Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Bordeaux-Saint-Jean station, originally called the Midi station, was built in 1855 by the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi to serve the Bordeaux-Sète line. Placed on the lowlands of Paludate after conflicts with the banks of the quays, it gradually replaced the Bordeaux-Ségur station by its connection in 1860 to the Eiffel Bridge, allowing connections to Paris via the Bordeaux-Bastide station. Its development was marked by major expansions between 1889 and 1898, under the direction of engineer Louis Choron and architect Marius Toudoire, transforming a modest wooden station into a monumental complex.

The railway station became the heart of the region after the merger of the companies in 1938 and the creation of the SNCF. Its departure hall, adorned with a giant mural map of the Midi network (1929), and its 17 400 m2 window — the largest in Europe — symbolize its historic importance. Classified as a Historic Monument in 1984, it was modernized in 1987 to accommodate the Atlantic TGV, then renovated between 2014 and 2017 for the arrival of the LGV Sud Europe Atlantique, reducing the Paris-Bordeaux route to 2h04.

The station also played a role in tragic events, such as the departure in 1940 of the first convoy of French workers to Nazi Germany, or the assassination in 1944 of Charles Domercq, a resistant and sub-station chief. Today, it is at the centre of the Bordeaux-Euratlantique project, aimed at creating a multimodal hub and an international business district by 2030, while preserving its heritage, such as the restoration of its historic wall map in 2019.

Architecturally, the station is distinguished by its metal hall signed Daydé & Pillé, its 19th century marquesses, and its three halls (including the Belcier hall opened in 2017). It is served by TGVs, Intercités and TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine, as well as by tram and urban bus lines. Its historic rail stop, solved by a new four-lane bridge in 2010, illustrates its constant adaptation to modern challenges.

The Grande Gare de Bordeaux project (2024) and the future LGVs to Toulouse and Spain confirm its status as a European hub. The station thus embodies both the industrial heritage of the 19th century, the challenges of the 20th century, and the contemporary ambitions of connectivity and urban development.

External links