Line of Tonkin

The Ligne of Tonkin is a line of Railroad connecting Saint-Maurice to Geneva (Suisse) while passing by Evian-the-Baths and Thonon-the-Baths. The line is still exploited in the Valaisan Chablais, but the part connecting Saint-Gingolph (France) to Evian-the-Baths, long of 17,9 Kilomètre S on south-eastern bank of the Lac Léman, in the French Chablais (Haute-Savoie) is not used any more since 1999.

Opened in 1886, this line was given up by the SNCF with the wire of the decades. The passenger traffic is stopped in 1938. The goods traffic is stopped in 1988. Of 1986 with 1999, the tourist train Bank-Blue express train circulated on this line, maintaining in state. Since the stop of its exploitation, the line is degraded. An association was created in Saint-Gingolph to try to save it but the French local authority is rather in favor of its transformation into cycle Track.

In February 2006 the cantons of Geneva and of Were worth, voted a credit of 400  000 Swiss francs in favor of the area the Rhone-Alps, only administration taking part financially on the French side, for the clearing of undergrowth and the weeding of the connection until 2010 included. Since, on November 20th, 2006, the cleaning of the line (clearing and clearing out of the gutters) started. A large machine rail-road made its appearance since the old halt of the " Baths of Evian".

February 28th, 2007, the vice-president of the area the Rhone-Alps Bernard Soulage, accompanied by Jean-Jacques Rey-Bellet, adviser of State and vice-president of the Council of State of Were worth, presented the methods of the study of preliminary draft of an amount of 2 million euros, envisaging reopening with the tourist traffic in 2010 and the passenger traffic into 2013/2015.

With the support of the Swiss Confederation, the canton of Were worth engaged with height of 24 million Swiss francs to renovate the railway line which crosses Swiss Chablais, between Saint-Maurice and Saint-Gingolph. In addition, RF and the SNCF engaged part of the 48 million euros for the installation of an automatic indication (mailbox) between Evian and Annemasse. It thus misses only 17 kilometers so that the loop called " circum lemanica" that is to say buckled.

See too

Related article

  • List of the railway lines of France

External bonds

  • Association Let us save Tonkin

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