E Mar 2013
Editoriale_web

An issue dedicated to the High-Speed Rail System

To mark the fourth anniversary of Railway Engineering, we decided to offer our readers something special: an issue dedicated entirely to the Italian High-Speed Rail System. We have interviewed many of those connected with the great “High-speed Italian Metro” project, people committed to turning this major infrastructure project into reality. A system equipped with the highest technological standards currently available on the market and, according to The Financial Times, one of the best high-speed systems in the world.

In this issue you will find an exclusive interview with Mauro Moretti, Managing Director of the Ferrovie dello Stato (Italian State Railways) and the prime mover of this major project. With him, we talked about the birth of the project and developments for the future, such as the Naples-Bari line and the conclusion of the Milan-Brescia line and the Padua-Venice tract that will make it possible to connect Milan (and, consequently, all of the current network) with Venice.

We then turn to illustrating the various specific aspects of the Italian High-Speed Rail System, from planning to infrastructure and the highly-efficient safety system adopted.

Helping us to get a detailed grasp of all these areas are Andrea Nardinocchi, technical manager of Italferr, Michele Mario Elia, Managing Director of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, Carlo Carganico, Managing Director of Italcertifer and Maurizio Gentile, head of production for RFI.

We will discover that in 2012, Italian high-speed rail transported about 40 million passengers and today offers full service that goes beyond simply passenger travel to include a complete range of ancillary services to meet all consumer needs—because they were developed on the basis of continually listening to customer feedback.

To get a full picture of this aspect, we interviewed Marco Caposciutti and Gianfranco Battisti, respectively Technical Director and Manager of Trenitalia’s National and International Passenger Division.

We also take a special in-depth look at the new ETR1000, the first very high-speed train (operating speed of 360 km/h) conforming to TSI standards—i.e., meeting all European interoperability requirements—and therefore able to travel throughout Europe. Designed and built with the goal of optimizing and minimizing energy consumption, and utilizing recycled materials, it is a highly-innovative train that will be unveiled in the very near future.

And finally, we talked to the major manufacturers of rail components that have worked with FS Italiane to create the Italian high-speed rail network: Bombardier, Alstom Ferroviaria and Ansaldo Breda, through the Managing Directors of these three companies – Roberto Tazzioli, Pierre-Louis Bertina and Maurizio Manfellotto.

This issue is our little gift to you, our readers, to collect and enjoy. As always, it has been prepared with all our passion and commitment to provide unique, in-depth coverage.

We hope you like it.

Enjoy your read.