Transiting in Bordeaux: Is 15-Minute Transfer Doable?

[Howzer48]

I may have previously posted this to the wrong topic. Sorry…
Traveling to Irún next month to start the Norte. The few trains from Western France to Hendaye have 15 minutes to change trains in Bordeaux. Is this possible to do? I haven’t taken a train in 3 decades so I‘m a bit anxious. Thanks for any replies.

 

[naplesdon]

If you are there or have have arrived at the station on time, the transit time from one line to another is very quick. The main station in Bordeaux is a small station, however there are two stations in Bordeaux, so beware and study your ticket.

 

[trecile]

I may have previously posted this to the wrong topic. Sorry…
Traveling to Irún next month to start the Norte. The few trains from Western France to Hendaye have 15 minutes to change trains in Bordeaux. Is this possible to do? I haven’t taken a train in 3 decades so I‘m a bit anxious. Thanks for any replies.

Can I make a suggestion?
If you have a couple of extra days instead of starting from Irun consider starting from Bayonne or Biarritz. I'm just finishing my first day after starting from the lighthouse in Biarritz.




You can see the stages on Gronze.

Camino del Norte | Gronze.com

www.gronze.com

 

[roving_rufus]

I would suspect you will not be the only one trying to make that connection! I enjoy train travel and wouldn't worry too much. Its likely you are switching at Saint Jean gare in Bordeaux.
Plus there is a regular schedule TER train to Hendaye from Bordeaux roughly every 2-3hours, so if you miss your connection have a coffee (or a glass of wine as its Bordeaux) and take the next one.

 

[Kathar1na]

Traveling to Irún next month to start the Norte. The few trains from Western France to Hendaye have 15 minutes to change trains in Bordeaux. Is this possible to do? I haven’t taken a train in 3 decades so I‘m a bit anxious.

I'm a bit puzzled by your reference to "trains from Western France to Hendaye" and changing of trains in Bordeaux. Isn't Bordeaux already pretty much in the west ? Anyway, I have travelled quite a bit on trains in Europe in the last 3 decades and know that I can always get another train if I missed one and that my credit card will provide me with a hotel bed for an unexpected overnight stay but I still like to be well informed when the connection time is short, especially when it is a station I have never been to and with signs and boards in a language I am not overly familiar with.

I've been to Bordeaux main station (called "Saint Jean" station) a few times in the past, and 15 minutes to change trains is eminently doable. Sometimes a train will wait for the arrival of a train that is late, sometimes it won't. The French railways SNCF provide you with up to date info on their websites and apps. https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gares-services has real time info about departure and arrival times and about layout and services at their station.

Below are two screenshots with info for Bordeaux taken from https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gares-services. You see the platform ("voie") assigned to a train and whether a train is on time or delayed. You see how the platforms are arranged, their numbers 1-14, the stairs leading up and down and the tunnels that connect them. One tiny bit of info: the fast trains from and to Bordeaux use the numbered platforms. You may not even have to go down and up, just stay on the platform and change from the right side to the left or vice versa.

Slower regional trains to Hendaye depart sometimes from platform A which puzzled me a bit the first time. You can see the locations of platforms A, B and C on the bottom right corner of the screenshot below (click to enlarge). Bon voyage!

 

[JabbaPapa]

15 minutes is usually plenty in these situations in France -- not infrequently, the next train is on the track directly opposite, though these things will of course vary locally. In some of the very largest stations in France such as Marseille-Saint-Charles, or Paris Gare de Lyon it would be much tighter, but usually not somewhere like Bordeaux.

And sometimes, even if your first train gets in late, the second, local train will wait for it before departure.

If your first train arrival were very late for some reason, well, then you might have a longer wait until the next departure.

 

[Howzer48]

I'm a bit puzzled by your reference to "trains from Western France to Hendaye" and changing of trains in Bordeaux. Isn't Bordeaux already pretty much in the west ? Anyway, I have travelled quite a bit on trains in Europe in the last 3 decades and know that I can always get another train if I missed one and that my credit card will provide me with a hotel bed for an unexpected overnight stay but I still like to be well informed when the connection time is short, especially when it is a station I have never been to and with signs and boards in a language I am not overly familiar with.

I've been to Bordeaux main station (called "Saint Jean" station) a few times in the past, and 15 minutes to change trains is eminently doable. Sometimes a train will wait for the arrival of a train that is late, sometimes it won't. The French railways SNCF provide you with up to date info on their websites and apps. https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gares-services has real time info about departure and arrival times and about layout and services at their station.

Below are two screenshots with info for Bordeaux taken from https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gares-services. You see the platform ("voie") assigned to a train and whether a train is on time or delayed. You see how the platforms are arranged, their numbers 1-14, the stairs leading up and down and the tunnels that connect them. One tiny bit of info: the fast trains from and to Bordeaux use the numbered platforms. You may not even have to go down and up, just stay on the platform and change from the right side to the left or vice versa.

Slower regional trains to Hendaye depart sometimes from platform A which puzzled me a bit the first time. You can see the locations of platforms A, B and C on the bottom right corner of the screenshot below (click to enlarge). Bon voyage!

View attachment 147325

View attachment 147313

That’s terrific. Really appreciate the info. By “west” I’m traveling from a village near La Rochelle

 

[WalkingInGers]

I may have previously posted this to the wrong topic. Sorry…
Traveling to Irún next month to start the Norte. The few trains from Western France to Hendaye have 15 minutes to change trains in Bordeaux. Is this possible to do? I haven’t taken a train in 3 decades so I‘m a bit anxious. Thanks for any replies.

Make sure that your arrival and departure is from the same railroad station.

 

[Anne Mclennan]

I may have previously posted this to the wrong topic. Sorry…
Traveling to Irún next month to start the Norte. The few trains from Western France to Hendaye have 15 minutes to change trains in Bordeaux. Is this possible to do? I haven’t taken a train in 3 decades so I‘m a bit anxious. Thanks for any replies.

I’m travelling Marseille to Hendaye via Bordeaux on 4 June with the same tight train change time as you. Hopefully the station is easy to navigate to make the change

 

[Kathar1na]

The main station in Bordeaux is a small station, however there are two stations in Bordeaux, so beware and study your ticket.

Make sure that your arrival and departure is from the same railroad station.

Just curious: Why are you saying this? When I type “Bordeaux” into https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gares-services only one railway station is listed for Bordeaux. It is not like “Paris”, where a choice of five station is presented (Nord, Est, Austerlitz and so on).

Is there another railway station in Bordeaux and if so, where is it and does a pilgrim have to pay attention to this for which kind of trains? I guess you are NOT thinking of Bayonne and Biarritz who both have their own railway stations that sometimes get confused by forum members?

 

[Kathar1na]

And since pictures say more than words, here is a screenshot of the railway stations and railway lines in and near Bordeaux. There is only Bordeaux Saint-Jean, no other station has Bordeaux in its name. The stations Caudéran-Mérignac and Mérignac Arlac belong to a regional line that comes from the near-by coast (Soulac-sur-Mer). I don't understand why pilgrims on their way to Bayonne, Biarritz or Hendaye ought to pay attention to this??? Their trains won't even pass through there or depart or arrive there.



Source: Le réseau ferré en France - April 2020, an interactive map issued by SNCF.

 

[Kathar1na]

One may wonder why the railway station of Bordeaux is called "Bordeaux Saint-Jean" and not just "Bordeaux". In any case, I did wonder about this but I never bothered to find out until today. History is the reason, what else . Gustave Eiffel and World War I have to do with it, and technological progress of course. Now all that remains to find out is whether "Saint Jean" refers to John the Baptist or John the Apostle or another saintly John.

Read more here (in French): La question pas si bête : Pourquoi la gare Saint-Jean s'appelle-t-elle ainsi ? La gare Saint-Jean de Bordeaux a longtemps été appelée gare du Midi. Jusqu’à un grand projet de travaux à la fin du 19ème siècle.

PS: This was something I started to love while walking through France towards Santiago de Compostela: so many bits of history that we had learnt about in school or are common knowledge became more tangible and alive.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I’m travelling Marseille to Hendaye via Bordeaux on 4 June with the same tight train change time as you. Hopefully the station is easy to navigate to make the change

That's more iffy ; because sadly, trains involving Marseilles (and indeed Toulouse, which your train will be passing through) suffer far more frequently from delays than elsewhere in France.

 

[VNwalking]

Hopefully the station is easy to navigate to make the change

You can always look it up ahead of time online, so the map is in your mind when you arrive. And there is real-time arrival and departure info available too, no doubt. Being prepared is easy - we have information easily and instantly available in the palms of our hands, if we use it.

 

[naplesdon]

Just curious: Why are you saying this? When I type “Bordeaux” into https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gares-services only one railway station is listed for Bordeaux. It is not like “Paris”, where a choice of five station is presented (Nord, Est, Austerlitz and so on).

Is there another railway station in Bordeaux and if so, where is it and does a pilgrim have to pay attention to this for which kind of trains? I guess you are NOT thinking of Bayonne and Biarritz who both have their own railway stations that sometimes get confused by forum members?

There was second station in Bordeaux on the east side of the river. That was years ago and I now see it is no longer there.