Amiens–Rouen railway

Amiens–Rouen railway
Overview
System SNCF
Status Operational
Locale France (Picardy, Upper Normandy)
Termini Gare d'Amiens
Gare de Rouen-Rive-Droite
Operation
Opened 1867
Owner RFF
Operator(s) SNCF
Technical
Line length 114 km (71 mi)
No. of tracks Double track[1]
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge
Electrification 25 kV 50 Hz[2]

The railway from Amiens to Rouen is a French 114-kilometre long railway line, that connects Amiens to Rouen. It was opened in 1867.[3] The line was electrified on 27 August 1984 at 25 kW 50Hz (freight and branch lines continue to use diesel), and was equipped with the restrained permissivity automatic blocking system, which since the 1990s has offered increasingly unsatisfactory operating conditions with respect to the increasing mixed passenger and goods traffic on the line.

Contents

Route

The Amiens–Rouen railway begins near the Gare de Saint-Roch (Somme) in Amiens, where it branches off the railway from Amiens to Boulogne. It runs in generally southwestern direction, passing through Poix-de-Picardie, Abancourt and Serqueux until it reaches its terminus in Rouen.

Main stations

The main stations on the Amiens–Rouen railway are:

Use

One of the peculiarities of this line is the role of freight traffic, which is far more important than passenger traffic. In 1992–93, this line saw transport of 8,000 tonnes of goods daily, 60% of it in the Amiens - Rouen direction. The importance of the freight traffic is explained by the industrial importance of the two regions linked by the line and in particular by the ports of Rouen and Le Havre at the Rouen end. On the other hand, passenger demand is not strong but tends to be focussed by the express TER Rouen - Amiens - Arras - Douai - Lille axis.

The Amiens–Rouen railway is used by TER Picardie and TER Haute-Normandie regional passenger services on the whole line.

References

  1. ^ RFF - Network mapPDF
  2. ^ RFF - Map of electrified railway linesPDF
  3. ^ Direction Générale des Ponts et Chaussées et des Chemins de Fer (1869) (in French). Statistique centrale des chemins de fer. Chemins de fer français. Situation au 31 décembre 1869. Paris: Ministère des Travaux Publics. pp. 146–160. 

External links