Alstom has been a major player in the modernization of the Spanish railway industry. Over 20 years ago, Alstom delivered the first high speed trains in Spain. These trains, the first to operate at 300 km/h, were built in Alstom’s manufacturing sites in Spain. Since then, Alstom has expanded its industrial and technological commitment in Spain with the creation of new industrial and technology centres, making it one of the largest employers of the sector in our country. It is also the only railway company with a local industrial and technological presence for all activities related to rail transport.

In Barcelona, Alstom has one of the most advanced rolling stock manufacturing centres in Europe, with the capacity to produce all types of trains, ranging from tramways, metros, suburban units, long distance and high speed sets. Alstom´s Industrial Centre in Santa Perpètua (Barcelona) has always been responsible for manufacturing the entire range of Alstom's trains running in Spain. The trains running on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line were manufactured in these facilities in Barcelona, along with regional shuttles, half of the modern Civia suburban units, Barcelona's driverless metro and most of the trams running in Spain.

In Barcelona, Alstom also has a Technology and R&D Centre, which develops "Passenger ergonomics and overall comfort" projects.

The railway infrastructure unit provides customers with turnkey solutions and products associated with railway lines: the installation of track, electrification systems, maintenance workshops, and electromechanical and tunnel safety systems, etc.

With a presence of more than 15 years in Spain, the infrastructures unit is a leader in high-speed substations for the Spanish market. It has participated in the construction of practically all substations for high-speed lines in Spain. It has also installed electrification, traction, safety and civil protection systems in Spain´s longest railway tunnels - Guadarrama and Pajares.

Alstom Spain’s railway signalling and safety unit employs over 400 technicians and engineers who are dedicated to developing and implementing cutting-edge signalling solutions for all types of railway infrastructure (high-speed, regional, metro trains and trams). The Madrid-based technology laboratory manages innovative projects for both the Spanish market and for export.Alstom's signalling teams in Spain have implemented unique projects nationwide, such as the interlocking system in Chamartin Station (Adif's largest in Spain), the ERTMS signalling system (used for high-speed trains) for suburban lines, the implementation of a third rail for use in the Mediterranean corridor and the application of the latest signalling technology with GSM-R communication (ERMTS2) for high-speed trains, a pioneering system in Spain.

The signalling division is carrying out numerous R&D projects and has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Adif for the development of R&D+i projects at Adif's Railway Technology Centre (CTF) in Malaga.

As pioneers in the integral maintenance and refurbishment of rolling stock, Alstom offers a range of customised services to public and private rail operating companies. The aim is to guarantee the optimised, safe and global management of rolling stock equipment throughout their life-cycles, regardless as to whether it is manufactured by Alstom or third parties, including maintenance, refurbishment, spare parts management, support and technical assistance.

Worldwide demand for mobility is growing steadily, linked to demographic changes, the growth of urbanisations and economic development. Increased mobility, especially road traffic, is contributing to congestion, air pollution in cities and the depletion of energy resources, with a substantial impact on climate change.

In response, Alstom provides innovative and environmentally-friendly rail solutions to meet mobility needs through a socially-responsible business model.

Our commitment to sustainable development requires us to focus on anticipating upcoming environmental and social challenges in mobility and to actively manage the risks and opportunities these entail. That is why sustainability is at the heart of Alstom’s strategy, with the corresponding alignment of its approach to social responsibility.

The solutions that Alstom develops are designed to optimize sustainability throughout the entire product life cycle, from the choice of raw materials and the manufacturing process to its operational efficiency, with particular emphasis on reducing energy consumption and end-of-life recycling.

As part of this commitment, Alstom Spain has joined the Spanish Green Growth Group. The aim of this group, promoted by the Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Environment, is to progress towards a low-carbon economy. Alstom has also signed the Barcelona Declaration, alongside 29 Spanish companies which are committed to the environment, in a quest to promote the development of economic policies that will boost the low-carbon economy as a driving force for economic growth and employment.

Globally, Alstom’s main objective for 2020 is to reduce the energy consumption of its products and services by 20%, compared to 2014 data. The energy intensity of its production sites and facilities is also set to decrease by 10% before 2020.

To achieve these objectives, Alstom is implementing an intensive programme of technological innovation and eco-design in product development.

As for Alstom’s targets for the environmental management of its factories and facilities, all Alstom sites are currently implementing water management, waste and energy programmes.

Alstom (originally known as Alsthom) first appeared in 1928 as a result of the merger between Compagnie Française Thomson-Houson and Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mecaniques. Throughout the years, the company has grown and expanded through various acquisitions, which have included Constructions Electriques de France (1922), the ship builder Chantiers de l’Atlantique (1976) and part of the Belgian company ACEC SA at the end of the 80s. In 1989, GEC-Alstom arose after the merger with some of General Electric's businesses in the United Kingdom.

The company became Alstom in 1998, a name it continues to keep today. Until 2015, the Alstom Group was composed of 4 different business sectors: Power, Grid, Renewable Energies and Transport. In 2015, Alstom sold its energy business to GE, and it is now focused completely on transport. In the same transaction, Alstom also acquired GE's signalling business.

We could go back 150 years in time to find the origins of Alstom in Spain, to 1855, the founding year of La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima SA, an industrial and iron works company subsequently acquired by Alstom.

Originating in Barcelona during the industrial revolution, the Maquinista was a pioneer in the iron industry in Barcelona, and it has formed a part of the history of the development of transport and infrastructures in Spain throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Examples of the works coming out of its factories include the first Spanish-made steam locomotives in 1882, the metal structures of the Borne market (1876), the first completely Spanish iron bridge (on the Barcelona-Mataró railway line in 1862), the engines for the great armoured cruiser Emperador Carlos V (1892), the Alfonso XIII bridge in Seville (1926), etc.

La Maquinista was acquired by Alstom in 1989. And today it continues its railway activities at the new factory in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, inaugurated in 1994 to replace and expand the old manufacturing sites.

Alstom´s site plant in Santa Perpetua, the heir to La Maquinista´s business activity and tradition, manufactures all types of trains (high-speed, suburban, underground and trams), for both the Spanish and international markets.

Since the acquisition of La Maquinista in the 80´s, Alstom has reached many milestones with a long history of innovation and commitment to economic and industrial development. Alstom has continued to expand its presence in Spain through the creation of new industrial and technology centres, which have turned it into one of the main employers of the railway sector in our country. 

With 19 work centres, Alstom is also the only manufacturer and technologist with local industrial and technological presence in all the activities related to railway transport: signalling, infrastructures, train manufacturing and maintenance.