Deutsche Bahn and French national rail company SNCF have announced a new route which will connect the countries' respective capitals via Frankfurt and Saarbrücken.

Deutsche Bahn launches new train to Paris

Holidaymakers looking for a little je ne sais quoi in their travels can now look in the direction of Deutsche Bahn. Europe’s largest rail company has announced that it will run a new long-distance train service between Berlin and Paris in collaboration with France’s SNCF.

In order to do so, Deutsche Bahn will look into connecting the existing Paris-Frankfurt and Frankfurt-Berlin routes to make a direct journey possible. If all goes to plan, the service will begin running in December 2024.

French government pooh-poohs new Paris-Berlin route

Though it is now going ahead, the new direct route between the two European capitals has been cause for much discussion over recent weeks. At the moment, direct trains between Paris and German cities have a northern route via Saarbrücken, Mannheim and Frankfurt and a southern route via Strasbourg, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. 

The density of connections leading to the southwest is due to the consistent movement of people between the two countries and the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Though the Paris-Berlin line will go ahead, French Minister for Transport, Clément Beaune, has said that developing the Strasbourg route to Paris, where some politicians have requested stops in their home towns, would be prioritised over connecting the Paris-Frankfurt-Berlin route.

Thumb image credit: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock.com