Huge year ahead for rail travel with new world’s fastest train and sleeper service
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This year will be huge in the world of trains, with new services and routes popping up across the globe. Several new trains will also take to the rails through 2025, including in destinations such as Italy, France, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Here are some of the highlights to watch out for in the year ahead.
There is now a direct high-speed train service between Paris, France and Berlin, Germany. Germany’s Deutsche Bahn introduced a daytime InterCity Express (ICE) service between Paris and Berlin on December 16 and plans to introduce a second route between the two capitals in 2026.
The service uses ICE3neo trains which can travel 200mph and it operates once a day, also stopping at Strasbourg, Karlsruhe and Frankfurt on its 546-mile journey. Tickets for the service cost from £47.85 and the train can hold up to 444 passengers. It is the first direct daytime train between Paris and Berlin since the 1990s and complements the Nightjet sleeper service introduced in 2023.
The CR450-AF high-speed bullet train was introduced in Beijing, China, on New Year's Eve 2024. In just over 15 years, China has built the world's largest high-speed rail network and the new trains, known as CR450s, will be added to the network in 2025. The trains have been tested at more than 280 mph, although their usual maximum is more likely to be around 248 mph.
