express train
An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than local trains that stop at most or all of the stations alo ...
that linked
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, France, between 1971 and about 1990. Operated by the ''Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français'' ( SNCF), it was a first-class-only
Trans Europ Express
The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), was an international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network compri ...
(TEE) until 1984 and then a two-class ''Rapide'' until discontinued, circa 1990.
The train was named after the
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
of
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
Starting in late 1984, the ''Aquitaine''s northbound route was extended to start in
Hendaye
Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA Pau, and in autumn 1986 extended farther, to
Tarbes
Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba ...
(still on Fridays only).
History
The train was introduced on 23 May 1971, as a counterpart to another named train, the '' Étendard'', a '' Rapide'' that had been running on the same route, in the opposite direction (i.e. Paris–Bordeaux–Paris), since 1968.
In its first two years of operation, the ''Aquitaine'' departed from Bordeaux-Saint-Jean as TEE 2 at 07:15 and reached Paris-Austerlitz at 11:25; the return ''Aquitaine'', TEE 1, left Paris at 17:55 and arrived in Bordeaux at 21:55.
The ''Aquitaine'' was aimed at business travellers, and therefore did not run on Saturdays, nor during the high season.
At the start of the winter 1971/72 timetable, the ''Étendard'' was upgraded to TEE status, as TEE 5/4. This meant that on weekdays two TEE trains, the ''Aquitaine'' and the ''Étendard'', served the same route in each direction.
From the summer 1973 timetable onwards, the morning ''Aquitaine'' departed 45 minutes later.
In the summer of 1981, both the morning and evening ''Aquitaine'' services began stopping in Angoulême. In the winter of 1981/82, another stop, in Poitiers, was added to both services, and the morning train also began stopping in Saint-Pierre-des-Corps. In the summer of 1982, the Saint-Pierre-des-Corps stop was added to the timetable of the evening train.
These additional stops did not overcome waning demand for the ''Aquitaine''. For the winter 1983/84 timetable, the morning train was rescheduled to depart Bordeaux half an hour later, and the days of operation of both services were cut back: the morning train became a Tuesday to Friday service, and the evening train was reduced to Mondays to Thursdays.
At the next timetable change, the ''Aquitaine'' was downgraded to a two-class
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
/Rapide train,"Summer services, 1984" (changes taking effect). '' Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' (May 1 – June 2, 1984, edition), p. 64; also pp. 132–133, 493–494. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing. and not operating between late June and early September. Increased competition from air travel had made the operation of a first-class train with both a dining car and a buffet car no longer feasible. The train last ran as a TEE on 30 May 1984.
''Aquitaine'' was still operating as a ''Rapide'' in 1988, Mondays to Fridays only,''
Thomas Cook European Timetable
The ''European Rail Timetable'', more commonly known by its former names, the ''Thomas Cook European Timetable'', the ''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' or simply ''Cook's Timetable'', is an international timetable of selected passenger rai ...
'' (April 1988 edition), pp. 138–139, 511. Thomas Cook Publishing. but was discontinued entirely with the introduction of through TGV service between Paris and Bordeaux, around 1990.
Formation (consist)
The ''Aquitaine'' was usually hauled by one of SNCF's 1.5 kVDC, Class CC 6500 electric locomotives. A headboard bearing the name of the train was attached to the front of the locomotive, a practice also applied to those locomotives when they were hauling '' Le Capitole'' and ''Étendard''.Nock, O.S. (1978). "The Aquitaine: pioneer of electric power", in ''World Atlas of Railways'', pp. 120–121. New York: Mayflower Books (original publisher: Artists House, London, UK). .
The train's formation of rolling stock was a rake of SNCF , being an A4Dtux, two A8tu, four A8u, one A3rtu, and one Vr. The coaches were painted in a distinctive red, orange, light grey and slate grey livery.
When necessary, the formation was augmented by two further coaches.
Throughout the ''Aquitaines existence, its dining car was staffed by the ''
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits
Newrest Wagons-Lits, formerly (lit. ''International Sleeping-Car Company''), also CIWL, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, or just Wagons-Lits, is a division of particularly known for its on-train catering and sleeping car services, as well as being ...