AnsaldoBreda

Hitachi Rail Italy
formerly AnsaldoBreda
Società per Azioni
Industry Engineering
Predecessor Ansaldo Trasporti and Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie
Founded 2001
Defunct 2015
Headquarters Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Maurizio Manfellotto (CEO)
Products Rail transport vehicles
Services Maintenance
Number of employees
 2,400
Parent Finmeccanica
Hitachi since 2015
Website www.ansaldobreda.it

AnsaldoBreda S.p.A. was a rail transport engineering company based in Italy. The company designed and manufactured railway and mass transit vehicles. In February 2015, Finmeccanica agreed to sell AnsaldoBreda to Hitachi.[1] On 2 November 2015 AnsaldoBreda was sold and changed its name to Hitachi Rail Italy.

Company details

In 1853, the company Gio. Ansaldo & C. was registered in Genoa as a manufacturer of steam locomotives, rail rolling stock and steam engines. The company was supported by the Minister of Finance, Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, who aimed to reduce the State of Savoy's dependence on imported trains and rolling stock.[2]

In 1886, Ernesto Breda founded Ing. Ernesto Breda and C.,[3] the company which became Società Italiana Ernesto Breda (SIEB) in 1899.

In 1989 both Ansaldo and Breda participated in a consortium for the design and manufacturing of the ETR500 high speed train.

AnsaldoBreda was formed in 2001 by the merger of Ansaldo Trasporti and Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie,[4] and is part of the Finmeccanica group.[5] It has production sites at four locations in Italy: Naples, Reggio Calabria, Palermo, and Pistoia.

The company employs about 2,400 people.[4] Salvatore Bianconi was the Chief Executive Officer of AnsaldoBreda from 2008 to 2011, when he was succeeded by Maurizio Manfellotto.[6]

Production History

Breda's one thousandth locomotove, the FS 685.600, at the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Milan
The Settebello
ETR 401

Ansaldo entered the age of the steam locomotive in 1854 with its model FS113, also known as Sampierdarena.

In 1908 SIEB's thousandth locomotive was built, a model FS 685 with serial number 600 [3] now preserved in the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan. It used Caprotti valve gear.[7]

In 1936 Breda (SIEB) entered the electric locomotive era with the production of the FS Class ETR 200 series electric multiple unit. In 1939 this type set the land speed record for rail vehicles[8] at 203 km/h (126 mph).[9] Although only 18 trains of this type were constructed they remained in service for a long time until they were finally withdrawn from service in 1993.

In 1976 the FS ETR 400 entered service. Fiat Ferroviaria manufactured the body and bogies, whilst Ansaldo produced the power unit. It was the first train in the world featuring active body tilting to enter commercial service and was capable of speeds of up to 250 km/h (160 mph).

The TREVI Consortium, of which Ansaldo and Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie were members, introduced the high speed FS ETR 500 series in 1989 . The first high-speed trains to run on Turkish rails were two ETR 500 train sets leased from Trenitalia of Italy and were used for testing the completed part of the high-speed railway network between Eskişehir and Ankara on April 23, 2007.[10] During the tests, ETR 500 Y2 achieved the current rail speed record in Turkey, reaching 303 km/h.[11] The train was capable of exceeding 300 km/h (190 mph). It reached 362 km/h (225 mph) in the Monte Bibele tunnel between Florence and Bologna in 2009, setting a speed record for trains in a tunnel.[12]

Another high speed train Frecciarossa 1000 high speed train was developed in a consortium with Bombardier Transportation.[13][14] The first ETR1000 was christened Mennea in honour of the Italian athlete Pietro Mennea[15] who had died five days earlier. Besides the construction of locomotives, AnsaldoBreda manufactures railway cars, trams, and trains for commuter rail, high-speed rail, and main lines.[16] AnsaldoBreda has also developed a driverless multiple unit train.

Finances

'Finmeccanica' and Hitachi announced on November 2 the 'closing of transactions' covering the acquisition by Hitachi of AnsaldoBreda and Finmeccanica’s 40% stake in Ansaldo STS. Under the agreements signed on February 24, following a dividend distribution announced on March 6, the purchase price for Finmeccanica’s stake in Ansaldo STS has been set at €9·50 per share, amounting to a total of €761m. The total net consideration to be paid for AnsaldoBreda as a going concern, including property assets, amounts to around €30m.

Main operators

The ETR 500 "Frecciarossa" of the Italian Railways
The ETR "Frecciarossa 1000"

Denmark

Greece

Italy

Morocco

Norway

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

AnsaldoBreda Sirio in Samsun

United Kingdom

United States

Controversies

Delays in the delivery of trains to Denmark

Main article: IC4

Delivery of 83 IC4 trainsets for the Danish State Railways DSB was originally planned for 2003-2006. A primary settlement was reached in May 2009. Danish State Railways shall receive the uncompleted trains from AnsaldoBreda, complete the trains itself, and shall certify the trains for public usage itself. AnsaldoBreda will pay back 2.25 billion DKK (300 million Euro).[51]

On 2 July 2012, the DSB announced that the Transportation Authority had approved Denmark's railway operator to put back into operation the fleet of 37 IC4s which had been withdrawn from service in November 2011.[52]

In December 2011, it was reported that one of the missing IC4 trainsets planned for delivery in Denmark was found in Libya.[53] Reportedly, AnsaldoBreda and then Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi the trainset as a present on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Gaddafi's revolution in 2009.[54][55]

A secondary settlement was reached on 18 December 2012 between AnsaldoBreda and Danish railways. AnsaldoBreda will pay 98 million Euro, provide additional spare parts and upgrade the train control and management system.

The IC4 trains have seen many technical problems during their time in service. A brake failure caused a collision even though the train drove at 30 km/hour over a distance of 121,5 meters.[56] Smoke meant that passengers had to be evacuated.[57] High levels of noise in the cabins meant that modifications had to be made to all delivered trains. Recordings can be heard here. Faulty and incomplete Train Control and Management System (TCMS software) has caused researchers to deem the train unfit for service.[58] And among other things; cracks in axles, faulty sensors and a faulty generator which necessitated an evacuation.

Fyra service suspended

Main article: Fyra

V250 train units were delivered to NS over five years later than originally contracted. Soon after the trains went into service in the Netherlands and Belgium, the V250 suffered a number of technical problems. When the first snow fell in the winter of 2012/13, some V250 trains started losing parts of their bottom plates due to ice build-up. Consequently, the Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB declared the V250 unsafe, and the trains were taken out of commercial service on 16 January 2013.[59] Dutch railways is now seeking compensation for damages[60] and Dutch politicians have called for a parliamentary inquiry into the problems with the V250 train quality issues and AnsaldoBreda's failure to rectify them in a timely manner. On 22 January Belgian railways called on AnsaldoBreda to fix all deficiencies that had been independently identified with the V250 units within 3 months, as agreed in the purchase contract, or the contract would be declared void.[61]

In May 2013, the Belgian railway company cancelled its contract with AnsaldoBreda, after a technical examination of a pair of V250 train halves. The inspections yielded 1159 and 2019 deficiency points, where a total of 9 per full train was the permitted tolerance before rejection. The report mentioned, amongst others, the following defects:[62][63] during a test run, an iron plate of the roof bent towards the overhead wire, axles were severely rusted, with a risk of breaking in moving trains,[64] the brakes were not suited for high-speed trains, wiring was not shielded from rain and snow, a bottom plate came loose and fell down on the railtrack, batteries overheated in carriages that had been already taken out of service, resulting in fire and subsequent scorches in the carriages, earthing points were wrongly connected, causing electric driven heavy oxidation, the door sliding mechanisms were faulty, assembly varied from train to train. On the same day the report was published, the Belgian public broadcasting organizations RTBF and VRT got hold of photographs showing the wrecked conditions the V250 trains were in.[65][66] However, because of major technical problems with these trains, the trains were taken out of rotation within weeks after the start of the service. On the 31st of May 2013, the NMBS/SNCB cancelled the Fyra project entirely.[67][68] On June 3, NS also announced it was stopping operation of V250 trains. According to their survey of the trains it would take at least 17 months to repair all construction flaws, and entry into service would not be expected before 2018.[69] In addition, even if trains were to be repaired, the maintenance cost would be much higher and the lifetime of the trains much lower than agreed in the contracts with AnsaldoBreda. It is currently unlikely that the V250 will enter commercial service again. In a response to the Dutch and Belgian complaints about damage to the trains, AnsaldoBreda blamed the operators for being irresponsible in running the trains at the certified top speed of 250 km/h in winter,[70] and not performing the recommended daily maintenance.[71] Belgian rail operators claim the latter is not true, and that the problems encountered can only be caused by structural problems with the trains.[72]

On March 17, 2014 NS announced a settlement with AnsaldoBreda had been reached. The 9 NS trains will be returned to AnsaldoBreda for a refund of 125 Million Euro, 88 Million Euro less than originally paid. NS will receive an additional compensation for each resold unit to a maximum of 21 Million Euro.[73]

Gothenburg tram

New M32 tram out for a test run in August 2006.

The City of Gothenburg in Sweden has ordered 40 one-directional Sirio trams which were to be put into service on the Gothenburg tram network during 2005 and onwards. The trams were delivered late and functioned poorly when put into traffic. Among reported problems were excessive track damage caused by the trams, malfunctioning airconditioners inside the trams and poor ride quality. The City of Gothenburg therefore withheld a large part of the payment for a delivered tram until fully operational.[74] On December 3, 2009, the city authorities exercised their option for a further 25 trams of the same design at a cost of €61m.[75]

In February 2013, 38 out of the total 40 trams delivered in the first series were taken out of service due to extensive corrosion on the chassis.[76] Reparing the rusted chassis and moldy passenger floors is expected to be completed by 2017,[77] at a cost for Gothenburg council of an extra €10m according to the revised contract, although AnsaldoBreda bears the majority of the cost for these deficiencies. Of the 65 trams purchased, only about 35-40 are usable.[39] Due to further delays on the part of Ansaldobreda with the corrosion repairs and substandard quality in completed works, the council of Gothenburg cancelled the contract for corrosion repairs in November 2015.[39] None of the three repaired trams that AnsaldoBreda delivered was in working order and might actually be scrapped. The investigation launched into the matter found that the trams were jerry-built and that AnsaldoBreda did not have the will, nor the competence to do anything about the problems.[40] It was also discovered that the badly built trams have resulted in extensive track damage that will be very costly to repair, adding to the "fiasco" of the Gothenburg AnsaldoBreda tram affaire.[41]

After the problems had been publicised in Swedish media, AnsaldoBreda chairman Antonio Liguori sent a letter to Gothenburg Municipality which contained threats of concerted actions with other companies against the municipality, along with demands of 10 million euro.[78]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hitachi agrees to buy Ansaldo STS and AnsaldoBreda". Railway Gazette. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Cavour e la fondazione dell'Ansaldo - Lezioni di Storia - parte 3, Valerio Castronovo". YouTube. November 29, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "BREDA, Ernesto in "Dizionario Biografico"".
  4. 1 2 Company. AnsaldoBreda. Retrieved on 2009-07-17.
  5. ↑ Energy Transportation. Finmeccanica. Retrieved on 2009-07-17.
  6. ↑ Salvatore Bianconi appointed as new CEO of AnsaldoBreda (2008-05-27). Finmeccanica. Retrieved on 2009-07-18.
  7. ↑ Locomotiva Gr. S 685.600
  8. ↑ "Forse nel tentativo di raggiungere il primato mondiale di velocità ferroviaria, che appena il mese prima un treno Diesel tedesco in prova aveva portato a 215 km/h, si pensò a una nuova corsa con un ETR.200. L'ingegner Mario Martinelli delle FS ricorda che 'poiché sembrava che la corsa dovesse essere ripetuta, fu prescelto l'ETR.214 per questo secondo exploit... poi l'idea della seconda corsa fu abbandonata: la guerra si avvicinava." Cf Cornolò, Una leggenda op. cit., p. 34.
  9. ↑ Maurizio Panconesi, La direttissima degli Appennini. La linea Bologna-Prato e le sue ferrovie di servizio, Cortona, Calosci, 2002, ISBN 88-7785-179-1, pp. 121-125.
  10. ↑ "Hızlı tren artık raylarda".
  11. 1 2 "Nuovo record di velocità del treno italiano Etr 500 in Turchia: 303 km/h" (in Italian). Il Sole 24 Ore. 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  12. ↑ "Raggiunto in galleria il record mondiale di velocità di 362 km/h" (in Italian). fsnews.it. February 2009. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  13. ↑ Frecciarossa 1000 in cifre (25-09-2012).
  14. ↑ "Il primo Frecciarossa 1000 sarà dedicato a Pietro Mennea - Notizie - FSNews".
  15. ↑ "Addio a Mennea Malago': grazie Pietro - Altri Sport - ANSA.it".
  16. ↑ AnsaldoBreda. AnsaldoBreda. Retrieved on 2009-07-17.
  17. ↑ "Nuovo record di velocità sulla linea AV Milano-Bologna" (in Italian). FSNews. 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  18. ↑ "Record italiano di velocità" (in Italian). Tutto Treno. April 2008. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  19. ↑ "200 giorni al primo treno Alta Velocità sulla Milano-Bologna" (in Italian). FSNews. 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  20. ↑ Chiandoni, Marco (30 August 2012), "Trenitalia unveils ETR 1000 mock-up", International Railway Journal
  21. ↑ "Trenitalia unveils Frecciarossa 1000", www.railwaygazette.com, 20 August 2012
  22. ↑ "Ecco "Metrostar", il nuovo treno della Circumvesuviana - Napoli la Repubblica.it".
  23. ↑ "Milan Metro Meneghino" (PDF). AnsaldoBreda. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  24. ↑ "Metropolitana più comoda e sicura con il nuovo treno "Meneghino"". Corriere della Sera. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  25. ↑ "500 million euro Italian metro deal". International Railway Journal. April 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  26. ↑ "Copenhagen Metro". Arcspace. Archived from the original on 30 July 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2009.
  27. ↑ AnsaldoBreda. "Driverless metros" (PDF). Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  28. ↑ "Il tram Sirio, Progetto T1". 14 February 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  29. ↑ "In quarantamila su Sirio". Corriere Fiorentino. 14 February 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  30. ↑ "Tutti pazzi per Sirio Boom di viaggiatori in tram". la Repubblica Firenze. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  31. ↑ Morocco's railway acquires 24 new EMU http://www.railwaygazette.com/en/news/shipbuilding/single-view/view/moroccos-rail-renaissance-takes-a-major-step-forward.html
  32. ↑ Johansen, Magne (2 June 2013). "Fiaskotrikker og suksesstog er fra samme fabrikk" (in Norwegian). Oslo By (Aftenposten). Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  33. ↑ SL 95 (PDF in Norwegian)
  34. ↑ Blix, Håvard (2001). "SL95". Lokaltrafikk (in Norwegian). 46: 38.
  35. ↑ Blix, Håvard (2001). "SL95". Lokaltrafikk (in Norwegian). 47: 41–42.
  36. ↑ Mintra Serie 7000
  37. ↑ Serie 7000 Archived October 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  38. ↑ Serie 9000 Archived October 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  39. 1 2 3 "Göteborgs stad häver avtal med Ansaldobreda". Göteborgsposten. 2 Nov 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  40. 1 2 "Göteborgs stad har tröttnat på Ansaldobreda". Upphandling 24. 9 Sep 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  41. 1 2 "Väl utförd upphandling av rostiga spårvagnar". Upphandling 24. 14 Feb 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  42. ↑ Boynton (2001), p.80.
  43. ↑ "Work on £40m Midland Metro tram fleet to start in weeks « Express & Star".
  44. ↑ "Hitachi Rail" (PDF).
  45. ↑ Bierman, Noah (November 12, 2007). "T will take 10 new cars for its busy Green Line". The Boston Globe.
  46. ↑ Exner, Rich (June 3, 2005). "Rebuild is anything but rapid RTA's first Breda-car renovations: over budget and behind schedule". The Plain Dealer. p. B3. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  47. ↑ "Rail Division Capacity Assessment Report" (pdf). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  48. 1 2 "2010 SFMTA Transit Fleet Management Plan" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  49. ↑ Nolte, Carl (December 10, 1996). "Stylish New Streetcars Ready to Roll". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications, Inc. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  50. ↑ "Hitachi Rail" (PDF).
  51. ↑ "REPORT ON DSB'S PROCUREMENT AND COMPLETION OF IC4 AND IC2 TRAINS" (PDF) (Press release). Rigsrevisionen’s. June 2012.
  52. ↑ "DSB: IC4 in servizio".
  53. ↑ Retrieved on 2013-03-25.
  54. ↑ "IC4 train a gift from Berlusconi to Gadaffi". The Copenhagen Post. 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  55. ↑ Retrieved on 2013-03-21.
  56. ↑ "Havarikommissionen: Ingen aner, hvorfor IC4-bremserne svigter". ing.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  57. ↑ "IC4-passengers evacuated due to smoke". ing.dk. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  58. ↑ "Researcher after new computer problem in IC4: This train is unfit for service". ing.dk. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  59. ↑ . Volkskrant. Retrieved on 2013-01-18.
  60. ↑ . Retrieved on 2013-01-20.
  61. ↑ News (22 January 2013). "AnsaldoBreda given three months to solve Fyra problem".
  62. ↑ . De Standaard. Retrieved on 2013-05-31.
  63. ↑ . De Standaard. Retrieved on 2013-05-31.
  64. ↑ . NMBS report. Retrieved on 2013-05-31.
  65. ↑ . RTBF. Retrieved on 2013-05-31.
  66. ↑ . VRT. Retrieved on 2013-05-31.
  67. ↑ Vosman, Quintus. "No end in sight for Fyra problems".
  68. ↑ "NMBS bevestigt: Fyra definitief op zijspoor gezet". 31 May 2013.
  69. ↑ "NS stopt met Fyra".
  70. ↑ "Page not found - Global Rail News".
  71. ↑ "Fyra-bouwer verwerpt kritiek: 'aanbevolen onderhoud niet uitgevoerd' - Buitenland - de Volkskrant".
  72. ↑ "Belgische spoorwegen niet te spreken over persconferentie Italianen - Buitenland - de Volkskrant".
  73. ↑ "NS stuurt Fyra terug naar Italië en krijgt 125 miljoen - Magazine - de Volkskrant".
  74. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  75. ↑ http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view//goeteborg-exercises-tram-option.html
  76. ↑ http://www.gp.se/nyheter/goteborg/1.1301846-40-vagnar-tas-ur-trafik-pa-grund-av-rost
  77. ↑ "Rostiga spårvagnar tar tre år att laga". Göteborgsposten. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  78. ↑ "Hemliga dokument: Göteborg krävs på 100 miljoner". Göteborgsposten. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.

Further reading

External links

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