Veolia Verkehr, Veolia Transport’s German subsidiary, is continuing to grow in Germany with 13 new regional passenger rail lines in three different regions: Saxony, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia.

The first contract concerns the Leipzig regional rail system. Veolia Verkehr operates a 219 km system with eight lines. The contract is for three years and runs until end 2012, when transportation in the Leipzig region will be reorganized, with completion of the rail tunnel that will cross the city. This contract, which took effect in December 2009, corresponds to 22 diesel railcars and 150 employees taken on by Veolia Verkehr.

In Bavaria, the Bayerische Regiobahn (BRB) operates a 2 lines system of approximately 200 km in the area of Augsburg. The contract started in December 2008 and will run until end 2019. In 2009, the contract was extended by the line Augsburg-Ingolstadt-Eichstätt. Veolia Transport will be taking on 95 new employees and operating 28 diesel railcars, which travel around 3 million km/year. One year after BRB brought the Augsburg-Schongau line into service, the expertise of Veolia Verkehr was recognized, with a rise in passenger numbers on these lines formerly operated by Deutsche Bahn, thanks to the policy of close communication with passengers. BRB contributed to this improvement with a new customer-relations service, an improved ticketing system and child-friendly facilities in the trains.

Lastly, in North Rhine-Westphalia, NordWestBahn (NWB) is operating three new lines between Northern Rhineland and Westphalia. The contract, which started at the end of 2009, runs for 16 years, until 2025. NWB will have to recruit some 90 new employees, taking the total to around 500 people, to operate a 1,054 km system with approximately 100 diesel railcars. In December 2010, two additional lines will be added between Oberhausen and Duisburg-Ruhrort and between Oberhausen and Dorsten.

“In the area of management and deregulation of its rail network, Germany has always been a pioneer. Veolia Transport has been active since the opening of this network and is very steadily winning new market share. I congratulate our German teams for these fresh successes that strengthen our position in this country, where Veolia Transport has always had high ambitions”
said Cyrille du Peloux, Chief Executive Officer, Veolia Transport.