Metronom Eisenbahngesellschaft

Metronom Eisenbahngesellschaft
GmbH
Industry Rail transport
Headquarters Uelzen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Key people
Wolfgang Birlin
Products transport
Increase 163.2 million (2009)
Owner
  • NiedersachsenBahn (69,9%)
  • BeNex (25,1%)
  • Bremer Straßenbahn AG (5,0%)
Number of employees
320
Website www.der-metronom.de

Metronom Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH is a German non-state-owned railway company[1] based in Uelzen, Lower Saxony since December 2005. The company is exclusively for passenger transport and operates the lines Hamburg-Bremen, Hamburg-Uelzen-Hanover-Göttingen, and Hamburg-Cuxhaven. The company brand is often rendered in lower case as metronom. Train runs in timetables are abbreviated officially ME for trains running express and MEr (Metronom regional) for trains stopping everywhere.

History

At the end of the 1990s, the three participating States of GermanyLower Saxony, Hamburg and Bremen—agreed to replace Regional-Express services on the routes between Hamburg and Bremen and Hamburg-Uelzen operated by DB Regio with their own railway company.

The company was founded in February 2002 under the name of MetroRail. The ownership structure has remained unchanged and consists of three companies that represent the individual states and were based almost exclusively in the public domain. Specifically, these are the NiedersachsenBahn GmbH (69.9%), the BeNEX GmbH (25.1%) and the Bremer Straßenbahn AG (5.0%). The NiedersachsenBahn GmbH acts as an operating company and is a union of the railways Osthannoverschen AG (OHE) (60%), based in Celle and the railways and transport companies Elbe-Weser GmbH (Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser) (40%) of Zeven.

In autumn 2003, the company was renamed after a dispute with Metro AG and their current name and the logo were adopted. For 14 December 2003 the operation was established on the lines Hamburg-Bremen and Hamburg-Uelzen.

In April 2007, the majority of the OHE was sold, by the state of Lower Saxony, Germany and the DB Regio AG, after a bidding process to the British transport company Arriva Bachstein GmbH, in which the Arriva Germany GmbH is involved with 86%. As a result Arriva indirectly controls 30.7% of the capital of the Metronom Eisenbahngesellschaft and so is its largest shareholder.

Metronom doesn't own vehicles or maintenance resources. All locomotives and railway carriages are rented by the state transport company Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen mbH (LNVG) and are maintained in the depot of OHE Uelzen by personnel of the manufacturer Bombardier Inc. and the OHE. This depot was built specifically for the maintenance of the metronome-trains and is located in the north of Uelzen, in the so-called Dannenberger Bogen. The maintenance of the trains by the Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser for the Lower Elbe Railway takes place in Bremervörde, for this the trains are transferred through partly of the route of the former Buxtehude Harsefelder Eisenbahn and partly through the section of the Stade-Bremervörde Moor Express, at the latter three complete units coupled together.

With the monitoring and disposal of its trains, the railway company metronome has also mandated the OHE. From Celle the OHE staff controls around the clock the entire company operations and initiates appropriate measures to stop irregularities (e.g. delays, road closures, personnel failures, vehicle interference).

Names of Metronom locomotives

"Bad Bevensen" at Bremen Hauptbahnhof

Overview of current lines

New since December 2008 from Hamburg to Cuxhaven over Buxtehude - Stade. Slow Trains Metronom regional between Hamburg and Tostedt with stops in Sprötze, Klecken and Hittfeld on the kb 120 Line. From 2010 Metronom will run the slow trains from Hamburg to Bremen.

Bremen–Hamburg (KBS 120)
Stations and stops km
Bremen Hauptbahnhof 0.0
Rotenburg (Wümme) 42.8
Scheeßel 52.2
Lauenbrück 57.9
Tostedt 72.0
Buchholz in der Nordheide 83.5
Hamburg-Harburg 103.6
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof 115.6
Hamburg Dammtor 117.0
Hamburg-Altona 122.1
Hamburg–Uelzen–Hannover (KBS 110)
Stations and stops km
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof 0.0
Hamburg-Harburg 12.3
Winsen (Luhe) 31.2
Lüneburg 50.1
Bienenbüttel 63.1
Bad Bevensen 72.5
Uelzen 85.3
Suderburg 96.2
Unterlüß 108.5
Eschede 120.0
Celle 137.7
Großburgwedel 157.0
Isernhagen 161.4
Langenhagen Mitte 169.0
Hannover Hauptbahnhof 178.9
Hamburg–Stade–Cuxhaven (KBS 121)
Stations and stops km
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof 0.0
Hamburg-Harburg 12.3
Buxtehude 33.2
Horneburg 41.9
Stade 54.1
Hammah 61.6
Himmelpforten 65.6
Hechthausen 71.3
Hemmoor 77.9
Wingst 86.1
Cadenberge 90.0
Otterndorf 101.8
Cuxhaven 116.0
Hanover–Göttingen (KBS 350)
Stations and stops km
Hannover Hauptbahnhof 0.0
Hannover Bismarckstraße 3.1
Hannover Messe/Laatzen 8.0
Rethen (Leine) 11.9
Sarstedt 18.4
Barnten 22.9
Nordstemmen 26.5
Elze (Han) 32.9
Banteln 39.0
Alfeld (Leine) 50.0
Freden (Leine) 58.7
Kreiensen 68.8
Einbeck Salzderhelden 76.8
Northeim (Han) 88.6
Nörten-Hardenberg 97.8
Göttingen 108.1

References

  1. metronom (July 11, 2011). "PRESSEINFORMATION: GDL streikt trotz Schlichtungsangebot". metronom. Retrieved 28 July 2014.

External links