Provisional award: railways sure of green power again in coming years

PZEM and Shell become new suppliers for sustainable energy trains for 3 years

(Utrecht, 7 September 2023) From 1 January 2025, PZEM and Shell (after the award is final) will supply the rail sector with sustainable electricity for running trains. NS has tendered for a new traction energy contract on behalf of the VIVENS cooperative and CIEBR (in which all railway companies are united). The tender called for solar and wind energy from Europe. The contract, with an annual volume of 1.46 Terrawatt hours*, is among the largest in the Netherlands. With this new contract, the rail parties ensure that the supply of sustainable electricity for running trains from 2025 to 2027 is once again secured. DB Cargo infrastructure manager Ben Appeldoorn, also chairman of VIVENS and CIEBR, said: 'I am satisfied that we managed to find new suppliers in this difficult energy market'.

* A Terrawatt hour (tWh) is equivalent to 1 billion Kilowatt hours (kWh) or 3.6 Petajoules (PJ). The Climate Agreement target is to generate 35 Terrawatt hours of renewable energy in the Netherlands by 2023.

New contract represents a positive development for rail freight transport

The new contract includes the Betuweroute: from sea to Zevenaar. The fact that in the new situation there will soon be a single contract for the entire Dutch railway network constitutes an important, positive development for rail freight transport. In the old situation, companies active in this segment were forced to use two different contracts: one for the mixed network and one for the Betuwe Route. Since due to work on the so-called third track in Germany, freight often has to divert to alternative routes over the mixed network, having one contract is a clear improvement compared to the old situation. It means a reduction in the administrative burden while at the same time increasing the predictability of the costs involved in the procurement of electricity: price conditions are now the same across the entire rail network.

The new contract, when finally awarded, will also mean that the current two cooperatives will merge into one organisation.