The railway from Toulouse to Bayonne is an important French 319-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, that connects the southern city

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 ...

to the southwestern town

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 ...

, running along the foothills of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

. The railway was opened in several stages between 1861 and 1867.

Route

The Toulouse–Bayonne railway leaves the Toulouse-Matabiau station in southern direction. It crosses the river

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

south of Toulouse city centre, and follows the Garonne left bank upstream in southwestern direction. It crosses the Garonne twice near

Saint-Martory Saint-Martory is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. Saint-Martory station has rail connections to Toulouse, Pau and Tarbes. Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Garonne department The following is a lis ...

, and turns west, still on the left Garonne bank. It crosses the Garonne again at Saint-Gaudens and at

Montréjeau Montréjeau (; oc-gsc, Montrejau) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. Montréjeau-Gourdan-Polignan station has rail connections to Toulouse, Pau, Bayonne and Tarbes. History Montréjeau was the site of one o ...

, where it leaves the Garonne valley. Beyond

Lannemezan Lannemezan (; Gascon Occitan ''Lanamesa'', "heath of the middle") is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department and the Occitanie region in south-western France. The inhabitants are called Lannemezanais. Lannemezan is the largest city in ...

the railway turns northwest towards

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'' ...

, where it turns southwest towards

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château ...

. At Lourdes it turns west again and starts following the

Gave de Pau The Gave de Pau () is a river of south-western France. It takes its name from the city of Pau, through which it flows. The river is long ( including the Gaves réunis), and its source is at the Cirque de Gavarnie in the Pyrenees mountains. The ...

downstream, on its right bank. At

Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre station has rail connections to Bayonne, Bordeaux, Tarbes and Pau. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department An ...

the river and the railway turn northwest towards Pau and

Puyoô Puyoô () is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. Geography The town is situated on the Gave de Pau, a river running through the region, and some of the river's tributaries, including the streams of Lataill ...

. Beyond Puyoô the river and the railway take a western direction. The Gaves réunis is crossed at

Hastingues Hastingues (; oc, Hastings, eu, Hastinga) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Its nickname, due to its location on a rounded-shaped hill, is Lou Carcolh (the snail). Geography The town lies o ...

, and the railway continues downstream along the left bank of the river

Adour The Adour (; eu, Aturri; oc, Ador) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre (Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. i ...

until it reaches

, its western terminus.

Main stations

The main stations on the Toulouse–Bayonne railway are: * Toulouse-Matabiau station *

Tarbes station Tarbes station (French: ''Gare de Tarbes'') is a railway station in Tarbes, Occitanie, France. The station is on the Toulouse–Bayonne railway line. The station is served by TGV (high speed trains), Intercités de Nuit (night trains), Intercité ...

Pau station The gare de Pau is a railway station in Pau, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station is located on the Toulouse-Bayonne and Pau-Canfranc railway lines. The station is served by TGV (high speed trains), Intercités de Nuit (night trains), Inter ...

Bayonne station Bayonne station (French: ''Gare de Bayonne'') is a railway station in Bayonne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station is located on the Bordeaux - Irun, Toulouse–Bayonne and Bayonne–Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port railway lines. The station is se ...

History

The railway was built by the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi. The first section that was opened in 1861 led from

to Portet-Saint-Simon, a section that is shared with the railway to

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 ...

and further. The line was extended to

in 1862. The section between

and Pau was opened in 1863. In 1864

was connected with Puyoô, and in 1866

was connected with

. Finally in 1867 the missing sections from Montréjeau to Tarbes and from Lourdes to Pau were opened.

Services

The Toulouse–Bayonne railway is used by the following passenger services: *

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 ...

from Paris to Tarbes on the section between Puyoô and Tarbes *

Intercités Intercités (before September 2009: ''Corail Intercités'') is a brand name used by France’s national railway company, SNCF, to denote non high speed services on the 'classic' network in France. SNCF established the Intercités brand in January ...

from Bayonne to Toulouse *

TER Occitanie TER Occitanie or liO TER Occitanie is the regional rail network serving the region of Occitanie, southern France. It is operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2017 from the previous TER networks TER Languedoc-Rous ...

and

TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the regional rail network serving the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2017 from the previous TER networks TER Aquitaine, TER ...

regional services on the whole line

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toulouse-Bayonne railway Railway lines in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Railway lines in Occitania (administrative region) Railway lines opened in 1867 1861 establishments in France