''Le Lyonnais'', or the ''Lyonnais'', was an

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

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 ...

and

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

in France. Introduced in 1968, it was operated by the ''Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français'' ( SNCF). The train is named after the geographical area known as the

Lyonnais The Lyonnais () is a historical province of France which owes its name to the city of Lyon. The geographical area known as the ''Lyonnais'' became part of the Kingdom of Burgundy after the division of the Carolingian Empire. The disintegratio ...

, a historical (former) French province, whose name came from the city of Lyon. Initially, ''Le Lyonnais'' was a '' Rapide''. From 1969 to 1976, 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). It was then downgraded back to a ''Rapide'' until 1981, when it was replaced by a

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

Route

''Le Lyonnais''s route was the first of the

Paris–Marseille railway The railway from Paris to Marseille is an 862-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the southern port city of Marseille, France, via Dijon and Lyon. The railway was opened in several stages between 1847 and 1856, when the final secti ...

. The train had the following stops: *

Paris-Gare de Lyon The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and R ...

– Dijon-Ville – Lyon-Perrache

Formation (consist)

Initially, ''Le Lyonnais'' was usually hauled by one of SNCF's four-axle 1.5 kV DC, Class BB 9200 electric locomotives. In the 1970s, this class was replaced by the newer six-axle Class CC 6500. When ''Le Lyonnais'' became a TEE in 1969, its formation of rolling stock was a rake of SNCF Mistral 56-type , being a Ds, six A8, one A5ru and a ''

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 ...

'' (CIWL) pullman car. In 1971, the train's rolling stock was upgraded to Mistral 69-type DEV Inoxes, with the formation being an A4Dtux, four A8u, two A8tu, one A3rtu and a Vru. Throughout ''Le Lyonnais''s existence, its dining car was staffed by the CIWL.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyonnais (train) Named passenger trains of France Trans Europ Express Railway services introduced in 1968 Railway services discontinued in 1981

Route

Formation (consist)

See also

References