In some cases, he says it is likely that technologies used for the past 30 years will be retained because they remain the most suitable solution. In others it is conceivable that the train will adopt technologies pioneered in Alstom’s previous high-speed offerings such as AGV and Pendolino, or even Speedelia, the concept developed for an Italian high-speed tender, which Bombardier and AnsaldoBreda (now Hitachi Rail Italy) won in 2010.

Tessier adds that while Avelia is its next-generation train, these earlier platforms are not necessarily defunct in their own right, and depending on the contract, they might still be offered.

“When you look at the market and the contracts that have been won for high-speed and very high-speed around the world – in Spain, with Amtrak, and in Saudi Arabia – they were all push-pull configurations,” Tessier says. “There is a market for different configurations, but for AGV we will see. We have not been in a position to offer this train very often.”

“We have used a lot of our experience with locomotives to dramatically reduce the cost of the power cars,” Tessier reveals. “We have moved from having a lateral corridor within the power cars to a central corridor, and the traction equipment is a lot smaller and a lot quieter than in today’s power cars. The traction system for Avelia Horizon is much closer to what we have on our locomotives, which means it will perform better and be more efficient than on the trains we have today. We are using an evolution of power electronics and an IGBT traction system to ensure it is up-to-date. We already have permanent magnet motors on AGV, and investigated whether to use them on Avelia Horizon, but we decided in the end not to do so.”