Bordeaux–Sète railway

Bordeaux–Sète railway
Overview
System	SNCF
Status	Operational
Locale	France (Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées, Languedoc-Roussillon)
Termini	Gare de Bordeaux-Saint-Jean Gare de Sète
Operation
Opened	1855-1858
Owner	RFF
Operator(s)	SNCF
Technical
Line length	476 km (296 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 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

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]

Route

The Bordeaux–Sète railway leaves the Gare de Bordeaux-Saint-Jean 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:

• Gare de Bordeaux-Saint-Jean
• Gare d'Agen
• Gare de Montauban-Ville-Bourbon
• Gare de Toulouse-Matabiau
• Gare de Carcassonne
• Gare de Narbonne
• Gare de Béziers
• Gare de Sète

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 Aquitaine, TER Midi-Pyrénées and TER Languedoc-Roussillon regional services on the whole line

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.