Rurtalbahn

What Rurtalbahn does

Rurtalbahn GmbH is a regional railway operator headquartered in Düren, Germany, jointly owned by the RATH Gruppe and the Beteiligungsgesellschaft des Kreises Düren. The company operates three regional rail lines — RB 21 Süd (Düren–Heimbach), RB 21 Nord (Düren–Linnich), and the RB 28 Eifel-Bördebahn (Düren–Euskirchen) — across approximately 95 kilometers of track serving 28 stations in the Kreis Düren and Heinsberg regions of North Rhine-Westphalia. Operations are supported by a dedicated maintenance facility, the Werkstatt Düren, and a fleet comprising Alstom LINT 54 diesel multiple units (three vehicles, 165 seats each, built 2017) and Stadler Regio Shuttle RS1 reserve units (70 seats each).

The business model combines public passenger fares, collected under the AVV and VRS tariff associations and the forthcoming unified Rheinlandtarif from June 2026, with government-funded traffic contracts (Verkehrsverträge) awarded by transport authority go.Rheinland, including a December 2021–December 2025 contract covering 493,250 train-km/year for RB 21 Nord and RB 28. Ticket distribution runs through DB Vertrieb vending machines at all stations, mobile apps (AVV Connect, naveo, eezy.nrw), and the central AVV online shop. The core customer base is the general traveling public — commuters, students, apprentices (Azubis), and leisure travelers — supplemented by employees of the Forschungszentrum Jülich on the RB 21 line.

Strategic positioning is anchored by long-dated regulatory contracts, deep municipal co-ownership, and a forward-looking program of platform modernization (EUR 2.46 million in NRW public funding for 76 cm platform height upgrades and length extensions), hydrogen-powered train testing with Alstom's Coradia iLint, and participation in the 2026 Rheinlandtarif unification. Rurtalbahn has earned top station quality ratings from go.Rheinland for eleven consecutive years, including 99.4% at Vettweiß and 98.9% at Nörvenich-Binsfeld in the 2023 Stationsbericht.

Name

Rurtalbahn

Legal name

Rurtalbahn GmbH

Website

https://rurtalbahn.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rurtalbahn GmbH is a private German regional railway operator jointly owned by RATH Gruppe and Kreis Düren, running three rail lines across ~95 km and 28 stations in the Kreis Düren and Heinsberg regions, serving commuters, students, and leisure travelers under government traffic contracts and AVV/VRS tariff integration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Passenger Rail Transport

NAICS

Rail Transportation (4821)

SIC

Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100)

akta.pro primary industry

Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) Regional Rail Services (THAIACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regional Rail (Short-to-Mid Distance) Passenger Operators (THAIACAC), Rail Replacement/Disruption Bus Service Operators (Operator-Run) (TLAFADAI)

Keywords

• Regional rail transport
• Passenger rail services
• Public transit operations
• Rail infrastructure management
• Scheduled railway services

Headquarters

HQ city

Düren

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Transport Fare Revenue: Revenue generated from passenger fares under the AVV (Aachener Verkehrsverbund) and VRS (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg) tariff systems. Tickets are sold through station machines, apps, and onboard sales. The Rheinlandtarif reform from June 2026 introduces simplified three-tier pricing.
2. Traffic Contracts (Verkehrsverträge): Government-funded traffic contracts awarded by transport authorities (NVR/go.Rheinland) for operating railway lines RB 21 Nord, RB 21 Süd, and RB 28 (Eifel-Bördebahn). Current contracts run until December 2025 for RB 21 Nord and RB 28 with 493,250 train-km/year for RB 21 Nord.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Rurtalbahn operates scheduled regional passenger rail services on three lines (RB 21 Süd Düren–Heimbach, RB 21 Nord Düren–Linnich, RB 28 Eifel-Bördebahn Düren–Euskirchen) across approximately 95 km of network serving 28 stations in the Kreis Düren and Heinsberg regions of North Rhine-Westphalia. The company also operates rail replacement bus services (Schienenersatzverkehr) during track maintenance and provides vehicle maintenance through its in-house Werkstatt Düren workshop facility. Services are delivered under government-awarded traffic contracts from go.Rheinland (formerly NVR) and integrated with the AVV and VRS tariff systems, transitioning to the unified Rheinlandtarif from June 2026.

Product overview

Rurtalbahn is a regional railway (Schienenpersonennahverkehr) operating approximately 95 km of rail network in the Kreis Düren and Heinsberg regions. The company operates three core rail lines: RB 21 Süd (Düren–Heimbach), RB 21 Nord (Düren–Linnich), and RB 28 Eifel-Bördebahn (Düren–Euskirchen). Services are supplemented by electronic ticketing through eezy.nrw and the new Rheinlandtarif, rail replacement bus services during maintenance, and workshop facilities at Düren. The company is part of the RATH Gruppe and has operated since 2003 as a rail infrastructure company, expanding to passenger service operations since 2020.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RB 21 Süd (Düren–Heimbach) Scheduled regional rail passenger service on the southern branch of the Rurtalbahn network connecting Düren to Heimbach, operated by Rurtalbahn since 2020 as part of its public passenger transport mandate.
• RB 21 Nord (Düren–Linnich) Scheduled regional rail passenger service on the northern branch of the Rurtalbahn network connecting Düren through Jülich to Linnich, operated with three Alstom LINT 54 diesel multiple units (165 seats each) built in 2017 and serving Forschungszentrum Jülich.
• RB 28 Eifel-Bördebahn (Düren–Euskirchen) Scheduled regional rail passenger service on the Eifel-Bördebahn line connecting Düren to Euskirchen, with weekday operations since December 2019 and hourly service since 2023, operated using Stadler Regio Shuttle RS1 reserve fleet vehicles.
• Schienenersatzverkehr (SEV) Rail replacement bus service operated by Rurtalbahn during track closures, bridge repairs, and maintenance works to maintain passenger transportation continuity on the affected lines.
• Werkstatt Düren In-house railway vehicle maintenance and repair workshop at the Düren headquarters site, providing rolling stock servicing for the Rurtalbahn fleet and offered to third parties under published terms of use (Nutzungsbedingungen).

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.4% station quality rating at Vettweiß station (RB 28) in go.Rheinland Stationsbericht 2023
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and strategic.

• go.Rheinland (formerly Nahverkehr Rheinland NVR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 September 2021Transport authority and contracting partner for SPNV services. Signed four-year traffic contracts (Dec 2021 - Dec 2025) for RB 28 and RB 21 Nord operations totaling 493,250 train-km/year. Provides government funding for infrastructure modernization including 2.46M EUR for platform upgrades.
• RATH GruppecoreOthers · 1 January 2003RATH Gruppe is the parent company and primary owner of Rurtalbahn GmbH. The group provides railway passenger transport (SPNV), international freight transport, infrastructure reactivation and maintenance, railway-specific software development, and personnel training. The group has operated the Rurtalbahn rail network since 2003 and expanded into public passenger transport since 2020.
• Beteiligungsgesellschaft des Kreises DürencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003Joint ownership of Rurtalbahn GmbH between RATH Gruppe and the Kreis Düren holding company. The partnership began in 2003 for rail network operation and has continued successfully in public passenger transport since 2020.
• Aachener Verkehrsverbund (AVV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional transport association covering the Aachen area. Rurtalbahn participates in AVV tariff system and provides schedule information in cooperation with AVV. The new Rheinlandtarif from June 2026 unifies AVV and VRS tariff systems.
• Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional transport association covering the Rhein-Sieg area. Integrated into the unified Rheinlandtarif system from June 2026 along with AVV.
• VIAS RailminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRail operator partnership where Rurtalbahn conducts driver training and rail operations on routes operated by VIAS Rail.
• Nahverkehr Rheinland (NVR) - now go.RheinlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistorical partnership with NVR (now merged into go.Rheinland) for station quality assessments and transport contract awards.
• AlstomstrategicTechnology or IntegrationTrain manufacturer supplying LINT 54 diesel trains (165 seats, built 2017) for RB 21 Nord service. Also provided hydrogen-powered Coradia iLint train for testing on Rurtalbahn routes in February 2020.
• DB Vertrieb GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDeutsche Bahn sales subsidiary operating ticket vending machines at all 28 Rurtalbahn stations, providing EC and credit card payment options and electronic ticketing functionality.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rurtalbahn_gmbh
• Facebookfacebook.com/rurtalbahn2
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rurtalbahn-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rurtalbahn