Italy's newly launched state-run high-speed rail service between Milan and Rome will face private competition from 2011. Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori late last month announced it will launch a three-times daily service between Italy's commercial and political capitals to compete with the nationalized Ferrovie dello Stato Frecciarossa "Red Arrow" service, which started operations in December 2008.
NTV intends to operate numerous other routes down the spine of Italy from Turin in the north to Salerno in the south, using a fleet of 25 trains built by French manufacturer Alstom. The new-generation AGV trains are capable of speeds of up to 360 km per hour, and NTV said it would complete journeys from Milan to Rome in three hours. The Frecciarossa currently take 3.5 hours, which is already one hour faster than previous services on the 500-km route. This is expected to be reduced when a new stretch of high-speed rail opens between Florence and Bologna, scheduled for the end of 2010. The Frecciarossa also has an advantage in operating a much more frequent 18 times daily.
Source: BTN Online
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