Talgo signs Sweden fleet deal with Trafikverket

Talgo Sweden rolling stock fleet will be supplied and maintained under a EUR 756 million contract. Talgo and the Swedish Transport Administration, Trafikverket, signed it. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The agreement was signed on 20 April. The ceremony included Sweden’s Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson and Trafikverket Director General Roberto Maiorana. Spain’s Ambassador to Sweden Luis Cuesta also attended. Talgo Chairman José Antonio Jainaga was there as well, as Railway Pro reported.

Talgo Sweden rolling stock fleet: order and maintenance scope

The Trafikverket contract covers delivery and full maintenance. It includes long-distance day and night trains, as well as locomotives. These vehicles will run on routes in southern Sweden, including Stockholm. They will also extend to the country’s northernmost cities, including areas above the Arctic Circle.

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As Talgo notes, the initial EUR 756 million order includes 10 locomotives. It also covers 9 day trains and 11 night train sets from Talgo’s Intercity 230 platform. Sweden also has the option to expand the order with additional rolling stock. In addition, it can extend the rolling stock maintenance contract, initially set at ten years. That extension would add a further two years. It would also cover spare parts and special tools.

200 km/h trains for Arctic Circle routes

“These trains, which will be part of the Talgo 230 platform, will be capable of operating at speeds of up to 200 km/h. Given the extreme climatic conditions they will face, with temperatures reaching as low as -40°C during Nordic winters, Talgo will develop a comprehensive set of technical solutions designed to ensure safety, operational reliability, service availability, and above all, maximum passenger comfort,” said the company’s chairman.

The signed order consists of modular 200 km/h trains for Sweden and Norway. They are capable of reaching a commercial speed of 200 km/h. Full interoperability will allow seamless cross-border operations. In the future, the platform could also be extended to other Central European countries.

The trains will operate long-distance services at latitudes above the Arctic Circle. Talgo is guaranteeing full functionality, comfort and safety in extreme conditions. That includes temperatures down to -40°C during the boreal winter. Also, the company has extensive experience in designing, manufacturing and operating trains in such climates. The temperature range runs from -40°C in Russia and Kazakhstan to +50°C in Saudi Arabia.

The Talgo 230 trains have a maximum speed of 200 km/h. Separately, they are already in service in Scandinavia. They run as part of Danish operator DSB’s fleet under the EuroCity brand. They operate daily services between Copenhagen and Hamburg.

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