Bordeaux-Lyon train: why is there no direct line?
Two major French cities, two metropolises in the top 10, only 430 km as the crow flies... And yet, no non-stop without passing through the Paris region.
Today, to get from Lyon to Bordeaux or Bordeaux to Lyon by train, you have to make a huge detour via Paris. The result: from a journey of around 400 km to almost 1000 km In the summer, prices can soar to several hundred euros.
And the most absurd part? Rails are available since this connection has already existed. So how did we arrive at such a paradox? As we shall see, the Bordeaux-Lyon story is not just that of an anomaly. It's the symptom of a gradual transformation of our mobility system, and of our political and economic choices.
And if you prefer to experience this survey first-hand, you can watch our video decryption or listen to it in audio format on Can I buy you a rail? (the podcast that will get you hooked on trains):
The history of the Bordeaux-Lyon line
A line that crosses the Massif Central
To understand why Bordeaux and Lyon are no longer linked directly by train, we first need to look at where the line passes : most of it runs through the Central Massif a vast area of plateaux and medium-sized mountains in the heart of France.
The Massif Central represents approximately 15% of the surface area of France and concentrates major mobility issues. However, it is also one of the areas most affected by the decline of the railways. Why is this so? The terrain is rugged, with steep gradients, numerous curves and structures that are sometimes centuries old. In short, infrastructure development and maintenance here is expensive.
Post-war: trains go out of fashion
For a long time, this didn't stop France from taking the plunge. Because rail is an essential public service for regional planning, and above all, because before the war and between the wars, it was the main means of transport to serve the country.
But after the war, a new element changed all that: the car. It became more democratic, the State invested massively in the road network, and air travel also began to develop over long distances.
With all this, trains quickly become secondary. Some lines are perceived as "less useful" and gradually disappear. One example is the Ardèche region, now the only département without a passenger station, a subject we explored in another video.
L'étoile de Legrand: a network designed for Paris
Another key element is the very structure of the French rail network. As early as 1842, it was organized according to the Legrand star connecting the capital to major cities.
The result: a highly parisiano-centré. Practical for certain economic needs, but catastrophic for links between regions, since cross-country lines become less visible politically, less frequented, and therefore more vulnerable. And when financial priorities come into play, they're the first to go.
Late 2000s: the fatal diagnosis
At the end of the 2000s, the French government launched a review of its trains. INTERCITÉS ("trains d'équilibre du territoire"). In this context, the Bordeaux-Lyon route has been identified as one of the most loss-making and least profitable on the network.
The diagnosis is fateful: one closure follows another, and they will never reopen. Today, the only reminders of the Bordeaux-Lyon line are abandoned tracks and a freeway that almost entirely follows the route of the old line.
Why hasn't the link been restored yet?
A question of budgetary (and political) priorities
First obstacle: the budget priorities. A line that is no longer in circulation is immediately no longer a priority.
At a time when the Bordeaux-Lyon train line is coming to a halt, the French government is facing a number of urgent issues: an aging network, massive railway debt, and the need to upgrade the busiest routes to avoid incidents and widespread slowdowns.
In this context, reopening an abandoned cross-country route through sparsely populated areas is not seen as a project for the future, but as an additional cost in a system already under strain.
And as Jean-Pierre Farandou explained in a episode of our podcast The network is very old, and ageing is accelerating (with an average age of around 30 years, but rails over 100 years old and catenaries over 70 years old).
In 2018, the French government entrusted the Conseil d'orientation des infrastructures with the task of prioritizing major transport projects. Within this framework, the Bordeaux-Lyon link via the Massif Central was not given priority. From then on, it clearly disappeared from the political debate.
An institutional headache: "who's going to pay?"
Second obstacle: the fragmented financing. The line crosses several regions, but does not fully belong to any of them.
- The regions finance regional commuter trains.
- The State finances long-distance public service trains (trains d'équilibre du territoire).
- And SNCF Réseau invoices track use separately.
Result: no one is fully competent to decide on a relaunch alone.
Alternative routes take the pressure off
Third, and more subtle, brake: the existence of alternative routes. Even if there is no direct line and the solution is far from ideal, you can still link Bordeaux and Lyon by train. And if there is an alternative, the political pressure to reopen a transverse line disappears...
The "behavioral brake": the snake that bites its own tail
Finally, as the years go by without a train, habits change. The car becomes the norm As a result, connections disappear, and potential passengers fall off the radar: since they no longer take the train, they are no longer counted. And this apparent drop in demand becomes an argument to justify the absence of service.
What does the future hold for the Bordeaux-Lyon route?
Local mobilizations and an unexpected attempt: Railcoop
Since the link was phased out, local complaints and mobilizations have been multiplying: elected representatives, user associations and citizens' groups are denouncing the rail isolation of Limousin, Auvergne and, more broadly, the heart of France.
For departments such as Creuse, Allier, Corrèze, Haute-Vienne and Puy-de-Dôme, the stakes are very real (exploding commute times, compulsory car travel, young people leaving more easily, companies reluctant to set up, feeling of being relegated to the background...).
It is in this context that an actor tries something different: Railcoop. The idea is simple: if neither the State nor the major operators are going to revive abandoned lines, then we have to try something else, relying on the regions, local authorities and citizens. And of course, the Bordeaux-Lyon link becomes a central project.
Between 2019 and 2023, Railcoop will bring together almost 15,000 members and raises more than 10 million euros of equity capital! But reality soon caught up with the project: to run a train, you need train paths, equipment, electricity, maintenance, staff... And above all pay rail tolls billed by SNCF Réseau.
On a conventional line, the toll is around €8 per kilometer per train in France, compared with €2.77 in Italy and €1.45 in Sweden. So over 500 km (roughly the distance of a direct Bordeaux-Lyon line), the bill comes to around €4,000 just for the right to use the tracks. The business model didn't hold up, and in 2024 Railcoop went into receivership...
2027: an OUIGO link, but still bypassing the heart of the country
After the failure of Railcoop, a new project appeared. In 2024, SNCF announced the launch of a direct Bordeaux-Lyon link by 2027, operated by OUIGO.
A direct, low-cost train with no connections for a journey time of around five o'clock !
An announcement that sounds like excellent news for the relaunch of the Bordeaux-Lyon line. However, this train will not pass through Limousin, Auvergne or the Massif Central. The chosen route will use existing high-speed lines: the train will travel up towards the Paris region, passing through Massy then down to Tours, Poitiers, Angoulême and Bordeaux.
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OUIGO
On the one hand, it's clearly positive: journeys between these two major metropolises will finally be simplified (by avoiding connections), and could divert travellers from the car or plane.
On the other hand, for the regions of the Massif Central, it's a brutal confirmation: Bordeaux and Lyon will be better connected, but without them. Intermediate towns are no longer potential stopping-off points, they're areas to be bypassed. And the question inevitably arises: if there is a direct link (even if it takes a detour), who will finance a cross-country link through the heart of the country?
Conclusion
At its core, this story is about much more than a single journey. We are confronted with two visions of railways that coexist without ever really meeting:
- a rail system designed to connect major cities quickly and compete with air travel,
- a rail system designed as a regional development tool, capable of offering a credible alternative to the car in less densely populated areas.
One thing is certain: the Bordeaux-Lyon route has become the symbol of the trade-off between economic efficiency, territorial justice and climate transition. To be continued...
Issue du monde de la communication et des médias, Sophie est Responsable éditoriale chez HOURRAIL ! depuis août 2024. Elle est notamment derrière le contenu éditorial du site ainsi que La Locomissive (de l'inspiration voyage bas carbone et des bons plans, un jeudi sur deux, gratuitement dans ta boîte mail !).
Convaincue que les changements d’habitude passent par la transformation de nos imaginaires, elle s’attache à montrer qu’il est possible de voyager autrement, de manière plus consciente, plus lente et plus joyeuse. Son objectif : rendre le slow travel accessible à toutes et tous, à travers des astuces, des décryptages et surtout, de nouveaux récits.
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