Ferrari boss unveils Italian high-speed train to rival Europe’s finest
NTV President Luca di Montezemolo speaks during the presentation of the Italo train, the NTV new high-speed train on December 13, 2011 in Nola.
Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo has unveiled Italy's first private high-speed train near Naples, calling it "Europe's most modern."
From 2012, Reuters wrote:
Passengers boarding the new bullet trains ready to whiz across Italy early next year might be forgiven for thinking of Ferrari cars at the sight of the low nose, the deep-red livery and the sleek interiors.
Agence France-Presse quoted Di Montezemolo — a shareholder in Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV), Europe's first private operator of high-speed trains, along with his friend Diego Della Valle, owner of luxury goods company Tod's — as saying: "Finally there will be a period of competition, of choice for travelers, for citizens."
The sleek red trains — called "Italo" — are due to begin service in March 2012 and will connect seven Italian cities: Bologna, Florence, Milan, Naples, Rome, Salerno and Turin — traveling at around 220 miles per hour.
Other selling points include panoramic windows, leather seats, a small cinema, WiFi Internet connection throughout and "carriages that are wider than the classic French TGV trains," AFP reported.
Di Montezemolo inaugurated the train in the presence of 1,000 employees of the French company Alstom, which is building the carriages.
He described it as "the most modern train in Europe."
Ticket prices "will have to be contained. We are forced to do so since there will be competition" with Trenitalia's high-speed trains, Di Montezemolo told reporters.
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