The Jean Monnet was an express train that linked Brussels Midi/Zuid in Brussels, Belgium, with Strasbourg-Ville in Strasbourg, France, and later also with Bâle SNCF in Basel, Switzerland. Introduced in 1999, it was operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB), the Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL), and the French National Railway Corporation (SNCF). The train was named after Jean Monnet (1888–1979), a French political economist and diplomat. One of the founding fathers of the European Union, he is regarded by many as a chief architect of European unity.