Bordeaux-Saint-Jean station

Bordeaux-Saint-Jean (Occitan: Bordèu Sent Joan) or formerly Bordeaux-Midi is the main railway station in the French city of Bordeaux. It is the southern terminus of the Paris–Bordeaux railway, and the western terminus of the Chemins de fer du Midi main line from Toulouse. The station is the main railway interchange in Aquitaine and links Bordeaux to Paris, Sète, Toulouse Matabiau and Spain.

Bordeaux Saint-Jean SNCF
SNCF and tram
Gare de Bordeaux-Saint-Jean front
General information
LocationRue Charles-Domercq, 33800
Bordeaux
France
Coordinates44°49′32″N 0°33′20″W / 44.8256°N 0.5556°W / 44.8256; -0.5556
Owned byRFF / SNCF
Line(s)Paris–Bordeaux railway
Bordeaux–Sète railway
Bordeaux–Irun railway
Tracks15
Other information
Station code87581009
History
Opened1898
Passengers
11.5 million
Location
Bordeaux Saint-Jean is located in Bordeaux
Bordeaux Saint-Jean
Bordeaux Saint-Jean SNCF
Location within Bordeaux

The station building is situated in the centre of Bordeaux at the end of the Cours de la Marne, and has a large metallic trainshed, built by Gustave Eiffel. Since the arrival of the TGV the station has been renovated and upgraded with modern equipment, but has kept its original features.

History

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The station was built in 1855 under the name Gare du Midi (Midi station) by the Chemins de fer du Midi, as the western terminus of its main line linking Bordeaux and Sète. It used to be less important than the former Bordeaux-Bastide station connecting Bordeaux with Paris on the right bank of the river Garonne.[1]

A long metal viaduct, built by Gustave Eiffel in 1860, allowed trains to cross the river and progressively Bordeaux-Saint-Jean became the Bordeaux main station, needing larger infrastructures.

The current station building opened in 1898. As well as Midi trains, trains from the Paris-Orléans and the État companies called there. The station was built by M Toudoire and S Choron. It includes a large metallic trainshed 56 m wide and covers 17,000 m2, one of the largest in Europe, conceived Daidé&Pillé and constructed by G. Eiffel.[1]

Eiffel two-track bridge became a bottleneck, but it was replaced only in 2008 by a new four-track railway bridge next to it, to prepare the St-Pierre-des-Corps-Bordeaux high speed line opening in 2017.[2]

Train services

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Current services

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The following services call at Bordeaux-Saint-Jean as of January 2021:[3]

^ indicates not all trains stop there

  • High speed services (TGV)
    • Paris - Bordeaux - Dax - Lourdes - Tarbes
    • Paris - Bordeaux - Dax - Bayonne - Biarritz - Hendaye
    • Paris - Bordeaux - Agen - Toulouse
    • Paris - Bordeaux - Arcachon
    • Paris - St-Pierre-des-corps (Tours) - Poitiers - Angoulême - Bordeaux
    • Lille - Aéroport CDG - Tours - Bordeaux
    • Strasbourg - Marne la Vallée Chessy - St-Pierre-des-corps (Tours) - Bordeaux
  • Discount high speed services (Ouigo TGV)
    • Paris Montparnasse - St-Pierre-des-corps (Tours) - Poitiers - Angoulême - Bordeaux - Agen - Montauban - Toulouse
  • Intercity services (Intercités)
    • Bordeaux - Toulouse - Montpellier - Marseille
    • Nantes - La Rochelle - Bordeaux
  • local services (TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
    • Bordeaux - Libourne - Angoulême
    • Bordeaux - Saintes - La Rochelle
    • Bordeaux - Libourne - Périgueux - Limoges
    • Bordeaux - Libourne - Périgueux - Brive-la-Gaillarde - Ussel
    • Bordeaux - Libourne - Bergerac - Sarlat-la-Canéda
    • Bordeaux - Arcachon
    • Bordeaux - Lesparre - Le Verdon
    • Bordeaux - Langon - Marmande - Agen
    • Bordeaux - Morcenx - Mont-de-Marsan
    • Bordeaux - Dax - Bayonne - Hendaye
    • Bordeaux - Dax - Pau - Tarbes

Projected services

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Twinning

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In October 2019, Gare de Bordeaux-Saint-Jean was twinned with London St Pancras International in England. The association was made in the hope that a high speed service could connect the two stations, and was announced at a ceremony headed by Claude Solard, Director General of SNCF.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Point, François-Xavier (1998). La gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean : Histoire d'une centenaire (in French). Éditions Sud-Ouest. ISBN 2-87901-290-2.
  2. ^ "Que va devenir la passerelle Eiffel". 20minutes. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Plan du réseau TER en Nouvelle-Aquitaine" (PDF). www.ter.sncf.com (in French). Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  4. ^ "SNCF wants London – Bordeaux by 2022". International Railway Journal.
  5. ^ a b "London St Pancras twins with Bordeaux Saint-Jean to promote direct service". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  6. ^ "French cooperative targets Bordeaux – Lyon open-access from 2022". International Railway Journal.
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Preceding station SNCF Following station
Agen
towards Toulouse
TGV inOui
Angoulême
towards Montparnasse
Dax
towards Hendaye or Tarbes
Massy TGV
towards Montparnasse
Facture-Biganos
towards Arcachon
Angoulême
towards Montparnasse
Terminus Angoulême
TGV
Libourne
Intercités
Marmande
towards Marseille
Jonzac
towards Nantes
Terminus
Preceding station Ouigo Following station
Angoulême
towards Tourcoing
Grande Vitesse Terminus
Poitiers
towards Montparnasse
Montparnasse
Terminus
Agen
towards Toulouse
Preceding station TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine Following station
Terminus 13 Cenon
towards Angoulême
Cenon
towards La Rochelle
15 Terminus
Terminus 31 Cenon
towards Limoges
32 Cenon
towards Ussel
33 Cenon
41.1U Cenon
towards Coutras
41.2U Pessac
towards Arcachon
42
Mérignac-Arlac
towards Le Verdon
43.1U Cenon
43.2U Bègles
towards Langon
44 Beautiran
towards Agen
45 Pessac
51 Pessac
towards Hendaye
52 Pessac
towards Tarbes