The Berck-Plage - Paris-Plage line[1] (subsequently designated Le Touquet-Paris-Plage) constituted a narrow-gauge local railway that connected two coastal resorts on the Opal Coast of the English Channel in France.

Spanning approximately 17 kilometers (11 mi), the line was owned by a company independent of the major railway networks serving Berck-Plage and Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.

Nevertheless, this railway is illustrative of the communication modes utilized from the late 19th century until World War II, with the specific intention of serving vacation spots on the northern coasts of France.

[2] The coastline between the estuaries of the Authie and the Canche rivers, situated on the southern part of the Opal Coast, is characterized by a series of sandy beaches and vacation spots of varying importance, extending from south to north.

[N 1][3] The coastal resorts of Berck-Plage, Merlimont, and Le Touquet-Paris-Plage are located in the region between the estuaries of the Authie and the Canche rivers, on the southern part of the Opal Coast.

[4][N 2] In this context, in 1891, Mr. Lambert, an entrepreneur and founder of the Société des Dunes, sought to develop this coastal area by establishing a railway line connecting Berck-Plage to Paris-Plage, following the coastline.

[5] The route was designed to connect with the Aire-sur-la-Lys - Berck-Plage line in the south and the Étaples to Paris-Plage tramway [fr] in the north, both of which were planned for implementation shortly.

[5] Other structures included a depot workshop at Bellevue-les-Dunes, situated a few hundred meters north of Berck, and a goods shed located just before Paris-Plage station.

The stops, situated from south to north at Bellevue-les-Dunes, Merlimont-Village, Cucq, Golf, Daloz, and Sémaphore, were relatively simple in design, comprising only a platform and a post displaying the train schedule.

[9] In the years preceding the First World War, the number of passengers increased steadily, yet freight traffic failed to reach the anticipated levels, despite the installation of dedicated facilities near the Paris-Plage terminus.

[13] However, the service was now limited to two or three round trips per day along the entire route, with an additional shuttle between Berck-Plage and Merlimont-Plage, and only operated during the summer season from 1 July to 30 September.

These include competition from road transport, chronic deficits that emerged following the First World War or the 1929 crisis, a lack of modernisation, and a waning interest from local authorities in providing subsidies.

[N 5][19] However, the size of the fleet was no longer justified by the level of traffic, and thus one locomotive was sold to a cement factory in Cher and the other was leased to a brickyard in the vicinity of Berck.