Passenger train services • Main line services / Ticketing • High speed Rail • Italy • Frecciarossa (Trenitalia)
➤ See also: AVE (Renfe) – Avlo (Renfe) – Eurostar (since 2024) – ICE – InOui – Iryo – Lyria – NTV-Italo – Ouigo SNCF
➤ See also: High speed train in France – High speed train in Germany – High speed train in Italy – High speed train in Japan – High speed train in Taïwan – Economics
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.
In brief
The Frecciarossa brand was created in 2012 by Trenitalia, a subsidiary of the state‑owned Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, at a time when the Italian rail network was undergoing major modernisation. Italy had just completed significant sections of its high‑speed lines, notably linking Rome, Florence, Milan and Naples. Faced with growing competition from domestic air travel and the gradual liberalisation of the European rail market, the incumbent operator sought to reposition its offer around a premium, fast and clearly identifiable service.
The launch of Frecciarossa coincided with the introduction of refurbished ETR 500 trainsets and later the new ETR 400 fleet (also know as ETR 1000). The aim was to unify all high‑speed services under a strong brand, emphasising performance (300 km/h and above), comfort and technological innovation. This strategy marked a key milestone in the commercial and industrial transformation of Italian rail transport.
The Frecciarossa brand is often mistaken for the ETR 400 rolling stock that operates in Italy and, in recent years, in France and Spain. As explaned bellow, the FS Group’s strategic plan established Frecciarossa as the commercial brand for Trenitalia’s high‑speed services within its passenger division. Conventional long‑distance services and regional trains are also operated by Trenitalia, but they fall under two separate business units.
| COMPANY TYPE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Country of registration: | Italy | |
| Name: | Frecciarossa (branding) | |
| Subsdiary/Branding from: | Trenitalia Direzione Business Alta Velocità |
|
| Year founded (under this name): | December 2012 | |
| Sector: | Passenger transport | |
| Investor(s) / Owner: | 100% Ferrovie dello Stato | |
| Headquartered at: | Rome | |
| Management of infrastructure: | no | |
| Management of stations: | no | |
| ACTIVITIES | ||
| Regional & local traffic: | no | |
| Long distance traffic: | yes | |
| High speed train services: | yes | |
| Freight traffic: | no | |
| Traction: | yes | |
| Urban transport: | no | |
| Leasing: | no | |
| Infrastructure works: | no | |
| Rolling stock maintenance: | yes (via Trenitalia) |
Backgroung
The opening of the 182‑kilometre high‑speed line between Milan and Bologna in December 2008 marked another major milestone for Italian rail transport, further tightening links between the country’s political and economic capitals, as well as Bologna, Florence, Naples and Salerno. In total, more than 5.8 million residents—around 10% of Italy’s population, not including the densely populated neighbouring provinces—were directly affected by this new corridor.
Trenitalia gradually began introducing the Frecciarossa brand on just a handful of trains, before extending it to all Italian high‑speed services.
➤ See the report from Ferrovie.it with the first train (in italian)
On 25 March 2009, the inauguration of the Bologna–Florence high‑speed section enabled ETR 500 trainsets to cover the Milan–Rome route in just three hours, marking a major milestone in the development of Italy’s high‑speed rail services. From that point onward, high‑speed rail assumed a dominant role in Italy’s long‑distance services, even though it did not yet constitute a dedicated business unit.
Today
After the pandemic, the FS Group shifted toward a strategy called Passenger Hub, an organizational and commercial concept for the Group’s passenger services. Trenitalia is today one of five main Business Units.
In 2021, Trenitalia itself was reorganised into three operational directorates:
- Regional Business Division (Direzione Business Regionale);
- InterCity Business Division (Direzione Business InterCity);
- High‑Speed Business Division (Direzione Business Alta Velocità) was established, focused on High-Speed services, taking over operations and commercial processes from the Long Haul Passenger Division and providing sales and customer‑service support to the Intercity Business Directorate.
This page concerns that latter division Direzione Business Alta Velocità, which operates its train services under the well‑known Frecciarossa brand.
The ‘Frecciarossa‘ fleet today:
Consortium Trevi
1992 – …
Alstom
2007 – …
➤ More
Alstom
(2012) / 2019 – …
➤ More
Alstom
2015 – …
Before Frecciarossa
With the timetable change of 23 May 1993, all train‑service categories of what was still FS (Ferrovie dello Stato) were renewed. At that time, the FS passenger division operated two types of trains: the Express (E or EXP), long‑distance services that already included early high‑speed operations, and the Interregional (IR), medium‑distance services.
In 1997, a new category called “Eurostar Italia” was introduced for Trenitalia’s emerging high‑speed services. From 2006 onward, these trains began to be marketed under several different brands in addition to the “Eurostar” name.
To operate its high‑speed trains at 300 km/h or more, the FS decided to electrify all their high‑speed lines with 25 kV AC. The first‑generation FS E.404‑100 power cars, which operated solely under 3 kV DC, therefore had to be replaced. For this reason, in 1996 FS ordered a second batch of 30 multi‑voltage trainsets — 1.5 kV DC (used only in France), 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC — forming the FS E.404‑500 series.
In 2002, not wishing to withdraw the coaches of the first 30 ETR 500‑100 AV trainsets, FS ordered 60 multi‑voltage E.404‑600 power cars to reconstitute the original 30 ETR 500 sets and enable them to run on the high‑speed lines, now electrified at 25 kV AC.
From 2004 onwards, all FS ETR 500 trainsets have been formed of 12 passenger coaches, offering a total of 671 seats: 195 in First Class, 476 in Second Class, and two spaces for passengers with reduced mobility.
With the expansion of Eurostar Italia high‑speed services across the peninsula, Giorgetto Giugiaro was commissioned to design a new livery to distinguish the trains. He created a scheme based on several shades of grey and red, combined with the new high‑speed symbol, which he also designed. This gave rise to the ‘High Speed’ livery, applied from August 2005 onwards.
A third livery appeared fairly quickly, in December 2008, to coincide with the opening of the new Milan–Bologna high‑speed line. Some of the multi‑voltage ETR 500 trainsets were then given the name Frecciarossa, together with a new grey livery (derived from the previous AV – Alta Velocità – scheme) and a red band beneath the windows.
From 12 December 2010 onward, passengers travelling on the Turin–Milan–Rome–Naples services could browse the internet and make phone calls on board, even in tunnels, thanks to what was then still 3G connectivity. This service resulted from an agreement between Ferrovie dello Stato and Telecom Italia, representing a total investment of €50 million, shared equally between the two companies.
Gradually, the ETR 500 fleet adopted a predominantly red livery, even though the Frecciarossa brand had not yet been formally introduced.
2012: New brand, new context, new concurrence
With the introduction of the summer 2012 timetable, the “Eurostar AV” category and its sub‑categories were discontinued and rebranded as Frecciargento and Frecciarossa, mirroring what had already been done with the winter 2011 timetable, when the “Eurostar City Italia” category was withdrawn and renamed Frecciabianca.
The Frecciarossa brand was presented as the premium identity for its highest‑standard high‑speed services. Meaning “Red Arrow”, the name was chosen to evoke speed, precision and national pride, distinguishing the top tier from Frecciargento and Frecciabianca. With the arrival of the ETR 500 second generation and projects for a new high‑speed train on the horizon, Frecciarossa became Trenitalia’s flagship brand for both domestic and international high‑speed operations.
The year 2012 also marked a major change in the level of comfort offered to passengers. From then on, Trenitalia became the only railway company in the world to offer four different classes instead of the traditional two — a genuine break with established practice, except for Spain, which had introduced three classes on its AVE services as early as April 1992. The new Italian interiors were designed by Italdesign Giugiaro and built by the Officine Grandi Riparazioni in Vicenza. ETR 500 set no. 28 was the first to be fitted with the four‑class layout.
In April 2012, the Italian railway landscape welcomed a new operator, NTV-Italo, the first significant competitor in the high-speed sector, which had been dominated by Trenitalia until that point. Founded by prominent entrepreneurs like Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and Diego Della Valle, NTV launched Italo with the aim of providing an innovative and quality alternative to travelers. This new railway entity introduced modern trains equipped with advanced technologies and top-notch services, making the journey more comfortable and enjoyable.
Italo focused on distinctive features such as flexible travel classes, ranging from economy to Club Executive, and personalized services like free Wi-Fi and access to multimedia content. The debut of NTV-Italo also marked a price revolution, thanks to a competitive pricing policy that made high-speed travel more accessible. For its services, NTV made an ambitious choice from the outset, opting for a massive investment of more than €1 billion, including €628 million just for the purchase of 25 new high-speed trains that only existed on paper.
➤ See our dedicated page
2012-2015: Frecciarossa in the new concurrential context
Although the railway liberalization process in Italy was one of the earliest in Europe, paradoxically the responsibility for regulation of the railway companies was for a long time retained by the Government. From 11 August 2004 to 14 January 2014, an office of the Ministry for Transportation, called Ufficio per la Regolazione dei Servizi Ferroviari (URSF), played the role of the Italian Regulatory Body, established following the prescription of the European legislation (Directive 14/2001). The Italian rail regulator was only made truly independent from government through the creation of ART (Transport Regulation Authority) on 17 September 2013, by the decree-law 6 December 2011 n. 201 (becoming operational on 15 January 2014).
The arrival of competition took place exclusively on the high‑speed segment — that is, on the Frecciarossa services — and did not include either the Frecciargento or the Frecciabianca services.
The arrival of a fully fledged regulator also helped to clarify the new railway landscape. At the time, the FS Group had erected numerous legal barriers, particularly concerning access to stations. Approximately 16% of the total network in Italy’s high-speed rail market was subject to direct competition. This corresponds to 2,642 km out of the total network of 16,829 km.
A particular contentious issue was the track‑access charges and the prices policy. Prices started to decrease within a few months of the entrance of the new competitor. Researchers estimated in 2014 an average reduction in the price per passenger of about 30% between 2011 and 2012. The main reason is the new pricing structure and availability of promotional offers which has also expanded the “gap” of tariffs, similar to the effect of the introduction of low-cost flights in the air market.
This situation was clearly untenable for both Trenitalia and NTV‑Italo. Here too, the regulator’s intervention proved decisive. The reliability futur of Italian high speed system then rested on two regulatory measures:
- The 2013 Ministry of Transport decision decreasing the track access charge (“TAC”) up to 15% (Decreto del Ministro dei Trasporti 10 Settembre 2013);
- The ART 2014 decision (delibera 70/2014) setting criteria for TAC to be paid by 2015. The latter led to a further TAC’s reduction of approximately 38% (from EUR 12.8 train/km to EUR 8.2 train/km).
Obviously it was a provision that has favoured both Trenitalia and Italo but has had a negative impact on RFI (the infrastructure manager). These regulatory measures enabled the two competitors to end the price war and return to more sustainable financial foundations. Trenitalia thus has made up all these tariffs early 2016, which had not been changed since 2011. And the services were clearly more modern, faster and with more connections and frequencies.
2015: the ‘Frecciarossa 1000‘
On 25 April 2015, the long‑awaited ETR 400 was officially unveiled, marketed as the Frecciarossa ‘1000’ (a name chosen for branding reasons, as it needed a number higher than the ‘older’ ETR 500). A special inaugural run was organised between Milan Centrale and Rome Termini with ETR 400 set no. 6, carrying President Sergio Mattarella and the FS Group leadership of the time.
Having received authorisation for 300 km/h operation on 14 April, the first trains entered regular service on 14 June 2015, initially with four pairs of services between Rome and Milan. Some of these already originated or terminated in Naples or Turin depending on the timetable, and offered journey times similar to those of the Frecciarossa operated with ETR 500s.
2016 and beyond: success and european perspectives
Armed with a new commercial policy and its new Frecciarossa 1000 trainsets, Trenitalia was able to build a high-speed service that subsequently became the pride of the country and a virtually unique example of successful competition (its competitor NTV-Italo escaped bankruptcy after restructuring its debt and recapitalising).
Competition had significant positive effects on the quality and variety of both competitors services. The ancillary services were improved (such as free Wi-Fi, the on-board entertainment and working environment). Then, the two operators were to compete on the quality of services more than on travel time or war prices.
By this date, the high-speed infrastructure had evolved considerably and now formed a sort of ‘T’ connecting Turin to Verona (via Milan) in the north and, towards the south, a complete line from Milan to Salerno via Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples. Only Genoa remained outside a network that thus served a large part of the Italian population.
It was on the basis of this success that the FS Group decided to seek revenue outside Italy, preparing its arrival in France first, then Spain. Frecciarossa, the Italian high-speed brand, became a benchmark throughout Europe and will enable Trenitalia to make a name for itself.
2020: the pandemic…
On 10 March 2020, Italy implemented a strict national lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, with very severe restrictions on public travel throughout the country between early March and early April 2020.
In compliance with the disposals to prevent and tackle the spread of COVID-19, Trenitalia’s Frecce, Intercity and regional trains offer was rescheduled to guarantee the minimum service. On Frecciarossa, Frecciargento, Frecciabianca and Intercity trains, the company reduced occupancy to around 25% of available seats in order to meet the 1-metre distancing requirement between passengers.
These measures made operations structurally unprofitable without public intervention. The Italian government therefore adopted several emergency decrees (Cura Italia, then Rilancio) to support public transport, benefiting Trenitalia as well as its competitor Thello.
Trenitalia maintained this reduced level of train services until early May, before gradually increasing services in what was called ‘Phase 2’ from May 2020, when many more trains were put back into service.
The Pistoia plant, near Florence, is the former Bombardier factory that produced the ETR 400 trainsets for the FS Group. When the Canadian company was being taken over by Alstom, there was uncertainty about the future of its high‑speed division. The answer came from the EU competition authorities, which approved the acquisition on condition that several Bombardier entities — including the Pistoia plant — be divested.
The high‑speed business was therefore taken over by Hitachi Rail, which has since become the designated supplier of Italian high‑speed rolling stock. All ETR 400 trainsets — including those later destined for France, Spain and Germany — are produced from this plant.
2022
In May 2022, Luigi Corradi, then CEO of Trenitalia, announced that the Frecciargento and Frecciabianca services would be gradually phased out and that the entire fleet of ETR 400, 500, 600, and 700 trainsets would be unified under the Frecciarossa brand. This decision to discontinue the Frecciargento services resulted in the entire fleet being consolidated into a single group operated under the Frecciarossa brand.
In addition, a new Frecciarossa livery appeared for the ETR 400 trainsets. The black band along the passenger‑coach windows was extended to reach the outer door of the power car, and the red section was reshaped into an arrow motif. The Frecciarossa logo was placed directly within the red band beneath the coach windows. A black trim line was also added to the cockpit windscreen. On the coaches, a thin red stripe was inserted between the dark‑grey roof and the widened silver band. The doors, as on the Frecciarossa 1000, were outlined in white.
In February 2026, Trenitalia has unveiled a new Frecciarossa logo at Milano Centrale, marking a renewed brand identity aligned with the operator’s industrial evolution. The redesigned “F”, inspired by the trains’ livery and shaped like a forward‑leaning arrow, symbolises speed, innovation and future‑focused mobility. The logo will be progressively applied across the fleet and customer touchpoints, accompanied by a new sound logo and a certified Frecciarossa Red. The launch coincides with the rollout of next‑generation Frecciarossa trains, built in Italy by Hitachi Rail, featuring advanced technology, high recyclability and enhanced comfort for modern, sustainable high‑speed travel.
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Main line • High speed Rail • Italy • Lexical