''Le Capitole'' (alternatively written ''Capitole'') 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 ...

between

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 ...

and

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

in France. Introduced in 1960, it was operated by the ''Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français'' ("French National Railway Corporation") (

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 ...

). It was also the SNCF's first foray into high-speed commercial service above . The train was named after the

Capitole de Toulouse The Capitole de Toulouse (; ), commonly known as the ''Capitole'', is the heart of the municipal administration and the city hall of the France, French city of Toulouse. It was designated a ''monument historique'' by the French government in 1840 ...

, a mainly 18th century building in Toulouse that houses the Hôtel de Ville, the Théâtre du Capitole (opera house), and the Donjon du Capitole (16th century).

Route

The route of ''Le Capitole'' was from Paris via the

Paris–Bordeaux railway The railway from Paris to Bordeaux is an important French 584-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the southwestern port city Bordeaux via Orléans and Tours. The railway was opened in several stages between 1840 and 1853, when the ...

as far as

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Orléans–Montauban railway to

Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...

, and the Bordeaux–Sète railway to Toulouse. The train had the following stops: * Paris-Austerlitz – Limoges-Bénédictins –

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of ), commonly known as simply Brive, is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the aggl ...

– – Montauban-Ville-Bourbon – Toulouse-Matabiau

History

''Le Capitole'' began its existence as an evening first-class-only ''Rapide'' (

) between Paris-Gare d'Austerlitz and Toulouse-Matabiau, departing in the late afternoon in both directions. In 1967, it became the first European train to be scheduled to run at . In autumn 1968, a second train carrying the same name was added, operating in the morning in both directions on the route. In 1970, ''Le Capitole'' was integrated into the

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) system. The morning TEE departed from both Paris and Toulouse at 7:45 a.m. and operated daily except Sundays. The other departed in the late afternoon and ran seven days a week.''

Thomas Cook Continental 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 Public transport timetable, timetab ...

'' (March 29–April 25, 1974 edition), pp. 69–70, 132–133. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing. Both trains were TEEs and both were normally called simply ''Le Capitole'', although the morning train was sometimes referred to informally as "''Le Capitole'' (du matin)" (the "morning ''Capitole''"). Each train included a 48-seat

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 ...

operated by the Wagon-Lits Company. In 1982, the southbound morning train and northbound evening train were downgraded to a two-class ''Rapide'', while the northbound morning train and southbound evening train remained a first-class-only Trans Europ Express. All four trains were still called ''Le Capitole''. Also, the remaining TEE service now operated only six days a week: daily except Saturdays northbound and daily except Sundays southbound.''

'', various issues, 1982–84. Thomas Cook Publishing. In 1984, the remaining TEE trains on the route were downgraded to two-class ''Rapide''. The two morning trains (74/75) became ''Le Capitole du Matin'', and the two evening trains (76/77) became ''Le Capitole du Soir'' (the "evening ''Capitole''"). ''Le Capitole'' was discontinued in 1991, one year after the introduction of through

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

service between Paris and Toulouse via

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, a portion of which followed a higher-speed line. The TGV route was longer, at 827 km compared with ''Le Capitole'' 713 km route (via

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

), but had a travel time that was one hour shorter: 5 hours, 10–13 minutes (depending on direction), compared with 6 hours, 2–20 minutes, on the more direct route.'' Thomas Cook European Timetable'' (April 1991 edition), pp. 75, 119, 124.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links