120,000 people a year have the chance to take this train in New Aquitaine which holds the highest tourist railroad record in Europe

We are in 1920, in full energy effervescence in the Pyrenees. Meanwhile, The Midi Railway Company is launching a large electrification plan for its lines. Therefore, Objective: to exploit the hydraulic power of the Ossau valley. Moreover, At the heart of this titanic project. In addition, a discreet tool comes to life: A narrow railway 50 centimeters in spacingbuilt to transport workers, materials, cement and human hope to a barrage under construction at 2,000 meters above sea level. Meanwhile, Lake Artouste then becomes the scene of a daily technical challenge.

This little train, before enchanting visitors, was the logistical lung of an extraordinary site. Consequently, For eight years. Nevertheless, it winds on the mountainside, over almost 10 kilometers, crossing forests and tunnels, to deliver one of the largest dams in the Pyrenees.

Read also:

The Artouste train: from a site railway to 120,000 people year have chance a tourist icon

In 1929, the dam was finished. Furthermore, The water is there, the turbines run. In addition, The train remains. Nevertheless, And in 1932, an idea as simple as light appeared: Why not make it a tourist train? It is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques which blows this possibility at the General Council. In addition, The bet is launched.

From this date, the little train from Artouste changes mission. However, From now on, He no longer carries concrete, but memories. Moreover, The first tourists embark, direction the vertiginous panoramas of the Bearn ridges. Similarly, We climb there as we get on a giant slide hanging on the mountain. We go down there transformed.

A dizzying line at slow motion – 120,000 people year have chance

The layout remains faithful to its origin: A single. winding route, 10 kilometerssuspended on average at 1,940 meters above sea level. A kind of wire hung on the side 120,000 people year have chance of the mountain. The train runs at 15 km/h. What give time to go out your eyes. A tunnel dug in the rock – the tunnel of the bear -. precipices, suspended forests and above all a unique panorama on The Pic du Midi d’Ossau.

Each year, several tens of thousands of curious people go on board. For many, it is their first contact with altitude, emptiness, and a story that we did not imagine so rich.

Long memory locomotives – 120,000 people year have chance

The first convoys were led by old Renault locotractors. Noisy, heavy machines that felt hot oil. Then came the billiards, the Whitcomb. Today, The small train is 100 % electricin the blink of an eye to the hydroelectricity which saw it born.

The wagons have also evolved. No more wooden trays, place cars that can accommodate up 120,000 people year have chance to 300 passengers. Comfort was invited without betraying authenticity. The clicking of the rails remains unchanged.

A train that must be deserved

Before you even settle on board, you have to climb. From Laruns or Pau, we go up by car or by coach to the station. Then a cable car takes over: The Sagette. This cable car hangs the visitors on a mountain side, to the small train departure station. A vertical appetizer.

The train journey lasts about an hour. He ends at the Pourtalet pass, on the Spanish border. There, the sky seems larger, driving air, clearer silence.

A dream machine and euros

In 2023, Over 120,000 tourists borrowed this train. A boon for the Ossau valley. Shops, accommodation, craftsmen: everyone benefits from this economic locomotive.

The operation of the site is now provided by the municipality, after a passage in the hands of the SNCF. A municipal 120,000 people year have chance management ensures the managementwith particular attention paid to the conservation of heritage. to tourism respectful of the place.

Tourist recipes make it possible to maintain the line, to train guides, to hire. In summer, visits offer a breath of economic oxygen, and continuity to history.

A train between heaven, rock and memory

The little Artouste train is A motion condensed in motion. It crosses eras and rocks with the same admirable slowness. It is not just a means of transport, it is a lesson in geography, engineering and patience.

In a country where we often speak of industrial amnesia, he recalls that the mountains have seen men, sites, ideas. And that it is sometimes enough for a few rails hanging on the rock for a workers past to. turn into a tourist future.

Other remarkable trains in the world

120,000 people year have chance

These trains often combine narrow or rack, significant drops, technical elevations, technical passages (tunnels, viaducts) and offer spectacular views on the mountain ranges. They are emblematic of their region. each year attract many tourists in search of unique rail experiences and immersion in the Alpine or Andean nature.

Find out more about this unique experience: https://artouste.fr/ete/fr