The European Investment Bank and the State Railways signed an agreement today in Rome that will guarantee the Italian company 300 million euros for the purchase of new regional trains. With this operation, for the first time in Europe the EIB will finance a project through the purchase of a corporate bond.
In detail, the EIB will subscribe a bond from FS Italiane, under the FS Emtn Programme, for 300 million at a floating rate and with a duration of 10 years. The loan will be used to purchase new regional trains in Lazio, Tuscany, Veneto, Piedmont and Liguria: a total of 49 engines and 250 double-decker carriages.
“This new loan, totally dedicated to commuter trains – said Renato Mazzoncini, managing director of the FS Italiane group – concretely demonstrates that attention to regional transport is at the top of our list of priorities. Being chosen by the EIB for a financing method never used before is proof of the solidity and reliability that our group enjoys on international markets”.
