SNCF hopes to restore Bordeaux-Toulouse TGV traffic for the Ascension Day holiday on May 28

By The New Obs with AFP

Published on May 22, 2025 at 7:57 p.m.

SNCF hopes to restore TGV service between Bordeaux and Toulouse on May 28, for the Ascension Day holiday, after it was interrupted on Monday due to damage caused by torrential rain in Lot-et-Garonne .

Near Tonneins, a stream overflowed and carried away the ballast under the rails for around ten meters, forcing a TGV to stop on the track with 507 passengers on board and also interrupting the TER service between Agen and Marmande.

"The removal of the TGV train was a pain. It's not every day that a TGV train is split in two behind the engine," said Jean-Luc Gary, SNCF's Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional director, during a press briefing on Thursday, May 22. "We had to start backfilling. We installed jacks to raise the track to stabilize the TGV. And then split it in two and pull it on each side afterwards."

Since then, 70 people have been working 24 hours a day to ensure the backfilling of the excavation and the earthworks before laying the track.

"We are implementing all the means at our disposal today to try to save Ascension Day weekend. We will confirm it, we will only be able to confirm it next Saturday," added Jean-Luc Gary. "There must be no risks. We must not let the sky fall on our heads again. This operation should be completed on Saturday if all goes well. And so I will confirm to you whether we can meet the date of May 28th when we would reopen the line."

Since Monday evening, TGV service has been suspended in one direction in Bordeaux and in the other in Toulouse. For TER trains, replacement coaches have been put in place between Agen and Marmande, but with less capacity than the trains normally in service.