Rail competitor Metronome is apparently on the verge of extinction

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Metronome in Hamburg Central Station

Photo: Hanno Bode / IMAGO

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 in a special meeting on Tuesday, the Ministry of Transport announced on Wednesday in Hanover (click here for the press release). A corresponding contract should be drawn up by the end of February. The aim is to then re-tender the routes and hand them over to another operator. This could mean the end of the private rail provider.

The important routes Hamburg-Bremen, Hamburg-Lüneburg-Uelzen, Uelzen-Celle-Hannover and Hanover-Northeim-Göttingen are affected. The Metronom railway company, which operates the routes on behalf of the LNVG, was recently only able to ensure limited traffic due to a lack of staff. Replacement timetables with fewer trips have been in effect since the end of August 2023, which was recently extended until July 29th. 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.

80,000 passengers per day

According to reports, the high interest burden and poor availability of vehicles - these belong to the state of Lower Saxony - are also to blame for Metronom's misery. People in the industry say they miscalculated drastically. Now a face-saving solution must be found for everyone involved.

“Our goal is therefore, on the one hand, to fully maintain traffic on the route until June 2026 and to improve the service again,” said Transport Minister Olaf Lies (SPD), according to the statement. “On the other hand, we now want to offer our employees reliability and good prospects at the same time.” Since the trains used by Metronom belong to the LNVG, a change of operator is possible without major investments. 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 should be divided when the contract is awarded so that there should 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.

Metronom has been operating the routes of today's Hanseatic network since the end of 2011. The current contract would normally run until December 2033. According to the ministry, around 80,000 people use the trains every day.

beb/dpa