The Achiet to Marcoing Railway was a secondary line of standard gauge railway in Hauts-de-France. The first section opened in 1871. The last section of the line was closed down in 1999.

History

Foundation

The plans for a railway from Achiet-le-Grand to Bapaume date back to the early 1860s. However, in these plans the section was part of a larger plan to improve the connections of the

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin The Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin is a mining basin in Northern France that stretches across the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments. The region is famous for its long history of coal extraction and its testimony to a significant period in the ...

by making a more direct connection between

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

/ Achiet and Noyon to the south. This plan was not executed. On 21 July 1866 three notable businessmen of Bapaume conctracted with their municipality for constructing a railway to connect Bapaume to the French railway system. The businessmen were Messrs. Edouard Arrachart, owner of a chemical plant; Edouard Grardel, textiles manufacturer; and banker Florimond Parel. The contract was called a concession. The municipality subsidized the line and in exchange the company would offer service on certain conditions, fare price etc. In August 1867 the department

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

agreed with the plans. On 30 May 1868 the construction of the railway was declared to be in public interest. The line was opened in sections: * 1871: Achiet - Bapaume 7 km, closed down 1999 * 1877: Bapaume -

Havrincourt Havrincourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in Hauts-de-France in France. The inhabitants are called ''Havrincourtois''. Situation The village lies about 14 kilometres south-west of Cambrai near the Havrincourt service area on the ...

18 km closed down 1969 * 1878: Havrincourt - Marcoing 8 km closed down 1969

Significance

The section from Achiet to Bapaume served the general interests of the town. In the 1880s it had a traffic of 70-80 cars a day. Most of them to or from destinations further away than Achiet. This explains the standard gauge. However, the rail was light, so trains could not travel at more than 45 km/h. The section from Bapaume to Marcoing had been primarily constructed in the interests of the local beet sugar factories and distilleries. The state had given a subsidy of 125,000 francs for the Achiet–Marcoing railway. Others, mainly manufacturers, subsidized it for 376,253 francs. In a primarily agricultural and sugar area, the secondary lines allowed a spectacular development of the cultivation of sugar beet and

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

. This had to do with the very high cost of transporting heavy cargo like sugar beet by road. In the 1880s none of the local industries had its own branch, which would of course allow direct use of railway cars instead of using them via transloading with wagons and carts. Later, the line had several branches to serve important local industries, like Sucrerie Lejosne in

Bihucourt Bihucourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography A farming village located 11 miles (18 km) south of Arras at the junction of the D31 and the D7. Population Sights * ...

and the Gagny factory in Bapaume.

Operators

* Chemin de fer d’Achiet à Bapaume (A.B.) 1871-1930 * Compagnie Générale de chemin de fer d'Intérêt Local (CGL) 1930-1961 * Régie départementale du Pas-de-Calais 1961-1969 * GIE Exploitation Ferroviaire de Bapaume 1969-1999

Stations

Achiet-le-Grand (km 0);

(km 3), arrêt;

Biefvillers-lès-Bapaume Biefvillers-lès-Bapaume is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography Biefvillers-lès-Bapaume is a small farming village located just outside Bapaume and 12 miles (19 km) south of ...

(km 5), arrêt; Bapaume (km 7); Frémicourt (km 12), halte;

Beugny Beugny () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography A farming village located 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Arras at the junction of the N30 and D20 roads. Population Sigh ...

(km 14); Vélu (km 17);

Hermies Hermies () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Hermies is a farming village situated southeast of Arras, at the junction of the D5 and the D19 roads. Population Places of inter ...

(km 21);

(km 25);

Flesquières Flesquières () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate ...

- Ribécourt (km 28); Marcoing (km 33). The station at Bapaume also had the repair shop of the railway company. It also did repairs for the line from Boisleux to Marquion, and that from Vélu to Saint-Quentin. BAPAUME.JPG, Former railway station of Bapaume in May 2014. BEUGNY.jpg, The railway station of Beugny in April 2017. Part is now a house.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Achiet-Marcoing railway Railway lines in Hauts-de-France Standard gauge railways in France Railway lines opened in 1871 Railway lines opened in 1999