The German and French authorities were in no doubt about this. The creation of a direct TGV line between Paris and Berlin is seen as a major step towards a European railway system.one of the major assets in the decarbonisation of the continent. Except that the controversy centred on the route the line should take.
Geographically, the shortest - and most logical - route between Paris and Berlin should be carried out via the line of the current Thalys. Looking at a map, the most direct rail link is via Belgium, Cologne, Hanover and Berlin. This was the route taken by trains between the two capitals 40 years ago.
But the joint venture on TGV/ICE lines between SNCF and DB effectively excludes the German railway company.. The latter is not a stakeholder in the Thalys/Eurostar consortium.
This left the lines further south via Strasbourg / Karlsruhe / Frankfurt or via Saarbrücken / Mannheim / Frankfurt. The Minister for Transport, Clément Beaune, and French and French the city of Strasbourg had in fact argued in favour of routing the future link through the capital of Alsace and Europe. In the end, the German Federal Ministry of Transport decided: it will be Saarbrücken. The decision was confirmed by SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou.
The line should therefore follow the Paris-Sarrebruck-Mannheim-Frankfurt-Berlin routeThis would make more sense. In addition, there is a project to improve the Saarbrücken-Mannheim route, which will save around ten minutes from 2025.
Strasbourg for symbolic reasons
The decision by SNCF and Deutsche Bahn is also based on an overly complicated route via Strasbourg. These include bottlenecks on the Rhine bridge to Kehl. Finally, the stop in Strasbourg would have added another hundred kilometres or so. The additional financial cost of this stop would have outweighed its symbolic value.
The new link still has to be approved by DB-Netz (DB Network). But there is now little doubt about the final outcome. The launch of the new link is still scheduled for the end of 2024.
As a consolation prize for the Alsatian capital, DB has announced that the new Paris-Berlin night train will pass through Strasbourg. And there are already many direct trains to Berlin from Karlsruhe, a 40-minute train journey from Strasbourg.
The Alsatian metropolis will also take comfort in knowing that the future Paris-Berlin TGV/ICE line will only marginally save time for passengers. The trains will have to run within Germany on the existing lines of the regular network. Which is already particularly congested!
