A new high-speed train will connect Paris and Berlin for the first time at the end of this year, and reservations are already open.
National train operators for France and Germany, SNCP Voyageurs and Deutsche Bahn, announced the new train service which will begin on December 16. According to SNCP Voyageurs, this is the first time the two capital cities will be connected with a high-speed train.
The daily train will depart from Paris Gare de l’Est at 09h55 and arrive in Berlin Hbf at 18h03. Trains from Berlin will depart at 11h54 and arrive in Paris at 19h55. The train reaches speeds of up to 320km/h and the journey takes approximately eight hours.
The current connections between the cities take 9-10,5 hours.
Tickets cost €59 (R1 137) for second class and €69 (R1 330) for first class. when reservations open on October 16.
Alain Krakovitch, Director of TGV-Intercités at SNCF Voyageurs said that this development shows the participation of both countries in the common objective of reducing the carbon footprint of regional travel.