The UK and Germany agreed a plan to create a new, direct rail link between London and Berlin as part of a wide-ranging treaty.
The Kensington Treaty also includes opening e-gates for frequent travellers between the two countries next month, as well as agreeing school exchange visits.
Friedrich Merz made his first official visit to the UK as German chancellor to sign the deal, which will also tighten laws around people smuggling gangs and strengthen defence ties.
Downing Street said the move will make it easier for German authorities to investigate and act against warehouses and storage facilities used by smugglers to conceal small boats intended for illegal Channel crossings to the UK.
The new travel arrangements come as part of plans to re-set relations around trade and business between the two countries.
A joint taskforce will be established for transport experts from both governments to examine how to establish the necessary border and security controls for direct long-distance rail passenger services.
Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said the rail link could offer an alternative to flying within the next decade.
“We’re pioneering a new era of European rail connectivity and are determined to put Britain at the heart of a better-connected continent,” she said.
“The Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie – in just a matter of years, rail passengers in the UK could be able to visit these iconic sights direct from the comfort of a train, thanks to a direct connection linking London and Berlin.
“This landmark agreement – part of a new treaty the prime minister [has signed] with Chancellor Merz today – has the potential to fundamentally change how millions of people travel between our two countries, offering a faster, more convenient and significantly greener alternative to flying.”
Merz met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington for the signing ceremony.
Sir Keir described the pact as “evidence of the closeness of our relationship as it stands today” as well as a “statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely together”.
Commercial investments in the UK, worth more than £200m and expected to create more than 600 new jobs, have been announced, and a new UK-Germany Business Forum has been established.
Defence and security was also a key part of discussions, including support for Ukraine, and a new agreement on the joint export of co-produced military equipment has been unveiled.
Downing Street said the agreement on equipment such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets was likely to lead to billions of pounds of additional defence exports in the coming years.
On security, Merz has committed to changing the law, making facilitation of illegal migration to the UK a criminal offence, by the end of the year.
Facilitating people-smuggling is not technically illegal in Germany currently, if it is to a country outside the European Union – which, following Brexit, includes the UK.
A BBC investigation last year exposed the significant German connection to small boat crossings, with the country becoming a central location for the storage of boats and engines.
Sir Keir said: “Chancellor Merz’s commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome.”
The German agreement comes a week after the UK announced a new pilot returns scheme with France, during President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit.
Under the “one in, one out” deal, some small boat arrivals would be returned to France in exchange for the UK accepting an equivalent number of asylum seekers with connections to the UK.
The prime minister is under pressure to tackle the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats.
More than 21,000 people have made the dangerous journey so far this year – a 56% increase on the same period in 2024.
The Conservatives’ shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the figures showed “the crisis in the Channel continues to spiral”.
“This is just more of the same tired, headline-chasing from Keir Starmer.
“This government has clearly lost control of our borders and left the country exposed when they cancelled our returns deterrent.”
By BBC News
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