DB Regio appeal stalls Bavarian contract handover - again
Bavaria’s regional rail authorities have suspended the award of a major 12-year operating contract for the Mainfranken network after incumbent DB Regio filed a formal appeal wednesday, 15 October. T
he contract, covering 7.2 million train-kilometres annually from December 2030 to December 2042, had been awarded to Agilis, a subsidiary of BeNEX.
The contract comprises two lots: express services including the RE 54 and RE 55 lines linking Frankfurt and Würzburg, and a regional S-Bahn network centred on Würzburg. The procurement process, launched in November 2024 by Bavaria’s rail authority BEG and the Rhein-Main transport association RMV, concluded with Agilis selected as the winning bidder earlier this year.
Familiar playbook
DB Regio submitted its appeal to the Southern Bavarian Public Procurement Office on 15 October. The move follows an established pattern: the incumbent operator previously delayed Agilis’s contract award for the Regensburg-Danube Valley services in 2021 through a similar appeal process.
The suspension means the contract cannot be finalised until the procurement review is completed. The duration of this process remains unclear, as does any potential impact on the planned December 2030 service start date.
Why it matters: The case highlights the vulnerability of EU rail procurement to post-award delays, with losing bidders able to freeze contracts for extended periods through appeals—a dynamic that affects service planning certainty and market entry strategies.
What’s next: The procurement chamber will review DB Regio’s appeal, but BEG and RMV have not indicated a timeline for the process. Both authorities have declined further comment while the review is ongoing.