DUTCH private operator GoVolta has confirmed that it will launch two new cross-border open-access services next March. The first will operate between Amsterdam and Berlin from March 19, followed by the second from Amsterdam to Hamburg from March 20.
Each service will make a return journey three days a week. The Berlin train will run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, while the Hamburg train will run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Both services are scheduled to run daily from summer 2026.
The Amsterdam - Berlin train will depart at 08.34 and call at Amersfoort main station, Deventer, Hengelo, Bad Bentheim, Osnabrück main station, Hannover main station and arrive at Berlin Gesundbrunnen at 15.20, returning at 15.46 for arrival in Amsterdam at 23.55. From next summer the service will run to and from Berlin Spandau instead of Gesundbrunnen.
The Amsterdam - Hamburg service will depart at 08.05 and call at the same Dutch stations as the Berlin service, continuing to Bremen main station, Hamburg main station and Hamburg Harburg where it arrives at 13.26. The return working departs at 14.21 to arrive in Amsterdam at 20.26.
GoVolta co-founders Hessel Winkelman and Maarten Bastian say that 10% of seats on each train will be available for €10, with fares for the remainder set according to demand under a dynamic pricing model. Two items of hand luggage may be taken on board at no extra cost, but large pieces of luggage will be subject to an additional fee.
Seating will be in bays of four seats and two passengers travelling together who require extra space can book the opposite pair of seats under the XL Duo fare for a small additional fee.
Tickets can be purchased via the GoVolta website or through some other channels, including German Rail (DB). They are not available from Netherlands Railways (NS) and travel on these GoVolta services solely within the Netherlands is not permitted.
Belgian rolling stock
GoVolta has purchased 11 second-hand type I10 coaches from Belgian National Railways (SNCB) for €1m each, including two first class and eight second class coaches, providing seating for 132 and 688 passengers respectively, plus one lounge car. GoVolta will spend a further €2m refurbishing each vehicle. SNCB will provide a further 20 type I10 coaches, plus two lounge cars, at a similar price. How these acquistions will be funded has not yet been disclosed.
Services will be operated under the safety certificate of Keolis Netherlands, which will supply drivers and conductors. Keolis is expecting to extend its certificate to enable operation in Germany by March 2026, but if it is unable to do so in time, GoVolta services in Germany will operate under the safety certificate of former Keolis subsidiary Eurobahn.
GoVolta is currently negotiating a leasing contract with Beacon Rail Capital Europe for a single Siemens Vectron MS locomotive to haul both services, after a deal earlier this year to purchase five Vectrons for €24m fell through.
The company is planning to launch additional cross-border services, starting with Amsterdam - Paris in December 2026, with trains to Frankfurt, Munich, Basle, Bruges and Copenhagen expected in the longer term.
“We have noticed that many people would like to travel by train, but end up choosing air or the private car instead, as train travel is too expensive and/or too complicated,” Bastian says. “GoVolta aims to make train travel simple and affordable.”
