Rome, 16 November 2018
In Italy, for the first time in Europe, a customer care service dedicated exclusively to commuters, trains, and stations is born. FS Italiane's goal is to improve the quality of the trip and the lives of millions of people who use the services of Trenitalia every day and demand, along with punctuality, cleanliness and comfort, even greater attention, information, and security.
520 railway workers, mainly young and newly recruited, will be involved in this innovative project started today in the main stations, which will cover a total of 100,000 regional trains per year and will extend throughout Italy with a careful focus on the national territory.
The commitment, assumed by the new top management of FS Italiane since its appointment, is consistent with an overall strategy that aims to bring people and their needs at the centre of attention of all the Group companies and provides the regional train world amenities that until now were the exclusive prerogative of the Frecce (High Speed).
Thus there are now six assistance services available to Trenitalia regional transport passengers, among those carried out by staff at the station and on board the train and those available on their smartphones and tablets.
The launch of the new service took place simultaneously in eight stations, in the presence of local and regional institutions: Turin Porta Nuova, Genoa Brignole, Central Milan, Venice Santa Lucia, Central Bologna, Florence Santa Maria Novella, Rome Termini, and Central Palermo.
Present at Rome Termini were Danilo Toninelli Minister of Infrastructures and Transport and Gianfranco Battisti Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group, who commented on the initiative.
"We anticipated it - said Danilo Toninelli - the attention of FS Italiane is shifting toward regional trains and commuters in terms of safety and quality of their travels. There is still much to do, but I really appreciate the commitment of the new top management who immediately put this segment at the centre of the Group's new mission. Today we have more good news with the new assistance and security service in stations and on regional trains. A service activated in the most inhabited areas of the country with particular attention to the South. Beginning in May 2019 the new Rock and Pop trains for commuters will arrive. These are concrete actions taken by the Government ".
"As soon as I arrived I asked to be closer to the people who travel with us on the regional trains and be more attentive to their needs, especially at peak times and on the busiest trains. Today we are launching, with over 500 young and more experienced railway workers, something deeply innovative that has never been achieved before. A true change of pace that affects 86% of all our travellers - said Gianfranco Battisti - and anticipates the challenges of the Industrial Plan, which we are working on and that we will present shortly. We intend to bring people back to the centre of the strategies of the whole Group. "
There will be 320 railway workers, easily identifiable by a red vest and all with adequate professional and linguistic preparation, dedicated to informing and assisting travellers. They will be dedicated to listening and solving the needs of those people; on weekdays there are about a million and a half commuters in Italy, who travel with the regional trains of Trenitalia for work, school, and tourism.
To them we've added, at the station and on board the train, another 200 corporate security colleagues, professionally trained to face and prevent problematic situations in terms of security. These are employees who work in close contact with the police to whom the prevention and repression of crimes is entrusted exclusively.
The assistance activity is supported by 38 desks and information booths located in the main stations where Trenitalia staff is in continuous contact with regional operational rooms that are entrusted with an effective and centralized management of any criticality. Trenitalia continues the work to make the other existing caring activities increasingly efficient and performing, such as personalized information via the App, mobile chat, the toll-free number 800 89 20 21 in case of criticality (strikes, interruptions, abnormalities) and the use of ticketing personnel in emergencies.