GERMANY: Go-Ahead Group has agreed to sell its German rail business to Austrian Federal Railways’ passenger division ÖBB-Personenverkehr, and is looking at options for the future of its Norwegian activities.

Managing Director of Go-Ahead Deutschland Fabian Amini said ÖBB ‘has a good reputation in Germany’. The sale would ‘secure the future of our business in Germany and position it for growth. With ÖBB as a strong partner at our side, this represents excellent prospects for our passengers, our clients and our employees.’

The transaction announced on October 12 is expected to be completed by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval. The price is not being disclosed.

Go-Ahead Deutschland holds the Land of Baden-Württemberg’s Stuttgart Netz Lot 1b (Rems–Fils), Lot 1c (Franken-Enz) and Netz 3b Murrbahn operating contracts, and Bayern’s E-Netz Allgäu and Augsburger Netze Lot 1 contracts. It has around 1 000 employees and 144 electric multiple-units.

Internationalisation path

ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä said the Austrian national operator is continuing its path of internationalisation.

’ÖBB is already internationally active — as the leading provider of night trains in Europe and as the second strongest freight railway in the EU, operating in 18 countries’, he said. ‘We see good potential in southern Germany to grow even more strongly in passenger transport.’

Head of ÖBB-Personenverkehr Sabine Stock said the purchase is an investment for the future, and Go-Ahead Deutschland would ‘retain its current independence while also benefiting from the experience and expertise of ÖBB-Personenverkehr.’

Law firm Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner advised the Go-Ahead Group on the deal.

Committed to the UK and metropolitan rail

‘We are proud of the rail services we have delivered to passengers in Germany over the last four years in spite of very challenging conditions’, said Go-Ahead Group CEO Christian Schreyer. ’We have introduced a fleet of new trains, we have brought in a very motivated team and established one of the biggest driver training schools in Germany.

‘I am pleased that we are now able to sell the business in good shape to a well-respected rail operator with ambitious plans for the German network.’

Go-Ahead Group operates buses in the UK, Singapore, Ireland, Sweden and Australia. It operates trains in Germany and Norway, and holds the UK’s largest rail operating contract through the Govia Thameslink Railway 65:35 joint venture with Keolis. It was unsuccessful in a bid for a contract to operate local services in the Helsinki region.

Schreyer said Go-Ahead ’remains fully committed to rail in the UK, and to expansion in metropolitan rail elsewhere in the world’.

A spokesperson told Railway Gazette International that the Go-Ahead company is pleased with the operational performance of Norwegian business, but it is operating under ‘challenging contractual conditions’ and ‘all options are under consideration’ for the future.