The Spanish train manufacturer Talgo has surprised the market again with its latest product development, the AVRIL train model (the Spanish acronym for Light High-Speed Independent Wheel). The AVRIL, which is the lightest train on the market, can carry more than 500 passengers and is designed to reach speeds of up to 380 kilometers per hour.

According to company sources, the AVRIL is “the train of the future”. The new Talgo model weighs 315 metric tons, while high-speed trains from other manufacturers currently in the market weigh around 100 metric tons more. Its lightweight and aerodynamic design will enable it to deliver significant energy savings.

Sources at the company explained that “Railway operators are increasingly seeking trains with greater passenger capacity to generate a higher financial return”. Renfe, for example, has designed a wider carriage specifically to fit more seats inside, and although earlier Talgo models had a carriage width of 2,900 millimeters, the AVRIL has been widened to 3,200 millimeters.

This new carriage width means an extra row of seats can be added, providing five rows in a 3+2 format that allows more passengers to be carried as well as offering greater versatility to passengers. Increasing the capacity of the train reduces the operating cost per passenger, making high-speed travel accessible to the ordinary public and tourists while also increasing profitability for the operator.

Talgo has cleverly managed to adapt this wider carriage to the loading gauge in Europe. The loading gauge is the imaginary tunnel dimension that the train has to pass through without interference from other vehicles travelling in the other direction or from elements of the railway network such as lights, signals, etc.

“One of the principal innovations of the AVRIL platform is the development of fully accessible and interoperable short and wide carriages that are capable of increasing the capacity of the train”, explains Mario Oriol, Market Development Manager. The wider structure of the carriage enables multiple configurations depending on each client’s needs. It is a train that has been conceived as a platform that can be adapted to the needs of each client and market. “AVRIL has been developed using a platform concept in order to respond to any type of demand for high-speed services in the world”, says Oriol.