ITALY: A mock-up of one of the driving cars from the double-deck regional electric multiple-units which Hitachi Rail Italy is to supply to Trenitalia was unveiled at the manufacturer’s Pistoia plant on January 20.
In August 2016 Trenitalia awarded Hitachi a €333m firm order for 39 five-car Caravaggio high-capacity double-deck EMUs, as part of a framework agreement for the supply of up to 300 units worth a total of €2·6bn.
The EMUs will be branded ‘Rock’ by Trenitalia, continuing the theme of its regional passenger fleet which includes the Alstom Jazz and Minuetto and the Pesa Swing. The styling is meant to provide a ‘completely made in Italy look’, according to Hitachi, and signify the ‘generation gap’ from double-deck rolling stock currently operating in Italy
Each five-car unit will be 136 m long and 2 800 mm wide with a total capacity of up to 656 passengers, depending on the interior layout chosen. Four motored bogies will provide an acceleration of more than 1 m/sec2 and a maximum speed of 160 km/h.
Hitachi says the design’s light alloy bodies and wide passenger areas with roof-mounted traction equipment will provide a ‘unique’ performance in terms of weight per passenger and passenger capacity per unit length. Energy consumption per passenger-km is expected to be 30% lower than other recent designs of train in operation in Italy.
