Are you dying to visit Paris but living in Groningen? Well, you’re in luck as the glamorous French city is now just a bike ride to the station away! (And then, you know, five hours on a train.)
That’s right, gone are the days of taking one train to Amsterdam just so you can get on your actual train to Paris. A new train route from Groningen directly to Paris is en route (no pun intended).
How will it work?
Leaving Groningen at the break of dawn (5:30 AM) and arriving at Gare du Nord in Paris at 10:40 AM, the journey takes just over 5 hours. But let’s face it, with that early departure time, we’ll be awake for only one of those hours. 😅
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The train makes multiple stops in the Netherlands and Belgium, running daily in both directions. On its way back, it leaves Paris at 7:15 PM and arrives in Groningen at 12:30 AM.
If you’re brave, you can even go to Paris for the day. Are you craving an authentic Paris croissant or a dish prepared by a man controlled by a rat? All that’ll cost you is a modest €140 (approximately) other than the cost of the food. Oh, the joys of living in Europe. 😮💨
So, what now?
The ACM (Authority for Consumers and Markets) is analysing the plans to check that the route doesn’t compete with current train connections.
Things are looking good for this train, as the ACM tells AD.nl, “the new passenger service should not have too much negative impact on the existing transport concession.”
Arriva (NS’s biggest competitor) applied for trains to run from Groningen to Paris and back by June 2026 and will announce their plans this Thursday, June 15.
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Once this is all settled, the next step is to look into the more nitty gritty details, like how often the train will run per day.
Part of a trend
There’s more and more news about new modes of travel lately: the Berlin night train, the trains to Dresden and Prague, and even a ferry from the Netherlands to Norway!
Let’s face it: flying is like, so over. Overpriced tickets, knee bruises, and no Wi-Fi. What do we do, be alone with our thoughts? Never!
So it makes sense that there’s competition. NS and Arriva are interested in this new route, so it remains to be seen who will make this happen first.
May the best train win! 🤞
Are you excited about this new train route? Let us know in the comments!