DB Arriva will provide new regional transport services in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. The regional transport project entitled E20 involves planning and operating an integrated and complex system of bus and rail traffic. The largest multi-modal transport contract in the history of Sweden was awarded to the DB subsidiary Arriva by the client body Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL) in November 2011 following an international invitation for tenders.

“The launch of the first operations phase is a milestone in our international regional transport activities,” commented Ulrich Homburg, Head of Passenger Transport at Deutsche Bahn. “DB Arriva will operate a highly integrated travel system which ensures that the different transport modes are ideally coordinated, making public transport an even more attractive alternative for passengers. In doing so, we profit from our comprehensive national and international activities and can put our decades of experience in the different European markets to good use.”

The E20 contract will be implemented in two stages: as from today, DB Arriva will initially be responsible for various tram and light rail lines and will also operate 250 buses. The second phase will begin in January 2013, when more than 2000 Arriva employees will operate around 480 buses and more than 180 trams and light trains, carrying approx. 94 million passengers a year.

DB Arriva is also investing in vehicles which satisfy the latest environmental and comfort standards. Amongst other things, it has ordered 77 new Citea XLE low-floor coaches from the Dutch manufacturer VDL. Arriva Sweden will take over a further 85 vehicles from its Arriva colleagues in the Netherlands. The buses will undergo a sophisticated modernisation programme to bring them up to most modern standards. Arriva bus drivers have also been given the chance to contribute their experience, which will be taken account in the design of the driver’s cabs.DB Arriva which is responsible for Deutsche Bahn’s regional passenger transport services outside Germany , has already been active in the Swedish bus market since 1999 and has provided rail services in Sweden since 2007.