GERMANY: The Niedersachen, Greater Braunchsweig and Hannover transport authorities have awarded incumbent Metronom the next contract to operate Elektro-Netz Niedersachsen-Ost passenger services.
The next ENNO contract will run from December 2025 to December 2038, with the option to extend for a further two years.
It covers the Hanover – Gifhorn – Wolfsburg and Hildesheim – Braunschweig – Wolfsburg routes, with some trains to be extended from Hildesheim to Elze.
The existing ENNO fleet will be expanded to 29 trainsets from 2026 with the delivery of five Alstom Coradia Continental electric multiple-units. These were ordered by the Greater Braunschweig regional transport association last year, and will be leased to the contracted operator.
The authorities said Metronom had submitted a convincing offer in terms of price and quality.
‘We are pleased that the transport services in this network will continue to be provided by a partner we already know and that we can maintain a seamless transition and thus consistency in the region’, said Ralf Sygusch, director of the Greater Braunschweig regional transport association, when the contract was announced on July 2.
Metronom Managing Director Nicolai Volkmann promised that the operator ‘will continue to be the reliable and committed partner that we have always been’.
