Reaching La Flow Vélo Cycle Route by Train

There are several stations (gares in French) close to the cycle route, especially between the towns of Angoulême and Rochefort, enabling you either to reach the route, or to shorten a stage, or then to get back to your start point. You can identify the locations of these stations directly on our pages dedicated to the stage descriptions.

TGV sur la Ligne Grande Vitesse Atlantique

• Paris – Angoulême: 1hr45mins
• Paris – La Rochelle : 2hrs30mins
• Bordeaux – Angoulême: 0hr40mins

More details : https://www.sncf-connect.com

Transporting your bike on TGV high-speed trains

You can book a (paying) space for your bike at the same time as reserving your seat by ticking the box ‘’Ajouter un vélo’’ (Add a bike).

Book your SNCF (French national railways) ticket

TER –  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Trains

TER services include both train and coach services run jointly by the SNCF French National Railways and the French Regions, useful both for regular or occasional travel. The towns listed below are located along La Flow Vélo® cycle route and offer TER services from their train station (gare SNCF). Combining these trains with cycling enables you to explore so many hidden corners of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region.

• La Rochelle
• Rochefort
• Saint-Savinien-sur-Charente
• Saintes
• Cognac
• Jarnac
• Châteauneuf-sur-Charente
• Angoulême
• Marthon
• Nontron
• Thiviers
• Terrasson-la-Villedieu
• Le Lardin-saint-Lazare
• Sarlat-La-Canéda

Travelling by TER services across the whole Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region

Transporting your bike on TER regional trains

As a general rule: for all TER train services in Nouvelle-Aquitaine

On board each TER train, there’s an area specifically reserved for bikes. Note, though, that you cannot reserve a space for your bike in advance; that the number of spaces available are limited; and that they are available on a first-come-first-served basis. So, during peak times or during disruption to services, you may be told that you cannot take your bike onboard.  

During the summer holiday period, note that four regional Nouvelle-Aquitaine TER lines are now offering further bike spaces, but you DO need to book these in advance.

For instance, in summer 2024, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region continued its TER bike space booking service on the following lines – 15, 41, 42 and 51 – from 1 June to 15 September. Booking a space for your bike was compulsory on these lines, with between 6 and 25 spaces available per train.

The train lines concerned serve the following stations:

• La Rochelle | Rochefort | Saintes | Bordeaux (ligne 15)
• Libourne | Bordeaux | Arcachon (ligne 41)
• Le Verdon | Macau | Bordeaux / Pessac (ligne 42)
• Bordeaux | Dax | Bayonne | Hendaye (ligne 51)

To facilitate the booking process, a specific booking platform has been created, so go to:  https://www.ter.veloabord.fr.

If you go to the TER Aquitaine website or via the SNCF Connect app, look under the subheading Services & Contacts and you’ll find the TER + Vélo section under that.

Please note, however, that on certain Nouvelle-Aquitaine lines connected to this cycle route, so on the TER lines Saintes / Angoulême (line 16) and Saintes/Bordeaux (line 16 or D15), as well as on the lines Bordeaux/Sarlat (line D15) and Périgueux/Sarlat (TER), there isn’t the possibility of booking a space for your bicycle, but you can make use of the limited number of spaces available for bikes (on average, six per train, on a first-come-first-served basis). During peak times or during disruption to services, you may be told that you cannot take your bike onboard. However, if you can dismantle your bike and carry it in a bag (measuring no more than 130cmx90cm), then you are allowed to take your bike onboard. 

Additional bike-transporting facilities – VéloZEN

The Nouvelle-Aquitaine TER bike-transporting scheme, VéloZEN, was extended in summer 2024, allowing for many more bikes to be transported, first on June weekends, on three out of the four train lines concerned, then daily on all four lines, from 6 July to 1 or 15 September, the closing date depending on the line. 

Note that booking a space for your bike is now compulsory for these VéloZEN services and costs a small fee.  service véloZen

Transporting trailers by train 

The Nouvelle-Aquitaine TER line accepts folded-up trailers. 

Please don’t forget… 

for your comfort and that of other train passengers:

• Avoid taking your bike on board trains at peak times; you may even be refused access sometimes if a train is too full, leaving you to wait for a later train; 
• Arrive well ahead of time so as not to disrupt train departures; 
• Push your bike by hand around train stations; 

Note that you can also book train and bus tickets on the Trainline app.