Coutras – Tulle railway line

Coutras tulle
Viaduc de Saint-Pantaléon over the Vézère (BK 140,8)
Route number (SNCF) :	621 000
Route length:	173 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	12.5  ‰
Dual track :	between Coutras and Niversac (BK 86,4)
Legend Paris – Bordeaux line from Bordeaux-St-J. 533.4 Cavignac – Coutras railway from Cavignac 531.1 0.0 Coutras 14 m 532.6 Isle (116 m) Paris – Bordeaux line from Paris-Austerlitz 6.8 Isle (108 m) 7.7 Saint-Médard-de-Guizières 18 m ~ 7.8 D 1089 (formerly N 89 ) 11.2 Saint-Seurin-sur-l'Isle 22 m ~ 14.3 Gironde / Dordogne department 14.3 Conn. Raw material producer 16.7 Soubie 30 m 23.9 Montpon-Ménestérol 44 m 33.4 Beaupouyet 55 m 37.6 Beauronne (8 m) Magnac-Touvre – Marmande railway from Marmande 39.7 Mussidan 57 m 40.1 D 709E1 (formerly N 89) 40.8 Isle (91 m) Magnac-Touvre – Marmande railway line to Magnac-Touvre 43.5 Beauronne (8m) 47.4 Douzillac 59 m 50.6 Neuvic 60 m 50.8 Salembre (10 m) 55.2 Saint-Léon-sur-l'Isle 73 m 58.2 Saint-Astier 75 m 59.2 Isle (70 m) 65.3 Razac 75 m La Cave – Ribérac railway from Ribérac 68.3 La Cave 79 m 71.1 Marsac (Dordogne) 81 m 74.0 Isle (53 m) SNCF workshop 74.6 Limoges-Bénédictins-Périgueux railway from Limoges-B. 75.4 Périgueux 87 m ~ 75.7 D 6089 (formerly N 89) 77.2 Isle (81 m) ~ 77.4 D 6021 (formerly N 21 ) ~ 77.9 4 × D 6089 (formerly N 89) 78.1 Périgueux-Saint-Georges 97 m 80.9 Manoire (5 m) 85.2 A 89 86.7 Manoire (8 m) 86.4 Niversac 114 m 86.6 Railway Niversac – Agen to Agen 88.4 Manoire (6 m) 90.7 Saint-Pierre-de-Chignac 132 m 95.5 Milhac-d'Auberoche 165 m 98.3 Saint-Antoine-d'Auberoche 186 m 101.2 Limeyrat 215 m 104.2 Ayat 189 m 105.5 A 89 108.9 Thenon 194 m 112.6 A 89 113.8 Azerat 152 m 116.4 La Bachellerie 122 m ~ 117.1 D 6089 (formerly N 89) 117.4 Cern (8 m) 122.2 Cern (13 m) Condat-Le Lardin – Sarlat railway from Sarlat 122.5 Condat-Le Lardin 86 m Paper mill 127.3 Cubit (10 m) ~ 127.3 D 6089 (formerly N 89) 128.2 Hautefort – Terrasson railway from Hautefort 128.4 Terrasson 88 m ~ 129.0 Dordogne / Corrèze department 133.1 Logne (10m) La Rivière-de-Mansac – Juillac ( TC ) railway from Juillac 134.0 La Rivière-de-Mansac 93m 138.1 Larch 99 m 140.8 Viaduc de Saint-Pantaléon ( Vézère , 75m) ~ 141.0 D 1089 (formerly N 89) 144.0 A 20 (32m) Depot Brive Nexon – Brive-la-Gaillarde railway from Nexon Railway line Les Aubrais-Orléans-Montauban-Ville-Bourbon v. Aubrais Parking facility and workshop Brive 147.6 Brive-la-Gaillarde 143 m 148.0 Railway line Les Aubrais-Orléans – Montauban-Ville-Bourbon and railway line Brive-la-Gaillarde – Toulouse-M. to Montauban-Ville-Bourbon and Toulouse-Matabiau 151.6 Loyre (8m) 151.8 Malemort-Lafont (118 m) 154.7 Corrèze (65 m) 1570. Corrèze (2 × 66 m) Aubazine – Bosplos ( TC ) railway from Le Bosplos 158.0 Aubazine-Saint-Hilaire 134 m 159.9 Corrèze (67 m) ~ 160.4 D 1089 (formerly N 89) 162.7 Saint-Hilaire-Peyroux 152 m 162.8 Tunnel de Bonnel incl. D 1089 (227 m) 164.6 Tunnel de Cornil (556 m) 165.4 Cornil 175 m 167.3 Tunnel de Murat (254 m) 167.9 Tunnel des Rochettes (67 m) 172.3 Corrèze (28 m) ↙00.0 Corrèze including D 1089 173.4 Grommet 213 m 00. Tulle POC Railway line Tulle – Argentat from / to Argentat Railway line Tulle – Meymac to Meymac

Tulle station, 1987

Tulle station , on the right the regular- gauge tracks, on the left a narrow-gauge POC train, around 1910

The Coutras – Tulle railway is a 173 km long, single-track , non-electrified railway line in central France. It went into operation in sections between 1857 and 1871 and is still managed by the SNCF today . It connects the two important north-south routes Paris – Bordeaux and Orléans – Montauban and, further east, Clermont-Ferrand . It is therefore a large part of the Bordeaux-Lyon connection. The first 86 km to Niversac are double-tracked.

history

With the designation Ligne entre Périgueux et le chemin de fer de Clermont-Ferrand à Montauban, dont un des tronçons est la section de Périgueux à Brive-la-Gaillarde , the concession went together with two other routes by decision of the Chamber of Deputies on April 21, 1853 to a (forerunner) partnership that founded the Compagnie du chemin de fer Grand-Central in July 1953 . Due to financial difficulties, the company went on March 7, 1857 in the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans (PO), which took over this route - along with many others - and continued to operate. It was precisely in this short period of time between foundation and bankruptcy that the most important construction section of the line between Coutras and Périgueux was opened in July 1857. Construction was carried out from west to east.

Further opening sections were on September 17, 1860 to Brive-la-Gaillarde and on August 20, 1871 to Tulle station . The prospecting for double track was fulfilled at the end of 1906 for the first 86 km. Although there would have been a further double-track expansion of the artificial structures, this never happened in the further history of the line.

Infrastructure

Noteworthy individual structures

BK	Surname	Length [m]
6.8	Viaduc de Saint-Médard (Isle)	108
40.8	Viaduc de Mussidan (Isle)	91
59.2	Viaduc de Saint-Astier (Isle)	70
74.0	Viaduc du Toulon (Isle)	53
77.2	Viaduc de Sainte-Claire (Isle)	81
140.8	Viaduc de Saint-Pantaléon (Vézère)	75
154.7	Corrèze Bridge 1	65
157.0	Corrèze Bridge 2	66
157.6	Corrèze Bridge 3	66
159.9	Corrèze Bridge 4	67
162.8	Tunnel de Bonnel	227
164.6	Tunnel de Cornil	556
167.3	Tunnel de Murat	254
167.9	Tunnel des Rochettes	67

In addition to the two above-mentioned north-south axes, many more branch lines were added over the years, some of them also in meter gauge. While the route to Périgueux is only possible with max. 7 ‰, but mostly only 1–3 ‰ slope had been built, the slope then increased further until it reached 12.5 ‰ between Brive and Tulle. The railway line Tulle – Meymac , which winds its way onto the Plateau de Millevaches , then even reaches values ​​of 25 ‰.

The route is initially in the valley of the Isle , which it has to cross several times with elaborate arched bridges. From Périgueux it follows the course of the much smaller Manoire , from Condat-Le Lardin the Vézère , which again required the construction of larger viaducts. Four tunnels with a total length of 1,100 m had to be built behind Brive. There are few direct connections in passenger traffic today. The journey time is just under two and a half hours.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bulletin des lois. No. 45 . No. 400: Décret impérial portant concession des Chemins de fer de Clermont-Ferrand à Lempdes, de Montauban à la riveère du Lot, et de Coutras à Périgueux. Bulletin des lois de la République française. Paris 1852, pages 690-692.
2. ↑ Carnet de profils et schémas . SNCF, Région du sud-ouest, sheets 48, 103 and 104, 1958,

Web links

Commons : Coutras – Tulle railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files