The Portuguese public operator Comboios de Portugal (CP) has signed a contract with the consortium Alstom Spain and DST, the largest in its history: the purchase of 117 electric trains for € 746 million.
The contract, awarded in 2023 and delayed by several disputes, includes 62 units for urban services (34 for the Lisbon-Cascais line, 16 for the rest of Lisbon and 12 for Oporto) and 55 for regional services, as well as the supply of spare parts, tools and the construction of a new maintenance depot in Guifões (Matosinhos).
Of the total investment, 117.6 million will be co-financed by EU funds and 212.5 million will come from the Environment Fund.
Following the approval of the contract by the Portuguese government on 22 September, CP is considering bringing forward the delivery schedule, planned from 2029, and activating the option to purchase an additional 36 trains.
Infrastructure minister Miguel Pinto Luz stressed that the agreement “puts an end to a long period of litigation that held back the modernisation of the railway fleet”.
The purchase also envisages the creation of a train factory in Matosinhos, with some 300 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs, and aims to strengthen the supply and sustainability of rail transport in Portugal.