SWEDEN: Local authority Region Stockholm has selected the Connecting Stockholm joint venture of The Go-Ahead Group (55%) and ComfortDelGro (45%) to operate and maintain the Tunnelbana metro network.
The preferred bidder was announced on January 23, with formal award subject to a standstill period. Go-Ahead CEO Patrick Verwer said it had been a ‘well-run tender process’ for ‘an exciting contract’.
Connecting Stockholm will be responsible for operations, customer service, fleet and station maintenance and depot facilities on the three metro lines, which are operated as seven routes and have 100 stations, six depots and 106 km of track.
The contract will run for 11 years from May 2 2025. This covers a period when the network will undergo several significant changes, including extensions of the Blue Line east to Nacka and the Green Line north to Arenastaden.
Connecting Stockholm CEO Matt Kinane said the joint venture’s focus would be on being an active partner with the local authority to operate a world-class metro providing safe, sustainable and punctual services. He added that the joint venture was looking forward to ‘meeting all the dedicated and competent employees who currently work in the metro and welcoming them to Connecting Stockholm in the near future.’
The Stockholm metro is currently operated by the MTR Tunnelbanan AB subsidiary of MTR Nordic, under an eight-year contract which began in November 2009 and was subsequently extended for a further six years. In December 2021 the transport authority decided to extend the concession for between 18 and 24 months, pending the award of a new contract to start in 2025. This was not affected by the announcement last November that MTR would be withdrawing from its separate contract to operate the capital’s Pendeltågen suburban rail services.
