Good afternoon everyone. As my last suggestion this year (leaving for vacation next week!), today I'd like to introduce you to the Bordeaux-Sète line. Specifically, the iconic section between Toulouse and Narbonne. We're in southwest of France, the Occitan region, between the Aude and Haute-Garonne departments. A stone's throw from the Pyrenees. The warm southern sea laps the coast and the near-by city of Narbonne. From there, the route ascends the broad Aude River Valley, reaching the iconic city of Carcassonne: a true medieval French jewel! From there, the railway continues to Castelnaudary, another iconic city in this area (located on the Canal du Midi). Then finally reaching Toulouse, major city in the region. Along the way, an endless row of farmlands, vineyards and small hills characterize this route, surrounded by imposing green mountains. All this along the A61 motorway, almost the entire way. Breathtaking Lauragais scenery that will leave you breathless! Here's the Bordeaux-Sète railway: from Toulouse to Narbonne! GENERAL FEATURES - 144km (89mi) total length. - Double track served, standard gauge (1435 mm/4 ft 8+1⁄2 in), electrified 1,5kV DC OHLE. - BAL (Block automatique lumineux), as signaling system. - KVB (Contrôle de vitesse par balises), as safety system. - GSM-R & RST regards comm. Max gradient: 2,3%(23x1000). Max speed: 155-160km/h(96-100mph). The line is managed by: - SNCF Réseau S.A., public company. Passenger service is operated by: - SNCF Voyageurs S.A., divided into: a) TER Occitanie, trade as LIO TER Occitanie. b) TET (Intercity). - Voyages SNCF S.A. (TGV). Freight service is operated by: - Fret SNCF S.A., public company. - DB Cargo France S.A. (formerly ECR/EWS). ROUTE AND STATIONS The route has a total of 15 active stations/stops, as well as a further 15 decommissioned one and/or without passenger traffic. The calls are, as follows: - Toulouse-Matabiau, Km256* - Montaudran, Km261* - Labège-Innopole, Km265* - Labège-Village, Km268* - Escalquens, Km270* - Montlaur, Km275* - Baziège, Km279* - Villenouvelle, Km283* - Villefranche-de-Lauragais, Km289* - Avignonet, Km297* Haute-Garonne/Aude border. - Castelnaudary, Km311* - Bram, Km327* - Carcassonne, Km347* - Lézignan-Corbières, Km384* - Narbonne, Km406* * Distance from route origin, Bordeaux-St-Jean (Km0). ROUTE PLAN GOOGLE Maps Credit. PASSENGER SERVICE TER (Regional Express) - LIO TER Narbonne-Carcassonne-Toulouse (1h 50min) SNCF regional service, 1Tp20-60min each direction. Timetable: https://ter-fiches-horaires.sncf.fr/publish/WEB FH10 NARBONNE - TOULOUSE SEMAINE & WE.pdf - LIO TER Portbou-Perpignan-Toulouse (1h 37min) SNCF regional service, 1Tp10-70min each direction. Timetable: https://ter-fiches-horaires.sncf.fr/publish/WEB FH25 PORT-BOU - TOULOUSE SEMAINE & WE.pdf - LIO TER Toulouse-Montpellier-Marseille (1h 20min) SNCF regional service, 1Tph each direction. Timetable: https://ter-fiches-horaires.sncf.fr/publish/WEB FH6 MARSEILLE - TOULOUSE SEMAINE & WE.pdf INTERCITÉS - IC Bordeaux-Montpellier-Marseille (1h 15min) SNCF Intercity service, 1Tp2h each direction. Timetable is included in the links above. GRANDES LIGNES - TGV InOui Toulouse-Montpellier-Lyon (1h 10min) SNCF TGV cross-sectoral service, 3/4Tpd each direction. FREIGHT SERVICE Freight services on this route are classic A-B trips between the Raynal yard (not present on this proposal) and Narbonne. Direct trips also present, to/from other French and foreign destinations. There's also a freight collection/delivery service, at two cereal companies along the route (diesel+hoppers). Types of goods transported: intermodal, cars, chemicals (liquids/gasses), agro products (fertilizers/seeds), cereals, steel, aggregates etc... ROLLING STOCK PASSENGER - Z 27500 AGC (ZGC) EMU, LIO TER Occitanie services. Here present in "LIO TER" & former "TER Languedoc-Roussillon" liveries. - Z 54900 / 54900 M Régiolis EMU, LIO TER Occitanie services. Here present in the two new "LIO Périurbain" & "LIO TER" liveries. - Z 56300 Regio 2N EMU, LIO TER Occitanie services. Here present in the new "LIO Périurbain" livery. Please put your LIKE here first, thank you! Continue Below...
- BB 7200 Electric loco, SNCF Intercités services. Nez Cassés family by Alstom. Here present in "Béton" (original) & "Fantôme" liveries. - BB 26000 Electric loco, SNCF Intercités services. Sybic family by Alstom. Here present in "Carmillon" & " Fantôme" liveries. Coaches used alongside previous locos: A) Corail VTU A10tu/B11tu "Carmillon" IC coaches, SNCF Intercités services. 75-80 Series. Here in "Carmillon" livery. B) Corail VTU A10tu/B11tu "Intercités" IC coaches, SNCF Intercités services. 75-80 Series. Here in "Intercités" livery. C) Corail VU B3su "Carmillon"/B7uh "Intercités" IC coach/baggage, SNCF Intercités services. 75-80 Series. Here in "Carmillon" & "Intercités" liveries. Continue Below...
- TGV 2N2 Avelia EuroDuplex High speed train, SNCF TGV InOui services. Duplex 3rd gen by Alstom. Here in TGV "InOui" livery. FREIGHT - BB 27000 / 27000 M Electric loco, Fret SNCF services. Prima family by Alstom. Here present in "FRET" livery. - BB 69200 Diesel-electric loco, Fret SNCF services. Old 66000s rebuilt. Here present in "FRET" livery. PS. All Intercités locos are regularly used on freight. FREIGHT WAGONS - Eanos (scrap & aggregates), already on TSW - Laaers (cars), already on TSW - Sggmrss (intermodal), already on TSW - Shimmns (soft cover variant)(steel) - Tads (fertilizers, seeds & aggregates/ballast) - Tanoos (bulk chemicals) - Uagpps (different variants)(cereals) - Zacns (same above)(chemicals liquids) - Zags (same above) (chemicals gases) STATIONS PICS Toulouse-Matabiau main station. North-West terminal of the route. Note the "grandeur" of the main building! Narbonne station. South-East terminal of the route. Continue Below...
Carcassonne station. Intermediate stop of the route (1/3). Castelnaudary station. Intermediate stop of the route (2/3). Lézignan-Corbières station. Another important stop, between Narbonne & Carcassonne. ROUTE VIDEOS LIO TER Portbou-Perpignan-Toulouse (Narbonne-Toulouse), with Z 54900 SNCF Intercités Bordeaux-Montpellier-Marseille (Toulouse-Narbonne), with BB 7200 Consider only the Toulouse-Narbonne section! ROUTE PICS Left: Narbonne Right: Toulouse Left: Carcassonne Right: Castelnaudary Caravatt . PS. Integrations and corrections are always welcome! There may be some small inaccurancies!
MAIN INTEGRATION From first half of 2026, the Intercités services on this route (loco+coaches), will be replaced by a brand new, dedicated EMU: the CAF Oxygène! It will be a high-speed Intercity train, which will replace much of the old SNCF rolling stock on: Paris-Toulouse, Bordeaux-Marseille (this one) and Paris-Clermont-Ferrand. The first units have already been engaged in operational tests since spring 2024. Some of the first pictures of a unit being tested. 1st class interiors. 2nd Class interiors. And, of course, driver's desk. SNCF has abandoned the classic, universal control block , in favor of one-handle design. Completely similar to that of the future Avelia M/Liberty. The Official livery haven't been revealed yet. The one above should almost be definitive. Its official designation will be Z 26700! Have a nice day and happy summer holidays everyone!
razmatus#2517 I think I know what you mean... But I'll ask you anyway: CAF Oxygène, my proposed route or both? They would make a great pair for me! driverwoods#1787 No. Actually, all RENFE services run on the coast (Portbou-Montpellier-Marseille). There are two AVE services: - Madrid-Marseille - Barcelona-Lyon All carried out with the AVE 100. It would be AI Only in Narbonne (As I wrote above!) As for the Hotel services, I don't think they will be resumed after 2020!
