The decision to build a high-speed railway between Paris, Brussels, Cologne, and Amsterdam was made in 1987. On 28 January 1993, SNCF, SNCB/NMBS, Nederlandse Spoorwegen and Deutsche Bundesbahn (which became part of Deutsche Bahn in 1994) signed an agreement to operate the axis jointly through the brand Thalys, and in 1995 Westrail International was created by the French and Belgian national railways to operate the services. On 4 June 1996, the first train left Paris using the LGV Nord until it reached Belgium, taking 2:07 hours to Brussels and 4:47 hours to Amsterdam.