Fly from Paris to Germany Without Ever Leaving the Ground

The French national rail company Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français, or SNCF, should really stand for Super Nutty Crazy Fast. Or at least that's what one could feel like calling it when referring to the brand new high-speed train connection which just went into operation between Paris and Strasbourg, directly on the German border.

With the recent introduction of the latest TGV high-speed train connection, a new era in European train travel begins. Service between Paris and Strasbourg, in effect the travel time it takes you to reach Germany from Paris or vice versa, has just been reduced to a mere 2 hours and 20 minutes. That's a full 1 hour and 40 minutes faster than it used to take (a good 4 hours or more was normal up until now for the same stretch). TGV Trains (trains à grande vitesse) are now traveling on the new 252-mile stretch via Reims, Metz and Nancy up to speeds of up to 199 mph.

The trains traveling on the old stretch, although also high-speed TGVs, were only able to reach a maximum speed of 186 mph, and that only rarely. The new stretch has been constructed in a fashion which will let these silver rockets on rails utilize their maximum potential. It was on a stretch like this that a TGV broke it's own record for the fastest wheeled train on April 3 of this year, reaching an incredible 357 mph. It goes without saying that these trains also hold the record for the world's highest average speed for regular passenger service, too.

For Strasbourg and neighboring Germany, the new connection will mean more tourists and vastly improved business connections. Some experts even expect a real estate boom for Strasbourg, not unlike the one currently taking place on the French side of the Channel Tunnel. Here many British residents have bought homes and commute to London using the "chunnel's" high-speed connection. The same type of thing might appeal to Parisians who would prefer living in Strasbourg instead.