Toulouse–Bayonne railway

Toulouse–Bayonne railway
Overview
System	SNCF
Status	Operational
Locale	France (Midi-Pyrénées, Aquitaine)
Termini	Gare de Toulouse-Matabiau Gare de Bayonne
Operation
Opened	1861-1867
Owner	RFF
Operator(s)	SNCF
Technical
Line length	319 km (198 mi)
No. of tracks	Double track Toulouse–Puyoô, single track Puyoô–Bayonne[1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1.5 kV DC[2]
Route map Legend Line to Bordeaux Line to Saint-Sulpice 0.0 Toulouse-Matabiau Line to Carcassonne 3.9 Toulouse-Saint-Agne Line to Auch 11.7 Portet-Saint-Simon Line to Foix and Latour-de-Carol 20.8 Muret 28.3 Le Fauga 34.2 Longages-Noé 41.4 Carbonne 55.8 Cazères-sur-Garonne 61.6 Martres-Tolosane 65.7 Boussens Line to Saint-Girons 71.7 Saint-Martory 74.6 Lestelle 79.8 Labarthe-Inard 90.3 Saint-Gaudens Line from Luchon 103.9 Montréjeau-Gourdan-Polignan 120.5 Lannemezan Line to Arreau 126.0 Capvern 138.6 Tournay Freight line to Bagnères-de-Bigorre 156.3 Tarbes Freight line to Mont-de-Marsan 166.5 Ossun 176.9 Lourdes 187.2 Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre 191.8 Montaut-Bétharram 198.9 Coarraze-Nay 208.2 Assat 215.7 Pau Line to Oloron-Sainte-Marie 236.0 Artix 255.5 Orthez 270.2 Puyoô Line to Dax and Bordeaux 287.8 Peyrehorade 304.9 Urt Line from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port 319.4 199.5 Line from Hendaye and Irun 197.6 Bayonne Line to Dax and Bordeaux

The railway from Toulouse to Bayonne is an important French 319-kilometre long railway line, that connects the southern city Toulouse to the southwestern town Bayonne, running along the foothills of the Pyrenees. The railway was opened in several stages between 1861 and 1867.^[3]

Route

The Toulouse–Bayonne railway leaves the Gare de Toulouse-Matabiau in southern direction. It crosses the river Garonne south of Toulouse city centre, and follows the Garonne left bank upstream in southwestern direction. It crosses the Garonne twice near Saint-Martory, and turns west, still on the left Garonne bank. It crosses the Garonne again at Saint-Gaudens and at Montréjeau, where it leaves the Garonne valley.

Beyond Lannemezan the railway turns northwest towards Tarbes, where it turns southwest towards Lourdes. At Lourdes it turns west again and starts following the Gave de Pau downstream, on its right bank. At Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre the river and the railway turn northwest towards Pau and Puyoô. Beyond Puyoô the river and the railway take a western direction. The Gaves réunis is crossed at Hastingues, and the railway continues downstream along the left bank of the river Adour until it reaches Bayonne, its western terminus.

Main stations

The main stations on the Toulouse–Bayonne railway are:

• Gare de Toulouse-Matabiau
• Gare de Tarbes
• Gare de Pau
• Gare de Bayonne

History

The railway was built by the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi. The first section that was opened in 1861 led from Toulouse to Portet-Saint-Simon, a section that is shared with the railway to Foix and further. The line was extended to Montréjeau in 1862. The section between Puyoô and Pau was opened in 1863. In 1864 Bayonne was connected with Puyoô, and in 1866 Tarbes was connected with Lourdes. Finally in 1867 the missing sections from Montréjeau to Tarbes and from Lourdes to Pau were opened.^[3]

Services

The Toulouse–Bayonne railway is used by the following passenger services:

• TGV from Paris to Tarbes on the section between Puyoô and Tarbes
• Intercités from Bayonne to Toulouse
• TER Midi-Pyrénées and TER Aquitaine 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.