2mo ago

High-speed rail between Paris and Berlin aims to rival air travel

www.rfi.fr High-speed rail between Paris and Berlin aims to rival air travel

A new high-speed train service linking Paris and Berlin was launched on Monday – just in time for the Christmas travel season. Joint operators SNCF and Deutsche Bahn say they hope passengers will see…

A new high-speed train service linking Paris and Berlin was launched on Monday – just in time for the Christmas travel season. Joint operators SNCF and Deutsche Bahn say they hope passengers will see it as a "greener" alternative to flying.

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The journey is still 8 hours, which won’t compete with air travel except for those motivated by other criteria such as sustainability or a fondness for railways. Build a Shinkansen-class line joining the two cities and you could halve that time, making taking the train a lot more compelling to the average person.
Also, air travel is going to have a price advantage as long as jet fuel is tax free. This policy, instituted after WW2 to nurture the then new aviation sector, has long outlived its usefulness and should be scrapped, with tax advantages going to more sustainable transport if anything. Though in practice it is hard changing any policy, however absurd, that powerful incumbents benefit from.
- Yep, 150km/h on average is not that great. Especially considering the average in the part of the route in France (tbf, without a stop) is around 280km/h. Leaving an average of 130km/h through Germany.
  But still nice that there are long-distance direct connections, as changing can be a major pain, especially with DB...
  
  Also going via Strasbourg is a massive detour. The direct connection would go through the northern bits of Luxembourg. However there is no track in the region allowing speeds above 130km/h in any of the four countries in that region.
  
  Changing trains is by far one of the biggest problems with the DB. I'm fine with arriving later, but if I am unlucky and miss the last train and have to wait till like 4am to get the next one I'm absolutely pissed.
- Sure it's a bit longer than air travel - but not as much as it sounds at first glance. People forget to include the time you have to spend in each airport, not to mention time getting to and from the airports whereas the train stations are both much closer to the city centers. Also not dealing with the hassles of air travel like baggies of toiletries and security checks is worth a lot to me.
  
  I'd take 30min between CDG and Paris over 1h of DB just stopped in the middle of the tracks without explanation
  
  Well I wish I could argue that one but I haven't had any good luck with DB for at least a year or two myself

30 comments