Key takeaways
- alex is a brand of Die Länderbahn, not of Arriva – the company name inside the brand name is a leftover.
- The parent group is Netinera, which in turn sits in the orbit of the Italian state railway holding.
- Long-distance looks, local-service contract: the alex runs on contract, not commercially.
- Portion working is the operational hallmark – a train splits en route into two parts with different destinations.
- The data panel never says "alex", only the operating company's vehicle keeper marking.
Contents
- 1.Fact file
- 2.Business areas
- 3.History at a glance
- 4.How to recognise the company
- 5.Strengths and weaknesses
- 6.A name from three layers of time
- 7.Why a local train looks like a long-distance train
- 8.Portion working: the real draw
- 9.Across the border: who’s actually running it
- 10.Conclusion
- 11.Frequently asked questions
Fact file
| Role in the system | Service brand for locomotive-hauled express trains in Bavaria and across the border |
|---|---|
| Operator | Die Länderbahn, which grew out of Regentalbahn |
| Group affiliation | Netinera, majority-linked to the Italian state railway holding |
| Economic basis | Contracted regional passenger service, not commercial long-distance service |
| Train formation | Locomotive plus carriages – a rarity in regional service these days |
| Distinguishing feature | Portion-working concept with the train splitting en route |
| Origin of the name | From "Allgäu-Express"; the Arriva addition comes from an earlier ownership structure |
| Official website | www.laenderbahn.com/alex |
Business areas
Structure & brands
Parent group:Netinera
History at a glance
How to recognise alex (Arriva-Länderbahn-Express)
Does the train really belong to alex (Arriva-Länderbahn-Express)?
- Locomotive-hauled carriage train in regional service – on its own already a strong identifying feature
- Class 223 diesel locomotives with a characteristically angular front and four axles
- Lower-case alex lettering on locomotive and carriages, regardless of the current owner
- Portion working – the train is split en route, both parts running to different destinations
- Second-hand carriages of varying origin, recognisable by differing window arrangements
- Czech destination boards on the through services
- Länderbahn's vehicle keeper marking in the data panel – never "alex", which never appears there
Strengths and weaknesses
What the company stands for
- Locomotive-hauled passenger trains in regional service have become rare in Germany
- Splitting and joining trains is its own, well-documentable subject
- Cross-border services bring together vehicles and crews from two countries
- Diesel locomotives in passenger service over long runs – hardly found elsewhere any more
- The brand name stays stable while owners and companies change
Where it falls short
- The name is misleading: Arriva has long since ceased to be the owner
- Despite its long-distance look, it is contracted local service – something constantly confused
- Vehicle deployments change with tendering and electrification decisions
- Carriage stock of varying origin makes the train formation confusing
- There is no reliably up-to-date public source for contract terms and operating performance
Updated: August 2026 – A locomotive-hauled carriage train that runs from Munich via Regensburg to Czechia and splits into two parts en route: by every feature you can read off on the platform, the alex is a long-distance train. By the contract it runs under, it’s local service. That gap is the most interesting thing about this brand – closely followed by the question of why a group name sits in the title that no longer has any business being there.
Log the locomotive and the carriage formation together
With locomotive-hauled trains, the set is half the information. Record both in one entry.
A name from three layers of time
“alex” originally stood for Allgäu-Express. When the service was later extended northwards, the name stayed and was given an expansion naming the then owner: Arriva-Länderbahn-Express. That very owner is no longer involved today.
The trains are run by Die Länderbahn, which grew out of Regentalbahn. Above that sits Netinera, a German regional service group attributed to the orbit of the Italian state railway holding Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.
Three levels, three names, and the only one that appears on the train belongs to none of them. That’s no isolated case, but the norm in German regional service: brands outlive owners because a rebrand costs money and passengers stick to established names.
Why a local train looks like a long-distance train
The decisive sentence is: the alex runs on contract. A transport authority puts services out to tender, an operator wins the award and delivers it for a fee. That’s exactly what fundamentally separates it from commercial long-distance brands, which run at their own risk and choose their routes by revenue.
That the train nonetheless looks like long-distance service has operational reasons. Long runs with comparatively few stops, sections that are not fully electrified, and high seating demand favour locomotive-hauled carriage trains over railcars. Carriages can be added or removed, the locomotive can be swapped, and train length follows demand rather than vehicle size.
| Feature | alex | Classic regional train | Commercial long-distance service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contractual basis | transport contract | transport contract | no transport authority |
| Train formation | locomotive plus carriages | usually railcars | multiple unit or carriage train |
| Route choice | set by the transport authority | set by the transport authority | by revenue expectation |
| Stops | few, express-like | dense | very few |
| Regional tickets | accepted | accepted | usually not |
Train formation is no proof of the contract type
Many people automatically take locomotive-hauled trains for long-distance service and railcars for local service. Neither is true. You don't identify the contract type from the vehicle, but from the train category, the fare, and whether a transport authority is named. The alex is the best counter-example: long-distance looks, local-service contract.
Portion working: the real draw
The operationally most interesting thing doesn’t happen on the line, but at the split station. The train arrives as one unit, is separated, and two parts continue to different destinations. In the opposite direction it runs the other way: two train parts arrive, are coupled together, and continue jointly.
For you on the platform that means several minutes of shunting movements, coupling work and two locomotives in view – processes that otherwise barely happen in today’s regional service. With multiple units, coupling happens automatically and takes seconds; with locomotive-hauled trains using screw couplings, it’s manual work and takes correspondingly longer. That’s exactly why the process is observable here at all. Anyone wanting to document it should know the timing in advance and find a spot from which both train parts stay visible.
Identify the split station
Look in the timetable for trains with two destination entries. Where the destinations diverge is where the split happens.
Choose a spot with an overview
The end of the platform rather than the middle. Only that way do you get the separation and departure of both parts in frame.
Note both locomotives
After the split, there are two trains with two numbers. Anyone who notes only one has half the sighting.
Record the carriage formation
The carriage stock comes from various sources. The formation is therefore a genuine distinguishing feature.
Check the vehicle keeper marking
The data panel shows the operating company, not the brand. Only that makes the identification reliable.
What's still missing from your sighting?
The portion-working process is the part you can't make up for on any other day.
Two train parts, two entries
After the split, there are two trains. The Traintrack app keeps both cleanly separate.
Across the border: who’s actually running it
Through services to Czechia look to passengers like a single journey. Operationally, they involve authorisation, staff and vehicles under two national rulebooks. On the Czech side, partners are involved, including Die Länderbahn CZ and České dráhy.
For sighting purposes that means: at the border station, more than just the place name can change. Locomotive changes, crew changes and train-number changes are routine there. How you can use such stations specifically for observation is described in the article Border stations for spotting.
It's an alex if …
- a locomotive-hauled carriage train with lower-case lettering is running
- the vehicle keeper marking matches the operating company
- the train runs on one of the known express routes
Look more closely if …
- a substitute set without matching lettering is deployed
- a hired locomotive is hauling the train
- the train continues beyond the border with different rolling stock
It's not an alex if …
- it's a railcar such as the Class 612
- the train carries a long-distance service category
- a different vehicle keeper marking is in the data panel
Shunting and coupling operations are not a spectator sport
While splitting and joining, vehicles move slowly and sometimes without warning. Stay behind the platform markings, don't step onto the tracks and don't stand in the area between two train parts. The basic rules are in Safety distance at the track, and House rules at stations explains the owner's house rules.
Conclusion
The alex is one of the most instructive brands in German regional service, because it disproves two widespread misconceptions at once. First: a company name inside a brand name doesn’t mean that company is involved. Second: locomotive-hauled trains on long runs aren’t automatically long-distance service.
Anyone who has understood that sees something different on the platform than before – namely a contracted local service that borrows long-distance forms because they suit its routes. And anyone who catches the split station gets, on top of that, an operating process that has almost died out elsewhere. More Bavarian photo spots are collected in the guide Trainspotting in Bavaria.
In brief
alex is a product name of Die Länderbahn within the Netinera group. The train runs contracted local service in long-distance form – and the "Arriva" addition in the name is a historical leftover.
Document locomotive-hauled regional trains while they still exist
Carriage trains in regional service are becoming rarer. Save the locomotive, formation and date in one archive.
Summary
- Anyone who takes the alex for long-distance service is confusing train formation with the contractual basis – the look is especially deceptive here.
- The brand has survived three generations of owners, and is exactly for that reason a lesson in the staying power of brand names.
- Operationally the split stations are the interesting part: more happens there in a few minutes than over a hundred kilometres of open line.
- For spotting, what counts is Länderbahn's vehicle keeper marking, not the lettering on the carriage side.
Frequently asked questions
Who actually runs the alex?
The trains run under the responsibility of Die Länderbahn, which grew out of Regentalbahn. Above the operating level sits Netinera Deutschland as the group company. "alex" is purely a product name – there is no company of that name.
Why is Arriva in the name if Arriva is no longer involved?
Because brand names are slower-moving than group structures. When the service was built up, the operating company belonged to the Arriva group. After the German activities were sold, the established product name stayed, because a rebrand costs money and confuses passengers. For identifying a sighting, the name is therefore worthless.
Is the alex long-distance or local service?
Formally local service. The alex runs on the basis of transport contracts within contracted regional passenger service, even though its train formation and route look like long-distance service. That's also why regional tickets are accepted on it. The difference between the two worlds is explained in the article Local versus long-distance service.
What is portion working and why does the alex do it?
In the portion-working concept a train runs to a certain station and is split there; the two parts then continue to different destinations. On the return journey they're joined back together. This saves paths and staff on the shared section while still serving two end points. For spotters, the split station is the most interesting point on the whole route.
Which locomotives are used?
The defining machines are diesel-hydraulic locomotives of the Siemens ER 20 type, classified in Germany as Class 223. On electrified sections, electric locomotives from the ES 64 U4 family were occasionally used – the same design that runs in Austria as the Class 1216. Which machine currently runs on which route changes, so don't rely on older information here.
Does the alex really run to Prague?
There are through services towards Czechia. On the Czech side, partners are involved, including companies such as Die Länderbahn CZ and České dráhy. Cross-border services need authorisation, staff and vehicles under both national rulebooks – that's why such connections are almost always cooperations.
Who owns Netinera?
Netinera is a German regional service group majority-attributed to the orbit of the Italian state railway holding Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane. The same applies to the alex as to many German regional brands: at the end of the chain sits a foreign state railway. You see none of that on the vehicle.
Which other brands belong to the same group?
Under the umbrella of Netinera run several regional brands, including vlexx in the south-west and the 3-Länderbahn. Operationally these brands have almost nothing in common: different vehicles, different regions, different transport contracts. For sighting lists that means: different names, different liveries, sometimes the same group structure behind them.
Where's the best place to see the alex?
At major hubs and at the split stations. At Munich Hauptbahnhof the runs start and end, and at the Czech end Praha hlavní nádraží is a good bet. But the real appeal lies en route, at the point where the train is split and rejoined.
How do I identify an alex with certainty?
By the combination of a locomotive-hauled carriage train in regional service and the lower-case lettering. Certainty only comes from the vehicle keeper marking in the data panel – that shows the operating company, never the brand name. How you get from the lettering to the actual operator is shown in the guide Who's actually running this train?
Log vehicles from alex (Arriva-Länderbahn-Express)
Company, vehicle, location and date logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
The operational level in the railway operator database
Who actually runs the trains, with keeper markings and identifying features on the vehicle.
Die Länderbahn GmbH
Die Länderbahn is a case of its own: the company name rarely appears on the train. To identify it, you need to understand the difference between brand and company.
OtherRegentalbahn GmbH
Regentalbahn GmbH carries a landscape name in its company name – a pattern very common among German railways. How to turn that into research leads and still verify the company from the vehicle.
Local & regionalNetinera Deutschland GmbH
Netinera Deutschland GmbH is a holding company in German regional transport with a foreign ownership background. You'll almost never meet the name on the platform – services run under other brands.
Local & regionalDie Länderbahn CZ s.r.o. (GWTR / Trilex CZ)
Die Länderbahn CZ s.r.o. is a Czech railway operator in regional passenger services. Alongside its registered name, the entry also carries two commonly used short forms.
Local & regionalČeské dráhy (ČD)
České dráhy (ČD) is the Czech state railway. Anyone wanting to identify its vehicles quickly runs into nicknames dating back to the old class-letter system.
Typical vehicles
Siemens ER 20
The Siemens ER 20 Eurorunner is one of the few modern diesel locomotives in Germany that also hauls passenger trains – with a diesel-electric three-phase drive.
ClassÖBB Class 1216 (Taurus III)
The Class 1216 is the multi-system Taurus III – and holder of the world speed record for locomotives at 357 km/h, set in 2006.
ClassDB Class 612
The RegioSwinger, Class 612, is the most successful German tilting-technology diesel railcar: two cars, 160 km/h and for years the backbone of winding routes.
Where you will find alex (Arriva-Länderbahn-Express)
Spotting locations where you will regularly come across vehicles from this organisation – with viewpoints, the best light and coordinates.
München Hauptbahnhof
München Hauptbahnhof is one of the largest terminus stations in Europe – and, at the same time, a major building site that has dragged on for years. If you know where the Starnberg and Holzkirchen wing stations start and where the S-Bahn disappears to, you can still pull a complete cross-section of southern German traffic out of it.
Junction stationPraha hlavní nádraží
Prague is one of the few places in Europe where several long-distance operators openly compete for the same passengers. For spotters that means three railway companies, four neighbouring countries and a fleet ranging from vintage electric locomotives to tilting trains – all under the same platform roof.
Junction stationNürnberg Hauptbahnhof
Nuremberg is one of the few big German stations where high-speed traffic, regional services and heavy freight genuinely run side by side. Add a museum landscape within walking distance – and a marshalling yard that sorts half of southern Germany's freight traffic.
More companies
Netinera
Netinera is one of Germany's largest regional-transport groups – yet you'll never find its name on a train. Services run under brands like alex, vogtlandbahn, erixx, vlexx and ODEG, each backed by its own company.
GroupArriva
Arriva runs regional services in several European countries and belonged to Deutsche Bahn for a time. The group had to give up its German activities in the process – yet it's precisely a German train name that still carries the group's name today.
Brandvlexx
vlexx is an invented name with no meaning – and that was entirely intentional. Behind the brand stands a company in the Netinera group that runs a large diesel network between the Rhine, Nahe and Saar. The same vehicles also carry the client's brand alongside it.
Brand3-Länderbahn
The 3-Länderbahn is a regional network around Siegen whose lines reach into three German states. The brand name has survived a change of operator: where Deutsche Bahn once ran the trains, the Hessische Landesbahn is now in charge – and you'd never guess it from the name.
Related guides from the blog
- Trainspotting Bavaria: The Ultimate Guide to Spots, Photo Tips and Train Highlights
- Local vs. Long-Distance Trains: What's the Difference for Spotters?
- Spotting Border Stations: Where Foreign Trains Enter Germany
- Who's Actually Running That Train? How to Identify Railway Operators
- Munich Spotting Guide: 20+ Top Photo Spots at Hbf, Ost, Pasing, North/South Ring. Light, Trains, Access & Safety
- Decoding Train Numbers: ICE, IC, RE and RB Explained Simply
