Mont Blanc Tramway, Heritage railway in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, France
This rack railway connects Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc to the Nid d'Aigle station across several altitude zones. The route passes through mountain forests and open slopes up to the glacier areas of Mont Blanc.
Built from 1909 to 1914, the line was intended to reach the Aiguille du Goûter and ultimately Mont Blanc. The first section, to the Col de Voza, opened in 1909; the line reached its current terminus in August 1914, when work was suspended because of World War I and never resumed. Steam locomotives worked the line until electrification in 1956. A short extension and new station completed in 2025 officially ended construction.
Three trains named Anne la verte, Jeanne la rouge, and Marie la bleue run along the route through the French Alps to skiing and hiking areas. Each car carries its own colour and is well known among locals and visitors alike.
The line runs from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet station at 581 m up to the Refuge-du-Nid-d'Aigle terminus at 2,412 m, above the tree line. The trip from Fayet to Bellevue takes about one hour, with four or five departures a day. The upper section and the Nid d'Aigle refuge can be closed for safety, as happened in late July 2010 over flood risk from the Tête Rousse glacier.
The line is 12.79 km long with a 1,000 mm gauge and uses the Strub rack system to climb 1,820 m, with an average gradient of 15% and a maximum of 24%. About 85% of the track carries rack rail; adhesion is used only at the foot of the line and at intermediate crossing stations.
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