NEW YORK-Travel Agent was on site at a Rail Europe press conference in Manhattan at which the company announced the launch of four new high-speed train routes; travel times will be shorter by one-third to one-half on 20 of its high-speed routes within France, as well as between Paris and 10 destinations in Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The company boasted of the record-breaking 357 m.p.h. speed attained by the newest high-speed rail line, TGV East, which will operate commercially at 199 m.p.h. The frequency of service will increase by 15-20 percent on the new TGV East line, which runs from Paris east through the Champagne, Lorraine and Alsace regions of France, ending in Strasbourg near the German border. Eurostar announced plans to reduce CO2 emission by 25 percent per traveler journey by 2012.
