The Spanish Minister for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, announced this morning in Asturias that the manufacture of the 31 metric gauge trains ordered from CAF for the former Feve network will begin on 26 February and confirmed the acquisition of 25 additional trains.
Puente made these statements during the presentation of the Asturias Cercanías Plan, which is currently being implemented and has a total budget of 1,586 million euros divided into infrastructure (€1,223.1 million), stations (€48.9 million) and rolling stock (€314.8 million).
A budget that Transport highlights that it is triple the amount announced in 2017 (€582.7 million), with the item allocated to rolling stock being the one that has grown the most proportionally.
New metric gauge trains will be introduced in Asturias in 2026
With the announcement of the start of production of the new metric gauge trains, the controversy caused by the gauge has come to an end. A controversy that, as we denounced in Trenvista, was more an informative fiasco than a real fiasco.
The manufacturing process begins once the trains have been redesigned by applying the comparative method, for which it has been necessary to regulate the use of this method in order to comply with the highest current safety standards.
According to Óscar Puente, the first trains will arrive in Asturias in 2026 and will then begin to replace the veteran 433 and 435 series units (ex 3300 and 3500) used on the C-4, C-5, C-5a, C-6 and C-7 Cercanías Asturias lines.
The contract was awarded to CAF in June 2020 for 258 million euros and included the acquisition of 26 two and three-car electric trains (with an option for 6 more) and 5 dual trains with an option for an additional 1.
According to the Minister, the option to purchase these 7 additional trains has already been authorised and the tender for 18 additional units (11 electric and 6 dual) announced in March 2023 is being prepared. Thus, Asturias will receive a total of 35 new metric gauge trains in the coming years.
