ComfortDelGro to bid to run Copenhagen metro from 2027 in tie-up with French firm RATP Dev
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The contract is expected to begin in September 2027 and a tender is expected to be called in June 2025.
PHOTO: COMFORTDELGRO
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SINGAPORE - A subsidiary of home-grown transport giant ComfortDelGro will bid to operate metro lines in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in a tie-up with French transport company RATP Dev.
In a joint statement on Jan 21, the companies said a consortium comprising RATP Dev and ComfortDelGro Transit has been formed to bid for an operation and maintenance contract for the Copenhagen metro system.
The contract is expected to begin in September 2027 and a tender is expected to be called in June 2025.
This is the third time that the two companies have joined hands to bid to run a metro line.
In 2023, ComfortDelGro Transit won a contract to operate the southern sector of Paris’ Line 15 for an initial term of six years as part of an international consortium with the state-owned RATP Dev and French train manufacturer Alstom.
In November 2024, a joint venture between SBS Transit – another ComfortDelGro subsidiary – and RATP Dev Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of RATP Dev, was appointed the operator of the upcoming Jurong Region MRT Line
The JRL contract marks the first time that a foreign operator will be involved in Singapore’s rail industry when the line starts running in phases from 2027.
The Copenhagen metro system is owned by the Danish state, but daily operations are handled by a private operator. Today, this operator is Metro Service A/S, a joint venture between two Italian transport companies, Azienda Trasporti Milanesi and Hitachi Rail STS.
The system comprises four lines spanning 44 stations, including 30 that are underground. All four lines are fully automated and driverless, and they run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
As at June 2024, the metro was serving about two million passengers every week.
In their statement on Jan 21, RATP Dev and ComfortDelGro said their new consortium brings together “two global leaders with decades of experience in high-capacity urban rail”.
The companies noted that the Copenhagen metro is expected to undergo significant upgrades and expansions over the course of the new contract, with ridership expected to increase.
They said their partnership will provide the expertise to deliver future-ready, complex system upgrades without service disruptions, as well as provide solutions to reduce carbon emissions, among other things.
The Copenhagen metro had, in 2024, signalled its intention to tender out the future operations and maintenance of the four rail lines.
The winning service provider is expected to handle matters such as passenger services, ticketing and asset maintenance.
It will also be expected to have a role in larger investment projects in the future, such as the replacement of the trains and signalling systems for the M1 and M2 lines.
The contract length is expected to be 12 years, with options for a three-year extension.
Payment under the contract is expected to be in the form of operation and maintenance fees.
Kok Yufeng is a transport correspondent at The Straits Times.
