Hitachi Rail has secured a €260 million contract to supply an additional nine new-generation Frecciarossa trains to Italy’s Trenitalia, part of the FS Group.

The order follows an order signed in 2023 for the supply of 36 trains, together with ten additional trains as part of a call-off option. The order is part of a renewal programme for the Frecciarossa fleet to provide an increasingly modern, innovative, and sustainable service. It is planned that 57 new trains will be in service from 2029, and a total of 74 by 2031.

The new-generation Frecciarossa trains will be manufactured by Hitachi Rail at its Italian plants in Naples and Pistoia. Designed to operate at speeds up to 300 kilometres per hour, the trains will be certified for a maximum limit of 360 kilometres per hour and equipped with advanced traction systems for improved efficiency. The external design will be similar to existing Frecciarossa trains, but the interiors will be upgraded to designs by Giugiaro Design, and the on-board instruments will be in a Made-in-Italy style.

An innovation in the new trains is the use of Hitachi Rail’s HMAX for Rail digital suite, which is a digital asset management system that processes data in real time to optimise traffic, maintenance, and energy consumption.

Several years ago, Hitachi Rail, in partnership with Bombardier, signed a contract to supply 23 Frecciarossa trains to Trenitalia for its new Intermodalidad de Levante service, and for another 30 trains for service in Italy, but which can be used elsewhere in Europe, including high-speed lines in France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

“With this investment, Trenitalia takes a further step to strengthen its High-Speed fleet, consolidating Frecciarossa’s position as a benchmark for rail transport in Europe. Our trains are becoming more efficient and more sustainable to meet our passengers’ expectations. And we will continue to invest in this direction, both in Italy and on international markets, to build an increasingly modern, integrated and future-oriented transport system.”

Gianpiero Strisciuglio, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Trenitalia