Étoile Du Nord (train)

The ''Étoile du Nord'' was an international

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 ...

. It linked Paris Nord in Paris, France, with

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium, and, for most of its existence, also with

Amsterdam CS Amsterdam Centraal station ( ; Railway stations in the Netherlands, abbreviation: Asd) is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international Rail transport, railway hub, it is used by 192,000 passeng ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, the Netherlands. Its name meant literally "Star of the North" (

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude t ...

), and alluded not only to its route heading north from Paris, but also to one of its original operators, the ''

Chemin de Fer du Nord The Chemins de fer du Nord''French locomotive built in 1846''

''.

History
From its introduction in 1924 until 1927, the ''Étoile du Nord'' was a '' Rapide'' between Paris Nord and Brussels Midi/Zuid, and was operated by the CF du Nord and the
National Railway Company of Belgium The National Railway Company of Belgium (, NMBS; , SNCB; ) is the national railway company of Belgium. The company formally styles itself using the Dutch and French abbreviations NMBS/SNCB. The corporate logo designed in 1936 by Henry van de Ve ...
(NMBS/SNCB). In 1927, it became a
luxury train A luxury train is a premium Passenger train, passenger rail service. Some luxury trains promote tourism in destinations across a region, while others (such as the ''Maharajas' Express'') take passengers on a ride through a single country. Luxur ...
between Paris Nord and
Amsterdam CS Amsterdam Centraal station ( ; Railway stations in the Netherlands, abbreviation: Asd) is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international Rail transport, railway hub, it is used by 192,000 passeng ...
, via Brussels, and was operated by its original operators, along with the
Nederlandse Spoorwegen (, , NS ) is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The rail infrastructure is maintained by network manager ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003. Freight operato ...
(NS) and 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). There was one train per day in each direction. In 1937, the CF du Nord became part of the
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 ...
. Two years later, in 1939, the ''Étoile du Nord'' was suspended upon the outbreak of World War II. In 1946, the train was revived, initially as a ''Rapide''. In 1957, it became 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). In June 1984, it was downgraded to a two-class
InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...
,"Summer services, 1984" (changes taking effect). ''
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 1–June 2, 1984 edition), p. 64; also pp. 65–66, 473. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing. but three years later, it was reclassified as one of the inaugural
EuroCity EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...
trains.''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' (May 31–June 30, 1987 edition), pp. 472, 475. Thomas Cook Publishing. On 2 June 1996, it was replaced by an unnamed
Thalys Thalys (French: ) was a brand name used for high-speed rail, high-speed train services between Paris Gare du Nord and both Amsterdam Centraal and German cities in the Rhein-Ruhr, including Aachen, Köln Hauptbahnhof, Cologne, Düsseldorf Hauptba ...
service."Summer services from June 2" (changes taking effect). '' Thomas Cook European Timetable'' (May 1–June 1, 1996 edition), pp. 3, 52, 515. Thomas Cook Publishing.

See also
*
History of rail transport in Belgium Belgium was heavily involved in the early development of railway transport. Belgium was the second country in Europe, after Great Britain, to open a railway and produce locomotives. The first line, between the cities of Brussels and Mechelen ope ...
*
History of rail transport in France Rail transport in France dates from the first French railway in 1823 to present-day enterprises such as the AGV. Beginnings France was slow in building railways, compared to Britain and Belgium, which had already demonstrated their value by 18 ...
* History of rail transport in the Netherlands *
List of named passenger trains of Europe This article contains lists of named passenger trains in Europe, listed by country. Listing by country does eliminate some EuroCity services from the list, but they are listed on the relevant EuroCity page for daytime trains and the EuroNight p ...

References

Notes

Bibliography
* * *

External links

Benelux Railways Society: Étoile du Nord
– article by Ralph Hanley about the train {{DEFAULTSORT:Etoile du Nord (train) EuroCity International named passenger trains Named passenger trains of Belgium Named passenger trains of France Named passenger trains of the Netherlands Trans Europ Express Railway services introduced in 1924 Railway services discontinued in 1996