FirstGroup make Sheffield and London open access bid
Aberdeen-headquartered transport multinational FirstGroup has applied to run a new London to Sheffield rail service. The private sector transport operator has submitted the first phase of an application for a new open-access rail service between...Read more
Towards a relaunch of a London-Cologne train?
The idea of an express train between London and Germany, via Brussels, is not new. But what is new is that Eurotunnel owner Getlink is taking the initiative.Read more
FlixTrain increases Germany offer in new 2024 timetable by 25%
For the summer of 2024, FlixTrain plans to further increase the number of trips between cities in Germany, and will serve new destinations. Thanks to a more frequent timetable and longer trains with more seats,...Read more
European Sleeper to serve Prague from March 2024
European Sleeper has announced the starting date for extending its night train connecting Brussels, Amsterdam and Berlin to destination Prague – which always was the plan. From 25 March 2024, the train will run to...Read more
Arriva and Qbuzz request access for trains between the Netherlands and Paris
Competition for the Thalys between the Netherlands and Paris may just arrive within several years. Both Arriva and Qbuzz have officially requested to operate trains in open access to Paris. Qbuzz also made a request...Read more
FlixTrain plan trains to the Netherlands from next year
FlixTrain’s bright green trains that are already running in Germany and Sweden may come to the Netherlands next year. Flix notified the Dutch Consumer and Market Authority (ACM) this week and applied for track capacity...Read more
France seems to welcome competition on the rails, yet new services keep getting postponed
AnalysisOnly one competitor to the state-owned railways SNCF currently runs trains on the French network. This is Italy’s Trenitalia, which has been running on the Paris-Lyon-Milan axis since 2020. Although there are quite some plans...Read more
Spanish armada to relaunch British open access bid
An ambitious plan for express trains between South Wales and London, and eventually between Central Scotland and London, may be back on the rails. Grand Union Trains, an ‘open access’ operator was initially refused permission...Read more
Finland’s first open-access rail operator prepares operations, what did their journey look like?
InterviewNewly founded operator Suomen Lähijunat Oy (Finland Commuter trains) has big plans in Finland. “We chipped away at the existing monopoly in Finland on the bus side, and we could very well be at a...Read more
Dutch government to open international connections up to competition
The Dutch ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management will allow competition on the international lines to Brussels, Paris, London and Basel, as well as the service between Amsterdam and Berlin. The move is not without...Read moreFlixTrain offers new destinations in Germany and first train to Switzerland
FlixTrain announced an expansion of its network in Germany on Wednesday, which for the first time has a cross-border connection to Switzerland. It includes three new lines with 12 new destinations: Stuttgart – Hamburg, Berlin...Read moreFlixTrain: a change of strategy?
AnalysisThings are moving fast for the privately owned Munich-based firm FlixMobility, which has been running FlixTrains since 2017. The acquisition of the American bus icon Greyhound in 2021 has shown a change in strategy for...Read more
Will open access come to Dutch cross-border train connections?
There is a good chance that in the Netherlands, long-distance cross-border train connections that are part of the main rail network concession would also be established in open access. Open access would be a modest...Read more