Ankara, 8th May 2018
High speed rail is transforming the very concept of travel in many countries worldwide.
This fast, innovative and high tech mode of transport is boosting tourism, business, and economic development. It is also changing people’s lifestyle, making commuting possible to previously unthinkable distances.
The evolution of the high speed railway systems globally is the focus of the 10th UIC World Congress on High Speed Rail in Ankara (8 to 11 May).
Renato Mazzoncini, President of UIC and Chief Executive Officer of FS Italiane, Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, Director General UIC and Isa Apadyn, Director General of TCDD (Turkish Railways) made opening remarks at the presence of Turkish authorities and experts on high speed railway systems from all over the world.
«The global high speed rail network is amongst the greatest accomplishments of modern engineering, proving to be one of the best mode of transportation ever invented,» said Renato Mazzoncini, CEO of FS Italiane. «The number of passengers/km on high speed rail increased from 248 to 715 billion worldwide from 2010 to 2016,» continued Renato Mazzoncini. «FS Italiane is turning into an international mobility company, integrating several modes of transports and offering a door-to-door journey to its customers while keeping the same level of efficiency, sustainability and comfort of the high-speed rail service.»
FS Italiane includes several multimodal solutions in its portfolio. Busitalia operates local public transport services in Italy and in Holland through Qbuzz. Busitalia launched a long-haul bus service (Busitalia Fast) last year connecting 90 cities in Italy and Germany. FS Italiane acquired in 2017 a stake in M5 (the Lilla line) of the Milan Metro (subway), a route extending for 13 kilometres with 19 stations. Anas is the group’s company deputed to the construction and maintenance of the Italian motorways and state highways. Trenitalia, the group’s rail transportation company, is one of Europe’s top railway operators, and manages passenger transport with its long haul connections, both on high speed (Frecciarossa) and conventional lines, as well as regional and metropolitan services – in Italy, Greece (Trainose) and Germany (Netinera). Trenitalia’s British subsidiary Trenitalia UK owns c2c, a commuter operator between London and Essex.
FS Italiane’s next level of customer service is an integrated ticketing platform, covering all public transport modes in Italy, that will make a real door-to-door journey experience happen. The digitalization of services will boost public transport. As a study conducted last year by The European House - Ambrosetti in collaboration with FS Italiane has shown, intermodal integration is very beneficial for Italy with possible overall savings of 12 billion euros a year (around 1% of GDP). Such is the financial impact of an optimal organisation of mobility in the 14 metropolitan cities in Italy, in terms of saving time, reducing traffic and improving safety and environmental standards.