Paul Steane's Photography Pages

Monday 2nd October 2023 Just the one train today, from Fès to Nador; the line to Nador and beyond to Beni Ansar port was only opened in 2009. I was aware that trains used to run through to the port but these had ceased some years ago, and the published PDF timetables only show the trains as running to Nador, a few km before Beni Ansar. My planned move was to overnight in a hotel in Nador; and there are no useful hotels in Beni Ansar anyway. However the previous day I had found that trains were now running to Beni Ansar Ville, but only shown in the journey planner - not in the timetable; so I purchased a ticket to go down to Beni Ansar next morning and return on the train from there that I was intending to catch anyway from Nador Ville.
Route: Fès 10:00 (dep 8 late) (train 101, DL DH-424) - emergency stop at 61 km 11:18 (hit animal?) - Taourirt (loco run round) 14:11/14:34 (arr 21 late, dep 16 late) - Nador Ville 16:11 (arr 13 late). Overnight: Hotel Annakhil, 800 m / 11 min walk from station.

Wednesday 4th October 2023 Today was Day 1 of the two-day Branch Line Society "Sahara Explorer" railtour. Today was supposed to be a run to Jerada power station, a branch line from Guenfouda, but this had been refused on unclear grounds only the previous day, after previously having been approved. So we just covered Oujda - Guenfouda - Naïma - Oujda, so doing all three sides of the triangular layout Beni Oukil / Guenfouda / Naïma. There was plenty of time at Naïma to view the adjacent remains of the platform on the long closed 600 mm gauge railway that ran from Fès to Oujda between 1912 and 1932, when it was replaced by the present standard gauge line. Also time to look around the station and station control room there. With not much else to do I took a ride with a few others on service trains from Oujda to Taourirt and back.
Route: Oujda 07:15 (dep 17 late) (Branch Line Society railtour, ONCF DL DH-411) - Beni Oukil - Guenfouda (arr 08:54; loco run round; dep 09:40) - via Béni Oukil avoiding line - Naïma (arr 10:37; loco run round; dep 11:28) - Oujda 12:23; 13:30 (train 204, ONCF DL DH-422) - Taourirt 15:15; 15:20 (dep 44 late) (train 103; ONCF DL DH-424) - Oujda 16:59 (arr 39 late). Overnight: Hotel Ibis, Oujda (2nd night).

Friday 6th October 2023 Heading to Spain for a few days. Scheduled departure from Oujda was quite late at 11:35 in case the train back from Bouarfa was delayed, which it wasn't; one train through to Tanger Ville; there is a significant realignment on the line into Tanger where the high speed line joins.
Route: Oujda 11:35 (train 20000, ONCF DL DH-420) - Fès 17:26 (arr 15 late; change to ONCF EL E-1477; dep 21 late) - Tanger Ville 22:45 (arr 10 late). Overnight at Tanger Ramada Encire Hotel.

Sunday 8th October 2023 A day out from Alacant. Time to cover Alacant tram routes 4 and 5 this morning, which share a unidirectional loop though the seaside village of Platja de Sant Joan, but with two different termini in Alacant: line 4 to Luceros, the main terminal, and line 5 to Porta del Mar nearer the old town. Then over to Murcia on the high speed line (and with time to spare to go out to Orihuela and back, for something to do) before the main aim of today - the broad gauge loco-hauled Sundays only Archena-Fortuna to Madrid InterCity train, which with its Fridays-only opposite working are the only passenger workings between Archena-Fortuna and Albacete. This requires a rail-replacement bus between Murcia and Archena-Fortuna. Presumably when the long-term Murcia engineering works are finished, trains will restart running through Archena-Fortuna to Murcia del Carmen. Back to Alacant from Albacete on the high speed line.
Route: Luceros 09:29 (route L4, Alacant tram 4241+4213) - Avenida Naciones 10:08; 10:23 (route L5, Alacant tram 4214) - Porta del Mar 10:44; 10:48 (route L5, Alacant tram 4214) - Lucentum 10:59; 11:11 (route L1, Alacant tram 4106/6106/4156) - Luceros 11:20; Alacant Terminal 12:50 (Avant 9125, RENFE EMU Class 104 set 18) - via high speed line - Murcia del Carmen 13:43; 15:00 (Avant 9157, RENFE EMU Class 104 set 18) - Orihuela Miguel Hernández 15:15; 15:49 (dep 9 late) (Avant 9155, RENFE EMU class 104 set 14) - Murcia del Carmen 16:08 (arr 6 late); 17:10 (RENFE rail replacement bus) - Archena-Fortuna 17:40 (arr 10 early); 17:53 ( IC 10033, RENFE DL 334022) - Albacete Los Llanos 19:13; 20:39 (AVE 5382, RENFE 112021 set) - Alcant Terminal 21:26. Overnight: Hotel Leuka, Alacant (2nd of 3 nights).

Tuesday 10th October 2023 Last day of this trip. Firstly from Alacant to València on a Euromed service (which use Alvia-type gauge changing Talgo sets) via the re-opened line between La Encina triangle and Moixent in better daylight. Then a fill-in move to see if I could get a train into or out of the rare bay platform 4 at Buñol on the Cercanías C-3 line towards Utiel, which I succeeded in doing; also covering the "long" curve between València Nord and València FSL which had been thought to be "freight only". Flying from València is easy, unlike many other Spanish airports, as it has a good metro service straight to the airport. Flight back to Manchester near enough on time; and I took the easy but slow tram route home as there were a lot of train cancellations.
Route: Alicante 06:55 (EuroMed 1092, RENFE EMU class 130 set) - València Joaquín Sorolla 08:55; València Nord 10:25 (Cercanías C-3 RENFE DMU 592 115+067 sets) - via long curve València FSL (reverse; delays) - Buñol 11:26 (platform 1) (arr 7 late); 11:45 (platform 4) (Cercanías C-3, RENFE DMU 592235 set) - València FSL (reverse, then via long curve) - València Nord 12:49 (arr 10 late); Xàtiva 14:18 (València metro line 3) - Aeroport 14:42; València (VAL) 16:40 (FR640 Ryanair, EI-EMB B737-8AS) VAL push-back 16:43, take-off 16:55 from runway 12, MAN landed 18:13 on runway 23R, on stand 18:18) Manchester (MAN) booked 18:15; Manchester Airport 18:53 (Manchester tram 3103) - Trafford Bar 19:39; 19:42 (Manchester tram 30xx) - Timperley 19:54.