A new high-speed train linking Paris and Berlin is to launch in December, operators have announced, reports The Guardian.
The daytime service will complement a popular night train route between the two capital cities that relaunched last year to much fanfare but has since been beset by technical problems.
The daytime train service, which has been delayed by logistical issues and will take an hour longer than originally announced, will run between Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Paris Gare de l’Est, stopping in Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Frankfurt Süd, and will take about eight hours.
The fastest train journey now running between the French and German capitals takes just under nine hours, but requires one, two or three changes, which can make for a clunky and often unreliable experience.
There will initially be just one service of the new train each day, leaving Paris at 9.55am, and arriving in Berlin just after 6pm. The return trip will leave Berlin at 11.54am, arriving in Paris just before 8pm.
The operators SNCF and Deutsche Bahn say they hope passengers will see it as a relaxed alternative to flying, and a considerable improvement on the current route. Fares will start from €59 (about £49) for a one-way second-class ticket and from €69 for a first-class seat. Prices will rise and fall according to demand.