Talgo has been the big railway company protected by all Spain’s governments. So it’s no suprise that Talgo’s Avril – with its own traction power –  has just beaten Alstom and Siemens and won the contract to build 15-high speed AVE trains for state-owned Renfe. The German company hardly even flinched, but the French had their doubts about how the calculations were made and have asked for clarification.