67.3 million euros for VRR and NWL / NRW.BANK supports emission-free local transport

NRW.BANK supports Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) in the acquisition of 63 locally emission-free regional trains with 67.3 million euros. The battery-powered trains of the Spanish company Contrucciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A. (CAF) were ordered by VRR together with Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe (NWL). In the future, they will be used in the Niederrhein-Münsterland network. On Monday, VRR, NWL and CAF signed the contract for the production, delivery and long-term maintenance of the trains.

“NRW.BANK’s promotional funds support North Rhine-Westphalia’s transformation towards low-emission and climate-resilient mobility,” says Michael Stölting, member of NRW.BANK’s Managing Board. “Locally emission-free public transport as planned in the Niederrhein-Münsterland network makes an important contribution to sustainable municipal development. As the promotional bank for North Rhine-Westphalia, we are happy to support this.”

From 2025, the 45 to 55 metre long trains are to connect the more rural areas of the Lower Rhine region and western Münsterland with the Ruhr/Düsseldorf conurbation on the tracks of the Niederrhein-Münsterland network. They will replace the current, partly still diesel-powered fleet by fully electrically powered trains. In addition to their electric drive, the new regional trains also have batteries. On electrified tracks, they can charge them via the overhead lines and thus also bridge the non-electrified routes in the VRR network without emissions.

The investment volume of the two special-purpose associations totals 354.9 million euros. Part of the investment will be funded with equity, resulting in a financing share for VRR of 232.2 million euros. 67.3 million euros thereof will be funded with the help of NRW.BANK. Infrastructure finance is one of the central tasks of the promotional bank. Public and social infrastructures are the lifelines of society and ensure that cities and municipalities remain attractive for businesses and citizens. NRW.BANK promotes what the local people need.

About NRW.BANK
NRW.BANK is the promotional bank of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Its mission is to support its owner – the state of North Rhine-Westphalia – in the completion of its structural and economic policy tasks. In its three promotional fields “Economy”, “Housing” and “Infrastructure/Municipalities”, NRW.BANK uses a wide range of promotion tools – from low-interest promotion loans to equity financing to advisory services. It cooperates with all banks and savings banks based in NRW on a competition-neutral basis. NRW.BANK takes into account the existing offers by the Federal Government, the North Rhine-Westphalian government and the European Union in the arrangement of its promotion.

Contact
Caroline Gesatzki
Press Officer
Tel.: + 49 211 91741-1847
Mobile: + 49 151 15179261
caroline.gesatzki@nrwbank.de