The Railways of Southern France

Presenter: Michael Bunn

Virtual Meeting via Zoom

Michael served us up a veritable feast. Although the scope was necessarily slightly limited geographically, Michael covered a period from the days of steam and semaphore/mechanical signalling up until recent times. We ranged from Clermont Ferrand via Montpellier and Perpignan, Toulouse and Bordeaux and back to our starting point via the Dordogne, Cahors and Limoges.

From a positive point of view there was much of interest in the motive power, rolling stock, station layouts and architecture and scenery, and we saw the changes from loco-hauled trains to multiple units and railcars. The negative unfortunately has been the abandonment of many rural and cross-country lines so that some stations have been obliterated or remain as mere shadows of their former selves. The high speed network of TGVs has of course brought many benefits in a country where distances are (surprisingly) large, but even here low-cost airlines are eroding some of the gains in service provision. Hearteningly, there has been some push back with for example the “Ouigo”, which is a low-price, high capacity TGV nicknamed “Ryanair on Rails”.

Whether caused by lack of demand or inadequate and inconvenient provision, for example cutting of through services, there have been widespread closures. Useful cross-country routes such as the two between Bordeaux and Lyon have gone. Many routes were expensive to operate, so perhaps closure was inevitable and politics has played its part. Cross-country routes go across the boundaries of a number of administrations, each of which have their own priorities. Perhaps there is a need for a more holistic approach. If railways could demonstrate sufficient efficiency as fuel costs grow and the globe warms, they could perhaps justify retention or even enlargement.

This may be the last virtual meeting this year after a successful run. We have had members and guests joining us from all over the UK and beyond. Our members have also enjoyed the hospitality of other RCTS branches. We are considering running a mixed programme in the future.