Hamburg-Köln Express, Germany

The Hamburg-Köln Express (HKX) is a planned train between Hamburg and Köln (Cologne), scheduled to be launched on 15 August 2010. The project is being developed by a consortium comprising the Berlin-based rail company Locomore Rail, the US-based railway investment company Railroad Development Corporation and the UK-based investment advisor Michael Schabas. The project will create 60 jobs.

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany with one of the largest ports in Europe. The city is spread across an area of 755km² and has a population of 1.8 million people.

Cologne is one of Germany's oldest cities, founded in 38BC. It is the country's fourth-largest city, spread over 405.15km² and has a population of approximately 996,690. The distance between Hamburg and Cologne is 357km.

Project

The intercity HKX will have three services operating from each direction daily: HKX 81864, HKX 81865, HKX 81866, HKX 81767, HKX 81868 and HKX 81869.

The train will pass through Harburg, Sagehorn (Bremen), Osnabrück, Münster, Gelsenkirchen, Essen, Duisburg and Düsseldorf.

Duisburg, Essen and Gelsenkirchen stations will have new infrastructure including new infirmary facilities. The train will feature different levels of service for business and leisure travellers, and several classes of seating will be provided.

Rolling Stock

Locomore plans to invest €100m in the rolling stock for the project. The HKX will use Class 4010 EMUs. The same EMUs were formerly used by the Austrian Federal Railways and were bought by Railroad Development Corporation. As of November 2009, the EMU rails are undergoing modernisation. The rails are being processed at DB Delitzsch, a railroad repair shop.

Class 4010 EMU consists of multiple carriages and runs on electricity. The trains have a BBC spring drive, a power system of 15kV / 16.7Hz , and run at the top speed of 150km/h. The continuous power is 2,265kW while output per hour is 2,500kW. The service weight is 283t. Each rail car is 26.4m long.

The six railcar sets consist of a power car, a big second-class coach, a second-class compartment coach, two additional second-class compartments equipped with a dining car, second-class and first-class compartment coaches as well as a driving trailer. The second class provides a seating layout of 2+1 and ample space for luggage.

Rail connectivity

An intercity express (ICE) currently connects Hamburg to Cologne. The Deutsche Bahn-operated ICE network runs 259 trains throughout Germany, connecting various cities in Germany as well as Austria, Denmark and Switzerland.

DB Netze, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, owns and operates the German railway system. It also owns the rail infrastructure countrywide. Locomore had planned to use the tracks of DB Netze for its HKX service. However, DB rejected Locomore's request prompting the latter to go to court. This, the partners claim, has delayed the progress in the HKX project.

French railway company SNCF is also planning to enter the German rail transport market and applied for permission in October 2009. It plans to run two trains from Strasbourg to Hamburg by 2011. One of the lines will pass through Cologne.

Though DB was to share its infrastructure with other new players in the market, it has rejected the requests of Locomore and SNCF. While Locomore went to court, SNCF complained to the European Commission.

The EU plans to deregulate the European railway sector by 2010, paving the way for more competition. The EU is hoping to bring changes to the railway system in three areas: bringing in more competition to the market, ensuring interoperability and safety of rail networks, and developing rail infrastructure.