The Yellow Train of the Pyrenees

The route

The Little Yellow Train runs from Villefranche de Conflent, 50 km from Perpignan, to Latour de Carol, well up in the Pyrenees near the Spanish town of Puigcerda.

   The most spectacular part of the route is the section from the start at Villefranche, up as far as the small town and ski-resort area of Odeillo – Font-Romeu. Hugging the sides of the deep valley of the Tet, the line winds up between forests, chasms and gushing streams. From the start up as far Mont Louis, near the summit, passengers are treated to spectacular views of the rocky mountainous scenery, including villages, two historic fortresses, and a precariously perched old hermitage.

    The line, which was begun in 1903, is a spectacular feat of civil engineering, and apart from the dozens of mostly short tunnels, it includes many bridges and small viaducts, plus two remarkable viaducts spanning wider valleys. These include the remarkable Pont Gisclard, or Pont de Cassagne, which is the only railway suspension bridge in France.

   After Mont Louis, the line continues to rise for a kilometre or so, before reaching a broad high valley, which it skirts along for seven kilometres as far as the station at Font-Romeu– Odeillo.

   From here, it then descends some 300 metres down to a high valley on the Spanish border, and the frontier town of Bourg Madame. The station at Bourg Madame is just a few hundred metres from the Spanish border, and it is easy to walk to the old Spanish town of Puigcerda.

  The line terminates a few kilometres further on, at the small town of  Latour de Carol, where it connects with the French railway line from Toulouse, and the RENFE Spanish line from Barcelona.

Sights and excursions.

► Villefranche-de-Conflent:
Historic walled city; a UNESCO world heritage site. The entire old city, crammed into the narrow valley floor, is circled by walls which were strengthened and fortified by the great military architect Vauban in the 17th century, after the area passed from Spanish to French sovereignty.
  Nearby:  Fort Liberia, another Vauban fortification, perched on the mountainside above the town.
  Nearby: 6 km. Vernet les Bains, an attractive small old town, up a side valley; starting point for routes and trails to le Canigou, the emblematic mountain of the Eastern Pyrenees.

► Mont Louis
Another Vauban fortified town and UNESCO world heritage site. Smaller and less impressive than Villefranche de Conflent

► Odeillo – Font-Romeu
Odeillo is a small Pyrenean mountain village, best known nowadays as the home of one of the world's very first solar power stations.
  Opened in 1970, the solar power station was one of the first serious renewable energy plants. Run by the French National Research Centre CNRS, the “Four Solaire" is within easy walking distance of the station. Guided visits daily.
The villages of Odeillo and Via can be reached on foot from the station.

 Font Romeu is one of the more popular ski resorts in the Pyrenees.

Hiking trail: a hiking trail (sentier de randonnée) leaves from the village of Via, just below the Odeillo train station; it is an easy  9km hike back to the station at Cabanasse – Mont Louis.

► Bourg Madame
  Small and not particularly interesting town; but it is only a kilometre or so on foot from the station at Bourg Madame to the historic centre of the Spanish town of Puigcerda. Travellers coming up on a morning train and back on an afternoon train have time for a quick trip into Spain.

► Latour de Carol.
Of interest to rail buffs; the station at Latour de Carol is the only station in Europe, possibly in the world, to serve three different "normal" railway lines operating with three different gauges*.  The metre-gauge Train Jaune, the European standard gauge SNCF line to Toulouse, and the Spanish broad-gauge line to Barcelona.
(* The station at Montreux in Switzerland also has three gauges, but these include special rack-and-pinion tracks).