The Aiffres to Ruffec railway line was a railway in the south west of France which served the route between Niort, Aiffres, Melle, Brioux-sur-Boutonne, Chef-Boutonne and Ruffec (Charente). History The first proposals to link Ruffec to Niort dated from 1853. There were plans to make a branch from Aiffres, near Niort on the Bordeaux - Chartres line. The line was declared of public utility by imperial decree on June 19, 1868. It was granted to the Compagnie des chemins de fer des Charentes on a definitive basis by a law on March 23, 1874. The company was purchased by the State under the terms of an agreement signed on March 31, 1877 between the Minister of Public Works and the company. This redemption was approved by law on May 18, 1878. The line (which was under construction at the time) was then incorporated into the network of the state railway administration Chemin de Fer de l'Etat. Four options for the route were initially proposed, and one serving both Melle and Brioux was finally selected. The line was double track from Ruffec to La Faye, the remainder being single track. The metre gauge secondary railway line of the CFD Réseau des Charentes et Deux-Sèvres from Saint-Jean-d'Angély to Saint-Saviol, opened in 1896, crossed the Aiffres to Ruffec line near the station of Chef -Boutonne. The line was commissioned on February 23, 1885 and closed to passenger traffic on October 2, 1938. Parts of the route remained in service for freight traffic until 1991. Operation There were three round trips of passenger trains and two of freight trains per day. They travelled the entire line in three hours in 1885, two and a half hours in 1914 and then two hours in 1937. Decline and closure The increased use of cars and coaches led to a drop in passenger numbers. When the SNCF took over the line, they decided to close the line to passenger traffic. Road coaches transported passengers while the line only accommodated freight traffic. In 1949, local elected officials succeeded in obtaining the restoration of passenger traffic with railcars. This service continued until 1954, and the same year freight traffic on the Chef-Boutonne to Ruffec section was suspended. No more trains ran from 1977 between Melle and Chef-Boutonne with the end of freight trains on this section. The final freight service to run was between Niort and the Rhône-Poulenc factory