The Trenitalia ETR 700, originally NS Hispeed V250, is a
high-speed train
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
designed by
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930.
On 14 December 2015, the Indian mu ...
and built by
AnsaldoBreda
Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...
originally for
NS International
NS International, formerly ''NS Hispeed'', is a rail operator in the Netherlands that operates international intercity and high-speed connections to several European cities. The operator is a subsidiary of the ''Nederlandse Spoorwegen''.
History ...
and
NMBS/SNCB
french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen
, type = Statutory corporation
, industry = Rail Transport
, foundation = 1926
, founder = Government o ...
to operate on the
Fyra
Fyra (pronounced ) was an international high-speed rail service between the Netherlands and Belgium using the AnsaldoBreda V250 train. The service used the HSL-Zuid and HSL 4 railway lines to connect Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam, Antwer ...
-service, a high speed train between
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
with a branch to
Breda
Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
on the newly built
HSL-Zuid in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and its extension
HSL 4 in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
V250s were delivered with a significant delay. Full commercial services with V250 started on 9 December 2012 but stopped only 39 days later on 17 January 2013, after the Belgian Railway Inspection Agency had suspended the operating license. This happened because of safety and structural problems with the construction and maintenance of V250. All were removed from service and sent back to AnsaldoBreda in Italy.
In August 2017,
Trenitalia
Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transp ...
purchased all 19 V250 sets to expand its high speed fleet and rebranded them as ETR700s. After being refurbished, they entered service on ''
Frecciargento'' services, on the
Adriatic railway
The Adriatic railway (Italian: ''Ferrovia Adriatica'') is the railway from Ancona to Lecce that runs along the Adriatic Coast of Italy, following it almost all of the way. It is one of the main lines of the Italian rail system and links the ...
, between
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and
Lecce
Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...
in 2019. Seventeen sets will be used for services, with the remaining two used as sources of spares.
Background and history
NS International
NS International, formerly ''NS Hispeed'', is a rail operator in the Netherlands that operates international intercity and high-speed connections to several European cities. The operator is a subsidiary of the ''Nederlandse Spoorwegen''.
History ...
and
NMBS/SNCB
french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen
, type = Statutory corporation
, industry = Rail Transport
, foundation = 1926
, founder = Government o ...
ordered 19 sets in 2004
for operations between
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and
Breda
Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
on the
HSL-Zuid and
HSL 4 high speed railway lines.
Initially delivery was foreseen for 2007.
In 2008 expectations were for deliveries by 2009 and an introduction into service by the middle of 2009.
![V250 kop AnsaldoBreda Pistoia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/V250_kop_AnsaldoBreda_Pistoia.jpg)
The first sets had been manufactured by March 2009, and initial tests on the
Velim test circuit in the Czech Republic took place in early 2009,
In April 2009 the first unit arrived in
Arnhem in the Netherlands, and was towed to Amsterdam for tests.
The
NS International
NS International, formerly ''NS Hispeed'', is a rail operator in the Netherlands that operates international intercity and high-speed connections to several European cities. The operator is a subsidiary of the ''Nederlandse Spoorwegen''.
History ...
had claimed that the delay of introduction of any trains was due to the lack of a formal
ETCS level 2 specification; by March HSA was close to financial ruin due to lack of any income, and a re-organisation of track access charges for the unused HSL-Zuid line had to be arranged with the Dutch government.
The service, branded ''
Fyra
Fyra (pronounced ) was an international high-speed rail service between the Netherlands and Belgium using the AnsaldoBreda V250 train. The service used the HSL-Zuid and HSL 4 railway lines to connect Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam, Antwer ...
'', was introduced along with the formal presentation of the prototype V250 train at the high speed train depot at
Watergraafsmeer
The Watergraafsmeer is a polder in the Netherlands. It was reclaimed in 1629. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were many buitenplaatsen in the Watergraafsmeer, though nowadays only one, Frankendael, remains.
Since 1921, the Watergraafsmee ...
in the Netherlands on 7 July 2009.
The unfurnished prototype underwent testing on both high speed lines, with the ordered trains' expected in-service date of Autumn 2010;
introduction of any service on the HSL-Zuid had been delayed due to problems with the introduction of the ETCS signalling system; the line had been built without any legacy safety system.
Services on the line began in September 2009 with conventional locomotive haulage, but the introduction of level 2 ETCS on the whole line was not in place, and expected by June 2010.
In 2010, the Dutch transport minister
Camiel Eurlings
Camiel Martinus Petrus Stephanus Eurlings (; born 16 September 1973) is a Dutch politician and businessman. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he served as Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management from 2007 to 201 ...
stated that any introduction of a commercial V250 service on Dutch high speed lines would not take place until December 2011. Driver training on high-speed lines in the Netherlands began in March 2012, with commercial use of the V250 planned for September 2012.
A limited service of one return train per 3 hours in the Netherlands began in September 2012 between Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
The trains were provisionally certified for use in Belgium in September 2012.
Regular Fyra service between Amsterdam and Brussels with V250 trains began on 9 December 2012.
Following their introduction, the V250 trains experienced numerous technical problems. All V250s were suspended from commercial service on 16 January 2013, after only one month of service, due to reliability and safety concerns in snowy weather. Two days later the certification for the V250 in Belgium was revoked after a floor plate that had fallen off a V250 was found along the tracks.
The continuous problems with the V250 trains caused a public outcry in both Belgium and the Netherlands, including accusations in the Belgian and Dutch media that only financial considerations were behind the decision to grant the contract to AnsaldoBreda. Initially, the maximum speed requirements were fixed at 220 km/h, which would have reduced the purchase cost per seat drastically. However, after comparing offers by
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
(manufacturers of
French TGV trains) and
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
(who manufacture the
German ICE trains) with that of AnsaldoBreda, it transpired that the Italian producer was able to offer a cheaper train with a higher speed of 250 km/h, which ultimately gave the Italian company the edge.
On 31 May 2013, the Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB decided to stop the Fyra project, due to the many technical issues, and safety concerns. No trains had been delivered and the company refused delivery of the trains it had ordered, on grounds that the manufacturer was unable to resolve any of the numerous issues in the contractually foreseen 3 months.
![Fyra V250 4806](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Fyra_V250_4806.jpg)
On 3 June 2013, the Dutch national railway company NS announced that it had made a similar evaluation, and expressed its desire to stop with the V250 project. The Dutch department of finance agreed, and recommended that NS do "everything in its power" to get a refund from AnsaldoBreda. At a press conference on 6 June 2013, the manufacturer claimed that the trains had been handled poorly by running the trains too fast (i.e. at maximum commercial speed of 250 km/h) under snow conditions. AnsaldoBreda has also threatened to sue the railways for the damage to its reputation.
On 17 March 2014, NS announced a settlement with AnsaldoBreda had been reached. The 9 NS trains would be returned to AnsaldoBreda for a refund of €125 million, €88m less than originally paid. NS would receive an additional compensation for each resold unit to a maximum of €21m, although no units have been sold by the NS.
Similarly, in May 2014 NMBS/SNCB, AnsaldoBreda and its controlling company Finmeccanica announced that they reached a settlement that confirms the cancellation of the train orders and included a payment of €2.5m to NMBS/SNCB.
In August 2017,
Trenitalia
Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transp ...
purchased all 19 V250 sets to expand its high speed fleet and rebranded them as ETR700s. Seventeen sets will be used for services, with the remaining two used as sources of spares. Testing began in February 2019. The first four entered on 9 June 2019 on ''
Frecciargento'' services on the
Adriatic railway
The Adriatic railway (Italian: ''Ferrovia Adriatica'') is the railway from Ancona to Lecce that runs along the Adriatic Coast of Italy, following it almost all of the way. It is one of the main lines of the Italian rail system and links the ...
between
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
with all to be in service by early 2020 with services extended to
Lecce
Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...
.
Design
The 8-car sets are designed to operate on 3 kV DC, 1.5 kV DC and 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead power supply, allowing operations on both Dutch and Belgian electrified networks. Traction is distributed with alternating powered and trailer vehicles in MTMTTMTM formation.
[M indicates a powered vehicle (motor), T an unpowered vehicle (trailer)] Electric traction power is controlled by water-cooled
IGBT
An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating lay ...
inverters powering asynchronous motors. They are fitted with
ETCS Level 2 and local train safety systems.
The carbodies are constructed of aluminium, except the driving cab which is of steel.
Three of the coaches are used for first class accommodation, giving 127 first class seats out of a total seated capacity of 546.
First class seating is in
+1formation, second in
+2formation.
The design company
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930.
On 14 December 2015, the Indian mu ...
also contributed to the design.
Interior
File:V250 Interior 1e klasse 2 2012.jpg, First class interior of Fyra
File:V250 Interior 1e klasse.jpg, First class interior of Fyra
File:V250 Interior 2e klasse 2 2012.jpg, Second class interior of Fyra
File:V250 Interior 2e klasse 3 2012.jpg, Second class interior of Fyra
File:V250 Interior toilet.jpg, Toilet
Notes
References
External links
;Images
*
*
;Video
* Videos of V250 being towed to the Netherlands for testing
{{High-speed rail
AnsaldoBreda multiple units
Electric multiple units of the Netherlands
Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane electric railcars and multiple units
High-speed rail in Italy
High-speed trains of the Netherlands
Passenger trains running at least at 250 km/h in commercial operations
Train-related introductions in 2012
3000 V DC multiple units
25 kV AC multiple units
1500 V DC multiple units of the Netherlands