The ETR 200 (for ''" Elettro Treno Rapido 200"'', in Italian meaning "Rapid Electric Train ''series'' 200") is an Italian

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) introduced in 1936. On 20 July 1939 the ETR 200 number 12 obtained the world record average speed, between

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 ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Development and records

In the 1930s, the Italian state railways, Ferrovie dello Stato, electrified the main line

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and needed a fast train to use on it and on other newly electrified ones. The project was started in 1934, using new technologies for

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

and

aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...

. The innovative nose of the train was developed after studies in the

wind tunnel A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments". The experiment is conducted in the test section of the wind tunnel and a complete tunnel configuration includes air ducting to and f ...

at the

Politecnico di Torino The Polytechnic University of Turin (, abbreviated as PoliTO) is the oldest Italian public technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban Planning and Industrial Design, and is consi ...

engineering university. The first example was built by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda, (now AnsaldoBreda), in 1936, an articulated and traction-distributed train with three cars on four

bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...

s, two of which were Jacobs bogies, had a single T 62-R-100 motor, while the others—at the front and rear—were provided with two similar motors each. The train had been designed for speeds up to , but the first pantographs caused problems over . The ETR 200 entered service in 1937 on the Bologna-Rome-Naples line. They were considered the most comfortable and fast trains in Europe, and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

had one sent to

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

. On 6 December 1937 the ETR 201The numbering of FS high speed trainsets is historically different from the "standard" trainset codification, and is composed by a first number, identifying the group, plus a progressive 2-digit number identifying the unit. For example, 212 is the 12th unit of group 200. Later, the group was upgraded to group 220/230/240, and unit 212 became 232 reached a top speed of on the

line (between the stations of Campoleone and Nettunia). On 20 July 1939, the ETR 212, driven by driver Alessandro Cervellati, established a new world record running (on the average speed for the whole run) between

and

at , and also improving the absolute top speed record up to in the stretch from Pontenure to

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 ...

. A popular myth held that

himself was at the controls, but this doesn't hold to historical evidence.

Later history

The production of the ETR 200 was halted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and many were damaged by Allied bombings. In the early 1960s, the remaining sixteen units were converted to ETR 220/230/240 by adding a fourth car and making other improvements. They remained in service until the early 1980s, and were later used for charter trains until the 1990s. The ETR 232, former 212 (the unit making the 1939 record run), has been preserved as a historical train and is in full working order. Another non-working unit was first stored in Ancona until its scrapping in September 2012.

Notes

References

* * {{FS EMUs and DMUs ETR 200 Breda multiple units 3000 V DC multiple units Train-related introductions in 1937

Development and records

Later history

See also

Notes

References