Flix, the Munich-based bus and long-distance rail operator, plans to significantly expand its rail service offerings in the coming year. While its railway division, Flixtrain, has been competing with Deutsche Bahn in long-distance travel since 2018, its presence has been limited to specific routes and modest scheduling. This situation is set to change.
Flix CEO André Schwämmlein stated to the Spiegel that the company intends to double the size of its service offering within the next two years, leading up to the deployment of new Talgo trains. This expansion will involve increasing frequency and utilizing longer trains.
Specific details for 2027 have now been released. On the Berlin-Hamburg route, the company plans to operate up to ten times daily on a two-hour schedule, which equates to offering roughly one-third more weekly services than previously available. Schwämmlein noted that this change will prevent customers from being in a situation where they want to use Flix but only an ICE train is available at the desired time. Furthermore, Flixtrain will double the number of weekly departures between Hamburg and Cologne, and along the Berlin-Leipzig route.
A much larger step is scheduled for the summer of 2028. Schwämmlein had previously announced that the company plans to build a high-frequency network connecting all German metropolises-including its home city, Munich-using new Talgo trains that Flix has planned to purchase up to in the number of 65.
