History
Although Italy was already a pioneer in rail travel in the 1930s, it was not until the 1960s that the first high speed lines were planned. The opening of the Direttissima line, connecting Florence with Rome, in stages between 1978 and 1991 was the first high speed line in Europe.
In the 1990s FS finally unveiled plans to build a whole new high speed network. As the larger part of the network would be suited for speeds of 300 km/h (186 mph), new, non-tilting trains had to be designed as the tilting equipment used in the ETR 450, 460 and 480 Pendolino series was not suited for speeds of over 250 km/h (155 mph).
The new train was to be built by the TREVI (TREno Veloce Italiano, "Italian Fast Train") formed by AnsaldoBreda, FIAT Ferroviaria, Tecnomasio and Firema Trasporti.
Read more about this topic: ETR 500
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps the underground aquifers flowing; it is the liquid voice that can wear through stone.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“All things are moral. That soul, which within us is a sentiment, outside of us is a law. We feel its inspiration; out there in history we can see its fatal strength.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The myth of independence from the mother is abandoned in mid- life as women learn new routes around the mother—both the mother without and the mother within. A mid-life daughter may reengage with a mother or put new controls on care and set limits to love. But whatever she does, her child’s history is never finished.”
—Terri Apter (20th century)