This week's visit to Spain by Robert Goodwill, the United Kingdom Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, included a meeting with CAF representatives to allow him to gain first hand experience of the Oaris high speed unit, at the Delicias railway station in Zaragoza.
During the tour of Oaris, United Kingdom's Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport was accompanied by Britian's ambassador to Madrid, Simon Manley, as well as the CEO of Renfe, Pablo Vazquez and the CEO of Adif, Gonzalo Ferre. Along with Andres Arizkorreta, Managing Director CAF, these dignitaries witnessed the unit's cutting edge technology and modern design, which also offers maximum comfort and functionality to users. As regards Oaris, it is worthy of note that this current year CAF won a contract in Norway for the supply of 8 Oaris High Speed Units to the government-owned company Flytoget AS.
It should not be forgotten that by the end of the year the United Kingdom plans to launch a tender process for the first phase of the High Speed project linking London and Birmingham (HS2). It is thought that construction of this phase will begin in 2017, and a subsequent second phase will extend the line towards the north east of the country (Manchester and Leeds). With a budget of over € 50bn, it is one of the largest infrastructure projects planned in Europe for the coming years.
CAF has gained a major foothold in the United Kingdom over recent years, with a wide range of vehicles and services. During the 90s, the company supplied units for the Northern Spirit line, as well as for the Heathrow Express link connecting the airport with the city of London. More recently it has developed projects for NI Railways (Northern Ireland Railways), where the company performs both maintenance and train manufacturing activities; it has also supplied trams to the cities of Edinburgh and Birmingham. This year, CAF has signed a contract worth around € 200m for the supply of Caledonian Sleeper coaches, which will run on the service between London and Glasgow-Edinburgh; delivery is planned for 2018.
CAF is currently participating in several tender processes for different operators in the country, and has been pre-qualified for the London Underground tender. It also has significant interest in the previously mentioned tender for the HS2 high speed line, demonstrating the company's desire to increase its United Kingdom presence over the coming years.