Chamonix - What to see.....

[dangie]

I'll be spending a week in Chamonix in the French Alps in a few weeks time. Trainwise, what can I expect to see. Will it just be local valley trains or is there likely to be anything else?

 

[NicholasNCE]

Chamonix is an interesting place as it is not on the main standard-gauge network but on a 36.9km metre-gauge branch which links up with the french national network in St Gervais le Fayet at one end and with a Swiss metre-gauge line at the other end in Vallorcine.
The line is operated by SNCF with relatively frequent trains, is one of the few remaining lines with third rail in France and with inclines up to 9% without any rack system it's definitely worth the ride. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine_railway and the summer timetable: http://cdn.ter.sncf.com/medias/PDF/...n au 13 sept 2015_tcm70-26322_tcm70-26321.pdf

Chamonix is also the terminus of a rack railway, the 5.1km Chemin de fer du Montenvers which takes tourists to the Mer de Glace glacier. Info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemin_de_fer_du_Montenvers

Finally, St Gervais le Fayet, terminus of the Chamonix branch, is also the terminus of an other rack railway, the tramway du Mont-Blanc which takes tourists up to the Nid d'Aigle at an altitude of 2,372 m. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Blanc_Tramway

 

[dangie]

Thanks for that, very interesting. I'll take a trip on those.