Renfe Class 490

The Renfe Class 490, also known as the ETR 490, is an electric multiple unit constructed by Alstom and Fiat Ferroviaria and operated by the Spanish rail company Renfe on its Alaris long-distance services. Since the introduction of the Alaris service only ETR 490 units have been used for it, so the trainsets are often known as Alaris themselves, and they were the first actively tilting units to go into regular service in Spain. Unlike most members of the Pendolino rail family, the trainset is composed of only three cars: two motor vehicles with driving cabs and a trailer car in the centre, an arrangement shared with the SŽ series 310 in Slovenia, which is fundamentally the same train built to standard gauge. The motor cars carry a pair of motor bogies with one asynchronous motor per bogie, and the central car is divided between passenger seating and a bar and restaurant, with a section for people with mobility impairments. The dimensions are reduced compared to its Italian model, the cars are built from lighter materials, and the power consumption is almost one third lower than the Italian ETR 460. The tilting mechanism, controlled by gyroscopes and speedometers, is limited to eight degrees.