The contract, which will run from December 11 2022, includes the lines:
- RB46 Gießen - Gelnhausen
- RB47 Wölfersheim-Södel - Friedberg - Frankfurt
- RB48 Nidda - Friedberg - Frankfurt, and
- an optional extension of RB 47 from Wölfersheim-Södel to Hungen if renovation work on the Horlofftal railway is completed.
Services will be operated with 30 new Alstom Coradia Lint 41 trains, which meet stage V emissions standards and are equipped for passengers with limited mobility.
The trains, which have capacity for 120 seated passengers and will operate in multiple during peak periods, have two multi-purpose areas for wheelchairs, pushchairs and bicycles. Free Wi-Fi and power sockets will be available throughout the trains, which will have a first and second class, while passenger information screens will show real-time information as well as connections at the next station.
The contract also stipulates that train drivers and other staff must be paid according to Hesse’s public procurement and tariff loyalty law, in an effort to ensure the quality standards and increase the attractiveness of the roles.
Infrastructure manager DB Networks is planning to gradually modernise the existing interlockings during the contract, which could result in timetable improvements and additional services during peak periods.
In 2017, RMV decided to extend some of its existing concessions due to considerable infrastructure works planned by DB Networks. These included extending the Wetterau West-East (lines RB16, RB46, RB47, and RB48) and Taunus (lines RB11, RB12, RB15, and RB21) concessions from December 15 2019 to December 10 2022, as well as the Taunus sub-network (lines RE20 and RB22) from December 12 2020 until December 11 2021.
