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NMBS / SNCB’s AM30 / MR30 order faces political and legal headwinds as costs of delay mount

Posted by Timothy on

The Belgian national rail operator NMBS / SNCB is under mounting pressure over its planned order of new trains from Spanish manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), as political debate, legal challenges and international criticism threaten to delay the procurement. 

The company warns that further postponement could drive up maintenance costs for ageing trains by around €200 million, create shortages of rolling stock and erode punctuality and passenger comfort, De Standaard reports.

The controversy has grown well beyond the railway sector. Belgian politicians had already framed the CAF contract as a matter of national interest, but the dispute intensified in late August when four NGOs and United Nations rapporteur Francesca Albanese placed the tender within the wider international debate on the war in Gaza and Israel’s settlement policy. 

At a modest press conference in Schaerbeek / Schaarbeek, organised by the NGOs seeking to block the order at the Council of State, a journalist from Associated Press appeared to ask questions. The NGOs argue that CAF is active in the Palestinian Territories occupied by Israel. NMBS / SNCB responded that what it described as an indispensable purchase was being pulled into a debate that far exceeded the company itself.

Deadline 2032

The implications for the operator are significant. The new AM30 / MR30 trains are essential if NMBS / SNCB is to meet the targets set out in its public service contract with the Belgian State and to prepare for the liberalisation of European rail in 2032, when it will be required to renew half of its fleet and absorb a 30% increase in passenger numbers. The rail operator had planned to finalise the order in May for delivery starting in 2029, but faces a delay of at least six months. This is due not only to two legal proceedings before the Council of State but also to political pressure from figures including Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR), Thomas Dermine (PS) and Sammy Mahdi (CD&V) on state-appointed board members to block the choice of CAF. A decision by the board was already postponed in June.

Older trains

The longer the delay, the more the company must rely on its oldest trains, some dating back to the 1970s. These break down twice as often as newer rolling stock and spend longer in workshops. 

Around 13% of delays of more than six minutes, and a third of cancelled services, are already attributed to defective trains. Travellers have experienced the consequences first-hand during recent heatwaves, with old, non-air-conditioned carriages proving increasingly uncomfortable. 

The new AM30 / MR30 sets are designed to address many of these shortcomings, offering retractable platforms to improve accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility and window coatings that allow stronger mobile phone reception. By contrast, the older trains act like Faraday cages, blocking signals.

The cost of keeping the ageing fleet in service is rising steadily. If the MR30 order is delayed by two years, NMBS / SNCB estimates an extra €200 million in maintenance expenses, in addition to the missed savings from lower energy consumption offered by newer, more efficient models. As Belgium’s largest individual consumer of electricity, the operator would face bills running into the millions.

Two years extra

Should the tender be cancelled and relaunched, the process could take at least two years, repeating the lengthy procedure that began in 2022 and diverting dozens of engineers from daily operations to reassess bids. Even after a contract is signed, the first deliveries would take four to five years, as trains must be tailored to Belgian infrastructure, including its two voltage systems.

A two-year delay would also leave NMBS / SNCB short of some 50 to 60 trainsets from 2030 onwards, forcing it to reduce services. The operator has stressed that timely delivery of the new fleet is of critical importance.

The Council of State will hear arguments from all parties in early September. If the objections of Alstom, Siemens and the NGOs are rejected, the board of NMBS / SNCB must still approve the final award of the contract. When the board confirmed its preference for CAF in February, this appeared a formality. Six months later, it has become anything but.

Backlog

Not mentioned by De Standaard, is the issue of order books. While Alstom has a backlog of €95 billion, CAF’s order book stands at €14.5 billion, which could make the Spanish company more flexible and responsive during the execution of the contract.

The Belgian Railways newest trains, the EMU / hauled hybrid M7 coaches, are built by Alstom, the main protester in the case. These have quite a few teething problems (which is always expected) and delivery is delayed. Other Alstom-provided rolling stock includes the M6 coaches, the AM96 /MR96 ‘DMT’ EMU and the AR41 / MW41 diesel units.

Earlier, RailTech.com offered another angle. The NMBS / SNCB has repeatedly emphasised that its decision was based on the principle of best value for money, rather than the lowest price alone. According to NMBS / SNCB, the scoring difference between the three leading bids was marginal, with CAF achieving a slight advantage due to qualitative factors such as technical reliability and ease of operation.

Industry analysts have noted that CAF’s comparatively smaller size and customer-focused approach may have worked in its favour.

By the way, there’s a third player: Siemens, who provided the AM08 / MR08 ‘Desiro‘.

NMBS / SNCB’s press release of 26 August 2025

“NMBS / SNCB has taken note of the content of the petition for intervention submitted by four NGOs in the context of the proceedings brought by Alstom and Siemens before the Council of State concerning the AM30 / MR30 dossier.”

“First of all, NMBS / SNCB looks with horror at the events in Palestine and expresses deep sympathy with the local civilian population.”

“NMBS / SNCB observes that this important industrial dossier for the purchase of the new AM30 / MR30 trainsets (representing 54,000 seats in the initial order) has given rise to a public debate that goes far beyond the company’s indispensable need to acquire new trains.”

“NMBS / SNCB has always ensured that the European public procurement rules are strictly respected in the framework of this tender, which has been under way since December 2022. That has been, is, and will remain its guiding principle. In this regard, NMBS / SNCB has followed all the legal requirements.”

“It is not for NMBS / SNCB to determine the foreign or trade policy of Belgian and/or European companies. There is, for example, no binding legal instrument adopted by the European Union for Israeli companies comparable to the measures imposed on Russian companies, nor for companies operating in Israel and/or Palestine. NMBS / SNCB cannot substitute itself for Belgian or European political authorities in enacting such an instrument.”

“NMBS / SNCB points out that this matter is currently pending before the Council of State and reaffirms its full confidence in the impartiality and independence of that body. It is therefore before that body that NMBS / SNCB will further present its positions during the public hearings scheduled for 2 and 3 September.”

The AM30 / MR30 case