THE Schleswig-Holstein Local Transport Association and the Hamburg Authority for Transport and Mobility Change have launched a joint tender to operate the West and Dagebüll networks.
The contract, split into two lots, includes the Marschbahn service to the isle of Sylt, which is connected to the mainland by a dam carrying a railway line.
The west network includes RE 6/60 Westerland - Hamburg Altona and RB 62 (Heide - Itzehoe) with an annual volume of 4.4 million train-km with diesel trains. The nine-year contracts are due to begin in December 2025.
The contract winner is obliged to take over the rolling stock from the current operator and the renting of the maintenance workshop at Husum. The contract includes options to increase or decrease the frequency of services, changes to electric traction and a contract extension.
The second lot covers regional services on the Dagebüll network’s RB 65 (Niebüll - Dagebüll Mole) line between December 2025 and December 2034 with an annual volume of 100,000 train-km.
Bids for both lots must be received by April 12.
Vogtland tender
The Vogtland Public Transport Association, the free state of Thuringia and the Bavarian Railway Company (BExG) have published details of a planned tender for regional services in Vogland, near the German border with the Czech Republic, between 2027 and 2042.
The tender includes:
- Zwickau Zentrum - Falkenstein - Kraslice, Czech Republic
- Zwickau - Werdau - Plauen upper railway station - Adorf - Cheb, Czech Republic
- Gera - Greiz - Plauen Mitte - Weischlitz (probably only until December 2028), Germany
- Mehlteuer - Plauen upper railway station - Falkenstein - Kraslice, Czech Republic
The annual volume of is 2.5 million train-km. The 15-year contract is due to run from December 12 2027. The contract winner must be able to operate in the Czech Republic.
