About the Trenitalia's Intercity Notte cars
posted on 31st Oct 2026 11:09
At InnoTrans 2024, a model of a car for Intercity Notte night trains was displayed at the Titagarh Firema stand. This model related to a contract signed in August 2023, between Trenitalia and a consortium comprising Škoda Transportation and Titagarh Firema. Under a framework agreement for up to 370 cars, an initial order for 70 ones was confirmed, consisting of 22 De-Luxe, 44 Comfort, and 4 Economy class cars.
Titagarh Firema has categorized these cars under a new Vinci family (which was showcased at InnoTrans 2022), designed to be adaptable for various types of daytime and overnight travel. Featuring aluminum bodyshells, a top speed of 200 km/h, and a length over buffers of 26.4 m, the cars were scheduled to enter service in June 2026, with the first prototypes to be built in 2025 at the Caserta work in the northern suburbs of Naples. However, neither of these milestones was reached, as Titagarh Firema encountered severe financial difficulties.
To provide some context, let us briefly review the recent history. In July 2015, the Indian company Titagarh Wagons (now Titagarh Rail Systems) acquired a 90 % stake in Firema Trasporti, which was insolvent at the time and operating under a special administration regime. The remaining 10 % stake was acquired at the time by the Italian company Adler Plastics, from which Titagarh purchased it in June 2017. Subsequently, the company was renamed Titagarh Firema.
Through this transaction, Titagarh acquired the production facilities in Caserta, Spello, and Tito, along with know-how in railway vehicle manufacturing; however, it also inherited legacy loss-making contracts valued at approximately 225 million EUR. It was precisely these contracts that triggered the aforementioned financial difficulties, eventually leading to changes in the ownership structure.
In September 2022, the state-owned investment agency Invitalia entered the company, acquiring a 30.3 % stake. Simultaneously, the private investor Hawk Eye, based in the United Arab Emirates, acquired a 13.6 % share in Titagarh Firema. The objective was to stabilize the company and preserve the manufacturing of rolling stock in Italy.
Between 2022 and 2024, despite its financial challenges, the company secured several significant contracts, including an order for 38 regional EMUs for the Lazio region (Rome) and night train carriages for Trenitalia, and also established a wagon division in collaboration with the company GCF.
Nevertheless, Titagarh Firema faced another financial crisis. In early 2025, a "conflict with a major customer, which significantly impacted cash flow," exacerbated the situation, prompting the company to seek protection from creditors under Italian insolvency law. Subsequently, in the summer of 2025, negotiations began regarding the acquisition of the company by the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, with the aim of integrating rolling stock production directly into the FS Group and ensuring the continuation of ongoing projects.
This was carried out this year: on 9 February 2026, the Italian antitrust authority, AGCM (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato), announced its approval of the plan. Subsequently, in March, FS through its subsidiary FS Fabbrica Italiana Treni acquired the production assets of Titagarh Firema for a purchase price of approximately 41 million EUR. The coming period will reveal how the implementation of the Vinci night train project unfolds.
We have asked FS for the project's progress, the current delivery schedule for the cars, and whether Škoda remains part of the consortium. We are awaiting a response.
