2023-09-01 21:10:28
Paris-Strasbourg-Berlin. The future Paris-Berlin TGV line will pass “gradually” through Strasbourg, but not before 2025 at best, said Minister Delegate for Transport Clément Beaune on Friday, during a visit to Alsace.
“The train between Paris and Berlin will open in two stages, with a night train which opens in December 2023, and a day train which will make the connection at the end of 2024, the dates must be specified”, declared Clément Beaune during a press conference in Strasbourg.
“But we will not start with the stop in Strasbourg: we must first review the transport plan for the TGV Est between Paris and Strasbourg, so as not to reduce the frequency” on this link, while adding the new link with Berlin , he continued.
The passage through Strasbourg “will take place in the years that follow. This commitment will be kept. It’s important, it’s a symbol. And there is no prohibitive obstacle which would prevent it”, assured the minister.
A plot that is debating
The route of the new Paris-Berlin link has been the subject of much debate in recent months. At the end of June, the German public operator Deutsche Bahn, referring to an “agreement” with the SNCF, had estimated that the future line would “probably” not pass through the Alsatian metropolis. According to Deutsche Bahn, the route would pass further north, through Saarbrücken and Frankfurt.
The town halls of Strasbourg and the neighboring German city of Karlsruhe, as well as several deputies and elected officials from the two border regions, expressed in an open letter at the end of May their concern that the future TGV line would escape them. “Another route choice is incomprehensible and inconsistent,” said Jeanne Barseghian, EELV mayor of Strasbourg, and Franck Mentrup, his counterpart in Karlsruhe.
Conversely, the mayor of Metz, a neighboring town of Saarbrücken, the ex-LR François Grosdidier, was delighted with the prospect of a TGV passing through his land. “We can imagine that the two types of journeys (via Strasbourg or via Saarbrücken) can coexist. We are also looking at journey times, ”said Clément Beaune.
There is currently no direct train between Paris and Berlin. It takes more than eight hours to reach the two capitals with at least one change.
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