New train to link Paris with Berlin

French and German national railway operators SNCF and Deutsche Bahn have announced a new direct daytime service between Paris and Berlin will come into operation before the end of the year.

It comes after last year's launch of the first nighttime connection between the cities after a nine-year hiatus, following public opinion turning against short-haul flights. The service has proved popular and is due to be restored at the end of October after a temporary shutdown for maintenance.

The new service between Paris Gare de l'Est and Berlin Hauptbahnhof was announced at the InnoTrans 24 transport technology trade fair in Berlin.

"This is the first daytime direct connection between the capitals of Germany and France, and it is also a symbol of a growing Europe," said Michael Peterson, a member of the board of Deutsche Bahn. SNCF's Managing Director Alain Krakovitch added that the new link "is further proof of the Franco-German friendship and contributes to a shared goal of our two countries: more CO2-free mobility".

The journey will take around eight hours, which is slightly longer than originally intended, calling at Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Frankfurt Sud stations. The only current daytime link between the cities takes an hour longer and involves several changes.

There is expected to be heavy demand when reservations for the approximately 530 seats on each service open on Oct 16.

Tickets will be sold on a dynamic pricing basis, which means they will rise and fall in price depending on demand, but The Guardian newspaper reported that the price of a second-class one-way ticket was expected to start at 59 euros ($65).

Tickets for the train are likely to be marginally more expensive than flights but Peterson said demand for international train travel has grown fast, which is why the company is also looking to open new routes from Munich to Milan and Rome in 2026, in partnership with Italian operator Trenitalia.

There are also existing services from Frankfurt in Germany to Bordeaux in the southwest of France, and the major southern French port of Marseille.

The new service is the latest product of the Alleo partnership, which French and German rail companies have operated since 2007, involving on-board staff from both countries.

Speaking at InnoTrans, Krakovitch said, so far, it had transported 32 million passengers, including 24 million international passengers, with passenger numbers rising by 4 percent in 2024, and with a seat occupancy rate of 81 percent.