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This is how much quicker German trains will be starting Sunday

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
This is how much quicker German trains will be starting Sunday
An ICE high-speed train travels at speeds of up to 300 km/h. Photo: DPA.

Deutsche Bahn is implementing the largest timetable change it has had in decades, meaning that from Sunday onward, many long-distance trains will run on a different schedule and travel times will be reduced.

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The change is due to the opening of the new high-speed line between Berlin and Munich on Sunday which has affected the schedules of many connecting rail lines.

“It will be the biggest improvement in the range of products on offer in the history of Deutsche Bahn," the company said.

The Statista chart below shows which routes will be affected as a result of the ICE express route connecting Germany’s two most famous cities. 

Infographic: Statista

Not only will the new Berlin-Munich line cut two hours off current journey times with trains travelling at speeds of up to 300 km/h, a ride between Erfurt and Munich will see a reduction in travel time of two hours and 15 minutes.

Routes connecting Halle with Munich and Nuremberg with Berlin will also see travel times shortened by two hours.

Rail travellers on the Nuremberg-Erfurt line will be able to travel one hour and 50 minutes faster. A new junction has been built in Erfurt; considerably more long-distance trains will travel through the Thuringian city.

Meanwhile the Munich-Leipzig route will be one hour and 35 minutes quicker and one hour and 14 minutes in travel time will be shaved off the Munich-Dresden route.

But along with a reduction in travel times for selected DB routes comes higher fares.

First-class tickets for long-distance trains at “Flexpreis” (full fare) will take the biggest hit with an increase of 2.9 percent in fares.

Travelling in second-class on a full-fare ticket will cost a traveller 1.9 percent more. Regional train tickets moreover will see an average price increase of 2.3 percent.

But the price of the discount rail cards “Bahncard 25” and “Bahncard 50” will remain unchanged. Discount rail fares or “Sparpreis” tickets similarly won’t see an increase in prices.

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