Mantes-la-Jolie–Cherbourg railway

Mantes-la-Jolie–Cherbourg railway

Carentan railway station
Overview
System SNCF
Status Operational
Locale France (Île-de-France, Upper Normandy,
Lower Normandy)
Termini Gare de Mantes-la-Jolie
Gare de Cherbourg
Operation
Opened 1855-1858
Owner RFF
Operator(s) SNCF
Technical
Line length 313 km (194 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 Mantes-la-Jolie to Cherbourg is an important French 228-kilometre long railway line, that connects Mantes-la-Jolie, a western suburb of Paris, with the northwestern port city Cherbourg via Caen. At Mantes-la-Jolie, the railway line is connected with the Paris–Le Havre railway. The line was opened between 1855 and 1858 by the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest.[3]

Contents

Route

The line serves the towns Mantes-la-Jolie, Évreux, Bernay, Lisieux, Caen, and is extended to Cherbourg. It is 313 km long from Mantes-la-Jolie to Cherbourg (370 km from Paris). It was electrified in 25kV AC in June 1996.

Main stations

The main stations on the Mantes-la-Jolie–Cherbourg railway are:

Line history

The railway from Paris to Rouen via Mantes-la-Jolie was opened in 1843. A concession for a railway from Mantes to Caen was already granted in 1846, but the first section from Mantes to Lisieux was only opened in July 1855. Lisieux–Caen followed in December 1855, and the final section Caen–Cherbourg in July 1858.[3]

The line was known for using the post-World War II, American-built SNCF 141R steam engines as well as turbotrain-type trains from September 1970. After electrification in 1996, BB16000 and BB 26000 locomotive-hauled trains are used.

Services

The Mantes-la-Jolie–Cherbourg railway is used by the following passenger services:

References

  1. ^ RFF - Map of all railway linesPDF
  2. ^ RFF - Map of electrified railway linesPDF
  3. ^ a b 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.