Tourist and Minor Railways
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Chemin de Fer de la Mure
Ø year round service;
☼ seasonal (mainly summer);
Δ seasonal (mainly winter);
§
regular service trains on lines of special tourist interest
V
(vapeur) steam locomotives;
D
diesel locomotives;
A
(autorails) diesel railcars;
E
electric
N
standard gauge (1435mm);
M
metre gauge (1000mm);
E
other narrow gauge
(E60 600mm,
E50 500mm, ...)
R with rack throughout,
r with rack sections
- AGRIVAP
- ☼VAN tourist trains on the RFF freight line between
Courpière and Sembadel. The total length of line is 78km, but most
trains make shorter journeys, typically Ambert to Arlanc or Ambert
to La Chaise Dieu. Also available for private charter
(Site in French, English section had no content when
last checked)
- Les Arcs
- ΔFunicular
Bourg Saint Maurice to Arc 1600
- Chemin de Fer
Touristique d’Anse
- ☼VDAE38(15") Anse, Avenue de la Libération to Le
Colombier (2.5km) (Site in French)
- Chemin de Fer du Haut Rhône
- ☼VDE60 Montalieu Vercieu to Sault-Brenaz (4km)
(Site in French)
- Compagnie du Mont Blanc
- Two railways serving the Mont Blanc area:
- ΔEMR Train du Montenvers Chamonix Mont Blanc to Le
Montenvers, Mer de Glace (5.1km, with a rise of 850m)
- ΔEMR Tramway du Mont Blanc Saint Gervais les Bains
- Le Fayet to Le Nid d'Aigle (18km, with a rise of 1050m)
- Dôme Express
- ØFunicular
the base station Les Glaciers is already more than 1500m above the
resort of Les Deux Alpes. From this altitude of 3200m the underground
line rises a further 220m to Dôme de Puy Salié, making it the highest
funicular in France (Site contains little information relating
to the funicular)
- Funiculaire du Capucin
- ØFunicular
Le Mont Dore (Site in French)
- Funiculaire du Perce-Neige
- ØFunicular
underground from Val Claret (near Tignes) to the Grande Motte cablecar
base station (Site contains little information relating to
funicular)
- Funiculaire de Saint Hilaire du Touvet
- ☼Funicular
Saint Hilaire du Touvet is on the N90 about 2km north of Le Touvet
(Site in French)
- Gentiane Express
- ☼AN Riom-ès-Montagnes to Lugarde (Site in
French)
- Le Mont Blanc Express
- اEMr Saint Gervais les Bains - Le Fayet to Martigny,
Switzerland (Saint Gervais to le Châtelard - Frontière 36.6km,
Frontière to Martigny 18.1km) (Site in French)
-
- Musée de la Mine
de Noyant d’Allier
- ☼DE60 mining museum with a 1.4km railway using former
mining equipment (Site in French)
- Le Petit Train de la Mure
- ☼EM La Mure to les Grands Balcons (15km)
(Site in French)
- Le Panoramique des Dômes
- ØEMR rack railway from the outskirts of
Clermont-Ferrand to the summit of Puy de Dôme, rising through around
580m in its 5km length. The greater part of the route follows that of
an earlier railway, closed since 1926 (Site in French)
- Train
de l’Ardèche
- ☼VDM Tournon - Saint to Lamastre (33km). Not all
trains cover the entire line
- Train
des Gorges de l’Allier
- ☼DN Langeac to Langogne (66.5km). Shorter trips
are available. Special train provided by SNCF on a line also used by
regular passenger services (Site in French)
- Train Touristique des Monts du Lyonnais
- VDN Saint-Foy-l’Argentière
to L’Arbresle (19km) on the SNCF freight line. Out of service since 2012,
proposed for reopening when a new locomotive is acquired (Site
in French)
- Velay-Express
- ☼VAM Saint Agrève to Raucoules (27 km) (Site
in French)
Vélorails
- Vélorail d’Ambert
- ☼ various tour options starting
from Ambert on the lines of AGRIVAP (Site in French, English
section had no content when last checked)
- Vélorail du Bourbonnais
- ☼ Noyant d’Allier (next to Mining Museum)
to Forêt de Messarges, 5km (Site in French)
- Vélorail
du Cézallier
- ☼ various options from 3km to 12km,
departing from Landeyrat or Allanche (Site in French)
- Vélorail
des Gorges du Doux
- Ø Boucieu le Roi to Pont Duzon (12 km).
The outward (downhill) journey is made by Vélorail, the return
journey by historic diesel railcar
- Pédalorails du Grand Pays de Salers
- ☼ Drignac-Ally, trips of various lengths
in pedal powered or electrically assisted draisines towards Branzac
(Site in French)
- Cyclo-draisines du Haut Rhône
- ☼E60
Montalieu Vercieu to Sault-Brenaz (4km) on the line of the Chemin de Fer
du Haut Rhône (Site in French)
- Pédalorails des Lacs
- ☼ Nieudan to Saint Santin Santalet, 9.5km
(Site in French)
- Les draisines du pays de Mauriac
- ☼ Mauriac to Drugeac, 10.5km. Shorter
options are available (Site in French)
- Vélorail de Pradelles
- ☼ Pradelles to Landos and Pradelles to
the border of Lozère, near Langogne, a total line length of about 15 km;
shorter options are available (Site in French)
- Vélorail de la Sioule
- ☼ from les Penauds, le Mayet-d’École,
to Viaduc des Paraudes (8km) or Gannat (5km). The two sections may be
combined (Site in French, link to English section not functional
when last checked)
- Vélorail du Velay
- ☼ Dunières to Lichemiaille, 7.5km. A
shorter option is available (Site in French)
© 2004-2022 Glyn Williams
Photo image © Alain Mionnet