Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (Grupo CAF, literally "Construction and Other Railway Services") is a Spanish publicly listed company which manufactures railway vehicles and equipment and buses through its Solaris Bus & Coach subsidiary. It is based in Beasain, Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. Equipment manufactured by Grupo CAF includes light rail vehicles, rapid transit trains, railroad cars and locomotives, as well as variable gauge axles that can be fitted on any[citation needed] existing truck or bogie.
| Type | Sociedad Anónima |
|---|---|
| BMAD: CAF | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1917 (Compañía Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles) |
| Headquarters | Beasain, Spain |
Number of locations | 11 factories, including: Beasain (Basque Country) Zaragoza (Aragon) Irún (Basque Country) Linares (Andalusia) Hortolandia (Brazil) Huehuetoca (Mexico) Elmira, New York (US) Bagnères-de-Bigorre (France) |
Key people | Jose María Baztarrica Garijo, Andrés Arizkorreta (Chief Executive Officer and Chairman) |
| Products | Design, manufacture, maintenance and supply of equipment and components for railway systems |
| Revenue | €2.943 billion (2021)[1] |
| €165 million (2021)[1] | |
| €89 million (2021)[1] | |
| Total assets | €4.269 billion (2021)[1] |
| Total equity | €740.4 million (2021)[1] |
| Owner | Public; Employees via Cartera Social S.A. (25%); Kutxabank (14%)[2] |
Number of employees | 13,284(2021)[1] |
| Website | CAF.net |
Over the 20 years from the early 1990s, CAF benefited from the rail investment boom in its home market in Spain to become a world player with a broad technical capability, able to manufacture almost any type of rail vehicle.[3] CAF has supplied railway rolling stock to a number of major urban transit operators around Europe, the US, South America, East Asia, India, Australia and North Africa.
History
CAF was an acronym for the earlier name of Compañía Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, as well as for Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles.
Fábrica de Hierros San Martín
In 1860, Domingo Goitia, Martín Usabiaga and José Francisco Arana established this company, whose main activity was puddling furnaces and cylinder rolling.
La Maquinista Guipuzcoana
In 1892, Francisco de Goitia (Domingo Goitia's son and heir) joined the Marquess of Urquijo to set up La Maquinista Guipuzcoana, whose main activity was the operation of machinery and the forging and construction of railway rolling stock.
In 1898, it set up its plant in Beasain, Gipuzkoa. In 1905 it changed its name to Fábrica de Vagones de Beasain (FVB).
Compañía Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles
Compañía Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) was founded in 1917, specializing in freight car production and with a total of 1,600 employees.
In 1940, the Irun factory was set up, following the expansion of activity after the Spanish Civil War (CAF took part in reconstructing the Spanish rail fleet).
In 1954, CAF took over Material Móvil y Construcciones (MMC) from Zaragoza (Aragon), a company with extensive experience in manufacturing long-distance and subway trains.
Since 1958, the company has modernized and enlarged its Beasain plant and expanded its activity to include all kinds of rolling stock. In line with this, in 1969 CAF created its Research and Development Unit, which increased the company's competitiveness and intensified the focus on in-house technology.
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles
In 1971, the existing Compañía Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) merged with Material Móvil y Construcciones (MMC) and the company adopted its current name Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles.
Subsidiaries
CAF U.S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of CAF, was incorporated in 1998[4] and is based in Elmira, New York. It manufactures rolling stock for the North American market at a plant in Elmira that the company acquired from ADtranz in 2000.[5] The company from Beasain continued its expansion during the third millennium.
On 24 May 2019, it announced the acquisition of the Swedish company Euromaint at a cost of circa €80 million, following other international contracts to supply Flemish and English railway and underground networks in 2017.[6][7]
CAF Rolling Stock U.K. Ltd.[8] is the CAF subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Its factory is based at Celtic Springs Business Park, at Llanwern steelworks near Newport, Wales as a result of an agreement made between CAF and the Welsh Government.[9] The Newport factory has built stock for Transport for Wales, Arriva Rail North, the Docklands Light Railway, and potentially High Speed 2 if CAF win the bid process.
CAF Signalling was fined in 2021 with 1.7 million euros by the Spanish commission on markets and competition because of its participation in a cartel with other 7 international companies which colluded in tenders over Spanish rail infrastructure.[10]
Train defects
In April 2014, two carriages of an Urbos 3 tram in Belgrade separated during passenger service, due to the cracking of screws connecting the cars. Half of the Belgrade tramway's CAF fleet were found to have been affected by similar cracking of screws in the two weeks prior to the incident.[11]
In March 2016, 19 British Rail Class 332 units were taken out of service after a crack was discovered in the underframe of one unit during routine maintenance.[12][13][14]
In December 2017, the Besançon Tramway in Besançon, France discovered cracks in their Urbos 3s vehicles around the bogie box area of the bodies, which in December 2020 CAF paid for remedial work to be performed with each unit affected requiring one month downtime for the work to be completed.[15]
In April 2021, 22 British Rail Class 195 Civity units were temporarily removed from service after routine maintenance revealed a yaw damper bracket had detached from the body of unit 195121.[13]
On June 11, 2021, West Midlands Metro (operating between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, England) were forced to suspend their services due to similar cracks being discovered in the bogie box areas of their Urbos 3s vehicles, with ongoing investigations continuing to identify any other issues relating to the cracks and to find options for remedial works to be performed.[15] Full service only began once more in February 2022.[16]
On June 24, 2021, Flytoget were forced to withdraw their entire CAF Oaris fleet after 19 days of service due to the discovery of cracks in the chassis.[17] They remain out of service as of September 2022, with plans to reinstate them by the end of the year. In the meantime, CAF has paid an unknown amount to Flytoget in compensation.[18][19]
Following on from these instances, in November 2021 the New South Wales transport minister Rob Stokes announced that the Sydney L1 Dulwich Hill Line would be decommissioned for up to 18 months, due to serious design flaws in all 12 of the CAF Urbos 3s tram sets that were running on the line. Stokes stated that the flaws (in the bogie boxes) were likely to be far broader in scope than those identified in Sydney due to the thousands of the same tram type operated around the world.[20]
In March 2022, the West Midlands Metro was again forced to suspend its services due to the discovery of more cracks, this time on the bodywork of the trams.[16]
In February 17, 2023, the Department of Transportation of the Philippines revealed that nearly 80 of the new light rail vehicles for Manila's LRT Line 1 cannot be used due to water leaks in the cars.[21]
In February 2023, CAF revealed that the 2020 project for 31 trains for the FEVE narrow-gauge lines in the northern regions of Cantabria and Asturias, Spain, asked for a carriage width that would not fit through the existing 19th-century tunnels. The change in specifications will delay the established delivery date of October 2024 by two years to 2026.[22][23]
Political activity
During the 2019 United Kingdom general election, CAF Rail UK Limited made a donation of £50,000 to the Conservative Party.[24]
This article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. (September 2021) |
In 2019, it entered into litigation that affects its corporate image. Participating in a consortium, JNET, together with the Israeli company Shapir Engineering and Industry, has won a tender promoted by the Israeli Ministry of Transport and Road Safety to supply railway equipment, in addition to building, extending and operating light rail lines from Jerusalem to nearby settlements in disputed territories, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.[25] In turn, Shapir is on the list of companies that benefit from the occupation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as denounced by the United Nations Human Rights Council.[26]
Rolling stock
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2021) |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: There are multiple units listed under the "Locomotives" section, and a general cleanup is needed. (September 2021) |
Carriages
EMU and DMU
- Cepia
- Oaris
- Class 598
- IZBAN E22000
- TRD
- TEMD
- TDMD
- Class 440
- Class 444
- Civity
- Civia
- Class 446/447
- IE 29000 Class
- AM class EMU, Auckland
- VR Class Sm4
- MTR Adtranz-CAF EMU
Locomotives
For FEVE, now part of Renfe Operadora:
- Electro-diesel locomotive Class 1900
- Class 2600 DMU
- Class 2700 DMU
- Class 2900 DMU
For Euskotren:
For Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca:
- DMU Class 61
- EMU Class 71
- EMU Class 81
For other operators:
- BITRAC CC 3600 (Class 601) electro-diesel (Ordered by FESUR, currently operated by Captrain España)
Metro
For Madrid:
- Class 300
- Class 1000
- Class 2000
- Class 3000
- Class 5000
- Class 6000
- Class 8000
- Class 8400
For Barcelona:
- Class 1000
- Class 2000
- Class 3000
- Class 4000
- Class 5000
- Class 6000
- Class S/2100
- Class S/300
For Helsinki:
For Bucharest:
- BM3
For Amsterdam:
- Metromaterieel S3/M4
- Metromaterieel M7/M8
For Brussels:
- Boa (STIB)
Trams
- Urbos 1 (Tranvía de Bilbao)
- Urbos 2 (Tranvía de Vélez-Málaga, Tranvía de Vitoria and Metro de Sevilla).
- Urbos 3 (Metrocentro de Sevilla, Tranvía de Zaragoza, Metropolitano de Granada, Metro de Málaga and Tranvía Metropolitano de la Bahía de Cádiz).
Outside Spain: trains
- Algeria: DMUs
- Argentina: 9 articulated units for Tren de la Costa
- Brazil: CPTM EMUs and São Paulo Metrô
- Germany: Commuter train NEXIO for Schönbuch Railway[27]
- Hungary: MÁV vagon[28]
- Italy: DMUs for Sardinia
- Netherlands: Sprinter New Generation for the Nederlandse Spoorwegen.
- Portugal: EMUs (UQE´S) for Lisboa
- Saudi Arabia: SAR/SRO Diesel Push-Pull Trainsets
- UK: British Rail Class 331 (Northern Trains)[29]
- UK: British Rail Class 332 in partnership with Siemens (Heathrow Express)[30]
- UK: British Rail Class 333 in partnership with Siemens (Arriva Trains Northern)[31]
- UK: Northern Ireland Railways Class 3000 and Class 4000
- UK: British Rail Class 397 (TransPennine Express)[32]
Newport factory, South Wales, UK
CAF Rolling Stock U.K. Ltd announced in 2017 its UK factory location was selected as Celtic Business Park at Llanwern steelworks in Newport, Wales.[33] It has at least five confirmed UK projects from 2019 onwards and would have been the construction site for their unsuccessful bid to deliver stock for High Speed 2. The site was funded with support from the Welsh Government Inward Investment Programme.[9]
- UK: CAF Oaris (Prospective bid for HS2)[34]
- UK: British Rail Class 195 (Northern Trains)[35]
- UK: British Rail Class 196 (West Midlands Trains)[35]
- UK: British Rail Class 197 (Transport for Wales)[36]
Outside Spain: metros and trams
- Algeria: Algiers Metro
- Argentina: Buenos Aires Underground 5000 and 6000 series; Tren de la Costa
- Australia: Canberra, Newcastle and Sydney light rail.
- Belgium: Brussels Metro M6 and M7 Series
- Brazil: São Paulo Metro
- Brazil: Cuiabá tram
- Brazil: Recife Metro
- Canada: Calgary Transit Urbos 100 (On Order)[37]
- Chile: Santiago Metro
- Colombia: Medellín Metro
- Estonia: Tallinn tram
- Finland: Helsinki Metro, M300 series
- France: Nantes Tramway
- France: Besançon Tramway
- Germany: Freiburg tram and Bonn Stadtbahn (on order)[38]
- Hungary: Debrecen public transport[39]
- Hungary: Budapest public transport[40]
- India: Delhi Airport Metro Express
- Indonesia: Greater Jakarta LRT (built by INKA)
- Italy: Rome Metro
- Italy: Naples Metro
- Luxembourg: fr:Tramway de Luxembourg Urbos 3
- Mexico: Mexico City Metro (NE-92, NM-02, FE-07, FE-10, NE-16)
- Mexico: Mexico City suburban rail
- Mexico: Toluca–Mexico City commuter rail (under construction)
- Netherlands: S3 and M4 units of the Amsterdam Metro and from 2018 the Uithof tram line in Utrecht
- Norway: Oslo trams,[41] delivery from 2022
- Philippines: Manila LRT Line 1 (LRTA 13000 class)
- Romania: Bucharest Metro Line M2
- Serbia: Belgrade Tram
- Sweden: Stockholm Tram
- Taiwan: Kaohsiung Tram
- Turkey: Antray(Antalya LRT)
- Turkey: Istanbul Metro
- UK: DLR B23 stock (Docklands Light Railway, TfL)[42]
- UK: New West Midlands Metro vehicles
- UK: Edinburgh Trams
- US: Light Rail of Sacramento, California Class 200
- US: Pittsburgh Light Rail, Pennsylvania Class 4300
- US: Washington Metro, 5000-Series
- US: METRORail, (Houston, TX)
- US: Kansas City Streetcar
- US: Cincinnati Streetcar
- US: MBTA Green Line Type 9 LRV and Type 10 (on order - delivery starting 2027)
- US: MTA Maryland Purple Line (On order)
- Venezuela: Caracas Metro
See also
- Karlos Arguiñano, a former worker at CAF who later became famous as a TV chef.
- Variable gauge axles[43]
- List of rolling stock manufacturers
References
- ^ a b c d e f "CONSTRUCCIONES Y AUXILIAR DE FERROCARRILES, S.A. AND SUBSIDIARIES. Consolidated Financial Statements and Consolidated Management Report for the year ended December 31, 2021" (PDF). CAF. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ Significant Shareholdings and Treasury Shares, caf.net
- ^ Hondius, Dr Harry. "IN FOCUS: CAF, A versatile enterprise that keeps expanding". Railway Gazette International. 168, No. 4 (April 2012).
- ^ "Building on a century of progress and success [company history]". CAF USA. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ Jamieson, R. (March 24, 2015). "CAF USA keeps Elmira area's rail heritage rolling". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ "CAF logra contratos para suministrar tranvías en Bélgica y Suecia". www.eitb.eus (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ "El Grupo CAF refuerza su actividad con la compra de la empresa sueca EuroMaint". www.eitb.eus (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ "CAF ROLLING STOCK UK LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
- ^ a b "More than 3000 new Welsh jobs created following inward investment". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
- ^ "Competencia multa con 128 millones a ACS, Siemens, Alstom y otras empresas por repartirse contratos del AVE". elDiario.es (in Spanish). 1 October 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ Tašković, M. ""Španci" se raspadaju: Tramvaj se prepolovio usred vožnje, srećom nije bilo putnika". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2022-07-03.
- ^ "Heathrow Express Class 332s taken out of service for 'foreseeable future'". www.railtechnologymagazine.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ a b "WELD FAILURES HIT CAF UNITS". www.modernrailways.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ "Heathrow Express Class 332 trains withdrawn for emergency checks". Railway Technology. 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ a b "Cracks force suspension of Metro Service". Tramways and Urban Transit August 2021 No. 1004. 2021-08-01.
- ^ a b "West Midlands Metro tram services suspended for weeks". BBC News. 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ "Crack causes Flytoget to withdraw brand new CAF fleet from traffic". International Railway Journal. 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- ^ "Flytoget's CAF Oaris fleet remains out of service six months after withdrawal". International Railway Journal. 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- ^ Gonzalez, Sabrina Isabel Alfonzo (2022-06-09). "Flytogets nye milliard-tog hadde sprekker i understellet - etter ett år er de fortsatt ikke i drift". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2022-07-03.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Matt (2021-11-05). "Sydney's inner west light rail line out of action for up to 18 months". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ "Nearly all train cars delivered for LRT-1 Cavite Extension defective, says DOTr official". CNN Philippines. February 17, 2022.
- ^ "Heads roll in- Spain over trains too wide for tunnels". Stuff/Fairfax. 2023.
- ^ Alonso, Rubén (6 February 2023). "Por qué los trenes no caben por los túneles y qué pasará ahora con la nueva flota de Cercanías de Cantabria y Asturias". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ "View donation". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "Press release CAF". caf.net. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "Informe Base de Datos del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas". Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- ^ CAF project page on commuter train Schönbuchbahn
- ^ CAF project page on MÁV
- ^ Arrived from Spain this morning
- ^ Heathrow Express trains take shape Modern Railways issue 564 September 1995 page 541
- ^ HEx clones for Leeds triangle Modern Railways issue 595 April 1998 page 213
- ^ "More new trains for the North and Scotland". TransPennine Express. TransPennine Express. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ^ "THE NEW CAF PLANT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM WILL BE BUILT IN NEWPORT (WALES)". Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ Carter, Kirsty (2019-06-10). "CAF Unveils Bid To Supply Oaris Trains To HS2". Rail Professional. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
- ^ a b Ltd, DVV Media International. "Railway supply industry news round-up". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
- ^ "CAF commences design and engineering on DMUs for Wales and Borders franchise". www.railtechnologymagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
- ^ Calgary Announcement of Green Line LRV order
- ^ SWB announcement
- ^ CAF project page on Debrecen
- ^ CAF project page on Budapest
- ^ CAF project page on Oslo
- ^ "CAF wins order for new DLR trains | Railnews | Today's news for Tomorrow's railway". www.railnews.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
- ^ . CAF. Archived from the original on 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
External links
- Official website (in Spanish and English)