(14/09/2012)  This contract, signed with Passazhirskie Perevozki (passenger operations subsidiary of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the Kazakh Railways), is the second major contract won by the company abroad, after being awarded the one to supply high-speed trains to Saudi Arabia, and it means the continuation of a business relationship which started 12 years ago with the tests run on Kazakh lines of a first Talgo train set.

A track record of success

The business relationship between Talgo and the Kazakh Railways started in the months of June and July 2000, when Temir Zholy successfully tested on its lines a Talgo Pendular train set consisting of six cars that were pulled by Kazakh locomotives on the Alma Ata-Astana line.

The success of this train set, which was expanded to 10 cars, resulted in a contract to supply two variable gauge Talgo 200 train sets comprising 22 cars each for the Alma Ata-Astana electrified line and the equipment for a maintenance base in Kazakhstan.

Maintenance base and factory

As a result of that contract Talgo’s first maintenance base in Asia was established in Kazakhstan. Property of Talgo Kz, Kazakh subsidiary of Talgo, this base was created to work on the 54 Talgo cars that daily provided the Almaty-Astana and Almaty-Shimkent night services.

In January 2005 an agreement between Talgo and Temir Zholy was concluded for the maintenance of Talgo trains until 2009, and in June 2010 Talgo was awarded the contract to expand and replace Kazakh Railways’ old fleet of 3,000 passenger cars with the modern Talgo Intercity cars.

Within this collaboration framework, Talgo and the Kazakh Railways established a joint venture, called Tulpar Talgo LLP, which built a factory with a capacity to manufacture 150 cars a year in the capital city of Astana. The passenger car production and maintenance tasks began at the plant in December 2011.