Private rail service in Italy to commence in 2011

A group of entrepreneurs in Italy have just announced their plans to inaugurate the country’s first private rail service, set to commence operations in 2011, and to provide some much-needed competition in a transport sector dominated by a country-run monopoly.

The new rail company, called NTV will link the major Italian cities of Bologna, Florence, Milan, Rome, Turin and Venice – as well as the southern cities of Bari and Salerno, officials have reported. The service will operate 54 journeys a day, and cost $1.4 billion to get underway.

Investors include the president of Ferrari, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, who will also serve as the president of NTV.

The new service, which will operate on Italy’s present rail network, will feature 25 11-car AGV trains manufactured by the French company, Alstom SA. The trains will be delivered to NTV in three years.

Alstom has said that NTV will be the world’s first operator to use the AGV high-speed train. All trains will feature specially-designed seats, on-demand TV and Internet connections. Cruising speed for the trains will be approximately 190mph, the company noted.

Officials, speaking at a news conference, indicated that they are targeting 10 million rail passengers a year, or approximately 20 per cent of market share.

The operator is hoping to lure business travellers as well as tourists from the state-run service, which often experiences labour actions and delays that are caused by traffic congestion.

The state rail operator, Trenitalia, did not have an immediate reaction to the announcement of the private service, which is the first of its kind in the country.

www.trenitalia.it