The first on-track testing of the triangular structures designed by Alejandro Goicoechea which were hauled by a steam locomotive
Our history – EN
Talgo was born out of ingenuity more than 80 years ago, as the result of a unique alliance between a railway engineer and an investor, both determined to challenge the principles of a centuries-old technology to bring the concepts of lightness and comfort to the rail industry.
Founded as a family business, Talgo has become an internationally recognized company without losing its core principles: organizational flexibility and a complete focus on the customer and their needs.
Over 80 years at the forefront
Patentes TALGO (acronym of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol) is established. The Talgo I prototype is produced and reaches 115 km/h during tests. Shortly afterwards, it exceeds 135 km/h.
The Talgo II —built in the United States— begins comercial service between Madrid and Hendaye with a speed of 120 km/h.
Talgo III trains in service. Using locomotive type 200 T (called ‘Virgen del Carmen’) speeds of over 200 km/h are achieved during tests for the first time in Spain.
In November 1968, a Talgo III RD became the first train to travel between the cities of Madrid and Paris without Passenger trans-shipment at the border. A few months later, in June 1969, the first international Talgo trains starts services with variable gauge running gear on the Barcelona – Geneva route.
Barcelona Talgo enters into comercial service, the first train with sleeper cars and light-weight bodyshells.
A Talgo tilting train reaches a speed of 230 km/h, a world record for diesel traction.
The Talgo tilting train puts passenger comfort first, with on-board TV, Grand Class sleeping cars and children's coaches. They are integrated into the Eurocity network for luxury passenger services across Europe, and in 1986 increased the commercial speed on the Spanish network to 160 km/h.
The Talgo Tilting train successfully carries out its first tests for Amtrak on the New York
From May 1989, the Barcelona - Bern corridor is operated by the international Talgo Tilting train at 200 km/h
Una formación de coches Talgo pendular alcanza en el banco de pruebas de Múnich los 500 km/h, batiendo el récord de velocidad en el banco.
A Talgo Tilting train hauled by locomotive 353-002 sets out on the first oficial jouney on the new high-speed line from Madrid to Seville.
Deutsche Bahn (DB) signs a contract to purchase 211 Talgo Tilting trains, and 200 sleeping and coach cars. They are set to operate the night train service between berlin and Munich, and Berlin and Bonn. Maintenance will be undertaken by Talgo Deutschland GmbH, registered in Berlin.
Talgo grants Sumitomo Metals Industries in Japan a licence to use its RD (rueda desplazable) variable gauge system.
Renfe-Talgo of America (RTOA) won the tender to provide commercial passenger services between Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. Thus, Talgo became the first European train manufacturer to offer a regular service in the USA.
In November 1994, a Talgo train reaches a speed of 360km/h on the high-speed line between the German cities of Göttingen and Hannover.
- The Tilting Talgo 200 starts its daily service on the Seattle – Vancouver corridor.
- DB commissions Patentes Talgo, S. A. to manufacture 38 passenger cars for the Munich – Hamburg night train
- Tests of the Talgo 200 and a flat wagon using variable gauge axles are carried out at the Shcherbinka test track in the Russian Federation.
- A contract is signed to assemble a permanent automatic gauge changing facility on the border of Sweden and Finland, and to undertake necessary axle and bogie tests using the Talgo RD system with freight wagons.
- The manufacturing of tilting Talgo trains starts in Seattle
- In Spain, a Talgo train reaches a speed of 333 km/h between the cities of Ciudad Real and Mora
- The first tests of the new Talgo XXI train are carried out on Renfe tracks using both Iberian and standard gauge. The power head is fitted with a powered bogie with variable gauge system.
- The railway department of the Finnish company Rautaruuki merges with the Talgo group to form Talgo Transtech Oy, which carries out the design and construction of high-speed cars including double-deck vehicles as well as special freight wagons and other railway rolling stock.
- The Talgo Group acquires the American company Transportation and Transit Associates, LLC and the American subsidiary Talgo LCR, LLC. is incorporated.
- Talgo XXI, the first diesel powered train to use automatic variable gauge technology, and the Talgo 350 high speed train, which reaches a speed of 340km/h in test runs on the Madrid-Seville corridor, are officially presented.
- Tests on Talgo Tilting train start in Bosnia and Croatia.
- The Tilting Talgo Series 7 trains, purchased by Renfe, are commissioned.
- The Talgo Group acquires the American company Transportation and Transit Associates, LLC and the American subsidiary Talgo LCR, LLC. is incorporated.
- Talgo XXI, the first diesel powered train to use automatic variable gauge technology, and the Talgo 350 high speed train, which reaches a speed of 340km/h in test runs on the Madrid-Seville corridor, are officially presented.
- Tests on Talgo Tilting train start in Bosnia and Croatia.
- The Tilting Talgo Series 7 trains, purchased by Renfe, are commissioned.
- The Talgo Group acquires the American company Transportation and Transit Associates, LLC and the American subsidiary Talgo LCR, LLC. is incorporated.
- Talgo XXI, the first diesel powered train to use automatic variable gauge technology, and the Talgo 350 high speed train, which reaches a speed of 340km/h in test runs on the Madrid-Seville corridor, are officially presented.
- Tests on Talgo Tilting train start in Bosnia and Croatia.
- The Tilting Talgo Series 7 trains, purchased by Renfe, are commissioned.
- Two Talgo night trains are delivered to the National Kazakhstan Railway Administration to operate night trains between Almaty and Astana.
- Renfe awards Talgo a contract for the first 44 electric power heads with variable gauge axles using the Talgo RD system.
Renfe awards Talgo the contract for the procurement of 10 sleeping cars and 26 high-speed coaches with two electrical power heads. All of them are equipped with variable gauge axles using the Talgo RD system. Renfe also confirms the procurement of an additional 30 Talgo 350 trains, which will become the Renfe 102 series. In test runs, this series achieves a Spanish speed record, running at 365km/h.
- The Talgo 350 Renfe trains inaugurate the Madrid - Lleida and Madrid -Saragossa – Huesca high-speed lines, and initially operate at average speed of 200km/h, and a maximum estimated speed of 300km/h.
- Talgo signs a comprehensive five-year maintenance contract for its rolling stock used by the Railway Administration of Kazakhstan.
- Talgo Oy (Finland) presents the new Talgo 22 double-deck train in Helsinki, which is intended for suburban lines.
- The Talgo-Bombarbier consortium signs a contract with Renfe to procure 18 Talgo 250 high-speed trains, which are equipped with state of the art systems for a push-pull configuration, four safety systems and an automatic gauge changeover system.
Talgo trains 250 and 350 start providing services on the high-speed corridors between Madrid and Valladolid and Madrid and Malaga, with commercial speeds of up to 250km/h and 330km/h, respectively.
- Spain’s first enhanced overnight service begins operation on the Coruña - Vigo line.
- The veteran Talgo III retires after 45 years of service, having been a benchmark of quality, speed and comfort on Spanish railways.
- Amtrak purchases two 14-car trains from the new Series 8 USA range of passenger cars for operation on the Midwest corridor between Chicago and Milwaukee.
- Talgo and the Kazakhstan Railway Company renew their comprehensive rolling stock maintenance contract, and a contract is signed with Uzbekistan to provide the country with high-speed trains.
- Uzbekistan railways purchase two Talgo 250 trains for the Tashkent -Samarkanda route.
- Talgo and the Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) reach an agreement to replace the 3000 passenger cars in service with the Talgo Intercity model.
- The Madrid - Valencia route enters into service with Talgo 350 trains, which are given the commercial name of Renfe Series 112.
- Talgo enters Russia, one of the biggest railway markets in the world, with the sale of state-of-the-art trains.
- In Uzbekistan, the first passenger services are launched with Talgo 250 trains.
- A Spanish consortium wins the international tender for the high-speed line that will link the Saudi Arabian cities of Medina and Mecca. The trains chosen for this project are the Talgo 350.
- Talgo consolidates it sinternationalisation process with the opening of a factory in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.
- The new Talgo 250 Dual model is launched. This train will connect Madrid with various Galician cities and can operate using both diesel and electric traction, different voltages, signalling systems and track gauge.
- A €1 billion agreement is signed with KTZ for maintenance of 1044 cars over the next 15 years.
- Talgo engineer José Luis López Gómez receives the 2013 European Inventor Award granted by the European Patent Office.
- An agreement is signed with KTZ to manufacture 603 trains.
- Talgo announces the opening of a new office in Ankara, Turkey, as well as a new trade office in Russia.
Talgo’s high-speed train for Saudi Arabia, also known as the “Pilgrim High Speed train,” is boarded for the first time in Barcelona. It successfully starts track testing.
- The new Talgo Avril, a very high speed and high-capacity train, reaches 363km/h in testing.
- On May 7, Talgo makes its market debut on the Spanish Stock Exchange.
- Talgo trains start to operate in Russia on June 1. In July, testing of Talgo 350-Haramain begins.
- Talgo 350 inaugurates the Madrid – Leon high-speed line.
- Procurement contract worth €38 million for two Talgo 250 trains is signed with Uzbekistan Temir Yollari.
- On the July 13 2016, Talgo trains set a speed record in India when they surpass 180 km/h during testing on the 84 km Mathura – Palwal line. The journey takes 38 minutes.
- Over the summer, Talgo successfully concludes the certification of its new very high-speed train Avril. After eight years´ development, its two versions are announced: units featuring fixed running gear and those provided with automatic variable-gauge system. Avril becomes the first train worldwide with operational speed above 300 km/h offering these characteristics.
- In November, Talgo wins the most important railway tender in Europe for the supply of 15 very high-speed trains to the Spanish railway operator Renfe, having offered its latest development Avril and 30 years of maintenance services at a very competitive price.
- Los Angeles Metro Rail (California, USA) awards Talgo a refurbishment and overhaul contract, which includes the replacement of the most critical components in 74 vehicles of the A650 fleet.
- Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan start commercial operation of the new wide-carbody Talgo trains on the international route linking Almaty and Tashkent.
- Talgo trains race at 310 km/h in Saudi Arabia Saudi, far beyond their future commercial speed. Field tests are conducted in the desert, between the Saudi cities of KAEC and Medina.
- Under the framework arrangement for the supply of very high-speed trains, Renfe awards a new call-off contract adding 15 units to the previously ordered ones and, therefore, increasing to 30 the total number of Avrils to deliver.
- In Great Britain, Talgo is pre-selected in the HR2 tender for the supply of the very high-speed rolling stock that will link London and Birmingham.
Talgo is awarded a contract of 107 million euros for the refurbishment of 157 vehicles of the Series 7 hotel train into modern high-speed trainsets.
- Talgo signs a framework contract with the Deutsche Bahn, the German national railway operator, for the supply of up to 100 Talgo 230 trains, and the first order of 23 trains for a total of 550 million euros.
- Egypt awards Talgo a contract for the manufacture and supply of 6 cutting-edge units with an operating speed of 160 km/h.
- The joint venture Talgo-Systra receives a contract for the revamp of up to 121 cars of the Metrolink commuter network in Los Angeles, California (USA), for a total of 138,9 million dollars.
- Uzbekistan purchases two Talgo 250 trains and four extra passenger cars for the units currently in operation.
- Adif places an order with Talgo for the manufacture of a high-speed rail inspection train Avril provided with a variable track gauge running gear.
- Talgo signs a framework contract with Transport Scotland and Scottish Enterprise for the construction of a Talgo UK facility.
- Committed to tackling climate change, Talgo participates in the COP25 conference, held in Madrid.
- DSB, the Danish National Railway operator, signs a contract with Talgo for the purchase of 8 Talgo 230 trains to run on the international route between Copenhagen and Hamburg.
- The first Avril trains for Renfe completed and ready for dynamic and structural testing.
German federal railway company Deutsche Bahn today announced an ambitious plan to expand its ICE high-speed train fleet, which will result in the largest train supply contract for Talgo in its over 80-year history: 56 new units worth approximately 1,400 million euros.
