[SINGAPORE] A consortium formed by ComfortDelGro (CDG) and French transport company RATP Dev will operate and maintain all four lines of the Copenhagen metro system from September 2027, after beating out two other bidders.

In a statement on Aug 28, Metroselskabet – which oversees the development, construction and operation of the Danish capital’s metro system – said it chose KBH Metro Partner “based on an overall assessment of price and quality”.

The contract, worth 17 billion Danish kroner (US$2.7 billion), will run for 12 years, with an option to extend it for another three years.

One of only three rapid transit systems in the world that run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Copenhagen Metro is fully automated and spans about 43 km across 44 stations.

In 2025, it recorded 135 million passengers – its highest annual ridership yet. That year, its average operational reliability was 99.3 per cent, with trains running as frequently as every 90 seconds during peak hours.

With the new contract awarded, Metroselskabet’s director of operations and maintenance Soren Boysen said it will ensure “robust daily operations” while establishing a foundation for working with KBH Metro Partner on renewal projects for two of the older lines.

“This is crucial for ensuring that a growing number of passengers continue to experience the metro as a fast and reliable mode of transport,” he said.

No details of KBH Metro Partner’s bid were provided, with the consortium set to go through a transitional phase before taking over from the current operator, Metro Service.

“For passengers, the aim is that the change in operator is carried out as smoothly as possible so that the metro continues to be experienced as the familiar, reliable and efficient part of the capital’s public transport system,” Boysen said.

This is the third tie-up between CDG and RATP Dev to operate a metro line.

The first time was in 2023, when ComfortDelGro Transit won a contract as part of an international consortium with RATP Dev and French train manufacturer Alstom to run the southern sector of Paris’ Line 15.

The following year, in November 2024, a joint venture between SBS Transit, a CDG subsidiary, and RATP Dev Asia Pacific – a subsidiary of RATP Dev – was appointed operator of the Jurong Region Line.

It was the first time a foreign operator has been involved in Singapore’s rail industry. THE STRAITS TIMES