Toulouse–Bayonne railway

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]

Toulouse–Bayonne railway
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerRFF
LocaleFrance (Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
TerminiToulouse-Matabiau station
Bayonne station
Service
SystemSNCF
Operator(s)SNCF
History
Opened1861-1867
Technical
Line length319 km (198 mi)
Number of tracksDouble track Toulouse–Puyoô,
single track Puyoô–Bayonne[1]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Electrification1.5 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

Route

The Toulouse–Bayonne railway leaves the Toulouse-Matabiau station 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:

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:

References

  1. "RFF - Network map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18.
  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.
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