The Extremaduran high-speed line, which is expected to come into service “before summer”, will debut the new image of the Alvia S-730 trains, which Talgo is remodeling in the company’s workshops in Madrid, so that the reduction in travel times between Badajoz and the Spanish capital will now be added to the improvements in the interior design and comfort of these vehicles.
The Minister of Mobility, Transport and Housing, Leire Iglesias, accompanied by the Government delegate, Yolanda García Seco, has verified the remodeling work on the trains and has stated that Extremadura is already “prepared for the arrival of high speed and for the improvement of its rail system. However, she has admitted that the arrival of these convoys and the start-up of the first phase of high speed in the region “is not the end of the journey, but it is one of the most desired seasons”.
Iglesias recalled that the entry into service of high speed will take place once the tests that Adif has been carrying out for a few weeks are completed. Later, the train drivers will have to be trained and the trains and services approved, although it has reiterated the commitment that the vehicles circulate before summer, with which the travel times between Badajoz and Madrid will be reduced by “about 40 or 45 minutes” .
These times will be further reduced once the works between Plasencia and Talayuela, the Mérida bypass, the accesses to the stations, are completed, the entire route is electrified and the double-track sote, which are the issues that are still pending for the high speed in Extremadura.
For the last section, Navalmoral-Madrid, the date of 2030 is being considered, although the Community of Castilla-La Mancha is delaying the process because it wants to propose changes in the Toledo station and that the passage through Talavera de la Reina be buried.
The S-730 are hybrid trains, with diesel and electric traction technology. The model also has a sliding rolling system, which allows it to circulate on standard gauge tracks (the high-speed one) as well as on conventional gauge tracks.
As reported by Renfe, its signaling systems guarantee interoperability throughout the Spanish railway network.
The modernization of the Alvia model, in which 11 million euros are being invested to renew 14 machines, involves improvements in the interior (carpeting, upholstery, aesthetics of the toilets…) and of the lighting in the cafeteria car, lobbies and passenger lounges.
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