Travelling to Bordeaux by TER

Operator: SNCF

Headcode: TER866312 / TER866263

Route:    BIG-BOD-BIG

Class:    2^nd

Seat:     N/A

Date:     Saturday 12^th August 2023

Having had a few days to settle into our holiday accommodation and explore some of the local area, we had decided to spend a day visiting Bordeaux, the closest major city to where we were staying. Having had a nightmare drive around the city’s ring road on our way down from Bordeaux, we had chosen to travel into Bordeaux by train and so just after 0800 we were at the station waiting for the TER.

We had decided to start our journey from Biganos, a 10–15-minute drive from where we were staying as this sits at the junction of two of the TER routes and so we were hopeful that we’d have more choice of trains to catch when returning from the city later in the day.

Biagnos-Facture station has a ticket office and a pair of ticket machines (one inside the ticket hall & one out on the platform). At the time of our trip (0800 on a Saturday morning), the ticket office was closed, and the inside ticket machine had a queue, so we headed outside to use the one on the platform. Unfortunately, this was particularly old and not user friendly and so we gave up and headed back to queue for the machine inside.

Having queued for a while and with only three minutes left until our train was due to arrive, I managed to buy the tickets I has been trying to purchase via the SNCF website. These ‘Pass Escapades 1 Jour’ were around €9 return each, whereas the only tickets we were being offered by the machine on the platform were more than twice the price.

Having been frazzled by the ticket problems, I misread the platform signs and with the incorrect assumption that French trains run on the right (turns out they run on the left like UK trains) we had headed through the underpass to the other platform. Realising our mistake as the train was approaching, a quick dash back across to the main platform meant we just about made the train.

Our service that morning was formed by a pair of Bombardier Regio 2N units, however the rear one was locked out of use. This meant everyone dashed down the platform to board via the rear door of the front unit, helpfully then stopping in the doorway and blocking it for everyone else. We managed to find two seats in the section to the rear of the doors, however lots of people were forced to stand when seats were available in the rest of the train.

The Bombardier Regio 2N units are double deck electric multiple units (EMUs) that are laid out in a 2-2 configuration for operations on the TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine network. Designed for regional and commuter operations, there’s not any first-class seating onboard and whilst all seats have access to a plug socket, there’s no WiFi onboard these 10-year-old EMUs. There’s also no catering onboard TER services, so if you’re travelling a longer distance, make sure to stock up on snacks before you travel.

The majority of services on the route between Arcachon and Bordeaux terminate at Bordeaux-St-Jean station, however the 0824 departure from Biganos (TER866312) is one of a few that continues through Bordeaux to Courtas, a town to the north-east of the city. This meant that rather than arriving in one of the lettered bay platforms that are outside the train shed, we came into Platform 1 one of the main through platforms.

After a full day exploring Bordeaux (read about that next week), we headed back to the station to catch the penultimate TER service of the day back towards Arcachon. My plan of using Biganos station to give us more choice on trains didn’t work as there appears to be a much lower level of service on the Mont-de-Marsan line.

Departing Bordeaux on time at 2104, we passed the large rail yard to the south of the station, in the triangle between the main line and the lines towards Arcachon. This yard was full of both modern TER and TGV units along with a plethora of older carriages and locomotives, including a few that looked long beyond their best.

Our journey back to Biganos had four intermediate station calls and so the journey time was just over half an hour. With the service formed of a single Regio 2N unit, it was busier than I expected it to be, however thankfully we found a carriage of quiet travellers. Whilst the seating onboard is fairly basic designed for shorter journeys, it was comfortable enough and we arrived back at Biganos less stressed than we would have done if we had faced the Bordeaux ring road.

All in all I was quite impressed with the TER service between Biganos and Bordeaux. Trains were every 30-minutes throughout most of the day, giving us plenty of choice when heading into the city and the hourly service in the evening was ok. €18 return for the two of us was a bargain when you consider the cost of parking etc and we had a lot less hassle than if we’d driven into the city. Next time you’re on holiday in France, why not have a look to see if the local TER network can save you a drive or two.

Lounge              0*

Seat/Facilities     3*

Food               0*

Service             5*

Punctuality         5*

Overall Rating      13/25 (read about my rating system here!)