Bordeaux-Saint-Jean station

Main railway station of Bordeaux, France

Bordeaux Saint Jean or formerly Bordeaux Midi is the main railway station in the French city of Bordeaux. It is the southern terminus of the Paris–Bordeaux railway, and the western terminus of the Chemins de fer du Midi main line from Toulouse. The station is the main railway interchange in Aquitaine and links Bordeaux to Paris, Sète, Toulouse Matabiau and Spain. The station building is situated in the centre of Bordeaux at the end of the Cours de la Marne, and has a large metallic trainshed, built by Gustave Eiffel. Since the arrival of the TGV the station has been renovated and upgraded with modern equipment, but has kept its original features.

The station was built in 1855 under the name Gare du Midi (Midi station) by the Chemins de fer du Midi, as the western terminus of its main line linking Bordeaux and Sète. It used to be less important than the former Bordeaux Bastide station connecting Bordeaux with Paris on the right bank of the river Garonne. A long metal viaduct, built by Gustave Eiffel in 1860, allowed trains to cross the river and progressively Bordeaux Saint Jean became the Bordeaux main station, needing larger infrastructures. The current station building opened in 1898. As well as Midi trains, trains from the Paris Orléans and the État companies called there. The station was built by M Toudoire and S Choron. It includes a large metallic trainshed 56 m wide and covers 17,000 m2, one of the largest in Europe, conceived Daidé&Pillé and constructed by G. Eiffel.

In October 2019, Gare de Bordeaux Saint Jean was twinned with London St Pancras International in England. The association was made in the hope that a high speed service could connect the two stations, and was announced at a ceremony headed by Claude Solard, Director General of SNCF.