00:00All aboard!
00:06A train journey from Hamburg to Cologne.
00:09All good, we're ready to depart.
00:11Valentina Vazievich is the train manager.
00:16She works on one of 13 trains operated by FlixTrain,
00:20which is Germany's private rail company.
00:24As train manager, she's responsible for the safety of around 700 passengers
00:35and there's still luggage everywhere.
00:38Hi, could you move your suitcase to the blocked-off seats?
00:42The aisle has to stay clear in case of emergency.
00:44Just put it in the two reserved seats in the back.
00:47Many EU countries have opened the door to private rail operators in recent years,
00:52including Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic.
00:56And they are turning a profit.
00:59In Germany, the EU's most populous country, FlixTrain, is on the move.
01:03The company plans to expand, launching new routes across Europe
01:07and ordering 65 new trains for 2.4 billion euros.
01:11Two major investors are backing the plan.
01:15We deeply believe in the market.
01:17It's a huge potential in Europe,
01:19even far bigger than for long-distance buses, which we do so far.
01:23And we see increasing demand, especially if it's fast and affordable.
01:27And this is where we want to position FlixTrain even more in the future.
01:31Meanwhile, Germany state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn is struggling with delays.
01:36A record 40% of old trains are late.
01:40Will the competition beat them today?
01:42The journey to Cologne is underway, but one passenger has a problem.
01:48I don't mind. We can sit somewhere else, but preferably together.
01:53The customer booked a double seat, but it's taken.
01:56Now the train manager has to find a replacement.
01:59And the train is nearly full.
02:01Would it be alright if you moved one seat back so these gentlemen can sit together?
02:08Yeah? Thank you.
02:13They arrive at the next station.
02:15So far, the train is on time.
02:18Unlike the state-run competitor, the private operator doesn't have to wait for connecting trains.
02:24Most journeys are direct.
02:29It's a more direct network, so we have far less interconnections,
02:33because our passengers at the moment travel usually with rather zero interconnections.
02:40But Germany's rail infrastructure is outdated.
02:43Experts say there's an investment backlog of tens of billions of euros.
02:49We have a problem that the network is run down, but this is the official narrative of the German railroad.
02:59But I think they're exaggerating.
03:00Yes, there are some problems, but I think there are other problems that they don't like to talk about that much.
03:05Actually, we have the problem that the network is overburdened.
03:08We just put too many trains into the knots, and that needs to be redone.
03:13That's why the German government plans to invest over 100 billion euros in expanding the rail system,
03:20automating signal boxes, and upgrading lines.
03:26Train driver Tobias Milchert operates one of the older trains.
03:32Its top speed is 200 kilometers an hour.
03:35On the route to Cologne, there are frequent delays because there aren't enough sidetracks to avoid congestion.
03:42Especially at big stations like Hamburg or Cologne, the tracks aren't ideal.
03:47Right now, the train is still on time. The journey takes four hours.
03:53For longer trips, the seats wouldn't be that comfortable. But for three or four hours, it's fine.
04:02Air conditioning is an issue. In summer, it gets pretty hot and stuffy in here.
04:08But it's all right. You could just avoid traveling on really hot days.
04:12It's less expensive. After all, Deutsche Bahn could have cost nearly 90 euros. This was 20.
04:19The interior is similar to the state-run trains.
04:23But windows have to be opened by hand, and there's usually no air conditioning.
04:28The new Flix trains are expected to have higher comfort standards.
04:32Right now, even the doors are manual.
04:37It takes a moment. The doors are pressure controlled, so they don't open right away.
04:42Germany plans to invest 10 billion euros in the rail network over the next 10 years.
04:48Meanwhile, Flix train's tickets are affordable.
04:52From the investors' perspective, that is a promising outlook.
04:56Generally speaking, there is enough tracks available for our fleet, especially with the infrastructure investment that is now going into there.
05:07I think there will be no excuse in the next couple of years if you anticipate that there are kind of more than 100 billion going into the rail network in Germany.
05:16The train arrives on time. The state-run competitor, with its 600 trains, is struggling.
05:23In 10 years, the rail network is supposed to be fixed.
05:26Flix train wants to take advantage of that, with around 65 new trains all running on time.
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