Major contracts won in 2005 consolidate Veolia Transport's position as the main private rail operator in Germany, where the volume of passengers using the regional rail systems is constantly increasing.
Turnover : 498.8 M€
Employees : 4254
Fleet of vehicles : 1359
The NordWestBahn rail system has reinforced its position as the largest private rail system in Germany by taking on the operation of the Emscher-Münsterland lines in the northern Ruhr. This 12-year contract includes three regional lines. NWB has also been awarded the new "Haller Willem" contract, a rail line between Bielefeld and Osnabrück. Operation will start in December 2006 and will generate €6.1 million per year. While Nord-Ostee-Bahn (NOB) began operating the Marschbahn, in December Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn (NEB ) began operating the Heidekrautbahn, a rail line to the north of Berlin. In addition, NEB has been awarded a contract for the operation of a regional Berlin-Küstrin (Poland) line for an eight-year period starting in December 2006. The contract is worth €9.7 million in turnover. This 82-km line is the only regional rail link in Germany offering a regular service between Berlin and Poland.
In December 2005, Veolia Transport began a 12-year period of operating the HarzElbeExpress rail lines. This 260-km regional rail system links the towns of Magdeburg, Halberstadt and Halle in the Land (administrative district) of Saxe-Anhalt. The increase in service quality and ridership has led to the renewal of a number of contracts, including one in Lower Saxony (managed by NordWestBahn) that involves the operation of a 340-km system over a 13-year period, generating annual turnover of €40 million. The region of Dusseldorf has renewed a contract worth €2.8 million per year with the Rheinisch-Bergische Eisenbahn (RBE ) subsidiary for the management of rail service on the Kaarst-Düsseldorf-Mettman line. Since its revival by RBE in 1999, this line's ridership has increased from 1,000 to 19,000 passengers per day.
The bus line portfolio has also expanded. Subsidiary Alpina Bad Homburg was awarded a contract for operations in Offenbach. This contract, the second won by Alpina in the region, involves 19 buses and represents annual turnover of €2.1 million over an eight-year period. In northern Germany, NVB acquired urban services for the town of Itzehoe, as well as the operation of Glückstadt's regional and urban lines. Service is provided by 30 employees and 19 buses, and represents annual turnover of €1.1 million. This eight-year contract began on January 1, 2006. NOB was entrusted with the operation of a bus line in Husum as of January 1, 2006, with 33 employees and 29 buses. Taeter Tour, a bus company in which Veolia Transport has a majority stake, started a service between Dresden and Wroclaw in Poland.
Veolia Transport also significantly increased its industrial activity by acquiring 50% of the capital of Dortmunder Eisenbahn. The German subsidiary Veolia Cargo Deutschland increased its annual turnover from €35 to €60 million and the number of employees from 200 to 400.