The Aubrac Line

This train crosses one record-breaking bridge and runs underneath another.

The first is the Garabit viaduct, finished in 1884 to carry the line over the gorge of the Truyère: a single iron arch, designed by the engineer Léon Boyer and built by Gustave Eiffel's company, with the track 122 metres above the river, then the highest viaduct in the world. The second came 120 years later. The motorway from Clermont-Ferrand to Béziers follows much the same route as the railway, and in 2004 it took the valley of the Tarn at Millau on a viaduct whose deck stands 270 metres above the water. A few minutes out of Millau station, the train passes beneath it.

Between the two bridges is one of the emptiest stretches of France. The Aubrac, as the train has been called since 1984, runs once a day each way, about 397 kilometres in six and a half hours: from the volcanic country of Auvergne up over the Margeride and the Aubrac plateau, where its highest stop stands at 1,041 metres, across the limestone causses and down the valley of the Orb to the vineyards of Languedoc. It is a small diesel railcar on a single track, with no reservation needed, and between Neussargues and Saint-Chély-d'Apcher it is the only passenger train on the line.

The train leaves Clermont-Ferrand a little after one in the afternoon and runs south up the Allier, past Issoire, then turns up the valley of the Alagnon to Neussargues, at 809 metres. This is where the mountain line proper begins: the Ligne de Béziers à Neussargues, about 275 kilometres of single track built by the Compagnie du Midi and finished in 1888. The train stands here for ten minutes southbound and twenty northbound, and on recent journeys passengers have changed at Neussargues to a second train continuing under the same number, so listen for the announcement.

Over the plateaus

South of Neussargues the line crosses the Planèze to Saint-Flour, its upper town on the edge of the volcanic plateau, then reaches the gorge of the Truyère and the Garabit viaduct. Beyond it the train climbs through the Margeride to Saint-Chély-d'Apcher, where the steel works still receives its coils by rail, and to Aumont-Aubrac, at 1,041 metres the highest stop of the journey. The line keeps to the high ground from here to Marvejols, bridging the valleys on Léon Boyer's stone viaducts rather than winding down into them.

Down through the causses

From Marvejols the line drops to the Lot at Banassac and crosses the limestone plateaus to Sévérac-le-Château, then descends into the valley of the Tarn at Millau, at 379 metres. It follows the river beneath the motorway viaduct, climbs again past Tournemire-Roquefort, along the edge of the Larzac, and comes down the valley of the Orb by Bédarieux to Béziers, 18 metres above the sea. The line has 38 tunnels, 17.5 kilometres of them in all, and nearly 700 curves.

The train

The line was electrified by the Midi at 1,500 volts in 1931 and 1932, but the Aubrac itself has been a diesel railcar since 1 July 2010: one or more X 73500 units, coupled together when the train is busy. The train used to start from Paris; since December 2007 it has run from Clermont-Ferrand, where there are Intercités to and from Paris.

One train a day in each direction, every day. No reservation is needed. On Saturdays 14 and 21 November 2026 a coach replaces the train between Bédarieux and Béziers in both directions, at about the train's times.

Clermont-Ferrand to Béziers — train 15941

Béziers to Clermont-Ferrand — train 15940

Until 12 December the northbound train leaves Béziers at 09:32, and the southbound times move by a minute or so. Both trains also call at Issoire, Brassac-les-Mines, Arvant, Massiac-Blesle, Saint-Chély-d'Apcher, Le Monastier, Banassac-La Canourgue, Campagnac-Saint-Geniez, Sévérac-le-Château, Saint-Georges-de-Luzençon, Saint-Rome-de-Cernon, Ceilhes-Roqueredonde, Le Bousquet-d'Orb and Magalas.

Times as of October 2026, from SNCF's timetable as carried by ÖBB's journey planner, checked day by day from 18 October 2026 to 15 January 2027. Check your date on SNCF Connect (opens in a new tab).

Tickets are sold by SNCF, on SNCF Connect (opens in a new tab) and at stations, for the whole line or any part of it. The Aubrac is one of SNCF's Intercités without compulsory reservation, so a ticket is not tied to a seat: board and sit where there is room.

SNCF's Carte Avantage takes 30% off the normal Intercités fare, and the Carte Liberté 50%. Checked October 2026.

Interrail and Eurail passes are valid, with no reservation and no supplement. Interrail's table of railway companies lists SNCF's Intercités in both the Global Pass and the One Country Pass for France, with a reservation compulsory only on some lines, and SNCF's own network map shows the Clermont-Ferrand–Béziers line among the day Intercités without one. With a pass, simply board.

A pass pays if this is one day of a longer trip through France. For the Aubrac alone, compare a travel day of the pass with the fare SNCF quotes for your date.

Checked October 2026 against Interrail's table of railway companies (opens in a new tab) and SNCF's Intercités destinations (opens in a new tab).

With one train a day each way, getting off on the way means waiting a day for the next one, so plan to stay. Issoire, Saint-Flour, Marvejols and Millau all have their own stations on the line, and the Aubrac plateau begins at Aumont-Aubrac.

The journey fits in an afternoon, but the line rewards a stop on the way. Saint-Flour, about two hours from Clermont-Ferrand and just past Garabit, is the natural place to break it.

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