The Spanish train manufacturer, Talgoand the Polish supplier of Polish railway vehicles, Pesahave sealed an agreement to explore the possibilities of collaboration in the development of the new Poland’s high-speed rail network.
The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during Innotrans 2024, the world’s largest transport event taking place in Berlin, where both companies are presenting their passenger transport solutions for rail markets across Europe.
A piece of news that is known after the Government’s refusal to the Public Acquisition Offer (OPA) of more than 609 million euros by the Hungarian company Magyar Vagon. The links of the fund behind the corporation –Corvinus– with the far-right Viktor Orbánwhich in turn is linked to Vladimir Putin’s Russia, are behind the “no”. Specifically, Pedro Sánchez’s government argued for the veto on the grounds that there are strategic interests and reasons of national security that are “insurmountable”.
The truth is that Talgo, very late on several orders and with many others committed in the future, was eagerly awaiting the operation, because it would give it a lot of strength in the manufacturing part. However, far from being discouraged by the Government’s veto, it has taken up the gauntlet thrown by Pesa, which trusts in the capacity of the Spanish manufacturer.
Future agreements
The president of Talgo, Carlos Palacioand Pesa CEO, Krzysztof Zdziarskiare the signatories of an MoU that covers exploratory work to prepare future agreements and along three main business lines: the tender process for the purchase of very high-speed rolling stock for Poland that will begin in 2025, other future high-speed projects yet to be defined and, finally and in even broader terms, the collaboration for new additional opportunities.
Under plans presented by the Polish government last year, the country plans to build a new high-speed line to connect some of its major cities, including Warsaw, Lodz and Wroclaw, the first in a network of new passenger routes to be developed over the coming years to reach some 2,000 km in length, as part of the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) project.
Talks between Talgo and Pesa, Poland’s main rolling stock supplier, have lasted more than two yearsduring which not only the terms of this agreement have been negotiated, but also the technical teams have worked to prepare the foundations of the basic concept of the vehicle and the responsibilities of each party in the project, so that the two companies are now ready to present an offer of high-speed trains for the Polish market and adjacent markets.
“It is a pleasure for us establish a preliminary collaboration with Pesa“, a specialist in the manufacture of conventional railway vehicles with a strong presence in Poland and a deep and valuable knowledge of the Polish railway market,” said Talgo President Carlos Palacio.
“We want to showcase the capabilities of our new very high-speed platform Talgo Avril, which is already in service in Spain, and the modularity and interoperability of Intercity Talgo 230, our range of long-distance trains that will soon be deployed in Denmark and Germany, and which we are presenting in Berlin as part of Innotrans 2024,” he added.
Pesa President and CEO Krzysztof Zdziarski said that Pesa has been involved in the development of the high-speed rail project in Poland for several years.
“From the very beginning, we were clear that we would implement this project with a technological partner. The potential of Talgo and Pesa complement each other, and I am convinced that together we will offer a vehicle that perfectly meets the needs of operators in the Polish market and in the Three Seas region,” he concluded.
Source: www.vozpopuli.com
