Patentes Talgo, S.A. of Spain rang in the New Year with several announcements. First, it announced that the testing of its new 220 mph (350 km/h) prototype high-speed trainset has begun. The new trainset is designed as a contender for the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed rail contract. The trainset has two power cars equipped by Adtranz while Talgo was responsible for the design as well as the passenger railcars, braking equipment and other mechanical parts for the trainset. Equipped with water-cooled IGBTs, each power car takes power at 25 kV 50 Hz to develop 4000 kW for traction. Adtranz also provided control and communications systems, incorporating an optical fiber database. Its typical configuration comprises two power cars framed between eight and twelve pressure-sealed passenger cars. The trainset is manufactured using welded aluminum alloy extrusions, and is fitted with Talgo’s passive tilt equipment and unique independent wheels truck design. In a separate announcement, Patentes Talgo’s CEO, Francisco de Lorenzo, has confirmed that between 30 and 40% of the shares in Patentes Talgo will be floated on the stock market before the end of 2000. Meanwhile, the company has recently been awarded several contracts for the manufacture and maintenance of passenger railway equipment. First, German National Railways (DB) recently awarded Talgo a contract to supply and maintain an under-floor wheel lathe capable of turning wheelsets of cars and locomotives of up to 35 tons of axle-load. The contract is worth $1.8 million and the lathe is due for delivery by February 2001. Secondly, Trenes de Buenos Aires, the operator of a busy commuter railway in the Argentinean capital, also ordered a wheel lathe, this one rated for 25-ton axle-loads. Third, Lisbon (Portugal) Metro ordered an 18-ton axle-load under-floor wheel lathe. Talgo has been providing maintenance services since the early 1950s for Talgo trains operated by railroads worldwide. "The unique advantage of the Talgo maintenance equipment is that it is the only one that is designed and produced by an actual user of the equipment," said Jean-Pierre Ruiz, CEO of Talgo Inc., Patentes Talgo’s U.S. subsidiary. "This allows the application of practical maintenance experience for continuous product improvement and for research and development of new technical solutions." Javier Laforgue, Talgo Inc.’s marketing manager, added that the company’s maintenance equipment for American customers will be produced in the United States in full accordance with US standards.