Le Lyonnais (train)

Le Lyonnais

A preserved BB 9200 locomotive.
Overview
Service type	Rapide (1968–1969) Trans Europ Express (TEE) (1969–1976) Rapide (1976–1981)
Status	Replaced by a TGV
Locale	France
First service	1968 (1968)
Last service	1981 (1981)
Former operator(s)	SNCF
Route
Termini	Paris-Gare de Lyon Lyon-Perrache
Distance travelled	512 km (318 mi)
Train number(s)	TEE 5, 6 (1969–1971) TEE 13,12 (1971–1976)
Line(s) used	Paris–Marseille
On-board services
Class(es)	First-class-only (1969–1976)
Technical
Rolling stock	SNCF Class BB 9200 / SNCF Class CC 6500 DEV Inox coaches [fr]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	1.5 kV DC

Le Lyonnais, or the Lyonnais, was an express train that linked Paris and Lyon 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, 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 (TEE). It was then downgraded back to a Rapide until 1981, when it was replaced by a TGV. Its last day of operation was 26 September 1981,^[1] as the next day saw the introduction of the first TGV service in France, in the same corridor.^[2]

Le Lyonnais's route was the first 512 km (318 mi) of the Paris–Marseille railway. The train had the following stops:

• Paris-Gare de Lyon – Dijon-Ville – Lyon-Perrache

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 DEV Inox coaches [fr], being a Ds, six A8, one A5ru and a Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (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.

• History of rail transport in France
• List of named passenger trains of Europe

• Malaspina, Jean-Pierre; Mertens, Maurice (2007). TEE: la légende des Trans-Europ-Express [TEE: The Legend of the Trans Europ Express]. Auray: LR Presse. ISBN 978-29-03651-45-9. (in French)
• Malaspina, Jean-Pierre; Mertens, Maurice (2008). TEE: la leggenda dei Trans-Europ-Express [TEE: The Legend of the Trans Europ Express]. Salò: ETR – Editrice Trasporti su Rotaie. ISBN 978-88-85068-31-5. (in Italian)
• Mertens, Maurice; Malaspina, Jean-Pierre; von Mitzlaff, Berndt (2009). TEE - Die Geschichte des Trans-Europ-Express [TEE - The History of the Trans Europ Express]. Düsseldorf: Alba Publikation. ISBN 978-3-87094-199-4. (in German)