A Europe connected by a high-speed rail network, capable of connecting the main cities of the continent with modern, fast and low-emission trains. This is the shared vision in the center ofinstitutional meeting which took place yesterday in Rome between the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Tzitzikostas Apostles, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport and Vice President of the Council, Matteo Salvini, and the CEO of the FS Group, Stefano Antonio Donnarumma.
The meeting was part of the Roman mission of Tzitzikostas, which had among its key moments the discussion on the future of European High Speed and on the strategic Masterplan to enhance international rail connections. In this scenario, Italy aims to play a leading role, both as a central hub in the Mediterranean corridor and as a promoter of new infrastructural and financial solutions.
The FS plan: 100 billion in five years, but only 13% from PNRR funds
The development of high speed is intertwined with the Strategic Plan 2025-2029 of the Ferrovie dello Stato Groupwhich provides investments of 100 billion euros in the next five years. An impressive figure, which testifies to the ambition of the industrial plan, which however only 13% will be covered with resources from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The remaining part will be financed with ordinary funds, private capital and new forms of financial engineering.
Among these, the hypothesis of a greater use of the RAB model (Regulatory Asset Base), a mechanism that allows to attract private capital in regulated infrastructure projects, through the remuneration of assets based on the value invested. An alternative path that could help ensure the economic sustainability of new high-speed lines, especially in cross-border sections with a higher capital intensity.
For the Commissioner, a visit to the operational heart of Rfi
The summit concluded with the Tzitzikostas' visit to the RFI central operations room, where he was able to observe the functioning of the technological heart which manages the circulation of daily approximately 9.000 trains along over 16.700 kilometers of the Italian railway network. A strategic hub that not only guarantees the efficiency of the system, but also represents a reference model for European railway interconnection.
