| Molière | |
| Type: | Trans Europ Express (TEE) (1973–1979) InterCity(IC) (1980–1983) D train (1983–1986) EuroCity(EC) (1987–1997) |
| Locale: | Germany Belgium France |
| Predecessor: | TEE Paris - Ruhr |
| El: | 25 kV 50 Hz (France) 3000 V DC (Belgium) 15 kV 16,7 Hz (Germany) |
| Map State: | show |
The Molière was an international train operated by SNCF, initially linking Paris and Düsseldorf. The train was named after Jean Baptiste Poquelin, using his stage name.[1]
The Molière was the successor of Paris-to-Düsseldorf section of the TEE Paris–Ruhr, on the same route and schedule. The name Paris–Ruhr was no longer accurate because the deletion of the Düsseldorf-to-Dortmund section in 1971 meant that the train no longer served the Ruhr.[2]
| TEE 40 | country | station | km | TEE 41 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:55 | Düsseldorf | 0 | 23:11 | ||
| 07:21 | Cologne | 40 | 22:44 | ||
| 08:04 | Aachen | 110 | 21:57 | ||
| Verviers | 140 | ||||
| 08:50 | Liège | 165 | 21:10 | ||
| 09:32 | Namur | 225 | 20:34 | ||
| Charleroi Sud | 262 | ||||
| 10:29 | Maubeuge | 304 | 19:36 | ||
| St Quentin | 379 | ||||
| 12:10 | Paris Nord | 533 | 17:55 |
On 27 May 1979 the Molière was continued as two-class D-train on the same schedule as the TEE.[4] The train consisted of SNCF Corail coaches. In 1980 the train was upgraded to InterCity with train numbers IC 430,431. In May 1983 the route was extended to Copenhagen, conveying sleeping and couchette coaches. This nighttrain became the numbers D 430,431 calling at: København H – Naestved – Nykøbing – Rødby Færge – Puttgarden – Lübeck – Hamburg – Bremen – Osnabrück – Münster – Hamm – Dortmund – Bochum – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf – Köln – Aachen – Verviers – Liège-G. – Namur – Charleroi-Sud – Maubeuge – St. Quentin – Paris-Nord. In May 1986 the route was shortened to Cologne - Paris again, so only a day service remained.
On 31 May 1987 the Molière was upgraded to EuroCity status. The EC service was initially allocated train numbers EC 40 and EC 41, and the northern terminus became Dortmund instead of Düsseldorf. According to the EuroCity scheduling, the train was part of a trio. Together with EC Gustave Eiffel and EC Parsifal it provided three EC services daily in each direction between Paris and the Ruhr.
| EC 40 | country | station | km | EC 41 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:50 | Dortmund Hbf | 23:44 | |||
| Bochum Hbf | |||||
| Essen Hbf | |||||
| Duisburg Hbf | |||||
| Düsseldorf | |||||
| Cologne | |||||
| Aachen | |||||
| Verviers | |||||
| Liège | |||||
| Namur | |||||
| Charleroi Sud | |||||
| Maubeuge | |||||
| St Quentin | |||||
| 13:40 | Paris Nord | 16:47 |
On 23 May 1993 the train was renumbered to EC 30,31. On 14 December 1997 the Molière was replaced by the Paris – Cologne Thalys service.[5]