OREANDA-NEWS. March 10, 2010. This morning Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin visited the Control Center of the Madrid-Seville high-speed railway line, accompanied by ADIF President Antonio Gonzalez Marin, went on a fact-finding trip on the Atocha–Sol route, and visited the new Sol station, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

During the afternoon, Vladimir Yakunin met with Spanish Development Minister Jose Blanco. The main topic of discussion was work on a project to employ the Talgo automatic gauge change system in Russia. After the talks, Vladimir Yakunin said: "Russia and Spain are faithfully fulfilling their agreements on cooperation in rail transport, and we can express our satisfaction with the progress achieved through this cooperation.

Together with our Spanish partners, we are currently conducting tests in Russia of an automated track gauge-changing system, which will enable trains to cross from Russia’s rail lines to those of Europe without stopping." During the evening, the Russian Railways president will be a guest of the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, at the Sarsuela Palace.
 
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Russian Railways is currently working with the Spanish companies Ineco, ADIF, and Renfe Operadora on developing guidelines for planning, building, and using high-speed rail lines, ensuring operational safety, organizing rail freight transportation and logistics, and also using and maintaining railway infrastructure amid harsh climatic conditions. On 23 October 2008, Russian Railways and Talgo signed a memorandum of intent on the joint use of rolling stock equipped with automatic gauge change systems on international passenger train services.

As agreed with the Spanish side, tests are currently underway to assess the technical readiness and serviceability of the Spanish train and automatic gauge change system amid the conditions of Russia’s climate and rail system. By the end of April 2010, Talgo passenger carriages will have undergone a series of stationary and running trials at the VNIIZhT test loop, on the high-speed Moscow – St Petersburg line, and on the Moscow – Brest line. In the future, a regular high-speed passenger service could be organized using Talgo-type rolling stock on the routes Moscow – Berlin, Moscow – Warsaw, and Moscow – Prague.