It is in the Loire that the first railway line in continental Europe was built. Inaugurated in 1827, it connects Andrézieux to St-Etienne, it is then used for the carriage of goods.
The department of the Loire is surrounded of mountainous reliefs which form the septentrional part of the Massif Central. It occupies the plains of Roanne and Forez. Gier and the Loire are the principal rivers which constitute the departmental hydrographic network.
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