The Nice to Meyrargues line was developed under the
Freycinet Plan, a
public works program initiated by the French Prime Minister
Charles de Freycinet. The line was opened in stages between 1888 and 1892. With a length of it was the first narrow-gauge route in France to exceed . Viaducts for the line were built to cross the rivers
Siagne,
Loup and
Var. During the line's early years the locomotive fleet included 0-6-0 and 2-4-0
tender engines. In 1913 services ran at an average speed of . The line was connected to Nice at the city's neo-classical terminus station, the
Gare du Sud. Destruction of viaducts during WWII closed the section of the line between Nice and
Tanneron and the rest was shut in 1950 as it was uneconomic. Work to build these lines started in 1887 and the lines were opened in sections •
Nice — Meyrargues () •
Draguignan - Meyrargues (22 March 1889) •
Grasse - Draguignan (25 October 1890) •
Colomars -
Grasse (7 June 1892) • Nice — Colomars (2 June 1892) •
Nice — Digne () • Nice — Colomars (2 June 1892) • Colomars -
Puget-Théniers (8 August 1892) • Puget-Théniers -
St. André-les-Alpes (3 July 1911) (from 1892 to 1911 passengers were transferred by stagecoach, a trip that took 6.5 hours) • St.André-les-Alpes — Digne-les-Bains (15 May 1892) •
St.Raphaël — Toulon () • St.Raphaël — La Foux (19 September 1889) • La Foux -
Hyères (4 August 1890) • Hyères — Toulon (21 August 1905) •
Cogolin — St.Tropez () • Cogolin — St.Tropez (1 July 1894) The
Nice-Digne line is today operated daily by
Chemins de Fer de Provence with
railcars, four trains per day. ==Rolling stock==