It has taken a while, but finally Renfe has given the green light to the purchase of new AVE for use in Spain. The Board of Directors of the operator has made it officialin what has been the largest purchase of high-speed rolling stock in its history. Below all the details.
What has happened. The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, announced this Wednesday in the Congress of Deputies that Renfe has approved the tender to acquire 30 new high-speed trains for an amount of 1,362 million euros. The operation, which according to El País It exceeds in size the purchase of 30 Talgo Avril units made between 2015 and 2016, and also includes an extension clause that would allow the order to be increased to 40 trains, with a total investment that would be close to 1,777 million.
Why is it coming now? The tender was scheduled for February, but the Adamuz accident in January, in which 46 people lost their lives, forced Renfe to postpone the decision. That accident, in which an Alvia was involved on the Madrid-Seville line, fired alarms about network status and the age of part of the fleet. And the crisis of accumulated incidents in the Spanish railway system has accelerated the need to renew the train fleet.
In detail. The new convoys will be designed to travel at 350 km/h, although reaching that speed will require prior infrastructure works. Adif plans to begin the renovation of the Madrid-Barcelona line this year, where the change of sleepers will allow the current limit of 300 km/h to be exceeded. Each train must have a minimum capacity of 450 seats in two classes, and include accessible spaces for people with reduced mobility, bicycle areas and restaurant services.
Technically, the trains will operate in standard UIC gauge (1,435 mm) and must be equipped with the ERTMS/ETCS and ASFA signaling systems.
The deadlines. The contract demands that the first five trains will be available within 40 months of signing, and that the entire fleet will be delivered within 78 months. The agreed supply rate is one new train approximately every 45 days. The contract has a total duration of six years and also includes the corresponding spare parts.
Who can win the contract. The main candidates are Siemens, with its Velaro Novo model, and Hitachi Rail, with the ETR 1000 (the same train that Iryo operates and that was involved in the Adamuz accident, although the investigation points to a failure in the infrastructure as a probable cause). Also have been visited by Minister Puente and the president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, the facilities of the Chinese firm CRRC and the Spanish plants of Talgo, CAF and Alstom.
And now what. The arrival of these trains comes with the intention of providing a response to demand growth of the AVE during the next decade. And for this there are several challenges ahead: that the infrastructure is ready to take advantage of the 350 km/h and ensure that delivery times are met. On the other hand, the operator needs regain traveler trustand this purchase seems one of the first steps to make it possible. It remains to be seen who gets the contract.
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