100-series trains were the first high-speed trains to start running in April 1992. These trains were an upgrade of the TGV Atlantic with numerous modifications to adapt them to the operating conditions and the Spanish market, such as a new system for reducing the effect of pressure waves in the tunnels, the increase in power of the air conditioning equipment and the incorporation of LZB and Asfa control and signalling equipment.
A technical and interior remodelling was finalised in summer 2009 after 15 years of service to adapt the trains to new market requirements.
This train consists of eight passenger carriages and two external towing vehicles, meaning they can travel in any direction. When passenger demand is very high, the train can be coupled to another of the same series, running in double length. The carriages are first-class and standard class and feature a buffet car.
The train's features include an audio and video system, with in-seat listening and the option of playing ambient music; air conditioning or travel information via the public address system and digital panels. It also features WIFI on board.
It is equipped with ergonomic seats featuring folding armrests to allow easy access for people with reduced mobility. First class seats are standalone and reclining, and standard seats are in sets of two with seat and back pads, separated by a folding central armrest.
The train also features various forms of lighting. Furthermore, individual, seat-specific reading lights have been installed and table lamps are located on the tables between the seats facing one another.
The toilets on the train, one adapted for people with reduced mobility, are located on the platforms between carriages, where the luggage racks are also located.
The ten carriages that make up this train correspond to two towing vehicles, two end trailers and six middle trailers. The body of the towing vehicle is self-supporting welded steel, and its frame rests on the two motor bogies. It contains inside the driver's cab and engine room. The front end features an aerodynamic fairing in polyester and the headboard houses the automatic Scharfenberg coupling. The rear end features two conventional stops and traction hook, as well as an intercommunicating door to access the rest of the carriages.
In front of the cab is an anti-shock, protective shield capable of absorbing energy and cushioning against collisions at 180 km/h without deteriorating the structure of the towing vehicle.
The bodies of the end trailers are self-supporting steel in folded or embedded sheet metal, and welded. At the nearest end of the towing vehicle, the carriage's frame rests on a bogie and at the other end, by means of an interconnecting ring, on an middle carrier bogie shared with the next trailer. Each setup features two elevated areas on the end trailers of the train, one housing a meeting room (carriage 1) and one housing the goods van (carriage 8), located above the carrier bogies next to the towing vehicles.
The bodies of the intermediate trailers are also self-supporting steel and shorter in length than the previous ones, sharing bogies and offering support by means of the interconnecting ring between the carriages.
The towing vehicles and end trailers are coupled by means of a traction hook and stops; the coupling between the other trailer cars is performed by means of the interconnecting ring.
The setup features eight synchronous and self-piloted traction motors, and all electrical power equipment is housed in the towing vehicles. Each has two identical engine blocks for each bogie, an auxiliary block and a common block, plus a transformer.
The voltage of the traction motors of each bogie is regulated at 25 kilowatts, by means of two mixed rectifier bridges with thyristors and diodes, while at 3,000 volts it is regulated by a chopper with GTO thyristors.
The traction force is adjusted by varying the intensity in the stator and the rotor, adjusting the release times of the control electronics. The intensity in the rotor, supplied by a 500-volt continuous current line by means of an excitation chopper, is proportional to the intensity that runs through the stabiliser.
Current is collected from the catenary through the two pantographs (one 25-kilovolt and another 3,000-volt) on each towing vehicle, located on top of the motor bogie closest to the trailers.
The auxiliary electrical equipment is powered by an auxiliary secondary winding of the main transformer and a rectifier bridge (power at 25 kilowatts) or directed by the catenary (power at 3,000 volts), and by means of auxiliary reducing choppers that supply a continuous voltage of 500 volts. All the range's auxiliaries are coupled to two 500-volt lines by means of a diode door, meaning their operation is not affected if one of these two lines is not operational.
The train's electronic systems operate in three different fields. One is directly related passenger services, regulating the public address system or air conditioning. Another aspect is related to safety and controls the door opening equipment or braking surveillance. Finally, the third field corresponds to the actual control of the train, relating to aspects that are of interest to maintenance, such as self-diagnosis, fault detection or operation logs. This train also features LZB and Asfa signalling in the cabins.
The train has thirteen bogies, four of which have engines located on the towing vehicles and nine carriers spread over the rest of the train, designed to ensure high levels of stability in motion. The wheelbase of all bogies is 3,000 millimetres. This wide stable base means the critical speed of the bogie is very high. The traction motors and their gear units are fixed to the corresponding towing vehicle frame, meaning that the motor bogies and carriers have similar characteristics in terms of mass and stability.
The primary suspension of the towing vehicle bogies consists of concentric helical springs, supported in the centre of each grease box and shock absorbers located next to them to cushion vertical movements. The secondary suspension features vertical hydraulic shock absorbers and helical springs, located between the body and the bogie's frame, which cushion vertical movements and limit high-speed movement.
In the trailers, the primary suspension consists of concentric helical springs, located between each grease box and the bogie's frame, and a vertical shock absorber for each grease box. The secondary suspension of the end carrier bogies is pneumatic and features two vertical shock absorbers. The secondary suspension of these middle carrier bogies is also pneumatic. The cushioning of the engine bogies and end carriers consists of transverse hydraulic shock absorbers and all bogies have yaw dampers. The articulated design of the train allows for the introduction of upper and lower body-body shock absorbers, and an anti-tilt shock absorber.
The braking system for 100-series trains includes rheostatic, automatic, immobilisation and parking brakes. Of these, the electric brake take precedence on the train and can be used alone or in conjunction with the pneumatic brake. The automatic brake control is electro-pneumatic and is operated from the driver's cab. It also features an emergency brake handle that directly empties the general pipe.
The pneumatic equipment of each of the motor bogies features are four brake blocks, with a parking brake. These blocks are equipped with synthesised shoes that act on the wheels' rims. The brake of each motor bogie is controlled by the microprocessor of the corresponding engine block. A relay supplies two levels of pressure to the brake circuits, depending on whether the travel speed is greater than or less than 200 km/h, while allowing emergency braking when the motor block's rheostatic brake is cancelled or the entire engine block is isolated. The parking brake makes it possible to immobilise the range on ramps of 30-millimetre/metre when empty and in winds of up to 100 km/h.