Italy has a well developed transport infrastructure. The Italian rail network is extensive, especially in the north, and it includes a high-speed rail network that joins the major cities of Italy from Naples through northern cities such as Milan and Turin. The Florence–Rome high-speed railway was the first high-speed line opened in Europe when more than half of it opened in 1977. Italy has 2,507 people and 12.46 km2 per kilometer of rail track, giving Italy the world's 13th largest rail network. The Italian rail network is operated by state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato, while the rail tracks and infrastructure are managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
Milano Centrale is the main railway station of the city of Milan, Italy, and is the second busiest railway station in Italy for passenger flow and the largest railway station in Europe by volume.
Trenitalia SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself partly owned by the Italian government, the company is owned publicly and partly private from a private investors group. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transport.
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) is the Italian railway infrastructure manager, subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), a state-owned holding company. RFI is the owner of Italy's railway network, it provides signalling, maintenance and other services for the railway network. It also operates train ferries between the Italian Peninsula and Sicily.
Bologna Centrale is the main railway station in Bologna, Italy. The station is situated at the northern edge of the city centre. It is located at the southern end of the Milan-Bologna high-speed line, which opened on 13 December 2008, and the northern end of three lines between Bologna and Florence: the original Bologna-Florence line through Porretta Terme and Pistoia; the Bologna–Florence Direttissima via Prato, which opened on 22 April 1934 and the Bologna-Florence high-speed line, which opened to traffic on 13 December 2009.
The Italian railway system is one of the most important parts of the infrastructure of Italy, with a total length of 24,567 km (15,265 mi) of which active lines are 16,832 km (10,459 mi). The network has recently grown with the construction of the new high-speed rail network. Italy is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Italy is 83.
High-speed rail in Italy consists of two lines connecting most of the country's major cities. The first line connects Turin to Salerno via Milan, Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples, the second runs from Turin to Venice via Milan and Verona, and is under construction in parts. Trains are operated with a top speed of 300 km/h (190 mph).
Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori S.p.A. is an Italian open-access train operating company operating in the field of high-speed rail transport under the brand name Italo, stylized as .italo.
In rail transport, an open-access operator is an operator that takes full commercial risk, running on infrastructure owned by a third party and buying paths on a chosen route and, in countries where rail services run under franchises, are not subject to franchising.
Parma is a railway station serving the city of Parma, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. The station opened in 1859 and is located on the Milan–Bologna railway, Pontremolese railway, Brescia–Parma railway and Parma–Suzzara railway. The train services are operated by Trenitalia, Trenord and Ferrovie Emilia Romagna.
Frecciarossa is a high-speed train of the Italian national train operator, Trenitalia, as well as a member of the train category Le Frecce. The name was introduced in 2008 after it had previously been known as Eurostar Italia. Frecciarossa trains operate at speeds of up to 300 km/h (190 mph). Frecciarossa is the premier service of Trenitalia and competes with italo, operated by Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori. Trenitalia also operates the sister brands Frecciargento and Frecciabianca for slower services.
Novara railway station is the main station serving the city and comune of Novara, in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Opened in 1854, it forms part of the Turin–Milan and is the origin point of the lines to Arona, to Alessandria, to Biella, Varallo, Domodossola and Luino.
Barletta railway station is the main station serving the city and comune of Barletta, in the region of Apulia, southern Italy. Opened in 1864, it forms part of the Adriatic Railway (Ancona–Lecce), and is also a junction station for two other, regional, lines, the Barletta–Spinazzola railway, and the Bari–Barletta railway, operated by Ferrotramviaria.
Brescia railway station is the main station of Brescia, in the region of Lombardy, northern Italy. The station, opened in 1854, lies on the Milan-Venice railway and is a terminus of three branch lines: Valcamonica Railway to Edolo, Bergamo–Brescia railway and Brescia–Piadena/Cremona railway which branches off towards southeast of the station.
Modena railway station is a railway station serving the city of Modena, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. The station opened in 1859 and is located on the Milan–Bologna railway, Verona–Modena railway and Modena–Sassuolo railway. The train services are operated by Trenitalia and Ferrovie Emilia Romagna.
Trenitalia France is an open-access train operator running international services between France and Italy. It was originally established under the Thello brand in October 2011.
Essex Thameside is a railway contract, and former franchise, for the provision of passenger services on the London, Tilbury and Southend line in east London and south Essex. It was formed on 26 May 1996, following the privatisation of British Rail and the franchise was originally called London, Tilbury and Southend. The only train operating company on the line to date has been c2c. Following a number of temporary extensions caused by problems with the rail franchising system, c2c was awarded a new 15-year franchise which commenced on 9 November 2014.
The Frecciarossa 1000 is a high-speed train operated by Italian state railway operator Trenitalia and the private Spanish high-speed rail operator Iryo. It was co-developed as a joint venture between Italian rail manufacturer Hitachi Rail Italy and multinational conglomerate Alstom. Both design and production work were divided between the two partner companies.
Iryo is the brand of Intermodalidad de Levante S.A. (ILSA), a private high-speed rail operator in Spain. The company is jointly owned by the Italian state-owned railway company Trenitalia (45%), the Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum (31%), and the Spanish infrastructure investment fund Globalvia (24%).
