Rhine-Ruhr Express operating contract announced

Andrew Chivers National Express Rail MD, Susan Speller UK Consul General and Tobias Richter National Express MD German Rail

Local authorities of North Rhine Westphalia have signed two contracts with National Express and Abellio for the operation of Rhine-Ruhr Express services until 2030.

Andrew Chivers National Express Rail MD, Susan Speller UK Consul General and Tobias Richter National Express MD German Rail

Representatives of seven local authorities of North Rhine Westphalia joined National Express and Abellio in the signing of joint lots to operate the Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) until 2030. They were joined by the Transport Minister for North Rhine Westphalia, Michael Groschek, and the UK’s Consul General Susan Speller.

National Express will operate two of the three contracts that cover the Rhine-Ruhr Express between the populous cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Dortmund. Once fully operational, National Express expects to carry approximately 30 million passengers a year.

• Routes RE5 (Koblenz – Cologne – Dusseldord – Wesel) and RE6 (Cologne/Bonn airport – Cologne – Dusseldorf – Essen – Hamm – Minden). This comprises a total of 6 million train km per year and will begin in June 2019.
• Route RE4 (Aachen – Mönchengladbach – Hagen – Dortmund). This comprises a total of 2.4 million train km per year and will start in December 2020

Andrew Chivers, National Express MD for Rail, said: “We are delighted with this important landmark for our German rail business. We look forward to running a high-quality service for our new passengers, and in December our German operations shift to the next level when we start to operate our first rail services in the country.”

The remaining lot will be operated by Abellio’s German subsidiary Abellio Rail NRW. The operator will begin running services in December 2018 covering 6.2 million train-km per year on lines RE 1 (Aachen – Cologne – Essen – Hamm) and RE 11 (Dusseldorf – Essen – Dortmund – Hamm – Kassel).

Ronald RF Lünser (left), CEO of Abellio Rail NRW and Stephan Krenz, Managing Director of Abellio GmbH, sign the operating agreement.

Today’s announcement follows the €1.7 billion awarded contract in March 2018 for Siemens to supply 82 Desiro HC electric multiple units for the Rhine-Ruhr Express. The vehicles are expected to enter service in late 2018.