
A new high-speed train connecting Paris and Berlin will start operating in December. The daytime service will complement a popular night train line between the two capitals, which was restarted last year to much fanfare but has since been beset by technical problems.
The daytime train service, which has been delayed due to logistical issues and will take an hour longer than originally announced, will run between Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Paris Gare de L'Est, stopping at Strasbourg, Karlsruhe and Frankfurt Süd and will take about eight hours.
The fastest train journey now running between the French and German capitals takes just under nine hours, but requires two or three train changes, making for a slow, tiring experience.
Initially there will be just one new train service each day, departing Paris at 9.55am and arriving in Berlin just after 6pm. The return journey will depart at 11:54, arriving in the French capital shortly before 8:00 p.m.
Operators SNCF and Deutsche Bahn hope passengers will find the journey a relaxing alternative to flying and a significant improvement from the current route. Fares will start at €59 for a one-way second class ticket and €69 for a first class seat. Prices will vary upon request.
DB and SNCF began to cooperate in 2007, and since then high-speed trains have run between Paris and Frankfurt or Stuttgart. The Berlin-Paris extension has been anticipated for many years, as a political choice to persuade people to leave planes and cars, but also as a recent trend for slower travel.