Annemasse-Sixt Metre gauge in the Giffre valley

For all of 68 years, the 49km long Annemasse - Samoëns - Sixt line used to connect the Geneva area to the Giffre valley in Haute-Savoie. It was operated in two very different phases: after 42 years, the wheezy steam tramway was replaced by a fully modernized and electrified railway.

Text: Gérald Hadorn

The stretch from Annemasse to Samoëns, 43.8km long, was opened on 1st November 1891. Along all the right of way, the track ran on or alongside the existing road. Two branches connected Bonne-sur-Menoge to Bonneville (11km) and Saint-Jeoire to Marignier (7km), both communities already linked to Annemasse by the standard gauge PLM line. At Annemasse, the local station was adjacent o that of the PLM and to the terminus of the Geneva tramways. The railway was operated by the Société des Chemins de fer Economiques du Nord (CEN). The original network The various lines were served by trains hauled by 0-6-0 tram tank engines, able to run at a speed of 28km/h. Five were supplied by Blanc-Misseron works in 1891, a sixth was built by Société Franco-Belge in 1894. Two similar engines…

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Voie Libre International (Digital) - 1 Issue, No.112

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