A direct train service between Moscow and Paris was hailed as a testament to Franco-Russian cooperation last week when it was launched by Russian Railways to cheering crowds.

The train has several deluxe cars and 1st and 2nd class compartments, all of them sleepers

The route operated during Tsarist and Soviet times but was cancelled in 1990.

Since 2007, European rail services travelling to Paris have taken one Russian train car per week.

The new train service left Moscow’s Belorussky Station at about 9 a.m. local time and arrived at the Gare de L’Est in Paris the following day after completing a 38.5-hour journey, the RZhD press service said.

The train has several deluxe cars and 1st and 2nd class compartments, all of them sleepers. It can reach speeds of up to 200 km/h.

The cheapest fare is €330, and the most expensive ticket costs €1,050. For comparison, the price of an average Moscow-Paris one-way plane ticket is almost half the price.

The new service has proven popular, with tickets sold out until the end of 2011, said the Russian Railways CEO Vladimir Yakunin.

Tour operators name wealthy francophones who don’t like flying or those who are fond of comfortable train journies as the target customers.

The service will operate three times a week during winter and five times a week during the summer.

It will travel through Vyazma, Smolensk, Orsha, Minsk, Brest, Terespol, Warsaw, Poznan, Zhepin, Oderburk, Frankfurt am Oder, Berlin, Hanover, Fulda, Frankfurt am Main, Saarbrücken, Forbach and Mets Vila.

Foreign cities already connected to Moscow via regular train routes include Beijing, Berlin, Budapest, Helsinki, Prague and Ulan Bator, Mongolia.