The Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway (), also known as the Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine Line, is a single-track long

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

connecting the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

's Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet station with Vallorcine station and the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

with

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

( Le Châtelard) through

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

.Le Châtelard
Opened in stages between 1901 and 1908 by the

Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée The Chemins Company is a dietary supplement manufacturer based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The company, founded in 1974 by James Cameron, became embroiled in a series of criminal investigations in 1994 after a woman died and more than 100 other ...

(PLM), it is part of the main

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.

History

* 1886: Granting of the concession for the Cluses–Chamonix line to the PLM (first concession for a general interest electric line in France) * 3 July 1893: Authorisation for the PLM to build the Saint-Gervais to Chamonix section as metre gauge * June 1899: Start of works on the first section * 25 July 1901: Opening to Chamonix, (official opening on 12 July) * 25 July 1906: Extension to Argentière * 1 November 1907: Boring of the Col des Montets tunnel * 1 July 1908: Junction with the Martigny–Châtelard Railway * 1958: Introduction of Z 600 EMUs * 1997: Introduction of Z 800 EMUs * 2006: Introduction of Z 850 EMUs; frequency increase between Argentière and Vallorcine * 17 July 2009: Official opening of Chamonix-Aiguille-du-Midi station

Geography

Stations

* * Chedde * Servoz * Vaudagne (request stop) * Viaduc Sainte Marie (request stop) *

Les Houches Les Houches (; Arpitan: ''Les Ouches'' or ''Les Oucies'') is an alpine commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is located just west of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, in the larger canton of ...

* Taconnaz (request stop) * Les Bossons * Les Pélerins * Les Moussoux (request stop) * Aiguille du Midi * Chamonix Mont-Blanc * Les Praz * Les Tines * La Joux (request stop) * Argentière * Montroc-le Planet * Le Buet * *

Connections

* At

Saint-Gervais-les-Bains Saint-Gervais-les-Bains () is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region, southeastern France. The village is best known for tourism and has been a po ...

Le Fayet, with the

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

line from

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; ; ), known locally and simply as Aix, is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern French Departments of France, department of Savoie.Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

and

La Roche-sur-Foron La Roche-sur-Foron (; Arpitan: ''La Roche'') is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is located about 23 km (14.2 mi) southeast of Geneva, Switzerland. La Roche-sur-Foron sta ...

(including

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

s from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in the winter); and the Mont Blanc tramway (TMB)

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

. * At Chamonix, with the Montenvers Railway, a rack railway. * In Switzerland, at Le Châtelard, with the Martigny-Châtelard rack railway, which continues to

Martigny Martigny (; , ; ) is the capital city of the district of Martigny (district), Martigny, cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Valais, Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 20,000 inhabitants ( ...

where it connects with the Lausanne–Brig line of the CFF.

Technical information

Track gauge In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges ...

: . * Profile: uphill from the Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet (altitude: ) to the

col des Montets Col des Montets (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the French Alps in the Haute-Savoie department of France. It is on the road between Chamonix, the Swiss Col de la Forclaz and Martigny in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The pass is general ...

tunnel (altitude ) then downhill to the border (altitude ). The steepest grade, between Servoz and

les Houches Les Houches (; Arpitan: ''Les Ouches'' or ''Les Oucies'') is an alpine commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is located just west of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, in the larger canton of ...

is 9% over , a record for an

adhesion Adhesion is the tendency of dissimilar particles or interface (matter), surfaces to cling to one another. (Cohesion (chemistry), Cohesion refers to the tendency of similar or identical particles and surfaces to cling to one another.) The ...

railway. On the steepest sections (4% and more), it had a central rail for braking (and keeping trains immobile in case of electric black-outs), through jaws gripping the rail; it was removed around 1980. * Electrification through top-contact

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...

at 850 V (580 V originally)

direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional electric current, flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor (material), conductor such as a wire, but can also flow throug ...

. * Main structures: ** Three viaducts, including the Sainte-Marie viaduct in the Houches over the Arve ** Several anti-avalanche galleries **

Col des Montets Col des Montets (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the French Alps in the Haute-Savoie department of France. It is on the road between Chamonix, the Swiss Col de la Forclaz and Martigny in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The pass is general ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

, long. * Control: A command post, named PC Éclair (ECLAIR, or “lightning”, standing for Exploitation Centralisée des Lignes Assistée par Informatique et Radio, which translates to Centralised Control of the Lines Assisted by Computers and Radio), installed in 1991 at Saint-Gervais station, allows centralised control with the help of radio and computers.

Rolling stock

* Three Z 850

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

s (EMUs) made by Stadler. Three additional trainsets were slated to arrive before 2008. * Five Z 800 105-seat EMUs, delivered in 1997 by

ADTranz Adtranz was a multi-national rail transportation equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the US. The company, legally known as ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation, was created in 1996 as a joint venture between ABB and Daim ...

and Vevey Technologies in a joint purchase with the Martigny-Châtelard. This 1000 kW stock, composed of two

motor cars An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

, can run at ; it is rack and

pinion A pinion is a round gear—usually the smaller of two meshed gears—used in several applications, including drivetrain and rack and pinion systems. Applications Drivetrain Drivetrains usually feature a gear known as the pinion, which may v ...

equipped, and has pantographs in addition to 3rd rail equipment, so that it run to Martigny. * Eight Z 600 EMUs and four additional trailers (some out of service), used in busy periods. * Snowploughs: ** Z 691 (electric) ** Beilhack CN4 (diesel) * Seven Z890 Stadler manufactured two car EMUs are scheduled for delivery in 2025 and entry into service in 2026 to replace the Z 800s. * The original Z 200 motor cars have been retired. * Service wagons: Flats (U 20201 - U 20203) and ballast-carrying (U 20204 and U 20205 (?)).

Activity

Ligne Saint-Gervais - Vallorcine - entre Argentiere direction Montroc 1

This line carries about 500,000 passengers per year, with wide variation: from 500 people per day in the least busy periods up to 10,000 per day in summer and 2500 per day in winter for the ski season. The customer base is quite diverse, from international travellers connecting with the TGVs, to local transportation, most notably for schoolchildren. It is a tourist line and a public service at the same time. Through trains between Saint-Gervais and Martigny run under the “Mont-Blanc Express” brand. Since 2005 travel has been free between Servoz and Vallorcine for those with a

residency card and for valley inhabitants.

References

External links

Train du Mont-Blanc, dedicated to the line

Photos-trains
(in French) ha
pictures
of rolling stock {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Gervais-Vallorcine Railway Haute-Savoie Mountain railways Metre-gauge railways in France Cross-border railway lines in France Cross-border railway lines in Switzerland Railway lines in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Railway lines opened in 1901 Rail transport in Chamonix