Paris-Berlin by direct train, it's possible from December 16

TRANSPORT – For the first time, Paris and Berlin will be connected this Monday, December 16 in eight hours by a direct high-speed rail link, a bet in the direction of a Europe of trains, in the face of competition from air transport. This new connection, with one train per day in each direction, will be inaugurated with the departure of a first train from Gare de l'Est, in Paris, at 9:55 a.m. Arrival scheduled for 6:03 p.m.

This launch will take place in the presence of the CEO of SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou, and the director of production of Deutsche Bahn (DB), Anja Shöllman. However, there will be no minister, the resigning team handling current affairs while awaiting the appointment of the new government of François Bayrou.

A “first” in the railway history between the two countries

In the opposite direction, an inaugural train will leave Berlin on Monday at 11:54 a.m., again in the presence of managers of the two railway companies. He will arrive in Paris eight hours later, at 7:54 p.m.

“For the first time in railway history between the two countries”the two capitals “will be directly connected from city center to city center, at high speed”underlines the SNCF.

The connection will be provided by ICE, German high-speed trains, and not French TGVs. They will also serve Strasbourg and, in Germany, the stations of Karlsruhe and Frankfurt. There is currently no direct train between Paris and Berlin. It takes more than eight hours to reach the two capitals with at least one change.

An ecological argument

SNCF Voyageurs and Deutsche Bahn announced this new direct connection in May 2022, initially promising it for the end of 2023. In September 2024, the inauguration date was finally set for December 16, with an entry price of 59.99 euros in second class and 69.99 euros in first class.

Prices will in fact be subject to « yield management »a pricing system which modulates the amounts according to the occupancy rate of the trains.

The two rail operators insist on the ecological argument, emphasizing that a Paris-Berlin train trip emits 2kg of CO2 per passenger, compared to 200 kg for a plane trip.

They are also betting that the eight-hour journey will not scare away travelers, against a backdrop of enthusiasm for the train. “There are more and more people for whom this does not pose a problem, so much the better! »launched Jean-Pierre Farandou when the project was announced in May 2022.

Respect climate commitments

With this high-speed line, the number of daily connections between France and Germany will increase from 24 to 26.

In December 2023, the relaunch of the night train between the two capitals had already given rise to a major communication operation by SNCF and Deutsche Bahn. Before his suspension for several months for work, between last August and October.

The European Union aims to double international high-speed rail traffic on the continent by 2030 and triple it by 2050, to meet its climate commitments.

This means adding “20,000 km of high-speed lines” by 2050 on the continent, which today has 11,300, noted the head of long distance at Deutsche Bahn, Michael Peterson, in September.

To do this, however, the continent has major projects ahead of it, starting with the extension of a standardized signaling system.

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