This case study report presents the cross-border public tram-train Saarbahn operating between the cities of Saarbrücken (Germany) and Sarreguemin (France).  

It explores the business model of this service, including its governance arrangements, operational provisions to develop the service and address demand, and its territorial scope. The tram-train in this case operates in a common cross-border settlement area, where the state border has not been an obstacle to people’s mobility for a long time (except during the COVID-19 pandemic). It is a good example for one-side driven cross-border tariff integration of the final destination on the French side. Following this the report presents the key obstacles that the service faces and suggests solutions to these. The concluding section then reflects upon the lessons learnt from this case study. 

This case study report is part of a series of 31 case studies developed in the framework of the study ‘Providing public transport in cross-border regions – Mapping of existing services and legal obstacles’, completed by Spatial Foresight in cooperation with TCP international, TRT trasporti e territorio and EureConsult for the European Commission’s DG REGIO.