FlixTrain

FlixTrain GmbH is a German open-access operator of long-distance railway passenger services. It is a subsidiary of the mobility company Flix SE, which also owns long-distance coach operator FlixBus and is supplementing the bus network with rail connections. The company operates closely with FlixBus, sharing its sales channels, marketing efforts, and network planning resources.

FlixTrain GmbH is a German open-access operator of long-distance railway passenger services. It is a subsidiary of the mobility company Flix SE, which also owns long-distance coach operator FlixBus and is supplementing the bus network with rail connections. The company operates closely with FlixBus, sharing its sales channels, marketing efforts, and network planning resources. ===Germany=== in FlixTrain livery in Cologne|224x224px |225x225px (FlixTrain's main hub in Frankfurt am Main)|191x191px On 23 March 2018, FlixTrain's inaugural service departed Hamburg for Cologne. Scheduled services began the following day. On 26 April of that year, in partnership with Leo Express, FlixTrain launched its first service on the Berlin to Stuttgart route. FlixTrain added seven new destinations to its rail network at the start of a new timetable brought into effect on 15 December 2019. This included a Berlin – Stuttgart service that also called at Leipzig, Halle (Saale), Erfurt, Gotha, Eisenach, and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Aachen, to the west of Cologne, was also added to the network. A new Hamburg – Stuttgart service was planned for the spring of 2020. Under FlixTrain's 2020 timetable, it was operating trains on three long-distance intercity routes, each being served by two trains per day. On 20 March 2020, services were suspended temporarily in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While operations resumed on 23 July, the company again suspended all its services during October 2020 at the start of the pandemic's second wave; it was decided during the suspension to overhaul FlixTrain's rolling stock. In April 2021, FlixTrain announced the restart of operations the following month, and up to four services per day were running on its Berlin - Cologne and Hamburg - Cologne routes from 20 May. During early 2021, the company decided to expand the number of services that it would operate to include a new Hamburg - Berlin - Leipzig service, launched on 27 May, a Munich - Augsburg - Würzburg- Aschaffenburg - Hanau - Frankfurt route, launched on 18 June, and FlixTrain's first sleeper train between Hamburg - Berlin - Munich, launched on 17 June. FlixTrain noted that these new services added 16 cities and towns to its network. This move came in spite of a general downturn in passenger traffic as a consequence of the pandemic; it was speculated that this expansion had been encouraged, at least in part, by the German government’s announced removal of track access fees for 2020 and 2021. In May 2022, the company announced the addition of three new routes, increasing its network by 12 destinations, expanding to a total of 70 destinations inside Germany; furthermore, service frequency was also increased on the existing Munich - Cologne - Hamburg and Hamburg - Berlin - Leipzig routes. Perhaps the most high-profile part of this announcement was the pending launch of FlixTrain’s first cross-border service, running between Berlin and the Swiss city of Basel; operations began on 23 June 2022. ===Other countries=== Further expansion of FlixTrain's operating area into various other countries has been mooted. In 2019, the company applied for track access in both Sweden and France in anticipation of the upcoming liberalisation of the European railway network during the following year. During the late 2010s, plans for expanding into the French market were reportedly set in motion, with an anticipated launch date for services during either 2020 or 2021; these ambitions were indefinitely postponed in April 2020. The company claimed this was due to the high cost of securing paths in France in comparison to other European markets. In 2023, FlixTrain applied to run international services between Germany and the Dutch cities of Arnhem, Utrecht, Amsterdam and The Hague to Rotterdam. FlixTrain also planned to run twice a day between Berlin and Warsaw starting December 2025, however, due to multiple planned closures in 2026 and unknown later plans of those on the line between Frankfurt and Berlin, it was decided to suspend this connection indefinitely. ===FlixTrain Talgo 230=== During early-2025 FlixTrain had been negotiating with Talgo to buy up to 63 Talgo 230 trains similar to DB Fernverkehr's new ICE L trains. On 27 March 2025 FlixTrain placed an order worth with Talgo, for thirty locomotive-hauled trainsets and fifteen years of maintenance. The trains would be capable of operating across the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, with a framework for increasing the order up to 65 trainsets. Haulage would be via separately-procured Siemens Vectron locomotives. ==References==

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