(The following story by John Gillie appeared on The News Tribune website on March 11, 2010.)
TACOMA, Wash. — Oregon’s Department of Transportation has announced that the state will buy two new Talgo high-speed trains to augment Amtrak’s Cascades service between Vancouver, B.C., and Eugene.
The new trains, similar to the sleek, Spanish-designed trains that have been used in the Northwest since 1994, will be the first bought by Oregon.
Of the five existing Talgo trains used in Cascades service, three are owned by the State of Washington and two by Amtrak.
Amtrak now operates five daily trains between Seattle and Portland each way, two between Vancouver and Seattle and two between Portland and Eugene.
The trains, to be built in a new Milwaukee plant along with Talgo trains ordered by Wisconsin for use in the Milwaukee-to-Chicago corridor and on the Milwaukee-to-Madison route, will cost $36.6 million. That’s a $6 million savings over the price Oregon would have paid had it procured those trains alone.
Talgo, whose North American headquarters are in Seattle, is hoping to sell more of its tilt-technology trains in the U.S. Washington may order two more 13-car trains, and Michigan, Missouri and Illinois are considered possible buyers.
The Talgo design is capable of traveling up to 125 mph in its present configuration, but speeds are limited to 79 mph on the Northwest corridor because of track and safety issues.