TALGO

'Talgo' is a Spanish manufacturer of railway vehicles. It is best known for a design of articulated railway passenger cars in which the wheels are mounted in pairs, but not joined by an axle, and being between rather than underneath the individual coaches. Another feature of the design is the suspension, which allows the vehicle to passively tilt into curves, aiding passenger comfort.
TALGO stands for "Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol" (Goicoechea-Oriol light articulated train), Alejandro Goicoechea and Oriol being the founders of the company. Its name gives the key to its success: this system is much lighter than any other, thus cheaper to operate. Since the introduction of the "Talgo Pendular", the train tilts naturally inwards on corners, making it more comfortable for the passengers. This system also allows the train to run faster on some lines.
Talgo trains fitted with variable gauge axles can change rail gauge - for instance at the Spanish (1668 millimeters)/French (1435 millimeters) border.
Talgo cars are used in the Amtrak Cascades services from Vancouver, British Columbia south to Seattle, Washington, continuing south via Portland, Oregon to Eugene, Oregon
Talgo Patents S.A. was originally incorporated in 1942.
Talgo has also entered the high-speed train manufacturing market. "Talgo 350" trains will be operating at a top speed of 350 km/h on the Madrid-Barcelona line by the end of 2007.
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 only seven years, reverted to its previous name of Transtech Oy.
Talgo trains are also in use in Kazakhstan for the overnight train Almaty - Astana.

Contents

2004

See also

External links

2004

★ 26 25kV AC variable gauge trains for 250km/h long-distance services using two Bombardier power cars and Talgo Series VII trailer cars (E370m) [1]

See also

★ Talgo XXI

★ Articulated car

★ Tilting train

★ Amtrak passenger cars

★
★ Amfleet

★
★ Horizon Fleet

★
★ Heritage Fleet

★
★ Superliner

★
★ Talgo Cars

★
★ Viewliner

External links

★

★ Talgo USA Web site (English)

★ Talgo company Web site (choice of Spanish or English)

★ Talgo Deutschland

★ Talgo Oy (Finland) (Transtech Oy from March 2007)

★ High Speed Railways around the world

★ Talgo Pictures