About this journey

Briançon station sits at the eastern terminus of the Veynes–Briançon railway, a mountain line that threads westward through the southern Alps. From here, TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regional services run through to Gap, Marseille, and Aix-en-Provence, while an Intercités de nuit night service connects the same corridor with Paris — a reminder that this remote alpine terminus carries more traffic than its setting might suggest.

The railway broadly follows the valley of the River Durance, which has its source at Montgenèvre, close to Briançon, before descending toward the Rhône. The line runs the SNCF X72500, an ALSTOM X-TER diesel multiple unit suited to routes where electrification does not reach. The journey ends at Veynes–Dévoluy station, itself a place with an unexpected connection to cinema: in 1973 it stood in for Tulle station as a filming location in The Day of the Jackal. The contrast between the high alpine departure and the quieter, more open country around Veynes–Dévoluy captures the character of the line — a route that descends steadily from one of France's most elevated railway termini toward the edge of the southern uplands.