Chemin de fer d'Anvin à Calais

The Chemin de fer d'Anvin à Calais was a railway from Calais to Anvin, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France. It opened in 1881 and closed in 1955. History of rail transport in France In France, the building of railways was controlled by the Government. This avoided the duplication of routes that was seen in the United Kingdom and meant that the large cities and towns were connected. The citizens of the smaller towns and villages also wanted railways to be built to connect them to the network. The departments were given authority to oversee the construction of these minor lines, some of which were built to standard gauge and others were built to metre gauge or less. The Loi Migneret of 12 July 1865 established that railways in France were to be classified as of Intérêt Général or Intérêt Local. The former were deemed to be of sufficient importance that they could be partly charged to the state. The latter were charged to the department. The railway came under the control of the Pas-de-Calais department. In 1874, M. Émile Level proposed to build a railway from Calais to Anvin, Pas-de-Calais. Following the usual procedure, hearings in public would have been held before the proposed railway would have been declared to be of utilité publique (in the public interest) and permission granted to construct the line. The railway was the first line in Pas-de-Calais constructed under the Plan Freyciney. Anvin and Calais are apart, but the railway was to be much longer due to the need to avoid heavy engineering and also to serve local communities. The line had a maximum gradient of 17mm/metre and curves of minimum radius. In part, it ran through what is now the Parc naturel régional des Caps et Marais d'Opale, crossing many river valleys and having summits of between Équirre and Verchin, and at Alques-Buisson halte. Construction started from Anvin and Calais at the same time. the first section, from Calais Saint-Pierre to Guînes opened on 1 October 1881. Anvin to Fruges opened on 1 January 1881, followed by Fruges to Lumbres on 1 April.