With a branch from Montluçon it provided 261 kilometres (162 mi) of canal with locks 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) wide from 1840 until its closure in 1955.

[1][2] Although discussed from 1484,[3] it was not until 1780 when Armand II-Joseph, 6th Duke of Béthune Charost presented the first solid proposal to the provincial assembly.

The work was designed by Joseph-Michel Dutens[4] and mainly carried out by Spanish prisoners of war in the 1820s.

The main traffic of the canal was cast iron from the forges at Montluçon, and coal, pit props, wines and spirits.

[5] However despite a new pumping station in 1878, leakages caused a lowering of water levels so the canal was never upgraded to the Freycinet gauge.