A High Court action brought by a disappointed bidder over the awarding of a €650 million contract to replace the Dublin-Belfast Enterprise Service train fleet has settled.
Spanish firm Construcciones Y Auxiliar De Ferrocarriles (CAF) SA had sued the operators of the service, Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways Co Ltd, challenging the legality of the contract tender process.
On Friday, Judge Mark Sanfey was told that the case had settled, and could be stuck out, with no order as to legal costs. The judge made the order as sought.
CAF had brought the proceedings last year under EU procurement regulations, which meant an automatic stay was placed on the awarding of the contract.
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This delayed the awarding of the contract to the successful bidder, Switzerland-headquartered Stadler Busnang AG.
The rail companies subsequently applied to the court to lift the stay on the contract award, and alleged that CAF’s challenge posed a risk to €165 million in EU funding earmarked for the Dublin-Belfast train service.
In a judgment published in November, Judge Michael Twomey lifted the stay on the contract award. The judge found that the balance of justice favoured lifting the stay, noting the potential loss of the multimillion euro funding.
