I was on the first Paris to Berlin direct high-speed train

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by HighburyAndIslington

20 comments

  2. The first high-speed rail service between Paris and Berlin began on Monday, 16 December 2024 [1][2][3]. I was on the inaugural train, ICE 9591, which departed from Paris Gare de l’Est at 09:55 and arrived at Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 17:58, taking around eight hours.

    I arrived well in advance before the departure time, taking in the beautiful architecture at Gare de l’Est. After a welcome party and press conference, I joined the media, railway industry officials and some lucky regular travellers and boarded a smartly presented DB Class 407 Velaro D ICE train at platform 29. We departed from Paris Gare de l’Est to much fanfare, quickly rocketing to 320 km/h on the LGV Est high-speed line. We reached Strasbourg in just one hour and 45 minutes, where there was a brief pause as dignitaries posed with French, German and EU flags at the front of the train for photographs, where Deutsche Bahn had applied branding commemorating the new service.

    After Strasbourg, we crossed the Rhine into Germany, passing Kehl without stopping. Progress across the German countryside was much more measured than in France, with slower speeds on upgraded and conventional lines. We passed through the flatlands, with views of the Black Forest to the east, before stopping at Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof.

    After Karlsruhe, we ran along the Odenwald. Upon entering Frankfurt am Main, we stopped at Frankfurt Main (Süd), the city’s secondary station for long-distance trains in the Sachsenhausen district.

    Beyond Frankfurt, the train followed the main rail routes towards the Fulda Gap, taking advantage of a lowland route between the higher Vogelsberg and Rhön uplands. After passing through Kassel, we picked up the high-speed line towards Hannover. Just before Hannover, we swung east and headed towards Berlin, passing Wolfsburg before making a set-down stop at Berlin-Spandau in the West Berlin suburbs.

    We arrived a few minutes early at Berlin Hauptbahnhof, stopping at platform one on the lower level. There was a low-profile but joyous celebration as the train crew posed for photographs and passengers took turns to be photographed at the front of the train.

    The new train service is a symbolic link between the capitals of the EU’s two most popular states and is also part of a broader renaissance of cross-border European rail travel. Deutsche Bahn and SNCF operate the service with French and German staff. It is also the first-ever direct train connection between Berlin and Strasbourg, the seat of the European Parliament. Paris to Berlin is about 880 km as the crow flies, and the train travels about 1,100 km. With a journey time of eight hours, the train averages around 137.5 km/h, which is not an exceptionally high speed by any stretch of the imagination. Much of this is due to the lower line speeds of upgraded lines in Germany.

    The new ICE train service departs from Paris Gare de l’Est at 09:55 as ICE 9591 and from Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 11:54 as ICE 9590. Second class fares start at €59.99, and first class fares start at €69.99.

    I took videos of the inaugural train from Paris to Berlin [4] and the second train from Berlin to Paris [5] the next day, 17 December.

    [1] https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2024/dec/24/paris-to-berlin-by-train-faster-service-via-strasbourg

    [2] https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2024/12/16/paris-berlin-express-new-rail-link-throws-down-gauntlet-to-airlines/

    [3] https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-paris-high-speed-rail-route-launched/a-71069267

    [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dykctve63tI

    [5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjD-HGLOf_s

  3. On average, probably more like medium speed train as soon as you enter germany, but still, cool that we can have a direct connection.

  5. Does Germany have any plan to make their rails faster?

  6. Is this gonna be a valid option people want to choose? Like, no way I am chosing an 8 hour train over a 2 hour flight.

  9. Glad I live in Karlsruhe so I don’t have to spend much time on the slow German part when going to Paris

  10. Now Germany just has to learn that they actually need to make their tracks high speed for the high speed train to work.

  12. 60 Euros, 8 hours. Easyjet can get me there in 1h45min, 3 hours counting security checks, for 25 Olafs. And they have 2 daily flights. Unless they make it at least the same price, why would anyone waste their time?

  14. From Paris to Berlin
    And every disco I get in
    My heart is pumping for love
    Pumping for love
    ‘Cause when I’m thinking of you
    And all the things we could do
    My heart is pumping for love
    You left me longing for you (You, you)

  16. Then remember, you’re in Germany, so in the summer there will be people with barefeet, a ton of luggages and familys with baby’s crawling along the corridors.

  17. “From Paris to Berlin and every disco I get in”… oh wait this is real?

  19. it could have been even quicker but Paris demanded it go through Strasbourg. And of course the issues with DB are well known

  20. There is super fast train Eurostar from London to Paris (344km in straight line), which is about 2:15 hours.

    Berlin to Warsaw is 575km in straight line and it takes 5hrs.

    Paris to Berlin (878km in straight line) is 8:10 hours – seems to be actually pretty decently holding the high speed, when compared to those two.

    Now if only the timetables allowed quick changes between those three..

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