page_title: Chemins de Fer d'Aire à Fruges et de Rimeux-Gournay à Berck
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Chemins de Fer d'Aire à Fruges et de Rimeux-Gournay à Berck / History
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: La gare de Coyecques (Pas-de-Calais) sur la ligne d'Aire-sur-la-Lys à Berck-Plage)
context_page_description: The Chemins de Fer d'Aire à Fruges et de Rimeux-Gournay à Berck was a 1,000 mm railway from Aire-sur-la-Lys to Berck, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France. It opened in 1891 and closed in 1955.
context_section_description: Rang-du-Fliers was connected to the railway network in November 1847 with the opening of the Longueau–Boulogne railway. It is located 7 kilometres (4 mi) from Berck-Plage, which was to develop into a fashionable health resort. A proposal in 1871 to connect Berck to Montreuil with a metre gauge railway was turned down. It was put forward again in 1882 and received authorisation. Also in that year, a standard gauge branch was proposed from Rang-du-Fliers to Berck. In 1886, a M. Macquet was given permission to build a metre gauge railway from Verton to Berck, but he was unable to raise the capital to build it. M. Lambert was given permission that year to build lines from Aire-sur-la-Lys to Fruges and also from Renty to Hucqueliers. The final proposal was to build a line from Berck to Rimieux-Gournay to join the existing CF AC line, and then from  the CF AC line another branch to Aire-sur-la-Lys. In April 1887, an agreement was signed with the CF AC to obtain running powers over the section of line in question.
  Plans for the new line were exhibited at the council offices in Montreuil and Saint-Omer during April and May 1887. No objections were received. On 12 December 1889, the préfet declared the railway to be d'utilite publique (in the public interest) and M. Lambert was given permission to build the line. In June 1890, La Compagnie des Chemins de Fer d'Aire à Fruges et de Rimeux-Gournay à Berck was formed to build and operate the railway. The CF du Nord advanced ₣3.8 million to build the line, an average of ₣43,000 per kikometre. The CF AC had cost an average of ₣77,000 to build ten years earlier.
  The first section of line, the 20 kilometres (12.43 mi) from Montreuil-St-Justin to Berck-Place was opened on 9 July 1891 by M. Ribot, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy of the Pas-de-Calais department and M. Guyot, Minister for Public Works. The line was extended a further 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to Montreuil-sur-Mer station on the Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise–Étaples railway on 6 April 1893. The 33 kilometres (20.51 mi) line from Aire-sur-la-Lys to Gourgesson, on the CF AC, opened on 1 June 1893 and the final 35 kilometres (21.75 mi) section from Rimeux-Gournay of the CF AC to Montreuil-sur-Mer opened on 30 July. With the 9 kilometres (5.59 mi) of line shared with the CF AC, the line was 97 kilometres (60.27 mi) long. Although initially operated as separate systems, by 1893 the AC and CF du ARB were being run as on, with locomotives and rolling stock from one line being used on the other.
  Aire-sur-la-Lys and Berck are 64 kilometres (39.77 mi) apart in a straight line. The line was much longer due to the need to avoid heavy engineering and serve the communities along the route. Rails were 20 kilograms per metre (40 lb/yd), with a standard length of 11 metres (36 ft). Apart from one bridge over a road at Wailly-Beauchamp and the bridge over the railway at Rang-du-Fliers, all crossings were on the level. The maximum gradient was 17mm/metre, apart from one 40 metres (44 yd) stretch of 2.4 mm/metre at Gournay. There were at least 43 level crossings, including five on the stretch of line shared with the CF AC. The majority of level crossings were ungated.
  In 1892, a railway was planned from Dompierre-sur-Authie, Somme to Wailly, linking with the Réseau des Bains de Mer system. The 26-kilometre (16.16 mi) long line would have had intermediate stations at Tortefontaine, Douriez, Saulchoy, Saint-Rémy-au-Bois, Campagne-les-Hesdin, Buire-le-Sec and Bois-Jean.
  In 1909, the station building at Berck-Plage was demolished and rebuilt in the "grand hotel" style. In 1910, an alternative plan was put forward for a railway from Dompierre-sur-Authie to Berck. The CF du ARB carried 501,208 passengers in 1911. In 1913, plans were put forward for an electric tramway from Bruay-la-Buissière to Aire-sur-la-Lys, with the section of the CF du ARB from Aire-sur-la-Lys to Fruges being electrified, and a rebuilding of the station at Fruges. The plan for the electric tramway was not resurrected post-war. None of the lines were built.
  The CF du ARB remained
caption: A train at Coyecques, early C20th.
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