BERLIN, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The German long-haul bus operator Flixbus will expand its private transportation business to offer additional railway services between Hamburg and Cologne, the company said on Tuesday.

"We are planning to expand our train operations in 2019 to further routes with the change in the 2018 timetable," a Flixbus representative told Xinhua.

Following the conclusion of a successful test phase, new trains branded as "Flixtrain" will provide regular connections between Hamburg and Cologne from March 24 onwards. The private company will hereby compete with existing high-speed ICE connections operated by state-owned Deutsche Bahn AG on the route.

"Customers will be able to reach Hamburg with non-stop connections from Duesseldorf, Essen or Cologne just as quickly as with the ICE," a statement by Flixbus founder Andre Schwaemmlein read.

Schwaemmlein further intends to link his bus and train services, as well as introducing a contingent of Flixtrain "savers' tickets" which are cheaper than those already sold by Deutsche Bahn. As of mid-April, the Flixtrain's Hamburg-Cologne connection is scheduled to run on a daily basis.

"With the train we will suddenly become relevant for customers for whom we were previously not interesting. This will also benefit our long-haul bus services," Schwaemmlein said.

The trains running between Hamburg and Cologne will be operated by another company, Nuremberg-based BahnTouristikExpress, while Flixbus manages sales. The long-haul bus operator has already formed a similar joint venture with Czech company Leo Express on the Berlin-Stuttgart train route which it opened in August 2017.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Schwaemmlein emphasized that his company was only a minor competitor to market leader Deutsche Bahn. Flixbus has sold 150,000 train tickets since August and has set itself a target of 500,000 passengers in 2018. By contrast, Deutsche Bahn sells around 140 million tickets per year for its Intercity and ICE train connections.