DB and SNCF launch Franco-German high-speed service
SNCF President Idrac and DB Chairman Mehdorn: railways gain market share throughout Europe • ICE and TGV debut trip to Paris • scheduled services as of 10 June
[Berlin/Paris, 25 May 2007] Travelling at speeds of up to 320 km/h from Frankfurt/Main and Stuttgart to Paris, Europe's high-speed rail services are picking up speed. With a debut trip for the ICE and TGV, the President of SNCF, Anne-Marie Idrac, and DB's Chairman and CEO, Hartmut Mehdorn, launched the new services from Frankfurt/Main and Stuttgart to the French capital.
A German ICE from Frankfurt and a French high-speed TGV from Stuttgart arrived at the Gare de l’Est station in Paris at the same time. On board the two trains were numerous representatives from politics and business.
"Europe's leading railways are bundling their strengths for the first time. With this service, we will gain new customers and market share together," DB's Chairman and CEO Hartmut Mehdorn stated during the ceremony. "This will strengthen the competitiveness of the railways on key international routes. Rail can look forward to a bright future in Europe."
"With the creation of this joint venture between SNCF and DB, we will both gain new customers and more than double traffic between France and Germany. To do so, we are sharing the best of our products: TGV and ICE, thus offering competitive travel times, trains running at 320 km/h, a quality service and attractive prices. After Eurostar, Thalys and Lyria, this new co-operation underlines the SNCF commitment to help constructing European high-speed rail", stated Anne-Marie Idrac, President of SNCF.
During the official ceremony, the two Heads signed contracts for a joint venture of SNCF and DB including the foundation of a joint venture company. The company, with registered offices in Saarbrücken, will be responsible for marketing the new high-speed services.
Scheduled ICE and TGV services between Germany and France will begin on 10 June. The northern line from Frankfurt/Main via Mannheim, Kaiserslautern and Saarbrücken to Paris will be served by the German ICE 3, while the French TGV will be deployed on the line running from Munich (starting on December 2007) via Stuttgart and Karlsruhe and Strasbourg. The new service will reduce the journey time on both lines by over two hours.
Stuttgart will now be only 3 hours 39 minutes away from Paris by rail and in December Munich will be about 6 hours. The ICE from Frankfurt will initially take 4 hours and 11 minutes for the journey, but will cut this time to 3 hours 49 minutes as of December. Between Baudrecourt in Lorraine and Paris, both lines will travel along the new "TGV Est Européen" line, which, with speeds of up to 320 km/h, will be Central Europe's fastest rail link.
A German ICE from Frankfurt and a French high-speed TGV from Stuttgart arrived at the Gare de l’Est station in Paris at the same time. On board the two trains were numerous representatives from politics and business.
"Europe's leading railways are bundling their strengths for the first time. With this service, we will gain new customers and market share together," DB's Chairman and CEO Hartmut Mehdorn stated during the ceremony. "This will strengthen the competitiveness of the railways on key international routes. Rail can look forward to a bright future in Europe."
"With the creation of this joint venture between SNCF and DB, we will both gain new customers and more than double traffic between France and Germany. To do so, we are sharing the best of our products: TGV and ICE, thus offering competitive travel times, trains running at 320 km/h, a quality service and attractive prices. After Eurostar, Thalys and Lyria, this new co-operation underlines the SNCF commitment to help constructing European high-speed rail", stated Anne-Marie Idrac, President of SNCF.
During the official ceremony, the two Heads signed contracts for a joint venture of SNCF and DB including the foundation of a joint venture company. The company, with registered offices in Saarbrücken, will be responsible for marketing the new high-speed services.
Scheduled ICE and TGV services between Germany and France will begin on 10 June. The northern line from Frankfurt/Main via Mannheim, Kaiserslautern and Saarbrücken to Paris will be served by the German ICE 3, while the French TGV will be deployed on the line running from Munich (starting on December 2007) via Stuttgart and Karlsruhe and Strasbourg. The new service will reduce the journey time on both lines by over two hours.
Stuttgart will now be only 3 hours 39 minutes away from Paris by rail and in December Munich will be about 6 hours. The ICE from Frankfurt will initially take 4 hours and 11 minutes for the journey, but will cut this time to 3 hours 49 minutes as of December. Between Baudrecourt in Lorraine and Paris, both lines will travel along the new "TGV Est Européen" line, which, with speeds of up to 320 km/h, will be Central Europe's fastest rail link.
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E-mail: press@bahn.co.uk
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