Alstom’s Citadis in Murcia: 15 years of flawless service
For well over a decade, the dedicated services team behind Murcia’s Citadis™ fleet has been delivering 100% fleet availability to the operator Sociedad Concesionaria Tranvía de Murcia (TDM)* in Spain every single morning.
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Project Director, Victor Montes, reveals the careful planning, flexibility and teamwork that lie behind this daily feat.
Victor Montes brings extensive experience in industrial engineering and business leadership. He holds an MBA in Business Management from IE Business School and a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Escuela de Ingeniería y Arquitectura at Universidad de Zaragoza. With a strong foundation in both technical and strategic domains, Victor has been instrumental in driving complex projects within the transportation and infrastructure sectors.
Can you give us a quick overview of the Murcia project?
We’ve been maintaining the eleven Citadis light rail vehicles in the city of Murcia, in southern Spain, since May 2011 - that’s about 14 years now. We have a long-standing partnership with our customer TDM (TranVÍA de Murcia), which holds a 40-year concession from the local government to keep the tram service running, and they subcontract the vehicle maintenance to us. Basically, we’re responsible for everything inside the vehicle, from preventive and corrective maintenance to wheel reprofiling, repairs, and major overhauls.
What are your contract objectives?
In short - full customer satisfaction. Our customer TDM is responsible for keeping the trams running, and we’re fully aligned with them to deliver the best possible service for the people of Murcia. More and more of the city’s population are using the tram every day, and they need a service they can rely on. That’s why, during peak times, TDM operates 100% of the fleet; there are no spare vehicles! As soon as rush hour ends, the first tram comes back in for maintenance. We decide the day before which tram to take off the line and what kind of maintenance it needs.
What role do preventive maintenance and data monitoring play in maintaining the fleet?
We can’t stop any of the trams for long, so the maintenance we do has to be carefully monitored. Today, 90% of the maintenance surveillance and planning have been digitalised, which helps us optimise maintenance tasks and minimise the vehicles' immobilisation time. We’re in the process of implementing HealthHub™ and TrainTracer, which thanks to smart and AI applications can use data to detect and prevent any issues, so we can start planning the maintenance while staying focused on next-day availability. Thanks to improved visibility, our teams can spot and solve potential problems before they affect the service.
The prototype for HealthHub was introduced three years ago and it’s being scaled up. Our target is to have full deployment of these two tools in 2026.
“The reason for Murcia Tramway can be summed up as “social responsibility in its purest form”. Our goal is to provide the most efficient mobility service in terms of time, regularity, affordability and comfort to the people who travel with us. At the same time, we are committed to improving the environmental quality in our service area of the city, thus bringing the benefits of this means of public transport to the entire community.”
Severiano Arias.General Director of Tranvia de Murcia
Achieving 100% fleet availability is remarkable - what are the key factors behind the success?
It’s a big logistical challenge. We must keep track of the numbers, kilometres covered, and where every spare part goes, as well as organising all the workers’ shifts. Thankfully, our team in Murcia is very invested in customer satisfaction! Our biggest challenge is scheduling. We only have a few hours each day to carry out maintenance, which means the larger jobs need to be broken down into smaller tasks or phases. If a part needs to be sent off for repair, we swap it out with another, so the tram stays in service. Adaptability and flexibility are key.
What are the lessons learned from this project that you could apply elsewhere?
In 15 years, we’ve only had four days where we failed to provide 100% availability during peak hours. For me, that’s quite incredible. However, achieving this level of consistency means we’ve had to rethink how we do maintenance. It’s all about adaptability and flexibility. Instead of taking the tram out of service for several days at a time, we divide the work into several short sessions - sometimes lasting just a few hours - and we spread them across several days. We also carry out the work by section - roof, body, interior - and do what we can in the time available. Even major jobs like reprofiling get phased out: one bogie today, another one tomorrow.
The thing most people find surprising about Murcia is that the trams never stop! On any other project, a bit of downtime for maintenance work is normal, but not here. Our customer never has a vehicle that isn’t running. This is something I’ve only seen in Murcia, and it requires a level of flexibility from the team that’s quite unique.
What’s next for the Citadis trams in Murcia?
The city is making plans for the construction of an intermodal high-speed train station, set to begin in about two years’ time. In parallel, the tramway system in Murcia could be enlarged to connect with the high-speed train station and the new bus terminal. The extension will run through the heart of Murcia, via all the major points of interest. A huge opportunity for us!
Any parting messages you’d like to share?
At Alstom, we’re focused on finding the best solutions for our customers, which means keeping our teams aligned, engaged, and moving in the same direction. We’re currently adapting new technologies like artificial intelligence in our work, but it’s the people who make the difference. Our technicians are incredibly versatile – many of them have mechanical, electrical, even painting skills. They’re flexible, committed, and quick to respond as soon as there’s an issue. For 15 years, we’ve been delivering 100% tram availability every morning. I am proud to say that our customer sees us not just as a subcontractor, but as a partner.
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