The first of the five new trains purchased by the Government of the Balearic Islands has arrived in Mallorca to meet the need to improve public transport on the islands.

The contract with Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) for the manufacture of the five electric trains of four cars each, and their maintenance during the warranty period, has involved an investment of 54,653,612 euros (excluding VAT), of which 90% comes from the REACT-EU fund, set up for the economic recovery following the COVID-19 crisis.

New trains arrives in Mallorca

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The Councilor for Housing, Territory and Mobility, Marta Vidal, stressed: “These five new trains, which are added to the current SFM fleet and have been acquired with European funds, represent a consolidation of the public train service that will be effective from June” and added that the vehicles “will allow us to face with guarantees the possibility of extending both the timetables and the frequency of the service, as well as reinforcing and guaranteeing it in the event of possible incidents”.

Around 6.00 am, the first of the five new trains acquired by Servicios Ferroviarios de Mallorca (SFM) that will reinforce the SFM fleet arrived at Palma’s Moll Vell. Subsequently, the vehicle was deposited in the track yard of SFM’s facilities in Son Rutlan around 11.00 h, once the special transport enabled from the port of Palma had finished.

The councillor recalled that the remaining four units are scheduled to arrive progressively between March and June and stressed that “there is an urgent need to improve public transport to cover users and demand”.

For his part, the manager of Servicios Ferroviarios de Mallorca, José Ramón Orta, emphasized that before starting the manufacturing process, previous work was carried out between CAF managers and SFM’s technical team to finish defining the interiors of the new trains and the design of the cabin, as well as the planning of the purchase of the necessary material. “This is a very important process since this is where the adaptation of the new units to the needs and peculiarities of the service is defined in each case,” Orta pointed out.

These are state-of-the-art trains, each of which is made up of four cars (wagons) and have many advances over those of SFM’s current fleet.

Firstly, the structure is made of aluminium, which makes them lighter in weight and, therefore, they consume less energy and are more efficient; secondly, they are four meters longer and offer slightly more capacity than the previous ones, and, in turn, there are more spaces reserved for bicycles inside.

A significant difference concerning the current 8100 series is that the current ones have three entrance doors on each side of the car, which facilitates passenger access and greater agility in loading and unloading passengers.

Electronically more advanced, they are also equipped with better electrical safety systems, which provide greater reliability and agility in the event of possible incidents.

The interior passenger information devices have also been improved and, about the interior video surveillance circuits of the units, there is an important new feature: everything that happens inside the trains can be viewed in real-time from SFM’s traffic control centre. It should also be noted that some of the electronic advances included in the new units can be replicated in the trains of the current fleet, which means that the entire fleet will improve in terms of safety and reliability.

The new unit that arrived today in Mallorca has already passed the first operational tests at CAF’s facilities in the Basque Country and now begins a period in which different circulation tests must continue to be carried out by the strict safety protocols. This first train is expected to enter service during the month of June to meet SFM’s current needs.

The remaining four units included in the contract will also have to carry out shorter circulation tests. Likewise, the new trains will be gradually incorporated into the service from June until the end of this year.