Bordeaux–Irun railway
Bordeaux–Irun railway
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerRFF
LocaleFrance (Nouvelle-Aquitaine),
Spain (Basque Country)
Termini
Service
SystemSNCF
Operator(s)SNCF
History
Opened1841-1864
Technical
Line length235 km (146 mi)
Number of tracksDouble track[1]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification1.5 kV DC[2]
Route map

Line from Paris-Austerlitz
0.0
Bordeaux-Saint-Jean
Line to Toulouse
to Pointe de Grave
7.0
Pessac
9.5
Alouette-France
13.4
Gazinet-Cestas
24.9
Croix-d'Hins
28.6
Marcheprime
39.3
Facture-Biganos
42.3
to Arcachon
75.5
Ychoux
88.9
Labouheyre
108.5
Morcenx
108.5
to Mont-de-Marsan
133.8
to Tartas
147.5
Dax
147.5
to Puyoô and Pau
161.9
Saubusse-les-Bains
166.3
Saint-Geours-de-Maremne
171.9
Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse
178.1
Bénesse-Maremne
184.7
Labenne
187.8
Ondres
193.8
Boucau
197.6
Bayonne
199.1
River Adour
199.5
Line to Puyoô and Toulouse
199.5
Line to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
200.1
River Nive
200.3
to port of Bayonne
207.3
Biarritz
214.1
Guéthary
220.4
Saint-Jean-de-Luz-Ciboure
230.2
Les Deux-Jumeaux
232.8
Hendaye
233.3
Border FES (River Bidasoa)
235.1
Irun
to Madrid

The railway from Bordeaux to Irun is an important French 235-kilometre long railway line, that connects the southwestern city Bordeaux to northern Spain. The railway was opened in several stages between 1841 and 1864.[3]

Route

The Bordeaux–Irun railway leaves the Bordeaux-Saint-Jean station in southwestern direction. The first approximately 145 km of its course runs through the Landes forest. At Lamothe the line to Arcachon branches off, and the line turns south. At Dax the line leaves the Landes forest, and the line to Puyoô and Pau branches off. The railway continues downstream along the right bank of the river Adour until Saubusse, where it turns west towards the Atlantic coast, and then south. It crosses the river Adour in Bayonne, and turns southwest. It passes along the ocean resorts Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz. It crosses the Spanish border between Hendaye and Irun, where the railway ends. France and Spain have different rail gauges (standard gauge and Iberian gauge, resp.), which requires change of trains. The section between Hendaye and Irun has tracks with both gauges.

Main stations

The main stations on the Bordeaux–Irun railway are:

History

The railway was built by the Compagnie des Chemins de fer du Midi and its predecessor Compagnie du chemin de fer de Bordeaux à La Teste. The first section that was opened in 1841 led from Bordeaux to Lamothe, a section that is shared with the railway to Arcachon. The line was extended to Dax in 1854. The section between Dax and Bayonne was opened in 1855. Finally in 1864 the line was extended from Bayonne to the Spanish border town Irun.[3]

Services

The Bordeaux–Irun railway is used by the following passenger services:

  • TGV from Paris to Irun on the whole line, and from Paris to Tarbes on the section between Bordeaux and Dax
  • Intercités from Hendaye to Toulouse on the section between Bayonne and Hendaye
  • TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional services on the section between Bordeaux and Hendaye

References

  1. "RFF - Network map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011.
  2. "RFF - Map of electrified railway lines" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  3. 1 2 Direction Générale des Ponts et Chaussées et des Chemins de Fer (1869). Statistique centrale des chemins de fer. Chemins de fer français. Situation au 31 décembre 1869 (in French). Paris: Ministère des Travaux Publics. pp. 146–160.
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