With its mid-December timetable change, the Deutsche Bahn (DB) will be offering more international rail journeys. The offer is displayed in increase of 25% compared with 2019. That's more than 330 daily journeys linking Germany directly to twelve neighbouring countries..
One of our strengths is the new daily ICE service linking Paris to Berlin via Strasbourg. Admittedly, it is only slightly faster than the current train connections with changes. For example, the fastest TGV/ICE connection between Paris and Berlin, with changes in Karlsruhe and Erfurt, takes a total of 8.30 a.m..
The future ICE will nevertheless avoid tedious and stressful changes... The convoy will leave Paris at 9.55am (Strasbourg at 11.46am) to arrive in Berlin at 6.03pm. On the return journey, the ICE leaves Berlin at 11:54 to arrive in Strasbourg at 17:53 and in Paris Est at 19:55.
In addition to the direct Berlin-Paris route, Amsterdam will now be linked every day for the first time unchanged by ICE to Stuttgart and Munich. Brussels to benefit from additional daily service to FrankfurtThis will give business travellers greater flexibility for day trips.
DB also adds two extra trains a day on the Munich-Zurich route via Lindau. Once again, perfect for business travellers making a daily return trip. From Zurich, DB, in partnership with SBB, has doubled its offer with 25 daily trains to Stuttgart and 16 daily connections to Munich. There are also more services to Berlin-Vienna with 10 daily connections in partnership with the ÖBB.
DB also increases the number of trains between Germany and Poland. With the launch of two additional trains a day, the Berlin-Wroclaw-Cracow will now run every four hours. A total of 20 trains will run between the two countries every day.
More ICE Sprinter in Germany
In Germany, DB is continuing to expand its range of Sprinter trains and direct ICE services. Six extra ICE Sprinter trains to run between Berlin and Frankfurt every daylinking the two cities non-stop in around four hours. A total of 22 very fast trains on this line.
In ICE-Sprinter, customers save up to 30 minutes travelling time between the two cities compared with conventional ICEs. On Berlin-Munichtravellers will even be able to save up to 45 minutes in travel time with six non-stop trains from the German capital to Nuremberg. Finally, from Cologne, it will be possible to travel by Sprinter to Hamburg six times a day in 3 hours 40 minutes.
The new timetable comes into force on 15 December 2024 and tickets go on sale on 16 October. DB has extended the advance ticket purchase period to 12 months. This means you can take advantage of national offers at very low prices on domestic routes. On international routes, however, the maximum purchase period is six months.
