ARE THEY REALLY THAT TERRIBLE?? I survive to tell the story on Flixtrain from Berlin to Aachen.
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- Опубликовано: 19 июн 2024
- One star out of five on TrustPilot didn't fill me with much confidence, but I decided to give them a go. They were surprisingly good, so why does Flixtrain get such a bad name? #FLIXTRAIN
Filmed October 2022 | Berlin, Germany.
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*** TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:26 Train arrives at Berlin
00:03:00 Spandau
00:03:37 A visit to the toilet
00:04:16 Hannover
00:05:35 Cologne
00:05:51 Aachen
In fairness, 0 cm of openness is within the 5 cm maximum they promised.
I think they do it because otherwise there would be a lot of people smoking in there. There was even a sign outside, but I don’t think it will have gotten the job done.
Sometimes they just dont work, due to the old age.
Anyway, looks like they refurbished some very old coaches
Thats what she said.
🤣🤣🤣
I have a feeling that most people that have their train cancelled leave a 1 star review while most people that dont weren't impressed enough to review it at all, which makes the average impressively terrible.
Trustpilot is also generally a complainers website. Not a good source for an unbiased source of reviews.
you are smart.
Exactly. This applies to most reviews really, unless *everyone* gets prompted
@@tvanced8583 even minecraft has 2 stars there
@@Skibidy_rizzler_ Haha that's hilarious
I used FlixTrain probably over 50 times now. It's not always been satisfying, but most of the experiences I had were alright. The wifi service could be improved, but the prices are unbeatable. Berlin Stuttagart 10€ if you book in advance, free seat reservations, and a socket with two USB ports.
My train on Friday had a 2 and half hour delay, and terminated at the wrong station in Cologne. But this what you get if you travel for 10€.
I don't expect much, but some people think they get for those prices the same service.
To be honest I'd rather pay 5€ more and drive with the ICE. The trains are way nicer, there are destinations and even though they aren't punctual they are not as much and often delayed as Flixtrain. Also not having A/C in summer is a problem in my opinion
@@gusgan91 If the difference is 10 vs 15 Euro then def go ICE yeah. But if it was 10 vs 30 Euro...
@@dustojnikhummer 30EUR for travel? Still would go for ICE. Travel & commute is no free lunch
@@michaelbauer8778you’d be very lucky to only pay 30€ on an ICE
I went from Aachen to Berlin in an ICE last year for 70€ one way and it was the worst travelling experience I've ever had. They calculate 4.5-5h of travel but it took us 9. They forgot the Restaurant wagon, then a train broke at Porta Westfalica so we had to go backwards for 30 minutes to replace it. Still no restaurant, but luckily I didn't intend to use it anyway. Whole manouver took us Like 1.5h, then the train we were on got cancelled in Stendal and two other trains were also cancelled but people were allowed to enter a new train which would take a different route. Three trains of people in one. Took us a little more than 3 hours from arrival in Stendal.
Definetely worth considering flixtrain for that price, as you can run in almost just as much trouble when using DB. At least we got 50% Moneyback (months after applying for refund, which you have to do at the train station immediately after arrival), although 50% refund is max tier refund (like 1.5 or 2h delay) and we were going far far beyond that.
You were very lucky! I am a Berliner and often experience Flixtrain like 200-500 minutes late, which is crazy. Even for German standards. Also, they are crowded and just have no quality. Also, the seats are uncomfortable.
BTW, you habe to pull down the windows on these trains, then they will open.
Its a cheap company so what do you expect. At least they drive
Sounds like very much like the average rail journey here in the UK with delays cancelled trains and hard seats
At least you get a seat included
In my experience German efficiency and customer service is a total stereotype. I actually learned this from a trip out there with a German on-off girlfriend I used to have and she said it was never much good.
@@halfbakedproductions7887 wtf dym. lul. the seriotype is that the customer service here is rude and bad :D
As a train conductor for FlixTrain in Sweden I was a bit worried but glad you enjoyed it. We hear many bad things about the service in Germany. Please come try the Gothenburg - Stockholm line here in Sweden I’ll even give you 50% off :)
In general they are bad Scott, unless you travel with them on an exceptional good day.. 😎 My brother lives in Aachen and commutes a lot by train and apparently Flixtrain is prone to huge delays, non working heating or a/c in their wagons and trains just get cancelled for no reason a lot.. Besides that, another great wee video.. 😎🙂
Olala Hallo aus Aachen 😳 Leider sind ICEs auch gar nicht perfekt 😆 zumindest besser als FlixTrain!
I am sure that the cancellations all have reasons: The train is broken and must be repaired, and they have no spare. Or the train driver got sick and they couldn't find a replacement. Although annoying, these are actually valid reasons given the small size of the operation. However, another possible reason is: There weren't enough bookings for the journey, and it's cheaper to screw the customers and cancel the train than to run it.
They don't have ac
I tried my luck in August. A few minutes before my scheduled departure they sent my a mail telling me that the train is 120 minutes delayed. I have the option to cancel my ticket and get a refund in form of a voucher or use their flixbus service. Both could be done with several clicks on their homepage.
Stated by official EU laws, there have to be more options for choice: They have to refund the ticket on your bank account and if you wish to travel anyway they have to pay your expenses for another mode of transport. Means: If you buy a ticket with Deutsche Bahn for the same route, they must refund it to you. But: These options were missing on their homepage. I've read in some internet portals that it is a long jouney to actually get this refund. You have to communicate several times with their support and sometimes you have to consider taking them to law before they do what they are comitted by law! This is a absolute hoax and I can understand everyone writing a 1 star review. This is not how should treat you potential costumers as a company!!
FlixBus does the same stupid thing. They must refund you in cash but they don’t advertise this
In August? Last year? Couldn’t you have just taking the 9€ Ticket?
@@MarcLucksch Actually, this trip was planned at the end of a day using only 9€ ticket services. I ended in Halle and wanted to go to Berlin. The only options to get there in a reasonable amount of time was a trip with two additional changes at Jüteborg and Dessau and a travel time about nearly 3 hours. Since my first train at this day was at 7 am I just wanted to arrive (which I finally did at 8pm taking an ICE) :D
Make a habit of reading laws before refering to them. That law defines a very simple procedure: you have to fill out a standardized form and hand it in person or send it in a letter. The law also states that the company has one month to process your request. The companies are not obliged anyhow to provide you a custom web form, they operate precisely under the regulations, and this is not a hoax by any mean.
Or, if filling an one-page form sounds too complicated for you, you can make a few clicks to pick an option that the company is not obliged to offer, but offers anyway for your convenience.
@@Obmenistrator yes, the regulations are an issue. Old people create(d) them and love paper. You can't do anything without paper. Wish so much that digital services are mandated by law. E.g. you cannot even securely cancel your bank account online, but have to do it via easily spoofable mail. Except for tax you have to still do most things on paper, because ... old people
The notion of having a train cancelled mid trip and being left stranded without heavy fines and traveller compensation befuddles me. Then again, 90% of my train experiences are confined to Spain, where I live and where the trains seem to always run on time.
if you travel deutsche bahn they usually do that. if it is the only line they get you a hotel
There are laws that cover this and there are ways of compensation. I don't know them for long distance train rides but I know they exist. But as usual, companies try to avoid any form of compensation. The best thing is to know that you have rights and look into them, when needed.
You need equal pressure on both handles to open those windows. You only used one, which never does the job.
Flixtrain use ex DB InterRegio rolling stock, but with new interiors. It began life in the late 60s / early 70s as, guess what, compartment coaches, before being refitted for the IR brand (now gone) in the 90s.
Very interesting thanks Simon 💯 I’ll remember that any time I’m on a flixtrain, wish we had those sort of public transport options out in the pacific
I used it many times from Hamburg to Berlin, it was only once delayed but usually very crowded. I used it also from HH to Düsseldorf and worked fine, no delay and no overcrowding.
I was pleasantly impressed with flix train, when I used the Berlin hamburg and return one day this September. We had done a similar journey earlier in the year with ice first class, but having taken our kids away this time the overall budget was tighter. There seemed to be alot of confusion on each journey with other passengers unable to determine what carriage, row, and seat they were on, perhaps flix could make it more clear on their tickets, and the only other criticism I have was that the day before we travelled, they sent through cancellations and after an hour or so, re bookings. We really didn't know what was going on, until we were on the train on the day. The service was fantastic, with comfortable adequate amenities, pleasant staff, and good clear on train announcements. Far better than I expect back home on a scotrail train.
Flixtrain was the only time I ever had a train take a wrong turn.
I didn't even know that that was possible 🤷🏼♀️
But they were really adamant that it was DBs fault. Apparently the railway control center (operated by DB) switched one switch the wrong way.
In German we have a saying "Ein Schelm wer böses dabei denkt"
It was DBs fault.
I couldn't believe the timing of this upload Scott. This afternoon was planning my next venture through Germany in March . Was looking at how to get to Schwerin from Hanover and noticed Flixtrain for the first time. After seeing your vid will definitely give it a go. Keep up the good work Scott.
so how was it?
Always fun to see youre reviews Scott, greetings from Amsterdam
You got lucky Scott. I've booked Flixtrain four times, didn’t travel on them once. Either the train doesn’t show up or my seat reservation get's cancelled (every time!) and I just cancel the ticket altogether.
Ticket controls: They say they have some kind of "system" in place so they don’t need to check tickets. Don’t know how this works…
Anyway, I love your videos, greetings from Berlin :)
Actually I really like Flixtrain. I've only had one delay so far, but, on other journeys, we arrived up to 30 minutes early, even though departure was 15 minutes late. In my opinion, they are pretty reliable. Yes, the trains are usually very crowded, but that is acceptable and understandable at their prices! The staff however is always super-friendly and the interior is very modern since 2020.
Exactly. I use them and flixbus all the time they're pretty much the exact same as any other train or bus. People just hear they're the cheapest so act like its awful.
Would be useful to know a) cost of journey, b) cost of alternatives c) frequency of service and d) journey time of alternatives. This is a privatised rail service and if Flixtrain are as bad as some people say - it will go out of business ! Lesson to be learnt - don’t always trust Trustpilot.
Flixtrain is a "low-cost carrier" on rail: They are much cheaper than DB, but only run 1-2 times per day and are slower than ICE services.
It's used by people who want to get from A to B as cheap as possible and don't care that much about comfort and service. It's therefore often used by students.
@@molaremasse7034 It's better and (usually) faster than a bus.
You have to see it as a Flixbus bus service on rails really. Sometimes they combine bus and train parts in a ticket.
a) really cheap
b) really expensive
c) and d) doesn't matter
And therefore your conclusion is irrelevant.
@@molaremasse7034 the speed does not matter in Germany because there are only two rails in the entirety of germany, where trains are allowed to go significantly faster than the 250 kph top speed of the flixtrain
I took the Flix Train in July. They advised people to bring their own water, because there was none available on the train and it did get a little warm, but it was not too bad. For the price I had paid, it was worth it (I did have the 9 Euro ticket, but the connections of the DB were too complicated due to the restrictions and I was not able to use it for that particular route).
Love the outtakes 😂😂😂 glad you had a good journey
Even the bog seat is green...fantastic. I quite like the livery on the train..... you certainly wouldn't miss it on a platform.
Used to work for Flix at Berlin Central Bus station. Everytime we've heared something about huge train delays or cancellations it was "brace yourself! the next few hours gonna be busy"...Because Berlin Central Train Station doesn't have a Flix Ticket office.
Took Flixtrain myself multiple times, didn't have any problems, Seats are okay for the price.
Only thing i can say is: Don't you ever book the seats at the tables. That's gonna be tight af.
Great video Scott, always amazed how much you cram into 8 mins and make the viewer want to see more.
Seconded
@@john07973 cheers pal.
Fantastic video Scott! I live in Aachen and I didn’t know about this Flix service to Berlin. I hope you bought some Printen in the local bakers in the city centre. It’s also cool to take a local bus 350 into Vaals from Aachen Hbf to Vaals in the Netherlands to visit the highest point in NL,which is a mere 10 minute bus ride.
Jnteresting as always. You make me think I should improve my school German,and take a trip.
Thanks! I appreciate your presentations
Very enjoyable as ever Scott! Hope you managed to spend a day in Aachen, did someone say "Lindt factory outlet" 🥰
I have travelled several times on Flixtrain both in Germany and Sweden. It has been on time or very slight delay. I am very satisfied. Their prices are unbeatable. You cannot expect the seat to be the same comfort as first class, but it is OK.
Great video, Scott.
Great channel Scott, subscribed!
I have traveled a return ticket with Flixtrain from Gothenburg to Stockholm in Sweden. I am quite tall and the legroom was minimal. It was somewhat the same comfort as Ryanair and no bistro. I travel with SJ instead, which has higher prices but is much more comfortable.
Hehe I liked this review and you’re quite witty. Thanks. 😄
Regular user here. Yes, all the issues mentioned are true and you will have about a 25% chance of cancellation or delay. My advise to never use them when in a hurry (appointments or such).
However, for the prices, they beat Deutsche Bahn by far. 20€ from Berlin to Stuttgart and back (and the wifi is 9k enough that one can work in the train) - even accounting for delay, I will take Flix over DB any day given the choice
Congrats on starting at the Lehrter Bhf and spassing through Lehrte!
Another great vlog Scott. Iv just finished reading your book I ordered the other day. It's the first book iv read cover to cover in one go apart from a lunch break. I would highly recommend your book to anyone who's not read it already. My only regret about reading your book was reaching the end of the line as I could have read the same amount again. It was really good how you broke it down to days rather than having them in long chapters and that's why I read it in one day as could not wait to see if you got accosted by more girls 😃😃. As I said highly recommend and 10/10 from me.👍👍
Could you please let us know the book title, where available etc
@@john07973 End to End by Scott Manson. The world's longest rail journey Portugal to Vietnam available on Amazon £9.99
Let me know you had the opportunity to read the book
That shot of Bielefeld station, great trick shot, it looks quite real. But we all know it can't be, because it doesn't exist
Flixtrain has its origin story in a previous company Locomore (2016-2017). It was a grassroots response to DB cancelling services.
Locomore offered kinda imaginative seating arrangements, had compartments for reading, meetings and childplay.
When I used Flixtrain I had the same impression as you, no luxury but it was perfectly alright. I even arrived 2 minutes early, which the Deutsche Bahn can only dream of. Might have been a good day though.
Definitely not a fan of private railways, it leads to splintering of what should be a cohesive network.
I used Flixtrain when it was fairly new and they bought old rollingstock from Deutsche Bahn. It was a true discount alternative back then, i'm impressed how much has changed
Quick comment of one of the Maintenence Service Mechanics for Flixtrain: usually the windows are suppoused to be opend two handed on both handles at the same time and some are a little harsh to move because sime of the waggons are about 50 years old makeover cars. Probably you should try another trip in summer to experience the full Flixtrain experience withaut air condition😋 and the seat space is fepending on the seat claas there are some comfort seats with more space . Good video though greetings from Aachen!
I think traveling without AC is just a general train riding experience here in Germany.
Not limited to one rail company.
I qute liked the green , it is certainly better than pink!
From my experience it's a perfectly good train ride, especially considering the prices.
One thing tho: if you're traveling long distance and don't want to be disturbed at every other station by people thinking you're in their seat, don't take seats in cart 1, 100, and the 2 carts surrounding the inexplicably named cart 100.
The cart 100 seems to cause A LOT of confusion. So invariably people with tickets in cart 1 will come up to you when you're sitting in cart 100 and vice versa.
Also people from adjacent carts, will constantly end up challenging you, because the concept of a cart 100 being in between carts 2 and 3 is seemingly too much for some to process. And they can get quite insistent...
Frequent user of Flixbus here. I travelled on a Flixtrain in Sweden a few weeks ago with no problem and at a reasonable cost.
When it works, it works. I've done many sucessfull trips between Hamburg and Cologne. About a year ago, they have had a very bad time though. Trains would depart 4-6 hours late or be canceled completey. that happened to me three times in a row. Also, the DB lowered it's ticket prices at that time so it usually was about 5€ more to take the ICE or IC train by the DB. At that point I switched to traveling with the DB again. It's just a little more comfort and if you get lucky with the ticket prices (usually book a week or two in advance!), you will have just a little better reliability and flexibility. However, its not always that bad and it's usually a good idea to check FlixTrain Tickets as well if You're on a budget.
I tried to take a FlixTrain in Germany 3 times. The first time it was 4 hours delayed on a 5 hour journey and the other two times it was outright cancelled. I have had awful experiences with DB as well but with them you at least have alternative connections you can take and aren’t completely screwed. Customer service with FlixTrain was awful as well and their prices not even significantly cheaper.
Another interesting video Funny about the pronunciation of Aachen. We once stayed in the Black Forest and our nearest station was Achen. We pronounced it Arken but an elderly local corrected us and mentioned that Achen was pronounced a as in bat but Aachen was pronounced a as in ark. I must travel Aachen to visit the cathedral.
That doesn't add up. Aachen is right at the Dutch and Belgian Borders, the Black Forest is near France and Switzerland. The next major Stations from the Black Forest would be Freiburg/Breisgau, Karlsruhe, Basel (Switzerland) or perhaps Mannheim.
@@Genius_at_Work Achen is situated between Baden Baden and Ofenburg on the main line to Basel.
@@baseballfan99 You probably mean Achern but Autocorrect failed you
@@Genius_at_Work Yes that is correct but the point was about the pronunciation of the a sound which we were corrected on. He was not rude just making sure if we had to ask the person listening knew which place we were talking about.
I've taken Flixtrain in Sweden, and I would say it's a similar situation. When I have been delayed it has been out of their control, but usually, they seem to be the worst affected by the delays compared to MTRX and SJ. The staff has always been friendly, and they seem to care about their work and try to provide information when possible. If you're traveling during a time of the year when delays can be expected due to track maintenance, avoid Flixtrain since the delays will be long and their priority on the rails in Sweden is low. Bring you're own food, and drinks and enjoy the rest of the trip. Their cabins are bright and modern, and as mentioned Wifi is okay, but again totally depends on the usage.
We have Flix-Train also in Sweden but only between Gothenburg and Stockholm
Tried them out from Cologne to Bremen and back. Very normal on the way there but they were over 2hrs late on the way back, however they offered an easy refund/rebooking on their website. The reburbished interior made it feel like a low-cost airline with little space to move. 10 years ago they were running the original old-school trains without the new interior and I have to say I preferred them. They felt like the inside of the train to Hogwarts
It's seems alright to me. Price I wouldn't know. Merry Christmas.
I think they would be alright for a one off, but if you relied on them for consistent service on a commuter journey, I imagine it could be a bit rubbish!
At least the windows are clean 😂
@@DavidPeacock1972 haha thanks mate 🤣
It is a service I would try for such a low price to get from point A to B, though, on the way back, I may chooseD.B. from point B to A. haha! I understand that there are family and regular compartments available too.!?
A new experience flix do trains g8 video as always thanks scott happy travels
I was recently on a Flixtrain:
All toilets were broken except one at the front of the train (I was sitting all the way in the back). Then we had to wait in Fulda (not a stop on our route) ~40 Minutes due to Power failure on the tracks and the citys ahead.
Shortly after we continued. the las toilet broke down too. Perfect management by the crew: A few minutes later they tell us we will later on make an unscheduled stop of 15 Minutes for people to use the bathroom at the station.
At the station: Only 1 toilet for men and 1 for women... Ended up being ~30 Minutes stop xD
But the train crew was super friendly and did the best they could (they tried again and again to get a toilet working again...).
FlixTrain has not the best of reputation because when they started the carriages mostly didn't have wifi and most of them were unrefurbished DB Interregio and or even ex. City Night Line seat coaches... Which became redudant and mostly got sold through DBs used train and carriage system db Gebrauchtzug.
Those had mostly seen better days. Some even having the outside colours of CNL or IC/IR.
Glad to see that 3 years later most of their sets have now upgraded seats.
And yeah about the punctuality:
I took Flixtrain 2 times in 2019 back then from Cologne to Hamburg were I funnily enough as of december 1st, 2022 live one year in for a trade fair. A week before departure they sent me an SMS that my departure time in Cologne was now about an hour earlier and some stops were canceled or diverted.
We ended up leaving Cologne Hbf an hour earlier than scheduled and arrived in Hamburg Hbf like 15 mins late of the original arrival time. Yes we effectively were 1 and a quarter hour delayed. On the retrurn journey we left on time to yes again arrive an hour late in Cologne.
If you can plan ahead of time you can get faster services (and even quite cool services like SBBs EuroCity 9 booked via DB for 26,90€ in first class with a seat reservation with SBBs iconic panorama carriage car number 263 to Basel Badischer Bahnhof (throughout Germany and down the iconic Rhine valley) which is the most Southern Station to be managed by DB Station and Services (yes a DB station in Switzerland). Or the train in the other direction EuroCity 8 from Zürich via Basel to Hamburg- Altona.
Flix doesn't own trains, they basically just sell you tickets for private companies who do and want to run a regular service, in return for a piece of the revenue. It's the same more with their buses, i believe they have a single bus to be allowed to operate as a travel company, but sell mostly rides on other companies' buses. They are supposedly imposing minimal comfort levels, but it's often hit-and-miss to have e.g. WiFi, charging points, etc. Not even all buses are in the green livery.
You got lucky. Every time I use Flextrain, it disappoints me! The toilets are most of the time locked and not working...
Flixtrain is amazing it got me from uni to home so many times, it's delayed sometimes yes, but so is the deutsche Bahn, but at least you don't lose an arm and a leg paying for Flix
Cancelled trip midway sounds like my worst nightmare
You should see the PKP train Berlin (used it lots) to Warsawa. its PINK.Great service.. Cooked food on board in restaurant car..
You need one day to go with train from Warsaw to Suwałki in summer, thats the fun 😅
Took Flixbus in the UK, it was... OK. They had a break right at the start because the driver had to drive down from Chelmsford or somewhere to get to London and legally couldn't work without a break. We mostly made it up on the way, but it was late enough that I had to get the train and not the bus I planned at the other end - not the end of the world, but used up some of the saving from choosing their service.
You have to take full power with both hands to open the window. 😂 I also stuck at my first time 😊
... you might have mentioned the advantage (and reason for Flixtrain's existence parallel to their busses) is the much lower cost, when compared to Deutsche Bahn. They achive that by using older train cars and various simplicity -- the ticket cost is the main reason people use Flixtrain over DB.
I work on the same type of trains, only the sleeper variant, you need to pull really hard on both handles at the same time.
I've had only positive experiences with FlixTrain so far, except one time when it was so crowded I had to keep my luggage on my knees. My only gripe with them is the green interior. My eyes! Would be better to keep their branding to the outside, like they do with their bus service.
Thanks Scott - funny coincidence, I watched this while in France and the advert RUclips showed before your video was afor a product called Bref which will stop your toilet from stinking! Joking aside, I admire your ability to rise to the challenge of bad reviews.
3:15 As an employee of Deutsche Bahn on the ICE, i can say, its not practical to help there. The hallway was full so he could not reach to the people who puts the bags up. And even if he does, its not his task. He does not get paid for it and will not get medical health funded by the company if he get injured while lifts up the heavy baggage over his head.
I really like flixtrain and use it on a regular basis. Never had any problems and I love the prices
Do they lock the windows on cold or mild temperatures?
I took a Flixtrain from Erturt to Berlin on Friday and it was terrible loud, as everyone opened the windows. No comparison to a nice, silent ICE-ride. I can't see any open window in your video, seems they are locked.
I actually don't remember it that loud on my first ride between Berlin and Hamburg last year, which as I remember was quite comfortable.
would a been nice to hear whats the difference between a flix and a db train on the same route
Easy to spot the Flix-green on their transport whether trains or coaches!
Good review
Thanks
I haven't watched the video but the 2-3 times I took them I found them very nice actually.. one trip was really delayed but was because of constructions, so not their fault
What was the cost Scott? Any refreshments on board?
You should visit Mannheim Scott ...lovely university town surrounded by industry
I was about to hitch a ride with FlixTrain from Erfurt to Bad Hersfeld, but that train was cancelled. Although it was annoying, they at least promptly paid back. However, the second time it did arrive, albeit fairly late. My criticism is fairly simple, the whole time I had the impression that despite the comfort it was all around pretty chaotic. So, my tips are easy: if you have bigger luggage like a large and heavy suitcase and can't lift it overhead, consider using DB instead since there isn't enough space on the ground. Don't expect the train to arrive on time or at all, this isn't necessarily their fault since they are last line for any given track. It's cheap, and you get what you paid for. I, personally, won't use them again unless I have to.
Nice and entertaining video, I've personally never used Flixtrain, not even Flixbus. I guess those who are complaining about something that went wrong are a lot more numerous on Trustpilot. In many cases, people who are satisfied with Flixtrain's service and business model (less money for less service) arriving just in time won't bother to write a review about their experiences.
P.S. In this video, you confused the city of Dortmund with Duisburg, but that's no problem. I don't want to sound like a smart-arse and a lot of the larger cities within the Ruhr area are looking a bit similar to each other. ;)
Just wanted to know how much did it cost compared to other train companies prices?
Travelled with FlixBus and prepaid for a bulky baggage. When it’s time to board, my neatly folded bike bag (which in my opinion shouldn’t even count as bulky as it is not larger than a normal bag) apparently needs an extra 10 Euro to be let on. Just because I mistakenly used the word “bike bag” instead of bag, because bikes are 10 Euro. Luckily, the ticket checker convinced the chauffeur to let me take it with me in the end. Oh, and also, the bus ride took 3 hours instead of the advised 1.5 hours.
I've used it 4 times between Berlin and Dresden and had 4 experiences. Punctual, a 1 hour delay, 15 minute delay plus a cancellation!
Plus points: The tickets are ridiculously cheap. Three occasion I paid just €5 Berlin to Dresden one way. Another was a late booking which was €14! For the one hour delay I was automatically sent a €5 discount code for my next ticket. As the ticket only cost €5... :) I received 10 hrs notice of the cancellation and was sent a code to rebook on Flixbus at no extra cost. Berlin to Dresden is no problem as Flixbus has an intensive service on that route. From the far west possibly not so many options when cancelled. It's reasonable to say the reliability can be flaky.
Downsides: The seats are rock hard. For a 2 hr drive Berlin to Dresden @ €5 I can deal with it. For a much longer drive, maybe your own travel cushion might be an idea. Scott got lucky with the lavs. They're usually minging by arrival in Berlin. The wagons are old manual door stock so will be prone to issues. The Wi-Fi only worked once on the 3 I travelled on. Annoying rather than critical. Not a deal buster.
They are prone to delay but so are their buses. If your aversion to risk is high and you want a cheap deal, it's probably worth the gamble.
i'm left wondering just how they managed to get even a 1 star rating !!
@@walkietalkietraveller2932 c
Because they are cheap as fuck it is literally less than a regional ticket under the Deutsche Bahn and the db also haves a lot of problems so Value for money i'd say that it is easily as good as Deutsche Bahn.
I have traveld with flixtrain i had 2 delays but flixtrain could do anything about them because the first one there was someone on the track the second was a broken down train in the block infront of us where we could pass but i like flixtrain nice staff and good service
That’s a very usual phenomenon. Cause if everything is alright with the trip, they don’t leave feedback. But if sth goes wrong they do. With that you’ll never see positive feedback for the trip.
How do the prices compare to Flixbus for the same journey? Thanks for another great video. I find myself looking forward to your trip reports!
Depends on the routes but prices are usually quite similar if not more expensive for the bus service! Depends of course on time of booking and demand but Berlin-Hamburg (280km) you can get for 5€
How about fares compared with regular Deutsche Bahn for the same route or trip?
@@centredoorplugsthornton4112 I would say for Flix train it's the same or cheaper. There are only very few routes available tho and usually DB is faster :)
Looks like you were trying to pull that window inward. They open downward. ;) Other than that, well it's a no frills service, picture Ryanair on rails. It'll get you there but that's it.
This type windows like in the WC you must open your both hands!
It has got safty lock.
Fitting music for a travelling video, does anyone know the name of the track used?
Best to come to Las Vegas to play the slot machines. At least you'll know it'll be still be there after you pull the handle.
After seeing quite a few reviews I know enough. You were lucky! Instead of failure or cancellation being a rare occasion, it's the other way around, with service rarely meeting what is expected. I've seen 5-hour delays (absurd), cancellations of the ride altogether, or even seating errors where assigned seats were just not present on the car?! Flixtrain want to do what Ryanair does, but without meeting the minimum expectation. When I book a Ryanair flight I know the legroom will be bad, I know the service will come with extra costs- but at least they provide what they advertise.
You really trust reviews?
You do understand that for the most part only people with bad experiences do complain...
@Jehty Reviews on video, youtubers that always take all trains. They post good and bad experiences. I've seen like 6 videos on the flixtrain by now? Not a single one was on time, or smooth.
I noticed, the trains takes bicycles - were there a special compertment for it- and are the doors wide enough to bring the bicycle in ?
Hey man yeah the trains have some carriages for bicycles and you basically hang them vertically on hooks, you can lock them up too. It works very well. - Guy who works as a FlixTrain conductor in Sweden
You did not mention the price. Is it a much cheaper alternative to DB? Are there any food services on-board?
It is MUCH cheaper than DB. You have to book a bit in advance before, but then you'll save a lot of money. I got my Flixtrain-Ticket from Aachen to Leipzig for 13,99€. Because there is noe FT-connectoin on my journey back, I'm going back home with DB. And even the cheapest "SuperSparpreis" was about 31€. And only for THIS connection, others started at 60€ up to more than 100€...
If we're going by anecdotal evidence, I have never taken a FlixTrain that was late. Sometimes they were ahead of schedule and would do a short break for smokers somewhere along the way. On the other hand, every long-distance Deutsche Bahn train I took this year was late or delayed on the way.
Funniest FlixTrain trip I've had this summer was HH -> Berlin when the conductor came on the intercom laughing and announced that we'd be arriving in Berlin 40 minutes ahead of schedule because we could use a faster route, usually occupied by DB trains that were all running an hour behind schedule 😄
@@danielw4778 my funniest experience was when the conductor announced that we had taken a wrong turn.
And the funniest part was that they mentioned at least 4 times that it was DBs fault and not theirs.
I travelled with flixtrain a couple a weeke ago.
It was pretty good. I saved 60€ and the train was on time.
Whats realy interessant is, the Cars seems Like, they are the old DB Cars from the 70's/80's reworked
This service exist in Sweden too and when I used the Flixbus one from Halmstad - Gothenburg which was scheduled at 01:00 it never came until 1 hour later and they never announced the delay and we were three guys waiting and wondering what was going on, there were almost no support to be had and the number that I did find they never picked up on. Will most likely not use them again.
I took Flixbus once, in Estonia.. the driver was a Russian who drove like Putin's henchmen were on his tail trying to kill him.... Never again.... (ooh and 45 minutes delay too, which probably was the real reason of the driving, he tried to make up time, but that wasn't working)
@@Blackadder75 Yeah I don't get how Flixbus can be so bad.
Dont know about trainline, but Deutsche Bahn doesnt sell flixtrain tickets. Their trains just appear on the search results because db is not just a ticket vendor, but also owner of the railnetwork. It is often very confusing since you can buy a ticket for the part of a journey where flixtrain is not the operator. For example, if you search a connection from berlin to stuttgart, there is a chance you need to change in cologne. Leg 1, from berlin to cologne, is on a db ice train. No problem to get a ticket. But leg 2, from cologne to stuttgart, could be on flixtrain. Now you would need to surf flixtrains website to buy the ticket. It is only in the small print, thats why there are often people stranded taking flixtrain on a multi leg journey.
Mister, try the french TGV and tell us what you think. But be preparded to be milked, as far as the fare goes...
DB and cargo companies have priority above flixtrain on German rail. If there's a storm at the harbour of Hamburg that delays the mooring of a cargo ship, thus delaying the transfer of containers unto a freight train going from Hamburg to say Frankfurt your Flixtrain from Karlsruhe to Dresden might be delayed because of that. It's either cheap as hell with a lot of delays or nothing at all.
I saw flixbus here in Brussels but I didn't know they are into trains aswell.
I'm a little confused about the route the train went. Up to Bielefeld from Berlin was OK but then, according to you, it went to Duisburg followed by Bochum then Essen and Duesseldorf. To me it looks like the train kept going backwards and forwards. You also gave the impression that there is a German city called "Thalys" when, in fact, that is actually a French-Belgian train operator,
How many hours was the journey?