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Dubbed the ‘easyJet of the railways,’ Dutch startup GoVolta is trying to tempt passengers in with cheap train tickets when it launches in 2026.
The company has priced tickets for its inaugural route between Amsterdam and Hamburg via Berlin as low as €10. These tickets are now available to book for journeys starting in March next year.
Passengers can also book city break packages via GoVolta, which include train tickets and hotels.
The company plans to extend its service with an Amsterdam-Paris line starting in December 2026.
GoVolta promises cheap tickets and direct routes
GoVolta is hoping to shake up Europe’s international rail market with three promises: affordable prices, a guaranteed seat with every ticket, and direct connections.
“If you ask people about international trains, you always hear the same story,” says Hessel Winkelman, co-founder of GoVolta. “You spend ages searching, you pay a premium, and then it’s questionable whether you even have a seat. We want to change that.”
Currently, standard tickets from Amsterdam to Hamburg in March on Deutsche Bahn’s ICE trains cost between €34 and €59, with anywhere from one to four changes required. Seat reservation costs an additional €5.70.
GoVolta is offering the first 100 tickets for each train at just €10. Ticket prices outside of the promotion average around €30.
However, the start-up’s low prices do come with a trade-off: its trains can only reach a top speed of 160 km/h, significantly lower than ICE and Eurostar’s potential 300 km/h.
This means journey times will often be slower, by around an hour between Amsterdam and Berlin, while the Paris trip could take twice as long as the Eurostar.
‘Making travelling to Europe by train as easy and affordable as flying’
GoVolta’s stated aim is to make “travelling to Europe by train as easy and affordable as flying”. But it isn’t the first budget train operator to champion sustainable travel and keep Europe’s budget airlines on their toes.
It follows in the footsteps of Dutch-Belgian startup European Sleeper, which began offering affordable night trains in 2023.
Ouigo in France, Avlo in Spain and Lumo in the UK are also challenging the monopoly of national train operators and low-cost airlines, bringing low-cost high-speed options to train passengers.
What will it be like on board GoVolta trains?
GoVolta’s trains are set to have around 820 seats across 11 carriages. A lounge car will serve hot and cold drinks, snacks and light meals.
Passengers can choose between two ticket classes: economy and comfort, the latter of which promises a quieter environment and more spacious seating.
Economy passengers can also upgrade their ticket to reserve the seat opposite at a reduced rate to provide them with more space.
Tickets include two pieces of hand luggage as standard, while larger or additional luggage can be booked separately.
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