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Before diving into one of the biggest railway mysteries in France, know that we’re launching a brand-new format: deep dives on historical and current topics, offering richer and more in-depth content. The goal? To provide you with a better understanding of the issues shaping the world of railways and sustainable mobility, with insightful analyses that we hope will capture your interest as much as we were captivated by working on these subjects.
While France boasts the second-largest rail network in Europe, with thousands of kilometers of tracks connecting cities, villages, and regions, it seems to have forgotten one department—the only French department without any passenger stations: Ardèche.
It was in 1973 that, for the last time, passengers disembarked at the station in Le Teil, before experiencing over 50 years of a railway desert, a situation that still persists today.
Ardèche is, however, a fascinating region in many respects. Nestled in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, its mountainous landscapes, lush valleys, and spectacular gorges attract thousands of visitors every year. Among its natural gems are the Ardèche Gorges, the Pont d’Arc, and the famous Pont d’Arc Cave, a replica of the Chauvet Cave.
Ironically, Ardèche is also known for its famous steam-powered tourist train, “Le Train de l’Ardèche,” formerly called “Le Mastrou,” which traverses the Doux Gorges over a small section of its former line, between Tournon-Saint-Jean and Lamastre. More than 100,000 tourists ride it each season.
Le Mastrou, 130 years ago
But naturally, the people of the region are asking for a proper daily passenger service to help them travel easily through their own land. The locals are vocal, like Vincent Piotti, one of the managers of the company operating this tourist line. He says, “We are a cultural exception because we’ve become part of heritage, a living museum, while the train for everyday travel should serve the people.”
It can be said that Ardèche is a real railway museum. While it does have plenty of stations and tracks visible throughout the region, no passenger train serves them. They appear "dead," reflecting the once-glorious railway past of the Ardèche’s railways, now a distant memory.
In reality, trains do run in Ardèche, but they are either freight trains, which locals see pass several times a day, or passenger trains that cross the territory without stopping.
Even worse, when they do stop, they don't pick up passengers. This is the case for the Nîmes-Pont-Saint-Esprit line, which runs all the way to the station in Le Teil just to turn around. Even more absurd, when the left bank line is under construction, Ardèche exceptionally accommodates passengers at Le Teil station, a station deemed “non-compliant for passenger service” by various organizations, like the SNCF. This has caused significant frustration for the locals, deprived of a railway network for more than 50 years.
Teil station
The network is primarily road-based, and to reach a train station, one must travel to Valence or Montélimar, often after long car or bus journeys on heavily congested roads. Despite the growing anger of residents, which has been building for decades, and their repeated demands, it seems that nothing is being done to restore railway connections to the department.
Before we understand how this situation became possible, let’s take a closer look at what Ardèche’s territory looks like.
Ardèche is a department located in the southeast of France, in the heart of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, to the east of the Rhône River. This department stands out due to its highly diverse geography. Between the mountainous cliffs of the Cévennes, vast limestone plateaus, and verdant valleys, the area offers landscapes of great richness. However, the beauty of the region also presents several challenges that have clearly hindered the integration of a sustainable railway network.
The mountainous terrain of Ardèche already presents major technical difficulties for constructing and operating railway lines. A large number of civil engineering works—such as tunnels, bridges, or viaducts—would be needed to overcome natural or man-made obstacles. The rugged terrain also requires particular curves for the tracks, often unsuitable for certain types of trains, limiting speed and efficiency. Not to mention the slopes, which make railway operation even more challenging.
Thus, the construction and maintenance of such infrastructure comes at a hefty price!
Train passing over the Rhône and the Voulte viaduct in 1956. Source: Clive Lamming, Ardèche: where did your railway go?
Beyond the terrain and economic difficulties, there are also demographic challenges. Ardèche has a population density lower than the national average, and its population is unevenly distributed. As we know, the French railway network is mostly centered around “hubs”, meaning central points with a lot of interconnections, like major cities such as Paris, Lyon, or Marseille.
But is that really a reason to deny Ardèche a functional railway network for passengers? Especially today, when rail travel has greatly expanded across France and financial and technological resources have enabled other regions facing similar challenges to integrate trains into their territories?
Yes, Ardèche, like any other department, should have the same right to mobility, recognized as a public service. So why, even today, is it acceptable to leave an entire department of over 300,000 residents without any form of rail transport?
To understand this phenomenon, we must look back to when Ardèche still had a dense railway network. At its peak, the department had 542 km of lines and 96 stations. The French railway boom began in the 1840s with the opening of the first major lines, like Paris-Saint-Germain in 1837. After the 1842 law, which established a national framework for financing and building railways, France began covering its territory with radial lines connecting Paris to the major cities. During this period, Ardèche remained on the margins of national priorities. It wasn’t until 1862 that the first railway line crossed the department.
Gradually, the railway expanded in Ardèche, and it came to include three main networks:
- The PLM line (Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée Railway Company)
- The CFD (Departmental Railways) network
- The Ardèche Tramways
The PLM, which later became part of the SNCF, was a standard-gauge network (1,435 mm, matching the national railway standard). At its peak, this network offered Ardèche a total of 275 km of track, distributed along four major routes:
- The right bank line of the Rhône, to the east
- The line from Le Teil to Alès, called the “Vogüé Star,” to the south
- The line from Le Pouzin to Privas, in the center
- The line from Peyraud to Firminy, to the north
In 1879, a new railway network was announced in the official journal: the general interest network of Vivarais. The term “general interest” emphasized the network’s strategic importance for regional development and connectivity. However, financial difficulties complicated the situation. The PLM hesitated to take on the project due to the challenging construction and low profitability of mountain lines. In the end, the Vivarais network would be constructed and operated by the Departmental Railways in Ardèche and Haute-Loire. This network was built with narrow-gauge tracks (1,000 mm), a more economical and suitable choice for the mountainous terrain of Ardèche.
Enormous construction projects began in 1886, employing over 1,000 workers for five years. On July 12, 1891, the line from Tournon-sur-Rhône to Lamastre was inaugurated, allowing travel up the Doux Valley. In 1903, the line was extended beyond Lamastre to reach Le Cheylard, then Saint-Agrève, reaching an altitude of 1,000 meters, before descending toward Le Puy-en-Velay. At its peak, the Vivarais network covered 201.3 km of narrow-gauge track, a remarkable feat for the time.
By the way, a little anecdote: The people of Ardèche spoke in patois and referred to this train as “Lou Mastrou”, meaning “the one from Lamastre.” You’ve probably guessed—it’s the future tourist train of Ardèche: Le Mastrou.
The Ardèche train
Another network developed simultaneously to connect the more inaccessible areas of the territory: the Ardèche Tramways. The Ardèche Tramways comprised several lines, mainly opened in 1910.
Some of these lines included:
- Le Pouzin - Privas
- Privas - Aubenas
- Aubenas - Uzer
- Saint-Péray - Vernoux
Thanks to this new network, Ardèche benefited for some time from strategic connections and was well integrated into the national transport system.
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Ardèche at its maximum railway extension, with a Pouey map from 1933. Document taken from the work by C.Lamming “All the lines and all the stations in France in maps” Editions LR-Presse (2019)
But then, in 1914, only four years after the opening of this tramway network, World War I marked the beginning of the decline. 1914 was a disastrous year for the Ardèche Tramways, which accumulated heavy debt and shut down all their lines that same year. After the war, some lines were briefly reopened, but the entire network was permanently discontinued in 1930. Economic difficulties and competition from buses and cars weakened rail transport. Soon, the PLM and CFD networks would also disappear.
In 1938, as part of a national transportation coordination plan, the state proposed the closure of several lines in Ardèche. On September 10, 1938, Privas became the first French mainland prefecture to lose its passenger service with the closure of the Privas-Livron line. After World War II, the decline accelerated, and line closures followed one after the other.
In 1968, the Tournon-Lamastre line ceased commercial operations.
In 1973, it was the definitive end of Ardèche’s railways, with the closure of the right bank of the Rhône line, which connected Givors to Nîmes.
On August 6, 1973, Le Figaro reported: “The SNCF has decided to suspend passenger traffic on 666 km of local interest tracks. This decision, in accordance with the program contract signed with the state in 1969, which foresaw the closure of 10,000 km of secondary lines, will make Ardèche the first French department to no longer be served by passenger trains.”
From 542 km of tracks and 96 stations serving passengers, Ardèche now has none, despite the considerable growth of its tourism sector, as well as a strong agriculture and livestock industry. Over time, railway areas have been bought or abandoned, sometimes transformed into something entirely different…
- The Roux Tunnel is now a road tunnel.
- The tracks from Peyraud to Vachères have become a jogging or mountain biking trail, nicknamed “La Transcévenole.”
- The Recoumène Viaduct is used for bungee jumping.
- The Lantriac station has become a leisure space with a synthetic ice rink.
- The former line between La Voulte-sur-Rhône, Le Cheylard, and Saint-Agrève has become a greenway, called “Dolce Via.”
But what about today? Let’s be clear—the people of Ardèche are fed up. They want the train, they need it. The absence of rail mobility has many consequences on the territory:
- Ardèche suffers from chronic isolation, with a fragile local economy.
- Companies struggle to recruit.
- Tourism isn’t developing as it should.
- Residents are completely dependent on cars.
- Those who can’t drive are marginalized (youth, elderly, etc.).
- Road networks are saturated, especially in the department and toward Drôme.
- CO₂ emissions skyrocket, worsening the ecological impact of road transport.
Road traffic in the surrounding area completely saturated
The people of Ardèche still have hope: in August 2022, the Occitanie region decided to reopen part of the Right Bank of the Rhône line, between Nîmes and Pont-Saint-Esprit, with stops in Avignon Centre and Bagnols-sur-Cèze. The goal: to reduce network congestion and improve rail accessibility.
This line stops just outside Ardèche, and the project is clearly stated: to extend it to the Le Teil station, in Ardèche territory. But here's the problem... When a station has been closed for over 10 years, like Le Teil, it must submit an official request for reopening. This involves technical checks, including ensuring it meets the standards to welcome passengers.
For example, each station must have:
- A footbridge or secure access to prevent passengers from crossing the tracks
- Environmental impact studies in some cases
- Compliant facilities
These administrative processes are long. But in Ardèche's case, they are taking unusually long.
However, the Le Teil station is already operational:
- It is located on a modern electrified line
- It has a double track with bi-directional traffic
- It has the capacity to host 200 trains... But only 30 freight trains pass through it!
As if that weren't enough, residents have to watch a train stop at the Le Teil station to turn around... without being able to board. This train has already traveled more than 550,000 km empty !
Another paradox: when the left bank line is under construction, the Le Teil station is used for passengers. In fact, SNCF has a special permit, provided that staff oversee passengers to prevent them from crossing the tracks. This all seems completely illogical.
Teil station which receives travelers exceptionally
Especially considering that the promise of reopening the right bank of the Rhône dates back to 2006... That’s almost 20 years ago. So what’s the problem? According to Franck Pallier, a member of the Collective of Public Transport Users in Southern Ardèche (CUPTSA), trains simply aren’t a priority for the Rhône-Alpes region. After each announcement of reopening, the region reverses its decision while continuing to fund road transport and bus services, which are still widely present in the region.
In 2020, a new twist gives the people of Ardèche renewed hope. Laurent Wauquiez, then a candidate for re-election as the head of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, promises the reopening of the Le Teil - Romans line by 2025, declaring: "We’ve been talking about this for so long, and in the end, nothing serious ever gets done. Well, now enough! At the regional level, we have the means to fund this."
A year later, Occitanie reopens part of the Right Bank of the Rhône. But when residents learn that the train will turn around at Le Teil without picking up passengers, they rally and gather 17,000 signatures on a petition, supported by the Ardèche political class. In July 2022, the reopening of the Le Teil station to passengers is finally announced.
Ribbon cutting, for the inauguration of the reopening of the right bank of the Rhône last Sunday ©Région Occitanie
But once again, something is blocking the process: the reopening requires renovation work, and an environmental impact study is requested, which delays the project by at least 2 years. The result ? Laurent Wauquiez’s promise will not be kept.
To top it all off, the region announces that it does not want to finance the project alone and that it is the state’s responsibility. Frédéric Aguiléra, vice-president of the regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, states: “The infrastructure, the tracks, the railway network in France belongs to the state. So it’s primarily up to the state to invest.”
In December 2024, the region finally decides to officially vote for the reopening of the Le Teil station, and the environmental study is underway. However, the work is delayed, and the reopening is now planned for 2027. A step forward, but also a great disappointment for residents, who hoped for more funding to reopen other stations in Ardèche. Because, once again, there are already stations in Ardèche.
Franck Pallier also highlights this inconsistency: “The region is putting 2.4 million into the Le Teil station, while on the other side, in Privas, a village that secured the arrival of the international pétanque federation with 10 employees, will receive a 3 million euro grant from the region. Even today, the train is still not a priority.”
The people of Ardèche are now organizing for an exceptional event: a symbolic reopening of the Right Bank of the Rhône, with the same train that stopped running in 1973. The goal? To prove that the line works perfectly and that it just needs one thing: trains.
The event is scheduled for November 16, 2025, with stops at:
- Le Teil
- Le Pouzin
- La Voulte
- Saint-Péray
- Tournon
Press release, party train
To help the people of Ardèche get their rail network back, don't hesitate to contact the elected officials of the Rhône-Alpes region and, of course, share this article and video with others !
