Saudi HS line "on schedule" for 2017 opening     

Written by  David Briginshaw

INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY JOURNAL 17-03-15

SRO ORDERS TALGO TRAINS FOR RIYADH – DAMMAM

SAUDI Railways Organization (SRO) has awarded TALGO a contract worth around €200m to supply and maintain six 13-car diesel trains for Riyadh – Dammam services.

The sets will be capable of operating at up to 200 km/h using diesel traction, and they are expected to help SRO to achieve its objective of reducing journey times on the route by more than 25%, from the current 4h 20min to less than three hours.

In the longer-term SRO is planning to build a HIGH-SPEED line to link the two cities and a Spanish consortium was appointed last year to carry out feasibility studies for the project.

According to TALGO sources, the trains will resemble the TALGO 350 sets currently being shipped from Spain for the HARAMAIN HIGH-SPEED railway between Mecca, Jeddah and Medina. The final specification for the six additional units has yet to be defined.

TALGO has currently two diesel products in its portfolio: TALGO XXI and TALGO 250 Dual. The TALGO XXI a pure diesel train developed in the early 2000s and currently holds the world speed record for a non-electric unit – 256.38 km/h.

TALGO 250 Dual is a development of the variable-gauge electric TALGO 250 HIGH-SPEED train, which has operated as RENFE class 730 on the Madrid – Galicia corridor since June 2012. The class 730s are equipped with two diesel-electric generator cars, which are used to feed the 3kV dc/25kV ac power cars on non-electrification lines.

Oregon Talgo trains enter service
Written by  Keith Barrow

THE first of two 13-car Talgo trains acquired by the state of Oregon with the aid of stimulus funds from the United States government entered service on July 26.

The Series 8 trains are being used alongside three Talgo sets owned by the state of Washington and two owned by Amtrak on Cascades services from Eugene, Oregon, to Seattle and Vancouver.

According to Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), the service pattern on this route was stretching the existing fleet, and additional rolling stock is required for the launch of two additional daily services between Portland and Seattle in 2017.

Each train seats 286 passengers and with features including catering facilities, bicycle storage, business class accommodation, and passenger Wi-Fi.

ODOT says it has spent $US 38.4m on the two trains, plus an additional $US 6m on consultants, spare parts, testing, and the addition of Wi-Fi equipment.   Read More....

Oregon's new Amtrak Cascades Talgo 8 passenger trains roll into Portland
By Joseph Rose

The Northwest isn't expected to get high-speed commuter rail service in the near future (our existing freight tracks just aren't built for it).

Still, if that day comes, the Oregon Department of Transportation's new 13-car Talgo 8 trains -- the world's first – are built to handle the maneuvering and speed.

For now, ODOT and Amtrak are counting on the state-of-the-art trains, purchased with $38.4 million in 2009 federal stimulus money, to expand daily commuter rail service between Portland and Eugene.

Read More...