MOROCCO IS ACCELERATING! feature - Alstom
MOROCCO IS ACCELERATING! feature - Alstom
MOROCCO IS ACCELERATING! feature - Alstom
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4<br />
interview<br />
�<br />
or perhaps Milan and Turin, it was to take us<br />
just over thirty minutes, we could allow<br />
ourselves to travel much more frequently than<br />
is conceivable today. This would therefore<br />
create new mobility and work opportunities,<br />
encouraged by this new infrastructure.<br />
This change in rail transport will open up new<br />
prospects, new scenarios. It is also possible,<br />
in the medium or long-term, that other private<br />
operators may decide to invest in this business.<br />
Personally, I am convinced that high speed<br />
has not yet deployed its full potential, and that<br />
consequently the market will inevitably grow.<br />
NTV will have a leading position and very<br />
signifi cant market share in the high-speed<br />
sector. However, as this cake will soon begin<br />
to rise, at the same time as consumers’<br />
needs, I am certain the state operator will not<br />
be affected. There will be opportunities<br />
for everyone and it is the passengers who<br />
will benefi t.<br />
Why did you decide to enter<br />
the rail sector?<br />
What opportunities did you and<br />
your associates at NTV see?<br />
A dream and a certainty: the dream of rapid<br />
ecological mobility and the certainty that<br />
the good old train represents a challenge<br />
for the future. When my associates and<br />
I began to consider investing in trains,<br />
we became convinced by these two factors.<br />
We are confi dent that this century<br />
is destined to be the century of rail.<br />
Economic factors, increases in car traffi c<br />
and greater sensitivity to problems<br />
related to the environment and to pollution,<br />
have given a new impetus to national<br />
and international rail services, which<br />
are increasing in number and quality.<br />
Rail – and the European policy for developing<br />
multinational intermodal transport through<br />
the famous European rail corridors is proof<br />
of this – has become strategic and this will<br />
increasingly be the case in the future.<br />
How will the train of<br />
the future compete with other<br />
modes of transport?<br />
High-speed technology has offered the train<br />
a second youth by making it extremely<br />
competitive, not only compared to the plane,<br />
“ We are in high speed because, in Italy, it is the only<br />
sector that has become open to competition.”<br />
but also compared to the car. The train will<br />
benefi t from a much wider customer base,<br />
which guarantees, as I said a moment ago,<br />
room for competition between several actors.<br />
In Europe, certain rail lines are already<br />
being used more than air services.<br />
The fi rst that come to mind are the Paris-Lyon<br />
line in France, or the Madrid-Seville line<br />
in Spain, where the plane has lost the fi ght<br />
against the train. Italian high speed presents<br />
different characteristics because it connects<br />
cities that are 100 or 200 kilometres apart:<br />
on these routes, high speed is very<br />
competitive, even compared to the car.<br />
But it is not only a matter of speed:<br />
thanks to modern communication<br />
technologies the train allows passengers<br />
to make better use of their journey time.<br />
It becomes a true offi ce with computers<br />
and telephones, or simply a place<br />
for entertainment. NTV is counting on<br />
these factors: passengers on the AGV .Italo<br />
will always be connected and they will also<br />
be able to enjoy live on-board television.<br />
In short, the challenge we have decided<br />
to take up is to propose a travel concept