PORTUGUESE Trains (CP) has signed a contract worth €746m with a consortium of Alstom and local partner Domingos da Silva Teixeira (DST) for the supply of 117 EMUs, which according to CP represents the largest investment in rolling stock in the history of the company.

The contract covers the supply of 62 EMUs for commuter lines in Lisbon and Porto and 55 for regional services. It also includes the construction of fleet maintenance facility at Guifões north of Porto and the supply of spare parts.

The Portuguese government says the order represents a significant step towards addressing CP's rolling stock shortage. The new EMU fleet is being financed with €117.6m from the European Union (EU), and €212.5m from the Environmental Fund administered by Portugal’s Ministry of the Environment and Energy.

CP says that the first trains are scheduled to arrive in 2029, and that it is studying measures to accelerate delivery and exercise an option to purchase an additional 36 EMUs for commuter services. The Portuguese cabinet has mandated CP to immediately exercise this option in order to accelerate fleet modernisation, and to make up the delay to signing the contract caused by two unsuccessful legal challenges.

Under a tender launched in July 2021, the Alstom/DST consortium was confirmed as preferred bidder in December 2023. Legal challenges were launched by rival bidders Stadler and CAF, which were dismissed in July and September respectively.

Exercising the option is expected to increase the total value of the order to €819m. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing has told local media that production will take place at the Alstom plant in Barcelona and at Guifões, where the new facility is expected to create 300 direct and 1500 indirect jobs.

“Investment in rail is a clear objective of this government,” says minister of infrastructure and housing, Miguel Pinto Luz.

“The signing of this contract represents a major step forward, putting an end to the delays, resulting from legal issues, which were hindering the modernisation of CP's fleet and the service provided to the population, who are increasingly using rail.”

For detailed data on European rolling stock orders, subscribe to IRJ Pro.