The Chemin de Fer du Blanc-Argent (in French pronounced as /ʃəmɛ̃ d(ə) fɛʁ dy blɑ̃ aʁʒɑ̃/; BA) is a gauge railway in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France, part of which is still open to traffic, whilst another section is now operated as a heritage railway.
The BA was conceived as a standard-gauge cross-country route linking lines of the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (PO). Although the original scheme was abandoned, the PO built the line as a single-track metre-gauge railway, linking Argent with Le Blanc, and running through the departments of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher and Indre.[1]
The line had a total length of 191km (119miles), with headquarters at Romorantin. It opened in 1901 and remained intact until 1951, when the first closures took place. All traffic was steam hauled until the early 1930s, when Billard railcars were introduced to handle some of the passenger traffic. Steam locomotives were operated until the 1950s. In 1981, the Centre region and SNCF agreed to rebuild the four Verney railcars, and built two new ones. The timetable was reorganised to give better connections with the SNCF. The BA became part of TER in 1987. Freight traffic on the BA ended in 1989.[1] [2]
The BA was divided into five sections operationally.
| Argent – Salbris | Closed to passengers in 1939. Argent - Clemont was the first section to close completely, in 1951. Clémont - Salbris closed to freight in 1973[3] | |
|---|---|---|
| Salbris – Romorantin | Open to passengers. | |
| Romorantin – Valençay | Open. | |
| Valençay – Luçay-le-Mâle | Closed in October 2009 after a safety inspection. There is a replacement bus service. | |
| Luçay-le-Mâle – Buzançais | Closed to passengers in 1980, freight in 1989. Used by the preservation society Luçay-le-Mâle - Argy, Argy - Buzançais rebuilt to standard gauge. | |
| Buzançais – Le Blanc | Closed to passengers in September 1953 and freight in December 1953. |
Part of the line between Lucay-le-Male and Buzançais has been preserved by the Société d'Animation du Blanc-Argent (SABA). The final section, between Argy and Buzançais, has been converted to standard gauge to serve a local agricultural industry so Argy is the southern terminus of the preserved part of the line.[3] [4]