The Caravaggio (Rock for

Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...

) is an

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

(EMU) developed and built by Hitachi Rail Italy. It is named after the

Italian Baroque Italian Baroque (or ''Barocco'') is a stylistic period in Italian history and art that spanned from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. History The early 17th century marked a time of change for those of the Roman Catholic religion ...

painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The Caravaggio was ordered by Italian operator

in June 2016; follow-on orders were placed by Trenitalia and Ferrovie Nord Milano. The first trainset rolled-out in April 2018. The Caravaggio entered revenue service with Trenitalia on 14 June 2019; it has been branded as "Rock".

History

In June 2016, Trenitalia ordered the Caravaggio, awarding Hitachi Rail Italy a €333 million contract to supply 39 five-car multiple units. The order had options for up to 300 trainsets at a cost of €2.6 billion; Trenitalia claimed the potential value was unprecedented in Italy. By the time the first trainset was completed at Hitachi's factory in

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

in April 2018, Trenitalia had increased its order to 118 trainsets, including four-, five-, and six-car versions. The Caravaggio was assigned class designations ''ETR 421'' and ''ETR 521'' dependent on its configuration; Trenitalia had branded the train as "Rock." In 2018, the first trainset was tested at the Velim railway test circuit in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

ahead of its entry into service the following year. On 14 June 2019, the Caravaggio's inaugural run took place between

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

and

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, marking its entry into revenue service. In September 2018, Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM) announced it planned to purchase up to 120 Caravaggio EMUs over an eight year period, beginning with a €238 million order for 30 four-car trainsets. The eight-year framework included an option for three years of maintenance support for the fleet. FNM deliveries are scheduled to begin by May 2020. From 5 September 2022 the ETR 522s entered service on the Ferrovienord Saronno–Laveno railway line

Design

The Caravaggio is a high-capacity double-deck EMU for regional traffic, each car is about long. The Caravaggio is of equivalent quality to contemporary

high speed train High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

s for passengers and crews. Compared to the trains it is replacing, it provides greater comfort and sustainability and is more accessible for people with reduced mobility. It consumes 30% less energy than the historic fleet, and is more than 95% recyclable. Additional environmentally-friendly measures include

regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Typically, regenerativ ...

and lower noise emissions. In 2018, Maurizio Manfellotto, CEO of Hitachi Rail Italy, claimed the Caravaggio's carbon emissions of 5 grams CO2eq were the lowest for any mass transport mode in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Each train is powered by a 3 kV DC electric system producing and a maximum speed of . The traction equipment is mostly roof-mounted, optimising the interior space for passenger accommodation. The train's acceleration is greater than 1m/sec², which has been credited with improving punctuality. The train is equipped with side- and front-facing

camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

s with anomalous behaviour detection. The body is primarily made of lightweight

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...

s, giving a low weight per passenger and a high passenger capacity per unit length. Passenger capacity varies by operator; in Trentialia's configuration, a five-car set can carry up to 656 people, while an equivalent FNM set can carry 598 seated passengers and 575 standing. The trainset's ergonomic eco-friendly leather seats are designed for comfort. The cabin has

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

which is adjusted according to the number of passengers on board, to lower energy consumption. Each 5-car train has ten doors per side and two

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human waste (urine and feces) and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting p ...

s (one standard and one for people with reduced mobility). The Caravaggio has luggage storage areas and dedicated spaces for bicycles, sockets to charge

electric bicycle An electric bicycle, e-bike, electrically assisted pedal cycle, or electrically power assisted cycle is a bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fa ...

s. The trains have LED lighting, Wi-Fi,

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

sockets, a passenger information system, energy meters, and a passenger counter. Staircases above the bogies give access to the upper deck. The doors are fitted with movable steps to cover the gap between the platform and vehicle when the train is stopped; a manually operated ramp is available for passengers with reduced mobility.

Gallery

File:Hitachi Rock EMU at Velim Test Track.jpg, A five car trainset on test at Velim Test Track, Cerhenice, Czech Republic File:Hitachi Caravaggio Top-deck Interior.jpg, Interior of a Trenord ETR.521 File:Trenord_Hitachi_Caravaggio_at_Como_San_Giovanni.jpg, An ETR 521 Caravaggio of Trenord's S11 Line, at the Como San Giovanni railway station

References

{{Commonscat, Hitachi Caravaggio Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane electric railcars and multiple units FNM electric railcars and multiple units Double-decker EMUs Train-related introductions in 2019 3000 V DC multiple units Hitachi multiple units