The Capitole was put into service in 1967. A first-class express train that linked Paris to Toulouse, it marked the beginning of the commercial use of high-speed rail transport in France. The great period of the "mythical express trains" of the SNCF. The Capitole. For thirty years, elegant and comfortable, "the fastest train in France" swallowed the 713 km from Paris to Toulouse in six hours, with peaks at 200 km/h. At the beginning of the sixties, the image of the railway deteriorated: the motorways built at the gates of Paris extended across the entire territory and the Caravelles, launched by Air Inter, brought the most distant cities closer together. A minister, Edgard Pisani, became aware of this problem. He knew that trains could also cause odometers to go crazy. Since the thirties, Germans and Americans have been making their mark in this field. Commissioned on November 15, 1960, the Capitole experienced three different periods. First as a 1st class express with supplement, numbered 1009/1010 and composed of A9 DEV stainless steel cars, type 1956, equipped with high-power brakes, towed by a BB 9200 locomotive with rheostatic braking. But it was May 28, 1967, the big day. The Capitole, through the Sologne forests, between Fleury-les-Aubrais and Vierzon, was the first express to run at 200 km/h. Gone was the wagon green and stainless steel gray. The Capitole inaugurated its new clothes, making way for the “Grande Vitesse” cars covered in red, designed by Paul Arzens. Its locomotives, the fast BB 9200s, also arrived in bright red livery, with a dolphin grey stripe on the belt, and displayed their service status, clearly visible, on an enamelled plaque: "CAPITOLE". It is said that the choice of exterior paint had an influence on the clientele. When the same train was made up of red and green cars, it was not uncommon to see passengers flee from a green one to settle into a red one... Since 1955, the French have also launched themselves into the race for high-speed rail. On March 29, on the Landes line, a BB 9004 locomotive reached 331 km/h. But the track and the catenaries did not emerge unscathed from this ordeal. However, tests and studies carried out between Paris and Vierzon show that it is possible to operate a high-speed train on the Paris-Toulouse line. This was the time when the SNCF claimed that speed was not a luxury but a necessity. The Capitole was about to take off. It would be the first to provide a regular 200 km/h rail service in France. From the very first days of operation, this train was a success. In Limoges, the arrival of the train was an event. Departures and arrivals each time moved curious onlookers who, armed with a camera or even an easel, tried to immortalize the elegant red convoy. In fact, the colors of the machine blended perfectly with the green of the Limoges-Bénédictins campanile. And the dining car was popular with gourmets who were served as in a luxury Parisian brasserie, by stylish waiters. The success was such that every Friday, new cars were added. Regular passengers of the line try to forget the terrible shock caused a few months earlier by the terrorist Carlos who, on March 29, 1982, had placed a bomb on the train, which exploded between Ambazac and La Jonchère (5 dead and 29 injured). In the mid-80s, the TGV made its first turns of the wheels and the gradual arrival of the TGV type Atlantique sounded the death knell for this exceptional train which made its last journeys in September 1991, the star of the Capitole paled before going out but no matter, it had already joined the closed circle of legendary trains. Photo: Yves BRONCARD