They have already renamed them the trains for the Olympics. After all, they were purchased precisely in view of the maxi sporting event of winter 2026, which will see Milan and Cortina side by side. We are talking about the 46 new regional convoys of which the Lombardy Region has just approved the purchase by allocating 351 million euros. This investment is in addition to the fleet renewal program already underway, which is envisaging the gradual entry into service of 176 new trains. To date, 21 are already in service (10 Donizetti manufactured by Alstom and 11 Caravaggio manufactured by Hitachi). The president of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, says: “The 46 new trains will be delivered by 2025, therefore in time for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The goal is to make rail transport more efficient on the routes affected by the flow of tourists who will visit. Lombardy on the occasion of the Olympic event, therefore those that connect Milan to Valtellina and to the two main Lombard airports, namely Malpensa and Orio al Serio ». The new rolling stock, explain in the Region, will therefore also be used on the future railway that will connect Bergamo to Orio airport. The 351 million invested derive from the resources of the Lombardy Plan and are part of the investments made by the Region in view of the Olympics.
The purchase mandate concerns 26 Caravaggio model trains (high capacity train) and 20 Donizetti model trains (medium capacity train) which will enter service on the following lines: 20 new trains for services on the Milan / Sondrio / Tirano line; 16 new trains for services on the Milan-Bergamo Orio airport line; 10 new trains for services on the Milan-Malpensa airport route. Claudia Terzi, Councilor for Transport of the Lombardy Region, provides some additional figures: “The overall investment of the Lombardy Region to renew the fleet now reaches 2 billion euros for 222 new trains, if we consider that the program for the introduction of 176 new trains currently underway it was financed with 1.6 billion euros. The new Caravaggio and Donizetti are already circulating on various Lombard lines, resulting in an improvement in the travel experience of users. We are progressively rejuvenating the fleet. New trains mean more comfort for travelers and a decrease in inconvenience deriving from the age of the trains. The latest generation trains will be gradually assigned in all the provinces of Lombardy, compatibly with the technical times of construction and commissioning ».
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Massimo Sertori, regional councilor for the mountains, speaks of “an important step forward to improve mobility on the Milan-Lecco-Alta Valtellina and Orio al Serio-Milan lines, so as to be ready for the 2026 Olympic event. accelerator for the construction of infrastructures necessary for the territories. Through these massive investments – he underlines – there will certainly be positive effects also in the post event ». Now, the Region underlines, RFI (FS Group) will also have to do its part, through the modernization of the line, which must be punctual and respectful of the programs.