LEAN MACHINE: The fourth generation of Alstom's tilting high-speed Pendolino is finding its niche in the revamp of Italy's railways. With a high technological content, they represent much more than mere new rolling stock

摘要

NO MATTER how many you've previously visited, it's always a little strange to be sitting in a mock-up train carriage. The result of thousands of hours of skill and expertise from some of the sharpest minds in the business, it nevertheless still seems to conjure up the same sensations of 'pretend' last encountered during a rare visit to the school Wendy House. Quite why this should be the case is unclear, but what can't be denied is the pulling power they exert. So, following its initial preview in Turin this June, a life-size mock-up of Trenitalias forthcoming Alstom-produced fourth-generation Pendolino is to set off on a roadshow covering six Italian cities from November to February. Due to be delivered in 2006, 12 of these tramsets will join Tremtalias existing fleet of 40 Pendolinos (Cisalpino has ordered 14 tramsets). But they represent much more than just new rolling stock, as Elio Catania, president and managing director of the Ferrovie dello Stato group, underlined at the unveiling of the mock-up: "With the arrival of the new Pendolino trains, we have taken an important step forward. We are now at the threshold of the entry into service of the new Italian high-speed lines - the largest infrastructure project undertaken in Italy since the Second World War - and Trenitalia will be ready to respond with an agile, modern fleet able to meet the customers' demands."