Spanish rolling stock builder Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) has filed an appeal before Ireland’s High Court over the awarding of a €650 million contract to renew the cross-border Enterprise service linking Dublin and Belfast.
The firm argues that the tender documentation lacked transparency and that significant errors were made in the evaluation of bids.
The contract, awarded on 18 September to Swiss manufacturer Stadler Bussnang AG, involves supplying eight new trainsets. Once in operation, they are expected to double the daily frequency between both capitals to 16 services and boost top operating speeds beyond 145 km/h.
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Operators Iarnród Éireann–Irish Rail and Northern Ireland Railways have requested that the Commercial Court handle the dispute under its fast-track procedure, warning that any delay could jeopardise up to €165 million in EU funding from the PEACEPLUS, PEACE IV and INTERREG VA programmes. All are bound by deadlines expiring in September. 2029.
Judge Mark Sanfey has agreed to give the case urgent treatment. CAF maintains that the awarded manufacturer will be unable to meet the stipulated timelines and also challenges the scoring methodology used during the procurement process.