SOUTH Rhineland-Palatinate Regional Rail Authority (ZSPNV-Süd) and the French region of Alsace-Lorraine-Champagne-Ardennes (Grand Est) have reached an agreement with DB Regio and French National Railways (SNCF) to launch a new France-Germany regional service next year.

DB Regio subsidiary DB RegioNetz Verkehrs (Erzgebirgsbahn) has been awarded a three-and-half year direct-award contract by Central Saxony Transport Authority (ZVMS) to operate the Erzgebirge Diesel Network.

ALSTOM has received approval for its Coradia Lint 41 EMUs to operate in Poland. With certification already granted in the Czech Republic, the trains can be operated on cross-border services between these two countries and Germany.

THE first of six Škoda Transportation type 109E electric locomotives ordered by German Rail (DB) subsidiary DB Regio in June 2013 for high-speed regional services in Bavaria has begun dynamic testing at the VUZ Velim test track in the Czech Republic.

CENTRAL Saxony Transport Authority (ZVMS) has confirmed it intends to directly award a contract for the operation of the Erzgebirge Diesel Network to incumbent operator DB Regio.

GERMAN Rail (DB) subsidiary DB Regio has awarded Alstom a €40m contract to supply eight Coradia Lint DMUs for the Central Franconia regional network around Nuremberg.

COMPETITION continues to erode German Rail's dominance of the German regional rail market, according to a report published in March by German Federation of Regional Passenger Rail Authorities (BAG-SPNV).

FOLLOWING an international tender, North Hessen Transport authority (NVV) has awarded DB Regio subsidiary Kurhessenbahn (KHB) a contract to operate the Northwest Hessen Network group of non-electrified lines for 15 years from December 2017.

NEWCASTLE transport authority Nexus announced on March 14 that it does not intend to renew DB Regio's contract to operate the 75km Tyne & Wear Metro network.

BADEN-Württemberg minister of transport and infrastructure Mr Winfried Hermann, DB Regio CEO Dr Jörg Sandvoss and DB Regio Baden-Württemberg CEO Mr Andreas Moschinski-Wald, signed a concession agreement in Stuttgart on February 11 for the operation of the so-called Gäu-Murr group of regional services (Baden-Württemberg Network 3b).