Train de l'Ardèche

Above Tournon the Doux runs through a gorge its railway calls inaccessible, and the train is the way in, clinging to the canyon wall high above the river.

The line was cut along the valley between 1886 and 1891 to join Tournon, on the Rhône, to Lamastre in the hills of the Haut-Vivarais: 28 kilometres of metre gauge pinned to the rock above the river on walls, arches and a tunnel. It was part of a network of departmental lines that closed in 1968, and the following summer a group of enthusiasts started running it for visitors. It has carried tourists ever since, apart from a five-year gap after 2008, when the money ran out and the steam engines were laid up. Trains came back in July 2013.

Today the trains still leave from Tournon–Saint-Jean behind the line's own articulated Mallet engines of 1903 and 1932, pulling varnished wooden coaches and open summer cars. The Train des Gorges goes eight kilometres into the wildest part of the canyon and back in about an hour and a half; the Mastrou, named after the line's old nickname, runs the whole way to Lamastre in an hour and three quarters.

Trains leave from Tournon–Saint-Jean, the railway's own station at Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, four kilometres from the centre of Tournon, with a free car park, a museum and a buvette. Within a few minutes the line is over the Doux, and from there to Colombier-le-Vieux it is in the gorges: track on stone walls above the water, a 265-metre tunnel, and the river far below on one side. This is the stretch the Train des Gorges covers, and at Colombier the engine is turned on the turntable by hand while passengers wait twenty minutes or so before the run back.

The Mastrou carries on. At Boucieu-le-Roi the valley opens out round a broad meander, and above it the line leaves the canyon for orchards and chestnut woods, crossing the Doux again on stone viaducts before it reaches Lamastre, 28 kilometres and 1 h 45 from the start, including a fifteen-minute halt halfway. The return leaves Lamastre in mid-afternoon, which gives time for lunch in the town; the operator advises booking a restaurant table before the train arrives.

The steam engines are the line's two Mallets, No. 403 of 1903 and No. 414 of 1932, articulated tank engines built for its tight curves. The operator keeps the right to change the traction, and some trains run behind a diesel: the T66, a 600-horsepower diesel-electric of 1950 that came to the line in 2022, or the 1963 diesel built for the railway itself. The coaches are a mix of varnished wooden stock from Brittany and Switzerland, three first-class coaches with velvet seats, and roofed panoramic cars with no glass, which run in all weathers. The Mastrou also carries a van for bicycles, prams and luggage.

The 2026 season has ended, and the operator has not yet published dates for 2027. The pattern below is the 2026 one; expect the 2027 season to start again in early April. Two Christmas trains run on 21 and 28 December 2026.

Train des Gorges — Tournon–Saint-Jean to Colombier-le-Vieux and back

In 2026 it ran from 2 April to 29 October, mostly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with extra days around the May holidays and in July and August. Depending on the date there is one departure, at 10:00 or 15:00, or both.

Mastrou — Tournon–Saint-Jean to Lamastre

In 2026 it ran from 5 April to 27 September: on Wednesdays and Sundays in April, on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from May to early July and in September, plus a few holiday Fridays and Mondays in May, and every day except Saturday from 13 July to 30 August.

Trains run in all weathers. There are no toilets on board, only at the stations, and the operator asks passengers to arrive 45 minutes before departure; seats are not numbered.

Getting there: the nearest SNCF station is Tain-l'Hermitage–Tournon, across the Rhône. Bus line 11 towards Saint-Félicien stops at Tournon–Saint-Jean on request, booked by 16:00 the day before on 04 28 70 79 75. The ViaRhôna cycle route has a signed greenway along the Doux to the station.

Times as of November 2026, from the operator's timetables and fares (opens in a new tab), which shows the day-by-day calendar. The operator may change the traction or cancel a departure in case of force majeure.

Tickets are sold on the operator's website, at the Tournon–Saint-Jean and Boucieu-le-Roi stations, and at the tourist offices of Tournon, Tain-l'Hermitage, Saint-Félicien, Lamastre and Saint-Donat. Booking is not compulsory, but the operator advises buying ahead because seats are limited; it takes no bookings by phone.

Children under 10 travel free but still need a ticket; young people aged 10 to 13 pay a reduced fare. First class on the Mastrou costs a €9 supplement per person, children included. A bicycle or trailer costs €8 on the Mastrou, booked with the ticket. Groups of 20 or more have their own fare. Prices for the 2026 season, as of November 2026, from the operator.

Interrail passes are not valid on the Train de l'Ardèche. Interrail's table of railway companies does not list it; in France the pass covers SNCF and a few other operators, so it gets you to Tain-l'Hermitage–Tournon on a regional train, and you buy an ordinary ticket for the steam train.

The pass that does include it is the Pass'Ardèche, at €48 for three days, €68 for six and €98 for a year, which gets you into some 40 sites across the Ardèche, among them the Château-musée of Tournon. It covers only the Train des Gorges, not the Mastrou, and pays only if you plan to visit several of the other sites; for the train alone, buy the ticket.

Checked November 2026 against Interrail's table of railway companies (opens in a new tab) and the operator's Pass'Ardèche page (opens in a new tab).

The line starts in the Rhône valley and ends in the hills, so a day on the Mastrou can take in a wine town on the river and a market town on the plateau. Tournon and Tain-l'Hermitage face each other across the Rhône, a short walk apart over the footbridge.

Tournon-sur-Rhône is the place to stay: its hotels are a short drive or bus ride from the departure station, and Tain-l'Hermitage, across the river, has the SNCF station. Lamastre, at the top of the line, has a few smaller hotels and guest houses for anyone riding the Mastrou one way and going on by bicycle along the Dolce Via.

Planning this trip and stuck on something, or spotted a time, fare or detail that has changed? Send us a message about Train de l'Ardèche. We read every one, and we update this page when something has changed.