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Chemin de fer Nyon–Saint-Cergue–Morez

Chemin de fer Nyon–Saint-Cergue–Morez, NStCM (The Nyon–St-Cergue–Morez Railway) is a narrow gauge railway in western Switzerland which nowadays operates between Nyon, on the northern shore of Lake Geneva and the French border at La Cure, the La Cure–Morez section having closed in 1958. The railway reaches a height of 1,228 metres (4,029 feet) above sea level at the Col de la Givrine and it is the highest in the Jura Mountains. The line, built to 1,000 mm  gauge, was opened in three sections, the first from Nyon, a town on the shores of Lake Geneva, to the Jura mountain resort village of Saint-Cergue in 1916, then to the French border at La Cure, opened in 1917. The third section, built by the French Company Chemins de fer électriques du Jura (CFEJ), taking the line over the border was opened to the French town of Morez in 1921 giving a total length of 39 km. The railway line linked the Swiss railways' main line from Geneva to Lausanne with that of the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM) (from 1938 this was the SNCF).  Because of its steep gradients the line was electrified. Originally the line commenced outside the main station in Nyon and after passing below the Swiss Federal Railways main line it climbed steadily, steeply in places taking large curves to ease the gradient, to the mountain resort of St. Cergue. From here it runs alongside the road through the Col de la Givrine, with a summit of 1,232 m above sea level, to the village of La Cure, nowadays its upper terminus. It was here the line crossed the French border and again running alongside the road arrived in the streets of Morez. The line then descended steeply to terminate in front of the PLM station. The section to open in Switzerland continued after the closure of the French section and  a modernisation programme started in the 1980s.   As part of this modernisation, new rolling stock was purchased in 1985.  The old stock ran for the last time in December 1985  Plans were put forward in 1999 to extend the line some 2.5 km over the French border to the village of Les Rousses but this did not prove cost effective to the communities involved and was rejected. In 2004, the Nyon terminus was moved to a two platform underground station on the north side of the main line approached by escalators from the station underpass. The original “automotrice”, of which 7 were built, were heavy duty vehicles and could haul several trailer cars. Two of these have survived, restored to working order, at the Chemin de Fer de la Mure near Grenoble. Two other examples were sold to the same railway but have yet to be restored. Some trailer cars have also survived including No. B7 which has been restored at the Blonay–Chamby museum railway near Montreux and another example at the Chemin de Fer Voies Ferrees du Velay in Haute Loire. The vehicles carried a dark red livery.

March 3rd 2025

 

 
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