SPANISH rolling stock supplier Patentes Talgo SA announced on April 23 that its President, José Luis de Oriol, had signed an accord with Adtranz Executive Vice-President Heinz Cronimund for the joint development, construction and marketing of a prototype trainset suitable for operation at 300 to 350 km/h. Talgo will invest Pts6bn in the train, which is due to be rolled out in February 2000.
Aimed at the Madrid - Barcelona - French frontier AVE corridor now under construction, the standard-gauge trainset will be formed of a single Bo-Bo power car and six articulated trailer coaches. Talgo will build the trailers, and Adtranz will develop the power car with its own traction equipment and mechanical parts from Krauss Maffei of München.
Rated at 4 000 kW, the 25 kV power car will have independent drives to each axle. Advanced traction controls will include a comprehensive fault diagnosis system which will communicate in real-time with the maintenance workshops to transmit train performance data.
The articulated coaches will be fitted with passive tilt, and will have radially-steered independent wheels, designed to minimise noise and track forces. The bodyshells will be assembled from aluminium extrusions to ensure light weight and low energy consumption. The trailer coaches and the driving cab will be pressure sealed, and fitted with a new design of air-conditioning equipment. Talgo is planning a novel exterior treatment for the bodysides to reduce aerodynamic resistance and noise. o
