Renfe will restart the process to procure new high-speed trains in the coming days. According to ElEconomista, the deal could receive the green light from the operator’s Board of Directors before Easter. The tender, originally scheduled for January, was postponed after the Adamuz rail accident, which made restoring services on the Madrid–Andalusia high-speed line the top priority.
The call for tenders covers trainsets capable of running at 350 km/h, a crucial requirement on the Madrid–Barcelona corridor, where Adif has already begun upgrading the infrastructure to support these speeds. Among the interested manufacturers are Siemens Mobility, with its Velaro Novo platform, and Talgo, which is developing a faster, distributed-traction evolution of the Avril. Other potential contenders include Hitachi with the ETR 1000 and Alstom with the Avelia Horizon, marketed by SNCF as the TGV-M.
In recent months, Transport Minister scar Puente and Renfe president lvaro Fernández Heredia have stepped up contacts with global rolling stock builders. They visited Siemens’ plants in Germany in September 2025, Hitachi’s factory in Pistoia last December, and Chinese giant CRRC later the same month.
The Chinese option appears to be Renfe’s favourite on paper, but it comes with a significant drawback: as a new product on the European market, type approval could drag on for years.
Industry estimates suggest Renfe will need to add up to 100 new high-speed trainsets over the coming years, both to renew its existing fleet and to accommodate sustained demand growth. This has already pushed annual high-speed ridership past 40 million passengers.