HJ4162 CIWL, 3-unit pack "Train Bleu", set 1/2 (fourgon + 2 x Lx), ep. III

"Blue train" and LX10 sleeping cars

In December 1883, the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits launched a luxury train linking Calais to the Mediterranean Sea under the name “Calais-Nice-Rome Express”, which was split in 1887 on the one hand into “Rome-Express” via Modane, and on the other hand in "Calais-Mediterranean Express" whose name was kept until 1949. The use of the first metallic sleeping cars of blue color in 1922, then that of the restaurant car and the van in 1926 on the “Calais-Mediterranean Express” train makes it nicknamed the “Blue Train” by travelers.

From 1929, new luxury 1st class sleeping cars with one bed per compartment, 90 units built (LX type sleeping cars n ° 3466 to n ° 3555) were used on the “Calais-Méditerranée Express” and confirmed the exceptional character of this luxury night train from the interwar period. Service gradually resumed after World War II. In June 1949, the section of the “Calais-Mediterranean Express” train with Paris origin was officially designated the “Blue Train”.

To meet the growth in post-war traffic, the capacity of the LX sleeping cars was increased (from 1 bed to 2 beds per compartment). At the same time, to increase catering capacity, an additional bar-lounge car resulting from the transformation of a Pullman type “Côte d'Azur” car without a kitchen, was added to the dining car from 1951 on the “Blue Train” .

In the 1960s, sleeping cars of a more modern design (type P, U, MU and T2 sleeping cars) were gradually introduced into the composition of the “Blue Train” and definitively replaced the LX type sleeping cars in the winter. 1969. The restaurant car and lounge bar disappeared in 1976. For the 1980/1981 winter service, sleeper cars were added to the “Blue Train” throughout the route.

The “Blue Train” then becomes one night train among others.