Strasbourg/Stuttgart (dpa/lsw) - According to plans, rail travelers will be able to benefit more from high-speed ICE and TGV trains between Stuttgart and Paris in the future. There will also be improvements in regional traffic between Germany and France, announced the railway bosses of both countries, DB CEO Richard Lutz and SNCF President Jean-Pierre Farandou, on Tuesday in Strasbourg.
So far, five trains commute daily between Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Strasbourg and Paris. The railways have not yet been able to say how many additional trains there will be. The connection between the Baden-Württemberg state capital and Paris Ostbahnhof is already very fast. The train needs three hours and ten minutes for the approximately 600 kilometers.
"The high-speed traffic between Germany and France is an outstanding example of how attractive connections promote cross-border traffic on the rails," said Bahn boss Lutz. Last year, half of travelers between Frankfurt and Paris would have opted for the train instead of the plane. Between Stuttgart and Paris there were even nine out of ten travelers, according to traveler data.
Significant improvements are planned from the end of 2024 in regional traffic between the French border region and Baden-Württemberg and other federal states. Regional trains are to commute every hour on the routes from Strasbourg via Wissembourg to Neustadt, from Strasbourg via Wörth to Karlsruhe, and from Metz to Saarbrücken. A two-hour cycle is planned between Strasbourg and Saarbrücken, Trier and Metz as well as Mulhouse and Müllheim. A train will commute between Strasbourg, Kehl and Offenburg every 30 minutes. Which railway company will drive these trains is to be determined in a tender.
