Škoda Group is to supply 370 new railway coaches for night travel in Italy.

Together with Titagarh Firema, Škoda won the contract through the European tender procedure announced by Trenitalia, a member of the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (Italian State Railways) group. The contract is worth a total of €732.5 million.

Night train travel is increasingly popular in Europe. Škoda boasts that its new coaches ” will offer an extraordinary travel experience with greater comfort, privacy and a tranquillity resembling a conventional hotel room”.

In the first part of the contract, a total of seventy sleeping coaches will be delivered: 44 in the Comfort category, 22 DeLuxe and 4 Economy – with a total value of €138.59 million.

• DeLuxe coaches are equipped with six single and two double bedrooms, each with its own toilet, shower and adjustable temperature control. The coaches’ facilities include modern information and audio/video infotainment systems, and each coach includes a small kitchen with electrical appliances.
• Comfort Class coaches contain seven compartments in each coach, each with four beds, a washbasin and adjustable temperature. There is a larger space for people with reduced mobility and their companions, who also benefit from accessible toilets and transport platforms for entry and exit.
• Economy Class coaches have a spacious passenger lounge with a 2+1 seating arrangement. Individual sections have dividing walls, armrests and large headrests, and each seat has individual lighting. There is a wide central aisle and the vestibule area contains luggage racks, storage spaces, and one toilet on each side.

The order for sleeper coaches comes just a month after Škoda Group secured an order for ten trams to the Italian city of Bergamo.

Didier Pfleger, CEO of Škoda Group, said: “I’m proud of our team, which has done a great job on the Italian market. In October 2022, the Škoda Group opened an office in Florence to enter a new market. A few months later, in Italy, we are involved in two important projects for new long-distance carriages and trams for Bergamo. I’m thrilled that another European carrier trusts our more than 160-year tradition in vehicle manufacturing and has ordered sleeping coaches with a distinctive Škoda footprint. I must thank our partner Titagarh Firema SpA, which brings expertise and excellent local market knowledge to this project. We look forward to the project’s start.”

Carlo Logli, CEO of the Caserta-based Titagarh Firema, stated: “Firema achieved another significant success and took on a new challenge in the case of an extremely important contract for Trenitalia, for the country, which has contributed PNRR funding to the project, and for our company, which is constantly increasing its leading position in the Italian railway industry. I am really pleased that the production of the new coaches will take place in Italy, at a historic site of rolling stock manufacture, because of the subsequent positive impact on employment levels that will result. I would therefore like to thank Škoda for this unprecedented partnership, which we hope will be the first of many more fruitful collaborations in the future.”