The railway from Paris to Brest is a 622-kilometre long

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

that connects

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and the western port city

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

, via Le Mans and Rennes. It is used for passenger (express, regional and suburban) and freight traffic. The railway was opened in several stages between 1840 and 1865.

Route

The railway leaves

Paris-Montparnasse Gare Montparnasse (; Montparnasse station), officially Paris-Montparnasse, one of the six large Paris railway termini, is located in the 14th and 15th arrondissements. The station opened in 1840, was rebuilt in 1852 and relocated in 1969 to ...

in southwestern direction for the first 3 km, and turns west at

Malakoff Malakoff () is a suburban commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department southwest of Paris, France. Located from the centre of the city, it had a population of 30,286 in 2016. The European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) is base ...

, skirting the southern quarters of the city of Versailles. It turns southwest again until

Maintenon Maintenon () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located southwest of the center of Paris. Maintenon, together with the neighbouring commune of Pierres, form an urban area of 7,075 inhabitants (2017).Eure upstream, passing Chartres. At La Loupe, it leaves the Eure valley in southwestern direction until it enters the

Huisne The Huisne () is a long river in France. It is a left tributary of the river Sarthe, which it meets in Le Mans. Its source is near the town of Pervenchères, in the Orne department. The Huisne flows through the following departments and towns: ...

valley at

Condé-sur-Huisne Condé-sur-Huisne (, literally ''Condé on Huisne'') is a former commune in the Orne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Sablons-sur-Huisne. Description Condé-sur-Huisne lies between the ...

. It follows the Huisne downstream to Le Mans, where it turns northwest. At

Sillé-le-Guillaume Sillé-le-Guillaume () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France, named after Guillaume de Sillé. In the fifteenth century the lord of the manor was Sir John Fastolf of Caister in Norfolk ...

it turns west, crossing the river

Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ill ...

in Laval. After Vitré, it follows the river

Vilaine The Vilaine (; br, Gwilen) is a river in Brittany, in the west of France. The river's source is in the Mayenne ''département'' (53), and it flows out into the Atlantic Ocean at Pénestin in the Morbihan ''département'' (56). It is 218 km ...

downstream to Rennes. It continues roughly northwest to

Lamballe Lamballe (; ; Gallo: ''Lanball'') is a town and a former commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Lamballe-Armor. It lies on the river Gouessant east-s ...

, where it turns west. Just before Saint-Brieuc (at Yffiniac), it nearly touches the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

coast. It continues west through

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Gui ...

and

Morlaix Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Leisure and tourism The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overha ...

until it reaches its terminus

, at a bay of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

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 ...

high speed trains with destination Le Mans and further west use the

LGV Atlantique The LGV Atlantique (French: ''Ligne à Grande Vitesse''; English: Atlantic high-speed line) is a high-speed rail line running from Paris (Gare Montparnasse) to Western France. It opened in 1989–1990 and comprises two stations: Massy TGV statio ...

between Paris and Connerré (20 km east of Le Mans) instead of the "classic" line.

Main stations

Gare Montparnasse Gare Montparnasse (; Montparnasse station), officially Paris-Montparnasse, one of the six large Paris railway termini, is located in the 14th and 15th arrondissements. The station opened in 1840, was rebuilt in 1852 and relocated in 1969 to ...

(Paris) *

Versailles-Chantiers station Versailles–Chantiers is the principal railway station serving the city of Versailles. It provides national service on the Paris–Brest railway line, as well as regional, and commuter (Paris) rail service. See also * List of stations of th ...

Chartres station Chartres station (French: ''Gare de Chartres'') is a railway station serving the town of Chartres in the Eure-et-Loir department and Centre-Val de Loire region of France. It is situated on the Paris–Brest railway. The station is part of the SNCF ...

Le Mans station Le Mans (French: ''Gare du Mans'') is a railway station serving the town Le Mans, Sarthe department, western France. It is situated on the Paris–Brest railway, Le Mans–Angers railway The railway from Le Mans to Angers is an important Fren ...

Laval station Laval station ( French: ''Gare de Laval'') is a railway station serving the town Laval, Mayenne department, western France. It is situated on the Paris–Brest railway. The station is served by high speed trains to Paris and Rennes, and by region ...

* Vitré station *

Rennes station Rennes station ( French: ''Gare de Rennes'') is situated in the town centre of Rennes, France. It is situated on the Paris–Brest, Rennes–Saint-Malo and the Rennes–Redon railways. The station at Rennes was opened in 1857, and was situat ...

Lamballe station Lamballe station ( French: ''Gare de Lamballe'') is a railway station serving the town Lamballe, Côtes-d'Armor department, western France. It is situated on the Paris–Brest railway and the branch line to Dinan and Dol-de-Bretagne. Services Th ...

Saint-Brieuc station Saint-Brieuc station (French: ''Gare de Saint-Brieuc'') is a railway station serving the town Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor department, western France. It is situated on the Paris–Brest railway and the branch line to Pontivy (freight) and Le Lég ...

Guingamp station Guingamp station ( French: ''Gare de Guingamp'') is a railway station serving the town of Guingamp, Côtes-d'Armor department, western France. It is on the Paris–Brest railway, and is also an important station for the local railway network TER Br ...

Plouaret-Trégor station Plouaret-Trégor station (French: ''Gare de Plouaret-Trégor'') is a railway station serving the town Plouaret, Côtes-d'Armor department, western France. It is situated on the Paris–Brest railway and the branch line to Lannion. File:Gare de P ...

Morlaix station Morlaix station (French: ''Gare de Morlaix'') is a railway station serving the town Morlaix, Finistère department, western France. It is situated on the Paris–Brest railway and the branch to Roscoff. Services The station is served by high spe ...

* Landerneau station *

Brest station Brest station (French: ''Gare de Brest'') is the railway station serving Brest, France. It is the western terminus of the Paris–Brest railway. The new station, built above the town's harbour in 1932 on the site of its 1865 predecessor, incl ...

Line history

The railway Paris–Brest was first built and exploited by the

Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest (CF de l'Ouest), often referred to simply as ''L'Ouest'' or ''Ouest'', was an early French railway company which operated from the years 1855 through 1909. History Birth of the company The Compa ...

. The oldest section of the line is the part between Paris and

Viroflay Viroflay () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the center and from the Palace of Versailles. The town motto is ''Lux mea lex'' which is ...

, built in 1840 as part of the railway between Paris and the city of Versailles. The part between Viroflay and Chartres was opened in 1849, Chartres– La Loupe in 1852, La Loupe– Le Mans in 1854, Le Mans– Laval in 1855, Laval– Rennes in 1857, followed by Rennes–

in 1863 and Guingamp–

in 1865.

Technical information

The line is on a double track in its entirety. The gauge is the . The overhead current is between Paris and Le Mans, and between Le Mans and Brest. The train protection system

Contrôle de vitesse par balises (''Speed control by beacons''), abbreviated to KVB is a train protection system used in France and in London St. Pancras International station. It checks and controls the speed of moving trains. KVB consists of: *The on-board installation, kn ...

(KVB) is operational on the Paris - Saint-Brieuc section. The signaling is either (BAL) or (BAPR) on the whole line.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris-Brest railway Railway lines in Brittany Railway lines in Centre-Val de Loire Railway lines in Île-de-France Railway lines in Normandy Railway lines in Pays de la Loire Brest, France