Italy's New Public High-Speed Rail To Face Private Competition

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.

French national railway company SNCF has a 20 percent stake in NTV.

Meanwhile, cross-Channel high-speed rail operator Eurostar has announced an 11.5 percent fall in passenger numbers for 2009, down to 1.92 million from 2.17 million in the first quarter of 2008. It is the first time the company has experienced a reversal in growth since 9/11.

Eurostar attributed the decline in part to a 20 percent drop in sales in its Business Premier class, owing to fewer travelers and trading down to standard class. The other reason for the fall in figures was restricted capacity following a fire in the Channel Tunnel in September 2008. Full service did not resume until February 22.