By Sharen Kaur
sharen@mediaprima.com.my
Published in NST on April 20, 2013
sharen@mediaprima.com.my
Published in NST on April 20, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR: A Spanish bullet train maker has offered a “duck” train for Malaysia’s
multibillion ringgit high-speed rail (HSR) project.
Talgo, part of a consortium that won a US$9 billion (RM27.4 billion) HSR job in Saudi Arabia last year, believes its “El Pato” (Spanish for duck) trains are suitable for Malaysia’s HSR project.
The Talgo 350 “El Pato” is the latest highspeed train sold in Spain, said deputy chairman Mario Oriol.
The company has a 50 per cent market share in the high-speed market segment there, he told Business Times in an interview here recently.
Talgo wants to be part of a consortium that is making a bid for the HSR project linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, Oriol said.
It is in talks with several parties, including government agencies, on the potential alliance.
So far, the HSR project has attracted three proposals from UEM Group Bhd-Ara Group, YTL Corp Bhd and China Infraglobe-Global Rail Sdn Bhd.
He said Talgo’s technology is “the best in its class in terms of weight, energy consumption and accessibility” and, thus, can help reduce investments in infrastructure and operations.
“Weight and energy consumption are very important aspects of the HSR. The lighter the train, the better it would be for the infrastructure.
There will be less damage and repairs. Energy consumption would also be lower.” Oriol said Talgo trains can bring savings on infrastructure development by up to seven per cent as they have lower height and can adapt to any geography.
“This means that if there is a need to go through a hill, a smaller tunnel would be required and there would be less cost incurred.
“The objective is to offer comfort to passengers and save on infrastructure cost,” he said.
Land Public Transport Commission chief development officer Azmi Abdul Aziz told Business Times on Wednesday that the HSR project will take off this year.
He said details of the project are being ironed out and tenders will be called by yearend.
Established in 1942, Talgo is the main supplier of high-speed passenger trains in Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, Argentina, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
Talgo trains are known for their unconventional articulated railway passenger cars.
The wheels are mounted in pairs but not joined by an axle, and the bogies are shared between coaches rather than underneath individual coaches. This allows a railway car to take a turn at higher speed with less swaying.
Talgo, part of a consortium that won a US$9 billion (RM27.4 billion) HSR job in Saudi Arabia last year, believes its “El Pato” (Spanish for duck) trains are suitable for Malaysia’s HSR project.
The Talgo 350 “El Pato” is the latest highspeed train sold in Spain, said deputy chairman Mario Oriol.
The company has a 50 per cent market share in the high-speed market segment there, he told Business Times in an interview here recently.
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It is in talks with several parties, including government agencies, on the potential alliance.
So far, the HSR project has attracted three proposals from UEM Group Bhd-Ara Group, YTL Corp Bhd and China Infraglobe-Global Rail Sdn Bhd.
He said Talgo’s technology is “the best in its class in terms of weight, energy consumption and accessibility” and, thus, can help reduce investments in infrastructure and operations.
“Weight and energy consumption are very important aspects of the HSR. The lighter the train, the better it would be for the infrastructure.
There will be less damage and repairs. Energy consumption would also be lower.” Oriol said Talgo trains can bring savings on infrastructure development by up to seven per cent as they have lower height and can adapt to any geography.
“This means that if there is a need to go through a hill, a smaller tunnel would be required and there would be less cost incurred.
“The objective is to offer comfort to passengers and save on infrastructure cost,” he said.
Land Public Transport Commission chief development officer Azmi Abdul Aziz told Business Times on Wednesday that the HSR project will take off this year.
He said details of the project are being ironed out and tenders will be called by yearend.
Established in 1942, Talgo is the main supplier of high-speed passenger trains in Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, Argentina, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
Talgo trains are known for their unconventional articulated railway passenger cars.
The wheels are mounted in pairs but not joined by an axle, and the bogies are shared between coaches rather than underneath individual coaches. This allows a railway car to take a turn at higher speed with less swaying.
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