Auray–Quiberon railway

Auray–Quiberon railway
A triple-unit ATER DMU set crossing the Penthièvre isthmus
Overview
Native name	ligne d'Auray à Quiberon
Owner	SNCF
Locale	Brittany, France
Termini	Auray Quiberon
Stations	9
Service
Operator(s)	1879–1884: state 1884–1935: PO 1935–1937: State 1938–1997: SNCF 1997–2014: RFF since 2015: SNCF
History
Commenced	15 June 1879 (1879-06-15)
Opened	24 July 1882 (1882-07-24)
Closed	6 March 1972 (1972-03-06)
Reopened	1 July 1985 (1985-07-01)
Technical
Line length	27 km (17 mi)
Number of tracks	single
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	not electrified
Operating speed	60 km/h (37 mph)

Auray–Quiberon railway
Savenay–Landerneau railway to Quimper │ to Rennes & Vannes 584.986 Auray 586.531 N 165 / E60 591.577 Belz-Ploemel 598.095 Plouharnel-Carnac tramway to Étel │ to La Trinité supplies branch ( 1940- 1944 ) Plouharnel artillery battery ( 1940- 1944 ) 601.710 Les Sables-Blancs 603.679 Penthièvre 605.000 Isthme 606.137 Kerhostin 607.867 Saint-Pierre-Quiberon railway gun test site 612.142 Quiberon km from Paris-Austerlitz

The Auray–Quiberon line is a single-track, standard gauge French rail line that serves the Quiberon peninsula. It branches off at Auray from the Savenay–Landerneau line, a radial line south of Brittany. A draft plan was presented on 15 July 1879, and the Chemins de fer de l'État (State Railways Administration) began construction. Operations commenced on 14 July 1882, and the line was transferred to the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans (PO) the following year.

In 1972, passenger service—which had already been discontinued during the winter—was reduced to two daily trains during the summer.

To cope with the chronic congestion of the only road to reach the Quiberon peninsula from the mainland, the line was relaunched in 1985 with the introduction of single fare shuttles, jointly sponsored by the Brittany region and the SNCF as part of the TER Bretagne service. The name of this shuttle service is directly related to traffic jams that trains can avoid: "Corkscrew". This operation provides a more consistent service to the peninsula during the two months of the summer season. The rest of the year, a road bus service "TIM", organized by the department of Morbihan, links the stations of Auray and Quiberon.