ベルリンとパリ結ぶ夜行列車、運行再開　９年ぶり

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】独ベルリンと仏パリを結ぶ寝台列車が１１日、運行を再開した。短距離の移動に飛行機ではなく夜行列車を使う動きが活発化しているのを受けた形だ。（写真は、夜行列車の窓から顔を出す車掌。独ベルリン中央駅で）
　当面は週３本の運行となるが、来年１０月以降は毎日運行する予定。ベルリン～パリの所要時間は約１４時間。
　運行を担当するのは、フランス国鉄とドイツ鉄道の両国営鉄道会社。車両はオーストリア連邦鉄道の「ナイトジェット」を採用した。ナイトジェットは既に中欧域で広く利用されている。
　一番列車は１１日午後８時２８分（日本時間１２日午前４時２８分）、定刻より１０分遅れてベルリン中央駅を出発した。ホームには両国の閣僚の他、各鉄道会社の首脳陣ら多くの人が集まり、手を振って見送った。
　ベルリンとパリを結ぶ夜行列車の運行は９年ぶり。夜行列車は採算が取れず、ほぼすべてが政府補助金に依存しているのが現状だが、ドイツのフォルカー・ウィッシング運輸相は「夜行列車同盟の新時代だ」と述べた。
　一番列車は１２日午前１０時３９分（同日午後７時３９分）、定刻より１５分遅れてパリに到着した。
　列車で一晩を過ごしたフランスのクレマン・ボーヌ交通担当相はパリ到着時、待ち受けていた記者団に「素晴らしかった」と感想を述べた。
　「このベルリンとパリを結ぶ列車は、われわれが今必要としているシンボルだ」とし、「前向きでエコロジカル、そして欧州のプロジェクトだ」とコメントした。
　利用客は、座席、６人１ブロックの開放式寝台（クシェット）、 １～３人用寝台個室（スリーパー）から選ぶことができる。料金は片道３０ユーロ（約４７００円）からとなっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/12/13-16:00）

A new sleeper service between Berlin and Paris arrived in the French capital on Tuesday, reflecting a growing drive for night trains as an alternative to short-haul flights.
The 14-hour nocturnal trip from the German to the French capital is to run three times a week, and is scheduled to become daily from October next year.
The connection is operated by French and German national train operators SNCF and Deutsche Bahn, while the rolling stock is provided by Austrian train company OeBB, whose Nightjet trains already criss-cross central Europe.
The maiden voyage left from Berlin's main station with government ministers from Paris and Berlin as well as the chiefs of the train companies in attendance to wave it off.
The overnight connection returns nine years after the previous service was stopped -- although like many night trains it is relying on government subsidies to break even.
It's a new era for the night train alliance, German Transport Minister Volker Wessing said in Berlin.
The train pulled out of Berlin 10 minutes behind schedule at 8:28 pm (1928 GMT) on Monday and arrived in Paris 15 minutes late at 10:39 AM (0939 GMT).
French Transport Minister Clement Beaune, who spent the night on the train, told waiting reporters in Paris that the trip had been magnificent.
This Berlin-Paris service is a symbol that we need at the moment, he said, because we need positive, ecological and European projects.
There are currently no direct daytime train services between Paris and Berlin.
If passengers accept one change, they can make the journey in under 8.5 hours in the daytime.
- 'Tight in aeroplanes, too' -
Passengers on the Austrian-provided Nightjet trains can choose between ordinary seats, six-bunk cabins and sleeper cars with private compartments for one, two or three passengers.
It's great to get on a train and wake up in Paris, said Annika Volz, an ambassador for the Franco-German Youth Office that organises cultural exchanges between both countries.
It's a strong, sustainable symbol for German-French relations, she said.
Volz said she was undeterred by cramped six-bunk compartments, saying: space is tight in aeroplanes, too, she said.
One-way ticket prices start at just under 30 euros ($33), a low price point meant to stimulate demand and possible only thanks to subsidies.
Despite generating excitement beyond the ranks of rail enthusiasts, night trains remain an unreliably profitable business for operators.
In France, many lines are kept going by subsidies, with no less than 10 million euros a year going into the Berlin link.
The sector has experienced a renaissance as passengers and policy makers look for a cleaner alternative to air travel.
In 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron set the aim of opening 10 new sleeper services by 2030, with the results already visible.
As well as the Berlin link, several new connections between Paris and peripheral destinations in mainland France have already begun operation.
Some 100 million euros have been invested by the French government to revive the network and ready new carriages for service.
For clients, the climate benefits and charm of train travel have proven a draw.
In 2023, around 215,000 passengers took the night train to their destination, a 15-percent increase on the previous year.
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