[Portugal] New trains for CP - Comboios de Portugal

[Giugiaro]

I decided to create a new thread for the contract to acquire new trains for Portugal, since the refurbishment post was becoming a bit too bloated, and "general country" posts aren't really a thing on this forum...

And on that topic of new trains... well... "disaster" struck:

Public tenders to supply new trains for Portugal have been impeached

Public Service Contract being signed between the Portuguese Government and CP - Comboios de Portugal, in November 11, 2019.

The Spanish manufacturer CAF - Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles - has impeached in court the public tender to supply new trains for the Portuguese railway company. The consortium Thales - CRRC Tangshan also impeached the tender for the Lisbon Metro trains.

The contract of £143.4 million to supply 22 new regional trains for CP - Comboios the Portugal had three contenders, of which Stadler Rail was announced today as the winner. The two other contenders where the Spanish duo Talgo and CAF, the last filling an impeachment order on the Administrative Court of Lisbon last Friday.

The new trains were scheduled to be delivered starting from 2023, for an already underequipped and overdemanded railway network, but the judicial act may delay the contract, possibly indefinitely.

At the same time, the loosing consortium composed of French Thales and the Chinese CRRC Tangshan also filled an impeachment order against a similar public tender for the Lisbon Metro on the Administrative and Fiscal Court of Sintra in December 20.

The contract of £108.5 million to supply 14 new trains and a new signalling system for the 27.5 mile network had only two final contenders. The winner announced today was the consortium Siemens - Stadler Rail.

This happens amidst a growing disaster in Portuguese public tenders, where contracts are ending up abandoned after contractors have filled for bankruptcy, some ending completely empty of competitors, and then others being impeached by competing contractors, or by the Portuguese Environment Agency, or by the Portuguese Court of Audits.

Several Portuguese infrastructure and investment plans have been severely delayed due to constant contractual and projectual issues. The National Railway Plan for 2017-2023, Ferrovia 2020, with a total investment value of £1.855 billion, has only 5% of its construction work completed after 4 years of implementation.

Openly translated and written based on sources:
https://expresso.pt/economia/2019-12-30-Concurso-para-fornecer-comboios-a-CP-foi-impugnado
https://eco.sapo.pt/2019/12/30/concurso-para-fornecimento-de-comboios-a-cp-impugnado-judicialmente/
https://www.dinheirovivo.pt/empresas/ferrovia-2020-tem-5-das-obras-concluidas-ao-fim-de-quatro-anos/​

 

[duesselmartin]

How common is that legal action is taken or has cp messed it up?

 

[30907]

How common is that legal action is taken or has cp messed it up?

Not sure about CP, but it seems normal practice for manufacturers and train companies (DB at Nuremberg....) across Europe to challenge losing bids.

 

[JonasB]

Sorry to hear that, but it is not rare. SJ's plan to buy (much needed) new high speed trains have been delayed by a legal battle, so it happens everywhere.