• The ambition of the RER Métropolitain is to transform the five branches of the Gironde rail network into three lines which will no longer have Bordeaux as their terminus and will thus cross the territory.

  • The trains will also be clocked, at the rate of two per hour to start.

  • The communities hope to convince those who use their car to go to the metropolis, to abandon their vehicle in favor of the RER.

An express network of trains across the Gironde, with the aim of relieving congestion on the roads.

This is the stated ambition of the "RER Métropolitain", which "enters its active phase", announces Renaud Lagrave, vice-president of the regional council of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in charge of transport, on the occasion of the launch this Tuesday of the public consultation, which runs until 19 November.

On track since 2021 with the partial entry into service of a first link between Libourne and Arcachon, the RER Métropolitain de Bordeaux is today the most advanced project at the national level.

The government actually wants several cities to also equip themselves with an express network on their territories.

In the meantime, "20 Minutes" reviews the Bordeaux project.

How many lines are affected?

The consultation which opens this Tuesday concerns the three lines of the metropolitan RER: Arcachon – Libourne, the most advanced of all and scheduled for 2027, Saint-Mariens – Saint-Yzan – Langon, scheduled between 2028 and 2030, and Pointe de Grave – Bordeaux/Pessac, also known as the Médoc line, scheduled for 2030.


It is in fact a question of "diametricalizing" the five branches of the Girondin railway network to make three lines.

For this, the Bordeaux Saint-Jean station will no longer be the terminus of the five current branches (except for the Médoc line which will stop either in Bordeaux or in Pessac), but only a stop for trains which will thus serve the territory from one end to the other, stopping at several stations.

These trains will also be “clocked”, that is to say that they will run at a fixed time, like the RER in Ile-de-France.

How frequent will the RERs be?

We will clearly not be in a train frequency "à la francilienne".

A first line has already been in partial operation for a year, that between Libourne and Arcachon, at the rate of one train per hour and per direction for the moment.

"It's a start and it will gradually ramp up" promises the mayor of Libourne, Philippe Buisson (PS), who hopes "a train every quarter of an hour within two to three years".

What the SNCF nuance.

“The studies currently being carried out on the three lines relate to the implementation of an RER every half hour, and there is talk of the possibility of increasing this frequency to a quarter of an hour beyond 2028”, specifies Edouard Parant. , Project Director of the Metropolitan RER at SNCF Réseau.

Too low a frequency for several elected officials.

The SNCF project director adds, however, that "if we take the example of Libourne, you will eventually have two RER trains per hour going to Bordeaux, plus three trains per hour arriving from Limoges, Bergerac or Angoulême, and going also in Bordeaux.

Whether it's the RER or the train, there will ultimately be five services to Bordeaux per hour.

It's better than a quarter of an hour.

But only the RER Métropolitain will serve all stations, especially those on the Bordeaux campus.

Renaud Lagrave promises that the project will indeed gain momentum.

“Thanks in particular to the railway developments south of Bordeaux (AFSB), the objective is indeed to reach the quarter hour after 2028. But today, we are already doing what is necessary to be on the half hour.

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Why is the RER Métropolitain taking so long to implement?

In Bordeaux, this project has already been on track since 2018, and we will therefore have to wait until 2028 for its complete realization, 2030 if we integrate the Médoc line which was added to the project a year ago.

The problem is that, even if everything will not be seen, the infrastructure work promises to be heavy.

“We are not adding tracks, but we are still building two stations [La Médoquine in Talence and the Bouscat railway stop], underlines Edouard Parant.

We will also have to build platforms: in Bordeaux we will create a new platform along hall 3, between Bordeaux and Libourne we have the ambition to run double trains, for this we will have to lengthen the platforms of four stations.

“Some lines will need “more electrical power” when it is not necessary to “completely electrify certain parts of the line”, even if it is also planned to run new generation trains running on batteries.

"Some places will need new railway signals", further lists the project manager.

Finally, running more trains throughout the day will require "having facilities at the end of the line to allow the trains to return in the other direction" as well as garages in these terminus stations to carry out maintenance, "because this is no longer possible in Bordeaux.

The total cost of the operation amounts to around 880 million euros, financed by the region, the metropolis, the department and the State.

How many passengers for this RER Métropolitain?

“The objective is to reach 30,000 to 40,000 travelers per day [55,000 travelers depending on the metropolis], but I am certain that we will go beyond, especially if there is regularity, and a single pricing, which what we are working on,” assures Renaud Lagrave.

Local authorities hope above all to convince those who travel to the metropolis by car to abandon their vehicle in favor of the RER, knowing that road journeys coming from outside represent 58% of the mileage achieved within the perimeter of the metropolis.

“The RER Métropolitain will not be the answer to mobility problems, but an answer, analyzes Emmanuel Sallaberry.

The objective being to reach people beyond the metropolis, it is more of a Gironde solution than a metropolitan solution where, in my opinion, only the metro project can provide an effective response to the saturation of the tramway.

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First feedback from Libourne

"Promise of a better connection of our territory to the metropolis" the RER is already producing its effects in Libourne, assures its mayor Philippe Buisson.

“It works since we see a new population, which works in the metropolis, coming to settle in Libourne.

And tomorrow, when the stations around the campus have opened, we hope to welcome many students, for whom it is increasingly difficult to find accommodation in the metropolis.

Libourne intends to offer them a kind of accommodation + transport “package” for less than 500 euros per month, being less than an hour from the university.

“The connection without change in Bordeaux also allows” to bring Libourne closer to the beach, since you can go to Arcachon directly, in 1h30.

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The mayor of Libourne, however, points out some flaws.

“It's not perfect yet, but our line is the first, so we're having a hard time.

For example, “there is not yet a late return between mainland France and Libourne, the last train being at 10:27 p.m.

It's not enough if you want to go out in Bordeaux.

We will need a last train at 11:30 p.m. or midnight, we are working on it with the region and the SNCF.

Then there is a capacity problem, we will have to increase the offer of our trains which is already becoming insufficient.

Finally, we will have to improve the stop in Bordeaux, which is around ten minutes, it's too long.

"" The ideal objective would be to be at three or four minutes, agrees the SNCF, we will already try to go down to six minutes.

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All the information on the project and the consultation is online on the site dedicated to the Metropolitan RER. 

Bordeaux

Bordeaux: “We are launching a study on the metro to start thinking about the 2030-2050 period”

Bordeaux

Bordeaux: "The metropolitan RER must be our metro"

Two new stations

Two new stations will be created for the implementation of the RER, the Médoquine in Talence and the Bouscat railway station.

The latter, which should open in mid-2023, will be the first concrete achievement of the RER Métropolitain, and will allow, for example, to reach Saint-Jean station in 14 minutes.

For the Médoquine station, it will be a rebirth, since "we will be 75 years of closure" during its inauguration scheduled for 2025, underlines the mayor of Talence Emmanuel Sallaberry.

“There is a huge amount of work to be done, including four quays to be built, greening of the site, and facilities for bicycles and pedestrians to be made.

The elected official aims to make this center around which 150,000 people live and work, “the station of the campus, of the CHU, and a link between Pessac and Bordeaux.

» A daily attendance of approximately 4,500 travelers is expected.

  • Bordeaux

  • Arcachon

  • SNCF

  • RER

  • Libourne

  • Aquitaine