REPORT



THE INTERCITY 200 IS IN TRIALS


COSTA MARTINEZ VERDU


The new Intercity 200, that will circulate in the first period of six months of 1999 by the line Madrid-Valencia, are in phase of trails. They are constructes by Alstom and Railway Fiat, these trains reach a highest speed of 220 Km/h.



Intercity 200 at Albacete after doing a trip of trail between Alcázar de San Juan and the capital of La Mancha.


The Business Unity of Long Distance Line of Renfe is doing trails with the new Intercity trains of the set 490, built by Alstom in the factory that has in Santa Perpetua de Mogoda (barcelona). These new electric trains, which speed is of 220 Km/h, will begin to render service in the passage Madrid-Valencia during the first period of six months of 1999, replacing the current Intercity 448, that only reach 160 Km/h. The new trains have been built by the consortium formed by Alstom and Railway Fiat, and are based on the trains ETR-460 that circulate over Italy, and popular called pendolinos .

After twenty years, the pendolinos come back to circulate by tracks of Renfe. The first pendolino was a prototype registered with the set 443 and popular known like the Platanito, because the yellow colour of its coachwork. This curious train with tipper artificial circulated along the ways Madrid-Avila, Madrid-Albacete and Madrid-Jaén, doing first regular sevices of passengers and, after, turistic trains to Avila.

PENDULAR TRAINS

Like its predecessor, the Platanito, the new Intercity 200 are pendular trains, but will circulate a less speed and with a less composition than their brothers of Italy. These do their regular service at 250 Km/h, with nine coach, while in Spain the new trains only reach 220 Km/h. in some stretchs of the line Madrid-Valencia that is adapting the Spanish Ministry of Public Works for high-speed.

At present, the Intercity of the set 490 are doing trails of drive and pendulation in the stretchs Barcelona-Valencia and Albacete-Alcázar de San Juan. In this strecht. The Spanish Ministry of Public Works is working fo reduce the curves of the alternative.

The works of adaptation of the alternative to high-speed will reduce the times of the journey between Madrid and the cities of Valencia, Alicante and Cartagena. Also these trains have a high quality and many perfomance qualities that will offer to the passengers, similar to the current in the trains AVE, Talgo 200 and Euromed.

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