GERMANY: Local freight railway Bentheimer Eisenbahn has taken delivery of the first two of the five Alstom Coradia Lint 41 diesel multiple-units which it has ordered to enable the reintroduction of passenger services on the 30 km Bad Bentheim – Nordhorn – Neuenhaus route.
Passenger services had been replaced by railway-operated buses in 1974, but in 2015 the Land of Niedersachsen and the Bentheim, Nordhorn and Neuenhaus local authorities agreed to fund a €17m project to upgrade the infrastructure to permit passenger trains to be reinstated.
In early 2017 Bentheimer Eisenbahn directly awarded the rolling stock contract to Alstom, as a market appraisal had concluded that it was the only supplier which would be able to deliver DMUs with type approval and complying with the Land’s accessibility requirements including a floor height of 800 mm on such a short timescale.
It had been hoped that services could start in December 2018. The launch is now planned to take place as soon as the infrastructure enhancements have been completed, which could be in June if the weather permits.
