NRW authorities and National Express restructure rail contracts

Better punctuality and seat capacity on busy lines; the RRX (RE 1, 4, 5, 6, 11) is to be re-tendered earlier

At the end of January 2026 the boards of the contracting authorities, National Express and its parent Mobico agreed to work out a restructuring of the rail contracts in North Rhine-Westphalia and parts of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate; the final text is still to be agreed. RE 7 and RB 48 move to a gross-cost contract with a fixed fee from 2026, the Rhein-Münsterland-Express contract is extended by at least two years to 12/2032, and the Rhine-Ruhr-Express term is shortened from 12/2033 to 12/2030 to prepare a re-tender. In return, National Express is to build in more buffers against delays and add seats on crowded routes (LOK Report, 30 Jan 2026).