Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advises on largest German regional rail transport award: RRX bid starts in North Rhine-Westphalia
The Rhine Ruhr traffic association (VRR) published the invitation to bid for five RE lines (RE 1, 4, 5, 6 and 11) of the Rhein-Ruhr-Express. Operation is to start with new premium vehicles at the end of 2018. VRR is leading the project on behalf of all participating regional authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Hesse. Total order volume for all procedures - vehicles, operation, financing - will amount to several billion euro. The invitation to bid for vehicle acquisition will be part of a second procedure, which already commenced in the fall of 2013.
"The RRX awards place North Rhine-Westphalia at the top of innovative bids in regional rail transport. For the first time, the investments will be awarded on a sustainable basis in accordance with the total cost for construction, operation, and energy," Dr. Ute Jasper, public procurement law expert at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, explained. "Never before has energy efficiency been as important as in this bidding procedure. Passengers, taxpayers, and the environment will benefit."
Jasper leads a team of specialized lawyers supporting the contracting authorities in this complex project. In addition to experts for public procurement law and contract law, the team includes specialists for public subsidy law, finance law, European and national transport law, insolvency law, and employment law.
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek's "Public Sector & Public Procurement" department has been holding the top spot in the Public Procurement Law ranking of JUVE Handbook Commercial Law Firms 2013/2014 and according to "Law Firms in Germany," is "the provider of choice on the market" for infrastructure. Dr. Ute Jasper, Head of the "Public Sector & Public Procurement" Practice Group, received numerous national and international awards in 2013. Particularly in the area of regional traffic, the "Public Sector & Public Procurement" department, owing to its comprehensive expertise, is advising on large-volume and legally complex bids in numerous German states.
