The Renfe Class 490, also known as the ETR 490, is an electric multiple unit constructed by Alstom and Fiat Ferroviaria and operated by

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, Can ...

rail company Renfe on its

Alaris Alaris was the brand name of the regional rail network run by the Spanish national rail company Renfe Operadora that connected the major cities of Madrid and Valencia, and Barcelona and the main cities of the Valencian community, between 1999 a ...

long-distance services.. Since the introduction of the Alaris service, only ETR 490 units have been used for this service. Therefore, these trainsets are often known as ''Alaris'' themselves. The units were the first actively tilting units to go into regular service in Spain.. Unlike most other members of the

Pendolino Pendolino (from Italian ''pendolo'' "pendulum", and ''-ino,'' a diminutive suffix) is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the UK, the US, ...

rail family, the ETR 490 trainset is composed of only three cars: two motors vehicles, with driving cabs, and a trailer car in the centre. (This arrangement is shared with the

SŽ series 310 SŽ series 310 is a high-speed tilting EMU used on the InterCitySlovenija premium train service in Slovenia, operated by Slovenske železnice since September 24, 2000. It is based on the Italian ETR 460 commonly known as Pendolino. The train i ...

in Slovenia, which are fundamentally the same train as the class 490, but built to standard gauge) in Its motor system is similar to that of an electric multiple unit because its

pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...

is not located on a locomotive. The motor cars on either end of the train contain a pair of motor bogies, with one asynchronous motors per bogie. Static and other converters are also located underneath the motor cars. The central passenger car is divided into two spaces: half is passenger seating while the other part is a bar and restaurant. A section of this car is also dedicated to people with mobility and accessibility impairments. The dimensions of the ETR 490 are reduced compared to its Italian model. These dimensions favour aerodynamic stability and speed. The cars are also built out of lighter materials that allow the train to move faster and put less stress on the tracks. The power consumption of the Alaris trainset is considerably less than the Italian

ETR 460 The ETR 460 is an electric multiple unit (EMU) tilting train produced by FIAT Ferroviaria (now Alstom Ferroviaria) since 1993. It is also known as the Pendolino after the family of trains from which it comes. The ETR 460 is a development of the ...

, almost reduced by one third. The tilting mechanism of the ETR 490 is quite similar to that of the second and third generation

series, controlled by gyroscopes, devices measuring oscillation, and speedometres. The tilt is limited to eight degrees when fully activated when compared to a horizontal surface. Disk brakes control pneumatic and rheostatic braking.

References

External links

Technical details
High-speed trains of Spain Pendolino Electric multiple units of Spain Alstom multiple units Fiat Ferroviaria {{Spain-rail-transport-stub 3000 V DC multiple units