Provence-Beyond (Beyond the French Riviera) ®
Also: [ Rail Travel | Nice-Cuneo Train ]
[ Train des Pignes Map ]
Stations (NW-SE):
[ Digne-les-Bains | Mézel | Barrème | Moriez | St. André-les-Alpes | Thorame-Haute | Méailles | le Fugeret | Annot | Entrevaux | Puget-Théniers | Touët-sur-Var | Villars | Plan-du-Var (Vésubie) | St. Martin-du-Var | Nice ]
Below: [ Steam trains | Flood-damaged track | Schedule | Prices | Bicycles ]
Photos: click on icons below (20-30k each)
This 1-meter gauge railway runs between Nice and Digne, 151 km, and takes about three hours. The track follows rushing rivers and steep-sided mountain valleys, many not accessible by car, and the view is magnificent. The ride is an adventure. The stations are old, tiny and personal, with everything on a human level. At the little village of Le Fugeret, in the beautiful Vaire river valley beyond Annot, the train climbs up through a tunnel and loops around on itself so it can get enough altitude to continue the trip north past Méailles.
Between Méailles and Thorame, the track passes beneath the mountains, with a 3.5 km tunnel carved through the heart of the rock. On the 150 km journey, the track climbs to an altitude of 1000 m above it's starting point in Nice, with inclines up to 30%.
Out and Back
If you're on a day excursion, you can take the train out to one of the stations along the way, visit the town, have a picnic or go for a walk or hike, and catch a later train back again. At many of the stations you will see picnic walks and hiking trails marked by signboards. There is a guide book showing 75 hikes you can take from stations along the rail line.
The name Train des Pignes comes from the pinecones, once used for tinder to start the steam engines.
[ Top | Steam trains | Flood-damaged track | Schedule | Prices ]
Steam Trains
During the summer season, a steam train with refurbished old carriages runs between two towns for part of the journey between Nice and Digne. The last time I took this ride, people followed along the road in cars, rushing ahead to stop and take pictures whenever they could. At one point, the engineer stopped the train in the middle of a long bridge crossing over a valley to give the people on the road more time for their pictures. At another long, curving viaduct, away from the road, the engineer stopped and let some of the passengers walk out across the bridge so they could photograph the train as it crossed.
Steam-Train - Not Scheduled for 1999
There was no 1999 summer steam train. Let's hope for a better budget for the year 2000.
Nice
The old Gare du Sud in Nice was torn down (I think about 1993) and replaced with a modern, efficient station. While the station has lost its character, the train still has it. Even the modern rail cars can't take away from the jerking, jolting ride caused by the ancient narrow-gauge rail, which never gets enough budget to modernize and every year is threatened with closure.
The modern new station is one long block west of the old station (about 6 blocks north of the main railway station), at 4 bis, rue Alfred Binet (see Schedule below).
[ Top | Steam trains | Flood-damaged track | Schedule | Prices ]
Problems with the Track.
In September of 1994, some of the track was washed away by severe flooding of the Var river. The line has been under repair since then, and is not completely open yet for end-to-end rail travel. You can, however, still make the complete journey, but there will be a couple of links where you will be transported between stations by bus.
- The Digne-Annot section was opened in June, 1995.
- The Plan-du-Var to Entrevaux section was completed on 15 August, extending the line from Nice to Entrevaux. The grand opening celebration was held Sunday, 27 August, with the appearance of the steam train and passengers dressed in 1900-period costumes.
- The final section, between Entrevaux and Annot, was opened in April 1996.
It was rather interesting for train buffs: some of the stations, such as Puget-Théniers, had stacks of rail and thousands of oak ties, and you can still see the old working trains and special cars for repairing the rail.
[ Top | Steam trains | Flood-damaged track | Schedule | Prices ]
Schedule (1999)
The schedules below show only a few of the stations. These are unofficial schedules provided as a guide only; be sure to phone for the latest information.
- Contact for Information and Reservations:
- Chemins de Fer de la Provence
- 4 bis rue Alfred-Binet, Nice
- tel: (33) 493 82 10 17
- For groups, Tel: (33) 493 88 34 72; Fax: (33) 493 16 28 71
- Gare de Digne-les-Bains
- Ave. Pierre Sémard
- tel: (33) 492 31 01 58
- Service Messagerie (packages, bicycles)
- tel: (33) 493 88 18 78
|
Nice La Vésubie Puget-Théniers Annot (depart) St. André Digne |
sch
-- -- -- 6.06 6.38 7.30 |
6.42 7.21 8.04 8.32 9.04 9.53 |
9.00 9.39 10.22 10.50 11.23 12.12 |
12.43 13.26 14.10 14.40 15.13 16.02 |
17.00 17.40 18.23 18.52 19.24 20.13 |
fri
18.35 19.14 19.58 (arr)20.22 -- -- |
|
Digne St. André Annot (depart) Puget-Théniers La Vésubie Nice |
sch
-- -- 5.40 6.05 6.48 7.28 |
7.00 7.51 8.30 8.55 9.40 10.18 |
10.33 11.24 12.01 12.26 13.10 13.49 |
13.58 14.48 15.24 15.49 16.33 17.15 |
17.25 18.15 18.49 19.14 19.58 20.35 |
[ Top | Steam trains | Flood-damaged track | Schedule | Prices ]
Prices (1999)
Some typical round-trip prices (approximate):
- Nice - Villars: 78 F adults
- Nice - Puget-Théniers: 102 F
- Nice - Entrevaux: 106 F
- Nice - Annot: 124 F
- Nice - St. André: 158 F
- Nice - Digne: 212 F
