Green Line (Southern Indian Ocean Islands)

The Green Line, also known as the Line of Passes, Bridges and Death (French: Ligne Verte or Ligne des cols, des ponts et de la mort) is a rail line of the Kerguelen rail network and connects the gare de Port-Christmas with the gare de Côte de la Vallée des Sables.

History
The Green Line was opened in 1995 together with the rest of the Kerguelen rail network and replaced the Côte d'Ouest Express bus that completed the route before the opening of the rail line. It was opened simultaneously with the Blue Line and the Black Line.

Port-Christmas — Jonction de Péninsule
The initial stretch of the journey is shared with the Blue Line.

Trains leave in an eastwards direction from gare de Port-Christmas and run a wide corner around the Dôme Noël for 3 km before running along the Baie de la Dauphine for approx. 7 km. Trains then turn southwards across the relative longitudonal centre of the peninsula along the inland extremes of the Baies de la Dauphines and Clémenceau, whereafter they enter the Val Chérie. Thereafter, trains run southwestwards through the Vallée des Roches Noires before making a 180 degree turn along the cliff edge before running through the Premier Halage de Péninsule Lorenchet for 4 km. They then run along the western edge of the Baie de Recques for 6 km before running southwards through the Deuxième Halage de Péninsule Lorenchet for 11 km. Trains then run through the Col de Simon-le-Chevallier-de-Templiers before running down the valley and continuing through the Troisième Halage de Péninsule Lorenchet and southwards through the Val d'Equerre, after which it is only 8 km through the Vallée de cet Halage to get to gare de Jonction de Péninsule.

Jonction de Péninsule — Port-de-l'Île d'Ouest
After Jonction de Péninsule, trains immediately branch of southwestwards into the Vallée Ring and run around the bases of the Pic Guynemer, the Mont Mermoz and the Mont de la Table Haute. After continuing through the Col de Blizzard, trains enter the Col de la Faille southwards, past Anse du Sac de Plomb and Anse de Quiberon, through the Val Mort and across the Baie du Tonnerre, whereafter they turn westwards and run along the coast before turning southwards again and entering the gare de Port-de-l'Île d'Ouest.

Port-de-l'Île d'Ouest — Côte de la Vallée des Sables
After Port-de-l'Île d'Ouest, trains complete a wide corner eastwards before running along the northern edges of the Baie Fermée before calling at the gare de Les Lacs after just over 7 km.

After stopping at Les Lacs, trains run generally southwards, first across the Vallée de Gravimètre and then across the Plaine des Moraines. Then, after running over the seaside slopes of Mont Uranie, trains run inlands along the northern side of the Vallée de l'Octant for approximately 4 km before entering a on a viaduct, continuing over the valley's southern slope for 1.5 km before entering the Vallée de Merie. Trains then turn southwards and run along the eastern side of Lac de l'Aréonavale, whereafter they cross the Vallée Haute and run along the seaside base of the Mont des Deux Bénitiers.

After rounding the base of the Mont des Deux Bénitiers, trains cross the Vallée du Telluromètre before running southwards along the coast over the Falaise des Tempêtes and rounding Cap de la Découverte. After crossing the Vallée de l'Infernet, still running southwards, trains scale La Grande Coulée and run along the very base of the Mont Saint-Allouarn, turning eastwards. Trains then enter a tunnel underneath the Arrête Jérémine before running over a viaduct across the Vallée des Sables towards the Monts du Commandant, terminating at gare de Côte de la Vallée des Sables. Here it is possible to change to the Orange Line.

Rolling stock
The rolling stock of the Green Line consists of six railcars, between two and four of which will be in use on the line at any given time. These have been painted for recognisability.

The railcars are named Oiseau, Désolation, Rocheuse, L'African, Noroît and La Bretonne, after the major bays that it runs past along the west coast.

Services
Trains leave four times a day in each direction.

From Port-Christmas, trains depart at 5.28 a.m., 9.52 a.m., 14.30 p.m. and 19.15 p.m and take about half an hour to reach Jonction de Péninsule. This means that the Green Line trains depart ten minutes after the departure of the Blue Line train. This allows them to arrive at Jonction de Péninsule just before the Blue Line train to Port-Christmas arrives, providing a transfer opportunity for those passengers.

From Côte de la Vallée des Sables, trains depart at 3.08 a.m., 7.32 a.m., 12.10 p.m. and 16.55 p.m., and take two hours and ten minutes to get to Jonction de Péninsule, including two stops of two minutes at Les Lacs and Port-de-l'Île d'Ouest. This allows them to arrive at Jonction de Péninsule at the same time as the Blue Line to Port-aux-Français, providing a transfer opportunity.

Fares
Passengers pay fr. 0.32 per travelled kilometre. This means that a ticket for its full length costs fr. 60.49. Children beteen 4 and 16 and people aged 65+ pay fr. 0.105 per travelled kilometre, arriving at a maximum of fr. 18 for a full length journey; children under the age of 4 and students travel for free.

It is possible to get a Carte Verte, which allows a person to travel for fr. 0.21 per travelled kilometre for a year. A Carte Verte costs fr. 65 to purchase.