Voyage en cabine 📢 commenté 📢 sur le POLT de VIERZON à LIMOGES en BB75400, droit vers la tempête !

Bonjour à tous et soyez les bienvenus pour cette nouvelle vidéo.
Nous partons à bord d’une locomotive de type BB 75400 avec un train de marchandises de la société Hexafret sur un trajet entre le triage de Vierzon et la gare de Limoges sur la célèbre ligne POLT : Paris – Orléans – Limoges – Toulouse.
Nous acheminons une rame vide de sable, à destination des carrières de Thédirac-Peyrilles dans le lot. Elle remontera ensuite en direction d’Issoire, à proximité de Clermont-Ferrand, chargée de sable. Cette rotation a lieu une fois par semaine tout au long de l’année.
L’utilisation d’une locomotive diesel sous une ligne électrifiée permets d’effectuer les manœuvres au départ et à l’arrivée.
Les conditions d’éclairage et de luminosité sont parfois un peu difficile mais j’espère que vous apprécierez cette vidéo.

Composition du train :
BB 75402
MA100 (train de marchandises autorisé à circuler à la vitesse des maximale de 100km/h )
18 Véhicules
286 Mètres
456 Tonnes

Chapitres :
00:00 Introduction
00:52 Vierzon
14:38 Chéry-Lury
17:22 Reuilly
23:36 Ste-Lizaigne
28:00 Issoudun
35:33 Neuvy-Pailloux
39:35 Montierchaume
44:46 Châteauroux
52:33 Luant
55:30 Lothiers
1:01:12 Chabenet
1:04:19 Argenton-sur-Creuse
1:11:15 Celon
1:18:15 Eguzon
1:22:20 St-Sébastien
1:28:13 Forgevieille
1:30:55 Garage de Forgevieille
1:40:07 La Souterraine
1:46:24 Fromental
1:53:07 Bersac
1:58:45 St-Sulpice-Laurière
2:05:45 La Jonchère
2:10:55 Ambazac
2:14:36 Les Bardys
2:17:06 Le Palais
2:26:13 Limoges-Bénédictins

Hello everyone and welcome to Vierzon station. We received authorization to move from the agent at post K, opposite us, to the very second. Purple square 250 at the exit of the beam is open with a white light. It directs us to a main track and requires us to observe the visual movement. The Vierzon railway complex has numerous signal boxes, six in total, which makes traffic difficult. The station is undergoing major works in preparation for the installation of a single PAI type computerized signal box by 2028. Purple square 255 is open with a clear track. Upon crossing it, we will be freed from visual movement and we will be able to travel at 30 km/h, the speed imposed by this TIV 30 accompanied by a Z sign. On the right, post 5 is now controlling our exit from the station towards the south. Dating from 1949, it is of the EMU type, unified electro-mechanical. By joining platform 1, this TIV 100 accompanied by a Z sign will allow us, when cleared by the last vehicle of our train, to travel at a speed of 100 km/h. The TIV 110 type B does not concern us. It is intended for trains authorized to exceed the speed of 140 km/h. Also called the Porte aux Boeufs tunnel, we are entering the Vierzon tunnel, 222 meters long. Intersection with this AGC, ensuring a TER from Argenton-sur-Creuse. This signal, canceled by a Saint-André cross, testifies to the work of the future signal box in progress. Immediately behind, TIDD on the right which gives us the direction of Châteauroux. The TIDD is the Distance Direction Indicator Board. If it had been directed to the left, we would have taken the direction of Bourges and Saincaize. Hardly visible, this mechanical mobile TIV is open. In the closed position, it would have presented us with a TIV 120 heading towards Bourges. We pass over one of the first branches of the Yèvre, an 81 km river that rises near Bourges. After crossing the Berry Canal, on the right, lies the private junction serving a multimodal platform, from which combined trains depart for Le Havre. With the TIV open at signal C23, we are clearly headed towards Châteauroux. Protected by post 6 at Vierzon-Forges, which gives its name to this junction, on the left are the tracks towards Bourges and Saincaize. We pass over the 93-meter-long Cher viaduct. It gives its name to the department in which we are located, of which Vierzon, our starting point, is one of the sub-prefectures. Now that we’ve left the Vierzon complex, let’s take a few moments to talk about our train of the day. This is a train of empty hopper wagons, making a weekly connection between the Imerys quarries in Thédirac, in the Lot region, where they are loaded with sand. They then head back up to Issoire, in the Puy de Dôme region, to supply a concrete plant. With a towed mass of 360 tonnes for 17 wagons, we won’t have any particular difficulty tackling the profile, which promises to be rather severe in a few kilometers, but we’ll come back to that. We’re traveling on the section of line connecting Les Aubrais-Orléans to Montauban-Ville-Bourbon, a major axis of the Polt, Paris-Toulouse line. The route from Vierzon was opened in June 1856. Its electrification, in 1500 Volt DC, took place in 1935, allowing the Capitole, from 1967, to connect Paris to Toulouse in 6 hours, thanks to a maximum speed of 200 km/h. There are two sections of lines that can be traveled at 200 on the route: Etampes – Les Aubrais and Les Aubrais – Vierzon. The Vierzon-Châteauroux section, which we are now traveling, would be suitable for an increase in speed from 160 to 200 km/h. However, the estimated time saving, of around 10 minutes on a Paris-Limoges journey, has never yet been enough to justify the financing of the works, in particular the removal of level crossings. Km 214, we cross the Arnon, a 150 km long waterway that rises in the Creuse and flows into the Cher at Vierzon. Km 216, one minute late, we pass through the old Chéry-Lury station, closed in 1980. On the right, the Mussay electrical substation. Just before this level crossing, we leave the Cher department to enter the Indre. Km 220.3 Reuilly station Km 225.3 former Diou station. Crossing the Théole river, a small tributary of the Arnon, 42 kilometers long, which winds between the Cher and the Indre. Km 229 on the left, the Genevraie electrical substation. Km 230.1, Sainte-Lizaigne station. At the entrance to Issoudun, we pass along a grain terminal installation ( ITE) which is accessed by turning back. The small shunting locomotive allows the customer to load trains alone. Located in the heart of Champagne-Bérichonne, Issoudun is a major agricultural hub with numerous silos connected to our railway for the export of grain by train. To the left, now serving as a section for FREIGHT services, stood the old line connecting Issoudun to Saint-Florent-sur-Cher. Equipped with double track and 23 km long, it was closed in 1933 to passenger traffic and in 1972 to goods. This panel is unlit and fortunately, if it had been lit, it would have indicated the presence of ice on the overhead wire. For the driver, this would have required raising the second pantograph to scrape off the ice and improve current collection. Km 237 Issoudun station. On the right, we pass the Franco-Swiss Boortmalt malting plant, part of France’s largest agricultural cooperative, Axéréal. Each year, 200,000 tons of barley from the Champagne-Bérichonne region are transformed into malt, primarily for beer production in France and abroad. On the right, the Villement electrical substation. There is approximately one substation every 10 to 15 kilometers. They are supplied with 90 kV AC by the RTE high-voltage network. They then convert this current into 1500 volts DC to power the overhead lines. Kilometer 249.2, Neuvy-Pailloux station. On the right, the junction to a military site, the twelfth Army Material Support Base, which provides heavy maintenance and regeneration for land vehicles. On the left, the Lande electrical substation. Kilometer 255.6, closed to passenger traffic but with a separate junction still active, passing through the former Montierchaume station. On the left, the track coming from the La Martinerie industrial zone, still in service to serve a silo. On the right, however, the junction to the Malterie area is closed. The 3.5 km track extends to Châteauroux-Centre Airport, located in the commune of Déols. Focused on air freight and maintenance, it has one of the longest runways in Europe, namely 3,500 meters. Crossing the Indre at km 261, a 279-kilometer river and a major tributary of the Loire, it rises in the Cher. If the slowdown reminder 60 had been presented on this signal, we would have been directed to the siding preceding Châteauroux station. On the left connects the old line from Montluçon via La Châtre, closed since the 1970s. A short green section Ardentes was reopened in the early 2000s for freight service, but it stopped in 2004. Km 264, Châteauroux station, A Quai, a TER Omnibus from Limoges. On the right, the old line towards Joué-les-Tours and beyond, towards Tours, whose passenger traffic stopped in 1977. The Châteauroux-Buzençais section is still open to freight traffic, which is operated as a VUTR Single Track with Restricted Traffic. On the left, the Madron electrical substation at Km 270, passing under the A20 motorway. 470 km long, it connects Vierzon to Montauban, with a route almost parallel to our railway line. Km 276.3 Luant Station Km 281.2 Lothiers Station On the left, the substation of the same name. Operated as BB 22200 instead of a traditional 26000, crossing with the Corail Intercité 3654 train from Brive-la-Gaillarde. TIV 150 type B which announces a speed reduction in the line book for trains authorized to exceed 140 km/h This sign, Km 285, marks the beginning of the section of line limited to 150. This signal is repeated in the cab and requires an acknowledgement gesture from the driver. In our case, no additional action is expected since we are already traveling at the speed limit of 100 km/h TIV execution, the speed is limited following work in the approaching Roches tunnel. Built at the end of the 19th century, this tunnel, also called the Chabenet tunnel, was the subject of a major derailment in 1972. A passenger train from Toulouse to Paris, hauled by the CC 6525, hit plywood sheets that had fallen from a freight train. It then derailed, fortunately, without causing any casualties. Immediately upon exiting the tunnel, we take the Bouzanne viaduct, also known as the Chabenet viaduct, which is 244 meters long. This is now the Chabenet station. New TIV (temporary speed limit) of execution 100. Placed at the end of the platform, it allows the driver not to forget this temporary speed limit after serving the station. A whiteboard for resumption marks the end of the work zone. To the right, we see the remains of the line from Port-de-Pile in Vienne. Around a hundred kilometers long, winding through the Creuse valley, it lost its passenger traffic in 1940 and its freight traffic in 1994. To the left, the Saint-Marcel electrical substation. New temporary speed limit of 80 km/h indicated by this TIV at distance 80. It is repeated in the cab and must be acknowledged by the driver. In white on a black background, implanted in the ballast, the execution TIV. Kilometer 295.1 we enter Argenton-sur-Creuse station. Platform repair work and accessibility by installing an elevator justify this temporary speed restriction. On the left, this AGC arrived at its terminus at 6:12 p.m., after having completed a local train from Vierzon. Adherence to the schedule allowed us to avoid encountering closed signals. Once again implanted on the left in the ballast, the white restart board will allow us to resume our speed when it clears. Here on the left stood out a 47 km line towards La Châtre, which saw its last train run in 1952. Km 296, crossing over the Creuse by an imposing 90-meter viaduct. We now tackle a more difficult profile with a very long 35-kilometer ramp to Forgevieille. Argenton is located at an altitude of 110 meters and we will gain more than 250 meters until we reach La Souterraine. This is an opportunity to return to the works encountered at Argenton-sur-Creuse station. This work zone might seem innocuous, but its location complies with very precise rules so as not to cause confusion with the existing signage. This is unfortunately what happened at the end of the summer of 85. Track rearrangement work at Argenton-sur-Creuse station changed the speed limit when passing through the establishment. Usually, for fast passenger trains, the crossing was at 130 km/h. But that year, the signage was modified and the passage on platform 1 is done at 30 km per hour. In addition to this, a temporary speed limit of 100 km/h is added, just before the execution of the 30 zone. The succession of information led, for the driver of the Paris – Port-bou night train, to disregard the permanent limit of 30 km/h This resulted in the derailment of 10 of the 14 sleeping cars. Two of them then entered the gauge of platform 2 at the very moment, where the Brive-Paris mail train was coming at 100 km/h That night of August 85, there were 43 deaths in this tragic collision and many injured. As in any accident, the causes are multiple and give rise to regulatory modifications. From this tragedy, the implementation of temporary speed limit zones was reviewed to avoid any confusion. Drivers, upon starting work, were required to manually note signaling changes and work zones in their logbooks. From then on, this information was provided to them via FLH (Weekly Line Records), which they carried with them. Finally, the development of KVB (speed control by beacon) in the early 1990s is directly linked to the three rail disasters of the summer of 1985: Saint-Pierre-du-Vauvray, Flaujac, and Argenton-sur-Creuse. Today, all work zones are required to be equipped with KVB beacons, which prevent anyone from exceeding the speed limit. Once again, passage under the A20 motorway. On the left, the Ravelle substation. TIV 140 type B approaching a tight- radius curve at Celon station. Km 305.4, former Celon station, closed to passenger traffic. Sign R. Upon clearing it, authorized trains can return to the line’s speed limit of 150 km/h. This Limoges-Vierzon TER is operated by a dual-mode AGC Nouvelle Aquitaine . This is where the steepest part of this gradient ends. We now move to a more favorable profile of 6 per 1000. It is not so much the gradient, but mainly the length of this gradient that poses, well, that posed, problems for freight trains on autumn and winter nights. It was not uncommon to cross Argenton at 120 or 140 km/h and finish painfully at 30 at the top of the gradient. Very long nights, sometimes dreaded by the drivers who always took a look at the local weather before setting off from the Paris region towards Limoges and Brive. Crossing with this G1206 locomotive from the DVF company hauling a short works train from Limoges. On the left, the Vignes substation. Km 316.4, Eguzon station Five kilometers east of the station, on the Creuse River, stands the Eguzon hydroelectric dam. Inaugurated in 1926, it was designed and partly financed by the Paris-Orléans Railway Company via the Hydroelectric Union to electrify the Paris-Toulouse line at 1500 volts. When it opened, it was the most powerful dam in Europe. Its reservoir gave rise to Lake Eguzon, also known as Lake Chambon, which covers more than 300 hectares. On this bridge, we change departments and regions. We leave Indre, in the central Loire Valley, to enter Creuse, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Km 323, Saint-Sébastien station. Here on the left, the old 45 km single-track line towards Guéret. If you want to go to the prefecture of Creuse, you will now have to do it by bike since a greenway, called the Ferroverte, replaces the railway line, which was completely closed in 1952. BB 26000 at the head of the Corail Intercités 3674, providing a V200 from Brive-la-Gaillarde. Traction cut-off and switch to electric braking in view of our garage on the Forgevieille siding scheduled on the train sheet. And as expected, signal C 151 presents us with slowdown 60. We are indeed directed towards the siding. On the left, the Bonichaud substation. The profile, still on a slope, associated with an empty train allows us to slow down using only the electric brake, without needing to switch to pneumatic braking. This thus avoids wear on the brake blocks of the wagons. Km 330.3 Former Forgevieille station. Warning presented in conjunction with the reminder for slowdown 60. No doubt, we will respect our stop traffic. Chevron pointing down which indicates the switch to cross at 60 km/h. Immobilization on the siding, where we are scheduled to wait for an hour. Brief inspection of the locomotive to detect any possible anomaly. No stop for Corail Intercités train n°3655 which is heading towards Cahors. It is when it clears, about ten minutes before the scheduled time, that the exit square opens to clear track. Traffic stops are optional stops. They are left to the discretion of the regulator to enforce them, remove them or shorten them as here. The driver passively obeys the signaling and then circulates with the resulting advance. New TIV60 and sign Z, the exit from the siding will be at 60 km/h. Although this diverting switch is affected by the 60 km/h speed limit, the R sign allowing us to increase the speed is installed upstream of it so that trains traveling on track 1 do not encounter this R sign which does not concern them. TIV 145 type B presented on signal C2001. To the right of this sign, Km 341, the new speed limit for trains like the one we are passing will be 145 km/h. On the left, the Côte substation. Kilometer 342.1 La Souterraine station. Devoid of traffic officers, the control of the installations is done from the Saint-Sulpice-Laurière station, as is the Forgevieille siding, on which we were parked previously. At the end of the platform, if signal C 2011 had shown the slowdown reminder 60 accompanied by the TECS Contra-Flow Entry Panel, we would have been directed to platform 2 Contra-Flow. Indeed, the line is now equipped with IPCS, Permanent Contra-Flow Installations, all the way to Limoges. We are now crossing the Jéraphie tunnel, 704 meters long. On the rock walls on either side of the track, you can see cables. These are rockfall detection nets . In the event of a rockfall, the electrical continuity of these cables would be broken and, depending on the situation, would trigger the lighting of an imposing torch, a stop for the driver, or the closing of the surrounding signals. To the left, quickly, you can see an automatic torch that would be triggered in the event of a net break. Upon seeing it, the driver would cause the train to make an emergency stop. We are now entering the last department of our journey, Haute-Vienne. Limoges, its prefecture, will be our terminus in rather…unexpected weather. Kilometer 351.6 Fromental station. To the left, the Age substation. If this were 1939, I would have told you that this line on the right was coming from Poitiers. Today, it is a VUTR, Single Lane with Restricted Traffic, serving the Orano factory in Bessines, located 5 km from here. The Bessines – Le-Dorat section is then closed, but still in operation up to Poitiers, allowing a TER service: Limoges – Le-Dorat – Poitiers. Km 359, we cross the Gartempte, a 200 km river and tributary of the Loire thanks to the Rocherolles viaduct, rising to a height of 55 meters. Kilometer 362.2 Bersac station. We maintain our 12-minute head start, but as you ‘ll see, it’s never a good idea to travel ahead of schedule at Freight. On the left, the La Ville-Sous-Grange substation. Slow down to 60 km/h on approach to this signal. Passive and immediate obedience to the signal. Braking to approach the next signal at 60 km/h, fixed TIV at a distance of 100 km/h, diamond-shaped. It precedes the Combeau tunnel, 236 meters long. Sign Z for the permanent speed limit of 100 km/h when passing through Saint-Sulpice station and reminder to slow down to 60 km/h for the passage on the diverted track at the station. We are directed to track A to carry out a traditional rust removal of the track circuits. This is what commonly happens to freight trains when they travel ahead because the loss of time due to the passage at reduced speed does not cause any delay to traffic. Fixed TIV at a distance of 30. If the entrance to platform A was at 60, the exit will be at 30. This is a rather tricky situation, especially in difficult conditions, at night, when these TIVs are sometimes difficult to see. Km 368.1, Saint-Sulpice-Laurière station. With 4 platform tracks, Saint-Sulpice station was once a major station at the junction of three lines. The main line, Paris-Toulouse, the line from Poitiers and the one towards Montluçon. To cope with this traffic, the station houses a roundhouse capable of accommodating around twenty steam locomotives and will have more than 80 locomotives to its credit in the early 1930s. Two lights on the direction indicator on this exit signal. We are indeed headed towards Limoges. If only one light had been on, we would have taken the first geographical direction from the left, that of Montluçon via Guéret. At the clearing of this TIV 100 associated with a Z sign, we can resume our cruising speed. Almost 800 meters long, we now enter the Saint-Sulpice tunnel, also called the Laurière tunnel. This R sign frees up zone 100 trains to cross the station. As the weather darkens considerably, we cross with a V200 train from Toulouse-Matabiau. Km 375.6, La Jonchère station. On the left, the Croix-Cadet substation. We now tackle a long slope to Limoges. Over the next 25 kilometers, we will lose 160m of altitude. This difficult profile is due to the crossing of the first foothills of the Massif Central, the Ambazac mountains, whose highest point rises to 701m at Puy de Sauvagnac. With points for the passage in the opposite direction, remotely controlled from the Saint-Sulpice-Laurière station, we pass at kilometer 383.3 the Ambazac station. Passage through the two tunnels of Nouaillas, respectively 78 and 87m long Initially, these two tunnels formed a single one, 750 meters long. However, the collapse of the central gallery during construction changed the plans. The end tunnels were preserved and the line now passes in a deep trench between the two. You will have noticed the absence of whistles at the entrance and exit of the tunnels. After 8 p.m., it is no longer obligatory to whistle, either for the tunnels or when crossing trains. Located in the commune of Saint-Priest-Taurion, which already has a station on the Ussel line, here is the Bardys station. On the left, the Martinerie substation. Between the two rails, we pass a DBC, Hot Box Detector. This device, regularly installed along the tracks, detects the temperature of each vehicle’s axle boxes using infrared sensors. Depending on the temperatures recorded, an alert can be sent to the nearby signal box to stop the train. immediately or to the next garage to check the validity of this alert. New generation detectors now make it possible to distinguish between alarms for a brake application or for an abnormally hot axle box. This information is then transmitted to the driver who will apply different procedures depending on the case. Km 392.7 former Palais station. Closed to passenger service since 2015, it is at the junction of the single-track line from Eygurande. Formerly used by trains on the Bordeaux – Clermont-Ferrand route, the line is now limited to Uussel. The Ussel-Eygurande section has been closed since 2014. The Ussel junction is remotely controlled by station 1 in Limoges. Kilometer 394.5, crossing the Palais viaduct. TIV 130 type B and TIV 120 diamond-shaped, these are the first speed reductions approaching Limoges. If this signal had shown us the 30 km/h slowdown reminder, we would have been directed to the marshalling yard. Today transformed into a works base, on the right, the first tracks of the Puy-Imbert marshalling yard. New speed reduction. Here, it is the fixed TIV at a distance of 80 in a diamond shape that concerns us. On the right, Puy-Imbert station A. New speed reduction with this 30 km/h slowdown. This X 73500 railcar has just left Limoges and is heading towards Eymoutiers on the Ussel line. Sign Z for the origin of the 80 km/h zone. Third and final slowdown sequence with this TIV 70 that concerns all trains. But let’s not distract ourselves. We are still under the 30 km/h slowdown regime. On the right, station C. This square signal concerns track 2. Equipped with IPCS since La Souterraine, it is now called “common”. The signals are no longer seen on the right, as if going the wrong way, but on the left. This underpass allows the tracks coming from the marshalling yard to pass through, which prevents the main tracks from being cut off. This Nevers-type snowplow wagon, named after the workshop where it was equipped, awaits a future snow-clearing mission on this dead-end track. Warning, reminder 30, and VK board. This board is lit to inform the driver that he will be received on track K at Limoges station. And this track is special because it does not have a passenger platform. In the ballast on the left, the Z sign for the origin of the 70 km/h zone, the maximum speed for trains on the direct track at Limoges station. On the right, the facilities of the Limousin EMT, responsible for the maintenance of regional trains. EMT stands for Maintenance and Traction Establishment. So it is a little early that we enter one of the most beautiful stations in France, Limoges-Bénédictins, located 401 km from Paris-Austerlitz. The current passenger building was inaugurated in 1929, designed by the architect Roger Gonthier. Five years of work will be necessary to complete this architectural gem, composed of a 31-meter copper dome, a bell tower and the famous four-faced clock. We will be parked on platform K for a traditional time reset. Once train 869129, Limoges – Brive, 8:27 p.m. omnibus, has departed, we will resume our journey slowly to Uzerche where the train will park all night before leaving the next morning to the Imerys quarry in Thédirac-Peyrilles, in the lot located at km 577 of our line. The light conditions were no longer acceptable for the rest of the journey, so this video ends here, at the foot of the exit square. Thank you all for watching. And to avoid leaving you on this rainy note, I’m offering you some archive footage from a time when the great mail trains used this route.