Danish state railway operator DSB has officially accepted the first of 16 Talgo 230 trains, with units set to begin operation along the Copenhagen (Denmark) – Hamburg (Germany) route under the EuroCity (EC) commercial name.
The milestone will allow for the launch of new domestic routes within Denmark, as well as the new cross-border connection between Copenhagen and Hamburg.
Each of Talgo’s 230 trains have been fully designed and manufactured across the company’s two Spanish factories, and feature a maximum speed of 200km/h in commercial service. The trains can be configured to utilise between 9 to 15 passenger cars, including first and second classes as well as a PRM car.
With each train allowing for a maximum capacity of 492 passengers; the introduction of the new fleet aims to allow DSB to revamp and increase its offering in the Copenhagen-Germany route, as well as create a new alternative to carbon-intensive modes like road and air transport.
Each EuroCity train set features two longer cars at each train end which act as a fully interoperable interface with third-party locomotives from the DSB roster. In the future, one of these end cars is set to be replaced by a Talgo cab car to allow for a push-pull configuration.
Work is now underway to ensure that Talgo 230 trains are certified and authorised by the national safety authorities of Austria (BMK) and the Netherlands (ILT) for both railway networks, as well as by the Swiss agency (BAV).
Talgo was initially awarded the 500 million EUR framework contract by DSB in February 2020. The order began as a firm order of 134 million EUR for the supply of 8 complete Talgo 230 trains, with subsequent orders leading to the total 16 now set to be delivered.
