The railway company DSB in Denmark and the railway and road operator FirstGroup have won a contract to provide regional passenger transport services in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The contract, concluded on a period of eight years, will enter force starting December 2010.

The service management will be entrusted to a joint company, DSBFirst Vast, in which DSB has a 70 percent stake and FirstGroup 30 percent. The value of the contract rises to around 2 Billion Danish crowns (EUR 268 Million).

The contract is one of the most important in Sweden, with a total number of passengers exceeding 15 million, with a 30-40% estimate increase starting 2012, when new line swill be introduced".

The regional railway passenger transport services in Gothenburg include 11 lines and represent more than a quarter of the total traffic in Sweden.

With the new contract, DSB will drive 22 million kilometres annually in Sweden, thus exceeding its foreign transport goal.