Bordeaux–Sète railway

Bordeaux–Sète railway
Bordeaux–Sète railway
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	RFF
Locale	France (Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie)
Termini	Bordeaux-Saint-Jean station; Sète station
Service
System	SNCF
Operator(s)	SNCF
History
Opened	1855-1858
Technical
Line length	476 km (296 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1.5 kV DC
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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 Bordeaux-Saint-Jean station 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:

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 Nouvelle-Aquitaine and TER Occitanie regional services on the whole line

References[]

^ "RFF - Network map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011.
^ "RFF - Map of electrified railway lines" (PDF).
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b 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.

[1] "RFF - Network map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011.

[2] "RFF - Map of electrified railway lines" (PDF).

[Statistique-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b 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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