Talgo for Uzbekistan

[nachalnik]

see http://www.rzd-partner.com/news/2009/11/26/348264.html

---------

Uzbekistan: High-speed railways to come

26.11.2009 (16:50)
The national railways of Uzbekistan launched a project to organize high-speed railway passenger service in the country. It will be implemented in cooperation with the Spanish manufacturer Talgo.

Uzbek Railways are now finalizing negotiations regarding purchase of two Talgo 250 train sets. High-speed vehicles should be delivered to Uzbekistan in March – April 2011.

The contract between Uzbek Railways and Talgo include also service and maintenance of the trains and training of engine drivers in Spain.

Talgo 250 train sets will operate on a railway line between Tashkent and Samarkand with a speed up to 250 km/h.

---------


BTW, I run a small private website about railways in Uzbekistan (it's mainly aimed at tourists indenting to travel in Uzbekistan):
http://uzbekistan-railway.blogspot.com/


Best regards,

Helmut

[frozen]

Great news for Uzbekistan! Ilove Talgo trains

[AAJ]

The trains will be like that:



In the Spanish version the engine is from Bomardier (Traxx S250MS), the train is dual voltage and has change of gauge. In the Uzbek version the traction will be Talgo, will be 25 KV and Russian gauge.

[gramercy]

far be it from me to judge, but only 2? it seems to me that given the high price of _any_ very-high-speed EMU, that money would be better spent elsewhere and that this is probably more for show than go

[MarcVD]

Originally Posted by gramercy

far be it from me to judge, but only 2? it seems to me that given the high price of _any_ very-high-speed EMU, that money would be better spent elsewhere and that this is probably more for show than go

Also my opinion entirely. A network like Uzbekistan today has nothing to
do with high speed train sets, other than "mine is bigger than yours" show.
Those trains usually do not offer better passenger comfort than hauled
coaches, are more expensive to acquire and operate, and won't travel
much faster than hauled trains because infrastructure does not allow it.
And this country does not have the financial means and the experience
needed to build and operate a high-speed network anyway.

[hans280]

Yeah, well... there's progress and there's spin. I sniffed around on the Railway Gazette website and as far as I can make out this is about both: Uzbekistan achieved real progress some 4-5 years ago with the electrification and modernisation of the main line to Samarkand. The improvement increased the effective travel speed on the appoximately 340 km long line to around 100 km/h. This is very fine by Central Asian standards, though hardly highspeed. The purchase of a couple of Talgo trains will increase both speeds (a fortiori since much of this line is straight like an arrow so that, within limits, higher speeds are quite feasible) and improve passenger comfort.

Again, a neat improvement - so, congratulations Uzbekistan. However, the authorities in Tashkent are acting a bit silly if they want this to appear as a highspeed line.

[gramercy]

Originally Posted by hans280

Yeah, well... there's progress and there's spin. I sniffed around on the Railway Gazette website and as far as I can make out this is about both: Uzbekistan achieved real progress some 4-5 years ago with the electrification and modernisation of the main line to Samarkand. The improvement increased the effective travel speed on the appoximately 340 km long line to around 100 km/h. This is very fine by Central Asian standards, though hardly highspeed. The purchase of a couple of Talgo trains will increase both speeds (a fortiori since much of this line is straight like an arrow so that, within limits, higher speeds are quite feasible) and improve passenger comfort.

Again, a neat improvement - so, congratulations Uzbekistan. However, the authorities in Tashkent are acting a bit silly if they want this to appear as a highspeed line.

the same thing could have been achieved by a loco hauled config for 1/3rd the price


why by a train that can do outside of 300 kph if you are only gonna run it at 160-200 or even 250 kph?

a Railjet-equivalent would do the same job

the giveaway is that they are buying only 2

what happens if one goes out of service?
we all know how inefficient it is to maintain a "fleet" (in this case of 2!) with few vechicles: the maintenance costs / unit will be astronomical

[rajhdfgd]

Originally Posted by AAJ

The trains will be like that:



In the Spanish version the engine is from Bomardier (Traxx S250MS), the train is dual voltage and has change of gauge. In the Uzbek version the traction will be Talgo, will be 25 KV and Russian gauge.

What a good idea! Keep at it!

[AAJ]

The max. speed of this model is 250 km/h.

[Oscuro_XS]

Talgo also sells the train withouth the traction heads, only the coaches, so a conventional loco could be used.
EMU version costs almost twice (Spanish configuration),but it is worthwhile if you're going to reach >200 km/h

[AAJ]

In the Spanish press indicates that also includes the engines.

[MarcVD]

Originally Posted by rajhdfgd

What a good idea! Keep at it!

Not a good idea at all, and taxpayer's money unwisely spent. It is a waste
of money to buy equipment that cannot be operated at nominal conditions.
Those hi-speed rakes are rated for 250 km/h and there is no railway line
in Usbekistan capable of sustaining such a speed, either now or in any
foreseeable future. An austrian railjet (as another contributor mentioned)
could deliver a better service for less than half the price. It's like buying
a Ferrari to drive on an unpaved road. Not only it will never be able to
reach the speed it is made for, but also it will worn out way too fast
because it is used on low-quality tracks that it is not made for. This just
looks like a dick-showing contest : may be good for short term politics,
but it won't serve the rail customer in that country any better.