[1] The initial service started in 1954[2][3] as post-war successor of the Ostend–Cologne Pullman Express.

[2] Its schedule was coordinated with an Ostend–Dover ferry run and a Dover–London train, and overall the schedule that came into effect with the Saphir's introduction "permitt[ed] passengers leaving London (Victoria) at 10:00 to reach destinations in the Rhine–Ruhr district of Germany some three hours earlier than formerly".

[4] The Saphir was upgraded to a first-class-only Trans Europ Express (TEE) on 2 June 1957.

After one year of service the Saphir's route itself was altered with Frankfurt instead of Dortmund being the German terminus.

In June 1980, the eastern terminus was moved back to the Ruhr district, but to Cologne rather than Dortmund.