GERMANY: Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG and the city of Bremen have advance given notice of their intention to directly award a contract for the proposed operation of hydrogen fuel cell trains on service RB33 Cuxhaven – Bremerhaven – Bremervörde – Stade.
The authorities said there is currently a lack of data on the operating costs of hydrogen trains, and so there is a risk that incorrect assumptions might be used in any competitive tendering process and this could lead to considerable additional costs.
The contract covering around 1∙22 million train-km/year would run for four years from the December 2021 timetable change, with hydrogen trains used from 2022. The authorities could either award a contract to current Weser-Elbe Netz operator EVB, or appoint an internal operator.
