The railway carrier said it was already “studying measures to bring forward the railcar delivery schedule and activating the option to purchase a further 36 units for urban services”.
CP said this Friday that it is analyzing measures to bring forward the delivery schedule for the 117 new trains, scheduled to start in 2029, and is activating the purchase option for a further 36 units.
“The signing and entry into force of the contract and, consequently, the delivery of rolling stock, suffered severe delays resulting from the legal processes inherent to the award of the tender”, pointed out CP – Comboios de Portugal, in a statement, stressing that “at a time when there is a high growth in demand, it is necessary to recover the time associated with the litigation that occurred”.
The railway carrier said it was already “studying measures to bring forward the railcar delivery schedule and activating the option to purchase a further 36 units for urban services”.
According to the previously established calendar, the railcars will be delivered from 2029.
CP and the Alstom/DST consortium signed on Wednesday the contract for the carrier’s largest purchase ever, worth 746 million euros, awarded in November 2023 and contested by other competitors.
“The delivery of this rolling stock allows the renewal and modernization of part of CP’s fleet and the reinforcement of supply capacity” and “will enable the improvement of the quality levels of the service provided”, “the increase in energy efficiency and the reduction of maintenance costs”, highlighted the carrier in the same note.
It is a investment of 746 million eurosof which 117.6 million euros will be co-financed by European funds and 212.5 million euros will be provided by the Environmental Fund.
The contract also covers the supply of the respective park parts, spare parts and special tools and also the construction of a rolling stock maintenance workshop in Guifões (Matosinhos, Porto district).
As Lusa reported, on September 9, CP confirmed that the suspensive effect of a second challenge to the public tender, presented by the Spanish CAF, had been lifted. In July, the suspensive effect of a first challenge, presented by the Swiss Stadler, had already been lifted.
