Under contracts closed at the Railtech international trade fair in Dortmund on 14 November 2007, Angel Trains has placed an order with Stadler for eighteen Flirt EMUs, comprising fourteen five-car trainsets and four four-car sets. On delivery in 2009, this fleet will be leased to Keolis for deployment until 2025 on the Maas-Rhein-Lippe concession in the state of North-Rhine Westfalia. Angel Trains has previously concluded a lease with Keolis for the lease of 25 Stadler Flirt EMUs for the adjacent Hellweg-Netz concession.

For Keolis, this is an important addition to the company’s operations in Germany, with the combined fleet of forty-three Flirt EMUs to be used in an operation spanning the width of the state of North-Rhine Westfalia, from Bielefeld in the east to the Dutch border in the west. Maintenance on this large fleet will be carried out at a new maintenance facility being constructed in Hamm. Through its eurobahn subsidiary, Keolis already operates two other concessions around Bielefeld and Hildesheim, using a total of eighteen diesel multiple units. Hans Leister, Managing Director, Keolis Germany, said: “With Stadler and Angel Trains Europa we have two proven partners for this ambitious operation of main line service in the heart of the German rail network.”

Oliver Feicks, General Manager, Angel Trains Europa, said: “We are very pleased to have expanded our business relationship with Keolis and Stadler, with whom we share a professional and long-term commitment to the passenger rail business, and to working with them going forward to ensure our collective success. It is also good to note that we now have half of our passenger train fleet in this federal state, not far from our German office in Cologne”.

In addition to the fleet placed with Keolis, Angel Trains has ordered a further twenty-four Flirt EMUs for lease to other operators, as well as sixteen Siemens Desiro MainLine EMUs and an aggregate of 152 diesel multiple units, bringing its total portfolio of passenger trains in continental Europe to 235 trainsets.

Commenting on this latest order, Michael Daum, head of Stadler Rail in Germany, said: "We are very pleased to get this order. It's a clear sign that our customers are satisfied with the technical features and excellent operational abilities of our FLIRT product family. The FLIRT is in operation in seven countries worldwide and more than 100 vehicles have been sold in Germany.”