It’s about 1000km, so with proper infrastructure at T.G.V. speeds it should be around 4 hours. That’s better than air travel when you factor in the shitshow that’s CDG.
There are a bunch of holes in the high speed line right now. The really bad one is Frankfurt, which has a massive terminal station, which means the train has to change direction. There are also no high speed tracks from Fulda to Frankfurt and between Frankfurt and Mannheim. Then there is an option of a more direct line from Erfurt to Frankfurt, which would avoid the high speed line via Hannover, which shortens the journey. Good news is that quite a bit of that is in the works.
Also the flight is 2h and you can probably add 2h at the airports with security control and so forth and another 2h for going to and from the airport to the city centers. So a grand total of 6h travel time for the trip.
Without trying to be scientifically accurate: 8 hours has the opportunity cost of 120 euros with an hourly salary of 15€. Slightly better travel comfort, marginally less stress and climate consciousness need to do a lot of heavy lifting to offset the lost time compared to a flight. I don’t think price competition is possible.
And of course there are people who this makes sense for. I would have taken this train on an interrail a few years ago and been happy, instead of the slow and painful connection they had back then. But you gotta have a lot of time to justify this option. Or just a very bad timing so that flights are really expensive.
That flight is about 2 hours. But you have to account for getting to the airport, getting through security, boarding, checking bags, deplaning on the other end , getting bags, getting back to city center. That’s easily an hour and half or two hours on each end.
When you add up all of that time, it starts getting pretty competitive.
Business travelers at that distance wont have checked bags. The timing of the route is also pretty terrible. Too early for lunch before hand in Berlin, too late for dinner in Paris. Still need a hotel in Paris.
Pretty cool but 8 hours is still not practical for most people.
It’s about 1000km, so with proper infrastructure at T.G.V. speeds it should be around 4 hours. That’s better than air travel when you factor in the shitshow that’s CDG.
8 hours? Not so much.
Proper railway infrastructure in Germany? What’s next, a minister of traffic who’s not in the automobile industry’s pocket? roflmao
There are a bunch of holes in the high speed line right now. The really bad one is Frankfurt, which has a massive terminal station, which means the train has to change direction. There are also no high speed tracks from Fulda to Frankfurt and between Frankfurt and Mannheim. Then there is an option of a more direct line from Erfurt to Frankfurt, which would avoid the high speed line via Hannover, which shortens the journey. Good news is that quite a bit of that is in the works.
Also the flight is 2h and you can probably add 2h at the airports with security control and so forth and another 2h for going to and from the airport to the city centers. So a grand total of 6h travel time for the trip.
This one is not going to Frankfurt Hbf, it’s going to Süd.
Where TF do you take your definition of practical from?
Without trying to be scientifically accurate: 8 hours has the opportunity cost of 120 euros with an hourly salary of 15€. Slightly better travel comfort, marginally less stress and climate consciousness need to do a lot of heavy lifting to offset the lost time compared to a flight. I don’t think price competition is possible.
And of course there are people who this makes sense for. I would have taken this train on an interrail a few years ago and been happy, instead of the slow and painful connection they had back then. But you gotta have a lot of time to justify this option. Or just a very bad timing so that flights are really expensive.
You can work during Travel. With train travel you’re avoiding boarding time in which you cannot work.
To some extent, but 8 hours straight on a train is pushing it
it’s not that much different from staying at home for 8 hours, you have decent food, access to a toilet, and the ability to walk around a bit.
That flight is about 2 hours. But you have to account for getting to the airport, getting through security, boarding, checking bags, deplaning on the other end , getting bags, getting back to city center. That’s easily an hour and half or two hours on each end.
When you add up all of that time, it starts getting pretty competitive.
Id love for more(any) high speed rail in the US.
Business travelers at that distance wont have checked bags. The timing of the route is also pretty terrible. Too early for lunch before hand in Berlin, too late for dinner in Paris. Still need a hotel in Paris.
You still lose 4 hours.