FlixTrain expands outside Germany with long-distance trains in Sweden between Stockholm and Gothenburg

FlixTrain is arriving in Sweden on May 6, marking another major milestone towards its ambitious goal of making its sustainable train service accessible to as many people as possible. Sweden is the first country in which the company has offered train service outside of Germany. The initial timetable includes more than 30 weekly departures in both directions between Gothenburg and Stockholm.

FlixTrain relies on close cooperations with medium-sized partners: The operational management of the first line is being handled by the Stockholm-based company Hector Rail, while FlixTrain is responsible for network planning, ticket sales, marketing, customer service and pricing. The rolling stock is supplied by Talbot Services from Aachen. Passengers can now book tickets for the new connections at flixtrain.se and in the Flix app.

In Germany, FlixTrain has already been connecting approximately  25 destinations along the Hamburg – Cologne, Berlin – Cologne and Berlin – Stuttgart routes since 2018, and has established Germany’s first privately operated long-distance train network as an affordable and sustainable rail alternative. Operations on these lines will resume on June 24 at the latest, and tickets are already on sale.

After success in Germany: FlixTrain starts internationalisation

The company believes that the key to the sustainable future of mobility lies, among other things, in establishing an intermodal network of environmentally friendly modes of transport, especially long-distance bus and train. The expansion of FlixTrain is a logical next step in making particularly sustainable mobility accessible to as many people as possible.

“Our success shows that passengers want smart, sustainable and modern travel alternative to rail,” says André Schwämmlein, co-founder and CEO of FlixMobility. “Sweden is setting an example of how to enable and promote competition in rail for the benefit of passengers. The consistent separation of infrastructure and operations, as well as low track fees and high transparency in the train path ordering process, enables private providers to launch new attractive offerings without unnecessary entry barriers. Sweden is one of the most attractive and exciting markets in Europe for private train operators.”

At the start, in addition to the major cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg, Södertälje, Hallsberg as well as Skövde or Falköping will be served more than 30 times a week in each direction. Tickets can already be booked from 125 SEK (around 12 EUR).

Dream team for rail: SMEs and tech company working hand in hand

For its launch in Sweden, FlixTrain is also relying on close cooperation with medium-sized partners. While the Swedish company Hector Rail from Stockholm is responsible for operations, FlixTrain takes care of network planning, ticket sales, marketing, customer service and pricing – the wagon equipment comes from the company Talbot Services in Aachen. All carriages have been extensively refurbished, each equipped with completely new seats, power outlets at the seat and modern Wi-Fi technology including onboard entertainment services. Modernised toilets round off the relaunch and provide passengers with a pleasant travel experience. “The success of our business model is always based on a close and trusting cooperation with medium-sized partners. We believe that the combination of our travel tech expertise and operational experience is the basis for an attractive offering,” says Schwämmlein.

Operations to resume in Germany as well

FlixTrain will also return to the rails in Germany. Currently, tickets can already be booked for journeys from June 24 on the Cologne – Hamburg, Stuttgart – Berlin and Berlin – Cologne routes. An earlier start of operations may also be possible. Like FlixBus, FlixTrain also uses a flexible pricing system: those who book earlier travel cheaper. Tickets for the German routes can be booked from as little as EUR 4.99.

Munich, Stockholm, 14 April 2021