Press releases

2024/03/15

CAF SECURES NEW CONTRACT IN THE NETHERLANDS

CAF has reached a new milestone in its already extensive history in the Netherlands by gaining the trust of a new customer in said country. In this case, it is the public transport operator Qbuzz, part of FS Group, who has chosen CAF to supply 10 commuter trains, as well as a corresponding spare parts package, which are scheduled for delivery from 2028.

Qbuzz is a public transport company in the Netherlands serving concessions in region Groningen-Drenthe, city of Utrecht and in the region between cities Utrecht and Rotterdam. Founded in 2008, it operates bus, tram and train lines, transporting approximately 350,000 passengers every day. 

The trains Qbuzz has chosen are part of the Civity platform and will be equipped with CAF's ETCS (European Train Control System) signalling system. They will be energy efficient units designed to run at a speed of 160 km/h. Each train will consist of 3 cars and will have a capacity for approximately 350 passengers along its almost 60 metre length. They will also include areas for people with reduced mobility and areas for bicycle transport. 

This investment is part of the initiative being implemented by the province of South Holland to be capable to operate on ERTMS-lines, improve public transport and make it more sustainable. These new units will be used on the line running between the cities of Dordrecht and Geldermalsen (the "MerwedeLinge line"), which was awarded to operator Qbuzz by the South Holland Provincial Authority in 2018. Qbuzz' intention in acquiring this new fleet is to replace the units currently operating on the line that are not equipped with the advanced ERTMS signalling system, which is scheduled to be implemented on parts of the line by 2027. 

Over the last few years, CAF has undertaken major contracts in the Netherlands, including successive contracts with the Dutch operator NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen), for which more than 200 commuter units have been supplied since the first agreement was entered into between both companies in 2014, as well as the project that CAF is currently undertaking for the manufacture of 60 double-decker units, which amounts to operations valued at more than €1,600 million with this customer. Besides this, other projects worthy of mention include the supply of metro and tram units for Amsterdam, and the trams operating in the city of Utrecht. In fact, with this new order, the total number of vehicles supplied or in CAF's order book for customers in the Netherlands stands at 452 over the last 10 years, which demonstrates the company's commitment and success in this country. 

Automatic driving tests on NS commuter units. 

We should also stress the close collaboration between CAF and the Dutch operator NS over the last few years on a number of automatic driving projects. During this time, CAF has successfully tested the ATO (Automatic Train Operation) system on ETCS (GoA2) on trains supplied to the Dutch operator. This is a major milestone as the ATO system has been tested on passenger trains running on lines with heavy traffic. 

This project examines the advantages that ATO automatic driving can provide the Dutch operator in terms of improved punctuality and reduced energy consumption during operation in traffic, as well as improvements in operation management on the section between the last station on the line and the train depot, by means of remote driving without a driver having to take action.