DSB starts Copenhagen-Hamburg EuroCity services with Talgo 230 trains
This route contributes to a barrier-free, more integrated Europe while incentivizing a more sustainable transport alternative.
www.talgo.com
Talgo 230 trains today started official commercial service in Denmark and Germany in the Copenhagen-Hamburg route served by Denmark state rail operator DSB, with a daily return EuroCity (EC) service replacing older rolling stock, with more to follow in the following weeks. Among other advantages, the new trains will triple transport capacity with their 492 seats, as compared to current 136-seater trains.
EC 397 will be the inaugural service using Talgo stock. The train will depart at 14.11 CET after a brief media event in the Copenhagen Central station and is scheduled to arrive Hamburg Central at 19.02, with intermediate stops programmed at Ringsted, Odense, Kolding and Padborg in Denmark and Schleswig in Germany.
EC 396 will be the other daily service using Talgo stock, departing Hamburg at 10.53 and arriving at the Danish capital city at 15.50. In the future total travel time will be halved after the opening of the submarine Fehrman tunnel.
This landmark development happens just two weeks after the formal acceptance by DSB of the first Talgo 230 units: international and interoperable trains which will operate both domestic and cross-border services. The acceptance on October 21 kicked off the delivery process of the new, 16-unit Talgo fleet by the Spain-based manufacturer.
With this delivery and the new EC services Talgo shows its strength and solvency as a top-tier long-distance trains manufacturer and demonstrates the capabilities of its technology and its highly-qualified team. It is undoubtedly a further step in the consolidation of Talgo as a supplier of high-quality mobility solutions in the most competitive markets, as shown also by the Germany premiere of the ICE L trains by Deutsche Bahn in Berlin, earlier this month.
Sustainable transport in Europe
The new rolling stock in this existing route will contribute to a barrier-free, more integrated Europe, while incentivizing a more sustainable transport alternative between the two countries served. Denmark and Germany are among the European countries which have set more ambitious goals for the reduction of carbon emissions coming from transport. Recoverability of the Talgo 230 EuroCity units is set at 95%, and as they are lighter than other trains they reduce energy consumption and therefore their impact on the environment.
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 Denmark-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; the first of such vehicles is being delivered this week from Spain) to allow for a push-pull configuration using a single locomotive.
Following the commercial service of these Talgo’s EuroCity trains and the earlier presentation of the ICE L trains in Germany, Talgo is advancing its strategy to deploy Talgo 230 trains in the destinations chosen by its customers.
From Scandinavia to the Danube river
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.
This latest development of 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.
Transport giant Flix recently awarded Flix a contract for the supply of up to 65 Talgo 230 trains to form the first and biggest fleet of the liberalized rail transport market in Europe. It is also expected that Talgo trains -from an earlier generation- will be operate soon in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (bordering Ukraine) by Renfe subsidiary Leo Express.
DSB: a 16-unit fleet
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.
The EuroCity trains now entering 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 Talgo 230 ideal to optimize operations in countries with high population density, numerous urban centres and mesh-shaped railway networks where the number of stops and diversity of routes are high as compared to territories with radial-shaped networks and more dispersed cities.
New Talgo DSB trains factsheet
Routes: International routes, at first Copenhagen-Hamburg and Aarhus-Hamburg
. Maximum commercial speed: 200 km/h
. Maximum design speed: 230 km/h
. Passenger capacity: 492 seats
Coach types:
. Flex-space coach: 36 seats; Prams; Bicycles; e-bikes recharging.
. PRM coach: 3 PRM spaces; 1 PRM toilet; 10 conventional seats; Vending.
. Second class coaches with 32 seats.
. Second class coaches with 40 seats.
. First class coach (2+1 seating) with 22 seats.
. First class coach (2+1 seating) with 28 seats.
. Recoverability of the train structure: 95%.
www.talgo.com
