A new night train service will launch between Paris and Berlin, with the first train operated by Dutch-Belgian railway company European Sleeper departing from Paris’ Gare du Nord station for the German capital.
The service will operate three times a week between the two cities, with a travel time of about 16 hours, foreign media write, reports Telegraph.
From July 13, its only stop in Germany will be at Hamburg-Harburg station. The train will also stop in Mons, Brussels and Liège.
The “European Sleeper” is taking over a line that the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) discontinued in mid-December due to the withdrawal of state subsidies from France.
This service, operated by ÖBB in cooperation with SNCF and Deutsche Bahn, passed through Strasbourg, Frankfurt and Erfurt.
There were considerable protests there against the discontinuation of the service, which had only been restored two years earlier. The “European Sleeper” then stepped in to connect the two cities.
The company already operates a service between Brussels and Prague via Berlin.
Night trains are in high demand, as more and more people are choosing long-distance train travel again and are not discouraged by long journeys.
However, state-owned railway companies still complain that these services are not profitable. /Telegrafi/