High-speed rail
Italy
#### Italy

[thumb\|[FS](/wiki/Ferrovie_dello_Stato_Italiane "Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane")' [Frecciarossa 1000](/wiki/Frecciarossa_1000 "Frecciarossa 1000") high speed train at [Milano Centrale railway station](/wiki/Milano_Centrale_railway_station "Milano Centrale railway station"), with a maximum speed of , is one of the fastest trains in Europe.](/wiki/File:Frecciarossa_1000_nuova_livrea.jpg "Frecciarossa 1000 nuova livrea.jpg")
[thumb\|A pair of FS' [ETR 500](/wiki/ETR_500 "ETR 500") at [Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station](/wiki/Firenze_Santa_Maria_Novella_railway_station "Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station"). The version ETR 500 Y1 achieved  on the Bologna\-Florence line on 4 February 2009, a new world speed record in a tunnel.](/wiki/File:FS_ETR.500_pair%2C_Firenze_S.M.N._%281%29.JPG "FS ETR.500 pair, Firenze S.M.N. (1).JPG")
[thumb\| *Italo EVO* ([NTV](/wiki/Nuovo_Trasporto_Viaggiatori "Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori")) at [Venezia Mestre railway station](/wiki/Venezia_Mestre_railway_station "Venezia Mestre railway station").](/wiki/File:Italo_Evo_in_Venezia.jpg "Italo Evo in Venezia.jpg")

The earliest European high\-speed railway to be built was the Italian [Florence–Rome high\-speed railway](/wiki/Florence%E2%80%93Rome_high-speed_railway "Florence–Rome high-speed railway") (also called "Direttissima") in 1977\. High\-speed trains in Italy were developed during the 1960s. [E444](/wiki/FS_Class_E444 "FS Class E444") locomotives were the first standard locomotives capable of top speed of , while an [ALe 601](/wiki/ALe_601 "ALe 601") [electrical multiple unit](/wiki/Electrical_multiple_unit "Electrical multiple unit") (EMU) reached a speed of  during a test. Other EMUs, such as the [ETR 220](/wiki/ETR_220 "ETR 220"), [ETR 250](/wiki/ETR_250 "ETR 250") and [ETR 300](/wiki/ETR_300 "ETR 300"), were also updated for speeds up to . The braking systems of cars were updated to match the increased travelling speeds.

On 25 June 1970, work was started on the [Rome–Florence *Direttissima*](/wiki/Florence%E2%80%93Rome_high-speed_railway_line "Florence–Rome high-speed railway line"), the first high\-speed line in Italy and in Europe. It included the  bridge on the [Paglia](/wiki/Paglia "Paglia") river, then the longest in Europe. Works were completed in the early 1990s.

In 1975, a program for a widespread updating of the rolling stock was launched. However, as it was decided to put more emphasis on local traffic, this caused a shifting of resources from the ongoing high\-speed projects, with their subsequent slowing or, in some cases, total abandonment. Therefore, 160 [E.656](/wiki/FS_Class_E.656 "FS Class E.656") electric and 35 [D.345](/wiki/FS_Class_D.345 "FS Class D.345") locomotives for short\-medium range traffic were acquired, together with 80 EMUs of the [ALe 801/940](/wiki/FS_Class_ALe_801/940 "FS Class ALe 801/940") class, 120 [ALn 668](/wiki/FS_Class_ALn_668 "FS Class ALn 668") diesel railcars. Some 1,000 much\-needed passenger and 7,000 freight cars were also ordered.

In the 1990s, work started on the [Treno Alta Velocità](/wiki/Treno_Alta_Velocit%C3%A0 "Treno Alta Velocità") (*TAV*) project, which involved building a new high\-speed network on the routes [Milan](/wiki/Milan "Milan") – (Bologna–Florence–Rome–Naples) – [Salerno](/wiki/Salerno "Salerno"), [Turin](/wiki/Turin "Turin") – (Milan–Verona–Venice) – [Trieste](/wiki/Trieste "Trieste") and Milan–[Genoa](/wiki/Genoa "Genoa"). Most of the planned lines have already been opened, while international links with France, Switzerland, [Austria](/wiki/Austria "Austria") and [Slovenia](/wiki/Slovenia "Slovenia") are underway.

Most of the [Rome–Naples line](/wiki/Rome%E2%80%93Naples_high-speed_railway_line "Rome–Naples high-speed railway line") opened in December 2005, the [Turin–Milan line](/wiki/Turin%E2%80%93Milan_high-speed_railway_line "Turin–Milan high-speed railway line") partially opened in February 2006 and the [Milan–Bologna line](/wiki/Milan%E2%80%93Bologna_high-speed_railway_line "Milan–Bologna high-speed railway line") opened in December 2008\. The remaining sections of the Rome–Naples and the Turin–Milan lines and the [Bologna–Florence line](/wiki/Bologna%E2%80%93Florence_high-speed_railway_line "Bologna–Florence high-speed railway line") were completed in December 2009\. All these lines are designed for speeds up to . Since then, it is possible to travel from Turin to Salerno (ca. ) in less than 5 hours. More than 100 trains per day are operated.

Other proposed high\-speed lines are [Salerno\-Reggio Calabria](/wiki/Salerno%E2%80%93Reggio_Calabria_high-speed_railway_line "Salerno–Reggio Calabria high-speed railway line") (connected to Sicily with the future [bridge over the Strait of Messina](/wiki/Strait_of_Messina_Bridge "Strait of Messina Bridge")), [Palermo\-Catania](/wiki/Palermo%E2%80%93Catania_high-speed_railway_line "Palermo–Catania high-speed railway line") and [Naples–Bari](/wiki/Naples%E2%80%93Bari_high-speed_railway_line "Naples–Bari high-speed railway line").

The main public operator of high\-speed trains (*alta velocità AV*, formerly [Eurostar Italia](/wiki/Eurostar_Italia "Eurostar Italia")) is [Trenitalia](/wiki/Trenitalia "Trenitalia"), part of [FSI](/wiki/Ferrovie_dello_Stato_Italiane "Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane"). Trains are divided into three categories (called "[Le Frecce](/wiki/Le_Frecce "Le Frecce")"): *[Frecciarossa](/wiki/Frecciarossa "Frecciarossa")* ("Red arrow") trains operate at a maximum of  on dedicated high\-speed tracks; *[Frecciargento](/wiki/Frecciargento "Frecciargento")* (Silver arrow) trains operate at a maximum of  on both high\-speed and mainline tracks; *[Frecciabianca](/wiki/Frecciabianca "Frecciabianca")* (White arrow) trains operate at a maximum of  on mainline tracks only.

Since 2012, a new and Italy's first private train operator, [NTV](/wiki/Nuovo_Trasporto_Viaggiatori "Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori") (branded as Italo), run high\-speed services in competition with [Trenitalia](/wiki/Trenitalia "Trenitalia"). Even nowadays, Italy is the only country in Europe with a private high\-speed train operator.

Construction of the Milan\-Venice high\-speed line has begun in 2013 and in 2016 the [Milan\-Treviglio](/wiki/Milan%E2%80%93Verona_high-speed_railway "Milan–Verona high-speed railway") section has been opened to passenger traffic; the Milan\-Genoa high\-speed line (Terzo Valico dei Giovi) is also under construction.

Today it is possible to travel from Rome to Milan in less than 3 hours (2h 55') with the [Frecciarossa 1000](/wiki/Frecciarossa_1000 "Frecciarossa 1000"), the new high\-speed train. To cover this route, there's a train every 30 minutes.


What is the maximum speed of Frecciabianca trains?