NTV, first Italian private railway operator, chooses Alstom
for the supply and maintenance of 25 AGV trains

The Italian train operator
Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori(NTV) has ordered from
Alstom 25 of its brand new very high speed AGV
trains for 650 million. The contract covers the
maintenance of the trains for a 30 year period which is not
included in this amount. It also foresees an option for a
further 10 trains.



The signing of this contract which follows the Italian
Transport Ministrys agreement to award NTV a Railway
Company licence and authorisation to perform passenger service
in Italy marks the beginning of the implementation
phase of NTVs project that will enable the private
operator to start service on the new high speed lines early
2011.



NTV, created in December 2006 by Italian entrepreneurs Luca
Cordero di Montezemolo, Diego Della Valle, Gianni Punzo and
Giuseppe Sciarrone, will operate in the very high speed railway
market in Italy.


NTV and Alstom will present the details of this contract during
a press conference to be held on 7 February 2008 in Rome.


NTV will operate the AGV on the Italian high speed network at a
speed of 300 kph. NTVs trains will comprise 11 coaches
and will offer around 500 seats. The AGV is built according to
the most recent European standards of interoperability and
follows the European and Italian regulations for the safeguard
of environment and safety. Its traction system played a key
role in the performance achieved on 3 April 2007 by the train
that set the new world rail speed record and allows the AGV to
operate at a speed of up to 360 kph.



Alstom has already manufactured 70% of the trains worldwide
currently operated at over 300 kph. The Groups very high
speed activity is in constant development, thanks to its
unrivalled experience and technological lead. Since the launch
of the first TGV in 1981, Alstom has sold nearly 650 very high
speed trains throughout the world. They have covered over 2.8
billion kilometres (6,500 times the distance between the Earth
and the Moon) and carried 1.6 billion passengers. Their
commercial speed has progressed from 260 kph to 320 kph, and
they have set three world rail speed records: 380 kph in 1981,
515.3 kph in 1990 and 574.8 kph in 2007.


About NTV

NTV was founded in December 2006 by Luca Cordero di
Montezemolo, Diego Della Valle, Gianni Punzo e Giuseppe
Sciarrone. In January 2008 Banca Intesa San Paolo became part
of the company with a 20% share. NTVs mission is to
plan, organise and operate passengers services on the high
speed lines. The company, by aiming to offer high quality
services at competitive prices, wants to contribute to the
growth of the Italian railway system and to the valorisation of
the new high speed lines, which are fundamental for the
modernisation of the Italian transport system.