Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger
trains
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...
.
Corporate history
TALGO, an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (English: ''Lightweight articulated train Goicoechea Oriol''), and named after the company founders,
Alejandro Goicoechea
Alejandro Goicoechea Omar (his first surname is also spelled Goikoetxea) (23 March 1895 - 30 January 1984) was a Spanish engineer.
Biography
Goicoechea worked for the remote coal narrow gauge railway of La Robla (León), the longest narrow gaug ...
and
José Luis Oriol
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
. The company was first incorporated in 1942.
In March 2007 Talgo sold its Finnish rolling stock manufacturing subsidiary Talgo Oy to its local management and other Finnish investors. The company, which Talgo had owned for seven years, reverted to its previous name of
Transtech Oy. The company spends 10 to 12 percent of revenues on research and development,
but the main revenue source is the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
railway operator
Renfe.
Talgo made an
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on the
Bolsa de Madrid
Bolsa de Madrid (; Madrid Stock Exchange) is the largest and most international of Spain's four regional stock exchanges (the others are located in Barcelona, Valencia, and Bilbao) that trade shares and convertible bonds and fixed income securiti ...
in May 2015. The IPO valued the company at €1.27 billion.
In July 2015, Talgo stated its intention to ship a Series 9 train to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
at its own cost as a demonstration on the
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
-
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
rail route.
La Gineta
La Gineta is a municipality in Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 2,072. The historic Church of San Martín stands in the town.
Industry
La Gineta is the site of a test track of the Talgo RD
Talgo (officially Patent ...
is the site of a test track of the Talgo RD
railway gauge changer
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges.
For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge whe ...
.
Design
Talgo trains are best known for their unconventional articulated railway
passenger cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
that use in-between carriage
bogie
A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
s that Talgo patented in 1941, similar to the earlier
Jacobs bogie
Jacobs bogies (named after Wilhelm Jakobs,, 1858–1942, a German mechanical railway engineer) are a type of rail vehicle bogie commonly found on articulated railcars and tramway vehicles.
Instead of being underneath a piece of rolling stock, ...
. The wheels are mounted in pairs but not joined by an
axle
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...
and the bogies are shared between coaches rather than underneath individual coaches. This allows a railway car to take a turn at higher speeds with less
hunting oscillation
Hunting oscillation is a self-oscillation, usually unwanted, about an equilibrium. The expression came into use in the 19th century and describes how a system "hunts" for equilibrium. The expression is used to describe phenomena in such diverse ...
. As the coaches are not mounted directly onto wheel bogies, the coaches are more easily insulated from track noise. This design has been proposed for further utilisation in the Talgo 22, double dec train with stepless access from the platform to the lower deck and between carriages.
Talgo trains fitted with
variable gauge axles
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges.
For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge whe ...
can
change
Change or Changing may refer to:
Alteration
* Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time
* Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period
* Metamorphosis, or change, ...
rail gauge
In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...
- for instance at the / at the Spanish-French border interchange.
Since the introduction of the Talgo
Pendular in 1980, the train tilts naturally inwards on
curves
A curve is a geometrical object in mathematics.
Curve(s) may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Curve (band), an English alternative rock music group
* ''Curve'' (album), a 2012 album by Our Lady Peace
* "Curve" (song), a 20 ...
, allowing it to run faster on curves without causing discomfort to passengers. The carriage tilting system pivots around the top of the suspension columns, which has the effect of partially cancelling the effects of lateral acceleration when cornering.
Trains
Talgo trains are divided into a number of generations. They come in both
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
hauled and
self-propelled
Self-propelled may refer to
* Human-powered transport, humans moving themselves (and their cargo) via their own muscle energy
* Machines that power their own movement:
** Automobile (from ''auto-'' + ''mobile'', "self-moving")
** Locomotive (from ...
versions.
Talgo I
The Talgo I was built in 1942 in Spain. The coaches were built at the "Hijos de Juan Garay" workshop in
Oñati
Oñati ( eu, Oñati, es, Oñate) is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the north of Spain. It has a population of approximately 10,500 and lies in a valley in the center of the Basqu ...
and the
power car
In rail transport, the expression power car may refer to either of two distinct types of rail vehicle:
*a vehicle that propels, and commonly also controls, a passenger train, multiple unit or tram, often as the lead vehicle;
*a vehicle equipped ...
was built at the workshops of the "Compañía del Norte" in
Valladolid
Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...
.
It was built as a prototype, and it was used to set several railroad speed records.
[ The first test run occurred between ]Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha
Guadalajara (, ) is a city and municipality in Spain, located in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. It is the capital of the Province of Guadalajara.
Lying on the central part of the Iberian Peninsula at roughly metres above sea ...
in October 1942.
Talgo II
Talgo II coaches and locomotives were first built in 1950 at the American Car and Foundry Company
ACF Industries, originally the American Car and Foundry Company (abbreviated as ACF), is an American manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once (1925–54) a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches und ...
(ACF) works in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
under the direction of Spanish engineers (the diesel-electric locomotives were assembled by ACF with electrical components made by General Electric). Talgo II carried most of the ''Jet Rocket'' train's passengers between Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and Peoria, Illinois
Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...
, after entering service on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.
At the end ...
(the Rock Island line) in 1956. Slightly different coaches were later introduced, and the last car type of the ''Jet Rocket'' resembled that of the future Talgo III. The New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
trialed a complete train until 1958 but saw little success.
Talgo IIs were also built for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
for its "John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...
" train from New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to Boston, Massachusetts, and the Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B ...
for its " Speed Merchant" train, running between Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
. Soon afterwards, Talgo II trains began running in Spain and were successfully operated until 1972.[
]
Talgo III
Talgo III coaches and locomotives entered service in 1964, introducing longer cars and easy directional reversibility of the coaches. The Talgo III/RD was equipped with variable gauge axles
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges.
For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge whe ...
, and this permitted the introduction, on 1 June 1969, of the first through train between Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
(the '' Catalan Talgo''), despite the difference
Difference, The Difference, Differences or Differently may refer to:
Music
* ''Difference'' (album), by Dreamtale, 2005
* ''Differently'' (album), by Cassie Davis, 2009
** "Differently" (song), by Cassie Davis, 2009
* ''The Difference'' (al ...
in rail gauge
In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...
.["Stop Press" (changes taking effect). '' Cooks Continental Timetable'' (June 1969 edition), p. 6; also pp. 71, 106. London: Thomas Cook Publishing.] The same equipment was used for the ''Barcelona Talgo'', which began operation on 26 May 1974 as the first-ever through train service between Barcelona and Paris.["Barcelona Talgo". '']Thomas Cook Continental Timetable
The ''European Rail Timetable'', more commonly known by its former names, the ''Thomas Cook European Timetable'', the ''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' or simply ''Cook's Timetable'', is an international timetable of selected passenger rai ...
'' (June 1975 edition), p. 466. Thomas Cook Publishing.
Talgo Pendular
The Talgo Pendular (Talgo IV and Talgo V, also VI & Talgo 200 or 6th generation), introduced in 1980, created the "natural tilting" train, using a passive system that tilts the carriages with no need for electronic sensors or hydraulic equipment.[ The wheels are mounted on mono axles between the carriages, and sitting on top of the mono axles are suspension columns. The carriages are attached to the top of the suspension columns and swing outwards as the train goes through a curve.
In 1988, a Talgo Pendular was used on trials for ]Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
on the Boston-New York corridor in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and on Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
lines in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.[ Trial commercial services with Talgo cars in the US commenced in 1994 between Seattle and Portland, and from 1998 different trains have been used on the Amtrak ''Cascades'' services from ]Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
south to Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, continuing south via Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
to Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
. Five Talgo IV trains were in use in Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
on the General Roca Railway
The General Roca Railway (FCGR) (native name: Ferrocarril General Roca) is a broad gauge railway in Argentina which runs from Constitución station in Buenos Aires to the south of the country through the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, ...
. They have since been replaced by CRRC Dalian
CRRC Dalian Co., Ltd. (), often abbreviated as DLoco, is a company located in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, producing railway locomotives, multiple units and diesel engines.
The factory was established in 1899 during the period of constr ...
rolling stock. In September 2022 the Talgo IV sets were transported to the Villa Luro workshop to undergo repairs, aiming to add an extra daily service between Buenos Aires and Rosario. The sets used on the Amtrak Cascades have been replaced by Amtrak-owned Horizon
The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...
cars.
Talgo 200 series trains are also in use in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
for the Almaty–Astana overnight train.
Talgo VII
The Talgo VII introduced beginning in 2000 is used as a locomotive-pulled train set as well as intermediate cars for the multiple unit
A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contr ...
s Talgo 250
Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains.
Corporate history
TALGO, an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (English: ''Lightweight articulated tra ...
, Talgo 350 and Talgo XXI
Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains.
Corporate history
TALGO, an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (English: ''Lightweight articulated tra ...
. The carriages are similar to the Talgo Pendular type but have an air-controlled hydraulic brake
A hydraulic brake is an arrangement of braking mechanism which uses brake fluid, typically containing glycol ethers or diethylene glycol, to transfer pressure from the controlling mechanism to the braking mechanism.
History
During 1904, Frederick ...
system and power supply from head end power
In rail transport, head-end power (HEP), also known as electric train supply (ETS), is the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive (or a generator car) at the front or 'head' of a train, p ...
instead of diesel engine-generator
An engine–generator is the combination of an electrical generator and an engine (prime mover) mounted together to form a single piece of equipment. This combination is also called an ''engine–generator set'' or a ''gen-set''. In many contexts ...
s in the end cars. Talgo VII trains have the car which has two pairs of wheels in the middle of the set (of cars) rather than at one end of the set, which is the case for earlier Talgo trains. All the other cars in the set have a single pair of wheels.
Talgo 8
The Series 8 passenger cars are similar to the Series VII cars, but the diesel generator car at one end of the train has a control cabin for push-pull operation and a two-axle end bogie. These trains are designed for the North American market. Talgo made an agreement in 2009 to build a manufacturing facility in Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
which would initially supply two 14-car trainsets for the Amtrak ''Hiawatha Service
The ''Hiawatha Service'', or simply ''Hiawatha'', is an 86-mile (138 km) train route operated by Amtrak on the western shore of Lake Michigan between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, the name was historically applied to ...
'' until the project was cancelled. The company expressed hope the plant would later be used to build trains for other U.S. rail projects.
Early in 2010, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced that it had negotiated the purchase of two 13-car trainsets for use in the Pacific Northwest rail corridor between Eugene and Vancouver, British Columbia. These trainsets were also manufactured in Wisconsin and were delivered in 2013. The sets are currently operating in the "Cascades" corridor in the Pacific Northwest. They have been integrated with the five existing sets in regular service. The Series 8 trains offer passengers many modern amenities including high-speed Wi-Fi, reclining seats and a full-service bistro and lounge car.
In 2014, the state of Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
expressed interest in operating the unused Talgo 8 cars for their Amtrak Wolverine
The ''Wolverine'' is a higher-speed passenger train service operated by Amtrak as part of its Michigan Services. The line provides three daily round-trips between Chicago and Pontiac, Michigan, via Ann Arbor and Detroit. It carries a herit ...
service. Three years later, Amtrak proposed to lease or buy the unused cars in the wake of the 2017 Washington train derailment
On December 18, 2017, Amtrak ''Cascades'' passenger train 501 derailed near DuPont, Washington, United States. The National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) final report said regional transit authority Sound Transit failed to take steps t ...
. Ultimately, the two trainsets were sold to Nigeria for use on the Lagos Rail Mass Transit
Lagos Rail Mass Transit is a rapid transit system being developed and under construction in Lagos State. The rail system is being managed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA). The railway equipment including electric pow ...
.
Talgo 9
This series, designed for Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
, featured wide bodyshells and wheelsets. There are three versions, consisting of either 1520mm fixed gauge, 1520-1435mm variable gauge or 1520-1676mm variable gauge. They are used in the Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
-Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
line (December 2016), Saint Petersburg-Moscow-Samara (August 2020).
The final successful test run of the Talgo 9 series coaches was completed in India on September 10, 2016.
Talgo 250 HSR
The Talgo 250 is a dual voltage electric train (AC/DC) equipped with variable gauge axles
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges.
For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge whe ...
. This allows the units to be used on high-speed lines and on conventional broad gauge lines. A Talgo 250 train consists of two power car
In rail transport, the expression power car may refer to either of two distinct types of rail vehicle:
*a vehicle that propels, and commonly also controls, a passenger train, multiple unit or tram, often as the lead vehicle;
*a vehicle equipped ...
s and 11 Talgo VII intermediate coaches. This class was developed for Renfe (classed as S-130). One trainset (RENFE Class 730) was involved in the Santiago de Compostela accident on 24 July 2013.
Uzbekistan Railways
The Uzbekistan Railways ( uz, Oʻzbekiston Temir Yoʻllari, script=latn) are the national rail carrier of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, ...
ordered two Talgo 250 sets of a Russian gauge version in 2009. The first set arrived at Tashkent in July 2011.
Talgo 250 Hybrid
The Talgo 250 Hybrid is a dual-voltage dual-power train equipped with variable gauge axles. The train is therefore also able to operate on non-electrified lines. A Talgo 250 Hybrid train consists of two power cars, two technical end coaches and nine Talgo VII intermediate coaches. The trains were developed for Renfe and classed initially as S-130H, later as S-730). They are rebuilt from existing Talgo 250 trains.
Talgo 350 HSR
The Talgo 350 entered service as the Renfe AVE Class 102 marking the company's entry into the high-speed train manufacturing market. Tests with the prototype commenced in 1994,[ and Talgo 350 trains have been operating at a top commercial speed of 330 km/h on the ]Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
-Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and Madrid-Valladolid
Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...
lines since 22 December 2007. This series of trains is designed to reach a speed of , although present lines and commercial services limit the speed to . The train consists of two power car
In rail transport, the expression power car may refer to either of two distinct types of rail vehicle:
*a vehicle that propels, and commonly also controls, a passenger train, multiple unit or tram, often as the lead vehicle;
*a vehicle equipped ...
s and Talgo VII intermediate cars with improved brakes and additional primary suspension.
Talgo XXI HSR
Talgo XXI is a project for a high-speed diesel-powered train, that operates in push-pull with one or two power car
In rail transport, the expression power car may refer to either of two distinct types of rail vehicle:
*a vehicle that propels, and commonly also controls, a passenger train, multiple unit or tram, often as the lead vehicle;
*a vehicle equipped ...
s and Talgo VII intermediate cars. The North American version has four-axle power cars in compliance with United States FRA regulations. Only one train in compliance with European UIC standards has been built to date. Talgo reported that the Talgo XXI attained on the Olmedo-Medina del Campo high speed experimental line on 9 July 2002, which led to a claim for the world speed record for a diesel train. However, this claim was never proven. After the test runs the train was sold to the Spanish infrastructure authority ADIF as a measuring train for high-speed lines.
Possible specs are:
* Two MTU 12V 4000 R64 engines (two power cars configuration) or one MTU 12V 4000 R84 engine (one power car configuration), up to 1,800 rpm, high-speed diesel, Euro IIIB compliant with diesel particulate filter
A diesel particulate filter (DPF) is a device designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine.Tom Nash (May 2003) "Diesels: The Smoke is clearing", ''Motor '' Vol.199 No. 5, p. 54, Hearst Business Publ ...
and exhaust gas recirculation
In internal combustion engines, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a nitrogen oxide () emissions reduction technique used in petrol/gasoline, diesel engines and some hydrogen engines. EGR works by recirculating a portion of an engine's exhaust ...
aftertreatment system
* 2x () or
* Voith hydraulic transmission
* Hydrodynamic and air braking
* Variable gauge
* 5 to 12 passenger coaches, depending on the setup
* Up to 400 seats
* Designed for a top speed of 220 km/h (135 mph)
* Power car with a shared trailer axle
Talgo AVRIL HSR
Talgo has developed recently a train known as "AVRIL" (Alta Velocidad Rueda Independiente Ligero — Light High-Speed Independent Wheel), intended for speeds of . The system uses underfloor traction in the front and rear vehicles, with the intermediate carriages having the Talgo Pendular system (which cannot use motored axles on the axles corresponding to the system). Starting with the concept stage in 2009, it began dynamic testing on the Spanish high-speed network in 2014, and was approved in May 2016. It won its first major contract in November 2016, for the Mediterranean corridor in Spain, and its link to Paris.
Talgo Egypt
In 2021, Egypt ordered new Talgo trains.
Variable Gauge Axles (VGA)
In addition to the multiple unit
A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contr ...
s with Variable Gauge Axles
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges.
For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge whe ...
, Talgo built in 2005 a prototype of a VGA
Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can now ...
locomotive (the L-9202, TRAV-CA, 130-901 or Virgen del Buen Camino).
See also
*Amtrak Cascades
The Amtrak ''Cascades'' is a passenger train corridor in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It is named after the Cascade mountain range that the route parallels. The corr ...
*Articulated car
Articulated cars are rail vehicles which consist of a number of cars which are semi-permanently attached to each other and share common Jacobs bogies or axles and/or have car elements without axles suspended by the neighbouring car elements. ...
*EMD LWT12
The EMD LWT12 was a diesel–electric power car that was built in 1955 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD), to pull a lightweight passenger trainset. The General Motors Company developed both components under the project name, ''T ...
* Haramain High Speed Rail Project
* FM P-12-42
*Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train (or other vehicle) rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide abo ...
*UAC TurboTrain
The UAC TurboTrain was an early high-speed, gas turbine train manufactured by United Aircraft that operated in Canada between 1968 and 1982 and in the United States between 1968 and 1976. Amtrak disposed of the trains in 1980. It was one of the ...
*Wheelset (railroad)
A wheelset is a pair of railroad vehicle wheels mounted rigidly on an axle such that both wheels rotate in unison. Wheelsets are often mounted in a bogie ("truck" in North America) – a pivoted frame assembly holdi ...
References
External links
Talgo Official Site
Talgo America Web site (English)
Talgo Deutschland
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