Siemens awarded contract in billion-euro project RRX – success for team led by Ute Jasper
The largest regional rail transport contract award in Germany yielded an exceptional first success. The contract is to be awarded to Siemens AG. The competition’s unexpectedly good result exceeds all expectations. Siemens is to supply more than 80 trains and to service them for over 30 years.
The trains will operate for the Rhein-Ruhr Express (RRX) in the future. With shorter cycle times and improved comfort, the RRX will significantly increase quality in regional rail transport. This is the first time that a manufacturer, Siemens, will not only build the vehicles, but also maintain and repair them, and guarantee their energy consumption. The contract award is based on the "NRW-RRX model" developed by the participating transport associations Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR), Nahverkehr Rheinland (NVR), Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe (NWL), Schienenpersonennahverkehr Rheinland-Pfalz Nord (SPNV-Nord), Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr AöR, and Verkehrsverbund und Fördergesellschaft Nordhessen mbH (NVV) jointly with the legal team of Dr. Ute Jasper. The Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek team has been the market-leading advisor in regional rail transport for many years and has designed numerous innovative concepts for public sector procurement.
"As a life-cycle project, the RRX bid is able to secure competitive advantages in a considerable amount, because the competition was not only directed at efficient vehicles, but also at the economic operation, especially at low energy consumption," explained procurement law specialist Dr. Ute Jasper of Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, "In addition to pricing, lightweight, energy-efficient vehicles were crucial for the awarding of the contract. Thus, the award procedure has been highly successful not only in economic, but also in ecological terms." "The exceptional commitment for the complex project has more than paid off for the client," said Dr. Christopher Marx, who is responsible for contract drafting in Dr. Ute Jasper’s team. Dr. Laurence Westen for public procurement law, Dr. Hannah Gesing also for contracts, Dr. Stefan Jöster for insurance, Dr. Stefan Proske for insolvency law, and Dr. Thorsten Kuthe for banking law also worked on the project.
