About Us

On August 21, 1941, Mr. Alejandro Goicoechea, a Spanish engineer, successfully completed the design and testing of a unique system of passenger rail cars. In early 1942, Mr. Goicoechea presented the unconventional project to Mr. Jose Luis Oriol y Uriguen, Mr. Oriol believed in the design and set out to develop and market this new railroad concept, incorporating Patentes Talgo SA (PTSA) in 1942.

Over 60 years have passed since that great initial venture six decades during which the rate of innovation has been maintained and enable Talgo to remain at the forefront of railway technology, producing Spain’s most prestigious industrial product. Talgo has built a strong reputation for producing and maintaining high-quality, innovative and cost effective passenger cars in Spain. Since Talgo introduced its Pendular series of passenger cars in 1980, PTSL has extended its operations to other countries. Today, Talgo Trains provide daily service in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Canada and the United States.

Patentes Talgo currently employs over a 1000 people, distributed between the PTSA central office in Madrid, Spain, and the maintenance and manufacturing facilities of Las Rozas (Madrid, Spain), Las Matas I and II (Madrid, Spain), Rivabellosa (Alava, Spain), San Andres Condal (Barcelona, Spain), Berlin (Germany), Almaty (Kazakstan), Washington (DC), and Seattle (WA).

Patentes Talgo’s over-arching goal is to be an international industrial presence, recognized worldwide for its integrity, capacity for innovation, technology, quality, reliability and the added value of its services, its passion for technological development, the commitment and professionalism of its people, and its constant devotion to customer service. This goal is the basis of Talgo’s business culture.

TALGO is an acronym for “Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol”

Talgo in North America
Seattle, Washington

In 1994, Talgo, Inc. was incorporated in the State of Washington to maintain Talgo trainsets serving the Vancouver (BC)-Seattle-Portland-Eugene corridor on behalf of WSDOT, ODOT, and Amtrak . Since then, the success of this service has been spectacular. The number of passengers has continued to increase dramatically. Travel times have been reduced and the entire corridor has been revitalized by the use of these trains.

The main offices of Talgo, Inc. and the maintenance facility for the Talgo trains (property of Amtrak and the Washington State Department of Transport (WSDOT)), are located in the city of Seattle, Washington. These trains perform daily passenger services under the name of Amtrak Cascades® covering the route between Vancouver, BC, Canada; and Eugene, OR.

Talgo integration allows the company to be involved in all phases of each project including design, manufacture, and maintenance of the trains. It has also allowed Talgo to develop techniques of preventive maintenance similar to those used in the aerospace industry. Talgo, Inc. is responsible for the complete maintenance of the trains carried out in Seattle. Talgo's outstanding maintenance practices have produced amazing results such as greater than 99% availability in this service.