Questions & Answers as of January 31, 2024.
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There have been restrictions on the Metronome routes in Lower Saxony for months, including between Bremen and Hamburg. Now Lower Saxony is apparently pulling the emergency brake.
Due to ongoing problems with the rail operator Metronom, the state of Lower Saxony now wants to negotiate an early termination of the transport contract for the so-called Hanseatic network. The supervisory board of the Lower Saxony State Local Transport Company (LNVG) authorized the management to do this at a special meeting on Tuesday, the Ministry of Transport announced on Wednesday in Hanover. A corresponding contract should be drawn up by the end of February.
What’s next for the route between Bremen and Hamburg?
The good news first: Nothing will change for commuters or employees. The existing contract is scheduled to be canceled in June 2026. Until then, all trips will continue to be ordered and paid for as before, says Dirk Altwig, spokesman for the Lower Saxony State Local Transport Company (LNVG): “From our point of view, there is no reason to cut anything.” The LNVG also assumes that Metronom will continue to look for staff in order to offer more trips again.
Our goal is therefore, on the one hand, to fully maintain traffic on the route until June 2026 and to improve the offer again. On the other hand, we now want to offer our employees reliability and good prospects at the same time.
Olaf Lies (SPD), Transport Minister for Lower Saxony
What will happen from 2026?
Even then there will be no problems for the employees: “They will all keep their jobs. Whoever runs these networks will have to take over the employees.” According to Altwig, this guarantee also applies to people who are new to Metronome.
The situation is set to improve for commuters in the future: Metronome has so far been unable to keep up with the frequency due to a lack of staff and has had to switch to a replacement timetable. There are “major problems with regard to the quality and reliability of the offer,” the ministry said in a statement. This made the resolution of the Supervisory Board necessary. If the route is re-tendered, this will at least give commuters hope that a new operator can keep up with the regular service in the future.
Since the trains used by Metronom belong to the LNVG, a change of operator is possible without major investments, says Lower Saxony’s Transport Minister Olaf Lies. The previous operator Metronom could also apply for a new tender, added Lies. “The Metronome brand is firmly established.” According to the Ministry of Transport, the network will be divided when the contract is awarded so that there could be several providers. Carmen Schwabl, managing director of the state local transport company, called for more money from the federal and state governments for local and regional transport.
What does Metronom say about the planned early end of the contract?
Metronom welcomes the step: “The common goal of the LNVG and us as railway operators is to terminate the existing contract by June 2026,” said a spokeswoman. Since the start of the current contract in 2018, the general conditions for private railway companies have become significantly more difficult. In addition to rising costs, Metronom is faced with the severe shortage of skilled train drivers. “Against this background, the Metronom asked the LNVG at the end of December to enter into appropriate negotiations in order to limit future losses from the transport contract, which runs until the end of 2033,” said the spokesman.
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Bremen Eins, news, January 31, 2024, 1 p.m