Poitiers–La Rochelle railway

The Paris TGVs peel off at Poitiers and finish on this line, opened to Niort in 1856 and to La Rochelle the year after: ninety minutes across the Poitou plain to the Atlantic.

The line to La Rochelle branches off the Paris-Austerlitz–Bordeaux route at Saint-Benoît, just outside Poitiers, and runs double-track and electrified through Niort to the coast. It is line 538 000 of the national network. One stretch is the exception: 28 km of single track between Lusignan and Saint-Maixent, left that way because before the SNCF the traffic here was modest and Paris–La Rochelle trains went round by Chartres, Saumur and Thouars on State metals.

Stations

1. 0 kmPoitiers
2. 45 kmSaint-Maixent-l'École
3. 55 kmLa Crèche
4. 69 kmNiort
5. 87 kmPrin-Deyrançon
6. 91 kmMauzé
7. 103 kmSurgères
8. 118 kmAigrefeuille-le-Thou
9. 124 kmLa Jarrie
10. 136 kmLa Rochelle

The stations OpenStreetMap maps along this line, in order along the line as drawn here, with the distance along it. Not every train stops at every station.

Along the way

• Saint-Benoît junction outside Poitiers
• The single-track section from Lusignan to Saint-Maixent
• Niort
• La Rochelle-Ville

How this line was checked

• The 89 km this route shares with OpenStreetMap relation 9086523 is drawn from that relation's own nodes, thinned to within under 25 m of them
• Checked against OpenStreetMap: 99.4% of this line lies within 250 m of real track, a median 4 m from it
• Checked against the running timetable via ÖBB Scotty: our line passes within 41 m of every station TGV 8375 calls at (the planner's own shape was too coarse to measure a line against)
• Wikipedia has an article for this line
• See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it

Questions and answers

How long is the Poitiers–La Rochelle railway?

The Poitiers–La Rochelle railway runs 135 km from Poitiers to La Rochelle.

How long does the Poitiers–La Rochelle railway take?

The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 1 h 29 min for the 135 km. That is an average of 91 km/h end to end.

Who runs the Poitiers–La Rochelle railway?

SNCF Voyageurs, with TGV inOui.

How old is the Poitiers–La Rochelle railway?

The line has been in service since 1857. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.

How often does the Poitiers–La Rochelle railway run?

15 direct trains on a weekday (counted on 2 September 2026).

View on the world railway map →

Read more on Wikipedia (in FR) ↗