FlixTrain to add 65 more high-speed trains to European fleet

The German transport company Flix SE has announced that it will expand its fleet of long-distance trains running across Europe, amid growing demand for fast and affordable rail travel.

Flix to run 65 more high-speed trains across Europe

The German transport company Flix SE, which operates FlixBus and FlixTrain, has announced that it will add 65 extra locomotives to its fleet of high-speed trains. FlixTrain currently operates across Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria.

The new trains will be capable of running at up to 230 kilometres per hour, making FlixTrain an even greater competitor to Deutsche Bahn’s high-speed services. The Spanish company Talgo and Germany’s Siemens will produce the new trains, which are expected to cost Flix SE 2,4 billion euros. 

Passengers can currently use FlixTrain to reach 650 destinations in Europe, including 50 cities. “With the tremendous expansion of our train fleet, we will start a new era of train travel in Germany and Europe,”  Flix SE CEO André Schwämmlein said in a press release.

EU piloting “European Metro” of long-distance trains

FlixTrain isn’t alone; Deutsche Bahn and other major train operators in Europe have been rapidly expanding long-distance and night train services in recent years.

The latest addition to new services will see Deutsche Bahn, Austria’s ÖBB and Italy’s Trenitalia operate a night train between Berlin, Munich, Innsbruck, Bolzano, Verona, Milan, Rome and Naples. Services running the 1.600-kilometre-long route are scheduled to begin in 2026 and expand in 2028.

The high-speed connection between northern Germany, Austria and southern Italy is part of a wider “European Metro” pilot project organised by the European Commission. The commission aims to expand the number of such routes across the continent, making train travel more appealing and reducing the demand for short-haul flights.

According to a 2024 study by Greenpeace, there are “almost six times as many direct flight connections between European cities as direct train connections”, despite the fact that, on average, planes emit five times as many greenhouse gases as trains.