railroad.wikisort.org - Train

The Rubens was an express train that linked Gare du Nord in Paris, France, with Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid in Brussels, Belgium. The train was named after Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens.[1]

Rubens

Overview
Service type	Trans Europ Express (TEE) (1974–1987) EuroCity (EC) (1987–1993) Trans Europ Express (TEE) (1993–1995)
Status	Replaced by TGV
Locale	France Belgium
First service	29 September 1974 (1974-09-29)
Last service	23 January 1995 (1995-01-23)
Former operator(s)	NMBS / SNCF
Route
Termini	Gare du Nord Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid
Stops	none
Distance travelled	310 km
Service frequency	Daily
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV AC (France) 3000 V DC (Belgium)

History

Trans Europ Express

The Rubens was introduced together with the TEE Memling in the TEE-network to cope with the raising number of passengers between Paris and Brussels.[2] Both services were the first in the morning, the Rubens departed from Brussels at 6:42 in the morning, while the Memling departed from the Gare du Nord in Paris at 6:45. The return services were scheduled as the fifth of the six daily TEEs in both directions, departing around 6:45 p.m.[3]

EuroCity

In 1987 the Rubens was, like the other Paris-Brussels TEE services, integrated into the new EuroCity network.[4] On 23 May 1993 the EuroCity services between Paris and Brussels were classified as TEE again.[5] After the opening of the LGV-Nord on 23 January 1995 the Rubens was withdrawn.[6]

References

Works cited

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