It looks like it used to be double track but was singled and I was surprised that it is electrified! It looks like 25kV AC judging from the size of the wires and insulators. I think it's electrified as far as the quarries at Thouars, an important source of ballast and construction aggregates; the nearest to Paris, I believe. Wow, and I thought the Cambrian Coast was bad last summer when I visited, but that French line looks like it needs a visit from the Weedkiller train I really enjoyed this, watching it right through.
The track details, like treadles, singles and pairs, presumably for crossing actuation, and what I take to be balises in the 4' way. The line from Saumur to Thouars was double track. It was part of the main line from Paris to Bordeaux via Chartres and Chateau-de-Loir that the CF de l'Etat cobbled together from various former cross-country lines apparent from the tight curves after it took over the CF de l'Ouest. It was electrified at 25 KV 50Hz in Though there are three daily trains each way between Saumur and Thouars.
It doesn't appear that the unelectrified section between Thouars and La Roche sees any passenger trains apart from the Train des Sables weekends and Jours de Fete May -September, daily in July and August so it's not suprising that the track is so weedy. As Old Dudders says, this 4K video offers a huge amount of detail. I particularly noticed the suprising number of unbarriered level crossings on unclassified roads protected only a St. Andrews cross and the unusually narrow platform at Les Sables.
That surely doesn't have two metres of clearance from the seats and columns so useful for space starved modellers. It was sad, though not an unfamilair sight in France, to see the number of unused or even disconnected goods sidings and yards. Emblematic of SNCF's major failure to hang on to its goods traffic against the relentless advance of the CO2 spewing HGV even for customers who wanted to continue to ship by rail.
I tried to update the above post last night soon after I posted it but discovered this morning that the edit hadn't happened. I'd looked at the timetables in more detail and, except at weekends there are , apart from the Train des Plages not the Train des Sables- I was wrong about the name , three TERs between Saumur and Thouars. Two of these go on to Bressuire one of which goes all the way to Les Sables d'Olonne.
