Wikipedia
Hamburg-Köln-Express
Hamburg-Köln-Express GmbH (HKX) is a Cologne-based open-access train operating company providing long-distance railway passenger services in Germany. It was founded in October 2009 as a joint venture by Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) Deutschland GmbH, an affiliate of USA-based Railroad Development Corp., Locomore rail GmbH & CO. KG, and British railway investor Michael Schabas.
Since 23 July 2012, HKX has operated regular services between Hamburg-Altona and Cologne. The journey takes about 4h 20min, similar to that of services operated by DB but with lower fares.