(Finance) – “Thanks to the high-speed railway demand for mobility in Italy grew by 200% from 2009 to 2019, with a reduction in distances between territories and a 40% drop in prices”. This is what was stated by the CEO of the FS Group, Luigi Ferrarisspeaking at the debate “High-Speed Rail Crossing Borders”, at the European Parliament in Brussels.
The beginning of the adventure inHigh speed in Italy – recalls FS News, the information portal of GruppoonFS Italiane – it began in 2009 with the completion of the Turin-Salerno backbone and in the coming years it will extend, connecting other cities such as Bari and Reggio Calabria to the network.
“THE passengers of the Turin-Salerno line in recent years have quadrupled – explained Ferraris – going from around 15 million a year to around 60 million. Furthermore, on the most important Italian line, between Rome and Milan, the train and the plane now hold market shares of 70% and 30% respectively, reversing their previous positions”.
The FS Group then brought its own know-how in the rest of Europe, considered a domestic market. This is demonstrated by the experience of Trenitalia Francewhich “since December 2021 was the first international operator to launch its high-speed connections in the French market between Paris and Milan via Lyon”, and of ILSA in Spain – partnership between Trenitalia, Air Nostrum and Globalvia – which started services with Frecciarossa with iryo in November 2022 and is expanding on the three main corridors (Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Valencia/Alicante, Madrid-Malaga/Seville)
“In both countries we are recording very positive results – underlined Ferraris – with a train filling rate above 70%, a price reduction ticket averages e high levels of satisfaction of customers”.
The process of internationalization of the FS Group will continue, in parallel with the development of the TEN-T network, with other routes, for example between Paris and Barcelona, between Paris and Brussels-Amsterdam and, finally, towards Berlin. Trenitalia with Deutsche Bahn will then launch two connections from Rome and Milan to Munich by 2026.