Villefranche - Vernet-les-Bains

The 10 o'clock departure is popular. We were told to arrive 1 hr before departure. We will buy our tickets. Go to the plattform. Wait in line, have our tickets checked, and embark. N.B. we arrived 90 minutes before departure and the line was by then pretty long. If you arrive by car to the trainstation the cost for a full day parking is 5€, which is also the minimum amount you can pay.

Although I found the timetable hard to figure out once on the train the journey is magnificent. A must do if you like unique trains and mountain scenery.

Leaving Perpignan early on an hour-long train trip to Villefranche was the start of a day adventure that took me deep into spectacular unspoilt Pyrenean scenery, characterized by a dramatic wraparound panorama of rocky gorges, extensive grasslands and wild undulating mountain sides. The small picturesque Villefranche train station, nestled deep in the mountains on the easternmost edge of the Tet Valley was the finishing line of the Perpignan - Villefranche route and the start-out point of the Villefranche - La Tour de Carol four-hour trip on the Train Jaune. A long narrow-gauge train journey that is perhaps as tiresome as a horse-drawn-cart ride may not be your cup of tea but the lack of an easy trip is well compensated for by an ambience that is as cool and relaxing (and at times laughable) as an encounter between longtime friends. The queue on the platform got long before an old-world bulk of vintage yellow machinery appeared coming from afar, chugging its way slowly on the train lines. The train master presented himself on the platform and sold pre-printed tickets for cash unaccompanied by any electronic devices. (No cash? Go inside the station and get cash from the ATM). The seats were what you would expect from a vintage train: rocklike hard, uncushioned, unpadded and firm. The windows could be manipulated up and down, well... by turning a handle and winding a cable. The luggage racks were cage-like bare-steel structures devoid of any plastic covering. As all passengers were in, the conductor on board checked the doors manually and soon after... an attempt was made to start the engine. The mechanism rattled, shook relentlessly, rattled again but the engine did not fire. Some passengers laughed, others shouted: Oh, is it engine trouble? But a third attempt started the engine and laughingly we were finally on our way looking through at mountain scenery so mind-glowingly spectacular it was nothing less than paradisaical. The train caterpillared over narrow stone bridges, climbed down repeatedly into deep dales and up along mountain sides, never failing to present bags of natural panache. At successive stations (read: mountain huts or cabins) along the way, the train stopped, not only to allow passengers to board in or out but also to give time for taking pictures. At the Font Romeu station, many passengers got off the train and walked 2km along the marked trail to a historical fortress where weapons, cannons and armoured vehicles from the two World Wars were on display. Others stepped down at the Bourg Madame station from where a 3km walk took them to the graceful Spanish town of Puigcerda. The last train stop is La Tour de Carol from where one can catch a normal train to Hospitallet (a daily bus runs from here to Pas de la Casa in Andorra) and on to Toulouse.

Having driven the road several times, the Yellow Train is really the only way to see the gorge up to Mont Louis. The views are spectacular, the pace is sedate, and in an open carriage you can see everything. It's pricier per km than the regular trains, but the pennies are worth it and it's the same price as a preserved railway in the U.K. But beware: the organisation is somewhat ramshackle - you get the feeling drivers and guards turn up when they like, and there's a scramble at Villefranche to get the best seats. Our tip: get there early, buy a pastry from the van in the car park, and wait by the chain on the left. You'll have the finest views in Roussillon!

I mean, who doesn't love a bright yellow train chugging through mountain peaks?!?!