Locomore

Locomore (identifier LOC) was a German higher-speed inter-city rail open access service between four of the most populous German metropolitan areas; i.e. the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region, Rhine-Neckar, Frankfurt Rhine-Main and Berlin-Brandenburg. The train calls at 18 railway stations, including the major German cities of Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Hanover and Berlin. It operated at a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph).

Locomore
Main region(s)Germany
Fleet size14 carriages (one train)
Stations called at18
Parent companyLEO Express
Other
Websitewww.locomore.com/en/
Route map
 Berlin Lichtenberg
 Berlin Ostkreuz
 Berlin Ostbahnhof
 Berlin Hbf
 Berlin Zoo
 Wolfsburg Hbf
 Lehrte
 Hannover Messe/Laatzen
 Göttingen
 Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe
 Fulda
 Hanau Hbf
 Frankfurt(Main) Süd
 Darmstadt Hbf
 Weinheim (Bergstraße)
 Heidelberg Hbf
 Vaihingen (Enz)
 Stuttgart Hbf

The financially self-sufficient Locomore passenger rail service was run by its crowdfunded parent company, Locomore GmbH & Co. KG, a German private railway passenger company headquartered in Berlin. In May 2017 the company filed for insolvency in district court and operations were suspended.[1]

In August 2017 Czech open access train operator LEO Express acquired some Locomore assets including its leased rolling stock and the majority of the staff and relaunched the service.[2] Tickets for the new service are sold by the German long distance bus company Flixbus under the Flixtrain branding.[3]

Locomore competes with express coach operators and the state-owned German passenger long distance train operator, Deutsche Bahn, for passengers. Locomore is considered as low-cost passenger rail service provider. It claims to always sell its tickets at less than half the price required for standard fare Deutsche Bahn tickets. Under the old management it also claimed to operate very ecological and offered a broad range of organic food.

Concept
Connection map. Locomore service (through LEO Express) shown in black.

On 14 December 2016, Locomore began running a daily service between Stuttgart and Berlin. Travel time between Stuttgart Hbf and Berlin Hbf was 6:26 southbound, and 6:47 northbound. The majority of the route runs on existing German high speed lines where the service travels up to 200 km/h. In order to compete against the Deutsche Bahn's quasi-monopoly over long-distance travel in Germany, Locomore's prices were similar to those of long distance buses, and they aim to provide a high-standard of in-seat service. The Locomore service also runs entirely on green energy.[4]

Tickets are available for purchase online and via the Flixbus smartphone app. As is also the case for other private operators in Germany such as Hamburg-Köln-Express and Thalys, tickets are unavailable through Deutsche Bahn points of sale. Early bookers pay lower prices and could choose between multiple service levels, and all tickets were nominative and included seat reservations. Space is provided on board for pushchairs and bikes. There are themed sections for families with children; children under 14 can travel for free.

Network
Maiden voyage from Heidelberg Hbf on 14 December 2016.

The cities Vaihingen an der Enz, Heidelberg, Darmstadt, Frankfurt am Main, Hanau, Fulda, Kassel, Göttingen, Hannover and Wolfsburg were connected with Stuttgart and Berlin. While the train only stopped at the main station in Stuttgart, the train stopped in Berlin Zoologischer Garten, Berlin-Hauptbahnhof, Berlin-Ostbahnhof and Berlin-Lichtenberg railway stations in Berlin.[5] Since December 2017 the train also stops at Berlin-Ostkreuz and Lehrte.

Three new connections were planned for 2017: Frankfurt-Stuttgart-Augsburg-München, Berlin-Hannover-Dortmund-Düsseldorf-Köln-Bonn and Berlin-Prenzlau-Stralsund-Binz.[6] With the insolvency and re-launch in August 2017 future plans are currently unknown.

Owners and founders

The shares have been owned:

  • 61,5% by CEO Derek Ladewig
  • 16% by the team members Katrin Seiler, Nicolas Dietrich, Johanna Jäger, Maria Hoppe and Mark Peter Weg
  • 22,5% by 15 silent partners

Other founders and employees have been Max Sigg (Marketing), Pierre Daniel Bertholdt (Business Development, Transactions) and Jan Christopher Witt (Operations) [7]

Vehicles
Wagons of type Bmz 3, presented at the InnoTrans 2016
Themed section

Bm235 type UIC X passenger coaches with 12 passenger compartments are used. The coaches were used in the Netherlands up until 2009. All carriages had free Wi-Fi.

There are three passenger carriage variants:

  • Bmz 1: Air conditioned with a main open seating area and seven compartments
  • Bmz 2: Utility wagon (bikes, pushchairs, family section, children's play area, wheelchair section, food preparation)
  • Bmz 3: Compartment coach with 12 passenger compartments. Not air conditioned.

The wagons are certified for a top speed of 200 km/h. They were leased from owner SRI Rail Invest GmbH.[8][9] The locomotives and drivers are provided by Hector Rail. A Siemens ES64U2 with a top speed of 230 km/h was used.[10][11]

Food

An in-seat trolley service of snacks, hot and cold drinks, and small meals (salads, sandwiches) was available. Refreshment choices were Fair Trade and organic where possible.[10]

Financing

Since June 2015, Locomore had raised funds through a crowdfunding campaign, allowing private individuals to invest in the company via pledges and donations. As of 6 December 2016, Locomore had received €608,761 in investments, largely exceeding their funding goal of €460,000. Investors can choose between receiving interest payments on their donation of 3.5% per annum and receiving travel vouchers for use on the service. On 26 January 2016 the company announced that they had successfully raised the capital necessary to launch the train service.[12]

History

Locomore GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 2007 and in 2009 was a founding member of the Hamburg-Köln-Express GmbH, which launched the Hamburg-Köln-Express in 2012 in direct competition with the Deutsche Bahn between Hamburg and Cologne. In 2012, Locomore sold its holdings in Hamburg-Köln-Express GmbH to concentrate on launching its own rail service in competition with Deutsche Bahn.

Insolvency

On 11 May 2017, Locomore announced that it had filed for insolvency in district court. Service was terminated as new investors could not be found to keep the railroad company operational.[1] In August 2017 Czech open access train operator LEO Express had acquired some Locomore assets including its leased rolling stock, the majority of the staff and the brand. The Locomore route is now being served by trains under the Flixtrain branding.[2]

References
  1. Crowd-funded open access operator Locomore files for insolvency - RailwayGazette.com, accessed on 12 May 2017
  2. UK, DVV Media. "LEO Express to relaunch Locomore service". Railway Gazette.
  3. Locomore fährt wieder! Und bei uns gibt’s die Tickets!
  4. Fahrstrom: Locomore fährt mit 100% Ökostrom Archived 2016-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, Pressemitteilung Naturstrom AG, abgerufen am 8. Dezember 2016
  5. Fahrplan 2016 Archived 12 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine – locomore.com
  6. locomore.com: Weitere Strecken in Planung
  7. "Locomore-Broschüre" (PDF) (in German).
  8. Locomore startet mit neun Wagen zwischen Stuttgart und Berlin, eurailpress.de, 23 September 2016
  9. Locomore Reisezugwagen Bmz Archived 25 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine auf der Internetseite der InnoTrans
  10. FAQ, Stand: 12.7.2016 14:00 Archived 26 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine auf der Internetseite von Locomore
  11. Hector Rail Lokomotivklasse 242 Archived 2016-07-05 at the Wayback Machine For test runs on 6.12.2016 a Hector Rail locomotive Siemens ES64U2 (Taurus) designated 242.517 Fitzgerald was used.
  12. State of crowdfunding Archived 12 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine – locomore.com, accessed on 15 December 2016
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