Fast trains replace planes: Lufthansa-DB Bahn agreement

The recent initiative between Lufthansa and DB Bahn confirms the trend in Europe – fast trains are replacing domestic flights.

1. The DB Bahn routes are expanding to Hamburg and Munich, and by the end of 2021, the service will also be available on Berlin, Bremen, and Münster.
2. Fast trains guarantee lower costs, less CO2 emissions, faster connection times, and better flow management.
3. By intelligently connecting air transport with rail, customers have a smoother and more economical travel network.

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In Germany, Lufthansa has expanded the Lufthansa Express Rail initiative, which involves the German railways DB Bahn reaching 17 German cities with 134 daily frequencies from the Frankfurt airport hub.

From this year, however, the routes to Hamburg and Munich have been added, and by the end of 2021, the service will also be available on Berlin, Bremen, and Münster. Lufthansa Express Rail includes DB trains and meets clear operational and logistics choices which are better to operate for domestic routes with fast trains that guarantee lower costs, less CO2 emissions, faster connection times, and better flow management.

The project in some ways traces the air and rail operations of KLM in the Netherlands and is an evolution of the single-ticket projects between Emirates and FS in Italy or of the intermodal routes in Italy. In fact, already in Italy, the Frecciarossa of Ferrovie dello Stato have long since supplanted some internal air links along the high-speed ridge.

In addition, from December, the super-fast Sprinter trains will enter service, making the internal routes even faster. Finally, the Lufthansa-DB Bahn axis will also be enhanced in on-board services, with respect to baggage and check-ins, and to offer a more comfortable and direct experience for priority services, reservations, access to lounges, and the accumulation of miles taken for the loyalty programs of Lufthansa-DB Bahn.

During the presentation of the project, Harry Hohmeister, member of the executive board of Lufthansa AG, it was stressed that with this initiative “we are strengthening mobility in Germany and helping the local economy. By intelligently connecting air transport with rail, we can offer customers a frictionless and more economical travel network.”

Berthold Huber, member of the board of DB Bahn, underlined: “A good collaboration now becomes a strong partnership like never before seen between two players like Lufthansa and DB. By the end of the year, DB Bahn will expand the connections between the major German hubs and the Sprinter connections of our trains. Traveling with the German railways will be faster and more comfortable.”

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