Denmark issues the authorisation for Talgo’s EuroCity international trains

The Danish railway agency Trafikstyrelsen, the Federal Railway Authority in Germany (EBA) and the European Railway Agency (ERA) have announced today that the Talgo 230 trains developed by the Spain-based company for the state-run operator DSB have received the final authorisation to run on the Danish and German railway networks, paving the way for their entry into service soon and under the commercial name EuroCity (EC).

This new approval for the Talgo 230 trains allows the establishment of national routes within Denmark and the revamped rail cross-border connection between Copenhagen and Hamburg, and joins the one obtained a few weeks ago for the units supplied by Talgo in Germany (ICE L).

Leading in the Intercity rail vehicle segment in Europe
The new milestone for the Talgo 230 product platform reinforces Talgo positioning as a leading Intercity trains manufacturer in Western and Central Europe and shows the capabilities of the Spanish company to supply the state-run train operating companies in some of the biggest economies of the European Union with high quality products. Talgo 230 trains are fully designed and manufactured in the two factories the company has Spain.

Getting this new authorisation in Denmark has benefited from many synergies from the train type approval obtained in August for the German rail network, as the EuroCity trains share many technical features with other iterations of the Talgo 230 platform, but the units also had to overcome specific tests to guarantee their interoperable capabilities, like electromagnetic compatibility essays.

The approval process has been quite complex both in the technical and the regulatory fields and has required the participation not only of Trafikstyrelsen in Denmark, EBA in Germany and ERA in the European Union, but also of the infrastructure managers in the Scandinavian country and in Germany: Banedanmark and DB InfraGO, respectively. Once again, Talgo has collaborated closely with TÜV SÜD Rail, a leading European body operating in the three pillars of the authorisation process for the numerous subsystems included in train.

Almost 500 passengers per train
EuroCity trains are loco-hauled units authorised for a maximum speed of 200 km/h in commercial service and have a flexible configuration ranging from 9 to 15 passenger cars including first and second classes and a PRM car. Their maximum capacity will reach 492 passengers and will allow DSB to revamp and increase its offering in the Copenhagen-Germany route and to create a new alternative to more carbon-intensive modes like road and air transport.

In each EuroCity set the two cars at each train end are longer than the rest and act as a fully interoperable interface with the third-party locomotives from the DSB roster. In a near future, one of those end cars will be replaced by a Talgo cab car (styrevogn; a passenger end-coach with a driving cab but no engines) to allow for a push-pull configuration that will ensure swift train turnaround times at the final destination of each route.

Talgo 230: from Scandinavia to the Danube river; from the Baltic sea to the Alps
With the triple approval of the Danish (Trafikstyrelsen), European (ERA) and German (EBA) agencies, Talgo takes a further step in its commitment to serve all the different destinations selected by its customers across Europe.

As informed in August, work is now underway to ensure that Talgo 230 trains are also 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) – limited in this case to the Basel border station. This additional, triple approval is expected to be received in the short term.

Three consecutive orders
The Talgo 230s for DSB form a fleet of 16 trains that has been partially delivered and is partially in production, corresponding to several successive contracts. Back in in February 2020 and after an open tendering process, DSB awarded Talgo with a framework contract worth €500 million which included a first firm order of €134 million for the supply of 8 complete trains of the Talgo 230 technological platform.

In April 2021 and considering the new demand for international rail travel, DSB decided to increase the fleet size with a second order for additional coaches which raised the passenger capacity of the 8 initial trains by a full 10%, to 492 seats each. Then in April 2023 the railway company placed a third order, for 8 additional trains and worth €184 million.

Developed in Spain, bought in Germany and Denmark
The EuroCity trains soon to enter commercial service with DSB are interoperable units, part of the Talgo 230 product range: a technological platform that builds on Talgo’s expertise in high-speed rail and the Spanish manufacturer’s distinctive rolling assemblies technology. It offers high-capacity, lightweight vehicles with a commercial speed of up to 230 km/h, as well as enhanced acceleration and braking capabilities.

This makes it ideal for countries with high population density, numerous urban centres and mesh-shaped railway networks where the number of stops and diversity of routes are high, compared to territories with radial-shaped networks and more dispersed cities.

The long-distance trains of choice in Germany
These features have meant that, along with DSB in Denmark, there are now two other operators in Germany that have also trusted in Talgo’s technology.

The German government, through its public operator Deutsche Bahn, signed a framework contract in 2019 for the supply of up to 100 ICE L trains from the Talgo 230 platform, with two firm orders for 23 and 56 trains already placed, in 2019 and 2023 respectively. Deutsche Bahn is the largest operator in Europe, with a size that is an order of magnitude larger than that of other national railway companies in the EU.

Also in Germany and less than four months ago, road transport giant Flix awarded Talgo a contract for the supply of up to 65 trains also from the Talgo 230 platform, with an initial firm order of 30 units. With its fleet of Talgo trains Flix expects to become the first and largest private operator of passenger trains in Europe.

Both acquisitions by German companies, one public, the other private, were made after a competitive process, with Talgo exceling within the highest technical and quality standards as a top-tier train manufacturer.




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