Bon-Encontre – Vic-en-Bigorre railway line

Bon-Encontre-Vic-en-Bigorre
Layrac station around 1900
Route number (SNCF) :	647,000
Course book route (SNCF) :	176; 177
Route length:	129.8 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	25  ‰
Legend Bordeaux – Sète railway from Bordeaux-Saint-Jean 140.7 Bon-Encontre 51 m Railway line Bordeaux – Sète to Sète 142.7 Garonne (367 m) 144.5 Estressol (98 m) 145.0 A 62 145.5 Gers (34 m) 145.9 Layrac 52 m 150.0 Goulens 55 m 152.1 Gers (24 m) 153.8 Astaffort 59 m ~ 154.0 N 21 ~ 156.3 Lot-et-Garonne / Gers department 162.8 Castex Lectourois 71 m 171.1 Lectoure 87 m 172.3 Gers (36 m) 180.5 Fleurance 98 m ~ 180.7 D 654 (formerly N 654 ) ~ 182.3 N 21 187.4 Montestruc-sur-Gers 102 m 188.1 Gers (36 m) ~ 188.4 N 21 192.1 Sainte-Christie 196.6 Rambert-Preignan 117 m ~ 202.7 Eauze – Also from Eauze railway line ~ 202.9 N 21 ~ 203.0 N 124 ~ 203.6 Railway line Saint-Agne – Also from Toulouse 204.9 Also 136 m 205.6 End of the route ~ 205.6 D 626 (formerly N 626 ) ~ 207.8 D 929 (formerly N 129 ) 208.1 Gers (bridge destroyed) 214.3 Saint-Jean-le-Comtal 154 m ~ 216.1 N 21 222.9 Ortholas 166 m 225.6 L'Isle-de-Noé 142 m 230.3 Grande-Baïse (destroyed) 233.5 Mirande 177 m 241.7 Viaduc de Laas ( Osse , 253 m, destroyed) 202 m 242.2 Lasa 205 m 246.3 Le Rouget 256 m 248.8 Bouès (22 m, destroyed) 249.0 Miélan 209 m 2580. Villecomtal-sur-Arros 176 m 258.6 Arros (52 m, destroyed) ~ 260.5 Département Gers / Hautes-Pyrénées ~ 261.7 N 21 2630. Rabastens-de-Bigorre 215 m 267.7 Adour (52 m, destroyed) Morcenx – Bagnères-de-Bigorre railway from Morcenx 270.4 2280. Vic-en-Bigorre 217 m Morcenx – Bagnères-de-Bigorre railway to Tarbes

The Bon-Encontre – Vic-en-Bigorre railway is a railway line in south-western France. It consists of two different parts. The northern portion between Bon-Encontre and also extending in a north-south direction generally lies in the department of Lot-et-Garonne and Gers , is in the range of stock SNCF Réseau and was operated until 2015 freight; currently only occasional traffic takes place.

From Auch it goes in a south-westerly direction to Vic-en-Bigorre . This part of the route, which lies in the Gers and Hautes-Pyrénées departments , has been repealed, completely dismantled and partially built over. While in the northern section the terrain profile is continuous but moderate with max. 10 ‰ rises, the terrain is also much more hilly with many uphill and downhill stretches of up to 25 ‰ each. The Kilometrierung is in Bon-Encontre from the train station Bordeaux Saint-Jean continued from.

history

Route network in this region already created and planned in 1857

This route was one of the early route plans of the Compagnie du chemin de fer Grand-Central de France as early as 1853, which sought the most direct route possible between Limoges in southern central France and Saragossa south of the Pyrenees . If one imagines this connection to be extended to the north and south, an almost ideal line would have arisen between the metropolises of the two countries.

The request for the construction and operation of this line from the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi was issued on August 1, 1857 by the Ministry of Public Works. Although the company benefited from favorable conditions such as state interest and depreciation guarantees, after eight years, on November 16, 1865, it was only able to open the business on a single track. First the Bon-Encontre - Auch section was completed; it followed on May 31, 1869 Auch– Mirande and on December 2 of the same year Mirande – Vic-en-Bigorre. The topographically more demanding section of the route southwest of Auch was funded by the state in the last year of completion by providing funds for the payment of workers. Bad harvests in 1869 led to high unemployment among the rural population, which could be alleviated somewhat. Scheduled completion was also difficult because there were long winters in those years, the earthworks made impossible and there were also repeated disputes with the property owners.

The largest single structure along the route is the crossing of the Garonne with a 367-meter-long stone arch bridge, the construction of which was estimated at 1.5 million francs . The second largest structure was the Viaduc de Laas in the southern section.

route

Although it was designed to be two-track , this route was only ever used on one track, because the capacity did not require any expansion. The N 21 runs parallel to the railway line.

Agen – too

Even if Agen is not part of this line in the narrower sense, all trains were run from or to there. Six kilometers later, shortly after Bon-Encontre, the Bordeaux – Sète railway continues straight along the Garonne towards Toulouse and Sète , while the line to Vic-en-Bigorre turns right and turns south. After a kilometer and a half, the Garonne is spanned by the Viaduc de Laas . It consists of fourteen 24.5 m wide arches, eight of which stand in the river bed. From Layrac , the route initially follows the Gers , which it crosses several times.

Also – Vic-en-Bigorre

Viaduc de l'Osse , 1883. Designed by Gustave Eiffel.

While the river Gers is south of Auch further south, the route now turns more in a south-westerly direction and crosses several mountain streams coming from the Pyrenees, which lie in pronounced valleys and give the route a profile with repeated inclines and descents. After this southern section of the route was closed from 1959, all bridges were dismantled nine years later, which resulted in a possible, later reopening being the fatal blow. Particularly regrettable is the removal of the Viaduc de Laas, designed by Gustave Eiffel , over the Osse .

This bridge was supported by five double columns, each 38.4 m apart and for which concrete was used. The bridgeheads were traditionally made of masonry. At the upper end, both concrete pillars were connected with cast iron cartridges and closed and provided with roller bridge bearings in order to distribute the weight of the box structure above as evenly as possible.

In Vic-en-Bigorre, the line reached the Morcenx-Bagnères-de-Bigorre railway from Morcenx via Mont-de-Marsan . From Bordeaux this connection was 42 km shorter in its course.

traffic

The highest traffic density developed on the route in the mid-1930s before it was transferred to the SNCF in 1938 . The south-western section was closed with the introduction of the summer timetable in 1959 and de-dedicated. In August 1968 a fait accompli was created when the bridges were blown up and removed. Today, a resumption of rail traffic is unthinkable, as parts of the route - especially in the urban area of ​​Auch - are built over.

Along the northern section are a number of grain silos that were hit by bulk wagons. Up to 60 such trips took place over the year. These deliveries have been made on the road since summer 2015. However, there are efforts to revive freight transport.

literature

• François et Maguy Palau: Le rail en France: Le Second Empire. Volume 3, self-published 1998, ISBN 978-2950-94211-1 .

Web links

Commons : Bon-Encontre – Vic-en-Bigorre railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Carnet de profile plans de gare / profile sud-ouest , Leaf 176-177, 1958
2. ↑ ^{a b} Lignes dans le 32 , Railgascogne, July 21, 2010
3. ↑ Christophe Zoia: Train: une étude pour la rénovation de la ligne Auch-Agen sur les rails . Ladepeche.fr, May 21, 2016