(15/02/2012)  The contract, signed by the president of Talgo, Carlos Palacio Oriol, and the president of Russian Railways (RZD), Vladimir Yakunin, is for the design, manufacture and approval of three trains to cover the Moscow-Berlin route using the Talgo RD automatic gauge-changing system and four trains to cover the Moscow-Kiev route; trains that will be able to reach speeds of up to 200 km/h.

In the ceremony that took place after the signing the president of Talgo said that the Russian market is a priority for the Spanish company. The collaboration agreement involves Talgo in the development of a train adapted to the needs of this market that requires trains designed for very low temperatures, long distances and a different gauge rail system. And all of this with the best comfort and safety conditions for passengers, reducing travel times and with no need for Russian railways to invest in infrastructure.

For his part, the president of RZD, Vladimir Yakunin, said that this agreement is the result of more than 15 years of collaboration with Talgo and “can mean the fast connection between Russia’s furthest areas and Europe thanks to Talgo automatic gauge-changing technology”.

Russian railways are the most extensive in the world with over 85,000 km of track, 1,200,000 employees and more than 1,300 million passengers transported every year.

Presence in Russia

With this new agreement the Spanish rail manufacturer reinforces its presence in Russia, an important milestone within the framework of the internationalisation process the company started in 2007.

In 2011 Talgo was awarded a contract to supply trains in Russia for the amount of 135 million euros.

The Spanish company also intends to establish itself in the country in order to perform train maintenance services, a field in which it has 60 years of experience.

In addition to Russia, Talgo is also present in United States, Germany, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Bosnia, as well as in the consortium of Spanish companies that won the contract to supply high-speed trains for the future La Meca-Medina line, signed on January 14.