Frecciarossa high-speed trains at the forefront in sustainability and innovation

By OEM Update Editorial March 27, 2024 7:07 pm IST

Trenitalia leads sustainable transport efforts with 8 in 10 Italians favoring trains. With 45 million passengers choosing eco-friendly travel, Director Pietro Diamantini discusses their green initiatives and digital advancements.

Trenitalia, the lead company of the FS Group’s Passenger Division, is taking concrete steps to make transport increasingly sustainable and drive sustainable development in the mobility sector. According to an SWG survey commissioned by Trenitalia, 8 Italians out of 10 think the train is the most sustainable means of transport. The finding is confirmed by the numbers: in 2023, 45 million people chose Frecciarossa trains instead of travelling by air or road. Weekly travel between Milan and Rome by train rather than by air generates an annual 9 tonne reduction in CO2 emissions, while choosing the train rather than the car brings a CO2 saving of 4 tonnes. In the business world, a Bloomberg analysis processed by McKinsey reveals that the 47,000 companies that have already chosen to travel with Trenitalia rather than by car prevented emissions of 100,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2023. In investment terms, besides allocating more than one billion euro for the purchase of 40 new Frecciarossa trains, Trenitalia is developing projects to reduce its own carbon footprint through action to boost energy efficiency. Today, it already has 10 maintenance facilities equipped with photovoltaic technology, but by 2032 the number will have risen to 24. In the interview, Pietro Diamantini, Director of the Trenitalia High Speed business, talks about the projects the Group and its business units are planning for the next few years.

Pietro Diamantini, Director of Trenitalia High Speed Business adds, “As regards sustainability, we have invested in the purchase of 40 new ETR1000 trains, which, in engineering terms, certainly deliver a much higher return than their predecessors. This fact alone means that a journey consumes less for the same level of service, speed and comfort. Indeed, the level may actually be better. On overall sustainability, our attention is focused not only on train travel, but also on all our maintenance facilities, where we have installed solar panels so that services are powered directly by the sun. This way we save on energy for maintenance. Meanwhile, the recyclability of our trains is very high. So, when we have to retire trains, or parts of them, the job of disposal is less onerous. We have a broad vision of our presence in the sustainability project and in guaranteeing what I would call the green positioning of our company. I could give you more examples: all the automobiles in our high-speed maintenance facilities are electric. We no longer use combustion engine cars. So, we have a variety of initiatives that, put together, produce a very significant benefit.”

He also noted that there’s the question of digitalisation, and advances in low-visibility services. Digitalisation of maintenance services, for example. Thanks to preventive maintenance, the number of trains with small defects in their fittings or on-board malfunctions will be fewer. So, the likelihood of problems arising during a journey will continue to decrease. With advanced digitalisation, including use of artificial intelligence, we are also able to guarantee improved on-board communication with passengers.