The first line will run from Hamburg to Cologne from 24 March 2018.
Five years after its creation in Germany, FlixBus has reached a new milestone in its history with the inauguration of the first FlixTrain railway lines.
From 24 March, the transportation company will launch a route from Hamburg to Cologne (Köln) via Düsseldorf. The new company defies Deutsche Bahn, which still holds 99% of the long-haul trains market despite the liberalization of German railways in 1994.
The commercial offer is very attractive, with tickets priced from 9.99 euros. "The integration of FlixTrain will make the offer, for travelers in Germany, even more attractive," said André Schwämmlein, founder and CEO of Flixbus. “We defend affordable travel and an environmentally friendly alternative to the car," he added. “The aim of FlixMobility is to persuade - and enable - more people to choose public transport on long-distance journeys. With our network of buses and trains, we are creating a sustainable concept for the future of mobility."
FlixTrain will thus be integrated into the FlixBus network throughout Germany - with a travel time equivalent to the German TGV - offering new alternatives to car travel.
Tickets will be sold with the help of the railway operators Leo Express and BahnTouristikExpress. Since last summer, Flixbus has been testing the Berlin-Stuttgart railway line via Frankfurt by taking over the trains of Locomore, a Berlin-based start-up that has emerged from bankruptcy proceedings.
André Schwämmlein explains: "With FlixTrain, we apply the same recipe: cooperation with an independent and experienced private railway partner that combines the best of both worlds, technology and industry.”
FlixBus has been offering bus connections between cities in Germany for the past 5 years and continues to weave its network internationally, particularly in France. Beyond Europe, FlixBus is expected to launch in the United States from the summer of 2018, with its first connections across California and the southwestern United States.
“Over the past five years, FlixBus has fundamentally changed the way people travel in Europe," Schwämmlein said. “With FlixTrain and our launch in the United States, we want to offer more people the opportunity to travel permanently and comfortably over the next five years."
