Les Cabrils station
Les Cabrils station (French: Gare des Cabrils) is a French train station on Béziers- Neussargues rail line, located at Les Cabrils, in the Roqueredonde commune, in the Hérault department, in Occitanie.
Les Cabrils | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
General information | |||||||||||
Location | RD 138e3, 34650 Roqueredonde | ||||||||||
Owned by | SNCF | ||||||||||
Operated by | SNCF | ||||||||||
Platforms | 1 | ||||||||||
Tracks | 1 | ||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||
Structure type | Open-air shelter | ||||||||||
Parking | no | ||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Opened | 18 October 1874 | ||||||||||
Electrified | yes | ||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||
2019 | 15 | ||||||||||
Rank | least used station on the SNCF | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Location | |||||||||||
It was put into service 1874, by the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi et du Canal latéral à la Garonne.
It is an SNCF passenger stop, served by the TER Occitanie service.
Railway location
At an altitude of 526 metres (1,726 ft), les Cabrils is located at kilometeric point (PK) 495,311 of the Béziers- Neussargues rail line, between the former Joncels station and Ceilhes - Roqueredonde station.[1]
A transit station, it has a platform served by a single-track railway.[1]
History
Les Cabrils station opened for train service on October 18, 1874, by the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi et du Canal latéral à la Garonne when it opened the section of the line from Bousquet-d'Orb station to Millau station.[2] It was established in a place called "des Cabrils" (goat in patois).[3]
In 2014, the passenger stop was classified as a local interest passenger station (SNCF category C : less than 100 000 travellers a year from 2010 to 2011), which has a single track platform.[4]
It is the least frequented active SNCF passenger station, with only 14 boardings recorded in 2015.[5]
Station information
Operating as an SNCF railway stop, it is an unmanned, open air shelter. As of 2021, SNCF confirms the station has an automatic regional rail ticket dispenser and is handicapped accessible.[6]
Area served
Les Cabrils is served by TER Occitanie trains running between Béziers - Saint-Chély-d'Apcher station, or Millau.[7] It serves residents of the valley as a transportation link to the larger towns in the area [8]
Travel blogger The Tim Traveller visited the station in February 2021, noting there appears to have been a second track and a passing loop at the location, long since removed. Two trains in each direction travel to the location. As the blogger opted for a later morning train; he detrained at Ceilhes-Roqueredonde and walked the 8 kilometres (5 mi) to les Cabrils. The open-air shelter was noted to have a timetable, onwards travel information and a help point/ emergency telephone. Even though the shelter is outdoors, one was legally required to wear a mask against COVID-19 while at the SNCF station. A return ticket costs one Euro as the line is heavily subsidized by the regional government. The location was noted as being very scenic and people-free, notwithstanding the global pandemic.[9]
The location of the stop in the middle of nature, perhaps of interest to local hikers going to the Monts d'Orb, the Causse de Gabriac and the Escandorgue plateau, is in an otherwise "illogical" place.[10]
Marianne magazine featured the site in a July 2020 article, calling it "the most deserted station in France" and confirming how little-used the station is, even if it serves a somewhat-limited function, allowing residents of the largely rural area to access larger urban centers for shopping or other needs.[8]
Railway Heritage
The former passenger station building has been turned into a private residence.[11]
- A TER stopped at the station.
- The former passenger station beside the current shelter.
- Passenger shelter.
See also
References
- Reinhard Douté (2011). "[722/2] Le Bousquet-d'Orb - Millau". Les 400 profils de lignes voyageurs du réseau français (in French). Vol. 2. La Vie du Rail. p. 85. ISBN 978-2-918758-44-0.
- Chemins de fer français (in French). Paris: Imprimerie nationale. 1875. p. 177. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- Adrien Roques; Jules Charton (1875). "De Béziers à Bédarieux. - Nouvelle voie ferrée. - Le Bousquet-d'Orb". Le Tour du monde (in French). Vol. 29–30. Hachette. p. 146. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- "Document de référence des gares de voyageurs révisé pour l'horaire de service 2014" (pdf). Réseau ferré de France (in French). SNCF. 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- "Top 10 des gares les moins fréquentées en France, coucou y'a kékun ?". Topito.com (in French). August 28, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
- "Gare Les Cabrils". sncf.com (in French). Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- "Fiche horaire Béziers / Millau / Clermont-Ferrand" (PDF) (in French). SNCF. 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- Cortes, Anthony (July 27, 2020). "La gare des Cabrils, dans l'Hérault : voyage dans la gare la plus désertée de France" [Cabrils station, in Hérault: journey through the most deserted station in France]. Marianne (in French). Retrieved November 9, 2021 – via Marianne.com.
- The Least Used Railway Station in France (Youtube video). les Cabrils, France. February 7, 2021. Event occurs at 11 min 51 sec. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
- "Massif Central Ferroviaire: Inventaire Recherche géographique: les gares de passage". Massif Central Ferroviaire (in French). Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- "Gare : Les Cabrils". Massif Central Ferroviaire : Inventaire (in French). 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
External links
Media related to Gare des Cabrils at Wikimedia Commons