Mont Blanc tramway

Mont Blanc Tramway
A train of the Mont-Blanc Tramway
Overview
Termini	Gare de Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet Nid d'Aigle
Service
Type	Tramway/Rack railway
Operator(s)	Compagnie du Mont-Blanc [fr]
History
Opened	1907
Technical
Line length	12.4 km (7.7 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Rack system	Strub
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
Electrification	11 kV 50 Hz AC
Highest elevation	2,372 m (7,782 ft) asl
Maximum incline	24%

TMB route diagram
Line's heights
Legend
to Chamonix and Martigny (SNCF/CFF - 1,000 mm) 0.000 Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet (SNCF/TMB) to Annecy and Aix-les-Bains (SNCF - 1,435 mm) 0.426 Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains (S.G. Est) 1.700 Saint-Gervais-Ville 4.510 Motivon 5.155 Les Seillières 6.000 Mont-Forchet 6.258 Tête-du-Chêne 6.900 Les Tuffes 7.650 Col-de-Voza 8.768 Bellevue 9.195 Bellevue-Téléphérique 10.876 Mont-Lachat 12.508 Nid d'Aigle (Glacier-de-Bionnassay)

The Mont Blanc tramway or Tramway du Mont-Blanc (TMB) is a mountain railway line in the Haute-Savoie department of France. It is the highest in France and the fourth highest in Europe. It is also the only railway in France reaching over 2,000 metres above sea level.^[1]

The extensive views of Mont Blanc and adjacent mountains of the Mont Blanc massif provided by the tramway make it popular with tourists. Also, mountaineers and hikers use the tramway because its stops provide the jumping off points for many trails, as well as giving access to the Refuge Nid d'Aigle close to the terminus of railway.^[2] The normal alpine mountaineering route to climb Mont Blanc starts at the tramway's terminus, Nid d'Aigle, and proceeds either to an overnight stop at the Tête Rousse Hut, or at the higher Goûter Hut.^[3][4]