GoCollective in Denmark, a daughter company of British-owned Arriva, is about to lose its railroad transport licence on Jylland (Jutland), the Danish mainland, and Fyn (Funen). After taking up the task of transporting people across the mainland in 2003, GoCollective has been accused of highly underperforming. The Danish government now opens up to let state-owned DSB railways take over GoCollective’s network.
The continues delays and cancelled train services by GoCollective has got Denmark’s Transport Minister to react. “We cannot rely on public transport on several of those routes, and I do not believe that GoCollective can rectify the situation, which is why we are now taking over the driving,” Danish radio reported on 18 September.
Aarhus and Odense
GoCollective runs trains between 11 towns and cities, including the Aarhus and Odense─the 2nd and 3rd largest cities of the country. The Danish government acknowledges it will have to make more money available to DSB to expand their train fleet, and is opening up for smaller parties to take some of the lines with battery-electric driven trains.
“Renegotiate”
Marianne Bøttger, CEO of GoCollective, comments the government order to “renegotiate” the service contract in a press statement. “We have been in ongoing dialogue with the Ministry of Transport and have clearly set out the challenges we face as a train operator. We welcome the focus on passengers’ needs, whatever solution we jointly reach.” | © 2025 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com