Renfe falls from the race for the Los Angeles Outskirts in the first phase

Renfe's internationalization plans stumble again in California, where in 2017 it remained at the gates of being part of the high-speed project. Thus, the operator has fallen from the race for the management and maintenance of the Los Angeles Outskirts, called Metrolink, in the first phase, sources in the sector report, which implies that he has not had the opportunity to defend the offer He presented in November.

Metrolink has not yet published the short list of bidders that have passed to the second phase so it is not known which operators will give the final battle for the contract of up to 11 years valued at 3,750 million dollars (about 3,390 million euros) and that is in the hands of Amtrak.

The service operates seven routes in an 865 km network and has 62 stations

Renfe entered the contest by joining forces with the Talgo train manufacturer, the public engineering Ineco, with the Erion railway maintenance firm and with the American RailWorks Corporations. Talgo was in the offer as a supplier partner to handle the maintenance of rolling stock, a performance that currently corresponds to Bombardier.

Erion and RailWorks, on the other hand, were the partners chosen for the maintenance of safety facilities, roads and signaling. Metrolink operates seven routes in an 865-kilometer network that has 62 stations. Tour the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura.

Last August, Renfe lost his second chance to enter the North American market. Thus, after several threats, the rail operator stayed out of the British AVE after losing the last assault against First Trenitalia, the consortium formed by the Scottish First Group and the Italian Trenitalia, which has won the contest for the West Coast Partnership franchise ( WCP), in the hands of Virgin Trains since 1997.