Flixtrain / Deutsche Bahn: Green Bahn competitor declares war on DB – the start is in Munich

• OfDirk Walter

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The railways are now also facing competition in long-distance transport. Starting today, Flixtrain, an offshoot of the long-distance bus provider Flixbus, will travel from Munich to Frankfurt, Leipzig and Berlin. The prices are unbeatable – but there are a few things to consider.

Munich – Deutsche Bahn has a number of private competitors in regional transport who are really hard on it. For example the Bavarian Regiobahn, which operates in the Oberland and Chiemgau. Or agilis around Regensburg. From the end of 2021, the British operator Go Ahead will replace Deutsche Bahn on routes in the Allgäu.

The first Flixtrain from Munich to Frankfurt will start on Friday

Now the state-owned company is being attacked where it previously had an almost monopoly: in long-distance transport. Flixtrain started rather hesitantly with three routes in 2018: Cologne-Berlin, Cologne-Hamburg and Berlin-Stuttgart. Now, with the decline in the number of corona infections and the increased desire to travel, the route network of the trains painted uniformly green is being expanded: On Friday at 8.55 a.m., the first train with five cars, one of which is handicapped accessible, starts from platform 12 of Munich Central Station. There will also be a night line via Leipzig to Berlin – the latter “an experiment”, as Flixbus founder and Flixtrain boss André Schwämmlein admits to our newspaper. But: “Thanks to Flixbus, we know that people like to travel at night.”

Deutsche Bahn is attacked primarily through the price. Flixtrain promises tickets from 4.99 euros. As with long-distance buses, the following rule applies: the earlier you book, the cheaper it is. An arbitrarily selected example: A Flixtrain ticket Munich-Frankfurt for Thursday, June 24th, was available on Thursday for 7.99 euros. Those who wanted to ride the premiere train had to pay 19.99 euros on Thursday. For comparison: the ICE connection cost 75.90 euros on the same day (for today’s journey) or 59.90 euros (June 24th) – and that is a super saver price that cannot be exchanged or canceled. Flixtrain tickets can be canceled and each passenger is guaranteed a seat.

Flixtrain offers unbeatable prices with a few catches

However, the passenger should know: Flixtrain does not run every day. For the time being, there is no green train to Frankfurt on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. “At the moment we still have a moderate travel behavior,” the sponge apologizes. In addition, some of the trains do not end and begin in Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, but in Frankfurt Süd. “This has to do with the time of the turnaround,” explains the press spokeswoman. It is assumed, however, that the passengers will “gladly accept this stop too”. The route is also somewhat unusual: from Munich via Augsburg directly to Würzburg and on via Aschaffenburg and Hanau to the metropolis on the Main. The faster option would be via Ingolstadt and Nuremberg. An ICE makes it to Frankfurt in 3:19 hours, Flixtrain takes 3:36 hours. But Flixtrain (like DB Fernverkehr) has to pay a train path price to DB Netz for every kilometer – and the faster route costs more.

Schwämmlein is only moderately satisfied with DB Netz. The booking of train paths on the overloaded DB network is “very bureaucratic” and not transparent. “A lot is done with paper and it is very difficult to plan.” In Sweden, where Flixtrain is also on the road, train path booking is more digital and fairer. If the offer is accepted by the passengers, the green route network should soon be expanded. “We will grow over the years,” promises Schwämmlein.

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Rubriklistenbild: © Charisins / dpa

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