A dream that is also a promise: “I would like the train to become the most accessible means of transport of all. That a person who wakes up in the morning and knows he has to go somewhere, thinks of the train as the first solution. This is my dream for the future”. Luigi Corradi is fresh from reconfirmation in the role of managing director of Trenitalia. He rattles off the growing numbers of these first five months: 225 million passengers and +24% compared to 2022. The international salesor customers who buy trips to Italy from abroad, increased by 65% compared to 2019. And then there are the 6,600 train connections and the about 11,000 bus journeys of Busitalia and FSE announced for the summer.
A dream, Corradi, yours, for which many investments are needed.
“And we are doing them. Starting with regional transport, for which, this year alone, we will invest around 1 billion euros, a very significant amount and also intended for the purchase of new trains, which will replace the old ones, with a plan that in the next 3 years will lead to the almost complete renewal of the regional park. We are investing heavily in regional transport and we will continue on this path”.
And the money? All yours?
“Many funds come from our budgets. Then there are projects that we carry out with the Regions, some of which have received funds from the PNRR. Most of the approximately 26 billion that Pnrr and the Complementary Fund have assigned to the FS Group are concentrated on infrastructure. And many investments will go to the South, precisely to speed up the lines”.
Thinking also of the bridge over the Strait?
“Of course, the investments we are making in the South also look ahead to the bridge over the Strait which is an integral part of one of the most important European corridors of the TEN-T network, which connects Scandinavia with the Mediterranean. But our vision is general. Look how it went with the High Speed. A lot of money was spent to make it, it’s true, but when it started, no one had any idea of its success and how Italy would change thanks to it. We showed that it was a perfect decision.”
High speed that is still to be completed…
“Investments are moving forward, starting with Turin-Venice. Venice by train is a must and the fact of doing so while saving time with the high-speed train becomes strategic. On the Milan-Rome-Naples line, on the other hand, work is being done on two fronts. On the one hand with the speeding up of trains, trying to understand if it is possible to go beyond the current 300 kilometers per hour to reduce travel time. On the other hand, on frequency, given that more and more people use the train to move between Milan and Naples”.
And then there’s the Hyperloop, the futuristic transport in which Musk also believes so much and which the Veneto region would also like to experiment with.
“I think the Hyperloop is a great idea, but I don’t think it can replace the train anytime soon. I think it is important for us to continue to improve the high-speed service. The train is the most sustainable way to move. It’s green, because the trains are electric, and it’s a collective vehicle and, therefore, more sustainable than a private car”.
Intermodality is his watchword: from the train, to the bus to the plane…
“The success of the train and bus connections, combined with the growing demand of those who choose to travel by bike on board our trains, means that our commitment takes the form of added value for the tourism industry and for the territories where, every day, our people work not only on board the train, but also in the plants and workshops to guarantee the quality and excellence of Made in Italy. For example, Frecciarossa now enters directly into the Fiumicino airport station, offering a simpler service for those arriving or departing by plane. Furthermore, with our subsidiary BusItalia, we are able to reach even those places where the railway does not arrive”.
You were the architect of Trenitalia’s growth abroad, an idea that until a few years ago seemed unthinkable…
“And which instead is having a great success. In Spain, Frecciarossa has 70 connections, including those between Madrid, Barcelona and Seville and it’s going very well. We have launched the Milan-Paris and the Paris-Lyon which are experiencing a high level of satisfaction also from the French. Now let’s look at Germany where we are working to be able to start making the first investments in October and inaugurate the first train in 2026. Finally, the great growth in passengers from abroad, a market where we are growing by 30% more than the previous year. “.
Meanwhile, the competition also continues to grow. In Italy, for example, Italo’s is proving to be fierce on the most important routes.
“We all know that competition in Italy has raised the bar in terms of service quality and has created what has now become the best service in Europe. The rail transport market is growing, and our real competitor remains private mobility”.