NBE nordbahn Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH & Co. KG

In December 2002, traffic began on the approximately 45 km (28 mi)-long Neumünster–Bad Oldesloe railway (RB 82). In September 2009, Nordbahn retained the contract on its existing route in a tender and also won the contract for the Neumünster–Heide – Büsum route (RB 63), which had previously been operated by its parent company AKN under the brand name Schleswig-Holstein-Bahn. Both lines have been operated since 11 December 2011 for an initial period of ten years. These routes are regularly operated with LINT 41 vehicles. The vehicles are maintained in the AKN workshops in Kaltenkirchen and Neumünster Süd.

In April 2012, Nordbahn won the tender for the operation of the two Regionalbahn lines from Itzehoe and Wrist to Hamburg Hauptbahnhof and Hamburg-Altona, as well as some Regional-Express reinforcements between Itzehoe and Hamburg-Altona, starting in December 2014 for 13 years. This was Lot B of the central tender network.

The contract for the continued operation of the RB 63 and RB 82 lines in the period from 2023 to 2035, the central lot of the battery network, was awarded to Nordbahn in February 2021. The LINT type vehicles will be replaced by FLIRT battery-powered railcars from the manufacturer Stadler provided by the state. In December 2021, Nordbahn was also awarded the contract for the northern lot. This had originally been awarded to the railway company RDC, but the Schleswig Higher Regional Court (OLG) rejected this for technical reasons. DB Regio had appealed to the OLG.