Mont Blanc Tramway | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Termini |
|
Service | |
Type | Tramway/Rack railway |
Operator(s) | Compagnie du Mont-Blanc |
History | |
Opened | 1907 |
Technical | |
Line length | 12.4 km (7.7 mi) |
Number of tracks | 1 |
Rack system | Strub |
Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) |
Electrification | 11 kV 50 Hz AC |
Highest elevation | 2,372 m (7,782 ft) asl |
Maximum incline | 24% |
TMB route diagram | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Line's heights | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Mont Blanc tramway or Tramway du Mont-Blanc (TMB) is a mountain railway line in the Haute-Savoie department of France. It is the highest in France and the fourth highest in Europe. It is also the only railway in France reaching over 2,000 metres above sea level. [1]
The extensive views of Mont Blanc and adjacent mountains of the Mont Blanc massif provided by the tramway make it popular with tourists. Also, mountaineers and hikers use the tramway because its stops provide the jumping off points for many trails, as well as giving access to the Refuge Nid d'Aigle close to the terminus of railway. [2] The normal alpine mountaineering route to climb Mont Blanc starts at the tramway's terminus, Nid d'Aigle, and proceeds either to an overnight stop at the Tête Rousse Hut, or at the higher Goûter Hut . [3] [4]
The line runs from a connection with the SNCF at Saint-Gervais-les-Bains Le Fayet station to the Nid d'Aigle station near the Bionnassay Glacier at an altitude of 2,372 m (7,782 ft). The initial intention was for the line to reach the much higher Aiguille du Goûter . Nevertheless, it remains one of the highest railways in Europe and the second-highest when considering only open-air railways. [5] The Nid d'Aigle and Mont Lachat (2,074 m (6,804 ft)), the two highest stations of the line, are the only railway stations over 2,000 metres in France. Both are well over the tree line.
The line is 12.4 km (7.7 mi) long and has a rail gauge of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in). It is a rack and adhesion railway, using the Strub design to overcome a height difference of 1,792 m (5,879 ft). The line has an average gradient of 15% and a maximum gradient of 24%. Some 85% of the line is equipped with rack rail, with adhesion being used at the foot of the line and at intermediate crossing stations. The line is electrified using an overhead line at 11 kV and 50 Hz AC.
The line is operated by the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc which also manages the Montenvers Railway and many ski lifts in the Mont Blanc region. The first section of the line, to the Col de Voza, was opened in 1907. The line reached its current terminus in August 1914 when work was suspended, because of World War I, and never resumed. The line was worked by steam locomotives until it was electrified in 1956.
The line is worked by three motor coaches which are named Anne, Marie and Jeanne. These were the names of the three daughters of the line's owner at the time of electrification.
The journey time is one hour from Fayet to Bellevue with four or five trips operating per day.
The Mont Blanc Tramway is featured in the film Malabar Princess .
In late July 2010 the last section of the Tramway and the nearby Nid d'Aigle mountain refuge was closed for safety reasons for the rest of the operational season. This was due to concerns of a repeat of a potentially catastrophic flood from release of a vast quantity of water that had built up within an intraglacial pocket within the Tête Rousse glacier lying directly above it. [6]
When the line was electrified in 1956, three electric multiple units were purchased named Marie, Jeanne and Anne after the daughters of the founder. In 2023 these were replaced by four Stadler EMUs, named Marie, Jeanne, Anne and Marguerite. [7]
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, and the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus mountains, rising 4,807.81 m (15,774 ft) above sea level, located on the French-Italian border. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and it is the eleventh most prominent mountain summit in the world.
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had a population of 8,640.
Argentière is a picturesque skiing, alpine walking and mountaineering village in the French Alps, part of the commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, at an altitude of 1,252 m (4,108 ft).
The Aiguille de Bionnassay is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the Alps in France and Italy. It has been described as "one of the most attractive satellite peaks of Mont Blanc", and is located on its western side. The mountain's south and east ridges form the frontier between the two countries, and its summit is a knife-edge crest of snow and ice. Reaching it via any route provides a "splendid and serious snow and ice climb".
The Aiguille du Midi is a 3,842-metre-tall (12,605 ft) mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc.
The Montenvers Railway or Chemin de fer du Montenvers is a rack railway line in the Haute-Savoie department of France. The line runs from a connection with the SNCF, in Chamonix, to the Hotel de Montenvers station, at the Mer de Glace, at an altitude of 1,913 m (6,276 ft).
The Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major independent summits, each over 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) in height. It is named after Mont Blanc, the highest point in western Europe and the European Union. Because of its considerable overall altitude, a large proportion of the massif is covered by glaciers, which include the Mer de Glace and the Miage Glacier – the longest glaciers in France and Italy, respectively.
The Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway, also known as the Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine Line, is a single-track 36.5 km (22.7 mi) long metre gauge railway in France connecting the SNCF's Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet station with Vallorcine station and the border with Switzerland through Chamonix. Opened in stages between 1901 and 1908 by the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM), it is part of the main SNCF network as far as Vallorcine. To Le Châtelard is run by the Swiss company Transports de Martigny et Régions (TMR), which also operates the Martigny–Châtelard Railway.
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, southeastern France. The village is best known for tourism and has been a popular holiday destination since the early 1900s. It has 445 km (277 mi) of pistes, the third largest domain exclusively in France, and is one of the least busy ski areas of its size. In 1892, two hundred people were killed when a water pocket in a glacier above the town suddenly burst open and caused flooding.
Pointe Helbronner is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the Graian Alps on the watershed between France and Italy.
The Torino Hut is a high mountain refuge in the Alps in northwestern Italy. Located near the border with France, it is about 15 km (10 mi) southwest of Mont Dolent, the tripoint with Switzerland. The refuge is in the Mont Blanc massif above the town of Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley, Italy. It can be most easily accessed from the Italian side by the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car from La Palud in Courmayeur, with a change at the Pavilion du Mont Fréty. It can also be reached from Chamonix via the Aiguille du Midi, either by cable car which crosses the massif, or by a long crossing of the Glacier du Gèant. The refuge lies nearly directly above the 11.6 km (7.2 mi) Mont Blanc Tunnel, which passes deep underground, and connects Courmayeur to Chamonix.
The Tête Rousse Hut is a mountain hut in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is located beside the Tête Rousse Glacier at an elevation of 3,167 m. Owned by the Club Alpin Francais (CAF), it is normally reached after an approximately two hour climb from Nid d'Aigle, the highest stop on the Mont Blanc Tramway. It is commonly used by mountaineers attempting to climb the 'normal route' on the French side to the summit of Mont Blanc. Staying here, rather than continuing to the higher Goûter Hut adds an extra 2–3 hours to the ascent of Mont Blanc, but is less cramped than the latter and also avoids having to climb the dangerous 'Grand Couloir' later in the day when the risk of injury from stonefall is at its greatest.
The Tête Rousse Glacier is a small but significant glacier located in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps whose collapse in 1892 killed 200 people in the town of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet station is a railway station serving the town Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie department, southeastern France. It is the southeastern terminus of the standard gauge La Roche-sur-Foron–Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet line from La Roche-sur-Foron, the southwestern terminus of the 1,000 mm gauge Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine line from the Swiss border, and the western terminus of the Mont Blanc Tramway. It is the southeastern terminus of the L3 line of the Léman Express, a suburban rail network for the Grand Genève, which began operation in 2019.
The Gonella Hut is a high elevation mountain hut in the Aosta Valley in the Mont Blanc massif area of the Alps. It lies at an elevation of 3071 metres, above Val Veny near Courmayeur in Italy. The refuge is located on the Italian 'normal route' to Mont Blanc.
The Goûter Hut, is a mountain refuge in the French department of Haute-Savoie. It is located at a height of 3,835 metres (12,582 ft) on the Arete du Goûter in the municipality of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains. It overlooks the Glacier de Bionnassay, and is the highest wardened mountain hut in France.
Gare du Nid d'Aigle is the terminus of the Tramway du Mont Blanc (TMB) from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains on the slopes of the Mont Blanc.
The Goûter Route is one of the two normal mountaineering routes used to reach the summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps, ascending to a height of 4,808 metres (15,774 ft). The route lies on the north side of the mountain, in France. Usually reckoned as the easiest route up Mont Blanc, it is extremely popular with mountaineers, seeing thousands of ascents per year.
Jean-Marc Peillex is a French local and regional politician from the DVD / Union of Democrats and Independents / Les Républicains, currently serving as Mayor of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and Conseiller Général of the canton of Saint-Gervais, later Conseiller Départemental of the newly formed canton Mont-Blanc in the department of Haute-Savoie. In May 2014 he was re-elected for 6 years.
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc station is a railway station in the commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, in the French department of Haute-Savoie. It is located on the 1,000 mm gauge Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine line of SNCF. The station is adjacent to the station of the Chemin de fer du Montenvers, which operates a rack railway to the Mer de Glace.