Press Release INNOTRANS 2018, FS ITALIANE: MINISTER DANILO TONINELLI UNVEILS THE NEW REGIONAL ROCK AND POP TRAINS improved comfort and punctuality for Italian commuters people are at the centre of FS Italiane’s strategy on Italian rails from May 2019 relaunch of regional transport with an investment of around 6 billion euros for 600 new trains Rock and Pop trains entirely manufactured in Italy from Hitachi and Alstom Berlin, 18 September 2018 Improved comfort and punctuality for the people who choose the train for their daily commutes to work, school, for personal reasons or tourism purposes. People are at the centre of FS Italiane’s strategy. The Rock and Pop trains, on Italian rails from May 2019, will make it happen. At the world premiere at InnoTrans 2018, the international rail transport exhibition in Berlin, Danilo Toninelli, the Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, unveiled the two new regional trains.
The event was hosted, in the external area reserved for the Rock and Pop trains, by Gianluigi Castelli, President of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, and Gianfranco Battisti, CEO and COO of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, along with Orazio Iacono, CEO and COO of Trenitalia.
Alistair Dormer, Group CEO of Hitachi Rail, and Maurizio Manfellotto, CEO of Hitachi Rail Italy, along with Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chairman and CEO of Alstom, and Michele Viale, CEO of Alstom Ferroviaria, showed the technical features of the new trains, just released from the Italian factories of Hitachi Rail and Alstom.
Trenitalia's new Rock and Pop trains will revolutionise Italian regional rail transport and will convince the commuters to choose the train instead of the car. This will be possible thanks to the large scale supply of 517 new trains purchased with an investment of 4.2 billion euros, which is unique in Italy both in terms of number of trains and financial value.
This is the relaunch plan of the FS Italiane Group for commuter transport with a financial investment of around 6 billion euros for over 600 new trains. This plan will ensure that, within five years, 80% of the fleet will be entirely renovated. The new trains will improve comfort and punctuality for Italian commuters who expect the excellent standards of high-speed trains for their daily commutes.
Rock is the new high capacity regional train designed and built by Hitachi Rail Italy. A double-decker commuter train with 4,5 or 6 carriages and performances similar to a metro train. It can reach top speeds of 160 km/h with an acceleration of 1.10 m/sec and a capacity of around 1,400 passengers, with over 700 seats.
Pop is the new medium capacity train, single decker with 3 or 4 cars and 4 traction engines. The new train will have a top speed of 160 km/h, and acceleration over 1 pag. 2 m/sec with a capacity of 530 passengers with over 300 seats in the 4-carriage version, and approximately 400, with 200 seats in the 3-carriage one.
The new Rock and Pop regional trains are 95% recyclable and will lead to a 30% reduction in energy consumption. Along with increased reliability (telediagnostics are installed as standard) and high levels of security (onboard cameras and monitors with live filming), a number of different external and internal configurations are available to meet the requirements expressed by Italian Regions.
Rock and Pop, both prepared for Wi-Fi connection, also have a technological system to count passengers, and a low noise, state-of-the-art air-conditioning system that can adjust to the number of passengers on the train.
