The railway from Moret-Veneux-les-Sablons to Lyon is a French 492-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

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

region to the city

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

via

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

and

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

. The railway was opened in several stages between 1828 and 1861. The section between Saint-Étienne and Saint-Just-sur-Loire was the first railway line in France. It has functioned as an alternative (but longer) line for the

Paris–Marseille railway The railway from Paris to Marseille is an 862-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the southern port city of Marseille, France, via Dijon and Lyon. The railway was opened in several stages between 1847 and 1856, when the final secti ...

between Paris and Lyon. Its main use, besides local traffic, is now for the connection between Paris and

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

Route

The line branches off the

at the Moret–Veneux-les-Sablons station, and leaves in a southwestern direction. It follows the river Loing upstream, turning south near

Nemours Nemours () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Geography Nemours is located on the Loing and its canal, c. south of Melun, on the Moret–Lyon railway. Nemours – Saint-Pierre s ...

and passing through Montargis, where it leaves the Loing. At

Gien Gien () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. Gien is on the river Loire, from Orléans. Gien station has rail connections to Montargis, Nevers and Paris. The town was bought for the royal domain by Philip II of Franc ...

it starts following the river

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

upstream along its right bank, in a generally southern direction. It passes through Cosne-sur-Loire, and the railway junction

, where it crosses the Loire. At Saincaize the line to

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

branches off. From Saincaize, the line follows the right

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...

bank south. It passes through Moulins. At Saint-Germain-des-Fossés two lines to

(one via

Gannat Gannat (; Auvergnat: ''Gatnat'') is a commune in the Allier department in central France. Gannat was a sub-prefecture until 1926, with a population of around 5,800 inhabitants. There is a castle (the Château de Gannat), two churches of which o ...

, one via

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...

) branch off. The Moret–Lyon railway leaves the Allier and turns east. It passes through the Monts de la Madeleine, northern foothills of the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...

. It crosses the Loire between Roanne and Le Coteau, where the shorter line to

via

Tarare Tarare is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It lies on the Turdine river, 28 miles west-northwest of Lyon by rail. History The city was founded at the beginning of the 12th century, as the priory of Tarare by the Savigny A ...

branches off. This is where the oldest section of the line starts. It continues south, parallel to the Loire, passing through

Feurs Feurs (; frp, Fuèrs) is a commune in the department of Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. History Antiquity The city was founded by the Romans. The name Feurs is a contraction of ''Segusiavorum Forum''. With a forum the Gallo-Roman era, cit ...

and along Andrézieux-Bouthéon, where it meets the line from Clermont-Ferrand via Montbrison. At

the line from Le Puy-en-Velay joins, and the line continues northeast through

Saint-Chamond St Chamond may refer to: * Saint Chamond otherwise Annemund, bishop of Lyon * Saint-Chamond, Loire, a French town named after him * Saint-Chamond (manufacturer), informal name for the ''Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécour ...

and Rive-de-Gier. At Givors on the river

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

it turns north, finally arriving in Lyon after 492 km.

Main stations

The main stations on the Moret–Lyon railway are: * Moret–Veneux-les-Sablons station *

Nevers station Nevers is a railway station in Nevers, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. The station opened on 5 October 1850 and is located on the Moret-Lyon, Vierzon - Saincaize, Nevers - Chagny and Clamecy - Nevers railway lines. The station is served by In ...

Roanne station Roanne station ( French: ''Gare de Roanne'') is a French railway station located on the Moret–Lyon railway line in the city of Roanne, an administrative center of the department of the Loire in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. This station i ...

Saint-Étienne-Châteaucreux station Saint-Étienne-Châteaucreux station (French: ''Gare de Saint-Étienne-Châteaucreux)'' is the main railway station in the town of Saint-Étienne. The station is situated in ''Châteaucreux'', a little outside the centre of Saint-Étienne. The st ...

Lyon-Perrache station Lyon-Perrache (french: gare de Lyon-Perrache) is a large railway station located in the Perrache district, in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Wes ...

History

The first railways that were opened in France were primarily meant for freight traffic in the mining area around the industrial city

. These railways were united in the ''Compagnie du chemin de fer Grand-Central de France'' in 1853, and at the dissolution of that company in 1857 the eastern part of the Grand-Central network was bought by the

Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée The Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée ("Railway Company of Paris to Lyon and the Mediterranean"), also known as the Chemins de fer Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée or simply PLM, established in 1857, was one of Fran ...

. The first section of the Moret–Lyon railway that was opened in 1828 led from Saint-Étienne to Saint-Just-sur-Loire.

and

were connected between 1830 and 1833. In 1834 the line was extended in northern direction from Saint-Just to Le Coteau, near Roanne. In 1850 a line from

to Saincaize was built. This section was extended south to Varennes-sur-Allier in 1853, to Saint-Germain-des-Fossés in 1854 and to

Lapalisse Lapalisse (; oc, La Paliça) is a commune in the Allier department, central France. The organist Émile Bourdon (1884–1974) was born in Lapalisse. The 11th century Château de La Palice is located in the commune. Population See also *Comm ...

in 1857. Lapalisse and Le Coteau were connected in 1858. In the north, Moret–Veneux-les-Sablons on the

was connected to Montargis in 1860. Finally in 1861 the section from Montargis to Nevers was opened.

Services

The Moret–Lyon 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 ...

on the section between

and

* Intercités from Paris to

(on the section between Moret–Veneux-les-Sablons and Nevers), 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 Lyon (section between Saint-Germain-des-Fossés and Le Coteau), from

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

to Lyon (section between Saincaize and Le Coteau) and from Paris to Clermont-Ferrand (on the section between Moret-Veneux-les-Sablons and Saint-Germain-des-Fossés) *

TER Bourgogne-Franche-Comté TER Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is the regional rail network serving the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France. It is operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2017 from the previous TER networks TER Bourgogn ...

and TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional services on the section between Cosne-sur-Loire and Lyon * Transilien regional services on the section between Moret–Veneux-les-Sablons and Montargis

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moret-Lyon railway Railway lines in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Railway lines in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Railway lines in Centre-Val de Loire Railway lines in Île-de-France Railway lines opened in 1861 1861 establishments in France