Portuguese Trains (CP) to acquire up to 20 trains as tender launched for second section of Porto - Lisbon high-speed line. Infrastructure Portugal president Miguel Cruz launches the Oia - Soure tender on January 22. Photo Credit: Infrastructure Portugal THE Portuguese cabinet has granted its approval for national operator Portuguese Trains (CP) to purchase up to 20 high-speed trains, comprising a firm order for 12 and an option for a further eight trains, each accommodating 500 passengers and capable of operating at up to 300km/h. According to the government, this represents an investment of €584m, including €45m to build and equip a new dedicated fleet maintenance facility. The order is intended to prepare CP to be become the dominant high-speed operator, establishing a dedicated subsidiary and also preparing for cross-border operations. PPP tender Cabinet approval for the new fleet comes as the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing has relaunched the tender for a public-private partnership (PPP) concession to design, build, finance and maintain the second section of the Porto - Lisbon high-speed line, running for 61km from Oiã to Soure. With the objective of cutting the Porto - Lisbon journey time to 1h 15min by 2032, construction is due to begin next year and will include adapting Coimbra-B station for high-speed trains. Connections will be built to the conventional Porto - Lisbon main line near Oiã, Adémia and Taveiro, totalling 22km, and the main line will be widened to four tracks between Coimbra-B and Taveiro. Proposals are due to be submitted to Infrastructure Portugal (IP) by May 25. IP says that the 30-year concession contract will be awarded for a maximum of €1.6bn at December 2023 prices. It will comprise a development and construction period, estimated at five-and-a-half years, and an infrastructure availability period of 24.5 years when the concessionaire will maintain the new line. Payments made by IP to the concessionaire will be spread over 30 years and are estimated at a maximum of €4.8bn at current prices. A maximum amount of €600m at current prices will also be provided from public funds to cover project costs, property acquisition, building construction sites, inspection services, and work to be funded under European Union (EU) programmes. The first tender for the Oiã - Soure concession was launched in July 2024, but later terminated “due to the lack of valid proposals received,” according to the government. The sole bidder was the LusoLav III consortium of Mota-Engil, Teixeira Duarte, Casais, Alves Ribeiro, Conduril, and Gabriel Couto, but the contract was cancelled due to concerns over a proposal by the consortium to move the planned station at Coimbra-B to Taveiro, outside the city and non-compliant with contract specifications. CP orders more EMUs CP has also received cabinet approval to exercise an option in the €746m contract signed last year with Alstom and local partner Domingos da Silva Teixeira (DST) for the supply of 117 EMUs. The option for 36 additional trains worth €318m will take the total fleet on order to 153 trains, comprising 98 commuter EMUs and 55 for regional services. Under an accelerated delivery schedule, the first train is due to be delivered in 2029 and the last train in 2031, two years earlier than originally planned.