The ETR 1000 trainset. Source: Bombardier

Hitachi Rail SpA and Bombardier Transportation will supply 14 Frecciarossa 1000 (also known as ETR 1000) very high-speed trains to Trenitalia (Italian Railways). The partners also signed a 10-year maintenance service agreement for the new trains. The contract's overall value is around $643 million.

As with the current Frecciarossa 1000 fleet, all 14 of the new trains will be built in Italy. Each train will have a total length of around 200 meters, capacity for around 460 passengers and is capable of commercial speeds of up to 360 km/h.

Hitachi Rail was originally formed through the merger of Ansaldo Trasporti and Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie. In November 2015, it was acquired by Hitachi.

Design work on the train began in 2008, and it was largely based on existing products, including Bombardier's Zefiro and AnsaldoBreda's V250 trains. In 2010, a total of 50 trainsets were ordered to meet Trenitalia's needs.

Bombardier was responsible for the concept and detailed design phases of development, as well as for the propulsion equipment, testing and commissioning of the first five trains. AnsaldoBreda developed the train's industrial design, including body, interior, signaling and other systems, in addition to performing the final assembly and commissioning of series production trains. Both firms were involved in detail design and engineering activity.