There is no longer any legal obstacle preventing the Belgian public railway company NMBS/SNCB from awarding the contract for the definitive allocation of hundreds of new AM30 trainsets to the Spanish company CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles).

After the Council of State rejected Siemens Mobility’s appeal against the order by German train manufacturer last week, it has now done the same with Alstom’s appeal. The unions fear that the decision will result in job losses at Alstom’s Belgian factory in Bruges.

No obvious errors

According to the French-speaking chamber of the Council of State, NMBS/SNCB did not appear to have made any errors in its assessment of the three bids, specifically those submitted by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), Alstom, and Siemens.

The advisory body, the highest general administrative court in Belgium, which settles disputes between citizens and public authorities, has therefore rejected Alstom’s appeal against NMBS/SNCB’s choice of CAF, following the earlier ruling by the Dutch-speaking chamber, which rejected Siemens’ appeal last week.

NMBS/SNCB states that it has taken note of the Council of State’s decision and will make every effort to finalize the last step – the definitive award and signing of the contract – provided that other legal challenges are exhausted.

The appeal lodged by four NGOs, arguing that CAF should be excluded due to its involvement in a tram project in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements, had also been rejected by the court earlier.

Blow for Bruges

Now that the contract has slipped through Alstom’s fingers, trade unions in Bruges, where the French group has a production plant (formerly Bombardier) alongside two centers of expertise in Charleroi, fear that the court’s decision regarding the order for at least 1,7 billion euros worth of new trains will cost jobs – 700 people work there.

According to Pascal Van Hove of the socialist trade union ABVV, there is currently no other work on the horizon. “The management in Bruges is doing everything it can to find new orders, but it is difficult,” Van Hove told vrt.news.

“In Belgium, the NMBS/SNCB is the only customer, so there is not much choice left. We will meet now with the ACV and the management to see how to proceed.”

Reputation problems in the long term?

The reactions in the Spanish press emphasize that this is an essential and historic order for the Basque-based CAF, viewing it as confirmation of the quality and success of the Spanish rolling stock industry.

However, some Spanish media outlets also point to CAF’s reputation problems and the fact that it continues to face legal uncertainties, particularly regarding human rights, given the criticism of CAF’s activities in Israel/Palestine.

Imanol Pradales, the head of the Basque government, has also said that CAF should engage in an “ethical reflection” about the contract in Israel, given the current situation in Gaza and the social sensitivity. During the recent Tour of Spain cycling race, many stages were interrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, particularly in the Basque Country.