The Nouméa-Païta railway was, apart from several narrow gauge industrial railway lines, the only metre-gauge railway line serving

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. It was opened in December 1914 between

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, a ...

, the capital, and

Dumbéa Dumbéa (, ) is a commune in France, commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province, New Caledonia, South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The population of the commune was 35,873 according ...

in 1904 and extended to

Païta Païta () is a commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. New Caledonia's international airport, La Tontouta International Airport, is located there. Geography ...

in 1914. The

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

tracks of the railway traveled the between the two cities in one hour and fifteen minutes.

History

The idea of a railway connecting Nouméa to

Canala Canala is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. History On 25 April 1995 about 47% of the territory of Canala was detached and became the commune of Kouaoua Kouaoua (; in Aj ...

on the North coast of the island 166 km Northwest of Noumea was first approved by governor Pallu de la Barrière in 1884. But money failed as the Conseil General hesitated to give the required loan necessary for the enterprise. The following governor Paul Feillet was able to elect a Conseil General who borrowed the sum necessary for the execution of a program of works including the construction of a railway. The line was inaugurated August 17, 1901, but opened to users first on December 30, 1904. The ambitious initial project had been considerably truncated as the line stopped at Dumbéa. The deep cut to bring the line across a hill and the Tonghoué Tunnel, gave work for four years and created some permanent jobs. But the line carried passengers and goods only seventeen kilometer to the cost of more than four and a half million francs. In 1908, the Société des Charbonnages de Nouvelle-Calédonie, which exploited the deposits of Nondoué, proposed to build at its own expense a Dumbéa-Païta section. The Conseil General adopted the project, contracted a new loan and the works. The new section, which required the construction of a 79 m bridge over the Dumbéa and the opening of a second tunnel, was to require four years of work. First January 1914 the Nouméa-Païta line was inaugurated, twenty-nine kilometers traveled in a little over an hour and a half, with ten stops and a compulsory stop at Dumbéa, between the departure station and the arrival station. The Operating accounts were balanced in 1908 but from 1912 the situation began to decline. The reasons were epidemic of plague, the Great War, the competition of buses in the twenties and the world economic crisis. In November 1939, a decision was made to temporarily stop the operation of the railway. The Nouméa-Païta railway closed on 1 January 1940 owing to low ridership, the deficit of the company and rolling stock and tracks in poor condition. In April 1942 the American 790th Railway Transportation Company reopened the line to operate railways for the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

presence on New Caledonia. After the Americans left the line was abandoned and demolished. The remains of the former railway station of Païta remain in the north of the town. The loading platform and the ramp are well-preserved and the foundations of various buildings are still visible. A small locomotive, nicknamed ''Marguerite'', is preserved on the former railway ground. The locomotive was used until 1940. The narrow gauge track, however, was dismantled and the former alignment of the

railway track A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

is no longer visible.

Route

The line counted eight stations within the three

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of the Southern Province. It started in

city centre and counted a secondary station in the ward (''Grand Quartier'') of Riviére Salée. It crossed the villages of Auteuil and Col de Tonghoué before entering

. After, the line crossed the village of Nondoué and Mount Mou, the nearby mountain, a few kilometres before the last station,

. It counted a pair of tunnels (Tunnel de Tonghoué and Tunnel de l'Erambéré) and three bridges over the rivers La Ouanéoué, La Dumbéa and Karikouié.

Gallery

File:PaitaLocomotive.jpg, Locomotive ''Marguerite'' File:PaitaGare5.jpg, Former station of Païta

Locomotives

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noumea-Paita railway 3 ft gauge railways in New Caledonia History of New Caledonia 20th century in New Caledonia Railway lines opened in 1904 Railway lines closed in 1940