National Express Germany

National Express Germany

Industry	Rail transport
Founded	13 December 2015
Headquarters	Cologne , Germany
Owner	Mobico Group
Website	www.nationalexpress.de

National Express Germany is a railway operator in Germany. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the British transport company Mobico Group.

National Express gained its first regional rail contracts in February 2013 and commenced operations on 13 December 2015. While the Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft awarded the company a separate contract to operate the Nuremberg S-Bahn system in January 2015, this decision was strongly opposed by the German national train operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) and National Express Germany opted to withdraw its bid in October 2016 due to the legal challenge's disruption. Nevertheless, the company was awarded parts two and three of the Rhein-Ruhr-Express in June 2015, which National Express Germany commenced between June 2019 and December 2020.

During January 2022, National Express was awarded an emergency contract to replace Abellio GmbH in the operation of services in North Rhine-Westphalia; a long term contract covering the same services followed one year later.

History

Bombardier Talent 2 at Solingen in December 2015

In February 2013, National Express was awarded a pair of regional rail contracts in Germany by the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, Zweckverband Nahverkehr Rheinland and Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe authorities.^[1][2] The company has anticipated that around 18 million passengers shall use the associated services annually, which would cumulatively generate around €1.6 billion of revenue.^[3] Services under these contracts commenced on 13 December 2015.^[4][5]

In January 2015, the Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft awarded National Express a separate contract to operate the Nuremberg S-Bahn system.^[6][7] It was set to commence in December 2018, taking over from the incumbent operator, the German state owned operator DB Regio, and would have been the first Deutsche Bahn (DB) S-Bahn network to be taken over by a private operator. However, DB unsuccessfully appealed the award by questioning the financial stability of National Express Germany.^[8][9] In October 2016, National Express withdrew its bid, stating that an inability to order new rolling stock during the protracted legal process instituted by DB would make its bid unviable.^[10][11] In response to gains by competing companies, DB reportedly launched efforts to reduce costs and sought to retain as much of its profitable regional services as possible.^[12]

In June 2015, National Express was awarded parts two and three of the Rhein-Ruhr-Express, which commenced in stages between June 2019 and December 2020.^[13][14]

During January 2022, following the financial difficulties of Abellio GmbH, National Express was awarded an emergency contract to operate services in North Rhine-Westphalia (Rhein-Express (RE/RRX 1) Aachen-Hamm and Rhein-Express (RE11) Düsseldorf-Kassel) for a two year period starting in February 2022.^[15] In January 2023, the company was issued with a longer-term contract to operate the RE1 and RE11 Rhein-Ruhr-Express lines through to 2033. This contract, valued at €1 billion, made National Express the second largest rail transport company operating in the region, covering an anticipated 20 million train kilometres in 2023.^[16][17]

Services

Line	Network	tph	Route	Rolling Stock	Contract commences	Contract finishes
RE 1 (RRX)	NRW-Express	1	Aachen – Köln – Düsseldorf – Duisburg – Essen – Dortmund – Hamm	Siemens Desiro HC EMUs	February 2022	December 2030
RE 4	Wupper-Express	1	Aachen – Mönchengladbach – Düsseldorf – Hagen – Dortmund	Siemens Desiro HC EMUs	December 2020	December 2033
RE 5 (RRX)	Rhein-Express	1	Koblenz – Köln – Düsseldorf – Duisburg – Oberhausen – Wesel	Siemens Desiro HC EMUs	June 2019	December 2033
RE 6 (RRX)	Westfalen-Express	1	Köln/Bonn Flughafen – Köln – Düsseldorf – Duisburg – Essen – Hamm – Minden	Siemens Desiro HC EMUs	December 2019	December 2033
RE 7	Rhein-Münsterland-Express	1	Krefeld – Neuss – Köln – Solingen – Wuppertal – Hagen – Hamm – Münster – Rheine[18]	Bombardier Talent 2 EMUs	December 2015	December 2030
RE 11 (RRX)	Rhein-Hellweg-Express	1	Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Paderborn Hbf – Hamm – Dortmund – Essen – Duisburg – Düsseldorf (from 02nd August, 2023 services only operate between Kassel and Hamm until further notice, with the exception of some select services between Hamm and Düsseldorf)	Siemens Desiro HC EMUs	February 2022	December 2030
RB 48	Rhein-Wupper-Bahn	2	Bonn-Mehlem – Bonn – Köln – Solingen – Wuppertal[19]	Bombardier Talent 2 EMUs	December 2015	December 2030

Rolling stock

The initial rolling stock operated by National Express was a fleet of 35 Bombardier Talent 2 electric multiple-units (EMUs) ordered in June 2013. Configured either as three-car and five-car sets, these trains can reach speeds of up to 100mph and have been furnished with interiors designed for accessibility and comfort, providing both first and standard-class seating along with multi-purpose areas to accommodate prams, wheelchairs and bikes.^[5][20] These were sold back to the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Association (VRR) and Westphalia-Lippe Local Transport (NWL) and leased back to National Express for the duration of the contract.^[21][22][23]

The Rhein-Ruhr-Express services are operated by Siemens Desiro HC double-decker EMUs.^[24] Based and serviced at the RRX depot in Dortmund, these trains provide 800 seats (200 seats greater than available aboard the previous generation of rolling stock) along with platform-level doors, air conditioning throughout, power outlets at the seats, and free onboard Wi-Fi.

For greater convenience and ease of operation, the Desire HC series is outfitted with advanced passenger information systems and an intelligent and predictive train diagnostics system along with extensive digital networking.^[25][26]

References

1. "National Express celebrates German rail success". National Express. 7 February 2013.
2. "National Express plans German invasion". The Daily Telegraph. 7 February 2013.
3. Brown, Graeme (27 September 2013). "National Express lands £1.35bn German train deal". business-live.co.uk.
4. "National Express starts two contracts on RME in Germany". Railway Technology. 15 December 2015.
5. Sadler, Katie (14 December 2015). "National Express begins rail operations in Germany". globalrailwayreview.com.
6. "National Express selected for Nuerenburg S-Bahn operating contract". Railway Gazette International. 3 February 2015.
7. "BEG confirms National Express as Nuernberg S-Bahn operator". Railway Gazette International. 16 December 2015.
8. Sadler, Katie (16 December 2015). "National Express confirmed as Nuremberg S-Bahn operator". globalrailwayreview.com.
9. "National Express clears Nuremberg S-Bahn legal hurdle". International Railway Journal. 16 December 2015.
10. "National Express pulls out of Nuernburg S-Bahn bidding". Railway Gazette International. 25 October 2016.
11. Wright, Robert (25 October 2016). "National Express pulls plans to operate German suburban trains". Financial Times.
12. "Germany: Bahn-storming". globalrailwayreview.com. 23 March 2016.
13. "National Express steams further into Germany". The Daily Telegraph. 16 June 2015.
14. "National Express and Abellio win Rhein-Ruhr Express contracts". Railway Gazette International. 16 June 2015.
15. "Concessions Given to Other Operators". railway-news.com. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
16. Robinson, Elliot (23 January 2023). "National Express Group awarded €1 Billion German rail contract". globalrailwayreview.com.
17. "UK's National Express rises as German rail unit wins $1.1 bln contract". Reuters. 23 January 2023.
18. RE 7 National Express (German)
19. RB 48 National Express (German)
20. "Bombardier wins order to supply TALENT 2 trains for National Express". globalrailwayreview.com. 4 June 2013.
21. "National Express orders Talent 2 emus for Germany". International Railway Journal. 4 June 2013.
22. "National Express Talent 2 EMU rolled out". Railway Gazette International. 28 November 2014.
23. "National Express launches first Bombardier Talent 2 train". Railway Technology. 3 December 2014.
24. "Rhein-Ruhr-Express depot construction launched". Railway Gazette International. 7 March 2017.
25. "Siemens delivers the RRX train fleet". railwaypro.com. 24 December 2020.
26. "Germany's Federal Railway Authority (EBA) officially approved the electric multiple unit (EMU) trains built by Siemens Mobility for the Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX)". europawire.eu. 6 December 2018.