Court overturns SNCB decision to build new trains in Spain

A decision by Belgian rail operator SNCB to buy hundreds of new trains from a Spanish constructor - potentially putting up to 800 Belgian jobs at risk - has been suspended by Belgium's highest administrative court.

The Council of State said the tender process, which saw Spanish firm CAF beat Bruges-based Alstom for what had been called the "contract of the century", lacked sufficient transparency.

Alstom had filed an urgent appeal against the decision with the Council of State after it learnt in late February that CAF had been designated the "preferred bidder" for the public procurement deal, which is reportedly worth more than €3 billion.

The Council of State has now ruled that the method of evaluating the bids lacked transparency and the decision has therefore been suspended.

SNCB said it took note of the ruling and would not comment further until a separate appeal, lodged with the Council of State's Dutch-speaking chamber, was also concluded.

However, it added: "At first glance, the ruling does not necessarily require a new tendering procedure."

The Belgian rail operator launched a call for tenders in late 2022 to build hundreds of new AM30 trains, used to operate suburban S and Intercity IC services, which SNCB said was "of great importance for the renewal of the rolling stock and to respond to growth in passenger numbers".

SNCB received three bids, from CAF, Siemens and Alstom.

Alstom took legal action and warned that almost 800 people could lose their jobs at its sites in Bruges and Charleroi as a result of the decision.

Unions warned that Alstom’s current orders only guarantee job security in Bruges until April 2026.