Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Baden-Württemberg’s Transport Minister Winfried Hermann (Greens) has resigned from his seat on the supervisory board of the state-owned Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs-GmbH (SWEG). The step was taken in view of an upcoming award procedure by the Ministry of Transport, in which SWEG is expected to participate, a spokeswoman for the ministry said on Monday. This is to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. After completion of the award procedure, a new decision will have to be made by the state about the appointment of the members of the supervisory board. The “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” had previously reported.
From January to mid-June of this year, Hermann was chairman of the control committee, it said. According to the spokeswoman, the award procedure became necessary after Abellio Rail Baden-Württemberg GmbH (ABRB) ran into economic difficulties and was taken over by SWEG at the end of 2021. The successor company to ABRB continues to operate the local rail passenger transport services previously provided and ordered by the Ministry of Transport in Baden-Württemberg. This is done on the basis of a so-called emergency measure, which is limited to two years under European law. Therefore, a renewed tendering of the traffic is necessary.
