Deutsche Bahn AG and the French state railways SCNF want to further expand long-distance traffic between Germany and France. After a break of many years, high-speed trains are to run again between the two capitals.

The two companies signed a corresponding letter of intent this week in Strasbourg, France. This also means that the ICE/TGV cooperation between Frankfurt and Stuttgart and Paris, which has existed for 15 years, is to be expanded. Furthermore, according to DB boss Richard Lutz, negotiations are also under way about further fast rail connections in the direction of southern France.

The first TGV and ICE sets are expected to be put on the rails between Paris and Berlin from the end of 2023 or at least in the course of 2024. The trains are to be routed via Frankfurt and Strasbourg. The travel time is given as about seven hours. The incentive for this should be the active use of the existing cooperation connection between Stuttgart and the French capital. Due to the much smaller distance, the travel time is shorter and can even be faster from city center to city center (taking into account the lead time and arrival and departure to the airport) than by plane.

Not affected by the changes: The trains, the long-distance trains between Cologne and Paris operated by Thalys, an SNCF subsidiary. These should still not be integrated into the tariff system of the two state railway companies. The consequence of this is that you still need a separate ticket.