High-speed trains: French SNCF land in Italy

Sncf Voyageurs does not exclude the possibility of serving other destinations, including southern Italy, as soon as the infrastructure permits. For this deployment, Sncf has chosen to put into service Tgv M trains, technically adapted to the Italian infrastructure. These trainsets come from an additional order placed in 2022 with respect to the initial order of 100 Tgv M trainsets, which will run in France.

Competition on fast trains is also coming to France. In fact, a private and independent railway company will start up: it is called Proxima and will compete, on national routes, with the state railways. In short, it will be the French version of Italo, the first train that brought the free market to Italy. The new railway company will be financed to the tune of EUR 1 billion by the French investment fund Antin. For the first time, a competitor will challenge the giant Sncf, which is the public monopolist on domestic connections.

Proxima, which aims to connect cities on the west coast of France, such as Rennes and Bordeaux, with Paris, has signed an initial contract for 12 double-decker trains from French manufacturer Alstom that are scheduled for delivery in 2027.

Changing work habits after the pandemic are fuelling the need for high-speed commuter connections, said Rachel Picard, a former Sncf executive and one of the founders of Proxima. "New lifestyles are emerging. You can live in Nantes and work in Paris,' commented Picard.

On the day on which the French Sncf announced its intention to establish itself with its flagship train, the Tgv M, on the Italian high-speed market as of 2026, the FS (Ferrovie dello Stato) group presented a record quarterly report: operating revenues in excess of 4 billion euros (+25% compared to the same period in 2023), investments in excess of 3 billion euros (+49%) and around 3,000 new recruits. This was announced in a group note. Luigi Ferraris, CEO of the FS Group, summed up the situation: "The increase in revenues was driven by operating performance and the recovery in passenger volumes in all business segments, with double-digit growth in high-speed trains. Also contributing to the results was the urban regeneration programme, which in the first three months of 2024 finalised the sale of the disused railway yards of Milano Farini and San Cristoforo".

On the investment front, the first quarter of the year confirmed SBB's central role in supporting the national industrial system. The group developed and managed a total level of technical investments amounting to €3.2 billion (98% in Italy), up 49% compared to Q1 2023, of which €2.8 billion related to rail and road infrastructure, including the Turin-Milan-Naples high-speed line; the Naples-Bari line; the Verona-Padua Verona-Vicenza high-speed line; the Milan-Verona Brescia-Verona line and the Third Giovi pass (Genoa-Milan).

Operating revenues (€4.085 billion) increased by €820 million, mainly due to growth in transport services (+€177 million), infrastructure services (+€160 million), and other service revenues (+€515 million). Ebitda (EUR 392 million) increased by EUR 63 million (+19%), mainly due to revenue growth in all business components. Lastly, the number of Fs Group employees increased to 93,900 at 31 March 2024 from 92,446 in December 2023, with turnover determined by approximately 3,000 new hires, mainly due to generational turnover.

Still on the investment front, with regard to the Frecciarossa 1000, a new agreement was announced last November with Hitachi Rail, which produces the high-speed train. The more than one billion euro agreement provides for the supply of 40 new trainsets. The first deliveries are scheduled to start in April 2026, at a rate of eight to ten vehicles per year. The trains will be produced in Hitachi's Italian factories (Pistoia, Naples, Reggio Calabria), which will also have a positive impact on employment levels. There is also news for Intercity trains: new hybrid trains with triple electric, diesel and battery power, purchased with Pnrr funds to the value of 60 million euro, are running in Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia. In total, in the last three years FS has invested more than 5 billion euro in the renewal of trains.