A new direct high-speed train between two stunning European cities launched last week.

The new ICE train, a highly anticipated day-time service between Paris and Berlin, comes as Germany's national rail firm Deutsche Bahn vows to improve the overall punctuality of its services.

The new service has, which starts at €59 (about £49), stops in Frankfurt, Karlsruhe and the French city of Strasbourg, with the westbound train scheduled to arrive in Paris just before 8 pm.

The eastbound train arrives in the German capital just after 6 pm.

There is already a slower direct overnight train between the two cities than runs three times a week, launched last year by Austrian operator ÖBB. Deutsche Bahn ended its sleeper service on the route a decade ago amid cutbacks to overnight services by some European railways.

Fares will start from €59 (about £49) for one-way second-class tickets with first class seats from €69, though prices will fluctuate according to demand, The Guardian reports.

The new service comes amid the annual mid-December shakeup of European train timetables, which has also brought the launch of a new direct high-speed connection between Munich and Amsterdam, with a journey time of seven hours.

The Berlin-Paris service, which is being operated in collaboration with France’s SNCF, will be a welcome addition to the network, promising more convenience without the need to change stations en route.

But with journey times between Europe's two biggest cities on the service said to be about eight hours, with one service per day, it won't be a vast improvement on more indirect connections.

However, it may help DB in its mission to tighten up its time-keeping. In November, only 60% of its long-distance trains arrived at their destination punctually - classed as being a maximum of six minutes late.

The operator has vowed to improve the situation by 2027 and is pushing to achieve punctuality of over 75%, AP reports.

A key part of the push is a programme to modernise dozens of stretches of railway. The first part of it was completed when a 45-mile stretch between Frankfurt and Mannheim, one of the Germant's biggest routes, reopened on time on Sunday.

The government has blamed underinvestment in the railways under its predecessors for the current issues.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said the new service “is also a good symbol of the German-French friendship," while German Transport Minister Volker Wissing insisted the line is more than “just a new, additional offer.”

Wissing added “we still have a lot of potential to get as many people as possible onto the rails inside Europe with attractive offers, including for longer journeys and live out this friendship".