The NMBS wants to purchase hundreds of new trains, good for an investment of a few billions of euros. From a European tender, the Spanish cafe emerged as the winner. But according to Alstom from Bruges – the former Bombardier – their quotation was considerably cheaper. The company therefore went to the Council of State.
The Auditor of the Council of State partially agreed with Alstom and advised to suspend the decision for the time being. The Council of State now follows that advice. According to the council, the decision of the NMBS does not show which method the NMBS used to assess the technical quality of the different quotes. In this way, the railway company “ignores the principle of transparency” that a government company must observe with the award of public procurement, it sounds.
Who will finally make it is not certain. But the NMBS will have to motivate its choice again.