High-speed Paris-Berlin daily train service to launch this December

Paris and Berlin will soon be connected by a new high-speed train service.

A night train between the French and German capitals launched in late 2023 but its daytime counterpart has lagged behind.

Now, it will finally hit the rails in December, France’s SNCF and Germany’s Deutsche Bahn have confirmed.

It’s set to bring faster, more regular connections between the two cities at a competitive price.

How long will the new Paris-Berlin train take?

Currently, travelling during the day between Paris and Berlin involves a connection and usually takes between nine and 10.5 hours.

The ÖBB Nightjet overnight train between the two capitals, meanwhile, takes around 13 hours and 15 minutes. It only departs three times a week – on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Since August, the service has been suspended due to major works on the rail network. It is expected to return in late October.

The new direct train service will run daily and take around eight hours, departing Paris Gare de l’Est at 9.55am and arriving at Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 6.03pm.

In the other direction, the train will depart at 11.54am and arrive at 7.55pm.

When will the new Paris-Berlin train launch and how much will it cost?

The new high-speed ICE train will run from 16 December – just in time for Christmas. It will stop in Strasbourg, Karlsruhe and Frankfurt along the way.

Tickets will go on sale from 16 October, starting at €59 one way.

“This creation of a connection contributes to a common objective of our two countries: to promote carbon-free mobility,” managing director of TGV-Intercités Alain Krakovitch tweeted after announcing the new service on Tuesday.

“Compared to the plane, the [train] journey between Berlin and Paris generates only one hundredth of the CO2 emissions,” he added.

Deutsche Bahn plans to make trains more reliable

Germany’s reputation for punctuality has, in recent years, not extended to its trains. In both 2022 and 2023, over a third of long-distance trains were delayed, DB figures show.

Short-term construction works, rail repairs, staff strikes and extreme weather were the main reasons behind the delays.

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The operator hopes to improve the situation in the coming year, in part by adding more long-distance services with fewer stops.

From October, it will also allow passengers to pre-book 12 months ahead, up from the current six.

As infrastructure improvements continue, DB hopes that delays will gradually ease over the next two years.