Talgo is a Spanish manufacturer of passenger trains built on an articulated design, in which short cars share running gear and the wheels turn independently without a solid axle. Variants of the design add natural tilting and automatic gauge change, which let trains run from Spain’s Iberian-gauge network onto standard-gauge lines.
Talgo was founded in 1942. Its name is an acronym of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol, after its founders Alejandro Goicoechea and José Luis Oriol. The company is listed on the Madrid stock exchange and builds trains at Las Rozas near Madrid and at Rivabellosa in Álava.
Renfe is Talgo’s main customer. Its fleet includes Talgo 250 variable-gauge trains and the Talgo 350 high-speed train.
The Talgo Avril is the company’s very high-speed platform. Outside Spain, Talgo has sold trains to operators in countries including Germany, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.
Losses and new owners
Talgo reported revenue of EUR 618m and a net loss of EUR 100m in 2025, after a net loss of EUR 107.9m in 2024. Part of the cost came from adjusting its ICE L contract with Deutsche Bahn, which reduced the contract from 79 to 60 trains in 2025.
In August 2024, the Spanish government blocked a takeover bid from Hungarian group Ganz-Mávag on national security grounds. In December 2025, a Basque consortium led by José Antonio Jainaga’s holding company Clerbil acquired 29.8% of Talgo, and the state holding company Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales subscribed a EUR 45m capital increase. Talgo’s registered office moved back to Rivabellosa.
The new shareholders came with a EUR 770m refinancing package to fund delivery of existing contracts. At the end of 2025, Talgo’s backlog stood at EUR 4.45bn, including a Flixtrain order for up to 65 trains, of which EUR 1.1bn is firm.