Arras–Dunkirk railway

The Arras–Dunkirk railway is a French railway which runs from Arras to Dunkirk. Electrified double track it is 113 kilometres (70 miles) long.

Arras-Dunkirk railway
A TGV Sud-Est train on the Arras-Dunkirk railway line in 2015
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerRFF
LocaleFrance Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Termini
Service
SystemSNCF
Operator(s)SNCF
History
Opened1848-1861
Technical
Line length113 km (70 mi)
Number of tracksDouble track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz[1]
Route map

Map of French railways in 1853 before the section from Hazebrouck to Arras was built

km
from Paris
192.1
Arras
000.0
Bailleul-Sir-Berthoult
Farbus
Vimy
Avion
211.3
Lens
000.0
Loos-en-Gohelle
Liévin
Bully-Grenay
Mazingarbe
Nœux-les-Mines
Verquigneul
229.9
Béthune
Fouquereuil
000.0
Chocques
Lillers
Ham-en-Artois
Isbergues
Thiennes
Steenbecque
264.2
Hazebrouck
272.7
000.0
Cassel
Arnèke
Esquelbecq
Bergues
304.4
1.4
Coudekerque-Branche
freight line
304.8
Dunkirk

Services edit

As of 2022 the line is used for TGV services from Dunkirk and Saint-Omer to Paris via Hazebrouck and Arras, and for local TER Hauts-de-France services.[2] A TER-GV service between Dunkirk and Lille-Europe uses the northern section of the line before accessing LGV Nord at Cassel.

History edit

The line was built in two stages. In 1848 the section from a junction with the Lille-Calais railway at Hazebrouck to Dunkirk was opened. The section from Arras to Hazebrouck was opened in 1861, and this became part of the route for trains between Paris and London via Calais[3] until the Boulogne-Calais railway opened in 1867.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "RFF - Map of electrified railway lines" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  2. ^ "Plan des lignes TER Hauts-de-France" (PDF). www.ter.sncf.com (in French). Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Calais to Hazebrouck, Dunkirk, Bethune, Lens, Arras, Amiens and Paris". Bradshaw's continental railway guide. February 1866. archive
  4. ^ "The Opening of the new railway between Boulogne and Calais". The Railway News. 12 January 1867. p. 33. archive

50°39′29″N 2°28′49″E / 50.6580°N 2.4802°E / 50.6580; 2.4802