Taking a break during a business trip, I headed to Rodez station. La Gare surprises with its curious features, such as the interlocking system, which still operates partly by mechanical means, and the canopy, which remains in very good condition. It is a crying shame that the Sévérac-le-Château to Rodez
I have always been fascinated by great feats of engineering, but this one in particular is genuinely awe-inspiring. The Millau Viaduct carries the traffic of the A75 autoroute as it crosses the valley of the River Tarn, near the town after which it is named. With an impressive length of
Charter service number 39504 from Zaragoza Delicias to Barcelona Estació de França, chartered by Crucemar, winds its way through the comarca of Les Garrigues. It is surprising to see a conventional loco-hauled formation of this calibre in a country that has put all its eggs in the basket of multiple-unit
While visiting Valencia, I slipped away once again to València-Font de Sant Lluís, as I had spent years tracking down what is currently set number 12 of the 100 Class. The power car featured in this snapshot (formerly 101-201) was involved in an accident on 30 March 2002, when it
In the very near future, this landscape will change forever. The intention is to put the tracks underground in order to "heal wounds" in the city. Funnily enough, expressing such an intention in these words would be unthinkable, delusional and comical in any European city where common sense
Just a few minutes after completing its official presentation to the authorities and the press at Martorell, locomotive 257.01 runs light at a brisk pace to take charge of its very first commercial service: potash train number Q956 from the Súria potash mine to Barcelona Muelle Álvarez de la
In the spring of 2023, the handover of FGC's ubiquitous 254 Class locomotives took place. These were the first locomotives to be acquired by the regional public operator back in a now-distant 1988, aimed at modernising freight operations on the Llobregat/Anoia line. Entering service in 1990, they
Even though I was there for work, I had the pleasure of visiting the Aude River and Roussillon areas. I managed to chase without too much difficulty the scheduled service that departs Rivesaltes at 09:45 and reaches Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet at 11:02, where passengers change to the open-top train. This
On a cold winter's afternoon, intermodal container train number 55842 from Zaragoza Corbera Alta to Barcelona Can Tunis clears the level crossing next to the former La Canonja halt. At the head of the train is Her Majesty, the Queen: locomotive 251-004 sporting her original livery, courtesy of
Shortly after we arrived at L'Arboç station, a locomotive with truly unique characteristics came into view: the only 251 Class unit in service to have been built in Japan by Mitsubishi. After nearly 40 years of excellent and demanding service, it is highly satisfying to see these magnificent
After Renfe withdrew this legendary class of locomotives from commercial service, the hope of seeing them on the tracks once again was revived when part of the remaining operational fleet was leased out. Barely a week after leaving the paint shop sporting its new GoTransport livery, this pristine "Japanese&
One Saturday, we slipped away to photograph the Ligne de Cerdagne's famous Train Jaune (Yellow Train). Here we see the classic winter formation, spearheaded in this instance by the Z117 multiple unit. Dating back to 1909, it had clocked up an impressive 111 years of service at the