Paris, Europe Brief News- French rail operator SNCF said Tuesday it hopes to launch a Paris-Berlin high-speed service next year with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn to tap into a perceived willingness by passengers to take longer train trips.
SNCF chief Jean-Pierre Farandou said they hoped to begin offering one trip per day between the French and German capitals in December 2023.
Years ago, they did not think travellers would be willing to take a rail journey lasting up to seven hours. But it was changing, he said.
“Together with our German colleagues we’re going to take a chance and launch this train,” said Farandou.
Both SNCF and Deutsche Bahn offer high-speed train services between Paris and Frankfurt. But for the moment you need to commute to get to Berlin.
Travelling by high-speed rail results in considerably fewer carbon emissions than by air.
Rail operators are also reviving night trains to lure travellers seeking to reduce the carbon imprint of their long-distance travel.
A Paris-Berlin night service is also expected to resume next year.
SNCF and Deutsche Bahn have been running high-speed trains, TGV and ICE, between France and Germany since the opening of the first section of the Paris-Strasbourg high-speed line in June 2007.
Over the past 15 years, the two companies have transported 25 million people on the Paris-Frankfurt, Paris-Stuttgart-Munich and Frankfurt-Marseille routes. The train is now beating the plane on the Paris-Frankfurt route.
