 | |
| Company type | GmbH |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transport and logistics |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | 3,777 (2014) |
| Parent | Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane |
| Website | www |
Netinera (formerly Arriva Deutschland) is a bus and railway company operating in Germany. It is presently a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Italian state owned railway company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.
It was founded as a subsidiary of British transport company Arriva plc in 2003; Arriva Deutschland quickly expanded its presence via acquisitions, such as the German train operators Prignitzer Eisenbahn and Regentalbahn in 2004, the German bus operator Sippel in 2005, and the rail company Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen on April 2007. As such, within only a few years, Arriva Deutschland was providing both bus and train services across numerous German cities, including Münster, Frankfurt, and Berlin, as well as regional services across Saxony, Bavaria, and the Czech Republic. The company relocated its headquarters numerous times during these early years to better suit the location and scale of its operations.
During 2010, the German state railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) agreed terms to purchase Arriva plc; while the acquisition was approved by the European Commission, DB was required to sell on Arriva Deutschland to avoid adversely affecting competition in Germany. While multiple companies expressed interest, including Keolis, Veolia and Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, it was ultimately sold to a consortium of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and the French-Luxembourg investment fund Cube and renamed Netinera during early 2011.
Through the 2010s, Netinera has continued to develop its presence in Germany, such as the establishment of a new subsidiary called Vlexx to operate regional passenger train services in Rheinland-Pfalz, and the winding-down of operations under the Sippel brand. It operates various subsidiaries, including Alex, Enno, Erixx, Die Länderbahn, Metronom, OberpfalzBahn, ODEG, VogtlandBahn, and WaldBahn.[1]