| Type | State-owned company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail Transport |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
| Key people | Marco Zanichelli, Presidente (Chairman) Vincenzo Soprano, Amministratore delegato (CEO) |
| Products | Passenger transport, Freight transport |
| Revenue | € 5.63 billion (2008)[1] |
| Operating income | € 918.7 million (2008) |
| Net income | € 221.1 million (2008) |
| Employees | 48,971 (2008) |
| Parent | Ferrovie dello Stato |
| Subsidiaries | Artésia (50%) Cisalpino (50%, dissolved) |
| Website | ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html |
Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. Trenitalia is owned by Ferrovie dello Stato, itself owned by the Italian Government. It was created in 2000 following the EU directive on the deregulation of rail transport.
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Trenitalia offers national rail transport in Italy and international connections to Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland. The company operates both local (Regional) and long-distance trains.
Regional trains are local trains which travel within a region or between neighboring regions. Trains usually stops in almost all stations, thus connecting small centers to big cities. Local train rolling stock comprises about 4500 carriages, 850 locomotives and more than 2600 other light rail cars.[2]
Long-distance national trains are divided into 3 main divisions: the Frecce (arrows) and Eurostar trains, Intercity trains and night trains. The first are generally considered to be high-end service and usually connect major cities. There are three types of Frecce:
Intercity trains are cheaper and serve also medium-sized cities, thus are generally slower. Night trains operate mainly between north and south of Italy and are comparable to intercity level.
high-speed rail service in Italy commenced in 2008 with about 1000 km of new rails that allow trains to reach speeds over 300 km/h (190 mph). There are currently four generations of ElettroTreno in service.
Trenitalia ordered 50 high speed trainsets in 2010,[4] New trains will be ETR1000 series.[5] They will be 200 metres (660 ft) long, non-articulated trains, with distributed traction, and capable of up to 400 km/h (250 mph) operation, although current service plans are limited to 360 km/h (220 mph). Mauro Moretti, chief executive of FS group, said FS was considering long-distance international services to France, Germany, or even Spain and the UK.[6] The trains are due to enter service from 2013.[7]
There are several types of international trains in Italy which are usually marketed by separate units, which also set ticket prices and service standards, but do not operate the trains.
There are two other brands which are not actual divisions, but just names given to these trains/services.
Tickets can be booked online, which ensures passengers a seat and allows them to avoid queues at the station. There is also a discount scheme for advance purchases, ranging from 15% to 60% off the base ticket price. The previous 5% discount for online booking was canceled on December 13, 2009.
As of April 2010, the website only accepts Italian Amex cards.[8] In addition, non-Italian residents have frequently reported difficulties in getting their credit card accepted.[9] For non Italian residents who have a Visa or Mastercard, enrolling in the Verified by Visa scheme and similar for Mastercard before using the site may increase the chances of a successful transaction.
Trenitalia Cargo division transports about 28 billion tons km. Its rolling stock comprises more than 30,000 freight cars. International traffic accounts for the 53% of the total. Trenitalia Cargo operates in Europe in collaboration with other european train operators or with the subsidiary TX Logistik AG, which operates in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands and Hungary.
In early 2012, Trenitalia released a web commercial to promote its change from two classes of passenger carriages (first and second), into four classes. Passengers travelling by the fourth, lowest class are not permitted to use the on-board cafeteria or enter the carriages reserved for better-off passengers. This change alone reportedly caused controversy, but more followed with release of the accompanying web advertisement. The web ad showed white people only seated in the upper three classes; and a black family in the fourth, lowest class, where they are segregated from other passengers onboard the train according to the new system. Italian online media observed this and branded the advertisement as "grotesque", and other complaints of racism discrimination followed in UK newspapers, social media and online. Trenitalia withdraw the web commercial, and quickly substituted it following the allegations of racism.[10][11]
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Trenitalia Trenitalia] at Wikimedia Commons