The first two units are expected to be in service by the end of June.
The second of the five new trains purchased by the Government of the Balearic Islands to reinforce the fleet of Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM) and to continue the need to improve public transport has arrived in Mallorca.
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New trains arrive in Mallorca
This morning, at around 6 a.m., the second of the five new trains acquired by SFM arrived at Palma’s Moll Vell. Subsequently, the vehicle was deposited on the tracks of SFM’s facilities in Son Rutlan at around 11 a.m., once the special transport from the port of Palma had finished.
The railway company expects both the first unit, which arrived on the island on February 28th, and the second one to enter service by the end of June, once all the pertinent tests have been passed. The third unit is scheduled to arrive around the same time.
The last two trains are scheduled to arrive in July and August, respectively. The five new convoys will make it possible to extend the timetables and frequencies of the railway service. The incorporation of the new trains to the service will be carried out gradually from June until the end of this year.
The new units that have already arrived in Mallorca have passed the first operational tests at the CAF manufacturing company’s facilities in the Basque Country and will then begin a period in which different circulation tests will continue to be carried out in accordance with strict safety protocols. As for the first unit that arrived in February, the testing period is longer, as a large part of the circulation tests it has been carrying out since its arrival are valid for the rest of the units that arrive later.
The contract with Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) for the manufacture of the five electric trains, each with four cars, and their maintenance during the warranty period, has involved an investment of 54,653,612 euros (excluding VAT), 90% of which comes from the REACT-EU fund.
These are state-of-the-art trains, each comprising four carriages (wagons) and featuring advances in many aspects concerning those of SFM’s current fleet.
Firstly, the structure is made of aluminium, which makes them lighter in weight and therefore less energy consuming and more efficient; secondly, they are four metres longer and offer slightly more capacity than the previous ones, and, in turn, there are more spaces reserved for bicycles in the interior.
A significant difference with respect to the current 8100 series is that the new ones have three entrance doors on each side of the carriage, 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: it will be possible to view in real-time everything that happens inside the trains from the SFM 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 be improved in terms of safety and reliability.