Renfe is maintaining the delivery schedule for its new metre‑gauge trains destined for the former Feve network.
The operator’s President, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, confirmed in an interview with Trenvista (to be published tomorrow) that testing will begin in 2026, as previously announced in 2023.
The units are being built at CAF’s Beasain plant, and Fernández Heredia expects the certification process to start during the next summer. This stage is essential to ensure the trains operate correctly and comply with current standards.
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For certification, the trains must complete several hundred thousand kilometres in test runs, which requires sufficient track availability. If no issues arise, the Spanish Rail Safety Agency (AESF) could authorise their entry into service within 12 to 18 months thereafter.
In June 2020, Renfe awarded CAF the contract to manufacture 31 metre‑gauge trains: 26 electric units (with two‑ and three‑car articulated formations) and five dual diesel‑electric sets (three articulated cars plus a generator car). The contract included an option for five additional electric units and one extra dual unit, which was exercised in 2022.
The project became the focus of controversy after false reports claimed the trains would not fit through tunnels — a misinformation fiasco caused by the omission of the comparative method in clearance regulations, which would otherwise have resulted in trains built narrower than necessary.