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| An 'InOui' (I still don't see what was wrong with the TGV brand!?) service is led by TGV Duplex 719 seen heading westbound and at the Cap-Roux. 16/03/2025. |
Introduction:
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| BB22310 leads a TER past the red rocks of the Cap-Roux. 16/03/2025 |
It ought not to have taken me 17 years to return to photograph and travel the route again, but having recently seen some lovely coastal pictures, and with the news of the impending withdrawal of classic French traction, the BB22200 with push/pull Corail sets on TER services between Nice and Marseilles that visit really was now due.
Thursday 13th March:
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| BB22310 is ready to depart with a delayed Nice - Marseilles TER. These trainsets are due to be replaced in June. 13/03/2025 |
A simple EasyJet flight got me to Nice on time for late morning. Having crossed most of France under cloud cover it was pleasing to descend into sunshine on the Mediterranean coast, with a spectacular approach to Nice airport with the snow-capped Alps as a backdrop. Passage through security was quick and once I had found the footpath, it was a simple walk straight to the airport station, Nice Saint-Augustin. I had already worked out that there was no connection to get me west until the loco hauled TER in about 90 minutes, so set about travelling into Nice to burn time and see what was going on. The plan quickly fell into disarray as the trains were all heavily disrupted due to what SNCF described as 'an accident involving a person' at Golfe-Juan- I had already dealt with three of those at work during the week so this was clearly a continuing theme...
Fortunately the lines were already re-opened and within moments of arriving on the platform the familiar form of a Corail train pulled into the platform, Nice-bound. It was a no-brainer to hop on for the short push behind BB22310. On arrival at Nice there were yet more cancellations, but my train made a nice picture in the rapidly-diminishing sunshine and it was clear that it was going to shortly form a train back to Marseilles- excellent.
Clearly there was no particular desire to get the train moving any time soon, as despite having a driver in the cab and a full crew the train remained in the platform for a good 30 minutes just waiting, eventually though we did get going, still sooner than my planned train and a pleasant journey was had to St Raphael Valescure which would be my base for the four days.
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| DMU X307 of the Chermins de fer de Provence arrives at the Nice CP station on a gloomy evening. A regular commuter service runs, with several trains a day running the full 151km to Digne. 14/03/2025 |
Given the weather had clouded over within an hour of arriving in the country, there was no real need to head straight out for photographs, so with the next TER now not far behind it seemed eminently sensible to pick up BB22207 forward to Les Arcs Draguignan from where another lucky quick transfer put me onto BB22309 heading back. It was now time to take a local TER (now branded 'Zou!') to Antheor-Cap-Roux for my afternoon of photography, or at least reconnaissance.
Having proved that my location was viable, I was starting to get cold and wet and was achieving nothing photographically so it was time to make my exit. Unfortunately back at Antheor station the trains were still significantly disrupted, meaning I had well over an hour to wait for my short journey back to St Raphael- to make it worse there is nothing at all open in this village off-season and barely any shelter at the station either! Maybe I should have just abandoned the trip and stayed at home as I had strongly considered in the days before!?
I was glad the rain had stopped on arrival back at St Raphael as it was a 25 minute walk to my hotel the Sable et Soleil (that's 'Sand and Sun' - neither of which I would be seeing much of!) which was located midway between the towns of St Raphael and Frejus. Since it was still fairly early I walked to the old town centre of Frejus where I failed to order a pizza from one of the few restaurants which was open- that said it was a very nice meal!
Friday 14th March:
The weather forecast had improved enough for this morning that I decided it was worth setting an 0600 alarm to get out onto the scenic part of the coast for the morning shot of the Paris - Nice sleeper, the only loco hauled passenger aside from the push/pull sets, and the only train which could produce a more interesting loco. There were a few patches of blue in the sky, but I did not hold out a lot of hope.
Amazingly once I had found a position in the red rocks east of Antheor a sizeable gap in the cloud opened up and with the sleeper being a few minutes late, the scene was bathed in sunshine. I was certainly pleased when BB22343 wearing the classic 'beton' livery swung into view- this train was my only chance really catch one of these classic liveried locos, so not getting a 'ghost' or a Sybic was a bonus!
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| BB22343 runs alongside the Mediterranean working the 21:27 Paris Austerlitz - Nice sleeper- the only passenger service booked for a non-RC fitted push/pull loco. 14/03/2025. |
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| Z26538 arrives at the subterranean Monaco Monte-Carlow station. 14/03/2025. |
I checked out a few more spots on the route, but before the next set of TER locos appeared the light had gone and the cloud increased. After a short while longer it was time to turn to the days alternative entertainment, a visit to Monaco to at least tick off another country. I had forgotten just how slow this railway is, and taking the stopping TER service all the way from Antheor to Monaco really proved it. The route is crying out for some more limited stop express services- there are currently none between Nice and Ventimiglia.
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| X305 and X307 of the Chermin de fer de Provence stand at Nice CP station. 14/03/2025. |
Returning from Monaco once I felt damp enough, and some 30,000 steps later I called in at Nice to photograph the sleeper, it being too dark at this time of year to catch the evening train on the move. There was time to wander the 15 minutes to the small Chermin de fer to Provence from where diesel trains run on the meter gauge network- an option for another rainy day perhaps. After watching BB22343 departing again there were a few more shots taken of BB22307 on a TER before the train itself was taken back to St Raphael. Tonight I got my pizza and got to bed at a reasonable time.
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| BB22343 is ready do depart from Nice with the return sleeper to Paris Austerlitz. At this time of year running in darkness along the Cote d'Azure. 14/03/2025. |
Saturday 15th March:
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| PACA liveried BB22258 is captured on the impressive viaduct at Antheor with a short Corail stock move from Nice, presumably bound for Marseilles, balancing a move in the other direction earlier in the day. 15/03/2026 |
The forecast wasn't good enough to persuade me to set an early alarm for the sleeper today and with damp conditions I needed something to fill the morning before it was due to brighten up in the afternoon.
I took BB22307 (again) to Toulon where I had almost 1 1/2 hours to look around the city before picking up BB22402 back to St Raphael and onto the local TER services. I had no desire to stand on my hillside in the rain, which was still falling, so continued to Theoule-sur-Mer where there was a shot I wanted to check, and where I thought there might just be somewhere I could get some supplies (I was low on water). I found a couple of restaurants (which would only serve me lunch, not a just a beer) and fortunately a bar where I could get a beer to pass the time, but also could buy a drink and a snack.
Now it was brightening up it was time to head back to the hillside at Antheor.
The cloud did eventually clear- and before the sun went behind the hills, but unfortunately it wasn't quite early enough to catch the more interesting trains. Fortunately I was thrown one bit of fortune with BB22258 (In PACA livery) hauling one coach as a stock move from Nice (presumably to Marseilles Blancard), a loco had been seen going the other way hauling two earlier in the day.
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| BB22307 pauses at St Raphael Valescure with a Marseilles bound TER. 14/03/2025. |
Back at St Raphael, I was slightly surprised to exit the station to find a large police presence, and people all over the place in what had been a quiet town up until now. Initially I wondered what chaos I had walked into, but it soon became apparent it was just the local circus festival which was about to parade around the streets- that provided some non-railway entertainment for a while before I bought supplies for the next day (knowing there was nothing in Antheor) and headed back to the station for the sleeper.
The sleeper was conspicuous by its absence on the info boards and after much trawling through the abyss that is SNCF's various online journey planners and information pages (most of which have very little information) I managed to confirm that due to engineering works the sleeper was not running overnight Saturday or Sunday this weekend- that scuppered the mornings plan then!
Sunday 16th March:
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| A single TGV Duplex just about fits the scene at Antheor Cap-Roux as it crosses the impressive viaduct. 16/03/2025. |
While the sleeper was out of the equation, the forecast for a full day of nice sunny weather meant that I was up early for my last walk along the shore to St Raphael station to get back to the red rocks of Antheor.
I wasn't 100% sure where to start the day since the sun would not be on the front of westbound trains for a few hours, and every TER set I had seen so far this trip had been formed with the loco on the west/Marseilles end (this was not expected and made photo planning much easier than I had anticipated!). Fortunately I realised as we approached Agay that the sun had just about come around for the spot here, and without the sleeper to worry about I could get into position for the first trains here instead. This proved a good move with a TER set in both directions, one almost bowled by a TGV! Another surprise was in store as with no passenger trains a rumble was heard- a Prima hauled freight, fortunately in the right direction and very well lit- I wasn't sure I would see much freight at all on a Sunday.
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| Prima BB27034 passes the bay at Agay with a westbound morning freight. 16/03/2025. |
Now it was on to Antheor where I spent a pleasant few hours trying as many photo spots as I could. The weather was perfect- except for a very strong and cold wind! This meant that I couldn't really use the drone I had been lugging around for the whole trip, but fortunately it turned out not really to be needed.
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| The race is on- TGV Duplex 726 takes on some cyclists. 16/03/2025 |
The only set back this morning was that one TER diagram was formed of a trio of Z23500 units, which took out one potential photograph in each direction. There are plenty of angles to shoot on this section, and I was glad to be on foot as the car parking situation seemed to be slightly chaotic. Many of the shots however are quite restricted, not fitting a full train, and with close together catenary masts and massive vistas- that said, I was happy with most of the results.
By mid-afternoon it was time to return to my spot on the hill overlooking the viaduct at Antheor. The light was coming around well by now and I reckoned I just about had time to catch a couple of TGV's and a loco hauled TER set before rushing back to the station and on to the airport by TGV which I had booked a reservation for. All of the trains had been running perfectly to time all day, and during the wait I was very pleased to also catch another freight train on the viaduct, behind a BB36000, my third freight of the day.
Uber to the rescue to get me at least to St Raphael where somebody might be able to tell me my options- Ubers are expensive in France! But at least it worked and got be back. As I have already mentioned, there are no facilities in Antheor off season! At St Raphael the scene was as chaotic as expected, the platforms taped off with BB36340, my lucky freight, sitting dead in the platform. A member of staff assured me that I would still make my flight once the trains were running (a near impossibility) and indicated the reason for the stoppage- the Circus festival was back in town and their paper streamers had been blown by the wind and were now knotted all around the catenary! Really- you couldn't make this up!
I had already looked up flights for the following day, but with no short notice cover available at work I really had little choice but to take the quick option and book myself an Uber to Marseilles airport- and over €300 this was really not the end to the trip I wanted- but needs must.
At least the flight from Marseilles back home was on time - though the 'cheap' terminal must be one of the worst places to fly from- it literally appears to be a converted warehouse!
Conclusions:
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| Akiem Prima 37524 passes light engine along the coast heading towards Ventimiglia and the Italian border. The locomotive curiously returned later in the morning, again, light engine. 14/03/2025. |
Overall I think I am glad that I did not abandon the trip before even starting it. I achieved most of the pictures I wanted, though with better luck this could probably all have been done in about 12 hours rather than 4 days!
I've always loved railways by the sea, and this is an outstanding example- it will be rather less interesting once the loco-hauled sets disappear later this year and even less so if the Cote d'Azure LGV ever gets built to take the TGV's off the route as well. Transdev maintains that the new trains will start on 29th June but it will be interesting to see what happens in reality as it has been widely reported that the new trains will not be ready for the start of the contract.
Now... does my travel insurance cover additional taxi journeys...?
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| BB36342 is set against dramatic scenery as it skirts the coast with a westbound freight. 16/03/2025. |
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