Also known with affection as The Little Yellow Train, Le petit train travels through stunning alpine scenery via small villages frozen in time.
With the track twisting and turning between mountains it plunges into the inky darkness of a tunnel when no other paths are available. Several times throughout the journey, the train travels over high viaducts and bridges over the heavily wooded valley floor.
Named after its yellow and red colours, derived from the Catalan flag, the narrow gauge electric railway running from Villefranche-de-Conflent to Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg in the French Pyrenees, was constructed in 1903 and finished in 1927.
It was built to provide an all-weather route from the high Cerdagne valley to the coast, but the adjacent N116 road – running below the tracks in my photograph – has progressively improved. Things change and with the loss of population in the Cerdagne, the rail link is now chiefly a tourist attraction. Despite it being one of the most beautiful trips in France, its long-term future is sadly in doubt…
George Munday Creative 