Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane

{{see also|History of railways in Italy}}

File:Front view of Milan Stazione Centrale entrance portico.jpg in Milan, inaugurated in 1931]]

The company was instituted by an act on 22 April 1905, taking control over the majority of the national railways, which, until that time, were privately owned and managed.{{cite web |url= http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/istituzioni/schede/300016/|title=Direzione compartimentale delle ferrovie 1908 - 1971|language=it|access-date=7 July 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Finger |first1=Matthias |last2=Montero |first2=Juan |date=2020 |title=Handbook on Railway Regulation: Concepts and Practice |language= English|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=9781789901788}} The president was nominated by the government. The first director general was Riccardo Bianchi.{{cite web|url=http://www.miol.it/stagniweb/fs101.htm|author=Giorgio Stagni|title=100 anni di storia delle FS - Parte 1 |trans-title=100 years of FS history - Part 1 |language=it |website=miol.it|access-date=21 August 2018}}

In June 1912 Ferrovie dello Stato owned 5021 steam locomotives, 151 railcars, 10,037 coaches, 3371 baggage cars and 92,990 goods wagons.Victor Freiherr von Röll: [https://archive.org/details/enzyklopdiedes06rl/page/297 Enzyklopädie des Eisenbahnwesens.] Band 6, Urban & Schwarzenberg, Berlin, 1914, p. 297. (in German)

With the rise of Fascism, a centralization policy was carried out. The board of directors and chief administrator office were abolished at the end of 1922. The institution was administered by a commissioner, appointed by the King until April 1924.{{cite web |url= https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/le-grandi-infrastrutture-il-sistema-delle-ferrovie-e-delle-autostrade_%28Il-Contributo-italiano-alla-storia-del-Pensiero:-Tecnica%29/|title=Le grandi infrastrutture: il sistema delle ferrovie e delle autostrade|language=Italian|access-date=14 March 2022}}

Since then, Ferrovie dello Stato was managed by the newly born Ministry of Communications (including rail transport), under Costanzo Ciano.{{cite book |date=1955 |title=Il cinquantenario delle ferrovie dello Stato [1905-1955] |language=Italian|publisher=Direzione generale delle ferrovie dello Stato }}

After the armistice on 8 September 1943, Italy was divided and train operations were separately directed too, with headquarters in Salerno for the south and Verona for the north. At the end of 1944, the Ministry of Communications was split and the new Ministry of Transport was created, including the general management of Ferrovie dello Stato, and in 1945, the company was renamed Azienda Autonoma delle Ferrovie dello Stato.

File:TEE Settebello arriving at Milano Centrale in 1983.jpg, iconic high-speed train of 1950s]]

The period after World War II was particularly tough for Ferrovie dello Stato, since most of the Italian rail network was severely damaged and the rolling stock was obsolete. The network was rebuilt almost entirely by 1952. Since then, a period of renewal started. New trains were introduced, among them the ETR 300,{{cite book | last =Nock | first =O.S. | title =The Settebello: speed and luxury | publisher =Mayflower Books | series =World Atlas of Railways | volume = | edition = | date =1978 | location =New York | pages =118–119 | language =English | isbn = 0-8317-9500-X}} and many sections of the national network were electrified and sometimes doubled.

In 1957, the new ALn 442/448 multiple unit was introduced, greatly reducing travel time on the Italian network. During these years, the rolling stock was generally renewed and expanded with the mass construction of electrical and diesel multiple units, like the Ale 883, ALe 840 and ALn 772.

The FS ALn 668 diesel multiple unit was introduced in 1956.{{cite book |last1=Di Majo |first1=Franco |last2=Racca |first2=Carlo |date=2020 |title=ALn 668 - Un successo della ingegneria ferroviaria italiana |language= Italian| volume =35 n.2 | edition = | location = | pages =103–117 }}

In the following years, 3 MU out of 4 were 668, which replaced many older units.

Many electrical multiple units were also introduced during this period, like the ALe 601, progenitor of the Ale 801/940 and ALe 803 EMU, still in use today on regional service.{{cite book |title=L'elettrificazione delle FS |trans-title=The electrification of the FS |date=1961 |publisher=Ferrovie dello Stato |language=it}}{{cite book |last=Cornolò |first=Giovanni |title=Automotrici elettriche dalle origini al 1983 |language= Italian|publisher=Duegi Editrice | date =1985 | location = | pages =249–260 |isbn=978-8895096056}}

During the 1970s, a new generation of electronically operated railcars and power trains were first introduced on the Italian network, starting with the G.A.I. (Gruppo Aziende Italiane) trains for regional and metropolitan service.{{cite book |last=Pautasso |first=Sergio |title=ALe 724, Treni GAI, ALe 582. Dalla metropolitana alle medie distanze |language= Italian|publisher=Edizioni Locodivision | date =1989 | location = Torino| pages = |isbn=88-85079-01-6}}

The new E.444 was the first attempt on high-speed rail, with a top speed of {{convert|200|km/h|abbr=on}}.

The ETR 401 (1976) was the first prototype of the new Pendolino class. Following other network improvements, works for the first Italian high-speed rail line started in these years.

The Direttissima line from Florence to Rome was partially opened in 1986 and concluded in 1992. In 1986, trains were travelling the line at {{convert|200|km/h|abbr=on}}, surpassing for the first time the previous maximum limit of 180 km/h on the Italian network. In 1988, the ETR 450 Pendolino was travelling regularly at {{convert|250|km/h|abbr=on}}, today's top speed on the line. The line was the fastest in Europe after the French TGV lines.{{cite web|url=http://www.miol.it/stagniweb/FS102.HT|website=miol.it|title=stagniweb/FS102|access-date=21 August 2018}}

The old logo was renewed in 1982 and again in 1994,{{cite web|url=https://www.museodelmarchioitaliano.it/marchi/ferrovie-dello-stato.php|title=Il marchio Ferrovie dello Stato|language=Italian|access-date=14 March 2022|archive-date=17 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117222640/https://www.museodelmarchioitaliano.it/marchi/ferrovie-dello-stato.php|url-status=dead}} with the introduction of the {{ill|XMPR livery|it|livrea XMPR}}.

The FS was left unchanged in its administrative structure until the end of 1985. From the following year, after 80 years, the Azienda Autonoma delle Ferrovie dello Stato was replaced by a new company, Ferrovie dello Stato.{{cite web|title=LEGGE 17 maggio 1985, n. 210, Istituzione dell'ente "Ferrovie dello Stato"|url=http://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:1985-05-17;210!vig=|publisher=Italian Government|access-date=31 December 2011}}

File:Sede Centrale FS.jpg

The newly born Ferrovie dello Stato underwent major structural transformations between 1986 and 1992. The workforce was reduced to half: from 216,310 employees in 1988 to 112,018 in 1999.{{cite web |url=http://www.storiaefuturo.com/it/numero_15/articoli/1_privatizzazioni-ferrovie~1118.html |title=Il lungo treno della privatizzazione: da Ferrovie di Stato a ferrovie di libero mercato. Trent'anni di trasformazioni raccontate dai ferrovieri |trans-title=The long train of privatization: from state railways to free market railways. Thirty years of transformations told by railway workers |website=Storia e Futuro |access-date=4 January 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420021119/http://www.storiaefuturo.com/it/numero_15/articoli/1_privatizzazioni-ferrovie~1118.html |archive-date=20 April 2012 |language=it}} Divisions were created to rationalize the management.

The organisation was converted from a government agency to a state-owned enterprise in 1992 with the creation of the new Ferrovie dello Stato SpA, a joint-stock company, following a European guideline.{{cite book |last=Florio |first=Massimo |title=The Reform of Network Industries: Evaluating Privatisation, Regulation and Liberalisation in the EU |language= English|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing | date =2017 | location = | pages = |isbn=9781786439031}} However, it was not privatized: it remained fully owned by the Italian Government.

On 1 June 2000, the company's two main divisions, service and infrastructure, were separated and two different independent companies were created: Trenitalia, responsible for transport service, and Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, responsible for the management of the rail infrastructure. Both companies were still subsidiaries of Ferrovie dello Stato Holding SpA.

In 2011 Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane bought the German Netinera.{{cite web |url= https://www.repubblica.it/economia/2010/12/08/news/fs_fa_acquisti_in_germania-9967718/|title=Trasporti, Fs si espande in Germania. Comprato il gestore Arriva Deutschland |date=8 December 2010 |trans-title=Transport, FS expands to Germany. Bought the manager Arriva Deutschland |language=it|access-date=7 July 2020}}{{cite web |url= https://www.railwaygazette.com/passenger/trenitalia-acquires-full-ownership-of-netinera-deutschland/57969.article|title=Trenitalia acquires full ownership of Netinera Deutschland|language=Italian|access-date=14 March 2022}}

In July 2016 Busitalia (part of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane) purchased the Dutch company Qbuzz.{{cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-railways/italian-railways-buys-dutch-bus-group-qbuzz-idUSKBN19Y2BR|title=Italian railways buys Dutch bus group Qbuzz|newspaper=Reuters |date=13 July 2017 |language=Italian|access-date=14 March 2022}} In February 2017 Trenitalia bought from National Express the British train operating company c2c.{{cite web |url= https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/31958/trenitalia-c2c/|title=Trenitalia completes acquisition of c2c from National Express|language=Italian|access-date=14 March 2022}}{{cite web |url= https://www.railjournal.com/passenger/commuter-rail/trenitalia-to-acquire-british-franchise-from-national-express/|title=Trenitalia to acquire British franchise from National Express|date=11 January 2017 |language=Italian|access-date=14 March 2022}} In September 2017, an agreement to buy 100% of TrainOSE (the Greek railways) for €45 million was signed.{{cite news |title=Greece completes sale of railway operator to Italy's Ferrovie |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-privatisations-ferrovie/greece-completes-sale-of-railway-operator-to-italys-ferrovie-idUSKCN1BP21Z |access-date=18 August 2018 |publisher=Reuters}}{{cite web |url= https://www.railwaygazette.com/europe/fs-completes-acquisition-of-greek-national-operator-trainose/45168.article|title=FS completes acquisition of Greek national operator Trainose|language=English|access-date=14 March 2022}}

====Bluferries====

Blufferies is a subsidiary company of Ferrovie dello Stato (Italy's Rail Infrastructure Manager) that operates ferries across the Strait of Messina. It provides transport across the strait for passengers, cars and trains.{{Cite web |title=Bluferries |url=https://www.bluferries.it/chisiamo.html |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=www.bluferries.it}} The company employs approximately 130 people.{{Cite web |title=Bluferries |url=https://www.bluferries.it/struttura.html |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=www.bluferries.it}}

Trenitalia is the most important subsidiary of the company, as it manages all the trains of the company group.{{cite web |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/180602Z:IM|title=Trenitalia SpA|website=Bloomberg News |language=Italian|access-date=14 March 2022}} Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transport.

Hellenic Train, the sole operator for passenger and the main for freight services in Greece, has been under the company's management since 2017.{{cite web |title=FS Italiane Now Owns Greek Railway Operator Trainose |date=19 January 2017 |url=http://news.gtp.gr/2017/01/19/fs-italiane-greek-railway-operator-trainose/ |access-date=26 July 2017}} The company employs over 1,000 people.

• Busitalia
• Centostazioni
• Fercredit
• Ferservizi
• FS Logistica
• FS Sistemi Urbani
• Grandi Stazioni
• Italferr
• Netinera
• Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, which manages the infrastructure of the Italian rail network{{cite web |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/4280909Z:IM|title=Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA|website=Bloomberg News |language=Italian|access-date=14 March 2022}}
• Mercitalia, the group's freight operations subsidiary, founded in 2017.{{cite web | url=http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/freight/fs-launches-new-mercitalia-freight-division.html | title=FS launches new Mercitalia freight division | publisher=International Railway Journal | date=12 January 2017 | access-date=15 November 2017}}

ANAS ({{langx|it|Azienda Nazionale Autonoma delle Strade}}, {{langx|en|National Autonomous Roads Corporation}}) manages the construction and maintenance of motorways and state highways in Italy.{{cite news |url=https://www.ansa.it/english/news/politics/2017/04/14/anas-fs-merger-boosts-investments-delrio-2_c3879de2-aefc-47b4-9f43-5fc080464d9c.html |title=ANAS-FS merger boosts investments-Delrio |work=ANSA Politics |date=14 April 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://www.repubblica.it/economia/2018/01/18/news/fs-anas_via_libera_dell_antitrust_e_firmata_la_fusione-186761513/ |title=Fs-Anas, via libera dell'Antitrust e firmata la fusione |first=Barbara |last=Ardù |work=La Repubblica |date=18 January 2018 |trans-title=Fs-Anas, green light from the Antitrust and merger signed |language=it}}{{cite web |url=https://www.stradeanas.it/it/lazienda/chi-siamo |title=Chi siamo |trans-title=Who We Are |website=Anas |date=22 August 2016 |language=it}}{{cite web |url=https://www.fsitaliane.it/content/fsitaliane/en/fs-group/group-companies/anas.html |title=Group Companies: Anas |website=Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane}}

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane owns and operates a ferry service for rail trains connecting the mainland to Sicily, crossing the Strait of Messina. They carry InterCity, InterCityNotte and goods wagon by means of ferry boats.{{cite book |last=Betti Carboncini |first=Adriano |title=Ferry-boats un secolo. Navi traghetto, approdi e collegamenti dalla Rete Sicula alle Ferrovie dello Stato |language= Italian|publisher=Calosci, Cortona | date =1997 | location = | pages = |isbn=88-7785-125-2}}

Until 2009 there was another ferry service for freight transport, which was activated in 1961 to connect the continent to the Sardinia, between Civitavecchia and Golfo Aranci.{{cite book |last=Altara |first=Edoardo |title=Binari a Golfo Aranci - Ferrovie e treni in Sardegna dal 1874 ad oggi |language= Italian|publisher=Ermanno Albertelli Editore | date =1992 | location = | pages =129–136 |isbn=88-85909-31-0}}

Since 2010, after the regular service has been suspended, there is an on-call service for Messina Marittima and Villa San Giovanni Mare.{{cite web |url= https://www.shippingitaly.it/2021/12/10/aggiudicata-al-cantiere-spagnolo-hijos-de-j-barreras-il-terzo-traghetto-di-rfi-per-lo-stretto/|title=Aggiudicata al cantiere spagnolo Hijos de J. Barreras il terzo traghetto di Rfi per lo Stretto|date=10 December 2021 |language=Italian|access-date=14 March 2022}}

The former company CEOs were: Lorenzo Necci (1989–1996), Giancarlo Cimoli (1996–2004), Elio Catania (2004–2006), Mauro Moretti (2006–2014), Michele Mario Elia (2014–2015), Renato Mazzoncini (2015–2018) and Gianfranco Battisti (2018–2021).{{cite web |url=https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2018/07/30/battisti-new-ceo-of-rail-operator-fs_b083a985-fc17-45e9-bbc5-42aaca8f4f1d.html|title=Battisti new CEO of rail operator FS|date=30 July 2018 |access-date= 22 December 2020}}

• Transport in Italy
• Rail transport in Italy
• Railway network of Sicily

{{reflist|2}}

• {{cite book |first = Enrico |last = Monti |url = https://www.trenidicarta.it/1939.htm | title = Il primo secolo di vita delle ferrovie italiane (1839-1939) | trans-title = The first century of the life of Italian railways (1839-1939) |language = it |location = Firenze | publisher = Società editrice fiorentina | year = 1939 | oclc = 5775821 | lccn = 79386250 | pages = 237 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190827171235/https://www.trenidicarta.it/1939.htm | archive-date = August 27, 2019 | url-status = bot: unknown | access-date = August 27, 2019 }} (public domain)

NEL 2030 FRECCIA ORO ETR

{{commons category|Ferrovie dello Stato}}

• [http://www.fsitaliane.it/homepage_en.html Official website]

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{{Grandi Stazioni}}

{{Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane}}

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