Alstom bids Avelia Stream for Portugal high-speed trains, with Matosinhos role unsettled

The bid for the Porto-Lisbon line

Alstom said on 12 November 2026 that it will submit the Avelia Stream to CP's tender for high-speed trains on the future Lisbon-Porto line. The train is developed from the Pendolino platform, the same family as the Alfa Pendular that has served Portugal since 1999. The reference version has seven carriages, measures 202 metres and can run at 300 km/h while carrying more than 500 passengers. The tender covers 12 trains and is valued at 504 million euros. Talgo, which Alstom describes as its only rival, is one contender, and CP will also face Renfe and B-Rail, with Renfe expected to offer Talgo trains.

Seating and onboard layout

Alstom says the traction is spread along the whole train instead of sitting in power heads at each end, which frees room for passengers. That layout allows 2+2 or 2+1 seating, and the interior can include a bar or meal service area. David Torres, Alstom's director-general in Portugal, argued that Talgo's trains, with power heads at both ends, force tighter seating to meet the requirement for 500 seated passengers. The tender specification does not require a bar and refers to vending machines, and Torres confirmed the offer will meet those requirements.

Guifões, Savigliano and the 2031 deadline

Alstom is building a factory in Guifões, Matosinhos, with the contractor DST, and expects it to be completed in 2028. Torres said the plant will be kept even if Alstom loses the tender, mainly to serve the Portuguese market and also for exports.

“We will use the local know-how we are developing at the Guifões factory to play an important role in manufacturing the Avelia Stream in Portugal.”

Savigliano in northern Italy remains the lead factory for the train, and it is the plant that built the Alfa Pendular. Torres said the Guifões role is still open, saying that it "is still part of the process" of the tender. Adapting the train to the Iberian gauge rather than the European one carries a cost that he called "marginal", and Alstom hopes to meet a 2031 deadline for entry into service.

CP fleet and renewal

CP operates about 400 trains. Its two recent contracts, 22 regional railcars and 153 Adessia Stream units for suburban and regional services, together with the high-speed tender, could renew about half of that fleet, according to Torres. The average age of CP's trains ranges from 20 to 30 years, a bracket that includes the 10 Pendular trains CP bought. Torres does not rule out new orders from CP or from other operators competing in liberalised services.

Adessia Stream suburban and regional contract153

Regional railcar contract22

High-speed tender12

Adessia Stream suburban and regional contract

153 trains

Regional railcar contract

22 trains

High-speed tender

12 trains

Data from the article text

Wider Pendolino reach

Alstom says the Pendolino platform has delivered more than 500 trains to 12 operators in 14 countries. Among the operators that recently chose the Avelia Stream are Virgin in the United Kingdom and Italo in Italy. Alstom is also looking at signalling and metro opportunities beyond rolling stock in Portugal.