''Stanislas'' 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

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

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 ...

in France. Introduced in 1971, it was 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

Stanisław I Leszczyński Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

(French: ''Stanislas Leszczynski''),

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

Duke of Lorraine The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were ...

and a count of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. 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 1982, and then a two-class '' Rapide'' until its discontinuance in about 1988.

Route

The ''Stanislass route was the long Paris–Strasbourg railway, with just the following stops: *

Paris-Est The Gare de l'Est (; English: "Station of the East" or "East station"), officially Paris Est, is one of the seven large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It is located in the 10th arrondissement, not far southeast from the Ga ...

– Nancy-Ville – Strasbourg-Ville

History

The ''Stanislas'' was introduced on 26 September 1971, to complement an existing TEE service, the '' Kléber'', which, since 23 May 1971, had run from Strasbourg to Paris in the morning and had returned to Strasbourg in the evening. Initially, the ''Stanislas'' departed from Paris as TEE 63 at 11:05 (later 11:00) and arrived in Strasbourg at 14:50. The return ''Stanislas'', TEE 62, left Strasbourg at 17:10 and reached Paris at 21:00. On 26 September 1982, both the morning TEE trains between Paris and Strasbourg were discontinued. The evening TEE 62 service was renamed ''Kléber'', so that the remaining TEE service on the route – one run per day in each direction – would both carry the same name. The ''Stanislas'' became a two-class ''Rapide'', eastbound keeping the same schedule as before, departing from Paris at 11:00 (and still train number 63), and westbound taking over what had been the TEE ''Kleber'' schedule, from Strasbourg around 7:45 (still train number 60).''

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 ...

'' (May 29–June 30, 1983 edition), pp. 161–162. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing. In autumn 1984, the westbound trip's schededule was moved about one hour earlier, from 7:47 to 6:59 (later 6:52), and otherwise the schedule and classification of ''Stanislas'' remained unchanged until at least summer 1988,''

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 Public transport timetable, timetab ...

'' (April 1988 edition), pp. 168–169, 515. Thomas Cook Publishing. but the train was discontinued by at least 1991—and possibly as early as September 1988.

Formation (consist)

The ''Stanislas'' 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 A8u, two A8tu, two Vru and three ex- Mistral A8u. On 29 September 1974, the train was lengthened to a total of 12 coaches. The following year, on 26 September 1975, a further coach was added to the formation. Throughout the ''Stanislass 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