Passenger train services • Regional line services / Ticketing • Private regional operators • Italy • Arenaways (since 2025)
➤ Some other examples of regional operators: Arenaways – Arriva NL – Krösatågen
Note: For educational purpose only. This page is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. It is not a substitute for the official page of the operating company, manufacturer or official institutions. It cannot be used for staff training, which is the responsibility of approved institutions and companies.
Key points
- In 2025, Arenaways resumed passenger operations on the Cuneo–Saluzzo–Savigliano ;
- September 2026, haulage of the European Sleeper Brussels–Milan night train between Chiasso and Milan.
On this page
Summary
Arenaways has relaunched passenger services in Italy after 14 years, beginning operations on the 49 km Cuneo–Savigliano line under a €54 million, 10-year public service obligation (PSO) contract awarded by Piemonte’s regional authority. The company will later operate the Ceva–Ormea route once infrastructure upgrades are completed by national infrastructure manager RFI. Both lines were among 12 closed in 2012.
RFI invested €11 million to upgrade infrastructure, including signalling, safety at crossings, and station renovations, and plans to invest €36 million more on track renewals.
Arenaways will run 142 weekly services using leased ATR220 diesel trains, equipped with Wi-Fi and onboard ticket machines. Tickets are available via multiple mobile apps and the Arenaways website. This marks Arenaways’ return to the market since a short-lived Torino–Milano service in 2010–11. Backed by new investors including RENFE and Serena Industrial Partners, the company also gained approval to launch open access inter-city services on several domestic and international routes.
| COMPANY TYPE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name: | Arenaway | |
| Subsdiary/Branding from: | Longitude Holding Srl | |
| Country of registration: | Italy | |
| Year founded (under this name): | 2021 | |
| Sector: | Passengers short & long distance | |
| Investor(s) / Owner: | Giuseppe Arena (34%), Renfe Proyectos Internacionales (33%), Serena Industrial Partners (33%) | |
| Headquartered at: | Torino | |
| Management of infrastructure: | no | |
| Management of stations: | no | |
| ACTIVITIES | ||
| Regional & local traffic: | yes | |
| Long distance traffic: | yes (for European Sleeper) | |
| Freight traffic: | no | |
| Traction: | yes (for European Sleeper) | |
| Urban transport: | no | |
| Leasing: | no | |
| Infrastructure works: | no | |
| Rolling stock maintenance: | owned by Trasporto Passeggeri Emilia-Romagna (TPER) |
It is important to clearly distinguish the nature of the services:
• Public Service Obligation (PSO) in railways ensures essential passenger services are provided even if they’re not commercially viable, typically subsidized by governments. PSO contracts are awarded to operators to serve routes for a period agreed in a contract (8, 10 or 15 years, for example). Some PSOs take over the staff of the previous operator.
• Open access, on the other hand, allows any licensed railway company to offer services on the rail network without state subsidies. This promotes only commercial services on profitable routes, leading to better service quality and pricing.
See Regulation (EU) 2016/2338 (amending 1370/2007) and Directive (EU) 2016/2370
Service type for Arenaways: open access
Regular route
➤ Cuneo–Saluzzo–Savigliano
➤ …
Rolling stock (past and present)
Pesa
(2009) 2025 – …
📷 Arenaways
Birth of the company
Arenaways has a fascinating story rooted in family ambition and resilience. Giuseppe Arena founded the original Arenaways in 2010, briefly running open-access services between Turin and Milan. However, the rail regulator refused to allow the company to stop at intermediate stations, fearing competition with Trenitalia’s subsidised regional services, leaving Arenaways unable to attract enough passengers. Operations ceased in 2011.
Over a decade later, his son Matteo Arena relaunched the company under the same brand, incorporated in 2021, driven by a desire to redefine Italian rail travel through innovation, quality service, and fair pricing — distinct from both ultra-low-cost operators and luxury incumbents.
The new strategy took a different path. In March 2024, the Piemonte region signed a 10-year Public Service Obligation (PSO) contract with Arenaways, running from January 2025 to December 2034, to revive two secondary lines closed since 2012. Crucially, these contracts were awarded directly under EU Regulation 1370/2007, which permits direct awards for routes below 500,000 train-km per year — bypassing competitive tendering and giving Arenaways a rare foothold in a market long dominated by the public incumbent. 🟧
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Passenger train services • Regional line services / Ticketing • Italy • Lexical