Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan launch new Talgo wide-body trains on an international route

An evolved design

The new trains have been certified in accordance with the technical regulations of the Customs Union.

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The Kazakh National Railway Company (KTZ) and its counterpart in the neighboring country of Uzbekistan (UTY) have launched this week an international service between the cities of Almaty and Tashkent using the new Talgo trains, capable of a maximum speed of 200 km/h and which, in addition to shortening travel times thanks to their tilting technology and wide-body design, offer even more interior space and more comfort than previously supplied trains.

 

These trains make the most of the dimensions of the railroad network in the area. Mainly because they use the Russian track gauge (1,520mm), present in both countries, but also because they take better advantage of the gauge: the maximum width and height that a car can have on the railway network, and which are greater than those present in Spain or Europe.

 

The new trains have been certified in accordance with the technical regulations of the Customs union to travel at a maximum speed of 200 km/h and overcome the extreme temperatures of Kazakhstan, between +45ºC and -50ºC. Before being put into service last December on the Kazakh domestic network, the trains had to pass exhaustive certification tests throughout Europe: load tests in Leipzig (Germany), fatigue tests in Madrid and wind and resistance tests to extreme temperatures and humidity in Vienna (Austria). Dynamic tests were carried out at 200 km/h in Kazakhstan.

 

The new service, lasting about 16 hours, will serve to connect - and using Talgo trains for the first time - the most populated city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Uzbekistan, which together account for around four million inhabitants. Both operators have agreed that the route will have two services in each direction per week, with departures on Saturdays and Mondays of Almaty, and on Sundays and Tuesdays in the opposite direction. Talgo trains will stop at the stations of Otar, Chu, Taraz, Shymkent, Saryagash and Tashkent.

 

 

 

In a country five times the size of Spain, and thanks to the fleet of Talgo trains, KTZ currently offers a network of services in Kazakhstan with an extension similar to that from the Pyrenees to the Baltic Sea, and from the North Sea to the Balkans.

 

 

 

The new wide-body trains of Talgo They offer maximum accessibility and comfort for the traveller, since the compositions have a single floor along their entire length, without interior barriers. Their design is an evolution of the 2.950mm cars that Talgo has been manufacturing in the country since the beginning of this decade.

 

Like all services provided by KTZ, have 3 classes: Gran Clase, Business and Turista. The Gran Clase sleeper cars have bedroom suites for two people and include a toilet and shower. Access to the car itself and one of the cabins are adapted for people with reduced mobility.

 

Business class sleeper cars have compartments for 2 people with bunk beds and a washbasin. Tourist class sleeper cars have compartments for 4 people with bunk beds.

 

Talgo technology on both sides of the border

 

In a country that is more than five times the size of Spain, and thanks to the fleet of trains Talgo, KTZ currently offers in Kazakhstan a network of services with an extension similar to that from the Pyrenees to the Baltic Sea, and from the North Sea to the Balkans.

 

En Uzbekistan, UTY For its part, it has a small fleet of high-speed trains based on the T250 model, which until recently consisted of two nine-car units, and to which a third 11-car train has recently been added. In the coming weeks, the Uzbek operator is also expected to receive its fourth high-speed train, the only one of this type in the entire country. Central Asia.