Marne–Rhine Canal


The Canal de la Marne au Rhin is a canal in north-eastern France. It connects the river Marne and the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne in Vitry-le-François with the port of Strasbourg on the Rhine. The original objective of the canal was to connect Paris and the north of France with Alsace and Lorraine, the Rhine, and Germany. The long canal was the longest in France when it opened in 1853.

Description

The canal is suited for small barges, with a maximum size of in length and in width. It has 154 locks, including two in the Moselle River. There are four tunnels. The Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane is located between Arzviller and Saint-Louis and its construction replaced 17 locks.
In 1979, a section along the Moselle valley was closed following completion of the Moselle canalisation works between Frouard and Neuves-Maisons. The route is now made up as follows:
The western section, has 97 locks, 70 rising to the summit level and 27 down to the Moselle at Toul. The Moselle section has three locks of high-capacity Rhine dimensions on the river and one on the Frouard branch, and an additional Freycinet size lock connecting to the original canal in Frouard. The eastern section,, has 56 locks, 21 rising to the summit level crossing the Vosges watershed and 35 down to Strasbourg.
Its course crosses the following départements and towns:

En Route

PK 0Vitry-le-François
PK 47Bar-le-Duc
PK 62Ligny-en-Barrois
PK 86.5Mauvages tunnel
PK 111junction with Canal de la Meuse
PK 130Toul
PK 131.5junction with Moselle
PK 154.5entrance to canal from Frouard branch of Moselle
PK 164Nancy
PK 178Dombasle
PK 222Réchicourt
PK 255Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane
PK 259Lutzelbourg
PK 269Saverne
PK 286Hochfelden
PK 307Souffelweyersheim
PK 313Strasbourg