Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and Aeroporti di Roma have signed an agreement to develop sustainable intermodality and the integration between train and plane.
The Mayor of Fiumicino Esterino Montino, the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri, the President of ENAC Pierluigi Di Palma and the President of the Lazio Region Nicola Zingaretti took part in the presentation of the agreement at the Leonardo da Vinci airport of Fiumicino.
The agreement, with the aim of facilitating the transition to smart hubs of the airports managed by ADR, aims at strengthening the direct connection services of High Speed between Fiumicino airport and Southern Italy and the acceleration of current services with the North of the country (Florence / Bologna / Pisa).
In particular, there is the desire to develop integrated train and air products, through the implementation of commercial agreements with air carriers at Fiumicino to integrate the reciprocal sales and distribution systems with the possibility of carrying out passenger check-in operations and luggage directly in the main railway stations connected with the Leonardo da Vinci.
This would mean you could get on the train in stations such as those of Florence, Bologna or Naples and get off directly at the destination of arrival, even overseas, in a simple, safe, fast, comfortable way. Among the objectives includes the improvement and development of information to passengers on flights and on the movement of trains, within convoys, in stations and in airport terminals. The station thus becomes a real extension of the airport terminal.
In addition to the expansion of the connections and the enhancement of the information flow, the project includes the infrastructural development of the Fiumicino Airport station, where it is planned to move from the current three tracks to a total of five.
A development of road transport is also expected with investments and road network projects. Further improvements and developments of the planned line concern the construction of the FL1 and FL5 connections for the connections via San Pietro and Civitavecchia, as well as a quadrupling of the Ponte Galeria-Fiumicino Airport section. For the direct connection of the high-speed train, the project envisages the closure of the Rome railway ring and infrastructural bypasses for the inclusion of direct trains to Fiumicino without stopping at Rome Termini.
The agreement also includes, in the context of Urban Air Mobility, the design and construction of a vertiport on the parking area of the Termini Station in Rome, also providing for the identification of additional suitable spaces for the future expansion of this network. In fact, ADR is actively working in this field to launch the first commercial operations between Fiumicino airport and the metropolitan city of Rome in 2024.
Marco Troncone , CEO of Aeroporti di Roma, said: “The one with FS Italiane is a strategic agreement not only for AdR, but for the country’s integrated mobility sector, fully in line with the policies indicated by our Government.
“Through the launch of a real intermodal train-air offer, which enhances the role of smart hub of Fiumicino, it traces and anticipates a new mobility, in the name of sustainability and the multiplication of connectivity opportunities for travellers.
“Through the enhancement of accessibility to the airport, it makes Fiumicino more ready for the resumption of tourism and more generally for a future of growth, starting from the next appointments up to the 2025 Jubilee.”
Luigi Ferraris, CEO of the FS Italiane Group, said: “Rail and air transport must cooperate in an integrated and sustainable mobility context, through strategic collaborations aimed at creating a convergence of objectives, generating benefits for both sectors and for the mobility system in general.
“The agreement with Aeroporti di Roma goes in this direction, and testifies to the commitment of the FS Italiane Group to facilitate connections between what are the main access gates of the country such as stations, airports and ports.
“We are working to create new railway infrastructures, upgrade the existing ones and with them also the services offered. It is necessary to act quickly to make the whole country more competitive and attractive since it is equipped with a sustainable, multimodal, efficient and interconnected transport system, both for people and for goods.”
Photo credit: Shutterstock
