Original ZEBRA Z750 electric trainsets (7 operational of 10 built 1910-1913); 2 modern Stadler GT-8 panoramic multiple units (2004); original power cars: 4 motors per car, 300 HP per motor (1,200 HP total per unit)
Track Gauge
1,000 mm (metre gauge)
Braking Technology
Three independent braking systems: electric regenerative braking (850V DC), pneumatic disc brakes, and rheostatic braking; spring-applied track brakes on steep gradients
Route Engineering Challenges
Maximum gradient 6% — exceptionally steep for a metre-gauge railway
19 tunnels along the 63 km route
Pont Séjourné viaduct — multi-arch stone structure crossing the Têt valley
Pont Gisclard — 258m suspension bridge (1909), highest railway suspension bridge in France at time of construction
Third-rail 850V DC electrification unusual for mountain railway — power supplied primarily from Bouillouses hydroelectric dam (built 1910)
Highest station in France: Bolquère-Eyne at 1,593m altitude
Route crosses the Cerdagne natural park plateau at over 1,400m elevation