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.La Légende des TEE p. 338.
Trans Europ Express 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.TEE Züge in Deutschland p. 78. 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 1 June 1975 the route was shortened further, to Cologne, resulting in a length just under the economic optimal distance of 500 km.Das grosse TEE Buch p. 73 From 28 May 1978 the Molière called in St. Quentin in both directions. On 1 October 1978 the weekend services were scrapped, and on 26 May 1979 the Molière made its last journey as a TEE.
D train On 27 May 1979 the Molière was continued as two-class D-train on the same schedule as the TEE.Das grosse TEE Buch p. 73 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.
EuroCity 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.La Légende des TEE p. 340.
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