The French manufacturer Alstom is finalizing details to finally choose Gáldar as a digital laboratory in southern Europe, depending on the Santa Coloma center, in Barcelona, for the development of the Digital Experience Center, that is, the research and development center for signaling technology. and deployment of projects at different levels for southern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, an R&D&I center that the south of Gran Canaria also opted for in the Juan Grande area of San Bartolomé de Tirajana. Therefore, the technological part of the French proposal for the Gran Canaria and Tenerife train would be in Gáldar and the industrial part in Arinaga or Doctoral, the latter still depends on technical aspects in the analysis phase.
The reason for Galdense's choice must be found in the proximity of Tenerife, where Alstom already manages interests there and is very well positioned to expand, and the presence of a Gáldar lobby in the process of convincing of the opportunity to establish itself in that area and which has been cooking this landing since 2020 The infrastructure of the Alstom laboratory in Gáldar will address more than 60% of the regional R&D needs. "It was people from Gáldar who made the decision," a local source from the south of Gran Canaria who hoped to lay the installation floor told Maspalomas24H. There are no figures but as a detail it is worth noting that a similar center has cost 113 million euros for the metropolitan area of Toronto, one of the busiest transit areas in Canada, and which has a population somewhat larger than that of the Canary Islands.
The French company, which had sales of more than €16.500 billion and employs more than 80.000 people, is a leading global manufacturer and transport contractor known for manufacturing France's high-speed TGV trains. It is also involved in major improvements to the UK's rail infrastructure, including London's Elizabeth Line and HS2. It is not clear that the Gran Canaria railway network will reach Agaete but the truth is that the R&D&I center "will start even before the island's trains are put out to tender, it is a strategic step," said a source. familiar with the operation. When confirming, Alstom did not want to comment one way or the other.
Alstom, which is a world leader in smart and sustainable mobility, will execute from the San Isidro industrial park the execution platform for urban, main, cargo and specific market projects along with the integrated cybersecurity, security and telecommunications and SCADA functions. This center will help the company's vision in the Canary Islands as a global center for technology and innovation. The dedicated experience center will support more than 7 million hours of engineering work for the group's global projects and will report directly to the Santa Coloma center in Barcelona.
This Tuesday, a source who knows the implementation process told Maspalomas24H that "the arrival of the funds from Madrid will technically allow operations to begin in various sections, that is, one part is the material that will go to the southeast but the "immaterial will be in the northwest for logistics with Tenerife and to reduce emissions and the prospects for vocational training centers and universities in the area."
The Gáldar center will facilitate learning, adaptation, experimentation, simulation and validation of Alstom's new solutions, advanced industry hardware and software innovations. You will carry out full simulations of world-class signaling technologies. Additionally, the center will leverage IoT, IoB for security and telecom related domains, GenAI applications (based on OpenAI) and blockchain for innovation projects in railway applications. These initiatives aim to improve Alstom's commercial capabilities and efficiency in the Canary Islands and inspire a culture of innovation within the organization. The extensive infrastructure of the center will accelerate the localization of solutions and R&D programs and drive innovation in the Canary Islands.
