History[edit]
Midway through the 1990s, RENFE realised that needed to replace its old Talgo III trains which had run on the line for over thirty years. As a replacement, RENFE looked for new railcars that could run at high speeds on electric lines.
After searching throughout the ideas of multiple companies, RENFE chose a conglomeration of GEC, Alstom, and FIAT Ferroviaria as the winners of a bid to develop new trains for the network titled ETR 490, similar to the ETR 470 trains used on the Italian Cisalpino network.
The new units were put into service on a new line between Madrid and Valencia via Albacete with emphasis on high speed, quality, and comfort. Although originally known as InterCity 2000, RENFE did not believe that the name was representative of the service, RENFE decided to rename the service "Alaris." RENFE then rebranded and repainted its trainsets and other publicity to show the new logo.