History
Talgo presented the Avril concept at the InnoTrans fair in Berlin in September 2010. [3] After several years of development and testing, the first order for Avril trains was placed in November 2016, when Spanish operator Renfe Operadora signed a €786.5 million contract for 15 train sets and 30 years of maintenance. [4] In May 2017, Renfe Operadora ordered 15 more train sets, with the Avril's entry into service expected in 2020, [5] delayed to March 2024. [6]
In 2023, French operator Le Train signed a €300 million contract for 10 train sets and 30 years of maintenance. [7]
From 21 May 2024, Renfe schedules new AVE services to the Spanish regions of Asturias and Galicia, operated by variable gauge Talgo Avril trains under the class name S-106. Those AVE services are replacing the previously Alvia services Madrid Chamartín-Gijón and Castellón de la Plana/Vinaros-Gijón via Oviedo in Asturias and the Alvia services Madrid-A Coruña and Madrid-Vigo via Santiago de Compostela, Vilagarcía de Arousa and Pontevedra in Galicia. [8]
A Talgo Avril train reached 360 km/h top-speed on the Ourense-Santiago de Compostela high-speed line on Iberian gauge as part of homologation testing. [9]
Renfe, officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company.
Rail transport in Spain operates on four rail gauges and services are operated by a variety of private and public operators. The total route length in 2012 was 16,026 km.
Talgo is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Talgo is an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol.
Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) is a high-speed rail service operated by Renfe, the Spanish State railway company.
High-speed railways in Spain are in operation since 1992 when the first line was opened connecting the cities of Madrid, Córdoba and Seville. Unlike the rest of the Iberian broad gauge network, the Spanish High-speed network mainly uses standard gauge. This permits direct connections to outside Spain through the link to the French network at the Perthus Tunnel. High-speed trains run on a network of high-speed rail track owned and managed by ADIF, where the dominant service is AVE while other high speed services such as Avant, Alvia, Avlo, Euromed, Ouigo España and Iryo, as well as mid-speed (Altaria) services also operate.
The Renfe Class 100 is a high-speed train used for AVE services by the Renfe Operadora, in Spain. It was the first high-speed train put into service in Spain, in 1992.
The Renfe Class 102 or S-102 is a high-speed train used for the AVE service and operated in Spain by the state-run railway company Renfe, and based on Bombardier Transportation's power car technology. Outside AVE service, Talgo markets this train as the Talgo 350.
Rail transport in Catalonia operates on three rail gauges and services are operated by a variety of public operators:
Alvia is a high-speed train service in Spain offered by Renfe Operadora on long-distance routes with a top speed of 250 km/h (160 mph). The trains have the ability to use both Iberian gauge and standard gauge, which allows them to travel on the recently constructed high-speed lines for part of the journey before switching to the "classic" Iberian gauge network to complete it. Trains that run exclusively on high-speed tracks are branded AVE or Avant.
The Renfe Class 130 or S-130 is a high-speed dual-gauge, dual-voltage trainset consisting of 11 Talgo VII tilting coaches and two power cars, used on Alvia and Euromed services. The class have been nicknamed patitos (ducklings), due to the shape of the train nose.
The Renfe Class 120 are electric multiple units used on Alvia high-speed rail services in Spain.
The Madrid–Asturias high-speed rail line connects the city of Madrid with the autonomous community of Asturias and was inaugurated on 29 November 2023. The line is built to standard gauge and gauge changers are provided at strategic points to allow interchange with older Spanish railways which were built to Iberian gauge.
Trenhotel was a long distance, overnight train service which used Talgo tilting trains and sleeping cars developed by the Spanish rail network operator Renfe. It was operated by Renfe within Spain, and by its subsidiary Elipsos across France, Switzerland and Italy.
El tren Estrella was a conventional overnight railway service provided in Spain by the national rail network operator RENFE until April 2015. Services left most major Spanish cities in the evening and usually arrived at their destination the following morning.
Gijón Railway Station, also known as Gijón Sanz Crespo, is the main railway station of Gijón, Spain. Since 2011 it is located in Sanz Crespo street due to the works for the Metrotrén Asturias project. It is the terminus for Alvia services from Madrid, Alicante, León, Valladolid and Barcelona, as well as Intercity and Media Distancia services from Madrid, Valladolid and León. It is also the last destination for four Cercanías commuter railway lines.
The Santiago de Compostela derailment occurred on 24 July 2013, when an Alvia high-speed train traveling from Madrid to Ferrol, in the north-west of Spain, derailed at high speed on a bend about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) outside of the railway station at Santiago de Compostela. Of the 178 people injured, the provisional number of deaths in hospital had reached 79 by the following 28 July.
The Renfe Class 730 or S-730 is a high-speed dual-gauge, dual-voltage and hybrid trainset consisting of 9 Talgo VII tilting coaches, two intermediate diesel-generator cars and two head electric power cars, used on Alvia services. The class have been nicknamed patitos, due to the shape of the train nose. They are a variant of RENFE Class 130 modified to be able to run on both electric and diesel power, in order to extend higher-quality services to parts of Spain not on the electrified network.
The Madrid–Galicia high-speed rail line is a high-speed railway line in Spain that links the city of Madrid with the region of Galicia via the cities of Olmedo, Zamora, Ourense and Santiago de Compostela. The line also connects the Atlantic Axis high-speed rail line to the rest of the Spanish AVE high-speed network. The Madrid–Galicia high-speed rail line is constructed as double electrified line and is designed for trains running at speeds up to 350 kilometres per hour (220 mph).
The Atlantic Axis high-speed rail line, also called Atlantic Corridor high-speed rail line, is a high-speed railway line that links A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra and Vigo in Spain. The Atlantic Axis was inaugurated in April 2015.
Avant is a high-speed, medium-distance passenger transport rail service, operated in Spain by the Spanish public company Renfe. Avant services circulate at a maximum speed of 250 km/h, compared to the 300 km/h maximum speed of the AVE service. Their routes usually cover different provinces within the same autonomous community or between neighboring ones. Regional services at conventional speed are called Renfe Media Distancia.
