Innovation - corporate
Innovation is in our DNA
From the moment it was formed, Talgo has been inextricably linked with innovation. Indeed the company was established on the basis of a specific innovation - the independently rotating wheelset with guiding system. This was a major creative and entrepreneurial milestone at the time and has remained the foundation of the company's success.
Technological Innovation
Using its idea of an independently rotating wheelset with guiding system as the starting point, Talgo has continually built on this concept to develop various technological innovations which have placed the company at the forefront of the railway sector. These include its variable gauge system (RD), natural tilting, variable gauge for driving axles, bi-axle running gear with independently rotating wheels and high-speed and very-high speed trains. Never straying from our commitment to innovation, we continue to work on disruptive projects that will substantially improve our present and future products.
Product
Talgo trains that are highly competitive in terms of interoperability, capacity, accessibility, efficiency, safety and maintenability.
AVRIL
Avril combines traditional Talgo technology - the independently rotating wheelset - and revolutionary innovations in the railway sector, the most ground-breaking of which is the new 3+2 row seat layout. This seating arrangement maximises passenger capacity, increasing flexibility for railway operators, without sacrificing passenger comfort.
Suburban and Regional
The latest Talgo innovations are steered towards growing demand for suburban and regional rail services. These solutions utilise an upgraded version of the independently rotating wheelset with guiding system already used on all Talgo trains, which minimises wheel wear and improves guiding of the train. As a result lifecycle costs are improved compared with existing products, while the low-floor solution enhances passenger accessibility when using suburban and regional lines.
Haramain Desert train
Talgo is pioneering solutions to minimise the impact of sand and dust on a train running at over 300km/h in the desert including reducing abrasion and improving water-tightness. Together with solutions that can handle abrupt changes in temperature and humidity, these solutions are enabling high-speed trains to operate effectively in extreme conditions for the first time.
Train for extreme cold weather conditions
Increasing demand for high-speed trains to operate in extremely cold climates has posed significant technological challenges for Talgo. To make sure Talgo's high levels of excellence were not compromised, many of the train's components had to be changed significantly so that the rolling stock could continue to operate effectively in extremely cold conditions amd where low adherence and snow and ice accumulation is common.
Cross-sector Solutions
Innovative technological solutions providing sustainable growth are developed.
Some of these transversal projects are carried out within the framework of a more global project known as "New running gear for increasing energetic efficiency and safety of passenger trains", which is focused on the development of two innovative solutions: passenger safety and comfort enhancement, on the one hand, and reduction of energy consumption by Talgo trains, on the other.
In 2015 the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness granted an aid to the group, formed by Talgo and Technical University of Madrid under the program “Challenge and Collaboration” number RTC-2015-3977-4, whose objective consisted in promoting technological development, innovation and high-quality research.
This project was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and by the European Regional Development Fund.
Similarly, some of these developments have been carried out by means of the following projects, which have been awarded grants from the “Center for Industrial Technology Research (CDTI)” and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the “Multi-regional Operational Program for Intelligent Growth”.
PARFAIT project "Railway self-configurable and interoperable platform” aimed to the development of technologies towards enabling a new train concept for the Intercity market, based on a flexible and scalable proposal.
RAILAD project "Research on the integration and implementation of additive manufacturing technologies for the development of functional elements in railway rolling stock" has aimed to obtain strategic information on future lines of action in which additive manufacturing can be applied .
ACCEMAV project. "New fully accessible car for very high speed" has had the objective of developing a fully accessible extreme car that increases the total capacity of the train and that is compatible with pendulum rolling and gauge change technology, guaranteeing flexibility in operation and increased speed range.
RODEMAV project, “Development of a new variable gauge running gear for high-speed trains” has addressed the development of new independent wheels running gears for very high speed, for both bi-axle and mono-axle with variable gauge configurations. Jointly, work has been carried out to optimize the weight of primary structures.
FLEXITRAC project, “New developments for more flexible and efficient operations in railway traction”, that has aimed the development of solutions to be implemented in future state-of-the-art powerheads, based on Talgo technology, and focused on improving operational flexibility and energy efficiency.
Finally, several of these key challenges focused on efficiency and performance improvement for the main train’s system have been approached under the SITAV project “Research on integrated subsystems into a platform for testing very high-speed trains”.
Shift2rail
Shift2Rail (H2020) is the big European initiative focused on advanced technologies into innovative rail product solutions.
Shift2Rail
Shift2Rail, the major European initiative which is promoting railway sector technological innovation and will run from 2016-2022, consists of five main programmes: rolling stock for passengers; signalling; infrastructure, passenger services; and freight. The initiative is funded jointly by the railway industry (50%) and the European Commission (50%) through the Horizon 2020 programme.
Talgo's contributions to the project
Talgo was a driving force behind the Shift2Rail project, and participates as an associate member in the Rolling Stock programme, which is referred to as Innovation Programme 1 (IP1). Specifically, Talgo is playing an important role in this programme's key projects, including developing new traction solutions, reducing car bodyshell weight and introducing next-generation running gear. On top of that, Talgo is also participating in a series of cross-cutting activities that focuses on the improving energy efficiency and reducing noise and vibrations that will benefit all five programmes.
AVRIL
Avril combines traditional Talgo technology - the independently rotating wheelset - and revolutionary innovations in the railway sector, the most ground-breaking of which is the new 3+2 row seat layout. This seating arrangement maximises passenger capacity, increasing flexibility for railway operators, without sacrificing passenger comfort.
Suburban and Regional
The latest Talgo innovations are steered towards growing demand for suburban and regional rail services. These solutions utilise an upgraded version of the independently rotating wheelset with guiding system already used on all Talgo trains, which minimises wheel wear and improves guiding of the train. As a result lifecycle costs are improved compared with existing products, while the low-floor solution enhances passenger accessibility when using suburban and regional lines.
Haramain Desert train
Talgo is pioneering solutions to minimise the impact of sand and dust on a train running at over 300km/h in the desert including reducing abrasion and improving water-tightness. Together with solutions that can handle abrupt changes in temperature and humidity, these solutions are enabling high-speed trains to operate effectively in extreme conditions for the first time.
Train for extreme cold weather conditions
Increasing demand for high-speed trains to operate in extremely cold climates has posed significant technological challenges for Talgo. To make sure Talgo's high levels of excellence were not compromised, many of the train's components had to be changed significantly so that the rolling stock could continue to operate effectively in extremely cold conditions amd where low adherence and snow and ice accumulation is common.
Some of these transversal projects are carried out within the framework of a more global project known as "New running gear for increasing energetic efficiency and safety of passenger trains", which is focused on the development of two innovative solutions: passenger safety and comfort enhancement, on the one hand, and reduction of energy consumption by Talgo trains, on the other.
In 2015 the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness granted an aid to the group, formed by Talgo and Technical University of Madrid under the program “Challenge and Collaboration” number RTC-2015-3977-4, whose objective consisted in promoting technological development, innovation and high-quality research.
This project was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and by the European Regional Development Fund.
Similarly, some of these developments have been carried out by means of the following projects, which have been awarded grants from the “Center for Industrial Technology Research (CDTI)” and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the “Multi-regional Operational Program for Intelligent Growth”.
PARFAIT project "Railway self-configurable and interoperable platform” aimed to the development of technologies towards enabling a new train concept for the Intercity market, based on a flexible and scalable proposal.
RAILAD project "Research on the integration and implementation of additive manufacturing technologies for the development of functional elements in railway rolling stock" has aimed to obtain strategic information on future lines of action in which additive manufacturing can be applied .
ACCEMAV project. "New fully accessible car for very high speed" has had the objective of developing a fully accessible extreme car that increases the total capacity of the train and that is compatible with pendulum rolling and gauge change technology, guaranteeing flexibility in operation and increased speed range.
RODEMAV project, “Development of a new variable gauge running gear for high-speed trains” has addressed the development of new independent wheels running gears for very high speed, for both bi-axle and mono-axle with variable gauge configurations. Jointly, work has been carried out to optimize the weight of primary structures.
FLEXITRAC project, “New developments for more flexible and efficient operations in railway traction”, that has aimed the development of solutions to be implemented in future state-of-the-art powerheads, based on Talgo technology, and focused on improving operational flexibility and energy efficiency.
Finally, several of these key challenges focused on efficiency and performance improvement for the main train’s system have been approached under the SITAV project “Research on integrated subsystems into a platform for testing very high-speed trains”.
Shift2Rail
Shift2Rail, the major European initiative which is promoting railway sector technological innovation and will run from 2016-2022, consists of five main programmes: rolling stock for passengers; signalling; infrastructure, passenger services; and freight. The initiative is funded jointly by the railway industry (50%) and the European Commission (50%) through the Horizon 2020 programme.
Talgo's contributions to the project
Talgo was a driving force behind the Shift2Rail project, and participates as an associate member in the Rolling Stock programme, which is referred to as Innovation Programme 1 (IP1). Specifically, Talgo is playing an important role in this programme's key projects, including developing new traction solutions, reducing car bodyshell weight and introducing next-generation running gear. On top of that, Talgo is also participating in a series of cross-cutting activities that focuses on the improving energy efficiency and reducing noise and vibrations that will benefit all five programmes.
Corporate innovation
In today's market, the concept of innovation must be viewed from a much more global perspective. That is why Talgo takes a cross-sector approach when fostering and developing technological innovations. The company believes that by creating and putting corporate tools and services in place, the seeds of innovation are sown in all areas of the company.
Talgo's close ties with innovation are evident in the fact that the company was founded because of an innovation; an innovation that constituted a new paradigm of creativity and entrepreneurial initiative that still exists today.
At Talgo, we work to strengthen the pillars on which we have constructed our company, and we believe that innovation is the key to building a fresh competitive edge and as the foundation of new strategies.
Talgo boasts a system of continuous improvements based on the standard UNE 166002:2014.
Talgo's corporate initiatives focus on creating, capturing, developing and sharing the company's strategic knowledge. This approach is conducive to learning and fostering innovation, while encouraging employee involvement and career development.
For Talgo, knowledge is an undeniable asset, which is why knowledge management is permanently intertwined with the company's business objectives, strategies and priorities. It also helps the company to face new challenges effectively and respond quickly to market demand.
Talgo's innovation management system carefully identifies, selects, captures and registers all external information that could potentially contribute to the company's technological development. With this system, Talgo minimises risks during its decision-making process while tailoring its corporate strategies to match the technological changes occurring in the railway sector.
Talgo has successfully consolidated this approach and extended it to cover different corporate departments.
Talgo believes that corporate tools which are used to foster creativity and innovation are a means to ensure the company's competitive advantage.
Creativity breaks with routine and uproots habits and established methods, which in turn leads to new knowledge and ideas, the stepping stones to innovation. Talgo aims to create a fertile environment for new ideas to emerge which can benefit the entire organisation and ultimately its customers.