Talgo has secured a contract from Renfe to manufacture 26 new variable gauge, 330 km/h commercial speed powerheads (locomotives) as the last step in transforming 13 conventional trains into very high-speed trains.
This makes it the first manufacturer in the world to give a second life to intercity trains by converting them into very high-speed trains.
The contract, worth 195.5m euros (238.56m USD), has the possibility of increasing the scope of manufacture up to 40 powerheads, worth a maximum of 281.5m euros (343.5m USD).
It follows on from an initial contract awarded by Renfe in February 2018 to upgrade 156 Talgo series 7-night service carriages – previously operated by Renfe under the commercial brand Trenhotel – into 13 very high-speed trainsets.
The 26 locomotives will be used to provide traction to each of the 13 trains. They will be operated in single-pair formations for each train, placed at both ends of the passenger car formations. This will create uniform compositions that will be indistinguishable from the rest of Talgo’s high-speed trains.
Talgo Inc. US Corporate Office