The Brive-la-Gaillarde - Toulouse (via Capdenac) railway is a 248-kilometre French

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line that connects the rural areas between

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of ), commonly known as simply Brive, is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the aggl ...

and the large southern city of

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

via

Figeac Figeac (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Lot (department), Lot. Figeac is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Figeac is on the via Podiensis ...

and Capdenac. The railway was opened in several stages between 1858 and 1864.

Route

The Brive-la-Gaillarde–Toulouse railway leaves the

Brive-la-Gaillarde station Brive-la-Gaillarde is a railway station serving the town of Brive-la-Gaillarde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station opened on 17 September 1860 and is located on the Orléans–Montauban railway, Coutras–Tulle railway, Brive-Toulouse (vi ...

in a southeastern direction, towards Saint-Denis-près-Martel station. Here, the line to Aurillac station leaves in an easterly direction and the preserved line to Martel in a westerly direction. The line soon crosses the River Dordogne and follows the valley for a short while before it opens out into flat land. The

Figeac station Figeac is a railway station in Figeac, Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie, France. The station is a ''keilbahnhof'', situated at the junction of the Brive-la-Gaillarde - Toulouse (via Capdenac) railway, Brive–Toulouse (via Capdenac) ...

is on two curves, where the line from Aurillac station joins. Shortly after leaving Figeac the railway travels through a 1.3 km tunnel and then travels alongside the River Lot and the preserved railway from

Cahors Cahors (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of t ...

joins; but this line has been disused since 2003. At Capdenac station the line to Rodez station leaves in an easterly direction. The line continues south from here, where after 95 km the line from Albi station and Rodez station join at

Tessonnières station Tessonnières is a railway station in Tessonnières, Occitanie region in southern France. It is on the Brive–Toulouse (via Capdenac) and Tessonnières to Albi railway lines. The station is served by TER (local) services operated by SNCF ...

, although most interchanges are made at

Gaillac station Gaillac is a railway station in Gaillac, Occitanie, France. Located on the Brive–Toulouse (via Capdenac) railway line, the station is served by TER (local) services operated by SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français ...

. From here the line twists and turns around the River Tarn until Saint-Sulpice-sur-Tarn station where the river heads northwest. At Saint-Sulpice the line from Castres station joins and the former line to

Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...

leaves. The line continues a further 30 km before arriving at its southern terminus of

Toulouse-Matabiau station Toulouse-Matabiau is the main railway station in Toulouse, southern France. It is in the city centre and connected to the Toulouse Metro. The station is situated on the Bordeaux–Sète railway, Toulouse–Bayonne railway, Brive–Toulouse (vi ...

Main stations

The main stations on the Brive - Toulouse railway are: *

* Capdenac station *

* Saint-Sulpice-sur-Tarn station *

History

The first section that was opened in 1858 led from Lexos to Capdenac. Capdenac and

were connected in 1862. Finally, the line was extended from Lexos to

in 1864. Before the opening of this line in 1864, trains between Paris and Toulouse would travel via

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

and

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. The line remained the main link between Paris and Toulouse until 1891 when the Brive–

section of the Orléans–Montauban railway was opened. In 2010 a complete renewal of all the ballast between Capdenac and Tessonnières (95 km) took place.

Accident

On 3 August 1985 at 3:48 p.m., at the height of Flaujac-Gare, there was a serious train accident involving a Corail intercity train towards Assier and a train towards Gramat.

Services

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

Intercités de nuit Intercités (IC), known before September 2009 as ''Corail Intercités'', is a brand name used by France's national railway company, the SNCF, to denote non High-speed rail in France, high-speed services on the classic rail network in France. The ...

night trains from Paris to Albi on the section between Brive and Capdenac *

TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is the regional rail network serving the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, central and eastern France. It is operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2017 from the previous TER networks TER ...

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, TE ...

and

TER Occitanie TER Occitanie or liO Train 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-Roussillo ...

regional services on the whole line

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brive-la-Gaillarde-Toulouse (via Capdenac) railway Railway lines in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Railway lines in Occitania (administrative region) Railway lines opened in 1858 Standard-gauge railways in France