Portugal has expanded its largest rolling stock procurement in decades after state railway operator Comboios de Portugal (CP) signed an addendum to its existing train purchase contract with the Alstom–DST consortium, adding dozens more commuter trains to the programme.
The extra order, signed yesterday by Portugal’s state operator, increases the original purchase of Alstom Adessia Stream electric multiple units from 117 to 153 trains, and raises the total investment from €746 million to €1.064 billion to replace the country’s ageing rolling stock.
The additional 36 trains will be used on urban commuter services, boosting capacity in CP’s suburban networks while replacing one of Western Europe’s oldest national train fleets. Celebrating the deal’s expansion at a signing ceremony in Aveiro, Portugal’s Infrastructure and Housing Minister Miguel Pinto Luz said the add-on order was part of a wider government drive to modernise CP and renew its ageing fleet.
“This is the largest investment in the purchase of trains in Portugal,” he said, referring to a broader plan to bring almost 200 new trains into service at a cost of around €1.8 billion. “It is paradigmatic of the transformational change that the current government has instilled in the management of CP and of the ambition we have for CP.”
Expansion of existing rolling stock programme
The Alstom–DST contract covers Adessia Stream electric multiple units in both regional and suburban configurations, allowing CP to replace several ageing train classes with a single platform family.
The original October 2025 order for 117 trains included 55 regional units and 62 suburban trains intended for Portugal’s main commuter networks. The newly signed addendum adds 36 additional suburban units, bringing the commuter portion of the order to 98 trains while leaving the regional allocation unchanged.
The additional commuter trains, totalling a cost of €318 million, are set to be used by CP to add capacity on urban corridors after government officials said the operator had gone more than 20 years without receiving new trains and was running a fleet with an average age of over 40 years. That’s as rail demand continues to surge, with CP carrying 208.2 million passengers in 2025, the highest total this century and well above pre-pandemic levels.
Accelerated delivery schedule
Alongside increasing the fleet size, the addendum also modifies the delivery schedule. With the first trains expected to arrive in 2029, the final deliveries are now set to take place in 2031, two years earlier than originally planned. The previous timetable had foreseen completion of deliveries by 2033.
According to the minister, the government intends the programme to ensure continuous fleet deliveries over the coming years. “In the period between 2025 and 2031 there will not be a single year without the delivery of new rolling stock,” Pinto Luz said. “Portugal needs more trains. Portugal needs trains earlier. Portugal urgently needs to renew its fleet to serve all Portuguese people.”
Once delivered, the wider programme is expected to renew just over 40% of CP’s fleet, according to the government. Pinto Luz was referring not only to the 153-train Alstom–DST order, but also to a separate government authorisation for 12 high-speed trains, with an option for eight more, worth some €584 million. “We are talking about a total of more than 190 new trains for CP,” he said.
Wider government rail ambitions
A central element of the procurement programme is the creation of a domestic train manufacturing and assembly facility in Matosinhos, in northern Portugal. Authorities are pushing for the project to strengthen the country’s railway industry, with the new Alstom site expected to generate around 300 direct jobs, spanning engineering, technical and manufacturing roles.
Beyond the government wanting the massive investment to serve its own economy, the expanded fleet programme forms part of a broader government effort to increase rail’s role in Portugal’s transport system. Pinto Luz said the state wanted to reinforce the national operator institutionally, including measures aimed at strengthening staffing and improving financial stability.
“We want CP to be great, we want CP to be incumbent, and we want CP to keep its accounts in order, because it will have to settle its accounts with the Portuguese people,” he said.