Sweg remains in the Ortenau and expands its route network

Sweg remains in the Ortenau and expands its route network

sweg wins award procedures for rail traffic around Offenburg and Hermann-Hesse-Bahn

The Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehr-GmbH (SWEW) received the contract in a award procedure for rail traffic around Offenburg and on the reactivated Hermann Hesse-Bahn. The previous operator of the railway company will continue to be responsible for the company in the region in the future. The new contract, which has a term of 15 years, comes into force in December 2023

The SWEG will not only continue the existing rail traffic in the Ortenau, but also take over the company on the reactivated Hermann Hesse-Bahn, probably from 2025. In addition, the SWEW was transferred the traffic service on the route between Strasbourg and Offenburg for a separate period of three years. From December 2026, this route will be part of a new rail network that includes all cross -border connections between Germany and France. The tender for this took place in cooperation with the responsible tasks in the Région Grand Est, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.

According to the Minister of Transport of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Hermann, the drive turn in the country will be initiated with the takeover of the company by Sweg. Instead of environmentally harmful diesel trains, newly procured battery trains are to be used in the future. This measure is written in the Ortenau history, since for the first time in Baden-Württemberg, an entire rail network in daily operation is used with innovative drives.

In order to implement the new operating concept with the innovative battery trains, various infrastructure measures were taken. This includes, for example, platform extensions and the construction of the infrastructure to charge the tensile batteries. However, the completion of a new switch in Freudenstadt station is still pending. Only when this measure is completed will it be possible thanks to the battery technology to drive across the board across the board.

The SWEW will now take over the rail traffic around Offenburg and on the Hermann Hesse-Bahn and herald the drive turn with the help of innovative battery trains. This represents a significant step towards environmentally friendly mobility and enables an emission -free train journey on an entire rail network. The extension of the platforms and other infrastructural measures are necessary to implement the new operating concept. In addition, in cooperation with the French SNCF, the SWEW will continue to carry out traffic on the route between Strasbourg and Offenburg until this route becomes part of a new rail network that includes all cross -border connections between Germany and France.