- The EIB is providing Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn with €170 million in co-financing for new rolling stock.
- The modern, Siemens-built Desiro HC regional trains will enter service on the Magdeburg — Berlin — Cottbus route on 11 December 2022.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has contributed €170 million in financing for new regional passenger trains in the greater Berlin area.
From 11 December 2022, Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn Ltd (ODEG) will serve the regional RE1 train line from Magdeburg to Cottbus via Berlin and Frankfurt/Oder with modern Desiro HC trains built by Siemens. Departing every 20 minutes, each train will offer between 637 and 800 seats. This will increase line capacity by 70% at peak traffic times.
ODEG will put a total of 29 new Siemens Desiro HC trains into service, in addition to refurbishing 16 existing KISS regional express trains and adding eight new Alstom multiple-unit trains to the six lines in the Elbe-Spree network from March 2023.
The acquisitions were made through a leasing arrangement with DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing, financed by the EIB together with a syndicate between Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB) and Allianz Global Investors GmbH (Allianz GI) acting on behalf of multiple investors.
The new trains financed by the EIB will be leased to ODEG by DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing. In January 2019, ODEG was awarded a contract in a Europe-wide tender by the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB) to operate a total of six lines in the Elbe-Spree network.
The lease structure has the advantage of allowing new trains to be purchased for regional railway lines irrespective of the contract term.
In Germany, regional rail transport is co-financed by the federal states. Europe-wide calls for tender are regularly held for contracts to stimulate competition among suppliers. The term of ODEG’s contract for the Elbe-Spree network is 12 years. The new trains can remain on the network for at least an additional 12 years, regardless of who wins the operator contract in the next tender.
The EIB has also co-financed regional train leasing arrangements with partners elsewhere in Germany: for example, for the Nuremberg — Regensburg — Plattling line of the private railway holding company BeNEX.
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle congratulated ODEG on launching operations. “These new trains are a major step forward in the modernisation and development of regional rail in greater Berlin. We at the EU bank are convinced that a smooth-running rail network with good connections and enhanced passenger comfort can make a vital contribution to reducing pollution and mitigating climate change.”
Background information
The EIB’s key priorities are climate and the environment, development, innovation and skills, small and medium-sized enterprises, infrastructure and cohesion. It works closely with other EU institutions to foster European integration, further develop the European Union and promote EU policy objectives in more than 140 countries worldwide.
Part of Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing offers tailored, asset-based financing solutions in its target markets of corporates, real estate, supply and infrastructure, transport and logistics, and IT and healthcare. With transaction volumes of over €2.5 billion a year, the company is a leading specialist in implementing large-volume investment projects in Germany.
