Paris–Ruhr

Route map
	TEE Paris–Ruhr (red) and the later Thalys (blue)

Paris–Ruhr
Overview
Service type	Fernschnellzug (F); (1954–57); Trans Europ Express (TEE); (1957–73)
Status	Discontinued
Locale	France ; Belgium ; Germany
First service	23 May 1954
Last service	1 June 1973
Successor	TEE Molière
Former operator(s)	Deutsche Bundesbahn ; SNCF
Route
Start	Paris
End	Dortmund
Distance travelled	609 km
Service frequency	Daily
On-board services
Catering facilities	Restaurant car
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz (France); 3000 V DC (Belgium); 15 kV 16,7 Hz (Germany)
Route map
	TEE Paris–Ruhr (red) and the later Thalys (blue)

Last updated April 30, 2019

The Paris–Ruhr was an express train that linked Paris in France, with Dortmund in Germany. The train was named after its two termini, Paris in the west and the Ruhr district in the east.^[1] For most of its life, it was a Trans Europ Express (TEE).

Express trains are a form of rail service. Express trains make only a small number of stops, instead of stopping locally. In some cases, trains run express where there is overlapping local train service available, and run local at the tail ends of the line, where there is no supplemental local service. During overnight hours, or other times where it is practical, express trains may become local, but still running to where an express train would terminate.

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an area of 105 square kilometres and an official estimated population of 2,140,526 residents as of 1 January 2019. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts.

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.

F-Zug

The Paris–Ruhr was launched on 23 May 1954^[2]^[3] as a single-class express train with train numbers FT 168 westbound and FT 185 eastbound.^[4] The schedule was designed to allow a traveller to attend a meeting in Paris in the afternoon and have dinner on his way back just after leaving Paris. This concept meant a departure from Dortmund as early as 5:30 in the morning and not arriving back in Dortmund until 00:45 (12:45 a.m.). Times from Cologne and the Belgian industrial cities in Wallonia were more convenient, with westbound departure between 7:00 and 10:15, returning from Paris between 7:30 p.m and 11:00 p.m. The service was operated by Deutsche Bundesbahn, originally using Class VT 08 (de ) diesel multiple units.

Wallonia is a region of Belgium. As the southern portion of the country, Wallonia is primarily French-speaking, and accounts for 55% of Belgium's territory and a third of its population. The Walloon Region was not merged with the French Community of Belgium, which is the political entity responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education, because the French Community of Belgium encompasses both Wallonia and the majority French-Speaking Brussels-Capital Region.

The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany until after German reunification, when it was merged with the former East German Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) to form Deutsche Bahn AG, which came into existence on 1 January 1994.

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as DMUs. Diesel-powered units may be further classified by their transmission type: diesel–electric (DEMU), diesel–mechanical (DMMU) or diesel–hydraulic (DHMU).

Trans Europ Express

On 2 June 1957, the Paris–Ruhr was one of the initial Trans Europ Express (TEE) services. The rolling stock was given TEE signage on front but the use of VT 08 continued because the German TEE trainsets planned for it were not available in time.^[5] The timetable remained nearly unchanged as well. On 23 December 1957, the VT 08 were replaced by first-class DB Class VT 11.5 trainsets that were purpose-built for the TEE network.^[6] On 29 May 1960, the "mirror" of the Paris–Ruhr, the Parsifal was extended to Hamburg. In order to level-out the kilometer fees the French rolling stock used in the Parsifal was reallocated to the Paris–Ruhr and vice versa, so the extra kilometers in Germany were ridden by German trains without the need to pay kilometer fees for foreign tracks.^[7] As a result, the Paris–Ruhr was operated by French RGP-825 DMUs from 29 May 1960 until 30 May 1965.^[5]

The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), is a former international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network comprised 45 trains, connecting 130 different cities, from Spain in the west to Austria in the east, and from Denmark to Southern Italy.

The trainsets of Class VT 11.5 were diesel multiple units built by Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) in 1957 and used for Trans Europ Express (TEE) services. Perceived as flagships of the DB rolling stock, they carried first-class seating only. When the UIC numbering scheme became effective on 1 January 1968, the power heads of the trainsets were renamed to Class 601 whilst the middle cars became Class 901 according to the DB locomotive classification. They were used for TEE service from 1957 until 1972 and thereafter on German InterCity services.

The Parsifal was an express train that linked Paris with Dortmund in Germany and later Cologne. The train was named after Wagner's opera inspired by the legendary knight Percival.

Electrification in Germany proceeded and at the beginning of 1965 electric locomotives and TEE coaches were delivered. The rolling stock of the TEE Helvetia was replaced by electric-locomotive-hauled trains and its VT 11.5s were reallocated to the Paris–Ruhr.^[6] After completion of electrification in Belgium, the Paris-Ruhr was changed to an electric-locomotive-hauled train as well, on 1 June 1969.^[8] On 3 June 1973, the service was renamed the TEE Molière .

A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply. Electric railways use electric locomotives to haul passengers or freight in separate cars or electric multiple units, passenger cars with their own motors. Electricity is typically generated in large and relatively efficient generating stations, transmitted to the railway network and distributed to the trains. Some electric railways have their own dedicated generating stations and transmission lines but most purchase power from an electric utility. The railway usually provides its own distribution lines, switches and transformers.

An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor.

The Helvetia was an express train that, for most of its existence, linked Hamburg-Altona station in Hamburg, Germany, with Zürich HB in Zurich, Switzerland. Introduced in 1952, it was operated by the Deutsche Bundesbahn / Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS). The train's name, Helvetia, is the Latin word for "Switzerland".

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References

↑ TEE, p. 18.
↑ "Stop Press" (service changes taking effect). Cook's Continental Timetable (May 23–June 17, 1954 edition), p. 8. London: Thomas Cook Publishing.
↑ La Légende des TEE, p. 180.
↑ TEE Züge in Deutschland, p. 74.
1 2 Das grosse TEE Buch, p. 73
1 2 TEE Züge in Deutschland, p. 76.
↑ La Légende des TEE p. 181.
↑ "Stop Press" (service changes taking effect). Cooks Continental Timetable (June 1969 edition), p. 6; also pp. 63, 64. London: Thomas Cook Publishing.

Works cited

Centre for publicrelations UIC (1972). TEE (in Dutch). Paris: Union International des Chemins de Fer.
Hajt, Jörg (2001). Das grosse TEE Buch (in German). Bonn/Königswinter: Heel Verlag. ISBN 3-89365-948-X.
Mertens, Maurice; Malaspina, Jean-Pierre (2007). La Légende des Trans Europ Express (in French). Vannes: LR Presse. ISBN 978-29-036514-5-9.
Goette, Peter (2008). TEE-Züge in Deutschland (in German). Freiburg: EK-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-88255-698-8.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

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[1] TEE, p. 18.

[cooks1954may-jun-2] "Stop Press" (service changes taking effect). Cook's Continental Timetable (May 23–June 17, 1954 edition), p. 8. London: Thomas Cook Publishing.

[3] La Légende des TEE, p. 180.

[4] TEE Züge in Deutschland, p. 74.

[ReferenceA-5] 1 2 Das grosse TEE Buch, p. 73

[ReferenceB-6] 1 2 TEE Züge in Deutschland, p. 76.

[7] La Légende des TEE p. 181.

[cooks1969jun-8] "Stop Press" (service changes taking effect). Cooks Continental Timetable (June 1969 edition), p. 6; also pp. 63, 64. London: Thomas Cook Publishing.