Bordeaux–Irun railway

Bordeaux–Irun railway
Overview
System	SNCF
Status	Operational
Locale	France (Aquitaine), Spain (Basque Country)
Termini	Gare de Bordeaux-Saint-Jean Irun railway station
Operation
Opened	1841-1864
Owner	RFF
Operator(s)	SNCF
Technical
Line length	235 km (146 mi)
No. of tracks	Double track[1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1.5 kV DC[2]
Route map Legend Line from Paris-Austerlitz 0.0 Bordeaux-Saint-Jean Line to Toulouse to Pointe de Grave 7.0 Pessac 9.5 Alouette-France 13.4 Gazinet-Cestas 24.9 Croix-d'Hins 28.6 Marcheprime 39.3 Facture-Biganos 42.3 to Arcachon 75.5 Ychoux 88.9 Labouheyre 108.5 Morcenx 108.5 to Mont-de-Marsan 133.8 to Tartas 147.5 Dax 147.5 to Puyoô and Pau 161.9 Saubusse-les-Bains 166.3 Saint-Geours-de-Maremne 171.9 Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse 178.1 Bénesse-Maremne 184.7 Labenne 187.8 Ondres 193.8 Boucau 197.6 Bayonne 199.1 River Adour 199.5 Line to Puyoô and Toulouse 199.5 Line to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port 200.1 River Nive 200.3 to port of Bayonne 207.3 Biarritz 214.1 Guéthary 220.4 Saint-Jean-de-Luz-Ciboure 230.2 Les Deux-Jumeaux 232.8 Hendaye 233.3 Border F - ES (River Bidasoa) 235.1 Irun to Madrid

The railway from Bordeaux to Irun is an important French 235-kilometre long railway line, that connects the southwestern city Bordeaux to northern Spain. The railway was opened in several stages between 1841 and 1864.^[3]

Route

The Bordeaux–Irun railway leaves the Gare de Bordeaux-Saint-Jean in southwestern direction. The first approximately 145 km of its course runs through the Landes forest. At Lamothe the line to Arcachon branches off, and the line turns south. At Dax the line leaves the Landes forest, and the line to Puyoô and Pau branches off. The railway continues downstream along the right bank of the river Adour until Saubusse, where it turns west towards the Atlantic coast, and then south. It crosses the river Adour in Bayonne, and turns southwest. It passes along the ocean resorts Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz. It crosses the Spanish border between Hendaye and Irun, where the railway ends. France and Spain have different rail gauges (standard gauge and Iberian gauge, resp.), which requires change of trains. The section between Hendaye and Irun has tracks with both gauges.

Main stations

The main stations on the Bordeaux–Irun railway are:

• Gare de Bordeaux-Saint-Jean
• Gare de Dax
• Gare de Bayonne
• Gare d'Hendaye
• Irun railway station

History

The railway was built by the Compagnie des Chemins de fer du Midi and its predecessor Compagnie du chemin de fer de Bordeaux à La Teste. The first section that was opened in 1841 led from Bordeaux to Lamothe, a section that is shared with the railway to Arcachon. The line was extended to Dax in 1854. The section between Dax and Bayonne was opened in 1855. Finally in 1864 the line was extended from Bayonne to the Spanish border town Irun.^[3]

Services

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

• TGV from Paris to Irun on the whole line, and from Paris to Tarbes on the section between Bordeaux and Dax
• Intercités from Hendaye to Toulouse on the section between Bayonne and Hendaye
• TER Aquitaine regional services on the section between Bordeaux and Hendaye

References

1. RFF - Network map PDF
2. RFF - Map of electrified railway lines PDF
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.