By 2024, 45 new trains will be put into service on the Lombardy railways and 34 highly frequented trains (TAF) will be modernized. These are the data provided yesterday by the regional transport councilor of the Lombardy Region, Franco Lucente, at the Milan Cadorna station during the presentation of the first completely renewed TAF. Also present were Gianantonio Arnoldi, vice president of Fnm, and Stefano Gervasini, technical director of Trenord. The modernization of the TAF involves the renewal of systems and systems, the replacement of internal furnishings and the installation of cameras.
“To date – said Lucente – there are 144 new trains introduced, in 2024 another 45 will enter service. We are respecting the times, by the end of 2025 only new trains will be circulating in Lombardy, 214, due to an economic commitment of the Region equal to 1.7 billion euros. An effort which, I will never tire of underlining, must go hand in hand with the interventions to adapt the infrastructure and an increasingly competitive and cutting-edge service, with punctual and efficient trains on every route”. Of the 45 new trains that will be introduced in 2024, entry into service by June has already been planned. From 5 February two Caravaggio trains will be introduced on the Milan-Mortara-Alessandria line. The number will rise to three by June 2024.
Countdown for the definitive introduction of the new “Caravaggio” trains on the Milan-Mortara-Alessandria line, the last one left with a good volume of traffic (around 20 thousand travelers per day) without having rejuvenated its fleet of vehicles in circulation. «They will start the service on February 5th, Trenord explains –. We are finishing organizing a sort of maiden voyage.” From what emerges for now, the Caravaggio train will take the place of one of the current morning trains on the stretch between Mortara and Milan Porta Genova: on its own it should make at least 6-8 trips a day.
The composition that will be used on the Lomellina line is the five-car one: in this way the capacity will be 570 seats and almost as many standing, arranged on two floors.
These are trains produced by Hitachi Rail since 2017. They began to be seen on the Lombardy lines shortly before the pandemic and are now in service on at least 12 lines managed by Trenord. They are equipped with cameras, modern systems and spaces to accommodate up to 18 bicycles, avoiding the current chaos in the carriage halls.
Further entries are expected in the first half of 2024: two Caravaggio trains will begin to circulate on the Milan-Carnate-Bergamo, a line which from 5 February 2024 will see the interruption of the Bergamo-Ponte San Pietro section for doubling works by RFI. Two high-capacity Caravaggio trains will also be destined for the Milan-Treviglio-Cremona line by June 2024. Four Donizetti single-deck trains will enter service for the first time on the Milan-Lecco-Sondrio-Tirano line and, like 4 other Donizetti trains, will increase the runs carried out on the Milan-Gallarate-Luino route.
