In 1978, the residents of the commune of Sare in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region of France voted in a referendum about a proposed road project that would have led to the summit of the Rhune, a mountain on the French-Spanish border. According to Wikipedia and other sources, the rejection of this road project allowed the survival of a small rack railway that had been built in 1924. This railway still operates today, ascending to an altitude of 905 meters, offering a unique journey through the mountainous landscape. The Rhune railway, which is 4.2 kilometers long, climbs 736 meters over the course of 35 minutes, with a steep gradient of 250 mm/m. This gradient, which is equivalent to gaining 25 meters in elevation for every 100 meters traveled, required the use of a Strub-type rack system. This system uses a toothed rail placed between the two standard rails to improve adhesion, allowing the train to navigate the steep incline. The journey is slow, with an average speed of about 8 kilometers per hour, and the train consists of a locomotive and two carriages. The locomotive, positioned at the rear, pushes the carriages uphill and controls them downhill, with two agents managing the train—one at the front and one at the rear. The railway was originally built between 1912 and 1924, with construction paused during World War I. After the war, work resumed and the line was officially opened in two ceremonies, on April 25 and June 30, 1924. The line was restored and brought up to current standards after a change in concessionaire in 1996, with some of the original blueprints used in the restoration. The trains that operate today are over a century old but have been fully restored. The 1978 referendum in Sare marked a significant moment in the railway's history, as it was the population of the commune, not a funding plan, that decided the railway's future. The decision to reject the road project meant that the train could continue to operate without competition from cars, which might have affected its passenger numbers. The referendum took place 54 years after the railway's opening, and while the exact impact of the vote is interpreted rather than definitively measured, it is widely believed to have played a key role in preserving the railway. The line remains a unique attraction, offering a glimpse into the region's history and natural beauty.