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The Sète-Mèze line

Here a small line of 20 kilometer which miss not some interêt, certain person have envisage a exploitation tourist of style " train + boat " between the two end, but the policy and the SNCF of have decide differently since the more large part have be remove rail with beginning of Ninety 90.

Until its destruction, this line allowed the evacuation of bauxite ore of the mine of Villeveyrac (mine located in addition at less than 100 meters of the old Montpellier-Montbazin-Paulhan line; Paulhan being on the old Vias-Lodève line.) The convoys of 22 waggons made the shuttle with an aluminium factory (Fos or Gardanne). There was between one and two trains per day, five days per week. Sometimes, the 63000 left the oar to the toboggan of bauxite loading (located on the 113), and brought one or two coaches of rails reformed to the port of Mèze. The latter were used by the oyster culturists to build and maintain the oyster beds.

But today all that is finished, this line had an exceptional panorama, with a quasi-continuous sight on the pond of Thau, and the island of Sète in background. In Mèze, the way was even embedded in the roadway of the port, and would have made it possible to create a quay for the boats with the exit from the train. This line would have been a superb window for the area, oysters to be tasted, of course, but also Noily Prat, Picpoul de Pinet, Tielles Sétoise, to quote only the most known specialities. Sète being one of the most visited the Languedocian cities, there was an extraordinary potential... But was the evil made and which could be allowed to rest a normal way nowadays, with share the area, itself?

An association could rest the way but with a metric spacing or in narrow gauge railway. The traffic exist still between Balaruc and Sète (manure and until the end of Eighty 80 a cement factory Lafarge ), the part Balaruc-Mèze can be exploit in way " subnormal " without too of difficulty, because the platform have be preserve (except can be with fire station de pompier of Bouzigues - with bottom of photograph, in tole corrugated). The influences of the ways were preserved at Mèze, there is the place to remake a terminal and a quay with boats. The station of Balaruc being also to a few meter of the pond, a ship can easily ensure one of the ways. The Balaruc-Sète part can be exploited with hardware in normal way, on the condition of finding an area of agreement with the SNCF.

In station of Sète, the ways being used for the reception of the bauxite trains having been removed, there remains an immense place to create the essential carpark, a deposit and a starting quay of the tourist railroad. The station of Sète is also with a few meter of water.

Before crossing the Channel of the Rhone in Sète, docks were which were demolished the last year, the way always crosses the road and practically succeeded in the pond of Thau...

The possibilities of exploitation are thus multiple, all the combinations being possible, it should be hoped that something will be done in this splendid country, and that this line will not be found stupidly changed into cycle track, or of nothing...

16-10-98

Nota: The station of Balaruc is in the course of restoration.