It's unclear exactly what Wisconsin is buying. It says "train sets" but does that include the locomotives, or "head units", as Talgo calls them, or just the passenger cars?
Talgo America's website announces that the Wisconsin cars will be called "Type XXI Lakeliner" trains. Since there is no description under this name, it's unclear whether this represents a whole new type of cars for them, or merely a rebranding of an existing type.
----------------------
High-speed train purchase first step in Madison-to-Milwaukee line
By MARK PITSCH
SAT., JUL 18, 2009 - 11:48 AM
In a first step toward building a Midwestern high-speed rail line connecting Madison with Chicago and the Twin Cities, Wisconsin is buying two passenger trains from a Spanish company that will hire state workers to assemble and maintain them.
The $47.5 million purchase is expected to create 80 jobs initially, and company officials said Friday they are considering assembling the trains at Janesville’s General Motors production plant, which closed in April idling 1,200 workers. Sites in Milwaukee are also under consideration.
The Madison station would be at the Dane County Regional Airport.
Under the state’s high-speed rail plan, the Madison-to-Milwaukee line would reach 110 mph as soon at it begins service. The Milwaukee to Chicago line would initially operate at a top speed of 79 mph because its track needs to be upgraded.
It would reach 110 mph once the Madison to the Twin Cities and Green Bay to Milwaukee links are in service, Klein said.
That’s because officials want to establish service in the rest of the state first and upgrading the track is expensive, he said.
Patentes Talgo officials said Friday they envision their Wisconsin plant as an assembly hub for the Midwest.
Antonio Perez, chief executive officer of the company’s U.S. subsidiary, said the company will build the empty shells of the trains in Spain and ship them to Wisconsin. All interior design and assembly work will be completed here, he said.