EUSKOTREN AWARDS CAF THE SUPPLY OF FIVE NEW TRAINS

Euskotren, a public company coming under the Basque Government Ministry of Urban Planning, Housing and Transport, has entered into a contract with CAF for the supply of 5 new electric units from its 980 series, to run on the new Metro Bilbao line 5. These units will be equipped with a state-of-the-art system that is in line with current European railway safety standards. The entire contract is worth approximately €60 million.

The new units, which must be delivered to Euskotren between 2026 and 2027, will allow the operator to broaden its service offering, given that these units will be added to the 58 trains from the 900 and 950 series already supplied by CAF and which are operating on the Basque railway, as well as 4 trains from the 940 series which will have been received this year 2023 and which are already equipped with CAF's onboard level 1 ERTMS system.

Each of the new units will comprise four cars and is an improved version of the aforementioned 940 series. All the cars in the units will be interconnected by unobstructed gangways, designed to make the trains more spacious and offer enhanced passenger comfort. The units will also be equipped with cutting-edge technologies to facilitate the accessibility and safety of all users.

This agreement falls within the framework of Euskotren's process to modernise its rolling stock, which commenced in 2011 with the commissioning of the first electric units from the 900 series and has progressively been completed over the last few years with the acquisition of units from later series and the upgrading of the initial units in order to create a more consistent image across the fleet, with regard to interior and exterior design alike. In this way, as well as the aforementioned service quality and safety, these latest-generation units make it possible to guarantee improvements with regard to a reduction in maintenance costs of the fleet of trains.