OREANDA-NEWS. Flavio Cattaneo, CEO of NTV and Pierre-Louis Bertina, Managing Director of Alstom in Italy today presented the design and technology of the Pendolino that Alstom is building for the Italian private operator.

A real Christmas present: the Pendolino is fire red and features a futuristic front end, designed to provide crash protection. The design of the train was created by Alstom’s Design & Styling Centre, which also designed the AGV.italo exterior. The interior will be selected and presented to the public in the coming months. 

The Pendolino is conceived to be environmentally friendly, thanks to its high recyclability and reduced CO2 emissions. Moreover, its optimized distributed traction system enhances efficiency and acceleration and regenerates energy while braking.  This new train is an evolution of the former Pendolino high speed train. It can reach a maximum speed of 250 km/h. The 187-metre-long train will be composed of 7 cars accommodating around 480 passengers. The major innovation of the train compared to previous generations of Pendolino is its full compatibility with the very latest 2014 TSI regulations established by the European Union. This EU standard contributes to guaranteeing high levels of safety and efficiency. The Pendolino is part of Alstom’s Avelia family which also includes AGV.Italo train previously purchased by NTV.

The Pendolino will complement the existing fleet of 25 AGV, bringing to a total of 33 trains the Italo fleet. NTV will thus expand its network, responding to a growing demand. The objective is to develop the offer of high-speed main lines on the busy north-east and north-west corridor of Italy. This will represent a new opportunity for millions of travellers who constantly travel along these lines.  The increase of the fleet will be part of a development process undertaken by NTV, which in 2015 carried more than 9 million passengers, an increase of 40% compared to the previous year.

Flavio Cattaneo, CEO of NTV said “the seriousness, reliability and the ability of Alstom to offer the maximum in the shortest possible time are the basis of our choice. We started our journey together with Alstom, and together we will continue to grow in a difficult market which has great potential. The demand for mobility is very high in Italy and Italo promises, with its high quality services and with its new high-tech trains, to succeed in satisfying the passengers. This train, you have seen, it will be great".

"We are delighted that the Pendolino, a versatile and high performance train, has also conquered NTV. With more than 500 trainsets sold worldwide and over 1000 million km achieved in commercial service, the Pendolino is one of Alstom’s flagship products, made in Italy in our high-speed competence centre of Savigliano. NTV’s choice contributes to supporting the local industry, which we very much welcome”, said Andreas Knitter, Senior Vice President of Alstom Europe.

The 8 trains, purchased by NTV on 28 October, are already in planning to soon enter in production at Alstom's sites in Savigliano (CN) for the design and manufacturing of the trains, Sesto San Giovanni (MI) for the traction systems and Bologna for the signalling systems, while the maintenance will be conducted at Alstom’s site in Nola (NA). The trains are scheduled to be delivered in late 2017, ready to enter service in early 2018. 

About NTV
NTV is the first private operator on the Italian high-speed rail network. The Company  started his business on April 28 2012. The current fleet of Italo trains is made of 25 AGV trains of the latest generation, able to travel up to 360 km/h speed.  Today Italo links  15 stations of 11 Italian cities : Salerno , Naples , Rome Termini , Tiburtina Rome, Florence, Bologna, Reggio Emilia, Milan Rogoredo, Milan Centrale, Turin Porta Nuova , Porta Susa, Verona, Padua , Venice Mestre, Venice SantaLucia (and until the end of Expo 2015  it stops in Milan Expo).

About Alstom
As a promoter of sustainable mobility, Alstom develops and markets systems, equipment and services for the railway sector. Alstom manages the widest range of solutions in the market – from high-speed trains to metros and tramways – and associated maintenance, modernisation, infrastructure and signalling solutions. Alstom is a world leader in integrated railway systems. It recorded sales of €6.2 billion and booked €10 billion of orders in the 2014/15 fiscal year. Headquartered in France, Alstom is present in over 60 countries and employs 32,000 people today.