GERMANY: The Land of Thüringen has given advance notice of its intention to directly award incumbent DB Regio a new contract to continue to operate a group of regional passenger services which require the use of tilting diesel-multiple units to achieve the required timings.

The Land said a direct award was justified as a market survey had found that only DB Regio had access to suitable vehicles.

The contract would run for seven years from December 12 2021, and cover the operation of trains every 2 h on the following routes: Göttingen – Leinefelde – Erfurt – Gera – Glauchau/ Chemnitz, Erfurt – Jena – Gera – Altenburg, Gera – Greiz (until December 2024), Erfurt – Grimmenthal – Würzburg and Ebenhausen – Bad Kissingen.