(Finance) – A strategic reorganization into four Poles: Infrastructure, Passengers, Logistics, Urban. And enabling factors such as innovation, digitization, connectivity and enhancement of people. These are the supporting elements at the base of the path traced by FS for the next ten years. Presented byCEO of Ferrovie dello Stato, Luigi Ferraris, during the‘today’s hearing at the Public Works Commission of the Senate, the new ten-year plan of the Group it is aimed at facing both a new demand for mobility in the process of consolidation, which has accelerated especially in terms of tourism, and climate change with impacts on infrastructures.
In illustrating the vision underlying the new ten-year plan, which has a value on GDP in the order of 2%, Ferraris – as reported FS News, the FS Group information portal – started from the consolidated numbers. “The Group has 82 thousand people, manages 16,800 km of railway lines and 32 thousand km of roads crossed by 7 million vehicles every day. In the AV we have a market share of 67%, 100% in Intercity lines and 60% in regional ones – underlined the CEO – Overall, in the pre-pandemic period, that is 2019, we recorded one billion visitors on our trains and buses, of which 50 million on the HS, 600 million on regional trains, 17 million on intercity trains and 320 million on buses “. Data that, as regards the business sector, linked to travel for work activities, currently see lower demand, but – underlines FS News – “hope for a progressive return to normality in 2024-2025”.
“We face great challenges that are updated with impressive speed, also following the catastrophic events before our eyes. Within a ten-year vision, – he continued Ferraris – we have tried to identify the challenges that characterize our sector understood as multimodal transport as a whole, and as infrastructure operators “.
Furthermore, investments of over 190 billion euros, which also includes a decisive work to optimize energy efficiency. In fact, a renewable energy self-production plan is planned with the aim of obtaining 2 GW of new capacity from green sources to meet 40% of the Group’s energy needs.
Also in the name of sustainability and innovation renewal of the Trenitalia fleet. “From here to 2031 – he underlined Ferraris – we expect another 46 high-speed trains, 34 intercity trains and 4,495 regional trains. As regards road transport, 4,660 new buses of which 2,461 are electric and 763 are hybrid. The total investment is 15 billion euros “.
On the front of the logistics, investments of approximately 2.5 billion euros are planned, increasing the fleet with 380 locomotives and 3,500 wagons, as well as investments in multimodal terminals. In this way – said theto – “everything is going in the right direction to ensure that Italy becomes more and more a logistics hub”.
On the chapter internationalization, the Group – he said Ferraris – it does not have “the ambition to make investments outside Europe, if not with a view to transferring skills and its know-how”. Remaining in the European market, defined more and more domestic, by the end of the year the Group will complete the high-speed monitoring program in Spain with the Frecciarossa 1000.
Finally, particular attention is also paid to hires over the plan period, which provides for about 40 thousand. “We are looking for technical figures and engineers for RFI and Anas and it is a challenge that must be met immediately through partnerships with universities and professional institutes. We are in a historical phase where the great economic recovery plans, such as the PNRR, but also the other planned investments, – he concluded Ferraris – they impose a policy that is very attentive to the development of new skills “.