Latour-de-Carol

Latour-de-Carol La Tor de Querol
Railway station
Coat of arms
Latour-de-Carol
Location within Languedoc-Roussillon region Latour-de-Carol
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Prades
Canton	Saillagouse
Intercommunality	Pyrénées Cerdagne
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Albert Truno
Area1	12.63 km2 (4.88 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	419
• Density	33/km2 (86/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	66095 / 66760
Elevation	1,209–2,080 m (3,967–6,824 ft) (avg. 1,248 m or 4,094 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Latour-de-Carol (Catalan: La Tor de Querol) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Geography

Localization

Latour-de-Carol is located in the canton of Saillagouse and in the arrondissement of Prades.

Map of Latour-de-Carol and its surrounding communes

Transport

The village's main claim to fame is as the site of the international railway station, Gare de Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg (Catalan: La Tor de Querol-Enveig). This station is the terminus of three lines, each with different gauges:

• the Spanish state operator RENFE's 1,668 mm (5 ft 5 ²¹⁄₃₂ in) gauge line running north from Barcelona via Ripoll
• the French state operator SNCF's 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) gauge line running south from Toulouse via Foix
• SNCF's 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) gauge line (known as the Yellow Train) running west from Villefranche-de-Conflent

As the French and Spanish tracks are different gauges, no trains run the whole way from Toulouse to Barcelona. Passengers have to change trains, which are however no longer scheduled to offer direct connections. Occasional freight-trains cross the border and are worked to Puigcerda, where freight is transferred. The double-track line to Puigcerda consists of two separate tracks with different gauges and electrified at different currents. September 2011 - the French (standard) gauge line across the border is out of use. Spanish passenger trains run across into France to meet up with the French line. No freight services currently operate. Judging from the Google maps satellite photos, the French line into Puigcerda has been severed and the alignment of the Spanish line changed. The sidings served by the French lines are being left to nature, although the Spanish lines seem very well maintained.

Route nationale 20 passing through Latour-de-Carol. This segment of this road is also part of the European route E09.

European route E09 and part of the Route nationale 20 connect Latour-de-Carol with Bourg-Madame (near the border with Spain) and Foix.

Population

Population 1962-2008

See also

• Break of gauge
• Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Railways through Europe: Latour de Carol - Enveigt