Press releases

2022/02/08

CAF GROUP AWARDED THE SUPPLY OF ELECTRIC UNITS AND HYDROGEN BUSES IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS

Yet again, the CAF Group consolidates its position as a global supplier of Zero Emissions Mobility solutions by securing two new contracts in the Balearic Islands. These consist, on the one hand, of the supply of five electric units to Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca, and on the other, five hydrogen buses to the capital city of Palma. 

These new projects substantiate the sound start of the CAF Group this year. In the last two weeks it has secured various significant contracts worth in excess of €800 million, such as the supply of 23 trains for Auckland, close to 200 electric buses for the city of Oslo, as well as the Purple Line project in Tel Aviv which includes the design, construction, financing and maintenance for 25 years of this line that forms part of the city' s light rail system.  

The supply of five electric units for Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca 

Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM) has awarded CAF the contract to supply 5 electric 4-car units, along with their depot parts and comprehensive maintenance of the vehicles for 2 years. The contract is worth in excess of €50 million, and the units are scheduled for commissioning in 2024.  

The operator SFM is the public company that manages operation of the narrow-gauge railway and metro lines on the island of Mallorca, except for the Palma-Sóller line. Purchasing these new units will allow SFM to further consolidate and develop sustainable mobility on the island, which is accessible for the whole population as well as being efficient and environmentally friendly. This project will be financed with additional Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU) funds under the ERDF 2014-2020 Operational Programme; financed in the framework of the European Union's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The new trains for SFM will be modelled based on the modern units that CAF recently built for the operator Euskotren, and will be able to provide revenue service at 100 km/h. They will consist of two cabbed motor cars and two intermediate trailer cars, with a capacity for more than 500 passengers. 

CAF's relationship with the Balearic Islands dates back a long way, given that it supplied six 7100 series units for the Palma de Mallorca Metro in 2006. Two years later, in 2008, concluded a new contract to supply 13 electric 8100 Series units, for metric tracks in 3- and 4-car consists, to operate on the island's railway network. 

In this case, the five new units will be used for the same commercial services previously served by the 8100 Series units previously built by CAF. In other words, they will run on Line T1, which connects Palma de Mallorca with the city of Inca, Line T2 from the capital city to the town of La Pobla and Line T3, which connects Palma with Manacor, located on the eastern part of the island. 

Solaris will supply five hydrogen fuel cell electric buses for Palma. 

Additionally, the Board of Directors of Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Palma has reported having selected Solaris to supply five electric buses with hydrogen fuel cells under a contract valued at approximately €4 million. 

Furthermore, the purchase of these vehicles forms part of a European funding project, namely the Green Hysland project, which seeks to promote the development of clean energies, in the framework of the initiative to combat climate change by 2050, designed to transform the island into a European benchmark with regards to zero-emission energies. 

The new hydrogen cell electric buses will consist of electrically-powered 12-metre-long Urbino vehicles, fitted with hydrogen cells to provide continuous on-board hydrogen-based electricity generation, resulting in zero emissions. These units have the additional advantage of long range in km on single refuelling, comparing to the battery buses.