ITALY: Trenitalia has unveiled its first long-distance trainset which can operate on electric, diesel or battery power.
Being supplied by Hitachi Rail, the HTR412 trainsets are equipped to operate in four modes: overhead electric power only, diesel only, battery only or hybrid battery plus diesel. It is envisaged that the battery mode could be used to reduce noise and pollution when running through urban areas without electrification.
The four-car unit unveiled in Reggio Calabria on March 22 is the first of seven to be supplied this year. They are intended to replace Fiat D445 diesel locomotives and Z1 coaches on long-distance services between Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia. The €60m order was placed using National Recovery & Resilience Plan funds under a wider €1·23bn framework agreement for the supply of multi-mode trains.
The long-distance variant is an evolution of Hitachi Rail’s Masaccio design for regional services, which is branded as Blues by Trenitalia. The first of these was presented at InnoTrans 2022 and entered service at the end of that year.
The latest version has a revised interior with 200 seats, more luggage space and eight bicycle spaces, as well as a modified livery.
The trains are designed for a maximum speed of 160 km/h and can accelerate at up to 1·10 m/sec2. The hybrid systems enable energy recovery during deceleration and braking, which Hitachi Rail says can reduce carbon emissions by up to 83% compared to current diesel-powered trains.
‘Our hybrid inter-city battery train is a sustainable, innovative train with cutting-edge performance’, commented Luca D’Aquila, COO of the Hitachi Rail Group and CEO of Hitachi Rail Italy. ‘Our train is designed to make journeys even safer, more comfortable and greener, supporting Trenitalia in its goal of equipping the country with a fleet of modern trains for the benefit of passengers and the environment.’
- The unveiling coincided with the launch of new branding for Trenitalia Intercity services. This includes a new logo, a revised livery and service levels branded Plus for first class and Easy for second class. Intercity Notte night train classes are branded Easy, Comfort, Relax and Superior.
