Trenitalia taps Bombardier for 50 ZEFIRO trains
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefBombardier Transportation announced Wednesday it has signed a contract with Trenitalia (Italian Railways) for the delivery of 50 very high speed trainsets V300ZEFIRO, a model of Bombardier’s ZEFIRO high speed trains family. The V300ZEFIRO, known as ETR 1000 in Italy, has been developed in partnership with AnsaldoBreda, a subsidiary of the Finmeccanica group of Italy.
The total contract is valued at $2.10 billion. Bombardier’s share of the contract is valued at $449 million.
The V300ZEFIRO has a capacity for 600 passengers and is capable of commercial speeds of up to 360 km/h (about 225 mph). It is fully interoperable and will provide cross-border service, taking Trenitalia’s passengers to other European countries without the need for changing trains, Bombardier said.
André Navarri, president and COO, Bombardier Transportation,said, “We are very proud to have received the confidence of Trenitalia. It is another demonstration of our leadership in the development of new generation very high speed trains, a flagship segment of the railway industry market.”
Under the technical leadership of Bombardier, the production, testing, and commissioning of the V300ZEFIRO for Italy will take place in Italy at AnsaldoBreda sites and the Bombardier site in Vado Ligure, Italy. Other Bombardier sites will also participate in the development of the new train, such as the Bombardier high speed trains engineering hub site located in Hennigsdorf, Germany.
Bombardier says it now is delivering 210 train cars of the ZEFIRO family, noting earlier orders from China. The first-generation ZEFIRO250 is already operating in China.
Stephane Rambaud Measson, president, Passengers Division, Bombardier Transportation, said, “Our success in this market segmentdemonstrates that customers have welcomed the innovation we have brought into making the ZEFIRO high speed family about more than just speed.”
