Bordeaux–Sète railway

The railway from Bordeaux to Sète is an important French 476-kilometre long railway line, that connects the southwestern port city Bordeaux (on the Bay of Biscay) to the southern port Sète (on the Mediterranean) via Toulouse and Narbonne. The railway was opened in several stages between 1855 and 1858.[3]

Bordeaux–Sète railway
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerRFF
LocaleFrance (Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie)
Termini
Service
SystemSNCF
Operator(s)SNCF
History
Opened1855-1858
Technical
Line length476 km (296 mi)
Number of tracksDouble track[1]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification1.5 kV DC[2]
Route map

Line from Paris-Austerlitz
0.0
Bordeaux-Saint-Jean
Line to Bayonne and Pointe de Grave
3.0
Bègles
6.5
Villenave-d'Ornon
8.5
Cadaujac
13.4
Saint-Médard-d'Eyrans
18.1
Beautiran
20.3
Portets
23.4
Arbanats
27.5
Podensac
29.9
Cérons
33.4
Barsac
36.6
Preignac
Line from Gabarret
41.6
Langon
42.2
River Garonne
44.4
Saint-Macaire
47.6
Saint-Pierre-d'Aurillac
51.1
Caudrot
55.4
Gironde
60.5
La Réole
66.8
Lamothe-Landerron
72.0
Sainte-Bazeille
from Casteljaloux
78.8
Marmande
88.1
Gontaud-Fauguerolles
95.9
Tonneins
106.6
River Lot
107.5
Aiguillon
Line from Nérac
115.6
Port-Sainte-Marie
135.5
Agen
Line to Le Buisson
Freight line to Auch
149.3
Saint-Nicolas-Saint-Romain
155.4
Lamagistère
158.0
Golfech
161.2
Valence-d'Agen
164.7
Pommevic
168.4
Malause
177.6
Moissac
181.3
River Tarn
187.2
Castelsarrasin
Line to Beaumont-de-Lomagne
195.3
La Ville-Dieu
Line from Cahors and Paris-Austerlitz
205.9
Montauban-Ville-Bourbon
218.0
Montbartier
224.7
Dieupentale
229.5
Grisolles
235.0
Castelnau-d'Estrétefonds
240.8
Saint-Jory
247.2
Fenouillet-Saint-Alban
249.7
Lacourtensourt
252.0
Lalande-Église
253.5
Route de Launaguet
Line to Saint-Sulpice
256.4
Toulouse-Matabiau
Line to Bayonne
261.3
Montaudran
265.2
Labège-Innopole
267.8
Labège-Village
269.5
Escalquens
275.2
Montlaur
279.4
Baziège
283.3
Villenouvelle
289.3
Villefranche de Lauragais
296.5
Avignonet
311.2
Castelnaudary
to Revel
319.5
Pexiora
327.1
Bram
Line from Quillan
347.3
Carcassonne
383.5
Lézignan-Corbières
Line to Perpignan and Portbou
Line from Bize-Minervois
406.1
Narbonne
412.1
Coursan
412.4
River Aude
421.4
Nissan-lez-Ensérune
424.7
Colombiers
Line to Cazouls-lès-Béziers
430.9
River Orb
431.6
Béziers
433.0
Line to Millau
448.9
Vias
452.2
Agde
452.8
River Hérault
458.3
Marseillan-Plage
474.4
106.0
Midi to PLM
104.5
Sète
Line to Montpellier

Route

The Bordeaux–Sète railway leaves the Bordeaux-Saint-Jean station in southeastern direction, following the river Garonne upstream on its left bank. It crosses the Garonne at Langon, and continues upstream along the right Garonne bank in eastern direction, turning southeast near La Réole. It crosses the river Lot near Aiguillon, and passes through Agen. At Castelsarrasin the railway leaves the Garonne and runs east towards Montauban on the river Tarn, where it turns sharply southeast, and then south to Toulouse.

At Toulouse the railway leaves the Garonne again, following the small river Hers-Mort in southeastern direction. Beyond Carcassonne it follows the river Aude downstream, in eastern direction. At Narbonne the railway turns northeast until Béziers, where it turns east. At Agde it reaches the Mediterranean Sea coast, and runs northeast along the spit that separates the Étang de Thau from the sea. It reaches its eastern terminus Sète after 476 km.

Main stations

The main stations on the Bordeaux–Sète railway are:

History

The railway was built by the Compagnie des Chemins de fer du Midi. The first section that was opened in 1855 led from Bordeaux to Tonneins. The section between Tonneins and Toulouse was opened in 1856. In 1857 the line was extended to near Sète. Finally in 1858 the line was connected with the existing PLM line from Sète to Montpellier.[3]

Services

The Bordeaux–Sète railway is used by the following passenger services:

  • TGV from Paris to Toulouse on the section between Bordeaux and Toulouse
  • AVE from Barcelona to Toulouse on the section between Toulouse and Narbonne
  • Intercités from Paris to Toulouse and Perpignan on the section between Montauban and Narbonne, from Nantes to Toulouse on the section between Bordeaux and Toulouse and from Bordeaux to Marseille and Nice on the whole line
  • TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine and TER Occitanie regional services on the whole line

References

  1. "RFF - Network map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011.
  2. "RFF - Map of electrified railway lines" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  3. Direction Générale des Ponts et Chaussées et des Chemins de Fer (1869). Statistique centrale des chemins de fer. Chemins de fer français. Situation au 31 décembre 1869 (in French). Paris: Ministère des Travaux Publics. pp. 146–160.
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