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Côte bleue-The blue coast train
Another way of coasting
What on earth is a train doing in a boater’s guide? It is quite simply the best way to visit the Blue Coast at a time when it is so difficult to find a mooring in a port or an anchorage in a calanque (deep narrow creek).
You have been lucky to find a mooring at Sausset les Pins and you don’t want to let it go. But you would like to play at the Carry le Rouet casino. Or have dinner at the small port of Ensuès – La Redonne. Or dive at Niolon. Or take the Painters’ Way (chemin des peintres) at l’Estaque. Or look up a friend at Marseilles. Don’t move your boat. Take a ride on one of the most beautiful trains in the south of France. Oh, it’s nothing more than a run-of-the-mill express regional train (TER). But not content with stopping at delightful small places, the view that if offers over the Bay of Marseilles is quite unique. The forty-minute ‘show’ will take you from Carro – La Courronne to Marseilles Saint Charles.
So, rather than looking for a hypothetical bicycle rental place and pedalling in the blazing heat along busy, dangerous and steep roads, take one of the fourteen trains that run each day and explore the Blue Coast.
There’s even quite a story behind this train. At the outset in 1835, three routes were studied to travel from Marseilles to the north-east. Just before Louis-Napoleon was crowned Emperor and became the third of the name, the five-kilometre long Nerthe tunnel was inaugurated between the Pas des Lanciers and the Estaque. A technical feat for that time. It marked the beginning of a major rail line towards Avignon which was run by the famous Paris – Lyon – Méditerranée railway company (PLM – Paris – Lyons – Mediterranean).
A second empire, a third republic and a first war against the Germans later, as business was picking up, the PLM started considering the idea of adding a second rail line along the coast – using one of the two former routes that had not been selected in the past – which would enable them to have an emergency line in the case of a breakdown or accident in the Nerthe tunnel.
The time required for the idea and the project to be completed was on a par with current-day deadlines: the project was drawn up in 1871, in May 1883 the French State and the company signed a design agreement, in June 1904 Parliament voted the law on the public interest of the project, in 1908 work began and in 1915 the Port de Bouc – Marseilles rail line was opened. The construction of the line advanced at a speed of one kilometre per year…
The chief engineer, Paul Séjourné, who was nicknamed the “Gustave Eiffel of masonry bridges”, was entrusted with supervising the work. Another technical achievement. The viaducts are clearly visible from the sea. Between them there is very little uncovered flat land. As soon as the rail line leaves a bridge, it plunges into a tunnel.
When they didn’t have to drive through hard rock in acrobatic conditions, they had to hold back slopes of collapsing black marl. Certain stations, such as the one at La Redonne, had to be quite simply suspended at the top of artificial cliffs.
Luckily, the stones necessary to build the reinforcements and bridges were in abundance in the area, along with the components to make concrete and produce ballasts. The quarries of la Vesse and la Redonne were created as a result. The workers in their thousands took eleven years to complete the line.
By opening up all the small ports on the Blue Coast, the line was at the origin of the economic and tourist development of Carry le Rouet and Sausset les Pins. Today, it is a very handy local train for many people from Marseilles and for those who never tire of the view, a pure delight.
- Christophe Naigeon
NIOLON: DIVE, EAT AND ADMIRE
Niolon is the first stop on the line coming from Marseilles. The majority of its activity comes from the UCPA diving centre (The UCPA is a non profit-making French organisation which provides activity holidays at over 90 centres throughout France) which is located in a former stronghold built in 1860. Situated just next door to the protected zones of the Blue Coast’s Sea Park, the site of Niolon is a real treat for lovers of sea floors which offer a variety of fish species. Another attraction is the famous Auberge du Mérou restaurant. People from Marseilles come to taste its relatively reasonably-priced modern Provencal cuisine while contemplating the breathtaking view over the Bay of Marseilles. And after a sumptuous meal enjoy a short walk along the land belonging to the Coastline Conservatory (weather permitting of course).
LA REDONNE: DIVE, EAT AND ADMIRE
The next stop is Ensuès – La Redonne. The train station is a sight in itself due to the fact that it is perched on a cliff. The view when the train pulls in is quite another. This deep calanque is an example of heaven on earth. The extensive pine woodland hides “cabins”, which have since become villas. There is a delightful 5 km walk along the coast on a path used by customs officers where you will discover an infinite number of creeks beckoning you to have a swim. Back to the small port (where there are few visitor moorings), you can admire the village which is sheltered both from the Mistral and easterly winds and which nestles in a rocky fold surmounted by the Estaque chain. Small restaurants which are even more modest than those at Niolon, might well incite you to linger a little longer on the quay and watch the fishermen’s pointus (Provencal fishing boats) dance on the water.
