Hitachi Rail’s “tri-brid” Blues train debuts in Florence

Credit: Hitachi Rail

Hitachi Rail’s new tri-brid train called Blues has debuted in the Piazza della Repubblica in Florence. The train, built for Trenitalia, can travel with diesel engines, on electrified lines and with batteries, and will allow a 50 per cent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2e compared to current diesel trains.

Blues is made with materials that guarantee high levels of recyclability (93 per cent) and recoverability (96 per cent). The design was inspired by the desire to offer passengers a comfortable travel experience. The first Blues trains will be delivered to the Tuscany Region by the end of 2022. The new trains, an expression of the engineering skills of Trenitalia and Hitachi, are produced in the Italian plants of Pistoia, Naples and Reggio Calabria. They can reach a top speed of 160km/h with an acceleration of 1.10 m/sec2 and accommodate up to 300 people seated in the four-car composition.

The innovative design both inside and outside the train makes the Blues one of the most avant-garde trains in the world of rail transport. In 2022 the new train will arrive on the non-electrified lines of the Sienese basin, the Faenza basin and the Val di Sieve, providing for a complete change in the way of traveling on these lines in 2023.

The Blues is equipped with modern technologies at the service of people, there is a CCTV surveillance camera system, a passenger information system based on 24″ monitors of great visibility and integrated systems for counting travellers with dedicated cameras on all access doors.

The positioning of the traction components on the roof of the train (technically called imperial) instead constitutes an advantage in favour of the larger interior spaces that are fully usable by all passengers. Wheelchair stations are in the immediate vicinity of the access doors, to minimise the journey within the convoy. Accessibility is optimised according to the most recent Technical Specifications for Interoperability defined in the Community for Persons with Reduced Mobility (PMR TSI), leading to easy accessibility to the train for the benefit of all travellers. The driver’s cab has also been developed in accordance with the latest regulations and features a bench with an innovative design.

The new generation hybrid technology of which the Blues is equipped, translates into cutting-edge performance that, by turning off the engines in the phases of approach, stop and restart from the stations, can guarantee a 50 per cent reduction in fuel consumption, as well as a strong reduction in terms of carbon dioxide emissions compared to current diesel trains, also ensuring maximum silence in the parking phases.

The sustainable footprint of the Blues also lies in the choice of materials that guarantee high levels of recyclability (95 per cent) together with the use of raw materials from recycling. In addition, the internal and external LED lighting system, the intelligent management of the consumption of the air conditioning system and the Green Drive (driver support information system) and Smart Parking functions minimise energy consumption.