Kazakh-Spanish trains to become more comfortable

Tulpar-Talgo passenger cars will become more comfortable as they become large, tengrinews reports citing the press service of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, Kazakhstan'a national railway company.

Astana-based Tulpar-Talgo plant owned by a joint Kazakhstan-Spanish company Tulpar-Talgo has mastered the final stage of production of rail passenger cars using the technology of the Spanish company Рatentes Talgo SLU.

“This year we plan to launch a project that is aimed at producing around 600 rail cars with a wide body that will create more comfort for passengers. The plant has been producing passenger cars with a body width of 2.95 m. Now the newly manufactured railroad cars will have the body width of 3.2 m. 21 trains (603 carriages) with wide body are expected to be assembled in 2016 to 2019,” the company’s statement said.

Apart from being comfortable, Tulpar-Talgo trains are much environmentally friendlier than the trains that have been used in the country since the Soviet era. They are heated by the power generated from its own power station wagon, which significantly reduces emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere.

This year the plant is expected to reach its full capacity and to produce 153 passenger cars. 

Every year Tulpar-Talgo high-speed trains are becoming more popular in Kazakhstan because of their convenience and speed. According to Passazhirskiye Perevozki company, a passenger transportation branch of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy national railway company of Kazakhstan, more than one million Kazakhstanis travelled by Tulpar-Talgo trains in 2014.

These modern trains cover Almaty to Petropavlovsk, Atyray, Aktobe and Ust-Kamenogorsk and Astana to Aktobe, Atyrau, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Kyzylorda routes. It is planned to increase the number of trains on the routes of Astana-Kyzylorda, Almaty-Aktobe, Almaty-Ust-Kamenogorsk and Astana-Ust-Kamenogorsk this year.

The joint Kazakh-Spanish plant Tulpar-Talgo that manufactures high-speed trains (up to 200 km/h) was established in 2010 by an agreement between Kazakhstan Temir Zholy and  Spanish Patentes Talgo S.L. The facility is located in the special economic zone "Astana - New City" near Astana. 

Tulpar-Talgo plant was constructed in compliance with international standards in terms of quality, cost-effectiveness and efficiency of production processes. Technical personnel of the plant was trained in Spain. 

Kazakh content in the project is expected to reach 56 percent by the end of this year.

However, the purpose of this plant is not only to meet the needs of the Kazakhstan market by providing it with high-speed comfortable rail passenger cars, but also to export its produce to the neighbouring countries and further abroad. Kazakhstan has the exclusive right to sell the cars in CIS countries.