Talgo starts operating its Intercity trains in Egypt

Egypt’s national railway company ENR has started this week the commercial operation of the Intercity trains built by Talgo in Spain. The first services connect the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and the city of Alexandria. This milestone confirms the satisfactory progress of the project for the supply of six units and their maintenance for eight years, for c. 160 million euros, which has also involved the construction of new Talgo facilities in Egypt.

The Talgo trains, which belong to the Intercity platform with which the company has recently been awarded contracts in countries such as Germany and Denmark, are a very relevant part of the modernization process of the railway system undertaken by the Egyptian government as part of a broader and more ambitious agenda aimed at decarbonizing key sectors of the economy.

Thanks to the lightness of Talgo’s exclusive rolling stock technology and aluminum construction, the Intercity trains supplied to Egypt for daytime services increase capacity and service quality and reduce energy consumption per passenger, thus maximizing efficiency and minimizing environmental impact.

State-of-the-art trains

The contract included the supply of six train units with a maximum commercial speed of 160 km/h and 490 seats. Each unit is made up of a locomotive and fifteen towed cars, five of them for first class, eight for second class, one mixed with cafeteria and seats for people with reduced mobility, and a technical car.

Manufactured in Talgo’s factory in Alava (Spain) and designed based on Talgo’s experience on the Mecca-Medina line (Saudi Arabia), these Intercity trains have high-power redundant air conditioning systems, and have been certified to operate at temperatures of up to 50ºC. They also feature an onboard WIFI platform throughout the train, and infotainment systems in the first-class cars.

Second contract: night services

In August 2022, Talgo was awarded a second contract for the manufacture of another seven passenger trains, in this case for night services, for an approximate amount of 280 million euros.

This new night trains project will include the construction of the new units in the plants of Alava and Madrid, in Spain, as well as their maintenance in the facilities that Talgo already has in Egypt, for a period of 15 years. According to the schedule that has been established, the new trains will start to be delivered from 2024 onwards.