Rome 10 April 2013
After Piazza del Duomo in Milan, Lungomare Caracciolo in Naples and Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, the Frecciarossa 1000, futuristic and super-technological High Speed train built by AnsaldoBreda in co-operation with Bombardier, has finally come to Rome and will be on view in Piazza del Popolo.
From 11 to 16 April, Valadier's historic square will form the exceptional backdrop for this mock up, a life-size model of the train boasting record speeds and elegance that has just left AnsaldoBreda's factory in Pistoia and bears the name of the great Italian sprinter Pietro Mennea, who died recently.
The official presentation of the Frecciarossa 1000 to the city of Rome, organised by Trenitalia, will take place tomorrow, Thursday 11 April, at 11 a.m. in Piazza del Popolo, in the presence of the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano. It will be open to the public from tomorrow, from 3 p.m. onwards.
Approximately fifty trains are under production at the AnsaldoBreda and Bombardier factories, and they will be going to form part of the new Ferrovie dello Stato High Speed fleet, with an overall investment of approximately one and a half billion Euro. The Frecciarossa 1000 is a concentrate of extremely high technology: it is capable of travelling at up to 400 kilometres per hour and connecting Rome to Milan in two hours and twenty minutes. It will be the fastest train ever produced in Europe, but also the quietest, with fewer vibrations and a lower environmental impact. The speed goes hand in hand with elegance and comfort, with four levels of service: Executive, with meeting room, Business, Premium and Standard. Soundproofing, LED lighting, air conditioning, access for passengers with limited mobility, on-board monitors, latest generation information technology systems and fittings that guarantee maximum levels of comfort, quality and safety: it is all in this train, which has been defined "the most beautiful train in the world", designed using state-of-the art, innovative solutions, expression of the very best of technology Made in Italy.
The Frecciarossa 1000 will be the first European High Speed train that is fully inter-operational. Thanks to its innovative, sophisticated technical characteristics - it will be a multi-voltage train complying with the European Interoperability Technical Standards (STI) - it will know no boundaries and will be able to travel on all of Europe's High Speed networks (France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Holland and Belgium), overcoming the limits posed by infrastructures, in particular the different power supplies and different signalling systems.
Mauro Moretti and Lamberto Cardia, respectively CEO and Chairman of the Ferrovie dello Stato Group, will be present to do the honours tomorrow in Piazza del Popolo. Along with representatives from the workforce that is building the train, President Napolitano will be greeted by Maurizio Manfellotto, CEO of AnsaldoBreda, Roberto Tazzioli, CEO of Bombardier Italia, Marco Filippa, CEO of the Bertone Group, in charge of the design of the Frecciarossa 1000, and Vincenzo Soprano, CEO of Trenitalia.
Also present alongside the model of the new Frecciarossa 1000 High-Speed train, among others, will be the Minister Corrado Passera, the President of Lazio Regional Authority Nicola Zingaretti, the Mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno, the CEO of Finmeccanica Alessandro Pansa, the Chairman of the Bertone Group Mrs. Lilli Bertone and the CEO of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana Michele Mario Elia.