Spain has a rail giant in the shadows. And just achieved the “contract of the century”

If you have traveled to Belgium, the SNCB application is likely to have downloaded to move from one city to another. It is about ‘the Renfe‘Belgian and, a few years ago, They announced that they were going to renew 50% of their fleet from here to 2032. The interesting thing is that it is an operation of 3,400 million euros that has not fallen to anyone: it has done so in a Spanish company called CAF.

And if you are wondering what diantres is caf, you are in your entire right, but you will surely have mounted on one of its trains.

“The contract of the century”. In a release of CNCB, the operator detailed the pre -agreement reached with the Spanish, something that replicated own CAF detailing that the initial commitment of the same will be 1,695 million euros. This includes the development, manufacture and supply of 600 am30 trains (interurban trains with integrated motor and autonomy by battery when operating in un -electrified lines) with a total of 170,000 seats, although the initial commitment is 1,695 million euros for 54,000 places.

The proposal of CAF has had to compete with other manufacturers, such as the French Alstom that argued cheapest prices, factories in Belgium and that local industrial promotion. Everything is not closed, since although CNCB has opted for the Spanish, political interests come into play in something like that. There is a debate around the firm and, for example, as we read in Basque chroniclea deputy of the Belgian Party Staf Aerts has discredited to the company, indicated that CAF is collaborating to create a subway line from Jerusalem to the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel ”

As we say, it remains to be seen that the agreement is finally closed, but by its magnitude, there is already talk of the “contract of the century” of the railway sector, with obvious consequences In the CAF portfolio.

Centenaria. This news, because of its magnitude, has jumped to the first flat of numerous national and European economic newspapers, but the great question we could have is … what is CAF and why it is so important. CAF responds to ‘Constructions and Railroad Assistant‘And it is a company that was born in 1917 in Beasain, Basque Country.

It was founded on workshops that already existed since the nineteenth century and from the beginning it was dedicated to the manufacture and rental of wagons, as well as other elements for rail transport. And in this more than a century, it has become one of the larger companies in the country.

The Oaris

World jump. They were developing their business within our borders, providing Renfe trainsbut in the 90s, they consolidated the international leap by operating more firmly in other countries thanks to the opening of about thirty subsidiaries. In Spain they have, above all, high -speed trains of variable width manufactured next to the ALSTOM itself, as well as electric and diesel trains for regional services and Renfe vicinity.

However, much of your order portfolio It is for export. They have manufactured units for cities such as London, Brussels, or Sydney, as well as the Santiago de Chile and Mexico Metro, light trains for US cities such as Boston or the Oaris: High speed trains (up to 350 km/h) that form the backbone of the Norway rail network. And, to meet the needs, they have gone Opening factories all over the world.

Why the mystery? In spite of everything, we do not know too much CAF beyond their area of direct influence (where they have the factories and hire employees) it has all the meaning of the world. Before we talked about Talgo, also a historic rail that not only stood out for their trains, but to baptize vehicles with their own name. Go up to Talgo It was synonymous with getting on the train just as asking for a Kleenex is asking for a handkerchief or, in some countries, playing “the play” is playing any game console in general.

In the case of CAF, the same did not happen and, although it is an industrial pride in Euskadi and very recognized among experts around the world, its business has remained “in the shadows”. They operate mainly in the B2B sector, which implies work for large operators both public and private and not for the final consumer, and do not baptize their creations such as “CAF”, which keeps them in an unknown position for the general public.

However, the last decades have grown, especially abroad, and with contracts such as the one achieved in Belgium and the jump to large media, it is more likely that the name ‘CAF’ sounds more and more.

Images | Jordi Verdugo

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