Narbonne–Portbou railway

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Narbonne–Portbou railway
BB 7292 + Talgo au PN 413 (Lunon).jpg
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerRFF
LocaleFrance (Occitanie),
Spain (Catalonia)
TerminiNarbonne station
Portbou railway station
Service
SystemSNCF
Operator(s)SNCF
History
Opened1858-1878
Technical
Line length104 km (65 mi)
Number of tracksDouble track[1]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification1.5 kV DC[2]
Route map
hide
Legend
 Line from Béziers
 406.1 Narbonne
Line to Bize-Minervois
Line to Toulouse
425.1 Port-la-Nouvelle
 435.4 Leucate-La Franqui
 450.0 Salses
Line from Axat
 459.3 Rivesaltes
 River Têt
 467.5 Perpignan
Line to Figueres and Villefranche
481.2 Elne
Line to Le Boulou
 489.5 Argelès-sur-Mer
 494.7 Collioure
 497.3 Port-Vendres-Ville
 502.1 Banyuls-sur-Mer
508.7 Cerbère
509.6 Border France/Spain
510.5
166.4
 Portbou
 Line to Barcelona

The Narbonne—Portbou railway is an important 104-kilometre long railway line that connects the city of Narbonne, France to northeastern Spain. The railway was built by the Compagnie des Chemins de fer du Midi. The first section that was opened in 1858 led from Narbonne to Perpignan.[3] The line was extended to the Spanish border town Portbou in 1878.

Route[]

The Narbonne–Portbou railway leaves the Bordeaux–Sète railway in Narbonne towards the south. It runs close to the Mediterranean coast for much of its length. South of Perpignan the new high-speed rail to Figueres branches off. The Narbonne–Portbou railway crosses the Spanish border between Cerbère and Portbou, where the railway ends. France and Spain have different rail gauges (standard gauge and Iberian gauge, resp.), which requires change of trains. The section between Cerbère and Portbou has tracks with both gauges.

Main stations[]

The main stations on the Narbonne–Portbou railway are:

Services[]

The Narbonne–Portbou railway is used by the following passenger services:

  • TGV from Paris to Barcelona on the section between Narbonne and Perpignan
  • AVE from Barcelona to Toulouse or Lyon, and from Madrid to Marseille on the section between Narbonne and Perpignan
  • Intercités from Paris to Portbou via Toulouse on the whole line
  • TER Occitanie regional services on the whole line

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 (1872). Statistique centrale des chemins de fer. Chemins de fer français. Situation au 31 décembre 1871 (in French). Paris: Ministère des Travaux Publics. p. 104.

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