SAXONY-Anhalt’s public transport authority NASA, the state of Brandenburg and Leipzig’s public transport authority ZVNL have jointly launched a tender for the operation of the Central German S-Bahn Network II.

The contract will run from December 14 2031 to December 9 2045. The winning bidder will be selected based on a combination of price and quality, with the proposed rolling stock fleet a key part of the quality assessment. Interested parties may submit more than one bid. The deadline for bid submission is December 3.

The contract covers approximately 7.3 million train-km a year across the following services:

  • S2: Dessau - Bitterfeld - Leipzig - Markkleeberg - Gaschwitz
  • S7: Eilenburg - Delitzsch - Halle (Saale) - Lutherstadt Eisleben - Sangerhausen
  • S8: Dessau - Lutherstadt Wittenberg - Falkenberg (Elster)
  • RE13: Magdeburg - Dessau - Leipzig
  • RE14: Dessau - Lutherstadt Wittenberg, and
  • RB51: Dessau - Lutherstadt Wittenberg - Falkenberg (Elster).

The tender also includes the following optional services:

  • Option 1: RB52 Magdeburg - Dessau Hbf (0.7 million train-km a year
  • Option 2: S22 Leipzig - Delitzsch CTC, 0.19 million train-km a year
  • Option 3: increasing frequency of RB51 between Lutherstadt Wittenberg and Falkenberg (Elster) to provide an hourly service, 0.27 million train-km a year, and
  • Option 4: extension of the contract until the 2046 timetable year.

These options will exercised by the relevant authorities at the time of contract award. Option 1 will be exercised by Saxony-Anhalt, Option 2 by the ZVNL, and Option 3 jointly by Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg.

Optional services will begin no earlier than the December 2031 timetable change and no later than the December 2032 timetable change. The exact start date will be confirmed when the contract is awarded. The operator must provide a conductor on at least 70% of services and the successful bidder will be responsible for procuring and providing the rolling stock required to operate the services. However, the contracting authorities may offer financial support for rolling stock acquisition.