Keeping track

It might come as a surprise to you to know that there once was a railway station in Saint-Chinian!  I’d known about the railway for a long time – there is an Avenue de la Gare in Saint-Chinian after all.  But it wasn’t until a reader sent me a link to Roger Farnworth’s blog that I got the full picture.  The post below is based on the information I’ve been able to find on Roger’s blog as well as on some other French sites.  The pictures are mostly from Roger’s site.  I’d like to say a big THANK YOU to Roger for allowing me to use his content, and to Paul for sending me the link to Roger’s blog in the first place!!

During the boom years of the railway in the 19th century, the Compagnie du Midi was running the mainline trains, serving all the big towns in the area and linking to Paris via Beziers and Bedarieux.  In 1865, the Herault Department decided to create a network of local trains.  The Compagnie de l’Herault was brought into being that same year and the first line, from Montpellier to Palavas, was inaugurated in 1872!

The line from Beziers to Saint-Chinian was commissioned in three stages:  from Beziers to Cazouls-les-Beziers in 1876, from Cazouls-les-Beziers to Cessenon in 1877, and from Cessenon to Saint-Chinian in 1887!  The 10 year delay was a result of major financial difficulties of the Compagnie de l’Herault.

Below is a map of the finished railway line from Beziers to Saint-Chinian:

The aerial image below shows the site of the railway station in Saint-Chinian in 1953.

Passenger traffic on the line stopped a year later, in 1954.  The railway line carried on with goods traffic until 1968, when the stretch from Cazouls-les-Beziers to Saint-Chinian was closed for good.

Here is a very recent picture of the same area as above:

The former station building is still there, indicated by the label “Pays Haut Languedoc et Vignobles”.  The rest of the station buildings and the yard have all been replaced by a housing development.

Here are some shots of what the railway terminus in Saint-Chinian looked like:

Here’s a modern image of the old station building:

And here’s a view of the station looking towards the town:

The building with the turrets that is towards the left hand side of the postcard was the station hotel, if my sources are correct.  It’s still there – you’ll be able to see it in the picture below:

If this has piqued your interest, do visit Roger’s blog – it’s full of interesting information!!  The former railway trackbed from Pierrerue to Cessenon has been converted into a greenway, which was opened only last year.  It’s perfect for cycling or walking, and there may well be a blog post about that in the not too distant future! 🙂