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Subterráneos de Buenos Aires (SBASE) will soon launch the tender for the purchase of new trains for line B: the call would be approved by the board of directors in the coming days. There will be 16 formations, intended to replace the Mitsubishi fleet. The risk of not considering the retirement of the CAF
6000. What the new trains will be like, in detail.
With several months of delay compared to what was originally announced, Subterráneos de Buenos Aires (SBASE) will soon launch a tender for the purchase of new trains for line B.
These are 16 zero kilometer formations, intended to replace the Mitsubishi fleet - acquired second-hand in the 90s from the Tokyo Metro -, which is currently the oldest on the Subway: its manufacture dates back to between 1954 and 1965.
SBASE sources confirmed to enelSubte that “everything is practically ready to launch the tender.” The board would approve the call in the coming days, formally beginning the process.
Dynamic gauge tests were carried out according to the dimensions of the new trains to be acquired.
If the operation prospers, it would be the first time in almost 50 years that line B receives zero kilometer rolling stock: the last new trains incorporated were the Siemens-FM at the end of the 70s.
The specifications to be published – whose preliminary draft was revealed exclusively by this medium more than a year ago – include some modifications made as a result of the public consultation (“data room”) that took place last summer. Although SBASE had estimated to launch the tender in March, the delays in this process forced the original deadlines to be significantly delayed.
From SBASE they assured that “different top-level national and international stakeholders participated as potential bidders in the public consultation process.”
As this media learned, one of the strongest candidates to participate in the tender is a regular supplier to the Subway: the French company Alstom, which would do so through its subsidiary in Brazil. However, the possibility of competition is not ruled out, since SBASE at the time spread the call among the embassies of various European and North American countries, as well as China, Japan and South Korea.
It is worth remembering that the possibility of purchasing new trains for line B has been analyzed since 2018. Although the initiative registered some timid progress at the beginning of 2020, it was frozen throughout the pandemic. Last year, SBASE reactivated the project due to the worsening of the asbestos crisis - the Mitsubishis are one of the eight affected fleets in the network -, a conflict that still continues with an open end amid the series of union force measures for that reason.
What the new formations will be like
The 16 formations will be made up of six cars each (96 cars). The trains will not have intermediate cabins or doors that block the passage, so internal circulation will be free from end to end of the formation, as in the Alstom Series 300.
The trains will take energy from the rigid catenary using a pantograph and not from the third rail - like the CAF 6000 -, so it would no longer be used.
Regarding their dimensions, the cars will have a width of 3.10 meters, similar to that of the trains on the Mitre, Sarmiento, Urquiza and Roca lines. In other words, the new trains will take advantage of the entire “railway” gauge that line B has, which allows the circulation of much larger units than the rest of the Subway lines (which use “tram” gauge of 2.60 m). In recent weeks, dynamic tests have been carried out with a “clearance mask” on a Mitsubishi formation to verify this issue (see detail in the attached photo).
This is a peculiarity of this line, inherited from its railway origin, which allows for greater transport capacity and greater comfort for passengers and which has been systematically wasted in the last 30 years due to the incorporation of used trains that have not been used. completely adjusted to the specifications of the line: it should be remembered that the Mitsubishis have a width of 2.80 m and the CAF 6000 are slightly narrower (2.77 m): skirts had to be added to both to compensate for the distance between the train and the platform.
An insufficient purchase?
The announced number of 16 trains is less than the 25 formations that had been initially mentioned. Although the 16 are enough to replace the veteran Mitsubishi fleet, they are not enough to replace the CAF 6000, with which the new trains will eventually coexist.
Taking into account the timing of the tender and the delivery times of the new trains - which may extend beyond what was planned -, and the fact that the CAF 6000 were already acquired a decade ago and have accumulated 25 years of service, it would be prudent that the specifications contemplate the possibility of making a purchase extension.
This modality would involve placing an initial order for a certain number of trains, with the option to expand the order later, when necessary. It is not a new modality for the Subway: years ago SBASE bought 120 Alstom Series 300 cars and then expanded the purchase by 50% (60 more units), which allowed it to have a fleet sufficient to cover the entire H line and part of line D.
Otherwise, there would be a risk that the new fleet would end up being nothing more than a “short blanket”, in addition to being contrary to the standardization of rolling stock, advisable for technical and economic reasons.
ACQUISITION OF ROLLING STOCK FOR LINE B
Type of Work: Machinery and tools
Client: SUBTERRÁNEOS DE BUENOS AIRES SE
Tender No: 234/2023
Location: City of Buenos Aires
Opening date: 03/26/2024 at 12:00 PM
Official budget: U$S 155,000,000.00 |
