Tren Francés

A coach of the Tren Francés in Las Tunas station depot
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Ceased operating
Locale	Cuba
Current operator(s)	Ferrocarriles de Cuba
Route
Termini	Havana Santiago de Cuba
Stops	4
Distance travelled	854 km (531 mi)
Average journey time	14 hours, 45 minutes[1]
Service frequency	Every 3 days[1]
Train number(s)	1 and 2[1][2]
Line(s) used	Havana-Santiago
On-board services
Class(es)	1st and 2nd[3]
Sleeping arrangements	no
Auto-rack arrangements	no
Catering facilities	On-board cafeteria
Technical
Rolling stock	1 diesel locomotive (from CR) 12 ex-TEE coaches (from SNCF)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Route map

The TEE coaches (right) used for the Francés. The pictures shows the TEE Étoile du Nord in Paris Nord station (1995)

Tren Francés (Spanish for "French Train") was the name of the flagship Cuban InterCity service between Havana and Santiago. Owned by Ferrocarriles de Cuba, it was operated by SNCF ex-Trans Europ Express (TEE) PBA coaches, originally used in Europe between Paris and Amsterdam, on the Étoile du Nord service and Mistral 69 coaches used in France between Paris and Nice on Le Mistral. Both of these two French flagship trains were replaced by TGV and Thalys from 1982 (Mistral) to 1996 (Étoile du Nord). The Tren Francés was formed by 12 coaches and a Chinese-built diesel locomotive.^[4]

Over the years, the coaches deteriorated. In 2019, the service was replaced by a new service using Chinese-built coaches.

Overview

The Tren Francés (also spelled El Francés or Especial),^[2][5] named after the country of origin of the coaches (France), donated by SNCF to FFCC in 2001,^[3] was the fastest long-distance service in Cuba. It had the most modern coaches and was divided into two classes named primera especial (1st) and primera (nominally 1st, identifiable as 2nd). There were no sleeping cars, couchettes or car-carrying wagons.^[3]

Route

Travelling along the Havana-Santiago line, the Tren Francés made intermediate stops only at the main cities of Santa Clara and Camagüey. Other important cities traversed along the route were Matanzas, Colón, Ciego de Ávila, Florida, and Las Tunas. Some junction stations to nearby provincial capitals were served at Cabaiguán (for Sancti Spíritus) and Cacocum (for Holguín).

Havana – Santiago (eastbound)^[1]

Santiago – Havana (westbound)^[1]

See also

• Ferrocarriles de Cuba
• Lists of named passenger trains

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tren Francés.

• Tren Francés Santiago-Havana leaving Santa Clara (Nov. 2009) on YouTube
• (in Spanish) "A train travel from Santiago de Cuba to Havana" (Havana Times)