Montenvers Railway
The Montenvers Railway or Chemin de fer du Montenvers is a mountain railway line in the Haute-Savoie region of France. The line runs from a connection with the SNCF, in Chamonix, to the Hotel de Montenvers station, at the Mer de Glace, at an altitude of 1913 m (6276 ft).
The line is 5.1 km (3.2mi) long and has a rail gauge of 1 m (3 ft 33⁄8 in). It is a rack and adhesion railway, using the Strub design to overcome a height difference of 871 m (2858 ft). Except for the terminal stations, which are operated in adhesion mode, the line has a gradient varying from 11% to 22% and is equipped with rack rail. The line is electrified using an overhead line at 11000 volts and 50 Hz ac, and service is provided by 6 electric railcars and 3 diesel locomotives. Trains run at 14 to 20 kilometers per hour and take 20 minutes for the journey.
The line is operated by the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc which also manages the Mont Blanc Tramway and many ski lifts in the Mont Blanc region. The first section of the line opened in 1908 and the line was completed in 1909. The line was worked by steam locomotives until it was electrified in 1953.
References
- Wikipedia article Chemin de fer du Montenvers (in French), last updated on the 28th November 2004 at 17:43 GMT.
- Web page http://www.compagniedumontblanc.fr/en/montenvers/index.html and descendants, retrieved on the 15th March 2004 at 17:45 GMT.
