ITALY: National railway FS Group’s passenger business Trenitalia has signed a €260m contract for Hitachi Rail to supply a further nine Frecciarossa high speed trainsets.
The order announced by the manufacturer on March 24 builds on an initial 2023 contract for 36 new-generation ETR1000 trainsets which was followed by the exercising of an option for a further 10.
From 2029, when two additional deliveries are expected, there will be 57 new trains in service, with plans to increase the total number to 74 by 2031.
Hitachi Rail said the latest-generation Frecciarossa trainsets to be manufactured at its plants in Napoli and Pistoia are designed to operate on seven other European rail networks (France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands), and are ‘a trademark of Italian technological and stylistic excellence in high speed rail’. They have a design speed of 360 km/h, with an operating speed of 300 km/h.
The new trains will retain the current exterior design and livery, but will have interior changes by Giugiaro Design and Hitachi Rail’s HMAX for Rail digital asset management system for real time data processing to optimise operations, maintenance and energy consumption.
‘With this investment, Trenitalia takes a further step to strengthen its high speed fleet, consolidating Frecciarossa’s position as a benchmark for rail transport in Europe’, said Trenitalia CEO Gianpiero Strisciuglio. ‘Our trains are becoming more efficient and more sustainable, to meet our passengers’ expectations. And we will continue to invest in this direction, both in Italy and on international markets, to build an increasingly modern, integrated and future-oriented transport system.’
