RAILROAD Development Corporation’s (RDC) German subsidiary RDC Germany has completed the acquisition from Captrain of two railway lines in northern Germany as well as a maintenance depot
In North Rhine-Westphalia, RDC Deutschland has bought the 25.1km Harsewinkel - Gütersloh - Verl section of the former Teutoburger Wald Railway (TWE) plus the former TWE depot at Lengerich, which is further north on the Münster - Osnabrück main line. Passenger services will return to this line in late 2027 under a project being led by regional transport authority Westphalia-Lippe Local Transport Association (NWL).
In addition, RDC Deutschland has purchased the 10.4km Farge-Vegesacker Eisenbahn (FVE) line in the north of Bremen. This line is served by frequent regional and S-Bahn services from Bremen and is operated by Transdev subsidiary North West Railway (NWB) under a contract that runs until 2036. The line is electrified at 15kV ac.
Captrain, which is owned by French National Railways (SNCF), acquired both lines from Veolia in 2010, with Veolia buying the lines between 1997 and 2000. RDC says it will focus on developing freight traffic on the lines. The company already owns some rail infrastructure following its acquisition of North German Railway Niebüll (NEG) in 2022.
