CAF Sells 60 Battery-Powered Trains In Germany

CAF

Spanish railway company CAF has been selected as preferred bidder by the German transport authorities ZV VRR (Zweckverband Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr) and NWL (Zweckverband Nahverkehr WestfalenLippe), transport operators in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, for the supply of more than 60 battery-powered trains. In addtion, the execution of the fleet maintenance services for a period of 30 years.

The trains will have one of the most cutting-edge technologies in the railway sector, as they will be electric trains that will run on batteries in non-electrified areas.

It is worth noting that this contract is the largest in the world for this type of technology.

According to Renta 4 analysts, “this type of technology will be one of the most in-demand products in the coming years, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions in rail transport by replacing diesel trains with other technologies on non-electrified lines. It should be noted that 40% of European railway lines are not electrified. There are currently more than 18,000 electric trains which will have to be replaced in the coming years.

Although the amount of the contract is unknown, Renta 4 believes that “the amount of the contract may exceed €500m, around 5.5% of CAF’s order book at the end of Q1’21.” The analysts also point out that it is positive news from a financial point of view, “as it includes the maintenance of the trains for a period of 30 years. As a point of reference, each 30-year maintenance period the amount is equal to that of the rolling stock supply. (…) With this contract, we estimate CAF’s order intake for the year to be in the range of €2.3/2.4 billion, which implies a book-to-bill ratio of 0.8x, close to the full year target of 1.0x.”

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