EUROPE: A daily high speed train service linking Paris Est and Berlin Hbf was launched on December 16.
It is operated through the Alleo partnership of SNCF Voyageurs and DB, with both French and German onboard staff and using DB Class 407 Velaro D trainsets built by Siemens Mobility.
The journey time is just over 8 h, using high speed lines from Paris to Strasbourg and from Frankfurt to Berlin, and calling at Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Frankfurt Süd and Berlin-Spandau.
The service is targeted at both leisure and business travellers, with the operators highlighting the environmental benefits of the rail journey producing 2 kg of CO2, compared to 200 kg when flying.
Fares start at €59·99 in standard class and €69·99 in first.
At the departure of the first train from Paris, SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou said initial sales were doing well, with an 80% occupancy rate. DB said almost three-quarters of bookings cover the entire route between the two capitals. If the service proves a success, additional trains could be added.
When the first train left Berlin, DB CEO Richard Lutz said ‘good German-French cooperation is the backbone of a united Europe. The new ICE direct connection between Berlin and Paris is a symbol of this. We are offering our passengers another highlight in international long-distance transport. This is because it is booming: more and more people are choosing to travel by rail when travelling through Europe thanks to attractive offers.’
German Transport Minister Dr Volker Wissing said ‘this is not just an additional rail service’, but is ‘about encounters, exchanges, growing together and mutual understanding’. He said there is a lot of potential to attract more people to take longer journeys by rail, saying ‘people want to travel by rail across borders, during the day or by night train.’
Paris and Berlin have been linked by a night train since the December 2023, and plans for a complementary daytime high speed train service were unveiled at InnoTrans 2024.
