High-speed rail in Italy

Italy was the first country in Europe to feature a high-speed rail connection. This was the "Direttissima", which from 1978 connected Rome with Florence (convert|254|km|disp=s|abbr=on). The maximum speed of this line was convert|250|km/h|abbr=on. The journey time between the two cities is just over 90 minutes and the trains average about convert|200|km/h|abbr=on.

Services on the increasing high-speed network are carried out by Trenitalia, using both Eurostar Italia (ETR 4xx, better known as "Pendolino", which was developed by Fiat Ferroviaria, as well as more recent ETR 500 series trains. (Note that Italian Eurostars are not related to the Eurostar trains operating to the United Kingdom.)

Treno Alta Velocità SpA, a full daughter company of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, which manages the Italian railways, is building a new high speed network on the two main axes Milan - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples and Turin - Milan - Verona - Venice - Trieste. Some lines have already opened, others are under construction. International connections with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia are underway, though most of these will use conventional lines.

Rolling stock

Eurostar Italia is a system of quality trains operated by Trenitalia on the routes connecting the main Italian cities and towns. Several types of high-speed trains, belonging to three major families, carry out the service:

* ETR 500 ("ElettroTreno 500" - non tilting, speed up to convert|300|km/h|abbr=on|disp=s) used as the Eurostar Italia.
* ETR 450, ETR 460, ETR 480 (tilting, speed up to convert|250|km/h|abbr=on|disp=s) for other services used as the Eurostar Italia.
* ETR 470 (tilting, speed up to 250 km/h) operated by Cisalpino AG Company for services Italy - Switzerland.

The last category is gradually assisted by the New Pendolino (ETR 600/610). In addition, TGV trains run on the service Paris - Torino - Milano, and in the future possibly between Paris and Rome. By 2011, Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori plans to operate next-generation TGVs, the so-called Automotrices à grande vitesse (AGV).

Network

Existing lines

The following lines of the TAV system are already in use.

*Florence-Rome:"Direttissima", the first TAV line (construction started 1970, first stage opened 1978, finally opened in 1991). Trains on the line use 3 kV electric current.
*Rome-Naples:Construction of this line started 1994, and it opened 19 December 2005. The last convert|20|km of the Naples side of the line (from Gricignano di Aversa) are still under construction, and are scheduled to open in sometime in 2009. Trains on this line utilise 25 kV 50 Hz power.
*Turin-Milan:The construction of the Turin-Novara section of the line lasted from 2002 to 10 February 2006. Construction of the Novara-Milan segment started in 2002; its opening is planned for 2009. Like the Rome-Naples line, trains on the Turin-Milan mainline use 25 kV 50 Hz current.
*Padua - Venice:convert|23|km|abbr=on, it was built by RFI S.p.a. the service started 1 March 2007, the line uses 3 kV current.
*Milan - Treviglio:23 km, it was built by RFI. Service started 2 July 2007; the line has 3 kV current.

Lines under construction

These lines are currently under construction and are expected to open in the near future or next few years.

*Milan-Bologna:Construction of the segment started in 2000. It is currently undergoing extensive testing, and the line is scheduled to open on 16 December 2008.
*Bologna-Florence:Construction of the line started in 1996; the opening of the line will be in October 2009.

Future lines

*Milan - Padua:The beginning of construction on the Verona-Padua line has not been established. The project was approved in 2006. The beginning of construction on the Milan-Verona line has not been established. The project was approved in 2003.
*Milan - Genoa:The project was approved in 2006, but a start date for the construction of the Milan-Genoa line has not been established.
*Lyon-Turin:The Lyon-Turin railroad would connect Lyon, Chambéry, and Turin, and join the French TGV and Italian TAV networks. It would take over the role of the current Fréjus railway. However, controversy over the crossing of the Alps through a series of rural valleys on the Italian side has brought the project to a standstill.
*Milan - Swiss border - Chiasso:A route connecting the Italian TAV network to Switzerland and Germany would do so through Swiss project AlpTransit, which includes the Gotthard Base Tunnel and the Lötschberg Base Tunnel.
*Brenner Base Tunnel:The Brenner Base Tunnel would link Verona, Innsbruck, and Munich, and thus connect the Italian, Austrian, and German railways.
*Trieste - Slovenian border - Ljubljana:A connection with Ljubljana would encourage development of rail into Eastern Europe and link the Slovenian Pendolino and Italian TAV networks.

Travel times

ee also

*Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori
*Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
*Trenitalia

References

External links

* [http://www.rfi.it/default.asp RFI (Infrastructure manager)] Official website (Italian only)* [http://www.ltf-sas.com/ Lyon Turin Ferroviaire]
* [http://eurostar-av.trenitalia.com/ Eurostar Italia Alta Velocità]
* [http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/italy/ Railway Technology.com article] on Italian High Speed Rail, including NTV, Accessed 5 Feb 2008
* [http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/ferrovie/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=160b5e88951ac010VgnVCM1000002f2af90aRCRD Italian HS System]

pecific projects

* [http://www.bbt-ewiv.com/ GEIE-BBT Brenner Basistunnel]
* [http://www.strettodimessina.it/ Stretto di Messina]
* [http://www.alptransit.ch AlpTransit.ch]