Berlin comes calling as direct high-speed train from Berlin to Paris to be flagged off on December 16 (Photo: Deutsche Bahn/Dominic Dupont)
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) and its French counterpart SNCF have joined hands to offer a vital rail link connecting the German capital Berlin with French capital Paris with a high-speed daily train service.
According to a press statement by the two rail companies, the service ICE 9590 will depart from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the main railway station in Berlin, everyday at 11:54 to arrive in Paris at Gare de l’Est at 19:55 the same day. On the return leg, the service from Paris, ICE 9591 will depart Paris Gare de l’Est at 09:55 everyday and reach Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 18:03 the same day.
The inaugural service on December 16 will be flagged off at 12:02 from Berlin Hauptbahnhof by François Delattre, French ambassador to Germany, and Kai Wegner, Mayor of Berlin. The first train from Paris to Berlin will start plying from December 17.
According to Deutsche Bahn, the daily train service is the first direct rail link between the two European capitals from city centre to city centre. En route, the train will connect three other important cities in the two countries, with brief halts, making the train even more attractive and viable for travellers.
Nightjet train runs thrice a week (Photo: DB/Volker Emersleben)
ICE 9590 from Berlin to Paris will reach Berlin-Spandau at 12:10, Frankfurt (Main) Süd at 15:52, Karlsruhe Hbf at 17:06 and Strasbourg at 17:53 before arriving at its destination Paris Gare de l’Est at 19:55. On the return journey, the train ICE 9591 will reach Strasbourg at 11:40, Karlsruhe Hbf at 12:34, Frankfurt (Main) Süd at 14:04 and Berlin-Spandau at 17:46, reaching its destination Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 18:55.
The day service is the first high-speed daily connection between Paris and Berlin, but there is a night service, ÖBB Nightjet, that was launched by the two rail companies a year ago which runs thrice a week and takes over 13 hours for the same journey. This service had been suspended for over three months and has resumed only last month.