THE rolling stock maintenance business of Spanish national operator Renfe has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Mitsubishi Electric Europe under which Mitsubishi traction motors supplied to customers in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America will be repaired, maintained and refurbished at Renfe’s Villaverde workshops in Madrid, alongside work on its own fleets.
The agreement signed by Mitsubishi and Renfe Engineering and Maintenance has a term of two years and may be extended by mutual agreement. The first project to be undertaken by the partners later this year will be heavy maintenance of traction motors installed on class 449 EMUs built by CAF and deployed by Renfe on medium-distance services.
Mitsubishi Electric Europe has agreed to provide specialist training for Renfe Engineering and Maintenance personnel at Villaverde. The manufacturer will also produce repair instructions for each piece of equipment, and specify the relevant production resources, tool and spare parts required, as well as quality control processes.
Renfe is currently investing €1.2bn to upgrade and expand its rolling stock maintenance facilities at 94 locations across Spain, where Renfe Engineering and Maintenance has over 3000 employees. The programme running from 2025 to 2030 includes the deployment of digital technology.
Construction or design work is underway on projects worth €420m, Renfe says, with studies in progress for projects worth up to €490m. In addition, €295.6m has been allocated to improve maintenance facilities, with 25% of work now completed.
