Veolia Transport

"Connex" redirects here. For other uses, see Connex (disambiguation).

Veolia Transport

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Transportation Services
Founded	1876
Headquarters	Paris, France
Key people	Henri Proglio (Chairman and CEO) of Veolia
Products	Transportation as Veolia Transportation
Revenue	€6.1 billion EUR (2009)
Owner(s)	Veolia Environnement
Employees	83,654 (2009)
Website	veolia-transport.com

Veolia Transport (formerly Connex) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia Environnement until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the brand names of Veolia Transportation in North America and Israel, Veolia Transport, Veolia Verkehr in Germany and with the former name Connex preserved in Lebanon and (until it ceased operations on 31 December 2012) Jersey.

In 2007, the group posted revenues of €5.6 billion in 2007, and sold Veolia Cargo, the rail freight branch of Veolia Transport in 2009 to SNCF and Eurotunnel.

A merger between Veolia Transport and Transdev was announced on 23 July 2009. Transdev was then a subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts. The merger was completed in March 2011. Veolia Transdev became the world's private-sector leader in sustainable mobility with more than 110,000 employees in 28 countries.

In July 2011, amid disappointing financial results, Veolia Environnement announced the launch of new restructuring plans and redeployment of assets and businesses. In December 2011, Veolia announced a €5bn divestment program over 2012-2013. As part of this programme, Veolia would divest its participation in Veolia Transdev and exit the transport business altogether.

Until 2011, Veolia had diverse road and rail operations across the globe, employing 72,000 workers worldwide and serving completely or partly about 40 metropolitan areas with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants.

Asia

China

• Huaibei : Bus network operated as a joint venture into a city of 2 040 000 inhabitants (932 185 hab. urban in 2006) in Anhui province,
• Huainan : Bus network operated as a joint venture into a city of 1 076 000 inhabitants (1 075 754 hab. urban in 2006) in Anhui province,
• Nanjing : 2 bus networks into Pukou and Luhe Districts in the western part of the city on the other side of the Yangtze,
• Ma'anshan : Bus network operated as a joint venture into a city of 1 243 900 inhabitants (545 534 hab. urban in 2006) forming part of outer suburban Nanjing,

Hong Kong

• Hong Kong Island : Veolia acquired 50% of Hong Kong Tramways and took over the daily operations from The Wharf on April 7, 2009, wholly owned on February 17, 2010.

Macau

• Macau: Veolia invested in a joint venture with RATP Asia and created Reolian Public Transport Co.. Services began August 1, 2011 and is operating two of five groupings of routes, also to be the more important arterial routes of the city.

Israel

Jerusalem Light Rail depot, Jerusalem

• Jerusalem: Veolia won a $500 million contract in 2003 to build and maintain the Jerusalem Light Rail system, which will comprise eight lines running across the city. It is expected to be completed by 2020. The first line, from Pisgat Ze'ev to Beit HaKerem, began operation in 2011. Due to the controversial nature of the project, Veolia became a target of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. In September 2009, the company considering selling its share in the project to the Dan Bus Company for $15–20 million. In October 2010, it agreed to sell its stake to Egged instead. As a result, Dan sued Veolia.

In 2012, Denis Gasquet, Veolia's senior executive vice president, visited Israel, where the company has reached a turnover of 1.5 billion shekels a year. After 20 years of investment in the country, Gasquet said the company had never lost a tender due to its commitment to Israel. Despite operational hitches, Veolia stated that there were no political problems with the Arabs or the Jews, and the company was "not ashamed to say that we make money in Israel."

• Modi'in: Intercity and urban buses in a city located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Formerly run by Margalit.
• Ashdod: Intercity buses to Tel Aviv and Gush Dan, and to Ashkelon. Formerly run by Egged Bus Cooperative.
• Tiberias: Urban and regional buses. Formerly run by Egged Bus Cooperative.
• Yavne: Urban buses. Formerly run by Egged Bus Cooperative.
• Lod: Urban buses and intercity buses to Tel Aviv. Formerly run by Egged Bus Cooperative.
• Bnei Brak: Intercity buses to Jerusalem. Formerly run by Dan Bus Company.

India

• Mumbai: Veolia is part of a consortium which is led by Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure, together with Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA); a joint venture known as Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd. They will build the first corridor of the Mumbai Metro on the 11.4 km stretch between Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar on the east-west corridor. The project is expected to begin by end of 2006, to be completed by March 2011. It is projected that the line will serve about 600,000 people during weekdays.

South Korea

• Seoul: Metro 9 is a joint venture of Veolia (80%) and Hyundai Rotem (20%). Metro 9 operates Line 9 of Seoul's Metro .

Lebanon

• Around a 40 km radius from Beirut : Connex operates school bus services for the Grand Lycée Franco-Libanais in Achrafieh, Beirut using a fleet of TEMSA Prestij buses, Nissan Civilian buses and Nissan Urvan vans.

Europe

Belgium

• Autocars De Polder has been part of the Veolia Group since 1995.
• Veolia operates some de Lijn routes under contract.

Czech Republic

Veolia Transport is one of the largest bus operators, operates also one regional railway line and one trolleybus network. Main acquisitions carried out (as Connex) in 2002–2004 (ČSAD Ostrava, Třinec, Praha-Vršovice, Příbram, DP Teplice), smaller in 2005 (MAD Kolín), 2008 (Nerabus), 2010 (Spojbus) etc. In summer 2008, it changed its trademark from Connex to Veolia Transport. In 2004–2007, several times competed or offered for passenger railway transport, however have got no new job yet.

• Veolia Transport Česká republika a. s. (since 2006 a daughter of German company VEOLIA Transport Central Europe GmbH) has 4 operator subcompanies:
  • Veolia Transport Morava a. s. (based on former companies ČSAD BUS Ostrava→Connex Morava and ČSAD Třinec→BUS Slezsko), operates regional bus transport in Moravian-Silesian Region and Olomouc Region, urban bus networks in 7 cities, e. g. Třinec, Český Těšín, Šumperk and Krnov, many long-distance bus lines, some skibus and cyclobus lines etc. Operates the local railway line 293 (Desná Railway).
  • Veolia Transport Východní Čechy a. s. (based on the former companies ČSAD AUTOBUSY CZ Chrudim→Connex Východní Čechy and Městská autobusová doprava Kolín, s. r. o.), operates regional bus transport in the east Bohemia (east part of Central Bohemian Region, Pardubice Region, Hradec Králové Region etc.), urban bus networks in Chrudim, Kutná Hora and Kolín and some long-distance bus, skibus and cyclobus lines.
  • Veolia Transport Praha s. r. o. (based on the former companies ČSAD Praha-Vršovice→Connex Praha, ČSAD Příbram→Connex Příbram, NERABUS s. r. o. and SPOJBUS s. r. o.), operates regional bus transport mostly south and south-east of Prague, including several bus lines of Prague city transport and urban bus networks in Příbram, Neratovice, Roudnice nad Labem, Říčany etc.
  • Veolia Transport Teplice s. r. o. (based on the former city enterprise DP Teplice), operates urban network of bus and trolleybus lines in Teplice.

Denmark

A Veolia bus in Helsinki advertising the Hesburger fast-food chain

• Veolia ran half of the transport operations of the privatised Combus especially around Copenhagen. These operations were sold to Arriva in October 2007.
  • Copenhagen: Suburban buses.

Finland

• Helsinki: Veolia owns Helsinki Metropolitan Area's bus company Veolia Finland, which was previously Linjebuss and operates essentially in Vantaa, a northern suburb of Helsinki.
• Tampere: Veolia owns the regional bus company previously known as Alhonen & Lastunen
• Seinäjoki: Veolia owns yet another local bus company, now known as Veolia Transport West Oy, operating both local and long-distance routes.

France

Tramway on tires in Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle

• The company is the third largest private sector operator of public transport and operates:
  • 7 tramway networks across the country: 5 in service (Bordeaux, Nice, Rouen, Nancy) ; 1 in construction in suburban Lyon, (Lesly) and two in project (Le Havre and Toulon)
  • 77 bus networks (January 1, 2009), especially in Bordeaux, Nice, Rouen, Saint-Étienne, Toulon, Le Havre and Nancy
  • More than 25 suburban networks in suburban Paris : (Seine-St-Denis "TRA", Melun "Tram", Sénart "Sénart Bus", etc.)
  • 4 tourist railways (Petit train de la Rhune, Vapeur du Trieux, Chemin de Fer de La Mure and Chemins de Fer de Provence)
  • Ferry services in Mediterranéa: Veolia recently bought 28% of the Société Nationale Maritime Corse Méditerranée, a previously state-owned ferry company.

The Bayerische Oberlandbahn near Munich is operated by Veolia.

Germany

• Veolia Verkehr, former Connex Verkehr, offers train services, several of a regional character such as the Bayerische Oberlandbahn from Munich, and two long-distance services. Veolia owns a number of bus companies, mostly in suburban areas. It also operates tram systems:
  • Aachen: Suburban buses,
  • Berlin: Suburban tram line linking to the S Bahn,
  • Frankfurt: Suburban buses,
  • Hagen: Urban network,
  • Pforzheim: Urban network won by Veolia in August 2006. Network included in "Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund GmbH" (KVV) and linked to it by Tram-Train line,
  • Schwäbisch Hall: Urban network,
  • Stuttgart: Suburban buses,
  • ...and also into rural areas.

Ireland

• Dublin: Veolia operates the Luas tramway which started operations in June 2004.
• Galway: Veolia owned the Nestor Airlink bus company which operates between Galway and Dublin Airport. However Jim Burke & Sons own and run it as of March 2009.

Jersey

• MyBus was the brand name of the bus service in Jersey. Connex operated bus services in Jersey between 2002 and 31 December 2012, after which date CT Plus became the replacement contractor.

Netherlands

Veolia train (Stadler GTW) in the Netherlands

• Veolia Transport Nederland consists of:
  • Veolia Transport Veluwe, operating in "De Veluwe" region in Gelderland,
  • Veolia Transport Brabant, operating in middle and western Noord-Brabant with 4 urban networks in Breda, Tilburg, Bergen op Zoom and Roosendaal,
  • Veolia Transport Limburg, operating in the whole province of Limburg, including city buses in Maastricht, Parkstad (Heerlen-Kerkrade-Landgraaf-Brunssum), Venlo, and Roermond and the Roermond–Nijmegen and Maastricht–Kerkrade train routes.
  • Veolia Transport Fast Ferries Zeeland (Westerschelde ferry).
  • Veolia Transport Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen, in the southern part of Zeeland province.
  • formerly Veolia Cargo Nederland – freight trains. (Veolia Cargo sold in 2009)

Norway

• Veolia Transport Norway operates:
  • Trondheim Tramway,
  • Rogaland buses,
  • Nordland buses,
  • Finnmark buses and ferries.

Poland

Veolia transport in Poland - bus Autosan Gemini

• Veolia owns a number of bus companies and operates an urban network:
  • Tczew: Urban city network.

Serbia

• Veolia owns a number of bus companies and operates 2 urban networks:
  • Belgrade: Urban city network
  • Požarevac: Urban, suburban and intercity network

Slovakia

• Nitra: Urban network and bus station.

Spain

• Barcelona: Two unlinked tram networks Trambaix and Trambesòs and two networks in the suburbs: Terrassa and Mataró,
• Bilbao: Bilbobus urban network, contract won in May 2008,
• Jerez: Urban network,
• Parla: Tramway in suburban Madrid.

Sweden

• Gothenburg: Veolia owns the ferry company Styrsöbolaget that operates the cross-river ferries (Älvsnabben) as well as the ferries to the south archipelago. Veolia also operate some local city bus networks or interurban lines on contract to the local authorities (Västtrafik).
• Norrköping: Veolia operate the Norrköping tramway on behalf of Östgötatrafiken.
• Stockholm: Veolia runs three tram (Lidingöbanan, Nockebybanan and Tvärbanan) or local rail networks (Saltsjöbanan) in the city on behalf of SL, as well as several local city bus networks or interurban lines on contract to local authorities. Veolia ran the Stockholm Metro contracted by the Stockholm County Council until 2009, after which the contract was taken over by Hong Kong's MTR.
• Malmö: Veolia runs long distance trains from Malmö to Stockholm and Uppsala, in the winter season going further on to Åre, and the long distance train from Malmö to Berlin with train ferry via Trelleborg to Sassnitz.

United Kingdom

A Veolia bus leaving Pontypridd bus station in Wales.

A former Connex South Central train at Haywards Heath station in 2002.

• Connex South Eastern - A train operator in south-east England that ran from 1996 to 9 November 2003. The contract was due to run until 2011 but was revoked early due to poor financial management after repeated warnings from Government.
• Connex South Central - A train operator in the south of England that ran from October 1996 to mid-2001. The contact was due to run until 2003, but was lost in the competition for a new longer contract, which was awarded to the Govia consortium.
• Dunn-Line – A National Express franchisee. Veolia sold its Nottingham bus and private hire coach operations to Premiere Travel from 31 January 2011; on 6 January 2011, its National Express coach work from the city passed to Yourbus.
• Veolia Transport Cymru, which purchased the following:
  • Pullman Coaches.
  • Bebb Travel – A National Express franchisee,
  • Shamrock Coaches are seen with Veolia address and contact details as well as their own and vice versa.
  • Hawkes
  • Longs
• Astons Coaches (Kempsey, Worcester)
• Paul James Coaches (Taken over by Centrebus in late 2011)
• Veolia Transport – Running a number of local services in Tyne & Wear. Veolia local and sightseeing services in York were taken over by Transdev York in Summer 2008.

North America

Veolia Transportation is the North American business unit of Veolia Transport

Canada

In April 2005 Veolia were awarded the contract in York Region in suburban Toronto, Ontario, Canada running the bus rapid transit (BRT) naming the routes VIVA and joining with York Region Transit (YRT) as a one fare transit system.

Veolia also operates transit services in the Greater Montreal Area

• CIT Chambly-Richelieu-Carignan
• Ville de Sainte-Julie Transit
• Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Transit

United States

Veolia arrived in the United States in 2001, with the acquisition of Yellow Transportation in Baltimore, Maryland. On September 1, 2005, Veolia (then "Connex") acquired ATC, making Connex-ATC the largest privately owned public transportation company in North America. In 2006, Connex-ATC changed its name to Veolia Transportation, acquired ShuttlePort, and won several contracts in the USA, including:

• Antelope Valley Transit Authority in Los Angeles County, California,
• Atlanta : In suburban Gwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett County Transit operates bus routes within as well as Express Bus routes to Atlanta.
• Austin : Capital MetroRail and bus routes throughout Austin and surrounding communities. In March 2009, employees of Veolia Transportation were said to have tested trains on rail sections without prior approval and hence the Capital MetroRail was delayed.
• Boston : Veolia operates the MBTA's regional commuter rail operations in conjunction with Bombardier Transportation and Alternate Concepts, Inc. as the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad.
• Charm City Circulator operates service throughout Downtown Baltimore.
• Denver, CO : Regional Transportation District (RTD) routes throughout the metro-wide District.
• Las Vegas: RTC Transit in Las Vegas including The Deuce & MAX (Contract expires July 7, 2013)
• Los Angeles : Metrolink, 2005-2010. A Connex/Veolia engineer texting on-duty was responsible for a head-on collision causing 26 deaths and 135 injuries, the deadliest incident in Metrolink history, leading the Metrolink board to return to the previous contractor, Amtrak.
  Main article: 2008 Chatsworth train collision
• Miami : Tri-Rail, a train system won in 2007 in the Miami metropolitan area of Florida.
• Napa County, California : Operates Vine Transit system.
• Nassau County, New York: Veolia won a contract to operate Long Island Bus (renamed Nassau Inter-County Express) in place of the MTA effective January 1, 2012.
• New Jersey : Certain bus routes in Monmouth County as part of New Jersey Transit Bus Operations.
• New Orleans : New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, won in 2008
• Phoenix : the Valley Metro bus system serving the Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona with contracts in Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe,
• Redding: Redding Area Bus Authority
• Sacramento : In suburban Yolo County, California, Yolobus provides public transportation.
• San Diego : San Diego Metropolitan Transit System bus routes and the SPRINTER DMU rail system in San Diego County, California,
• Victor Valley transit serving the Victorville, California area.

Veolia now employs over 16,000 employees with 6,500 vehicles and a revenue of over $1 billion. in 2005 in North America. Its executive team includes Mark Joseph (CEO of VTNA). It is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Veolia also owns the Supershuttle shared-ride airport shuttle service, as well as the ExecuCar black car/sedan service. Veolia also operates taxicab services across the country under various brands.

Oceania

A Veolia Bus in Brisbane, Australia.

A Veolia operated DMU train at the Britomart Transport Centre in Auckland, New Zealand

Australia

• Connex changed its name to the same as its French parent company's, Veolia, in January 2006. Branding on buses and trains is being changed to reflect this position, with the exception of Connex Melbourne. Turnover for Australia is over $635 million Australian dollars.
  • Brisbane, Queensland: Veolia operates as Veolia Transport Brisbane, using the former National Bus Company's fleet.
  • Perth, Western Australia: Veolia operates local Southern Coast Transit bus lines in the Mandurah/Rockingham area that feed the Transperth rail line to Mandurah. Also operating the bus lines in the Joondalup/Wangara that feed the Joondalup rail line.
  • Sydney, New South Wales: Veolia operates a Light Rail, a Monorail and Veolia Transport NSW (Formerly Connex/Connex Southtrans) commuter bus services consisting of 5 depots, Bankstown, Villawood, Taren Point, Menai and Revesby.

Former Operations

• Melbourne, Victoria: Connex Melbourne originally held the franchise for operating half of Melbourne's suburban rail system, later extending to the entire network in 2004. The contract expired on 30 November 2009, with Hong Kong's MTR led consortium Metro Trains Melbourne taking over.

New Caledonia

• Nouméa: Veolia created and runs the Noumea suburban bus network.

New Zealand

• Auckland: Veolia operates the commuter rail services in partnership with Auckland Transport. Veolia Transport Auckland Ltd changed its name from Connex to Veolia on 1 March 2006.

South America

Chile

• Santiago: Veolia operates feeder services to the Metro and "Troncales" in northern suburban Santiago.

Colombia

• Bogotá: Veolia, in conjunction with three other operators, runs a 90 km right-of-way bus line called the TransMilenio system used by more than 1,400,000 persons a day.

External links

• Veolia Environnement
• Veolia Transport Czech Republic
• Veolia Verkehr, Germany
• Connex Jersey
• Veolia Transport Sweden
• Veolia Transport NSW (Australia)
• Veolia Auckland (New Zealand)
• Veolia Ireland (VeoliaTransport Ireland)
• Veolia Israel (Israel)
• ATC-NEC (merger)
• Veolia Transportation (North America)
• Veolia Transport (United Kingdom)
• Veolia Transport Nederland (Netherlands)
• Doubts persist over Veolia’s financial health