Inaugural train from Russia to France embarked this week
December 15, 2011
A new international train line has just been opened that connects Moscow, Berlin and Paris. The inaugural 2,000-mile journey, which took 37 hours, was taken by a Russian-operated locomotive that reached speeds of nearly 200 miles per hour, according to The Associated Press. The train left Moscow early on Monday, stopped in Berlin the following morning and pulled into its final stop in Paris on Tuesday evening.
The ride takes much longer than driving - which takes a little more than 24 hours - but it gives people the opportunity to travel through Poland and Belarus as well as Russia, Germany and France, according to The Huffington Post. Travelers who are embarking on the journey can bring along international phone cards so they can make calls to Russia to tell their loved ones about the trip.
Already, tickets for the remainder of the year are sold out, the news publication reports but the train will run three times a week in the winter and five times a week in summer, so there will be plenty of opportunities for those who want to travel to or from Russia by land without the hassle of driving and traffic.