Trenitalia picked to run Spanish high-speed services

(ANSA) - Rome, November 27 - Italian rail company Trenitalia was picked Wednesday as the first private operator to run Spanish high-speed services.
    Trenitalia is part of the ILSA consortium with Valencia-based Spanish airline Air Nostrum.
    ILSA was selected by ADIF, the company that runs Spanish rail infrastructure, as the first private operator to be granted access to the Spanish rail market.
    The Trenitalia consortium will run high-speed services on the Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Valencia/Alicante and Madrid-Malaga/Seville lines.
    Services will start running in January 2022.
    The service contract will have a duration of 10 years.
    The ILSA consortium will offer 32 daily links with a fleet of 23 trains.
    "This project marks the entry of the FS Group into the Spanish high-speed rail market," said FS CEO and general manager Gianfranco Battisti.
    FS, or Ferrovie dello Stato, is Trenitalia's parent company.
    "We are proud to place at disposal, also in Spain, the know-how developed in 10 years of high-speed (services) with 350 million passengers transported in Italy, making us unique in Europe in a competitive market," Battisti went on.
    "The FS Group is a primary international player, ready to face the challenges for the tenders on the American market after getting both rail services between London and Edinburgh, operational from December 9 in the UK, and the project for high-speed (services) in Thailand".