About this journey

Puget-Théniers station sits at the point where the Ligne de Nice à Digne — known locally as the Train des Pignes — reaches the first deep folds of the southern Alps. The metre-gauge line, which is 1,000 mm, dates from the 1890s: construction began in 1890, a partial opening served Puget-Théniers in 1892, and the railway reached Annot in 1908. The entire line between Nice and Digne was formally inaugurated from 5 to 7 August 1911.

The section between Puget-Théniers and Annot is the only part of the line where steam trains run today, operated during the summer season. That distinction reflects the segment's character: the route passes through terrain marked by sandstone formations rising within limestone mountains, and the demanding mountain environment is not merely scenic — a rockfall derailed a train near Annot on 9 February 2014. Scaffarels station, an optional stop built on a masonry embankment, is typical of the line's light infrastructure along this stretch.

Annot station sits at 680 metres altitude, where the village lies within a resurgence of sandstone up to 250 metres thick. The journey from Puget-Théniers ends at a landscape shaped as much by geology as by railway history, and the CP E211 Mallet locomotive hauling this summer service is itself part of what draws passengers into these mountains.