Render of Frecciarossa 1000 at Madrid station

Hitachi Rail SpA and Bombardier Transportation have signed a contract with Italy’s primary train operator Trenitalia to supply 23 Frecciarossa 1000 very high-speed (VHS) trains for the new Intermodalidad de Levante (ILSA) rail operation, which is a joint venture established by Trenitalia and Operador Ferroviario de Levante SL in Spain.

The contract value is around 800 million euros in a partnership involving company participation of approximately 60% (Hitachi Rail) and 40% (Bombardier Transport).

Andrew Barr, Hitachi Rail Group CEO, said: “The ETR1000 train, widely known as the Frecciarossa 1000, has transformed passenger transport on high-speed lines in Italy, setting the standard and becoming the fastest and most admired train in Europe.

“It is a platform that we are very proud of and is proof of our continuous and positive collaboration with Trenitalia to the benefit of passengers and society in terms of comfort, sustainability, style, performance and low noise.

“We look forward to bringing the same advantages to Spain, and to contribute to the development programme of high-speed railway services in this country with these new services.”

Franco Beretta, Bombardier Transportation Italy president and managing director, said: “The liberalisation of Europe’s railways enables ILSA to offer new rail services in Spain to encourage even more passengers to shift their journeys from cars and planes to trains, contributing towards global sustainability goals.”

“Working together with Bombardier as trusted partners of Trenitalia for this new international project, renews and recognises our valued experience in the high-speed rail sector.

The Frecciarossa 1000 is the fastest and quietest very high-speed train in Europe and the 23 new trains for ILSA will be designed and built by Hitachi Rail and Bombardier in Italy.

Each train will be approximately 200m long with capacity for around 460 passengers and capable of commercial speeds of up to 360kph. ‘State of the art’ aerodynamics and energy saving technologies give the train unmatched operating efficiency and once onboard, passengers will be able to enjoy WiFi, a bistro area and high levels of comfort in all classes.

ILSA has been selected by ADIF (the company who runs Spain’s rail infrastructure) as the first private operator to be granted access to the Spanish rail market.

From 2022, ILSA will run high-speed services on the Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Valencia/Alicante and Madrid-Seville/Malaga lines.