Skip to main content

EIB provides loan for Rhine-Ruhr Express project

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a US$370 million long-term loan to finance the upgrading of the local public transport system in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The funds will be used to purchase 82 new double-deck electric trains offering better energy efficiency, greater capacity and special barrier-free passenger comfort for the Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) project. RRX is North Rhine-Westphalia’s most important rail project. Promoted by the four neighbouring transport associations VRR,
July 17, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The 4270 European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a US$370 million long-term loan to finance the upgrading of the local public transport system in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The funds will be used to purchase 82 new double-deck electric trains offering better energy efficiency, greater capacity and special barrier-free passenger comfort for the Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) project.
 
RRX is North Rhine-Westphalia’s most important rail project. Promoted by the four neighbouring transport associations VRR, NWL, NVR and SPNV Nord, it consists of interconnecting the Rhine-Ruhr region with a network of six lines, whose backbone will be the Cologne-Düsseldorf- Duisburg-Essen-Dortmund-Hamm corridor. Alongside the EIB, KfW IPEX-Bank and Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba) will also be financing the project.
 
When signing the framework agreements, EIB President Werner Hoyer said that “with the close cooperation of the four transport associations, the RRX project is a first for North Rhine-Westphalia’s local transport system. The Rhine-Ruhr Express represents a key sustainable and customer-focused transport solution for NRW that will be appreciated in the region and beyond”. President Hoyer also expressed his confidence that the EIB would do further business with the participating transport associations in future years.
 
The EIB has long supported sustainable and environmentally responsible transport solutions, financing the upgrading of both infrastructure and rolling stock. By providing modern, energy-saving light trains, the RRX project will help to tangibly improve the quality of local passenger transport in North Rhine-Westphalia. The contract to build and maintain the new double-deck trains was won by 189 Siemens earlier this year following a Europe-wide procurement process.

Related Content

  • February 9, 2015
    Israel Railways deploys train planning system
    Israel Railways is to use HaCon’s train planning system, TPS, for its train planning and capacity management, including all schedules and route inquiries for passenger and freight traffic. The rail operator aims to fully replace its legacy tools and systems with TPS by the end of the year. The contract also includes HAFAS components for timetable publishing. Israel Railways acts as both infrastructure manager and train operator, with 2,370 employees and a network of approximately 1,100 kilometres of tr
  • August 11, 2020
    Barcelona 'superblocks' mobility project gets EIB support
    Moves to prioritise pedestrians are part of €95m investment in Spanish city
  • December 20, 2013
    Green buses for Kazakhstan
    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is to make a loan of up to US$18.8 million to Avtobusnyi Park Kyzylorda, a municipal public transport company in the city of Kyzylorda, for purchasing of up to 100 green buses that run on CNG (compressed natural gas), the depot workshop equipment and GPS dispatching system. Krymbek Kusherbayev, of Kyzylorda Oblast, said: “Our citizens deserve better urban transport services. Today the local authorities and SPK Baikonur are pleased to receive EB
  • December 20, 2013
    EBRD supports Kazakhstan railway improvements
    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the national railways company, in its drive to radically improve energy efficiency across its operations. A US$40 million loan, US$700,000 of which will be provided by the Clean Technology Fund, will finance a series of new technologies to reduce energy consumption, from an upgraded lighting system to alternative heating solutions such as heat pumps, solar water heaters and boiler upgrades. The progra