Morcenx – Bagnères-de-Bigorre railway line

Morcenx – Bagnères-de-Bigorre
Mont-de-Marsan station, today the end of passenger traffic
Route number (SNCF) :	652,000
Route length:	158.9 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	7 (Morcenx – Tarbes) 15 (Tarbes – Bagnères-de-Bigorre)  ‰
Legend Bordeaux – Irun railway from Bordeaux 108.5 Morcenx 74 m Railway line Bordeaux – Irun to Irun 112.9 Arjuzanx 62 m 117.6 Arengosse 60 m 124.8 Ygos 71 m 133.8 Saint-Martin-d'Oney 52 m 141.0 Midouze (78 m) Dax – Mont-de-Marsan railway from Dax Luxey – Mont-de-Marsan (LMM) railway from Luxey ~ 145.8 D 824 (formerly RN 124 ) 147.0 Mont-de-Marsan 63 m Railway line Marmande – Mont-de-Marsan to Marmande and railway line Nérac – Mont-de-Marsan to Nérac 161.3 Grenade-sur-l'Adour 57 m 170.4 Cazères-sur-l'Adour 74 m ~ 173.8 Autoroute A 65 ~ 174.6 D 934 (formerly RN 134 ) 179.3 Aire-sur-l'Adour 81 m ~ 179.7 Landes / Gers department ~ 179.9 D 931 (formerly RN 124) 180.1 Barcelonne-du-Gers 82 m 181.0 Saint-Germé 103 m 192.6 Adour (58 m) 194.6 Riscle 115 m Railway line Port-Sainte-Marie – Riscle to Port-Ste-Marie ~ 201.5 D 935 (formerly RN 135 ) ~ 202, 0 Département Gers / Hautes-Pyrénées 203.5 Castelnau-Rivière-Basse 137 m 208.8 Hères 148 m 212.6 Caussade-Rivière 158 m ~ 214.4 D 935 (formerly RN 135) ~ 217, 0 D 935 (formerly RN 135) 219.0 Echez (15 m) 219.5 Maubourguet 181 m ~ 220.6 D 835 (formerly RN 135) 223.3 Nouilhan 195 m ~ 227.6 D 935 (formerly RN 135) ~ 227.9 Bon-Encontre – Vic-en-Bigorre railway from Auch 228.2 Vic-en-Bigorre 217 m 232.7 Pujo 238 m 235.9 Rest 255 m 239.1 Bazet – Oursbelille 270 m 245.1 Toulouse – Bayonne railway from Bayonne 245.7 Tarbes 304 m ~ 246.1 D 935 (formerly RN 135) 246.8 Adour (61 m) 247.8 Séméac – Marcadieu 315 m ~ 247.9 Apaisement de la circulation (formerly RN 21 and RN 117 ) 249.2 Ampèrevielle Railway line Toulouse – Bayonne to Toulouse-M. Autoroute A 64 251.2 Soues 345 m 252.9 Salles-Adour 363 m 254.9 Bernac debate 384 m 257.5 Vielle-adour 414 m 259.5 Montgaillard 438 m 262.2 Ordizan 471 m 264.7 Pouzac 507 m 267.2 Adour (50 m) 267.4 Bagneres-de-Bigorre 542 m

The Morcenx – Bagnères-de-Bigorre railway is a railway line in south-western France operated by the SNCF . It is a branch line of the Bordeaux – Irun connection with the health and recreation resort of Bagnères-de-Bigorre and runs in a north-west-south-east direction. The Kilometrierung is from the train station Bordeaux Saint-Jean continued. On the 159 km long route in the Morcenx - Mont-de-Marsan section , 38.5 km are used for passenger traffic. The offer takes place exclusively with local trains, the journey time is between 25 and 30 minutes. Some trains continue to / from Bordeaux.

In the 98.6 km long, further route, only freight traffic takes place, here a renovation was decided from the end of 2020, after the maintenance of this section had initially been suspended since 2014.

history

Old Tarbes train station; Photo from before 1900.

The construction of this line was initiated by the banker Ernest André (1803–1864) from Nîmes . It belonged to a partnership that a few months later in November 1852 was merged with the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi (Midi). However, on August 24, 1852, the concession for construction and operation was granted. The now much more important, double-lane- expanded and electrified railway line Toulouse-Bayonne was only built four years later by the Midi. The node for these two routes was in Tarbes. On August 1, 1857, the section between Mont-de-Marsan and Tarbes was declared publicly important in a further imperial decree, and the construction was approved to the seaside resort of Bagnères-de-Bigorre.

The aim was to serve Tarbes and the Hautes-Pyrénées via two main arteries, one from Agen with the Bon-Encontre – Vic-en-Bigorre railway via Auch and Mirande , the other with this route via Mont-de-Marsan and Morcenx . It was not until 1856 that the decision was made that these two lines would meet north of Tarbes in the locality of Vic-en-Bigorre . At the same time as this decision, all the work required for this connection was taken over by the state.

As early as 1858, the work, which was mainly carried out in the Adour valley , had progressed so far that responsibility for the route could be returned to the Midi company. In the summer of 1859 the route was opened in two stages, first in August from Mont-de-Marsan to Riscle and in September from Riscle to Tarbes. This gave Tarbes its first rail link with the rest of the country.

The travel time in 1924 in the Morcenx – Tarbes section was two and a half hours on the express train and four hours on the passenger train.

Route

Hardly any artificial structures were required for the construction of this route, as the majority of the route was on slightly hilly terrain. After about 40 km the route reaches the bank of the Adour at Grenade-sur-l'Adour , which it follows to the end and only crosses twice. The Morcenx – Tarbes part was prepared for double tracks, but was never upgraded to two tracks.

While the section to Tarbes has only slight inclines and declines, the Tarbes – Bagnères-de-Bigorre route is steadily uphill. After the branch to Toulouse , the slope is almost continuously in the double-digit per mille range; even at stops, this is not always interrupted by horizontal passages.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [1] , Sud Ouest, October 30, 2019.
2. ↑ Voie ferrée de Tarbes à Mont de Marsan: mauvaises nouvelles , Railgascogne, September 14, 2014.
3. ^ D'après Virginie Monnier, Edouard André, un homme, une famille, une collection. Société d'Histoire du Vésinet , Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris 2006.
4. ↑ Décret qui approuve la convention passée le 24 août 1852 pour la concession du chemin de fer de Bordeaux à Cette, et du canal latéral à la Garonne, ainsi que des chemins de fer de Bordeaux à Bayonne et de Narbonne à Perpignan , N ° 4401 , 24 août 1852. In: Bulletin des lois de la République Française, Paris, Imprimerie Nationale , Series X, Volume 10, No. 573, Paris 1852, pages 475-480
5. ↑ Décret impérial qui approuve la convention passée, le 1er août 1857, pour la concession de chemins de fer à la Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi et du Canal latéral à la Garonne , N ° 4994, 1er août 1857. In: Bulletin des lois de l'Empire Français, Paris, Imprimerie Impériale , Series XI, Volume 8, No. 544, Paris 1857, pages 781-810
6. ↑ Morcenx à Tarbes , timetable table 41. On: Voies Ferrées des Landes (VFL). Le train dans les Landes , Morcenx – Tarbes
7. ↑ Adour Bridge at Riscle . On: Voies Ferrées des Landes (VFL). Le train dans les Landes , Morcenx – Tarbes

Web links

Commons : Morcenx – Bagnères-de-Bigorre railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Carnet de profils plans de gare / profils sud-ouest , sheets 170–172 and 189, 1958
• Gare et chemin de fer: Bagnères-de-Bigorre . Photos from the Bagnères-de-Bigorre train station