THE Rhine-Ruhr Transport Authority (VRR) in northwest Germany has selected Vias Rail as preferred bidder for a 15-year contract to operate Partial Network D, comprising two S-Bahn lines and regional express services between Haltern am See and Bochum.
The new contract is due to start in December 2029. It will involve the operation of 3.8 million train-km year on the following lines:
- S5: Dortmund - Witten - Hagen
- S8: Mönchengladbach - Neuss - Düsseldorf - Erkrath - Wuppertal - Gevelsberg - Hagen, and
- RE 41: Haltern am See - Recklinghausen - Bochum.
The contract stipulates that onboard personnel will be present on every second train during the daytime, and on every service after 18.00.
Passenger capacity on Line S8 will be increased by operating more trains in multiple, with a new fleet of 36 Stadler XL EMUs to be deployed on S-Bahn operations. Each 70m-long train will have a total of 180 seats, more than the current fleet.
To reduce station dwell times, the new trains have six pairs of extra-wide doors on each side. They will feature multi-functional spaces near the doors, providing room for wheelchairs, buggies, bicycles and luggage, and will be equipped with accessible toilets.
The new fleet will be financed and owned by VRR, following the model adopted by other regional public transport authorities in Germany. Vias Rail selects and orders the trains, selling them directly to VRR which leases them back to Vias Rail for the duration of the operating contract.
Given the 30-year working life of rolling stock, this will enable the new fleet to be deployed under future operating contracts.
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