CFVE (Chemin de Fer Vallée de l'Eure) operate a section of the former Rouen - Orleans line between Breuilpont, Pacy-sur-Eure and Cocherel.  Their main base is at Pacy-sur-Eure mid-way between Vernon and Evreux. More information at  www.cfve.org 

The continuing clear out of withdrawn locomotives at Sotteville has seen some of the remaining Class A1A A1A 68500's moved for breaking up. Above, on the 6th October, CMR's BB 25236 and A1A A1A 68081 pass Vauboyen on the "Grande Ceinture", south west of Paris, while double-heading train 817208 Sotteville - Valenton consisting of A1A 68520/68521/68533/BB 69242 and four Corail carriages for braking capacity. The three A1A 68500s were withdrawn between July 2010 and March 2011 and have spent most of the last ten years languishing at Sotteville. Photo Erwan Quintin.

A Trenitalia Ventimiglia- Cuneo service leaves Tende on the SNCF section of the Roya Valley  in December 2018

While rail services along the coastal mainline and other routes were severely disrupted on Saturday 3rd October, services resumed on Sunday 4th October including the line to Breil sur Roya that had been cut off from Nice. The first train to Breil carried 3,000 bottles of water for the emergency services and homes with no supply. The line into the Upper Roya Valley remained closed until the 19th October when two services a day were extended to a temporary platform at St Dalmas de Tende, some 250 metres south of the station. 

With Breil effectively cut off by road the rail services to Nice are now being operated free of charge, although intending passengers need to pre-book a PASS INTEMPÉRIES NICE-BREIL to control capacity. 

The outlook remains bleak. In the Upper Valley the Italian authorities have worked to re-open the line south of Cuneo and it was re-opened to St Dalmas de Tende on the 24th October, leaving a gap of 250 metres to the SNCF temporary platform. Two trains a day each way are operating between St Dalmas de Tende and Cuneo enabling the residents of the Upper Valley to undertake their shopping in Italy, and workers to cross the border.

it is hoped to re-open through Cuneo - Tende - Breil Nice/Ventimiglia services in February 2021. The roads in the upper valley have been largely destroyed with re-construction estimated at €500 million, that will take years to complete. Until then the once threatened railway will be the main source of communication.

Introduced in 1998, the 53 strong Z 22500 emu class was designed exclusively for the new RER Line E from Haussman St Lazare to Chelles-Gournay (1999) and Villiers-sur-Marne (1999) and extended to Tournan (2003). The new extension of RER Line E under construction from Haussman St Lazare westwards will serve Porte Maillot, La Défense and Nanterre Prefecture. The new RER E (West) will continue from Nanterre Prefecture on existing tracks to a new terminus at Mantes la Jolie.

When the extension is opened in three years time, new RER NG's will be introduced and the Z 22500's will be gradually withdrawn. The underground platforms at Haussman St Lazare and Magenta have to be adjusted to a different height for the new trains. They are doing this by changing the height of the track. For the last two summers, the RER E in the tunnel to Haussman has been closed to do this work. The trains were temporarily diverted to Gare de l'Est. Above. On the evening of 6th September 2020 set 20E - Z22539/40 waits to depart from Gare de l'Est with Train 118643 (TAPA) to Tournan. Photo Erwan Quintin.

On the 28th September, the  "comité de suivi" or "Comité de PIlotage sur le devenir de la ligne Abbeville - Le Tréport/Mers" (to give it its full name) announced their preferred option for the re-opening of the Abbeville - Le Tréport line. Two options, a minimal and optimal option were tabled with the optimal option being selected. This is based on eleven or twelve services each way during the week and nine services each way at weekends, each connecting with the Paris - Calais services at Abbeville. The single line would be rebuilt with a crossing loop at Feuquières-en-Vimeu. Line speed would be increased from 80km/h to 100 km/h giving an end to end journey time of 34 minutes. It is estimated that up to 900 passengers a day would use the line during the week and 500 a day at weekends.

A number of hurdles remain. The principal one is financing at €76 million. The Hauts de France Region fully supports the proposal and will seek funding from the government from the €4.5 billion recently announced for rail expansion. The proposal is also consistent with recent government announcements in relation to rural lines and where TERs will help reduce carbon emissions. The second is timing with a suggested delay of eight years before services can be re-introduced. This is viewed as unacceptable and raises a further issue about suppressing road crossings lines that have been closed for five years or more.

The recent rebuilding and reopening of the line from Beauvais to Le Tréport has done nothing to improve the dilapidated state of Le Tréport station and platforms. The station at Le Tréport was purchased by the Communauté des Communes des Villes Soeurs (CCVS) in December 2018 for 280,000 euros. The purchase included the parking in front of the station and land surrounding it. The SNCF ticket office inside the station building is in co-ownership with SNCF / CCVS. The platforms and tracks no doubt continue to belong to SNCF Réseau. 

On 17th April 2020, CCVS invited bids to perform a study on the redevelopment of the station building and the surrounding area including links to the two towns of Mers-les-bains and Le Tréport. This study is expected to take 10 months from the date of selection of the best bid. It can therefore be expected that work to renovate the station building at Le Tréport will not begin before 2022.

Over the last 20 years CFTHQ has increased to 100,000 visitors per annum of whom 25% are from abroad, often also visiting nearby Rocamadour. They normally offer steam trains at weekends and diesel haulage (BB63500) during the week in the high season. There are now five permanent staff and two more on fixed term contracts. In addition there are ten seasonal staff during the summer. The main base is around the former goods shed at Martel, offering only limited covered accommodation for rolling stock.

The expansion plan  is based around three elements:

 - Creating a 7km velorail between Martel and Le Pigeon on the section between Martel and Souillac. The track on this section remains in place although hasn't probably seen a train this century and is much overgrown.

 - Extending the line at St Denis into the SNCF station with a dedicated line utilising the Sarlat line trackbed, but without  crossing the SNCF network. This will provide access to the CFTHQ for rail travellers and promote the development and use of the Gallo-Roman site of Uxellodunum in  Saint-Denis

- The creation of a 'Railway Rotunda' industrial heritage centre at Martel based on a reconstruction of the former depot at St Denis. This would include using recovered Eiffel  beams made in the 19th century and a turntable formerly used at La Rochelle. This element of the project has been selected from over 100 possible projects in the Department and will be partially funded by the Loto du heritage. An architect in industrial buildings has been appointed by the heritage foundation who will lead the project management.

The outcome of the expansion will be to create a major tourist attraction for this area of the Lot Department. At present every euro spent at the railway brings in three euros to the surrounding economy. It will also increase the facilities and expertise at the CFTHQ and allow the development of specific skills and know-how in the maintenance and renovation of steam locomotives. Without expansion the risk is that this knowledge could be lost.

 - Merged “Anonymous Photographer Nord” gallery with “Geoffrey Keen General” gallery 

 - New “CIWL Miscellaneous” gallery added to Folder 4

-  New “CIWL drawings” added to Folder 2

  Above. Nord 3.1155 at Boulogne Maritime 1924 - Geoffrey Keen General gallery

- Photographic index of Peter Gulland colour images