French railway interactive

[JeffP]

https://carto.graou.info/45.99792/0.16891/10.58373/0/0

[Gordonwis]

Not sure what this is supposed to show.

 

Any explanations available anywhere?

[JeffP]

I found it on a Facebook site about SNCF.

It would appear to be a map of the entire SNCF network, showing trains, their speed and direction, signals, permitted line speeds etc.

I've not had time to do any more than look, briefly.

 

[Oldddudders]

I found it needed time, and it isn't exactly obvious how the mapping works. I felt I was in a drone coming up the West Coast. But it is fun, and evidently in real-time, so interesting. I found the PK markings to be disproportionately bold, while discovering the names of major cities took some examination. E.g., I'm sure that's Nantes there, but the name is tiny and easily missed.  

[EddieB]

Interesting, but I guess the proof comes when it is tested "on the ground"...  

 

Clicking on the question mark brings up a "Legend" with some explanations of codes and colours.  From what I can tell, only passenger services are covered.

 

It does seem to be very resource hungry, which may be an issue on mobile devices (which is kind of counter-productive). 

 

 

[Pacific231G]

It's an amazing resource, produced as a personal project by Nicholas Wurtz   It does only show passenger trains and their positions appear to be calculated by interpolating from their timetabled timings and the broadcast information about retards (he explains that in the ? pop up) It also shows the position and type of every (?) main line signal (though not their aspect), pancarte and PN notice. It even shows summits. I don't know if the track plans are accurate or just those that come up from the general topographic mapping. 

There do though appear to be some anomalies- I found a Ouigo whose route was down the main line through Perpignan apparently progressing down an abandoned section  of the Narbonne-Rivesaltes line so I don't know how its engine defines routes. 

I also learnt from this that though we've tended to perceive the Cerdagne line as a touristique  (le Train Jaune) it's trains are TERs. 

Possibly useful for spotters, it does show all the access points to lines (from where there may well be a views available from the public side of any gate or barrier without trespassing) as well as PNs (level crossings) 

This one is definitely going into my favourites. 

Edited February 3 by Pacific231G

[Gordonwis]

5 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

 

Possibly useful for spotters, it does show all the access points to lines (from where there may well be a views available from the public side of any gate or barrier without trespassing) as well as PNs (level crossings) 

 

 

I tested this on some familiar spots and found the feature  to be fairly useless, either showing blindingly obvious access points such as level crossings, or places where 'access to the line'  is at best marginal (eg on railway land or on a vegetation-covered embankment) , in some cases impossible. It also still shows access points to lifted lines.

[Pacific231G]

21 hours ago, Gordonwis said:

 

I tested this on some familiar spots and found the feature  to be fairly useless, either showing blindingly obvious access points such as level crossings, or places where 'access to the line'  is at best marginal (eg on railway land or on a vegetation-covered embankment) , in some cases impossible. It also still shows access points to lifted lines.

Hi Gordon

I assumed these were based on SNCF Reseau (ex RFF) access points (for PW etc) There clearly are anomalies with data from different sources- probably from different dates. It does for example show the combined carré and avertissement 

(as a CLS) on the line into Chinon from the south which has been disused for many years (though the signal post was still there the last time I looked) and the whole of the Chinon-Richelieu line is shown as disused with kilometrages when it is now a voie verte. There are a few places where a disused line is shown but the topographical map shos that it's now the route a residential road.  

. Nevertheless, I still think it's a useful resource and I like maps that show disused lines as well as those in service. 

Edited February 4 by Pacific231G

[Gordonwis]

3 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

and the whole of the Chinon-Richelieu line is shown as disused with kilometrages when it is now a voie verte. There are a few places where a disused line is shown but the topographical map shos that it's now the route a residential road.  

 

 

 

ditto for my 'local to family' line: Bellegarde - Divonne les Bains. All now lifted and converted to path following the environmentally-unfriendly decision to abolish the rail based transport of  aggregates and domestic waste to and from Crozet.  

[jamie92208]

I like the look of it and it does appear tbe accurate in my area.  I have added it to my favourites and will play with it further. 

 

Jamie