Go-Ahead wins German regional rail contract

BADEN-Württemberg public transport authority NVBW and the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG) have awarded the Go-Ahead Group, Britain, a contract to operate Network 3A (Murrbahn), which provides commuter services and links between Stuttgart and Nuremberg.

The 10-year contract starts in December 2019 and involves the operation of 1.3 million train-km per year on the Stuttgart - Schwäbisch Hall - Hessental - Crailsheim - Nuremberg line.

Services will be operated by a fleet of Stadler Flirt 3XL EMUs.

Go-Ahead also confirmed it has awarded Stadler a contract to maintain 45 Flirt EMUs from mid-2019. Stadler received the order for the 45 trains to operate on Lots 2 and 3 Stuttgart Network 1 concession in May 2016.

Stadler will supply 11 three-car and 15 five-car trains for Lot 2 and nine four-car and 10 six-car EMUs for Lot 3. The low-floor trains will be compliant with the Technical Standard for Interoperability (TSI) for Safety in Railway Tunnels (SRT) and Fire Protection Category B as they will operate in the new tunnels being constructed as part of the Stuttgart 21 project.

The trains for Lot 3 will be fitted with DB Networks' LZB cab signalling system and will be prepared for the installation of ETCS Level 2. The three and six-car trains will have a maximum speed of 160km/h.