EUROPE: Dutch open-access operator GoVolta is to end its Amsterdam – Hamburg service from the end of May, just over two months after the launch, and redeploy the rolling stock to its Amsterdam – Berlin route where trains are running nearly full.
GoVolta confirmed the decision to Railway Gazette International on May 8, saying it would stop operating services to the northern German city from May 29.
The Dutch start-up began commercial operations on March 19 with one 10-coach rake, alternating between Amsterdam – Berlin and Amsterdam – Hamburg services with Hamburg initially served up to three times per week. From July 1, the stock will instead be used for six weekly return services to Berlin, running every day except Tuesday.
GoVolta’s Operations & Communications Manager Faustine Gauthier said the decision reflected a sharp difference in demand between the two routes. ‘Almost all our trains are full or almost full to Berlin, whereas to Hamburg they are about 60% or less sometimes,’ she told Railway Gazette International. ‘If a route is not full enough, it becomes loss-making, and we can’t afford that.’
Gauthier said GoVolta will provide transport for passengers who had already booked Hamburg journeys. ‘There will be no more trains to Hamburg from May 29,’ she said. ‘But in June, and maybe a bit further, we will replace those trains with buses to allow our passengers to travel to their destination as planned.’
She added that the expected journey time would remain similar.
Pulling Hamburg
The Hamburg service had been launched as part of GoVolta’s initial German network partly because former operating partner Keolis had pushed for the new direct route, Gauthier said. GoVolta’s founders had not originally intended to open two routes at once, she added, having been cautious about Hamburg because there was no recent direct service on which to base demand expectations.
‘Initially, GoVolta’s founders Hessel Winkelman and Maarten Bastian did not want to open two routes, and especially not to Hamburg, because it was a new route which did not exist in the past, so we were unsure of its commercial result’, Gauthier said.
She added that the same uncertainty had made the route attractive to Keolis: Hamburg was a new direct service with no direct competitor, and the French operator had initially indicated it would cover early losses while demand developed. With Keolis no longer involved in the project, GoVolta was left with less room to keep operating a weak route while it built market awareness.
Berlin demand drives capacity shift
The decision leaves the Berlin route as GoVolta’s sole German rail service from next month. GoVolta has positioned the Amsterdam – Berlin service as a lower-cost international rail option, with current one-way fares starting at €29.
GoVolta said the move was partly shaped by its position as a privately funded open-access operator without access to subsidies, limiting its scope to absorb losses on a route with weaker early demand. ‘What is very important is that our start-up is mostly self-funded’, Gauthier said. ‘It is a fully private company, no subsidy.’
She said that made it difficult to justify continuing Hamburg when the same rolling stock could be used on a route where demand was already stronger. ‘We are very happy with the success of Berlin’, she said. ‘That’s why we are reallocating all trains for six return journeys per week.’
Paris still on the cards for December
Meanwhile, GoVolta said its plans for an Amsterdam – Paris service remain unchanged, with the launch still scheduled for December 14. Gauthier said ticket sales are expected to open in around two weeks, starting at €19, giving the company more than six months to build demand and commercial partnerships for the route.
‘We are very hopeful about the success of Paris’, she said, adding that GoVolta expected demand ‘from the Netherlands, Belgium and France in both directions.’
The service is planned to run between Amsterdam Centraal and Paris Nord, the same city-centre termini used by Eurostar, but with a different commercial proposition. Gauthier said GoVolta expects the journey to take around 7 h, compared with roughly 3½ h by high speed train, because it will use conventional rolling stock with a maximum speed of 160 km/h.
The route is expected to serve intermediate markets including Den Haag, Rotterdam, Antwerpen and Gent. The service will also specifically target rural catchments, including a stop at Lage Zwaluwe designed to capture passengers from the Zeeland region, many of whom use park and ride. Gauthier said the service would be aimed at price-sensitive travellers, students and leisure passengers rather than passengers prioritising the fastest available journey.
- Look out for Railway Gazette International‘s upcoming feature on GoVolta’s trials and tribulations in launching its first international services.