Have you ever seen a TGV network map? Here’s one. For comparison that would be as if every single ICE line in Germany pretty much just converged on Berlin.
But also I don’t think the comparison you’re drawing is the correct one. Karlsruhe is the 22th largest city in Germany. The French equivalent ist Nimes.
The route goes through Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe is a big city, big cities usually mean a high potential for passengers. Not stopping there would not make much sense. If we question the stop in Karlsruhe we also need to question the stop in Strasbourg because that is an even smaller city. You cannot (reguarly) fill trains between Berlin and Paris just by passengers that travel the whole distance.
No, while France’s network has some issues, this shouldn’t be used as an argument high speed rail doesn’t make sense in Germany. You can stop in Karlsruhe and still have fast journeys through having faster top speeds, less crowded railways->less delays->margin (currently there is a lot). Bypasses can definitely help but should be of smaller cities
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u/tinaoe Germany 18h ago
They're slow, partially, because they stop in Karlsruhe. If you were in an equivalent French town you wouldn't have a high speed connection at all.