpen docks use this line to reach the Billiton zinc smelter just inside the Netherlands at Budel. Freight from Antwerpen can also run this way to Germany, cutting across the Netherlands near its narrowest point, but in the 1990s NS discouraged the line’s use, regarding it as potential competition for their more profitable Rotterdam-Germany freight traffic (BLN 694.08). However, Today’s Railways for May 2003 reports that during March 2003, while the key Montzen - Aachen West freight route was closed for works on the Moresnet viaduct (R.2108), Belgian private operators Dillen & LeJeune Cargo (DLC) diverted their Antwerpen - Wackersdorf container trains to run Neerpelt - Weert - Roermond - Heerlen - Herzogenrath - Aachen. Dutch infrastructure authority Prorail are said to be considering a limited number of regular through freight trains by that route. 2909][BE] Brussel/Bruxelles: (Ball 10B2-10B1) By 2005 regular passenger trains may again be serving line 28, the north-to-south belt-line circling the city to the west (Y Pannenhuis - Simonis - Brussel-West/Bruxelles-Ouest - Y Cureghem), long earmarked for a possible future Réseau Express Régional (BLN 837.0549; EGTRE BE03/24). NMBS/SNCB plan to reopen the stations at Simonis and B-West/Ouest, both used on occasion during emergencies in the 1990s, the former for interchange with the Métro (BLN 736.0203, 769.06). The Brussel/Bruxelles provincial government would however prefer more intermediate stops. Perhaps another small step towards an RER is an experimental Saturday service from December 2003 on line 26, the north-to-south route avoiding the city-centre to the east (Vilvoorde - Delta - Huizingen - Y Buizingen; R.0266). 2910][BE][LU] (Brussel/Bruxelles - Arlon -) Autelbas - Athus (- Rodange - Luxembourg): (R.0378; Ball 17B2-17B1) Engineering work on CFL will disrupt services on Sunday 25 May 2003. Arlon - Luxembourg buses will replace the hourly IC trains, and international trains EC90/91, EC96/97, EC295/296, plus INT498 (24-25 May) and INT499 (25-26 May), are to be diverted via the normally freight-only Autelbas - Athus section of line 171, with delays of 30min. (European Rail yahoogroup) 2911][NL] Netherlands: background to light-rail proposals: Unlike German or French ‘tram-train’ projects that serve new areas, recent Dutch proposals have essentially involved conversion to light rail of stopping services on existing heavy-rail lines, with the future possibility of some city-centre running. Their political appeal is that they give the impression that new lines or networks are being created in urban areas, when the reality may be no significant new infrastructure, and possibly poorer services. Zandvoort, nearest beach resort to Amsterdam, is a case in point. First, it lost its intercity service from Maastricht, then its direct trains from Amsterdam, leaving only a Haarlem - Overveen - Zandvoort-aan-Zee shuttle service which is proposed for conversion to light rail (R.2786; Ball 3B3), a process that is likely to mean no more than trams instead of trains on the existing track. Though the province of Noord-Holland do have proposals for new light-rail lines in the Haarlem area, the most important of these, the Zuid-Tangent, has been built as a partly-segregated bus lane which may be converted to a tramway at some future date. Only with new construction could useful new connections off the Zandvoort line be offered. 2912][NL] Gouda - Alphen-aan-den-Rijn: (Ball 3B2) If the trials with light-rail vehicles begun in March 2003 (R.2863) are successful, the province of Zuid-Holland plan to extend the so-called RijnGouweLijn from Alphen westward, sharing NS track to Leiden and continuing beyond to the coast. New light-rail track would be required through the centre of Leiden and from Leiden to Katwijk and Noordwijk, and could be in place perhaps by 2010. (http://www.rijngouwelijn.nl/) 2913][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: Nordbahnhof - Friedrichstrasse - Potsdamer Platz: (Ball 32A2) Notwithstanding the date in R.2823 (which quoted Tramways & Urban Transit for February 2003), S-Bahn services through the north-to-south tunnel were restored on Sunday 13 October 2002, as planned (R.2244). The date coincided with an open day at Berlin Schöneweide workshops, with many historical trains on display amid falling snow. 2914][DE] Köln - Gummersbach - Marienheide (- Meinerzhagen - Brügge - Lüdenscheid): (R.2505, 2555; Ball 38A1-38B2; KBS459) Hourly Köln - Gummersbach passenger trains were extended 8km north to Marienheide from 20 April 2003. The next section of freight-only line to reopen to passengers is to be Meinerzhagen - Brügge, and then Marienheide - Meinerzhagen by December 2004, allowing through Köln - Brügge - Lüdenscheid trains. Lüdenscheid is at present served by Volmetalbahn trains, running (Dortmund -) Hagen - Brügge - Lüdenscheid with reversal at Brügge (R.2504). 2915][DE] Halle trams: Notwithstanding the date in R.2826 (which quoted Tramways & Urban Transit for March 2003), the Eselsmühle/Weststrasse - Soltauer Strasse extension of route #2 was not inaugurated until 21 March, opening for public service 22 March 2003. (Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2003) 2916][DE] Saarbrücken - Wemmetsweiler - Lebach - Lebach-Jabach (- Primsweiler): (R.2720, 2752; Ball 56A3; KBS681) The Wemmetsweiler - Lebach-Jabach section is closed from 14 April to 14 October 2003 while a new south-to-west curve is built to avoid reversal at Wemmetsweiler station. On 18 April 2003 the old track from Wemmetsweiler toward Lebach had already been lifted and earthworks for the new curve had begun. 2917][AT] Wien: Liesing - Ferchtoldsdorf - Kaltenleutgeben - Waldmühle: (OEIS 0305; Ball 77A2) On 21 April 2003 steam locomotives #30.03 and #2050.02 worked an advertised ÖBB Nostalgie tour starting on this freight-only branch south-west of Wien. The actual starting-point, Kaltenleutgeben, was at a cement-factory 5.4km west of Liesing station. The tour, to the former Stammersdorfer Lokalbahn lines north-east of Wien, was advertised to cover the (Pirawarth -) Hohenruppersdorf - Sulz-Nexing section, closed to passengers in 1987 and freight in 2000 (R.1051; Ball 65A1). However the track proved unsuitable and the tour was diverted from Sulz-Nexing to run Pirawarth - Gaweinstal instead. (European Rail yahoogroup) Further Waldmühle branch trips are advertised on 24 May 2003 (Wien Südbf 13:17 - 14:20 Kaltenleutgeben 15:30 - 16:00 Liesing 16:30 - 17:00 Kaltenleutgeben 17:30 - 18:27 Wien Südbf). 2918][AT][HU] Neusiedl-am-See - Pamhagen - Fertöújlak - Fertöszentmiklós: (R.2428; Ball AT-76A2-76B2; HU-41B1) During the period when eastern Europe was Soviet-dominated, the cross-border section of the Neusiedlerseebahn (= Fertövideki Helyierdekü Vasút) generally remained open for freight and empty-stock workings, and for the occasional excursion. It reopened for ordinary passenger service on 27 May 1990. 2919][DK] Bramming - Grindsted: (Ball 5B2-5B3) Preservation group Veterantog-Vest ran summer 2002 passenger trains on this little-used line (R.2252), and are to run two round-trips each Thursday in July 2003. (http://www.veterantog-vest.dk) 2920][DK] Rødekro - Åbenrå and Vojens - Haderslev: (Ball 6A1) Special passenger trains ran on both of these Jutland freight branches in December 2002, and are again to run at Christmas 2003, to Åbenrå on 20 and 21 December and to Haderslev on a day not yet specified. The Vojens - Haderslev line is to see steam-hauled specials on 31 May, 20 July, 27 July, 3 and 10 August. Vejle-based preservation group Lokomotivklubben KLK are also to run summer Sunday excursions on the main line (Vejle - Jelling - Gadbjerg; steam-hauled 29 June, 6 July, 13 July, diesel-hauled 20 July, 27 July, 3 August). 2921][SE] Orsa - Furudal - Göringen - Voxna - Edsbyn - Bollnäs: (BLN 811.0474, 829.0311; Ball 14A2-14B2-15A2) Banverket have reportedly refused permission for a local passenger excursion to venture on to this little-used freight line because of deteriorating track, and a British operator’s Swedish Steam Safari train advertised to run Mora - Orsa - Bollnäs on 9 July 2003 may not do so. Perhaps the centenary round-trip on 24 August 2002 (R.2335) was the last passenger train. 2922][PT] Aveiro - Agueda - Sernada do Vouga - Oliveira de Azemeis - Espinho: (R.2474; Ball 17A3) On the Lisboa - Aveiro - Porto main line, Aveiro had three broad-gauge platforms still in use in April 2003, but remodelling was still in progress. To the east a short peninsular platform served two metre-gauge terminal roads, with a run-round loop on one side. All the ancillary buildings on the broad-gauge side had been demolished, and the metre-gauge goods-shed, locomotive-shed and turntable had likewise gone. Only the main station building remained. Agueda retained its island platform with one metre-gauge track on each side, and the former goods siding appeared still in use by a permanent-way draisine, but the second loop closer to the station building had been disconnected. At Sernada the formerly busy junction is now quiet for most of the day, with the Agueda - Sernada and Sernada - Espinho sections seeing only two passenger trains a day each way. The station still supported a cafe, busy at lunchtime. The locked locomotive-shed remained, as did the turntable, blocked by a dumped Allen railcar, and much of the layout was littered with disused Allen railcars and badly-vandalised ex-Yugoslav diesel units. Light railcar movements to and from the Sernada fuelling-point seem perversely to pass up the opportunity to provide a better service and gain CP a little extra passenger revenue. The morning railcar eastbound from Aveiro arrived at Sernada at 11:42 before refuelling and continuing north empty at 12:35 to work the 13:40 Oliveira de Azemeis - Espinho. The southbound 11:40 Espinho - Oliveira de Azemeis ran south empty to Sernada, arriving at 13:43 for refuelling. A two-car unit then ran from the yard and reversed into the platform before forming the 14:00 Sernada - Aveiro (carrying our reporter in the cab throughout). 2923][PT] (Lisboa -) Pampilhosa (- Aveiro - Espinho - Porto): (BLN 845.0121; Ball 17B2-17A3) In spite of its location on Portugal’s most important main line, the large junction station at Pampilhosa looked very run-down in April 2003, and the station cafe had closed. The Linha do Norte and the Linha da Beira Alta (Pampilhosa - Vilar Formoso CP - Fuentes de Oñoro RENFE) still had three through platforms each, with a couple of bays at the northern end of the large island platform in the middle of the vee where these lines diverge. The Norte tracks remained overshadowed by a large long-disused ceramic factory. Diverging from the Norte line north of the station is the Ramal da Figueira da Foz (Pampilhosa - Cantanhede - Figueira da Foz; BLN 806.0340) whose three services each way are operated by new green railcars based at Coimbra-B. 2924][PT] Bifurcação de Lares - Lares - Fontela - Fontela-A - Figueira da Foz: (Ball 17A2) Lares-B (Bifurcação de Lares) is a single platform in the angle between the single-track Alfarelos - Lares-B line and the single-track Lisboa - Cacém - Lares-B Linha do Oeste (BLN 820.073). In April 2003 its simple junction layout had no facility for crossing trains. Signal-frames at the junction end faced the long single-track girder-bridge west towards Figueira. Semaphore signals remained in use both at Lares-B and at Figueira da Foz station. Between Fontela and Fontela-A the east-facing physical junction had been connected for the new line into Figueira docks, but this link was not heavily used. Traffic was said to be sand outward from the dock area, with only occasional other freight. 2925][PT] Coimbra trolleybuses: The remaining trolleybus routes now appear to run only at peak hours on working days Monday-Friday. They were not operating on Friday 25 April 2003, a public holiday. 2926][PT] Lagos - Tunes - Albufeira - Boliqueime - Faro: (R.2797-8; Ball 33A2) By April 2003 the new terminus at Lagos still had no buildings, and work was still in progress on the track into it, though CP staff said Linha do Algarve trains were to be diverted from the old to the new station in about June or July 2003. CP are then to hand over the existing station building to the local authority for some unspecified purpose. At Tunes, junction with the Barreiro - Tunes Linha do Sul, the station area was being wired and masts were in position some way towards Albufeira. Tunes - Albufeira track had been partially relaid and reballasting was in progress in and around Albufeira station, which was still being remodelled. Since February 2003 the former goods-shed siding had been lifted, and the old main platform on the south side of the newly-laid single running line had been cut back to give access to the station building only. A new platform had been built on the north side of the running line, west of the level-crossing. When the works are complete, Albufeira will have a loop and will again become a crossing-point. Meanwhile Boliqueime loop had been in use instead, but it may not be retained when the new Albufeira layout is operational. At Faro no alterations had yet started. A road underpass may be built to allow access to the waterfront, and plans are said to exist to relocate the station west towards Tunes next to a bus interchange, but CP staff at Faro could not confirm this. 2927][ES] (Bilbao/Bilbo - Aranguren -) Balmaseda - Guardo (- Matallana - León): (R.2571; Ball 5A1-9B3) Since 1991 FEVE’s metre-gauge cruise-train El Transcantabrico has not lived up to its name, having been confined to the north side of the Cantabrican mountains, but it is now restored to its full Ferrol - Oviedo - Bilbao - León route. The first El Transcantabrico of summer 2003 left Ferrol on 26 April, and on 3 May 2003 was the inaugural passenger working on the Balmaseda - Guardo section, closed to passengers 26 December 1991. Latterly both outer ends of the Ferrocarril de La Robla (Bilbao - Balmaseda and Guardo - Leon) have had local passenger trains but Balmaseda - Guardo has been freight-only. From about mid-May 2003 one ordinary passenger train a day each way is envisaged (Bilbao 14:35 - c.21:35 León and León 15:30 - c.22:30 Bilbao). 2928][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo trams: Atxuri - Abando - Uribitarte - Guggenheim (- San Mames - Basurto): (Ball 5B3-5A3) The EuskoTran metre-gauge light-rail line inaugurated 18 December 2002 (R.2722, 2834) was on 30 April 2003 extended from Uribitarte one stop further to a temporary terminus at Guggenheim, serving the world-famous art-museum. Consequently, as expected (R.2257), RENFE plan shortly to withdraw their shuttle service to Parke-Guggenheim. The RENFE broad-gauge electric route to the museum is indirect and requires a change (Cercanías lines C-1 or C-2 Bilbao Abando - Olabeaga (- Santurtzi / Muskiz), then Olabeaga - Parke-Guggenheim, informally known as line C-4), but the journey is quite short and falls within one tariff-zone, so RENFE and EuskoTran are now negotiating on appropriate integrated local fares when the shuttle is withdrawn. (partly from http://www.euskotren.es/euskotran) 2929][ES] Zaragoza - Tardienta - Huesca - Canfranc RENFE (- Oloron-Ste.Marie SNCF): (Ball 13A2-13A3) The three-rail mixed-gauge Zaragoza - Huesca section may be ready for standard-gauge trains by September 2003. The damaged Huesca - Canfranc section (R.2835) was sufficiently repaired to reopen to broad-gauge trains on 24 March 2003, but upgrading work remains badly needed, and no apparent progress has been made with its proposed regauging from 1668mm to 1435mm to create a standard-gauge freight route to France (R.2141). 2930][ES] Puigcerda elevators: In 1922 the broad-gauge Barcelona - Puigcerda RENFE (- La Tour de Carol SNCF) railway reached Puigcerda, whose town-centre is at a height of 52m above the station. A 200m-long funicular with a mean gradient of 26% from the station to the town-hall was projected about that time but never built. By 2000 however the citizenry were showing greater unwillingness to climb up and down on foot, their cars clogged the streets, and the area around the RENFE station was becoming run-down, so the municipal council resolved to provide a new attraction, in the shape of two public lifts which opened on 3 May 2003. The funicular would have curved vertically, but the new ascensor inclinat (= inclined lift or elevator) has a constant slope. From its lower end (c.150m from the railway station, in the street Carrer Pendis, just below ground-level) the lift is mainly in the open, rising 27m while moving horizontally some 60m to its upper end in the Placa de les Monges (= square of the monks). From this square an ascensor panoramic, a normal vertical elevator with glass walls, climbs a further 17m to the Placa de l’Ajuntament (= town-hall square). The two lifts are unstaffed and free of charge. Those who choose physical exercise also have a more pleasant walk up, for the inclined elevator runs through a newly-created narrow strip of parkland with stairs. (http://www.puigcerda.com/; http://www.webpersonal.net/cft/cft/index_ct.html) 2931][ES] Monistrol-Enllaç - Monistrol-Vila - Montserrat: (R.0340, 0489; Ball 16A3) Opened 1905 by Ferrocarriles de Montaña a Grandes Pendientes (= ‘steep mountain railways’) and closed in 1957, this metre-gauge rack railway up to the monastery of Montserrat has been rebuilt by Ferrocarrils Generalitat de Catalunya from a new physical junction with their Barcelona - Monistrol-Enllaç - Manresa metre-gauge line. During test runs, however, a unit derailed and both infrastructure and rolling-stock needed repair, so reopening was to be delayed beyond the target date of 18 May 2003. 2932][ES] Valencia metro: (Ball 30B1) On 30 April 2003 Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana opened the first c.2.3km three-station section of metre-gauge MetroValencia’s line 5 (Ayora - Amistad - Aragón - Alameda). Line 5 trains start east of the city-centre at Ayora and head west to the existing station Alameda on line 3, where they continue either west to Avenida del Cid sharing track with line 3 trains, or south-west to Torrent, taking over this route from line 3. Visitors to the city arriving by RENFE at Valencia Estacio del Nord have an improved service, as the nearby metro station Xativa is now served by both lines 3 and 5, but some locally popular journeys, notably Torrent - Facultats (university), now require customers to change trains. In 2006 line 5 is planned to become the ‘port - station - airport’ line, running from a new eastern terminus on the coast via Ayora, Alameda, Xativa and Avenida del Cid to Mislata-Almassil, present terminus of line 3, then over a new metre-gauge section west to Manises Aeroport, partly using the alignment of RENFE’s (Valencia -) Vara de Quart - Manises - Ribaroja del Turia broad-gauge commuter line (BLN 779.0225). Route diagram and more details are at http://www.metropla.net. 2933][ES] Mallorca: (Palma - Inca -) Enllaç - Sineu - Petra - Manacor: (R.2867; Ball 38A1-38A2) The first test run of a train to Manacor was on 25 April 2003, to be followed by further test-running and driver-training before opening to passengers ‘in the first week in May’. (Majorca Daily Bulletin) 2934][IT] (Milano-Lambrate -) Segrate (- Pioltello): (R.2296; Ball 41B3) Segrate station was to open to passengers 5 May 2003, served until 13 December by hourly Milano Greco Pirelli - Lambrate - Pioltello trains. (http://www.regionale.trenitalia.it) 2935][IT] Trento - Malé - Mezzana: (R.0684, 1663; Ball 42B1-42B2) The 10km extension of Trentino Trasporti’s metre-gauge Ferrovia Ellettrica Trento-Malé beyond Malé to Mezzana, serving the winter-sports resort of Marilleva, was to be inaugurated at 10:30 on 4 May 2003. Ordinary passenger service is to begin 21 June 2003. (http://www.fertm.it) 2936][IT] Ferrara - Cona - Quartesana - Dogato - Codigoro: (Ball 48B2) Ferrara-based Ferrovie Emilia Romagna are a limited company owned by Emilia Romagna region and the provinces of Ferrara, Reggio Emilia, Ravenna, Parma, Modena, Bologna and Mantova, the result of a merger of Ferrovia Suzzara-Ferrara (Suzzara - Ferrara), Ferrovie Padane (Ferrara - Codigoro), Ferrovia Bologna-Portomaggiore (Bologna - Portomaggiore) and Ferrovie Venete (Parma - Suzzara). Substantial works are planned at Ferrara. To avoid conflict with the Bologna - Ferrara - Venezia main line, a new direct chord (R.0826) is to take freight trains from the FER Suzzara - Ferrara line beneath Ferrara station to both the FER Ferrare - Codigoro line and the FS Ferrara - Portomaggiore (- Ravenna) line. East of Ferrara Centrale a flying junction is to be made from the FS to the FER, and during 2004 both FS and FER trains will temporarily use the FER route for the first 2km or so while the old FS route is equipped with road underpasses and new tracks. When these works are complete, the restored FS alignment east of Ferrara Centrale will be used both by FS services to Portomaggiore and FER services to Codigoro. Local ‘metro’ services are to call at some ten new stops to be created between Ferrara and Quartesana. A deviation is to be built to allow passenger trains to serve a stop 50m from the main entrance of the new hospital at Cona, but freight trains will continue to use the old FP alignment there to minimise noise. Further east, FER’s c.13km Portomaggiore - Dogato cut-off between the former FBP at Portomaggiore and the FP at Dogato should be ready by end-2003, allowing through Bologna - Portomaggiore - Dogato - Codigoro trains (R.0049) to begin soon thereafter. 2937][IT] Salerno metro: The ‘metro’ whose first 7.7km eight-stop section is planned to open by mid-2004 (R.2771) is to operate mostly on main-line railway, using 3000V dc 160km/h railcars designed for regional services, not light-rail vehicles. 2938][CH] Luzern - Kupferhammer - Kriens: (BLN 847.0185, 852.0338; Ball 93A3) The c.2.3km standard-gauge Kriens-Luzern Bahn opened 25 October 1886. Mostly running in the street between Luzern (Obergrund) and Kriens, it was initially operated by two steam tram engines. A 1.45km freight-only connection to the national network (Luzern Güterbahnhof - Rösslimatt - Kupferhammer) opened 27 April 1897, sharing as far as Rösslimatt the formation of the metre-gauge Luzern - Brünig line, with standard-gauge rails laid outside the metre-gauge ones. The KLB soon ran into financial difficulties and was taken over by Stadt Luzern in 1899. At the same time (though not directly as a result of the takeover) the line was used for an extension of Luzern’s metre-gauge tram system. Obergrund - Kupferhammer was converted to metre-gauge and Kupferhammer - Kriens became dual-gauge. Tram operation commenced: Obergrund - Bireggstrasse 8 December 1899, Bireggstrasse - Eichhof 17 April 1900 and Eichhof - Kriens 2 September 1900. From 1 October 1926 the KLB was electrified at 600V dc, drawing power from the tram system. Passenger services ceased after 11 November 1961 when the trams were replaced by trolleybuses (thereby closing the Obergrund - Kupferhammer section). Electric working of the freight traffic ceased 19 September 1968, when the line’s sole electric locomotive required replacement and a section of line was diverted through an underpass below a new motorway. Following a proposal by Stadt Luzern to close it, the KLB was sold in 1998 to a consortium of its freight users plus the town councils of Horw and Kriens. The new owners closed the 1.2km Kupferhammer - Kriens section from 23 May 1998 due to lack of traffic. The KLB may no longer legally be a railway in its own right, being described officially as an Anschlussgleis. Remaining users, including the Eichhof brewery and the Swiss Co-op, still generate significant freight traffic, worked by an SBB standard-gauge shunter over the dual-gauge section of SBB’s Brünigbahn between Luzern Güterbahnhof and Rösslimatt. KLB’s road-rail tractor then works wagons between Rösslimatt and the various sidings on the Rösslimatt - Kupferhammer section. In April 2003 it was noted that four-rail dual-gauge track was still in place in Luzernstrasse south-west of the city-centre, continuing for about 1km along the gently but steadily rising highway before curving away to the north. The metre-gauge rails had been out of use for more than forty years. (partly from Swiss Express, September 1999) 2939][PL] Kruszwica - Piotrków Kujawski and Tuczno - Przybranowo: (R.1667, 1816, 2589; Ball 32B1-37B3) Traffic has ceased on the 750mm-gauge lines of Kujawska Kolej Dojazdowa which served the last two sugar-beet mills at Kruszwica and Tuczno, and farewell trips ran at the end of March 2003. Preservation group Fundacja Polskich Kolei Waskotorowych organised a Kruszwica - Piotrków Kujawski special on 29 March 2003. By early April several km of the Tuczno line and intermediate sidings had already been lifted, and dismantling was to start on the Kruszwica line. 2940][PL] Chabówka - Limanowa - Nowy Sacz: (R.2772; Ball 43A3) The line was closed 7 October - 15 December 2002 and 31 December 2002 - 16 March 2003, according to the mapa kolejowa at http://woznyj.republika.pl, but from 17 March 2003 passenger trains have again been running, and are shown on the DB Hafas timetable website. A change appears to be necessary at Limanowa. 2941][SK][PL] Kosice - Medzilaborce Mesto ZSR - Palota ZSR - Lupków PKP - Zagorz: (Ball 43B3) The easternmost line from Slovakia to Poland reopened to freight 2 June 1996 and passengers 1 June 1997 (BLN 804.0290). In spring 2003 two daily train-pairs were crossing the border, but they are not a fast service nor an important international link. The highland scenery is attractive, especially on the Polish side. On Easter Sunday, 20 April 2003, the northbound 12:30 Kosice - Zagorz saw reasonable custom within Slovakia, where it is booked to make no fewer than 29 calls, but leaving Medzilaborce Mesto its four locomotive-hauled coaches carried only five passengers, including our reporter and two travelling companions. At Lupkow 28 minutes were allowed for border formalities and a traction change. On the 48km Lupków - Zagorz section (PKP line 134) the train was rather curiously booked to run non-stop through nine of the eleven Polish stations, though it was given the same time allowance as the other three (stopping) trains on this section. Speed in places was very slow, perhaps due to poor track condition on what is a threatened line, but arrival at Zagorz was on time at 18:06, after a journey of just over 200km in 336min. The PKP 2003 timetable shows this train and its balancing southbound working extended in summer (16 Jun-2 Sep) via the southeast-to-northeast Jaslo avoiding curve (EGTRE PL03/19) to Rzeszow. However, local information is ambiguous: at Jaslo the timetable poster duly omitted the two services, but Zagorz arrival and departure sheets gave times for calls at Jaslo station! Furthermore, continuing uncertainties about how the Polish government will handle PKP’s dire finances mean that line 134 is annotated ‘G’ in the timetable, signifying ‘trains until further notice only’, which may mean closure from 30 June 2003. 2942][PL] Przemysl - Hurko - Medyka PKP (- Mostiska II UZ - Lviv): (EGTRE PL03/16; Ball 44A3) From Przemysl two separate single tracks, one standard-gauge and one Russian broad-gauge (1520mm), head east for about 12km to Medyka, very close to the Poland-Ukraine border (BLN 823.0164). West of Hurko and east of Medyka both lines run parallel on the same formation, but for the 7km between Hurko and Medyka they have different alignments up to 2km apart, the standard-gauge running to the south of the large freight-transfer station and the broad-gauge to the north. The timetable for PKP’s line 122 is unusual in showing trains of both gauges, with timings for two local standard-gauge services as well as three broad-gauge international services each way. On Good Friday, 18 April 2003, PKP’s Tarnow - Przemysl arrival at 18:22, though not advertised as a through train, ran forward as the Przemysl 18:25 - Medyka 19:05 - Przemysl working, fairly well loaded in each direction, mainly with railway staff alighting or joining at various halts serving the freight-transhipment facilities, shown on the Quail map but not in the timetable. At Medyka the 18:06 Przemysl - Lviv broad-gauge train, hauled by one of Ukrzaliznitsa’s double electric locomotives, was waiting to cross the frontier, watched over by a Polish border-guard who vigorously indicated that no photographs should be taken. The PKP local service is annotated ‘G’ in the timetable (‘trains until further notice only’) but, given its usage by railwaymen, if the public trains are withdrawn some sort of staff service may continue, as occurred in Poznan and Krakow. 2943][CZ] Sokolov mining railway: North-west of CD’s Karlovy Vary - Karlovski Porici - Sokolov - Hlavno - Cheb main line (Ball 35A1), a network of 900mm-gauge lines with 1500V dc overhead electrification served the operations of Sokolovska Uhelna (= Sokolov mining), comprising two large and three small opencast brown-coal mines, two washing-plants, and a lignite-gasification plant. Centred on Svatava, just to the north of Sokolov, the network was quite extensive, with c.250km of permanent double or multiple track and another 200km of temporary lines that were laid and lifted as the mine-workings moved. At one point near Karlovski Porici quadruple 900mm-gauge tracks paralleled CD’s double-track main line. The mines have become worked out over the years, the line to Chvaleticich mine closing 1980 and the line to Ledvicich in 1997. It appears that the last line, to Medard mine, ceased regular operations 27 March 2003, though some stock moves on the mining railway continued thereafter. (http://spz.logout.cz/novinky/novinky.html) 2944][CZ] (Dresden -) Decin - Ústí nad Labem (- Praha): (Ball 35B2-35B1) On Saturday and Sunday 19-20 April 2003 the Dresden - Praha main line was blocked by engineering operations in the Decin area. Southbound EC and IC services were diverted from Decin Prostredni Zleb over the single-track bridge at an acute angle across the river Labe (= Elbe) to Decin Vychod (vychod = east), then south up the right bank of the river to Usti nad Labem Strekov, where a draw-back locomotive was attached to haul the train back over the river to Usti nad Labem Zapad. At Usti nad Labem Zapad (zapad = west) the train again reversed and at Usti nad Labem Sever (sever = south) took up its normal route to Praha. Northbound trains performed the same movements in reverse. Delays were c.20-25min in most cases. The Decin Prostredni Zleb - Decin Vychod section is normally freight-only, and the Usti nad Labem Zapad - Sever section has a sparse passenger service (EGTRE CZ03/7). 2945][CZ] Praha metro: (R.2484) Following repair of August 2002 flood damage, and phased reopening, all three lines and 49 stations on the 51.5km network were again operational on 22 March 2003. Line C is being extended north-east: Nádrazí Holesovice - Kobylisy - Ládví is to open late 2004 and Ládví - Prosek - Letnany in 2006-7. (Today’s Railways, May 2003) 2946][LT][BY] (Vilnius -) Kena LG - Gudogai BCh (- Molodechno): As part of Lithuania’s preparations for joining the European Union in 2004, Kena station close to the border with Belarus was in spring 2003 being reconstructed with more tracks and modernised signalling. Lithuania’s 1520mm-gauge Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai operate four daily local passenger services to Gudogai just inside Belarus. A number of long-distance international services also use this border-crossing: Kaunas - Moskva daily; Kaliningrad - Moskva daily; Kaliningrad - Sankt-Peterburg every second day; Vilnius - Minsk daily; Vilnius - Minsk WFSuO; Kaliningrad - Kharkiv every second day; Kaliningrad - Gomel every second day; plus seasonal trains to Moskva and the Black Sea coast. 2947][IQ] Iraq: (R.2895) To simplify greatly, the shape of Iraqi railways owes much to political preoccupations of European powers at various times. The standard-gauge main line from Turkey via Syria stems from the German strategic vision before World War I of a Berlin - Baghdad railway across the (then) Ottoman Empire. The former metre-gauge system linking Basra to Baghdad was built during a period of British administration from World War I until the 1930s, using engineering designs and materials such as were in use on the secondary railways of India. The subsequent regauging from metre to standard (with significant realignment and closure) from the 1960s onward was financed to some extent by the Soviet Union which regarded Iraq as a useful ally in the Middle East. The website http://www.ajg41.clara.co.uk/iraqrailways.html is an interesting source. 2948][IN] New Jalpaiguri - Siliguri Town - Siliguri Jn: (R.0588, 2410) The area at the lower end of the famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has arguably the world’s most complex history of changing gauges and routes. From 1878 the railway route to Siliguri was north for 185km on the broad-gauge (1676mm; 5ft6in) East Bengal State Railway (Calcutta Sealdah - Damookdeah Ghat), across the endlessly-shifting river Ganges by ferry to one or other of the various ghats or landing-stages on the north bank, then onward 336km by the metre-gauge North Bengal Railway (eg Sara Ghat - Siliguri). In 1881 the metre-gauge was joined at Siliguri (Town) by the narrow-gauge (610mm; 2ft) DHR (Siliguri - Darjeeling). In 1915 two new narrow-gauge lines were added to the DHR from Siliguri, to the north-east up the river Teesta valley towards Kalimpong and Sikkim (Siliguri - Gielle Kola) and to the south-west (Siliguri - Kishanganj). Also in 1915 the Hardinge bridge was built across the river Ganges, and in 1926 the metre-gauge north of the bridge was converted, so the whole Calcutta - Siliguri route became broad-gauge. With the partition of India in 1947 the broad-gauge route from Calcutta was severed, since part of it ran through East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. This also cut off India’s province of Assam from the rest of the Indian railway network. The route to Siliguri became more circuitous: broad-gauge (Calcutta - Barsoi), metre-gauge (Barsoi - Kishanganj), and narrow-gauge (Kishanganj - Siliguri). In 1949 Kishanganj - Siliguri was converted from narrow-gauge to metre-gauge and extended north-east into Assam. This duplicated part of the narrow-gauge Teesta Valley line, and after a washout in 1950 it was not repaired. The North Bengal Railway route from Calcutta, truncated by partition, had become an isolated section of broad-gauge (Siliguri - Haldibari), so this stub was converted back from broad-gauge to metre-gauge. From about 1949 a new Siliguri Junction station, north of Siliguri Town, became the main station in the area, with three metre-gauge lines (south-west to Kishanganj and Barsoi; north-east to Assam; south to Siliguri Town and Haldibari) and two narrow-gauge lines (north to Darjeeling; south to Siliguri Town). The narrow-gauge steam shed was moved from Siliguri Town to Siliguri Jn and the narrow-gauge Siliguri Jn - Siliguri Town section became freight-only. In the early 1960s a more radical change was made. Indian Railways created a new broad-gauge rail link from Calcutta, and on a greenfield site south of Siliguri Town built an entirely new through broad-gauge station, New Jalpaiguri. The new broad-gauge route continued from New Jalpaiguri east and for more than 10km used the formation of the Haldibari line, so the New Jalpaiguri - Haldibari section was converted yet again - from metre-gauge to broad-gauge for the second time, its fourth incarnation! New Jalpaiguri became a triple-gauge station, being served by the metre-gauge in the shape of the Siliguri Town - New Jalpaiguri section of the former Haldibari line, suitably realigned but not regauged, and by a new Siliguri Town - New Jalpaiguri extension of the narrow-gauge DHR. From about 1964 New Jalpaiguri became the main station in the area, with two broad-gauge lines (west to Calcutta; east towards Assam with branch to Haldibari), a metre-gauge line (north to Siliguri Town and Siliguri Jn, diverging thence south-west to Kishanganj and Barsoi, and north-east to Assam) and a narrow-gauge line (north to Siliguri Town, Siliguri Jn and Darjeeling). The narrow-gauge steam shed was again moved, from Siliguri Jn to New Jalpaiguri. With interchange between main-line and Darjeeling trains at New Jalpaiguri, the narrow-gauge New Jalpaiguri - Siliguri Town - Siliguri Jn section became a passenger line. The layout is again changing, for the 1949 metre-gauge route to Assam is also being converted to broad-gauge. In early February 2003 metre-gauge track had been lifted, and broad-gauge track was being laid, from New Jalpaiguri north through Siliguri Town and Siliguri Jn at least as far as the bridge over the river Teesta (which being of metre-gauge design may need rebuilding). For the moment, Siliguri Jn retains one metre-gauge line (south-west to Kishanganj and Barsoi) and two narrow-gauge lines (north to Darjeeling; south to Siliguri Town and New Jalpaiguri) but the future of what is now a Barsoi - Kishanganj - Siliguri Jn metre-gauge branch must be uncertain since for some 150km it runs virtually parallel to the broad-gauge main line, which has been doubled since the late 1980s. When broad-gauge arrives at Siliguri Jn, it would be possible to concentrate interchange for Darjeeling there, and abandon the New Jalpaiguri - Siliguri Town - Siliguri Jn narrow-gauge section, though there are no known plans to shorten the DHR in this way. In the near future New Jalpaiguri will it seems have three broad-gauge lines (west to Calcutta; east towards Assam with branch to Haldibari; north to Siliguri Town and Siliguri Jn, then north-east to Assam) and a narrow-gauge line (north to Siliguri Town, Siliguri Jn and Darjeeling). (partly from Terry Martin’s ‘Halfway to Heaven’ history of the DHR, and a sketch-map from Cable Travel) 2949][NZ] Aramoho Jn - Wanganui (- Castlecliff): (R.1872) Wanganui was originally a terminus, but its fine 1901 timber passenger building on Taupo Quay was demolished in 1980 to make way for a bus-station and NZR road-service depot, whose office building remains, in non-transport use. In c.1986 a direct northwest-to-southwest chord was built bypassing the former terminus site, thus releasing the remainder of the Taupo Quay site for redevelopment. Wanganui goods-yard was relocated to the site where the locomotive-shed is still shown in the 1993 Quail atlas. Freight trains continue to serve Wanganui, but the section west to Castlecliff appears not to be in regular freight use since Tranz Rail ‘mothballed’ it from 3 December 2001. In October 2002 Wanganui yard hosted some passenger rolling-stock and a ‘Steam-Rail Wanganui Inc’ nameboard which perhaps marked the spot for joining tourist trains. Wanganui yard is also the terminating-point for steam-hauled excursions on to the branch, the town being a convenient turn-back point for day-trips from Wellington. A Main Line Steam Trust tour visited on 21-22 October 2002 and Steam Inc, based at Paekakariki, are to run a Wellington - Wanganui day-excursion on 17 May 2003. 2950][CA] Montréal, QC - Halifax, NS and Halifax, NS - Sydney, NS: Three VIA Rail train-sets operate the Montréal - Halifax Océan. Since 2000 the eastbound set arriving in Halifax on Mondays has made a summer weekly Halifax - Sydney side-trip through fine Cape Breton scenery as the Bras d’Or (Tuesdays north from Halifax, Wednesdays south from Sydney; R.2850). It seems that during summer 2003 the equipment rostered for the joint Océan/Bras d’Or working will continue be a classic dome/observation consist, not the narrow-bodied small-windowed Renaissance stock being introduced at the end of July (R.2896). The first Renaissance (ex-Nightstar) set is expected to be rostered on the westbound Océan leaving Halifax on Mondays and Fridays. However, the other two sets for the Océan are to arrive from the refitting workshops during 2003, and it is not clear what stock VIA might use for the Bras d’Or if it runs in 2004. 2951][US] Oceanside - Escondido, CA: (R.0356) Work is to begin in autumn 2003 on this 35km Santa Fe freight-only branch off the Los Angeles - Oceanside - San Diego, CA main line, with a view to reintroducing passenger trains in December 2005, with 15 new stations. As well as Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner intercity services, Oceanside will then have three separate commuter-train operations, Metrolink north to Los Angeles, Coaster south to San Diego, and Sprinter south-east to Escondido. (partly from Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2003) 2952][US] (Dunsmuir, CA -) Black Butte Jn - Weed - Montague, CA - Siskiyou Summit, OR - Medford (- Springfield Jn - Eugene, OR): Southern Pacific’s Siskiyou line had one passenger train a day in 1951 but none in the October 1957 Official Guide. This 156km southern section of a 476km freight route, now operated by Central Oregon & Pacific (CORP), may see a weekend excursion with Amtrak Horizon stock departing Saturday 18 October 2003, running Emeryville, CA - Sacramento - Chico - Dunsmuir (overnight) - Medford (overnight) - Dunsmuir. The same organisation, Central Coast Railway Club, are planning a Los Angeles, CA - San Diego, CA day-trip on Sunday 21 September 2003, hauled by ex-Santa Fe steam locomotive #3751. (http://www.goldenstaterails.com) 2953][US] Dallas, TX heritage trams: (R.1180) McKinney Avenue Transit Authority opened the c.1.5km extension of their standard-gauge heritage tramway north to an interchange with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light-rail system at CityPlace station on 27 June 2002. To allow their two ex-Toronto PCC cars on the whole c.6km line, MATA plan to use a turntable at the CityPlace end and a street loop on an extension at the south end. MATA have also acquired a rebuilt PCC car from the closed Fort Worth Tandy Center subway (last run 30 August 2002; R.2417). The MATA trams have volunteer drivers and charge no fares. Some finance is provided by DART and two business groups. (Transnet newsletter #114) 2954][US] Akron - New Berlin - Canton (- Valley Jn, OH): From Akron a 65km section of the Baltimore & Ohio ran south to meet the Pennsylvania Railroad at Valley Jn. Its passenger trains, thrice-daily in 1922, had gone by 1951. Part of the line has been totally rebuilt and a 37km northern section is to see Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad summer-weekend excursion trains from 5 July 2003. 2955][US] Saratoga Springs, NY - Corinth - North Creek, NY: On vacation in the remote Adirondack mountains of upstate New York, Vice-President Teddy Roosevelt received an urgent message that President McKinley, wounded by a gunman, was dying. Hiking through the wilds, and rattling overnight in a horse-drawn buckboard and buggies, Roosevelt arrived at North Creek station to learn that McKinley had died. Conveyed swiftly by special train from North Creek to Buffalo, NY, Theodore Roosevelt was, later the same day, 14 September 1901, sworn in there as the 26th President of the United States of America. In the 1900 and 1922 timetables the 91km Saratoga Springs - North Creek branch of the Adirondack Railway, a subsidiary of the Delaware & Hudson, had two passenger round-trips a day Mon-Sat, the train being based overnight in North Creek. By the early 1950s passenger service was summer-only (mid-May to end-Sep) and by 1957 it had ceased. The D&H became part of Canadian Pacific, who now operate the 27km Saratoga Springs - Corinth section, but at some date between 1992 and 1997 CP abandoned the track from Corinth (D&H milepost 54 from Albany, NY) north up the Hudson River to North Creek. Local authority Warren County now own the 64km Corinth - North Creek section and hope to establish a tourist-train operation from 1 January 2004, based at North Creek’s brick-built railroad depot, its track intact but weedy, its future ensured by its presence on the US National Register of Historic Places. (partly from Railfan & Railroad, November 2002, and http://www.northcreekraildepot.org/teddy's_ride.htm) 2956][US] (Syracuse, NY - Auburn - Geneva -) Clifton Springs - Shortsville (- Rochester, NY / Buffalo, NY):(R.2642) At Easter weekend Fri-Sat 18-19 April 2003 Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society and Finger Lakes Railway were to run trips on another 16km section of the former New York Central ‘Auburn Road’, which lost its passenger service in 1958. 2957][US] Buffalo, NY: On 12 and 13 May 2003 Amtrak trains #63/64 Maple Leaf New York - Toronto and eastbound #286 Niagara Falls - New York were to make an unusual c.12km detour round Buffalo’s (ex-New York Central, now CSX) Belt Line, avoiding their usual call at Buffalo Exchange Street station, though presumably still calling at Buffalo-Depew, NY, east of the city. 2958][US] Richmond, VA: (R.2008) Richmond Main Street, a former joint Chesapeake & Ohio/Seaboard Air Line station with a fine historic building in the downtown area of the one-time Confederate capital, has been rehabilitated and is to reopen to passengers on or about 2 June 2003. (Transnet newsletter #115) 2959][US] (Miami, FL -) Dillon, SC - Hamlet, NC (- Raleigh - Selma, NC - New York, NY): The 61km Dillon - Hamlet section is CSX track, part of a Seaboard Air Line Savannah, GA - Charleston, SC - Hamlet, NC secondary loop, which had passenger trains in the early 1950s but had lost them by October 1957. Due to engineering work on weekdays 28 April to 20 June 2003, Amtrak’s northbound Miami - New York #90 Palmetto is to leave its usual (ex-Atlantic Coast Line, now CSX) route at Dillon and run north-west to Hamlet, continuing north-east on the ex-SAL Hamlet - Raleigh - Selma route already used by the Miami - New York #91/92 Silver Star, which converges with the normal Palmetto route at Selma. Southbound #89 Palmetto is not to detour. Since it arrives in the Carolinas in the evening, it will await completion of the daytime track work before taking its usual route. 2960][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: (Bloomfield Grove St -) Newark Penn Station - Newark Broad Street Station: (R.2273) Newark City Subway is to be extended at its downtown end to link the city’s two main-line stations c.1.6km apart. From its present downtown terminus at Newark Penn station (interchange with Amtrak and NJT Northeast Corridor trains), the Subway’s light-rail cars will run under Raymond Boulevard and Mulberry Street making use of the existing Center Street tunnel which last saw regular service about 1937, and of a new 260m tunnel section, heading north past the Riverfront Minor League Stadium and the Performing Arts Center to terminate in a street loop outside Newark Broad St station (interchange with NJT commuter trains). Target opening-date is 2005 or 2006. (Transnet newsletter #113; Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2003) 2961][PR] San Juan metro: In the capital of the US Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, trial running of the Siemens cars has begun, and the new Tren Urbano third-rail line (Bayamón Centro - Sagrado Corazón) is to open 29 September 2003. (Transnet newsletter #114) A route diagram is at http://www.metropla.net. 2962][AR] Iguazú: Near the confluence of the Iguazú/Iguaçu river with the Paraná, and close to the point where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet, the mighty Iguazu Falls are a visitor attraction to rival Niagara. A 4km 600mm-gauge tourist railway, marketed as Tren Ecológico de la Selva, has been constructed on the Argentine side, with British-built traction and rolling-stock. (Tramways & Urban Transit, April 2003) 2963][IE] Dublin: Newcomen Jn - Croke Park - Cross Guns Tunnel - Glasnevin Jn: (R.2423, 2546) Closed 18 May 1998 (R.1828), in early May 2003 this low-level canalside alternative to the high-level Dublin Connolly - North Strand Jn - Drumcondra - Glasnevin Jn section was still unavailable as a through route, though relaying of the westbound track was in progress from Drumcondra Bridge west towards Cross Guns Tunnel. At the Glasnevin Jn end, the junction points remained in place but led only to west-facing stopblocks on both tracks about 30m east towards Cross Guns Tunnel. 2964][IE] Manulla Jn - Foxford - Ballina: (R.2496) During 2002 the branch was reportedly threatened with closure (R.2495), but extensive track-relaying has continued, and at the start of May 2003 appeared to be nearing completion. At Ballina, the Crossmolina siding beyond the station and level-crossing has also been relaid. Buses however were still replacing midweek branch trains and the northernmost 10km of track remained subject to a 48km/h (30mph) speed-restriction. 2965][IE] Athlone - Ballinasloe - Athenry - Galway: On Mondays to Thursdays from 6 to 22 May 2003 only the first two Galway departures and last two arrivals were to run as trains, with Ballinasloe - Galway replacement buses operating at other times. From 26 May to 8 June 2003 inclusive the whole Athlone - Galway line was to be closed to all passenger trains, while the present mechanical signalling on the Ballinasloe - Galway section was replaced by a westward extension of the ‘mini-CTC’ system of Centralised Traffic Control (R.2240). 2966][IE] Ballybrophy - Roscrea - Cloughjordan - Nenagh - Silvermines Jn - Kilmastulla - Birdhill - Castleconnell - Killonan Jn (- Limerick): (R.0360, 0403, 1774) Only one round-trip ran on Monday 5 May 2003, a public holiday, the up train being retimed to depart from Limerick 16:36, with locomotive #150 hauling the usual two Cravens coaches and a steam-heating van. About 30 passengers alighted at Ballybrophy for the Dublin connection, not a large number for the only train of the day. Operational passing-loops remained at Roscrea and Birdhill. The Silvermines Jn - Silvermines mineral branch, closed to revenue freight in November 1993, was still connected but well-rusted. Kilmastulla siding was in use to facilitate track relaying between Birdhill and Killonan Jn, where a 48km/h (30mph) limit was in force. It was surprising to see significant work in progress on a line reportedly threatened with closure (R.2495), though it did seem to comprise like-for-like replacement of jointed track rather than investment in brand-new track as elsewhere on the Irish network. 2967][IE] Limerick (Check Cabin) - Ennis (- Athenry): Though work on the bridges in Limerick was due to finish by the end of April (R.2739), buses were still replacing weekday trains in early May 2003. Track-relaying was some months from completion but Iarnród Éireann were promising the Limerick - Ennis line faster and more frequent trains from December 2003. 2968][FR] Amagne-Lucquy - Attigny - Vouziers - Challerange: (R.0846; Ball 16B1) The Chemin de Fer Touristique du Sud des Ardennes continue to run tourist trains from Attigny on Sundays from 22 June to 7 September 2003, but they no longer operate on the Pont-Maugis - Mouzon - Stenay line (R.0847; Ball 17A2). 2969][FR] (Luxembourg - Thionville -) Bouzonville - Merlebach - Carreau Wendel Musée: The Musée du Bassin Houiller Lorrain, the Carreau Wendel coalfield museum at Petite Rosselle near Forbach, close to the German border (BLN 839.0591; Ball 18B1), are holding open days on 21-22 June 2003. Cockerill steam locomotive #503 from the Pétange - Fond-de-Gras - Rodange Train 1900 museum railway in Luxembourg (R.1521; Ball 17B1) is to be a visiting exhibit, and it may be conveyed as part of a special passenger train, presumably diesel-hauled, from Luxembourg via Bouzonville and the SNCF freight-only route east, joining the industrial tracks of VFLI-operated Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine near Merlebach to reach Carreau Wendel Musée. (European Rail yahoogroup) 2970][FR] Troyes area freight lines: (Ball 27A1) The Association Chemin de fer Touristique Aubois have encountered problems, and their Picasso railcar trips in 2003 (R.2762) are not to run as planned. Information: g.capet@wanadoo.fr. 2971][FR] Strasbourg tram-trains: Homme de Fer - Faubourg de Saverne - Place de la Gare - Lingolsheim - Entzheim-Aéroport - Molsheim - Gresswiller / Barr: (R.1831; Ball 30A2) Public consultation began in spring 2003 on the proposed extension of the city’s tram network out over two RFF secondary lines, Strasbourg - Molsheim - Gresswiller (- St.Dié) and Molsheim - Obernai - Barr (- Sélestat). From lines B and C of the urban network, light-rail tram-trains would traverse a new street-running section to a surface station in Place de la Gare before entering a tunnel beneath the platforms just to the north of Strasbourg station building. Joining the RFF tracks they would run every 15min west to a resited station at Entzheim serving Strasbourg’s airport (SXB) and continuing to Molsheim. Alternate tram-trains would then run west up the valley of the river Bruche to terminate at Gresswiller or south along the Piémont des Vosges to terminate at Barr. Target opening-date is 2008. (local consultation leaflet) 2972][FR] Montluçon - Auzances - Eygurande-Merlines (- Ussel): (Ball 46B1-54A2) Some lines through rural France with very sparse services and equally sparse patronage are well worth visiting while they survive. On Tuesday 22 April 2003 the Class X2800 single railcar working the 15:46 Montluçon - Ussel started with eleven passengers, paused at the staffed station of Auzances to pass the sole northbound train that day, and completed its journey with only our reporter and a companion on board. The Cravant-Bazarnes - Avallon - Manlay - Autun - Étang line (R.0663; Ball 37B3-48A3) has a similarly sparse service, and most stations appear dilapidated. On Wednesday 30 April the Class X4300 unit working the Étang portion of the 14:02 Laroche-Migennes - Cravant-Bazarnes - Étang / Clamecy train saw its passenger load fall to five from Manlay to Autun. 2973][BE] (Gent -) Wondelgem - Ertvelde - Zelzate NMBS (- Sas-van-Gent NS - Sluiskil - Boerengat / Terneuzen): (R.2765; Ball 8A3; NMBS 55) Construction of a new dock (Kluizendok) on the Gent - Terneuzen canal requires line 55 to be moved to a new alignment, and work began in 2001 with a view to completion in December 2002. During 2002 activity ceased, after preparation of the Wondelgem - Ertvelde trackbed, but it seems that work is to restart in August 2003 laying track and providing signalling, and the new line should be ready by end-2003 or early 2004. (http://www.iryc.net) 2974][BE] (Winterslag -) Waterschei - As - Eisden: (R.1043; Ball 9B2-9B3) The heritage railway now trades as Kolenspoor (= ‘coal line’) rather than Limburgse Stoom Vereniging, with public trips (As 14:00 - Eisden - As 16:00 - Waterschei - As) on this isolated 14km section of NMBS’ out-of-use lines 21A and 21B on the first and third Sunday of each month from Easter until ‘the end of the summer’. From Genk station De Lijn bus #11 provides a connection every two hours and stops outside As station. On 4 May 2003 As station building was under restoration and surrounded by scaffolding, and a temporary building in the former goods-yard was acting as customer-reception area and café-bar, with extra seating immediately adjacent in a passenger coach, permanently-parked and still on rails. Immediately outside was a children’s miniature railway c.200m long, with open wagons hauled by a reproduction of Belgian diesel locomotive #5501. The standard-gauge train comprised a single passenger coach hauled by a German-built diesel shunter with a maximum speed of 30km/h. The fare was EUR5 and for an extra EUR1 one was allowed to ride in the cab. Just outside As station a well-used cycle-track marked the course of the former As - Maaseik section of line 21A. The As - Eisden section runs through woods most of the way, and at one point the train had to stop so that the crew could saw their way through an overhanging tree leaning across the track. The nearby ‘hills’ are spoil-heaps from coal-mining, which in this area was quite short-lived, for although the coal was of high quality it lay deep down and was expensive to extract. The train-crew pointed out a former alignment said to have been abandoned in the 1920s because of mining activity. A cab-ride is recommended to those keen to cover the maximum length of track. The train continued a short distance beyond the former Eisden station, now a cafe called De Statie (= ‘the station’) and trundled over a level-crossing to the beginning of what was once an extensive goods-yard perhaps 1km long. Here the locomotive was detached and headed for the buffer-stop in the far distance in order to run around the train. According to the train-crew the track formerly continued slightly further, to the edge of a canal. Unfortunately the 16:00 As - Waterschei trip, over a less scenic section, did not operate because insufficient volunteer staff were available to operate the five level-crossings. 2975][BE] Lobbes - Thuin heritage trams: (BLN 847.0171, R.2302; Ball 8B1 not shown) The preserved metre-gauge line between Lobbes and the Association pour la Sauvegarde du Vicinal museum at Thuin has recently been operated with diesel cars, but by 10 May 2003 the museum’s own electricity substation was providing 600V dc power for test runs, and a public service of electric trams is planned on Sundays and public holidays from the beginning of June until the end of September 2003. During 2003 various moves of preserved trams between the depots at Gosselies, Jumet and Anderlues and the Thuin museum have again been using the non-passenger sections Gosselies - Jumet - Piges and Anderlues - Lobbes. (ASVi) 2976][BE] (Hasselt - Bilzen -) Y Glons - Liers (- Liège): (Ball 9B2; SNCB 34) The line has only an hourly passenger service, and in early May 2003 the Y Glons - Liers section was being operated as a single track, with the second track out of use. 2977][DE][DK] Niebüll - Tønder: (EGTRE DE03/01; Ball 5B1-9B3) Nord Ostsee Bahn (who from 6 April 2003 reintroduced a cross-border passenger service to Denmark; R.2886) are a Connex subsidiary and a separate corporate entity from the previous operators on the route, Nordfriesische Verkehrsbetriebe AG (who from 2000 to 2002 were partners with Danske Statsbaner in running a summer-only cross-border service; R.0030, 0239, 0713). The Thomas Cook European Timetable in (for example) August 2001 showed DSB/NVAG services as running Niebüll - Tønder - Esbjerg approximately two-hourly, and this was again the pattern in summer 2002 when our reporter travelled on 17 June aboard a DSB diesel unit. 2978][SE] Skövde - Tibro - Karlsborg: (Ball 21B2-22A2) Track authority Banverket say that the Karlsborg branch is to close from 15 June 2003. The closure appears to be of the whole branch rather than just the threatened Tibro - Karlsborg section (R.2652), so it seems that Skövde-Karlsborgs järnvägs AB have lost the freight traffic from the factory at Tibro. Svenska Motorvagnsklubben were to be running (Falköping -) Skövde - Karlsborg farewell trips on 31 May 2003. 2979][SE] Göteborg trams: (R.2651) The new section of line from a triangular junction near the depot at Ullevi south along Skånegatan to Korsvägen tram-station is to open autumn 2003. According to Tramways & Urban Transit for May 2001, quoting Meddelanden från Svenska Spårvägsällskapet, tram-routes #6 (Kortedala - Guldheden) and #8 (Angered - Sahlgrenska) are to be diverted and will use the east-to-south curve at Ullevi, turning south one stop east of the Central railway station. A new route #12 is to run Frölunda - Ekedal - Järntorget - Centralstationen - Ullevi west-to-south curve - Korsvägen - Lana. Frölunda is the present western terminus of route #1, an intermediate stop on the line south-west to Tynnered. Lana is an intermediate turnback loop on the present route #4 south to Mölndal. A diagram is at http://trackmap.net. 2980][ES] (Bilbao/Bilbo - Aranguren -) Balmaseda - Guardo (- Matallana - León): (Ball 5A1-9B3) An inaugural Bilbao - Leon run for invited guests on 1 May preceded the first revenue working over the Balmaseda - Guardo section by the cruise-train El Transcantabrico (3 May 2003; R.2927). Ordinary passenger services began with a daily Bilbao - Leon train each way from Monday 19 May 2003. Timetable and fares are at http://www.feve.es/00/images/leonbilbao.gif. 2981][ES] Zaragoza-Delicias - Zaragoza El Portillo: (Ball 13A1) Zaragoza’s existing El Portillo broad-gauge station was thought too small to accommodate extra standard-gauge tracks, and a replacement main station, Zaragoza-Delicias, was planned to open along with the Madrid - Zaragoza - Lleida - Barcelona high-speed line, even though the associated shops, hotels and bus-station would not be ready. The plan was that once broad-gauge freight trains had been diverted via the new Ronda Sur bypass line (R.2836) and high-speed trains on their own standard-gauge line had replaced part of the classic long-distance broad-gauge passenger service (R.2837), relatively little disturbance would be caused to the remaining trains while the existing main line through the city and El Portillo station was wholly or partly closed for significant engineering work. In particular, the Delicias - El Portillo section, to the west of Zaragoza city-centre, was to be lowered into a cutting. Preliminary work began, requiring the temporary closure of an important road, the Avenida de Madrid, close to the well-known Palacio de la Aljaferia, but the opening of the high-speed line was delayed and delayed again, the engineering work in the city was held up, the road blockage remained, and Zaragoza residents began to complain more and more vociferously. With local elections upcoming on 25 May, the development minister intervened and ruled that the works disrupting the city’s road-traffic had to be completed. RENFE reacted with the precipitate closure of Zaragoza El Portillo and the early opening of Zaragoza-Delicias, a change effected overnight on 18-19 May 2003. With the work on the subsurface section again proceeding, it is hoped that both the railway and the Avenida de Madrid can reopen by mid-June 2003. In the meantime, however, rail traffic is seriously disrupted. Through long-distance day trains run via the Ronda Sur with no Zaragoza stop, calling instead at Casetas, 15km west of the city, and/or Zuera, some 35km to the north, with connecting Casetas - Delicias shuttle trains and Delicias - Zuera buses. Night trains call at Zaragoza-Delicias and suffer delays. Zaragoza-Delicias - Barcelona long-distance day trains run via the Ronda Sur and suffer delays. Zaragoza-Delicias - Barcelona regional services run via the Ronda Sur, with eastbound trains retimed to depart 10-20 minutes earlier to maintain onward schedules. Madrid - Zaragoza - Huesca - Jaca trains terminate and start at Delicias, with Delicias - Jaca buses. Zaragoza - Huesca - Jaca - Canfranc regional services are Delicias - Huesca buses plus Huesca - Canfranc trains. Regional and long-distance day services to the west of the city are not much affected, including Madrid - Zaragoza and Teruel - Zaragoza trains, and Madrid - Zaragoza - Logroño trains (which simply reverse at Delicias instead of El Portillo). While most travellers would be well advised to avoid Zaragoza altogether until the main line reopens, passengers intent on a trip round the Ronda Sur should present themselves at least 30 minutes prior to the advertised departure-time at Zaragoza-Delicias, and expect delays of up to two hours. 2982][ES] Mallorca: (Palma - Inca -) Enllaç - Sineu - Sant Joan - Petra - Manacor: (R.2933; Ball 38A1-38A2) Inauguration of the reopened section to Manacor was on 11 May, with service trains from Monday 12 May 2003. Initially seven Palma - Manacor trains a day run each way, but the frequency is to step up in June 2003 to fourteen a day on weekdays. 2983][IT][CH] (Milano -) Albate (Bivio Rosales FS) - Chiasso FFS: (Ball IT-40B3) Damage caused by flooding and subsidence closed the 7340m Monte Olimpino #2 tunnel in mid-December 2002. After repairs one track reopened in the last week of April 2003 and the second track should reopen in July 2003. The tunnel is an important freight route between north and south Europe, but is used also by a few passenger trains not stopping at Como San Giovanni (R.2298). 2984][IT] Foggia - Lucera Città: This line is shown in the 1993 Ball atlas (54B2) as proposed for reopening to passengers, and in May 2003 local posters still described the bus service as a replacement for ‘suspended’ rail service. Do plans still exist for reintroducing passenger trains? 2985][IT] San Severo - San Nicandro Garganico - Cagnano-Varano - Vico del Gargano-San Menaio - Peschici-Calenella: (BLN 796.093; Ball 54B2-54B3) Local posters say that the San Nicandro Garganico - Cagnano-Varano section of the Ferrovie del Gargano closed on 7 October 2002 for modernisation, but do not say when reopening might take place. Seen from the substitute bus on 7 May 2003, the closed section had lost most of its track and all its electrification masts, so the line looked likely to be out of use for some time. Patronage of FG services is not high, and the buses that replace trains on the whole line on Sundays take only a few minutes longer, so one wonders whether the expense of renewing the railway is justified. On 7 May buses were also replacing trains between Vico del Gargano-San Menaio and Peschici-Calenella, but this may have been a short-term measure, for no explanation was forthcoming on notices or on the FG website. 2986][CH] Rorschach - Romanshorn avoiding line - Weinfelden - Winterthur: (Ball 89B2-89A2) On Monday 31 March 2003 westbound EC162 Basel SBB - Wien Westbf was duly diverted as booked (R.2830). From Rorschach the route along the southern shore of the Bodensee is all single track and, though the stations have passing-loops, crossing trains was not possible at Egnach because one track was being rebuilt. At signal-box Romanshorn Stw I, the short southeast-to-southwest single-track non-passenger curve avoiding the station was taken. The diversions added about an hour to the normal journey. It is not clear what advantage SBB saw in choosing the Romanshorn diversionary route rather than the alternative Rorschach - St.Gallen - Wil - Winterthur route, which is entirely passenger track. When the same trains were due for diversion in autumn 2002 (R.2369, 2471), floods in fact caused SBB to run EC162 non-stop via St.Gallen for a day or two in early September, and it kept to its revised timing at Winterthur without apparent disruptive effect on traffic over the single-track sections on that route. 2987][PL] Poland: closed lines in the north-east: On 9-14 May 2003 a Pomeranian Railfans railtour visited some 1000km of lines in north-eastern Poland, including many sections long closed to passengers and some to all traffic. The Bartosyce - Glomno PKP (- Bagrationovsk RZD) line, comprising interlaced standard- and broad-gauge track, and the standard-gauge Korsze - Skandawa PKP (- Zheleznodorozhny RZD) line (Ball 33A3-33B3) were both traversed to within a few metres of the frontier with Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast, under the eyes of watchful border-guards. A highlight was the long-disused Czerwonka - Lidzbark Warminski - Sagnity branch (Ball 33A2-33A3). Sagnity lost its last daily passenger train after 31 December 1990, and freight ceased after 31 December 1991, though passenger services to Lidzbark Warminski survived until 31 December 1995 and timber traffic to c.2000. (The exact dates are from the railway-history map at http://www.woznyj.republika.pl.) Having lain out of use for more than a decade, the 70km branch took 305min to traverse in one direction. Stops were frequent, not just for photographs, but to dig out the track at level-crossings and to clear it of vegetation, fallen trees and collapsed telegraph-poles with trailing wires. At one point within sight of Sagnity station the track was so poor that it flexed when a single person stood on it, but the crew managed to coax the preserved SN61 railbus slowly over the weak section and reach the end of the line safely. Local people appeared with cameras and posed their small children beside the unfamiliar train. Also traversed was the (Szczytno -) Pisz - Elk section (Ball 33B2) where the daily passenger working ran mostly in darkness for the last few years before its precipitate withdrawal in April 2000. Further east, on the Olecko - Goldap branch (Ball 34A2-34A3), closed to freight and all traffic September 2001, deteriorating track prevented speeds above 10km/h. At Olecko the railtour train was met by the mayor, with speeches and local dancers, and by Goldap a Polish national television crew were on board. Both municipalities seek restoration of passenger service, and indeed both had contributed towards the tour-train’s costs in exchange for publicity, but neither council is able to offer ongoing subsidy, and PKP’s finances are dire, so reopening looks a forlorn hope. 2988][PL] Elk Waskotorowy - Laski Male - Sypitki - Kalinowo - Turowo and Laski Male - Zawady Tworki: (R.0195, 0797, 0919; Ball 34A2; line 624) On Sunday 11 May 2003 a charter train on this 48km 750mm-gauge system was arranged as a side-trip from the Pomeranian railtour. A hired bus from Goldap took 17 participants to Turowo to join the Mbxd2 railbus which then ran Turowo (km38) - Laski Male (km13) - Zawady Tworki - Laski Male - Elk, the first train to visit the 10km Zawady Tworki branch since autumn 2002. Charter-fee was PLZ1400 (=c.GBP230 =c.EUR323). Track condition was fair, and the railbus driver was optimistic about the system’s survival. Since PKP transferred the line to the local authority, it had seen a number of private charters including hospitality, mainly on the core section from Elk to the lakes at Sypitki (km16). Either steam or diesel trains can be chartered. On summer Saturdays (June-August 2003) the Mbxd2 railbus is to run a public round-trip (Elk Wask 10:00 - Sypitki 14:00 - Elk Wask) for a fare of PLZ10. 2989][PL] Znin - Wenecja - Biskupin - Gasawa: (R.0796; Ball 32A1; PKP 463) PKP’s 600mm-gauge tourist line has passenger trains Mondays to Saturdays from 15 April to 31 August 2003, with departures from Znin to Gasawa at 09:00, 10:20, 11:40; 13:20 and 14:40, with an extra departure at 16:00 in July and August. Traction includes a Class Px38 steam locomotive named Leon. 2990][PL] Stare Bojanowo Waskotorowe - Nietazkowo Szkola - Smigiel - Sniaty - Wielichowo: (R.2174; Ball 36B3; line 353) On the 750mm-gauge Smigielska Kolej Dojazdowa passenger trains were running through to Wielichowo (km23) from 1 September 2002 (R.2436), and in April 2003 were operating Mondays to Fridays, but not north of Smigiel during school holidays. Coal traffic appeared to have restarted to Wielichowo and possibly Wilkowo Polskie. Operators SKPL (Stowarzyszenie Kolejowych Przewozow Lokalnych) have two Lxd2 diesel locomotives available for freight. Except for a few sections where the terrain requires it to take a slightly different route, the line is mostly along the roadside, with numerous level-crossings, some of them through the middle of crossroads. Horses could be seen at work in the fields. The railcars can make quite speedy progress along the straighter sections of line, riding well even on the mediocre track. On several very poor sections, however, speed is reduced below 5km/h, for example a tight curve on the descent through the woods from Nowa Wies to Zegrowko. The terminus, Wielichowo, lying where the open fields end on the edge of the small town, retains its goods-shed. Driving an SKPL railcar can be arranged (from Britain contact the Wolsztyn Experience on +44 1628 524 876). As in spring 2002 (R.2144), the driving-fee remains PLZ150 (=c.GBP25=c.EUR35=c.USD39). On 15 April 2003, a fine spring day, our reporter drove railcar Mbxd2-218 for part of the midday working (Nietazkowo Szkola 12:22 - Wielichowo 13:20 - Smigiel). Though this is booked to start from the new platform near the school (R.2144), it seems usual for northbound passengers to board the railcar parked outside Smigiel depot before it runs ‘empty’ the 500m south-east to Smigiel Nietazkowo Szkola to reverse and pick up the schoolchildren. The vehicle was half-full when it commenced its booked journey proper and dropped off passengers in each village as and where required, which was not usually at the station. Several passengers travelled through to Wielichowo, but no-one boarded there or at other points during the southbound run to Smigiel. Railcar Mbxd2-213 working Nietazkowo Szkola 14:12 - Wielichowo, full of passengers, was crossed at Smigiel by shunting the Wielichowo - Stare Bojanowo train into a siding rather than using the loop. 2991][PL] Gniezno Waskotorowe - Zelazkowo - Niechanowo - Witkowo - Powidz - Przybrodzin - Anastazewo: (R.2145, 2226; Ball 37A3; line 391) On the 38km Gnieznienska Kolej Waskotorowa, part of the once-extensive 750mm-gauge Kujawska network, passenger trains (Gniezno 09:30 - 12:40 Anastazewo 12:50 - 13:55 Powidz 14:05 - 15:10 Anastazewo 15:20 - 19:20 Gniezno) are to run Mondays to Saturdays from 28 June to 31 August 2003, but not 15 August. Freight also continues. On the morning of 22 April 2003 two standard-gauge wagons were loaded on to narrow-gauge transporter-wagons at Gniezno, an intricate exercise that took about an hour, and hauled by diesel locomotive Lxd2-313 to a new siding about 2km to the east. Both vehicles, a 100t coal wagon and a bogie wagon loaded with bagged cement, had been unloaded and removed by 10:00 the following morning. At the Easter weekend Gniezno - Witkowo charter trains ran on 19 and 21 April with 0-8-0 steam-locomotive Px48-1785 offering driving courses marketed by Wolsztyn Experience. The railway runs mostly by the side of main and minor roads east to Witkowo, in places encroached upon by vegetation. On 21 April Lxd2-313 ventured east beyond Zelazkowo on a tree-cutting expedition, and on 22 April when it worked a special to Anastazewo a tree that survived the passage of the eastbound train fouled the locomotive’s roof on the westbound journey and had to be cut back. Winter 2002-03 seems to have seen freight traffic to the airfield at Powidz, which once hosted Russian forces and is now a NATO base. Polish military aircraft of Russian design could be seen flying over the lake at Przybrodzin. The special train comprised one flatcar and a passenger coach, the flatcar being left on the way back at Przybrodzin, where its cargo was to be used to prepare for the summer influx of passengers to the lakeshore. 2992][PL] Krosniewice - Dabrowice - Wielka Wies; Krosniewice - Ostrowy Waskotorowy and Krosniewice - Krzewie Waskotorowy: (R.2532; Ball 37B3) The three remaining short ex-PKP 750mm-gauge sections radiating from Krosniewice are now operated by SKPL (Stowarzyszenie Kolejowych Przewozow Lokalnych). Connections are made with the PKP standard-gauge both at Krzewie on the (Warszawa -) Kutno - Poznan main line and at Ostrowy on the Kutno - Torun line, but poor passenger loadings suggest an uncertain future. On Friday 16 May 2003 the Ostrowy Wask 11:57 - Krosniewice carried a maximum of four passengers, the Krosniewice 14:00 - Dabrowice carried ten, mainly schoolchildren, and the Dabrowice 14:18 - Krosniewice - Krzewie Wask three, all figures including our reporter and a companion. Fares for his three single journeys totalling 29 tariff km added up to PLZ7 (=c.GBP1.15 =c.EUR1.62). With scheduled departures from Krosniewice in two directions around 14:30, the spring 2003 timetable requires two railbuses, each with a driver and a guard to be paid. An onboard poster advised that, due to technical difficulties, the Krosniewice 12:24 - Ostrowy Wask 12:57 - Krosniewice working, one of six such round-trips, is suspended between 1 May and 31 July 2003. 2993][RU] Moskva metro: The Russian capital’s first Metro line, with its famously monumental stations, opened 15 May 1935. The 11-line system has tunnels at an unusually great depth to avoid the city’s swampy alluvial subsoil (and perhaps with a view to protection from aerial bombing). West of the city-centre, next to the park commemorating victory over Napoleon and Hitler, the 166th Metro station, Park Pobedy (= victory park), opened on 6 May 2003. The new metrostantsiya, with four parallel 1520mm-gauge tracks, is now the westernmost stop on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya (dark blue) line 3, 4km west of Kievskaya station, and is planned to become an interchange with new lines north to Mitino and south-west to Solntsevo, perhaps by 2010. Construction began in 1987 but was halted by lack of finance in 1991, restarting in 2001. The new station is claimed to be the world’s deepest, at 97m below the surface, with the longest escalator, at 125m. Descending by escalator to platform-level takes four minutes. The architects have sought to match the style and flair of the original 1930s stations, using Napoleonic and World War II themes. (partly from Pravda; Moscow Times; The Times) 2994][NZ] (Auckland - Waitakere - Whangarei - Otiria -) Kawakawa - Opua: (R.2596) The complicated ownership and management structure previously involved in the ill-fated Bay of Islands tourist railway, closed in June 2000 after accidents, has given way to a new Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Charitable Trust who now hold ownership, leases and operational responsibility under a general manager and an all-volunteer team. The Trust hope to rebuild rolling-stock back to a safe operating standard, initially introducing passenger trains up and down the main street (Gillies Street) in Kawakawa town in the north of the North Island, using a small diesel-mechanical locomotive and an open bogie vehicle. Restoration of the out-of-use Kawakawa - Opua section would require sleeper replacement and bridge repairs, unaffordable by the Trust in 2003. Information: Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Charitable Trust, 102 Gillies Street, Kawakawa, Northland, New Zealand; mocat@xtra.co.nz) 2995][NZ] Lumsden - Mararoa Jn - Fairlight - Kingston: Four lines once converged at Lumsden in the south of the South Island. Buses replaced most (Invercargill -) Makarewa - Lumsden trains from 4 April 1936 (when the Kingston - Queenstown road opened); most Lumsden - Kingston and all (Lumsden -) Mararoa Jn - Mossburn trains from 4 October 1937; and most Gore - Lumsden trains from 17 September 1945. The Invercargill line was the last of the four to offer something of an ordinary passenger service at Lumsden, for until November 1956 a carriage was attached, on Fridays only, to a Lumsden - Invercargill freight round-trip. Gore - Lumsden - Mararoa Jn - Kingston continued to have a few advertised trains at Christmas and Easter holidays until the last such working on Easter Monday 22 April 1957. By December 1982 all Lumsden’s railways were closed to freight also, and all have vanished. In October 2000 Lumsden’s (second) station building was in use as the local tourist-office. The platform remained, as did the car-park and gardens taking up the whole width of the strip between Diana Street and Hero Street, giving a good impression of the area the railways once occupied. From 21 December 1971 Lumsden - Kingston became the route of the steam-hauled Kingston Flyer tourist train during its first reincarnation, running for eight summers (Christmas to Easter) until its last trip on Easter Monday 17 April 1979. The Mararoa Jn - Kingston line was declared unfit and closed completely from 26 November 1979, just before the next holiday season. However, private-sector operators Kingston Flyer Ltd bought the (by then isolated) 13.5km Kingston - Fairlight section of track. Fairlight was equipped with a wye (= triangle) to turn a steam locomotive. From 18 December 1982 the Kingston Flyer was again in business, on private track but using rolling-stock leased from NZR. From 1 October 1994 (not the date shown in the Quail atlas), Tranz Rail as successors to NZR repossessed the rolling-stock, leased the private track, and themselves took over operation of the Flyer, running daily Kingston - Fairlight trains in summer (1 October to 30 April) till 2002. In December 1997 the station building from Otautau was moved to Fairlight. However, Tranz Rail wanted to quit the tourist-train business, and on 1 May 2002 the Flyer locomotives and rolling-stock were acquired for NZD350,000 by Invest South Ltd, a company owned by the Southland Building Society, giving interested parties time to form, later that year, the Kingston Flyer 2002 Incorporated Society, aimed at raising finance to keep these historic assets in local ownership. Businessmen Phil Kerr and Ian Cauldwell bought the Kingston - Fairlight track for NZD150,000, leased the locomotives and rolling-stock, and began trading as the Kingston Flyer Steam Train Joint Venture. Their operational base is at Kingston, where the wharf siding is used for stock storage and a turntable is used to turn the locomotive. Kingston once had no fewer than ten hotels, but since the last regular sailings of the Lake Wakatipu steamers in 1971-72 its transport significance has waned, and the small community has declined, hence the local importance of the tourist railway. (partly from All Aboard - the Ships & Trains that served Lake Wakatipu (2nd edition), by R J Meyer, NZLRS, 1980) 2996][NZ] Kingston - Queenstown heritage railway steamer: The twin-screw steamship Earnslaw was built for New Zealand Government Railways by J McGregor & Co of Dunedin, brought in sections by rail to Kingston, assembled at a temporary shipyard, and launched on Lake Wakatipu on 24 February 1912. After the opening in 1936 of the Kingston - Queenstown road, the ship’s original role, conveying freight and passengers from the railhead at Kingston to Queenstown and other lakeside communities not served by road, changed. Since 1969 she has been operated by private-sector companies. Deck cargo is no longer carried, enabling the vessel to be rebuilt with more covered passenger accommodation, more suitable for her present tourist customers. Her two 375kW (500 horse-power) triple-expansion steam engines are still fed by locomotive-type boilers, coal-fired by hand. The engine-room can be viewed by passengers from the steel gallery overhead, and the engineer is used to answering questions. In 1999 the crew comprised skipper, engineer, two deckhands, two stokers, three catering staff and a pianist. While passengers disembark at Queenstown, the stokers coal the ship, a very dusty process no longer familiar to seamen. (partly from Lady of the Lake - the TSS Earnslaw story, by M Mackay, 1999) 2997][CA] (Prince George - Odell -) Wakely - Teck (- Quintette, BC): (R.2491) Opened as recently as 1 November 1983, electrified at 50kV 60Hz until October 2000, but latterly diesel-worked, BC Rail’s Tumbler Ridge Subdivision closed after the last Teck - Wakely coal train ran on this remaining 70km section on 10 April 2003. The section beyond Teck to Quintette was already lifted. Another tour of BC Rail lines north of Prince George, being planned for 2003, might have traversed the Tumbler Ridge Sub had the track remained available, but part of the 439km Odell - Fort St.James - Lovell - Minaret (- Chipmunk, BC) line, the Takla Subdivision (R.1996), may be visited instead. Information when available from http://www.westcoastrailtours.com. 2998][CA] Victoria - Esquimalt - Malahat - Nanaimo - Parksville - Courtenay, BC and Parksville - Port Alberni, BC: (R.1938, 2153, 2186, 2382, 2706) Abandonment of the isolated 225km standard-gauge Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway by short-line operators RailAmerica was deferred, and the Vancouver Island Rail Development Initiative, a consortium of local interests, have recently been subsidising rail operations. Members of the consortium have set up IslandRail, a new operating company who are to take over from RailAmerica both the Victoria - Courtenay main line and the currently out-of-use Parksville - Port Alberni branch, probably from 1 July 2003. VIA’s Victoria - Courtenay passenger train #198/199 Malahat continues to run, using 1950s Budd Rail Diesel Cars #6135 (refurbished April 2003) and #6148 (refurbished 2002), with #6133 (refurbished December 2001) in reserve for the summer season. 2999][CA] (Winnipeg, MB - Hudson Bay, SK -) The Pas, MB - Lynn Lake, MB: (BLN 792.0527) Mining operations at Leaf Rapids and Lynn Lake have ceased, and Hudson Bay Railway, operators since August 1997 of former Canadian National lines north of The Pas (BLN 811.0479), are seeking to abandon the 389km section from The Pas to Lynn Lake. HBR and VIA Rail’s mixed trains #290/1 The Pas - Lynn Lake now run twice instead of thrice weekly. 3000][CA] Sept Îles, QC - Ross Bay Jn, NF - Schefferville, QC and Ross Bay Jn - Labrador City, NF: (BLN 799.0175; R.1607) Transport Canada are to contribute an extra CAD1.33M subsidy to ensure continued operation until November 2003 of passenger trains on the isolated Québec North Shore & Labrador Railway’s 570km standard-gauge main line to Schefferville and its 58km branch to Labrador City. Trains are the only surface passenger transport to Schefferville, and are also used by First Nation (= Red Indian) people to travel to lands occupied year-round or on a seasonal basis for traditional pursuits. 3001][US] Portland Union station - Willbridge - Linnton - Astoria, OR: (R.2731, 2852) America’s nationalised passenger rail operators Amtrak have once again displayed their disappointingly weak management by reneging from a provisional agreement to run the Lewis & Clark Explorer trains only days before the public service was due to start. Amtrak operated inaugural Portland - Astoria round-trips on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 May as special trains, and agreed to continue handling ticketing and reservations, but told the state of Oregon’s Department of Transportation at the last minute that they would not operate the regular trains from 23 May to 2 September 2003. While agreement looked likely for Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR) crews to work the ODOT trains over some 150km of PNWR track from Willbridge to Astoria, the sheer difficulty of finalising detailed contracts at very short notice with other parties (including Portland Development Commission, Portland Terminal Railroad, BNSF and their insurers) means that unreliable Amtrak may have forced Oregon to abandon for summer 2003 the prospect of running from Portland Union station, used by Amtrak trains. A connecting bus may have to be provided between the city station and a loading-point on PNWR, possibly in Linnton, some 10km to the north-west. By early May 2003 track at Astoria had been realigned to separate physically the operations of the existing Astoria Trolley and the new ODOT trains from Portland. From 36th Street west the former main track is now used by the Trolley, but a former run-round loop has been rehabilitated and extended in parallel, providing a separate track through to Astoria’s ex-Spokane, Portland & Seattle passenger station at 20th Street (Burlington Northern/PNWR milepost 99.7). The former passenger station building is now owned by Astoria Maritime Museum but the city council have tidied up the nearby SPS freight-house area and restored the concrete passenger platform to welcome the Explorer trains. PNWR’s running line ends at Astoria station, and PNWR have the use of a short run-round track and two sidings there for occasional carloads of freight, though freight business at Astoria seems more likely to develop 5km east of the town at Tongue Point (milepost 96.7), a former US Navy World War II seaplane and submarine base now privately owned by Washington Marine Group. West of the passenger station, Astoria Trolley have exclusive use of the ex-SPS, ex-BN, trackage for some 3km to the Port of Astoria’s older area, where the trolley car-barn has been constructed squarely athwart the former running line west of the Red Lion hotel, preventing freight movement beyond in recent years. 3002][US] Idaho freight-only line: Some 162km of Idaho Northern & Pacific freight trackage (Payette, ID - Horseshoe Bend - Banks - Cascade, ID) are to see a one-way USD125 rail trip on Friday 8 August 2003, using ex-Long Island Railroad coaching-stock plus flatcars with benches, both open and covered. Return journey is by bus. Bookings: Southern Appalachia Railway Museum, PO Box 5870, Knoxville, TN37928. Stock details: http://www.thundermountainline.com 3003][US] Michigan freight-only lines: Some 77km of former Pere Marquette (Brown City - Marlette - Vassar, MI) and Michigan Central (Vassar - Caro Jn - Caro, MI) trackage now operated by RailAmerica are to see a day-trip to the Tuscola County Fair on 26 July 2003. Short side-trips are also to run that day on two 16km sections (Caro - Vassar, MI and Caro - Colling, MI). Two separate day-trips are to run on Saturday and Sunday 9-10 August 2003 on some 77km (Kawkawlin - Pinconning - Standish - Sterling - Alger - West Branch, MI) of the former Michigan Central, now operated by Lake State Railway. Short side-trips each day are to retrace the train’s path back south on the 31km West Branch - Sterling, MI section. These excursions are organised by the Bluewater Michigan Chapter of the (US) National Railway Historical Society using classic passenger stock, including their ex-Grand Trunk Western dining-car Silver Lake (http://www.bluewaternrhs.com). The Pere Marquette offered twice-daily passenger trains on their (Port Huron -) Brown City - Marlette - Vassar (- Bay City, MI) route in 1922 but these had gone by the 1950s. In 1957 Michigan Central still had passenger service over their (Detroit -) Vassar - Caro Jn - Bay City - Kawkawlin - West Branch (- Mackinaw City, MI) line, the overnight Northerner Detroit - Bay City - Mackinaw City, MI and the daytime Beeliner Detroit - Bay City - Midland, MI, but both had gone by 1965. The two railways intersected at Vassar, where PM and MC passenger stations were ‘adjacent’, according to the Official Guide. Freight-trackage trips in Michigan are also operated by Lake Central Rail Tours (R.2709; http://www.lakecentralrailtours.com). 3004][US] Ohio freight-only lines: The original Wheeling & Lake Erie (WLE) discontinued ordinary passenger service in 1938, but excursions have run in recent years on the tracks of the present Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway (WE). Hartland - Wellington - Spencer - Orrville - Canton - Akron - Medina - Spencer, OH is to host two trips, sponsored by the Orrville Railroad Heritage Society to celebrate the bicentennial of the state of Ohio. On 23 August 2003 an Orrville - Wellington round-trip is to run, with side-trips from Wellington west to Hartland and north on the Lorain & West Virginia Railway from Wellington to Pittsfield, OH. On 11 October 2003 a circular tour is to start in Wellington and call at Orrville, continuing east through Canton, north through Akron, and west to Medina. The train will return from Medina direct to Spencer, splitting there into an eastbound portion for Orrville and a westbound portion for Wellington. In addition, Saturday and Sunday 4-5 October 2003 are to see two scenic ‘fall-foliage’ round-trips on the 29km (Cleveland -) Falls Jn - Kent, OH section, from the WLE’s historic 1883-built Falls Junction depot in the town of Glenwillow south to the ex-Erie Railroad station in Kent. (Kent is home to Kent State University, notorious for the shameful incident of 4 May 1970 when Ohio’s state governor sent National Guardsmen to the campus and they shot dead four students who were protesting against US military action in Vietnam.) Trip information: http://www.orrvillerailroad.com; http://www.lakeshorerailway.org; http://www.midwestrailway.org. 3005][BR] Rio de Janeiro metro: A 1km extension (Copacabana - Siqueiro Campos; line 1) was inaugurated 23 December, with ordinary service from 24 December 2002, and a further 1.8km extension of line 1 is to open in September 2003. A 4.7km extension of the Recife metro (Camaragibe Rodoviaria - Timbi) opened 26 December 2002. (partly from Tramways & Urban Transit, February 2003) 3006][IE] (Dublin - Cherryville Jn -) Lavistown North Jn - Lavistown South Jn (- Waterford): (R.0366) Iarnród Éireann’s June 2003 public timetable shows the Lavistown curve (avoiding Kilkenny station) with its first timetabled passenger train, the 14:05 Waterford - Dublin Heuston, running on Saturdays in July and August only. Monday 2 June is an Irish public holiday so an altered ‘previous-year’ service was to operate over that weekend, with the new timetable starting on Tuesday 3 June 2003. 3007][LU][BE] (Arlon - Autelbas - Sterpenich SNCB -) Kleinbettingen CFL - Capellen - Mamer - Bertrange-Strassen - Luxembourg: (Ball 18A2) The CFL engineering work on Sunday 25 May 2003 which diverted some international trains via the normally freight-only Autelbas - Athus section in Belgium (R.2910) was to allow excavation of a subway between the two platforms of a new station at Mamer that is to open on 15 June 2003 to serve a local school. (European Rail yahoogroup) 3008][NL] (Amsterdam Centraal -) Amsterdam Duivendrecht - Amsterdam Bijlmer (- Utrecht Centraal): As part of the Amsterdam - Utrecht quadrupling work (R.1524, 1922, 2454, 2500; Ball 4A3), a new alignment of the southbound NS track came into use on 19 May 2003, some metres to the west of the old alignment shared by the main line and the Amsterdam Metro. The new track starts south of Duivendrecht, near Strandvliet Arena metro station, and ends south of Amsterdam Bijlmer station. At Bijlmer, southbound NS and metro trains used to share the western island platform but this now serves the metro only, with its western face out of use, and the NS trains stop at a new flank platform on the west side of the new track, so cross-platform interchange with the metro is no longer possible. Northbound NS and metro trains still share Bijlmer’s eastern island platform, but the layout is to be similarly remodelled on the east side. The new southbound track is also used by freight trains from the direction of Diemen Zuid using the east-to-south curve that avoids Duivendrecht station. 3009][DE] Krefeld - Weeze - Kleve: (Ball 37B3; KBS495) Low-fare airline Ryanair were in May 2003 operating flights from (London) Stansted to (Düsseldorf) Niederrhein, a secondary airport some 50km north-west of the Ruhr-area towns and close to the Netherlands border. Facilities amounted to little more than an ex-air-force hangar. Ryanair had organised, at an extra charge, a road service from the airport into Düsseldorf. However, from a stop directly outside the hangar, local bus SW1 connected with the plane and for a modest fare of EUR1.80 made the 10min journey to the small station of Weeze on the diesel-worked Düsseldorf - Krefeld - Kleve line. (European Rail yahoogroup) 3010][DE] Riesa bridge renewal: (R.2635) Interesting route variations are demonstrated by the overnight München - Dresden train-pair Nachtzüge NZ1904/5. From January to March 2003 both trains were booked to run via Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, a very circuitous route. From March a path was found for the southbound NZ1905 enabling it to run direct via Riesa, but the northbound NZ1904 continued to run via Lutherstadt-Wittenberg. From Sunday 15 June 2003 northbound NZ1904 is to run Leipzig - Riesa - Dresden-Neustadt on Saturday and Sunday mornings and Leipzig - Lutherstadt-Wittenberg - Falkenberg (Elster) - Röderau - north-to-east curve avoiding Riesa - Glaubitz - Radebeul - Dresden-Neustadt (Ball 42B3-29A1-43B3-44B2) on Monday to Friday mornings. This deviation is likely to continue until perhaps October 2003, when double track is available over the bridge just east of Riesa whose predecessor was washed away by the river Elbe in August 2002. 3011][DE] (Karlsruhe -) Rastatt - Baden Baden - Bühl - Offenburg (- Basel): (Ball 57A1-68A3; KBS700) Rebuilding of this important main line for higher speeds continues. By 8 May 2003 trains were using the southbound Ausbaustrecke from km102 through a single platform, #5, at Baden Baden (c.km104.5) to km112, mostly following a new alignment to the west of the old line, with easier curvature. Between km105 and km112 the old alignment was still in use by northbound traffic, but in places it had become a single track, the old southbound track having been de-electrified and partly removed. From km112 to km115, north of Bühl (km115.2), construction work on the new alignment seemed still to be in progress. From Bühl south to Offenburg the new alignment has been in use since 2000-01 (R.0731, 1852). 3012][ES] Monistrol-Enllaç - Monistrol-Vila - Montserrat: (R.0340, 0489, 2931; Ball 16A3) FGC set Monday 2 June 2003 as the new target date for reopening the metre-gauge rack railway up to the monastery of Montserrat. 3013][ES] Zafra - Fregenal de la Sierra - Valdelamusa - Huelva: (Ball 27B1-34A2) Buses have replaced Zafra - Valdelamusa trains during recent winters (R.2225, 2318, 2754), but trains resumed on 24 April 2003, and work has begun to improve the Zafra - Fregenal de la Sierra section by 2005. 3014][IT] Trento - Malé - Dimaro-Presson - Marilleva: (R.0684, 1663, 2935; Ball 42B1-42B2) Ferrovia Ellettrica Trento-Malé metre-gauge trains are now using the new through station at Malé, which is also a bus interchange point, but Malé’s old terminal station was still connected up, and some track-maintenance vehicles were stored there during the weekend 24-25 May. The new extension offers some dramatic scenery. It turns up a river valley short of the village of Mezzana to terminate at the small settlement of Marilleva, a purpose-built winter-sports resort. Tucked in behind hotels and ski-shops is the new station, a simple platform on the single line plus a wooden shelter with a green metallic canopy. After the formal inauguration on 4 May, services began on Monday 5 May 2003, according to local timetables. Until 21 June 2003 six weekday services run through to Marilleva and five short workings terminate at Dimaro-Presson, with fewer trains on Sundays and holidays. 3015][GR] Thessaloniki metro: A 14-station automatic metro is planned for the second-largest city in Greece. If financing can be agreed in June 2003 as expected, work may begin in autumn 2003, with a target opening-date of 2007. 3016][GR] Diakopto - Kalavrita: (BLN 843.071; Ball 66A2-65B2) As the main summer-holiday season approaches, Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados (= Greek railways) have closed two lines of tourist interest. The scenic 23km 750mm-gauge rack-and-adhesion line up to Kalavrita, unusual for its electric locomotives with diesel-generator tenders, is closed for track renewal from 15 May 2003 until about May 2004. Further south in the Peloponnese peninsula, the metre-gauge (Pirgos -) Alfios - Olimpia branch (R.2482; Ball 65B2), previously closed for track renewal in 2002-03, is closed again from 23 May till about August 2003 while a new road bridge is constructed. (European Rail yahoogroup, quoting LOK-Report) 3017][CH] (Lyss - Busswil -) Büren an der Aare - Rüti bei Büren - Solothurn: (Ball 86B1) This section of the single-track Busswil - Solothurn line lost its passenger service 29 May 1994 (BLN 734.0165) and the overhead line equipment had been removed by spring 2000 (R.0687). In May 2003 freight traffic was still handled at some intermediate stations. While all except Rüti bei Büren had loops, these were no longer in use, intermediate signalling having been disconnected. Level-crossing barriers remained electrically worked but required manual activation by the train-crew. On Sunday 18 May 2003 Laupen-based preservation group Verein Dampfbahn Bern (R.1813) ran two well-filled Lyss - Solothurn round-trips, calling at all stations. Between its trips to Solothurn the DBB train was shunted with passengers aboard between Lyss station and shed. Lyss-based preservation group Verein Pacific 01 202 held an open day, with their eponymous locomotive on display. 3018][CH] Olten - Sissach (- Pratteln - Basel): (BLN 774.0118; Ball 87A2) The earlier Olten - Läufelfingen - Sissach route (line 503) through the 2495m Hauenstein tunnel was completed as double track 1 May 1858 but singled north of Läufelfingen 1 October 1938, south of Läufelfingen 6 December 1938. The newer Olten - Tecknau - Sissach route (line 500) through the 8134m Hauenstein-Basistunnel opened 8 January 1916 and became the main line. Between Olten and the south portal of the Hauenstein-Basistunnel, the main-line bridge over the river Aare is to be replaced, and indeed in May 2003 the replacement bridge was already standing alongside it. While this work is in progress, from 4 August to 26 October 2003, the newer route is to be closed, and during this surprisingly lengthy period many main-line trains are to be diverted via the older route, with a 5-7min increase in running-time. Buses will temporarily replace almost all the stopping trains on the Läufelfingen route. Trains using the east-to-north curve avoiding Olten (line 512) cannot access the Läufelfingen line, so presumably they will need to reverse at Olten or divert via Brugg AG - Stein-Säckingen - Pratteln (line 700). 3019][CH] Luzern - Kupferhammer - Kriens: (Ball 93A3) The street-running section of Kriens-Luzern Bahn dual standard- and metre-gauge track still to be seen in Luzernstrasse in April 2003 (R.2938) had three rails, not four. 3020][CH][IT] Mendrisio FFS - Stabio - Santa Margherita [CH] - Ponte Lanza [IT] - Casello - Valmorea - Cantello: (BLN 840.0625; Ball CH-101B1, IT-40A3, not shown) Tourist-train operators Club del San Gottardo initially confirmed that the 2km Valmorea - Cantello extension was to reopen on Sunday 1 June 2003 (R.2402), bringing the operational length of this cross-border line to 9.5km. However problems with the steam locomotive have meant cancellation of the trips due to run on 1 and 15 June. CSG trains are due to run on the first and third Sunday of each month from July to 5 October 2003, as follows: Mendrisio 08:45 - 09:20 Valmorea Valmorea 09:45 - 10:15 Mendrisio 10:28 - 11:12 Lugano Mendrisio 14:00 - 14:35 Valmorea 14:40 - 14:50 Cantello Cantello 15:00 - 15:10 Valmorea 15:15 - 15:45 Mendrisio Lugano 15:51 - 16:33 Mendrisio 16:43 - 17:20 Valmorea 17:25 - 17:35 Cantello Cantello 17:45 - 17:55 Valmorea 17:57 - 18:25 Mendrisio The first round-trip does not run to Cantello, but on the way back from Valmorea runs through to Lugano, hauled from Mendrisio by a vintage electric locomotive, which works back to Mendrisio on the last trip of the day. All trains stop at the Santa Margherita border-gate for immigration control, and each passenger must carry an identity-card or passport. Santa Margherita’s ‘typical Ticino grotto’, a religious feature, is also advertised to passengers. On the second and third southbound journeys, trains also stop at Ponte Lanza river-bridge for photographs. Information: info.csg@ticino.com; +41 91 646 57 61; Club del San Gottardo, CP 1250, CH-6850 Mendrisio. Reopening to ordinary passenger trains is planned (R.0343). 3021][CZ][AT] (Kostelec u Jihlavy -) Slavonice CD - Fratres ÖBB (- Waldkirchen an der Thaya - Waidhofen an der Thaya): (Ball CZ-41A2, AT-63B2) In April 1999 track extended from Slavonice station south for a short way towards Fratres c.3km away, but from the church tower in the village square the trackless formation was clearly visible at about the point where it crossed the Austrian border. A large-scale Czech road-map also showed track from Slavonice to the border but none from the border to Fratres. Within Austria the c.5km Fratres - Waldkirchen section may be out of use (ÖBB refused to run a railtour north of Waldkirchen in the late 1990s) and Waldkirchen - Waidhofen appears to have only irregular freight traffic. Nevertheless, in spring 2003 bilateral negotiations were reported to be in progress about reopening this frontier crossing-point. More information would be welcome. 3022][YU][BG] (Beograd -) Nis - Dimitrovgrad (- Kalotina BDZ - Sofia): (Ball 52B3-52B2) This section within Serbia, once part of the route of the famous Paris - Istanbul Orient Express, had seen its passenger service suspended with the exception of overnight trains #292/3 Beograd - Sofia, but the timetable valid from 21 May to 30 September 2003 shows day trains #B490/1 Beograd 11:53 - 22:30 Sofia 06:43 - 14:44 Beograd. (European Rail yahoogroup) 3023][FR] Paris: Place de la Concorde - Avenue George V: (R.2905) Some 100 workers toiled overnight Wednesday-Friday and 250 over the Saturday night to prepare the one-day-only temporary railway along the Champs-Elysées. On Sunday 1 June 2003, with the famous avenue closed to road traffic, a diesel shunting-engine powered new SNCF Corail coaches along the 1450m of track at 3km/h, making fifteen trips and carrying 2000 passengers in all, including our reporter. It was a fine day, and many thousands of people came to see the train and the SNCF’s exhibition. 3024][FR] Trouville-Deauville - Villers-sur-Mer - Dives-Port-Guillaume - Dives-Cabourg: (Ball 12B1) This unelectrified single-track branch trails into the electrified Lisieux - Trouville-Deauville branch just south of Trouville-Deauville. One of the four intermediate stations, Villers-sur-Mer, is a handsome building with a canopy, still with its parcels weighing-machine inside, but unstaffed and neglected. By contrast Dives-Port-Guillaume is a new station (opened summer 2001; R.1271) with a concrete platform, a shelter and an impressive clock on a plinth. Though the whole branch has rather a dilapidated air, with well-rusted track, the stock is modern (on 24 May 2003 three gleaming blue TER single diesel railcars #73648+73653+73649 with smoked glass and airline-style seating) and the peeling station at Dives-Cabourg is staffed seven days a week. At the end of the main platform, the running line ends at a buffer-stop. A second very rusty track continues past the out-of-use far platform, joining the first line behind the buffer-stop before heading west over a level-crossing towards Caen. More trains run in high summer, but in May 2003 the sparse passenger service comprised two Mon-Sat down departures from Trouville-Deauville at 11:01 and 21:14, reduced on Sundays and public holidays to the 11:01 only. Up trains were three on weekdays, two on Sundays and holidays, so in accordance with SNCF tradition the timetable required wasteful empty-stock workings. 3025][FR] (Caen -) Thury-Harcourt (- Clécy - Berjou - Pont-Erambourg - Cerisi-Belle-Étoile - Flers): (R.0291; Ball 23A3-22B3) From 1991 to 1993 CFT Suisse-Normande tourist trains ran Caen-Prairie - Clécy (BLN 750.0106), and in summer 1999 rail-cycles could be hired from Pont-Erambourg for 5km north toward Berjou. However, at Thury-Harcourt in summer 2003 the Orne valley line lay wholly disused, with very rusty track disappearing beneath the weeds. The handsome station building appeared to be privately occupied. 3026][FR] France: no more railtours on freight-only lines?: An SNCF official on 25 April 2003 told a meeting in Troyes with the Association Chemin de fer Touristique Aubois (R.2970) that track-authority RFF and SNCF have decided they will no longer authorise running tourist trains on freight lines not maintained to passenger standards. (Voie Étroite, #196, June 2003) 3027][BE] Belgium to abandon international trains?: Brussel=Bruxelles may be the capital of the European Union, but from the 14 December 2003 timetable-change SNCB/NMBS are reportedly to cease their involvement in many international services, including the provision of classic through carriages, couchettes and sleepers, and all passenger/car-carrier and winter-sports workings. Eurostar may become a wholly SNCF operation. Thalys (Paris - Brussel - Köln / Amsterdam etc), other TGV (eg Bruxelles - Marseille / Perpignan), Benelux (Brussel - Amsterdam) and Bruxelles - Luxembourg trains may continue much as before, but it is not clear what will happen to all the classic through workings from and to Belgium that may or may not use some Belgian stock (eg Brussel=Bruxelles - Strasbourg / Port Bou / Ventimiglia / Milano / Firenze / Venezia / Roma / Basel / Bern / Wien / München / Berlin / Hamburg). The demise of Belgian passenger/car-carrier trains and possibly other overnight workings may leave various curves in various countries without a passenger service. Detailed information will be posted at http://www.steane.com/egtre/egtre.htm when available. 3028][LU] Luxembourg - Bertrange-Strassen - Mamer - Capellen - Kleinbettingen: (R.3007; Ball 18A2) The new station at Mamer Lycée is reportedly to open on 15 September 2003. (European Rail yahoogroup) 3029][DE] Lübeck: (map at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/de_lubek.gif; BLN 826.0230; Ball 18A3-11A1) Verein Lübecker Verkehrsfreunde ran another tour of the city’s docks and harbour lines on Sunday 1 June 2003. Two new passenger halts, both single platforms with basic facilities, have opened. Lübeck-Kücknitz is on the Lübeck - Dänischburg - Kücknitz - Travemünde line, east of the former Kücknitz station. Lübeck-St.Jürgen is on the single-track Lübeck - Abzw Strecknitz - Grevesmühlen line, east of Abzw Strecknitz but west of the point where the Abzw Strecknitz - Abzw Brandenbaum - Lübeck-Schlutup freight branch of the harbour company Lübeck Hafen Gesellschaft diverges north. DB lines in the area had numerous new colour-light signals, in place but with the heads covered over, so the classic semaphore signalling seemed about to be replaced. Some track alterations had taken place. South of the locomotive depot, the flyover that carried the single Lübeck - Büchen track over the single Lübeck - Hamburg track had been removed, and a new connection had been provided between the two lines at Lübeck West, though Büchen trains were in fact using the Lübeck - Grevesmühlen track between Lübeck Hbf and Lübeck West. On the Uferbahn (= quay line) south of Lübeck-Dänischburg to Lübeck-Herrenwyk the extension to the former Metallhüttenwerke Lübeck and onward to Lehmannkai 3 had been brought back into use, with hopes of traffic from the former metal-works. At Lübeck-Siems, also on the Uferbahn, immediately upstream of the lifting-bridge that carries Autoroute 75 (not Autobahn) over the river Trave, a new terminal is able to tranship containers from the largest sea-going vessels, but though a ship was berthed there, no sign was seen that rail traffic had begun from the extensive sidings. The harbour company’s (Lübeck Hbf -) Walhalbinsel - Drehbrücke - Hubbrücke - Konstinbahnhof - Abzw Brandenbaum (- Abzw Strecknitz) freight loop had been realigned at Konstinkai to allow building construction across the previous route. An unadvertised feature of the VLV tour was steam haulage over the LHG line through the streets to Konstinbf in the evening. 3030][AT] Serfaus underground: The small winter-sports resort of Serfaus on the alpine pastures above the river Inn in Austria’s Tirol province has an unusual ‘railway’, the Dorfbahn Serfaus, a four-station single-track underground line built by Freissler-Otis and opened in 1985 beneath the village street, with the car hauled by cable and supported on a cushion of air rather than wheels. No fares are charged on this short line, which links a sizeable car-park at one end of the village with the ski-lifts at the other. (http://www.funimag.com) 3031][SE] Skövde - Tibro - Karlsborg: (Ball 21B2-22A2) Svenska Motorvagnsklubben duly ran three farewell diesel-railcar trips on 31 May 2003, but few passengers other than railway enthusiasts were on the historic last train to reach the old station building at Karlsborg, now a restaurant. Karlsborg sidings still held stored wagons (R.2652). Track condition on the branch varied. The overhead line equipment, though said to be unreliable beyond Tibro, seemed intact the whole way. Furniture traffic appeared to be continuing at Tibro, where wagons with recent labels were in the sidings, so it seems that only the Tibro - Karlsborg section may have suffered complete closure after all (R.2978). 3032][PL] Pilawa - Minsk Mazowiecki: (Ball 39A3-39B3) Westbound train #11/11014 normally runs (Moskva RZD - Minsk BCh - Brest BCh -) Terespol PKP - Luków - Siedlce - Minsk Mazowiecki - Warszawa Wschodnia, but 24-hour engineering possession of one of the tracks on the Siedlce - Minsk Mazowiecki section in summer 2003 has enforced single-line working. The train has therefore been temporarily diverted to run Luków - Pilawa - Minsk Mazowiecki - Warszawa, with a commercial stop in Luków at 16:25 instead of Siedlce at 16:44. Luków - Pilawa is a passenger line, with local electric units as well as the Moskva - Praha train Vltava, but Pilawa - Minsk Mazowiecki is normally freight-only. Pilawa - Otwock - Warszawa would be a more direct route, but Pilawa - Otwock is a single-line section on the otherwise double Lublin - Pilawa - Otwock - Warszawa line, and its capacity is limited, especially in the afternoon, when the line is busy with commuter trains. 3033][CZ] (Rumburk -) Krasna Lipa - Zahrady u Rumburka - Pansky and Rumburk - Pansky - Mikulasovice: (R.1692; Ball 36A2) Passenger services on these two lines, reportedly threatened with closure from 1 March, were still operating on Friday 16 May 2003. The Class 810 railbus forming the 14:13 Rumburk - Pansky was quite full on departure, though after the train reversed at Krasna Lipa only two passengers remained, one of whom alighted at Zahrady, leaving just our reporter continuing on board to Pansky. By contrast the 15:01 Rumburk - Pansky - Mikulasovice railbus started out full, with standing passengers, and remained busy throughout the entire journey. With apparently healthy traffic, and track in reasonable condition, this line did not seem an obvious candidate for passenger closure. 3034][CZ][DE] Rumburk CD - Jiríkov CD / Ebersbach (Sachsen) DB: (Ball CZ-36A2, DE-44B2) As in August 2002 (R.2373), the 15:02 Rumburk - Ebersbach railbus on 17 May 2003, working one of the three international round-trips on Saturdays and Sundays only, was empty except for our reporter, whose Czech Eurodomino ticket was accepted without query for the 9min journey into Germany. Walking back to the nearby terminus of Jirikov in the Czech Republic, he boarded the 16:29 Jirikov - Rumburk train. No customs formalities took place at Rumburk, Ebersbach, Jirikov, on train or at the border. 3035][CZ][PL] Frydlant v Cechach - Cernousy CD - Zawidow PKP: (Ball 36A2, partly shown) On Sunday 18 May 2003 the 06:44 Frydlant - Cernousy train terminated at Cernousy and did not run forward empty across the border to Zawidow in Poland, though this particular working was at one time booked to do so (R.2227). This may have been because the CD railbus was on its own, and did not require to run round a non-driving trailer. Instead the driver deployed a bucket and cloth and proceeded to clean the windows of the vehicle during the layover. The return journey was surprisingly busy for a Sunday morning. This cross-border line is a busy freight route, and several freight trains were seen during the short visit. By contrast, a trip that same morning on the Frydlant v Cechach - Jindrichovice branch confirmed that the former Jindrichovice CD - Pobiedna PKP (- Mirsk) cross-border section was out of use, as shown in the Ball atlas. 3036][SK] Chvatimech - Hronec zlievaren: (BLN 792.0521; Ball 42B2, not shown) The minor station of Chvatimech on the single-track (Banska Bystrica -) Podbrezova - Chvatimech - Valaska (- Brezno) line has no passing-loop, which is relatively unusual at a Slovakian junction. Tickets on sale there in May 2003 were still of the traditional Edmondson-card type. Immediately east of Chvatimech station a branch diverges south-east for 2km to Hronec zlievaren, which in the spring 2003 public timetable had a single train, running on 1 May only and working through from and to Banska Bystrica. A building at Hronec bears a nameboard, but it is not clear if it was once a proper passenger station, for no discernible platform of any sort is to be seen, and passengers arriving on the standard-gauge train alight on to the ballast or the lineside mud. The transhipment yard slightly to the west, with a gantry-crane straddling both the standard-gauge and narrow-gauge sidings, looked as if some freight were still being handled there. This might have been revenue-earning timber, but this no longer arrives by the 760mm-gauge forestry system, now in use only by Hronec - Cierny Balog tourist trains of the Ciernohronská Zeleznica. West of Hronec the narrow-gauge trackbed was being reballasted with a view to reinstatement, but no track had yet been relaid. This narrow-gauge route passes beneath the ZSR line east of Chvatimech before passing over the river Hron on a bridge that was not only intact but appeared to have seen some recent refurbishment. 3037][AR] (Ingeniero Jacobacci -) El Maitén - Esquel: (R.1654) The 750mm-gauge railway to Esquel featured in Paul Theroux’s book Old Patagonian Express is known informally as La Trochita (diminutive of trocha = gauge). The steam-hauled tourist trains on this southern section were suspended in March 2000, but after restoration work on the line the first train left El Maitén at 10:30 and arrived in Esquel at 18:30 on 27 May 2003. 3038][US] (Portland Union station - Willbridge -) Linnton - Astoria, OR: (R.2731, 2852) Thanks to unhelpful Amtrak (R.3001), Oregon’s summer Lewis & Clark Explorer Portland - Astoria trains have now indeed been cut back, with a connecting bus running from Portland Union station to the new loading-point west of Linnton. This location is a gravel parking-lot on Morse Brothers Linnton Marine Terminal property at 12222 NW Marina Way, off St.Helens Road (= US Highway 30). The c.6km gap in trackage not covered by passenger trains is therefore from Willbridge Jn (milepost 4.3; where Amtrak’s Portland, OR - Seattle, WA trains swing north to cross the Willamette and Columbia Rivers) west to the short Morse Brothers industrial branch off the PNWR running-line at about milepost 8. Days of operation are Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday until 1 September, plus Tuesday 2 September 2003. Tickets may be bought through Amtrak (trains #998/9) or on the train, at a fare of USD24 one-way, USD48 round-trip, with on-board food at extra cost. Advertised bus and train times are (Portland Union 07:30 -) Linnton 08:00 - Astoria - 20:45 Linnton (- Portland Union 21:10), but on 25 May 2003 the train took rather less than the booked time in each direction. While this allowed a longer stay in Astoria (the Astoria Trolley heritage tramway and the marine museum in the old passenger station are recommended) it meant that the train was back at Linnton half an hour early, before the connecting bus had shown up. 3039][US] San Francisco, CA: Bay Area Rapid Transit: After repeated delays (R.2803) BART were to open their 14km four-station Colma - South San Francisco - San Bruno - SFO Airport / Millbrae extension with free rides on Saturday 21 June and regular service from 22 June 2003. Connections to and from San Francisco - San Jose Caltrain commuter trains were to be available from 23 June. (Transnet #118) BART were advertising the initial service pattern as: Pittsburg/Baypoint - downtown Oakland - downtown San Francisco - Colma - Millbrae; Dublin/Pleasanton - downtown Oakland - downtown San Francisco - Colma - SFO Airport; plus SFO Airport - Millbrae shuttles. The BART website map (http://www.bart.gov) also shows a ‘future extension subject to funding’ south-east of the Bay (Fremont - Irvington - Warm Springs). The BART heavy-rail metro is curious, not to say quirky, in a number of respects. Though it adopted much existing standard 1435mm-gauge railroad right-of-way, its designers deliberately chose for it the non-standard broad gauge of 1676mm (familiar in India and Latin America but used nowhere else in the USA), allegedly to allow more spacious rolling-stock, but permanently preventing any interworking with others’ lines as in, for example, London or Tokyo. The system’s computerised train control has never quite lived up to initial claims for it, and the headway between services remains unspectacular compared with other cities’ manually-driven trains. Staff hanging about the stations are employed to ensure physical security and do not issue tickets (and you will be lucky if they advise you about the fare-system). Revenue control is by ticket-machines and turnstile-gates. Without much help from the unfriendly machine you have to decide the fare you want to pay, then insert cash to be issued a ticket. The ticket-gate at your destination tells you if you have underpaid. No day-ticket is available but you can ride the whole system for the minimum fare of USD1.10, provided you do not leave the paid area of any station until you exit at a station adjacent to the one you started from. If you return to your starting station, however, the fare is not USD1.10 nor even USD2.20, but USD4. Indeed, this latter fare is specifically advertised as an Excursion Ride (‘you can tour the entire system and visit any of the 39 stations for up to 3 hours as long as you enter and exit the same station’). This offer is ambiguous, for nowhere else is there any suggestion of a time-limit on tickets, and it is impossible to tour the whole system in anything like 3h. According to Transnet newsletter, SFO airport’s own internal elevated-guideway people-mover (R.2803) began carrying passengers 24 February 2003, with formal inauguration on 2 March and full service from 3 March 2003. 3040][US] Port of Los Angeles heritage trams: (R.1238) California Public Utilities Commission have approved the delayed Waterfront Red Car tourist tramway and target opening-date is 19 July 2003. Restored 1907 Pacific Electric trolley-car #1058 and replica car #501 are to operate on the first 2.4km section (San Pedro cruise-ship terminal - Maritime Museum - Ports O’Call - 22nd Street) running 10:00-18:00 Friday to Monday. (partly from Transnet newsletter #117) 3041][US] Chicago, IL elevated metro: (R.1806) In a well-planned operation over the Memorial Day public-holiday weekend 24-26 May 2003, Chicago Transit Authority removed the famous 1897 reverse-curve on the ‘L’ above the intersection of Congress and Harrison Streets, replacing it by a new structure heading diagonally above the intersection. Easing the curvature raises speeds from 16km/h to 56km/h - and makes the trains considerably quieter. (Transnet newsletter #117) 3042][US] New York, NY: Brooklyn Bridge: Opened 24 May 1883, the 1834m-long bridge celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2003. Now for road traffic only, the bridge once had a cable railway, later replaced by Brooklyn Elevated trains which used large glass-enclosed stations at Park Row, Manhattan and Sands Street, Brooklyn. Trolley-cars (= trams) also ran from Park Row to Brooklyn using tracks in the outer roadway. When the elevated-railway service was abandoned during World War II, the trams, latterly PCC cars, were diverted to use the inner (former elevated) tracks. (Transnet newsletter #117) 3043][US] New York, NY: World Trade Center - Exchange Place, NJ (- Hoboken, NJ / Newark, NJ): (R.1714, 1744, 1883, 2900) On the former Hudson Terminal site in the basement of the World Trade Center destroyed on 11 September 2001, reconstruction is ahead of schedule and the PATH station could reopen in November 2003, with five tracks and three platforms as before, though with only a single entrance at Church Street, initially at least. Opening will restore PATH service beneath the Hudson River in the twin tubes completed for the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad in 1909. (Transnet newsletter #117) 3044][US] Miami, FL metro: Miami-Dade County’s 35km 22-station Metrorail elevated rapid-transit line offers interchange (at Tri-Rail/Metrorail station) with Tri-Rail, South Florida’s commuter trains (R.0926), and (at Government Center and Brickell stations) with Metromover, the fare-free automated people-mover system which with three loops and 21 stations serves major buildings in downtown Miami. On 30 May 2003 Metrorail opened a 2.2km extension, half elevated, half at ground-level, terminating north-west of the city-centre at Palmetto station in the town of Medley, FL. A 24-hour Metrorail service was to commence on 8 June 2003. (partly from Transnet newsletter #118) 3045][GB] Lisburn - Knockmore - Antrim: (R.2877) Last timetabled passenger trains over this line were the 17:50 Belfast Central - Coleraine and the 18:10 Portrush - Belfast Central on Sunday 29 June 2003. An empty diesel unit is reportedly continuing to run Lisburn - Belfast Central - Bleach Green - Antrim - Knockmore - Lisburn daily to maintain drivers’ route knowledge. The closed line may also be used to test new diesel units. (Irishgen yahoogroup; Irish Railway News MSN group) 3046][GB][FR] London - Avignon: (R.2129) In the summer 2003 timetable the Saturdays-only London - Avignon Eurostar #9084/5 departs London Waterloo 07:27 and Ashford 08:27 but with the opening from Sunday 28 September 2003 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Phase 1 (Fawkham Jn - Southfleet Jn - Ashford International - Continental Jn; R.0001, 1543) the service becomes faster, leaving Waterloo 07:39 and Ashford 08:31. The through train does not cross France non-stop, but makes unadvertised service calls at Lille and Marne-la-Vallée. The southbound working leaves the LGV Méditerranée by the Raccordement Est de Bollène-Lamotte-du-Rhône to join the classic PLM route (at km693.5) north of Bollène-La-Croisière station (Ball FR-65A2). Using this chord (EGTRE FR03/160) enables it to run via Orange to terminate at Avignon-Centre, the town’s traditional station, rather than Avignon-TGV station. The northbound train, as in 2002, is routed via Valence-Ville. 3047][FR] Cherbourg: (Ball 11A2) In summer 2003 much of the track in the dock area was clearly disused, including that leading to the former Cherbourg Maritime passenger station, now the site of the Cité de la Mer aquarium (R.1453), but some of the sidings in the port did seem to show signs of use. 3048][FR] (Argent -) Salbris - Romorantin - Gièvres - Luçay-le-Mâle - Ecueillé - Heugnes - Pellevoisin - Argy (- Buzançais - Le Blanc): (Ball 36A1-45B3) On the SNCF-owned metre-gauge Chemin de Fer du Blanc à Argent the 67km Salbris - Luçay section retains an ordinary passenger service and has seen some investment since 1995 in both track and railcars (BLN 803.0253, 847.0166, R.2716, 2741). Luçay - Argy - Buzançais closed to passengers as long ago as 28 September 1980. The whole CFBA closed to freight in 1988. Rebuilt to standard-gauge, the Argy - Buzançais section reopened in June 1992 as a 7km freight-only branch worked from the Buzançais end to serve grain silos at Argy. On the 27km Luçay - Argy section, metre-gauge tourist-trains have been proposed since at least 1993 (BLN 715.01). In spring 2003 the local Societé des Amis du Blanc à Argent were working to replace some 5000 sleepers, to build a siding at Ecueillé and to refurbish rolling-stock, including two 1955-built Deutz locotracteurs, all with a view to running a Luçay - Argy Train de Bas-Berry in summer 2003, perhaps in July. (partly from Voies Ferrées, #195, April-May 2003) 3049][FR] Villers-les-Pots - Pontailler-sur-Saône - Mantoche - Gray - Autet: (Ball 39A1-39B2) On 5 April 2003 Picasso railcar X4309 of Les Autorails de Bourgogne et de Franche-Comté operated a railtour for the Fédération des Amis des Chemins de Fer Secondaires, running from Dijon and taking the east-to-north chord at Villers-les-Pots to visit the freight-only line to Gray and Autet. At Villers-les-Pots little trace remained of the west-to-north chord, and the east-to-south chord had been severed at the east end, near the station. However, a ground-frame at the north junction controls a siding heading south to serve a military loading-point, possibly seeing only infrequent use. This siding follows the course of the former north-to south chord that climbed over the Dijon - Villers-les-Pots (- Dole) line to join the Villers-les-Pots - Champdôtre-Pont - St.Jean-de-Losne line, but it is not clear how far south the track now extends. To the north, Pontailler-sur-Saône has a railway-contracting firm’s siding. Near Mantoche the line passes through a 383m tunnel. Gray’s railway facilities - actually in the community of Arc-lès-Gray (lès = near) - remain important as a loading-point for John Deere agricultural machinery and for other merchandise, and the branch also provides access to the Connex rolling-stock repair-works in the rebuilt former CF de l’Est locomotive-shed on the north side of the line. This building still proclaimed ownership by Connex-subsidiary CFTA. Much coaching-stock of Connex’s ill-fated Lovers Rail operation in the Netherlands was scattered around the yard, while metre-gauge stock of the Swiss CF du Jura was also present on temporary standard-gauge bogies. Gray passenger station suffered bombardment in both June 1940 and September 1944, and its central building and overall roof were destroyed, but two separated elements remain, one occupied by SNCF and the other by the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious group. The closed line north from Gray to Culmont-Chalindrey was overgrown. Eastward from Gray to Vaivre, only the short section to Autet has survived, for grain traffic from a silo constructed in the late 1980s. The railtour did not visit the Gray - Autrey-lès-Gray - Champagne-sur-Vingeanne (- Is-sur-Tille) section, though this may remain in use from a ground-frame west of Gray to serve another grain silo or silos. Historical details of the five standard-gauge and two metre-gauge routes radiating from Gray are given on the webpage http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/fr_gray.htm. 3050][FR] Albertville - Ugine (- Doussard - St.Jorioz - Annecy): (Ball 58A3) The Albertville - Annecy line opened in summer 1901, but closed to ordinary passenger trains 5 May 1938. Albertville - Ugine workers’ trains continued until the beginning of 1953. St.Jorioz - Annecy closed completely 1 August 1966 and Doussard - St.Jorioz by 1964. In 1989 Ugine - Doussard too went out of use and was formally abandoned (déclassée) 23 May 1999 (R.0090). The remaining 12km branch follows a deep valley to serve a metal-works at Ugine which generates regular and heavy traffic. Track is in excellent condition. Despite the spring 2003 ban on freight-line tours (R.3026), on Saturday 28 June 2003 a railtour worked by a Picasso railcar of Les Autorails de Bourgogne et de Franche-Comté visited the branch, continuing beyond the works siding to call at the former Ugine passenger station before proceeding another 200m to the buffer-stop that now blocks the former running-line. The passenger building was in poor condition, having deteriorated in the half-century since it saw workers arriving by train. On its way back to Dijon on 29 June the train traversed the east-to-south curve at Montmélian (Ball 58A2) which allows through running from Albertville to Grenoble, but is rarely used by passenger trains. 3051][FR][MC] Nice - Monaco-Monte Carlo - Menton SNCF (- Ventimiglia FS): (R.0374, 0409, 0601; Ball 77B3-67B1) A traveller on 20 June 2003 reported that part of the line in the c.5.6km of tunnel beneath Monaco had seemingly been affected by subsidence and temporarily closed, causing disruption to services. Buses were replacing local trains between Monte Carlo and Menton. Long-distance trains were terminating at Nice and Ventimiglia. 3052][BE] Kortrijk - Menen - Comines - Ieper - Poperinge (- Abeele - Hazebrouck SNCF): (Ball 7B2-7A2; NMBS 69) In May 2003 heavily-rusted track at the once-important locomotive repair-and-maintenance shed east of Kortrijk indicated little recent use. Menen freight yard had mostly been lifted but what little remained of the track had likewise seen no recent usage. At Ieper the large freight yard had vanished, but west of the station a single-track non-electrified industrial branch left the electrified line and curved away to the south. At Poperinge, the passenger terminus, track continued beyond the station as a headshunt only, though evidence of a former railway was visible heading towards the centre of the town. West of Poperinge, line 69 once continued via Abeele for 7.9km to the French frontier and onward to link with the SNCF at Hazebrouck. The original Belgian Flandre Occidentale company, and later SNCB/NMBS, owned the section in France until SNCF took it over from 16 November 1942. Poperinge - Abeele grens closed to passengers 23 May 1954 and freight 26 September 1970, the track being lifted in 1972. Though little is to be seen of the railway there, the small Belgian village of Abeele still has a rather rural Stationstraat (which is the address of a farmstead that has become a specialist retail shop with a magnificent selection of Belgian beers, well worth a visit if passing by car on the way to or from the Channel Tunnel). North-west of Poperinge, the former 34km Poperinge - Adinkerke/De Panne railway (line 76) was built by the Belgian army in 1915. After World War I it opened to ordinary traffic from 30 September 1920, but closed to passengers 1934 and (on the orders of the invading German army) was completely closed and lifted in 1942. (partly from http://ibelgique.ifrance.com/brail/) 3053][LU] Luxembourg: Viaduc de Pulvermühl: (BLN 846.0134; Ball 18A2) Engineering work on this viaduct north of Luxembourg station is to close the usual Luxembourg - Cents-Hamm - Sandweiler-Contern - Oetrange (- Wasserbillig) route over a number of weekends during the 15 June-13 December 2003 timetable-period, and continuously from 1 September to 31 October 2003. Trains are to be routed via Luxembourg - Howald - Syren - Oetrange. Throughout the timetable-period, work on the viaduct also requires complete occupation of the Luxembourg - Dommeldange section between 23:15 and 04:30 every night except Saturday-into-Sunday. Between Luxembourg and Dommeldange, buses replace the last southbound Liège - Luxembourg IR train and the 23:50 northbound Luxembourg - Diekirch RE train, the only passenger trains affected. 3054][DE][NL] (Bad Bentheim DB -) Bad Bentheim Nord BE - Nordhorn - Laarwald BE - Coevorden NS: (Ball DE-24A3, NL-2B1) Bentheimer Eisenbahn’s freight-only border-crossing line links to the (Zwolle -) Mariënberg - Coevorden - Emmen passenger and freight branch just inside the Netherlands. Coevorden’s developing ‘trimodal’ (rail/road/canal) freight terminal lies on the BE line, and BE are shareholders as well as providing shunting and haulage to and from Bentheim. Dutch private operators ACTS run a container train between Coevorden terminal and Rotterdam port. (Today’s Railways, July 2003) 3055][DE] Emden - Freepsum - Pewsum - Greetsiel: (Ball 15A2 not shown) The metre-gauge Kreisbahn Emden-Pewsum-Greetsiel served the agricultural area northwest of Emden, where it had its own station and goods-yard, west of the standard-gauge station of the former Königlich Preussischen Eisenbahn (KPEV) that eventually became DR and then DB. Emden - Pewsum (km12.4) opened on 27 July 1899 and Pewsum - Greetsiel (km22.8) on 21 September 1906. The only significant engineering works were bridges over drainage channels in the flat Friesian countryside. At Freepsum the line passed close to the lowest point in Germany (2m below sea-level) and terminated at Greetsiel, a village with a small harbour. In summer 1914 five passenger workings were timetabled each way daily, some of them perhaps mixed passenger-and-goods trains, and at some stage the railway began carrying standard-gauge wagons on Rollbock transporters. Before and after World War II passenger services were worked wholly or mainly by diesel railcars, also capable of hauling a few freight wagons. In 1957 a diesel locomotive was acquired to handle freight, but the line closed to all traffic 25 May 1963. A cycle-path from Emden to Hinte appears to follow the trackbed. During World War II Emden was badly bombed, and the Kreisbahn station building was reduced to a ruined shell. Rather surprisingly, it was rebuilt more or less to its original generous size, and in 2003 survives as the Hotel am Kleinbahnhof. Modernised internally, it shows little sign of its railway origins, but these notes are compiled largely from captioned photographs displayed in the hotel’s corridors. 3056][DE] Wilhelmshaven - Sande - Esens (Ostfriesland) (- Dornum - Norden): (R.0138, 2391; Ball 16A3-15B3; KBS393) Wilhelmshaven must be, by a significant margin, the largest place in Germany not served by DB passenger trains. Though the Reisezentrum at Wilhelmshaven Hbf is DB-branded and apparently staffed by DB, all the passenger services are now run by NordWestBahn, whose majority owner is Connex, with minority shares held by the municipal undertakings Stadtwerke Osnabrück AG and Oldenburg Verkehr und Wasser GmbH. NordWestBahn’s modern low-floor diesel units operate Wilhelmshaven - Sande - Esens and Wilhelmshaven - Sande - Oldenburg - Osnabrück. A large shopping-mall now occupies most of the former site of Wilhelmshaven Hbf, and trains use new platforms located approximately at the outer ends of the old platforms. At Sande, junction for Esens, operations are much simplified, with most Esens trains reversing in the bay platform, and all other trains using what was the southbound through platform. The island platform, previously used by northbound trains, is disused, though tracks remain on both sides and are used by freight. The intermediate stations to Esens remain intact, but at Esens itself the line has been cut back by several hundred metres, thus eliminating a level-crossing. The new station is a single platform with a simple shelter, adjacent to bus-stops. The old station buildings remain on the other side of the road, and the track there had not yet been lifted in summer 2003. Esens - Dornum - Norden closed in 1986 and Esens - Dornum was lifted. A cycle-path has been constructed on at least part of the trackbed. 3057][DE] Norden - Dornum (- Esens - Sande - Wilhelmshaven): (Ball 15B3) The western end of the line toWilhelmshaven (R.3056) is now the 18km Norden - Dornum branch operated by Museumseisenbahn Küstenbahn Ostfriesland. Unlike many German tourist railways, which work only once or twice a month, it runs every Sunday from May to October, plus some additional days. Vintage carriages are used, but all locomotives are diesels, apart from one fireless steam locomotive that does not appear to be used in traffic. One of the diesels formerly worked for the British Army at Gütersloh. At Norden, MKO trains use the DB station and share a short section of the (Emden -) Norden - Norddeich line. The Norden - Esens - Wilhelmshaven railway featured prominently in Erskine Childers’ classic novel The Riddle of the Sands. It was from Norden that Carruthers caught the evening train to Esens, going on to unmask a German plan to invade England. The author’s idea that an entire army could be transported along this rural Nebenbahn and then put to sea from the shallow muddy creeks of Ostfriesland looks completely unrealistic on the ground - but presumably it could seem as real a threat in 1903 as covert ‘weapons of mass destruction’ 100 years later. 3058][DE] Westanleger - Saline - Wangerooge Bf (- Ostanleger): (BLN 832.0378; Ball 16A3; KBS10007) Seven of the East Frisian islands off the North Sea coast of Germany have or had railways, mostly to connect a ferry-quay with the main island settlement. The easternmost of these Ostfriesland Inselbahnen is on the island of Wangerooge. On the mainland, diverging north from the (Wilhelmshaven -) Sande - Jever - Esens line (R.3056), the 20km standard-gauge Jever - Harle branch once carred the boat-trains for Wangerooge, but its track has been lifted. At Jever part of the trackbed is now a cycle-path, and at Harle a narrow-gauge locomotive and a standard-gauge carriage are on display. Buses run from Sande or Jever in connection with some ferry-sailings, but not all, and the timetable favours those journeying from the island or making a stopover there. A day-trip to Wangerooge by public transport from anywhere other than the immediate vicinity requires careful planning and selection of a day with suitable bus connections to and from a ferry whose schedule varies daily with the tides in the shallow Wattenmeer. Both the Harle - Westanleger ferry and the metre-gauge railway on the island are operated by Schifffahrt und Inselbahn Wangerooge, a division of DB AutoZug GmbH. Trains connect with the ferry, so their times too are determined by the tides. The 3.4km ‘main line’ runs from Westanleger to Wangerooge Bahnhof. It once continued east for 5km to another quay, Ostanleger, and a short section, increasingly overgrown, remains in use as a headshunt for the rolling-stock depot. Just to the west of Wangerooge Bf a short Anschlussbahn serves a refuse-terminal. At the west end of the island the 2km Saline - Westen branch is used as required by pre-booked parties to the camp-site and youth-hostel at Westen. Occasional special trains operate, such as the Wangerooge Bf 18:00 - Westen 23:00 - Wangerooge Bf working on 21 June 2003, run free of charge in connection with a party at the youth-hostel. For both passengers and freight the Wangerooge railway serves a definite transport need because the town is sufficiently far from the harbour, and no motor traffic is allowed on the island, apart from a fire-tender and the battery-electric tugs used to convey goods and luggage within the town. By contrast, the next Inselbahn to the west, the 1.3km metre-gauge Spiekeroog - Sturmeck horse tramway on the island of Spiekeroog (BLN 848.0206) has a summer-only tourist role. 3059][DE] Langeoog Hafen - Langeoog Bf: (Ball 15B3; KBS10006) On the mainland, the 5.5km standard-gauge Esens - Bensersiel branch has gone, but buses link Wilhelmshaven - Esens trains with the Bensersiel - Langeoog Hafen ferry. The channel is dredged, so the ferry operates at regular intervals, every two hours during the summer, and the island’s trains, run by the ferry-operators Schiffahrt der Inselgemeinde Langeoog, do likewise. In summer 2003 the 2.6km metre-gauge Inselbahn was in good order, with new carriages and track apparently recently relaid. Like Wangerooge, Langeoog bans motor traffic, so Langeoog Hafen has quite extensive sidings for freight, and Inselbahnhof Langeoog in the town has a substantial goods-depot. No sign was seen of the former extension north of the present town terminus. The next three Inselbahnen to the west are now no more. Accessed by ferry from Nessmersiel, the island of Baltrum had a short-lived and short 600mm-gauge line, used for moving goods and luggage near the pier. From rail-connected Norddeich on the mainland, ferries sail to the islands of Norderney and Juist, but the military line on Norderney closed after World War II and was dismantled by 1947. The 2.3km metre-gauge Inselbahn Juist closed when a new pier was built closer to the town. 3060][DE] Borkum Reede - Borkum Bf: (Ball 15A3; KBS10000) Ferries, operated by AG Ems, ply to the island of Borkum from the Netherlands (Eemshaven - Borkum Reede) and Germany (Emden Aussenhafen - Borkum Reede). Both mainland ports are rail-connected, though Eemshaven is freight-only, and most services from Emden Hbf to Emden Aussenhafen (R.2040) are by bus. The ferries carry road vehicles, which are allowed on Borkum, so its Inselbahn has a more precarious existence. Since goods arrive on lorries, rail freight seems to have ceased, and outside the peak of the holiday-season a bus between the harbour and the town would probably be adequate for the passengers. The 7.4km island line is unusual in being 900mm-gauge and double-track throughout, with right-hand running observed, the only connections between the two tracks being at the termini. The track is in poorer condition than that on the other islands, with timber sleepers that have sunk into the ground, and little ballast. However, the rolling-stock is new. AG Ems operate international boat-trains in connection with their Eemshaven ferries, and steam-hauled trains at least twice a week from April to October. Borkum is the only one of the islands where tickets are advertised for the train only. In the middle of Borkum town the railway ends in the street, at Georg Schütte Platz. Though rails continue along Hindenburg Strasse as far as Am Neuen Leuchturm, road-tar blocking the wheel-grooves makes the track unusable. Maps, including the one in the Kursbuch, name the harbour station as ‘Reede’, but all references to it at Borkum Bahnhof are to ‘Hafen’. None of the quay-stations on any of the islands has a name-sign. 3061][DE] Wölfersheim-Södel - Hungen: (Ball 49B3; KBS632) Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn trains on this long-threatened section (R.0445, 0482, 2305) were replaced by buses from 5 April 2003. (Today’s Railways, #91, July 2003) 3062][DE] Bad Oldesloe - Bad Segeberg - Fahrenkrug - Wahlstedt - Rickling - Kleinkummerfeld - Neumünster Süd - Neumünster: (R.2289; Ball 18A3-11A1-10B1) The Bad Segeberg - Neumünster Süd section closed to passengers 29 September 1984, and Fahrenkrug - Rickling subsequently closed completely, though DB continued to run Bad Oldesloe - Bad Segeberg passenger trains. From 15 December 2002 new operators NBE took over and began to run the passenger service through from Bad Oldesloe to Neumünster. NBE (nordbahn Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH, trading as nordbahn, with a lower-case ‘n’) are affiliated to AKN, the Altona-Kaltenkirchen-Neumünster Eisenbahn. At the old Bad Segeberg station with its ground-level ‘platforms’ south of the level-crossing, the building remains and seems still to contain the signal-box, but it has been supplanted by a new station north of the level-crossing, with minimal passenger facilities but two high platforms. The old station building at Fahrenkrug is in private use, so a new station has been provided. The short Fahrenkrug - Wahlstedt freight branch to a goods station south of Wahlstedt town, which was traversed by an IBSE railtour on 24 November 2001, was in still place in summer 2003 but seemed to be out of use. Since the 1980s Wahlstedt town has extended eastwards to meet the railway north of Fahrenkrug, and a new Wahlstedt station has opened on the through line. Rickling also has a new station replacing the old one. Kleinkummerfeld station building is extant and occupied, and some track here is used by a railway museum, but few people live nearby and the station has not reopened. At Neumünster Süd the line joins the AKN’s Hamburg-Eidelstedt - Ulzburg - Kaltenkirchen - Neumünster line. . 3063][DE] Berlin S-Bahn: (R.2134; Ball 32A2-32A3) New Schönhauser Allee - Bornholmer Strasse S-Bahn tracks opened on Monday 16 June 2003, following separate alignments northbound and southbound, the latter mostly in tunnel in order to pass below northbound S-Bahn and future Fernbahn lines. The new route is used by S8 Zeuthen - Pankow - Birkenwerder trains. However, single-line working is in force past bridge works north of Pankow, so the summer 2003 timetable shows S8 trains temporarily suspended between Pankow and Blankenburg, with only S2 trains working between these stations. The northbound track of the Warschauer Strasse - Frankfurter Allee curve is out of use and may be completely removed in connection with the planned remodelling of the complex junction layout at Ostkreuz. 3064][DE] Karlsruhe Stadtbahn: Wörth Bf - Wörth Alte Bahnmeisterei - Wörth Bienwaldhalle - Wörth Bürgerpark - Wörth Rathaus - Wörth Badallee/Kindergarten - Wörth Badepark: (Ball 57A2) Karlsruhe’s tram-train Stadtbahn first extended west to the town of Wörth-am-Rhein on 28 September 1997 (BLN 814.0547) reaching a temporary terminus at the Rathaus (= town-hall). Line S5 has now been extended via a relocated Rathaus stop for a further 1.5km to a new terminus, Badepark, which serves a large swimming-pool/leisure-centre. This extension opened on Saturday 14 June 2003, and free travel was offered between Karlsruhe city-centre (Europaplatz) and Wörth Badepark on the Saturday and Sunday. The short tramway section from Wörth DB station to a change-over point between the stops Bienwaldhalle and Bürgerpark is unusual in being equipped with main-line 15kV 16.7Hz electrification, but the wires beyond, further into the town, are now energised at 750V dc, the usual tramway voltage. (partly from http://www.lrta.org) 3065][SE][FI] Boden - Morjärv - Karungi - Haparanda (- Tornio VR - Oulu - Tuomioja - Raahe): (Ball 3A1-3B1) The axle-load limit on this line is being raised to 25t, for iron-ore traffic to Finland is planned to triple to 1Mt/year, using special wagons that change gauge at the border and run forward on the 1524mm broad-gauge to Rautaruukki’s steelworks at Raahe (R.0860). A few km north of Boden, the line to Haparanda diverges west from the Luleå - Boden - Gällivare - Narvik line before heading north-east over it on a bridge, though there seems no obvious geographical or operational reason for this flyover. In mid-June 2003 pointwork was in place and a new direct curve on the east side was under construction, perhaps because it would be cheaper than strengthening or replacing the bridge. Allegedly the Morjärv - Karungi - Haparanda line was originally built on an inland route for military reasons, to keep it out of range of Russian battleships, but the Swedish Green Party want to close it and instead extend the Morjärv - Karlsborg branch east to Haparanda, claiming that this would result in less track to be maintained and would better serve the population, which is mainly on the coast. Surprisingly, as part of the price for the Greens joining a coalition government, the governing party have agreed in principle to this new line, no doubt reckoning that it will take some time to plan and survey a route, so that any serious expenditure would occur well after the next general election. It seems unlikely that a Karlsborg - Haparanda line will see passenger trains in the near future, if ever! 3066][SE] Arvidsjaur - Jörn: (Ball 2B1-7B3-8A3) This 76km section is out of use and the track is in bad condition. Pedal-draisines (= rail-cycles) can however be hired at Arvidsjaur. Normally, hirers cycle no more than about 10km from Arvidsjaur, but on a wet day in mid-June 2003 a British enthusiast cycled the entire distance, being the first person to do so this year. Users managing to get as far as Jörn are asked to lift aside the orange netting marking the boundary with Banverket property and cycle alongside the Boden - Jörn (- Stockholm) main line for some distance to the physical end of the track near the disconnected former junction, in order to leave the draisine in a position where it can readily be recovered by a road vehicle. 3067][SE] Bastuträsk - Skellefteå - Rönnskär: (Ball 8A2) A south-to-east curve (not shown in the 1993 Ball atlas) was built at Bastuträsk in 1997 when the branch was being electrified. The main traffic however is from the north, comprising ore carried in huge ‘pots’ on flat wagons from the Malmberget area on the (Narvik -) Gällivare - Boden line to the metal-refining works at Rönnskär. The plant produces copper and also gold, so it is a high-security area. 3068][SE] Orsa - Furudal - Göringen - Voxna - Edsbyn - Bollnäs: (R.2921; Ball 14A2-14B2) In summer 2003 the Furudal - Edsbyn section of this little-used freight line was unavailable to trains because of poor track, but the local authorities, concerned about the volume of heavy lorry traffic in the area, are to finance its reinstatement, jointly with Banverket and SJ. 3069][SE] Teckomatorp - Marieholm - Eslöv and Kävlinge - Flädie - Arlov: (Ball 25A2-25A1; Tågtider 100, 108B) From 30 June to 3 August 2003 engineering work on doubling the Kävlinge - Lund main line (R.1109) is to close this section and the Teckomatorp - Kävlinge section to the north (excluding Kävlinge station). Buses will replace local trains, but longer-distance trains are to be diverted (Helsingborg - Billeberga -) Teckomatorp - Eslöv (- Lund - Malmö) and (Helsingborg - Landskrona -) Kävlinge - Arlov (- Malmö). Normally the former route has only a sparse passenger service (R.0893, 1109; EGTRE SE03/7) and the latter is freight-only (R.1582; EGTRE SE03/28). 3070][SE] Gärsnäs - St.Olof - Vitaby - Brösarp (- Kristianstad): (Ball 25B1) Banverket’s Gärsnäs - St.Olof section offers a link from the national network to the active St.Olof - Vitaby - Brösarp heritage line of Skånska Järnvägar, but it is out of use and heavily overgrown, and when the preservation group made an experimental foray towards Gärsnäs with a diesel railcar, it sustained damage from the small trees growing through the track. This experience discouraged Svenska Motorvagnsklubben from including Gärsnäs - Brösarp as part of one of their railtours, at least until deforestation can be arranged. 3071][PT] (Lisboa -) Entroncamento - Albergaria (- Alfarelos - Coimbra-B - Porto): (R.2923; Ball 17A1) During June 2003 engineering work - concentrated at, but not limited to, weekends - was under way on this section of the Lisboa - Porto main line, with one track in use while the other was rebuilt. The single-line working was causing serious delays to some trains. North of Porto, on the (Trofa -) Santo Tirso - Guimarães section (formerly metre-gauge; R.2219, 2312; Ball 7B1), reconstruction was progressing apace. So too was the upgrading and electrification of the Nine - Braga branch (R.2525; Ball 7B1). (http://www.ptg.co.uk) 3072][PT] Sintra trams: (R.0503) In summer 2003 the Câmara Municipal de Sintra, owners of the Sintra-Atlântico metre-gauge roadside heritage tramway operated by Stagecoach until 2000, had work in progress to reconstruct the track from the old tram-depot at Ribeira de Sintra towards Sintra CP station, so it is possible that this section may be available by the time the line reaches its centenary on 31 March 2004. 3073][PT] (Lisboa Oriente - Campolide - Fogueteiro -) Coina - Penalva (- Pinhal Novo - Tunes - Faro): (R.2528; Ball 25B1-26A2) Track-authority REFER would have preferred not to have inter-city trains passing in summer 2003 over this section, which is still a construction site, but politics prevailed and CP were to commence running direct Lisboa Oriente - Faro trains, perhaps as soon as 21 June 2003. Since the 25kV 50Hz electrification to the Algarve is not to be ready until 2004, these trains need to use diesel haulage, but at the beginning of June 2003 the traction had still not been decided. Class 1930 diesel locomotives may be judged too heavy for the 25 de Abril road-rail suspension-bridge over the Tejo estuary, or may be allowed only if heading the sole train on the bridge, which would limit the number of paths and disrupt the Fertagus local timetable. CP were therefore considering use of a Class 2600 electric locomotive to head the trains between Oriente and Coina, where the diesels would take over. The change-over would need to take place on plain line since CP would not be allowed into the Fertagus works sidings next to the main line. Such a locomotive-change could add some 10min to the proposed timings, which are already slow, given the various works still under way along the Algarve line. The Lisboa Oriente - Faro journey in summer 2003 may take from 4h30min to 5h, much the same as (Terreiro do Paço -) Barreiro - Faro timings. (http://www.ptg.co.uk) 3074][PT] (Barreiro -) Pinhal Novo - Poceirão - Alcácer - Grândola - Ermidas-Sado - Torre Vã -Funcheira - Tunes: (R.2797; Ball 26A2-33B2) Upgrading and electrification of the important Linha do Sul continues. During 22-30 May 2003 the lengthy Pinhal Novo - Funcheira section was closed to passengers, though most of the work was between Ermidas-Sado and Funcheira, in particular doubling of the track south to Torre Vã. In places the new alignment cuts across the old. Some freight traffic was able to run Poceirão - Ermidas-Sado - Sines, but passenger services were temporarily recast. Barreiro - Faro inter-city and inter-regional trains ran more or less at their usual times but were diverted via the alternative route south, the Linha do Alentejo (Poceirão - Vendas Novas - Casa Branca - Beja - Funcheira), calling at Beja and other stations. Two inter-city services on the Alentejo line were suspended, as were 3800-series regional trains to Funcheira. Buses conveyed Alcácer and Grândola customers. At times during June 2003 buses were also in use replacing Funcheira - Tunes trains. The Funcheira - Tunes section of the Linha do Sul and the Lagos - Tunes - Albufeira - Faro Linha do Algarve are to come under Centralised Traffic Control, operated from Faro. (http://www.ptg.co.uk) 3075][PT][ES] (Madrid -) Badajoz RENFE - Elvas CP - Portalegre - Torre das Vargens - Abrantes (- Lisboa): (R.0568, 1961; Ball 27B2-26B3) It seems not many travellers use this daytime rail route between the Spanish and Portuguese capitals. The daily westbound Badajoz - Abrantes train, slightly inaccurately described as the 15:10 international service to Lisboa, on 28 May 2003 comprised CP locomotive #1417, one composite 1st/2nd corridor coach and one 96-seat 2nd open coach, in which our reporter and his wife were the sole occupants while crossing the border. CP were clearly relaxed about classic passenger vehicles trundling along with their (inward-opening) slam doors wide open. Both this line and the nearby Valencia de Alcántara RENFE - Marvão-Beirã CP border-crossing (Ball 27A3) have traditional lineside pole-routes carrying telephone or telegraph wires, a once-familiar sight which has now almost vanished from British railways - though Britain never had the storks’ nests that top many of CP’s poles near Torre das Vargens. This junction retains mechanical signals, displaying a red square or a yellow diamond, but some of the passing-loops on the line appeared to have no visible signalling. The international train is no express, making numerous station calls before making the connection at Abrantes for Lisboa. 3076][ES] Madrid - Colmenar Viejo - Aranda de Duero - Burgos: (R.2317; Ball 21A2-11A3) Advance schedules published on the RENFE website (http://www.renfe.es) prior to the 15 June 2003 timetable-change showed that Madrid - Burgos - Bilbao / Hendaye Talgo trains via the Directo de Burgos route were to be diverted to run by the much longer (but double-track and electrified) main line, Madrid - Avila - Medina del Campo - Valladolid - Venta de Baños - Burgos, with booked stops at Avila and Valladolid. This would have meant passenger closure of the unelectrified Colmenar Viejo - Aranda - Burgos section. RENFE have a shortage of diesel locomotives and prefer to use the electrified route, so on several occasions in previous years (R.2143, 2221), and indeed once a week from April to June 2003, the trains have been diverted via Valladolid, leaving Aranda without a service. However, RENFE’s definitive summer timetable, which became available only on the very weekend of the change, shows trains continuing to call at Aranda. It seems that the mayor of Aranda de Duero may have been lobbying to keep his town on the railway map. The line’s longer-term future is nevertheless uncertain. The risk of brush fires, mainly in high summer, can impose restrictions on the use of diesel traction, and has caused trains to be diverted at short notice even when locomotives were available. More importantly, the regional government of Castilla y Leon have declared that they see no future for the Directo de Burgos once the Madrid - Segovia - Valladolid Noroeste high-speed standard-gauge line (R.1989) comes into use, perhaps in 2007. 3077][ES] Calatayud - Soria: (R.2142; Ball 12B1-11B2 not shown) If RENFE restore the out-of-use Calatayud - Soria section of the FC Santander-Mediterraneo (BLN 814.0551) as a standard-gauge branch off the Madrid - Calatayud - Zaragoza - Barcelona high-speed line, the regional government of Castilla y Leon have said they would be content to see closure of the broad-gauge Torralba - Coscurita - Almazán - Soria line (BLN 812.0500, 814.0552, 851.0313). 3078][ES] (La Almazara -) Zaragoza-Delicias - Zaragoza El Portillo (- Miraflores): (Ball 13A1) Work on the Delicias - El Portillo section was completed by 10 June 2003. The new passenger line, mainly in tunnel beneath the city, comprises a single broad-gauge track and a single standard-gauge track for the Madrid - Zaragoza - Lleida high-speed trains soon to be introduced, perhaps from 27 July 2003. Services call at Delicias and head eastward, passing El Portillo station which remains closed. The major disruption that began on 19 May (R.2981) has ceased, and shuttle trains, bus-transfers and diversions via the Ronda Sur freight bypass line are no longer required. A useful map of the new Zaragoza rail layout is at http://www.lineasdeltren.com/Lineas30/noticia02-03.htm. Some of the dates mentioned in the lineasdeltren e-magazine however appear to be incorrect. 3079][ES] Monistrol de Montserrat - Monistrol-Vila - Montserrat: (R.0340, 0489, 2931, 3012; Ball 16A3) The original steam-worked metre-gauge rack line of Ferrocarriles de Montaña a Grandes Pendientes opened 1905 and, after an accident, closed 12 May 1957. It connected with what is now the FGC’s Barcelona Plaça de Espanya - Montserrat-Aeri - Monistrol de Montserrat - Manresa-Baixador metre-gauge line R5 at a station known as Monistrol-Node, later Monistrol-Cremallera (cremallera = rack-railway), and also with RENFE’s ex-Norte Barcelona - Manresa (- Zaragoza) broad-gauge line on the other side of the valley. The old junction Monistrol-Cremallera was 1km north of the new FGC junction station, which had the provisional title of Monistrol-Enllaç (enllaç = junction) but is now known as Monistrol de Montserrat. From a bay platform and a physical connection here, the rebuilt line follows a new adhesion-worked alignment through Monistrol town to the sole intermediate station, Monistrol-Vila, which has a large park-and-ride area. The line is metre-gauge, electrified and single-track, with passing-loops at Monistrol-Vila and halfway on the Abt-rack section which follows the 15%-gradient 1905 alignment up the mountain to Montserrat. Formal re-inauguration was on Wednesday 11 June, with public services from Thursday 12 June 2003. Hourly trains run the 5km length of the line (overall journey-time c.15min), with three trains an hour from Monistrol-Vila to Montserrat. On the first day of public service, 1700 passengers were carried, and the trains were again very busy on 15 June. Capacity is the main advantage of the restored railway over the impressive Montserrat-Aeri - Montserrat aerial cable-car (aeri or teleferic in Catalan) which continues to run from Montserrat-Aeri, its interchange station on line R5 one stop south of Monistrol de Montserrat. From the top of the rack and cable-car routes, close to the much-visited monastery, two funiculars take passengers onward to different parts of the mountain. All four lines are run by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the Catalonian provincial government railways, who also run the only other rack railway on the Iberian peninsula, Ribes de Freser - Nuria (BLN 852.0337; Ball 15A3). The main FGC website is http://www.fgc.es but times and fares for the rack line and the two funiculars are at http://www.cremallerademontserrat.com and for the cable-car at http://www.aeridemontserrat.com. 3080][ES] Castellar de N’Hug - Poblar de Lillet (- Guardiola de Bergueda): (Ball 15A3 not shown) The 610mm-gauge Castellar - Guardiola line closed 15 October 1963. Castellar de N’Hug (in Catalan; Castellar d’en Huch in Castilian Spanish) is now the site of Catalonia’s superb transport museum, and the line has been relaid from Castellar for 3km to Poblar de Lillet, including a street-running section through the middle of Poblar to a roadside station west of the village. In summer 2003, after much investment by the Catalonian provincial government, the railway was complete, with track, stations, locomotive-shed, new coaches and a new diesel locomotive on site, and an 0-10-0 steam locomotive from a Madrid sugar-factory under restoration at Mieres in Asturias province. Test trains had been run, and all was ready, but a local political problem, apparently a dispute between the mayors of two of the villages served, was preventing the line from opening to the public. 3081][ES] Mallorca: (Palma - Inca -) Enllaç - Sineu - Sant Joan - Petra - Manacor (- Son Servera - Arta): (R.2933; Ball 38A1-38A2) The station at Enllaç, formerly Empalme (= junction, in Mallorquin and Castilian Spanish respectively), did not reopen with the rest of the line to Manacor in May 2003 (R.2982), and the old station at Sant Joan is not to reopen. Though it does not appear in the May timetable leaflets, Enllaç is to reopen soon and does appear on the route diagrams in the trains. So too does the ‘projected line’ Palma - Son Hugo - Son Pardo - Son Castello - Son Sardina - Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB). The restored station building at Sineu has been in use as an art-gallery for some years, and the new station platform with shelters is immediately next to it. Petra has a completely new platform with shelters, on a different site from the original station. At Manacor, the station building has been superbly restored, and three platform faces have been provided, including a bay, though the current timetable requires only one train to be there at any time. With a main road and many buildings directly in front of Manacor station, no easy route through the town is available for a reopened railway eastward to Arta. Since on-site notice-boards definitely refer to ‘restoration of the line from Enllaç to Arta’, perhaps trains will back out of Manacor towards Petra before branching off round the east side of the town to Arta. No sign of any work on this extension was to be seen in June 2003 except at Arta, where the station-yard had been cleared of rubbish and a curved platform/pavement laid, edged with a piece of rail. Railings around the station-site also utilise pieces of old rail. Likewise no sign was seen of work on the proposed Sa Pobla - Alcudia extension. Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca trains are being painted in the new red-and-yellow ‘tib’ livery of Transports de les Illes Balears. 3082][IT] Milano Nord Cadorna - Milano Nord Domodossola - Milano Nord Bovisa: (R.2297; Ball 41A3) Ferrovie Nord Milano’s Bullona station has been replaced by a new station, Domodossola, opened 18 May 2003. All FNM suburban trains call, other than expresses to Malpensa airport. (Today’s Railways, #91, July 2003) 3083][IT] Sarzana - Ponzano Magra - San Stefano di Magra: (R.0490; Ball 47A1) This 8km line closed to passengers and freight from 5 May 2003 ‘for an indefinite period’. (Today’s Railways, #91, July 2003) 3084][GR] Peloponnese metre-gauge: On the (Athinai -) Elefsis - Megara - Kineta - Isthmos (- Korinthos) section (Ball 66B2-66A2), the new standard-gauge alignment seemed in summer 2003 to be having a single metre-gauge track laid along it, this being most obvious between Megara and Kineta. This may be an interim measure to handle traffic for the summer 2004 Olympic Games. The 16km Kavassila - Vartholomio - Killini branch (closed by summer 1996; BLN 783.0315; Ball 65A2) and the Vartholomio - Loutra branch are both out of use and overgrown. However, new automatic open level-crossing lights appeared to have been installed on the Kavassila - Vartholomio section, though this was the only sign of recent work on these lines. The 12km Pirgos - Katakolo branch lost its passenger service from 28 October 1998 (BLN 841.015; Ball 65A2) and is now totally overgrown and apparently abandoned. Encroachment on the trackbed by neighbouring land users can be seen all along the line, including at Katakolo a five-a-side football-pitch and the tables and chairs of a taverna. (European Rail yahoogroup) 3085] Railways across European borders: (http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/euborder.htm) This webpage list has been amended to show separately (a) lines between two member states of the 2003 European Union; (b) lines between a 2003 member state and a state likely to join the EU in 2004; (c) lines between two states likely to join the EU in 2004; (d) lines between a 2003 member state and a state remaining outside the common customs area of the EU after 2004; (e) lines between a 2004 member state and a state remaining outside the EU after 2004; and (f) lines between Balkan and East European states remaining outside the EU after 2004. Additional details of individual rail border-crossings are at http://www.steane.com/egtre/. 3086][NO] Trondheim - Hell - Grong - Mo i Rana - Lønsdal - Bodø: (Ball 5A2-6A3-1B3) NSB have reportedly been threatening to withdraw services on this lengthy line to the Arctic, but closure seems politically unlikely. Until mid-June 2003 marketed by NSB under the brand-name Agenda, the modern diesel railcars that provide the passenger service at the north end of the line are unpopular with local customers because of unreliability and limited seating-capacity. The two-car unit that formed the southbound daytime train on a Friday in mid-June 2003 was heavily loaded all the way from Bodø to Trondheim, with passengers at times having to stand. The equivalent northbound train comprised a pair of two-car units. A duplicate train of conventional stock has had to be provided between Trondheim and Mo i Rana. Northbound it leaves Trondheim only 10min behind the Trondheim - Bodø railcar. The Trondheim - Mo i Rana section carries substantial freight traffic, but few wagons were to be seen at Bodø. The southbound passenger train crossed only one freight train for the far north, at Lønsdal, just north of the Arctic Circle, though this was sufficiently long to block the south end of the passing-loop while the locomotive was within the loop at the north end. 3087][NO] Grong - Namsos: (Ball 6A3-5B3) A conversation with the train-crew of the Bodø - Trondheim train during a stop for crossing a northbound train at Grong in mid-June 2003 confirmed that the 51km freight-only Namsosbane remains in poor condition (BLN 848.0231), and has a speed limit of 40km/h. Traffic is irregular and comprises timber and grain for export, if a ship calls at Namsos and the cargo is taken by rail. The crew did not know when the last train had run, and our reporter had insufficient time to talk to the stationmaster. The branch appeared shiny at Grong but it might simply be used as a headshunt for the yard. A local citizen volunteered the information that a well-known Norwegian popular musician wishes to introduce tourist draisine trips on the Namsos branch, in association with walking and fishing activities. 3088][PL] (Minsk Mazowiecki -) Kedzierak - Pilawa: (Ball 39A3-38B3) This line, a north-south segment of a ring line bypassing Warszawa to the east, regarded by PKP as a freight route, seems in practice to be used by other passenger trains than the diverted westbound #11/11014 (R.3032). Because the single-track (Warszawa -) Otwock - Pilawa section limits capacity on the direct route to and from the capital, it appears that in the summer 2003 timetable two down trains and six up trains (EGTRE PL03/66) are booked to run by the (Warszawa -) Wrzosów (Stojadla) - Kedzierak west-to-south curve avoiding Minsk Mazowiecki station and the (Minsk Mazowiecki -) Kedzierak - Pilawa line. 3089][PL][CZ] Poland: passenger closures: PKP announced on 24 June 2003 that from 1 July 2003 buses were to replace trains on three routes: Stargard Szczecinski - Pyrzyce (Ball 31A2-31A1; PKP 361), Nysa - Novy Swietow - Glucholazy - Glucholazy Zdrój (Ball 37A1; PKP 206) and Sierpc - Nasielsk (Ball 38A1; PKP 410). Also from 1 July 2003 Przemysl - Hurko - Medyka local public trains on the standard-gauge (R.2942, EGTRE PL03/16; Ball 44A3; PKP 122) were to cease, though international trains to Ukraine continue, on the broadly parallel 1520mm-gauge track. Przemysl - Medyka PKP staff trains may continue (R.2942). Across the PKP system, including the closures, some 550 local trains were to cease after 30 June. From 1 September 2003, the (Walbryzch -) Boguszow Gorce Wschod - Mieroszow PKP - Mezimesti CD (Ball 36B1; PKP 240) international route is to close. (http://www.pr.pkp.pl/rzecznik/nowosci.php) The Chabówka - Limanowa - Nowy Sacz line, recently reopened with a local financial contribution (R.1058, 2772, 2940; Ball 43A3), has been reported as closing again from 1 July 2003. (http://www.lok-report.de) 3090][CZ] Kutna Hora hl n - Kutna Hora sedlec - Kutna Hora mesto - Kutna Hora predmesti - Zruc nad Sazavou: (Ball 36A1-41A3) The small town of Kutna Hora, 66km east of Praha, once rivalled the Bohemian capital, for in the 14th century its mines provided silver for much of the coinage in central Europe. After the mines became worked out, the town saw little change and its magnificent mediaeval townscape remains, making it now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist destination. It is typical of the Czech railway network that it retains four stations. Inter-city trains from Praha connect at Kolin with regional trains, probably comprising a locomotive and a couple of coaches, which continue down the busy electrified Praha - Kolin - Kutna Hora hl n - Havlíckuv Brod - Brno main line to Kutna Hora hl n (hlavni nadrazi = main station). The physical junction here is south of this sizeable and staffed station, so the well-used connecting shuttle railbus has to reverse before accessing the branch south-west into the town. On the way, the train calls at the second of the four stations, Kutna Hora sedlec. This unstaffed halt serves a small industrial estate and is the closest stop for the Kutna Hora ossuary, a remarkable and macabre chapel housing the skeletons of some 40,000 people, victims of war and plague in past centuries. In 1870 a local woodcarver arranged the bones in the shape of pyramids, a chandelier, an anchor and the local coat-of-arms. After its 3km (6min) journey the shuttle terminates at Kutna Hora mesto (mesto = town), another staffed station and the one closest to the centre, which is a 10min walk away, uphill. Beyond, to the south, the fourth station, Kutna Hora predmesti (predmesti = suburb), is unstaffed and served only by the infrequent stopping trains that run beyond mesto station on the single-track line to Zruc nad Sazavou. On Sunday 8 June 2003, in the baking heat, railbus #810 654-4 worked the 14:20 Kutna Hora mesto - hl n. 3091][CZ] Hradec Kralove - Chlumec nad Cidlinou - Velky Osek - Nymburk hl n - Poricany - Praha hl n: (Ball 36A1) The 07:01 Hradec Kralove - Praha hl n train is shown in the public timetable with a wavy line suggesting a non-standard route, and is booked to run non-stop. It did in fact do so with minimal delay on 20 May 2003, running via Chlumec, the north-east-to-north curve entering Velky Osek station from the south, Nymburk, Poricany and the tunnel route on the approach to Praha hl n. Nymburk - Lysa - Praha is the normal main-line route, but the Nymburk - Poricany timetable shows a gap in the local service on this electrified single line, suggesting that the non-stop express was not diverted but was taking up a booked path. 3092][CZ] Pecky - Bosice - Kourim and Bosice- Zasmuky - Becvary: (Ball 36B2) On 19 May 2003 a late-running Kolin - Pecky connection delayed the 09:42 Pecky - Bosice - Kourim train, which left 25min late. The single Class 810 railbus was packed, with a large party of students whose luggage filled the rear cab to the roof. This party travelled through to Kourim, so it was difficult to judge the level of normal patronage, though people did join and leave at most stations. In contrast the 10:23 Kourim - Bosice - Zasmuky - Becvary train, formed by the same unit and still over 20min late, was empty, except for our reporter, for the entire journey. This working requires two reversals, the first being at Bosice, where the train had to proceed c.200m north of the station to reverse, apparently because of a defective point on the connection at the south end of the station layout. From Bosice south to Zasmuky, a section with a very sparse service, the pace was brisk, but a lengthy stop followed at Zasmuky, the second reversing-point, where the crew disappeared into the station building for a break. On leaving Zasmuky the train ran beyond the station run-round loop to reverse on the start of a disused siding into a factory before finally proceeding to Becvary, reached 17 minutes late. Fortunately the Becvary - Ledecko connection had been held, despite the probable lack of custom. 3093][CZ] Caslav - Skovice - Zleby - Tremosnice: (Ball 41A3) Branch services start from a separate platform away from Caslav main station on the east side of the yard and depot lines. A single Class 810 railbus formed the 15:27 departure on 19 May 2003, and was well-filled on both the outward and return journeys. The Skovice - Vrdy freight branch shown as closed on the 1996 Quail map seemed still in use. At Zleby the train reversed, and also passed a timber train. A factory here was a source of freight traffic. The town of Tremosnice is on the side of a hill and can be seen from some way off as the train approaches. Tremosnice terminus had sidings with loaded timber wagons as well as a small locomotive-shed, closed but apparently still in use for some purpose. 3094][CZ] Benesov u Prahy - Postupice - Vlasim - Bolina - Zdislavice - Trhovy Stepanov (- Dolni Kralovice): (Ball 41A3) On the busy electrified Praha - Olbramovice (- Ceske Velenice CD - Gmünd ÖBB - Wien) north-south main line is the well-used junction station of Benesov u Prahy, whose attractive building is associated with the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After visits to his nearby country estate in the rolling hills and forests of rural Bohemia, the archduke and his guests would wait in the luxury of the Imperial Waiting-Room for their train back to the capital. One frequent visitor was Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, whose last stay was in 1914, just two weeks before Franz Ferdinand’s assassination at Sarajevo triggered off World War I. This history is recounted on a plaque in Czech and English outside the waiting-room, whose elegant white-painted façade stands out from the cream stonework of the rest of the station. Alas, on a recent visit the door to the waiting-room was locked and an enquiry at the ticket-office to borrow the key proved fruitless. From Benesov, a branch runs south-east to Trhovy Stepanov, though the Quail map shows that it once ran a few km (and four more stations) further to Dolni Kralovice. On 1 June 2003 the 13:32 branch train comprised railcar and trailer #810 446-5 and 010 393-7. Heavily overgrown even at the junction, the track was in some places on the branch almost completely hidden from view by rampant weeds. Though the trains were by no means full, most of the stations did see some custom. Only Postupice, Vlasim and Trhovy Stepanov were staffed. Postupice had a passing-loop. Some branch services terminated at Vlasim, the main intermediate station. Facilities were rudimentary at the smaller halts such as Bolina, where a rusted petrol-can served as a litter-bin and a log as a seat. The next station, Zdislavice, was adjacent to a large industrial plant, so might provide some freight traffic. The terminus, Trhovy Stepanov, serves little more than a small village, perched steeply on a hill above the line. 3095][SK] Slovakia: passenger reopenings: Of the lines closed from 2 February 2003 (R.2755) the first two listed below closed only briefly, since local finance was forthcoming at the last moment. The other eight sections of line were to reopen with local financial support from 15 June 2003. Timetables are at http://www.slovakrail.sk. 113 - Zohor - Zahorska Ves (R.2691, 2773; reopened 4 February 2003; Ball 41B2) 126 - Zilina - Rajec (R.2773; reopened 17 February 2003; Ball 42B2 134 - Sala - Neded (Ball 42A1) 143 - Trencin - Chynorany (Ball 42A2) 151 - Zlate Moravce - Ulany nad Zitavou (R.2693; Ball 42A1) 152 - Levice - Cata - Sturovo (Ball 42B1) 153 - Sahy - Cata (Ball 42B2-42B1) 154 - Hronska Dubrava - Banska Stiavnica (Ball 42B2)> 165 - Plesivec - Muran (Ball 43A2) 195 - Banovce nad Ondavou - Velke Kapusany (R.2181; Ball 43B2-44A2) The useful website http://www.rail.sk said that from 7 July 2003 ownership of the 14km Zohor - Zahorska Ves branch was to pass from national infrastructure authority ZSR to the district of Bratislava, with trains run not by ZSSK but by Bratislavska Regionalna Kolajova Spolocnost (= Bratislava regional rail company), newly-established by the district authority, with train-operators Connex as one of the minority shareholders. 3096][SK] Kosice: (Ball 43B2) After the capital Bratislava, Kosice is Slovakia’s second-largest city, thanks to the huge steelworks developed there since the 1940s, and its passenger station is a fine example of socialist-era architectural monumentalism. In the middle of the spacious ground-floor concourse are the timetables, pasted on rotating drums, as is the pattern in both Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but these are somewhat hidden by a confusing mix of shops and kiosks. A small ZSR shop sells postcards, badges and ZSR-branded T-shirts. A pedestrian subway gives access to the main island platform but to reach any other platform from there one has to cross the tracks on the level at a barrow crossing. On the first floor is an equally vast but somewhat underused concourse with a few shops, and huge windows looking out on the station square. Here the city trams, trolleybuses and diesel buses terminate, monitored by a curious structure reminiscent of the watchtowers that used to line the borders of Communist states. The trams carry the workers home to the suburbs, numerous grey medium-rise apartment blocks lining the hills overlooking the town. By contrast, only a 5min walk from the railway station through a small park (dotted with monuments to Soviet heroes and a World War II memorial still displaying the hammer-and-sickle symbol), Kosice’s Old Town has been attractively redeveloped. Tracks on both sides of its main square seem to see no scheduled tram services, only the occasional trip by a single horse-drawn car. The wooden horse-tram, attractively-painted in blue-and-yellow livery and identified only by the number ‘1’, waits hopefully at one end of the square for families wanting a short ride. 3097][YU] Kosovo Polje - Gracanica: (Ball 52A2 not shown) From a junction c.10km south of Kosovo Polje on the main Kosovo Polje - Skopje line a c.10km branch diverges south-east to the town of Gracanica, c.15km south-east of the Kosovan capital Pristina. Closed in 1990, the Gracanica branch was formally reopened to passengers on Friday 11 April 2003. Trains, formed of stock donated by Italy, run twice a day on Mondays and Fridays only, and are operated by UNMIK Rail. UNMIK is the United Nations Interim Administration Mission In Kosovo. (http://www.nato.int/kfor/chronicle/2003/chronicle_04/16.htm) 3098][KP][KR] (Pyongyang -) Kaesong [KP] - [KR] Munsan (- Seoul): (R.2149, 2515) The North Korean and South Korean standard-gauge rail systems were physically reconnected at a symbolic ceremony on 14 June 2003, but with political tensions unresolved it will be some time before trains again run between the two countries. (BBC News) 3099][SG] Singapore metro: Harbor Front - Outram Park - Dhoby Ghaut - Sengkang - Punggol: (R.1210, 1992) The 20km 14-station North East Line, the world’s first fully-automatic heavy-rail underground, opened Friday 20 June 2003. The driverless six-car Alstom trains on the 1500V dc overhead-wired NEL offer interchange with the island’s 750V dc third-rail MRT lines at Outram Park and Dhoby Ghaut, and with people-mover systems serving the new towns of Sengkang and Punggol. Management is by SBS Transit, a separate company from Singapore MRT. (partly Tramways & Urban Transit, June 2003) 3100][AU] (Adelaide -) Alice Springs - Darwin: (R.2516) The first freight train on the new standard-gauge south-to-north transcontinental line is to leave Adelaide on 15 January 2004, and Great Southern Railway’s Adelaide - Alice Springs - Darwin Ghan is to begin its inaugural 2979km journey on 1 February 2004. (Erik’s Rail News) 3101][NZ] (Auckland - Waitakere - Whangarei - Otiria -) Kawakawa - Opua: Hopes there may be for the future (R.2994) but in 2003 the Bay of Islands heritage railway is a dismal sight. Kawakawa station, at the Auckland end of the main street, is overgrown, its tracks cluttered with broken-down rolling-stock that looks unlikely to run again. The town has lost the significant tourist attraction of a steam-hauled train trundling down the centre of the main street. The street section remains in place, and beyond it the track runs through undulating countryside to the little port of Opua, whence ferries ply to adjacent islands, but at the ferry-terminal, the rails have been tarred over. 3102][NZ] Wellington suburban lines: The electric units used on the four 1067mm-gauge 1500V dc lines comprising the Wellington Tranz Metro suburban system are elderly, but the private-sector company Tranz Rail, eager to divest themselves of all their passenger-train operations, have no plans to replace them - nor it seems has anyone else. The Wellington - Tawa - Porirua - Paekakariki line is part of the Wellington - Palmerston North - Auckland North Island Main Trunk line, which has day and overnight Tranz Scenic inter-city services. The Wellington - Johnsonville branch to the west of the NIMT has suffered from disruption due to broken rails and although services were back to normal by mid-2003 some off-peak traffic seems to have been lost. The (Wellington -) Petone - Lower Hutt - Melling (- Upper Hutt) branch was the stub left when the former route along the Hutt valley was diverted to run through new housing areas as the Wellington - Petone - Woburn - Waterloo - Upper Hutt (- Napier) line. The once-threatened Melling line has been gaining traffic again, so it has been suggested it should be retained and extended back up the valley for several kilometres to serve additional park-and-ride points. 3103][NZ] Wellington funicular: Lambton - Clifton Terrace - Talavera - (passing-loop) - Salamanca - Kelburn: (R.1604) Reached by the pleasantly-named Cable Car Lane, the Wellington Cable Car’s lower station, Lambton, was at one time near the shore (and has sometimes been known as Lambton Quay), though it now lies within the city’s business district. From Lambton the metre-gauge line climbs to an upper station at Kelburn (hence its alternative name, the Kelburn Cable Car). Privately-owned until the city council took over in 1946, the line was totally rebuilt and reopened 6 October 1979. Now owned by Wellington Cable Car Co Ltd and operated by Serco, it runs every 10 minutes from 07:00 SSuX, 09:00 SSuO until 22:00. 3104][NZ] (Washdyke -) Keanes Crossing - Pleasant Point (- Fairlie): At Pleasant Point, north-west of Timaru on the South Island, a 2km section of the 1067mm-gauge former Fairlie branch has become a heritage railway, possibly the best preserved such line in New Zealand. The 1875 Pleasant Point station building in the leafy centre of the country town is a museum housing rail and other local items, and adjoining it is the restored station building from Washdyke. At the Keanes Crossing end is a fully-restored locomotive turntable, as well as the rolling-stock collection and a ‘vintage movie-theatre’. Steam locomotives (1878-built D16 and 1922-built Ab 699), hauled coaching-stock and the few freight wagons are all in magnificent condition, as is the (‘world’s only’) 1925 Ford Model T railcar which operates daily during the summer season (mid-December to early March). 3105][NZ] (Lumsden -) Fairlight - Kingston: (R.2995) At the once-important junction of Lumsden the building on the platform had fallen out of use by the end of 2002, though it was still standing, in poor condition. A children’s playground occupied a small corner of the extensive area once covered by tracks. The town itself looked run-down. The Kingston Flyer tourist trains however appeared to be enjoying more success. The new operators who took over in 2002 introduced a third trip each day, more convenient for visitors staying in the Queenstown area. In 1999 the Flyers were lightly loaded but in January 2003 (the antipodean summer) they were carrying substantial numbers of passengers. The ex-Otautau station building at Fairlight, now the southern terminus, had become an excellent retail outlet selling railway-related items and quality clothing. Whereas in 1999 tour-bus operators drove their customers to Kingston station to photograph the Flyer departing, in 2003 tour-buses were bringing people to Fairlight or Kingston to ride on the train. The 1912 coal-fired steamship Earnslaw that once connected with the trains at Kingston for the journey on to Queenstown (R.2996) was operating every two hours across Lake Wakatipu to a sheep-station orientated to handling tourists, but the vessel’s passenger loads seemed worryingly light. 3106][CA] BC Rail: Troubled BC Rail say they are not allowing any new passenger-train charters on their lines in 2003, and the planned 2003 tour to lines north of Prince George (R.2997) has been abandoned. (West Coast Rail Tours) 3107][CA] Toronto - Newmarket - Bradford - Barrie, ON: More finance from federal, provincial and municipal governments will enable train-operators GO Transit to expand line capacity by adding a third track along the Ontario lake-shore and to extend commuter rail service beyond Bradford to Barrie, some 100km north of Toronto. (Transnet newsletter #117) 3108][CA][US][MX] North American cruise-trains cease: The Acadian Railway summer trips east through Maine to Saint John (St.Jean, QC - Lennoxville, QC - Greenville, ME - Saint John, NB) and autumn trips south towards Portland (St.Jean, QC - Lennoxville, QC - Coaticook, QC - Norton, VT - North Stratford, NH - Danville Jn, ME) that ran in 2002 (R.1997-8, 2235, 2271, 2443, 2666) are not to run in 2003, nor are South Orient Express Chihuahua - Los Mochis Copper Canyon trips in Mexico (R.2010). John Randolph Parten’s Denver Railway Car Company, owners of both operations, say recent business conditions have been poor and bookings low. (Houston Chronicle, TX, 8 June 2003) 3109][US][CA] Bring your own railcar: Recreational operation on lightly-used rail lines of personally-owned railcars (‘speeders’, ‘motorcars’ or what Britons call permanent-way trolleys and Europeans know as draisines) is not yet widespread outside North America, where the sport is encouraged by the North American Railcar Operators Association. NARCOA has safety-rules agreed with the US Federal Railroad Administration and arranges liability-insurance for members, who have consequently been allowed access to suitable lines by many companies, including BNSF, CSX, Canadian National and White Pass & Yukon (R.0880, 2491). Upcoming speeder excursions are listed at http://www.railtrip.com/events.asp and a history of the sport is at http://www.cwrr.com/Lounge/Reports/speeder1/primer.html. Perhaps there is potential for a European equivalent of NARCOA, particularly since ‘open access’ to railway track by approved safe operators has recently become a principle blessed by the European Union. Suitable lightly-used track certainly exists in most European countries. 3110][US] Tacoma, WA light rail: Tacoma Dome - South 9th Street: (R.2638) Target opening-date for Sound Transit’s 2.6km Tacoma Link line is Friday 22 August 2003. The three Skoda cars are similar to the streetcars in Portland, OR (R.1443). 3111][US] Portland, OR: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry - Sellwood: (R.1681) Special trains hauled by steam locomotives (ex-Southern Pacific #4449 and ex-Spokane Portland & Seattle #700) were to operate on this c.6.5km of East Portland Traction Company line during the weekend 27-29 June 2003, to mark the official opening of the parallel Springwater Trail, a footpath and cycleway along the north-east bank of the Willamette River. The new trail required shifting some of the EPTC track sideways to allow the bike-path to share the formerly double-track railway alignment on the side closer to the river. 3112][US] (Willits -) Northspur - Fort Bragg, CA: The Willits - Northspur section is out of use, but notwithstanding the company’s financial difficulties (R.2639), California Western Railroad’s Fort Bragg - Northspur Skunk tourist-train is to be operating again in summer 2003, starting Friday 4 July with the first steam run since 11 November 2001. Traction is to be diesel during the week and Baldwin 2-8-2 steam locomotive #45 at weekends. (http://www.skunktrain.com) 3113][US] Sacramento, CA: light rail: (R.2869) Regional Transit have set a target opening-date of 27 September 2003 for the six-station 10.5km Meadowview extension of the south line, diverging at 16th Street station by a grade-separated junction and running for several km alongside the (ex-Western Pacific, now Union Pacific) Sacramento - Stockton, CA line. 3114][US] Santa Clara County, CA: light rail: With a reduced financial budget, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority are considering closure of the short and lightly-used Ohlone/Chynoweth - Almaden branch, south of downtown San Jose. The line runs as the Almaden Shuttle for most of the day, with a few peak-hour through trips. The description in R.2804 of the VTA’s Guadalupe or blue route should have read Baypointe - Downtown San Jose - Children’s Discovery Museum - Tamien - Ohlone/Chynoweth - Santa Teresa. Through downtown San Jose the south- and northbound single tracks are in adjacent streets (BLN 804.0298). Curves at the south end enable a vintage car to operate at weekends from April to early October between downtown and the depot at Younger St between the Gish and Civic Center stops. Tamien offers Caltrain interchange. 3115][US] Los Angeles, CA Metro: (R.2062) The 22km Gold line (Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal - Pasadena) is to be inaugurated on Friday 25 July, with free rides over the weekend, and revenue operation from Monday 28 July 2003. From Union station’s terminal platforms 1 and 2 on the surface the new standard-gauge light-rail line with 750kV dc overhead current collection runs for c.1km north on new viaduct through the city’s Chinatown area, after which it takes up the old Santa Fe railroad alignment north-east to Pasadena (R.1345). In Pasadena, some of the right-of-way is in the middle of the I-210 interstate highway. Two- and three-car trains make 13 stops, with a one-way journey of c.37min. Originally envisaged as a northern extension of the Blue line (R.1878), the Gold line as built does not abut the original Blue line, but the four lines now making up the city’s Metro system are all linked as follows, from north to south. From the Gold Line platforms at Union station, interchange is made with the eastern terminus of the c.30km Red line, not a light-rail line but an east-to-northwest ‘heavy-rail’ subway with 750kV dc third-rail current collection, running entirely in tunnel (Union Station - 7th St/Metro Center/Julian Dixon - North Hollywood/Wilshire/Western). Three stations to the west, interchange is made to the subsurface northern terminus of the 35km north-to-south Blue line (7th St/Metro Center/Julian Dixon - Pico - Imperial/Wilmington/Rosa Parks - Long Beach). The Blue line is light-rail with 750kV dc overhead, running in tunnel as far as the first intermediate station, Pico, but thereafter mainly at ground-level on former Pacific Electric alignment, with some street-running, including a clockwise terminal balloon-loop in Long Beach. The two-level station of Imperial/Wilmington/Rosa Parks offers passenger interchange from the north-to-south Blue line to the east-to-west Green line, and has a steeply-graded, tightly-curved south-to-east curve for transfer of cars, which are compatible between the two lines. The 32km Green line (Norwalk/I-605/I-105 - Imperial/Wilmington/Rosa Parks - Aviation/I-105 - Douglas/Rosecrans - Marine/Redondo Beach), though worked by light-rail stock, is a heavily-engineered fully-segregated railway partly on its own viaduct, mainly in the median of a busy and noisy elevated freeway. The Green line eastern terminus at Norwalk is nothing more than a parking-lot and local-bus interchange at the intersection of two branches of the interstate highway system, hence its name I-605/I-105. Aviation/I-105 station is the interchange for the free shuttle-bus making a circuit of Los Angeles International (LAX) airport terminals (BLN 821.0112). Immediately to the west of this station, the viaduct formation already incorporates the alignment for a junction for a short branch into the airport, though a building would need to be modified or removed before further construction of such a branch could be undertaken. At its western end, the line shares an alignment, still on viaduct, with the ex-Santa Fe, now Burlington Northern Santa Fe, freight line south from El Segundo BNSF near Douglas/Rosecrans Metro station to the Metro terminus at Marine/Redondo Beach. 3116][US] St.Louis light rail: (Lambert-St.Louis (STL) Airport, MO - downtown St.Louis, MO - East St.Louis, IL -) Belleville, IL - Scott Air Force Base/MidAmerica (BLV) Airport, IL: (R.1448) This 5.6km section at the east end of the light-rail Metro line was to open 23 June 2003. 3117][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Bayonne, NJ - Exchange Place - Newport - Hoboken (- Weehawken, NJ): (R.2901) Target opening-date for the southern extension of the Hudson-Bergen light-rail line, from East 34th St to East 22nd St, closer to the centre of Bayonne, is 15 November 2003. (Transnet newsletter #117) 3118][US] New Jersey Transit light rail: Camden - Trenton, NJ: (R.0022, 0695, 1450) Target opening-date for the 54km 20-station line has slipped to November 2003, a whole year after test-running of the diesel light-rail vehicles began (R.2855). 3119][US] Washington, DC metro: Addison Road - Summerfield Road - Largo Town Center: (R.1241) Target opening-date is late 2004 for this two-station extension of the Blue line, the first Metro line to extend beyond the Capital Beltway in Prince George’s County, MD. Also to open in late 2004 is New York Avenue, a surface station on the Red Line between Washington Union Station and Rhode Island Avenue. (Transnet newsletter #118) 3120][AR] (Ingeniero Jacobacci - Ojos de Agua -) El Maitén - Desvio Thomae - Nahuel Pan - Esquel: El Maiten - Esquel through trains were suspended in March 2000 because a bridge was damaged, and were not restored till 27 May 2003 (R.3037), but some tourist trains did continue to run on the El Maiten - Desvio Thomae and Esquel - Nahuel Pan sections of the 750mm-gauge line (La Trochita) while it was temporarily severed. The northern Jacobacci - El Maiten section appears to have remained out of use since 1995, though several Trochita supporters have helped to maintain the track with a view to its revival (R.1654), and during June 2003 a test train ran between Jacobacci and Ojos de Agua station. 3121][NL] Netherlands: light-rail proposals: (R.2911-2) A critique of the various ‘light-rail’ schemes recently put forward for many Dutch cities and towns is at http://www.rinbad.demon.co.uk/nl_light.htm (and was slightly amended on 20 July 2003). 3122][SE] (Växjö - Åseda -) Målilla Sanatorium - Hultsfred - Verkebäck - Jenny - Västervik: (Ball 26A3-22B1) On the southern Växjö - Hultsfred section of the 891mm-gauge Smålandsbana various tourist-train operations eventually failed (R.0605) and the remaining track from Åseda north-east to Hultsfred has lain out of use since about 1999. Föreningen Smalspåret, the last group to run such trains, have now set up a rail-cycle hire (= draisine) operation on the 11.5km Hultsfred - Målilla Sanatorium section. The more successful northern section (Hultsfred - Verkebäck; 70km) has been extended. The narrow-gauge points at Jenny were restored in October 2002, giving access to the 4km of mixed-gauge track into the town of Västervik (R.2831). After works trains had tested the track, the first narrow-gauge tourist train since 1992 reached Västervik on 26 April 2003. (Motorvagnen #2/2003) 3123][ES] Llovio - Ribadesella Puerto: (BLN 797.0111, R.0575; Ball 4A2 not shown) Diverging from FEVE’s metre-gauge Oviedo - Llovio - Ribadesella - Santander line at the east end of Llovio station, this single-track long siding follows the river Sella down to a single platform closer to the town-centre than Ribadesella’s through station at a higher level. Special passenger trains run on the branch in connection with the annual Arriondas - Ribadesella downstream canoe race. (The 2003 race starts at 12:00 on Saturday 9 August 2003; http://www.descensodelsella.com). Occasional charter trains also visit Ribadesella Puerto (eg the trip planned for Sunday 26 October 2003; http://www.adltours.co.uk). 3124][US] (Hoboken, NJ - Port Morris Jn, NJ - Portland, PA -) Delaware Water Gap - East Stroudsburg - Mount Pocono - Moscow - Scranton, PA (- Binghamton, NY): Once the path of Delaware, Lackawanna & Western’s Lackawanna Limited, this route may have seen no passenger train since DL&W’s successor, the Delaware & Hudson Railway, ran a Hoboken - Binghamton trip in 1973. Three decades later, two US National Parks, the Steamtown National Historic Site at Scranton and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, are to be symbolically linked by three Scranton - Water Gap rail excursions along some 100km section of the restored Pocono main line, crossing the headwaters of the Lehigh River and Pocono Summit Lake (R.2006). The first run (Scranton Steamtown 09:00 - Water Gap - 18:00 Steamtown; round-trip fare USD100) is to be on Saturday 30 August 2003, with two more trips on 11 and 25 October. Steamtown museum are considering similar excursions in future years. Telephone enquiries can be made to +1 570 340 5203 (09:30-16:00 local time). Shorter Scranton - Carbondale trips (depart Steamtown depot 11:00 on Saturdays 2, 9, 16 and 23 August 2003) are also to run, north-east along the former D&H main line through the industrial heart of the Lackawanna Valley, now the recently-reopened Strawberry Hill branch. (http://www.nps.gov/stea/) 3125][IE] (Limerick -) Ennis - Gort - Athenry: (R.2547) Gort ceased to be a block-post on 14 April 2003 and all points and signals were taken out of use and removed, making the block-section Ennis - Athenry, a lengthy 58km, controlled from Ennis signal-box. With the extension of the ‘mini-CTC’ system of Centralised Traffic Control on the Dublin - Ballinasloe - Athenry - Galway line, Ballinasloe, Athenry and Galway ceased to be block-posts on 26 April 2003. At Athenry a new east-facing junction is being installed with (as forecast in R.2240) two sets of back-to-back trap-points on the Ennis line. The weekly circular to rail staff dated 26 May 2003 contained a lengthy set of operating instructions for the Ennis - Athenry section, and made clear its normal status is ‘closed to traffic’. On 27 May 2003, however, the weed-spraying train visited, the first movement on the line north of Ennis for some time. (Irish Railway News, #63, July 2003) 3126][IE] Limerick (Check Cabin) - Sixmilebridge - Ennis (- Athenry): After closure for engineering works at the end of February (R.2739, 2967), this section reopened to traffic later in May 2003. It has been relaid with continuous welded rail from Limerick Check for 22km (to milepost 14, north of Sixmilebridge) and re-railing continues north to Ennis (km41). Iarnród Éireann hope to renew the canal bridge and to refurbish the river Shannon bridge and the oil bridge near Sixmilebridge by September, and to complete work on the line by the beginning of November 2003. (Irish Railway News, #63, July 2003) 3127][IE] (Limerick Check Cabin -) Foynes Jn - Foynes: (R.2162) Dispute about the provision of a level-crossing over this out-of-use branch delayed the opening of a newly-built road to the harbour, and prevented the weed-spraying train from visiting the branch in early June. The matter was resolved at the end of June 2003 when a CX-type crossing called Foynes Harbour Access Road was installed at 25mi1510yd (km41.6) from Limerick Check, with traincrew-operated gates, fixed distant-signals and ground-frame-operated stop-signals. The line is marked in the current IE working timetable as not open to traffic and engineers’ trains are subject to a 25mph (40km/h) limit. (Irish Railway News, #63, July 2003) 3128][FR] Trouville-Deauville - Villers-sur-Mer - Dives-Port-Guillaume - Dives-Cabourg: (Ball 12B1) An even sparser timetable than that reported in R.3024 was shown in the spring 2003 TER Basse-Normandie booklet. From 4 April to 14 June 2003, down trains were at 11:10 on Saturdays and Sundays and at 21:14 on Fridays and three other days before holidays, and up trains at 17:28 on Saturdays and Sundays and at 15.42 on six days at the end of holidays. All were connections at Trouville from and to Paris. The 17.28 Dives - Trouville on Sunday 17 May 2003 carried almost exclusively passengers for the train to Paris. The line has no passenger trains from October to March, and appears to have no freight. Only for about nine weeks in high summer, from end-June to end-August, has it a regular daily passenger service, of about seven trains each way. 3129][BE][FR] (Roeselare - Y Meiboom -) Menen - Halluin (- Tourcoing SNCF): (Ball 7B2-7A2; NMBS 64, 65) Menen freight yard (R.3052) was closed and lifted in the 1990s, but the last remnant of the former Roeselare - Menen - Tourcoing route remains in daily use from Menen station south. Unusually, this c.1km stub of Belgian industrial track remains an international railway, for the factory it serves straddles the frontier, and the line runs for some 100m on the part of the site on French territory near Halluin. (partly from http://ibelgique.ifrance.com/brail/) 3130][BE] Belgium: Train+Tram+Bus day: TTB day was an annual autumn event promoting public transport, but only 42,000 of the special cheap day-rover tickets were sold for the September 2002 day (R.2717), and it seems the transport operators have decided not to offer such a ticket in 2003. (http://www.bttb.be) 3131][NL] Groningen - Groningen Noord - Sauwerd (- Delfzijl / Roodeschool / Eemshaven): (R.0135; Ball 2B3) The Groningen Noord - Sauwerd section has been realigned to allow doubling of track and the raising of a bridge over a canal. 3132][NL] Geldermalsen - Tiel - Kesteren - Elst: (Ball 4A2-4B2) The classic west-to-east line has been realigned between Tiel and Kesteren to facilitate the building of a new bridge over the Rotterdam - Zevenaar NS (- Emmerich DB) Betuwelijn, the dedicated 25kV 50Hz freight-only line now under construction. 3133][DE] Emden - Norden - Norddeich - Norddeich Mole: (R.2040; Ball 15A2-15A3) The signal-boxes at Norddeich are designated Nsw (Norddeich Süd West) and Nno (Norddeich Nord Ost). North, south, east and west are commonplace, but it is unusual for signal-boxes to be named after eighth points of the compass. 3134][DE][SE] Berlin (- Sassnitz Fährhafen - train-ferry - Trelleborg - Malmö): (R.2648; Ball 32A2) Southbound EN111 Berlin Night Express has been further rerouted, probably from 15 June 2003, and again takes the short Biesdorfer Kreuz Nord - Süd link to visit Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld, reversing there before terminating at Berlin-Lichtenberg rather than Ostbahnhof. Northbound EN110 also departs from Lichtenberg. Fuller details and timings are at http://www.steane.com/egtre/. 3135][DE] Köln - Dortmund magnetic-levitation guideway: (Ball 38 not shown) With a well-developed conventional railway network already, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen have wisely decided against building a Köln - Dortmund high-speed magnetic-levitation Transrapid line, a project that was known as Metrorapid. 3136][DE] Meckesheim - Neckarbischofsheim Nord - Aglasterhausen (- Neckarelz) and Neckarbischofsheim Nord - Siegelsbach - Hüffenhardt: (BLN 792.0505; Ball 57B3-58A3) At Meckesheim, ‘main-line’ trains use platforms 2 and 3 while SWEG’s branch services, generally worked by single railcars, use platform 1. At Neckarbischofsheim Nord (12km) they call at the northern through face of the island platform, making connection with shuttle workings to Hüffenhardt which start from the dead-end track along the southern face. One train a day (the 12:46 from Meckesheim) is timetabled to work through to Hüffenhardt, using a crossover just east of the station. The single running-lines follow parallel alignments on either side of two sidings leading into the SWEG depot, which is located at the point where the two single-track routes diverge, 7km north-east to Aglasterhausen and 17km south-east to Hüffenhardt. The Aglasterhausen branch retains timber traffic and has a run-round loop at its present terminus. The section from Aglasterhausen east to Neckarelz has been lifted. The large military establishment at Siegelsbach remains rail-connected. Hüffenhardt, a quiet settlement with few facilities, has a siding and run-round loop plus a small locomotive-shed, none of which showed any signs of use on 22 May 2003. 3137][DE] Achern - Achern Stadt - Ottenhöfen: (BLN 834.0440; Ball 57A1) SWEG’s Achertalbahn starts in the flat flood-plain of the river Rhein but ends with a steep climb to Ottenhöfen, a little village strung out along the valley, with many eating and drinking places for tourists. In 2003 SWEG steam-hauled trains run on 20, 27 Jul, 3, 17, 31 Aug, 14, 28 Sep, 12, 26 Oct; at 09:45, 13:45, 17:00 from Ottenhöfen, 10:45, 14:35, 17:45 from Achern; fares EUR6 one-way, EUR8 round-trip. 3138][DE] (Offenburg -) Appenweier - Oberkirch - Bad Griesbach (Schwarzwald): (BLN 777.0169; Ball 57A1-68A3) DB’s rural Renchtalbahn is now operated by the so-called Ortenau S-Bahn, a subsidiary of SWEG. Following a valley into the hills of the Schwarzwald to a point where the topography would have made it difficult to go further, this pleasant 29km branch terminates in a single track with no pointwork at a platform next to a hotel in Bad Griesbach. Leaving Appenweier at 18:56 on a damp Sunday evening in May 2003, SWEG’s Adtranz diesel railcar was fairly full, and also did business at and between intermediate stations. Oberkirch (km8.8) seemed the busiest, but the passenger load had dwindled to six by Bad Griesbach. Oberkirch retains some freight traffic, but the very large timber-yards further up the valley seem no longer to use rail transport. 3139][DE] Freiburg (Breisgau) Hbf - Gottenheim - Breisach: (BLN 756.0283, 763.0427; Ball 67B2) Breisgau S-Bahn GmbH now operate the 23km DB branch from Freiburg-im-Breisgau via Gottenheim to Breisach along the southern flank of the Kaiserstuhl, a hill rising from the plain of the river Rhein. Round the other three sides of the hill Südwestdeutsche Verkehrs-AG (SWEG) run the 38km Gottenheim - Bötzingen - Riegel Ort - Endingen - Breisach Kaiserstuhlbahn and the 1.7km Riegel am Kaiserstuhl - Riegel Ort branch from Riegel DB station on the Karlsruhe - Basel main line across the Leopoldskanal to Riegel proper (Ort = place). All three lines are worked by Adtranz low-floor diesel units. A mid-afternoon trip on a Sunday in late May 2003 found the two ‘S-Bahn’ railcars heading west from Freiburg full, with passengers having to stand as far as Gottenheim, where enough people detrained to fill more than half the seats on the SWEG unit heading north to Riegel Ort and Endingen. The SWEG line had some evidence of freight traffic, possibly timber, at Bötzingen. Standing unattended in a siding at Riegel Ort was a 1927-built Henschel 0-8-0T steam locomotive, smartly preserved by Eisenbahnfreunde Breisgau, with a short rake of vintage coaches ready for use on Riegel - Endingen - Breisach summer-Sunday specials (http://www.rebenbummler.de). At Riegel am Kaiserstuhl, passengers have a short walk between the DB and SWEG platforms, but the physical link (via a siding, requiring a double reversal; BLN 810.0437) was heavily rusted. 3140][DE] München S-Bahn: (Ball 66A2) From January 2003 till April 2004 (except during the city’s famous Oktoberfest) DB are undertaking engineering and signalling work to permit increased train frequency on the double-track S-Bahn section in tunnel under the city-centre (München Hauptbahnhof tief - Marienhof - München Ost). The work is being done on week-nights, and also prevents any trains running on this section on Saturday evenings and Sundays. DB have provided a temporary platform, first noted in use on 23 March 2003, enabling S-Bahn trains to call at Laim when diverted via the freight-only München-Laim - München Süd (- München Ost) tracks. A substantial full-length platform with a concrete base, metal flooring and electric lighting, the temporary construction (confusingly labelled Laim platform 1, the same as the westbound S-Bahn platform) is on track 1 of the freight line through Laim Rangierbahnhof which runs alongside but at a lower level than the S-Bahn through Laim passenger station. Various trains are to call at different periods, but the new platform is served every week during the works on Sunday mornings at 02:17 and 02:27 by two westbound trains from Ostbahnhof via the closed Südbahnhof to Laim and Pasing, at both of which connnections are made into other westbound and northbound S-Bahn trains. In addition, while the works continue, a temporary city tram-route #29 links Hbf and Ostbf, using curves and a section of line that are not otherwise traversed in regular passenger service. 3141][DE] Kaufering - Landsberg (Lech) - Denklingen - Hohenfuch - Schongau - Weilheim (Oberbayern): (Ball 70B2-71A2) DB trains on the 4.8km section south from Kaufering run into a dead-end road at Landsberg. On one side of this track is a mid-height platform adjacent to the bus-station bays and on the other a low island platform. The far side of the island serves the through running-line, normally used only by freight, worked by Augsburger Localbahn GmbH. The former loop has lost its points at the southern end and all other track-work seems disconnected, so trains can no longer run round here. Three old carriages opposite the station building house the local model-railway club, but stand on an isolated section of track. The substantial brick-built signal-box north of the station still controls the limited remaining pointwork and an adjacent level-crossing, but the level-crossing at the south end may be traincrew-operated. The 29km Landsberg - Schongau section lost its ordinary passenger trains from 2 June 1984, but occasional specials have run (eg on 8 June 1996; BLN 778.0188). Initiative Fuchstal-Bahn, a local organisation lobbying for restoration of passenger services, have chartered some such trains, possibly starting with Landsberg - Schongau shuttles on 24 and 25 July 1999, in connection with Landsberg’s Ruethenfest, an annual children’s event that began in 1900. The trains do not seem to have become annual, but they were repeated for the Ruethenfest on 19 and 20 July 2003. A Bayern Oberlandbahn diesel railcar ran from München Hbf on the Saturday morning, worked four round-trips each day, and ran back on the Sunday evening. (http://www.fuchstalbahn.de; http://www.ruethenfest.de) Just south of Landsberg a siding to a large factory remained but looked disused. At Denklingen bogie wagons sat in a recently-used siding, and between Denklingen and Hohenfuch two more sidings showed signs of use, one leading to a warehouse with bales of used paper outside. East of Schongau, the 24km Pfaffenwinkel-Bahn, looping back to the main line at Weilheim, retains ordinary passenger trains. 3142][DE] Hörpolding - Traunreut: (Ball 72A2) This short single-track branch off the Garching - Hörpolding - Traunstein Traun-Alz-Bahn in south-eastern Bavaria has been freight-only since at least the late 1930s, and the small town of Traunreut may never have had its own passenger service. However, for Traunreut’s Stadtfest (= town festival) on Saturday 12 July 2003 trains ran through from Traunstein, or shuttled from the junction Hörpolding, the nearest ordinary passenger station. Hörpolding is little more than a ground-level signal-box with its name on the front. No other station name-sign is to be seen, unusual in Germany, where even the least significant passenger stopping-places have usually been re-signed at each change of corporate signage policy! Near the branch’s 2.9km marker, opposite the Traunpassage shopping-centre at the west end of Traunreut, a temporary roadside ‘station’ had been set up, comprising sets of substantial wooden steps placed to match the diesel railcar’s doors, but no sign could be seen of a proper station, and the track continued a further 1.1km to a factory siding at the east end of Traunreut. On the following Saturday, 19 July, the Stadtfest at much-larger Traunstein was an international event (performers included The Taverners from Haywards Heath in West Sussex, England), and the well-promoted SüdostBayernBahn local trains in connection with it included more trips to Traunreut. 3143][DE][AT] Kempten - Pfronten-Steinach DB - Schönbichl ÖBB - Reutte in Tirol - Ehrwald Zugspitzbahn ÖBB - Griessen DB - Garmisch-Partenkirchen: (Ball 70A1-70B1) DB passenger trains now operate the whole line from Kempten to Garmisch, including ÖBB’s Ausserfernbahn section through Austria, once threatened with closure (R.1253). The life-expired wiring on the Reutte - Garmisch section must have been replaced, for in summer 2003 the overhead-line equipment looked quite new. A bridge over the river Lech is being renewed, so buses replace Pfronten-Steinach - Reutte trains from 9 to 31 August 2003 inclusive. 3144][AT] Mixnitz Lokalbahn - Breitenau Werk (- St.Erhard): (Ball 75A1) The 10.7km 760mm-gauge Mixnitzbahn lost its passenger trains 1 August 1966, but retained mineral traffic from the Breitenau magnesite works at St.Erhard. To allow development of the magnesite operation, St.Erhard station and workshop closed in 1970, and a new locomotive-shed and workshop were provided at Mixnitz. From 10 August 1970 the line was shortened by c.400m to end directly in Breitenau works. In 1998 the Mixnitzbahn’s owners, Steiermarkische Landesbahnen, were threatening the line with closure (BLN 840.0620), but it has lived on to celebrate its 90th birthday in 2003. On 13, 14, 20 and 21 September 2003 passenger trains comprising electric locomotive and classic four-wheeled coaches are to run from Mixnitz Lokalbahnhof to Breitenau Werk in connection with ‘open-doors’ days there hosted by mining company Veitsch Radex GmbH. 3145][DK] Randers - Randers Regnskov - Randers Havn - Bombardier works (- Dronningborg): (Ball 2B2) The single-track Randers north-side harbour line runs east alongside the road Tørvebryggen, past the Regnskov (= rainforest) zoo. Opposite Odinsgade, c.1km from Randers station, is Randers Regnskov halt, origin and destination of the steam trains to Allingåbro (R.3146). Just east of Regnskov the line enters the harbour area, where all tracks are out of use except a line running alongside the road Toldbodgade, much of it laid with tramway rails. This dock tramway passes along the frontages of grain silos and other buildings, and at one point runs through a covered section where rail wagons were formerly loaded with (presumably) grain. At something over 2km from Randers station the dock tramway crosses Toldbodgade to provide rail access for the (ex-Scandia, ex-Adtranz, now Bombardier) railway carriage- and wagon-works, where in summer 2003 a few modern rail vehicles could be observed through the fence. Time did not allow our reporter to confirm whether or not the line continued through the works-site to Dronningborg, a further few km to the north. The Bombardier works-site may have been the Randers terminus of the former private Randers-Hadsund Jernbane which ran from 10 October 1883 to 31 March 1969, but the dock tramway could never have been a suitable route for their passenger trains to reach Randers DSB station, if indeed they did so. More information on the operation of the RHJ would be welcome. 3146][DK] Randers - Strømmen - Kristrup - Assentoft - Uggelhuse - Floes - Allingåbro - Auning - Pindstrup - Ryomgård: (R.1077; Ball 2B2-3A2) The Østjyske Jernbane Randers - Ryomgård - Grenå branch opened 26 August 1876. Randers - Ryomgård passenger trains ceased 23 May 1971, but Randers - Strømmen and Pindstrup - Ryomgård are still in freight use. The middle section remains in place and appears still to be owned by track authority Banestyrelsen. Between gates at km3.5 just east of Strømmen and km29.5 just west of Pindstrup, the track hosts rail-cycle draisines from May to mid-October, but on ten dates a year, principally Wednesdays during the July school holidays, it sees two Randers - Allingåbro round-trips by steam-hauled train. The only ‘proper trains’ over the Strømmen - Pindstrup section, these advertised workings, and any similar charters, are run by the DSB Museum using stock maintained at their Randers out-base and engineering facility (which is not open to the public). The steam trains start from Randers Regnskov platform on the north-side harbour branch (R.3145) and propel to Randers station to reverse. On 2 July 2003 the train comprised 4-4-0 tender locomotive #563 with three four-wheeled coaches and a bogie van. Although not advertised other than locally, these trains are booked to call intermediately at Randers, Strømmen, Uggelhuse and Floes. (http://www.museumstog.dk) From Randers, the Grenå branch formerly had its own bridge over the river Gudenå, but this bridge (painted blue, behind the Regnskov zoo) now carries a public footpath along the old trackbed towards Strømmen. The present route leaves the main line south of the Gudenå at locally-controlled but power-worked points. Strømmen station bears a 1905 rebuilding date. Just east of Strømmen an active branch, whose points had recently been renewed, trails in from an industrial area and the south side of Randers harbour. This south-side branch was traversed by a steam special on 23 April 2000, as part of a fairly regular steam event at Randers. East of the branch junction at km3.5, perhaps measured from Randers station via the old alignment, perhaps via the new, or perhaps from the present physical junction, is the gate at Kristrup marking the normal eastern limit for trains and western limit for rail-cycles. The former Assentoft station (km7.5) has a rasteplads (= rest-place for rail-cyclists, with picnic-tables etc) and Uggelhuse (km12.5) a rasteplads and a halt for trains, west of the former station building now in private occupation. At Floes (km14.5) the former station building is for sale. Allingåbro station (km19.5) is the base of the local rail-cycle-hire company, with shop and refreshment facility (Djursland for fuld Damp; http://www.dffd.dk; +45 86 48 04 44; Hovedgaden 4, DK-8961 Allingåbro). In summer 2003 it appeared that the rail-cycles might be having difficulty, possibly temporary, in reaching the section east of the main-road level-crossing at Auning (km26.5). 3147][DK] (Aarhus - Ryomgård -) Grenaa - Grenaa Havn: (R.1077; Ball 3A2) Boat-trains once ran to Grenå Havn, but the passenger station there has been absent from the timetable since at least 1980, and the short section beyond Grenaa town station is normally freight-only. However, an excursion (Aarhus 14:42 - Grenaa Havn - 00:30 Aarhus) was to run on this section in connection with a large beach-party event on Saturday 12 July 2003. Grenaa is now the spelling in the DSB public timetable. 3148][DK] (Skanderborg -) Ry - Laven - Svejbæk - Silkeborg (- Herning): (R.1893; Ball 2B1-2A1) On 12-13 and 19-20 July 2003 steam-hauled trains based at the DSB Museum, Randers (R.3146), ran on the Ry - Silkeborg section. The trains were also advertised to carry passengers through from Randers on Saturday morning and back on Sunday evening. Steam was also working parallel to the railway on the river Gudenå and its associated lakes, where the 38.5t paddle-steamer Hjejlen, which made her maiden voyage on 24 June 1861, was in her 143rd season. Still coal-fired, she steams from Silkeborg past Himmelbjerget (= ‘sky mountain’, at 147m the fourth highest point in Denmark) to Laven. Track remains on part of the disused Silkeborg harbour branch, but the junction has been removed, as has the end section, close to the river. Just east of Silkeborg station, where the main line crosses the Gudenå, the parallel bridge that now carries a c.15km nature trail for walkers and cyclists was once used by the Silkeborg - Gjern - Laubjerg line, opened 12 November 1908 and closed 23 May 1971. 3149][DK] (Horsens -) Bryrup - Skaaningbro - Juletrapsladsen - Vrads (- Silkeborg): (Ball 2A1) The private Horsens - Bryrup - Silkeborg Jernbane opened 23 April 1899 as a metre-gauge line from Horsens to Bryrup (37.8km), being converted to standard-gauge and extended via Vrads (42.6km) to Silkeborg (60.9km) from 10 May 1929. Unfortunately, in trying to serve as many intermediate places as possible, its route was very indirect, the end-to-end distance being nearly a third as great as the direct distance between its end-points. The HBS line closed to all traffic 30 March 1968 and some 50km of its trackbed, renovated and tarred in 1999, has become a nature path for walkers, horse-riders and cyclists. The isolated 4.8km Bryrup - Vrads section was however quickly acquired by the preservation group Veteranbanen Bryrup-Vrads who ran their first train on 26 April 1969, with regular seasonal tourist trains from 1 May 1969. In 2003 VBV trains were running at weekends from Palm Sunday to end-September, and daily in July. Bryrup is readily accessible by the #215 Silkeborg - Vejle bus (although the hourly bus arrival from Silkeborg at xx:19 is two minutes walk away from the xx:20 train departure). At Bryrup, the buses stop at the old station building, now the post-office and tourist-bureau, but the line has been cut back to avoid a crossing of the main road, and VBV trains start c.200m to the west at a simple single-track halt which backs on to one of the carriage sheds. By contrast, Vrads station, c.1.2km from its village, is a substantial brick building which includes a restaurant not restricted to train hours. The 15min journey is through pleasant scenery, past two intermediate halts and the lakes Kvindsø and Kulsø. The VBV train generally consists of two single-ended petrol railcars with a four-wheeled coach sandwiched between them. Many such railcars were built by Triangel in the 1927-29 period. Wooden-bodied and often with varnished-teak finish, several still feature on heritage lines. (http://users.cybercity.dk/~dko7913/vbv.htm) 3150][DK] Tommerup - Assens: (Ball 6B2) This branch, opened 1 June 1884 and closed to passengers 21 May 1966, was visited by a BLS railtour on 15 April 1995. On 2 July 2003 the branch was seen to be blocked by a gate at the Tommerup end, with rail-cycle draisines parked there. Indeed, the whole line seems now to be given over to rail-cycle hire, from a base at Tommerup, as advertised in 2002 and 2003 (contact Højfyns Turistbureau on +49 64 47 39 00). 3151][DK] Slagelse - Høng - Gørlev (- Værslev): (R.1557; Ball 7B2) Opened by the state railway 1 May 1898, this line closed to passengers north of Høng on 22 May 1971, probably also the date of complete closure of the Gørlev - Værslev section. Some 14km of the latter now form the Værslevstien, a foot- and cycle-path, to within c.750m of the former west-facing junction at Værslev. From København - Kalundborg trains the abandoned section of trackbed can still be seen at Værslev, marked by the curving hedge line. At some stage, the remaining DSB Slagelse - Høng passenger service was taken over by the independent Høng - Tøllose Jernbane, as was the Høng - Gørlev section, then in freight use to serve the Gørlev sugar-refinery. It seems ownership of the Slagelse - Høng - Gørlev track is with HTJ, not the national track authority Banestyrelsen. The D-maskinengruppen section of the Dansk Jernbane-Klub based at Høng operate on Thursdays during the July school holidays (five days in 2003, four in 2001), running three Høng - Gørlev round-trips, two of them extending to/from Slagelse. On 3 July 2003 the train comprised 1952-built Odsherreds Jernbane diesel locomotive #24 with four four-wheeled coaches plus a van. Steam traction was due to be used from 12 July. Despite no visible publicity at Høng a few passengers joined the first train from there, but quite a crowd was waiting at Gørlev. The track seemed to have had some vegetation clearance but otherwise was in very basic condition, with no stone ballast. The three or four level-crossings on the non-passenger Høng - Gørlev section have equipment extant but not functioning, so trains are flagged across. The sugar-factory building at Gørlev is still in use, but only for storage, not manufacture. The two old carriages seen in 2001 remain isolated within its perimeter fence, older and more in need of restoration. (http://www.djk.com/dmaskine; http://www.ohj-htj.dk) 3152][DK] Dalmose - Tjærby - Skælskor - Skælskor Havn: (Ball 7B2-7B1) Opened by the state railway 1 May 1892, this branch lost its passenger service as long ago as 8 October 1950. Like the connecting Slagelse - Dalmose - Næstved cross-country line, it has no freight traffic, though it is still owned by Banestyrelsen. The Dalmose - Tjærby section suffered winter damage in the 1990s, and in 2003 lay disused and overgrown. Tjærby - Skælskor Havn is used by Skælskorbanen seasonal tourist trains, principally four round-trips on Sundays from the end of June to mid-August, but these can no longer run through to and from Dalmose on some dates, as they once did. At Tjærby a set of points has been taken out of use, so trains terminate just short of the old station building, now in private occupation. At Skælskor the former main running-line now ends in what would have been the goods-yard area, just short of the old passenger terminus, which is now the bus-station, its passenger track and platform area given over to buses. The harbour branch however passes the site, with a request halt. The erstwhile goods-yard is now filled with various rail vehicles awaiting restoration, giving the impression that too few volunteers are available to tackle all the work needed. The track, with no stone ballast, appears to get little or no attention. At the beginning of the day’s operations a carriage is shunted down to the end of the single-track harbour branch to act both as ‘station’ and buffer-stop, both otherwise absent. Traction for this operation was an ex DSB road/rail engineers’ maintenance-vehicle. Thereafter, trains make an appearance at the harbour every hour on the hour from 11:00 to 16:00. The usual pattern of operation sees two Triangel petrol railcars running between Tjærby and Skælskor, splitting and joining in Skælskor goods-yard, so that only one car goes down to the harbour. Much time is thus spent ‘playing trains’ during the one-hour round-trip! The Skælskor - Skælskor Havn branch is shared with Omstigningsklubben, a tram-preservation group established in a remise (= depot) in the former locomotive-shed at the far throat of Skælskor. The group have four København trams, the first of which arrived on 11 November 1973. One at least of these cars is operative, and shuttles (on battery-power, for there is no overhead wire) between the tram-depot and the harbour on various Saturdays and Sundays during July and August, a total of ten dates. On days of joint operation, occupation of the shared section of single line is governed by possession of the key to unlock the points linking the tram-depot to the harbour branch. Timings are co-ordinated to avoid conflict, with the half-hourly tram leaving its depot at xx:05 (as soon as the train has come back from the harbour) and xx:35, and returning from the harbour at xx:17 and xx:45 (to be back inside the depot before the train returns from Tjærby). (http://www.omstigningsklubben.dk) 3153][DK] (København -) Korsør - Nyborg (- Odense): (Ball 7B2-7A2) At Korsør the single-track curve (BLN 754.0231, 814.0549) from the west-facing junction at the 1997 station extends only to some engineers’ sidings (and what appears to be an electricity sub-station) quite close by, and does not reach the town itself. Indeed, the former main line to the town station and the train-ferry slipway is completely lifted, with the trackbed at one point occupied by road development and elsewhere planted with flowers. Both the old town-station building and the relatively modern signal-box by a former level-crossing do still stand, however. The present station and the tunnel-plus-bridge across the Storebælt opened for test trains 1 November 1996 (BLN 793.015) and for passengers 1 June 1997 (the full date was not given by BLN 811.0467). At Nyborg the former main line from the train-ferry berth and the old town station is lifted (BLN 814.0549) but a replacement freight connection leaves from a west-facing connection east of the 1997 station and weaves across the old alignment from the old station site to the former ferry-berth to reach the harbour area and the StatOil site. This line (EGTRE DK03/5) has seen regular passenger trips at Easter. 3154][DK] Odense - Odense Havn: (Ball 7A2 not shown) Between late June and mid-August Denmark’s national railway museum close to Odense station runs frequent (every 15min) and short (10min) Veterantog trips over a part of the line that once served Odense’s harbour. These feature a splendid ex-DSB single-ended Triangel petrol railcar on one end. From the museum the tourist trains run west for about 1.2km, parallel to the Odense - Holmstrup (- Fredericia) main line, on a siding which gradually rises to cross Aløkke Alle on the level close to the point where this road crosses the main line on a bridge. The museum trips turn back before this level-crossing, but beyond it disused track continues west for c.200m to a dead-end headshunt, where trains once reversed before heading back over the same road by another level-crossing a little further north to reach the harbour. A crossover, looking recently-relaid in summer 2003, links the main running lines with the used part of the harbour line, giving rail access to the museum and to the engineers’ sidings next to it. This crossover is used when the museum runs steam trips to Nyborg or Fruens Bøge, though these start from Odense station and the movement between the museum and the station is as empty stock. Within the museum is a circuit of some 500m of 190mm-gauge track on which sit-astride rides are on offer. As with the Veterantog, trips are free once the museum entry-fee has been paid. (http://www.museumstog.dk) 3155][DK] Odense - Ringe - Svendborg: (Ball 7A2-7A1) To enable an increase in train frequency on this single-track branch from September 2003, work has been taking place at various points, including creation of a loop west of Odense station which will let branch trains cross on the move rather than at the platforms. The branch diverges from the Odense - Holmstrup (- Fredericia) main line at a grade-separated junction which has not been in full use for many years. Its burrowing northern curve is in use, facilitating access from platforms on the north side of Odense station. The southern curve in cutting was latterly freight-only, the better to give access from various private sidings at Odense, but in July 2003 it was disused and overgrown. 3156][DK] (Nyborg - Ringe -) Korinth - Fårborg: (Ball 7A1) Opened Ringe - Fårborg 1 April 1882 and Nyborg - Ringe 1 September 1897, this independent standard-gauge line on the island of Fyn was absorbed by DSB in 1949, and lost its passenger trains 26 May 1962. Nyborg - Ringe was subsequently lifted but the Ringe - Fårborg branch continued in freight use until 1987. Ringe - Korinth remains in Banestyrelsen ownership and is technically a freight line although the track is disused and overgrown. At Korinth the run-round loop is north of the station, whose platform remains available though the building is privately occupied. The section from Korinth south, now controlled by Fyns Amt, the island’s county authority, has since 1988 seen the seasonal tourist trains of Syd Fyenske Veteranjernbane, running to and from a somewhat makeshift SFvJ station at Fårborg, short of the old terminus. Beyond, a short section of trackbed has become a road for buses serving the original building, now the Fårborg bus-station, tourist-bureau and offices. SFvJ trains run two or three round-trips, mainly on summer Sundays. On 6 July 2003 the train comprised a 1952-built diesel locomotive and two bogie coaches. The track, devoid of stone ballast, is unusual in that as many as one in three of the sleepers are short timber blocks, rather like the pot sleepers once used in sidings by Britain’s Great Western Railway, but wooden rather than concrete. The little date-pins in the sleepers revealed that the track last saw major examination in 1954. (http://hjem.get2net.dk/sfvj/) 3157][DK] Maribo - Merritskov - Bandholm - Bandholm Havn: (Ball 12A3) Opened 2 November 1869, this line lost its ordinary passenger trains as long ago as 3 October 1952, but preservation group Dansk Jernbane-Klub began seasonal tourist trains in 1962. Freight traffic (BLN 754.0233) is no longer in evidence, and even at Maribo the sidings seem either lifted or derelict. The points connecting from the east-facing Museumsbane Maribo-Bandholm reversing headshunt towards Maribo Lollandsbane (LJ) station are hand-worked and normally set for the headshunt, but are electrically released from the LJ station when trains require to move from or to the island platform. Loaded MMB trains propel from Maribo LJ to the headshunt, from Bandholm Havn back to Bandholm station and from Maribo headshunt back to the LJ station. All level-crossings are automatic, except one on the Bandholm - Bandholm Havn section which is flag-controlled. The request platform at the level-crossing 4km from Maribo is still without a nameboard and absent from the timetable, although it was used. Merritskov however now appears in the timetable. The train on Thursday 3 July 2003 comprised 1920-built 2-6-0 steam locomotive #19 with four MMB four-wheeled coaches and a van. (http://www.djk.dk) At Maribo LJ station the points leading to the abandoned Maribo - Holeby - Rødby branch double as trap-points for the (left-hand running) loop, and track is in place for a short distance, but where it curves away from the Maribo - Nakskov line the trackbed has become a footpath to Rødby. The alignment dates from 1874, though a bridge over a watercourse west of Maribo station carries the date 1915. 3158][DK] Denmark: heritage railways: Lokomotivklubben KLK (http://www.klk.dk) produce an annual booklet Veterantog i Danmark (available free from Bakken 21, DK-6640 Lunderskov) setting out timetables and dates of operation for those heritage railways who are members of Danske Veterantogsoperatøres Fællesrepræsentation (alas, not all are). DVF make similar data available on their own website http://www.veterantog.dk, which also offers links to member-railway websites. 3159][SE] Bastuträsk - Skellefteå - Rönnskär: (R.3067; Ball 8A2) The south-to-east curve at Bastuträsk was available from 25 August 1997, with regular traffic from 6 October 1997. (Svenska Järnvägsklubben: Järnvägsdata 1999) 3160][PT] (Entroncamento - Abrantes - Castelo Branco -) Covilhã - Guarda: (R.1899; Ball 18A2) Between 4 August and 13 December 2003 buses replace trains on this section at the northern end of the Linha da Beira Baixa, temporarily closed for upgrading work. (http://www.cp.pt) 3161][PT] Lisboa Oriente - Campolide - Fogueteiro - Coina - Penalva - Pinhal Novo - Tunes - Faro: (R.3073; Ball 25B1-26A2) The new line filling the gap between Coina and Penalva has at last opened, allowing passenger trains to begin to run through between Fogueteiro and Pinhal Novo. From 24 July 2003 a daily CP Intercidades round-trip runs across the 25 de Abril road-rail suspension-bridge (Lisboa Oriente 17:35 - 22:00 Faro 07:20 - 11:45 Lisboa Oriente). (http://www.cp.pt) 3162][ES] Coruña trams: (R.0574, 1199; Ball 1B2 not shown) The metre-gauge tramway in the Galician city of A Coruña/La Coruña has been extended from the former terminus at the roundabout near Playa de Orzán over 1170m of single track (with a passing-loop) to a new terminus beside the Riazor stadium at the college of Las Esclavas. Two weeks of test-running without passengers began on 9 June, and public services were planned for end-June 2003. A further extension to the far end of the coastal strip may open by the beginning of 2004. By 2005 the tramway could form a horseshoe serving the intermodal (bus and RENFE) station, and could see modern light-rail vehicles in addition to the heritage cars that now serve the tourist area. 3163][ES] Bilbao/Bilbo trams: Atxuri - Abando - Guggenheim - San Mamés (- Basurto): (R.2928; Ball 5B3-5A3) On 24 July 2003 the Atxuri - Guggenheim EuskoTran metre-gauge light-rail line was extended another four stops (over 1km) to San Mamés, near the regional bus-station. (http://www.euskotren.es/euskotran) 3164][ES] La Poveda - Laguna del Campillo: (Ball 21A2) The last section of the former metre-gauge Ferrocarril del Tajuña that once operated eastward from Madrid Niño Jesús terminus closed 8 November 1997 (BLN 821.0103, 836.0515) and much of its alignment is now used by the overhead-electrified 1445mm-gauge Madrid Metro line 9 extension to Arganda del Rey (opened 7 April 1999; BLN 846.0149, 851.0314). However the Museo del Tren de Arganda del Rey inaugurated on 4 May 2003 includes this short section of the old railway, on which steam-hauled metre-gauge passenger trains operate in spring and autumn (but not in summer, because of fire-risk), departing at 11:30, 12:30 and 13:30 from their own station next to La Poveda metro station. (http://www.vapormadrid.com/; http://www.ayto-arganda.es/scripts/files/TRIPTICO%20TREN.pdf) 3165][ES] Madrid - Calatayud - Zaragoza - Lleida (- Barcelona): (R.2753, 2837, 2981, 3078; Ball 21A2-13A1-14A1) Contractors for the new high-speed standard-gauge line hoped to resolve continuing signalling problems by the end of July 2003. If the month of August is taken up by test-running and crew-training, inauguration could be at the beginning of September 2003. RENFE are said to have refused to begin definitive services in the high-summer period, as failures would be particularly troublesome with large numbers of holiday-makers on the move, and for the same reason it seems unlikely that (as had been rumoured) services would begin on 12 October, the Día del Pilar public holiday that is especially celebrated in Zaragoza. By September 2003, the three-rail mixed-gauge Zaragoza - Huesca branch should also be ready (R.2929). 3166][ES] Madrid-Chamartín - Madrid-Atocha - Aranjuez - Castillejo-Añover - Algodor - Toledo: (Ball 21A2-20A1) RENFE’s broad-gauge route to Toledo heads south via Aranjuez to Castillejo-Añover, diverging west to Algodor as a branch off the classic MZA line south to Alcázar de San Juan (BLN 799.0170, 814.0555). Though frequent bus services had already captured many of the passengers (BLN 805.0312), in spring 2003 Toledo still saw ten weekday round-trips (seven at the weekend) with a one-way journey-time of 60min for the 91km from Madrid-Atocha (75min for the 99km from Madrid-Chamartin). From 1 July 2003 the Algodor - Toledo section closed, and RENFE now offer a mere three Madrid - Algodor services daily, with connecting Algodor - Toledo buses, 50min on the train from Atocha plus 25min for the bus connection. However, the closure is to facilitate construction of a 20.5km standard-gauge branch, to open in the first half of 2004, reducing the Atocha - Toledo distance to c.75km, to be covered in under 30min. The new branch leaves the Madrid - Córdoba (- Sevilla) high-speed line near RENFE’s La Sagra AVE workshops, just north of a new junction station, Toledo-La Sagra, which will allow interchange between branch trains and AVE services to and from the south. It then runs parallel to and west of the existing high-speed line south for c.3km before curving south-west over the river Tajo to terminate at Toledo-Santa Barbara, which seems to be a new name for the existing broad-gauge terminus, a fine building in ‘neo-mudéjar’ (Islamic) style. A schematic map on the development-ministry website shows the new branch using the existing broad-gauge alignment for the final 7km. It also depicts a proposed west-to-south curve avoiding La Sagra, though no contract for this has yet been tendered. (http://www.mfom.es/noticias/noticias/notas/FERAutorizadasObrasAlamedaMocejonToledoCM201202.pdf) 3167][IT] Bring your own railcar - II: (R.3109) The Orte - Gallese Bassanello - Capranica line (Ball 50A1-52A3) has seen no regular traffic since 1994. In summer 2002 a group of rail enthusiasts brought a home-made railcar and put it on the rails at a siding at Gallese station. They said they were intending to try out their vehicle, capable of carrying five people, with a view to recreational use on abandoned lines; that one of their group not present on the day had asked permission; and that they were waiting for someone from track-authority Rete Ferroviaria Italiana to unlock the points to allow their railcar out on to the disused running line. However, after waiting for some 40min, they were confronted not by a railway-worker with keys, but by the police, summoned by an unknown person. On 16 July 2003, a judge in Viterbo ruled that, though the railcar was not acceptable for use on a running line, its presence on a siding with the points locked could not be considered a safety hazard. 3168][GR] Thessaloniki - Gefira - Idomeni OSE (- Gevgelija MZ - Skopje): (Ball 62B3) During engineering work on a new bridge at Gefira, freight trains to (the former Yugoslav republic of) Macedonia are being temporarily diverted, using the Thessaloniki - Axion (- Athinai) main line, reversing at Axion, and taking the short Axion - Gefira link, which has had no regular traffic, freight or passenger, in recent years. Thessaloniki - Idomeni is electrified at 25kV 50Hz, but the diversion requires diesel haulage, and Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados (= Greek railways) have had to borrow additional diesel locomotives (Class 07 and 55) and some industrial Class 55 from track-contractors and from Bulgaria. International passenger trains may be replaced by buses between Thessaloniki and Gefira. 3169][PL] Nowy Dwor Gdanski - Stegna Gdanska - Prawy Brzeg Wisly / Sztutowo: (Ball 32B2-32B3) PKP operations on the Gdanska Kolej Dojazdowa ceased in 1996 (BLN 781.0267) and part of the once-extensive 750mm-gauge network was lifted. However, Zulawska Kolej Dojazdowa (= Zulawska district railway) began tourist trains in June 2003 on c.30km of lines north of Nowy Dwor, running Nowy Dwor 09:00 - Sztutowo via the east side of the triangle at Stegna, followed by three Sztutowo - Prawy Brzeg Wisly round-trips via the north side of the triangle, on the section parallel to the Baltic coast, and finally Sztutowo - 17:51 Nowy Dwor. This operating pattern was found to be impractical due to inadequate turnaround times, and when our reporter visited on 25 July 2003 the timetable had been through four revisions in the line’s first operating season! The train now runs Nowy Dwor 08:15 - Prawy Brzeg Wisly via the west side of the Stegna triangle, makes three Prawy Breg Wisly - Sztutowo round-trips and finally runs Prawy Brzeg Wisly - 20:00 Nowy Dwor. The east side of the Stegna triangle is thus not used in the current timetable and is visibly rusty. The train comprised a Class Lxd2 locomotive, four carriages and a brake van, and was well loaded, particularly as far as Sztutowo museum. 3170][PL] Elk Waskotorowy - Laski Male - Sypitki - Jezioro Nieciecz (- Turowo): (Ball 34A2) The summer Saturday tourist train (R.2988) on 26 July 2003 was timed to run Elk 10:15 - Sypitki - 11:30 Jezioro Nieciecz 12:15 - 12:45 Sypitki 14:00 - 14:45 Elk. It was not a railbus, but diesel locomotive Lyd1-203 hauling three carriages, about 70% full Elk - Sypitki - Elk and 100% full Sypitki - Jezioro Nieciecz - Sypitki. At Laski Male (km13), the sleepy junction for the Laski Male - Zawady Tworki branch, the branch track was well overgrown. The train did not stop here, but called at Sypitki (km16) and terminated at Jezioro Nieciecz (km21), on plain track in the forest close to a lake. On the way back the locomotive propelled the carriages to Sypitki loop and ran round in the loop there. The 75min stop at Sypitki allowed passengers to roast Polish kielbasa sausages on a fire. A steam-hauled train was to run Elk - Sypitki on Sunday 27 July. North of Sypitki the 750mm-gauge line passes very close to an operating 600mm-gauge mineral railway, which has 2km of track from clay-pits to brickworks at Pisanica. Trains of ten wagons are hauled by an 0-4-0 diesel locomotive, with the last train on Saturday at about midday. 3171][PL] Jedrzejow - Umianowice - Pinczow (- Wislica): (BLN 798.0148; Ball 38A1) The 750mm gauge Jedrzejow district railway north of Krakow has had Ciuchcia Expres Ponidzie tourist trains for some years, but 2003 is the first full operating season since PKP handed over to the local authority. The summer Sunday tourist train on 27 July 2003 comprised a Class Lxd2 diesel locomotive hauling four coaches and a brake-van. Some autumn trains may use the line’s Class Px48 steam locomotive, but the risk of fire is too great during high summer. Departure from Jedrzejow is at 09:40, and the train runs east to Umianowice, taking the west-to-south curve at the triangular junction to head south to Pinczow. After a two-hour stop at Pinczow, the train returns to Umianowice to a platform on the south-to-east curve of the triangle, next to picnic-tables, a bonfire-pit, a stage and a dance-floor. Loudspeakers are set up to provide lively music, powered by a generator in the brake-van. The train returns to Jedrzejow at 18:00. Beyond Pinczow track exists as far as Wislica, but some of the bridges were damaged in floods in the late 1990s. East of the junction, on the Umianowice - Bogoria section, track remains as far as Ratkow, but it is disused and totally overgrown. 3172][CZ] Praha funicular: Ujezd - Nebozizek - Petrin: The Lanova Draha Ujezd-Petrin runs from a lower station near Ujezd tram-stop, on the west bank of the river Vltava in the Mala Strana district of the Czech capital, to Petrin, the upper station in Ruzovy Sad, a set of linked parks forming the largest green space in Praha. Each of the two cars, hauled by the usual traction-cable, appears also to follow a fixed guide-cable to steer it through the central passing-loop, which has no points. The sole intermediate station, Nebozizek, is just above the loop, so journeys up or down require a second stop while the balancing car makes its station call. In summer 2003 the funicular operated 09:00-23:00, every 10min during the day and every 15min in the evening. The funicular is included in the city ticketing system for metro, trams and buses, so the standard CZK12 single fare applies, and day, 3-day, weekly & 15-day passes are valid. The line can best be seen from or near the intermediate station. 3173][UA] Beregovo / Vinogradovo - Khmelnik - Irshava (- Kushnitsa): This 750mm-gauge system diverges from Ukrzaliznitsa’s broad-gauge Chop - Korolevo line at both Beregovo and Vinogradovo, but the 28km Beregovo - Khmelnik section remains open only for stock moves from and to the depot at Beregovo, and the 31km section north of Irshava towards Kushnitsa is out of use. Separate passenger services run Vinogradovo - Khmelnik (19km) and Khmelnik - Irshava (16km), the latter comprising three round-trips, with a one-way journey time of 50min. The afternoon trains are not timed to connect at Khmelnik, so travelling the length of the line by timetabled services is inconvenient. Class TU2 diesel locomotives work the service trains, with steam-locomotive GR6 286 available for specials. Rolling-stock is a mixture of Russian and old Polish stock. One of the rails still in use at Khmelnik in summer 2003 was made at Zeltweg in 1886, when the area was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. (European Rail yahoogroup) 3174][UA] Antonovka - Zarechnoye: Branching off Ukrzaliznitsa’s broad-gauge Kovel - Antonovka - Sarny line, this 110km 750mm-gauge line appears to have a single daily passenger round-trip covering the whole line, leaving Antonovka at c.06:00, taking some 5h to its destination, and returning to Antonovka in the evening. In mid-June 2003 the service train was seen departing behind a Class TU2 diesel locomotive, although the line also has Class TU7 traction. A steam locomotive lay out of use but it is planned to return it to service for specials. Rolling-stock is standard Russian narrow-gauge coaches. (European Rail yahoogroup) 3175][AU] Brisbane - Rockhampton - Proserpine - Townsville - Cairns: Last ordinary passenger train to use Townsville’s old station was Queensland Rail’s southbound Cairns - Brisbane Sunlander on 26 May, and the new station (R.1936) opened with the combined southbound Sunlander and Queenslander (BLN 756.0287) on 27 May 2003. (Railway Digest, July 2003) 3176][AU] (Bethania -) Logan Village - Beaudesert: (R.2150) This part of the 1067mm-gauge Beaudesert branch reopened 18 December 2002 with tourist trains on Saturdays and Sundays (plus Thursdays during school holidays). Plans were to reopen back to the junction at Bethania (43.6km) to connect with Queensland Rail’s Citytrains on the Brisbane - Bethania - Beenleigh - Robina line to Australia’s Gold Coast. However the operators are in financial difficulty, though for the moment they continue to run trains. (Railway Digest, February 2003, June 2003) 3177][AU] (Sydney -) Casino - Murwillumbah, NSW: Daily through CountryLink trains from Sydney serve the short branch off the Sydney - Brisbane main line to Murwillumbah on Australia’s holiday Gold Coast, just south of the Queensland border. The service is worked by XPT diesel sets, clones of Britain’s InterCity 125 HSTs. However, the branch has lost its freight trains, and it has been proposed that it should be closed and converted to a recreational trail. (Railway Digest, July 2003) 3178][AU] Melbourne trams: Yarra Trams route #109 was extended 2.2km from Mont Albert to Box Hill on Friday 2 May 2003, with free rides on 2-3 May. (Railway Digest, June 2003) 3179][AU] Melbourne - Ballarat - Ararat: The 1600mm broad-gauge track from Linton Jn, 3.3km west of Ballarat, westward to Victoria’s border with South Australia closed to passenger services from 14 April 1995. The section from Ararat west to the border was regauged to become part of the new standard-gauge interstate route which opened 23 May 1995 (Melbourne - Geelong North Shore - Ararat - Adelaide, used by the Melbourne - Adelaide Overland). This left Ballarat - Ararat still broad-gauge but without passenger trains. However, June 2003 saw completion of most of the track works for the planned restoration of through Melbourne - Ballarat - Ararat intrastate broad-gauge passenger trains (R.2664). (Railway Digest, July 2003; proposed timetable at http://www.aattc.org.au/vc7.pdf) 3180][AU] Adelaide - Tanunda: The privately-run Barossa Wine Train, started in 1998, ceased from 29 April 2003 because of a proposed tripling of its insurance premium. (Railway Digest, July 2003) 3181][AU] Tasmania: (Devonport - Ulverstone -) Burnie - Wynyard - Black River - Wiltshire Jn (- Stanley): (R.2703) Traffic over the 81km Burnie - Wiltshire Jn section of the island’s 1067mm-gauge system was suspended once before (from 5 November 1996 to 29 January 1999), but latterly timber had been worked east from Black River and fertiliser west to Wiltshire Jn. However a TasRail movement on 27 March 2003 to collect all remaining wagons on the section may have marked the end of freight along the north coast west of Burnie. The 19km Burnie - Wynyard section is retained for railcar charters, and is to be traversed on 4 and 16 November 2003 as part of system-wide tours. (partly Railway Digest, June 2003) 3182][NZ] Auckland: The city’s new downtown Britomart terminus (R.2779) opened 7 July 2003 for TranzMetro commuter trains, but as predicted (R.2780) Tranz Scenic’s long-distance (Auckland - Wellington) trains continue to use the remaining (through) platform of the 1930 station. Confusingly, in the present timetables Tranz Scenic call this platform ‘Auckland’, but Tranz Metro call it ‘The Strand’ after the street to the south-east. A few of Tranz Metro’s Auckland - Newmarket - Penrose - Westfield - Papakura and Auckland - Tamaki - Westfield - Papakura trains are to use The Strand rather than Britomart. 3183][CA][US] North American railtours aborted: High Iron Travel cancelled their ambitious nine-day USD4450 railtour in northern Maine in August 2003 (R.2876) due to insurance problems. The tour may run in 2004. Montana Railtours cancelled their Butte - Whitehall, MT tour planned for October 2003 (R.2782). 3184][US] New York, NY: St.George Ballpark station: (BLN 834.0445; EGTRE US23) From Manhattan Battery Park the free Staten Island ferry crosses New York Harbor to the pier at St.George, the northern end of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Staten Island Railway, which is in effect an isolated above-ground subway line with hourly off-peak trains on a single 23km route (St.George - Tottenville). Close to St.George, at the western vertex of a new triangle whose opposite side is the regular northeast-to-south route, the SIR during 2002 opened a dead-end Ballpark station to serve the Staten Island Yankees’ stadium, and both the Ballpark curves see special passenger services during the baseball season when advertised. St.George - Ballpark special trains shuttle back and forth using the northeast-to-west curve (which seems to occupy a short section of trackbed of the former St.George - Cranford line that once ran west along the north shore of the island and physically connected the SIR to the national network, but appears last to have seen passenger use in 1953). Tottenville - Ballpark specials use the south-to-west curve. The 17:22 SO and 15:22 SuO from Tottenville during the 2003 season are advertised to terminate at Ballpark, but in practice they reverse there and continue in service via the northern curve to St.George. Return trains to both destinations start at Ballpark some 10min after the game ends. Details of baseball games are at http://www.siyanks.com/ and the SIR timetable is at http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/service/pdf/sircur.pdf. 3185][IE] Dublin Heuston - Islandbridge Jn - Inchicore: With the remodelling of the layout west of Heuston (R.2347), Inchicore staff platform has been abolished. 3186][IE] Limerick Jn: (R.1595, 2161, 2348) Though the Limerick Jn - Waterford line has been threatened with abandonment (R.2495), some engineering work was recently authorised. The section was temporarily closed up to and including Friday 1 August, though the work was suspended for the Irish public-holiday weekend 2-4 August 2003. On the Friday the eastbound 09:35 Limerick - Limerick Jn - Waterford did not run east of Limerick Jn, but on Saturday 2 August it made its traditional movement via the ‘back road’, reversed into Limerick Jn platform 4, the ‘Waterford bay’, reversed out via the back road and continued to Waterford. At the same time the southbound 08:30 SO Dublin - Cork was in platform 1; the westbound 07:05 Rosslare - Waterford - Limerick Jn - Limerick had reversed into platform 2, the ‘Limerick bay’; the northbound 09:05 Cork- Dublin was in platform 3. With all four platforms simultaneously occupied, passengers were hurrying in all directions to make connections. This situation recurs daily except Sundays, but only during the summer period. 3187][IE] Cork - Glounthaune - Marino Point - Cobh: (R.2424) After temporary closure for engineering work earlier in the year the Cork - Cobh line seemed in late July 2003 to have been relaid throughout. Double track has been retained, even though the passenger service seems to be worked by a single railcar set shuttling out to Cobh and back. The long-closed Glounthaune - Midleton - Youghal branch (R.0406) was still connected and signalled, but the branch track at Glounthaune was partly buried by old ballast. Plain track had replaced the former connection at Marino Point into the sidings of the now-closed IFI anhydrous ammonia and fertiliser plant. 3188][FR] (Chinon - Ligré-Rivière -) Champigny-sur-Veude - Richelieu: (Ball 34B1-44B3) In 1998, summer weekend tourist trains were running the 21km from Richelieu to Chinon, and in 2000 from Richelieu to Ligré-Rivière (R.0525) but for the 2003 season Trains à Vapeur de Touraine operate on the southern Richelieu - Champigny section only, on Saturdays and Sundays from mid-April to end-August. (Voie Étroite, #197, July 2003) 3189][FR][CH] Évian-les-Bains SNCF - St.Gingolph (Suisse): (R.0078; Ball FR-50B2, CH-98B3) This disused line crossing the border south of Lac Léman, the so-called Ligne de Tonkin, is to reopen in 2004. (http://www.railsavoie.org/) 3190][FR] Tournon - Lamastre: (R.2353; Ball 56B1) Local-authority intervention may have helped see off the 2002 threat from track-authority Réseau Ferré de France to make the Chemin de Fer du Vivarais pay a huge contribution toward the reconstruction of the bridge over the river Doux, which metre-gauge tourist trains share with northbound SNCF freight on the standard-gauge double-track electrified line up the west bank of the river Rhône (R.2301). The engineering work, already begun, is to be completed by summer 2005, and the heritage railway is to be allowed ten years’ use of the short mixed-gauge section from Tournon to north of the bridge. (partly from Voie Étroite, #197, July 2003) 3191][FR] St.Gervais-les-Bains-Le-Fayet - Col-de-Voza - Bellevue - Nid-d’Aigle: (BLN 831.0354; Ball 58B3) The 12.4km metre-gauge rack Tramway du Mont Blanc opened 1909-14 and was electrified in 1957 at 11kV 50Hz. On 17 July 2003 it had rather too much traffic for the two two-coach trains in operation, and our reporter’s arrival at St.Gervais-les-Bains-Le-Fayet SNCF station at 09:35 was too late for him to secure a place on the 10:15 departure from the station forecourt. Paying the EUR22 round-trip fare, he was issued a plastic boarding-card for the next departure at 11:40. During his enforced stay at St.Gervais, steam rack locomotive #3 was seen plinthed near the park entrance at the foot of the first rack section. When the incoming passengers on the 11:35 arrival had detrained by the centre-door in each coach, and the scrum of boarding passengers began to hand over their cards to the person in charge of the coach, it swiftly became clear that the number of boarding-cards issued had not been restricted to the seating-capacity. The result, for most of the 75min trip in each direction, was overcrowding and discomfort similar to peak-hours on the London Underground, made worse by the standing passengers having also to keep their balance on the steep rack sections. The journey was nevertheless full of interest. After climbing c.1000m to Col-de-Voza, the line levels out at around 1800m above sea-level as far as Bellevue, the line’s winter terminus, with spectacular views to the south of the Mont Blanc massif and the Glacier de Bossonay. The foreground landscape is verdant in summer but the solidly-constructed Hôtel Bellevue testifies to the fierce weather that can be encountered at this level. South-east of Bellevue the railway leaves the greenness behind, climbing a further 600m on a rocky ledge to end in plain track on a small plateau at Nid-d’Aigle (= eagle’s nest) station. Egress from and access to the trains is via a small waiting corral with an office where boarding-cards are issued for the descent. The 13:00 train was already on its way back down before our reporter reached the front of the long queue to obtain a card for the 14:30 downhill train. On a warm, clear sunny day the views were stunning. Several footpaths allow passengers a relatively undemanding walk before their return to St.Gervais, and a nearby refreshment hut serves a basic menu and sells postcards. 3192][DE] Lübeck Hbf - HL-Travemünde Skandinavienkai - HL-Travemünde Hafen - Lübeck-Travemünde Strand: (BLN 754.0215, R.3029; Ball 11A1-11B1) On Sunday 27 July 2003 extra trains were running to and from Travemünde Strand, causing much congestion on this single line with one passing-loop. Most trains seemed to run through from and to Hamburg, and comprised ten coaches (two five-coach sets) with diesel locomotives on each end, with only the front one working in each direction. Travemünde Strand station was originally two island platforms with an impressive 1930s building, but it now has only one face of one island in use, the track on the other face being very overgrown. The abbreviation HL is for Hansastadt Lübeck, recognising the port’s Hanseatic mercantile history. 3193][DE] (Emden - Norden -) Norddeich - Norddeich Mole: (R.3059, 3133; Ball 15A2-15A3) From Norddeich station (km36.2) a single electrified track extends north to Norddeich Mole (km36.5), the pier station, now a basic platform with no run-round loop. The line has clearly been cut back from its original length by some 200m. At busy times it can become congested as trains have to propel from Mole back to the sidings at Norddeich. Served by ferry from Norddeich Mole, the island of Norderney in summer 2003 revealed no obvious trace of its short narrow-gauge Militärbahn from the harbour to the barracks (Norderney Hafen - Norderney Kaserne). This line closed after 1945 and was dismantled by 1947. 3194][DE] Hamburg-Rothenburgsort - Hamburg-Horn - Hamburg-Wandsbek: (Ball 22B2-22A2) Engineering works on Sunday 27 July 2003 caused northbound trains from Hamburg Hbf towards Ahrensburg and Bad Oldesloe to be diverted via this freight line, which has some very tight curves. 3195][DE] (Bad Bentheim DB -) Bad Bentheim Nord BE - Bad Bentheim Süd - Gildehaus - Achtrup - Ochtrup-Brechte: (Ball 24A2) As well as the c.46km Bad Bentheim - Coevorden line heading north-west into the Netherlands (R.3054), Bentheimer Eisenbahn have another freight-only branch heading west then south-east for 15km. At Gildehaus the BE station is now a restaurant, but its name is still visible. In July 2003 the branch was still very much in use, serving an industrial estate at Ochtrup-Brechte. 3196][DE] Seelingstädt (bei Werdau) - Braunichswald - Raitzhain - Grossenstein - Kayna (- Meuselwitz): (Ball 42B1) This c.25km mineral railway owned by Wismut GmbH (Wismut = bismuth) links near its southern end with the DB Werdau - Seelingstädt - Wünschendorf line and about halfway along its length with DB’s Lehndorf - Raitzhain - Gera line, but all its traffic seems to be from a mine loading-point near the town of Kayna south to an unloading or processing point near Seelingstädt. At the Seelingstädt end the rails were rusty south of the triangular connection to the unloading point, and access from the Wismutbahn to Seelingstädt DB station for locomotive run-round purposes required deployment of a board of keys specially brought to unlock the pointwork, perhaps illustrating the lack of regular interchange traffic here. Disused short spurs that presumably once served other mines diverged from the Braunichswald - Raitzhain section east (blocked by a red banner) and from the Grossenstein - Kayna section north-east (lifted). The Raitzhain - Grossenstein - Kayna section largely follows a former narrow-gauge alignment, but several km short of the northern end it turns sharply west to the loading-bunker at Kayna, leaving the former narrow-gauge formation heading north marked by a line of mature trees. The railway’s owners have allowed one passenger train a year to visit their line, and on 11 July 2003 a steam-hauled five-coach train including a buffet-car ran via Raitzhain to both Kayna and Seelingstädt, partly as a fund-raising event for maintenance of the locomotive. The trip was advertised at Glauchau and Zwickau stations and most of the passengers seemed to be local. 3197][DE] Heidenau - Glashütte (Sachsen) - Altenberg (Erzgebirge): (Ball 44A2-44A1) Notwithstanding pessimism (R.2365) about rebuilding the Müglitztalbahn after autumn 2002 flood-damage, the Heidenau - Glashütte section reopened on 29 June and the upper Glashütte - Altenberg section is to reopen on 20 December 2003. (Today’s Railways, August 2003) 3198][DE] Hinterweidenthal Ost - Hinterweidenthal Ort - Dahn - Bundenthal-Rumbach: (R.1249; Ball 56B2; KBS675) The Wieslautertalbahn seems likely to close in 2007. The present summer-Sundays-only passenger service is not to be developed, and part of the trackbed at Dahn is wanted for a road. (Today’s Railways, August 2003) 3199][PT] Lagos - Tunes - Albufeira - Faro: (R.2926; Ball 33A2) Signs, still mostly covered up, were in place to indicate to passengers the walking route from the platform end of the existing Lagos station via a tarred footpath to platforms 1 and 2 of the new terminus nearby, where platform shelters were put up at the end of July. The new station was clearly close to completion, and may be in use during August 2003. Linha do Algarve trains from Lagos were trailing into the north end of Tunes station to call at the western face of a temporary wooden island platform built on the site of the former three eastern sidings, with pedestrian access from the ticket-office and the main platform across the work-site. Tracks serving the main station platform, the island platform and the goods-shed had all been removed, as had the centre island platform and the ornate overall roof that it had supported. Only the bay-platform road facing Lagos remained, occupied by stabled rolling-stock. At Albufeira the goods-shed had been demolished and all sidings removed, and the two platforms were still in effect bisected by the level-crossing. However, the loop had been reinstated and, although the southern platform was not yet complete, enough of it was available west of the crossing for trains to have been regularly passing at Albufeira from the timetable-change of 24 July. 3200][IT] Napoli - Poggioreale - Casalnuovo (- Baiano): (Ball 55B3) The 950mm-gauge Ferrovia Circumvesuviana’s new alignment from Napoli north-east to Casalnuovo (R.2055) was inaugurated 2 March 2003. (Today’s Railways, August 2003) 3201][GR] Thessaloniki - Gefira - Idomeni OSE (- Gevgelija MZ - Skopje): (Ball 62B3) Passenger trains are also to use the diversionary route via Axion and the short Axion - Gefira curve (R.3168) from Monday 11 August 2003. Freight trains are to have a diesel locomotive on each end. (European Rail yahoogroup) 3202][GR] Thessaloniki - Strimon: (Ball 62B2-63A3) Track on this section of the international route from Greece to both Bulgaria (Strimon - Promachon OSE - Kulata BDZ) and Turkey (Strimon - Xanthi - Alexandroupolis - Pithio OSE - Uzonköprü TCDD) has been subject to speed-limits as low as 40km/h, and in July 2003 the line retained much of the atmosphere of a branch. However, some upgrading had begun. A c.10km section had had the limit raised to 140km/h and another 10km was under reconstruction with double track. (European Rail yahoogroup) 3203][GR] Thessaloniki - Axion - Plati - Leptokaria - Platamon - Tempi - Larissa - Paleofarsalos - Domokos - Lianokladi - Tithorea - Inoi - Athinai - Piraeus: (Ball 62B2-66B2) On OSE’s most important main line, linking the rest of Europe and Greece’s second city south to the capital, upgrading and 25kV 50Hz electrification work were much in evidence in July 2003. Between Thessaloniki and Plati trains were subject to a speed-limit over the lengthy old bridge, but the new double-track alignment over a new river bridge was nearly ready. Plati - Leptokaria had 160km/h double track, wired (R.1003). South of Leptokaria trains were still taking the old line via Platamon station, with its four tracks, mechanical signals and an 80-85km/h speed-limit. The attractive old station, 2min from the sea, is to replaced by an avoiding alignment, not obvious but perhaps here to be in tunnel. About 10km south, another pleasant section in the Tempi valley with a 60-80km/h limit is to be replaced, maybe in September 2003, by a new tunnel, already bored but not yet equipped with track. South of the tunnel, a hired BDZ Class 55 diesel locomotive and Bulgarian wagons were working on newly-laid track. From here wired 160km/h double track was in place through Larissa and Paleofarsalos to Domokos. The Domokos - Lianokladi - Tithorea section through typically Greek hill landscape was still single-track with many tunnels and bridges. Not much could be seen of the new alignment with its lengthy tunnel, but some new concrete bridges were visible in the middle of a wheat-field near Tithorea. Tithorea - Inoi had 120-140-160km/h double track, with wires, but Inoi - Athinai electrification work was just beginning, and catenary masts were not yet in place. Athinai standard-gauge station still had its old mechanical entrance signals, and its new exit signals were not yet working. Passenger trains were arriving southbound on track 3, and departing northbound from track 1, with freight usually using track 2. Between Athinai and Piraeus a new flyover was under construction. 3204][CH] (Vallorbe -) Le Day - Le Pont - Chez-le-Maître École - Chez-le-Maître - Le Brassus: (Ball 90B2-90B1) It seems tickets on up trains must now be bought on board, for a notice attached to the booking-office at Le Brassus said that it had ‘definitely, finally closed on 1 July 2003’. The line’s timetable unusually shows eastbound trains scheduled to call at the same time at Chez-le-Maître and Chez-le-Maître École! However both are request stops. 3205][CH] Nyon - Les Plantaz - St.Cergue - La Cure: (Ball 90B1) From 18 August 2003 till 30 April 2004 buses are to replace trains between Nyon and Les Plantaz, the first station to the north on the metre-gauge CF Nyon-St.Cergue-Morez. This may be in connection with the replacement of the NStCM terminal track in the street to the south-east of Nyon CFF station by a new terminus on the north-west side (BLN 838.0584), though the locally-obtained leaflet did not say so. 3206][CH] (Luzern -) Rösslimatt - Kupferhammer - Kriens: (Ball 93A3) The standard-gauge Kriens-Luzern Bahn, normally freight-only from Rösslimatt to Kupferhammer and out of use beyond to Kriens (R.2938), is to see passenger trains, possibly for the last time, on Friday 22 August 2003. Destination of the evening trips, in connection with Luzern’s Museumsnacht, is the former Villa Florida, now the Bellpark Museum. Three vintage Sihltalbahn coaches with wooden seats are to be hauled by Class E3/3 0-6-0T steam locomotive #6 Tigerli of Papierfabrik Perlen, with approximate timings Luzern 19:30 - 20:15 Kriens 20:45 - 21:15 Grosshof 21:30 - 22:00 Kriens 22:30 - 23:15 Luzern. The route includes street-running on the dual-gauge section in Luzernstrasse used until 1961 by the metre-gauge city trams (R.3019). (http://www.steam-adventure-tours.ch/; http://www.luzerner-museumsnacht.ch) 3207][CH] Genève Cornavin - Chambésy - Versoix - Coppet (- Lausanne): (Ball 97A3-97B3) Genève - Coppet is being widened from two to three tracks to allow an improved local passenger service (R.2323). In mid-July 2003 the new electrified track, on the north side, was open between Genève and Versoix, and in use by all eastbound trains while crossover work took place on the main tracks near Chambésy. Eastbound local trains were calling at temporary wooden platforms on this section. North of Versoix the formation for the third track was nearing completion, and north-east of Coppet what appeared to be a turnback siding or sidings was being installed. 3208][CH] Genève Cornavin - Lancy-Pont-Rouge - La Praille: (R.2586; Ball 97A3) In mid-July 2003 push-pull locomotive-hauled sets of seven or eight coaches were operating the services that began in December 2002 running through Cornavin on to the La Praille branch, serving Lancy-Pont-Rouge, a single-platform halt on the east side of the running-line just to the south of the Jonction tunnel. On two trips passengers on the Cornavin - Lancy section averaged about one per coach. After a short wait at Lancy the empty stock ran forward to a siding about 500m south towards La Praille yard to await its return working. Pedestrian access to Lancy station is visibly temporary, due to tramway construction work on the adjacent main road (R.2482). The branch is to be extended to Genève Eaux-Vives (R.3209) to become part of the proposed Cornavin - Eaux-Vives - Annemasse (CEVA) railway across the city. 3209][CH][FR] Genève-Eaux-Vives (- Ambilly SNCF - Annemasse): (Ball CH-97A3, FR-49B1) Owned by Genève canton, the city’s quiet Eaux-Vives terminus and the line east to the French border see only SNCF 25kV 50Hz units. A machine offers tickets to the main destinations served, all of them in France, in return for Swiss coins only. On three visits during July 2003 the ticket-office was closed, but an adjacent enquiry-office open at certain hours may sell tickets. Currency-exchange facilities likewise seemed sometimes to be available. Frontier formalities (R.2322) varied. On the first occasion Swiss border-guards stood with guns poised, and an alsatian dog perched on a customs table sniffed at passengers as they passed; meanwhile, on the opposite side of the weed-infested platform-road and rusty run-round loop, local dog-walkers strolled unmolested. The second visit saw a passport inspection. On the final visit no official was to be seen. 3210][CH] Zürich HB - Thalwil: (R.0283; EGTRE CH03/15B; Ball 97A1) The line south through the new 9.4km tunnel to Thalwil opened 6 June 2003. Passenger services began on 15 June, comprising fast trains not calling intermediately. 3211][NO] Oslo metro and trams: (BLN 845.0123) In 1999 the overhead-wired Jar - Bekkestua - Avløs - Kolsås section of Oslo’s Kolsåsbanen was worked by both T-bane metro trains and trams, the latter running the night service west of Jar (R.0248). Subsequently the trams were cut back to terminate at Jar, their present terminus, and more recently, from 1 July 2003, the Bekkestua - Kolsås section closed completely, with buses replacing the metro trains. However, agreement was reached between the city tramway company Oslo Sporveier and the county of Akershus for the trams to be extended again from Jar to Kolsås, perhaps from 1 January 2004. Metro trains are to continue to terminate at Bekkestua. The Ullevål Stadion - Storo metro branch (R.0864) due to open on 20 August 2003 forms the first section of a new circle line whose next and final stage, Storo - Sinsen - Carl Berners plass, began building in 2003. Target-date for completion is 2006. (http://www.lrta.org) 3212][CZ] Rybnik - Lipno nad Vltavou: (BLN 792.0520, 806.0345; Ball 40A2) From 1911, perhaps its opening-date, this 22km branch was electrified at a nominal 1280V dc, but around 1927-28 the supply became 1500V dc. CD’s Czechoslovak predecessor CSD standardised on 3000V dc and later also on 25kV 50Hz, so the Lipno branch has remained an electrical anomaly, with its own distinct traction. In 2004 it is to be rewired for 25kV, as part of a plan for improving the power-supply to the Ceské Budejovice - Rybník - Horní Dvoríšté CD (- Summerau ÖBB - Linz) line, electrified at 25kV in 2000-01 (R.1428, 1956). The current feed from Nemanice near Ceske Budejovice is not sufficient to operate this international route at full capacity and an additional feed is to come from the hydro-electric power-station at Lipno nad Vltavou. No plans are known to convert the other Czech line with non-standard 1500V dc overhead, the 24km Tábor - Bechyne branch (BLN 712.010, 805.0321; Ball 41A3-40B3), which opened 1903 using a 1400V dc (2´ 700V) system, altered to 1500V in 1929. 3213][HU] Balatonfenyves - Központi fömajor - Pálmajor - Somogyszentpál: (R.2485; Ball 47A2; MÁV 39, 39b) According to http://www.schmalspur.at, the timing of events on this 760mm-gauge system was: 2 September 2002: closure of Pálmajor - Somogyszentpál and both branches Központi fömajor - Táskái elágazás - Cziszta and Táskái elágazás - Táská, leaving only Balatonfenyves - Központi fömajor - Pálmajor in service. 29 September 2002: closure of Balatonfenyves - Központi fömajor - Pálmajor for repairs, including re-railing. 27 November 2002: reopening of Balatonfenyves - Központi fömajor - Pálmajor (9.2km). With no run-round loop at Pálmajor, trains had to be formed with a Class C50 locomotive at each end. 15 December 2002: reopening of Pálmajor - Somogyszentpál (3.4km) allowing five Balatonfenyves - Somogyszentpál round-trips daily, one-way journey-time 57min for 12.6km. With a run-round loop again available, trains reverted to one locomotive. 3214][HR] (Prešnica - Rakitovec SZ -) Buzet HZ - Nugla - Roc - Rocko Polje - Lupoglav - Sveti Petar u Sumi - Kanfanar - Pula - Pula "Obala": (R.1764; Ball 45B1-45A1) The Slovenia-Croatia frontier is just north of Buzet, the Croatian border station. The nearby road border-crossing has no frontier staff and is therefore unauthorised. Buzet has two loops, two tarred platforms and a two-storey building with a ticket-office. The customs building on the south side of the station is staffed. A sign reminds travellers they are entering the Republika Hrvatska. Nugla is an unstaffed halt next to a level-crossing with a single platform and shelter on the north-eastern side of the line. Roc has a similar layout to Buzet with