Arriva begins new rail contract in Southern Sweden

[London, 9 December 2018] Arriva, a leading European passenger transport provider, announced today that its business in Sweden has started a new contract to operate the Pågatågen rail network in Skåne, Southern Sweden, for a further eight years.

The contract, valued at €550 million, will mean Arriva will provide services to passengers across the Pågatågen rail network until December 2026. Arriva was re-awarded the contract in June 2017 following a competitive tendering process.

Commenting on the start of the new contract, Arriva Group CEO, Manfred Rudhart, said: "Mainland Europe is an important growth engine for Arriva and so we are very pleased to have been re-awarded the Pågatågen rail network contract earlier this year. Approximately 23 million passenger journeys a year are made across this rail network helping to connect people to some of Sweden’s major cities, including Malmö, Helsingborg and Trelleborg. Through the new contract passengers will benefit from new trains, better connections and improved service information.”

Johan Åhlander, Managing Director for Arriva Sweden, said: “This new contract means we can continue to deliver a programme of service improvements for our passengers. As part of this new contract we’ve been given additional responsibility for fleet maintenance and station management, as well as managing rail replacement transport services. What this will mean for passengers is even better connectivity to places, friends and family.”

The beginning of the new rail contract builds on a strong year of growth for Arriva Sweden. In April this year, Arriva won a €185 million bus contract in Helsingborg that will introduce 82 new or modernised buses, including 13 electric buses which will be put into service as part of the new "Helsingborg Express Line" rapid bus system. Earlier this year in June, Arriva was re-awarded a €20 million a year contract to run buses in Ekerö, Stockholm, for a further ten years.

Arriva has been active in the Swedish bus market since 1999 and has been a rail transport provider since 2007 when it first started operating the Pågatågen rail contract. The company also runs bus services in Stockholm as part of the ‘E20 contract’ - the largest integrated, multi-modal public transport contract in Sweden.