Railcar excursion Toulon, Provence - Tende, at Italian border

ATTCV located in Carnoules in Provence is currently fixing the details for a full day journey with railcar (most likely Caravelle X-4567) from Toulon (the French navy base) to the alpine village of Tende at the Italian border. This special train is scheduled for Saturday September 21, 2013, to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the opening of train service from Nice to this village.

This line, which is a part of the Nice to Cuneo (in Italy) line, has a tourist train called "Train des Merveilles". ATTCV will therefore call this special event train "Train des Merveilles - Rétro".

It is planned to leave Toulon at 07.15 and, after a 15 mins stop in Nice, reach Tende by noon. This will take the passengers, most likely train enthusiasts, through a changing landscape from the vineyards in Provence, the red cliffs of the Esterel mountains, the French Riviera and the valleys from Nice to Tende with its many bridges and tunnels (two of which run in circles) - and wonderful views of the mountains.

The four hour stop in Tende, a "half-mile" village. is enough for lunch at a local restaurant, a museum visit and walk around the pictoresque village.

The train will return to Toulon by 21.00 (same day).

Further details will be published on attcv.com (in French) and railtrain.org/attcv/ (in English) when available.

 

For those not familiar with this area, or if you have never ridden the line to Tende I can thoroughly recommend it if you are in the area. Very scenic and a fascinating history. There is also a small transport museum at Breil sur Roya, where the line from Nice to Tende meets the FS line from Ventimiglia. Both Italian and French trains run from Breil to Tende.

 

The interest for the journey on September 21 resulted in a fully booked train already by end of May. ATTCV just informed that they therefore have decided to arrange a second version of this trip.
Tentative timetable:

• 07.15 departure from Toulon
• ----- stops in Solliés-Pont, Carnoules, Les Arcs, St Raphaël and Cannes
• 09.30 arrival in Nice
• 09.45 departure from Nice
• 12.00 arrival in Tende
• 16.15 departure from Tende
• 18.30 arrival in Nice
• 18.45 departure from Nice
• ----- stops in Cannes, St Raphaël, Les Arcs, Carnoules and Solliés-Pont
• 21.00 arrival in Toulon

You can start and end your journey at any of these stations. Visitors to the area might find that Nice, Cannes or Toulon are the best places to start or end the journey, depending on where you are staying.
There will be a guide onboard between Nice and Tende to present the history of the railway. You will also have as a possibility to participate in a guided tour in Tende (a small fee applies).
Ticket price as for the first journey, i.e EUR 50.
Considering how fast the first train got fully booked, should you wish to participate, don't hesitate to book a seat asap.
The railway line is said to be under threat of closure, so this could be your last chance for a journey on this line.
Further details on the organizar, ATTCV, on railtrain.org/attcv/ (in English) when available.
Pre-registration is mandatory, se http://voyage.attcv.com/train merveilles retro.html (in French).
NB - If you have problems of understanding the French text of the reservation document, or if you have questions regarding how to pay for the journey, don't hesitate to send an email with your questions in English to attcv@hotmail.fr.

 

NB - Change of date for the Train of Marvels - Retro!

Re the second train, planned for October 5:

The date is changed to Saturday October 12, in order to coincide with regional festivities in Tende, to celebrate the opening of the railway line to Tende in 1883, i.e 130 years ago.

PS. For info about the "modern" version of Train des Merveilles and the line, see broschure on http://telechargement.ter-sncf.com/Images/Paca/Tridion/EXE.Merveilles_GB_tcm-27-88671.pdf

 

A short report from the latest trip - Train des Merveilles - Retro - see http://trainmec.blogspot.fr/

 

Went to Tende yesterday. Had trouble in finding the right timetable, SNCF trains have not been running over summer and were restored from September but Tende only had 1 train plus a 1 bus all day apart from the two Italian trains each way.
Suddenly 29th September saw 5 SNCF trains to Tende at extended running times due to condition of the track but Nice Ville still giving out the 1 train a day timetables this week.
Not unsurprisingly only 3 of us on the train when we got to Tende and 4 when we left to come back. Only 12 of us on the train by the time the train back back into Nice on the Sospel line which has had million spent on track, signalling and new stations near Nice. However the Italian train was 50% full ( 2 3 car units). Ride was slow due to the blanket speed restriction from Breil to Tende and on to FS tracks but unit actually rode better than on this track, sections of which are CWL, than the line from Nice to Breil.
Still a fantastic line but I remain convinced SNCF and RFF want to get rid of it in spite of the Italians offering millions towards track repairs.
Ride on it whilst it is still open.

Its saving grace may be the French Department, and locals want it saved, several demonstrations in Nice to protest about it. Also the National shame of Italians offering money to save line whilst French look like they are not interested.


Hope the museum at Breil can get some work done on their collection, the mainline Electrics and 2800 dmus are starting to get very shabby.

Brian