Railway manufacturer Alstom announced on Monday that it had received an order worth more than 1.4 billion euros for the supply of suburban trains in Spain.
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The contract provides for the supply of 152 single and double decker trains to be built in a factory in the Barcelona region, the maintenance of 56 of them and the supply of additional parts.
“When you spend the billion, there aren't many contracts like that in Europe.
(...) It is the biggest rolling stock contract in Spain for ever, in terms of value, ”Gian Luca Erbacci, President of Alstom Europe, told AFP.
The order should represent “at least five years of production” for the group's Catalan plant, especially since the contract envisages the supply of 76 additional trains as an option, he noted.
A dual order of 2.445 billion euros
French Alstom sites were involved in the engineering and design of the trains, the group noted.
This contract is part of a double order of 2.445 billion euros placed by the national company Renfe.
A second lot has been awarded to the Swiss group Stadler - based in Valence - which is to supply 59 trains for nearly 1 billion euros.
"The call for tenders did not allow the candidates to win both lots," noted Erbacci, noting that Alstom's bid was "really competitive on both lots".
"20% more capacity"
The train sold in Spain is inspired by a model intended for Luxembourg Railways, by mixing two ranges offered in the group's catalog, noted the manager.
"With this type of train, we have a capacity of 20% more than in traditional trains," he said.
Today's contract comes in particular after a similar order of 760 million euros placed in early March by a German regional company.
Other important tenders are in progress or should follow for regional trains in Spain again, in Italy, in the Netherlands, in the United Kingdom and in Portugal, enumerated Gian Luca Erbacci.
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In Spain, besides other regional trains, he mentioned the Madrid metro, trams, signaling, infrastructure and services among the upcoming markets.
“It's a very interesting market,” he summed up.
"The acquisition of Bombardier (acquired at the end of January by Alstom, editor's note) allows us to monitor many more projects," he noted.