TRANSDEV has won an eight-year contract to operate local rail services in the Swedish region of Östergötland. The contract will commence in June 2025 and includes an option for a four-year extension.
Transdev will take over operations from VR Sweden, formerly Arriva, which was the only other bidder for the SKr 1bn ($US 94.6m) contract.
“The difference in evaluation prices [between the bids] was about 2.9%,” IRJ was told by Mr Johan Kindén, CEO of regional transport authority Östgötatrafiken. “There was such a small difference, so you couldn’t draw the conclusion that VR was better than Transdev.”
The new contract, which was signed on February 9, covers the Östgötapendeln commuter network, which carries four million passengers each year. The contract comprises all operations, including traffic control, planning, replacement services, and heavy maintenance of the rolling stock.
The lines included are: Norrköping – Linköping – Motala, and Mjölby – Boxholm – Tranås.
One slightly controversial part of the procurement is that ontrain staff will be abolished on a number of the services, a move that was met with much criticism when implemented in Stockholm last year.
“The purpose is to offer as good a service as possible,” Kindén says. “We’ll be having other types of staff onboard, such as security guards at weekend evenings or extra staff during weekends following pay day, whom we understand have more capacity to hinder disorder. During rush hours on weekdays, we don’t have that type of disorder.”
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