SPANISH national operator Renfe says that it has begun negotiations with manufacturers to exercise options to purchase 101 additional suburban and medium-distance trains by the end of the year.
Of the 101 trains, 69 will be high-capacity suburban EMUs manufactured by Stadler and Alstom, and 32 will be medium-distance trains built by CAF. Contracts are expected to be signed once the orders have been approved by Renfe’s board of directors.
The talks with manufacturers follow the recent Spanish government decision to authorise an €879.3m increase in the national debt limit for this year in order to strengthen the country’s public transport.
The purchase will be part of Renfe’s €5.4bn fleet renewal plan comprising the purchase of 519 new trains. This wider spending programme will include new high-speed, commuter and medium-distance passenger trains, as well as freight locomotives.
There will also be new 1000mm-gauge trains for the lines operated by Renfe’s Feve division, mostly in the north of Spain.
A key target with all Renfe’s new trains will be reliability and energy efficiency given the current context of rising electricity prices.
Last month Renfe awarded CAF a €290m contract to supply 28 EMUs for medium-distance services on its 1668mm-gauge network, with an option for another 42 EMUs. Also last month, Stadler delivered the first four of 12 Euro6000 tri-voltage freight locomotives to Renfe ahead of schedule as part of an €85.5m contract awarded in summer 2021.
