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On December 17 at 9:55 a.m., a train unlike any other left the Gare de l’Est in Paris. It headed for Berlin, to directly connect the French and German capitals. Responding to a growing demand for cross-border travel, this new line marks a notable step in the European Union’s (EU) ambitions to strengthen its rail ecosystem.
A historic first
This is the very first time that a line has connected Paris to Berlin, “ from city center to city center, at high speed ,” assures the SNCF. Currently, a night train already connects the two cities, but the connection is regularly interrupted, particularly due to works, indicates FranceTV Info. The journey also lasts 13 hours, as the aircraft is not high-speed.
One train per day, in each direction
The new TGV covers the 1,100 kilometres separating the two cities in 8 hours. Two journeys will be available daily: the first one from Paris to Berlin, and the second one in the other direction.
Journeys operated by German trains
It is not the TGV, but the German high-speed trains, the ICE, which will be operated on this line.
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Between Paris and Berlin, the ICE will stop at Strasbourg, Karlsruhe and Frankfurt.
More expensive than the plane
The starting prices for this new train are 59 euros for second class, and 69 euros for first class. However, they will be adapted to the occupancy rate of the trains. They may also vary depending on the booking date.
It is still more expensive than flying. A round trip for a week in March costs 198 euros, compared to 82 euros for air travel via the British company Easyjet, notes BFMTV.
It's environmentally friendly
And this is the argument put forward by the SNCF and Deutsche Bahn, its German equivalent. According to them, a train journey between Paris and Berlin emits 100 times less CO2 than a plane journey.
Strengthening Franco-German rail links
With the arrival of this new train, there are now 26 journeys per day between Germany and France, in addition to the connections between Paris and Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart. Journeys linking Frankfurt to Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux are also offered.
A further step towards meeting EU commitments
This new line marks a step forward for the EU in its ambition to double high-speed rail traffic by 2030. It even wants to triple it by 2050, in order to meet its climate commitments.
This should notably involve a single ticket reservation system for the entire European Union. Similarly, a standardized signaling system must be adopted.
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