Dreaming of going from Munich to Berlin in less than four hours? And not by plane? Deutsche Bahn just made this a reality, launching its newest high-speed ICE train from Berlin to Munich.
Hello, Sprinter
The newest addition, known as the Sprinter, takes just 3.55 hours to travel from Germany’s most famous Bavarian city to the capital in Berlin. This is approximately two hours faster than the current travel time. Amazingly, construction on this road started in 1966 and just finished last year.
The infrastructure includes twenty-two tunnels and 29 bridges built on a new stretch of 107 kilometers that runs through the Thuringian Forest in the former East Germany. With this new set of tracks, the trains have the ability to travel at up to 300 km/h through the picturesque state of Thuringia.
One small step for rail travel, one giant leap for Germany
The completion of this track is not only an achievement in terms of transport, but is also a key achievement in the reunification of the former East and West Germany. Plans for the line were first agreed in 1991. While the project cost more than €10 billion in total, it is a landmark achievement on many fronts – “the biggest improvement ever made to the service offered by Deutsche Bahn according to company head Richard Lutz.
However, it is not yet open to the public
The first trip had only a select list of guests and the general public will have to wait until October to purchase tickets and December 10th for the first public trip. Trains will start scheduled journeys in August, but without passengers, to ensure there are no risks.
Once operating at full capacity, three Sprinter trains will travel daily between Munich and Berlin, stopping only in Erfurt and Nuremberg. Additionally, additional ICE trains will travel on this route at regular intervals, but they will stop more frequently resulting in a journey of approximately four and a half hours.
Benefits for all, according to DB
Deutsche Bahn says it’s not just people traveling on the Munich-Berlin line who will benefit. The entire DB schedule will be rearranged to accommodate the new route. Residents from cities such as Halle, Leipzig and Dresden will also benefit from faster journey times.
The journey from Hamburg to Frankfurt and vice versa will also be improved. From December onwards, high-speed trains will depart every half hour. At the moment, there is no price available for the new Super Sprinter.
