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 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 southern city

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 ...

to the southwestern town

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

, running along the foothills of the Pyrenees. 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 south of Toulouse city centre, and follows the Garonne left bank upstream in southwestern direction. It crosses the Garonne twice near Saint-Martory, and turns west, still on the left Garonne bank. It crosses the Garonne again at Saint-Gaudens and at

Montréjeau Montréjeau (; ) 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 of the French Re ...

, where it leaves the Garonne valley. Beyond Lannemezan the railway turns northwest towards

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...

, where it turns southwest towards Lourdes. At Lourdes it turns west again and starts following the Gave de Pau downstream, on its right bank. At Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre the river and the railway turn northwest towards Pau and Puyoô. Beyond Puyoô the river and the railway take a western direction. The Gaves réunis is crossed at Hastingues, and the railway continues downstream along the left bank of the river

Adour The Adour (; ; ) 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. is known as the ' ...

until it reaches

, its western terminus.

Main stations

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

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 and further. The line was extended to

in 1862. The section between Puyoô and Pau was opened in 1863. In 1864

was connected with Puyoô, and in 1866

was connected with Lourdes. 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 from Paris to Tarbes on the section between Puyoô and Tarbes *

Intercités 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 ...

from Bayonne to Toulouse * TER Occitanie and TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine 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