NETHERLANDS: The province of Gelderland has awarded Arriva the contract to operate the Achterhoek Rivierenland package of rail and bus services from December 14 2025.
EBS and Keolis had also bid for the contract which covers regional passenger train services on the Apeldoorn – Zutphen, Zutphen – Winterswijk – Arnhem and Arnhem – Tiel lines. Arriva has operated these routes since 2012, as well as bus services in Rivierenland which it has run since 2003 and buses in Achterhoek taken on in 2010.
The contract runs for 10 years, with options for up to a further seven years which would take the total value to €2bn.
The rail element of the contract will include refurbishing 24 Stadler GTW diesel multiple-units to increase comfort and efficiency. The work includes the installation of toilets by October 2027, along with the provision of defibrillators and technical and cosmetic changes including new and cleaner engines. Another nine DMUs from the former Arnhem – Nijmegen concession will be added to the fleet from 2025, and a further four refurbished sets when Arriva starts operating a RegioExpress service from Arnhem to Doetinchem in 2028. These trainsets will run on hydrotreated vegetable oil from the start of the concession.
All trains and buses will carry the region’s purple and green livery.
‘With a long contract we can invest securely and grow our operations, ensuring we make a difference to passengers’, said Anne Hettinga, Managing Director of Arriva Nederland, on October 17. ‘We can also support the local transport authorities to achieve their sustainability targets.’
