The private mobility group Flix SE brought movement to the German market with both Flixbus and Flixtrain. The range of rail services in particular always gives rise to high hopes, because Deutsche Bahn does not exactly have the best reputation when it comes to punctuality and prices. However: Flixtrain does not exactly shine with timetable compliance and has various operational problems.

In contrast to the DB, the private challenger does not carry out the journeys himself. Railway companies (EVU) are commissioned to operate the routes. This is exactly where one of the core problems lies, because the partners, as they are called by Flix SE, are dropping out more and more often. Recently you received a blue letter from one of the most important subcontractors and you have to quickly look for an alternative.

Since Flix originally comes from the bus sector, you obviously have to learn a lot. While there are subjectively as many private bus companies in Europe as there are grains of sand on a beach, the situation is very different for EVUs. There are only a few private providers who have the necessary German safety certification and if they don't want it or don't want it anymore, Flixtrain has a problem. The interchangeability of subcontractors is - in contrast to bus transport - only possible to a very limited extent. This has an impact on the expansion plans, because you simply cannot find enough partners to be able to implement the ambitious growth plans. In the long term, Flixtrain will not be able to avoid setting up its own operations, because, similar to aviation, "virtual constructions" rarely last. Aviation.Direct has a test report on the train offer from Flixtrain in the “Tripreports” section. provided at this link.

Not surprisingly, Flixtrain has performed unflatteringly in German daily newspapers over the past few days, because the reliability of the railway service is below the level of Deutsche Bahn. The green long-distance vehicles have an even higher rate of delays and cancellations. But Flix SE does not want to communicate at all on this topic. Neither statistics nor information about any compensation will be reported to the public. This is treading on very thin ice, because according to the Federal Association of Consumers, EVUs that operate passenger services are legally obliged to provide transparent information about delays and/or cancellations.

In 2021 alone, according to consumer advocates, almost every second Flixtrain was late. Punctuality is said to have been only 54,3 percent and has deteriorated compared to the first year of Corona. In 2020, 65,4 percent of trains are said to have been more than six minutes late. Both Flixtrain and Deutsche Bahn AG do not calculate to the second, because everything that is less than five minutes and 59 seconds later is written as punctual in the statistics.

Delays can have a negative impact on connections at both DB and Flixtrain. So it happens with both providers that onward journeys are missed due to unpunctuality. This can be much more problematic for the green-colored challenger, for example if a Flixbus that you are supposed to change to cannot be reached, but the next bus connection only runs the next day. In such cases, passenger rights apply and, like DB, Flixtrain has to provide alternative transport. In practice, however - as with all energy supply companies - this can become quite complicated if you are stuck in hotline queues for a long time due to a lack of personnel on site.