The most beautiful train in the world. This is how Gruppo FS Italiane introduced the Frecciarossa 1000, the new very high-speed train with a peak design speed of 400 km/h and an operating speed reaching an incredible 360 km/h. It will enter service at the end of 2014 with the aim of cutting the current journey time from Rome to Milan from 2 hours 55 minutes to just 2 hours 20 minutes.
But it would be wrong to think that what’s new about the Frecciarossa 1000 is simply its speed: of course no other high-speed commercial service in Europe can operate at a speed of 360 km/h and this target is achievable without having to carry out any special upgrades on the existing structure which is approved for speeds of up to 300 km/h. As a result of all the innovations that set it apart, the Frecciarossa 1000 marks a true change of pace in the creation of very high-speed trains, beginning with the fact that it will be the first ever train to comply with all Technical Specifications for interoperability (TSI) and have the capability of circulating on all of Europe’s networks.
In August of 2010 Trenitalia, the transport company belonging to the Gruppo FS Italiane, awarded the contract for the construction of 50 very high-speed trains, worth in the region of €1.5 billion, (€30.8 million per train) to the AnsaldoBreda-Bombardier consortium. The tender focused very heavily on the technological aspect (which in terms of awarding the contract was worth no fewer than 70 of the 100 points) and required bidders to construct a train with highly advanced technical features. The Italian-Canadian consortium won the bid by putting forward a train developed from the AnsaldoBreda’s V250 and Bombardier’s Zefiro platforms. All 50 trains will be built inItalyin the AnsaldoBreda plants inPistoiaand those of Bombardier in Vado Ligure.
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