Toulouse-Matabiau is the main railway station in
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
, southern France. It is in the city centre and connected to the
Toulouse Metro
The Toulouse Metro (french: Métro de Toulouse, oc, Mètro de Tolosa) is a rapid transit system serving Toulouse Métropole, France. It is the only Metro system in Occitanie. The city's public transport system was initially managed by the ''Socià ...
. The station is situated on the
Bordeaux–Sète railway
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Brive–Toulouse (via Capdenac) railway and Toulouse–Auch railway. Direct trains run to most parts of France.
History
![Gare de Toulouse-Matabiau HDR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Gare_de_Toulouse-Matabiau_HDR.jpg)
Toulouse waited until the middle of the 19th century for the railway to arrive in the city.
In 1853, Émile Pereire and his brother Jacob founded the
CF du Midi. Three years later, the line from
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
to Toulouse was opened, it was extended to
Sète
Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises' ...
in 1857.
The current passenger building was built between 1903 and 1905, replacing an older and smaller building. The station took the name of the borough, an area called ''Matabiau'', named after the martyrdom of
Saint Saturnin, mata-bios meaning ''kill the bull''. It was designed by
Marius Toudoire
Denis Marius Toudoire (Toulon, November 15, 1852 - Paris, March 11, 1922) was a French architect. In particular, he built stations for the Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM), including the main stations: P ...
(who also designed Bordeaux Station) and was built with stone from the Roman city of
Saintes. Like the Midi station in
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
, Matabiau station bears 26
coats of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...
on the front of the building of the 26 destinations that Midi served.
Some work was carried out on the building in 1938 prior to its listing.
Layout
The station is centred on two main concourses at the front of the station directly linked to each other, with ticket offices, shops and cafés. Underpasses link these concourses to the platforms. The station is connected to the underground ''Marengo SNCF'' station on
Line A of the Toulouse Metro, accessible from inside and just outside the station.
Destinations
Toulouse-Matabiau is situated at the heart of a six-branch star network of lines with both
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
(
TER
Ter or TER may refer to:
Places
* River Ter, in Essex, England
* Ter (river), in Catalonia
* Ter (department), a region in France
* Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy
* Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob ...
) and
national
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
(
TGV
The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...
and
Corail) services.
Toulouse is served by the following regional lines:
* Toulouse–
Albi
Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albigà ...
-
Rodez
Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the ...
* Toulouse–
Montauban
Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...
* Toulouse–
Saint-Sulpice
* Toulouse–
Carcassonne
Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department.
Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...
* Toulouse–
Tarbes
Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba'' ...
and
Bayonne
Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
* Toulouse–
Foix
Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, Foix ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwe ...
* Toulouse–
Auch
Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony.
Geography
Localization
Hydrography
The Riv ...
Several
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
facilities are present near the station, including the old Toulouse-Raynal goods yard now a carriage and engine maintenance yard and the large
Saint-Jory
Saint-Jory (; oc, Sent Jòri) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. It is served by Saint-Jory station on the Bordeaux-Toulouse line.
Population
Sights
The Château de Saint-Jory is a 16th-century castle which ...
marshalling yard to the north.
Train services
The following services currently call at Toulouse-Matabiau:
Le réseau régional de transport public
TER Occitanie, accessed 11 May 2022.
*high-speed services (''TGV'')
**Paris–Tours–Bordeaux–Toulouse
**Toulouse–Montpellier–Lyon
*intercity services (''Intercités'')
**Paris–Vierzon–Limoges–Toulouse
**Bordeaux–Toulouse–Montpellier–Marseille
**Bayonne–Pau–Tarbes–Toulouse
*night services (''Intercités de Nuit'')
**Paris–Souillac-Toulouse
*local service (TER Occitanie)
**Toulouse–Carcassonne–Narbonne
**Toulouse–Albi–Rodez
**Toulouse–Figeac–Aurillac
**Brive-la-Gaillarde–Cahors–Montauban–Toulouse
**Montauban–Toulouse
**Agen–Montauban–Toulouse
**Toulouse–Castres–Mazamet
**Toulouse–Castelnaudary–Carcassonne
**Toulouse–Colomiers–Auch
**Toulouse–Foix–Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg
**Toulouse–Saint-Gaudens–Tarbes–Pau
Gallery
File:Matabiau station west concourse.JPG, The western concourse
File:Matabiau station east concourse.JPG, The eastern concourse
File:SNCF X72500 Toulouse FRA 001.jpg, An X72500 at Toulouse-Matabiau
File:SNCF BB7200 Toulouse FRA 001.jpg, A selection of SNCF locos at Toulouse-Matabiau
File:Toulouse - Gare Matabiau.jpg, The main facade after renovation of the square in 2021
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toulouse
Railway stations in Haute-Garonne
Transport in Toulouse
Buildings and structures in Toulouse
Railway stations in France opened in 1856
Railway stations in France opened in 1956