ON SEPTEMBER 29 Spanish National Railways received three bids to supply high speed trains for the Madrid - Barcelona route, from Alstom/CAF, Siemens, and Talgo/Adtranz. Although shortlisted, AnsaldoBreda declined to submit a final bid. Renfe intends to order between 26 and 40 trainsets capable of 350 km/h before the end of this year, within a budget of Pts111bn. Siemens is proposing an ICE and Talgo/Adtranz a Talgo 350 with between eight and 12 cars (RG 5.00 p316). Alstom and CAF are offering three different designs: an AVE 2000 development of Renfe’s existing trains, a double-deck unit with up to 1000 seats and the AGV with distributed traction.
On October 18 Alstom/CAF and Siemens submitted bids for six regional high speed trains, costing around Pts1·3bn each; these will run at up to 270 km/h on services such as Madrid - Guadalajara or Córdoba - Sevilla. For a third contract covering eight gauge-changing trains, bids have been invited from Talgo/Adtranz and a consortium of Alstom, CAF and Fiat.
- In an investment budget of Pts94bn for 2001, Renfe is proposing to spend Pts27·4bn on rolling stock for conventional routes. New passenger coaches for long-distance services are to be acquired for Pts9bn, with Pts7·8bn allocated to new wagons and freight loco refurbishment. New rolling stock for regional services will be ordered at a cost of Pts6·7bn, and Pts3·6bn has been earmarked for suburban trainsets.
In 2001 Renfe will be receiving Pts224·5bn in support from central government, Pts65m less than in 2000. Of this total, 90% will fund the provision of socially-necessary services.
