• The company has presented its Intercity train Talgo 230, being manufactured for Deutsche Bahn and destined to become the new reference in the European long-distance train market
• Talgo is leading innovation in the railway sector with projects such as its dual hydrogenic-electric train TPH2
• It has also presented its new carbon fiber wheelsets and structures, which reduce weight and, therefore, energy consumption, and solutions such as TSMART, allowing railway operators to access intelligent predictive maintenance of trains
• All these innovations were presented at Innotrans, the largest railway trade fair held on September 20th-23rd in Berlin

Talgo, the leading Spanish company in the design, manufacture and maintenance of high-speed light rail vehicles, has presented its most innovative trains and railway solutions to decarbonize mobility at Innotrans 2022, the largest railway trade fair held on September 20th-23rd in Berlin which has brought together more than 2,800 industry players from 56 countries.

Among other new developments, Talgo presented:

• Its Talgo 230 platform of long-distance trains, which are set to be the key instrument for the transfer of passengers from road and air travel to rail travel,
• the novelties in its hydrogen-powered regional and commuter trains,
• as well as the use of carbon fiber in the train’s running gear and structure to reduce its overall weight,
• new predictive maintenance tools with artificial intelligence to anticipate potential rolling stock failures.

Talgo’s long-distance trains, the new European reference

During the fair, the Spanish company has put special focus on its Intercity Talgo 230, such as the new ICE L, called to be the new reference of the European market and one of the products that has aroused the most expectation during the meeting. This category for long-distance trains is based on Talgo’s experience as a manufacturer of very high-speed trains, such as Talgo Avril, and is characterized by being the usual option for connections in Western Europe, the backbone of international connections.

Talgo’s new long-distance train ICE L will be the new standard of the German operator Deutsche Bahn, with a formula based on locomotive traction and towed passenger cars. Its presentation in Berlin attracted special interest from the specialized public. Other iterations of the Intercity Talgo 230 platform, with which the company aspires to position itself as a benchmark in the long-distance trains market, are the trains sold by Talgo to the operator DSB in Denmark and to the company ENR in Egypt.

Talgo 230 trains are multi-system trains, compatible with different supply voltages and different signaling systems, which makes them international and interoperable. In addition, the locomotive and trailered carriage formula makes it much simpler to establish international connections. This is essential in a railway market characterized by technological and regulatory fragmentation.

These trains are set to be the most user-friendly and most accessible solution for the creation of long-distance routes in Europe that can compete attractively against the airplane, in particular thanks to the modularity of an offer that includes, among many others, interiors for night services.

In addition, their ecological profile is worth noting, thanks to the fact that they weigh up to 20% less, based on weight per passenger, compared to other trains in their category. Their light weight and architecture allow operators to reduce their energy consumption and, therefore, CO2 emissions. The ICE L, specifically, has been designed to be a versatile train, with a number and typology of passenger cars that can be configured according to demand, which offers flexibility to the operators, saves costs and is energy efficient.

Green hydrogen trains, batteries and carbon fiber, the green mix

Talgo has also shown the latest progress of its TPH2 dual hydrogen-electric train Project, which is validating the use of green hydrogen technology in real-life operating conditions. The train is equipped with hydrogen fuel cell and battery technology and is currently undergoing successful dynamic testing in collaboration with Repsol. Additionally, the company is developing intelligent software that will assign the most efficient energy source on those sections where there is no catenary. This laboratory train will culminate in the development of Talgo’s regional train, named Vittal One.

Powered entirely by hydrogen from 100% renewable sources (so-called green hydrogen), the Vittal One regional train will be able to run on non-electrified tracks without burning fossil fuels, with a range of 800-1000 km between refueling, and will also have the capacity to run under conventional catenary on conventional lines, as well as a third mode of propulsion: batteries, which will be recharged both during braking and while running on electrified sections.

A 50% lighter carbon fiber track

Talgo has taken advantage of Innotrans to demonstrate the feasibility of using composite material (composites) in key structural elements of railway rolling stock. The company has presented a characteristic rolling structure -without fixed axles, called running gear- which is made from carbon fiber, titanium, and high-strength steels, as opposed to the structural steel used today. Talgo has also shown a section of a high-speed passenger car (330 km/h in commercial service) made entirely of carbon fiber, which could replace the structure that is currently made of aluminum.
The use of these materials, a novelty in railroads, makes it possible to reduce the weight of the structure of these elements by up to 50%, thus contributing to reduce the total energy consumption, or to increase the payload of the train. This way, the implementation of train stands and boxes, such as those presented in Berlin, would multiply the specific efficiency per passenger and reduce energy consumption due to the reduction in the overall lightness of the train.

Artificial intelligence for cutting-edge maintenance

In addition, Talgo has presented its innovative advance maintenance engineering solutions, which form the cornerstone of the company’s digitalization plan. Among the various lines of development, the company has presented its TSMART platform, a digital native suite that allows railway operators to access predictive intelligent maintenance of trains and leave behind the old preventive maintenance plans for trains based on intervention schedules.

The revolutionary predictive intelligent maintenance carried out by Talgo is able to anticipate potential failures by analyzing the information that the train sends in real time through thousands of sensors and that can exceed 5 GB per vehicle per day. This is possible thanks to artificial intelligence techniques based on machine learning and on cloud computing infrastructure.

About Talgo

Talgo S.A. is the leading company in the design, manufacture, and maintenance of high-speed lightweight trains with industrial presence, among other countries: in Spain, Germany, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The Company is recognized at an international level for its capacity for innovation, unique distinctive technology, and reliability. Talgo is Renfe’s main supplier of trains for the high-speed project for the “Haramain” railway line between Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Talgo is also the manufacturer chosen by the German operator Deutsche Bahn and the Danish operator DSB to decarbonize mobility with Talgo 230 long-distance trains.

For additional information

Press contact: Estudio de Comunicación (+34 915765250); talgo@estudiodecomunicacion.com
•    Aída Prados: aprados@estudiodecomunicacion.com;
•    Carmen Baragaño: cbaragano@estudiodecomunicacion.com;