Mallorca’s Railway Services (SFM) received this Tuesday the last of the five new trains acquired by the Government of the Balearic Islands to reinforce the railway company’s fleet and give continuity to the improvements in public transport. With the arrival of this unit, the railway company now has all the new trains it has acquired on its premises.

This latest unit arrived at Palma’s Moll Vell at around 6 a.m.. It was subsequently deposited at the track yard of the SFM facilities in Son Rutlan at around 11 a.m., once the special transport from the port of Palma had been completed.

Of the five new trains, one has been in service since 23 September on the Palma – UIB metro line at the time of day when demand is highest. Another two are currently in the last phase of tests, known as ‘blank runs’, which consist of covering kilometres on the usual network routes, but without passengers. These tests are used to check the correct operation of all the systems of the new trains on the network on which they will provide service, as well as to train all the train drivers on the new convoys.

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SFM receives the last of the five new trains acquired to reinforce its fleet

As for the fourth new train, which arrived at SFM’s Son Rutlan facilities on 17 September, it is in a more initial phase of the relevant tests that all units have to undergo before entering service, this last one will soon join received today.
The new units acquired by SFM have to follow a rigorous and lengthy process until they are put into service, which involves passing the first operating tests at the CAF manufacturing company’s facilities in the Basque Country and then beginning a period in which different circulation tests continue to be carried out under strict safety protocols, to end with this last phase of the ‘blank run’, which, once satisfactorily completed, allows the new trains to enter service.
The contract with Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) for the manufacture of the five electric trains, each with four carriages, and their maintenance during the guarantee period has involved an investment of 54,653,612 euros (excluding VAT), 90% of which comes from European REACT-EU funds.
These are state-of-the-art trains, each consisting of four carriages (wagons) and featuring advances in many aspects compared to those of SFM’s current fleet.

These trains are more sustainable due to lower energy consumption and are four metres longer, offering slightly more capacity than those in the current fleet. They have more spaces reserved for bicycles in the interior and a significant difference with respect to the previous ones is that they 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 and the interior passenger information devices have also been improved, as well as the video surveillance systems inside the units.
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.