Order signed for more ‘Caravaggio’ trains for FERROVIENORD

High capacity, double deck Caravaggio trains being built by Hitachi Rail. Credit: Hitachi Rail

FERROVIENORD and Hitachi Rail STS SpA have signed the third supply contract for 50 high capacity ‘Caravaggio’ regional trains for the amount of €451,850,000, within the 2018 Framework Agreement.

Forty trains are in long configuration (five cars) and 10 in short configuration (four cars). With previous contracts, 55 high capacity trains have been ordered: 30 in short configuration (21 already delivered and in revenue service) and 20 in long configuration (start of deliveries December 2021) in addition to five ‘Rock’ trains (these are in revenue service).

Lombardy Regional Plan

The signing of this third supply contract is part of the Lombardy Region Plan for fleet renewal that sees a total of 222 new trains for an overall investment of €1.958 billion: €1.607 billion of the plan were approved in 2017 and updated in 2019 (176 trains, out of which 105 high capacity) and integrated with the deliberation dated 17 March 2021 for further €351 million, for the purchase of further 46 trains; 26 high capacity Caravaggio trains (ten in long configuration for Malpensa airport shuttle service and 16 in short configuration for Bergamo airport shuttle service), as well as 20 ‘Donizetti’ medium capacity trains (supply contract signed in March 2021).

Deliveries

Delivery of the trains for this third supply contract are scheduled from October 2022 to October 2024. They will be built in Hitachi Rail’s factories in Reggio Calabria and Naples.

President of Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, and the city council member for Infrastructure, Transport & Sustainable Mobility, Claudia Maria Terzi, said: “The regional investments  are gradually taking place: 36 new trains purchased by Lombardy Region are already in operation on the Lombardy rail network. When the overall delivery plan is completed, the trains in service will be – on average – 12-year old, the lowest level ever reached in Lombardy. This investment allows to replace the oldest vehicles of the fleet inherited from the State. No other Region has invested so much like we did from this perspective. The aim is to make rail transport more efficient. Offering brand new, state-of-the-art trains means improving passengers travel experience and all the efforts made by the region are going in this direction.”

“The thorough Trenord fleet renewal plan, launched in 2017 thanks to the financing and guidelines of Lombardy Region, is proceeding,” added FNM President, Andrea Gibelli. “The new trains are progressively entering into revenue service with tangible benefits in terms of service quality and comfort, and a sensible contribution to sustainability. The new trains assure a significant reduction of energy consumption and are manufactured with almost entirely recyclable materials”.

“We are steadily working to guarantee the correct and efficient delivery of the supplies,” commented the President of FERROVIENORD, Paolo Nozza. “We are proud to contribute to the concrete realisation of this great plan promoted by the region for the improvement of Lombardy rail transport”.

Head of Sales & Projects Italy Rolling Stock of Hitachi Rail, Andrea Pepi, said: “The introduction of our modern train fleets in Lombardy is a reason of great pride for our business, and we’re delighted with this new order. With our trains we aim to increase sustainable mobility by providing attractive products that encourage people to switch from private car to public transport in line with our decarbonisation strategy”.

Main features

The trains are double deck, bi-directional, distributed power, 3 kV electric multiple units. The short train can seat 466 passengers with 449 standing, and the long train can seat 598 passengers with 575 standing. Both trains have a max speed of 160km/h.

Technology and safety

The trains are equipped with LED lighting, Wi-Fi, 220V and USB sockets, passenger information systems, energy measuring systems, people-counters, side and front cameras, remote controlled diagnostics, intelligent video surveillance with technology ‘Anomalous Behavior Detection’. The trains will also be equipped with the ERTMS/ETCS safety system that, further than assuring the highest safety standards, will allow increase of traffic capacity on the railway lines.

Accessibility and environmental benefits

Accessibility for people with reduced mobility is facilitated by mobile platforms to compensate the gap between the doors and platforms. The significant environmental benefits include the 30 per cent reduction of electric energy consumption, the reduction of noise levels, brake energy regeneration, the use of innovative materials allowing a weight reduction of the vehicle and high level of reusability (96 per cent) and biodegradation (95 per cent). Bicycle racks and sockets for e-bike recharging are also provided.