Lisbon, Oct. 17, 2025 (Lusa) - CP and the Alstom/DST consortium have signed the contract for the acquisition of 117 trains, the carrier's largest-ever purchase, worth €746 million, awarded in November 2023 and contested by other bidders.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing said in a statement on Friday that the contract was signed on Wednesday, "in compliance with the legally defined deadlines", putting an end to the delay resulting from legal challenges between December 2023 and August 2025.
Minister Miguel Pinto Luz pointed out that this delay was damaging the modernisation of the CP - Comboios de Portugal fleet and the service provided to the population, which is increasingly using rail transport.
Together with the cabinet resolution published on 22 September, which mandates CP - Comboios de Portugal to activate the option to purchase 36 additional electric multiple units for urban services, the government considered this to be "a giant step towards making up for the lack of rolling stock" at the railway company.
"By mandating CP to activate the option to buy 36 more trains immediately, the government intends, on the one hand, to make up for the time associated with the legal dispute brought by the competitors and, on the other, to take measures to speed up the modernisation of CP's fleet, with a view to fulfilling its public service obligations," said the government.
The delay in CP's tender for the purchase of 117 railcars resulted in an estimated loss of €191 million in support from the Sustainable 2030 Programme.
In replies sent to Lusa, following the cabinet resolution, which "reviews the expenditure schedule and sources of funding", the Ministry of Infrastructure clarified that the amount lost will now be covered "by the State Budget or by new funding programmes to be defined".
As Lusa reported on 9 September, CP confirmed that the suspensive effect of a second challenge to the public tender, filed by Spain's CAF, had been lifted. In July, the suspensive effect of a first challenge, filed by Switzerland's Stadler, had already been lifted.
At stake is CP's biggest ever purchase, worth €819 million, awarded to a consortium led by France's Alstom to supply 62 urban and 55 regional trains. The project is funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) and was contested in court by competitors CAF and Stadler.
In its replies to Lusa, the government clarified that according to the previously established timetable, the trains will be delivered from 2029 onwards, maintaining the original sources of funding: the Environmental Fund, the 2030 Sustainable Programme and the State Budget.
There are also plans to set up a train factory in Matosinhos (Porto district), which, according to the company, would provide around 300 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs.
MPE/ADB // ADB.
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