Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF)
HQ: Beasain, Spain
UK facilities: Newport (train assembly) Supply chain: CAF factories in Spain supply complete trains and many components for UK trains.
Spanish train builder CAF has expanded rapidly in recent years, winning numerous contracts for new trains and trams from transport operators across Europe, South America and Australia.
Having entered the UK market in the late 1990s in a joint venture with Siemens to build Class 332 and ‘333’ EMUs, CAF scored several notable successes in the mid-to-late 2010s, securing deals to supply multiple units for Northern, TransPennine Express, West Midlands Railway and Transport for Wales, plus locomotive-hauled Mk 5 stock for Caledonian Sleeper and TPE.
CAF has invested £30m in a new assembly plant in Newport (South Wales), which completed part of the Northern contract and is currently assembling DMUs for WMR and TfW.
CAF also supplied 21 ‘Urbos 3’ trams to West Midlands Metro in 2012-15 and is currently building a further 21 vehicles with options for 29 more to cater for network expansion.
Construction of 43 new five-car automated trains for Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in East London started in December 2020. The five-section trains are expected to enter service in 2023, replacing 94 two-section B90,
B92 and B2K trains and providing additional capacity.
A recent expression of interest by Northern in acquiring 20 battery/diesel hybrid trains specifically identifies them as ‘Class 195’ variants, which suggests that the operator wants the additional trains to be fully compatible with its existing CAFbuilt fleet.