''Kléber'' was an

express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes few or no stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, providing faster service than local trains that stop at many or all of the stations along their ...

that linked

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, between 1971 and 1988. 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) operated by the ''Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français'' (

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

). The train was named after

Jean Baptiste Kléber Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

, a Strasbourg-born French general during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

Route

The ''Klébers route was the Paris–Strasbourg railway, with just the following stops: * Strasbourg-Ville – Nancy-Ville – Paris-Est

History

The ''Kléber'' was introduced on 23 May 1971. Initially, it departed from Strasbourg as TEE 60 at 07:50 and arrived in Paris at 11:40. The return train, TEE 61, left Paris at 17:20 and reached Strasbourg at 21:10. Between the Winter 1973/74 timetable and its 1980/81 counterpart, the train ran 15 minutes later in each direction. On 26 September 1982, the morning TEE 60 service was discontinued. Its name was transferred to the evening TEE 62 Strasbourg–Paris service, which had previously been the TEE '' Stanislas''. The latter became the ''Rapide Stanislas'', keeping its same late morning departure time from Paris and taking over ''Kléber'' morning schedule from Strasbourg. The TEE 62, now renamed ''Kléber'' (ex-TEE ''Stanislas''), continued to leave Strasbourg at 17:10 and arrive in Paris at 21:00. The TEE 62 / TEE 61 ceased to exist as separate trains on 23 September 1988, when they were integrated into an international train between Paris and Stuttgart Hbf in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, Germany.

Formation (consist)

The ''Kléber'' was hauled by the SNCF Class BB 15000, a class of 25 kV 50 Hz AC electric locomotives. Its inaugural formation of rolling stock was a rake of SNCF painted in a distinctive red, orange, light grey and slate grey livery. Originally, the coaches were arranged as an A4Dtux, two A6u, three A8tu, an Vru and an A3rtu. On 28 September 1975, the train was lengthened to a total of 13 coaches. Due to the limited availability of the Grand Confort coaches, they were occasionally replaced by Mistral 56-type . In 1982, the train's formation was changed to Mistral 69-type DEV Inoxes. Throughout the ''Kléber'' existence, its

restaurant car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a passenger railroad car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. These cars provide the highest level of service of any rai ...

was staffed by the ''

Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (; ) is a Belgian-founded French company known for providing and operating luxury trains with sleeping car, sleepers and dining cars during the late 19th and the 20th centuries, most notably the ''Orient Express''. Founded by Georges Nagelmacker ...

'' (CIWL).

References

Notes

Bibliography