Alfa Pendular is the name of the flagship Pendolino high-speed

tilting train A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train (or other vehicle) rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide ab ...

of Portuguese state railway company CP. It connects the cities of Guimarães, Braga, Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Santarém, Lisbon, Albufeira and Faro, among others at speeds of up to . The trains were assembled in Portugal by ADtranz at the former

Sorefame Sorefame (an abbreviation of ''Sociedades Reunidas de Fabricações Metálicas'') was a Portuguese manufacturer of railway rolling stock and industrial equipment, such as dam gates equipment. The company was established in 1943. In the 1990s the ...

works at

Amadora Amadora () is a municipality and urbanized city in the northwest of the Lisbon metropolitan area and 10 km from central Lisbon. The population in 2011 was 175,136, in an area of 23.78 km² (9.2 sq mi). It is the most densely populated mun ...

, based on contracting partnership between Fiat-Ferroviaria as the main contractor and ADtranz and

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...

as the main subcontractors. Beginning 2017, the trains were refurbished, introducing new interiors, livery, seating and features such as Wi-Fi and power outlets.

Description

The Alfa Pendular high speed train is a six car

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

(EMU), which is derived from and closely resembles the

Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...

designed Italian Fiat-Ferroviaria

ETR 480 The ETR 480 is a tilting Electric Multiple Unit built by Fiat Ferroviaria (now Alstom Ferroviaria) since 1993, It is also known as Pendolino. It was developed from the first new-generation Pendolino, the ETR 460. The main difference between ETR 46 ...

Pendolino train. The bogies had to be redesigned to operate on Portugal's track. There are 8 traction motors, installed on all but the two middle vehicles of the train, developing . This M-M-T-T-M-M arrangement spreads the weight of the train, giving it a weight of only per axle, which helps its cornering ability at high speed. During testing, a top speed of was reached close to Espinho in 1998.

Tilting technology

Its

technology, with a maximum tilt angle of 8°, allows the train to negotiate curves at higher speeds than conventional trains. The combination of the resulting high cornering velocity and the tilting movement of the carriages helps ensure a comfortable ride for the passengers, although the jostle and sway compensating for track irregularities may cause "travel sickness" in those susceptible. The hydraulic tilting system is governed by two gyroscopes in the head cars. The curve is found on the base of the elevation of the external track. The use of this train did not require particular modifications to the existing rail network, but it is expensive in terms of maintenance of the rolling stock because of the complexity of the tilting system.

Stations

The stations served by the Alfa Pendular are from north to south:Comboios de Portugal > Alfa Pendular > Estações
/ref> *

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and ...

* Famalicão * Trofa * Porto-Campanhã *

Vila Nova de Gaia Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population ...

* Espinho * Aveiro *

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

-B * Pombal * Entroncamento * Santarém * Lisboa–Oriente * Lisboa–Santa Apolónia (off the lines from/to Faro) * Lisboa-Entrecampos *

Pinhal Novo Pinhal Novo () is a town in Portugal situated in the Setúbal Peninsula halfway between Lisbon and Setúbal. It is a civil parish of the Palmela Municipality. The population in 2011 was 25,000,Albufeira Albufeira () is a city and seat of its own municipality in the district of Faro, in the southernmost Portuguese region of Algarve. The municipality population in 2021 was 44,158, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 28,645 in 20 ...

Loulé Loulé () is a city and municipality in the region of Algarve, district of Faro, Portugal. In 2011, the population of the entire municipality was 70,622 inhabitants, in an area of approximately . The municipality has two principal cities: Loul� ...

References

External links

* {{Rolling stock of Portugal Pendolino Tilting trains High-speed rail in Portugal Electric multiple units of Portugal Fiat Ferroviaria Siemens multiple units Adtranz multiple units

Description

Tilting technology

Stations

See also

References

External links