HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Le Mistral'', or the ''Mistral'', 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 along ...
between
Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
and
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
in France. Introduced in 1950, it was operated by the ''Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français'' ("French National Railway Corporation") ( SNCF), and was regarded as the company's flagship train. The train was named after the
Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Micropl ...
, a strong, cold and usually dry regional wind blowing from north or northwestern France to the coast of the Mediterranean around the
Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label=Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the ...
region.


History

The ''Mistral'' began its existence in 1950 as a mostly
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...
-hauled ''Rapide'' (
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 along ...
) between
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 RER ...
and Marseille-Saint-Charles. Two years later, in 1952, its route was extended to Nice-Ville. By 1965, when it 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, it had become completely electric locomotive-hauled. In the 1970s, ''Le Mistral'' included some unique amenities, among them a "bookstall, bar and hairdressing salon". Nock, O.S. (1978). ''World Atlas of Railways'', p. 86. New York: Mayflower Books (original publisher: Artists House, London, UK). . The train also had two restaurant cars; the Wagons-Lits Company provided the on-board catering.''
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 timetable of selected passenger rai ...
'' (June 1975 edition), p. 69. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing.
In 1975, a writer for
Fodor's Fodor's is a publisher of English language travel and tourism information. Fodor's Travel and Fodors.com are divisions of Internet Brands. History Founder Eugene Fodor was a keen traveler, but felt that the guidebooks of his time were borin ...
called ''Le Mistral'' "perhaps the most luxurious train in Europe". The train's final day as a TEE was 26 September 1981,'' Thomas Cook International Timetable'' (September 27–October 31, 1981 edition), pp. 6, 144, 148. as the next day saw the introduction of the first
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 1 ...
service in France, in that same corridor,"TGV Paris – Sud Est". ''Thomas Cook International Timetable'' (September 27–October 31, 1981 edition), p. 65. and the downgrading of ''Le Mistral'' to a two-class "Rapide" train, albeit continuing to use the same first-class coaches for the train's first-class section. ''Le Mistral'' was discontinued entirely in 1982, after being replaced by TGV service.


Speed

Still
steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...
-hauled in 1964, the ''Mistral'' was one of the fastest trains in France, with an ''average'' speed of on the Paris –
Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earl ...
section, as well as an average speed of 129 km/h on its
Valence Valence or valency may refer to: Science * Valence (chemistry), a measure of an element's combining power with other atoms * Degree (graph theory), also called the valency of a vertex in graph theory * Valency (linguistics), aspect of verbs rel ...
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune ha ...
section. It also had the distinction of being the train with the "world's fastest schedule for route ofover 500 miles", averaging on its Paris –
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...
section. Slower speeds on the more "rugged country" between Marseille and Nice brought the average speed down to over the full 1,086 km route from Paris to Nice, which was nevertheless a relatively high average speed for 1964. Soon after that,
electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histo ...
of the route was completed, and ''Le Mistral'' began being hauled by modern
electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or ga ...
s; starting in 1969, it was Class CC 6500 locomotives. This change along with new passenger coaches increased the train's average speed and shortened the travel time, the latter going from 10 hours, 21 minutes, in 1964 to just over 9 hours in June 1969."Table 12: Le Mistral". '' Cooks Continental Timetable'' (June 1969 edition), p. 65. London: Thomas Cook & Son, Ltd.


See also

*
History of rail transport in France :''This article is part of the History of rail transport series'' The history of rail transport in France dates from the first French railway in 1823 to present-day enterprises such as the AGV. Beginnings France was a sluggard in building ra ...
* List of named passenger trains of Europe


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mistral Named passenger trains of France Trans Europ Express Railway services introduced in 1950