(Ticker) – “The Pnrr offers us the opportunity to modernize our infrastructure and reduce the gap between northern and southern Italy. The FS Group is in line with the deadlines set. However being able to count on greater flexibility would be desirable and useful”. Luigi FerrarisChief Executive Officer of FS groupduring the Italy-Spain dialogue forum held in Rome in the hall of the Protomoteca in Campidoglio.
The event to debate i development issues common to the two countries this year has reached its nineteenth edition. Italy and Spain are, in fact, two countries with many cultural, economic and historical similarities. Just the most recent history sees the two nations at the center of a development program that has fundamental levers to implement, such as digitalisation, the environment and infrastructure.
“Infrastructures that in Italy need improvement – declared Luigi Ferraris – the interventions we are carrying out aim at this. We want to shorten distances, create fast connections as we are doing on the Naples – Bari route, but also working in territories, such as Sicily, where there is a need important investments. The FS Group wants to be protagonist of change, but let us also consider the critical issues faced in these periods. War in Ukraine, energy crisis, increase in raw materials have made it more difficult to follow the deadlines imposed by the Pnrr”.
Infrastructure that runs parallel to the improvement of digitization of the country. “The railway network in Italy is over 17 thousand kilometers – explained the CEO of the FS Group – the goal is to fully equip it with optic fiber. An ambitious but feasible project”. The program, already underway, is called Gigabit Rail and Road: “The advantage will not only be for those who travel and want to work on the train, but fiber will also be installed available to all territories crossed by the train. The optical fiber will also allow the data transport further facilitating infrastructure monitoring”.
Digitization is an enabling factor for the FS Group. “Our competitor – added Luigi Ferraris – must be private transport. Precisely for this reason, starting from June, we will launch a platform where travellers, with a single access, will be able to buy one or more tickets combining the various types of urban and national transport, road and rail“.