Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Toulouse-Matabiau station, located in the eponymous district, was inaugurated in 1856 by the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi to connect Bordeaux to Sète. This project is part of a desire to modernise the links between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, competing the Canal du Midi. The original building, in a neoclassical style, was blessed by Bishop Miolland when he opened, marking a turning point for Toulouse, which was late in the industrial process.

Between 1903 and 1905, architect Marius Toudoire, known for his achievements as the Gare de Lyon in Paris, designed the current stone passenger building in Saintonge. The latter, enlarged in a Haussmannian style, incorporates coats of arms from the 26 cities served by the Midi network. The station became a strategic crossroads with the addition of the lines to Bayonne (1867) and Brive-la-Gaillarde (1864), consolidating its central role in the South-West.

Ranked a historic monument in 1984, the station undergoes major renovations, such as the addition of a sixth dock in 2009 to meet an increasing number of visitors (9 million annually in 2009). Since 2017, it has benefited from TGVs linking Toulouse to Paris in 4h17 via the LGV Sud Europe Atlantique. The Grand Matabiau project, launched in the 21st century, envisages a complete modernization with four parvis, a Halle des Transports, and a vegetation of the neighborhood to accompany the arrival of the LGV Bordeaux-Toulouse.

The name Matabiau originates in the occitan mata buòu ("kill the ox"), linked either to a Christian legend (the death of a bull who killed Saint Saturnin in 250) or to the old slaughterhouses of the neighborhood. The station, the heart of the TER Occitanie network, also incorporates developed intermodality: metro (line A), urban bus, and a bus station connected to regional and international buses.

The metal halls covering the tracks, typical of 19th century railway architecture, and the 26 coats of arms ornamenting the facade since 1906 recall the history of the Compagnie du Midi. The station, owned by SNCF, remains a symbol of transport innovation, between industrial heritage and contemporary issues of sustainable mobility.

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