Alfa Pendular

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Alfa Pendular logo
An Alfa Pendular from the 4000 series
The ten Alfa Pendular train units have been overhauled since 2016; Among other things, they are getting a new gray-black-green paint job
turístico class

Alfa Pendular [ ˈalfɐ pẽduˈlaɾ ] is currently the highest type of train operated by the Portuguese railway company Comboios de Portugal (CP), which since 2006 has been served entirely by the 4000 series high-speed trains equipped with tilting technology . The train type existed since 1987 under the name "Alfa" and designated special express trains between the two most important cities of Portugal , Lisbon and Porto .

history

The first "Alfa" trains started operating in 1987, parallel to the new Intercidades line network of what was then Caminhos-de-ferro portugueses . The CP procured Corail cars based on the French model and locomotives of the 2600/2620 series specifically for this purpose .

In the 1990s, the CP planned to replace the Alfa trains with new high-speed trains, as had already happened in France and Germany . In 1996, CP ordered ten units from GEC Alsthom based on the model of the Italian ETR 480 . In July 1999, the regular service of trains on the 329 km long route between Lisbon and Porto began. The high-speed trains , which CP received the series designation 4000 , were the first (and so far only) long-distance multiple units of the Portuguese State Railways.

When the train started operating, the speed of the trains was initially limited to 160 km / h. By this time, four of the ten six-car units had been delivered, so that until 2006 locomotive-hauled Corail car trains had to be used at times. In this context, the CP also renamed the Alfa type of train to Alfa Pendular , after Pendolino , the Italian tilting technology.

Alfa Pendular operate today on the routes :

On the route between Lisbon and Faro, the Alfa Pendulars reach their top speed of 225 km / h, while this speed between Porto and Lisbon can currently only be driven on a short section between Coimbra and Porto. Most of the Porto – Lisbon route is currently designed for a speed of 160 km / h. The travel time on the 329 km long route will be shortened in the future from the previous 3:30 hours to 2:15 hours, if the permissible vehicle speed can be extended continuously on this route.

The six-car trains consist of two cars first class (conforto) and four second-class cars (turístico). All cars are open plan cars. The seating layout corresponds to that common in Europe with 2 + 2 in the second and 2 + 1 in the first class. The carriages are equipped with row seating, with only half of the seats facing in the direction of travel. Individual seating groups are also provided with face-to-face seating.

Since 2016, the ten train units have been completely modernized for 18 million euros, with new interior fittings and a green-silver paintwork. The modernization is carried out by the CP subsidiary EMEF .

Web links

Commons : Alfa Pendular  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Announcement Alfa Pendular: Start of operations . In: Railway technical review . 48, No. 12, 1999, p. 778.
  2. ↑ Económico / Lusa: CP investe 18 milhões na nova geração dos comboios Alfa Pendular. In: Económico. January 27, 2016, Retrieved February 1, 2016 (Portuguese).