PARTNERSHIP Italy - UK

FROM THE CHAMBERS | 21 www.italchamind.eu Trenitalia wins the bid for the West Coast mainline The Italian train operator will run services between Scotland and London I n August 2019, the British Department for Transport announced the award to Trenitalia UK, along with First Group, of the important Intercity connections between London, Edinburgh and Glasgow, marking another incredible success for the Italian company in the United Kingdom. The Italian FS Group and the Aberdeen-based transport operator announced their partnership to bid together for the allocation of the West Coast franchise at the beginning of 2017. The West Coast Partnership will combine the InterCity West Coast mainline, currently run by Virgin Trains, with the planned HS2 high-speed services. For the period 2019-2031, Trenitalia and FirstGroup consortium will develop and introduce high-speed trains from London to Birmingham in addition to the services between London, Manchester, Chester, Liverpool, Preston, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. This is not the first venture into the UK rail market: in 2017, the Italian company purchased the English train operating company c2c from National Express. This new business is an exceptional opportunity for Trenitalia UK: the services between North and South of Great Britain transport every year 39m passengers, with passenger revenues of £1.2bn in 2018/19, expected to increase at a mid-single digit CAGR. The plan is focused on delivering exceptional customer experience based on investments in new trains and stations, increasing the number and quality of services and creating a new standard in accessibility. New services will be introduced by 2022, refurbishing the existing fleet and introducing electric trains with 13 bimodal trains to replace the current diesel-powered ones, reducing CO2 emissions by 61%. To further reduce environmental impact, solar panels and energy-efficient air conditioning systems will be installed in stations and depots. Once completed, the HS2 high-speed line will reduce congestion on the existing network and generate economic growth up and down the country. THE ICCIUK’S SUPPORT Scotland represents an interesting market for Trenitalia to export its skills along the chain of the railway business. The engineering society of the Group, Italferr, is considering its participation to different bids for the realisation of new infrastructures in Scotland (most projects related to the “2043 railway” programme) to which Network Rail has allocated about £4bn. During the bid launched by the Department for Transport, the Scottish Branch of the ICCIUK welcomed Managing Director of Trenitalia UK Ernesto Sicilia to Scotland twice to discuss the tender. In May 2018, the ICCIUK organised an agenda of business meetings for a group of Italian enterprises visiting Scotland during the first official visit of the new Italian Ambassador for the UK. A round-table meeting was set up with senior representatives of Transport Scotland, along with the Ambassador, the Italian Trade Agency and the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, in order to discuss the transport market in Scotland, examine the projects regarding the UK high-speed network, and analyse the bid just presented. Considering the success of this first encounter, a follow-up meeting was organised in February 2019 to continue the discussions, until the positive outcome was announced last August. ·