Brive-la-Gaillarde–Toulouse (via Capdenac) railway

Brive-la-Gaillarde - Toulouse (via Capdenac)
Overview
System	SNCF
Status	Operational
Locale	France (Limousin, Midi-Pyrénées)
Termini	Gare de Brive-la-Gaillarde Gare de Toulouse-Matabiau
Stations	25
Operation
Opened	1858-1864
Owner	RFF
Operator(s)	SNCF
Technical
Line length	248 km (154 mi)
No. of tracks	Single track[1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Not Electrified
Route map Legend Line from Paris from Nexon from Périgueux 500.0 Brive-la-Gaillarde 500.3 to Tulle 500.4 148.0 Line to Montauban 163.1 Turenne 168.9 Les Quatre Routes 175.2 Saint-Denis-près-Martel 175.5 to Aurillac to Martel 177.5 River Dordogne 194.2 Rocamadour-Padirac 201.9 Gramat 218.8 Assier 237.5 from Aurillac 237.5 Figeac 241.7 from Cahors 242.8 River Lot 243.3 Capdenac 243.5 to Rodez 257.1 Salles-Courbatiès 273.1 Villefranche-de-Rouergue 289.5 Najac 299.8 Laguépie 308.4 Lexos to Montauban 319.4 Cordes-Vindrac 338.3 from Albi and Rodez 338.7 Tessonnières 342.9 Gaillac 351.9 Lisle-sur-Tarn 355.8 River Tarn 359.6 Rabastens-Couffouleux from Castres 365.9 Saint-Sulpice-sur-Tarn 371.7 Roqueserière-Buzet 376.5 Montastruc-la-Conseillère 380.6 Gragnague 388.7 Montrabé 396.0 255.8 Line from Montauban 256.4 Toulouse-Matabiau Line to Bayonne Line to Carcassonne

The Brive-la-Gaillarde - Toulouse (via Capdenac) railway is a 248-kilometre long French railway line, that connects the rural areas between Brive-la-Gaillarde and the large southern city of Toulouse via Figeac and Capdenac. The railway was opened in several stages between 1858 and 1864.^[2]

Route

The Brive-la-Gaillarde–Toulouse railway leaves the Gare de Brive-la-Gaillarde in a southeastern direction, towards Gare de Saint-Denis-près-Martel. Here the line to Gare d'Aurillac leaves in an easterly direction and the preserved line to Martel in a westerly direction. The line soon crosses the River Dordogne and follows the valley for a short while before it opens out into flat land. The Gare de Figeac is on two curves, where the line from Gare d'Aurillac joins. Shortly after leaving Figeac the railway travels through a 1.3 km tunnel and then travels alongside the River Lot and the preserved railway from Cahors joins, however this line has been disused since 2003. At Gare de Capdenac the line to Gare de Rodez leaves in an easterly direction. The line continues south from here, where after 95 km the line from Gare d'Albi and Gare de Rodez join at Gare de Tessonnières, although most interchanges are made at Gare de Gaillac. From here the line twists and turns around the River Tarn until Gare de Saint-Sulpice-sur-Tarn where the river heads northwest. At Saint-Sulpice the line from Gare de Castres joins and the former line to Montauban leaves. The line continues a further 30 km before arriving at its southern terminus of Gare de Toulouse-Matabiau.

Main stations

The main stations on the Brive - Toulouse railway are:

• Gare de Brive-la-Gaillarde
• Gare de Figeac
• Gare de Capdenac
• Gare de Gaillac
• Gare de Saint-Sulpice-sur-Tarn
• Gare de Toulouse-Matabiau

History

The first section that was opened in 1858 led from Lexos to Capdenac. Capdenac and Brive-la-Gaillarde were connected in 1862. Finally, the line was extended from Lexos to Toulouse in 1864.^[2]

Before the opening of this line in 1864, trains between Paris and Toulouse would travel via Tours and Bordeaux. The line remained the main link between Paris and Toulouse until 1891 when the Brive-Cahors section of the Orléans–Montauban railway was opened.

In 2010 a complete renewal of all the ballast between Capdenac and Tessonnières (95 km) took place.

Accident

On 3 August 1985 at 3:48 p.m., at the height of Flaujac-Gare, a serious train accident took place between a Corail intercity train towards Assier and a train towards Gramat.

Services

The Brive - Toulouse railway is used by the following passenger services:

• Lunéa night trains from Paris to Albi on the section between Brive and Capdenac
• TER Auvergne, TER Limousin and TER Midi-Pyrénées regional services on the whole line

References

1. RFF - Network map PDF
2. 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.