The Spanish rolling stock manufacturer has secured a landmark €485 million contract (around SEK 5.5 billion) with Trafikverket, the Swedish Transport Administration. The agency will act as a rolling stock lessor, with publicly owned SJ as its client.
The deal covers the supply of 10 Siemens Vectron locomotives and 91 coaches for overnight trains, set to enter service from 2030 on the Stockholm–Narvik and Stockholm–Umeå routes. These new trains will completely renew northern Sweden’s night services, replacing passenger cars up to 40 years old, including WL4 and WL6 sleepers from the 1990s.
The design focuses on passenger comfort, offering four-berth family cabins, premium doubles and singles, while eliminating the traditional three- and six-berth configurations. They will also feature improved sound insulation and higher energy efficiency.
Trafikverket requires full reliability at temperatures as low as –40°C to prevent winter disruptions that have affected existing stock. Talgo, drawing on its experience in Russia, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia, is also meeting requirements for operation under extreme heat. The contract includes a ten-year maintenance agreement.
Subject to a ten-day appeal period, the award strengthens connectivity along routes that are not commercially profitable.
For Talgo—now under joint control of SEPI, the Basque Government and private shareholders since November—this is its third major order in recent months, following deals in Saudi Arabia (€1.33 billion) and Uzbekistan (€80 million).
This pushes the company’s order book to a record €6.5 billion, despite strikes over delayed wage payments. Talgo also plans to invest €90 million in its Rivabellosa and Las Matas plants.