A UK rail company which was stripped of the East Coast Mainline is to serve millions of German commuters.
National Express beat current incumbent Deutsche Bahn to win the pair of 15-year regional rail contracts, which cover the cities of Cologne and Bonn.
The deal is a rare reversal of the trend that has seen Deutsche Bahn’s Arriva division run services in Wales, as well as Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry.
It also marks another step in the recovery in fortunes for the rail arm of National Express, which was stripped of the East Coast Mainline franchise in 2009.
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