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. “For the first time in the railway history between the two countries”, the two capitals “will be directly linked from city center to city center, at high speed”, underlines the SNCF.
There was currently no direct train between Paris and Berlin. It took more than eight hours to reach the two capitals with at least one change.
What times?
This new connection, with one train per day in each direction, was inaugurated on Monday 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. journey: 8 hours and 8 minutes.
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.
Train times will be the same every day.
Which stations are served?
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.
What prices?
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.
On the SNCF Connect reservation platform, the first prices are 69 euros and actually vary depending on the day. For example, if you want to go to Berlin for New Year's Eve, the price of a ticket departing from Paris on December 31 is listed at 233 euros. It is at 94 euros the following week, and drops further during the week in January. It is therefore better to anticipate your trip and book in advance.
What ecological impact?
The two railway operators emphasize the ecological argument, emphasizing that a Paris-Berlin train trip emits 2 kg 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.
Rail attraction
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 in September the head of long distance at Deutsche Bahn, Michael Peterson.
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