GERMANY: Following a European tender, Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG has awarded incumbent and sole bidder Bentheimer Eisenbahn a contract to contiune operating the RB56 Regiopa Express service on the Bad Bentheim – Nordhorn – Neuenhaus route for 15 years from December 12 2021.
‘We are very pleased, as a regional company, to continue to operate local rail sercies for the next 15 years and to create jobs in the region’, said Bentheimer Eisenbahn CEO Joachim Berends on March 29.
The contract covers the operation of 326 000 train-km/year using the existing fleet of Alstom Coradia Lint 41 diesel multiple-units. No significant changes are planned, although every service will have an onboard attendant, up from 70% of services at present, and there will be improvements to passener information in the event of disruption and closer monitoring of cleanliness and onboard facilities.
Passenger services on the 28 km previously freight-only route were revived in July 2019, and LNVG said it was too early to produce estimates of likely ridership in the longer term.
