Trenitalia grows and challenges planes. The best weapons to compete on the domestic front are the "arrows", which by the end of the year should reach the record quota of 42 million customers, for an increase of 5,2% compared to 2012. The company's new offer aims to strengthen existing routes, as well as adding new ones, to achieve a further 3% growth on fast trains next year.
Yesterday the managing director of FS, Mauro Moretti, in addition to confirming the good health of this year's accounts - "a little better than those of 2012" - recalled that three billion were invested in regional trains (although " three more would be needed”) and brought forward the issue of the new 750 million bond in days.
In the new offer that will start on December 15th, the Frecce trains will be strengthened: there will be 231 in circulation every day, including the new Frecciargento Rome-Trieste and Rome-Verona routes and the Frecciabianca Milan-Trieste. A new Frecciarossa Turin-Bologna-Florence-Rome is also planned. Finally, connections between Milan and Rome are growing in less than 3 hours.
"We believe that in Italy we should now travel only by train - continued Moretti -, given the availability offered, the quality of service and the price offered". The new offer also focuses on greater integration between train and plane - as well as with road and ship - thanks to agreements with the main international airlines (8 already defined, 9 still being defined, including one with Alitalia) which have allowed to intercept, according to Trenitalia's calculations, a catchment area of 5,3 million passengers.
